Next fall we will be performing 12th Night by William Shakespeare. I highly encourage 8th grade families to attend as many Shakespeare performances as you can this summer. We are very fortunate to have 2 different troupes performing in the parks all summer long for free.
http://www.opsfest.org/tour-calendar.html
http://www.portlandactors.com/
I have attended productions by both troupes and found them to be wonderful.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
Welcome 2014 - 2015 8th Graders
Welcome to all the new 8th grade families! I am thrilled to be working with you and know that you're looking forward to a relaxing summer filled with adventures. I plan to do some camping, lots of hiking, and get my daughter ready to head off to Purdue.
During the last week of school, the summer homework was passed out. The homework involves the student choosing one of the activities below each day and completing it. When they have successfully completed it, they should ask an adult to sign it off. Part of what I'm hoping they will learn is how to plan ahead and manage their schedule. The coming years will require students to know how to look at their day/week and figure out how to make things happen. This is a perfect time to practice this skill. If your student lost their sheet, or wasn't here to get it, I have copied it below. Please note that I have left empty places in case there is something that does not fit your family, or if you have another brilliant idea!
During the last week of school, the summer homework was passed out. The homework involves the student choosing one of the activities below each day and completing it. When they have successfully completed it, they should ask an adult to sign it off. Part of what I'm hoping they will learn is how to plan ahead and manage their schedule. The coming years will require students to know how to look at their day/week and figure out how to make things happen. This is a perfect time to practice this skill. If your student lost their sheet, or wasn't here to get it, I have copied it below. Please note that I have left empty places in case there is something that does not fit your family, or if you have another brilliant idea!
Middle
School Summer Homework
The MISSION
of Cascade Heights Public
Charter School
Students should choose one item to complete each day of the summer
vacation. Items range in difficulty and time commitment, but are all designed
to maintain the academic skills they gained during their year and prepare them
for a successful transition to the next grade. Please feel free to email with
ideas for alternative activities! There are 80 activities and only 60 days of
vacation, so there’s plenty of flexibility and you’re welcome to come up with
similar ideas that fit your family better. As students complete an activity,
they will ask you to initial and date that box. This page is due on the first
day of school.
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Social/Emotional
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Academic
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Physical
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Personal
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Write a letter to someone and mail it.
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Go
to the library and check out and read a nonfiction book.
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Ride your bike.
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Pick one habit to change and do it for 21 days.
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Help
your family plan and pack for a picnic.
Help with menu planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation.
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Memorize
a poem and recite it for your family.
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Go skating.
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Prepare your homework space.
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Read
a picture book out loud to someone younger than you.
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Visit
a museum.
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Go swimming.
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Clean your room.
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Learn
how to play Cat’s Cradle with some string from someone who knows how.
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Play
a word game like Scrabble or Boggle.
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Jump rope for 15 minutes.
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Write down one thing you love about yourself every day for a week.
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Play
a game with a younger person (Candyland, Go Fish, etc.).
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Play
a money game like Monopoly.
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Go for a hike of at least 1 mile.
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Create a collage of all your favorite things. Bring it to class on
the first day.
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Ask
a grandparent or other elder to tell about what life was like when they were
kids.
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Read
about some time in history you are interested in.
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Pick fresh fruit for at least half an hour.
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Spend at least 30 minutes alone, either inside or outside, reflecting
on what you want to change in the world.
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Help plan and execute a progressive dinner with classmates
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Read a book that begins with L
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Grow vegetables
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Try something new.
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Make
something and give it to someone in need of cheering up.
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Practice your multiplication facts for 30 minutes.
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Mow the lawn
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Make a plan for your future. What high school do you want to go to?
What college? What career path will you follow?
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Have
a barbecue. Help serve the food.
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Keep a diary. Write at least a full page each day.
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Make and eat a salad with at least one vegetable you’ve never tried.
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Take the multiple intelligences quiz and find out how you learn best.
Email Mrs. Adams and tell her what it said.
http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
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Practice
your phone ettiquette by calling a grandparent or other relative.
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Read the news. Highlight interesting adjectives.
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Participate in an organized sport.
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Create a word cloud about yourself. Fill it with words that describe
who you are. Feel free to use http://www.wordle.net/
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Go and entire day communicating only in person. (No computers or
phones)
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Listen to a book on tape (cd/mp3)
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Have a water fight
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Find a quote that speaks to you. Discuss with someone you love why it
speaks to you.
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Commit three random acts of kindness.
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Play
a math game on the web for 30 minutes.
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Build something out of wood without power tools
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Keep a diary. Each night reflect on whether you are reaching your
goals.
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Ride the bus
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Practice keyboarding for 15 minutes a day for at least 10 days.
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Walk around your neighborhood with a friend.
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Research your family name.
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Ride the MAX
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Write a letter to Mrs. Adams and mail it.
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Climb a mountain (or at least a big hill)
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Volunteer in your family’s place of worship.
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Go to the park
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Help a younger child run a lemonade stand. Create a profit/loss
report.
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Row a boat/kayak/canoe
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Find a song that has meaning to you. Discuss it your family.
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Invite friends over for a pick up game
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Plan a trip for your family. Figure out whether it is more cost
effective to fly or drive.
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Go horseback riding
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Play “Would You Rather” or a similar game.
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Host a sleep over
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Cook a meal from a cookbook, doubling all quantities.
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Climb Beacon Rock
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Write an acrostic poem using your name.
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Create a blog about your summer adventures
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Choose a book from the BBC “Top 100” books list and read it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml.
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Spend at least 3 hours in the woods
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Invite someone you’ve had a hard time getting along with over.
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Hold mock job interviews with friends, video tape it and send it to
Mrs. Adams
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Read a book with more than 100 pages.
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Create a new smoothie recipe that uses only fresh ingredients
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Make a list of your goals for 8th grade. Identify what
help you will need to successfully complete your goals.
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Be self reliant for an entire day. (Don’t let your parents do
anything for you)
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Read a magazine from cover to cover while sitting outside under a
tree.
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Get your middle school check up
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Who’s your hero? Write 2 paragraphs about them. Tell me why they are
your hero and why you want to be like them.
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Thursday, May 29, 2014
Civil Rights Finals
Today's civil rights finals were amazing. I was very impressed with everyone's passion, presentations, and respect for others. We had multiple subjects that could have been "hot" topics, but every single person respected their classmate's opinion and listened with an open mind.
A few people created web sites or documentaries. If you'd like to take a look at those, you will find the links below. If any of the other students have public links they'd like to share, please let me know and I'd be happy to share them as well.
Cassidy's web site on Animal Abuse - http://ctgymgirl.wix.com/animalabuse
Gretel's web site on female activists around the world - http://gretelrajamoney.wix.com/women-activists-2014
Brandon's web site on the NSA - http://nsasurveillance.weebly.com/
John's web site on the NSA - http://nsadata.weebly.com/
Shak's documentary on freedom of religion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAMuH29TgSA
Monday, May 19, 2014
Attendance
While our school has an exceptionally academic focus, attendance matters no matter where your child goes to school. At CHPCS, every day is full of meaningful class work, and much of it cannot be reproduced or "made up" if missed. Missing school for anything other than illness or family emergency sends the wrong message to your child: school is not that important.
We have 180 school days, which leaves 185 days out of the year for vacations, doctor appointments, or sleeping in. However, we must account for the fact that we have a shorter week! We only had 150 school days this year, including Field Trip Fridays. This leaves a whopping 215 days out of the year for vacations, doctor appointments, or sleeping in!
Additionally, if children are feeling just a little bit under the weather, they can make it through a school day. Of course, fevers and vomiting are another matter, but if it's a low-grade crumminess, send them to school with a water bottle and handkerchief. Even if they're only 75% "there" for the instruction, that's 75% more than they'd be getting if they were absent.
Here is a link to a three-page document from the Children's Hospital of Colorado with advice about when to keep a child at home and when to send them to school.
There are two different types of absences: excused and unexcused, and sometimes the definitions are misunderstood, so let us clarify:
Excused means the principal or teacher deems the excuse given as valid (the child was ill, out for religious holidays, unavoidable appointments, etc.). "Excused" does NOT mean the parent called/emailed and made excuse.
Unexcused means the principal or teacher does not accept the excuse given, or never received excuse/notification re: absence.
Either way, Oregon law sets limits on the number of absences: five days in a three-month term or ten days in six months. The parents of children who are found to be over their permitted days absent may be fined, contacted by DHS, or similar.
As a staff, we have been looking at attendance this spring, and it is an area of improvement we will be focusing on for the 2014-15 school year. As you begin thinking towards next school year, and planning family vacations, please keep this in mind. Please also keep in mind that Oregon Law requires children to attend school and guardians are required to ensure their regular attendance. To be clear: please do not schedule vacations during the school year: it sends the wrong message to children about school, it causes undue work for teachers, and it is may violate Oregon statutes.
Another way to look at it is this: we are not looking to punish the families of children who have had a sicker-than-usual year, or other bad luck or loss. We are looking to remedy a situation (excessive absences) that causes trouble for students, disruption of classrooms and learning, excessive work for the office and teachers, and may threaten the school's funding and state report card scores. If your family has struggled with attendance due to illness this year, please don't add absences on to that by taking a long weekend or letting your child take a day off for their birthday. They need to be here as much as possible!
We want your children in class, learning, as much as possible!
 |
| From http://www. |
Additionally, if children are feeling just a little bit under the weather, they can make it through a school day. Of course, fevers and vomiting are another matter, but if it's a low-grade crumminess, send them to school with a water bottle and handkerchief. Even if they're only 75% "there" for the instruction, that's 75% more than they'd be getting if they were absent.
Here is a link to a three-page document from the Children's Hospital of Colorado with advice about when to keep a child at home and when to send them to school.
There are two different types of absences: excused and unexcused, and sometimes the definitions are misunderstood, so let us clarify:
Excused means the principal or teacher deems the excuse given as valid (the child was ill, out for religious holidays, unavoidable appointments, etc.). "Excused" does NOT mean the parent called/emailed and made excuse.
Unexcused means the principal or teacher does not accept the excuse given, or never received excuse/notification re: absence.
Either way, Oregon law sets limits on the number of absences: five days in a three-month term or ten days in six months. The parents of children who are found to be over their permitted days absent may be fined, contacted by DHS, or similar.
As a staff, we have been looking at attendance this spring, and it is an area of improvement we will be focusing on for the 2014-15 school year. As you begin thinking towards next school year, and planning family vacations, please keep this in mind. Please also keep in mind that Oregon Law requires children to attend school and guardians are required to ensure their regular attendance. To be clear: please do not schedule vacations during the school year: it sends the wrong message to children about school, it causes undue work for teachers, and it is may violate Oregon statutes.
Another way to look at it is this: we are not looking to punish the families of children who have had a sicker-than-usual year, or other bad luck or loss. We are looking to remedy a situation (excessive absences) that causes trouble for students, disruption of classrooms and learning, excessive work for the office and teachers, and may threaten the school's funding and state report card scores. If your family has struggled with attendance due to illness this year, please don't add absences on to that by taking a long weekend or letting your child take a day off for their birthday. They need to be here as much as possible!
We want your children in class, learning, as much as possible!
Music Concert this Thursday!
Hello Musical Falcon Families,
The Band and Orchestra Concert on Thursday, May 22nd at 6:30pm is coming up faster than expected and the students are getting excited to perform! The 5th-8th grade students get to present their work from this year in music and they need your support as their audience. Here are the details:
When:
-5th and 6th grade band and orchestra must arrive at the Music room between 6:00-6:10pm on Thursday night to tune and prepare to take the stage.
-7th and 8th grade band and orchestra must arrive at the school by 6:15pm.
Attire:
Students may dress up for the concert or wear their school uniform.
Students may wear a button up shirt or polo, dress pants or slacks, appropriate lengthed dress/skirt/slacks and and nice shoes. Please no t-shirts, jeans, shorts, or flip-flips. Neckties are highly encouraged.
Remember to keep skirt length in mind since they will be on a raised stage facing the audience.
What to expect:
- Each class will perform their music on stage and enter through the gym doors so please keep the front entrances clear for the students.
- When each group is finished, they will meet back in their designated room until the performance is over.
- Pictures and videos are encouraged, but be aware of your surroundings and those who are also watching the show.
- To avoid distractions to the performers and audience members, please remain in the gym until the end of the entire performance.
I truly appreciate all the parents and families that have helped prepare our students to share their musical work with our community. Please let me know if you have any conflicts or scheduling issues so that we can find a solution together in order to ensure the best possible performance experience for our students. I look forward to seeing you next week!
Thanks,
Mr. Littledyke
Promotion (Graduation) Planning Meeting
If you would like to help with decorating, etc, please join me on Tuesday, May 27th at 4:00.
Monday, May 12, 2014
May Field Trip
Columbia Gorge Hikes
PE Standards associated with field trip:
NASPE Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity
NASPE Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical activity through life-long physical activities.
NASPE Standard 5: Exhibits responsible, personal, and social behavior that respects self and others in physical settings.
NASPE Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.
Schedule:
5th – 8th Grade May Field Trip
Time Activity
7:45-8:00 Arrive at School
8:00-8:30 Hike slideshow and rules by Mr. Weaver
8:30-8:45 Get ready and get on bus
8:45-9:30 Drive
9:30-9:45 Get into groups and ready to hike
9:45-11:00 Horsetail falls hike (2.5 miles: with snack break)
11:00-12:00 Oneota Fall creek hike (1 mile)
12:00-12:15 Dry off/Change
12:15-1:00 Lunch/Recess
1:00-1:15 Clean-up and get on bus
1:15-2:00 Drive
2:00-2:15 Get back into classroom
2:15-3:00 Mr. Weaver's after hike activity
3:00-3:30 Clean-up and get ready for carline
3:30-3:45 Carline
Things to bring:
Back pack (make sure it is adjusted so the bag is on the students back)
Hiking shoes
Water shoes
Water-bottle
Notebook and pencil
Healthy no/low waste lunch and snack
Towel
Change of clothes
Bandana or rag
Hiking attire
Cold Day – Jeans, athletic shirt, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, gloves, hat.
Warm Day – Jeans, athletic shirt, t-shirt, sweatshirt
Hot Day – Jeans or short, athletic shirt, t-shirt, sweatshirt
The hike is on a dirt trail and along/in a creek. Please note that these clothes need to be clothes that can get dirty and wet.
Jacket
Smiles
What not to bring:
Cell phones
Electronic games
Cameras
Please contact your classroom teacher if you are interested in volunteering for this fun, energetic, and beautiful field trip!
If you have any questions or concerns about the field trip, please contact Mr. Weaver at j.weaver@chpcs.org
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