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August 1, 2005 Dear Parents, It's hard to believe we are reaching the end of another school year. It has flown by in many ways, yet as we reflect on the projects and experiences from this year, the Great Bear Rainforest seems like a long long time ago. This week we will be wrapping up just about everything. We'll excavate each other's cultural artifacts, complete final copies of stories, finish Holes, and do some reflection and self-evaluations. Please bring into school for Wednesday, three small objects that your child is willing to part with: one to represent themselves, one to reflect Salmonberry School and one for our larger "culture." We will prepare, and then on Friday, bury a time capsule for future generations of archaeologists to discover. We'll discuss this at length at school today, so your children have an idea of what they could bring. You are all invited on Friday at 12:00 for potluck lunch, followed by some end of the year fun and games and burying the time capsule. We will dismiss right after concluding games, probably around 2:00. Kids and families are of course welcome to stay until 3:00. I am looking for volunteers to help move stuff around in the classrooms, tidy up and prepare space for next year. There are cleaning jobs, lifting jobs, organizational jobs and even some light construction. The first work day will be Wednesday, August 10 at 9:00. There will likely be a couple more prior to the fall start. Please let me know if you might be able to help. There is a Board meeting today, Monday, August 1 at 3:15. I will be mailing out progress summaries during the month of August. Thanks! Have a great summer break! See you after Labor Day. Paul July 18, 2005 Dear Parents, What a cool field trip last Thursday! We were met by our host, the property owner, Ralph Monroe. He put the site in a socio-historical context for us and led us on a walking tour of the natural history of the site. We saw the location of a mid 1800's pioneer homestead, also the subject of an archaeological investigation. We also met professor of Anthropology and Archaeology Dr. Dale Croes who gave us a slide show on the work being done at the site. Then the two men showed us the dig site itself. Approximately 20 undergraduate students are slowly and systematically excavating a wetland site and discovering, cataloging and interpreting 300-700 year old artifacts. After an orientation to the dig, we got to help out sifting through shell fragments, sand and debris and we found some ancient mammal bone fragments, fish vertebrae, even and ancient oyster with its pearl still attached! We also got another lesson in stone tool making and percussion flaking from an adjunct professor who just happened to be there for the day. It was all pretty exciting. we survived the grueling Seattle rush hour traffic and slid onto the ferry with easily a minute and a half to spare. Whew! It was a very long day! Thanks so much to the patient support of the parent volunteers Susan and Jeff McCall, Tammy and Paul Pollard, Moana Kutche, and Lynne Howe. You guys were terrific! This week we should be moving towards finishing up our original archaeological fiction. We will continue to focus on math which we will change and take place the first part of the morning for this week. The kids have also been practicing cursive writing quite a bit and will now begin to apply these skills to their daily written work. We'll also begin a simulation game in which the kids will work in teams to invent a culture and then bury a collection of mock artifacts which are meant to indicate clues about their culture. This Thursday there is a walking field trip to Madrona Point to do some bird watching with Shona Aitken of Wolf Hollow. This is a program through the San Juan Nature Institute. Next Monday, July 25 we will meet at the ferry to catch the 9:20 AM ferry. Drivers arrive at least 45 minutes prior, passengers in front of the Orcas Market by 8:55. We will drive to the Burke Museum in Seattle where we will get a behind-the-scenes look at the scientific research involved in cataloging and interpreting archaeological artifacts. We'll get to see plenty of ancient artifacts and I'm hoping we might get a look at the "Kennewick Man" remains which are currently being housed at the Burke. I am hoping for a new set of volunteer drivers and chaperones. Please let me know if you might be able to help us out. Thanks! Have a great week! Paul July 11, 2005 Dear Parents, It's field trip season! On this Thursday, July 14, we will be traveling to Squaxin Island, near Olympia. We will take the 6:45 boat. If you are a driver, please have your car in line unspeakably early (check with the ferry folks for more precise recommendations.) If you are not joining us, please have your child at the Orcas Village Market by 6:20. Please let me know if you are making special arrangements to have one of the drivers take your child to the ferry landing. We will caravan down to Olympia, and have a picnic lunch. We will begin a tour of this unique archaeological site at 12:15. We will leave by 3:00 and on board the 6:55 boat from Anacortes (hopefully.) You can pick up your child at the ferry landing at 7:55 PM, or, again, let me know if you'd like to make other arrangements with drivers returning to Eastsound. So, please send $10 for ferry ticket, pack a lunch with drink for your child, and a few extra snack items, and dress your child appropriately for mud and weather. We'll try to pick up some pizza in Anacortes to eat on the return ferry. So please either pack some dinner or send an extra $5 for pizza as well. There is no charge for touring the site. This will be a lot of travel time and effort for a fairly brief experience, but I truly believe it will be well worth it. It is experiences like these that help make the classroom learning meaningful and relevant for the kids. This site is supposed to be an archaeological marvel and presents us with an opportunity just too good to miss. The ability to take advantage of such opportunities when they occur is part of what makes Salmonberry so special. We had a great week last week. The kids did a super job beginning their archaeological fiction. Many of the kids are working on revisions now, focusing on organization, word choice, and sentence fluency. The stories are wonderful, suspenseful, and well-crafted. We will share them with you later on! We also completed a fun group project in which we analyzed "clovis points" supplied by the Burke Museum. We learned how to identify different rock types and what to look for when analyzing a point. The groups worked well together and the kids helped each other and learned from one another. This week we'll continue with our writing and also get a chance to try "hafting" some reproduction points. Hopefully, if the weather allows it we'll get back to the digging. Also on Monday we will attend Paul Owen Lewis' talk at the Orcas Center. Mr. Lewis is the author of some of our favorite picture books: Storm Boy, Frog Girl, and Davy's Dream. There's always so much going on in the summer! There is a Board Meeting on Monday, today, at 3:15. Late start Friday, 11:00. Have a great week! Paul July 5, 2005 Dear Parents, Happy Independence Day! This week we will be doing a good deal of writing at school. We will continue creating the ever-changing Archy News. Also, having completed some wonderful "Quick Writes" last week on different techniques of creative writing (describing setting, building suspense, and climax) we will begin a writing process working towards a piece of archaeologically-based original fiction. This week kids will brainstorm their plots and characters and do more pre-writing activities. By the week's end we should be into our rough drafts. This writing process, including revision, edits and rewrites will continue through the summer quarter. We also continue to work in Math groups. My group is spending a lot of time with multiplication and division: working at problems, memorizing facts, creating models using manipulatives and playing a lot of math games. Mairi's group is also working on numeration and calculation. Both Mairi and I have been very pleased recently by the groups' growth and increasing comfort with math concepts and skills. The Salmonberry Site excavation proceeds slowly. To liven up the hunt for artifacts we have begun to allow groups to select the grid squares they wish to dig up. Previously we had been moving systematically, and slowly, from square to square along each row. This simple modification has increased the excitement and anticipation tremendously! We continue to catalog and carefully record and interpret our findings. We have finished a wonderful read aloud novel about an archaeological discovery in Texas called Discovery at Flint Springs. We have begun reading Louis Sachar's Holes. This text is intended for older kids and will introduce us to some more mature themes. It is a wonderfully written and suspenseful drama; and it's all about digging! This week we will welcome Ruby Bulletset, and her mom, Gail to Salmonberry. Ruby has visited with us several times. She has just completed 4th grade at Orcas Elementary. Next Thursday, July 14, we will take the first of two off-island day trips. I am looking for drivers/chaperones to take the red-eye to Anacortes then drive Olympia and tour the Qwu?gwes site (how do you pronounce that?) We will take advantage of a rare opportunity to see full scale archaeological excavation. This site includes a dry shell midden, a living area and a water logged site, containing 9,000 year old artifacts. This dig is a combined effort with the Southern Puget Sound Community College and the Squaxin Island Tribe. We will return Thursday evening. If you can't make this one, the next trip will be Monday, July 25 to the Burke Museum in Seattle. Let me know if you can help out. Have a great week! Paul June 27, 2005 Dear Parents, Last week we said "goodbye" to Alex and Peter for the remainder of the school year. Alex will be pursuing his passion for theater through July by attending a class at Orcas Center. In September he is likely to be the first Salmonberry graduate to enroll at Spring Street School. Peter will be participating in various camp experiences and then will be doing some traveling to see family. We will miss them both. Goodbyes can be difficult, but the kids did a great job with this last week. Wednesday we will also say "goodbye" to Tracy McFarland. Tracy has been a wonderful addition to Wednesdays at Salmonberry. Her respectful and gentle way with children has been so appreciated as has her terrific sense of fun and good humor. She will be replaced through the month of July by Liz Shiffler, also our Garden Coordinator. Liz has a rich background in environmental education and is currently pursuing her teaching certificate and MA in education. She has also been volunteering at the preschool throughout the spring. This week will also be the final week of preschool for the '04-'05 school year. We will gather with our preschool friends several times this week and then say another "goodbye," though, of course, we hope to see everyone again in September! Enough goodbyes! Last Wednesday Mairi began a wonderful school project with the kids. They examined parts of a newspaper and began creating the Salmonberry School Archy News. Last week the kids began some wonderful columns including comics, puzzles, and news and events. All the writing relates to our archaeological work. Sasha made a bar graph showing the kinds and amounts of artifacts found so far. Brodie and Brigid are roving reporters and are interviewing classmates on archy issues. Everyone is engaged and participating, and it's so fun! Today we welcome our guest instructors to school, Mike and Terry Grijalva. Mike will demonstrate his paleo-indian tool making skills. He will share artifacts, stories and skills. Kids will get an opportunity to try out some "pressure flaking" and have some other hands-on experiences. This will lead us to explore beyond the process of archaeology and into the realm of the artifacts themselves and cultures that created them. There is no school next Monday, July 4: Independence Day. There will be an 11:00 late start on Tuesday, July 5, to allow recovery time after the fireworks. Have a great week! Paul June 20, 2005 Dear Parents, Happy Solstice, and an official welcome to summer. Hope you've all been hearing enthusiasm coming home for the archaeology studies. The excitement is building at school. We have laid out our dig site and are systematically excavating and cataloging our finds. There is a long way to go! Last week we also had great fun dissecting owl pellets and going through a similar sequence of processes as we looked for hidden clues within the pellets and put these pieces together to reveal a mystery. Most of us found that the owls had eaten some small rodents and we successfully identified femurs, scapulas, mandibles, skulls, ribs and vertebrae. There were a few exciting surprises, as we discovered that some owls had eaten small birds - first we hypothesized from the lack of fur in certain pellets, then confirmed our guesses with finds of the keel, the wishbone, and finally a wing bone. Pretty neat stuff, though some of the kids had a surprisingly low tolerance for sifting through "owl vomit!" Go figure! Anyway, we have now established an archaeological routine and will be adding some more skills practice to the daily schedule. We will resume daily math groups, independent reading practice and some handwriting review and practice. There will be some more teacher directed writing to be done in our Archy journals as well. The 3 R's will be integrated throughout our work with the fourth R: R-chaeology. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Many thanks to the dads and grandpas who attended our Father's Day lunch and play time. It was amazing to see the 100% turnout for those kids who were present on Friday. You are all more than welcome to drop by any time and spend a few minutes or a few hours. It is terrific to include you in the classroom community. Thanks also to Moana, Susan, Laurie, and Lynn Sharpless for spending many hours after school this past week as we concluded interviews for the Primary Classroom Teacher for the fall. We have had many impressive candidates and should be recommending a hire to the Board very soon. As soon as we wrap up this process we will introduce our newest teacher to the entire Salmonberry community. Liz Schiffler has done a wonderful job getting the garden project up and running. Don't forget to send in an old shoe or boot for a little foot-size garden planting this week. I have been working on several enhancements to our studies this summer,
including a couple of field trips and some guest instructors. At this
point I am looking for possible housing for a couple from Ravensdale,
Washington. Mike Grijalva is a flint knapper and an expert on paleo-Indian
technology and crafts. He and his wife, Terry, are experts on Native
plants and foods. Both will share their skills and knowledge with the
class on Monday, June 27. The kids will make some arrowheads and some
other ancient tools styled after Northwest indigenous cultures. They are
hoping for a guest room, or cabin to stay in Sunday and Monday nights. Any
ideas? Have a great week! Paul June 6, 2005 Dear Parents, What a beautiful closing we had to last quarter. The Carnival celebration was great fun and truly honored the kids' individual and collective learning at school. The kids' research projects were impressive as was their pride in their presentations, and all the work that went into the research and writing processes. It was clear how supported and respected their learning was by the joyful participation of all the parents. Thanks for playing with us, singing, dancing and sharing food. It was great! The field trip to the Olympic Peninsula was amazing too. A stunning collection at the Makah Museum at Neah Bay. Then, breathtaking scenery: verdant growth, immense trees, and a glacial-fed river were the background. The kids were energetic and enthusiastic even after an eight-mile hiking day! The parents were wonderful. Special thanks to John for graciously orchestrating all the food and to Paul Kamin and Morgan for organizing games and stories on the last night. Very fun! So now... ARCHAEOLOGY: I am so excited for yet another quarter in which my knowledge of the subject matter is minimal and during which I will certainly be a co-learner alongside the kids. We will look at archaeology around the world as well as in Puget Sound and explore the nature and practices of paleo-cultures. This theme was inspired by the accidental discovery of a genuine old arrowhead on our school site last month by one student, and by the fascinating bit of research that followed. Also another student's visit to some famous archaeological sites in the Southwest will serve as a personal portal to this subject area. As always, the kids lead the way and the teachers facilitate the learning. I have been studying up, finding and gathering resources and planning up a wealth of activities. Here's just a sampling: We have borrowed an educational trunk from the Burke Museum at the University of Washington. It contains all kinds of resources, artifacts and information related to the mid 1990's excavation of a 4000 year old Puget Sound archeological site known as "West Point." It's full of cool stuff and will provide a good introduction to the process of archaeology. During our studies we will be learning about and creating our own petroglyphs. We will dissect owl pellets and piece together animal remains. We will create our own time capsule - for future archaeologists to discover. We will play all kinds of games and go through a simulation based on a site within the Great Bear Rainforest excavated by the University of San Francisco. Hopefully we will be visiting the Burke Museum and we will get a behind-the-scenes tour of the "archy" department as well as a peek at the internationally renown collection. I am also trying to arrange several guest visits including a flint knapper and replica stone artist and a preeminent archaeologist (or two.) Many more details will follow. The foundation for the quarter's thematic work will be to conduct a real dig on our school grounds. Okay, I dug it up and planted the artifacts (I guess it's called "salting the site.") Anyway, the kids will go through all the phases of conducting an archaeological dig: site survey and layout, soil sifting, cataloging the discoveries, many forms of recording the data, and interpreting the findings. It'll take the full quarter to conduct the excavation. This week we will survey the site and lay out our dig area. We will draw and record the site before disturbing it. We will do a bit of carpentry and make some soil sifters and practice using them. We will also play a "Battleship"-type game I invented in which the kids hide and the "search for" buried artifacts. We will activate prior knowledge through some discussions of what we already know about archaeology. In addition we will be doing some writing about our recent vacations and begin some "archy" journals. I will also by helping kids to select some appropriate reading books which they will be reading and responding to in class in a variety of forms. On Thursday, we will take a low-tide beach walk with the Spring Street School sixth and seventh graders who have recently completed a study of Marine Biology. A few other things: -- I have a pretty good video available to check out which overviews the archaeological dig at West Point. It includes lots of good information about the site, some of the artifacts we have, some of the archaeologists we way meet later and the process of archaeology in general. Sign up on the door to check it out. We have this kid, including the video, for only four weeks, so sign up now. -- Anyone have a pointed masonry trowel or two they could donate for a few weeks? Apparently this is the archaeologist's Excalibur. -- Welcome Liz Shiffler who will be our OICF funded Garden Coordinator. Liz will be in charge of organizing folks to maintain the gardens and help make gardening and stewardship of our grounds accessible to the kids through a presentation of weekly lessons. -- Happy birthday to Liam and Willow. Who's next? -- Next Tuesday, June 14 at 3:15 is a Board Meeting. It's great to be back! There is so much more to come. This quarter, hang onto your pith helmets! Have a great week! Paul May 2, 2005 Dear Parents, That was a nice "No Work Party"! It's nice to get together and just enjoy each other and the kids; no agendas, goals or expectations. We should remember to do that every once in awhile. Last week at school we tried to finish things. Luckily there's this week ('cause it didn't quite happen.) We did begin a final cooperative group project: the "canoe groups" worked on city planning projects based on the Brazilian planned capital city of Brasilia. Groups came up with beautiful, creative and unique designs: one city was laid out in the shape of a dog; another was an island (how did they come up with that one?) Of course, while designing cities, we have spent a good deal of time working on group process issues: What is your role in the group? How can you help to make sure everyone is participating in your group? How can you encourage group members to use their strengths? How does your group make decisions? How do you react to your group's dynamics? etc. etc. Through discussion and practice, we have noticed significant progress in all these group process issues this quarter! This week we will spend some time getting ready for Carnival, which we will celebrate as our Brazil unit's culmination. We'll be making costumes and practicing songs and games. You are all invited to come and join in the celebration. We will enjoy some food, music, dance and games as well as the sharing of the kids' research projects on Friday afternoon beginning at 1:00. If you think you might have time to prepare some Brazilian food to share, please let me know. I have many recipes! I have spent a lot of time during the past couple of weeks showing the school to prospective parents and teachers. I have heard unanimous and exuberant praise from all these guests. They have been impressed with the activities, learn experiences, and content of the studies. They have been amazed by the parent volunteerism and the ongoing creation of the buildings and grounds. They have duly noted the individualized and personally tailored instruction and the ability of the staff to meet a large range of needs and learning styles. Mostly, though not surprisingly, I have heard praise for your children, their cooperation, gentleness, respect, maturity and mutual support. Visitors have been consistently impressed also with the quality of your children's work. Their ability to apply their skills with passion and creativity and each with his/her unique voice. "This was done by a second grader?" one parent said. I wish I could have taped some of the other responses as I showed off work samples. Of course many have been impressed with the kids' content knowledge, too. Each child easily communicates an amazing assortment of facts and connections having to do with Brazil. At least one visitor was taken into the log cabin and regaled with a half hour introduction to the adventures of Lewis and Clark. I have felt so proud of all we have accomplished and it has shown in every nook and cranny at Salmonberry, from the website to the garden; from the preschool snack time to the elementary kids research projects. The school presents a pervasive and consistent message: Salmonberry School is a place that truly values children and creates meaningful experiences while always striving towards excellence in every endeavor. Of course I share my own feelings of pride with you all. Thanks for creating such a wonderful and special place! Attached please find the (hopefully) last official communication about next week's field trip. I believe all the details are now confirmed and final, at least until you hear otherwise! Thanks again for all your help in pulling events like this off! Thanks too for a tremendous quarter and for all your teamwork and cooperation planning and actualizing plans for the school as a whole and for your individual kids. I continue to feel so lucky to be a part of such a dedicated and caring community. OBRIGADO! Happy birthday Peter! Have a great week and a terrific break! Paul April 25, 2005 Dear Parents, Whew, we've zoomed out from our close-up on the Amazon and have spent a whirlwind week getting to know the larger Brazilian culture. We have learned about the geography of the country and the great diversity of regions within Brazil. We also learned some Brazilian political and social history from the "discovery" by the Portuguese in the early 1500's to the bloodless revolution and resulting independence and subsequent abolition of slavery in the 19th century. The kids have worked in cooperative groups to complete mapping activities and played a trivia game by which they earned "Reals" (Brazilian dollars.) Andria came in and we all got to sample a delicious bean-based fried treat called acaraje (a favorite in the Northern Brazilian state of Bahia.) Bahia actually became the focus for the week as we learned about the many Afro-Brazilian traditions, from Samba music and dance, to games, foods and even the interesting mix of religious influences combining Catholicism and African tribal gods and spirits. Of course the week ended with a hearty celebration of Earth Day. The kids made "seed spirits," two-dimensional figures from the Mexican tradition. We marched with them in the Earth Day parade and returned for a small candle ceremony as we wished the Earth a happy Earth Day. Finally we were joined by the passionate enthusiasm of Eduardo Mendonca and his family. Through a great variety of teaching strategies, Eduardo taught us about many Brazilian percussion instruments. He taught us the basic Samba rhythm. The kids learned a Brazilian song in Portuguese. We played a fun game called "Vivo/Muerto" and danced the "Circle Samba." The kids were very well prepared for the visit and asked some wonderful questions and thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Our Amazon research projects are gradually reaching completion and are coming out beautifully. We will try to finish these up this week and next. Some kids may be bringing some work home to help us get finished. May 10-13 Field Trip Update: A committee of interested folks met last Thursday and we have made a few adjustments to the plans. A complete itinerary and all the details will be distributed next week. 1. There will be no school Monday, May 10. 2. Tuesday is intended as a travel day. Families may arrange and share plans privately. We will not officially meet as a school group at all on Tuesday. 3. Wednesday we will meet at the Makah Museum in Neah Bay at 10:30 AM. 4. We will camp at the Hoh Rainforest campground in Olympic National Park for two nights, May 11 and May 12. We will share three communal meals: dinners Wednesday and Thursday, and breakfast on Wednesday. John Miller and Morgan Paige will be in charge of coordinating the menus and letting the rest of us know what we need to bring. All other meals and snacks are on your own. 5. Warning: There are no showers at the Hoh Campground. (Apologies for previously misleading some of you on this one.) The nearest showers are 19 miles away at a private campground on Hwy 101. There are flush toilets and running water. Campsites are $10/night. Again, complete detailed instructions will follow next week. Let me know if you have any urgent questions at this time. Monday, April 25, after school, there will be a meeting of the Hiring Committee. Next weekend there will be a "No Work Party." See the flier on the door for details. Finally, Paul Kamin who has given generously of his time and skills to finish up the log cabin is up to the last stage: the roof. He is looking for a donation of a bundle or two of cedar shingles with which he can complete the structure. If you can help, please let me know, or just bring the shingles to school. Thanks. Have a great week! Paul April 11, 2005 Dear Parents, Thank you so very much for the unprecedented show of energy and support at last weekend's work party. The elementary classroom had 100% turnout and the school as a whole had 95%. We got tons accomplished. Equally importantly, we took another step toward creating the community and feeling of mutual support that we are trying so hard to instill in the children. It was gratifying to see many of them, working alongside you, engaged in the creative processes and also just having fun. I particularly wanted to thank those die hards who stayed until past dark finishing the play structure. I also want to recognize those who put in many hours prior to Saturday, visioning, planning, securing materials, making phone calls, researching code requirements, and schlepping stuff all over the island and beyond. Too many people to list, but you know who you are. Thanks! I am so excited to begin planting in the beautifully prepared garden. We will germinate seeds and transplant veggie starts this week! The kids will love playing on the new structure, couldn't keep 'em off it on Saturday afternoon. And, as Brigid says, "we have the finest 'maloca' in all of San Juan County!" Last Thursday's field trip to Vancouver was spectacular. The logistics were easy, the kids were wonderful and the exhibit itself was breathtaking. The staff at the aquarium did a marvelous job of making the wonders of the Amazon accessible to the kids. As usual, our kids in some cases knew as much as the docents. The trip was very worthwhile and met the objective of allowing the Amazon ecosystem to seem real and alive to us. Once again, many thanks to the parent drivers and chaperones: Lynne, Moana, Morgan, Paul Kamin, for doing a long and demanding day of volunteering. Special thanks to Moana for helping to plan and coordinate with the aquarium and the Departments of Immigration. Thanks to everyone for getting up before dawn and cheerfully adjusting your schedules to make this trip possible. On Friday we also took a short field trip to the Glenwood Springs Hatchery. Mike O'Connell helped us scoop out some larger chinook fry and release them in a stream where they will live until they are ready to begin their migration out to sea. More driver/helpers to thank: Oak, Lydia, and Barbara. (I think everyone has probably taken care of their volunteer obligations for awhile, eh?) This week we will wrap up our Amazon studies and then we will transition to a month-long look at the broader Brazilian culture. The kids' research projects will continue, of course, and the cooperative canoe groups will proceed up the Amazon. Next we will look at the fascinating Brazilian history, exploration by the Portuguese, establishment of plantations and agriculture, the rise of the African-Brazilian culture, and modern issues including city planning and sustainability. We will also explore cultural elements including religion, art, music, dance, food, sports (I know, soccer may be better classified as a religion) and holidays. There is a board meeting today, Monday, April 11 at 3:30. Happy Birthday Brodie! Have a great week everyone! Paul April 4, 2005 Dear Parents, I think we set a Salmonberry record last week with the most kids sent home sick from school. This has been a nasty and tenacious virus. Hopefully it's all behind us. Last week we had a wonderful day of Amazon cooking with Andria. We celebrated Chocolate Day! Chocolate, from the cacao tree, has been eaten as a savory food ingredient for thousands of years. Only recently has it been combined with sugar to create the sweet treats we know today. We learned about some historical and cultural traditions associated with chocolate, then we made a cocoa and black bean soup. We also made a South American version of Mexican hot chocolate, and we tasted a spicy/sweet bar which contained chocolate mixed with hot chili peppers and other traditional ingredients. It was so much fun! The kids are well on their way with their research and we hope to conclude the research and note-taking phase of their projects this week. Of course the big focus this week will be preparing for Thursday's field trip. Please see the attached documents for more info on this thrilling excursion to the Amazon (well, it's as close as we're gonna get this year anyway!) There are a lot of details to be aware of, so after carefully reading over your packet, please let me know if you have any questions. In class, we'll discuss some of the creatures we will be seeing at the aquarium, and do a few activities to heighten our awareness and maximize our learning during the tour. Friday will be an 11:00 start. On Friday afternoon (if we have enough drivers), we will return to Glenwood Springs Hatchery and help to scoop up some chinook fry, note their growth and development, and then deliver them into their holding pond where they will continue to evolve into smolt. Then, they're off on their several year ocean voyage. Saturday at 10:00 is the spring work party. We will be working on building play equipment and preparing the garden for spring planting. Thanks to everyone who has been involved in the preparations and planning for this day; a lot of volunteer hours have already been spent in the prep work. Please come on Saturday if you possibly can, even for a short while. It'd be amazing to see 100% participation. If you can't come, please consider hiring or arranging a work trade with someone to allow a helper to take your place. The fall work party was very rewarding and truly fun, as was a recent log cabin work day. Show your kids how much you care about their school environment. The joyful and positive cooperative modeling goes a long way! Have a great week! Paul March 28, 2005 Dear Parents, Last week we continued with our Amazon studies. Kids participated in a wonderful simulation in which they each received a fictitious identity from a rainforest resident (utility company president, native tribal member, naturalist, scientist, timber company manager, cattle rancher, etc.) They were given a brief description of their character's position regarding an impending road construction project through the rain forest (this is a real and very hot issue in Amazonia right now.) Then they spent time talking and presenting their ideas, listening to one another's perspective and having a lively but respectful debate. Then each child shared with the whole group an argument or position someone else had made. We unanimously decided that from our Orcas perspective, the forest should be left alone. But we also were able to acknowledge the complexity of this issue and the diversity of valid perspectives. The kids did a beautiful job. Another afternoon, we contrasted this rather heady exercise with a "paint and samba session." We turned up the Brazilian tunes and tapped our toes while we created dramatic tropical leaves, vines and flowers with which we have since decorated the classroom. Talk about rain forest diversity! The kids have begun their individual research projects and have learned to paraphrase and record notes onto index cards. They will continue taking notes throughout this week. I have a set of chapter books on the South American Tropical Rain Forest to lend. We will not be using them in class, but many of our kids are capable of reading these 60 page texts. I'd love to lend them out individually if you're interested. The story presents a rather minimal narrative, but it's full of beautiful descriptions of the Amazon plant and animal community. There are tons of interesting and surprising facts about these exotic critters. Most kids will need a parent who is willing to sit and listen to them read, and help out with some very challenging scientific vocabulary. Worthwhile if you have the time. Let me know. Literature groups are going very well and the kids seem to be interested in their work. They have been very willing to do a good deal of writing as we read the novels. I am thinking about easing up on the writing as it slows us down and disrupts continuity. For now, we continue. Math groups are similarly going well and all groups are working hard on number concepts and computation. Certain individuals are additionally working on a wide array of math concepts: number patterns, probability, and percentages are a few. This Friday there will be no school for kids as it is a day set aside for parent/teacher goal setting conferences. I always look forward to this opportunity to pause and chat with you about your amazing children, celebrate their growth and achievements, and set some goals for the current semester. Please sign up for a time/times that work for you. Let me know if no available times are convenient and we'll make arrangements. (I'd like to do the McCaull kids back-to-back and the Paige kids back-to-back. If we could all be flexible we should be able to schedule it this way. Thanks.) One thing I'll be asking to shore up at the conferences is driver and chaperone help for the upcoming field trips. So think about which of our spring excursions you might be able to help out with: Vacouver Aquarium, Thursday April 7 (all day) Glenwood Springs Hatchery, Friday April 8 (1-3 pm) Olympic Peninsula, Tuesday May 10 - Friday May 14 Have a great week! Paul March 21, 2005 Dear Parents, What a terrific opening week. We are off and paddling! The kids got started with their reading groups last week and are now busily engaged with a variety of reading and writing activities. We started math groups towards the end of the week and there was a lot of interest and enthusiasm to brush off the rust and start the math cogs spinning again. In the afternoons we pursued our Amazon studies. We have formed cooperative groups, completed maps of South America, designed some imaginary plants that could survive the real life conditions of the Amazon. The kids did some magnificent tropical bird paintings, too. We also managed to squeeze in singing with Sabrina and music with Matthew, storytelling with Valerie and a productive class meeting. It was a wonderful week full of real cooperation, excitement for learning and genuine friendship and mutual support. Having chosen their Amazon animal or plant topics, this week the kids will learn how to take notes on index cards from their reading. Then we'll begin the research phase which will continue through much of the week. I will supply as many sources and articles as I can find or download. If you have time at home to do a search for kid-friendly readings on your child's topic, print them and bring them in, it would be much appreciated. Any of the on-line encyclopedia or kids' science sites are good. There are tons of Rain Forest sites, too. Field trips and Visitors: UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS We are slowly getting these details ironed out and I am passing them on as they become available. Hope it isn't too confusing as things are changing somewhat. 1.) The field trip to the Vancouver Aquarium is on, but has changed a bit. On Thursday, April 7, students will meet at the ferry landing to get on the 7:00 AM red-eye. (I know, it's early.) I will need enough parent drivers to get everyone there, but Mairi and I will supervise all children who are without a parent. You needn't come along if you don't want to. We will arrive at the aquarium, eat lunch, and then receive a guided tour of the Amazon exhibit. It's supposed to be fantastic! We will return on the 6:00 boat that evening, which arrives in Orcas at 7:00 PM. Pickup will be in Orcas, unless otherwise arranged. Thanks to Moana's research, I have info on what is needed for the border crossing: Immigration needs proof of citizenship for each kid (passport or birth certificate) plus a notarized letter from both parents stating that the child can go to Canada with our school group for the day. We'd need this for each child who is not accompanied by a parent, and it would make it much easier for a child accompanied by only one parent. Moana has expressed willingness to write a draft of the required letter for anyone who would like it. Also there will be an expense to cover admissions, ferry fare, gas and lunch expenses. I will do the math, but my best guess is that to send a child with me will cost about $25-$30 (not counting gift shop browsing.) Please let me know if this additional fee would be a hardship and I'll see if we might be able to direct some materials funds towards support. The next day, Friday, we will have an 11:00 AM late start so kids can get some rest. If parents would like to stay over in Vancouver with their kids, this could be an option as well. 2.) The field trip to Bellingham is off. Instead, we have arranged for a visit to Salmonberry by the leader of the performance group Show Brazil, recording artist Eduardo Mendonca. Eduardo will come to Salmonberry on April 22 and lead us in some activities focusing on Brazillian rhythms, dance and culture. That day I will ask kids to stay until 3:30, as Eduardo will be arriving late due to transportation issues. 3.) Our several day trip to the Olympic Peninsula remains unchanged. It looks likely that we'll leave early Thursday, May 10, and return Friday, May 14. Again, there will be a fee for this trip as well. Many details to follow. Conferences Friday, April 1 is a no school day to allow time for parent/teacher conferences. I will put a sign up on the door this week. Thanks to everyone for making an effort to arrive on time. We still have a settling time until 9:15, but the mornings have become much tighter and we move quickly into reading activities and then math groups. Thanks for your help in getting us started efficiently. Great Bear Last chance. The Raincoast funds are being mailed in this Friday. Let me know if you need me to wait any longer. I'll let you know the grand totals next week! Have a great week! Paul March 14, 2005 Dear Parents, Welcome back! I hope you are all well rested, well traveled, rejuvenated and reenergized. I am very excited about the coming quarter. I have been preparing a wide range of fun, engaging and challenging activities. I know the kids will lead me, as usual, to develop a wonderful quarter. The Amazon We will begin this quarter with a four or five week study of the "natural history" of the Amazon River Basin. This amazingly complex, diverse and exotic ecosystem will present a natural opportunity for comparison with our temperate rain forest, which we now know so intimately. We'll be engaged in another cooperative learning simulation. The groups will participate in all sorts of activities that will earn them travel miles and propel their canoe upriver along the Amazon, from its mouth in northwestern Brazil to its source in the foothills of the Andes Mountains of Peru. Projects will include journal writing; listening to and analyzing audio recordings of the Amazon basin; mapping activities with South American geography; comparing weather data from The Amazon and other regions; acting out simulations involving the setting of land use policy; reading many stories with rain forest settings; cooking using rain forest ingredients with Andria (tropical fruits, nuts, roots, and surprising uses for cocoa); many art projects; we'll learn a lot about the indigenous people of the region, particularly the Yanomami tribes of the upper Amazon; and so much more! The kids will see, hear, smell, touch and even eat the Amazon! The main learning project for the early spring will be a research project. Each child will choose a topic from a long list of fascinating Amazonian plant and animal species. Then we will guide the kids through all the stages of their research: brainstorming, note taking, organizing, outlining, rough drafting, editing, and revising and publishing. I'll keep you all informed about where we are with this project each week. This week, kids will choose a topic and do some preliminary searches for information on their topic. There will be many opportunities for independent studies and enrichment projects as well. Talk to me if you'd like help designing a special project with your child. The second half of this quarter we will shift our focus to a study of the broader Brazilian culture, music, dance, art, celebrations, rich diversity, and Brazil's more modern participation in the industrialized world. Field Trips I am still finalizing the details on what looks to be three field trips this quarter. 1. This will be an option, Saturday - possibly into Sunday - trip to Vancouver. Due to the border crossing, I'll need kids to be accompanied by parents. We will meet at the Vancouver Aquarium and check out their amazing Amazon exhibit. We are looking into the possibility of camping as a group in the aquarium with the fishes! We are shooting for the weekend of April 22. 2. This is a trip to the mainland, either Bellingham or Edmonds, to see a performance by an incredible music and dance troupe called Show Brazil! We will join a school assembly and watch the show. I am working on a possible mini-workshop with one or more of the performers as well. (Date to-be-determined.) 3. This will be a several day trip which will take place the final week of the quarter, the second week in May. We will drive down to the Olympic Peninsula, spend a day at the Makah Tribal Center Museum in Neah Bay and participate in a tour, craft demonstrations and some hands on activities. Then we'll proceed to the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park. We'll camp there and hike on some incredible trails, including the acclaimed "Hall of Mosses." This trip will be optional for parents, as long as we get a few drivers. There will be some additional expenses for this field trip. (I know, you were hoping for a week long stay in Rio. Maybe next quarter?) More details will be forthcoming on all these trips. A few other changes Mairi and I will be concentrating most of the thematic work in the afternoons. We will be grouping the kids for some language arts and most math instruction and covering these studies during the mornings. In language arts, each child will continue to pursue an individualized skill set that will include practice in handwriting, grammar, spelling and other reading and writing conventions. We will continue to work on many forms of writing and written expression: paragraphs, poems, letters, stories, expository essays, etc. For the first time, many of the children will also meet regularly in literature groups. Members of a group will read a common text independently. They will answer short answer questions about their reading, both comprehension questions and those that require a higher level thinking. Then the group will meet with me and I will facilitate a discussion of the text. In math we will continue to work in group and pursue a combination of skill practice including computation, as well as concept building activities in a wide range of mathematical strands. A focus for this quarter will be number concepts and algorithms. One result of the adjustment to the daily schedule will be a shorter arrival/settling in time followed immediately by language arts and/or math activities. The morning "circle time" activities will now be after first recess, around 11:30. So, it is even more important to strive for on-time arrival (that's 9:00). I know this can be difficult at times for all of us, but if you find yourself in a pattern of perpetual morning lateness, perhaps you can look at adjusting your evening schedules to allow for an easier morning. I am happy to brainstorm possibilities with you if you'd like. This week we will welcome fifth grader Alex Halliday (big brother to Alana and Zoe,) and his parents Bob Halliday and Oak Boesky. Please introduce yourselves and help Alex to feel welcome. I know the kids will! We will also be joined by a new staff member Tracy McFarland. Tracy will be assisting Mairi on Wednesdays, replacing Dacia. She has been volunteering in the classroom this winter and has impressed me with her natural and positive style with the children. She has been working at Camp Orkila and has a good deal of experience with kids in a variety of capacities. Other happenings We will be celebrating the arrival of spring this week in a big way, and the vernal equinox which is officially this Sunday. We'll start some seeds, break ground in the garden and notice all the incredible changes all around us. We'll do spring art, write some spring poetry and generally appreciate the season! We'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Thursday and will likely join the parade in town -- wear green! Great Bear Remember to collect your pledgers' donations and bring them to school. It'd be great to have this wrapped up this week. Check your name off the envelope on the door if you have your $$$ in. I'll send this off as soon as we have everyone completed. Have a great week! Paul February 14, 2005 Dear Parents, Happy Valentine's Day! Today we'll be getting together with the preschool/kindergarten for a few fun activities, a story, a valentines hunt and a snack. Classroom Focus: We'll wrap up our studies this week and spend some time cleaning up and preparing the school for next quarter. We'll hit the garden, if the weather permits, and try to prepare the ground by putting in some beds and pathways. Great Bear: Remember to collect your pledger's donations and bring them to school. It'd be great to have this wrapped up this week. Please bring in: kids hand gardening tools and a bucket to store them in (like last year.) Classroom needs: A working wheelbarrow, landscape cloth and bark mulch. I also need a cadre of parents to agree to stop by school whenever they can during break and feed the salmon fry. These little guys can be fed up to five times a day so it'd be best to share the responsibility. I'll do it when I can, and Mike O'Connell will help out as well. Anyone else? Let me know, and I'll show you how it's done. Quote of the Week: The reason we pay so much attention to emotional and interpersonal issues is that we have found, over and over again, that when these issues are given sufficient value and attention, academic learning tends to flow like water. When children have the freedom to know themselves, like themselves, and belong to themselves, academic learning requires amazingly little time, not the countless thousands of hours conventional schools spend. - Chris Mercogliano Have a great week and a wonderful break! See you on March 14, when we will begin a scientific and multicultural unit on the Amazonian rainforest and its role in Brazilian cultures. Paul February 7, 2005 Dear Parents, Great Bear: Thanks for everyone's help in making the Great Bear Project so successful. Your children did an amazing job and learned a huge amount in a broad range of subjects! They each seem very proud of their accomplishments and the money they raised for the Raincoast Conservation Society. The turn out on Saturday was terrific. And the event was beautiful. Thanks for all the help with set up, tear down, refreshments, etc. Great work! The last phase: get those checks! Please contact your sponsors. Thank them for participating and let them know what they owe. You collect the funds from your sponsors and then deliver to school (some people prefer to write a check for the full amount, and then seek reimbursement from your sponsors.) All checks should be made payable to Raincoast Conservation Society. If anyone needs a "thank you/please pay up" letter, let me know and I can give you a copy of the one we're sending out. I'll announce the total funds raised when I know. (I'm guessing around $1000!) Classroom Focus: We are spending a lot of time at school on writing and the writing process. Each week the kids are producing a piece of writing which goes through all the stages of writing (pre-writing, rough draft, revising and editing and final copy.) We are working hard on peer editing and partner work as well. They are producing beautiful work. We are also working on drawing and portraiture. We will be working towards creating some self portraits this week. Sasha Update: Sasha is due to be discharged today! He'll spend a few days in Seattle and then should return to Orcas and possibly Salmonberry by week's end! Please Bring In: 1. Small hand mirrors or desk mirrors for self portraiting. 2. Spare clothes! Due to repeated mud disasters only those with appropriate footwear (rubber boots) and a backup set of clothes will be allowed to work in the "mud pit." Thanks for helping out! Classroom Needs: Landscape cloth and bark mulch -- lots (garden time!) Quote of the week: "The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil. It is not for you to choose what he shall know, what he shall do...he only holds the key to his own secret." Ralph Waldo Emerson Have a great week! Paul January 24, 2005 Dear Parents, Great Bear Culmination: We are coming down to the wire on this project, less than two weeks to go! So here's the plan. On Saturday, February 5, you will help your child to set up a display at the Living Room. Later that day we will invite all families, friends, sponsors and the public to come. Everyone will have time to look at the kids' work and enjoy some refreshments. Then I'll explain the project and introduce a few students who are planning performances of various kinds. Finally we'll enjoy Dave Lutz' incredible slide show. He'll talk about the Great Bear Rain Forest and the work of the Raincoast Conservation Society. So here's what I need from each of you: First make sure your child completes his/her project and feels good about his/her progress. If they haven't quite met their goals, it's ok. Let's focus on their amazing accomplishments and celebrate their learning. Second design a way to display evidence of their learning and a description of their specific project. I am envisioning some rectangular tables along the walls (anybody got a few?) and the kids work either flat on top and/or displayed science-fair style using tri-fold display boards (they have them for sale at The Office Cupboard.) Third distribute the invitations (which I'll supply early this week) to all local sponsors and family. Ask for extras if needed. Invite friends too. Fourth come to the Living Room Saturday morning (exact time to be announced) and set up the display with your child. Again let's try to focus on collaboration with our children and celebrating their learning. Finally join us for the event itself and give positive feedback and encouragement to all our kids! I'm also looking for help with set up, refreshments, and clean up on the 5th. Let me know if you can help out. Questions? Ask away. More specific details will be released next week. Thanks so much for all your support! Quote of the week: We call for each learner - young and old - to be recognized as unique and valuable. Each individual is inherently creative, has unique physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs and abilities, and possesses an unlimited capacity to learn. -GATE - The Global Alliance for Transforming Education Have a great week! Paul January 17, 2005 Dear Parents, Okay, that was fun for awhile. Now is it spring yet? CLASSROOM HAPPENINGS: Students will get new assignments in their language arts folders this week. We will read more and more, work on handwriting and cursive writing, practice using the dictionary, take spelling quizzes and generate new personal spelling lists. We'll write expanded sentences, metaphors and practice using analogies. In math, we'll continue with estimation and measurement. We'll also work on computation appropriate to each level. We'll return to rain forest studies this week as we continue to look at diversity and interdependence in the rain forest community. Specifically we'll be spending time with rotting logs and decaying forest matter. We are likely to make some surprising and amazing discoveries as we enter the world of decomposers. TO TRY AT HOME: Start a measurement journal. Estimate and measure things in your child's bedroom. How far would it reach if you lined up all your Legos? How high would a stack of all your blocks reach? Also go for a walk in the woods and observe the forest floor. Turn things over and see who's there. QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Many of the most important lessons in life can be learned but not taught. So even though we cannot teach these experiences, we can work to create an atmosphere to encourage learning. - William M. Copperthwaite UPCOMING EVENTS: There is a preschool parent meeting Wednesday at 1:00. Follow-up Board meeting (closed session to look at budget issues) Friday at 3:15. SCHOOL NEEDS: Here are a few more things that could really help us out at school if anyone has time, skill, or $$$ to donate. See me for other ideas.
Have a great week! Paul January 10, 2005 Dear Parents, Did everyone have fun in the Orcas Blizzard '05? Snowmen, snowballs, sledding? It was such a lovely little taste of WINTER. Now, however, as we pour through the seed catalogs, I think I'm ready for spring. CLASSROOM HAPPENINGS: We'll be looking at measurement in Math for a few weeks. These investigations will be individualized in much the same way as Language Arts, depending upon the skills and learning styles of each individual student. Activities and topics will include linear measurement using both nonstandard and standard units; calculating area and perimeter of rectangles, triangles and irregular shapes; introduction to metric units; estimation; using line graphs to see algebraic relationships; and introduction to ratio and proportion. TO TRY AT HOME: Measure everything! How many pencils lined up end to end does it take to cross your bedroom? How many hand spans to equal the length of your body? How many books stack up to reach the ceiling? Etc. etc. Also try standard units; measure and compare lengths of objects and distances using inches, feet miles. Get out maps and compare your drive to school with a drive to Mount Baker, (or New York City!) Estimate everything before measuring and see if your estimations improve over time. Most importantly: have fun! QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Learning is mental nourishment, and just as good food is not painful to the body, neither should good learning be painful to the intellect. When we make learning drudgery, we take away the joy, the wonders and the mystery. When joy vanishes, learning goes into hiding. - William M. Copperthwaite UPCOMING EVENTS: There will be a Board Meeting Thursday, January 13 at 3:15. Topics will include: possible classroom configuration for next year and budgeting for the remainder of '04-'05. SCHOOL NEEDS: Here are just a few things that could really help us out at school if anyone has time, skill, or $$$ to donate. See me for other ideas.
Have a great week! Paul January 3, 2005 Dear Parents, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Solstice, Christmas and New Year. I have spent the last week meeting with staff and parents and preparing things for the classroom(s). There will be a few changes and modifications as Mairi and I continue to strive towards meeting the kids where they are and helping them along their unique paths. One change you will notice right away is the ongoing remodel of the "West Wing" (that big extra room we all walk through every day.) We have grown sufficiently both in number and in diversity of need that Mairi and I will begin using this "bonus" room for instruction and learning activities. In the coming weeks we will be receiving some student desks and hopefully we'll get a nice wool carpet for that space. (If anyone is willing to help track down a carpet or make an off-island trip to pick it up, let me know.) We will also be trying out a modified daily schedule in which the day will begin with a Language Arts block. We will have a snack and recess break and then have a Math block each day. We will focus on content area and thematic explorations in the afternoons. During the morning hours, students will pursue individualized work which will include journal writing, spelling practice, reading at their instructional level, literature based, and thematic based project work, longer writing pieces and yes, even a little handwriting and grammar. Our goal will be to move the students towards greater independence in their studies (though much of it will still include cooperative pairings or groupings.) If all goes well, Mairi and I will be freer to work one-on-one or with small groups of individuals who are ready for similar activities and do more focused "kid watching." Math will move towards a similar format. This may take some time to achieve, but I think the kids are ready for a little more self-management. Along these lines we will also be resuming student classroom jobs to foster the students' level of responsibility and awareness of group interdependence. We will work a lot on smoothing out transitions throughout the day and really finishing one activity before moving on. We will resume more regular class meetings as we encourage the kids to develop and invest in their own classroom culture and create an expectation of social responsibility. All these adjustments will be gentle and gradual and will of course be sensitive to the kids' feedback (so if you hear any, let us know.) We will continue this quarter with the theme of Northwest temperate rain forest. During these upcoming weeks we will deepen our understanding of the diversity of the living forest community and will explore the complex and intricate web of interdependence which exists in this amazing ecosystem (this unique area boasts the largest biomass per acre of anywhere on Earth!) We will continue reading and exploring the themes in Wishy Washy's Wish. We will craft with cedar bark as we add cedar "feathers" to our ceramic birds. I would like to continue to bring the kids into the forest with a series of nature walks at Moran State Park. With 13 kids now, this has become a bit more challenging. If you'd be willing to help us out with transportation please let me know. We are always..."learning from the world rather than (just) about the world." (Ivan Illich) Such experiences can be so powerful and memorable! Other New Years' changes: our new singing teacher, Sabrina Brazier, will start with us on Thursday. She is a wonderfully skillful, experienced and naturally gifted teacher. I know the kids will come to love her! Check out the salmon tank. The little chinook alevin are swimming around and changing size, shape and color almost daily. We'll continue to integrate them into our learning. We are abandoning paper Dixie cups in favor of individual mugs (too much paper!) Please send in a mug for your child to keep at school on the mug wall by the bathroom. Let me know if you need me to provide one for you. How's everyone doing with the Great Bear Project? At this point each student should have a concrete plan of study including a culminating project. Each student should be about a quarter of the way through their practice sessions. We are needing to move up the completion date a bit from the original plan. We should be done around February 4. This leaves less than 5 weeks to go! We are planning to close this project with an event at the Living Room. Students will display their project work around the room and/or present their work at this event. Dave Lutz will give his amazing slide show on the Great Bear Rain Forest and there may be other special guests as well. We will invite all our pledgers as well as the Orcas Community at large. So you may begin thinking with your child(ren) of ways to display or share their work at this event. Please let me know if you need any help or clarification on this exciting project! Of course I'll be checking in with the kids at school as well. There will be a Board meeting next Thursday, January 13. Have a great week! Paul December 6, 2004 Dear Parents, What a wonderfully inspiring, though exhausting, weekend that was! Thanks to all those who were able to attend some or all of the Board retreat. The weekend, for me, achieved its goal of uniting parents and staff behind a strong and cohesive vision for our school and a shared and deeper understanding of what Salmonberry School is all about. For those who couldn't attend, we'll make sure we get the message out to you and provide many more opportunities to include you in the process of continually reinventing and refining this amazing institution! Special thanks, of course, to our new Board Chair, Moana, who provided unprecedented structure and rigor in addition to her passion as she skillfully facilitated the weekend's events. This week in the classroom we will continue with our Rainforest studies. We'll move from tree biology towards tree life cycles and then on to the interconnectedness of trees with other forest species and the whole web of life in this ecosystem. We will be joined, on Wednesday morning, by botanist Fiona Hall, who will spend two hours with us as part of a grant funded partnership with the San Juan Nature Institute. Her lesson will focus on tree life-cycles. Then, on Friday, we will finally welcome the arrival of our salmon eggs as the official beginning of our Salmon-In-The-Classroom project. Friday afternoon, we will travel to Moran State Park where we will go on a guided bird walk with a local ornithologist. We will look at bird species, habitat requirements, and bird calls. As we continue to read Wishy Washy's Wish, we will finish up our exploration of wishing and move towards a look at creation: seeing ourselves as creative forces and acknowledging the responsibility associated with this awareness. We'll also experiment with pictographic letter writing, as introduced in the novel, and continue playing with cedar bark and sticks. We'll begin to learn the practical skills of knot tying and lashing. We will also set up in the classroom some holiday craft centers and will provide time and some skill instruction to allow the kids to make some holiday cards and gifts. This season has become so much about receiving gifts and it is often difficult for kids to experience the joy of giving, particularly something they have made themselves. We will work with printmaking, candle making, various paper crafts, and clay ornament making. Also this week we will launch our winter philanthropic project: "Help the Great Bear." This will be a quarter-long independent project during which the kids will each articulate a plan to pursue some personally relevant work as a way to raise money to help preserve the Great Bear Rainforest of northern British Columbia, through the support of the Raincoast Conservation Society. (Keep an eye out for the full explanation - hopefully tomorrow!) Happy Channukkah! (Wednesday marks day 1 of this eight-day celebration.) Have a great week! Paul November 29, 2004 Dear Parents, Welcome back all! Dont' know about you, but I am feeling full of renewed energy and excitement as we open this new quarter. (It's amazing what three weeks of cleaning gutters and repairing siding will do!) Actually, I have spent a good part of the break enmeshed in holistic educational theory, and envisioning the continued development of Salmonberry, largely in anticipation of this week's Board Retreat. It has been very exciting in recent days to transition from this lofty theoretical work towards planning real activities and experiences for our children. Sometimes it seems the theorists can get out of touch with the classroom reality even as they speak about "learner centered" pedagogies. So...a few new community members to introduce. We were joined at the end of last quarter by two new preschool/kindergarten children, Finn, age 4 and Zoe, age 5. This quarter we welcome the part-time enrollment of the Paige family. Attending two days a week in the preschool will be Maggie, 4, and in the elementary school: Willow and Liam, 7 and Sebastian, 9. Please introduce yourself to these children and their parents and help me to welcome these latest members of our growing community. I also want to welcome our newest specialist instructor, Sabrina Brazier. Sabrina will teach singing and music to both classrooms on Thursdays, after lunch. Sabrina brings a very impressive music and teaching background as well as a terrific repertoire of songs and a fun and natural personal style. I feel certain your kids'll be coming home singing and humming new tunes and your bathrooms will ring with two-part harmonies. Matthew Olson will continue teaching music on Wednesdays and Antionette Bottsford will be telling stories on Tuesdays. The thematic unit for this quarter is The Northern Temperate Rainforest. Very little of this ecosystem exists on the planet and we happen to be surrounded by what little remains! Explorations around this theme will include scientific inquiry, (biology, life cycles, food chains, interdependence, etc.) literature-based language activities (we will return to the magical world of Rivka Sweedler's Wishy Washy's Wish) and art and craft (we will learn to work cedar bark and create some original Rivka-inspired multimedia pieces with the help of resident ceramicist Ginny Bohannan.) Needless to say, there will be ample field trips and visitors, poetry, storytelling, integrated math and writing activities, and an ever-growing appreciation for our place in nature and our responsibility as stewards of the environment. Looks like another full quarter! This week we will launch our studies with a two-pronged exploration. First we will begin to learn about trees, the grandparents of the forest ecosystem. We will study their biology, life cycle, and diversity. We will also begin to notice and develop a sense of kinship with the trees. We will particularly focus on the Western Red Cedar, which many first people cultures refer to as "the tree of life." Second, we will explore the literary and universal theme of "wishing." This comes up repeatedly in Wishy Washy's Wish and is inextricably woven into many archetypal stories and tales around the world. We will explore different kinds of wishes and realize the ramifications and responsibilities associated with making wishes. If you have books or stories related to this theme that you could share, please send 'em in. I know there are many out there! If weather permits we may even squeeze in a walk in the woods later in the week. On Friday we will be visited in the classroom by well-known holistic educator Dr. Robin Ann Martin. Robin will observe our practices and get to know Salmonberry a bit. Friday after school we will begin our Board Retreat. Friday evening at 7:30, Robin will present a community talk on Holistic Education at Salmonberry. Saturday we will continue the retreat. I hope I still have the same energy and optimism by next Monday. Just putting all these thoughts on paper is making me feel tired. (Just kidding. Anyway, there's another break in a few weeks, eh?) Also, attached is an article I wrote recently. It summarizes some of our first quarter classroom experiences and puts them in the context of my educational goals and values. It was sent as a mailer to prospective families but I thought you all might like to see it as well. I welcome feedback any time. Have a great week! Paul November 1, 2004 Dear Parents, What a rich and full quarter this has been. I am stunned we are already at its end. We had a very fun week last week preparing for Halloween. The kids made egg carton spiders, paper skeletons, collage pumpkins and some neat "star books" depicting Halloween scenes and symbols. We also went to the fire station where Max Jones, accompanied by "Firefighter Jeff" and "Chief Mike" played a fun interactive game with us as we learned about fire safety. The kids were full of knowledge and were also terrific sports and were very supportive of one another. This week will culminate our salmon studies with several special events and visitors. On Tuesday we will ride the Pollard's boat to Gooseberry Point on the Lummi Reservation and meet with a Lummi Elder, Pauline Hillaire. She will tell us some salmon stories and teach us dances as she highlights the significance of the salmon in the traditional Coast Salish traditions. (See details below.) On Thursday we will be joined by activist/singer/songwriter and long-time Salmonberry friend Sharon Abreu. She will share her passion for activities and environmentalism and she will share several original songs including the beautiful "Calling the Salmon Home," from her latest CD Seeking Sanctuary. On Friday we will spend the day on the Lutz' boat, the 54' ketch The Nawalak. David and Stacey will take us on a tour of the local waters and hopefully we'll meet some salmon in their ocean habitat (again, see below.) Be sure to also see The Nawalak featured on the National Geographic Special on Wednesday night on channel 9. Dave Lutz skippered the N.G. crew as they explored Grizzly Bear country south of Alaska. Thanks for all the incredible help and support all quarter long. Have a wonderful, restful break and a happy Thanksgiving. See you on Monday, November 29, when we will begin and integrated thematic unit on Northwest Temperate Rainforests. Have a great week! Paul October 18, 2004 Dear Parents, We had a lovely week last week as we turned our attention to the importance of salmon to some diverse human groups. We read about many Pacific Northwest Native American traditions revolving around the significance of salmon as the primary food source for these cultures. Antoinette told us a version of the Salmon People story from one such Northwest tradition. We explored the importance of the salmon as an indicator species which reflects the healthy of several different ecosystems: the temperate rainforest, the freshwater rivers and streams, the tidal estuaries and the deep sea ocean systems. We were visited by Dr. Russel Barsch, who spoke from the scientific perspective and by Dave Lutz, Cierra's dad who spoke from the perspective of the commercial salmon fisherman, a position he occupied for twenty years in Northern Alaska (talk about some good fish stories!) In our final three weeks of the quarter we will shift our focus again and now look directly at the decline in salmon population, the need for restoration work and explore what we can do to help. Our final visitors will hopefully include Isabel Athmann who will talk about stewardship and habitat restoration and Dr. Wylie Escheverria who will discuss Eel Grass decline and restoration efforts. We are looking ahead to a final culminating event which will be a day long charter about Dave and Stacey's ketch. We'll go meet the salmon where they live! We seem to have also hit our stride with Language Arts. A good part of each day involves "reading/writing time." Kids are working on a wide range of assignments including: writing a collaborative ABC book; reading independently book sat their level; creating book projects which reflect the content of their reading; writing paragraphs on a variety of subjects; working on spelling words by completing a variety of practice activities; working one-on-one with Mairi and I on various reading strategies, phonics, sight words, spelling, writing, revising, handwriting, etc. This has developed into a very productive time each day. The kids are all engaged in work that is meaningful and appropriate for them. They are increasingly able to work independently and collaboratively. It's been great! One example of work occurring at this time is spelling. My goal is to keep the kids' spelling practice meaningful and relevant as well as effective. So...each child meets with a teacher. We together brainstorm a unique list of 2-6 words. These come from student interest, content area vocabulary, and previously misspelled words from the student's writing. The teacher then selects partner words for each spelling word. These are often words that share a spelling rule with the originally selected words, so we are not simply memorizing an isolated set of words but are learning spelling patterns and rules that can be applied elsewhere. Thus each child generates a list of 4-12 words. We practice them together. The kids work independently throughout the week with the words. They copy them several times, alphabetize them, write sentences (or paragraphs or letters) with them; they scramble and unscramble the letters, draw each word's shape, illustrate some of them, sue them to create puzzles, etc. When we feel ready , we each take a quiz on the words. We save the word lists and will review previous words periodically. This has been an effective program so far, as well as being fun and personally relevant. Next week I'll tell you a bit about math! Have a great week! Paul October 5, 2004 Dear Parents, What a breathtakingly gorgeous bit of fall weather, eh? This week we will be turning attention to the importance of salmon to Pacific Northwest indigenous cultures. We began with an in-depth discussion of defining and "indigenous people" as well as what makes a "culture." The kids recalled some of our work with Lewis and Clark and their Native American encounters as well as the wonderful book Westlandia which we have read so often. We discussed how indigenous people meet basic needs using the environment around them with an eye toward sustained use and long term survival. The kids worked in cooperative groups to find ways to meet the basic needs of a fictitious group in a given region of their choosing. Finally we talked about culture arising from the search for connectedness beyond the meeting of basic needs in things such as language, festivals and celebrations, art, music, dance and symbols. It was a neat activity and rich discussion. On Tuesday, we will head down to Deer Harbor to meet with Dr. Russell Barsch. Russell is a widely published ethnobiologist and storyteller who is currently working on habitat restoration with the Samish Nation, including a project involving the Deer Harbor Estuary. We will learn about the need for monitoring and restoration work as well as the role of salmon in Samish traditions. The boat trip we had planned to the Lummi Reservation to learn traditions and dances from a Lummi elder has been postponed due to her ill health. We will try to reschedule. Thanks to Lynne Sharpless White, Ethan's mom, who made a run to Everett for us, we have everything we need for the arrival of the salmon eggs. I am meeting with Mike O'Connell to set up all the equipment on Wednesday. The we just have to wait for the salmon to return (they seem to be waiting in the sound for a little rain.) Then, three weeks after spawning, we'll have our "eyed eggs!" In the meantime we will become a certified salmon center by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. It's hard to wait but it should be worth it. In math, we have begun a unit on measurement and graphing which will coincide with our continued work on number operations and place value. The kids compared heights with one another, then measured each other and graphed the results on a bar graph. We will later look at at other forms and units of measurement including weight. I would like to officially welcome our newest Board Members Lynne Sharpless White and Laurie Junkins. We will have our October Board meeting on Monday, October 11 at 3:15. All are welcome. Have a great week! Paul September 27, 2004 Dear Parents, Thank you all for your thoughtful participation in last week's parent conferences. You all continue to have wonderful insights and awareness to share. Upon reflection after that long day I am struck by the uniqueness of each of the children and by the widening breadth of the goals we are setting for them. Mairi and I will be working very hard to meet all the kids' needs while we witness and try to nurture the wonder of each child's unfolding. Patience. In addition to all the usual fun last week we had a couple of unannounced Thursday surprises. Our neighbors across the street John and Marilyn Erly invited us over to pick apples. Some of these we peeled, cored, sliced and dried. Others we are saving for some apple crafts this week. Also on Thursday, our occasional ceramics specialist, Quinn's Nana Ginny, came and helped the kids to form some beautifully textured salmon tiles. These will be fired and later glazed. They are lovely! This week at school we welcome back the return of our weekly storyteller specialist Antoinette Bottsford. She has gradually developed an amazing rapport with and sensitivity to the kids and will model her inspiring embodiment of the oral tradition. Antoinette will be with us each Monday. We will also welcome back Elsie McFarland, our yoga teacher. Elsie will continue to remind us to be mindful and respectful of our bodies and our breath as she teaches us many fun and challenging yoga poses. Elsie will be with us on Tuesdays. Wednesday will be a very special day this week. We will be visited by Seattle area performer and educator Peter Donaldson. He will work with the kids for the whole afternoon on the theme of northwest history from the salmon's perspective. Peter is a lively and energetic teacher. The kids work will include a good deal of drama and movement. It should be very cool! To accomodate Peter's schedule and to maximize our time with him, we will have a change of schedule on Wednesday. We will start school at 9:30 AM (a 30 minute delayed start) and finish at 3:30 PM (a 30 minute delayed close.) I apologize for the short notice on this and hope it does not conflict with your other plans. I would recommend modifying your child's after school schedule for this event if necessary, however. It'll be worth it! We will also be joined that day by Fiona Norris, our Scientist in Residence from the SanJuan Nature Institute. Fiona is a botanist and educator and will be visiting us periodically throughout the year to help us in our inquiry based scientific investigations. She is terrific. We will be cooking some food to share with our guests as they will join us for lunch. Wednesday and Thursday will also be our Board elections. Look for an announcement and ballot in your child's cubby. Thanks for your book orders. They will be mailed out today. We shoudl receive at least 100 free quality books for the classroom. Hooray! Thanks too for all the support in pulling off another great fundraising event. The concert at Oddfellows was well attended and loads of fun...we even managed to make a few dollars! Two successful fundraisers in two weeks, not to mention the bulb sales and book orders. Let's take a deep breath now as we settle into fall. Thanks for all the hard work! Phew! Have a great week! Paul September 20, 2004 Dear Parents, Phew! Our first five day week is under our belts. This'll take a bit of getting used to. I think everyone was a little tired by Friday afternoon. We had a fabulous field trip to the Glenwood Springs Salmon Hatchery last week. Our visit included a close encounter with a three-year-old returning male Chinook salmon. He is just the fourth fish to return to the hatchery fish ladder this year, and estimated 500-1000 more will follow. Mike O'Connell did a terrific job showing us the facilities and explaining the operation of the hatchery. We are also all invited back for a Saturday spawning later this fall. We will spend a few more days wrapping up salmon biology and life cycle this week. The kids will complete a mapping activity in which they follow a salmon's life long travels. By the week's end we will move on to the question of why should we care about salmon? We will learn about the fish's importance as a food source, as a source of commerce and industry, as an indicator species in our watershed and ocean ecosystem, and as the center of much Pacific Northwest First Peoples' cultural traditions. This focus of study will go on for several weeks and will include connecting with several guest instructors. Meanwhile, we have begun to find a rhythm with our daily Language Arts block. Kids are working independently and in cooperative groups on a variety of reading and writing activities while Mairi and I work with individuals one on one and in small groups on reading and writing skills and strategies. We will begin Math groups this week, likely starting with some review activities and then moving quickly into some new number concepts and skill lessons. One new change to be aware of: In an effort to keep "sharing" a meaningful and important part of our day, we are making a significant change on a trial basis. Each child will have one sharing day each week. The schedule is posted on the large bulletin board by the entry. I will strongly encourage the kids to prepare something to share on their day. My preference, as always, is that the sharing be something they made, created or experienced. It can include found objects, photos, writing, pictures, etc. Each sharing may last 10 minutes or so and will include a few minutes of questions and answers. I am hoping the kids will bring important out-of-school experiences, passions, and accomplishments into the classroom. Little trinkets, toys, etc. can still be shown to friends before or after school or at lunch/recess times. Friday, there is no school for Parent Conference Day. Remember these are intended to be goal-setting conferences at which we will try to articulate some clear goals for your child which we can use as a basis for the winter quarter's progress summary. Please make sure you received a Scholastic Book Order. Our goal for this order is a total of $200, or about $20 per child. If we meet this goal, the elementary classroom will receive approximately 100-200 free books of my choosing. We will not bother you with future book orders throughout the year. We just do this one order in September because of the super-duper bonuses! Thanks to Lydia and the many helpers who volunteered and helped out at the Rummage Sale last weekend. Word is we netted about $1000 plus another $1800 through the sale of two vehicles. This will make a significant impact on our yearly budget. Next weekend there is one more opportunity to help raise funds. Please sign up to help with the Saturday evening concert at Oddfellows, or see Andria for other ways to help. Please come to the concert and bring as many friends as you can. This will be a very fun and memorable event! Then we can take a few deep breaths! Next week will be our annual Board Elections. If you are not a Board member and are interested, please let me or any Board member know by this Friday and we will include your name on next week's ballot. Also feel free to ask for more information about Board membership and associated duties and responsibilities. Have a great week! Paul September 13, 2004 Dear Parents, Last week we "hatched out" and began the long journey of our salmon adventure. The kids participated in several fun multidisciplinary activities around this theme. We designed puzzle pieces using repetition and pattern and revealing something about ourselves and then put these pieces together to create a large salmon. We colored and decorated fish cutouts according to a secret code to produce "fish glyphs." We played a fun game called "Are You Me?" in which we matched young and older examples of a single creature (and our own family photos) to reinforce the concept of life cycle and stages of development. We also listened to a sock puppet play "Life's Short and Then You Spawn," which again reinforced the concept of life cycle. We each chose a stage of development on which to focus and began creating our own sock puppet characters. We also began to write in our salmon journals. Friday was a wonderful field trip to the Marine Center at Camp Orkila. We saw eggs, alevin and fry. We fed some fry and smolts and we played a very fun simulation game in which the kids got to experience life as a salmon firsthand! Through this wide variety of activities the kids got to know one another a little better, got to practice and apply many skills, from art elements to symbolic representation and all aspects of writing. We also learned a lot about the five stages of a salmon's life and a bit about salmon biology and physiology. This week we will continue with the concepts of salmon biology and life cycle through another fun set of activities. Our daily schedule is evolving into the following: 9:00-9:15 Daily Detectives and journal writing 9:15-9:45 Opening, preview of the day, story 9:45-10:45 Language Arts Block (reading and writing activities: independent, and teacher directed) 10:45-11:00 Snack/Recess 11:00-12:00 Math Block 12:00-12:30 Lunch 12:30-1:15 Recess 1:15-2:00 Specialists 2:00-2:40 Content area and thematic work (science and social studies) 2:40-3:00 Closing Circle, Sharing By the end of this week we should more or less be adhering to this schedule. A few more details: "Daily Detectives" is what we are calling a daily arrival task in writing. The kids are presented with a sentence or two that contain(s) various errors of convention (grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.) They attempt to correct these sentences independently, then we correct them as a group. The ultimate purpose of this work is to begin to be able to identify and correct convention errors and apply these skills in our own work. There are modifications and alternate assignments available for students for whom this task is not appropriate, but all are involved in the whole group portion. Some special events to note: Monday at 3:15 is a Board Meeting. All are welcome. Tuesday is reopening of Salmonberry Preschool. The preschool opens this year with thirteen students! Last year we opened with three. Tuesday is also picture day! We will all walk over to the Orcas Island Elementary School where our pictures will be taken at 3:00. Please turn in your picture day envelope and check to me by Tuesday morning. We will return to school for a delayed pickup around 3:30. If you'd like you may instead pick up from the Orcas Elem. School. Matthew Olson returns for music this week on Wednesday afternoon with an expanded 45 minute lesson. He will continue as a weekly specialist instructor. Thursday morning is our field trip to the Youngren's salmon hatchery. Mike O'Connell, the site manager, will meet us and show us the growing eggs and fry. We will feed the salmon in the holding ponds and we will hopefully see and touch the returning adults as they reenter the hatchery waters. (Drivers are needed.) Thursday afternoon at 1:00 is the "Soy Delicious" ice cream Welcome Back to School party. Friday is simply a typical wonderful day. Saturday at 10:00 is the Salmonberry Rummage Sale. (Helpers are still needed - see the sign up on the door.) Also remember to sign up for a conference time for next Friday. This sheet is also on the door. (We need a bigger door!) Have a great week! Paul September 7, 2004 Dear Parents, It feels so good to be back at school. I don't know about you all, but I definitely satisfied my needs (and then some) for family reunions, sun and heat, ripe tomatoes, and home improvement projects. So I have jumped back into Salmonberry with both feet! First, I'd like to welcome our newest elementary students and their families: Peter Kamin is the son of Ethna Flanagan and Paul Kamin, and Robert and James McCall are the twin sons of Jeff and Susan McCall. It is wonderful to have you all with us. Speaking of new faces, the preschool will have six new students for a total of fourteen! There will be an opportunity to welcome everyone at our Back To School party on Thursday September 16 at 1:00. All are welcome! In the meantime please introduce yourselves to anyone unfamiliar. We will be pursuing an integrated thematic unit this quarter on Salmon. The curriculum will include inquiry based projects which address the issues of salmon biology and life cycle, their importance as an indicator species and integral member of several ecosystems, their symbolic and cultural significance to indigenous peoples and cultures, and their declining numbers and endangered status and what we can do about it. During these studies there will be literature, including some Native American creation stories. There will be art and craft experiences including puppet making, painting, and printmaking. There will be math experiences including estimation, comparison, graphin and percentage skill work as we try to make sense of the salmon data. There will be social studies experiences as we examine the central role the salmon play in many Pacific Northwest cultural groups. And, primarily, there will be a good deal of science, as we learn to tell the age of a salmon by looking at its magnified otoliths (ear bones) and scales, and many other activities. Of course, there will be quite a few exciting field trips and wonderful guest presenters: scientists, musicians and artists whose work is all connected to these amazing fish. I have found amazing resources from Jen Vollmer at the OIHM, the San Juan Conservation Corps, the ELC at Camp Moran, the Salmon Center at Camp Orkila, the Skagit branch of the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and many human resources as well. The activities I have collected from these folks are broad and deep and will surely engage the children fully! There will be much more detail forthcoming in future weeks. There are two things I need from each of you to help us get started. First, an old sock. This will be the basis for a puppet we will make at school and will represent one phase of the salmon's life cycle - any light color will do. Second, a pair of photos showing a single person at different stages in his/her life. For example, your child's baby picture and a recent photo, or a picture of a grandparent as a kid and then a more recent one. These will be used to reinforce the concept of life cycles and stages. If you can, please have these two things in tomorrow, Wednesday. Thanks. We will have no specialist instructors this week while we get reacquainted with our classroom routines and expectations. Specialists this quarter will include Antoinette Bottsford who will return for storytelling. Matthew who will return for Music. Ginny Bohannan who will teach occasional ceramics lessons. Oak Boesky who will teach fine art and architecture. Dacia Youngren who will teach cooperative games and outside play (and maybe a little about salmon.) There will definitely be other visiting instructors, too. Here are a few important dates to be aware of: 9/13 Board Meeting at 3:15 9/16 Field Trip to the Youngren's Hatchery 9:30-1:00 (we need drivers) 9/16 Welcome back party 1:00 (to welcome new families, welcome back returning ones, and recognize the generous gifts of time, money, and skills we have received in the past year.) 9/18 Salmonberry Rummage Sale (helpers and donation needed - see Lydia) 9/24 Goal Setting Conferences (sign up sheet to be posted) 9/25 Salmonberry Benefit Concert 7:00 (helpers needed - see Andria) I'm so glad the busy summer is over and our lives can return to the sleepy pace of fall....HA! Welcome back everyone! I am so excited to get this year off and running. Have a great week! Paul |