As we close up November and make our way into the hectic but wonderful holiday season, I want to express to my crew and families how grateful I am for this exceptional group! Thanks to the parents for all the help they provide from homework, class time, harvest of the month, behind the scenes work,  and  driving on fieldwork. Thanks to our amazing kiddos who work so hard, have fantastic ideas and embrace new ideas with open minds!
We have been quite busy with knowing that Celebration of Learning is right around the corner.  The students are busy completing case study projects as well as working on Silent Movies.  They have put a lot of effort and creativity into an interactive map for the brochure project in which students labeled major mining areas, landmarks, travel routes, and development in California.  The brochures are creative with an abundant amount of information in the contents. Our final product is a silent film based on Charlie Chaplin’s “Gold Rush” movie.  The Brisbin and Akers crews both are over the moon with this product and are having a ball getting their scenes together. Mrs. Brisbin and I are enjoying watching them write, produce, and act in their very own production, while they incorporate expedition content into their final product. Please work with your child to develop their costumes, and they are more than welcome to bring in props to make their film fantastic! We are so thankful to Dan Martin who we will meet with to film our movies at the high school TV station.

Students have been exploring how Californians used technology to obtain gold in more efficient ways through many different mining practices.  These mining techniques each made impacts on the land as well as California’s economy, and students have gone on fieldwork to mines and met experts who have taught them about these practices.  Seeing working mines in action, students also have met teams members who have shared with them their specific jobs; at Teichert Mine we met the Mine Manager, Biologist, Geologist, Mining Engineer, and Equipment Operator.
Writing in our room is flourishing with students always excited for this time.  We have worked on story plot and the path a story takes with events that lead to the climax and the resolution which completes the story.  The kids are enjoying the freedom of picking out what kind of narrative genre they want to write and I am looking forward to the stories that they will share.
In math, both 4 and 5th grades have tried a new format which was inspired by a Master Class I attended at the EL national Conference.  In this class the facilitator spoke of the efficacy of centers and group- based work. The centers are focused around perseverance, review/ preview and analytical math practices.  Currently we have kids rotating through focused content-based math centers, learning one on one with me in one of them, the standard algorithm in others, and playing focused math games as well.  We believe this will lead well into the math teams that are practiced in middles school.  It is exciting to hear the math conversation and peer tutoring/learning that are happening during this time.  We are closing up our second unit about multiplication through arrays and will move into a fraction unit after the holidays.
Our crew will be hosting Community Meeting on December 11th where we will highlight the benefits of our stand up desks.  It will be a great way to hear about how our learning has improved with standing.
This next Thursday, kids who have signed up for the Eco Challenge team will meet me at the Resort at Squaw Creek to have a meet, greet and ask questions/discussion led by Anna Cummins, Dr. Marcus Eriksen & the 5 Gyres Institute. This event will examine the mystifying 5 gyres, tangible methods to reduce plastics pollution, and raise awareness for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and its devastating effects.  From this experience we hope to plan and implement an idea up for our community.
Thank you to all for a positive and productive goal setting conference week.  The students have post their goals on their desk where they can reflect on them daily.  We have a busy three weeks ahead of us as we tie up our expedition and get ready for for Celebration of Learning.