LAGUNITAS SCHOOL DISTRICT
WEEKLY NOTICE
Lagunitas and San Geronimo Schools ~ January 22, 2016
Serving Forest Knolls, Lagunitas, San Geronimo, and Woodacre, California
Quote of the Week: “I suppose to me as an artist it wasn’t always just about expressing my work; I really wanted, more than anything else, to contribute in some way to the culture that I was living in. It just seemed like a challenge to move it a little bit towards the way I thought it might be interesting to go. (David Bowie, 1947 - 2016)
January 26-Classroom tours start for incoming kindergartner families 8:50 am
January 27-Classroom tour for incoming kindergartner families 8:50 am
January 28-Drake High School Open House for 8th grade families
February 1-Classroom tour for incoming kindergartner families 8:50 am
-Montessori PTO meeting 3:15 pm
February 3-Marin Theater Company playThe Little Mermaid 10:30 am
February 4-Classroom tour for incoming kindergartner families 8:50 am
-8th grade Drake registration
-LEAP Board meeting 7 pm
February 5-Middle School BINGO fundraiser 5 pm
February 8-Chinese New Year – Year of the Monkey
February 9-100th day of school
February 10-Open Classroom parent meeting 7 pm
February 15-Mid-Winter break – no school all week
March 9-Middle School parent meeting 2:15 pm
News and Information
It is enchanting to walk through the Lagunitas campus in the rain. The showers have been on and off all week, with students glad when the timing gets them outside during recess or PE. Come along with me and you will see classrooms bustling with novel experiences for our students…
Part 1, Lagunitas School
In the Middle School, we start with Buck. In the picture above you see a quintessential Buck-led PE class. Students are in pairs, creating a bridge or passageway, and younger students who happen to be nearby are included. Without being near enough to hear, you can bet there were positive affirmations being said to those walking through the human tunnel, because with Buck it’s always about growth and community.
In Brandon’s science class, with the help of Sue, I learn about elephant seal adaptations. Did you know male elephant seals have a hard shell-like shield on their chests, to protect them during fights with other males? The seventh grade students went to Chimney Rock at Point Reyes last week to see the elephant seals on the beach before the giant pinnipeds head down to Año Nuevo. Another science class explores sand samples – the black sand beach in Hawaii, course sand, silky sand, multi-colored sand from all over the world. Students looked at sand through microscopes and wrote poems using sensory descriptions.
Next door, Mary Kay’s social studies students learn about the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments of the US Constitution. I overhear a description explaining that it is a list of limits on the power of the government to safeguard individual liberty. James Madison, a member of the US House of Representatives, wrote the Bill of Rights to appease the anti-federalists who were concerned with the scope of the Constitution. Mary Kay made the students curious, and me, by saying that Madison proposed twelve amendments – two were not approved. Later I learned that one declared how members of the House of Representatives were apportioned to the states. The goal was to be sure that the members of the House would represent small constituencies and not become too far removed from the concerns of citizens as the population grew. The other failed amendment forbade Congress from giving itself a pay raise. However, in 1982, a university student realized this amendment still had a chance to pass as it did not include language stating when it needed to be ratification. After successful lobbying efforts it became the 27th amendment to the US Constitution in 1992.
Rae’s math students are deep in a discussion about monomials. I loved math and it usually comes back to me fairly quickly when I spend a few minutes in Rae’s room. However, some math lessons are more difficult than others to drop in on. Parents out there can probably relate when your child asks for math help and you haven’t needed to do the work alongside them all year. The lessons build upon prior learning. A quick search of monomials brings me to polynomials, binomials, terms… The Internet is a great support for our students and parents. We encourage using the Kahn Academy videos as a reference to support math learning. Our students are participating in a Kahn Academy challenge. LearnStorm is a pilot, 3-month challenge for students in the Bay Area. The goal of the challenge is to show every student that they really can learn anything with effort. Hint: A monomial is a polynomial with just one term.
Let’s go to Language Arts where students are working in their utopian groups. Group learning isn’t always ‘utopian,’ but Caitlin’s students cheered when she asked them return to their groups to continue their work. After reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, they see that supposed utopian societies can actually mask dystopia. A dystopian society can be totalitarian, one where individual rights are abolished, or a society that is focused on frightening negatives. In The Giver, the main character, Jonas, is approaching his twelfth birthday where he will be assigned his career. Interesting discussions can abound from the author’s dystopian society with its loss of privacy and two-way intercoms in houses… Hmmm, sounds familiar with a 2016 twist... Students are also writing internal monologues in one of Caitlin’s classes. This literary device is used to show the thoughts of the characters. It is often used to dramatize thinking about inner conflicts.
In the Montessori wing, briefly for now, Pauline’s students share a beautiful bookthat takes them around the world, and causes pause to notice the moment. The World in a Second by Isabel Minhós Martins and Bernardo Carvalho illustrates the small and large happenings of just a second in time.
Alex’s students are working on the 5-paragraph essay format. Students learn to write an introduction, three body paragraphs supporting their thesis, and a conclusion. Each year students in Alex’s class write their own life stories in autobiographies. Her students are young, but they have a lot to report on. Montessori students learn about the world as a whole starting in kindergarten, and by 5th grade focus on themselves as an individual. Maria Montessori developed this continuum to encourage cultural understanding, responsibility, and peace.
Nathan’s students are learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. They shared a picture book written by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s surviving older sibling, Christine King Farris. She wrote about Martin’s mischievous nature as a child, and his early interest in racial equality. Students used King’s promotion of nonviolence to write descriptions of their own hopes for their lives and the world.
Michelle’s students are gathered around her on the carpet playing a group game to learn letter sounds. Then, after Michelle shares about her weekend, they write their own individual weekly news. Some students use pictures, some sound out words as best they can, and others write sentences. Transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade students always have a wide range of writing abilities as students develop at their own natural pace.
Next week we’ll walk across the bridge to visit the Open Classroom on the upper campus. It was also an active place this week with Marlene’s students shoveling culverts and aqueducts in the sand for the rain, Larry’s students creating a play, Jenelle’s students performing as explorers, and Anita’s students learning to solder metal.
We continue to have problems with our phone system. A new system has been ordered but it will take time to arrive. Please email or call Linda or Donna to reach any of us.
415-488-9437-->203(Linda's LagunitasPhone)
415-488-9421-->301(Donna's San Geronimophone)
Laura Shain
Principal
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Due to popular demand, Ross Valley Healthy Community Collaborative organized another showing of ‘Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age’at Drake High School Little Theater at 7pmonWednesday, February 3, 2016.
Purchase your ticket here (the link is also posted on our web site):
For more information and the movie trailer:
Please take a look at the article that was written by the Marin County Joint Coalition that was published inthis Saturday’sIJ:
Here’s our newly started RVHCC blog:
Lastly, our next RVHCC meeting will be at5:30 pmonMonday, February 8, 2016at the Drake High School Office Conference room. Guest speaker Jessica Colvin, Wellness Director of TUHSD, will give an update on the Drake Wellness Design Team’s plans; and Noah Block, Drake HS Student will do aMarijuana presentation focused on youth.
Bridget Clark
Ross Valley Healthy Community Coordinator (RVHCC)
facebook.com/rvhcc
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LEAP is reaching out again, now that the holidays have passed and things are rolling forward.
It's really close to prep time for Valley Visions already! This is our biggest fundraiser that gives so much to every program,so we are looking for support from every program!
Specifically, we are hoping:
- You will return to the solicitors team.
- For all of us to engage new families that we think would be great at this job.
- To establish a large group to make calls to local businesses that have supported us in the past for the online auction.
How it works:
- The donors already exist in our database.
- Each solicitor ONLY has a few donors on their lists to call and confirm their support.
- The calls will be made after a letter has already been sent by LEAP.
- Most of the donors are familiar with our program and are so willing to help!
- Instructions on how to log into and enter the item on the website will be sent to you once you accept the invitation.
- LEAP has a support team in place to answer any questions you may have.
I personally took on a list for the 3rd year and can tell you that calling and/or emailing 10 businesses did not take much time.It made a HUGE difference to the auction and what it brought in financially!
If working the school fundraising events on weekends or during the week is not a possibility due to your work hours, this is a great way to donate your time from the comfort of your home, on your own schedule.
Please consider donating this small amount of time to call a few donors. It is a huge reward for our Programs for very little effort!
If you know of anyone who is great behind the scenes, we would love to hear from them or get their contact info. If you own,m work for, or know of a business that might provide a great auction item, please let us know!
, , or call415-488-4118 x235 if you are willing to join the ranks.IMPORTANT TO NOTE: this volunteer work described above, does not need to begin until late February. Our current goal is to acquire and train a team of solicitors to be ready by March.
Manythanks in advance for your time and efforts,
The LEAP Board
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LEAP, the Lagunitas Schools Foundation, is pleased to share our 2015-2016 Approved Budget with our school community. Your hardworking, all-volunteer LEAP board raises about $100,000 every year for our school. Every child in every program benefits. Thank you for your participation and support!
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Need pictures for the Yearbook! This is a last call to send any great photos you take at field trips, open days, school sports, around campus etc. (Especially need activities off campus where we don't always have a presence). Most kids delight in seeing their photo in the yearbook - so please make sure we can include them. We can't be everywhere and depend on you to send in your shots.
Please send pictures to:
And it is VERY helpful if you can label them (see example).
RubyMiddle8.jpg; Heartsdesire3.jpg; Basketball6.jpg