Book groups

Joanna talks about A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LaGuin.

Starting next Monday, we'll begin our new book groups. Each group of four-to-five students will be reading one of five different books:

Not pictured: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. (Our copies are on order...)

Rachel Goldberg, our resident librarian, came in and gave inspiring book talks about each novel on Monday. We then asked each student to rank them in the order of greatest-to-least interest. We'll be announcing the groups soon, but everyone seems likely to get their first or second choice.

Each group will be led by an adult, who will be reading the novel along with the students and guiding discussions. Everyone seems very excited about it!

Science: Filtration investigation

Various filter designs

As part of our ongoing study of water, watersheds, and water quality, we began a discussion today about water filtration.


We began with a reading to build some background knowledge, making note of (and discussing) terms that were unfamiliar to the class.

Then, students were tasked with creating two different designs for potential water filters, given a list of materials and their costs. Their budget was $8.00 per filter.

The groups set to work, brainstorming ideas and crafting designs.

The next step will be to present their designs to the class to get feedback.

Writing prompts: Taking the ridiculous seriously

We generally have one writing prompt a week. They cover a range of different types of writing, but occasionally I'll give kids something patently absurd to see what they come up with. For example:

I'm always surprised (and delighted) when a writing prompt resonates with a student and they run with it. For example, though this is a particularly silly one, it clearly inspired Eleanor, who crafted a tale of medical mishap, pre-teen angst, and heroic deeds.

Prepping Our Magic Acts

We're all super excited about Magic Show on November 21st in the afternoon. The kids have been refining their acts, working out the kinks in tricks and rehearsing. 

Adri and Kit do a run through so Jason can give feedback.

Eco Fair!

Today was many things to different people. Some call it October 31. Others might say that it's Halloween. Still others simply call it Friday, or perhaps Dan Rather's birthday.... but for all of us at Summers-Knoll, today was ECO FAIR!

Each year, students and staff craft costumes out of reused or recycled materials and parade around the building (and beyond) showing off their creativity. Today was particularly chilly, and ever-so-slightly wet, but we all had great fun regardless.

About the sticky notes for Singapore Math

What does this Sticky Note mean?

Common Abbreviations and Phrases Used By Sam:

wkbk = workbook

txtbk = textbook

pg. = page number

ex. = exercise number

rev. = review

fix = previous work needs to be corrected, look for which problems are marked for fixing

correctly = indicated problems need to be done correctly for check out

"then get a packet" = finish the work in the books, show it to Sam AND then get a handout

Khan = there is something on Khan Academy you are supposed to do

So my assignment is:

“txtbk pg 37-47, wkbk ex 10-12 correctly, rev 2, then get packet on decimals”

This means to read and do all the problems on pages 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 in the textbook. Then to do exercises 10, 11 and 12 in the workbook, AND to do review 2 in the workbook.

Additionally, exercises 10,11, and 12 need to be corrected in order for you to check out. If you see “correctly” you should try to finish your math before Friday so you can fix it if something wasn’t correct before checkout.

After you finished the book work, you should give it to Sam and ask for the packet.

Developing magic acts

We're working on our magic acts for the big magic show next month (Friday, November 21, during the afternoon! Mark your calendars!)... 

They're.... works in progress. 

Niko has apparently hit quite a growth spurt...