Candy, Costumes, Creativity, and Community

Thank you to all those who came out to support the Student Council’s Halloween Carnival.

As I sat at the soccer shootout, several “scary” scholars stopped by. By the smiles I saw, it looked like everyone was having a spook-tacular time!

 

It was fun to see some creative costumes from some of our other fiendish friends, as well.

A special thank you to Rami for being the goal tender at the soocer shootout. A ghoul-ed time was had by all.

Homework for October 29-November 2 (Week 11)

  1. Read for at least 30 minutes each night. Complete the online reading log OR one on paper. (Copies are available in class).
  2. Explore some lessons on IXL.com and / or Khan Academy in the following areas:
    • *Multiplication*
    • *Geometry*
    • Logical Reasoning
    • **A Scholar has a goal: This past week, we had a HUGE jump, answering 3, 798 questions during almost 30 hours on IXL!**
  3. Log on and “Launch” into some learning with Everyday Math. (Note: Log on information is in your planner.)
  4. We are still collecting pictures related to geometry, landforms, weathering, erosion, and deposition.
  5. Reflect back on Week 10, and complete the “Reflection: Learning Habits” form.

Note: Homework is due on Fridays.

**Check back later in the week for additional homework related to in-class discussions and activities.

Announcements

  1. Library is scheduled weekly on Mondays from 9:30 – 10:10 a.m.
    • Bring your book bag and books.
  2. P.E. is scheduled weekly on Mondays and Fridays.Come dressed to exercise – sneakers, hat, sunscreen.
  3. Parent-STUDENT-Teacher Conferences are coming up on Wednesday, October 31. Please be sure to come with your parents AND bring your conference ticket.
  4. Note: A number of new blog posts were made this weekend, catching up from Congo Week.

A Warm Welcome

We would like to welcome Miss Kaun, our newest scholarly sleuth. She is joining us from Biola University and will be completing her final student teaching experience in our classroom from now until December. Because scholars are curious, we want to know more about Miss Kaun. Thankfully, she is willing to share a few details about herself.

Miss Kaun grew up in a family of four, including her parents and her older sister, Melinda. Raised in OrangeCalifornia, Miss Kaun has always lived close to both sets of grandparents, who have been very influential in her life.

When she was in grade school, Miss Kaun participated in Girl Scouts, took Irish dance lessons for five years, joined and lead a color guard team, and was actively involved with her church. As an adult, she enjoys going out to dinner and watching movies (especially musicals) with her family and friends. She also likes walking to her grandma’s house with her dogs, Ginger (boxer-shepherd mix) and Maggie (affenpinscher).

She is an avid tea drinker and has a large collection of coffee mugs. Family vacations are always a highlight, allowing Miss Kaun to explore new and exciting places. As part of her college experience, Miss Kaun was able to spend a semester learning in London. While there, she was able to visit six other countries, including Sweden, a dream destination. As a result of that experience, she has started to learn some Swedish, which she has found gratifying in multiple ways.

Most recently, Miss Kaun visited Paris, Luxembourg, and Bruges with her mom (a TASOK alumnus), her sister, and her aunt, who lives and works here in Kinshasa.

 

Miss Kaun loves working with students in the classroom and is looking forward to learning with and from each TASOK condor. After her time at TASOK, Miss Kaun plans to return to her home town and substitute teach. Her goal is to have her own classroom of scholars for the 2019-2020 school year.

Homework for October 22-26 (Week 10)

  1. Read for at least 30 minutes each night. Complete the online reading log OR one on paper. (Copies are available in class).
  2. Explore some lessons on IXL.com and / or Khan Academy in the following areas:
    • *Multiplication*
    • *Geometry*
    • Logical Reasoning
    • Over the break, 1,344 questions were answered during 14 hours on IXL.
    • **A Scholar has a goal: So far this year, we have answered 16, 537 questions. How many more do we need to answer to reach our next milestone of 20,000 questions?**
  3. NEW: Log on and “Launch” into some learning with Everyday Math. (Note: Log on information will be provided on Monday.)
  4. Don’t forget to send in your October Break Challenge pictures (geometry, landforms, weathering, erosion, deposition).
  5. Reflect back on Week 9, and complete the “Reflection: Learning Habits” form.

Note: Homework is due on Fridays.

**Check back later in the week for additional homework related to in-class discussions and activities.

Announcements

  1. Library is scheduled weekly on Mondays from 9:30 – 10:10 a.m.
    • Bring your book bag and books.
  2. P.E. is scheduled weekly on Mondays and Fridays.
    • Come dressed to exercise – sneakers, hat, sunscreen.
  3. Mix It Up PicnicWednesday, October 24
  4. Progress Reports go home on Friday, October 26.
  5. The TASOK Halloween Carnival is this Saturday, October 27th from 1:00 – 5:30 p.m.
  6. Parent-STUDENT-Teacher Conferences are coming up on Wednesday, October 31. Please remind your parents to sign up for a time (Email invitations were sent on October 11).

The Geometry Collection

Our first geometry gumshoe has found some figures and captured them with her camera.

Thanks, Renee, for getting our scholarly search for shapes started!

And, Cadence has contributed her fabulous figure finds. I see some symmetry. What do you see?

  

Mohammad found some lines and angles, as well.

Jessica’s geometry journey lead to these pictures… all found on TASOK’s campus!

Look what Leo found “hiding” in his house!

Now, Noah got really nimble to nab some of these shots. Nice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenge #1: Accepted

Scholars, I trust you are enjoying your October break.

During our travels today, Mr. Rupp and I were surrounded by geometry. Everywhere we went, we couldn’t help but click our cameras, capturing lines and angles and shapes. Whether it was walking down the sidewalk, wandering in or near a mall, or peering out from the observation deck of one of the world’s “talls” (the Burj Khalifa), parallel and perpendicular lines, rays and rhombuses, angles and arrays greeted us at every turn. Check out a few photos of figures we saw today. What geometric shapes can you see in each image? Why are they important?

        

On our tour of the Burj Khalifa today, I was amazed at how much math and problem solving went in to the building of this monumental masterpiece. To learn more, check out the structure’s website.

The Burj Khalifa

Challenge #2: October Break Outdoor Observations

Over the break, whether you are traveling or sticking close to home, you have an opportunity to be a eagle-eyed observer. As a scholarly sleuth, search for clues proving weathering, erosion, or deposition has taken place. If you suspect that wind, water, ice, or roots have caused weathering, erosion, or deposition, get a picture of the evidence with the hashtags:

#wandering&weathering

#erosioniseverywhere

#dropinondeposition

Also, be on the lookout for landforms and bodies of water – mountains, hills, valleys, plateaus, cliffs, caves, sand dunes, bays, ponds, lakes, rivers,… and so many more. If you see a landform or body of water, get a picture with the hashtag:

#Look! A landform

Secret agents, are you ready to accept this challenge?

Send all photographic evidence to Mrs. Rupp’s email.

Congo Week: Culture and Community Captured

What a wonderful week! We are so grateful for the time and effort the high school student leadership team put into organizing this week celebrating The Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Links to Learning

Throughout the week, we were thrilled to be able to share so many of the Congo Week activities with our buddies.

Monday = Movement

Traditional African Dance

Our first special guests on Monday morning got us all up and moving to the beat of the drum.

 

The Great Kapok Tree

Ms. Kraft had us moving and meandering, too. She had planned something special with the reading of The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, which involved a powerful field trip through the forest. Purposeful pauses allowed us to ponder the text and appreciate the flora and fauna.  The fabulous finale had us gathering around own kapok tree on lower campus.

 

Links to Learning

Rumba

We rounded out the day with Madame Michele and a rousing rumba lesson with another special guest.

Jewelry Making

Wednesday = Working with Our Hands

Joining together around jewelry, we learned about different materials used for beads and for stringing the beads. While a bit challenging, the beads brought us all together and caused us to show caring as we made rings or bracelets for our buddies.

     

Congolese Food

Thursday = Getting a Taste for Congolese Food

We had to work a bit before partaking of the plantains and fufu. A massive mortar and pestle were our culinary tools.

 

Assembly

Friday = A Fabulous Finale

The high school leadership team planned an amazing assembly featuring a guest band (Tyson and the Rainbow Band), our preschool buddies, middle school dancers, a high school fashion show, and our very own atelier.

   

 

In addition, Dr. Gillespie allowed us to reflect on the importance of water and lead us in an exercise in “creating” rain.

It sounded a little like this…

What else can you learn about The Democratic Republic of the Congo, using scholarly multiple sources?

 

Multiple Sources for Math (and Music)

Tomorrow, we will have an opportunity to show what we know from our first unit, which focused mostly on:

  • place value.
  • comparing and ordering numbers.
  • estimating and rounding.
  • adding and subtracting up to 3-digit numbers.

We also did a quick preview of topics we will cover more in depth throughout the year including:

  • customary units and conversions.
  • geometric representations, including angles.
  • perimeter of rectangles.

If you have time, review some of these topics on IXL and / or explore Math is Fun (Math is Fun is a very informative multiple source.).

 

Also, in preparation for the 3-5 musical, Mr. Jimmy has encouraged you to check out his blog.

Mr. Jimmy’s Blog

 

October Break Challenge #1

For October Break, keep your eyes open for examples of geometry. Remember to take a picture and politely ask your parents to help you send the images to me. Below are some inspirational links.

Geometric Shapes found in Nature

This last one is a TEDx, which is a bit more complex.

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