Discover How Your Child Learns

On the evening of Monday, June 5th, Teton Science Schools’ Teacher Learning Center and Journeys School will host: All Kinds of Minds: How Every Child Can Succeed presented by Dr. Mel Levine, a nationally renowned pediatrician and author. Dr. Levine is also co-founder of All Kind of Minds, a nonprofit institute that focuses on different ways of learning. All Kinds of Minds developed the Schools Attuned Program, which is based on 30 years of significant brain research. (The Schools Attuned Program will be implemented at Journeys School next year.)

Please join us for this extraordinary experience! 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. June 5th, 2006 at the Jackson Hole High School Auditorium. There is no charge for admission. For more information contact: bonnie.jones@tetonscience.org

Capstone Student Presentation

Twelfth grade Capstone student Coulter Stone defends his thesis this Thursday, May 11 beginning at 3:15 upstairs in the Middle/Upper school building. Coulter has argued the benefits and pitfalls of embryonic and adult stem cell research and treatment. He has provided a well-researched and well-argued paper. All are welcome to attend the defense which will finish by 4:00.

It’s Tick Season!

As students are out and about exploring our campus and the valley, please make it a habit to check younger students for ticks. Parents of older students should remind them to check their bodies for ticks.

Pre-Kindergarten

Please see this week’s editorial for a description of the Pre-Kindergarten program and its many activities.

Announcements:

Thank You…
- Carrie Geraci for leading very veggie art project with the Kindergartners.
- Tony and Caroline Labbe for helping during Kindergarten literacy.
- Caroline Huser for helping out on Tuesdays during 1-2 literacy centers.

Many Thanks and Farewell to Jen

The faculty and students also want to give a warm thanks to Jen Greene, our student teacher/intern for all of her good work this year. Jen will be leaving us on Wednesday to move back to New Hampshire where she was hired for a teaching job in a Waldorf school. Congratulations, Jen! The kids will sorely miss Jen and her enthusiastic songs, math art projects, picture poetry inspiration, and the love she has for every student. We have learned a lot from Jen and wish her the very best in her new pursuits. If you would like to say good-bye to Jen, we will have a small party for her on Wednesday, May 10th during lunch from 11:45-12:15.

Gymnastics Clothes
Last week, gymnastics was a HUGE success. They told us we could bring all 40 kids to the gym. We were a little afraid, but they pulled it off well!! The kids had a blast! Please remind and encourage your child to wear loose fitting pants on Tuesdays. The amount of tumbling, jumping, balancing and bouncing that goes on in there makes us wish we were twenty years younger!

Journey to Idaho Falls
We have organized an all day journey to Idaho Falls to visit the Museum of Idaho this Thursday, May 11th. Here is the web-site description of the Savage Seas exhibit:

“This is the world of the late Cretaceous Period, filled with huge carnivorous marine reptiles with double-hinged jaws and teeth in the middle of their palates, gigantic flesh-eating fish big enough to swallow an adult human being whole, flying reptiles with three foot skulls and the biggest sea turtles to have ever lived. Unrivaled for their amazing varieties, voracious appetites, incredible teeth and gaping jaws, the creatures of the Savage Seas are unlike anything known in today's world! Cast and real specimen, kiosks, touch specimen and displays are part of this exciting 9,500 sq. ft.” exhibit.

Please pay special attention to the flyer that was sent home in your child’s folder last week. On Thursday, when students are dropped off, we will take them to the bathroom in the Welcome Center, check their backpacks, and put them in the vans. We ask that you arrive no later than 8:15 as we plan to leave school by 8:30. The only items they may have in their backpacks will be a sack lunch (nothing microwaveable, please), a water bottle, and warm clothes. We plan to be back by the end of the normal school day. It will be a great “warm-up” journey for the upcoming spring overnight journeys. If the weather is atrocious we will have a normal day of school.

Pre-K and 2nd Grade Visits
The Pre-K visits to K-2 and the 2nd grade visits to 3-5 have been very successful so far. They will continue to happen for the next three to four weeks.

“I Can” Book Release Party
Once again, the 1st and 2nd graders wrote a book that will be by published by the Teton Literacy Program. Thanks to the patient and inspiring guidance of Maggie Valiante and Amy Brummet, Journeys kids wrote a community mystery called, The Dark, Dark Mystery. The book release party will be held on the evening of May 17th. The Journeys School reading time and location will be announced soon. Please look for more details to come in your child’s folder.

Sunscreen and Sunglasses
Woohoo!! It’s that time again for warm days, Frisbee and soccer on the fields, joyful swoops on the swing, and sunglasses and sunscreen. Please put sunscreen on your child before you leave for school. If you dare, send sunglasses to school, too. We will certainly try to apply sunscreen throughout the day, but a few may slip through our fingers eager to slither down the slide.

Curricular Updates:

Change of Schedule brings new Phenology Journals
Students continue to record weather predictions and wildlife observations on a daily basis in their new Phenology journals. From 8:00* to 8:15 students enter their own predictions about weather, and observations of wildlife, then share it with the class from 8:15-8:30.
*Please note that children should arrive at school after 8:00 a.m., (no earlier, please), since teachers are often out of the building and/or attending faculty meetings until then.

Rockin’ On!
As you know, students are learning about the Origins of the Jackson Hole Landscape. Of course, you cannot teach geology to K-2 students without making volcanoes. Last week you probably heard your child go on and on about how cool it was to make volcanoes out of mud and watch them explode. This is an activity that you can do at home. Here is the recipe: In a plastic bottle pour a ½ cup of water and teaspoon of liquid detergent, add ¼ cup (or so) of baking soda, and for the explosion, add a ¼ cup of white vinegar and “poof”, a volcano!! The more stuff you add, the bigger the explosion. You can cover the plastic bottle with mud to make it look like a volcano!
We will continue to learn about other geologic phenomenon such as glaciation, rivers, and of course, rocks and minerals throughout the spring. On Thursday, May 25th, the K-2 will go on another all day journey to various geological sights in Grand Teton National Park to study different types of rocks. More details to come.

Announcements:

Capstone Presentations

Fifth Grade students have signed up to present their capstone work on Thursday, June 8 and Friday, June 9. Each student will have 15 minutes to share his or her learning. Parents, other family members, grandparents, relatives and friends are invited to attend. Faculty and students from other grade levels have also been invited. Presentations will take place in the grades 3-5 building and will most likely occur in the learning lab to allow for a darkened room. Here is the schedule:

Thursday, June 8

8:30-9:30 Forrest, Gus, Tess

9:30-10:00 Recess

10:00-11:00 Montse, Maggie, Breezy

Friday, June 9

8:30-9:30 Cassidy, Arthur, Brooke

9:30-10:00 Recess

10:00-10:35 Dani, Cait

Second Grade Visits

Current Journeys School second graders will be visiting the Grades 3-5 classroom over the next few weeks. Please remind your child that this is an opportunity to be a leader, and that they were the youngest once too.

Spring Journeys

We are counting down the days to our spring journeys. Eight days until the 5th graders fly to space camp and third and fourth graders travel to Yellowstone.

Portfolio Night

Portfolio night for Grades 3-5 students will be Wednesday, May 24 from 5:45-6:45 p.m. This is a Parent Council evening; we scheduled portfolio night so that parents will be able to view their child’s portfolio and also attend the appropriate meetings.

Thank You...

- To parents and students who have attended learning team meetings and to parents who completed the online parent survey. Family involvement makes our school community stronger!

Curricular Updates:

Science

To kick off our spring science program, students did research on the state bird and historical extreme temperatures for their assigned state. This research continued in social studies, and is being incorporated into PowerPoint presentations in Computers.

In phenology, students looked at our own data from the last two years to make predictions about species observations this spring. Lyons writes, “Looking at the spring of 2005, the moose only had 88 spottings. I think there will be more in spring 2006.” Melissa writes, “Looking at the number of Mountain Bluebirds in spring 2005 (36), I predict the number of Mountain Bluebirds will rise.” Ask your child how their prediction is coming along.

As part of our Interesting Places and Life on Earth unit, the Grades 3-5 students visited the upper school science class to learn about biodiversity. Half of the students listened to a PowerPoint presentation on the Endangered Species Act by Mark Aronowitz, a local lawyer. This served as an excellent introduction to interesting species in Wyoming that are threatened and the legal avenues taken to obtain protection for them. The other half of the Grades 3-5 students listened to Matt Shlim and Thinley Wangchuk present on the Musk Deer and Spotted Snow Leopard, global examples of Interesting Life on Earth. Both experiences served as examples of how to present a PowerPoint, a skill which will be used in Capstone and for the state presentations. We were able to work on the Journeys School purpose of integrating ecology, culture, and community to ensure academic excellence and personal success by serving and strengthening community, honoring diversity, understanding the natural world, and teaching others.

Thank you to Aaron Nydam, Mark Aronowitz, Matt Shlim, Thinley Wangchuk, and the upper school science class for participating in this biodiversity integration experience!

Marionettes Journey

Students in Grades 3-5 attended “Simple Gifts,” a performance of the Cashore Marionettes at the Mainstage Theater on Thursday, April 27. The journey was a great success! Cashore made all of the marionettes himself, and has devised a system for controlling them that makes them seem incredibly lifelike. The students sat, wide-eyed, as we watched a series of vignettes starring different puppets. Students were surprised that Cashore, the puppeteer, was visible onstage, and liked the way he used music to enhance each scene. Caden’s favorite vignette was “The Quest,” in which a puppet climbed Cashore and planted a flag triumphantly on his head. Other favorites were a homework procrastination scene and a scene starring a horse and a dragonfly. We are very thankful that we were able to attend such a creative performance.

PowerPoint Projects

Student PowerPoint presentations are looking amazing. Each student is creating his or her own presentation using PowerPoint. Students are entering their research into slides and inserting pictures. When we complete our slideshows and review our presentation skills, parents will be invited to join us to explore how technology is a part of learning at Journeys School.

Announcements:

Thank you...

- To all parent chaperones and volunteers. Our journeys were a great success and we could not have done it without your help!

- To Taylor Smith and Annie Watters for leading the charge on creating a middle school yearbook for ’05-’06!

Toiletries Were Appreciated

St. Vincent De Paul sends its thanks for the toiletries Journeys School donated during their journey to Salt Lake City

Study Hall Schedule

Study hall will resume this week on Wednesday from 3:15-4:15 p.m. After many study halls and ERB testing week, we are running low on snacks. We would appreciate any donations of brain food!

Dance a Success

Both Journeys School and Jackson Hole Middle School extend a big thank you to students and parents who volunteered to help make the ESL/Journeys School Tropical Dance a big success.

Curricular Updates:

Language Arts
“Good Night and Good Luck,” which received many Academy Award nominations in 2005, is the story of newscaster Edward Murrow who during the “Red Scare” in the 1950s, stood up against Senator Joseph McCarthy and his unconstitutional methods of tracing and convicting alleged communists in our country. Students have tracked the role of media in our lives throughout time by surveying their parents, critiquing the movie and watching or listening to current news broadcasts. Our final discussions and essay compare this movie with Animal Farm by George Orwell. Some of our essential discussion questions and foci for the comparative essay include: What is the role of communism in these stories? How do these stories depict communism? What are the lessons learned from these stories? How can we apply some of these lessons to our lives today? Ask your student what they think about these complicated topics! After the journey, the class that just finished Animal Farm will delve into this unit. You can help provide context for this unit by talking to them about the “Red Scare” in the 1950s.

Science
Energy continues to be our topic as we learn about modern cultures. After learning basic types and properties of energy, students are now exploring the different sources of energy that we use most often for transportation, heating and industry. We are learning about the benefits and consequences of fossil fuel use and soon we will be investigating “alternative” energy sources which are growing increasingly important to meet our energy demands. Some unique visitors and projects are on the horizon for science class in May!

Math 3
Level 3 math is still examining transformations of shapes, but now students are applying the concepts to coordinate grids. Our class will be leaders in an upcoming multi-level math project to create unique tessellations. The level 3 students will need to know the vocabulary and concepts well to teach others. Finished tessellations will be on display in the MS rooms and dining lodge for the remainder of the year.

Community

With spring fever in the air, it can be hard for students to keep their minds on school! Believe it or not, even teachers have this problem. We will be outside more often now that the weather is better and there are some fun projects in the works, but there will still be classes indoors, normal amounts of homework and high expectations. Please help your student make good decisions about budgeting time, doing high-quality work and finishing the year with a bang. The rewards of summer are richer when they have been earned!

Announcements:

12th Grade Capstone Journey to Costa Rica

On Sunday, May 14th, five 12th grade Capstone students and their advisor, Heather Marks, will travel to Costa Rica for a 12-day field ecology course hosted by Ecology Project International (EPI). Students will monitor a population of critically endangered leatherback sea turtles on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica in collaboration with sea turtle biologists and local Costa Rican communities. This will be an amazing opportunity to assist with authentic research and be active in international conservation efforts. Pacuare Nature Reserve, with 4 miles of beach and a 2,000 acre forest, will be our home where students will help to reforest migratory corridors for tropical wildlife. We’ll spend much of our time exploring the nearby rainforest. The course includes over 50 hours of coursework and instruction and 30 hours of field research. While at the sea turtle nesting area, every student will develop and present a field-based research project. In addition to studying scientific topics, we will be able to practice our Spanish speaking skills as well as create pieces of art and writing that are inspired by the nature of Costa Rica. We’ll send you a postcard!

After our return, Capstone students will prepare a presentation to the community to share their experiences. We will announce the date and time in the next Basecamp News. To learn more about Ecology Project International, please visit their website at: http://www.ecologyproject.org.

Spring Journey

Grades 9-11 students will depart for their spring journey the morning of Monday, May 15. We plan to depart at 8:30 am so students must be at school at the normal starting time, 8:15. The journey will take place in Denver and the focus of this journey, as it is for our annual spring journey, is learn how to navigate urban spaces and learn how to take advantage of what cities have to offer by way of education outside of schools. At this time planned activities include an urban scavenger hunt, activities at the Denver aquarium, viewing a Major League Baseball game between the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers, a guided walk with University of Denver professor Dr. Richard Biffle in Denver’s historically African American neighborhoods, a tour of the Body Worlds 2 exhibit at the museum of science and nature including viewing an IMAX format film. We plan to provide service for one of Denver’s soup kitchens that serves indigent individuals. We will also have time to relax, take advantage of Denver’s beautiful parks, have cookouts, read, write in journals, and have a great time. We intend to return to Jackson at 6:00 pm the evening of Friday, May 19. In addition to the $100 journey fee, which almost all families have remitted, we ask that students have $10-$15 to pay for a meal during the baseball game Tuesday evening. We also request that students do not pack extra food, particularly junk food on this journey. Except for the meal at the ballpark, all other meals and snacks will be provided. If you have any questions please contact David Porter at david.porter@journeysschool.org or 733-3729, ext. 1116.

11th grade Book Awards

Please note that the 11th grade book awards will be made the afternoon of Wednesday, June 7 at the Teton Science Schools Jackson Campus Education Center. All parents are welcome to attend.

Curricular Updates:

Math 4: Triangles and Trigonometric Ratios

Students in Math 4 have enthusiastically embraced our emphasis on geometry. We have been focusing on triangles and the changes that occur when side length or angle measurement changes value. The unit began with a review of important terminology and the classification of triangles. Ask your child about whether there can be a scalene obtuse triangle! Using manipulatives and word problems, students explored the Pythagorean Theorem including history, proofs, and problems which applied the theorem. The second investigation introduced the sine, cosine, and tangent functions in right triangles. After mastering the definitions of each of these concepts, students were asked to solve a variety of indirect measurement problems using trigonometric ratios. For example, given an angle of descent, students can calculate how far away from the runway a jetliner should begin its descent. Students can also estimate the depth of lunar craters from the length of shadows recorded on satellite pictures. We are now moving on to theorems related to parallelograms and quadrilaterals. Each class period, students have been practicing SAT problems related to algebra topics.

Math 5

Upper School students in Math 5 have just completed an in depth exploration of functions. Students began by identifying the characteristics of the different families of functions including linear, direct, inverse, and square root models. Students then used Geometer Sketchpad, computer software, to create trigonometric functions to model periodic motion. Finally, students manipulated various functions to create their own rules of function translation and transformation. Students are now beginning an inquiry into recursion and sequential change, using NOW-NEXT form equations to identify patterns and make predictions from discrete data sets.

Math 6

Upper School students in Math 6 are in the midst of working through a difficult inquiry investigating three-dimensional geometry at a Pre-calculus level. Students used 3-D coordinate systems to locate points and represent shapes and surfaces in space. Students also have worked through algebraic steps to identify the standard form of conic sections including circles, ellipses, parabolas and hyperbolas. Students are now using these equations to either sketch graphs of the conics based on the equations or write equations matching the graphs of the conics. The year will conclude by building up conic sections exploring equations for surfaces.

The Calculus Challenge

As the capstone students in calculus get ready for their last six weeks of upper school classes, they have entered into the more challenging project component of the class. Students at this point have a strong fundamental understanding of limits, integrals, and derivatives. The previous inquiry investigated the myriad uses of solving differential equations when applications give rates as data. For the last two inquiries we will investigate the volumes of irregular solids and physics applications. Students were introduced to projects such as the hot tub project which asked, "Given that the drain rate of a hot tub is proportional to the volume, the filling rate is constant, and some initial conditions, what values of the constant fill rate will overflow the hot tub?" As we move into the volumes of irregular solids, students will solve problems addressing engineering issues such as the length of the cable supports on bridges and the maximum volume of a box given a standard area of cardboard. Students continue to defend their solutions in front of the class as a routine part of any day.

           

How the Reggio-Emilia Approach Promotes Place-Based Education

                By Anna McCamy

“The curriculum is not child centered or teacher directed. The curriculum is child originated and teacher framed...We have given great care in selecting the term 'negotiated curriculum' instead of emergent or child centered curriculum. We propose that 'negotiated curriculum' better captures the constructive, continual and reciprocal relation among teachers, children and parents and better captures the negotiations among subject matter: representational media and the children's current knowledge." (Innovations in Early Education: the International Reggio Exchange, vol. 3, no.4)

The Journeys School Pre-K curriculum is based on the fundamentals of the Reggio-Emilia approach. This philosophy of education strongly parallels the concepts of place- based education, a guiding philosophy and methodology for all instruction at Teton Science Schools. Through negotiated curriculum, long term project work, and collaborative group work, we combine these internationally recognized philosophies to create a unique and dynamic curriculum.

Place-based education teaches that students construct new knowledge most effectively when they are discovering, manipulating, or experiencing something of personal interest. Self driven motivation is the key to maintaining active engagement in the learning process. This philosophy overlaps with the theory of negotiated curriculum, one that builds on the interests of children, found in the Reggio-Emilia approach. Through active observation of the talk and play of children, teachers put negotiated curriculum to practice. The students’ interests direct the curriculum and space of the classroom which creates an environment where they want to come and learn. Negotiated curriculum is the avenue to which teachers can achieve student driven projects.

Long term project work, also negotiated, is a key aspect to the Reggio-Emilia approach. The projects are thought of as an adventure in which teachers guide the group to make decisions about the direction of study. Students research a topic, gather the materials needed, and initiate an outcome. Learning is allowed to be a slow and methodical process where the students can take the time to build upon what they have previously learned. Place-based education believes that an individual learns most effectively when they are able to transmit known knowledge to new concepts. The long term project work facilitates this building of knowledge and allows the curriculum to be directed in a place-based manner.

During long term projects, students work collaboratively to build strong group dynamics at school and in the community. This collaborative group work is valuable to a child’s social skills and cognitive development. Students are given a chance to think, reason, negotiate, and problem solve. Group work also promotes a sense of self, as well as, a sense of place among others. Place-based philosophies complement this work. Much of place-based education is designed on the idea that a person who takes part in work that impacts her community is best preparing for life beyond school. Group work provides the opportunity for children to influence their school or local community and understand the importance of sharing ideas and spaces.

The Journeys School Pre-K uses the Reggio-Emilia approach as a template to promote place-based education in the classroom. For example, the students expressed interest in climbing through talk and play. The teachers facilitated a group to begin constructing a climbing cave for the room. Over a few weeks, the students planned and built their own climbing wall. They have been on a few journeys to the Teton Rock Gym and are planning to do some outdoor climbing this spring. The children experienced working collaboratively to make their classroom more interesting and were given a chance to enhance cognitive skills when their ideas either worked or not. Time and persistence taught the students a variety of skills while keeping their interest alive. It is evident how place-based education and the Reggio-Emilia approach work coextensively in the Pre-K classroom.

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© 2005, Basecamp News, Journeys School of Teton Science Schools.