Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Dear Parents and Kids,

Thank you so much for all the flowers today! It was fun to see them come in, and combine them to make a beautiful arrangement! It’s the perfect metaphor for our classes each year, and our goal of nurturing each of the individuals, as well as the entire community, and forming a harmonious and complimentary whole.

Last week, our focus was on state testing, and most kids were able to complete the ELA portion of the assessment working approximately 2 hours a day. This week we will be working on math testing, and then there will be a period of “finishing up” for those kids that need a bit more time on one portion or another. When there are only a few kids with testing to complete, they will shift to another work space, under Mrs. Davis or Reading Specialist supervision, and the rest of the class will return to our regular work full time.

During non-testing portions of the day, we have been concluding our reading about various sustainable forms of energy (nuclear, solar, geothermal, wind, hydropower), and will wrap up with a Grand Conversation about these fossil fuel alternatives. Kids have begun research projects on various topics in CA. history, and are also working on a hyperdoc about California between the mission period and the Gold Rush. Finally, kids formed book clubs this week and have reading assignments based on their book. I am encouraging kids to bring their book club book to and from school, as there may not be a lot of in class reading time —especially this week. Most have about 30-40 pages to read by Friday, when their clubs meet again.

May is a busy month, so pace yourself and have a great week!

Carroll Mayer


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