• Spring Break (no school): April 3-6
• Memorial Day (no school): May 29
• Celebration of Learning: June 15
• Juneteenth (no school): June 19
• Passages: June 21-22
• Eighth Grade Graduation: June 22
• Last Day of School: June 23

Staff Appreciation Week

Mark your calendars for May 8-12 as we celebrate our incredible SELS staff! We will need volunteers, so please check your email and sign up if you can.

The Great Skate

Now on the last day of school - June 23 - at the Northstar California skating rink. We're looking for donations for the silent auction. If you or your business has something to donate, please let us know by May 26. Send your ideas to Monica Rothschild at msalas88@gmail.com.

Yearbook

The SELS PTC is donating yearbooks again this year so that every student receives one!

Coffee Cart

It was great to see everyone at the last coffee cart. We look forward to seeing you all at the next one on April 28.

Join the PTC as Co-Chair

We're looking for a co-chair to join our team next year... reach out to us for details at ptc@truckeecharterschool.org.

The Telfer Crew was excited to FINALLY start our mini expedition on weather, which had to be pushed back a few weeks due to... THE WEATHER! Crack, Bang, Boom, is a study of weather and forecasting. Students will learn about what weather is and how to observe and record weather-related data. They'll also learn to look for weather patterns and create their own forecast to share with the SELS community.

As a crew, we've been enjoying all the crazy weather, from the amazing snow storms to the warmer spring days. We've been embracing the quote, "Kind words are like a spring day." The Telfer crew thinks this means that kind words make you feel fresh, warm, cozy, and new! We are learning to use 'spring words' with our friends and families.

In math, we've been learning about measuring with different objects, like feet, cubes, yarn, and sticks. The children love moving around the class, measuring everything in sight! 

The Bell Crew was fascinated by their scientific investigations of light! They were keen observers, noting the different ways light interacts with various materials. They have become masters of new vocabulary: translucent, transparent, opaque. Now they're working as engineers to put their new knowledge to task, creating shadow-puppet shows. Their discoveries and learning continue as they brainstorm ideas for the puppet characters, test those ideas, and make improvements along the way. This week, they will finish writing the stories for their puppet shows, as well as create instruments to make sound effects to bring the stories alive. 

Students are actively using and discussing the engineering process and loving every minute of it! This mini-expedition will culminate with puppet show performances for the kindergarten crew. Lights… puppets… action!

The Seaborg Crew is embarking on a new adventure sport... swimming! They’re getting ready for warmer days at the TDRPD indoor pool. It's an extra-fun way to get our wiggles out during this long winter. The students get to enjoy four weeks in a row of leveled swim lessons and free swim time. 

Students are continuing to write reflections, eventually turning them into personal narratives, similar to what they did for cross-country skiing writing. 

We love building community throughout our expedition: learning, laughing, playing, and swimming. 

Welch / Hansen Crew News

The Welch / Hansen Crew, now known as the Welsen Crew, just kicked off our new expedition ANATO-ME. We started learning about the brain, researching the differences between fixed mindset and growth mindset. We're now applying a growth mindset when we challenge ourselves to do hard things. We are swimming at the Truckee Recreation Center every Tuesday, and it has been amazing to watch the crew support each other. They are showing so much adventure and strength! 

The Akers Crew has successfully kicked off our American Revolution Expedition. We have created teams of Rebels and Redcoats and have been playing team-building games.  

We are learning about the 13 Colonial Regions and their varying geography, climate, economy, and diversity of people. The crew is creating a quilt for each region (New England, Middle and Southern Colonies) and each quilt square will represent key components of each region.  

The students have learned about “no taxation without representation” and how colonist were being taxed by the king. In class, we are simulating the tax structure, with students now having to "pay" and put tax stamps on any paper they use or turn in. Along with this simulation, the students have randomly drawn period-appropriate characters such as merchants, servants, lawyers, and more and will create character sketches and stories about them. They also use this character's salary to purchase stamps for our stamp act reenactment!

For the past month, the Brisbin Crew has been hard at work reflecting, designing, and writing their individual student-led spring conferences. They had meetings with Ms. Brisbin to design a plan for writing their spring goals, then responded to reflective questions on a Google document, wrote a script, and designed a Google Slideshow to present to their audience. The students' presentations were phenomenal and an amazing example of public presentation. 

In their expedition, students are learning about the onset of the American Revolution, while examining perspectives of power. By comparing and contrasting King George and George Washington, students are learning the differences between a monarchy and a democracy, as well as the pushback Rebels instilled on the Redcoats and supporters of The Crown. Brisbin Crew students have been assigned a colonial name, job, and region and are assuming these positions in class, being paid in pounds and being taxed with stamps when they turn in papers. We can't wait to prepare and execute a Socratic Seminar based on these characters, allowing for student discourse and accountable conversation.

A visit to the Tesla Gigafactory gave Worster crew students and chaperones a glimpse into a vision for a sustainable future. Students used the engineering process while grappling with creating a working model of an electric motor. 

On the tour of the Gigafactory, students saw engineers, designers, sonic welding, and manufacturing in real life. Whether it's a house-size power wall, a city-sized renewable energy storage, solar roofs built to last the lifetime of the house, or transportation, students saw a vision for freedom from fossil fuels. 

In the end, the takeaway was that sustainability is a reality. It turns out the feeling was mutual as our tour guide shared with the students, saying, "I am so impressed with all of your questions and knowledge. Students like you give me hope for the future!" 

Thanks to Envirolution for coordinating and providing a bus to transport students for this meaningful visit! 

The Santos Crew is really getting into their science expedition! They learned about the parts of the cell and made analogies to other things such as a swim meet and a monkey. They also made comic strips of the mitosis and meiosis processes. Learning about DNA and our genomes has been pretty interesting for everyone. Can you roll your tongue like a taco? That's because of genetics. 

Students have also been leading their own crew meetings and designing activities around values that they want to see strengthened. Uniqueness, creativity, determination, and fun are all important to this crew. 

Despite the many snow days, the Masur Crew was able to take a deep dive into our Power to the People Case Study, Voices of Immigrants, this month! After building background knowledge through research, primary source analysis, and discussion, students embarked on the Suitcase Project. Each group researched a different historical immigrant's immigration journey and their time in the U.S. Then, they put together suitcases with artifacts to represent that person and tell their story. They also continued to hone their research through their poem for 2 voices, sharing and comparing the experiences of a historical immigrant to a current-day immigrant. We can't wait for our upcoming fieldwork to San Francisco to explore Angel Island, Japantown, Chinatown, and Little Italy, and learn more about the immigrant experience in the U.S.!

The 8th graders have also really enjoyed connecting with other crews this month. Not only did we plan a spirit week for the whole school, we also had the opportunity to spend some time hanging out with the younger crews. One of the activities that students enjoyed was helping the Bell Crew prepare for student-led conferences by using evidence to help them shape their goals.