Friday, February 14, 2020

Hello Aurorians and families!

Canada is coming. I know we keep promising that, but contacting all the museums and getting a final money tally is proving a bit time-consuming. The museum deals are pretty sweet, so I know we can get there for under $150 per person...I'm just trying to pear it down a bit before we send you the final amount. We do need to send in deposits, so we are asking for a down payment from students of $40. We would like this as soon as it is convenient for you. If adults are still deciding, we can make do with just $40 per student. We are counting on 52 people coming. We have 3 teachers and 36 students - so we are hoping for 13 parents/guardians to join us.  This will bring the price down some as the bus is a fixed cost. We can take more adults, but I think only 52 fit on the bus. Cars are welcomed. Please start locating your documents for crossing the border. We won't collect these until two weeks prior to departure on June 4th.

Today we become one week away from trimester 2 ending. There are many things happening on Team Aurora!

For science, students will be taking their Bend 1 science assessments on Monday and Tuesday. Students found out their partners on Friday and discussed materials they will be experimenting with on these days. This assessment is a lab-based assessment. This means that students will work in partnerships to complete a task using the information they have learned throughout the unit. They have learned A LOT! For this assessment, Ms. Roberge is only providing: 1. The egg, 2. the cup (to act as a helmet), 3. the tape for the chin strap. Students collaborated on Friday to discuss who was getting what materials over the weekend. Please check in with your child to see what they agreed to bring in. Unfortunately, with the closing of the trimester and busy lab schedule, if they forget to bring in the materials on their lab day, they will have to develop a new plan with their partners. This is important and going to be a big science grade for them!
Overall, I'm so excited to see how they are using force, mass, friction & other key components to make a safe helmet for their egg friend. What fun!

In math, Ms. Roberge was sick for half of the week. Due to this, the math assessment has been pushed further out. It is projected to happen at some point next week, however, this is tentative. With building small groups and ensuring confidence and understanding for students, this assessment may have to be pushed until after the vacation. Stay tuned for more information regarding this. Students have been working on completing their study guides throughout the week, which has been (mostly) successful.

In LA, we just finished our final drafts for our teen activism essay. We learned how long and hard one works to create an essay with a central idea, compelling introduction, claims, evidence reasoning, evidence reasoning, evidence reasoning, and conclusion. Whew! We worked so hard and accomplished so much....now on to our own National History Day research...Breaking Barriers in History.

As you may have imagined, social studies and la are intersecting in this unit.  We will complete our NHD projects before the end of the trimester and begin New World Colonies and Moving to Independence before the end of the year.

We will have new homeroom arrangements for our final trimester of Team Aurora. It's hard to believe.

IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE LEAVING EARLY FOR THIS VACATION, PLEASE LET US KNOW! This helps us plan activities but also makes sure we collect assignments from your child so it does not affect their grade. Many thanks for your support with this!

Things due for the week of 2/17:
Teen activism essay is past due (Friday, 2-14)
NHD source list due Friday 2/21
2/20- WORD STUDY
2/21- MATH MENU