Have you checked out how many townspeople you have saved, and what badges you have earned? Don't forget to visit the lab...
Dates to Remember:
No school on September 4th in observance of Labor Day
End of Term 1: Friday, September 22, 2017
AdV Student Exhibition Night - October 11 @ 5:00 p.m.
Need help with something? Post your questions on Edmodo.
Classroom News
Reminder: To request a regrade for a Non-Zero or Warning assignment, you must send an e-mail to your teacher, with the URL of the document/page you want her to grade. You must sign your e-mail with your name, grade level and class. Remember that, although you only have one assignment, your teacher has to sift through all 170+ assignments and 5 gradebooks to find you. The easier you make it to re-grade, the higher the chance that it will be done promptly.
5th Science You will start out the week by analyzing some mystery footprints that will require that you make careful observations. We will then continue to think like scientists as we study the practices of scientists. Do not forget to keep adding to your list of things that a scientist does so you can complete your first post successfully.
6th Science We begin our first unit of the year. This week we will talk about heat and how it is transferred from one object to another. We will work hard at keeping sodas cold as we explore how heat and matter are related. Mid-week, we will the different modes of conducting heat by having a popcorn party. Bring your taste buds, as well as your powers of observation so you can determine what to serve.
7th Science We start out the week by making observations into matter. You will be introduced to the particulate nature of matter through an interactive and then move on to building atoms. Towards the end of the week, you will use what you learned to solve the density dilemma as you determine which knight brought back King Arthur's crown.
8th Science In preparation to understand geologic time, we start the week by reviewing the rock cycle. In class we will make a model of a sedimentary rock and then use the same processes as nature to transform it into metamorphic and igneous. We will then be reminded of our good friend Wegener, and discuss the fossil evidence for his theories. We conclude the week discussing relative age as we attempt to place rock strata in order.
8th Engineering After our discussions last week on conflict and the power of listening, we start the week by developing some good listening habits. We then move on the some true collaboration activities as we continue to learn just what a collaborative environment is. Come prepared to participate actively and put all your knowledge to the test.
AdV Parent Information Meeting - August 23 @ 4:00 p.m.
No school on September 4th in observance of Labor Day
End of Term 1: Friday, September 22, 2017
AdV Student Exhibition Night - October 11 @ 5:00 p.m.
Need help with something? Post your questions on Edmodo.
Classroom News
Reminder: To request a regrade for a Non-Zero or Warning assignment, you must send an e-mail to your teacher, with the URL of the document/page you want her to grade. You must sign your e-mail with your name, grade level and class. Remember that, although you only have one assignment, your teacher has to sift through all 170+ assignments and 5 gradebooks to find you. The easier you make it to re-grade, the higher the chance that it will be done promptly. 5th
Science
This week we will set up our blogs, and learn how to manage our GAfE and Edmodo accounts. We will explore the class website, and write our first blogpost. This will be your first attempt at XP! We will round out the week by exploring what a scientist does.
6th , 7th and 8th Science
After a brief recap on GaFE, blogs and Edmodo, we will refresh our memory on the Science and Engineering
practices using a new tool. You have your first blogpost due at midnight on Sunday, August 20.
8th Engineering
We will continue our learning on how to work collaboratively. We will start by discussing ways to de-escalate conflict. We will then look at ways to come up with ideas that help resolve conflict in a way that everyone "wins".
I am very excited to introduce you to this school year's theme - Zombies of AdVENTURE.
TPR (Town's people Rescued)
As most of you know, my classes are gamified. That means that, amongst other things, your work will receive a number that represents the Town's People Recovered during your quest. These TPR are always additive, which means that once recovered, your number of TPR will never go down. Your ultimate goal this year is to "Save the Maximum number of Town's People". There are three distinct ways to get TPR:
Blog TPR: The blogs are not going away. Each blog is awarded a specific number of TPR based on a rubric score that also shows you what you need to do to improve for your next post. The bulk of your TPR will always be Blog TPR.
PBL Quests: I have decided to add your project rubric scores to the TPR count. The goal for this is to help you move up in ranking somewhat faster, as well as to encourage you to revise your project work for more TPR if possible, even after you have presented your work.
Mastery Quests: Although these may not happen very often (once or twice a PBL run), they are worth double TPR. Not all assignments are mastery quests so please do not ask. I will let you know beforehand when a Mastery Quest is coming up so you can adequately prepare for it.
PAPERLESS CLASSROOM
As much as possible, I try to run a paperless classroom. In order to do this, I will teach you how to use several cloud-based tools in order to gather, sort, analyze and communicate information. Some of the tools you will learn to use effectively are Google Drive, Blogger, and Edmodo. You will learn more about these tools as we need them; and I will be giving specific instructions for their use. Please review the AUP included in the green sheet carefully, as you must abide this policy in order to maintain a professional online presence.
I love new tools, so if there is something you would like to use or see, let me know, and we can see about integrating it.
You also must know that this does not mean that you should not have a notebook and writing materials with you at all times. Your notebook is where you will gather your experimental data, as well as any notes that can then be uploaded as needed.
This also means that any paper given to you is important. If someone took the time to make all those copies, and I broke my own "paperless" rule, it is for a reason.
EDMODO
Edmodo is where you will find all assignments, quizzes and classroom resources. It is vital that all students sign up in order to have full access to our classroom resources. Parents can sign up, too. Edmodo will help you to keep up with due dates, tests, quizzes, and more. It will serve as your personal at-home tutor as I will often post videos of instruction, as well as additional materials and simulations to enhance your learning experience. You will also use Edmodo to work collaboratively with other students in class, and in other classes.
I will be giving out codes soon, and will expect you to join immediately. Remember, all of our assignments are EDMODO assignments.
Those of you totally new to Edmodo might want to watch the video below, (created by a wonderful Edmodo teacher, Travis Monk of Indiana U.S.), to get a good understanding of how you can get the most out of your Edmodo student account.
"ONCE A ZERO" POLICY
Late work is not accepted at AdVENTURE. If you receive a zero on the grade book it means that you made no attempt at turning the work in by the due date, or it was turned in with no name. This habit is detrimental to your work ethic and undermines my ability to help students you progress. The very least I expect from you is that you are able to write your name on a paper (or create and submit an electronic document) and turn it in by the due date. If that minimum effort is made, I can identify areas of weakness and you can receive the help you need. Zeros on the grade book will not be modified.
There are times when you will receive a W for an assignment. The W stands for Warning, and it is your cue to come talk to me about the assignment within three school days. If you do not seek me out to talk about a W within that time frame, I take it as an indicator that you have decided the assignment is not worth your time, and the W becomes a zero.
CONTACT
Remember that if you need to get in touch with me, the best way to do so is by posting to Edmodo. For more private matters, like requesting a re-grade or informing me of an absence, a schoolloop e-mail is the way to go.
I am thrilled that you are here and welcome you to the Adventure community.
