Nov/Dec 2014 - WISH Charter Elementary School
Transcription
Nov/Dec 2014 - WISH Charter Elementary School
November / December 2014 Issue WISH INSIDER Leadership Peder Draxton Interview WCA Meeting Operations Upcoming Calendar Community Partnerships Imagination Movers Student Life Snore and Roar Storybook Parade FIYA Sports Art & Music Update Middle School Update Student Council Elections FLL Tournament Kid’s Corner Book Review Activity for Kids Understanding the Common Core: A Parents’ Guide by Kimberlie Traceski This year began with a number of conversations about Common Core, particularly about the challenges parents were having in assisting their children with math homework. For parents, common core is unfamiliar and unfathomable. But Common Core is here to stay and in order to help our children we need to understand the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of Common Core. On Oct. 15, our Community Education committee hosted their first event for the year to do precisely this: help parents understand Common Core. The evening was very well attended because WISH parents really want to make that difference in their students’ education. Education practices are continually evolving to ensure our children are able keep up with this ever-changing world. A 1995 study called Trends in International Math and Science Study began collecting data of American Students at grades four, eight and twelve. At fourth grade, American students were essentially on par with students worldwide. By eighth, US students begin to fall behind international standard. By 12th grade, our students’ results were significantly behind those of international students. The study also showed that the US states where the educational standards were closest to the Common Core had better student success rates. Since then, 48 of the 50 states have adopted Common Core and are providing students with consistent and clear educational benchmarks with an eye towards allowing them to compete in the global market. Our first speaker of the evening was Dr. Amy Huang Reuben, Ph.D. of LMU’s Center for Math and Science Teaching or CMAST. Dr. Reuben explained that the goal of Common Core is to learn how numbers work, not just memorize how to solve a particular problem. Our students are acquiring an understanding of the relationships between operations, rather than just learning what a single operation may mean. We are now continued on page 7 Leadership Q&A: Music teacher Peder Draxton DRESS CODE CLARIFICATIONS by Jayme Younger JY: What happened to the “t?” What’s the origin of your name? PD: My father’s people came from Norway. It’s the Scandinavian spelling. It’s pronounced the same way. JY: I know you’ve been musically influenced by big band from your father, gospel from your mother, and rock from your siblings growing up. What genres do you connect with most today? PD: I’m finding myself connecting with so many different genres at the moment. I have a handful of students who are immersed in Ethiopian music and I’ve recently been listening to quite a bit of music from Ethiopia. I’ve also been binging on 1950’s bubblegum pop and early rock ’n roll. It never gets old, right? JY: What drove you to become a history major? PD: My parents really pushed my siblings and I to be able to write well and "know your history." They were a huge influence in my decision to pursue a history degree. As a child, I'd go on these long Sunday drives with my family, and my father would stop everywhere with a story about the history of a mountain, or a lake, or a building. I just ate it up. I was constantly imagining myself visiting different places and periods of time. I still can’t get enough of odd pieces of history. JY: How are you feeling about WISH’s inability to have an orchestra right now? PD: I think as WISH grows, the interest in orchestra will grow right along with it. JY: In your personal opinion, what ways can playing a musical instrument enrich a child’s life? PD: Learning to play a musical instrument enriches the players life in so many ways. It becomes social capital for those who struggle in social situations. It is an emotional comforter to all of us. Playing an instrument allows for that pure creative moment where discovery happens, and is always a release valve for every emotion. JY: What is it like to be married to a school principal? PD: I’m the most fortunate man to be married to Dr. Draxton. She’s been my inspiration to teach for so long now that I suppose it only makes sense to teach together. Thank you, Peder, for your beautiful take on how music enhances life. Looking forward to your rendition of “Dueling Banjos.” JY: If you were to perform a song, solo, at the WISH Adult Talent Show, what song would that be? PD: That’s an incredibly difficult question… “Dueling Banjos” would be a blast. JY: What are some of the things you’re excited about for this year with your music students? PD: I’m very excited about the upcoming International Fair— all of the students are working so hard on their music. I can’t wait. Also, the new Gameplan curriculum that was purchased for the school this year is an outstanding program. The scaffolding approach to all of components of music makes it quite accessible to all students. 2 Wish Community Association Meeting - Nov. 5, 2014 by Sarah Whitney Here’s an at-a-glance summary of the topics that were discussed at this month’s WCA meet: and appeal. Thank you Sheri for working so hard to get a playground! • Prop 39 (WISH campus space) - WISH sent in our first application. The process will continue through March. • WISH’s five-year charter renewal - Process has started and no issues are anticipated. • Playground equipment - LAUSD denied our first application but we will respond and apply again. • The Annual Giving Campaign - We have 40% more students this year, yet giving has only increased by 10% • The new WISH business referral network - This will be meeting the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 a.m. and is a great way to increase your network and help WISH. • WISH Open Houses - Starting Dec. 3rd. Volunteers needed! • Race for Success - Save the date: April 25, 2015. • Choice Lunch price increase - Lunches will now cost $4.50 for a regular and $5.00 for a large. Annual Giving Campaign At a week and a half before the end of the Annual Giving Campaign, we have raised approximately 10% more than we did during last year’s campaign despite having 40% more students. Hopefully, our final numbers will be higher. Prop 39 Update Every year WISH goes through a process to secure public space for our school. We are hoping to stay on the Orville Wright campus next year and have applied for space. We will negotiate with LAUSD to obtain the amount and type of space that we need. Negotiations may continue through March 2015. WISH’s Prop 39 application is part of why the school asks families to complete and return “Intent to Enroll” applications. In order to get the space that we need, we need to show the district that we do indeed have students to fill the space we are requesting. Charter Renewal WISH’s charter has to be renewed every five years, and this year we are up for our first charter renewal. We have started the process early and have gotten good feedback. We are not anticipating any issues. The school is using the same consulting firm that helped us get the grant for the middle school. They will write the application for us and make sure that it is complete. There will not be any changes to the charter. The WCA leadership will keep us updated on the renewal progress. Playground WISH is trying to get permission from LAUSD to install playground equipment. A WISH parent, Sheri Yeargin, has submitted our first round application. In the past, the district has denied our requests for a playground without specifying why. However, this time they outlined their objections, which gives us the opportunity to respond WISH Business Network WISH is starting a business network. The network will be open to WISH family businesses and businesses in the school’s neighborhood. The network will benefit WISH families and the community by giving them an opportunity to grow their businesses and share business leads. The school will benefit by getting a portion of the network dues and a portion of the money earned from a referral. The business network will meet for breakfast meetings the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 a.m. See the WISH Blast for the location, which will shift from month to month. Or contact Lana Goldenberg at [email protected]. Open Houses WISH will be hosting open houses for both the middle and elementary schools starting on the evening of December 3rd. We will need volunteers to help guide tours and answer prospective parents’ questions. You don’t have to have encyclopedic knowledge about WISH to guide tours, you just need to bring your perspective as a parent! WISH would also like to reach out to Spanish speaking communities. Our school does not have many English language learners, even though these students represent a sizable portion of LAUSD. If you would like to volunteer to help with this effort, including translating documents into Spanish, please contact Christy Skura or Raj Makwana. Race for Success Save the date: Sat., April 25, 2015. We hope to once again have the most participants. Hot Lunch Choice Lunch is increasing the price to $4.50 for a regular lunch and $5 for a large. 3 OPERATIONS Upcoming Events Design Director December WANTED 3 Informational Meeting for WISH Elementary 6 p.m. WISH Campus Can you spot bad typography from a mile away? Can you name more than 10 fonts in under 30 seconds? 12 Coffee with Principal Draxton and WCA Leadership 9 a.m. WISH Kinder yard Are you judging the layout, font choice and graphics in this newsletter? Do you have experience 19 Monthly Award Assembly 9 a.m. Short Day - School out at 12:30 p.m. 22 - Jan 5 with layout programs? If you answered YES to all of these questions, the Newsletter Team needs you! Winter Break - No School The Newsletter Committee is in search of a new Design Director to create an eye- MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND DON’T MISS OUT ON SOME COMMUNITY BUILDING EVENTS! catching, smooth flowing newsletter. You will be working with a great team, be on top of all of the latest news, and be able to show your creativity. Don’t have time? Don’t worry, it’s super flexible and easy going. If interested, please contact Christie Kobata at [email protected] 4 COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Imagination Movers: Moving More Than Just Our Imaginations by Julia Alter What do confetti bazookas, magical smoke-‐ring drums and balloons bigger than your children have in common? The Imagination Movers mixed all of these with their superb musical talents, giving a wildly-‐entertaining performance at the WISH/Goethe Fundraiser concert on Oct. 24 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The crowd got progressively rowdier from the moment Scott, Dave, Rich and Smitty took the stage, belting songs which ranged from such beautifully-‐brainwashing subject matter as brushing your teeth to loving your mom (awwww). The Movers, in their Crayola blue coveralls, were a high-‐energy spectacle, jumping from the stage, climbing through the audience, even sending out a high-‐speed flurry of toilet paper from a specially-‐rigged power tool over beaming kids. This concert boasted a VIP meet-‐and-‐greet with the band as well as delicious food from the Say Fish Taco and Peaches Smokehouse food trucks. The lobby was stocked with a full bar so the mamas and the papas could shine the juice-‐boxes and relax or dance or do whatever their little hearts told them to do! Producer and friend of the Imagination Movers, Ellen Goldfarb should take a big bow, as her incredible efforts earned WISH (and Goethe) between $4000-‐5000 each. A big thanks to Ellen, Stefani Turner, Andrea Martin, Sheri Wittson and the many volunteers who rocked this event! 5 STUDENT LIFE Third Grade “Roar & Snore” Field Trip by Marie Kim It was organized and planned when the kids were still in second grade, and the children had been anticipating it all summer long. They day finally came for the “Roar & Snore” field trip and the excitement was contagious! The children and chaperones loaded the cars with sleeping bags, pillows, and backpacks at 9am Thursday morning and headed off on a caravan to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. After breakfast, we left for one final group tour around the park where we got to see the adorable and tiny baby cheetah cubs frolicking in their exhibit, the many species of bats hanging upside down, and the beautiful flamingos. Once we were ready to leave the park, we had the opportunity to meet one final ambassador— an akidna, an animal related to the platypus that looks more like a porcupine. By 11:30am, everyone had arrived and were greeted by one of the park's animal ambassadors— an adorable little armadillo. The children learned many facts about the armadillo that included its adaptations that help in the species’ survival, such as their hard shell for protection, sharp claws for digging and finding food, fuzzy hair to keep them warm, and a keen sense of smell for locating food. It was finally time to head for home, but not before one final stop for a pizza lunch at a local park. The kids talked excitedly about all the animals they had seen and heard on their amazing field trip, ate pizza and apples and played various games together. We loaded back into our cars and headed home. After the animal meet and greet, everyone headed into the park to visit all the wonderful animals. On the tram tour, children saw animal species that are on the verge of extinction: of the six Northern White Rhinos left in the world, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park has two of them, a male named Angalifu and a female named Nola. We learned that a group of rhinos is called a "crash." It was an educational, exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience for the children that I'm sure they will never forget! The children also saw many giraffes, gazelles, and many species of birds living together in the open plains. At 3pm, you could find most of us at the cheetah run where we met a beautiful cheetah and her companion dog. We learned that in just four steps, the cheetah is at its top speed of approximately 70 miles per hour. It was an amazing thing to witness! After a few hours of visiting with the animals, the groups met up at camp to organize their tents for the night. A scrumptious dinner of hamburgers, hotdogs, baked beans, macaroni & cheese, and salad was served before we headed off with our flashlights for a private, small group tour of the park. We took the Tiger Trail where we saw tigers lounging and got to meet a beautiful, extremely soft chinchilla. After the fun nighttime tour, it was back to camp for s’mores and bedtime. We got to hear both the lions roaring and some unidentified, very loud birds squawking all night long. Everyone rose bright and early to visit a few animals before breakfast. The lions were especially popular as their feeding time was 7am and they were hanging out right by the observation window— it was a beautiful sight. The chaperones were excited to see the large containers of hot coffee! 6 Storybook Parade: Full of Character by Kimberlie Traceski After a long hot summer, October 31st broke as a perfect autumnal morning— an ideal day for the 5th annual WISH Charter Storybook Parade. The days leading up to that Friday were rife with the eager anticipation of students chattering amongst themselves about what they were going to dress up as, and also trying to pry out of their teachers what surprises might be in store from them! Friday finally arrived, and so did our students, all decked out in seasonal and spirited finery. With a spring in their step, they prepared to prance around the blacktop joyfully in their fancy dress carrying their storybooks with pride. The music selected for our storybook parade included perennial favorites such as “Ghostbusters,” “Thriller,” “Monster Mash,” and “The Purple People Eater.” There were a few specially selected songs chosen specifically to coincide with the costume themes of some of our educators. Some students did the blacktop boogie to the theme songs of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Scooby Dooby Doo! The most popular costume this year was Elsa — there were at least a dozen of them— and her sister Anna. But our parade is an opportunity for our children to realize their dreams and inspirations as they sport athletic gear and astronauts uniforms, personify personal heroes such as aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, and transform themselves into ninjas and werewolves, superheroes and witches, with some even transferring schools from WISH to Monster High. Our fabulous staff certainly were a colorful addition to the day, as Ms. Summers flitted along with the TKers as a radiant ladybug and our Kindergarten teachers Ms. Vincent, Mrs. Okstad and Mrs. Addams drew our attention as a bright display of Crayola Crayons. The first grade team of Mrs. Vlasic, Ms. Mullings and Ms. Aguilar along with Mr. B pranced about as those meddling teenagers from Scooby Doo. Our second grade teachers, Mrs. Doucette, Ms. Johnston, Ms. Lohith along with Ms. Trisha were a powerful presence on the blacktop, costumed as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The third grade instructors, Ms. Huey, Ms. Perez and Ms. Petty, brought to life the childhood classic Charlotte’s Web. A special shout out to co-teacher Ms. Caty, who pulled double Rat duty as the Ninja Turtle’s sensei Master Splinter AND Templeton from Charlotte’s Web. With the assistance of Ms. Visher’s costumer mother, our fourth and fIfth grade teachers, Ms. Visher, Mrs. Hinsche, Mrs. Villarreal, Ms. Dzugan and Ms. Gross united in their effort to personify the fourth grade reading assignment Island of The Blue Dolphin. Principal Draxton appeared as the very delicious title character from the Pinkolicious books and we’d be remiss to not mention the sweet showing of the office staff as the Lollipop Guild of The Wizard of Oz’s Munchkinland. In a flurry of excitement, WISH parents also took to the yard, prancing and dancing in their costumes along-side the WISH Wise Owl, who oddly decided to not dress up this year, but come as itself. The timing of our storybook parade couldn’t be any better as it whets the literary appetites of our students for the Scholastic Book Fair which follows 2 weeks later. What a great opportunity for students to start collecting books and ideas for next year’s parade! 7 Basketball, Golf, and Bowling Join WISH Team Sports’ Roster by Ivey Steinberg Who’s ready to make some hoop dreams? WISH Owls girls’ and boys’ basketball teams, grades four to seven, will start practicing the first week of December. Golf, grades three to seven will begin practicing at Westchester Golf Course when we return from winter break. A bowling tournament for grades three to seven is also coming down the lane in midFebruary. The Owls’ inaugural fall season finished with a first place trophy for Cross Country and several individual awards, handed out at the end-of-the season pizza party picnic on Saturday, Nov. 8. The coaches were beaming as were the athletes and their families, with Marie Teagardin on hand to photograph the festivities. Winter sports schedules will be posted on the WISH website ASAP, so make some plans to come cheer on your WISH Owls! Fall Sports Honors Flag Football MVP James Jenkins (Offensive) Mahkyi Tutt (Defensive) Most Improved Player Malcom Hawkins Owl Spirit Award Gaby Chahrouri Adam Dreyfuss Quincy Locke Girls’ Volleyball MVP Haley Veazie Chloe Jackson Cheer Captains Tiara Jackson Itzely Cerda MOST IMPROVED PLAYERS Scarlett Lavery Analucia Alvarez Sophia Tomilson Rizal Deingruber Spirit Stick Rizal Deingruber Analucia Alvarez Leelee Marucci Kelsey Atlas Ellie Zamir Isabelle Naftalin Seren Back Sophia Pollono Malina MiuraAmina Kalifa Ashley Yamaguchi Coach’s OWL Award Cameron Herring Lealand Vitello-Elliot Melia Kaszacs Nolee Bugarin 8 Art Update: An International Perspective by Courtney Coleman During November most classes are going to be utilizing their art time to prepare for the international fair. In TK, we connected to their learning about Canada by getting our hands messy painting a Canadian flag with our fingers as our paintbrushes. In Kinder, we learned about Zhostovo painting which is the Russian style of painting, typically of wildflowers onto metal trays. In first grade, we are going to collaborate across the classes to create a Spanish-style village. In second grade, we are learning about Japanese cherry blossom trees and creating a cherry blossom branch using a drip painting method. Music In third grade, we continue our study of foreground, middle ground, and background by creating a landscape that shows each space. Then we will incorporate warm and cool colors using a watercolor resist method. In fourth grade, we are working on a collaborative Irish flag. In fifth grade, we are continuing our study of perspective and finishing our one-point perspective tree-lined street scene. Now, for your enjoyment, a couple of in-action photos of TK students finger painting! update: International Flavor by Peder Draxton WISH Elementary and Middle School students have been working so incredibly hard preparing for their International Fair performances. Elementary students have been focusing on components of performance such as proper breathing, vocal exercises, and stage presence. They’ve also been working hard on the choreography of their grade level performances. WISH middle school students have also been putting all of their energy into rehearsing for their International Fair performances. They have been focusing on individual and group choreographies, syncopated rhythms on a variety of percussion instruments, and stage presence. This year's International Fair is sure to be a special treat! 9 Rockin’ and Honor Rollin’ at the First Middle School Assembly by Ivey Steinberg October 31st marked the inaugural assembly for WISH Middle School. The students delighted a crowd that included their families and peers as each class took the stage to perform the dance routines they’d been perfecting for weeks. And there was plenty of reason to break out in dance, especially after the announcement of the following students to the Honor Roll! Individual performances were also recognized at the Assembly for Character, Effort and Content, with the Student Senate congratulating each of the honorees. The good times continued to roll later at the first WISH Middle School dance. Let the celebration continue! Ashley Singh Grace Dieveney 6th grade GOLD Honor Roll 4.0 GPA Sydney Abad Zoe Acker Avery Bielski Nolee Burgarin Malik Castro Devarona Gabriella Chahrouri Nadia Charles Skylor Delgado Malcolm Hawkins Cameron Herring Alexa Hogan Ashley Hornstein Isabella Levi Annika Livingston-Hall Jordyn Maxwell Max Mendelsohn David Merille Malina Miura Carlos Ordonez Omar Perez Kayleigh Rampen Owen Rappoport Maia Recsnik Ella Sommer Jack Steinberg Marcus Tomlinson Daniel Valdez Hunter Whitesman Jeremy Williams 6th grade SILVER Honor Roll 3.55 - 3.99 GPA Itzely Cerda-Reyes Collin Guillory Kacey Harris Allen Hernandez Amina Kalifa Julia Kotch Gerardo Ledezma Robert Lercari Ryan Lucas Michael Madison Nurjaan Martin Arianna Monares Alex Monroe Nathan Otazu Darin Rivera Prema Reyes Nikolas Rosenberg Dajon Snead Kailey Torres 6th grade BRONZE Honor Roll 3.0 - 3.49 GPA 10 ANDRADA RYAN STEINS AIDAN GIRMACHEW LIDIYA SUSMAN MAKENNA RHODES JAREN HORNSTEIN SERA KAY CARMEN VEAZIE HALEY DREYFUSS ADAM DRAXTON OLIVER LAVERY SCARLETT LEGASPI MACIE DA'BRIEL AIYANA BRYANT JADEN LEDEZMA MARIANA PIERSON OSCAR MCCLEARY NOBLE BROWN COI POE-BOYER CARIANN YOUNG DAVID BRODERICK MICHELANGELO MOODY JEREMIAH TUTT MAHKYI WALTON JACOB O'LOUGHLIN NEIL 7th grade GOLD Honor Roll 4.0 GPA 7th grade SILVER Honor Roll 3.55 - 3.99 GPA 7th grade BRONZE Honor Roll 3.0 - 3.49 GPA Warmest Thoughts and Best Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday Season The Newsletter Team 11 School Politics by Aidan and Mike Steins Regardless of your views on the change of power in Congress, the losing of the California senate and assembly Democratic supermajority, or the race for the Governor’s mansion, what cannot be denied is that WISH student politics was en fuego! While only 37% of the electorate turned out for the November election, WISH students set the bar a bit higher, with a nearly 100% turn out for its class elections. The results of the WISH middle and elementary school elections are now in. The winners? WISH students! WISH Elementary School Co-Presidents Sophia Tomlinson and Julien Ortega are eager to make positive “changes in the school, and give students more privileges and opportunities, and more cool subjects and materials.” Nobel McCleary, one of the WISH Middle School Senate presidents, is excited to represent WISH “because there are a lot of changes going on and he wants to be part of them.” Insightfully, Sophia pointed out that “all of us are intelligent in our own ways, and we make a great school together.” Ms. Caty, the WISH teacher working with the elementary student council, “hopes the students are able to bring their ideas to life and make the changes they would like to see at WISH, which include volunteering, helping the school, and making WISH better.” Julien is looking for students to “learn and help each other because WISH has great kids in all.” Congratulations to Sophia Tomlinson, Julien Ortega, Stellan Swanlund, Emma Vitale, Melia Kaszacs, Jayden Villarreal, Sora Pierson, Jake Villarreal, Sophie Pollono, Mason Edwards, Lucia Daniel, Isabella Levi, David Merille, Malina Miura, Noble McCleary, Lidiya Girmachew, Cari PoeBoyer, Aiyana Da'Briel, Marcus Tomlinson, and Nolee Bugarin. Newsletter Team EDITOR IN CHIEF CHRISTIE KOBATA CREATIVE DIRECTOR ISABEL ALVAREZ CONTENT EDITOR OLIVER JONES WRITERS ANGELA JONES ALLISON GROVER-KHOURY IVEY STEINBERG JAYME YOUNGER JULIA ALTER KIMBERLIE TRACESKI MIKE STEINS PAULA TOMIZAWA-MENDOZA SARAH WHITNEY If you would like to be part of our team, send letters to the editor, submit materials or photographs to be considered, please contact Christie Kobata at [email protected] Even though some of our WISH students may have lost in the elections, all the candidates showed themselves to be winners. We’re hoping for and expect great things from all of them! 12 WISH Charter’s FIRST Lego League Qualifying Tournament Exceeds Expectations by Angela L. Jones FIRST Lego League teams from all over Los Angeles traveled to WISH Charter on Saturday, Nov. 1 and competed in a one-day tournament to open the FFL season. The tournament was hosted by WISH Charter, organized by Angela L. Jones, Felicia Villarreal, and Jenny Baker from the FLL and was fully staffed by volunteers from WISH Charter, AGS Santa Monica Honor Society, Quixote Studios, Hometown Buffet, and FLL community volunteers. “I didn’t expect this type of event, but when I walked through the doors I was impressed,” said Nelly Ruiz. “It was exciting!” Although the WISHbots did not compete in this qualifying tournament, they were great WISH ambassadors; Isaiah Turner, Jayden Villarreal and Jake Villarreal held the American flag while leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Scarlett Fay Lavery, 7th grade, opened the tournament by performing the national anthem beautifully. Oliver Jones served as announcer and MC while his daughter, WISH second grader Clementine, ably assisted him. DJ Kiraleigh Bohannon put the needle to the record, setting the mood on the FIRST Lego League robotic competition floor with Daft Punk and Tron: Legacy-style music. It was the perfect musical backdrop to amplify the cheers and excitement that filled the WISH campus’ corridors. Oliver Jones kicked off the event, announcing, “Three, two, one… Lego!” Robots were completing tasks on playing fields that their teams had practiced for weeks. Teams gave oral presentations about robot design and lessons on how to teach various concepts. Most importantly, they demonstrated the core values of FLL. These include teamwork, working to find solutions with guidance from coaches and mentors, learning together, honoring the spirit of friendly competition, and having fun. As we learned together at this tournament, FLL is more than just building robots. It is about helping kids learn that together as a team they can achieve great things, and that through communication and collaboration, they can overcome significant challenges. Most of all, FLL shows them they can have fun while participating in something that challenges them to think and grow exponentially. “When I went with my family to see my first FLL and Botball tournament during one weekend this past April, I was hooked," said Angela L. Jones. “I presented it to SMaRT and Principal Draxton. These teamoriented robotics competitions were just perfect for WISH and met the common core curriculum at the same time! By May 2014, we started with Botball with Swathi Ramanujapu as the coach and by the summer Felicia Villarreal was hooked on Botball and geared up to make sure we got all the clearances needed to host FLL on campus.” The FLL community was impressed by the effort. “This was an extraordinary tournament,” said head judge Tony Ayad. “WISH went above and beyond what I have seen any school do in the six years I’ve been involved in FLL” A huge thanks to Sheri Yeargin, Swathi Ramanujapu, Nelly Ruiz, Courtney Paulson, Rachel Greenberg, Raj Makwana, Christy and Chris Skura, Cindy Magana, Felecia Turner, Oliver Jones, Eddie Ordubegian, Amanda Fawcett-Swanlund, Anthony Gonzalez, Christopher Hansen, Jill Weiner, Renett Young, Danielle Busse, Stefani Turner, Linda Collins, Stephane Byars, Debra Xanthos, Henry Dadsetan, Lana Goldenberg, Eve Keller, Larissa Gotguelf, Dave and Vonda McNeil, the countless volunteers that moved tables and chairs, and Felicia and Paul Villarreal that sponsored, organized, and manned the concessions along with volunteers. An official thank you to The Office of Councilmember Mike Bonin (11th District) and The Office of Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (2nd District) for their support. continues on page 13 13 Common Core continued from page 1 teaching our students to be fluent in algorithms, and delve more deeply into mathematical concepts. In conjunction with procedural fluency that was the basis of most of our own childhood mathematical experiences, we are asking them to understand the conceptual connections of a subject. Our teachers are supported in their practice with a two year CMAST program at LMU, and we have three teachers on staff in coaching roles to ensure all WISH teachers have access to resources and guidance in their teaching practice. With a better understanding of the concept of Common Core and the reasons why we have made the shift, WISH educators Emily Vlasic (first grade) and Stacy Curry (sixth and seventh grade) stepped in to demonstrate how Common Core is taught in our classroom. Our teachers employ the CMAST learning cycle which introduces each new concept with a hook, some element to engage the students in the lesson to come. The hook is followed by an Investigation Before Exploration or IBE, during which the students begin the delve into the topic. The next step is an “interactive mini lesson,” where students are engaged in the lesson, and are also tasked with self-assessments of their learning. They move on from there to “active practice” activities which may be done in small groups or individually to reinforce the concepts. Mathematical language and terms are incorporated and repeated throughout each element of the lesson so students are continually familiarizing themselves with the vocabulary. Students are presented at the outset with the expectations of the lesson and know the target outcome. This ensures that they become accountable for their own learning each day. Each lesson concludes with students providing an ‘exit ticket’, which in the case of our elementary students means providing a sample of their work and conclusions to the teacher. These are the assignments you may see on display in the classroom. The above CMAST process is applied as well to our middle school students. They begin with their hook into the lesson before going into an interactive mini lesson. At this level, Active Practice may include applications of the concepts to multi-step, real world problems. The students may work in study teams, utilizing team study strategies to come up with different methods for determining an answer to the posed problem. Lessons conclude with a closing discussion during which students discuss the viable solutions they’ve come up with and provide justification for their findings. The personal accountability for middle school will be the student’s learning log, a journal in which students have presented their arguments and justifications, which provide our teachers with a checkpoint for a scholar’s understanding of the concepts being taught. Common Core Standards may seem challenging to us parents, but we can now understand that the Common Core Standards are providing a union of fluency-based exercises and project-based learning which will ultimately provide our students the competitive edge they will need. While math may be that trouble spot for many of us, these new standards in education also are found in our English Language Arts instruction, and will soon be adopted in the sciences and technology. This understanding of Common Core expectations and educational benchmarks will ensure that we can support our children throughout their educational journey. For more information and useful homework help, take a look at the references in the sidebar. SIDEBAR USEFUL LINKS: http://www.coolmath.com/ https://www.khanacademy.org/ http://www.webmath.com/ Trends in International Math and Science Study https://nces.ed.gov/TIMSS/ http://soe.lmu.edu/centers/cmast/. http://www.corestandards.org/ FLL continued from page 12 A special thank you to WISH supporters Verna and Rhonda Jones, for the introduction to the communities of FLL and Botball; and enlisting these selfless sponsors and assistance with recruitment of our notable judges for the inaugural WISH FLL tournament: The WISH community and SMaRT, can’t fully express the gratitude for our sponsors that provided VIP care for our volunteers and judges: Hometown Buffet (Westchester), Quixote Studios VIP Lounge, Jamba Juice (Inglewood), KIND Healthy Snacks, Starbucks (Sepulveda/Melrose) Yogurtland (Sepulveda), Playa Vista Medical Center (sponsored the DJ), Pop Water, Farm Fresh Produce (The Farmer’s Market on 3rd). To our stellar panel of judges and referees we appreciate and thank them for their preparation and prerequisite training for their participation in the tournament: Leila Hamidi, Director, Program Development, Department of Architecture & Urban Design, UCLA; Fred Afriade, Regional Director, Hometown Buffet; Valerie G. Robinson from the Space and Missile Center Global Positioning Systems; Kevin Kahn, Steve & Kate’s Camp; Dr. Anthony B. Maddox, Professor of Clinical Education and Engineering, USC’s Rossier School of Education; Professor Jose Rivera, Professor of Product Design, California State University Long Beach; Jake Newsum, Robotic Lab Coordinator, Southern California Institute of Architecture; Frances Anderton, host of KCRW’s DNA: Design & Architecture; Matthew Siniawski, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, LMU; Cole Jetton, Mechanical Engineering student, LMU; Andres Ortiz, Graduate Student of Biology and Biological Engineering, Caltech; Adam Gomez, Ph.D. candidate of Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, UCLA; and to our awards presenter Bruce Reed, President of the Eli & Edyth Broad Foundation. 14 KID’S CORNER Book Reviews: Giving Thanks by Allison Grover Khoury Thank You , Sarah Laurie Halse Anderson has written an informative, irreverent, funny and inspiring biography of Sarah Hale. Sarah Hale, writer and activist, worked tirelessly for many important causes during her life: the abolition of slavery, schools for girls, playgrounds (there weren’t any at schools or in towns in the 1800s!), and getting parents to stop spanking children and women to stop wearing corsets. Then she took on the recognition of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, a process that took 38 years and thousands of letters, magazine and newspaper articles, specially cooked foods, and boundless energy. The ideal companion art was created by illustrator Matt Faulkner, who clearly has a great sense of humor. Needless to say this story has a happy ending– we all know how it turns out! Anderson is right to call Hale a super hero. Cranberry Thanksgiving Thanks to my friend and WISH Mom Holly Brock, I was introduced to a Thanksgiving picture book about Maggie and Grandmother and the town where they live in New England. Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, is one of a series books started in the 1970s that have charmed and tickled generations of readers. Frankly, after reading this book, I can see why. Although dated in some ways, its delightful illustrations and feel-good story are sure to win over even the most sophisticated young readers. Holiday Craft Easy Clay Ornaments What you need: 1/2 cup cornstarch 1 cup baking soda 3/4 cup water (if you want to make colored dough, add the food coloring to the water before you mix it in.) Small Cookie Cutters Wooden Skewer Bakers Twine Making Clay In a medium sized pot combine the cornstarch, baking soda, and water. Stir over medium heat. After a couple of minutes, the mixture will begin to thicken. When it looks like smooth, mashed potatoes, remove the pot from the heat. Spoon the ball of dough into a bowl and cover it with a damp cloth until it’s cool. When it’s cool, knead it on a smooth surface until smooth. Add more cornstarch if it feels sticky. Preheat oven to 175 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out clay to 1/4 inch thick on a surface lightly dusted with cornstarch. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Transfer shapes to the prepared baking sheet. You can use a wooden skewer to make a hole at the top of the ornament so you can add twine to hang it. Place them in the oven for about an hour, *turning them over halfway through cooking.* After you have baked them you can paint them with Acrylic paint. That’s it! 15