I hope you have had a great week homeschooling! Only 1 week left and then you can enjoy a week off for Spring Break! Here’s an update from Ethel as well as some upcoming events:
From Ethel: Marine Bio: This week, students put the finishing touches on their imaginary marine ecosystems. I’ve been so impressed with their creativity and knowledge of various marine organisms. We welcomed Nancy, the Education and Outreach Coordinator from Heal the Bay who gave a great presentation about storm water and pollution prevention. A number of students were feeling inspired to participate in a beach cleanup, or help in some other way! Mesoamerica: The students are really enjoying their time in the Maker Space and creating masks inspired by the Maya. They’re coming up with creative ways to add 3D elements and visual interest to their masks. Also, they’ve become experts at using and properly handling hot glue guns and cardboard cutters. Reminders: WORK JOURNAL #4 DUE – Your current work journal which ends today must be turned into the front office no later than Tuesday, 3/27 at 4:15 PM. It is very important for our school funding that you turn in your work journal on time so that attendance credit can be given. WJ #5 is attached to this email. It runs from March 26 – May 25th, and after that you’ll only have a short 6-day work journal. SLC’s next week – If you haven’t yet signed up, here are the links:
Please have your student come to SLC’s prepared with work to show us the great learning they are doing at home. See the attached SLC guidelines document. Spring Break – No school April 2 – 6 State testing – April 16 – 27 – Don’t forget to sign up for 4 sessions if your student is in 3rd or 4th grade and 5 sessions if your student is in 5th grade. Sign up here - http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-state Reminder – there will be no Workshops 4/17 and 4/24 due to state testing LACMA Evening for Educators: City and Cosmos: Arts of Teotihuacan – Tues., Apr. 10 at 5pm. These adult evenings are great events focused on building educators’ skill sets and content knowledge. The $15 ticket includes a catered dinner (served outdoors, so wear layers). http://www.lacma.org/evenings-for-educators Butacas – a maker workshop Sara Ochoa (mom of Seth and Samara) will be leading a series of workshops in which students will design and build their own butaca (easy chair). She is generously sharing this family tradition (she remembers doing this with her grandfather as a child) with us. It connects nicely with the Found in Translation exhibit currently at LACMA through April 1st.
Hike - The hike originally planned for today will be rescheduled due to yesterday’s rain. Watch for a new sign up for that hike to come to your inbox soon! Class Website - We have added some resources to the Innovators website. To access the website, go to www.davincik8.org, click on Instructional Support, click on Teacher’s DP Links, and click on the photo of Katie Steele. On the website, you will find the work journals, Math Resources, and Language Arts Resources. Also, in the blog section of the website, we post the weekly email updates so you can always look there for an archive of past updates. Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you soon at your student’s SLC!
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It was great to see some of you at the DVIA Adult Mixer on Monday night. Many thanks to those of you who were part of the FAN group who put it all together!
Here is the Tuesday update from Ethel: Marine Bio: Students continued to work on their imaginary eco systems. Using quality indicators as a guide, students began to illustrate their eco system as well as prepare an informational handout to be used during a class presentation. Next week, a speaker from Heal the Bay will be giving us a presentation about storm water and pollution prevention. Mesoamerica: This week we began the workshop session with a slide show about Maya masks. We learned that there were three different types of masks: event masks, battle masks, and death masks. We explored their purposes and significance within the Mayan culture. Each student selected the type of mask they would like to create using cardboard, paint, and found objects. It was fun to see their creative juices flow! Workshop Opportunity Butacas – a maker workshop Sara Ochoa (mom of Seth and Samara) will be leading a series of workshops in which students will design and build their own butaca (easy chair). She is generously sharing this family tradition (she remembers doing this with her grandfather as a child) with us. It connects nicely with the Found in Translation exhibit currently at LACMA through April 1st.
Stay informed! Connect with the DVIA Facebook Group! The DVIA Yahoo group will be closed in June. See this note from Heidi B.: At the request of Kaitlin, Michelle, and the DVIA team, we are streamlining the way in which our community communicates online, specifically through social media and community forums. As of June 8th, we will be dismantling and shutting down the DVIA Yahoo Group and will solely operate out of a new, private DVIA Facebook group (Request to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1873793045986045/). We realize that you may have found traction and value in using this specific forum. The DVIA team’s goal is to make community communication easier to access for new and veteran families, and to create an online community where we are all truly connected and learning from each other. If you’d like to transfer any resources/files to the new Facebook group, be sure to do so before we shut down this site on June 8th. Once you join the new group, please review the guidelines! This will help us all be on the same page about expectations and will give tips on how to post with tags specific to groups/cores/purposes that will be easily searchable within the group. Please reach out to Kaitlin with any questions. Thanks! Upcoming Events State Testing Info. Session – http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-state1 More info. on the sign up, but this is Monday, March 19th from 9 – 10:30. There will be a discussion for parents as well as one for students, so bring your student with you to this workshop. Hike – http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-hike More info. on the sign-up. This is Friday, March 23rd 10 – 1. If it rains, we will postpone to another date. SLC’s – Please sign up for an appointment. See the attached guidelines for a refresher about how to prepare and what is expected.
Spring Break – No School / No Homeschool April 2 - 6 State Testing – http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-state Most of you have signed up, but if you haven’t, please sign up for 4 sessions if you are in 6th or 7th grade, and for 5 sessions if you are in 8th grade. While our school does not emphasize state testing and we realize it is just one measure of student progress, it is required that our students participate in state testing as part of our public school funding. Future Events to keep on your radar: LACMA Evening for Educators: City and Cosmos: Arts of Teotihuacan – Tues., Apr. 10 at 5pm. These adult evenings are great events focused on building educators’ skill sets and content knowledge. The $15 ticket includes a catered dinner (served outdoors, so wear layers). http://www.lacma.org/evenings-for-educators Tuesday, May 1st Grunion Run – 9 PM – 11:30 PM at Cabrillo Beach. Collaborative Student Exhibition – May 9th - 5 – 6:30 – Start thinking about a project your student would like to focus on and display for our Spring Exhibition. Hubble IMAX Field Trip – May 16th POL’s (Presentations of Learning) – May 29 – June 1 Happy Friday! Here’s an update on our Innovators workshops and upcoming events. As always, please feel free to email, call, or sign up for our office hours if you have any questions, concerns, or need support in your homeschooling. For Jennifer’s Office Hours, click here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-office; For Janette’s Office Hours, click here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44ada729a13-march3
Workshop Update from Ethel: Marine Bio: Students got to explore the different ecological relationships between certain marine mammals this week by watching footage from NatGeo’s Critter Cam program. We learned what mutualism, symbiosis, parasitism, and commensalism mean as well as explored examples of these relationships. Using their knowleged of trophic levels, food webs, and ecological relationships, students began to create imaginary eco systems. They had voice and choice to decide if they wanted to work together, or on their own. Mesoamerica: We continued to explore and learn about Aztec and Maya religion, specifically religious rituals, gods and goddesses and their ties to agriculture. Next, we delved into the Maya and Aztec written languages. Students began writing their names using actual Maya glyphs. Next week, I’m excited to bring this workshop into the Maker Space with Jim for a hands-on, creative project about Mesoamerican masks! Upcoming Events: Da Vinci Mixer & Silent Auction - Mon., March 12, 6-9pm. oTicket sales are live!!! To RSVP & to buy tickets, click here. oThis will be FUN! Don’t miss it! DVIA's Second Annual Science Fair – Sat., March 17, 1-3pm oFollow this link for more information and to sign up. oThis is a great opportunity. We hope many of you will participate. March 19th, 9 AM – 10:30 AM – State Testing Information Workshops for parents and students in grades 3-8. I will meet with parents and Janette will work with students. I will talk with you about how to help your child have a positive testing experience and go over the logistics of test days. Janette will share with students what to expect, our DV testing philosophy, how to navigate the computer interface and different problem types. I encourage all collaborative families new to DVIA to attend. Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-state1 March 22 11 AM - Trip to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. This is for Collaborative K – 5th grade students. Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d44ada729a13-marine March 23rd – 10 AM – 1 PM – Hike at Millard Falls in San Gabriel Mountains. The Ballard family will guide us on a short hike that takes us to a waterfall. This is open to all collaborative 3rd – 8th grade students. Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-hike March 26 – 30 – Student Led Conferences – Work Journal 4 is a bit shorter than the others so it’ll already be time for us to meet again for SLC’s. This will be our last SLC of the year. A sign up will be sent out to you from either Janette or myself. April 2 – 5 Spring Break! Enjoy the week off! Tuesday April 10 at 5 PM - LACMA Evening for Educators: City and Cosmos: Arts of Teotihuacan – These adult evenings are great events focused on building educators’ skill sets and content knowledge. The $15 ticket includes a catered dinner (served outdoors, so wear layers). http://www.lacma.org/evenings-for-educators oJanette will attend. Hope to see you there! oWe are scheduling a field trip to this exhibit. More info TBA. April 16 – April 27 – State Testing – If you haven’t signed up yet, please sign up for 4 time slots (5 time slots for 5th grade and 8th grade students). More info and Sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-state May 1st 9 PM – 11:30 PM – Grunion Run at Cabrillo Beach – More info. and sign up coming later… We are enjoying the sound of the rain in our bungalow! So soothing and peaceful here.
From Ethel: It’s been wonderful getting to connect with your kiddos on Tuesdays! In the morning, students completed researching and illustrating an organism from a coral reef. They needed to determine the trophic level, predators and prey (among a few other facts) in order to create a whole-class food web. Working together, they determined the flow of energy between all of their organisms and completed a colorful food web. We continued our learning by discussing how populations of organisms rely on and interact with each other for survival. After lunch, students jumped right in to the Mesoamerica project. In small groups, students began learning about the Mayan and Aztec religions. They used books as well as an online Padlet site that Katie created to aid in their research. GENERAL INFO MAPS testing – We have started our MAPS testing and will continue until March 9th. Please sign up for 2 appointments. One for math and one for reading. You may sign up for appointments with either of us: Janette’s MAPs or Jennifer’s MAPs. State Testing – Many of you have already signed up for your State Testing dates. If you haven’t already, please sign up for 4 sessions, plus an extra session for 5th graders for Science. Remember that there will be no workshops on Tuesday, April 17 or Tuesday, April 24, and you can do both the AM and PM sessions, so if you’d like to get 4 state tests done during the time you’d normally be at workshops, that could make it easier on your schedule. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084bafae2da5fe3-state Janette’s Office Hours and Home Visits Sign-Up Jennifer’s Office Hours Sign-Up SAVE THE DATE (reminders) Da Vinci Mixer & Silent Auction - Mon., March 12, 6-9pm.
Friday, March 23rd Hike – The Ballard family will be leading the group on a short hike so we can learn from nature and get some fresh air and exercise! Jennifer will be joining you (I have workshops on Fridays). More info coming. LACMA Evening for Educators: City and Cosmos: Arts of Teotihuacan – Tues., Apr. 10 at 5pm. These adult evenings are great events focused on building educators’ skill sets and content knowledge. The $15 ticket includes a catered dinner (served outdoors, so wear layers). http://www.lacma.org/evenings-for-educators
Tuesday, May 1st Grunion Run – 9 PM – 11:30 PM at Cabrillo Beach. |
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