Fall is definitely here! I am really loving the chill in the air. It’s been a great start to the year so far! We camped out at Mt. Rose and summited the peak, which was a real adventure to many of the students. We spent a night star-gazing with Tony Berendsen and Tahoe Star Tours where we were lucky enough to peek through telescopes to see Saturn, Mars, and a very up-close moon.

Expedition

We are wrapping up our “Becoming a Scientist” case study and will be moving on to a deeper study of our solar system and the Milky Way galaxy. Students have been learning about the metric system and how to make accurate measurements. I am in the process of planning a day trip to Fleischmann’s Planetarium in Reno in October. I will let you know as soon as I have the date set.

Who Am I?

Students will be answering the question of “who am I as a global citizen” this year, and we have started diving into some tough social and environmental justice issues. Students are learning how to conduct research and how to sift through different news sources.

Math

We are wrapping up Chapter 2 of the math curriculum. We have been working with algebra tiles and equation mats as we learn how to simplify algebraic equations. While the students seem comfortable with the content, the process is still new to them. To be able to explain mathematical processes and work with a team has been challenging for some of the students, but they are learning quickly.

Reading

The students are flying through their books! Their book clubs on Friday are going well. Students are able to pick from a variety of discussion protocols to help guide them through. By the end of the book, the students are identifying theme and exploring how it develops over the course of the story line.

Writing

The students have been writing a ton! They keep a daily writer’s notebook where we have explored a variety of strategies to help them choose subject matter. We visited the school library and explored various “grabber leads” to help inspire the students in their own writing. They will be assigned their first formal research paper in the next couple of weeks. I am excited to be partnering up with the Aker’s Crew as we jump into peer editing. On Fridays the students will meet with the fourth and fifth graders, partner up, and assist them in editing their papers. The younger kids will get some great peer review while the 8th graders will get real, hands-on editing experience.

Conferences

Don’t forget to go online and sign up for conferences (October 14 – 15); that week is also minimum days, so please be sure to make the proper arrangements for transportation. Students will receive a goal-setting and reflection document this week; please work with your student to ensure they come to their conference prepared to share!

Homework

Just a reminder that the homework so far has been the 5-6 math problems and 20 pages of reading. If a student has unfinished classwork, it becomes extra homework as well. There have been a number of students in class who are able to finish classwork early while in class and have gone on to complete their homework in class (and have no homework that night). I have been giving students ample time in class to complete their classwork. I will be talking to the students about time management skills to help them utilize their time in class better so that they don’t have classwork to take home. While this is the norm currently, again, there will be times that they will be assigned extra homework as we dive into bigger projects and research papers.

If you need the link to the math website or need more information, don’t forget to visit the crew website at www.connollycrew.weebly.com