Critter Cash Sale this Thursday!

Hello Upper El Families, 

This year our upper el students are organizing occasional sales to fund our classroom animals.  Students are taking on the responsibility of funding and caring for our finches, bearded dragons, fish, gerbils, bunny, and hopefully a couple new animals as well.  Students hope to raise the roughly $200 a month we need to feed, house, and clean up after our animals.  They are planning their first sale for this Thursday, November 2nd.  Students from all four UE classrooms plan to sell baked goods, used books, and hot cocoa from 3:15 to 4pm in the parking lot on the north side of the elementary building.  

Families are invited to participate by:

Supporting students as they bake muffins, quick bread, cookies, or similar foods

Allowing students to donate gently used books

Donating paper cups and cocoa mix

Donating plastic baggies and napkins

Planning for your student to attend the sale with a few dollars to spend

If you would like to visit the sale, please plan to park in the Bandana Square lot or on Energy Lane outside the elementary and adolescent pick up zones.  

Students will not be allowed to leave the parent pick up line to purchase things from the sale, they'll need to be dismissed to their parent first.  This will help us keep the pick up line moving steadily.  

 

Thank you for your support!  

Upper Elementary Homework Due 11/7/17 - Election Day

Tuesday, November 7th is Election Day across the country.  In the Twin Cities, both Minneapolis and St. Paul will be voting for mayor.  Chris Coleman, St. Paul’s current mayor, is not running for reelection.  Minneapolis’ mayor, Betsy Hodges, is running for reelection.  There are many other candidates in both races.  

Essay Options:

Option 1 - Research the issues in either the Minneapolis or St. Paul mayoral races.  There are sources linked below that may be helpful to you in your research.  Based on your research, choose a candidate that you believe should be mayor of either St. Paul or Minneapolis.  Write an essay that summarizes the issues in the city you’ve chosen to research and why you support the candidate you chose.

Minneapolis Mayoral Election Article:

https://ballotpedia.org/Mayoral_election_in_Minneapolis,_Minnesota_(2017)

St. Paul Mayoral Election Article:

https://ballotpedia.org/Mayoral_election_in_St._Paul,_Minnesota_(2017)

Option 2 - Interview an adult in your life that will be voting.  Ask about which issues are important to that person and what is valuable to them in a mayor.  Include a few questions of your own about how the city works or how the person you are interviewing feels about voting.  For instance, you might ask about the person’s first voting experience, about the job of a mayor, about the mayor’s role in policing, jobs, or about the differing jobs of the mayor and city council members.  

Write an essay summarizing your interview, including at least one direct quote from the person you interviewed.  

Please edit your work for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar.  

4th graders should write at least one paragraph.

5th graders should write at least two paragraphs.

6th graders should write at least three paragraphs.

Community Sing - October 27

Upper Elementary Homework due 10/31/17 - Self Portrait

This homework has two portions.  Please make sure you complete both.  

First, create a self portrait.  You may draw, paint, photograph, sculpt, or use collage to make a portrait of yourself.  Your face must be visible in your art, but you may also include other images as you see fit.  Please sign and title your work.  

Second, write a biographical poem.  You may use any form you choose, or you may use the example provided below.  Your poem should reference your name, family, home, likes and dislikes, and a memory or two that is important to you.  Again, remember to title your work and include your name.

Autobiographical Poem

Line 1: [First name only] _____________________

Line 2: [four traits] __________________________

Line 3: Related to __________________________

Line 4: Cares deeply about ___________________

Line 5: Who feels __________________________

Line 6: Who needs _________________________

Line 7: Who gives __________________________

Line 8: Who fears __________________________

Line 9: Who would like to see _________________

Line 10: Resident of _________________________

Example:

Jenna

Jenna.

Silly, messy, creative, jumping.

Related to Dad (and Fluttershy).

Cares deeply about drawing and animals.

Who feels worried about family.

Who needs My Little Pony!

Who gives laughter and drawings.

Who fears the evil bunny man.

Who would like to see Grandpa.

Resident of Bloomington, Minnesota.

• Jenna, age 9.

Trophic Cascade - 5th grade Science

Hi Fifth Graders,

Here's the Trophic Cascade Video from our lesson on Natural Systems today:

How Wolves Change Rivers

Enjoy,

Cate

Upper Elementary Homework Due 10/24/17 – Ideal School

 Last week’s homework asked you to reflect on your basic needs (fun, freedom, belonging, power) and how they are met or not met in the classroom. 

This week, please take time to think about the ideal school for you.  Think about how the classroom would look, sound, and feel, and what procedures for learning, community, and individual times during our day would help you learn. 

Write an essay that describes the best school you can imagine to meet your needs as an individual and as a community member.  Describe the classroom environment, the play space, morning work time, community times, and any other activities you believe would help you.

4^th graders must write an organized essay with at least one paragraph (5-7 sentences minimum).

5^th graders must write an organized essay with at least two paragraphs.

6^th graders must write an organized essay with at least three paragraphs. 

Please remember to include topic sentences and edit your work for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and clarity. 

Update 10/17/17

Hello Crow Wing Families, 

We are seeking volunteers to support student "Going Out" adventures.  This is a great option for parents that have flexible schedules and are interested in a one time event to support students in individualized learning.  Students can choose to organize individualized field trips connected to their work and need a background checked volunteer to accompany them on public transportation or walking trips.  Students organize everything - all you have to do is show up and have fun!  If you are willing to be considered, please respond to this email with your available times for the year, and we'll include your contact information in our trip planning binder.  

Early Wednesdays resume - We will be available starting at 7:45am Wednesdays for students that need extra support in work or have to make up lessons for which they were absent.  Students don't need an appointment to come early on Wednesdays, they simply need to show up at quarter to 8 with a plan to accomplish work.  

Blog Reminder: We do our best to post homework, updates, and other interesting material to our classroom blog frequently.  Students know they should check our blog if they've lost their homework or if they are curious about updates sent to families.  Please check it out if you are curious about our classroom contract, which students wrote after a process of identifying how they get their needs met at school, what values they hold dear, and how they want to be in a community together.  https://crowwingriverclass.blogspot.com/

Historical Figures Day (October 31) is fast approaching.  Students can dress like anyone they feel contributed positively to history.  Costumes may not include props, make up, spray on hair coloring, masks, or be violent in nature.  Students should be prepared to say a bit about their historical figure - we'll have a short time to present to each other.  It's always fun to see which people from history our students choose to represent.  

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Andrea and Cate

A note on snack from our elementary coordinator, Jean Peters: 

Dear Elementary Families

 

We have a historical practice at Great River to provide snack for lower and upper elementary students. Generosity of families has been essential to sustaining this practice over the years. This year, we have a grant that is supporting the elementary program expansion, and we have recently been informed that a classroom snack cannot be funded by our grant. 

 

Due to this adjustment in funding, we will have to adjust the scope of the snack we can fund in our classrooms. Budget for maximum reimbursement will be set at $30 per week. If you are able to donate your snack contribution, that is sincerely appreciated by the school

 

The goal of classroom snack is to bind the community together through shared responsibility for practical life. And, an outcome of the snack is that students 

 

Examples of snack are simple items:  and one of: sliced oranges, crackers, string cheese, etc. (This is an adjustment from earlier communicated examples.) 

The Scale of the Solar System

The fourth graders watched this video last week and worked to compare distances they have traveled to the circumference of the sun and the earth, as well as the earth's orbit around the sun:

The Scale of the Solar System

Basic Needs Inventory

Homework Due 10/17/17 – Basic Needs Inventory

 Please complete the Basic Needs Inventory.  Add up the totals for each column. 

Questions 1-10 address the need for Belonging. 

Questions 11-20 are about our need for Power. 

Questions 21-30 are about the need for Freedom. 

Questions 31-40 are about the basic need for Fun. 

Notice which category has the highest number, which has the lowest, or if two are close.  A higher total number means that you have may a strong desire for that particular need to be met in your life.  A lower total number means that you may not have as strong a desire for that need. 

Write about your needs and how they are ranked according to your inventory.  Do you agree with the results of the inventory?  What does this say about you as a learner?  How do you see your needs met in school, at home, and with your friends?  What sort of behaviors happen when your needs are not met? 

Fourth year student should write at least one organized, edited paragraph.

Fifth year students should write at least two organized, edited paragraphs.

Sixth years should write three organized, edited paragraphs or more. 

Please remember to use topic sentences and put your name on your work.

2017 Crow Wing Classroom Contract

The students in Crow Wing classroom worked cooperatively to identify and articulate their values and how they will behave in order to support those values in our community.

Survival

Food and water are needed for survival and we need to learn to prepare it for ourselves and others.  We need to use common sense to do work and survive everyday life. We need to make smart choices, like dressing for the cold.  We need to eat, drink, and sleep enough to learn.  We value recess, walking, trips to the park, and Widji because they keep us healthy and give us exercise.  School teaches us to do big, hard work and learn safety by experience, like we can do at Widji.  We need to talk through our problems instead of being physical to keep everyone safe.  

Stewardship

We believe stewardship is important because we need nature to survive.  Stewardship means working with nature and helping to preserve it.  It is important to our class because we value Widji, our school gardens, and our class pets.  The outdoors helps us gain independence and trust.  Stewardship is also a job that needs many people to do it.  When we are in nature, we can learn and gain new skills.  If we work to preserve nature, then animals, plants, water, and insects will be safe.  

Community

We believe that community is important because we can learn from each other and can help and support each other.  Without community, we would have no help, no friends, feel unsafe, and would be sad.  We think community is valuable because we enjoy key experiences, recess, collaborative work, and helping others.  We value fun, friends, animals, and the school community on many levels.  In order to uphold our community, we agree to be respectful to each other and listen to each other.   We must participate in community meeting and accept people into our community.  The balance of responsibility and independence is hard in a community but important because with greater independence comes responsibility to each other.  

Responsibility

We believe responsibility is important because if we are responsible, we can have more freedom.  If we show responsibility, we are also have more power.  We have pets in the classroom because we have proven ourselves to be responsible.  If we are not responsible, we will lose privileges or materials.  Independence is the reward for being responsible.  Examples of independence are city busing, babysitting, being productive in independent work, and going to Widji.  

Fun

We believe that fun is important because if we didn’t have fun, there would be no enjoyment in our lives.  Fun helps us learn because if something is fun, it motivates us to get it done.  Fun support community through shared experiences that help us feel that we belong.  In order to have fun, we have to work together and meet everyone’s needs.  

Homework Due 10/10/17 - Camp Widjiwagan

Please choose an essay prompt and write an organized, edited response to all 3 questions:

-       What did you learn about yourself at Widji and how you meet your needs?

-       What part of the trip made you feel the most successful?  What made it successful for you?

-       What was the most challenging thing you encountered at Widji and how did you overcome it?

Expectations:

Write an organized essay with a topic sentence for each paragraph.  Check your spelling and grammar – it’s okay to ask an adult or another child to help you with this. 

4^th years must write one paragraph of 4 to 5 sentences at a minimum.

5^th years must write two paragraphs.

6^th years must write three paragraphs.