The Weekly Ramsey Update
Week 15
Upcoming events
Dec. 21 - Winter Dance, 12:30-2pm
Dec. 21 - Last day before Winter Break
Jan. 3 - School is back in session
MYP update of the week
Over the past few weeks, teachers in many departments have been working collaboratively with MYP teachers in other St. Paul Public Schools and other Twin Cities districts to share ideas about curriculum and assessments. One of the key parts of MYP is its focus on collaborative planning for teachers so that we can enrich our approaches to teaching. It also gives us an opportunity to collaborate with high school teachers so that we are preparing students for the year 4 and 5 of the MYP.
This week at Ramsey
We've done a lot in the last few weeks in Pre-Algebra6! We talked about the relationship between the "party" and the "business" and calculated our own Mullet Ratios. We even got a shout out on Twitter from a Star Tribune writer and a retweet by SPPS. We participated in an Hour of Code event in the Cafeteria and we made connections between Fractions and Music through South Indian Rhythms. Overlaying different rhythms is challenging and requires teamwork and intense concentration and trust in peer abilities. Musicians in the class acted as experts and helped us break down measures into the maximum combinations of two and three beat syllables. We learned about different ways to represent music and increasing the number of syllables per measure
Students at Ramsey are actively living the IB learner profiles in the library:
There are 1,000 books checked out to Ramsey students! Huzzah for students practicing being knowledgeable, curious, reflective, and open-minded as they read stories set in other lands and time, and about characters wrestling with social issues. Kudos to students researching men and women who took a stand for History Day.
398 of these books are overdue. Please remind your students to return any overdue books to the library prior to winter break.
On February 7, it is French Day at the Minnesota zoo. French classes from all over come to the zoo to learn in French about a great diversity of animals. Ramsey eighth graders French Immersion are responsible for 6 stations. They are presenters! We started this week with brainstorming for creating engaging presentations and getting to know the animals assigned to us. Our ideas are; dwarf crocodile, white cheek gibbon, colobus monkey, small-clawed otter, komodo dragon, and the flamingo.
Students in Ms. Sawyer and Mr. Robert's 6th grade ELA classes are working on Social Issues final book club projects. Students chose a book club book together that fit their reading levels and interests. Students read their books at home and in class looking for social issues such as 'fairness,
power, race, class, and gender.' Each project is different but all projects will identify 1-2 social issues from their reading and evidence to support their ideas. We are excited to welcome some new members to our classes on Monday, December 19 while we present our projects.
In ELA Workshop 7 classes, we read several poems and short stories, then students selected one text to use for their annotation cube project (summative assessment).
Important Notices
Help Ms. Jones! - Not quite halfway to the goal. Thank you to all the people who have supported Ramsey Science in the past. Please consider making a donation to make this project possible this year. Thanks again in advance from the students.
https://www.donorschoose.org/project/roller-coaster-theme-park/2336182/
Donations - We are looking for winter jackets for students of any size, but we really need the adult XXL size, both for a girl and boy-- in the event you have something you were wanting to donate.. also looking for hats, gloves, mittens.. THANKS!
TOYS FOR TOTS -
If you wish to make a toy donation to Toys for Tots there are many St. Paul delivery sites which can be located at toysfortots.org If you would like to register your children for a gift from Toys for Tots, please call:
Salvation Army 651-746-3595
Neighborhood House 612-282-5951
New Birth Mission Baptist Church 651-313-0881
Community Stabilization Program 651-236-8692
Science Department - The science department is still in need of empty 2L bottles with caps. Please send them with your student to bring to their science teacher!
From the library - Student Library Survey
We would like to hear from our students about their library and reading needs. This survey will be distributed to students in Foundations in the coming days. If you'd like to preview the survey or take the survey with your student now, please follow this link (https://goo.gl/forms/C0ziv5Z09me410hE2). No HIPPA protected data will be collected about students who participate; however if you would like your student to opt out, you may.
Parent Library Survey
Parents who haven't yet given their feedback about the RMS library may do so here: https://goo.gl/forms/EsL3l4PqJ8wu80p33
From Our Social Workers - As cold weather is approaching it reminds us that there are students who are not fully outfitted with warm weather gear (and then there are those that refuse and only want to wear a hoodie, like mine!) and that some of us may have items we could donate. We are looking to set aside a small store of winter jackets and hoodies, hats, gloves, and mittens. If you have gently used items and care to donate please drop them off with Kris Knetsch or nurse Maureen, in the nurse's office. All sizes welcome! Thanks!
Yearbook Update: Yearbooks make great holiday gifts! Yearbooks are on sale now for $21. Order online at jostensyearbooks.com.
About Us
Website: ramsey.spps.org
Location: 1700 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN, United States
Phone: (651) 293-8860