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!)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

It's been a long time since you've heard from me via this blog.  Usually, I would apologize profusely, but we really have been working so hard in class.  Because it has been so long, we have a lot to share about our learning!

One of the ways I have learned and grown as a teacher is through reading a book called Mindset for Learning by Kristi Mraz and Christine Hertz.  This book delves deeper into the growth mindset introduced by Carol Dweck in the book, Mindset, as it relates to the elementary classroom.  The authors identify five mindsets for learning (in no particular order):

• Persistence - Having persistence means you try and try again even when it feels hard.
• Flexibility - When one thing doesn't work, you try a different way.
• Optimism - When you do something new, you think, "I can try," and give it your best shot because that's how you grow.
• Resilience - When you have trouble, you bounce back and try again.
• Empathy - You have empathy when you feel someone's feelings in your own heart.  

In class, we have been studying these mindsets and trying to find them and celebrate them everyday in our work.  Each day, we share a "story time" where I (or one of the students) tell a story and the class identifies the mindset(s) for learning that the character displayed.  Stories come from things that happen in school that we experience, or from books, and even inspirational video clips.  It has transformed how we handle situations of challenge and difficulty, and helped us begin observing our own self-talk.  Story time has become a beloved ritual of our class.

Another new ritual we are beginning is a "gratitude circle" to close our our day.  Each day, we will gather in a circle and go around sharing one specific thing for which we are grateful.  If you haven't yet had an opportunity to read the research on the importance of gratitude in our lives, this is a great place to read: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/expandinggratitude  We are looking forward to this positive way to end our days together.

Another change is that we are now studying astronomy in the science lab.  You might have seen the first I-Check go home last week.  The students are to hang on to these to help them study in addition to the study guide that we will do in class as the unit winds down.  We just began our second I-Check today.  Mrs. Hwande and I will keep you updated of the assessment, which will happen after the winter break.

In literacy, we have been working diligently on writing and reading non-fiction.  It has broadened our interests and book selection for independent reading.  Students have become experts on different aspects of American colonial history through the process of writing history research reports, which we have just begun to type and format.

And speaking of literacy...we are having a pajama read-in next Friday in lieu of our holiday party.  The class is so excited!  Yesterday, while in the library, students were grabbing multiple books with the intention of reading them for our celebration.  It was darling!  Because we are going to be having a read-in, it's quite different from our Halloween party.  Hot chocolate will be served in the morning, but we won't be needing the usual parent volunteers beyond that since the students will be enjoying their hot chocolate and books.  I will be sure to take pictures and post them!

We do invite you to join us tomorrow for our school holiday sing at 2, however!  The chorus and younger grades will be leading the school in song.  It is a festive and fun celebration of the season!

To close, I leave you with an image of happiness from our classroom:

What more do you need in life: a good book, a cup of tea, and a snuggly hedgehog in a pouch.

Celebrations of Learning

When I was a kid, I knew I learned something when I took a test and passed it.  Now that I am a teacher, I try hard to break that thought pattern in my students.  We celebrate our learning in a wide variety of ways.  This week, our class celebrated our writing and dancing...without taking a test!  

Thursday morning we shared our narrative stories with one another and enjoyed a little sweet snack (Oreo Thins - surprisingly delicious despite the word "thin" in the title!) with our usual morning tea.  The class worked so hard on these pieces.  It was wonderful to have an authentic audience with which to share them.  Today, each of the students wrote stories "on demand" to really showcase all they've learned about narrative writing.  I cannot wait to read them!

This entire week, Mr. Diadie has taught Captain PE African dance.  Today they celebrated with a performance.  It was very impressive to hear their learning about the continent of Africa and see their moves!  Check it out!

And finally, Hercules played in his ball for the first time this week.  I can't help but include that for your viewing pleasure.

Have a great weekend!  

Many Paths, One Solution

Our math classes are hard at work problem solving with fractions this week.  There are many times when I am in class that I wish that others could have a peek at what I get to see unfold.  Why not share a taste on this blog?

In math, we begin class with a complex problem for the students to begin working with independently in their math notebooks.  After plenty of quiet thinking/working time is provided, we open up the class to discussion and ask students to share their thinking.  So many hands shoot up into the air!  One by one, students are invited to place their notebooks under the document camera and asked to then explain their thinking to the class.  The class will ask questions, compare, and confirm the work of their brave peer.  Our goal is to collect a variety of successful methods for solving the problem at hand.  On particularly "clever days" we have three or more methods.

Today was a clever day!

Here are some pictures of our budding mathematicians and their methods from class today:

Taught About Tea

Taught About Tea

By Susanna Boeyink  

                                                                                                                                    

On September 22, 2015, Todd Rubin president of Republic of Tea came to visit Mrs. Ketzer’s fifth grade class. He came after I asked him if I could write a story about Republic of Tea for our class journalism unit in writing. We had originally scheduled to Skype with Mr.Rubin on the 21st of September, but he had to cancel because he had to travel. Later we found out that he would be able to come to Captain on the 22nd, and we could meet in real life instead of through a computer screen.

Mr. Rubin went to Clayton High for four years graduating in 1999. Mr. Rubin subsequently went on to college studying architecture.

“Architecture helped me become more creative,” he said. Mr. Rubin then went on to work at the family buisness, Republic of Tea. Mr. Rubin has worked at Republic of Tea for eight years.  His family has owned the company since he was fourteen, and he was twenty seven when he went to work at Republic of Tea.

Mr. Rubin enjoys hearing feedback from Republic of Tea customers, also known as citizens. He says that working at Republic of Tea means that you have to collaborate with others.  We later sampled some of his tea and enjoyed learning how tea was made. He showed us some of Republic of Tea’s loose tea and how people roll the leaves into a tight ball. We also learned about the five major countries where tea comes from. Also we got to learn about the differences between black tea, red tea, and green tea. Towards the end we got to take a picture with Mr. Rubin as an entire class, some of us holding Republic of Tea teas. We enjoyed learning about tea with president of Republic of Tea, Todd Rubin. We will continue to drink Republic of Tea tea in class.

The Panatheniac Stadium by Anton Kyrychenko

The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens is the largest stadium built out of pure marble and is about 2000 years old. Men used to fight with wild beasts so they built walls around the arena to protect the spectators.  The stadium was ruined because they took some marble out to use for Athens churches. The ground was covered and used as private fields. The stadium was later excavated, mostly broken and gone. When they revived the Olympic games in 1896, only part of the stadium was marble so they put in wood seats with white cushions. When the games were finished, they resumed adding marble. In 1904 the Olympics were in St.Louis. It was during the world's fair and was shown as a side to the world's fair. This also happened in Paris in 1900. This made the Olympics less popular and the Olympics committee got worried that the Olympics would die out. We almost killed the Olympics we know today! They made a second Olympics just 2 years later in Athens in The Panathenaic Stadium to save the Olympics.

Lost Feta...

By Anton Kyrychenko

Today my mom and I went to a restaurant for lunch before going to the boat from Athens to Crete. When we got the check, the man gave it to me, even though it would be more logical to give it to my mom. "He's so relaxed" the man exclaimed.  There was something strange because we didn't get the appetizer we ordered. When we looked at the bill, everything was written in Greek but we were suspicious because there were 6 things listed. Our two meals and our orange juice, bread, our nonexistent appetizer, and a bottle of water that we had sent back unopened. So my mom told me that since the waiter gave the bill to me and not her, that maybe he did that on purpose so she wouldn't see it and she said I should try going to the waiter and tell him about the problems in our bill. I walked up to him and said "Sir, excuse me. Sir, but we looked at the bill and we didn't get our feta dish (baked feta with tomatoes and peppers) but it is listed on the bill." "Oh, oh," he answered with a look that told me that he was surprised we noticed. I think it was because the bill was in Greek. He was about to leave and change the check but I stopped him and asked, "What is this?" "Oh, water," he answered. "But we sent the water back without opening it," I told him. "Yes, yes, okay, sorry, sorry" and he left. I came back to the table knowing that they knew they didn't give us the feta….