No school on September 5th in observance of Labor Day
Picture day is September 9th
AdV Student Exhibition Night - October 12 @ 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. NOTICE: ForAllRubrics and Edmodo are not "playing nice". Because of this, I created separate ForAllRubrics accounts for you. Your username is your complete oakgrovesd e-mail (including the @oakgrovesd.net). Your temporary password is included in the comments for your grade if I have already assessed your work. Do not try to log in using the Edmodo or the Google button, as your accounts are not linked with either of those services. 5th
Science
This week we begin working on the importance of science education, and science in general. We will solve a couple of mysteries involving tangrams and footprints and try to figure out how Dogs and Turnips can help us understand science. To round out the week we will talk about the scientific method.
6th
Science
We begin the week by thinking of new arrangements to the accepted scientific method. You then will work together to draft and conduct your very own experiment to answer a scientific question of your choosing. On Friday be ready to present your results to the class!
7thScience
Cell Wars has begun! You all have your assignments and are learning about your organelle candidates. As you are finding out new information, remember to post your smears to Edmodo (keeping them RRS). Don't forget to sling some mud back to your opponents!.
7th and 8th Engineering
You will continue with your engineering careers explorations in the Design a Hat challenge. As you are completing your research, try different arrangements and ways to adhere the information to your hat. Test your prototypes and remember to keep track of everything you try in your blog.
AdV Parent Information Meeting - August 24 @ 4:00 p.m.
No school on September 5th in observance of Labor Day
Picture day is September 9th
AdV Student Exhibition Night - October 12 @ 5:00 p.m.
Need help with something? Post your questions on Edmodo.
Classroom News
All my classes will take the AUP quiz on Monday. This is your first Mastery Quest. 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 finish the week by writing personal mission statements in our blogs. This will be your first attempt at XP!
6th
Science
After a brief recap on GaFE and blogs, we will have a fun activity on communication. Towards the end of the week, we will refresh our memory on the Science and Engineering
practices. If you are successful, you will craft your own scientific question to be answered with your own experiment. You have your first blogpost due at midnight on Sunday, August 28.
7thScience
After a brief recap on GaFE and blogs, we will have a fun activity on communication. Towards the end of the week, we begin our exciting Cell Wars unit with a cell sort activity and a lively discussion on Cell Theory. You have your first blogpost due at midnight on Sunday, August 28.
7th and 8th Engineering
For this first unit, both Engineering classes have the same assignments. After a brief recap on GaFE and blogs, we will have a fun activity on communication. Towards the end of the week, you will begin your exploration of different engineering careers with a Hat Design challenge. Remember that you must document everything you do in your Engineering Blog. Your first engineering blogpost is due at midnight on Sunday, August 28.
I am very excited to introduce you to this school year's theme - Islands of AdVENTURE: Taking Over the World. In the Islands of AdVENTURE we will work together to develop new ways of thinking in order to solve challenging tasks that extend our view of STEM. I have planned a year filled with project based learning opportunities that are not only fun and exciting, but will also have you digging deep into science and engineering concepts. You will be expected to work collaboratively to find novel solutions to real world problems. I am looking forward to learning with and about you as we work together to "Take over the world".
Let's go on a brief walkthrough of the Islands of AdVENTURE website:
XP (Experience Points)
As most of you know, my classes are gamified. That means that, amongst other things, your work will receive experience points throughout the year. These XP are always additive, which means that there is no XP taken away. Your ultimate goal this year is to achieve "World Domination". There are three distinct ways to get XP:
Blog XP: The blogs are not going away. Each blog is awarded a specific number of XP based on a rubric score that also shows you what you need to do to improve for your next post. The bulk of your XP will always be Blog XP.
PBL Quests: I have decided to add your project rubric scores to the XP 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 XP 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 XP. 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 gradebook 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.
Ther end of the school year is always bittersweet for me. I am not going to lie and say that I am not looking forward to summer, but the reality is that I will face many moments thinking of you. I want you to know that I truly feel privileged that you allowed me to guide you and share the best (and yes, sometimes the worst) of me with you. Each and every one of you is the reason why I love what I do. Thank you for sharing your ideas, comments and personalities with me. Thank you for inspiring me to be not only a better teacher, but also a better person every day. Thank you for allowing me to grow as I watched you grow.
As you move on to whatever is next for you, know that I pushed you because I believe in you. Yes, at times it was hard and it would have been easier to just let it go, but how could I? You are capable. You are bright. You are unique and special to me. Each of the talents, skills and abilities you allowed to flourish will come in handy. You will take over the world some day, and when that day comes know that I will be in the background cheering you on.
Know that "once my student, always my student". I can and will always be willing to help. Even if you are graduating (congratulations by the way!), do not hesitate to contact me if you ever need to. You have a special place in my heart, and though you may be gone from my classroom you will always be a true AdVENTUREr.
From now and until the last day of school you will all be working on your e-portfolios. This is the time to sit back and reflect on a year of learning. For those of you that are leaving us, it is also the rime to reminisce on everything you accomplished at AdVENTURE. Look back at your previous work and see how much you have grown!
Trash Talk: We move on to your end of year project. You will have the opportunity to work with your peers in your Trash Talk project, and make it the best project ever! You will also have time to work on your End of Year portfolios. Choose what you spend your time on wisely.
Trash Talk: We move on to your end of year project. You will have the opportunity to work with your peers in your Trash Talk project, and make it the best project ever! You will also have time to work on your End of Year portfolios. Choose what you spend your time on wisely.
Interdependence of Organisms This is the final stretch of your Endangered Species project. You have some time to put final touches before we begin presentations on Wednesday. The End is Nigh.
EDC - The Thermos Challenge: You are almost done. Your completed work must be ready to be presented on Tuesday. Which team will have the "best" termos, I wonder? After presentations on Tuesday you will begin drafting your End of year portfolios. We are almost done!
Discovering the Food System: After presenting your Trash to Treasure work on Monday, we move right along to the food system. You will have an opportunity to consider your food culture and talk about where your food comes from. You are getting ready to prove your ingenuity as you consider what happens to the food in your life.
Discovering the Food System: After presenting your Biomes work on Monday, we move right along to the food system. You will have an opportunity to consider your food culture and talk about where your food comes from. You are getting ready to prove your ingenuity as you consider what happens to the food in your life.
Interdependence of Organisms You will continue working on your endangered species project. This week you will finalize your individual work, and get ready to share what you find out with the other members of your team. You will begin drafting your plan to recover your species from "the brink" by presenting us with all the data you have accumulated.
EDC - The Thermos Challenge: Your prototypes are ready for testing. Make sure you have a clear plan to test them so that you can revise your initial ideas. Some of you will need to start from scratch, while others may simply need to finalize designs. That is what prototyping is all about.
