Classroom Matters

Our Extended Day classroom has been a buzz! The students have taken ownership of their own learning. They are making independent work choices that allow them to follow their own interests and learn in all curriculum areas of our classroom. As a group, they are inquisitive and motivated learners. They have come together as a community, inspiring and supporting each other in their learning. As individuals, they are identifying their passions and areas of challenge. They are learning how to ask for help when things are hard and willing to work hard to overcome challenges.

Additionally, they deeply care about each other and the sweet little classroom community that we’ve created. They work together to ensure everyone feels seen, heard, and safe. As a group, they brought up a problem that was bothering them about recess. They expressed their feelings, proposed ideas for solutions, and agreed on how to make a change to help everyone feel good about being at recess. It was a beautiful process to be a part of.

In the Science area, we’ve been studying our Earth. We’ve learned about the layers of the Earth and what makes up each layer. And we’ve explored the various land and water forms that we find on Earth. They love learning rich terminology like archipelago and isthmus. Then we moved outward to space, where we learned about the sun, planets, and dwarf planets that make up our solar system.

In Geography, we’ve been learning about the continent of Australia. The students love learning about all of the unique animals that live there. They were so excited that we decided to do some Australian animal research. We read several books and watched some videos about the animals of Australia. Then, each student chose an animal and wrote at least three facts that they’d learned about their animal. Since we wanted to display the research, they all practiced editing their work with a teacher before making their final draft to accompany an illustration. The whole process was done with joyful enthusiasm and is now on display in the hallway outside our classroom.

It was so wonderful chatting with all of you during our conferences! Spring is finally here, and we are enjoying the warmer weather and the opportunity to watch the flowers bloom around EAC!

Walking to classrooms around EAC to interview students and teachers for our classroom newspaper!

Exploring money and how to use it. The bears are practicing with our “money game” and the tigers and lions are solving money word problems.

Layers of the atmosphere and layers of the ocean! We created detailed digraphs of each!

Creating rock and mineral research books! After learning about the rock cycle and how rocks and minerals are formed, we conducted our own research on specific rocks and minerals that interest us the most.

Organizing our “how to” videos. We have been working on creating videos for our classmates to demonstrate some of our passions and favorite activities!

Memorizing the digits of pi and learning about the parts of a circle. We even got to celebrate pi day with a slice of pie in the classroom!

Entering the Proterozoic Era in our history studies! We are exploring the development of life during this era.

Sewing projects are underway! We began a new sewing project, creating small stuffed birds.

Poems of all kinds being written throughout the classroom. Weather poems, limericks, and more!

Reading groups are in full swing! We meet weekly in small groups to practice our reading and public speaking skills.

Introduced to new science experiments. Chemical reaction volcanoes, exploring magnets, gravity, and paper marbling with oil and water!

Navigating our way through debates! The lions have begun creating their debate arguments for octopuses vs. horseshoe crabs.

Grump: The Fairly True Tale of Snow White is our current read-aloud book. We get excited over plot twists and making predictions! 

“One kind word can warm three winter months.” (Japanese Proverb). Most of us are more than ready for Spring and its warmth. We are ready to shed our cold weather gear, especially the mud-caked snow pants! To our delight, we have had a few picnic lunches outside.
Indoor lunches have allowed us to share a read-aloud of Madeleine L’Engles’ novels. First, we enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time and are currently engrossed in A Wind In The Door. During lunch, while some listen to our shared novel, others read or draw a novel of their choice.
We have been trying to spread the warmth of kindness in our class and as a school. These months have provided opportunities for social connections. In February, Upper-Level students organized a Winter Dance and Game Night attended by nearly every UL student in all three classes. March was marked by a Movie and Game Night. We are looking forward to another social gathering at the end of April.

Mentoring and collaborative group work has been at the forefront of curriculum work. Whether supporting a younger student through the research project, crafting a timeline of New York State History, or joining in a game of Multiplication War to get our facts down better, students combine socializing and learning.

In the Cosmic Curriculum, we have completed our study of New York State and will soon be moving on as younger students will work on mapping skills, and third years will take part in the Imaginary Island Project. We had our first field trip, heading on a school bus to the Johnson Art Museum. Students examined Chinese scroll paintings, tried out the tools for Chinese calligraphy, and engaged in a clay project in the lab classroom. It was delightful to see old friends Carol Hocket and our educator, Andrea. They always create fascinating programs and love your curious, observant students!

Students have completed the research phase of our Big Research Project and are learning to develop outlines as plans for writing their first drafts. The first draft will be due Monday, April 17. We have encouraged students to consider their learning styles in this writing process. Is it better to write in short time periods over many days or spend fewer long periods?

In Science, we are completing our unit on Genetics and Reproduction and will soon move on to studying the other body systems. This provides all the third-year students from all three classes time to work together. Each individual has been assigned to an area of medical specialty (body organ system). Their task is to learn about their specific body system and then craft lessons to share with the rest of the third years. Our first lesson together was to explore learning modalities as a consideration in their lesson plans.

A tradition in the month of March in our class is the arrival of March Mathness or practice and competition related to multiplication facts. We are just finishing our final rounds. Time has been spent increasing the speed and accuracy of facts for everyone. We decided to name our math groups using great mathematicians. The Einstein group has been working on converting and renaming fractions and Roman numerals. Students in the Pythagoras group are applying their knowledge of proportions to real-life applications such as rate and scale drawings. Working on solving multi-step equations using our hands-on equation materials has been the focus of Hypatia. Finally, Pascal has learned to call up their skills on percentages, proportions, and the use of protractors to create circle graphs from data provided and from their own surveys. Ask your student which math group or groups they participate in. In Geometry, first-year students are mastering measuring angles with a protractor. Second-year students have begun their work on deriving area formulas for rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids, while the third years are completing their unit on circles, deriving Pi, and word problems applying area formulas, especially for circles.

Andrea, Holly, and I are grateful that all caregivers were able to connect with us at Parent Teacher Conferences. We could share how the year has progressed and hear your observations about your child. Though it was optional for the third years to attend this second conference of the year, several did choose to join in. It says a great deal when students volunteer for conferences as they want to have a voice in their education.

We hope everyone enjoys the upcoming break. When we return for the last stretch of the year, we have many big adventures waiting!

As March draws to a close, we set our gaze upon the promise of renewal and the indomitable enthusiasm of the human spirit to strive and thrive!

In Seneca class, students have been engaged in important discussions about the purpose of school and how privilege can play an important role in the process of upliftment of a community. We appreciated and paid attention to the details that make relationships with others in our school community unique and special. Additionally, we discussed the importance of contrast/conflict and how this can be crucial for the growth of one’s character. Students are highly skilled at unpacking their daily morning quotes and meditating on their meanings. We look forward to many more robust and thought-provoking discussions over the course of the school year!

This month students in Upper Level traveled to the Johnson Art Museum to learn about ceramics from Ancient China. They made beautiful guardian sculptures and sketches of eastern dragons. Later on in the month, third-year students were invited to an exhibit about Pliny, the Elder, also at the Johnson museum. This marked the beginning of the return of field trips, and we could not be more excited about all the opportunities in store! Our first-year students also participated in a trout lesson/demonstration. With only a month left before we release them in the streams of Buttermilk Falls, we are relishing every moment we spend with them.

Our Language Arts unit this month focused on Literature Circles. Students were assigned poems and short stories to read each week. After reading the assigned material, they were invited to delve deeper into the narratives by completing their roles of summarizer, connector, questioner, and illustrator, to name a few. The goal is to conduct an analysis of the reading material in order to engage thoughtfully in dialogue with each other.

In Science, we completed units on genetics and human reproduction. We have now moved on to the study of the skeletal system and muscular systems. Recently, students also began exploring the natural geography of Ancient China through their study of maps. One highlight this month was when a student asked why we refer to Science, History, and Geography as the Cosmic Curriculum. Another classmate confidently answered, “….because it is all connected in the universe to form a bigger picture, just like us.”

Thank you for your continued feedback, appreciation, and support. Meeting with you during parent-teacher conferences to celebrate our students was so wonderful. We are eager to greet the sunshine months with renewed optimism and vigor!