Friday Groups

Linda:Four weeks ago, we started our second round of Friday Groups.  Selections included creating the Local Hero Award with Pat, Looking at High School and Beyond (Seminar Only) with Linda, Learning about Native American Culture with Jen and Bill, Japanese Culture with Karen and Physical Education with Katrina.

Max: In Japanese Culture we are watching an anime called Spirited Away.  We are learning about their way of life and what they ate.  The first week we went on a website and did a scavenger hunt to learn about Japan.  Last week we cooked a stew and had dumplings.   In the afternoon, we are doing Physical Education and doing athletic stuff such as soccer, running, pull-ups and sit ups.  The first week we did the Presidential Fitness challenge.  I did the mile run in 10 minutes 19 seconds.  I hope at the end of the 5 weeks I will do better.

Fall Festival Fibs

In math, our class was learning about patterns and the Fibonacci sequence.  We decided to use the sequence to write poems about fall festival at Watoga State Park.  The syllable counts in the lines follow the pattern:1,1,2,3, 5,8,13,21,34...  Here are some of them:

Wet
Tent
Warm fire
Bicycle
Biking is awesome
Although it was muddy and wet
Going biking to the tunnel was of course the best
Biking in the rain while you are being covered in mud so you come out spotted and wet.
by Caroline S.

Cold
Wet
Rainy
Tiring ride
Dead deer in the road
Biking in the rain so insane
Learning that biking twenty four miles is so so hard
But it is not too bad when are are only biking ten miles and going through puddles.
by Sophie G.


Rain
Storm
Hiking
Fire doused
Puddles in the tent
Bogs keep bodies from degrading
Carnivorous plants and upturned trees were everywhere.
Pumpkins light up the campground with their distorted faces that glow with strange orange light.
by Gracie M.

Fall Festival-Hiking by Elena

I had a great time at Fall Festival.  The hiking trails were very pretty with all the colored leaves, both on the ground and in the trees.  I also think that the view was amazing.  There was a river and in the middle of it, there was an island.  The island was beautiful, even though it was totally made of rocks.  The tent arrangements were nice and I got the best place in it.

Tory's Take on Ellis Island

We did this Ellis Island simulation and we dressed up as immigrants from different countries in Europe.
I was from Germany and my name was Gilda Brun.  There were four different stations.  The first one was for memorizing your passport.  I got sent back because I didn't know my birth date.  The next one was vocation.  They asked about what you did for a job.  I was sewing and knitting.  The third station was character and they asked if I had been to jail.  That was easy since I didn't do anything wrong.  The fourth was the health station and they had to ask lots of questions.  At the clearance station, they check all your points.  I got in and I felt excited and happy and a little relieved.  I was very nervous going into it.  It was a good way to learn about immigration and it was fun.

Friday Group

Linda's Friday group has been traveling around Roanoke to look at different cemeteries. Last week we went to the Salem Museum and did a scavenger hunt in the cemetery.  It was very interesting to learn about the people in the cemetery and look for different symbols on the gravestones.  For lunch, we went to Longwood Park and enjoyed the playground.

First Weeks by Gracie

During the first week at school, Linda's class had a double period of Language Arts. We discussed what we were going to do as the year wore on and how to write the "Where I'm From" poem. We brought in photos of our childhood. They were all very cute. We had to write about ourselves and then put it in the poem. While we wrote, Katrina delighted herself by looking at our photos. Then we went to the computer lab and typed. Almost everyone finished the poem. Katrina scanned the photos into the computer and said we would finish it on Thursday. On Thursday, we finished editing our pictures and started a photo story. In social studies, we looked up where our last names came from and the history of it. Katrina promised us if we finished our poems and photo story, then we could play Monopoly.

A New School Year

The first two weeks have flown by. We spent time getting to know our classmates, sharing our interests and our strengths, and thinking about what we want for our year. We also prepared skits for the playground rules and our class name. We are the "Dupliflections". Ask your child how we came up with it. We are preparing for a unit on immigration as we look at the early 1900's in American history. We are also talking about Fall Festival, which is October 11th-13th. Students are deciding if they want to bike or hike. The whole Middle School will be going to Watogoa State Park in West Virginia.
We look forward to seeing parents for the Middle School gathering on Thursday, September 22nd at 7 p.m. Please call me at school (563-5036) or at home (815-8133) if you have questions or concerns.