Protecting yourself from germs...

Many students were interested in how flu and other illnesses spread. This video offers a quick explanation, and is included with a link from the CDC on how to stay healthy.

Online Resources for Recent Classroom Topics

This video channel Because of Them We Can, includes profiles of African-American luminaries like Mae Jemison, W.E.B. DuBois, and Maya Angelou. Check out all the videos!

If you want to extend your learning from last week's presentations, look up different landmark cases in the Supreme Court.

Or, you can listen to live radio stations from around the world.

This link leads you to poetry collected for children from the Academy of American Poets. Find a poem you like and memorize it!

In honor of Black History Month, look at photographs of unpublished Black History and learn about some of the residents from the Rondo neighborhood, near where GRS is today, with the Rondo Oral History Project. If you would like to add quotes to our quote archive, please do. 

Want to know what microbes affect your body? Explore the Microbiome simulator (only works on Safari and Firefox): 

In the coming weeks, we will be learning about microbes in the context of the evolution of life on earth. Test your knowledge with the NOVA Evolution Lab game.

This website can help you further your knowledge of climate change and what you can do about it. If you are interested in figuring out how much carbon dioxide your lifestyle emits, use a carbon footprint calculator like one of these:

• Carbon Calculator: http://www.ei.lehigh.edu/learners/cc/carboncalc.html
• International Student Carbon Footprint Challenge: http://web.stanford.edu/group/inquiry2insight/cgi-bin/i2sea-r3a/i2s.php?page=calculate

The EPA website's topics on climate change are not functioning reliably, but this website used to be very helpful if it is working.

Shingobee February Update

Dear Shingobee Families,

As we anticipate next week's long weekend, we wanted to give you an update on what Shingobee students have been doing recently. We are concluding our persuasive writing and climate change studies with projects raising awareness on issues students feel passionate about. Students composed letters to local representatives on topics ranging from animal rights and the drafting age to texting and driving. They also created posters to inform others about how global warming will impact different species. On Tuesday, we will be visited by several students from A1 to learn about how GRS' urban farm is a step to mitigate climate change in our local community. 

Some upcoming events:

• Tuesday, February 13, 3:15-4:00pm is the next Critter Cash Committee Sale! It will be held in the Adolescent building in the dining room. If you would like to attend, we ask that you please pick your child up as usual and walk them over to the other building. Students are invited to make crafts and/or bake treats at home to donate to our sale; we ask that they include ingredients of the treat. Participation is optional and proceeds from the sale will be shared among all of the UE classrooms. Our students and pets thank you for your generosity and support!

• On Wednesday, February 14th, we will be celebrating kindness in our community. We ask that students share the community gifts they made for homework on this day. No other cards or gifts are needed.

This month, we are beginning every day by reflecting on a quote from an African-American change agent. We are also starting an exploration of poetry--students will be posting some of their work on our blog, so keep an eye out! Last week, we experimented with techniques to create found poems with homemade "magnetic" poetry and "blackout" texts. On Friday, we shared poems with Little Elk River class, who are just beginning their own poetry study. 

Finally, if you are interested in visiting Shingobee to talk about your life and/or work, we have many open slots for our Storytelling/Job Talk series on Friday afternoons from 12:15-1:00pm. Please sign up using this link!

Warmly,

Alaina and Amanda

Homework 2/13/18

We will be posting electronic copies of homework assignments on the blog in case your child has any outstanding essays. Here is the assignment for this week:

Upper Elementary Homework

Due 2/13/18 - Community Appreciation

While many people celebrate Valentine’s Day this week, in Upper Elementary, we’re celebrating the strong community we’ve built.  Instead of buying premade cards for others, each person will make a gift for the community to share.  You will make a card, poem, piece of visual art, textile art, or other beautiful object to share and present it to your community.  Feel free to use some of the techniques we have learned from our poetry study to help you out!

Questions to Consider: (Feel free to discuss these with a friend or adult)

1. What do you appreciate about Great River School as a whole school?  Think about annual events, key experiences, end of the year activities, and opportunities for freedom and responsibility for students here.
2. What is important to you about being in Upper Elementary?  This might be freedoms you experience, our key experience, our time at the park, our animals, lessons or projects you enjoy, or committees you in which you have participated. 
3. What is special about your Shingobee classroom community?  What unique traditions and experiences do you appreciate?  What do your guides and classmates do to support you, challenge you, or fill you with wonder?
4. What do you offer to your community?  How do you work to support others? What work do you have to offer others?  What work helps you feel part of our community?

Requirements:

1. Your community appreciation must be a physical thing, something that can be displayed in your classroom.
2. You must have a short explanation that accompanies your work - you must explain what you made, why you chose to make it, and how it represents the things you appreciate about Great River School, Upper El, and your classroom community.
3. Your work must be, to the best of your ability, beautiful.   

Climate Change Links and Resources

We are seeking volunteers to sign up to tell a story and/or talk about your work during our Friday "Storytelling and Job Talks" series! Starting next week! Link to spreadsheet here.

Currently in science, Shingobee students are exploring the causes, evidence, and effects of global climate change. The links below include videos and online resources for further study. Students are monitoring weather using our weather station, researching various species impacted by climate change, and modeling the climate system using cause and effect flow charts. Next week, we plan to visit the Como Conservatory to experience the effects of being in a greenhouse, and measure some of our local trees to figure out how much carbon they are can store.

NASA Images of Change: See how the planet looks in a state of flux. Amazing satellite photos: https://climate.nasa.gov/images-of-change

Indigenous hunters and non-Native scientists collaborate in the Canadian Arctic:

National Geographic: Causes and Effects of Climate Change

Minute Earth: How do Greenhouse Gases Actually Work?

NASA: The Greenhouse Effect

NASA Climate Change infographics 

Union of Concerned Scientists: Global Warming Impacts

Documentary on Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change

End of Semester Update, Volunteering Opportunities, and MLK Quote!

Dear Shingobee Families,

We hope you all enjoyed a restful and relaxing Winter Break. 2018 has gotten off to a positive start in Shingobee. As the first semester draws to a close, students are reflecting on their learning, setting new goals, and cultivating a growth mindset. In particular, we have discussed how humans learn according to current neuroscience and social science research, which highlights the importance of practice, challenge, and hands-on experience to "stretch" the mind. Upper elementary is a time when the brain makes some of the most neural connections, so it's important to take advantage and learn new things!

During the month of January, Shingobee students have continued to engage in whole-class cultural studies. In history, students are exploring civics and the structure of our political system, including studies of the Bill of Rights, the legislative process and the branches of government. We hope to arrange a field trip to the State House to complement this work. Students are also writing persuasive letters to school community members advocating for positive changes to GRS--popular requests include a library and playground to accompany our new building, and increased use of computers for homework. In science, students have been studying different aspects of global climate change, including the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, and the difference between weather and climate. Thanks to a homemade weather station, we now have a daily weather report so we can track our ever-changing conditions! Recent small group lessons have looked at fraction and decimal concepts, measurement and angles, the pythagorean theorem, and the history of pi. 

Now that we have begun the second half of the year, we are looking to make more connections outside our classroom. We seek your support with a few things:

1) Going Out Chaperones: We are in need of parent volunteers to accompany students on Going Outs within walking distance of GRS.

2) Storytelling and Job Talks: We are looking for interested family and community members to give short presentations on their work, or tell stories about an aspect of their lives. Volunteers are invited to eat lunch with students on Fridays and give a ten minute talk followed by a short Q and A. Please send an e-mail if you would like to sign up. The purpose of this program is to help inspire students and encourage grace and courtesy with guests.

3) Librarian Assistance: We are hoping to reorganize our library by genre, and would love some help re-shelving books. Donations of baskets to help keep the genres separate are also welcome. 

Finally, a few classroom reminders:

• Please remind your student that homework is due on Tuesday. We are looking into setting up a homework completion time outside of school, and will keep you updated. 

• The cold season is still here, and we actively seek Kleenex donations to soothe all those sniffly noses!

• As we continue to adapt to the constraints of our food preparation facilities, we encourage families bringing snack send dry goods or whole fruits only (i.e. no peanut butter, salsa, or spreads) for the classroom. Thank you so much for your understanding.

We are grateful for your partnership and support at home, and look forward to seeing you in March at conference time! As always, feel free to e-mail or call with questions, or drop by our office hours on Wednesdays from 3:15-4:15. Stay tuned for upcoming calendar events and the next Critter Cash Committee update.

In closing, here is a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from a 1947 essay on the purpose of education.

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

Warmly,

Amanda and Alaina