Digestive System Lab

Happy Presidents’ Day!

On Thursday we did a great digestive system lab to finish off our digestive system week! Ask your kids about it – they are full of extreme facts. Here are some pretty disgusting pictures – don’t worry, it’s not real poop, it just looks like it!

Anatomy

Hi Families!

I hope you have heard all about our new science unit: anatomy! We have been studying the history of anatomy, beginning with the Greeks, all the way up to the story of Henrietta Lacks. We are working on the body systems, now, and have made it through the nervous system.

Thanks to our high school science teacher, Mr. Kent, we were able to use microscopes and see actual cells. The kids loved it and did a great job.

This week, during our study of the nervous system, we talked about motor and sensory neurons (among other things), and I took a few pictures of our neural testing. You will see some kids plugging their noses and closing their eyes, because they are working to isolate specific senses!

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Mrs. Sims

Lewis and Clark Field Trip Pictures

I know, this is far overdue, but here are some wonderful pictures of our field trip in December. We had the opportunity to see a real Lewis and Clark gun fired, a clyster, and sit in a canoe! It was a great trip.

Great Things

I love this time of year. This is the time of year when things really start clicking for our class as a whole and for kids as individual learners. This energy fills our room and, I hope, your minivan on the way home.

Here are a few examples:
1) Kids hate recess this time of year. I have 20 hall passes, and usually have to dig for more, because kids never want to go outside in Corbett weather. If the weather is too bad, they can go into the gym, but they hate that too. So, I usually have most of my class in at recess. The deal is this: if I can still get some work done during lunch, meaning there is no screaming, coming in for recess is fine.

Recess in our classroom is an amazing sight. I am not directing the class in any way, but each student is engaged in something productive. Kids are playing games (a favorite is Apples to Apples), showing each other card tricks, drawing, making paper airplanes, and reading. What a wonderful skill, to be able to be in a room with no direction, and spend your time doing something enjoyable and productive.

2) This morning, Dustin came in and his first words were, “Mrs. Sims, do we get to learn about how Lewis and Clark got past the French today?” Music to my ears. Yes, Dustin, we do. As we move to the other side of the country, balancing the picture of North America after our study of local Native Americans in 1800 or so, we learn about Napoleon Bonaparte and Thomas Jefferson: two men of great strength with great vision. The kids are loving this story and groan every day when I say that time is up. Today, we will answer Dustin’s question with the Louisiana Purchase.

3) As you know, I have been working to send home math updates every couple of weeks. I sent out an update two weeks ago, and will send one again tomorrow. The last update was tough – many kids were behind. Today, I reminded the kids that another update would be coming out, so if they wanted to check their progress, I could tell them where they should be by tomorrow. Almost everyone had made up lessons over Thanksgiving break, and almost everyone was closer to their goals.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for you. I know how many hours you put in at home. I know that math homework isn’t easy. I watched my sister (who has passed Calculus now and is onto Statistics) groan, grumble, and fight Saxon at home, as she went through grade school in Corbett. I see the smiling faces, the kids who proudly proclaim, “I did three lessons this weekend!” When I see that, I know it wasn’t all smiles at home, but I sure appreciate them at school. I love my job; I have fun here. Thanks for that.

Book Fair

Hi Parents!

Our wonderful PTA is holding a book fair from December 5th through December 8th! We really need volunteers to help make this book fair a success and also to get more books into our classrooms and students homes. There is a volunteer sign up sheet located the GS PTA board (across from the office). This is a link to our book fair “homepage” it has information for families and friends of students that attend Corbett Schools. This year a very unique feature is friends and families can access this as a on line shopping experience as well.

http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/corbettschool

You can contact me or Nancy Gyerko (gyerko@frontier.com) if you have any questions.
Thank you so much for supporting this event!

Halloween Costumes

Hey Guys!

Just in case … no Halloween costumes at school!

Lindy

Ridgefield Trip

WHAT A FIELD TRIP! We had an absolutely wonderful time, and I hope you have already heard all about it!

Here are one million pictures.

Outdoor School

We are so excited about Outdoor School this year! I don’t have a lot of details, but I do know that we will be going for 4 days, 3 nights, between Spring Break and Memorial Day. This is great, because the schedule will align with our regular schedule.

Thanks!

Great Events Opportunities!

Free Day for Oregon Day of Culture

Saturday, October 8, 2011

To celebrate the 2011 Day of Culture, the Oregon Historical Society is opening its doors for free all day on October 8! At 12:30, take a guided behind the scenes tour of the research library, where many of the Society’s photographs, maps, and records are housed. At 2 PM, enjoy a historic improv performance by the popular comedy group Sideburns in the OHS Pavilion. Learn about the history of rock and roll in the Oregon History Museum’s original exhibit “Oregon Rocks,” and take a tour of the exhibit with the curator at 3 PM.

Also, author Patrick Carman will be at the Cedar Hills Powell’s on October 7th. I have his Land of Elyon series in my library and he is coming out with a new book!

This Week and the ECO Project

Hello All!

This week flew by! We have moved from our larger (geographically) unit of North American Settlement to a unit focused on our own region. We live in the middle of three regions: the Northwest Coast, the Plateau, and the Oregon Seaboard. Today, our class became a clan, as each student drew and became a role. These roles (chief, warrior, gatherer …) will shape their understanding of our region as we work together to navigate and survive the challenges of nature.

We also wrapped up neuroscience. We are sad to see it go, but will use the time for writing lessons, literature study, science news, and projects until our next science unit.

FYI: This week, a picture packet went home. Picture day is October 11th; dig the packet out of your child’s backpack! Second, I am sending home a math update today. If you don’t get one, it’s because I don’t have your correct email address!

Today, we went outside to begin the second year of our ECO project. Last year, we planted native plants and worked on an outdoor classroom. Today, we measured the area and perimeter of our trail, then inventoried the plants planted last spring. Here are some pictures! You will see some silly ones at the end – the kids got cold and started doing jumping jacks

Thanks, and have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Sims