news and notes HALLOWEEN

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.

*Esperenza Rising: read to page 178 and write comments and questions on Post-it Notes, due Wednesday 11/1.

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 Wednesday SMJ 54-57, SL 2.4
Tough Number, due 11/6.

Humanities:

Grammar:

French:

Spanish: Study for test, Friday.

Science:

Tech:

Other:


Notes

Have a gruesome evening!!!

Joke of the Day

Q:Why did the farmer feed his cow money?
A:Because he wanted rich milk

news and notes 10/10/26

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.

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 Monday the answer to the Red Paint plan, and Tough Numbers
for Thursday, Cube problem.

Humanities: *Service Learning Assignment #2, Monday 10/30.

Grammar: Nouns, due Tuesday 10/31.

French:

Spanish:

Science: Pay attention to serving sizes. Write down the serving size or two things you eat and note the amount you ate. Sometimes serving sizes are unrealistic, due Monday 10/30.

Tech:

Other: Last chance to submit Scholastic Book Orders, due Monday 10/30.


Notes

Writing workshop was great today. Everyone had something to write. Our guest writers, Jennie, Rene, Angela and Michael also shared their techniques for getting ideas and getting unstuck with the class. Bravo!! We did a lot of talking about how to have good discussions. People did their best to have productive discussion and were so thoughtful about what went great and what did not. Bravo, again!! Have a lovely 3 day weekend.

Joke of the Day

A poet and a scientist were traveling together on a plane. The scientist was bored and said to the poet, "Hey, you, do you want to play a game? I'll ask you a question, and if you get it wrong, you give me $5. Then, you ask me a question, and if I can't answer it, I'll give you $5."
The poet thought about this for a moment, but he decided against it, seeing that the scientist was obviously a very bright man. He politely turned down the scientist's offer.
The scientist, who was really bored, tried again. "Look, I'll ask you a question, and if you can't answer it, you give me $5. Then you ask me a question, and if I can't answer it, I'll give you $50."
The poet agreed. "Okay," the scientist said, "what is the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon?"
The poet, obviously not knowing the answer, didn't stop to think about the scientist's question. He took a $5 bill out of his pocket and handed it to the scientist.
The scientist happily accepted the bill and promptly said, "Okay, now it's your turn."
The poet thought about this for a few minutes, then asked, "All right, what goes up a mountain on three legs, but comes down on four?"
The bright glow quickly vanished from the scientist's face. He thought about this for a long time, taking out his notepad and making numerous calculations. He finally gave up on his notepad and took out his laptop, using his Multimedia Encyclopedia. As the plane was landing the scientist gave up. He reluctantly handed the poet a $50 bill.
The poet accepted it graciously, getting ready to stand up. "Wait!" the scientist shouted, "you can't do this to me! What's the answer?"
The poet looked at the scientist and calmly put a $5 bill into his hand.

news and notes 10/25/06

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.

*Esperenza Rising: read pages 150-157 and write comments and questions on Post-it Notes, due Thursday, 10/26.

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 Thursday Red Paint plan, SL 2.3, SMJ 50-54.
for Monday the answer to the Red Paint plan.

Humanities: *Service Learning Assignment #1, Thursday 10/26.

Grammar: Nouns, due Tuesday 10/31.

French:

Spanish: Study for test.

Science: Pay attention to serving sizes. Write down the serving size or two things you eat and note the amount you ate. Sometimes serving sizes are unrealistic, due Monday 10/30.

Tech:

Other: Last chance to submit Scholastic Book Orders, due Monday 10/30.


Notes

Today was an inspiring day for all the aspiring writers in our classroom. Brad Marshland, dad to Xan and author of the recently published book, The Imagicators, talked to 6s about how he develops ideas for fiction. We created plot, setting and characters for a book by the title of Sherm's Revenge. Many 6Sers expressed interest in writing their own version of the book. I hope that we'll soon have time to work on that. In addition to the exciting we accomplished a lot, with students independently correcting their grammar assignments and doing some introductory reading about creating service projects.

Joke of the Day

A man walking down the street noticed a small boy trying to reach the doorbell of a house. Even when he jumped up, he couldn't quite reach it.The man decided to help the boy, walked up on to the porch and pushed the doorbell. He looked down at the boy, smiled and asked, "What now?"
The boy answered, "Now we run like crazy!"

guess who?

Hey, "baby!"
Who's this?

news and notes 10/24/06

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.

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 Wednesday, Red Paint plan. Answer due Monday, 10/30.

Humanities:

Grammar: *Nouns, due Tuesday 10/31.

French:

Spanish: Study for test.

Science: *Pay attention to serving sizes. Write down the serving size or two things you eat and note the amount you ate. Sometimes serving sizes are unrealistic, due Monday 10/30.

Tech:

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


Notes

Kids looked a little tired today, like maybe they stayed up late and enjoyed a 3 day weekend. We are still having trouble with homework. Ony about 1/2 the class turned in their grammar homework. I'm worried that this is continuing. We will have to carve out some time this week or next to talk about how to make this better. Today, I saw 6s a little bit more than I usually do on Tuesdays. I subbed for Jonathan in Science and taught a lesson on nutrition. It's been a year since I've taught sixth grade science, but I really enjoyed doing it today.

Joke of the Day

A passenger in a taxi leaned over to ask the driver a question and tapped him on the shoulder. The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly hit a bus, drove up over the curb, and stopped just inches from a large plate glass window.

For a few moments everything was silent in the cab, and then the still shaking driver said, "I'm sorry but you scared the daylights out of me."

The frightened passenger apologized to the driver and said he didn't realize a mere tap on the shoulder could frighten him so much.

The driver replied, "No, no, I'm sorry, it's entirely my fault. Today is my first day driving a cab. I've been driving a hearse for the last 25 years."

news and notes 10/20/06

Parents: I'll be sending you an email of the conference schedule today.

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.

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 Monday, Tough Number Project and catch up.

Humanities:

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

French:

Spanish: Study for test.

Science:

Tech:

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


Our last farm visit was to EcoVillage. It was fabulous trip, we corralled goats, picked herbs, planted artichokes and had long conversations with Baron and Shyamm, the owners and operators of the farm. The farm trips have been great, but since I've been out 3 days in the last 3 weeks on these trips, I think some of our routines have gone out of the window. We'll be working on getting those reestablished in the coming weeks.

This weekend's joke:
A police officer sees a man driving around with a pickup truck full of penguins. He pulls the guy over and says, "You can't drive around with penguins in this town! Take them to the zoo immediately."
The guy says okay, and drives away. The next day, the officer sees the guy still driving around with the truck full of penguins -- and they're all wearing sunglasses. He pulls the guy over and demands, "I thought I told you to take these penguins to the zoo yesterday?"
The guy replies, "I did. Today I'm taking them to the beach!"

guess who?

Who's that handsome young devil?

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.

news and notes 10/18/06

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 120 in Esperanza Rising and write comments and questions on Post-its, due Thurday 10/19.

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 Wednesday SL 2.
For Thursday SMJ p 46, 47 #1 & 2, Test corrections with signature.
Start your search for Tough Numbers.

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

Grammar: Part of speech, due 10/24.

French:

Spanish:

Science: Read Chapter 1 and answer questions in complete sentences.

Tech:


Sorry I'm off to a faculty meeting, so a short note. We did a lot of great work today and as a class we were focused and thoughtful.

For your amusement, a joke:
This guy needs a job and decides to apply at the zoo. As it happened, their star attraction, a gorilla, had passed away the night before and they had carefully preserved his hide. They tell this guy that they'll pay him well if he would dress up in the gorillas skin and pretend to be the gorilla so people will keep coming to the zoo. Well, the guy has his doubts, but Hey! He needs the money, so he puts on the skin and goes out into the cage. The people all cheer to see him. He plays up to the audience and they just eat it up. This isn't so bad, he thinks, and he starts really putting on a show, jumping around, beating his chest and roaring, swinging around. During one acrobatic attempt, though, he loses his balance and crashes through some safety netting, landing square in the middle of the lion cage! As he lies there stunned, the lion roars. He's terrified and starts screaming, "Help, Help, Help!" The lion races over to him, places his paws on his chest and hisses, "Shut up or we'll BOTH lose our jobs!"

news and notes 10/17/06

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.

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 Wednesday SL 2.
For Thursday SMJ p 46, 47 #1 & 2, Test corrections with signature.
Start your search for Tough Numbers.

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

Grammar: Part of speech, due 10/24.

French:

Spanish:

Science: Read Chapter 1 and answer questions in complete sentences.

Tech:



To quote: "It's not reading that's important, it's the story."

We had a really interesting conversation about the meaning of reading today. Shannon strongly argued her position that the act of reading is not special, it's the story that is important. She was able to hold her own even with most of the class disagreeing with her idea. We touched on the idea that literature is not just written words, but film, tv, the oral transmission of stories, etc. We also discussed how and why books stay with you, and what you bring to the novels that you read (or experience through other media.) These are questions that I talked about at length while studying literature in graduate school. We raised and discussed some fundamental questions about the experience of being both reader and writer. Students may not be in awe of what they did today, but I am.

Now for a joke:
Q: How do young wizards and witches correct their homework?
A: They use a spell-checker.

news and notes 10/16/06

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.

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 Tuesday pg 19, Read, discuss and have parents sign Family Letter.

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

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

French:

Spanish:

Science:* Read Chapter 1 and answer questions in complete sentences.

Tech:

We completed our first writing cycle today. We all shared donut holes, juice and fruit, and spent some time hanging out before 4 brave volunteers Stephen, Sylvia, Chloe and Shannon shared their work. I was so amazed by the level of detail and the use of language by our resident authors. I'm looking forward to enjoying the rest of your work. We'll be doing a short writing project before beginning our next cycle about the people and experiences we had at the farms next week.

I heard a silly joke today that I feel I must share:
Q: What do you call a fairy that has not taken a shower?
A: Stinkerbelle.

That's a knee-slapper.

news and notes 10/13/06

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.
* Finished Final Draft to share during our Writing Celebration!! Don't forget to complete the editing check list.

Math:

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


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

Grammar:

French:

Spanish:

Science: *Nutrition Facts Label, due Monday 10/16.


Tech:

Happy Friday the 13th!!! (ghoulish laughter)

Angela, Zoe and May returned from the Sunol Agpark with a bounty of fruits and vegetables, including the biggest cucumbers I have ever seen.

No one has give me a joke to put up so I'm taking the liberty of doing it myself. Here goes:

There were two guys working for the city. One would dig a hole -- he would dig, dig, dig.
The other would come behind him and fill the hole -- fill, fill, fill. These two men worked furiously; one digging a hole, the other filling it up again.
A man was watching from the sidewalk and couldn't believe how hard these men were working, but couldn't understand what they were doing. Finally he had to ask them.
He said to the hole digger, "I appreciate how hard you work, but what are you doing? You dig a hole and your partner comes behind you and fills it up again!"
The hole digger replied, "Oh yeah, must look funny, but the guy who plants the trees is sick today."

still another picture of the week

How's that cake?

news and notes 10/12/06

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.

Math:

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

and for Friday pgs 43-45


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

Grammar:

French:

Spanish:

Science: Questions on nutrition.


Tech:

Soon our farm trips will be over! That's unfortunate since everyone seems to be enjoyiing their trips so much. I'm looking forward to getting together with everyone and discussing the highlights of these trips.

guess who?

This picture was taken September 1995. Which 6ser is it?

new and notes 10/11/06

Farm Field Trips:: The Schedule Thus Far

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 TBA

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: Johnathan and TBA

Eco Village - Tuesday, Oct 17th or Friday, Oct 20th
Sylvia and Shannon
Faculty Chaperone: Suzette Duncan
Driver: TBA

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.

Math:

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

and for Thursday SMJ pg 42 and for Friday pgs 43-45


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

Grammar:

French:

Spanish:

Science: Questions on nutrition.


Tech:

Thanks to Stephen for submitting a picture of the week. We have a baby picture coming soon.
I wonder who it is? I wonder who will guess? We are coming to the end of our first writing cycle. Students are typing up their final drafts and working on editing techniques. I can't wait to get your final drafts so that I can put together our first publication of class writing. What should we name our magazine? I'm looking forward to your suggestions.

picture of the week (so far), submitted by stephen

news and notes 10/10/06

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.

Math:

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

and for Wednesday SMJ pg 39, 40 and 41 and SL 1.11.


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

Grammar: Linking Verbs, due Wednesday 10/11.

French: Gargle water ?!?

Spanish: Make flashcards for challenge words.

Science: Questions on nutrition.

Tech:

I have looked in the eyes of a 2 ton+ bull and lived to tell the tale! Once again a great farm adventure. The ranch had not only cows, but apples, beans, chickens, raspberries, sage, magenta and orange carrots and 3 lovable dogs. I'm said that I won't be going on any more farm trips this week, but excited for the faculty, parents and students who will get to have fun and enlightening experiences at area farms!

news and notes 10/9/06

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.

Math:

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

and for Tuesday SMJ pg 35, 36 and 38 and Persuasive Graph Handout.


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

Grammar: Linking Verbs, due Wednesday 10/11.

French:

Spanish: Make flashcards.

Science:

Tech:

Monday, Monday. In morning meeting, despite some squirming and chattiness, we had fruitful discussions about more uses for our class blog including posting pictures, jokes and quotes submitted by the class. I am very excited about this fabulous idea. We also had an all to brief conversation about our first six weeks of school. Although a lot of the conversation revolved around things we did not like, we were still able to have a respectful conversation. I tried my best to just listen, since more than anything I want to know how 6sers feel about their year so far. Thanks for sharing with me and with your classmates. You are thoughtful group of young women and men.

coming to a blog near you soon!

BABY PICTURES!

JOKE OF THE WEEK!!!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK!!!!!

picture of the week

Father...I mean Farmer Robert and the gang. We love apples!

news and notes 10/6/06

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.

Math:

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

and for Monday SMJ pg 37 and 38, SL 1.9 and a Persuasive Headline.


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

Grammar: Linking Verbs, due Wednesday 10/11.

French: Good job at assembly today, French singers!

Spanish: Make flashcards.

Science:

Tech:

Today, Macabe, Michael, Stephen, Babak, Cliff and I spent the day at the Star Route Farm in Bolinas, just north of Stinson Beach. It was amazing to be on a farm after all we've learned, our discussions and research. Though it was mucky and muddy we picked radishes, rainbow chard, dino kale and lettuce. Macabe looked like he especially enjoyed eating the radishes as we walked through the farm. And so what if they were a little dirty. To quote Babak, "Dirt don't hurt!" We could be especially sure of that since we knew all about their soil fertilization and pest control. Everything was organic. No chemicals at all!

news and notes 10/5/06

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.

Math:

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

and for Friday SMJ pg 34, Read, Area and Perimeter.
and for Tuesday 10/9 a Persuasive Headline.


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

Grammar: Linking Verbs, due Wednesday 10/11.

French: Study verbs and memorize song, due Friday 10/6.

Spanish: Translate worksheet, due Friday 10/6.

Science: Rap Thing Reflection, due 10/6.

Tech:

What a whirlwind of a day! Did you guys feel that way? Maybe it's just me. We did a lot of work preparing for our upcoming farm field trips including brainstorming and selecting questions to ask. I also handed out information about our new writing cycle, which will be based on reading Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman and on our interviews with farmers. I'm excited about what we will discover on these trips. We still have to finish up our first writing cycle, in which we wrote from our lives. I've been trying my best to keep up with my own writing, but I'm afraid I may have to publish a little later than the rest of the class. Although Project Time was abbreviated, it was fun. I hope we get to spend more Thursday afternoons doing things we like to do. I might even have to get another ukulele for the classroom.

It was great to see so many comments on our blog space this morning. I hope that more and more of you will use this space to communicate. I completely agree that we need more pictures on the blog. Perhaps I will have to assign a class photographer to get us some more pictures, because sometimes I can't take pictures! Someone has got to teach.

news and notes 10/4/06

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.

Math:

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

and for Thursday MB 1.8 pg 27, SMJ pg 30, MM pg 32 #1 and 2.


Humanities: Searching the News due Thursday, 10/5 (new due date).

Grammar: *Linking Verbs, due Wednesday 10/11.

French: *Study verbs and memorize song, due Friday 10/6.

Spanish: *Translate worksheet, due Friday 10/6.

Science: Rap Thing Reflection, due 10/3.

Tech:


I love reading your writing!! It is so fun and refreshing. Many of you are thoughtful writers. I only wish we had more time to write and read our work to one another. Sorry for the short reflection today - there's a faculty meeting to get to!

news and notes 10/3/06

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.

*Draft of selected SEED TOPIC story (on binder paper, not in your notebook), due Tuesday. Those students who did not have their draft today MUST have it tomorrow.You will not be able to do your work without it.

Math:

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

and for Thursday MB 1.8 pg 27, SMJ pg 30, MM pg 32 #1 and 2.


Humanities: Searching the News due Thursday, 10/5 (new due date).

Grammar: Verbs Packet, due Thursdasy, 10/4 (new due date).

French: Read and color-code brochure, study verbs, memorize songs, due Wednesday 10/4.

Spanish:

Science: Rap Thing Reflection, due 10/3.

Tech:

Today, instead of both Tech and Science we had a guest speaker, a farmer and scientist named Farmer Robert. He was earnest and told the kids about his deeply held beliefs about the importance of healthy food and of our connection to the soil and earth. 6S asked great questions of him including, "Is there such a thing as organic fast food?" He gave us a lot to think about in terms of the quality of foods that are availabe to us in supermarkets and the importance of supporting small, independent farms. Friday will be our first trip to a farm. Only 3 students in 6S will visit the Star Route Farm in Bolinas and record what they find so that they can share it later with the class.