Visit to the Library

Our class took a quick trip to the library last week to get more resources for our research projects.  Rachel, the teen librarian at the Des Moines Library, was very helpful and showed the kids how to use the catalog and the dewey decimal system.  It was a fun visit and the kids got tons of resources for their projects.

Election 2012- The Results

On Tuesday, November 6th we conducted a Presidential election at school.  All students and parents were offered the chance to vote.

After the school had voted the students in the Rainforest Room took the votes, counted them and sorted the data to come up with multiple representations.  Then shared this information with the students in the Iceberg Snow Leopard and Earth Rooms.  

Election 2012

Election 2012

We have been studying the election and the candidates over the past couple of weeks.  Today we presented our information to the rest of the school and came up with a plan for a mock election tomorrow.  After the election the Rainforest Room students will count and present the data to the whole school.  I encourage you to discuss the election with your children and share with them the results of the election.  We will also talk about this in class.

School Agreements

School Agreements

As a school we met and brainstormed agreements for our school and how we should treat each other.  There were about 30 ideas, many of which overlapped.  The Rainforest Explorers with some help of our 1st grade friends broke into teams to come up with the main school agreements.  I was so proud of these kids.  They were able to summarize the suggestions into a set of reasonable expectations and then share them with the Kindergarten and first graders. 

Sandbox Project Board Presentation

Sandbox Project Board Presentation

This week students had the opportunity to share our hard work on the Sandbox Project with the Bridge School Board of Directors.  They were nervous and excited while they prepared, but did an excellent job delivering their ideas to the board.

Here is the proposal they presented to the board:

October 30, 2012

Dear Bridge School Board:

We would like to have a sandbox in our play area.  Our class measured the outside area and decided the best place for the sandbox.  After we measured we figured out the cost of the materials.  The cost of the sandbox will be approximately $785.00 plus tax.  Right now we only have balls and hula hoops.  This would be another choice for the students at recess.  We are asking you for money for the sandbox so the cooperative school can have fun.  If you grant our reasonable request we will start building so kids can have fun.

Thank you for your time and respectful consideration of our request.

Sincerely,

Determined Bridge School Builders

Moriah, Kaylee, Ethan, CarolJean, Rian, Evan, Sam, Elliot, Zavyen and Zachery

Thank you to all of you who have helped with this project.  The board is currently working out the financial portion of this request and we have also submitted a grant request that will hopefully cover a portion of it.  Stayed tuned for more information on how you can help us begin building!

Math in Class

Math in Class

Over the past couple of weeks we have been working on several different things in math.  Number Sense, Measurement and Math Goals.

Number Sense:

A small group of students has been working on foundations for harder subtraction and addition problems as well as the beginnings of multiplication.  This includes number games, counting by 2's, 5's and 10's and figuring out how to solve word problems.

Measurement:

The group that has been working measurement has been looking at exact vs. estimated measurements this included figuring out when it was necessary to be exact and when it is ok to just estimate.  They have looked at the difference between the metric and standard US measurement system.  The last thing they have been working on is looking at products to determine weight and next week they will look at capacity.

Using a known item to estimate measurement of the table.

Math Goals:

Every Thursday we spend our math time working on a goal that your child has set for themselves.  These range from adding single digit numbers to working in the thousands.  I encourage you to ask your child what their goal is and to help support them at home.    We have some fun new tools to help with this time each week.  The kids LOVED them today!  

Learning Palette - Can be used for multiple operations and activities across the grade and skill levels.

Wrap Ups - A set of "keys" that the kids practice their basic facts with.