DRIVERS NEEDED! (This is an all day field trip. Takes about an hour and a half to get there). On Friday the seventh and eighth graders will be going to Blair Valley for a field trip to see the ruins of the home of Marshall South. He and his family lived at the top of Ghost Mountain in a home built from the earth. They had no electricity or running water. This trip will culminate our unplugged project. We will have 34 students going so the more help the better. We plan on leaving at 9:00 and coming back at 3:30.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slworking/sets/72157603562436150/
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Busy Week! We have Spring Fever!
Last week's events:
Field Trip to Science Tech Fair in Del Mar:
(A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PARENT DRIVERS! WE COULDN"T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU)
Seventh and eighth graders got the opportunity to visit over 50 science exhibits from various companies around San Diego. They had fun hands on experiences and learned a lot of information. There were seven different science strands so students were able to choose what areas they were most interested in:
Biotech / BioMedical: The science of using living things, and components of living things, to produce goods and services. It involves manipulating and modifying organisms, often at the molecular level, to create new and practical applications for agriculture, medicine and industry.
Clean Technology / Energy: Clean Technology applies science and engineering solutions to three critical areas: reducing the consumption of energy and natural resources; reducing waste and harmful emissions; and harnessing renewable energy and materials for sustainable development.
Conservation/Environmental Science/Agriculture Technology: Focus on current and future conservation of our natural resources; the science and technology of sustaining our wildlife, forests, coastlines and oceans; and technological advances in farming that help better serve the needs of the public while protecting the environment and increasing output.
Engineering / Aerospace / Transportation: Focus on the application of science to practical uses such as the design of structures, machines, and systems.
Healthcare Technology: Focus on the systems within which health is protected and maintained, including prevention and rehabilitation, emergency medicine, medical devices, and technology for monitoring the health of a patient remotely. Dental technology is also included in this strand
High Tech / Computer Technology / Telecommunications: Focus on highly specialized, complex technology, including computer applications and telecommunications.
Robotics: Focus on the technology associated with the design, fabrication, theory, and application of robots.
Field Trip to Health Sciences High and Middle College:
Eighth graders visited HSHMC on Thursday. Two of IA's alumni from our first graduating class last year were our tour guides. I have information if you are interested in this school.
Parent Night Thursday Night: We had an awesome turn out from our eighth grade parents. Thank you for coming to get more information about the Sacramento trip and graduation festivities. My apologies for miscommunication to those eighth grade parents who went to the general meeting instead. Please contact me to get information you missed.
SCIENCE NEWS:
7th graders have been learning more about heredity and DNA. We should be recieving our chick eggs in the next week. We will be incubating and hatching them! This will coincide with our unit on populations and ecosystems.
8th graders have been learning about atomic structure and bonding. We will be finishing up our chemistry unit in the next two weeks. Coming soon... walking on water and rollercoaster physics!
Before our science field trip both 7th and 8th grade students created KWL charts to show what they 1) (K) Know about their selected science strand, and 2) (W)Want to know. After the trip we talked about 3) (L)What they Learned after the trip.
Field Trip to Science Tech Fair in Del Mar:
(A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PARENT DRIVERS! WE COULDN"T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU)
Seventh and eighth graders got the opportunity to visit over 50 science exhibits from various companies around San Diego. They had fun hands on experiences and learned a lot of information. There were seven different science strands so students were able to choose what areas they were most interested in:
Biotech / BioMedical: The science of using living things, and components of living things, to produce goods and services. It involves manipulating and modifying organisms, often at the molecular level, to create new and practical applications for agriculture, medicine and industry.
Clean Technology / Energy: Clean Technology applies science and engineering solutions to three critical areas: reducing the consumption of energy and natural resources; reducing waste and harmful emissions; and harnessing renewable energy and materials for sustainable development.
Conservation/Environmental Science/Agriculture Technology: Focus on current and future conservation of our natural resources; the science and technology of sustaining our wildlife, forests, coastlines and oceans; and technological advances in farming that help better serve the needs of the public while protecting the environment and increasing output.
Engineering / Aerospace / Transportation: Focus on the application of science to practical uses such as the design of structures, machines, and systems.
Healthcare Technology: Focus on the systems within which health is protected and maintained, including prevention and rehabilitation, emergency medicine, medical devices, and technology for monitoring the health of a patient remotely. Dental technology is also included in this strand
High Tech / Computer Technology / Telecommunications: Focus on highly specialized, complex technology, including computer applications and telecommunications.
Robotics: Focus on the technology associated with the design, fabrication, theory, and application of robots.
Field Trip to Health Sciences High and Middle College:
Eighth graders visited HSHMC on Thursday. Two of IA's alumni from our first graduating class last year were our tour guides. I have information if you are interested in this school.
Parent Night Thursday Night: We had an awesome turn out from our eighth grade parents. Thank you for coming to get more information about the Sacramento trip and graduation festivities. My apologies for miscommunication to those eighth grade parents who went to the general meeting instead. Please contact me to get information you missed.
SCIENCE NEWS:
7th graders have been learning more about heredity and DNA. We should be recieving our chick eggs in the next week. We will be incubating and hatching them! This will coincide with our unit on populations and ecosystems.
8th graders have been learning about atomic structure and bonding. We will be finishing up our chemistry unit in the next two weeks. Coming soon... walking on water and rollercoaster physics!
Before our science field trip both 7th and 8th grade students created KWL charts to show what they 1) (K) Know about their selected science strand, and 2) (W)Want to know. After the trip we talked about 3) (L)What they Learned after the trip.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Feb 1 - Feb 5
UPCOMING EVENTS:
-FAMILY NIGHT:
- Thursday, February 11th hosted by the kindergarten class. FIRST check in at the front desk from 5pm-6pm to sign in and receive directions and a schedule for the evening.
- From 5pm-6pm chili will be served in the kindergarten classroom. Please bring it upstairs to be eaten in our classroom. If you are not purchasing food, after checking in please come to my classroom anyways.
- At 6pm the general parent meeting will take place in the commons upstairs. During this time students will go to DeeDee’s room for crafts.
- Parents with more than one child: I understand it is difficult to make it to each classroom. If you cannot make it please contact me so I can pass along any information to you.
- $3 chili, cornbread and drink (Vegetarian chili will be available)
- $3 hot dog, chips and drink
- $1 for 2 baked goods
-PRESIDENTS WEEKEND: No School Friday Feb 12th and Monday Feb 15th
-VALENTINES PARENT NIGHTOUT FUNDRAISER: Sunday Feb. 14
- 8th graders will be babysitting 5:00 - 9:00pm
LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
- Special thanks to Adrian's mom for the In-n-Out run for lunch on Tuesday!
- We were on the news! During our buddy time with the 3rd graders, some of our 8th graders were on film. You can see it at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Charter_School_Struggle_San_Diego.html
- Council member Donna Frye came for a visit and loved our school!
- Our Parent Night Fundraiser brought in $120! We had a great time! And we have lots of parents interested in the Valentines Night Out next Sunday.
- We got a lot of information about high schools for next year. I sent home Innovations Academy's recommended high schools list, as well as a booklet showcasing schools around San Diego that includes magnet schools. Many schools have a deadline to enroll. San Diego magnets(choice schools) need to be in by FEB 15. If you have questions, please contact me or Danielle.
In Math, students learned more about the coordinate system and the slope of a line with our giant floor coordinate plane. Next week we put it all together with the scale map of our school we made.
In Science, we finished Unplugged Science mini lessons. 7th graders are continuing with heredity and genetics. 8th graders are continuing their study of atoms and elements and the periodic table.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wow January flew by!
UPCOMING EVENTS this week:
- Report Cards are out on Monday
- Visit from King Chavez High School (parents welcome) Tuesday 9:30-10:30
- 8th grade fundraiser Parents’ Night Out: Friday Feb 5 6:00-10:00
- Field trip to Health Sciences High and Middle College(next week): date TBD
The wet week of Jan 18-22 could be considered one of the strangest. We had a three day weekend and then we had a three and a half day weekend! The rain, although welcomed, wreaked havoc on our schedule! Some highlights:
- We welcomed a new student this week! Canelle: Hooray another girl!
- We started our math-graphing project. Both the 7th and 8th graders measured the upstairs area of IA. After all rooms were measured, students created a 2D scale model on graph paper.
- Continued working on our unplugged project. Students were preparing their pod casts and worked on an essay explaining what it would be like to live without the five “plugged in” things they absolutely cannot live without.
Last week Jan 25-29 seemed to fly by. We crammed a lot of things in that we missed out on from last week.
- Reading Buddies: On Monday mornings we meet with the 3rd graders for reading and fun.
- Edudance is in full “swing”. Not only are students learning how to dance, they are getting learning about manners and etiquette while they dance.
- Current events: students have signed up every other Wednesday for science and social studies currents events. Our first Wednesday started off slowly as not everyone who signed up was prepared. Those who were, did a excellent job!
- In order to catch up on our “Unplugged” project we took a short detour from ecosystems (7th grade) and chemistry (8th grade). We learned about energy, renewable and nonrenewable resources, pollution and conservation. On Friday, students were assigned to choose and complete ONE of the following activities using the 5 “plugged in” things they can’t live without:
1. Create a graphical representation of consumption levels of common plugged in items.
2. Research what happens to used “plugged in” items. Recycled? Dumped?
3. Estimate the amount of money it costs to buy and/or replace your items over two years. We also started recording pod casts. Can’t wait to hear them all!
TWO concerns:
- My supplies are dwindling not from use but from misuse! This past week three of my rulers were broken. I started the school year with full drawers of markers, pencils, pens, scissors, etc. I bought most of it with my own money. I am down to hardly anything. I do not mind students using my supplies but I do mind when those things disappear or are destroyed. Talk to your student about how they can help to keep our classroom community running smoothly. Beginning this week, students can check out supplies from me, but they will need to return them at the end of the period.
- Cell phones and electronics: Students are allowed to use phones, computers and electronics during breaks ONLY unless otherwise cleared with Tony or I. I WILL take them away if they are used during classtime.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Happy New year!
A lot of changes have happened in our class since "last year"!
A lot of changes have happened in our class since "last year"!
- Although we lost a couple of students, we gained three awesome new kids: Amanda, Nicholas and Lucas.
- We have a new schedule. We found that lots of time was being wasted with our old schedule and this new one seems to be working wonders.
- Our new MAPS classes include Edu-Dance(you should see their moves!) and Art(wire sculptures)
- We have a class pet. He is a ball python named Steve. He is the most loved reptile in the universe. Who would have thought kids would line up to hold a snake? His favorite place is on someone's wrist during class.
Morning Meetings:
Our morning meetings as always are my favorite time of the day. I love how tight knit our homeroom class is.
Math Skills:
7th graders have been working on mastering integers. 8th graders are working on inequalities in algebra. We have really focused on getting basic skills mastered. Next week both classes will start a graphing project that includes putting the entire school on a coordinate system. Seventh graders will concentrate on the coordinate system and plotting points on an xy graph. 8th graders will learn how to use graphing to solve algebraic equations.
Science:
7th graders kicked off our unit on populations and ecosystems. We are currently learning about genetics and heredity. Ask your student what a larkey is! We plan on incubating chicken eggs in the next couple of weeks.
8th graders kicked off our unit on chemistry. We are currently learning about elements, compounds and mixtures. Ask your student to tell you the difference between a metal and a nonmetal.
Our Unplugged project is well underway. Students are learning about the importance of electricity and what things we need to be "connected" to our society. All students should be done reading "the People of Sparks"by now. We are currently working on gathering information for their podcasts. Each student was to collect three articles pertaining to the topic they chose about energy, electricty or conservation. We will begin Podcast recording next week.
Upcoming events:
- 8th graders are planning a babysitting night fundraiser for Friday February 5 . We hope to turn it into a monthly event where IA parents and maybe parents from the community can drop their kids off for a date night while 8th graders babysit. More details coming in the Sunday nite IA call.
- We scratched the 8th grade Washington DC trip for this year and are planning to go to Sacramento instead. Details are coming! Look forward to a call or email from Clarissa's mom about how we can make this trip a reality.
- For February: Winter Olympics 8th grade Science Service Project. We will be learning about potential and kinetic energy, motion, velocity and acceleration. Hoping to involve the whole school in Winter Olympics games created by us.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Happy Friday the 13th
I AM GRATEFUL FOR I.A. FAMILIES!
First of all, I want to thank parents for all of their support in the last couple of weeks. I got the chance to see many of you at the Student Led Conferences last week and our Family Night Exhibition last night. The students were so proud to display their hard work to their families and their peers.
New Stuff:
In order for the kids and me to be a little more organized we are using a weekly assignment tracker. Students turn in all assignments for the week on Fridays along with the assignment tracker. As well as a checklist of assignments, students assess themselves on whether they finished the assignment, if they used their time wisely, if they have questions, and how they rated their work as a whole.
Morning Meetings:
Our focus has been on gratitude this month. On Monday Nov. 2, the kids shared two things they are grateful for. On Nov. 3, they shared three gratitudes, etc. Today, Nov. 12, they each shared twelve gratitudes. It has been fun to listen to the many things they are grateful for. As the lists get longer, their gratitudes are becoming more creative.
Math Skills:
We have been working on positive and negative numbers and using them in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Today we saw how we use integers in real life by taking temperatures of hot, cold and icy water. Students created equations to show temperature changes. We looked at the difference between increases or decreases between two values.
Science:
7th graders are learning about cells. Last week we created Jello cells and small groups made posters to teach the class about the purpose of each cell part. Next week we will have a quiz on the cell parts and learn about cell division.
8th graders are learning about matter, density and pressure. We made non-Newtonian fluids… also known as oobleck. We learned about solids, liquids and gases and their physical and chemical properties. Next week will do a density experiment and look at Charles’ and Boyle’s Laws.
Final Words about the Legacy Destiny Project:
First of all, I want to thank parents for all of their support in the last couple of weeks. I got the chance to see many of you at the Student Led Conferences last week and our Family Night Exhibition last night. The students were so proud to display their hard work to their families and their peers.
New Stuff:
In order for the kids and me to be a little more organized we are using a weekly assignment tracker. Students turn in all assignments for the week on Fridays along with the assignment tracker. As well as a checklist of assignments, students assess themselves on whether they finished the assignment, if they used their time wisely, if they have questions, and how they rated their work as a whole.
Morning Meetings:
Our focus has been on gratitude this month. On Monday Nov. 2, the kids shared two things they are grateful for. On Nov. 3, they shared three gratitudes, etc. Today, Nov. 12, they each shared twelve gratitudes. It has been fun to listen to the many things they are grateful for. As the lists get longer, their gratitudes are becoming more creative.
Math Skills:
We have been working on positive and negative numbers and using them in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Today we saw how we use integers in real life by taking temperatures of hot, cold and icy water. Students created equations to show temperature changes. We looked at the difference between increases or decreases between two values.
Science:
7th graders are learning about cells. Last week we created Jello cells and small groups made posters to teach the class about the purpose of each cell part. Next week we will have a quiz on the cell parts and learn about cell division.
8th graders are learning about matter, density and pressure. We made non-Newtonian fluids… also known as oobleck. We learned about solids, liquids and gases and their physical and chemical properties. Next week will do a density experiment and look at Charles’ and Boyle’s Laws.
Final Words about the Legacy Destiny Project:
Although our scrapbooks only show the results of their career salary, house and car and personal budget, most students can say that a lot of behind the scenes work went into the final product.
I was impressed with how many things we did. Here is a run-down:
- First we chose a career and determined salaries using online searches. We learned about bell curves and quartiles and how not all people doing the same job make the same amount of money.
- We played the Roulette of Life to determine what percentile on the bell curve our salaries were, whether we were married, had children and spouses incomes.
- We calculated state, federal and Social Security taxes based on our gross income. We also determined taxable income, annual net income and monthly incomes.
- We calculated monthly budget percentages.
- We searched for houses and cars and used an online loan calculator to determine home loans and auto loans within our budget.
- Last but not least we tied it all together to create a monthly budget using an excel spreadsheet.
I learned a couple of things myself about this project. Many kids chose high paying professions and had a lot of money to work with. Next time I present this project, in addition to their dream job, I will give the whole class a fixed income to calculate a budget that is more representative of the “average Joe” and our economy today.
FYI: Scrapbooks will be coming home next week. We are creating a class rubric in order for the students to assess their work. They will make any last revisions before their final grade.
Friday, October 30, 2009
HELLO I.A. FAMILIES!
A Summary of The Past Couple of Weeks:
· We are pretty much finished with My Legacy, My Destiny Project. The scrapbooks are beautiful and we can’t wait to share them with you in November. Next week we will finish Resumes and work on Personal Budgets.
Ups and Downs Timeline: After finishing the first draft of the timelines, we focused on perfecting our work. Students went on a gallery walk and critiqued unnamed timelines, looking for things they liked and things that could be improved. I am using Ron Berger’s critique format for beautiful work. The three main focuses are that when critiquing work, you are 1) Kind, 2) Specific, and 3) Helpful. Their final drafts were amazing transformations from the originals.
Family Traits Tree: After learning about inherited traits, students compared traits with one another to create a graphical representation of traits versus students. Students also interviewed family members to find out what inherited traits they have in common and used that information to create a family trait tree.
Salaries and Taxes: Students started dreaming about twenty years from now about their ideal careers. Using www.salary.com we looked at salary ranges, bell curves that showed percentiles, job descriptions and education tracks for our careers. We played a game of chance to determine such things as whether they are married, have children and what percentile their salary falls in. Students used this information to calculate their federal, state and social security taxes. Not only did they sympathize with their parents for having to do taxes every year, they found out how much of that money gets taken away!
· Our morning meetings are getting so fun. The kids are really getting comfortable and seem to really enjoy each other’s company. I love listening to them. Our sharing and activities are the highlight of my day! I enjoy our class’ creativity. I learn so much from them.
· Our M.A.P.S. program has been a hit. Our class just finished Art with Tina and Fitness Conditioning with Kalif. They started Puppetry and Yoga this week and will continue with it for the next three weeks.
For Next Week:
Conferences will be held next Wednesday and Thursday after school. If you have not signed up with me, I will be contacting you to schedule a time. Please fill out and bring the Student Goals sheet to your appointment.
We will finish our personal budgets and resumes and put the finishing touches on our scrapbooks. They will be ready to exhibit for our Nov. 12 Family Night.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
A Summary of The Past Couple of Weeks:
· We are pretty much finished with My Legacy, My Destiny Project. The scrapbooks are beautiful and we can’t wait to share them with you in November. Next week we will finish Resumes and work on Personal Budgets.
Ups and Downs Timeline: After finishing the first draft of the timelines, we focused on perfecting our work. Students went on a gallery walk and critiqued unnamed timelines, looking for things they liked and things that could be improved. I am using Ron Berger’s critique format for beautiful work. The three main focuses are that when critiquing work, you are 1) Kind, 2) Specific, and 3) Helpful. Their final drafts were amazing transformations from the originals.
Family Traits Tree: After learning about inherited traits, students compared traits with one another to create a graphical representation of traits versus students. Students also interviewed family members to find out what inherited traits they have in common and used that information to create a family trait tree.
Salaries and Taxes: Students started dreaming about twenty years from now about their ideal careers. Using www.salary.com we looked at salary ranges, bell curves that showed percentiles, job descriptions and education tracks for our careers. We played a game of chance to determine such things as whether they are married, have children and what percentile their salary falls in. Students used this information to calculate their federal, state and social security taxes. Not only did they sympathize with their parents for having to do taxes every year, they found out how much of that money gets taken away!
· Our morning meetings are getting so fun. The kids are really getting comfortable and seem to really enjoy each other’s company. I love listening to them. Our sharing and activities are the highlight of my day! I enjoy our class’ creativity. I learn so much from them.
· Our M.A.P.S. program has been a hit. Our class just finished Art with Tina and Fitness Conditioning with Kalif. They started Puppetry and Yoga this week and will continue with it for the next three weeks.
For Next Week:
Conferences will be held next Wednesday and Thursday after school. If you have not signed up with me, I will be contacting you to schedule a time. Please fill out and bring the Student Goals sheet to your appointment.
We will finish our personal budgets and resumes and put the finishing touches on our scrapbooks. They will be ready to exhibit for our Nov. 12 Family Night.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)