The Nutshell

Who Picks Your Food?

Social Studies Expedition

We are now underway on our Spring Expedition.  Just like our Fall Expedition, this expedition will have three case studies based on our Big Ideas and Guiding Questions.

We kicked off our Social Studies Expedition, “Getting What We Need” last week.  Our first case study is called, “Who Picks My Food?” and investigates the topic of migrant farm workers, the resources they work with, have/don’t have, and the choices they make.

Our Big Idea: The availability and use of resources has an effect on the well-being and movement of people. (Or What we have and don’t have affects what we do and where we go.)

Guiding Questions:
A: What choices do people make when they have what they need? How do they feel?
B: What choices do people make when they don’t have what they need? How do they feel?
C: Why do some people succeed against all odds?

As a kick-off for our first case study, we asked students to predict where various fruits and vegetables came from.  Before they investigated where they were grown, they served and sampled them.  I think you will be happy to learn that many of your children stepped out of their comfort zones to try produce that they weren’t sure about.

 We also had an expert speaker, Sister Molly, come share with our crew last week.  Sister Molly is a nurse and a practicing Midwife who has worked with Colorado migrant farm workers, to ensure they are getting what they need, for many years.  With in the next two weeks we will have another expert speaker from the Migrant Education Program visit to further enlighten us about local migrant children and their families.

 Sister Molly with Mr. Josh's class.  I was so captivated be Molly I forgot to grab my camera.

Spelling Bee Results:   
Congratulations Paradisio and Tiernan for their bravery and focus!  Our very own Paradisio Dante took home the REMS spelling be title.

 Tiernan had a great run.

 No contenders left.

 Paradisio kindly applauding the runner-up

Team Building with Cody: 
Before any voyage all students meet with our Outdoor Ed. Director Cody to practice team/community building.  

 Debriefing the team building process is essential for its success

Winter Voyage: 6th Grade
Our Winter Voyage is next week: February 4-7.  Please note that our gear check will take place this Thursday January 31st.  All gear needs to be here at school, ready to check that day.  If your child will need some of the voyage winter gear for the  weekend of February 2-3, please send that gear in on the 31st so that it can be checked off as voyage appropriate.  

Upcoming Dates:
Jan. 30              Course selection sheets due back to 6th grade teachers
Jan. 31st           Gear Check - 6th 
Feb. 1                Mesa registration/course selection sheets due to 6th grade teachers
Feb. 4-7             Winter Voyage- 6th
Feb. 15 & 18      No School
Feb. 21              Gear Check - 5th 
Feb. 25-27         Winter Voyage -5th
March 4-8          TCAP Testing
March 22           Last Day before Spring Break
April 9                First Day Back to School (Tuesday)


April 2013 – Parent only dessert and coffee open house at CRMS.  More details on this event will be sent at a later date.
April or May 2013 – All incoming Castle Rock Middle School 6th grade students will take a field trip to CRMS for a tour and student information presentation.  More details on this event will be sent at a later date.
May 2013 - All incoming Mesa Middle School 6th grade students will take a field trip to Mesa for a tour and student information presentation.  Date TBA


Problem Solving:
What shapes would you build, if you could only use single sheets of paper and limited masking tape to hold my weight (168Ilbs.), and the book I stand on, for 1 minute? 

Amazing how much weight a few of sheets of paper can hold when turned into a certain shape.



Thanks for the B-day treats Jolie!

Reentry

Oooops!  I was under the impression that I had already uploaded this post.   A few of the dates below have already past. 


I expected we'd each struggle with the transition back to school post winterbreak, however, our reentry into the classroom atmosphere happened rather smoothly.   Before break we had a stellar classroom shindig organized and orchestrated by Ule and supported by a handful of warm-hearted and kind parents.  It wasn't until after our cocoa bar and sweet-toothed feast that I grabbed the camera to document.  I captured some entertaining shots of the kids performing their individualized holiday skits.  Before the images let me just a take a moment to express my gratitude to Ule for throwing us a wonderful party.  Thank you Ule! And also much thanks to all the families for sharing with me thoughtful Christmas gifts.  

Gregory making music       

 Conner, Kaytee and Kimberly impressing us.

 Camden and Conner sharing their Christmas skit

 Joli and Lauren acting as Santa and his Elf.

 Ta-da

                                                                  Secret Santa    

Paradisio and Jeffrey in the Rap Battle

Ask your child about the Raku Firing we did on December 19^th.

What is Raku?

  

Raku pottery is created with a specific ceramic firing process that uses both fire and smoke to create unique patterns and designs. The piece is first bisque fired, then it is glazed and undergoes a raku firing process. The firing process requires a special raku kiln that is fueled by propane and reaches temperatures of about 1,800°F (about 982°C).

After the kiln, it is then removed from the kiln using specially designed raku tongs. While the raku pottery piece is still hot and glowing, it is placed

 

inside a metal can full of combustible materials. The heat emitted from the pottery causes these materials to catch on fire.

After the materials inside the metal can catch on fire, a lid is placed over the can and the pottery is sealed inside. As the fire consumes the oxygen within the can, it also draws the oxygen out of the pottery and its glaze. This process is called post fire reduction. It is this stage that creates the unique look of raku pottery. The resulting patterns and colors are unpredictable, as they are created through the natural process  oxygen removal

We are very appreciative of all of Pam and Doug’s hard work and assistance.

Why did we do Raku?
Because in Expeditionary Learning we look at Big Ideas and Guiding Questions through different “lenses” or “case studies”.
Our Expedition was “Why Does It Matter?” and the case studies were:
1.   Carbon, Climate & Controversy
2.   You Got a Problem with Me? – Mountain Pine Beetle
3.   Rocks, Raku & You



Big Ideas
▪   All cycles have matter and energy
▪   Matter and energy affect each other and are recycled
▪   Systems are often connected
▪   Scientists have specific ways of finding things out (thinking skills)
Guiding Questions
▪   Where do matter and energy come from? Where do they go?
▪   What happens when matter and energy are recycled?
▪   How are systems and cycles connected?
▪   How do scientists figure things out?
▪   What is the role of scientific literacy in people’s lives? Why is it even important?


Dates to Be Aware Of:

Spelling Bee: 
January 16: Immediately following ASM 

CRMS Families: 
January 22nd from 6:00 – 7:30 PM – Blue Knight Parent Night for Renaissance, DCMC, Sedalia, Soaring Hawk and Larkspur – flyers for this night were attached to the course selection packets.
January 30th – Course selection sheets due back to 6th grade teachers
April 2013 – Parent only dessert and coffee open house at CRMS.  More details on this event will be sent at a later date.
April or May 2013 – All 6th grade students will take a field trip to CRMS for a tour and student information presentation.  More details on this event will be sent at a later date.

MESA Families: 
January 22nd: MESA will visit REMS 
January 15th or 16th: Parent Orientation Night: 303-387-4750.


Winter Voyage:
6th Grade: 2/4-2/7 with 2/8 as a day of rest
5th Grade: 2/25-5/27with 2/28 as day of rest

NO SCHOOL: Professional Development (teacher work day) – 1/18 & 2/15

NO SCHOOL: Holidays (MLK & President’s) – 1/21 & 2/18

TCAP Testing – Week of 3/4


End of 3rd Quarter and Start of Spring Break – 3/22

There I am

I went back home, to Missouri, for Christmas.   I love to run.  Don't do it that much, but enjoy it when I do.  My favorite trail to run, near my parents house, adjacent to the Missouri River is always a stop when I return home.   My runs there are always more than just a run, there the best meditative experience I can have in the Midwest.   On my first run I recalled a short narrative I had written during grad school; the impact of the outdoors on a child kinda-of-thing.  I love the outdoors.  I love how, at times, the simplicity of things in nature like long shadows or the quick scent of heated grass leave me with a sense of ease and clarity.   The moment often fleets, but I know where to go to find it again.   I hope each of you, and your families found a little peace throughout break.  Below is the short I was thinking about while running.

Missouri

My Grandfather was a gentle giant who eagerly shared his quiet affection for the Ozark Mountains he had lived in all his life. Every time my family arrived at his small town home, after we had been fed and watered, and our personal things were stowed away, he would ask who wanted to go for a ride in his old pick-up. For my Grandfather that meant to drive as far as possible into the forest, get out of the truck, stand at a rivers edge, comment on the subtle changes that man or weather had brought to the water-way, and then hush, and let the serenity of the wilderness rejuvenate his soul.


Rejuvenation of his soul is certainly an idealized way for me to express what the wilderness actually gave my grandfather. I don’t know precisely what he gained, he was a quiet man, and rarely articulated what his relationship with the forest offered him. What I have to help me understand his deep appreciation for the natural world are my early childhood memories of following him over ridge tops and down into the hollows, through the shallow creek beds, meadows, and fields, as well as his physical response to many of the beautiful places we visited. These memories of observations may be assumptions about the gentle giant’s perspective. But that is okay, because what is important is that it was his calm affinity for the wild lands that was pivotal in developing my own deep appreciation for the natural world. Whether this appreciation was built on assumption, or fact, the reality is that something precious has blossomed inside of me.


There is one seminal moment in the relationship with my grandfather that, for me, has catalyzed nature’s ability to heal the spirit. I was six or seven, and we were wandering around a forested hilltop; he was filling his pockets with acorns and simultaneously turning over rocks to see what kind of bugs had taken up residency. I was kneeling on brittle leaves with a stick in my hand, fixated on poking a cluster of hideously looking ground mushrooms. When I had finished defacing the fungus I stood up and noticed grandpa was much farther away than I had realized. He was standing on the edge of the hilltop between two enormous oak trees, silhouetted by the late afternoon sun. In front of him were three fall foliaged Ozark valleys converging in to one. I wanted to approach, but my intuition told me to be still. From my position, it appeared he had undergone a transformation—as if he had absorbed the same earthly nutrients as the giant hardwoods he stood by—and expeditiously became just like them—rooted to the edge, reaching for the sky.


He had never carried on that far from me before, and his idleness had began to concern me. Was he going to return? Of course he did. And when he turned, and moved towards me, I stayed in my place and watched him saunter by. He glanced at me only once when passing, and in that moment, looking back into his delicate eyes, and at his relaxed posture, I began to understand why he made so many trips into the forest.


My grandfather participated in church service to be a part of a community. He made pilgrimages into the woods to be with god.  It was the cool rivers and streams, the rugged hills, and dense forest of the Ozarks that were his sanctuary—where there was an abundance of peace and tranquility.


That day on the ridge I believe he was reminded of how grateful he was to be alive. Perhaps like me, when I stand alone in the wilderness, he too stood there looking out at the beautiful world thinking about the wonderful gift his grandpa shared with him.