Voices of 5/6
Here is your Voices of 5/6 update. A small group of students met during lunch on Friday to comment on the events of the week and share highlights with families. The contributors for this week are Allie, James, Matthew F., Noah, Parker and Nora.
- This week we did a walk on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. day. We saw special places in Bloomington that were important to African American history. We saw the the May House. It was a place for African American students to live and get meals before they were allowed in the dorms. We also saw the site of the Black Market. It was a store that sold books and clothes and items related to African Americans. The store was firebombed in 1968.The site is now People’s Park on Kirkwood.
- In performing arts we learned the choreography for HONK. We have been working on our lines. The deadline for memorizing lines is February 1. In visual arts we have been working hard to get the sets done. All the groups are getting closer to their vision for the sets.
- We have been working on our argument essays. We got feedback and now we are working on revising them to make them the best they can be.
- We had new Passions choices. A lot a people got their first or second choice. One of the new choices was stop motion animation.
- We started new book clubs. We made our own schedules for meetings and deadlines.
- In science we put yeast into bags with water. Some bags had cookies too. The bags bags with the cookies expanded because the yeast was metabolizing the cookie.
- We are still working with Ms. Steph on Fridays on yoga.
To add onto these points, we are working on Book Clubs in Readers Workshop. Students have met and determined their own deadlines and meeting schedules. They are independently deciding on topics of study in their book clubs, coming up with discussion questions/elements, and soon will be creating a self-assessment rubric for their participation. This agency and independence has been awesome.
Announcements
In writers workshop, kids revised their original published argument essay in light of feedback that Jim and I gave them. Most kids completed this process in the workshop times we set aside last week (about 2.5 hours). Some have not finished, and that will be a part of their homework this week.
In Performing arts, as you may have seen above – we’ve set a deadline of February 1 for all lines (and song lyrics) to be memorized. This is the homework for the week as well as revising the essays and completing any book club reading.
We are running low on pencils, tissues, paper towels, and ziplock bags. If you are able to and willing to, we welcome donations of these supplies!
Optional Winter Conference: We so enjoy sharing your child’s progress and goals, while also learning more about your perspectives, hopes, and dreams related to your child. We have completed the round of fall conferences and look forward to the ones that we will have later in the spring (April/May). We do offer an optional winter conference as well. If we feel that there is a need for a winter conference, we will be in touch to schedule by February 10. If you would like to request a winterconference, please contact your child’s main teacher before February 10 to let them know that you would like to schedule a winter conference.
Questions to Ask Your Child at Home
- What book club are you in? What do you think about being in charge/responsible for your book club schedule/discussions?
- Tell me about yeast in relationship to the science work you’ve been doing.
- What was it like to receive feedback on your writing pieces? How did you handle the feedback?
- Last week, the theme of CPR/Morning Meeting was play & fun. What did you discuss? What games did you do?
The Weekly Scoop 