What a week! We have a really big group this year and will be spending a lot of time the first few weeks of school reviewing procedures and learning expectations. This week kids got used to being in a new space and having a new schedule that includes whole group instruction, break-out language arts instruction, work cycle and math...it's a lot! They are also adjusting to being in a class of eighteen and working together with students who they don't necessarily have much experience working with. Our trip to Kinetic Heights was an amazing opportunity for us to reflect on how we plan to work together as a middle school community. There were so many relevant concepts that translate perfectly to our classroom. Today we sat together during peace party and reflected on ideas like trust, preparation, listening, and communication. We'll continue to talk about (and write about) our experience at Kinetic Heights and how it relates to our classroom experience. We began novels in each of our ELA breakout sections. Sixth graders are reading The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, the seventh graders are reading Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper and our eighth grade students are reading A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Today we began what will be a year-long Reader's/Writer's Workshop. Sixth grade students are learning how to navigate the technology we use in middle school, specifically gmail, google docs and google classroom. In the coming weeks we will begin our first Social Studies unit, which will bring us back to the very beginnings of our planet and early life forms. We will also begin working on the next edition of the Davidson Green School Gateway and start thinking about where we might want to travel for this year's Extended Learning Field Trip. Lastly, I am hoping to find two parents who are able to commit to being class parents for our middle school . Class parent responsibilities may include chaperoning, helping with fundraising efforts, and other activities specific to the DGS Middle School. Please shoot me an email if you are interested. If I have a lot of interest I will choose by lottery and let you know who our class parents are in my next weekly update. I'm so excited for this year...it's going to be great! Have a lovely weekend!
Maya :)
Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies
Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator