Our days in Temescal start with a morning message with information on how to start the day. Often the notes are tied in with the curriculum and have interactive data gathering. We also go over the schedule of the day and make announcements before moving into learning by 8:45. Thank you for  your efforts to get your child to school on time and ready to go by 8:30 for this important time for community building and connecting!

While conducting the exciting transpiration experiment with carnations and dyed and regular water, we noticed that the carnations in the regular water looked the healthiest and wondered what about the food coloring made the other flowers not fare as well. This led to writing an opinion paragraph answering the question: Is food coloring healthful for people to ingest? Faced with all of the evidence at hand, the answer from the Temescalians was a resounding NO! Following a hamburger format each student wrote a structured paragraph with an introduction, conclusion, and linking words sandwiching three reasons to support their opinion. Ask your scientist why avoiding foods and beverages with food coloring is a wise idea . . .

We have been digging deep into our science of plants by learning all about the parts and functions, as well as the process of photosynthesis. Julianne joined us on Friday for Super Science/Art to lead a center on pigmentation. Another center repeated the leaf chromatography experiment from last week with different types of leaves to learn more about chloraphyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. Another table was busy dissecting and exploring the characteristics and anatomy of flowers and seeds. Each scientist rotated through these stations and documented their findings in their S.T.E.A.M. journal, which is filling up fast!

In math we played a subtraction game called Diffy to go along with our learning about subtraction with and without regrouping.

Reading with grown ups is a cozy and fun time in Temescal Creek, and a great way for your reader to practice his/her reading fluency. In addition to your child reading TO you, we also check on science experiments, play math games, summarize read alouds, and look through portfolios. Come by Friday mornings at 8:30 and join in on the fun!

We had our second all-school assembly last week and came together to sing a multi-lingual song you may have heard at home, “Hello, Hello!” We also met the middle school members of the School Climate Committee who are excited to be working on making TBS an even better place . . .

We look forward to meeting with you all for parent-teacher conferences this Thursday and Friday. Each conference is a 20 minute overview of your child’s year so far, as well as goals moving forward. Please come prepared with questions and specific areas you would like to focus and we will kick off our time with those. Childcare is provided during your scheduled conference time unless you signed up for full days in advance. Thank you for taking the time to partner with us to follow your child!

October

12 – Indigenous People Day (Professional Development Day, no school)

25 – Fall Festival at University Campus (Sunday)

30 – Halloween Parade (Starts at 8:45am)

Thanks also for helping your child take responsibility for getting their folder to and from school on Fridays and Mondays. Your participation in reviewing their weekly work, reflections, and goals with them is a huge way to support your child and their work being done in the classroom. The brief, yet encouraging note you write to them is the cherry on top.