news and notes 10/19/06

Farm Field Trips:: One Trip To Go

Star Route Farm - Friday, Oct 6th
Macabe, Stephen and Michael
Faculty Chaperone: Suzette Duncan
Driver: Mark Camps

Chileno Family Ranch - Tuesday, Oct 10th
Arom, Aiden and Chloe
Faculty Chaperone: Suzette Duncan
Driver: Jennie Kidder

Ceja Vineyards - Wednesday, Oct 11th (NEW DATE!!)
Alex and Jose
Faculty Chaperone: Kathryn Lee
Driver: Kathryn Lee and TBA

Knoll Farm - Wednesday, Oct 11th
Xan and René
Faculty Chaperone: Kristin Stringfield
Driver: a parent from 6k and Brad Marshland

McCormick Organic Sheep Ranch - Thursday, Oct 12th
Eden, Jennie and Alison
Faculty Chaperone: Kathryn Lee
Driver: Kathryn Lee and Chuck Teller

Lunny Ranch/Drake's Bay Oyster Farm -Friday, Oct 13th
Jasper and David
Faculty Chaperone: Kristin Stringfield
Driver: TBA

Sunol Agpark - Friday, Oct 13th
Zoe, Mae and Angela
Faculty Chaperone: Jonathan Cohen
Driver:Jonathann

Eco Village - Friday, Oct 20th
Sylvia and Shannon
Faculty Chaperone: Suzette Duncan
Drivers: Suzette Duncan, Jonathan and Nina.

Please contact me immediately if you would like to participate in one of our upcoming farm visits.

Please return permission slips as soon as possible.

All you need for the trips are:
lunch
writing folder
writing notebook
a pencil
some clothes you don't mind getting dirty in

Homework

Reading and Writing: 15 Minutes of each daily.

Writing notebooks will be collected on
Mondays for Table 5
Tuesdays for Table 1
Wednesdays for Table 2
Thursdays for Table 3
and Fridays for Table 4.

Bring your reading book Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

*Letter to parents, due Friday 10/20.
*Read to page 138, the rest of "Las Almendras" in Esperanza Rising and write comments and questions on Post-its, due Friday 10/20.

Math:

5 minutes of math facts practice daily.
Estimation, due every Thursday.
Stumper (optional), due whenever you get unstumped.
Problem Solving, due every Monday.

for Friday, Algorithms and reflections on algorithms.

Humanities: Reread Farmfolks handout. Write selected questions in your writer's notebook with space for answers, due the day of your Farm Field Trip.

* Searching the News poster, due Friday 10/20.

Grammar: Part of speech, due Tuesday 10/24.

French: Venn Diagrams on Belle et Bete, due Friday 10/20.

Spanish:

Science:

Tech:

Other: Scholastic Book Orders, due Monday 10/30.


Today was a tough one for homework. Last night I gave a new type of assignment related to our literature book Esperanza Rising. We'd done similar work in class, but not for homework. Ten students did not complete the assignment. That's a surprisingly large number. I'm worried that too many people are talking during class and not listening to the conversation that their peers are engaged. In addition, they miss critical information, such as homework assignments. Most striking was that many folks did not check with me or with peers or with the blog to clarify the assignment when they were not sure what it was. I know there are many new challenges in sixth grade, socially and academically, but the greatest one might be learning that as a student you are most responsible for your learning. I will be thinking about today's missing homework as I figure out how to build and and encourage personal responsibility in all 6sers. That was so serious. I think I need to hear a joke:

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Alex
Alex who?
Alexplain later now let me in.