Open House Tomorrow!

Journeys School is hosting its second Open House of the school year tomorrow, January 16, from 9:00 a.m. until noon. If you know of any interested families, please encourage them to attend tomorrow. It is a drop-in event, giving families a chance to meet with Nate and Rhonda as well as to see classes in session.

Bring a Friend to Journeys School

While we don't have regularly scheduled "Bring a Friend Days", we do want to welcome any friends of your son or daughter that may be interested in attending Journeys School. We do require that you notify Rhonda several days in advance so that she can confirm it is a convenient day for a visit and does not conflict with journeys, the class schedule or other visitors.

Parent Council Meeting Next Week!

Please plan to attend the parent council meeting next week on Wednesday, January 24, from 6:30 - 7:30 in the Education Center.

Call Rhonda with Absences

The cold and flu season is upon us. If your child is out of school, please call Rhonda as early in the morning as possible. Even if you've notified your child's advisor, also let Rhonda know. Teachers may not be able to check voicemail and email until later in the day after Rhonda has already started making calls to verify absences.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

In celebration of the holiday, students throughout the school engaged in special activities at each grade level.  The focus of these activities were on raising awareness of and celebrating diversity and promoting peace and kindness. During the afternoon, the whole school community gathered to share the different themes that each level examined and have a community lunch together.

January Lunch Menu 

January 19th is spaghetti

January 26th is grilled cheese and soup

After School Program January Schedule

If you have already received a calendar for January please take note that I have made some changes to accommodate tired skiers and riders on Wednesdays.

Week of January 15th-18th will remain the same.

Monday: Sledding, Hot Cocoa & Stories

Tuesday: Swimming @ the Rec. Center

Wednesday: Art Project

Thursday: Library visit to see Antarctica Exhibit

Week of January 22nd-25th

Monday: Build Snow Sculptures

Tuesday: Swimming @ the Rec. Center

Wednesday: "Popcorn & a Movie" Featuring: Chicken Run(G)

Thursday: TBA (possibly ice skating)

Week of January 29th- February 1st

Monday: TBA (possibly cross country skiing @ the Dike)

Tuesday: Swimming @ the Rec. Center

Wednesday: Make Fruit Smoothies & a Healthy Snack!

Thursday: Teton County Library Visit

Support the Journeys School Annual Fund by ordering Journeys School Organic Coffee. Online: www.FreshOrganicCoffee.com/journeys.html  

or call (307) 733-8046

Pre-Kindergarten

Announcements
Thanks

Thank you to Nancy Lee for sanitizing all of the classroom toys and blocks last week. 

Thank you to Cathy Kehr and Remy Levy for coming in with Warren's instruments to share with the class.  We all enjoy hearing and making music!

Parent Zone

Curriculum Night

Thank you to everyone who attended the Curriculum Night last week.  It was great to see so many parents at this event.  The attendance has dramatically outnumbered past years and it is a great credit to you as a parent group.  Your insights into what your children are learning at Journeys School were quite astute.

A few of the concepts you observed children learning were:

Abstract thinking, teamwork, communication, leadership, focus and concentration, self confidence, physics, mathematics, planning and execution of ideas, hand-eye coordination, commitment to completing a task, creativity, safety, cause and effect, sharing, and self reliance.  Thank you for your wonderful observations.

We will be answering your questions from Curriculum Night through this and future issues of Base Camp News.

Question:

Why are there so many requests for parent volunteers?

We provide a parent volunteer program because we want to encourage parents to be involved in their child's education. Through parent suggestions over the years we have created a plethora of volunteer opportunities to accommodate working parents and those who would like to be a part of the classroom on a regular basis.  We want parents to feel welcome in the classroom if there is time that they want to give. We greatly appreciate all the support that we have already received and hope that we can continue to keep your interest with meaningful opportunities to volunteer.  It is a wonderful opportunity to become a part of your son or daughter's classroom and can be a rewarding experience to see your child engaging in an activity that you brought to the classroom or in an area that you helped build or create.  The Pre-K team will continue to talk more about our volunteer program to make sure that we are offering the appropriate number and type of activities for interested parent volunteers. We may also consider a priority list to show areas where we are in need of the most support.  Thank you for your gracious support and energy.

Curricular Updates

Castles

On January 29th we will be celebrating our exploration of castles with a special market day. In preparation for market day, children have been making goods to sell.  They have been making candles, learning about weaving and constructing fancy hats. We will continue to make items for market throughout the next two weeks. This will be the culminating event for castles; more information will be posted about this next week.

Hats, Hats and More Hats!!

There is a divine little hat shop around the corner in the studio, a specialty shop were you can request any hat you can imagine. Unfortunately you can not pre-order your hats, you must be able to adequately describe or create a drawing of your ideal hat and be able to stay in the hat shop to choose fabric, ribbons and style.  Once the basic design is complete, children add more personal touches crafted themselves.  We have all been working feverishly, extending our hours of operations and creating grand scale messes (which we believe to be a good indication of the interest, excitement and dedication to our designs). These designer hats will be available for viewing in the studio and on sale at the Market on the 29th of January.

Weaving

Jean Jorgensen joined our class on Wednesday and Friday of this past week to talk to the children about weaving. She began by talking about the origin of weaving and its purpose. Jean demonstrated the various steps that lead up to weaving. The process includes carding the wool with two large combs and then pulling it in preparation for spinning it into thread.  Children began their weaving on small individual looms that Jean had prepared for them.  Prior to this unique opportunity with Jean, students have been practicing the technique and pattern of weaving with paper and cardboard.  Look for examples of your child’s work in the upcoming Castle Market.

Simple Machines

This week children learned about two simple machines, a wedge and a screw.

Wedges

The class learned that by putting two inclined planes back-to-back, you create a wedge.  Wedges are useful for cutting, carving, chopping, and plowing.  Students even located wedges on the zippers of their pants and jackets.  The class explored wedges by cutting clay, plowing sand, and using a squeegee to wipe water off glass.

Screws

The class learned that a screw is made by wrapping an inclined plane around a cylinder. The children explored screws by making their own screws, screwing on and off jar lids, and building a workbench with screws.

Announcements

Thank You to:

• Bettina, Quinn, Roney, Avery, Quinn, Raines and Reagan (and their families) for coming to the rescue on our plea for tissues. All the sniffly noses in K-2 (Hatilie’s, especially) are appreciative and relieved!
• Isabeau and Lisa for bringing homemade treats to share with the class!
• All of our parent volunteers who helped with both alpine and Nordic skiing on our first ski day!
• Kiva and her family for bringing apricot- oat bars for snack… they were very yummy and all the teachers would love the recipe!

Our First Ski Day

The Winter Ski program has officially begun and our first ski day was a success, thanks to Ryan! Eleven of our K-2 students went Nordic skiing with Hatilie and Shannon at the high school and the rest of the class was Alpine skiing at Teton Village. (Actually, Mr. Will Dykema was shredding on his snowboard!) Thanks so much for labeling all of your child’s gear, having them to school on time, and especially supporting this wonderful opportunity for all. If you have questions or concerns about your child’s group, or are interested in volunteering, please contact Ryan Bolton.

K-2 Curriculum Night!

Reminder: K-2 Curriculum Night this Thursday, 6-7p.m.!

This 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 recently at school. Please join us in the K-2 building from 6-7p.m. Childcare will be provided.

Curricular Updates

Our Modified Literacy Program Takes Off

K-2 students are off to a great start this trimester in literacy. Students are engaged and teachers are thrilled about our modified approach. Your child’s literacy teacher will be sending a letter with the specifics of their group’s goals, focus, etc. around the middle of each month, so be on the lookout. Ask your child if he/she is a member of the squirrel, cougar, black bear, marmot, ermine, or mountain goat literacy group! As always, please contact your child’s advisor with any questions and/or concerns.

Kingfisher Math is Diving into Money  

The Kingfisher math group has been making fabulous progress in math class.  This month we have been busy learning about coins and their value. The students have been examining money up close (through a magnifying glass) and using observation skills to notice details and differences between coins. Students have noticed dates, words, faces and buildings. Our class store is a great place to practice using the coins in a real life context. 

The Kingfisher Math Group has also been practicing number stories with “more and less”. Ask your Kingfisher student to teach you how to play and sing “Little Buns in A Bakery Shop” to practice the concept of one less. We also act out real life number stories, like getting on and off of a bus, to practice our addition and subtraction. The students have new story journals that provide a place to figure out story problems the teacher poses or to create their own unique problems that challenge the individual student.

Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today, in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, K-2 students are partaking in all types of activities to promote diversity. Students will be reading books about MLK and connecting civil rights to their rights in the world and at school. After talking about Mr. King’s dreams for the world, students will have the opportunity to share their dreams and hopes for the world with our class. Each student will also be using willows and yarn to create their very own dream catcher to share at the all school meeting. Special thanks to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day committee and to our very own Kalen for all her creative ideas and representing K-2 on this committee.

Announcements

Winter Journey

Detailed information about the Winter Journey, including a schedule, was sent home in your child’s folder last week. Thank you to all of the families who will be sharing talents, traditions and home space with the Grades 3-5 community this Thursday and Friday, January 18 and 19. Teachers and students alike are very excited about our “Around the Town” journey. If you have not already done so, please send your child’s journey payment ($15.00) to school no later than Tuesday, January 16. Thank you for being prompt.

Thank You

Thank you to all of the parents who helped with our first ski day last Wednesday. It was wonderful to see so many Grades 3-5 families helping out on the slopes!

Ski and Ride Program

The Journeys School Ski and Ride Program will continue this Wednesday, January 17. On ski days, children are expected to arrive at school dressed to ski or ride. Grades 3-5 students will meet their teachers down by the Welcome Center so that students do not have to carry their ski gear and backpacks all the way to the elementary building. We will depart for the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort at 8:30 a.m. We will return to school around 12:00 p.m. and will have a regular day of school for the rest of the day. 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 label every piece of your child’s gear with his/her full name. Please contact Ryan Bolton at extension 1138 with questions about the Ski and Ride Program.

Trimester Reports

If you have not been able to access your child’s trimester report online, please contact Rhonda in the office at extension 1221 for assistance. We hope you enjoyed the report, and please let us know if you have any questions about its content.

Curriculum Updates

International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race

Tina has been spearheading the involvement of some Grades 3-5 students in the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race. Grades 3-5 students and teachers will be involved with this exciting program in a variety of ways in the coming months.
Last Monday, a group of Grades 3-5 children completed community service by helping project coordinator Lila Wheatley communicate information about The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race to business and home owners along its route in Jackson. Students were in small groups with adult supervision. They knocked on residential and commercial doors and handed flyers to each person they met. Comments received from the residents included:

“This is the best forewarning of this event that I have ever gotten!”
“Thanks, y’all are doing a great job!”
“You seem like you are having fun!”
“I am so excited for the Stage Stop Race.”

On Wednesday, January 24th, Mushers Joe and Becky Loveless will be visiting our classroom to talk with all of the Grades 3-5 students. On the evening of Friday, January 26th, there will be a ceremonial start to the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race in Jackson Hole. The public is invited to attend. Please keep your eyes on the papers for details about this exciting event.
Grades 3-5 students Tara Speers, Shelley Vohr and Tige Wilson were selected as Junior Mushers for the 2007 International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race. Students are completing ten hours of community service and participating in the race in Park City on February 3, 2007. Ruby Jones, Asa Moore, and Ella Detwyler were chosen as alternate Junior Mushers.

I.S.L.A.N.D. Visit

Teton Science Schools’ outreach coordinator, Robin Brooks, and current graduate students taught Grades 3-5 students about hoofed mammals during our first week back at school after the winter break. Robin and the graduate students spent three consecutive days in Grades 3-5, teaching one hour classes each day. The curriculum they taught was a part of Teton Science Schools’ I.S.L.A.N.D program, an acronym which stands for Increasing Scientific Literacy to Assure Natural Diversity. Grades 3-5 students were trilled to examine specimens including ungulate teeth, hides, scat, and skulls. They also enjoyed participating in problem-solving and research-based activities during the I.S.L.A.N.D. visit. We are thankful that Robin and the graduate students were able to share their passion and knowledge of ungulates with us. Please ask your child to tell you something new they learned about hoofed mammals.

Announcements

Monday, Jan 15: MS & MLK
The Middle School has an exciting day of activities and programs slated for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, all focusing on raising awareness of and celebrating diversity. We will begin our day by listening to the words of Dr. King and watching footage of the March on Washington as well as the initial attempts at school integration in Little Rock, AK. Students will examine the historical context of the racial biases in our country, and be pushed to examine examples of biases in our own community. Specifically, we are going to look at some of the common vocabulary that students use. During the afternoon, we will gather as a whole school community and share the different themes that each level examined. Students will be asked to present their own “dreams”. Finally, we will be traveling into town during the last part of the day to see “Porque”, an art exhibit that is currently being displayed at the Jackson St. Gallery and that was put together by Blanca Moye, mother of Montserrat. The exhibit consists of photos and writings of minorities in Jackson Hole, and shares the stories of how and why they came to this community.

Thank you

To all parents and students who helped make the first MS ski Wednesday a success. We look forward to our future alpine and nordic adventures!

Jana Roice and Jack Shea for volunteering to join us on the eighth grade DC journey as parent chaperones.

Jill Wright, for your instruction in the dramatic arts and continued hard work as the winter performance "Romeo and Juliette" begins to take form.

Curricular Updates

Level 1a math

In level 1a math, we have continued our investigation of polygons and angles. Specifically, we are practicing measuring angles and lengths of sides to produce congruent polygons. Students are becoming proficient with the use of protractors and have begun using compasses to draw arcs. A recent challenge involved inscribing regular hexagons within circles. In addition, we are now beginning to investigate tessellations, and students are going to be creating their own tessellations using polygons and other geometric patterns. We will also be examining examples of tessellations in art, including the works of M.C. Escher.

Level 1b math

Level 1b math class just finished our geometry unit, Shapes and Designs. During the final week of the unit, students explored properties of quadrilateral side lengths and angles. Our next unit, Bits and Pieces 2, continues the study of fractions and decimals that we began in the fall. This revisiting of material, or spiraling, is a key component of our math curriculum and allows students to approach concepts at different times and levels of sophistication as their math ability grows.

Level 2 math

Level 2 math has completed our geometry unit covering similarity. We have begun a unit on integers. This unit challenges students to develop strategies for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers, determine whether one integer is greater than, less than, or equal to another integer, represent integers on a number line, model situations with integers and use integers to solve problems. In the future, these skills will benefit students as they interpret and applying positive and negative slopes of lines and positive and negative coefficients in equations.

Level 3 math

“That is soooo quadratic!” – Emily Boney

Level 3 math has moved into more challenging equation models as we explore quadratic functions. This week we discussed how there is more to math than just getting the “right answer.” As problems get more complicated, it becomes essential to draw upon more than just analytical reasoning skills. As a class, we came up with seven skills that enable someone to be a successful student of mathematics.
     Being able to…
        … experiment a lot before seeing a pattern
        … maintain a positive attitude
        … remain open-minded to other ways to tackle a problem
        … explain your thought process or show your work
        … work through obstacles
        … teach or help others overcome obstacles

We each then decided which of the different skills was our strongest and which one we wanted to focus on improving this semester. Students also shared insightful comments about how they are able to be excel in the varied skills.

Some interesting things to note from their reflections:

• Four students feel strong at showing their work; three want to work on it. The four that listed it as a strength, explained that it helps them from getting confused.
• Chantel explained, “When I write out what I’m thinking, it helps me keep track of what’s going on.” She looks forward to improving her ability to teach others because “it will help me get my ideas across, and everyone else’s.”
• Half the class likes word problems, the other half does not.
• Most students mentioned they enjoy working in class and feel their peers are helpful and they like having an option of working in groups or alone.
• Sarah works through obstacles by looking at what she did before and trying to recreate it.
• Carlos enjoys trying new things and says it helps him remain open-minded about other ways to tackle problems.
• Emily compared the challenge of solving a difficult math problem to untying a complicated knot. “I say to myself, ‘what’s not working?’ and then I focus on what makes sense.”

Level 4 math
Colin and I would like to welcome another member to our class, Phil Hessler! Phil is transitioning well to the on-line program. Right now we are working on factoring, in particular, factoring quadratic equations. Quadratic equations are trinomials with the basic form: ax2+bx+c. For example, x2+7x+12 can be factored into (x+4)(x+3). Factoring quadratics gets even more complicated when there is a coefficient greater than one on the x2 term. Even though quadratics are pretty tedious to factor by hand, without fancy TI-85 calculator programs, we know that if we follow the steps, our efforts are rewarded.

Language Arts

                                Romeo and Juliet

                                Lessons Learned

Using Shakespearian verse, students wrote lessons that the audience learn from the play.

“If thou fight, thou shall only hurt others.” – Phil Hessler

“Shakespeare tells us that love may lead to ruin.” – Hayden Shea

Once upon a time in a land far off
In a time that seems very long ago
Lived Juliet who loved her Romeo,
But their parents fought and forbade their love.

All seemed well; Juliet was to be wed,
But it appears her parents were misled.
Juliet and Romeo made a plan.
In the sad ending, the love birds were dead.

Their parents sobbed and cried full of regret,
But they could do nothing. Their fate was set.
So everyone, hug those whom you love.
You never know what may come tomorrow.
Learn from Juliet and poor Romeo.
In the sad tale, we learn from sorrow.
                                                     – Sarah Ross

“When the two families fight they don’t realize
All in all, they are built in the same way.” –Tessa Landale

“Never was there a love sweeter than this.” – Veronica Patterson

“No one can stop love even with cruelness.” – Finn Johnson

“Keep your plans very simple or die young.” – Colin Woods

“When you find true love, doth not be stupid.” – Taylor Watson

“Shakespeare’s lesson is love can hurt or heal.” – Emily Boney

“If thou must make a sacrifice one day
Happiness shall come out of it some way.” – Owen Winship

“Fighting will never get you anywhere.
It frequently will just cause you problems.” – Chantel Roice

Announcements

Curriculum Night

Upper School winter trimester curriculum night will take place Wednesday, January 31 from 5:00-6:00pm in the upper school. Note that the date has changed from what was originally published in the fall. Upper school faculty will provide an overview of winter course curricula and provide the opportunity for parents to ask questions. All are welcome to attend.

Study Hall

Beginning Wednesday, January 17, there will be an after school study hall in the Upper School. Upper school faculty will be available for help with homework.  All are encouraged to attend!

Winter Journey

The winter journey will take place February 14-16. We will travel to Dubois and stay at the new Teton Valley Ranch Camp. The curriculum is currently being planned by upper school faculty. Much of the journey will take place outdoors; an equipment list will be mailed home closer to the departure date. It will be helpful if students can supply their own cross country ski gear, though the school has some gear available. The cost for the journey is $20/student. Please make checks payable to Journeys School. For more information about the journey please contact Drew Overholser or Dennis Sanders.

Winter Athletics at Journeys School

The high participation in athletics by upper school students this winter is an exciting addition to the conversations and energy in our community. Bringing home stories of overtime victories, Annie Watters has been traveling across the state with the Jackson Hole High School 9th grade basketball team. Gordon Finnegan, Kristine Quint and Kevin Lucey are banging the gates on JHHS alpine ski team, while Patrick Finnegan competes with the ski club development program. Luke Stalker is learning the skills and “navigation” necessary to excel in his first year on the Nordic team. He competed really well in his first major meet in Pinedale. And finally, Fielding Lewis and Kelsea Harris-Capuano are participating in the Jackson Hole snowboard development club which focuses on slope style. Look for them on the terrain park and half pipe.

Great job everyone!!!

Curricular Updates

Upper School Spanish

Upper school Spanish students celebrated the beginning of 2007 in the traditional Spanish manner by eating twelve grapes (rather quickly) after assigning a wish or a goal to each of the grapes. This experience allowed for the use of future tense verbs in writing personal resolutions. We continue to explore our essential question, “¿Cómo interpretamos lo que observamos?”. As always, students are encouraged to take full advantage of our community resources such as viewing the photography exhibit “Porque” and communicating with the influx of Latinos in Jackson Hole this winter. Students will also be asked to interpret current teen issues and explore the genre of Mexican soap operas to see language and culture in action. Students will continue to build their grammar skills through mini-lessons and work with a communication text. The culminating project will challenge students to create and film their own soap opera interpreting current teen issues.

Advanced Spanish
This capstone Spanish course is seeking in-depth answers to the question, “¿Cómo interpretamos lo que observamos?” Before our winter break, we investigated the artistic and cultural practice of creating “Milagros” (miracles). We studied many examples created by Mexican immigrants who wanted to document the miracles of their experiences. This helped us to see authentic written communication and powerful personal stories. We also examined the components of personal artwork, Catholic saints, and succinct writing. Along with continued high level grammar studies, the class is now planning to read Laura Esquivel’s Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). In preparation, we are looking at the cultural components of the Mexican revolution, traditional foods and (of course) telenovelas (soap operas). These elements will develop context for the fascinating style of magic realism. Advanced Spanish is a place of investigation, study and wonderful conversation.

              Look here next week for another editorial.

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