Adventuring with the Wolves
We have two fantastic outdoor adventures planned in the coming days and weeks!
First, we are visiting Scattergood Farm this Friday, September 25. This visit connects directly to our reading of William Kamkwamba's autobiography, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. We have been learning a lot about farming in Malawi, and the conditions that make it grueling and unreliable for William's family. Our trip to Scattergood will help us to understand organic farming in Iowa, so we can more deeply understand the challenges faced by William's family. We are halfway to our needed number of drivers to make this field trip happen! If you can help us travel to and fro, please click here to sign up.
Second, the Wolves will enjoy our first overnight camping adventure as a class on Wednesday, October 7 - Thursday, October 8. We will camp at a local camping and wilderness area and participate in many outdoor education experiences. Thank you for your patience as I finalize details for the trip. I will communicate specifics, including our location, agenda, staffing, and supply needs in a private e-mail to families this week.
Calendar
Did you know that our class website includes a calendar? If you click here, you can access the calendar page, which includes both Wolf classroom and Willowwind community events. Events can even be saved to your own Google calendar!
Phones
As we settle into our classroom routines, the Wolves and I have discussed expectations regarding phones and other personal electronic devices. We have reviewed our classroom rules together, and I wanted to remind families of the guidelines from our class handbook:
"Many students in 5th and 6th grade have their own mobile phone or other electronic device in order to stay in contact with parents. While it is important for parents to feel they have access to their child during the day, mobile phones are a distraction in the classroom environment. If your child chooses to bring his or her phone (or any other personal electronic device other than their school approved iPad) to school, it must be stored, on silent, in his or her backpack from 8:15 AM – 3:15 PM. These electronic devices are not allowed out during the school day in order to maintain an environment conducive to learning. The only exception is for E-Recess on Mondays. If you need to contact your child during the day to communicate a change in schedule, please call the front desk at 338-6061 or e-mail me at [email protected]. We are happy to pass any necessary messages to your child."
Bugs!
We've begun our exploration of the relationship between organisms and their environment. Please enjoy these photos of us meeting our first insect friend, the mealworm.
Until next week, brave adventurers,
Rachel