Cooper Mountain Newsletter
October 5, 2017
Dear Cooper Mountain Families,
Today we reviewed levels of Depth of Knowledge, we quizzed ourselves through a Jeopardy game, and then we collaborated together to include higher levels of thinking to tasks or units that we teach. The Depth of Knowledge levels of thinking are these:
Level 1: Recall and Reproduction - this is the fact based knowledge that we rely on daily. It is important to have solid Level 1 knowledge like memorizing letter names and sounds, memorizing math facts, knowing sight words, reading a ruler, in order to be fluid with higher level tasks. There is a right answer with Level 1 knowledge.
Level 2: Skill/Concept - this is the application kind of knowledge. It's where you might be able to classify, compare and contrast, explain relationships between events, use math facts to solve a problem. There is probably more than one right answer with this level.
Level 3: Strategic Thinking and Reasoning - Stating reasons and providing relevant evidence are key elements of Level 3 thinking. Level 3 is more complex than level 1 and 2 in that students should be able to explain their thinking and their reasons with real evidence. If they solve a math problem, they should be able to explain their strategy and the reasons behind the strategy to you. If your child loves a passage in a story, they should be able to explain why it is meaningful and how they connect to it.
Level 4: Extended Thinking - This is the most complex of the depths of knowledge. Students pull together multiple skills, data sets, and knowledge strands to complete a task. An example might be to read 3-4 articles around the same topic to create an opinion statement about importance or relevance of the subject matter.
So, what does this mean for you at home? It is important to remember that all four levels are important: students cannot analyze reading (Levels 3-4) if they don't have substantial Level 1 knowledge of words and their meaning. Students cannot solve multi-step mathematical tasks without understanding of the Base 10 number system and being fluid with basic math facts. But it also means that when your child describes their learning to you, that you might push their thinking with questions like -
What was the most important thing you learned today? Why?
Why do you think it's important to be respectful?
How do you know your math answer is right?
My kids and I used to sort our Halloween candy and talk about how we made our sorting decisions: all chocolate, chocolate with nuts, no chocolate, favorites and non-favorites. Who knew we were engaging in Level 2 dialogue?!
Thank you for supporting us with these valuable Wednesdays. Your children are benefitting!
Here's to Good Conversation about learning-
Take Care,
Kristin LeMon
Events and Announcements
Upcoming Events
Monday, October 9 - Vision Screening
Thursday, October 12 - PICTURE DAY!
Friday, October 13 - Cougar Run Prize Assembly 2:30 pm
Wednesday-Friday, October 18-20 Parent Teacher Conferences
NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS on Thursday, October 19 and Friday, October 20
Tuesday, October 24 - PTO Meeting 7:00 pm in our school library
Friday, October 27 - Harvest Festival 6:00-8:00 pm. All families invited!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
At the bottom of this newsletter, you will find a link to sign up for parent teacher conferences. I am asking that families who have only one child at Cooper Mountain wait until Friday to sign up so that families with multiple children here can have a greater chance of getting sequential conferences. This is on the honor system, but I hope you are willing to comply. If you have ANY trouble with the system, please email me: kristin_lemon@beaverton.k12.or.us and I will help!
About Dreambox homework:
We have a wonderful new math homework system found in Dreambox that I believe your child's teacher has shared with you. This homework is done online. The advantage to Dreambox is that is personalized to your child. It is adaptive, which in the educational world means it adjusts problems and instruction according to your child's correct or incorrect responses. This method is the only way that we can provide consistent, truly differentiated homework for students, and I am very excited about the potential this will have on your child's learning. You can definitely be a coach and guide on the side (hey! use some of that DOK Level 2 and 3 language!) but it is important that you not do any answering. Learning happens when we struggle, just a little, to figure out the next step. You can ask leading questions to support, but let your child own the learning!
FROM OUR SCHOOL NURSE-
Dear Parent or Guardian:
As you know, head lice is always present in our community and we have seen an increase in head lice cases at school. Head lice are most common among preschool and elementary school aged children.
What are head lice?
Head lice are tiny, wingless insects that do not jump or fly. They live close to the human scalp. The nits, are tiny, tear-drop shaped eggs that are attached to hair, close to the scalp. Nits often appear yellowish or white and can look like dandruff but cannot be easily removed or brushed off. The adult louse is the size of a sesame seed appears tan to grayish-white. An itchy head is a common symptom of lice. Although lice can be bothersome, lice are not dangerous and are not known to spread disease.
Who is affected by head lice?
Head lice are not related to cleanliness.2,3 In fact, head lice infest people with good hygiene and grooming habits.3 Head lice are mostly spread by direct head-to-head contact, for example, during play at home or school, slumber parties, sports activities or camp. Less often, lice are spread via objects that have been in recent contact with a person with head lice, such as hats, scarves, hair ribbons, combs, brushes, stuffed animals or bedding.1,2
What to do if my child has head lice?
Students who have been found to have live head lice will be sent home from school. Students who have been sent home (excluded) will be readmitted after re-assessment by designated staff to confirm that no live lice are present. Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice. Students found with nits only or returning after exclusion with the presence of nits only will not be excluded, but will be subject to periodic checks to confirm continuing absence of live lice. Resistance to some over-the-counter head lice treatments has been reported. Prescription treatment options are available through your health care provider.
Your child’s school office would appreciate notification if your child gets head lice. This assists us in taking additional precautionary measures at school. All information is completely confidential. Please contact your child’s school office or school nurse if you have additional questions or concerns.
Wishing you and your family a healthy school year!
Sincerely,
Kori Carbonaro, RN
School Nurse
FROM OUR DISTRICT OFFICE: A SPECIAL INVITATION TO MAKE AN IMPACT!
Continuing Education for Young Parents (CEYP) seeks volunteers
Do you love babies, toddlers, and/or preschoolers? You can satisfy your love and help a young mom and/or dad complete a high school education by volunteering with the Continuing Education for Young Parents (CEYP) program. The program is in need of volunteers to help take care of toddlers aged 12 to 18 months in the mornings while their teen parents attend high school classes.
Volunteers are asked to give one morning a week at the beautiful facility at Merlo Station High School, 1841 SW Merlo Drive, Beaverton, OR 97006. Flexible scheduling is available.
If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Kate Richman at 503-869-5549, or email Kate at katerh41@gmail.com.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY PARTNER: The Beaverton City Library -
We are certainly busy here at the library! This is the time of year that we get questions about tutors and homework help, and so I’d like to take a moment to introduce a brand-new FREE online homework helpand tutoring service: BrainFuse HelpNow offers live tutoring sessions with professional tutors from 1pm-10pm every day for students from kindergarten-college. It also offers help in Spanish! So if you have students and (and families) who struggle with fractions, understanding word problems, or just need help understanding an assignment BrainFuse HelpNow is there for you! I’d be happy to stop by Cooper Mountain sometime to show you and your staff this incredible new service.
October brings our Family Resource Fair! Over 30 non-profit child- centered organizations come to the library to let families know what they do—Elks eye clinic will perform eye exams, the library will give away books, and of course everyone is welcome to enter the door prize drawings—all free of charge with no referral needed. Saturday, October 21 from 10-2 PM. Hope to see you there!
Here are some of our other October events you can share with your students
Main library- Beaverton City Library Main on 5th and Hall
· Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Branch Library- Beaverton City Library @ Murray Scholls: