Expedition News: Building Blocks

As the year 2011 comes to an end, so does the Kindergartners’ first expedition, “Building Community”.  They have come a tremendous way with…mastering carpentry skills and creating a supportive learning community in the Bell Crew.  Additionally, they have gained understanding of the importance of giving to their school community.

Throughout the expedition, your children have worked toward accomplishing their learning targets.  They began by investigating what makes a good crew member and diligently practiced those traits in the classroom. They gained knowledge from our local experts about the building process–from start to finish–and applied their skills back in the classroom on a daily basis.  After working hard to master their skills throughout the case studies, the Kindergarteners were finally able to put their skills to the test by working together to plan, design and build their final product for the school–three balance beams in the Wild West area.  They worked incredibly hard and demonstrated excellent teamwork to accomplish the task.  The rest of the school, as well as the Kindergarteners, are thrilled with the new addition to the play area and it has proved to be a hit!  Well done, Bell Crew!  We could not be more proud!
 
Thank you very much to the parent volunteers for making all of the fieldwork and daily practice as worthwhile as we had imagined!  You all play a crucial role in making Expeditionary Learning as exciting and authentic as possible. 
 

Celebration of Learning

This Thursday night (12/15) from 6:00-7:30, SELS will be holding the biannual Celebration of Learning, to exhibit the knowledge gained over the semester.  The students will be giving their parents/families a (clockwise) tour of the classroom, using the wall displays to explain how they met each learning target.  We hope that this will provide you with a clear(er) vision of what Expeditionary Learning is, as we know many of you are new to the this type of education. 
 
We know that you will be very proud of your children when they show you all of their work from throughout the expedition.  They sure are developing into motivated and hard working young students!  We look forward to seeing you on Thursday evening!
 

We hope you enjoy the two-week vacation wherever your family may be!
 
Happy Holidays!

 Important Dates

12/14 (Wed.) Minimum Day—No after-school care; all dismiss at 1:00pm.
12/15 (Thurs.) Celebration of Learning:  6:00-7:30pm
12/19-1/2 Winter Break—No school, including Monday, Jan. 2!