The Patriot Post
Community 7 Newsletter January 19-29th
Dear Patriot Parents,
We would also like to make you aware that FreshGrade reports will be made available digitally to parents Friday January 22. Please keep an eye on your email for further information.
As always, we thank you for the opportunity to work in partnership with you and your learners in the effort to better our Pike Road community. The future lies in the education of our youth and together we will make it a bright one!
Your Community 7 Lead Learners
Instructional Tools
Parents may access this through a unique code on your student's edmodo page. Ask your learner to sign in and show you the parent code. Once you have the code, signing up is easy--just go to http://www.edmodo.com , sign up as a parent, enter your access code and fill in the required information.
Google Drive is where our learners can collaborate with others and receive feedback from their lead learners. Each learner has a shared folder for each Lead Learner where they upload or create their work to be assessed. Ask your learner to open this folder and share their work with you. Click HERE for a basic overview of how Google Drive works.
Each lead learner will be having students work and receive feedback in their notebook as well.
~~~~~~~~~~ Weekly Learning Goals ~~~~~~~~~~
Ms. Austin's ELA/SS Family
This week we will focus on understanding and applying economic concepts such as supply/demand, consumption/production and how different economic systems organize around these ideas. Ideas for at-home discussion include:
-Supply and demand and how that has affected prices and availability of products throughout your lifetime.
-Why you purchase the items you purchase.
-Various marketing techniques you see or hear every day.
-Any experiences with other economic systems outside of America (compare/contrast).
We are also incorporating reading novels into our daily schedule and will be discussing what we are reading together through literature circles, journaling and direct reflection. Please talk to your children about what they chose to read and what is going on in the story. We will be focusing on beginning character ideas, plot, theme, figurative and connotative language, and acquisition of vocabulary through context clues.
Next week we will focus on consumerism and the relationship between consumer and marketplace. During our project time, learners will be working on an expository report on a country of their choice, as we continue exploring “Does Culture Influence Who We Are?” The writing standards this correlates to are as follows:
W.7.2a Introduce topic clearly, preview, organize well.
W.7.2b Develop topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and
examples.
W.7.2c Use appropriate transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
W.7.2d Use precise language and domain- specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
W.7.2e Establish and maintain a formal style in an informative or explanatory text.
W.7.2f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
THINK
THiNK
THINK
Ms. Crowe's Science Family
Next, we will investigate photosynthesis and cellular respiration through a series of experiments in order to develop scientific explanations of how energy and matter cycle through organisms in an ecosystem. We will be observing photosynthesis by measuring oxygen creation in plants, and we will be observing cellular respiration by making root beer. We will then compare these two processes and discuss their significance in the ecosystem.
In order to do these experiments, we will need a few donations. If any of our Patriots parents would like to donate, the needed materials are empty 2 liter soda bottles, small potted plants, baker's yeast, small desk lamps (to borrow), distilled water, and gallon-sized ziplock bags. Please send these materials with your learner to Ms. Crowe. Thank you!!
Create
Think
Critique
Mr. VanEgmond's Math Family
The time we have spent on percentages has expanded and allowed us to get a deeper understanding of what “per cent” even means. Our most recent application has been describing by what percent a value changes. For example, if the price of gas goes from $1.60 to $2.85, this illustrates a change of about 78% from the original price. With this in mind, I encourage you to ask your child what they have observed about the price of life in Montgomery compared to other cities in the United States.
Our exploration of how percentages are all around us continues as we find the “percent of markup” of merchandise from retailers that we buy from. This may spawn conversation about why things are priced the way they are as you make purchases together.
We will also begin start looking for patterns and proportional relationships in data which is represented in tables and graphs.
Does Culture Influence Who We Are?
We are looking forward to investigating how marketing plays into our culture, including a virtual presentation from a corporate member of the ChikFilA marketing staff out of Atlanta.
WE NEED YOUR HELP IN TWO WAYS:
1) We are looking for parents to speak to learners about how culture influences their areas of expertise/occupation and how this affects them personally as well. Those with international/military exposure may have great things to share with our community so we can further understand the influence of culture.
2) If you would be interested in participating as an "investor" in an upcoming special event, we would like to know. You will not need to invest your own money but will provide exposure to pitching new products in a business-like environment.
If you would like more information on either of these opportunities, please contact us via email. Your contributions would be invaluable to making this authentic and meaningful for our learners.
~~~~~~~~~~ Announcements ~~~~~~~~~~
Required Materials
Please ensure your child has their materials by Tuesday, January 19th.
Ms. Austin also is requiring all students to choose a work of fiction to begin reading as well. They may borrow a book from our collection, download a free one from iTunes books (please supervise their choice) or check one out from the public library. Mrs. Dean will be glad to help them get a library card if they speak to her! Each learner must have their book by January 19th, and have it daily.
Wish List Drive for Montgomery Humane Society
As part of our #TakeAction project from last semester, several of us were concerned with animal abuse and neglect and wanted to get involved. We decided to have a drive to try to help out the Montgomery Humane Society. Below is a list of needed items. If you would like to help out, please send your items with your child by February 19th. All items should be brought to our community Science Lab.
Thank you for all of your help! Please do your part and report any suspicious activity or neglect.
Rawhide or Pig Ears
Dog and Cat Treats
Dry Puppy Food
Dry Dog Food
Dry Kitten Food
Dry Cat Food
Hard Chew Toys (ex: Kongs)
Animal Crates and carriers
Cat Litter (prefer non-clumping)
Pet Shampoo
Bath towels (new or used)
Blankets (new or used)
Newspaper (for lining cages)
Shredded paper (long shreds)
Bleach
Laundry detergent (powder or liquid)
Morning Gym Rules
ASF Cinderella Field Trip Reminders
1) Dress is semi-casual for the theatre which means we will not wear jeans or shorts. Recommended attire for boys is khaki pants and collared shirt. Females could also consider wearing skirts or nice slacks.
2) We will have lunch at Eastdale Mall so be sure to bring money unless you have made alternate arrangements. Learners will not be able to leave the food court area but parents are welcomed to join us for lunch and check out their child from there.
Absence/Makeup Work Policy
Wish List
- washable paint of various colors
- project clay
- colored pencils
- Lysol/ Clorox wipes
- construction paper
- copy paper of various colors, including white