• Celebration of Learning, Grades K and 1: December 21
• Winter Break - No School: Dec. 23 - Jan. 6
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No School: January 16
• Celebration of Learning, Grades 2-8: January 19
• Middle School Min. Days: January 26-27

Wow, where did 2022 go?! It has been such a gift having a normal start to a school year with these amazing kindergarteners! We are wrapping up our Building Community expedition with two small builds to give to our families. Unfortunately, we had to push our labyrinth build to spring due to early winter snow, however, we will get to it when the snow melts!

We are starting our Ramp Up the Learning Expedition. We're working with Ms. Landis to learn about the engineering design process and how push and pull forces change the motion of an object though ramp and marble challenges. Students love the designing and building aspects of this engaging expedition! Happy winter break to everyone, get out there and enjoy that snow! 

The Bell Crew is preparing to host a science conference on mountains as a culmination of our I Love the Mountains! Expedition. The first graders have worked hard to research various questions such as: How do mountains help us? How do our local mountains affect the weather? And, How are mountains formed?

The students gathered information from local experts, non-fiction books, and websites. They learned the importance of text features and source citations in non-fiction writing.

Recently, we had a meteorologist from Open Snow come teach us about local severe weather and the importance of forecasting. Bell Crew parent, Daryl Teittinen, came to talk with us about local weather patterns and the rain shadow effect. Seventh grade students assisted us with research by reading complex text aloud and helping us determine important information.

All the while, we have balanced our earth science learning with the “softer” science of mindfulness and meditation. Local licensed LMFT and shamanic counselor, Alaina Reichwald, helped us develop a practice of guided/symbolic meditation. Alaina used the mountain (and other nature symbols) to help our minds and bodies become still and “solid” (grounded). It is amazing to see how knowledgeable and wise these 6 and 7 year-olds have become!

The Seaborg Crew continues to learn about the legends and stories of Truckee’s past. We welcomed local historian, Rick Mitchell, author of the "Children of the Pioneers" who put history to music.

Students are narrowing their research to focus on one historical figure of their choice: Snowshoe Thompson, Eliza Donner, John Stark, Chief Tro-kay, and more. We'll be presenting Chautauqua in costume for Celebration of Learning. Students will dress up, become their characters, and tell their stories.

One of our favorite parts of diving deep into our expedition is learning from our local historical experts. Earlier this month, the Welch and Seaborg Crews welcomed Rick Mitchell, author of "Children of the Pioneers," to the classroom. Rick shared stories and sang songs with students to help deepen our learning.

Did you know that Patty Reed carried a small doll with her along the Emigrant Trail that was gifted to her by her grandmother? Who knows the story of Moses Schallenberger? He was a teenage boy that spent a winter, all alone, at Donner Lake in a small cabin, waiting for his rescue in the spring. Eliza Donner was known as Lil' Sunbeam as a small child because she would try to capture the sun coming through their snow shelter during the winter of 1846. One of the most heroic acts in 1847 was the rescue of the Breen family by John Stark. 

These are just a few of the amazing stories our crew has been researching and writing about for their Historical Fiction Personal Narratives for Celebration of Learning in January. If you want to hear the rest of the stories behind these individuals, come join our crew at KidZone Museum on January 16 for a live history presentation. 

It's exciting to get into the “Bills and Gills” of this expedition! We have explored adaptations and learned what makes a bird, a bird and a fish, a fish. During this case study, students created their own species with their very own adaptations, backed up with support and evidence with students' knowledge of environmental characteristics of biomes, structures, and ecology. 

Students participated in a bird beak lab this week, where they used tools that mimic beaks, determining their function for eating. They have created bird adaptations reference cards with examples of different beaks, wings, and feet. We will also explore the different adaptations of species of fish. We will soon do a lab called Fashion a Fish. 

The 5th graders have been creating a River Trail Math Project that focuses on finding fractions of a 30-kilometer stretch of water by adding features like picnic areas, rest areas, and campsites. They are learning with their partners and collaborating in peer groups to critique each other's projects!

For writing, 4th and 5th graders have interviewed their partners and created biographies for each other, practicing the use of varied sentence length and word choice.

Students are launching their "What makes a bird, a bird?" and "What makes a fish, a fish?" Case Study by choosing a local bird or fish species to research, create a scientific drawing, and write a nonfiction narrative about.

Finally, students have assessed themselves on their progress for the Habits of Work 100% (HOWs 100) to check in on their progress and focus on areas of needed growth.

Student presentations on ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, China and Greece are wrapping up this week. Worster crew students worked on presentation skills and the 4 P’s of proper presentation: Pace, Posture, Projection, and “PIE”(Pronunciation/Intonation/Enunciation).

These skills will come in handy during the weeks to come as we prepare for our Ancient World Summit for Celebration of Learning. Delegations and topics have been handed out, and students are choosing characters for the big debate!

The Worster crew would like to thank Excellence in Education for funding an update to our class library. The excitement was bubbling as we sorted and alphabetized our new collection. The hardest part was choosing which one book to borrow! 

The Santos Crew examined many ways that the world made connections during the Middle Ages. After learning about the exchange of goods, art, ideas, and technology along the Silk Road, we got the whole school involved in a reenactment for our community meeting. Seventh graders lead art projects, writing, music, and social activities for the school. They also got to show their creativity, demonstrating what they learned about various art techniques to create a piece that represents a people group from the medieval world. In addition, they wrote poems or songs to communicate their research.

We are also working on how we make positive connections in our crew that do not exclude others, but help support each other in reaching our goals. 

The Masur crew has been busy exploring geologic time this month as our final Planet Earth Expedition Case Study! As our final product, we are developing a Google Earth tour that will take viewers through billions of years of Earth's history. The Google Earth tour will include our informational "A Day Back in Time" essays, original artwork depicting important features of each period of geologic time, and research on specific sites that relate to the geologic time periods. We will also be holding our second annual Ravenwood Grammys, featuring song parodies about geologic time written by the crew.