Camp: Day 4 High Ropes and Farewell

There are many mixed emotions on the final day of camp. We are sad to leave Camp Whittier and our new friends (Fox, Grant, Jen, Cookie, and Fabio), but we are all excited to be heading home too!

We ended our trip with two high ropes elements, the High V and the rock wall The challenges today involved a lot of cooperation and trust. Everyone pushed themselves and each other to achieve goals and stretch their limits. We celebrated many break-throughs and goals shattered!

Thank you to all the people who made this trip a success. We have so many new memories that we will cherish for a long time.

Camp: Day 3 Water Day

Today, we took our activities to the beach. We went to Refugio Beach for a day of water activities. We suited up and headed out for a morning of sea kayaking. While out on the water, we successful pinwheeled our rafted kayaks, we played water polo in kayaks, and we learned about kelp. We had a picnic feast for lunch. In the afternoon, played on the beach, we frolicked in the waves and some of us were able to try stand up paddle boarding (SUP). Unfortunately, the weather conditions became unfavorable so we had to cut the SUP lessons short.

Tonight, we are preparing for an evening of skits by the campfire and s'mores. We are having a great time , but many are looking forward to coming home. See you tomorrow at the train station!

Camp: Day 2 High Ropes

We are off to a roaring start today. We did a low ropes element called, "the low V" in preparation for our day of high ropes. We explored how to trust a partner and what we need to be pushed to meet challenges. The class took on a cat walk, high tight rope, leap of faith and a swinging ladder challenge. Everyone met their goals and often pushed through to surpass them! Lots of challenge, support, and fun!

Parent Ed: NMY Tech Talk with Jesse

As part of our Parent Education program, we invite NMY parents to attend a presentation by Jesse Brand, our Director of Technology, for a shared understanding of what technology will look like for your NMY student this year.

Please join us the morning of Thursday, October 11th from 8:00-9:00 in the auditorium.

We look forward to seeing you!

Fall Festival Toy Collection

Please bring in your gently used toys for the Fall Festival prize booth! Bins are available outside of both offices. If you have any questions, please email the Parent Association (PA) at pa@tcslj.org. Be sure to mark your calendars for the big event which will be held on Sunday, October 21 at 11:00 a.m., and check the PA Blog (http://www.tcspa.tumblr.com) for more Fall Festival details coming soon!

Camp: Day 1 Highlights

After a very early start, a five-hour train ride, and a 45-minute van ride, we arrived at Camp Whittier. After a hearty lunch, we played some get-to-know-you games, created a marble run, we were frustrated by the helium pole, balanced on our "whale-watching" boat, and crossed the "acid river" collaboratively.

We had a delicious spaghetti dinner by Fabio, which lead to our night hike. The highlight was a once in a lifetime rattlesnake sighting. We were a little spooked, but proceeded without further incident.

And We Are Off!

They all made it on the train and they are super excited.

Los Cognados

In an effort to show students how much Spanish they already know, they were sent on a mission to look for cognados (cognates). Students searched articles written in Spanish to find the cognates. They were impressed to see how many Spanish words they already knew.

Humantities Update

Wow, it is hard to believe we only completed our second full week of school!  It was great hearing a couple of students say, "The week goes by so quickly."  and, "OMG, it is Friday already?" ...music to a teacher's ears...

It was a productive and busy second full week in sixth grade. We started the week of with a discussion about the 2012 Presidential Elections.  Students identified who was interested in talking more about the political events leading up to our election.  We talked about the possibility of hosting a TCS Presidential Election as well.  Because of a question asked about the incidents in the middle east and a recent anti-Muslim video that was made here in California, students learned about the First Amendments and our rights that protected under it and incidents that may not be protected under it.  I encouraged students to bring these conversations home, but a direct question about the conversation may help open the dialogue.

Sixth graders are in the process of writing a creative story where they need to include both fiction and non-fiction, or as I said in class, two or three truths and one or two lies!  This first story will go through the edit process.  This second writing assignment is a short story and will be at least two pages long.  They will edit their own work, a peer will edit it, and finally, I will edit their writing and they will then write a final copy. This will help me discover their writing skills and needs.  

When we return from our sixth grade trip, which I am very excited about, each student will take a quick reading assessment with me to establish a reading baseline for the year.  They will end the year in a similar fashion, and of course, the goal is that improvement will be evident.

If you have not heard, sixth graders have started their first research project.  Each student has selected an explorer to research.  They will have an expository paper to write, a map to create, and will end the project with an oral presentation to their peers.  The project incorporates their questions, some of my questions and they have several options for a self-selected component like a time line, an I-movie, an art project, a diorama, a 3-D model, and more...  While students are working on this Exploration Project, I will begin to introduce colonization to them.  We started this on Friday with a quick discussion about Roanoke Island and Jamestown.  Your sixth graders are inquisitive and interested in the work we are doing, which consequently, makes my work easier and enjoyable.

Finally, special thanks to the three delegates who represented the sixth grade with our Constitution, Kiley, Melanie and Kendra. Thanks to all sixth graders who participated in these important conversations with Carwai last week.

Camp reminder - Don't forget your water bottles and $10 for a lunch on our return trip this Friday!!

Parent Ed: Social Curriculum 101

WELCOME TCS FAMILIES! 

Tomorrow, at 9:00, following Community Meeting, we invite you to the NMY Common Room, , where we will kick-off this year's Parent Education series with "Social Curriculum 101"!  To help you plan your morning, we will start promptly at 9:00 and wrap up by 10:00. 

We encourage you to come learn about how our integrated social curriculum is woven throughout your children's days. 

We will talk about the philosophy and the implementation of our social curriculum.  

You'll get a peek into The First Six Weeks.

We will talk about the benefits of experiencing empathic connections, conflict resolution, adversity and logical consequences.  

We look forward to seeing you!  

Kelly Parisa

Coordinator of Parent Education and Student Support Services