What we’ve been up to

With only a few weeks of school left before break, one might think that the 4/5ers would be winding down their work. On the contrary! Cerritoberries have been forging ahead in all curricular areas, with students packing in as much learning as possible before summer. Here’s what we’ve been working on lately:

Poetry

Over the last couple of weeks, students have continued their study of poetry in Writing through an exploration of literary devices, rhyme, and odes. This week, students reflected on the entire school year, and picked two specific subjects, activities, or lessons to write poems about. These poems will make up our cumulative performance piece for the end of the year to be shared in the last week (you will find out more details about this in “Coming up.”)

We also had a guest poet come in to work with 4/5! Professional poet Julia Edwards joined Cerritoberry to do a “workshop on workshopping.” During the workshop, students collectively analyzed Pablo Neruda’s “Ode to my Socks,” and then wrote their own odes to unsuspecting items that are not often thought of as important or beautiful. Julia Edwards also  covered the different steps of workshopping a poem—discussing the process and intention of peer feedback.

Body systems

Students continued their study of human body systems in science, learning about our nervous systems this week. While most people think we only have 5 senses, we found out that is not actually the case, and participated in a fun exploration of our proprioception sense during our live lesson! Through multimedia resources, students learned about the functions of neurotransmitters, neurons, and how it all connects and works with our brains. This weekend, students will work on a cross-curricular “Ode to a System,” writing a poem about the nervous, digestive, circulatory, or respiratory system.

Chinese immigration 

Students played their last round of the Gold Rush game on Tuesday, and then shifted their focus over to the transcontinental railroad, with a focus on the lives of Chinese immigrants. After reading a Harcourt chapter about the transcontinental railroad connecting the East and West of the U.S. on Monday, we zoomed in on the Chinese workers during our Wednesday live lesson. We read Coolies by Yin, and watched a clip from the new PBS documentary series: Asian Americans. Students asked thoughtful questions about the experience of these immigrants, and recognized the connection between the way Chinese were treated and the way other non-Whites were treated throughout California history.

Books! Books! Books!

Summer is almost here and it’s time to start thinking about what you’ll read! Run out of books to read at home? Local bookstore still closed? Library e-book on hold? Shop for new books on Scholastic! Scholastic book clubs offers a wide range of book genres in all grades and reading levels, so there’s something for everyone! Brows through the digital flyers linked below, there are multiple per grade highlighting different books (you don’t need to shop within your grade), even books in Spanish feature in the Club Leo flyers. Or, search by book title, author, or keyword. There are many more books available than just what is in the flyers.

Students and families can still order online now and the books will be shipped to Sam, who will deliver them directly to your home! Every dollar spent earns points for the class that are used towards diversifying the 4/5 classroom libraries. If you need a book recommendation, email Sam at ssnook@theberkeleyschool.org or take a look at the ‘Starred’ book selections for recommendations from teachers and classmates.

Use this link or the class code W6RVJ.  Place all orders BY FRIDAY 5/29 to ensure your order is processed in the next round.

Coming Up

Monday 5/25- Memorial Day, NO SCHOOL

Tuesday 5/26- Friday 5/29- Assessment week

Next week, each student will have 1:1 sessions with their teachers for assessments and an end-of-year check-in. Morning Meeting and Puberty Ed. will take place from 9-10 during normal lesson times,  but Office Hours and Study Halls will be cancelled.  The sign up list is linked here. Please support your child in making it to their 1:1 meeting on time.

Tuesday 5/26- Friday 5/29- Puberty Education 

4/5 teachers will lead an accelerated Puberty Education workshop over the course of next week. Students will learn about communication, consent, changes in both male and female bodies, gender versus sex, and hygiene. Lessons will consist of a slide show and lecture, followed by Q & A breakout groups split up by grade.

Puberty ed. will take place after Morning Meeting from 9:30-10.

Wednesday 6/3, 5:00-6:00 PM- Promotion Ceremony and Poetry Reading

Please join us for a Zoom Promotion Ceremony and Poetry Reading in the last week of school! This year, in place of a Cerrito play, students will do a poetry reading of their End of Year Poems. We hope to see you all there!