Hello Families,
Thank you for supporting your Temescalians as they have gotten into the routine of working through their homework packets and returning completed packets on Fridays.
In January, we circled back to looking at 2-digit and 3-digit addition and subtraction, had our seed dispersal design challenge, learned about the important role wetlands play in the ecosystem, celebrated the Lunar New Year, and met up with our 7th grade buddies!
In math, we first brushed up on our rounding skills. To practice, we played games like Round Ball Tens and Round Ball Hundreds. (Click on the links to play at home!)
We also revisited addition and subtraction strategies for solving 2-digit and 3-digit problems.
For addition, the different strategies that we worked on were number trees (where you break up a number by its place value and add up each place value together), using a number line, and using the algorithm to find our sums. Using the algorithm, it was important to always start with the ones place value because it may affect the subsequent place values.
For subtraction, we talked about how there are different methods within the number line umbrella.
– Number line (removal): You put the larger number on the number line and take away the smaller number. Your answer was where you end up on the number line.
– Number line (finding the difference): You put both numbers from the problem on the number line and you find the “distance” between the two numbers. For this method, your answer is the number of hops between the two numbers.
– Number line (constant difference): If you were working with 372 – 179, on the number line, you could shift both numbers so that you had an easier problem to work with. For example, you could add 1 to both of these number so that you are now trying to solve 373 – 180. Because you have at least one friendly number to work with, it makes the numbers easier to work with.
You could also use the algorithm to subtract, but care needs to be taken when using the algorithm to start with the ones place and to think about whether or not you might need to “regroup”/”borrow” from the place value “next door”.
In science, we talked about parts of plants and seed dispersal. There are many different ways that plants disperse: wind, by animals (through fruit or clinging to fur), water, or explosion.
Our seed design challenge was to see if we could design a seed that would go the furthest, propelled only by the wind (from a fan). The limitations were that they only had 1 piece of paper, 1 ft of masking tape, the seed needs to stay affixed in the seed structure, and they only had 15 minutes to draw, design, and construct it! We lined up meter sticks along “Temescal Creek” in the classroom and started the trials. Each design had 3 tries and the result was the average of the three. It was surprising how far some designs went, but we concluded that most designs did best if there was some element on it to catch the wind and if it was started by dropping it into the wind current. We had a chance to re-design our seed designs and some were inspired by the designs others used from the first trial to make a new seed design structure.
In light of the recent heavy rains, our study of the wetlands was especially pertinent. Temescalians paired up to read about how wetlands absorb water during heavy rains to alleviate flooding and also slow the flow of water to lessen the effects of erosion or storm surges. 85% of wetlands have been lost to farmlands or commercial expansion. We also did a landform demonstration of how wetlands (represented by the sponges) absorb water and slow the flow of water. They also help filter out any trash or debris that have been swept along by the flood water. We took a moment to see how wetlands may look swampy but are actually important to filter water.
We had many moments of connection and celebration in the past month.
Our buddies are the 7th graders and we try to meet on the first Wednesday of each month. In January, we went up to the middle school science lab and played silly games together like trying to do a Pictionary telephone on our backs. We also tried to move an Oreo from your foreheads to our mouths.
In February, we made up handshakes to greet our buddies with and played a community game. Our hope is that by providing regular meeting times, we can bring our community together and bridge the gap between the lower school and middle school!
We celebrated a Temescalian’s birthday!
We had a few Family Reading Fridays and some families joined us at our January assembly!
We celebrated the Lunar New Year by reading stories, sharing about traditions, and sharing treats of tangerines, lucky red envelopes, and pineapple cakes!
Often, people will see lion dances and dragon dances at Lunar New Year celebrations. These are both from the Chinese culture. Lion dances involve just two people and can be very acrobatic whereas the dragon dance can involve many people carrying the dragon on poles while following the “moon”.
This is a clip from a lion dance competition from 2017.
This is a clip from a dragon dance:
We also learned about how the Mongolian culture celebrates the Lunar New Year!
Here are some other moments from this past month including playing in a hail shower, making felted bunnies in Art to celebrate the year of the rabbit for the Lunar New Year, sharing Rocket Writes, reading, and working on Weekly Reflections.
February is a full month!
We have a field trip on Monday, 2/6 to the UC Berkeley campus to see Kodo at Zellerbach Hall. Please remember to pack a lunch, snack, and water bottle, wear comfortable walking shoes, wear a mask and layers.
On the week of February 13 – 17, we’ll be celebrating Friendship Week. Temescalians will pull a Secret Pal they will do acts of kindness for:
Monday, 2/13 – Handwritten note
Tuesday, 2/14 – Valentines for the class and acts of kindness
Wednesday, 2/15 – Handmade item (a paper creation, drawing/painting, friendship bracelet, lanyard, a creation made of clay or fuse beads)
Thursday, 2/16 – A gently used book you think your Secret Pal will enjoy
Friday, 2/17 – We’ll do an activity in class so no extra actions are needed
Please encourage your Temescalian to try to do something for their Secret Pal, as well as not reveal their Secret Pal to anyone at school, or guess who other people’s Secret Pals are.
I’m also sending home a class list and this sheet of information on a pink sheet in the homework packet.
On Tuesday, February 28, we’ll celebrate the 100th Day of School!
Each Temescalian will be split into one of four ecosystems to make a collection of 250 or 333 items, depending on whether their ecosystem has 3 or 4 Temescalians in that group. Each ecosystem will have a total of 1,000 items combined.
I’m sending home information on a green sheet as well as a planning sheet the kids have worked on in class. These collections should be easily carried from the gate to the classroom by themselves. Each collection does not need to connect to the other ones in the same ecosystem.
The green sheet should be returned with the collection. It should have an explanation of what their ecosystem is, what they made, and math showing how their collection has 350 or 333 items.
Please send finished collections and the green sheet to school on Monday, 2/27.
On Tuesday, 2/28, from 8:30 – 9:00am, we invite families to come into the K-3 classrooms to look at the 100 Collections in the K-2 classrooms and the 1,000 Projects the Temescalians have created.
Looking forward to a creative and productive February with you and your Temescalian!
Warmly,
Lisa
Upcoming Events
February
6 – Field trip to UC Berkeley to see Kodo, a taiko drumming performance. (We’ll leave TBS at 10am and come back to TBS by 1:00pm)
10 – Family Reading (8:30 – 9:00am in Temescal Creek)
13 – 17 Friendship Week
14 – Valentine’s Day (please bring in Valentines to pass out!)
20 – 24 February Break (no school)
27 – 1,000 Projects due in class with the green sheet
28 – 100th Day of School! Families invited to go to K-3 classrooms to see 100 collections and 1,000 Projects from 8:30 – 9:00am