lakers

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. […]

We have had two incredible and successful overnights this fall! We are fresh from our Coloma overnight. We spent the day touring the park, filling a wagon with supplies to support a family on the Overland trail, panning for gold and making pokes to carry our gold that we found. The second day, students were [...]

The start of the year has been extremely positive! It has been such a joy melding our crew together. We are establishing strong ethics in the SIERRA Norms and Habits of Work through investigation of the Design Principle of the Month: Responsibility for Learning.  This language is unpacked every day and students and I refer [...]

Hello Crew Families! We have kicked off our spring expedition, The Secret of the Spheres! Our first case study will be about our atmosphere. We will identify the elements that make-up our air, the different levels/layers that create our atmosphere, and analyze the chemistry of the atmosphere. We will also study the weather and what layer it develops in, and how weather systems travel. Another piece to our case study will be exploring how the earth is a closed system except for the energy from the sun. The students are reflecting on their fall academic, character and HOW’s goals. We are creating new goals or revisiting former goals. Expect to have a goals setting sheet to come home and please take time to go over this with your child. Please remember to sign up on our google doc goal setting page. […]

January Newsletter: Hello Akers Crew! January is a great academic month! The students know the daily routine and can get so much accomplished. This week, we put final touches on our Letters About Literature author’s letter. […]

The root of joy is gratefulness. It is not joy that makes us GRATEFUL, it is gratitude that makes us JOYFUL!                         -David Steindl-Rast In a month of filled with Gratitude, I am thankful for all the students and families in our crew! Your support, encouragement and willingness to participate in our learning experiences create an optimal environment! Thank you for everything! We continue to work on our Redcoats and Rebels expedition. […]

Dear Crew Families, Our fall expedition, Redcoats and Rebels, is off to a great start! We have conquered our first case study about the establishment of the 13 Colonies ("Colony Vs. King"). The students can describe the similarities and differences of the 13 original colonies and are investigating the political, social, religious, and economic motivations [...]