Empowered through giving.

"We rise by lifting others." - Unknown

Our class has begun a new routine this month.  We call it "Watering Flowers."  At the end of the day, we take time to give each other compliments, which helps us grow.  It's lovely, and a beautiful way to close out the day together.  

We have been having a lot of conversations about giving and helping others in relationship to our mindset for learning and with our fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of Simeon.  Today Camryn came in with a surprise!  She had pledged to donate her hair when our donation efforts collected $500.  We are remarkably at over $1,600 already!  Check out Camryn's giving:

We decided to watch this video to find out what happens when a person donates their hair:

Sometimes when you feel powerless to help a situation, finding a way to give of yourself can be empowering.  I, like many of the students, want to be able to help Simeon's fight.  Our fundraiser is a way we can help support him and other children and families battling Leukemia.

If you would like to share a web-link to collect donations for our school fundraiser benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of Simeon, please use this link:
http://events.lls.org/pages/gat/RalphMCaptainElementarySchool-2017

Thanks so much for everything you do to teach your children the importance of helping others!

5th Grade Is Magical

I'm sure you read "magical" and assumed I'm being cheesy, but I'm only using the words of the students.  We've had some things happen to make us think this way.

For instance, who can deny that this gorgeous rainbow outside our window was magical?

Or that this sleepy raccoon outside our window had just a little magic involved? 

But, I'd also contend that learning can be magical, too.  In social studies, students have been learning about characteristics of civilizations and presenting their learning about Native American cultures.  We have also been practicing note-taking, collaborating with other classes, and gleaning information from primary and secondary source documents.  

Last week, we excavated a sunken ship to discover how artifacts might give us clues to the motivations of European sailors from the 15th century.  Don't believe there was a sunken ship in the middle of the fifth grade suite?  I can prove it:

See?  The magic is everywhere!  And, even when life doesn't seem to be bringing the magic, we can try to sprinkle it in as much as possible.  Friday was our friend, Simi's, birthday.  He couldn't spend it with us, so the whole fifth grade called him up and sang to him.  

As you can probably tell, we have been very busy.  We can't wait to tell you more about our learning in our upcoming parent teacher conferences.  Don't forget to sign up for your time slot to hear from your child about her/his learning in fifth grade thus far and goals for the school year: 

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c084ba5ae22a5f58-mrs1

Discovering Discovery Time

Discovery time is an exciting new part of our day this school year at Captain!  It is designed to be an opportunity for students to have more choice and be empowered to pursue their own goals in learning.  In fifth grade, we are still learning about how our discovery time might unfold, but we have begun brainstorming ideas building interest in a variety of areas.

For example: Simeon was given blood swipes from his doctor that he shared with our class to teach us about Leukemia.  His doctor even took pictures through the high-powered microscope and labeled the images for us to better understand what we can see in the slides.  Audrey then brought in her microscope so everyone could have a chance to see first hand.  What a great way to learn in a way that may not necessarily be directly linked to our fifth grade curriculum, but it something in which we are extremely interested in our class.

Another example of something that might inspire our discovery time is this clip we watched in class:

Finally we also looked at potential tools that might interest us such as Pixar in a Box, which is a way for students to learn how to use computers to create animated features.

The most important thing about discovery time is LEARNING.  We want it to be highly engaging and purposeful.  Maybe you've had conversations already about your child's pursuits.  Keep talking!  As we read in the book, What do you do with an idea?, these small ideas can grow and change our world.

Happy New Year 2016!

Welcome to our classroom blog, families!  This year, I will use this as a forum for sharing photos from class with you, some of my reflections and observations as a teacher, and the students might even share some of their writing as well.  I have no set schedule for my blog posts, but I will be sure to send you an email when a new post appears.  We will have a separate newsletter that provides details about the curriculum and schedule that will come out on a more regular basis.  

In fifth grade, we kick off our school year with a "Leadership Retreat."  This is a time for us to build our fifth grade community of learners and reflect on what it means to be a leader and how each of us can fulfill that role at Captain this school year.  They have responded so well to this opportunity!  Our theme this year comes from an African proverb: "If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together."  Yesterday was all about dreaming and thinking forward to what we really want out of this school year.  Today, we are focusing on developing strong relationships in our learning community.  Tomorrow will focus on our roles as leaders at Captain in upholding our school "Touchstone."  Friday will be a day for teamwork and preparation for next week when our schedule will be more of the typical school routine.  

Here are some snapshots from the first day:

Lining up for the first time as a 5th grade class.

Working on our drawing meditation yesterday to help us practice keeping our minds focused.

Working together on creating a poster about what kind of classroom we want.

Working together on creating a poster about what kind of teacher we want.

Undoing a human knot after reading Head, Body, Legs.  

More human knot fun.

What kind of teacher we want.

What kind of classroom we want.

What kind of classmates we want.

Human knots are seriously fun.

Valentine Party Pics and Fun With Mentos!

February is racing to a close, it seems, and we are doing our best to keep up in fifth grade!  Maybe this snow day helps provide a few extra moments to devote to that science fair project, studying for the science test, reading that awesome book that was just checked out, researching the issue for the research-based argument essay...working on the classroom blog...

We are really excited to welcome an education student from Washington University this semester, who is working in our classroom with us.  Miss Konowitz is joining us about twice a week to learn about elementary classroom teaching, and will be helping us with our upcoming American Revolution unit due to her expertise in history.  Maybe you already met her at our Valentine party?

Speaking of our Valentine party, thank you so much for volunteering your time, snacks, and energy to helping us have a fun Valentine celebration!

This week we are wrapping up our time working with Mrs. Hwande in the science lab.  She has been AMAZING, getting us so excited about our science learning!  What better way to celebrate our time together than with chemical reactions?  Specifically, the Mentos and Diet Coke variety...in slow motion so you can really appreciate the full effect...

Of course, why stop at two pieces of candy in a smallish bottle when you can do more?

Our assessment over our Mixtures and Solutions unit will be tomorrow.  The class is well-prepared and ready to show all their learning, but it wouldn't hurt for them to spend some time reviewing today, paying special attention to the ratios of concentrations.  Make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to enjoy your day off, too!  See you tomorrow!

Coming Attractions...
2/29 - Mix It Up Day
3/4 - PTO Movie Night at 7pm
3/7 - Science Fair Projects Due
3/10 - Field Trip: Walk to Wydown Middle School for the Spring Musical
3/11 - Early Release Day
3/12 - District Science Fair at Clayton High School 9:30-11:30am
3/14-3/17 - Parent Teacher Conferences
3/17 - Early Release Day
3/18-3/27 - Spring Break!

Love is in the air...

...because fifth graders LOVE Valentine's Day!

Our Captain tradition is that each student crafts their own Valentine Box.  Typically, students use shoeboxes or something similar in size.  Some students like to decorate it with a theme or character in mind.  Some simply cover their box in red paper.  It is totally up to the individual as long as there is a spot in which to put Valentines and a way to take out the Valentines.  These boxes are placed on top of lockers and at some point during our party day, we will ask students to pass out Valentines.

Speaking of Valentines, if students wish to participate in passing out Valentines, they must choose between handing them out to everyone in our homeroom OR everyone in fifth grade.  I will be sending home class lists so that your child knows how to spell each person's name.

Our party will be next Thursday, February 11th at 2:30.

Fifth graders also LOVE science!  We have really been enjoying our Mixtures and Solutions unit.  Check it out:

The mixture separation challenge!

Carefully preparing the filter paper.  Note the safety goggles.

Removing iron filings using a magnet.

Note-booking all the way!

NaCl (Kosher salt) crystals post-evaporation!

Students are bringing a graded science I-Check home today.  They should keep this to study from in preparation for our assessment.

On the Radar
2/4 - Wydown Principal and Counselor Visit to Captain
2/5 - Wear Red for Heart Health
2/11 - Wydown Course Selection Sheets Due & Valentine Parties
2/12 - No School - Teacher Professional Learning Day
2/15 - No School - President's Day
2/17 - Chorus Field Trip to Clayton High School for Black History Night Rehearsal
2/18 - Black History Night at Clayton High School (chorus members must wear some combination of black and/or white)

Field Trip Week

We just had a fantastic double field trip week!

It was kicked off by a trip to the St. Louis Science Center Planetarium.

We got to experience the night sky show, where our humorous guide, Jordan, showed us stars and constellations and how to find them in the night sky.  The students were particularly impressed to see what the night sky would look like far out in the country, away from the light pollution of the city.  The show was very interactive and our class was the only group of guests, aside from one man on the other side of the floor.  We really knew our stuff!  The students were able to identify major constellations, knew the myths behind them, and could name stars like Rigel found in Orion.  

After the show, we had a few minutes to explore the exhibits about the International Space Station. Jordan came out and asked, "What school is this?"  

I replied, "Captain Elementary in Clayton."

"This is the best class I have ever had at the Planetarium.  They are the best-behaved and really know their stuff!"

What a high compliment to receive from a stranger.  This group really is special.  

Thursday, the PE teachers took us to Hidden Valley, where the students went through ski school and hit the slopes.  

It was amazing to see how nerves melted into confidence over the course of the day.  I got to observe an especially inspiring moment when one student was feeling discouraged and was seriously hoping to be able to sit out for the afternoon.  Another student (an experienced skier), recognizing that the other was feeling deflated, asked if the student would join him through the ski school stations so they could ski together.  This moment of empathy encompasses the most important mindset for learning.  Without empathy, we lose our humanity.  I'm so proud of these students!  See all the pictures that Mrs. Belzer and I took here: http://www.claytonschools.net/Page/16861

Coming Attractions...

1/18 - No School in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

1/19 - Fun Adult Historical Fiction Book Club Meeting at 8:00am 

1/23 - PTO Pancake Breakfast from 9-11 in the Cafeteria (Buy your tickets at the front office!)

1/26 - Fun Adult Historical Fiction Book Club Meeting at 8:00am (Last Meeting)

1/28 - 5th Grade Curriculum Night at Wydown Middle School from 7-8:30pm

1/29 - Mix It Up & Crazy Hat/Hair Day

1/30 - PTO Trivia Night at Immaculate Conception Church Hall from 7pm-midnight (Reserve your table right away!)