Archives

Rising 6th Year Students and Families

May21

Next week your child will be receiving a packet introducing next year’s Expert Project.  This year long research project begins this summer!  We are asking your child to spend some time this summer thinking about possible topics, reading about them and starting a bibliography of books  to refer back to in the fall when the final topic selection is made.  The project culminates with an evening reception where children will present their project.

Students can choose any topic they have an interest in.  This year the 6th level students researched The History of Basketball, Battle of Vicksburg, Pugs, LUA, Prosecution and the Courts, Emotions, Venomous Snakes, and Cars.  The range of ideas is limitless.

Please watch for the paperwork to come home and help your child keep track of them by purchasing (or using an existing) 2-inch, 3-ring binder.  Additional copies of the paperwork will not be provided, but can be printed directly from the blog through the Expert Project tab at the top of the page.

We will discuss this as a group in class, and again during parent teacher conference.

Expert Project Presentations – 6th Level and Rising 6th Level

Apr25

A reminder that your child’s Expert Project Presentation is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26 at 6 pm.  We will be meeting in the library.  Please invite friends and family for this evening of presentations from our class.

Students need to arrive at 5:30 in order to get settled prior to presenting.

If you are the parent of a 5th level student and would like to attend the presentations with your child in order to get a preview of the project for next year, please join us at 6 pm.

See you all tomorrow.

6th Grade Expert Project Progress Update

Feb12

6th Year Parents

What a treat is is to be working with your children on this project!  The topics they have chosen are interesting and their dedication to putting together a project to the best of their ability is amazing.

As you may have noticed, we have turned a corner on the year-long journey of Expert Project.  The students are now outlining, drafting, and revising the information they have gathered over the last few months.  They are putting their 5 1/2 years of elementary school training into practice.  This work takes great skill, patience, perseverance, time, and occasionally, blood, sweat and tears.

One of the many beauties of this project is that for this one time in their educational career, they have great support each step of the way for writing such an enormous paper – from each other, from me and from you.

There are two ways in which you can support at home.  First, each week I have asked the students to either read their latest chapter aloud to an older sibling or parent, or have an older sibling or parent read it aloud to them.  (Chapter one and two drafts were both due within the last two weeks.)  This is to help them hear how the writing flows.  As I’m sure you remember, it is challenging to take a collection of notes and turn them into a flowing document.  An ear to bounce off of is helpful.  Usually that is all you need to do – they can hear what needs to be changed when it is read aloud.  The second way you can support them is by ensuring there is time in the busy family life for he or she to work. If your son or daughter is not yet strong at managing his/her time, please help by asking such things as, “How much time do you think you need for Expert Project this week?” and, “Which days will you make that happen?”  They are indeed responsible for doing it, but supporting them by letting them know you are aware of the work, and can help them figure out a schedule, is valuable.

We are planning to send out “Save the Date” cards this week, but I will also share with you, the presentations will be held on Wednesday, April 26th at 6:00 pm.

Thank you for supporting your child in this year-long endeavor!  Your children are amazing!  Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions you may have.

Week 16 Update

Nov30

I hope you all had a relaxing Thanksgiving Holiday!

We are back in full swing in the classroom, and your children are working hard.

4th Grade – Utah History Project research notes were due Monday, November 28.  I have only received notes from one student.  If your child has not begun this research, they are falling behind.  Please ensure your child turns in their notes no later than Friday, December 2.  If you need an additional copy of the timeline for this project, you can print another from the link on the homepage of the blog titled Utah History Project.

5th Grade – Invention Convention problem selection was due November 18.  Currently only 2 students have turned in this assignment.  With 2 more assignment due dates looming and International Festival upcoming, it is crucial your child stays on track.  You can print a timeline for the current assignments from the homepage of the blog.  Look for the page titled Invention Convention.

6th Grade – Expert projects are well underway.  Your child should complete 80% of their research before winter break.  Students who are falling behind will need to work hard to catch up.  This year long project has been carefully timed and mapped out so as not to be too overwhelming.  We meet for Expert Project lessons every Thursday.  Please encourage your child to come prepared with all necessary assignments and materials.

Whole Class

  • International Festival is on Monday, December 19.  Copies of the expectations for this home project can be found on the homepage of the blog under the International Festival tab.  Please support your child’s efforts so they will have a successful experience during this school-wide celebration.
  • Our annual pancake breakfast is coming up Friday, December 16.  Please mark your calendars and join us, if you can, for this pre-holiday celebration.   Please sign up to help out with donations of food or time at the following link.  

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please email me.

 

 

Week 14

Nov15

Thank you all who participated in our annual Chili Cook Off!  This is my all time favorite community building event.

This week we are busy working and learning many new and different things.

Cultural

We have an amazing parent volunteer (and close friend of mine) teaching Botany lessons this year.  We are so lucky to have Rachael Bush in our classrooms once a month giving foundation lessons!  She brings a passion and energy to this subject that cannot be matched!  We are learning about the importance of roots as supporters and nitrogen fixers (thank you symbiotic relationships!).  We will be following up in class with a traveling nitrogen activity as well as a beautiful work demonstrating the nitrogen cycle.

International Festival is a month away.  Please be sure your child is working on this project at home.  The expectations for this project were given to your student, and can also be found under the International Festival tab at the top of the blog.  This year the festival will be held on Monday, December 19 from 9-11.  Parents are welcome to attend.

4th Level  – We have just started our fractions studies in class.  With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this is a wonderful time to have your child practice using fractions in the real world by reading recipes, measuring ingredients and spending time with family in the kitchen!  Understanding of fractions is a crucial part of our world.

5th Level  – We are continuing our fraction studies this week with multiplication of fractions by whole numbers.  Do you have a recipe that is written for 4, and need to scale it up for 8? Allow your child to help you with this fun and important task during the holidays when it is natural for you to spend time in the kitchen.

6th Level – Currently, rates and ratios are the focus of our math studies   Like fractions, ratios are used in the kitchen.  What better time to practice in the real world than during the time of year we spend a lot of time cooking and preparing for guests.

Redwoods payment due Wednesday, November 16.

Finally, if you have any questions regarding any of the grade level home projects, or the international festival, please send me an email.

No School – Monday, November 21-Friday, November 25.