Gotta Love Those Eighth Graders

One of my concerns this year was how the older students would react to having the younger students on campus with them. Well, I gotta tell you. My worries were nothing. Today at lunch I watched the students play dodge ball. The oldest and youngest students were having a ball (no pun intended). It was great to watch the older students look out for the younger ones. One of the eighth grade boys when he was throwing the ball always took extra care not to throw the ball too hard at the little ones. It was very sweet to see his concern. He was also making sure none of the older students threw the ball to hard at the younger students. This kind of behavior wasn't an isolated incidence. It's been the norm. I think the younger and older students have a lot to teach each other. I'm very glad to be able to witness this behavior.

Progress Reports

Well, the team has just finished up the progress reports for this trimester. We're sending them out to let parents know if there are any problems developing and need attention or just to let parents know how well their child is doing. I delivered the progress reports this afternoon to the three schools that I liaison with. Those three schools are Kenilworth, Emerson, and Whittier. I know Mrs Iniquez, Mrs. Rentz, and Mrs. Kwan were also busy delivering ALPS progress reports this afternoon. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. We are always available to talk to.

Short Week

Well it's been a short week. We didn't have students on Monday because of Labor Day and next week will be another short week because of Parent-Teacher Conferences. The first and second graders got to do some experimentation. They were looking for their taste buds and filling out a tongue map to show where they had found them. We used salt in water for the salty taste. Juice was used for the sweet taste. Lemon juice made a great sour taste. For the bitter taste I used tonic water. Next week we'll experiment on how taste and smell work together. The third through eighth graders continue to work hard on their animation projects. Hopefully by next week they will start filming them.

Week Four of ALPS

The third through eighth grade groups have started their animation projects in earnest. Last week they worked on their scripts and storyboards. They'll finish those up this week if they haven't already and start making their characters, the props and backgrounds.
The first and second grade groups got to experiment with roller coasters. They built roller coasters out of pipe insulation tubes. The learned the importance that gravity and centrifugal force plays in the construction of roller coasters. We all agreed that if we could, we would love to take a field trip to Six Flags to see one up close and personal. Maybe even ride one! This week we plan to map the tongue and its taste buds...yummy!!!

2009-2010 ALPS Team

*Mrs. Howell is no longer with us. She's the reading specialist for Kenilworth Elementary.

1st Project of the Year

I love teaching!!! This week I got to start the first project of the year with my class. They are going to be doing animation. Mrs. Iniguez and I have teamed up on this project. Her part of the project is to have the students do the research for the animation topic. I get to show the student how to actually do animation. This week I talked and showed the students a brief history of animation. I got to show them some very old black and white animations that were over a hundred years old and boy, did that shock them. I also talked to them about the various kinds of animation and show them short animated clips to illustrate my point. Next week I will show them the essential elements that are needed to make a good animation piece.

Classroom Rules and Expectations

I've printed below my classroom rules and expectations. I have them posted in my room and this last week I made it a point to go over them.
-Be prepared to learn
-Be responsible for your own actions
-Be considerate when others are speaking
-Be respectful of other people's property
-Be aware of your own personal space
-If in doubt, ask