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It is hard to believe that the end of the school year is so near. I have been reflecting on the challenges as well as the triumphs and can’t thank you all enough for all of your support and hard work! As we continue our learning and fun end of year activities here is what you need to know.
End of year assessments in math will take place on Monday June 8th for 7th grade and Tuesday June 9th for 8th grade. Students wrapped up their Biome unit with having to survive a plane crash and I have been enjoying their background stories and knowledge of the abiotic and biotic factor knowledge in order to help them survive. Please remind students to bring all library books back this next week. Don't forget to browse the book fair and then bring in books you and your child are ready to swap at book swap this coming week!. The 8th grade beach trip takes place this Friday June 5th. Here’s the schedule: We will leave approximately 9:15 am after doughnuts for dudes and get to beach around 11:15/11:30. They voted on stopping for pizza for lunch. We figured $10 per student would be more than enough to cover pizza for group.We will stay at the beach and play beach games (volleyball, paddle ball Frisbee, bad mitten, sand soccer, skim boarding). For safety reasons we will ask the students not to venture into the water. They are very excited to have a bonfire with s'mores and hot dogs for dinner. They voted on staying later at the beach in lieu of spending the night at MRA. I suggested we leave around 7pm to head home and be back around 9pm. If anyone has a small grill or skewers we could use for this event it would be appreciated. Summer is here and we all should find opportunities to keep our minds active and continue learning while enjoying all that summer has to offer. Keep in mind that it's impossible to overestimate the role that you can play in your childs education. In addition to being their first teachers, you continue to be your child’s teacher year after year. While a student moves from classroom to classroom, parents and families stay the same.
Summer learning loss is real. It's also counterproductive. When students return in the fall, we spend considerable time reviewing skills before introducing new material in order to help students develop new and advanced skills. The National Summer Learning Association reports that students lose an equivalent of two months of their grade-level math computational skills over the summer, and students from low-income families also lose the same equivalency in reading achievement. While summer is a time to relax, it is not a time to stop learning. The key to education -- especially in critical science, and math -- is activity-based learning that makes concepts relevant in real-world, meaningful ways. Summer learning does not have to mean spending all day inside a classroom or library. Summer activities are filled with real-world learning experiences that you may help convey: A swimming pool can teach students about buoyancy. The ocean waves can be a lesson in gravitational forces. A baseball game can teach about velocity and drag. Parents and children who enjoy baking together can turn the measurements into a math lesson on fractions. There are websites and apps, sites like Khan Academy and PBS Kids' Design Squad, that provide engaging lessons and activities for kids. Many tools can be accessed at a community library if a computer isn't available in the home. Please visit my website and explore the learning links for these and other websites to keep those brains sharp over summer. Lastly, you can also take time to encourage your children to read, helping build not only reading comprehension and vocabulary skills, but also knowledge on topics that students find interesting. Celebrating our Volunteers!
The success of MRA depends largely on volunteer support. Our community volunteers help with everything from cutting paper to mowing our huge property! Now it is time to thank our volunteers!! To celebrate our MRA volunteers we will be hosting a brunch. When: Wednesday, May 27 8:15am-9:00am Where: MRA-Alder Classrooms RSVP: Please RSVP to Mrs. Righter at [email protected] no later than Monday, 5/25 (to ensure enough food) We look forward to celebrating your generosity and hard work that make MRA such a wonderful place for our students to be. On the academic side of things 7th graders have a geometric figures test on Monday. We are continuing our study of biomes in science, exploring population biology and making connections to our immediate environment. In 8th grade math we are moving forward into congruence and similarity. We will end the year on a positive note rich with learning and fun! I wanted to let all you parents know that the Cedars are testing the boundaries lately with the dress code. I understand that at this age, students are coming into their own and making statements about who they are. There have been many complaints by the younger students and teachers that the Cedars have been violating the dress code and Sally and I will be more adamant in checking students. We would appreciate the support of parents in helping us in this matter for the remainder of the year. Thank you, Greetings! I would like to invite you all to a work party on Saturday, May 9th, from 8-12 to work on the school grounds. There are many tasks to be done including pulling out dead trees, staking and pruning others, and working on our beautiful berms.
This week will be a very busy week, culminating with the Ladies’ Tea and the Cedars’ field trip to Aquila Vista on Friday. After Ladies’ Tea we will be heading up the Molalla River Corridor from 10-3 in order to immerse ourselves in the Molalla River riparian ecosystem. We could use two more parent chaperones for the field trip and a few good men to help with the Ladies’ Tea in the early morning hours for preparation between 7:15-8:00. I have also asked for some student volunteers to join us early and help us prepare to pamper our lovely guests. The students have presented their biome concept maps and are currently working on their terrarium plans to be constructed at the end of the week. The purpose of these terrariums is to research and visually demonstrate the effects of soils, sunlight, and water for the various biomes to determine their effects on plants. I will be supplying all of the students materials with the exception of soil native to their chosen area or as similar as can be for their model. I could also use some borrowed heat lamps or grow lights for some of our sunnier biomes if your family has those to lend.
The auction is approaching!I have been given a very nice Cedar East bag that needs to be filled for the auction. Ask your Cedar what items would help a new Cedar to transition in smoothly or even what would a veteran like? Water bottles, pens, calculators, gift cards, MRA clothing, etc.? Please get donated items or cash to Jaylene by yesterday so we can fill the bag for auction. I will continue to take donations through Friday since my bag is empty, sigh. Welcome back! From what I hear from the students all families enjoyed their time together in various fun and relaxing ways. How nice to get back into the swing of things at school and ease back into our academic focus.
Track club is starting up again next week and we plan on flipping lunch times on Tuesday and Thursday so all students have an equal opportunity to run for 20 minutes and eat afterward. If you would like to join your child in a run during track club, it will take place at 11:30-11:50 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have been given a very nice Cedar East bag that needs to be filled for the auction. Ask your Cedar what items would help a new Cedar to transition in smoothly or even what would a veteran like? Water bottles, pens, calculators? Please get donated items or cash to me by April 13th so we can fill the bag for auction. I am happy to report that the recently adopted homework policy has proven successful with the Cedars and therefore it has been adjusted to reflect current needs and goals as of March 30th to the following: Cedars homework will consist of math (15 to 30 minutes), novel reading with questions as needed (30 minutes), Independent Project editing, science, and possibly some health or character education on occasion. Missed homework – 3 missing assignments per week will result in an email to parents. Continued missing assignments will require getting Shelley involved and we will schedule a conference in order to strategize for greater student success. Incomplete Class work – If students are not completing their work in-class as expected we will email parents that day and let them know that extra homework is coming home because the student chose not to use class time wisely. Incomplete work will go home as individual teachers see fit. If this is a consistent issue with a student, Shelley will be advised and a conference will be set with the parent and student. Classroom News Tuesday March 31st 8th graders will be taking the Science OAKs test. The Math Smarter Balance Tests will take place May 12th-16th. Please make sure that your child gets a good nights sleep and has a healthy breakfast. In science, students will be working in teams to investigate different biomes throughout the globe. Their job is to create a multimedia presentation presented by the group to advertise their biome and to bring business to the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy Travel Agency.” Student groups will begin by creating a terrarium to represent the biome they are assigned; they will grow plants there and compare those plants to plants grown in other biome-specific terrariums. I will need some help with supplies, clear plastic 2 liter bottles or cardboard milk cartons for students to build their terrariums as well as plant cuttings and/or seeds that would work for specific biomes. Students will begin working on their biome terrariums the 2nd half of the week when we return from break. Fortunately for us the weather has been so lovely as we continue to learn about the goings-on in the atmosphere in science. Students are currently responsible for collecting weather observations for the next few weeks until spring break. Some of the data can be collected through direct observation and other must be found on the internet, in the newspaper, or by viewing the news; that is of course unless you have your own personal weather station.
I would like to encourage families to take advantage of the largest Brain Fair in the country at OMSI on March 14th from 10am-5pm. This free fair is part of Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Brain Awareness Season for 2014 and will include interactive exhibits, real human brains, crafts, demonstrations, prizes, and OHSU neuroscientists explaining their groundbreaking research. As we’ve sprung into the second semester, things have been busy here in Cedar East. Most recently in science we have been wrapping up our brain unit discussing and researching concussions and brain injuries in sports leading to a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) project that had students design helmets to protect the model brain (an egg) from injury. Many of the designs were successful and some were a bit clunky, so students were given the opportunity to rethink their designs to make them even better.
Presently students should be putting the final touches on their Brain Project. Whether it be a two or three dimensional model, a booklet about the brain, or a brochure educating the audience about brain diseases and disorders, their interpretations and examples have been creative and fun for me to peruse. Don’t forget to join us this Friday from 12:30-2:15 pm in Mrs. D’s room for our Brain Celebration. Announcements:
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