Hawaiian Stars News 11-30-06
The Big Island trip meeting last night was well attended. Thank you to all of the parents who signed up to be chaperones. After the next meeting on Monday night, we will know approximately how many chaperones we will have for each trip. Then we can plan our trip with some realistic numbers to confirm our reservations. Our tentative itinerary is still a work in progress, and changes may occur over the next few months. It will be a working trip for the children, and they will be excited to learn more about the Kilauea volcano, tsunamis, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and astronomy. Each group will be doing an inquiry investigation and gathering data for their research on the trip.
Our preparations for conferences are going well. The Hawaiian Stars are working very hard to prepare their portfolios to showcase their learning and are writing reflections for the pieces they have selected. I think you will enjoy what they have decided to include in their portfolios.
Our daily work is moving along nicely, and many students are working especially diligently on their Wordly Wise corrections. They have worked with partners during this process, and they have discovered the power of two minds working together. Independent new work is also moving along with many students on Lesson 14 and 15. One is on Lesson 18 already.
Writing pieces have been selected for the portfolios, and the Hawaiian Stars have done a thorough reflection about the pieces they have selected. They have focused on their development as writers and how they have improved since the beginning of the year.
Most have completed their research about the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and are writing their reports. It has been a challenging process to read, take notes, and find answers to some difficult questions. Their final work should be in their portfolios next week.
Math work samples have been selected for the portfolios, and the students tried to explain their reasoning to solve the problems, especially the CMLs. They will all have different work samples to demonstrate their learning this semester.
I look forward to our conferences next week because the children will lead them and we can all brainstorm how to improve each child's progress during the second semester. These parent-teacher-student conferences are so empowering to the students because they accept such an important role during our time together.
Posted on November 30, 2006 6:17 AM | Permalink