Financial Aid Season is Approaching

Families planning to apply for financial aid for the 2007/08 school year will need to start the process soon. The first deadline is March 15 to have the Parent Financial Form submitted. You can do this on-line at https://sss.ets.org/ or request a hard copy in English or Spanish from Rhonda. Supporting documents and tax returns are due by March 22. These forms are also available through Rhonda.

Morning Coffee Cancelled

The Parent Council Coffee, normally scheduled for the first Wednesday of the month, has been cancelled due to the start of the Winter Ski Program. We will resume on Wednesday, February 14th after the ski program has finished.

Winter Parent Council Meeting: January 24, 6 - 7 PM

Mark your calendars! The winter Parent Council meeting will be held on January 24 from 6 - 7 PM at the Education Center on the Jackson Campus. The tentative agenda includes a presentation by the 12th grade capstone students, a discussion of accreditation, committee reports, and brainstorming sessions for future Journeys School parent events.

Reminder: The ski program begins this Wednesday!

K-12 students should come to school fully dressed and ready to go for skiing.  We will be departing campus at 8:25, so be sure to be on time (or early) on these days.  At drop off, students should find one of their classroom teachers and give them their school gear. School gear will then be taken to the education center to be stored until we return at 12:00. As soon as gear has been dropped off with teachers we will begin loading the buses. When we return, ski gear will be placed near the bus drop to make for easy pick up after school.  Please have your student(s) label all ski gear to help identify their gear.  Thanks

January Lunch Menu 

January 12th is grilled cheese sandwiches & soup

January 19th is spaghetti

January 26th is pizza

After School Program Schedule for January 8th to 18th

All pick-ups are at the Upper School Parking lot beginning at 5:15pm.  If we have not made it up there yet, then we are cleaning up a project in the South Den or Kitchen of the K-2 Building.  If you prefer to pick your child up in town at the Rec. Center or the Library please make sure you are there by 5pm on those days.

Jan. 8th: Bake Banana Bread (on campus)

Jan. 9th: Swimming @ the Rec. Center

Jan. 10th: Snowshoeing at the Dike (Max. number of Students will be 10, please sign-up in advance.)

Jan. 11th: Build a Snow Fort! (on campus)

Jan. 15th: Sledding, Hot Cocoa & Stories

Jan. 16th: Swimming @ the Rec. Center

Jan. 17th: Art Project (on campus)

Jan. 18th: Teton County Library Visit (To see the Antarctica Exhibit)

If you are interested in receiving the After School monthly Calendar please contact Erin Smith.

erin.smith@journeysschool.org    or call 690-0192

Pre-Kindergarten

Announcements

Thanks

A big thank you to Matt & Nancy Lee and Kelly McDermott for participating in the Super-Hands-to-Work on the Tuesday prior to break to clean the classroom.  It is a treat to come back to a clean classroom.

Thank you to Joann Honigman for coming in last Tuesday to move around furniture and help make the studio more organized and aesthetically pleasing.  When Cannon walked on Thursday morning she said, "Wow it is so organized in here!" and Ellison said, "It's beautiful in here!".

Thank you Quality Flooring for donating the carpet for the block area. Richard and his staff were very generous and helpful.

Mandarin Chinese Program

Our Mandarin Chinese teacher, Lauren Blank, has decided to move on to other pursuits and thus will no longer be teaching in the Pre-Kindergarten. The school is committed to continuing with a Chinese Program into the future and is actively seeking another instructor.

Parent Zone

In the New Year, we look forward to continued success with our parent involvement program.  We are thankful for all the wonderful contributions the Pre K parents have made to our classroom so far.  Our students benefit from such interested and involved parents.  If interested in helping out in the classroom, please sign up on the calendar in the new, more comfortable Parent Zone (have a cup of tea while you’re there).

Curriculum Night – Please attend

We will be hosting the Pre-K Curriculum Night on Thursday, January 11th from 5:45pm-7:00pm.  Childcare will be provided and children can be dropped off as early as 5:45.  Parents will have the opportunity to view and comment on slides of recent student work and activities. The meeting will focus on giving parents insight into what and how their child are learning in Pre-K. We will also facilitate a discussion into future parent training nights that will be led by teachers, parents, and community experts. Topics may include: health, nutrition, discipline, guidance, and physical development.  We aim for these trainings to be relevant and applicable to each parent, therefore, your input is needed.  We hope to see you at this event. It is a great time to meet other parents and learn more about your child’s school experience.

Blankets

In order to reduce the need for storage as well as accommodate individual laundry preferences, we ask that children now take their nap blankets home with them each day. Please remember to send blankets to school each day, as they do add greatly to each child’s comfort during rest time. Children who attend five days a week are welcome to store their blanket at school.

Curricular Updates

The Classroom Environment

"It has been said that the environment should act as a kind of aquarium which reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes and cultures of the people who live in it. This is what we are working toward." --Loris Malaguzzi, founding director of the first Reggio Emilia Schools

In the Pre-K classroom we are intentionally making changes to the environment of our classroom to make more aesthetic, organized and engaging space.  We want to make visible our own philosophies of early education that include a strong emphasis in both Reggio Emilia and Place Based Education.  We are striving to give our young architects, writers, painters, scientists, and naturalists the space to pursue their interests and give them the tools that they need and are capable of using. Please take a walk through our classroom, if you haven't recently done so, to see the transformation of the studio and the block area.

Social Skills

There are three common rules shared throughout the entire Journeys School; they are "Try Hard, Take Responsibility and Treat with Respect".  This past week, Pre-K students discussed how these rules applied to them and thought of their own examples of how they comply with each rule.

Try Hard

Henry Hershock said, "I am trying hard to read the word 'boat'."

Take Responsibility

Wilson Bucholz said, "I can line my boots up in the mudroom."

Rowan Wuerdeman said, "I can clean up my lunch and put it away."

Treat with Respect

Charlotte Kline said, "Respect the Mountains and the trees."

Lucy Kimmel said, "Don't wreck block structures."

Announcements

Thank You

to all the parents who helped with our Super Hands to Work before our winter break! It was very nice to come back to a sparkling clean and well-organized building. We know it’s a busy time of year, and we appreciate the following parents taking time out of their busy schedules to tidy up after us… Jen Foley, Walt Foley, Jean Jorgensen, Carrie Geraci, Dora Rodriguez-Salas and her brother-in- law, Mamie Thurston, Caroline Vohr, Tim Sandlin, Kathy Coosaia, Ellen Speers, Valerie Luckey, and Dana Nagel!

K-2ers Hit the Slopes!

It is very important to be on time next Wednesday for our first ski day! ALL skiers will be loading buses and vans promptly at 8:20 from the pick up circle. K-2 students will be meeting in a specific area at the south end of campus and will NOT need to come to the classroom. It is also extremely important to label each item of your child’s ski gear (2 skis, snowboard, 2 boots, 2 poles, helmet, etc.), as many students have identical gear. Thanks for your cooperation!

Important Change to Birthday Party Invitations

We have made a change to the K-2 birthday invitation policy so that the tears and hurt feelings will be limited. Invitations may only be distributed at school if you will be inviting all kids from the entire K-2 class (39 students presently) to your child’s party AND you graciously put the actual party invitation in each student’s folder. If you prefer to mail invitations to students and need an address list, ask your child’s advisor for a school directory. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Smithsonian Exhibit Brings Antarctic Extremes to Teton County Library!
Speaking of navigation… check out the upcoming events to be held at the library which really tie in to our theme this trimester! The black-and-white photography exhibit, “Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey” will be on display January 2 through March 2, 2007. Other events of interest are “Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure,” on Thursday, January 11 from 6-7 p.m. On Friday, January 19th, from 2-4 p.m., the movie "Eight Below," will be shown for ages 5 and over, Rated: PG. Throughout February, there are even more programs of interest! Just one is “Tracking Penguins in Antarctica”, a program for kids with colorful slides, bird bones, eggs and much more to be held on Friday, February 9th, from 7-8 p.m. For more details and other exciting events related to exploring and navigation, please visit http://tclib.org/press/jan_smith.php.

Tissues Anyone?

Noses are a runnin’ and tissues are a runnin’ out.  If you have any extra boxes of tissues lying around, we could use ‘them.  Thank you so much!

Curricular Updates

Our Navigation Theme has Launched!

On the very first day back after winter break, students jumped right into some exciting navigation activities led by Hatilie and Kalen! They were quickly oriented to the directions of N, S, E, and W, sharpened their observation skills during a ‘Sneak a Peak’ activity, and explored different types of maps. Students also watched a puppet show to explore different cues animals use to find their way, and participated in a mental mapmaking activity of a familiar place. Ask your child which activity was their favorite! Great job, young explorers!

As mentioned previously in Basecamp News, if you have any navigation stories or skills of your own, feel free to call Kalen (x1109) or Hatilie (x1101) to arrange a class visit or lesson. Also, mark your calendars for the winter journey on February 15th - 16th to include a sleep-over on campus and a very special urban orienteering project. We look forward to navigating through this winter trimester with your child!  

Modified Literacy Program

Today we began the implementation of our modified literacy program. Be on the lookout in your child’s folder for a letter that includes the details about this exciting change. If you have been volunteering during literacy on a weekly basis, enjoy a break for a few weeks. At Curriculum Night next week, we will be discussing different opportunities for helping during literacy and we will keep you posted.

K-2 Curriculum Night Next Thursday!

On Thursday, January 18th, K-2 families are invited to our second curriculum night of the year! The night’s agenda includes a short presentation of our modified literacy program, an update on our navigation theme, and a chance to see what your child has been working on lately at school.

‘Dear Journeys,’ (the K-2 version of “Dear Abby’)…as promised, answers to questions, concerns, etc. from our K-2 community:

Q: What resources are available to help us understand the direction of the math and reading programs?

A: The website for Everyday Mathematics will give great insight to the K-2 math program. http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/ features a section for both parents and students. Visit the Parent's Homeroom to learn about the Everyday Mathematics curriculum (content by grade level and details about specific curriculum components), and get tips for helping your child with homework plus ideas for additional at-home math activities. You and your child might also like to check out the Museum of Student Work. Would you like to see examples of other Everyday Mathematics students' work? Want to check out some math games, or does your child need help with his/her homework? You'll find this and more in the Student's Homeroom.

As mentioned previously, the structure of our literacy program is changing, so there will be important details, as well as a list of resources we use that will be coming home that will help communicate the direction of our reading program.

Q: Are there Internet sites you can suggest?

A: In addition to the Everyday Mathematics website, try these early literacy sites for home connections and ways to strengthen what your child is learning at school. Continued practice at home would be very beneficial! Here are just a few… http://www.pbs.org/parents/readinglanguage/, http://pbskids.org/lions/parentsteachers/resources/tips/, www.starfall.com, www.mrsalphabet.com.

Announcements

Ski and Ride Program

On Ski days, Grades 3-5 students are expected to arrive at school dressed to ski or ride. We will meet down by the Welcome Center so that students do not have to carry their ski gear and school backpacks all the way to the elementary building. Please send your child to school with a regular lunch and his/her folder on ski days. Children are required to wear a helmet if they plan to downhill ski or snowboard. Also, please clearly label each piece of your child's gear with his/her full name.

Winter Journey

Thank you to all the families who offered talents, skills, or space for our Winter Journey on January 18 and 19. Kristen and Sarah will be contacting families this week about how we can use your help during this journey. Thanks for your enthusiasm and great ideas! Please contact Sarah at extension 1127 with any questions about the Winter Journey.

Toothbrushes

It is time for children in Grades 3-5 to bring in a new toothbrush to use after lunch. If you have not already done so, please send a new toothbrush to school with your child this week.

Thank You

Thank you to all the families who joined us for Super-Hands-to-Work before Winter Break. We really appreciate the help with cleaning! Special thanks are owed to Ellen Speers, who washed our kitchen rags and pillowcases during the break. Special thanks are also owed to Jill Wright, who designed a creative pathways bulletin board in our Learning Lab. Thank you, Jill!

Curriculum Updates

Grades 3-5 Musical

January and February are busy times of year in Grades 3-5. This year we are especially excited because we are preparing for a Journeys School first: the Grades 3-5 community will be performing a musical production entitled "Freedom Bound." "Freedom Bound" tells the story of an immigrant family coming to the United States in the late 1800's. The musical portrays the challenges of traveling to America by ship, experiences at Ellis Island, and the hardships immigrants faced while living in New York City. "Freedom Bound" will provide many opportunities for integration across the curriculum this winter. For example, students will work hard during music class to learn the music, songs, and staging for the production. In social studies, students will learn the historical background that informed the play; we will study immigration, the growth of cities, and the challenges of industrialization in depth. This musical will also provide many opportunities for us to delve deeper into our winter theme, "Pathways in Our World."

Additional information about casting and opportunities for parents to help with the production will be announced in subsequent Monday Letters and issues of Basecamp News. Stay tuned!

Computers

This Wednesday afternoon and on four subsequent Wednesdays, Grades 3-5 students will participate in computer class. While students use our classroom computers across the curriculum to type and conduct research, these computer classes will provide a deeper level of computer specific instruction. The goals for the five week curriculum are as follows: to learn and review computer care, to improve typing skills using the Mavis Beacon typing program, to email other students in class, and to discuss how computers have changed our world.

Announcements

Ski Program Begins Wednesday! 

Please be sure to read the All-School Announcement regarding logistics for the Wednesday ski program. You may contact Ryan with any further questions.

8th Grade Journey to Washington D.C.

We have room for one female chaperone to accompany the 8th grade to Washington D.C. from March 12 through March 17. Please contact Jo joanna.snyder@journeysschool.org if you are interested. (Parent chaperones are responsible for all of their own expenses.)

Homework Online

Just a reminder that parents and students have access to homework assignments online. As we all get back on track, assignments are beginning to be posted again. http://mail.tetonscience.org/public/Journeys%20School/Middle%20School%20Calendar/?Cmd=contents&view=weekly

Tuesday, Jan 9

Young Adult Board Meeting. 6-7 p.m. Young adults in grades six to 12 meet to plan teen events and put ideas into action. Registration and school-year commitment required. www.TCLib.org/teens Cost: Free. Location: Ordway Auditorium. Contact: Lara Lovett, 733-2164 ext. 221, llovett@will.state.wy.us.

Thank You:

Thank you to all parents for your generous, thoughtful (and tasty) gifts.

Curricular Updates

Social Science

Social science has begun our American Civil War unit. Currently, students are researching a topic of their choosing. Once research is complete, they will present their findings to classmates in a five to ten minute lesson. This unit began with students listening to an audio clip from Ken Burn's Civil War documentary. Students listened to an actor reading a letter written by Sullivan Ballou, a major in the Rhode Island volunteers. The letter is addressed to Ballou's wife. After listening, students were asked to imagine themselves in Ballou's place. To whom would they write? What would they say? Here are some examples. All authors requested anonymity.

Dear Mom and Dad,

You both have given me so much there is no way I can say thank you enough. I would never be the person I am without your love, support and encouragement.

Dear Sister,

I am fighting for more equal rights for all people, hoping that everyone in the future will have a better life. When everyone has equal rights, including all people of every color and religion, life will be better for everyone.

Dear Parents,

There is nothing I am more grateful for than the people reading this letter. I love you all so much. Love makes me forget about all of my other fears, because the last thing that I will think of will be my love for my family and friends.

Dear Sister,

I am sorry for all the times I hurt you and made you sad. I will always be with you. Tell mom and dad that I always loved them and they were my icons when I was young. I hope you never fight with people. Make friends, have a happy life, and make it better than mine.

To conclude, an observation by a middle school student.

If I got this (Ballou's) letter and one of my family members or friends were going off to war, I would be very sad. This letter makes me think about the war going on right now and the people that are writing to their families back home.

Curricular Updates

Math 5: Geometry
The Upper School Math 5 class will continue its study of definitions, properties and relationships in geometry. The trimester will begin with an in depth study of triangle properties. Students are building a toolbox of conjectures that they will use for justifying their discoveries and showing congruence of figures. Towards the end of the course, these conjectures will be formally proven in the context of geometry as a mathematical system. Specific topics to be covered in the next few weeks include discovering and using the sum of the angles of a triangle, properties of isosceles triangles, the triangle inequality, congruence shortcuts, and writing proofs using paragraphs, flow charts, and two-column format. Algebra will be reviewed through short lessons on coordinate geometry. The class will then continue with discovering and proving properties of polygons and circles. The course follows “Discovering Geometry: An Investigative Approach”, published by Key Press. This text begins each lesson with an investigation to pique student interest and push them to discover mathematical knowledge on their own. The problems sets give ample opportunity to practice new and previous topics, make new connections, and challenge themselves with “Improve Your Reasoning” brainteasers.

Math 6: Advanced Algebra/Pre-Calculus
The Upper School Math 6 class is concluding its study of trigonometry and moving on to topics in algebra. We will begin by reviewing operations on algebraic expressions, factoring, reducing rational expressions and the binomial expansion. Next, we will practice solving systems of equations and using them to represent and solve problem situations. The topic will be extended by studying matrices and linear programming. Technology can be used to graph systems and solve matrices that would otherwise be very time consuming. Linear programming is an important “real world” application of algebra. It is a process used to figure out how to maximize profit or minimize cost when there are a variety of variables in a business situation. The course is using “Discovering Advanced Algebra: An Investigative Approach” published by Key Press, but will use several other resources as well.

Math 7: Calculus
The calculus class is finishing up the last foundational piece of calculus by examining and calculating definite integrals. In basic terms, the definite integral calculates the area under any curve. For example, a definite integral is a method one could use to calculate distance traveled when given complex velocity and time data. Students continue to gain confidence in presenting problems and discussing various solutions. Once this information is mastered, we will move on to the calculus of growth and decay (exponential functions) with a brief foray into economics. The economics unit will introduce students to the basics of economics with a focus on national indicators of economic change and the function of the Federal Reserve.

Observations from Japan

                                                                 Chris Horne

Two months ago, I traveled to Japan with two hundred teachers from the United States. We were selected to participate in the Japanese Fulbright Memorial Fund program which is sponsored by the Japanese government for the purpose of exposing American teachers to Japanese culture and education systems. Before traveling to Japan I had a common stereotype of Japanese students as hard-working, intelligent and motivated. I knew that Japan ranked much higher than the United States on international tests comparing math and science knowledge. It seemed to me that the Japanese knew something about education that Americans had lost or forgotten. By visiting Japanese schools, attending seminars about Japanese education and learning about their culture, I was eager to learn some of the secrets that made Japanese students so well educated. Ironically, I came home with the realization that education in Japan is fraught with many of the same dilemmas and obstacles as in the United States.

During my trip, I was able to spend a full day in an elementary, middle and high school. In all three I witnessed some routines similar to Journeys School: shoes were taken off upon entering school, lunch was eaten in the classrooms, and all students spent time each day cleaning the school. My American colleagues were impressed by these rituals, and I was proud to tell them that students at my school do these things too.

In other ways, Japanese schools were quite different from Journeys School, or even from public schools in the U.S. Classes were large, up to 42 students per teacher. As a result, there was little opportunity for students to receive individual attention from the teacher. Teachers considered their role limited to teaching academic classes; it was not their job to ensure that all students were learning. Classroom management, an essential skill of proficient teachers in the U.S., was not utilized by Japanese teachers to maintain an orderly, focused classroom environment. The responsibility of learning fell more onto the Japanese students than is customary in U.S. schools. Some took this responsibility seriously, perhaps because of family expectations, but many other students did not. I often saw students socializing, daydreaming, jumping around the classroom, even sleeping during school. At the same time I also saw students helping each other with lessons or ignoring the teacher’s lectures to discuss a related idea with a classmate. For those students who were motivated, this system seemed to encourage self-responsibility for one’s learning.

While the classroom behavior and expectations in Japan were startling to me, it made more sense when I realized that school and grades are not as central to success in the Japanese system as is performing well on tests. To enter high school and college, students must pass entrance examinations. Often, the “good” jobs are only available to those who graduate from the best universities, and entrance to the best universities often depends on attending the best high schools. Because of the high stakes of the entrance exams, many students attend “cram school” several afternoons each week to prepare. For many, cram school is considered more useful for passing exams than school itself. As a result of the practice and the importance of tests in Japan, students are more skillful test takers than their peers in the U.S. (although with the current testing mandates in America, this may not be the case much longer). Even though the test taking skills portray Japan in a favorable light when compared to the U.S. and other countries, it was clear to me, as well as to the Japanese, that this test-based system has many drawbacks.

During many of the seminars I attended about Japanese education, I heard repeatedly from education ministers and reformers about the need to instill a “zest for learning” in students. Japanese want their students to tap into creative thinking, to take intellectual risks, and to develop an entrepreneurial spirit. Recently the national curriculum was changed to include a class called “Period for Integrated Studies” which is intended to connect the topics learned in school to the real world. I was impressed by the high quality of art that students produced and was surprised to learn that high school students were required to take cooking and home-making classes. Creativity seemed to be encouraged at first glance, and in some ways the Japanese aspire to emulate American teaching methods which they believe foster creativity and independence. Such reforms are well intended, but are at odds with the test-driven system that has been in place for many years. In fact, while I was in Japan, a newspaper broke a story about several dozen schools that used the period for integrated study (a required component of the national curriculum) as a test-prep class, giving students falsified grades on their transcripts for the integrated study course. The pressure to pass tests and to instill a “zest for learning” seems to be at odds in Japan – a tension that runs deep in the United States as well.

My exposure to Japanese schools spurred more questions that it answered. Traveling with other U.S. teachers also broadened my perception of American education. Throughout my trip, I was assured that Journeys School is on the right path. Our school embodies the best aspects of Japanese and American education. We encourage students to be self-advocates and responsible for their learning, we recognize the importance of and develop a safe learning community, and we foster academic as well as social growth through differentiation of expectations and lessons. Traveling 5000 miles helped me appreciate the fact that education is a messy undertaking, no matter where. I was proud of our unique school in the corner of Wyoming, and I am confident that Journeys School is among the best in the world when it comes to teaching and learning.

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