Battle Presentations

Each 7th grader has been assigned a battle to become and expert on and share with the class. These will be presented in class in May the week of the 13th. 

Each presentation should include the following information: 

• Name
• Date
• Who was involved
• Technology involved
• What happened
• Who "won"
• Why is it considered an important battle of the war?

Each battle is allotted 30 minutes to present. A presentation may include any of the following elements: 

• Lecture
• Movie clips
• Reading passages
• Hands on activity (game, building model, etc)
• Assessment

In the past we have seen games outside, movies, models, jeopardy games, crossword puzzles, Senteo quizzes, Power Point presentations, etc. 

If they need any supplies for their presentation, I will get the supplies if they get me a list at least a week ahead of time. 

Holocaust Speaker

This Thursday, April 18th, Mr. Peter Wigmore will be speaking to our class.

 He is a retired special education teacher, and is a "2nd generation survivor" of the Holocaust, meaning that at least one of his parents in this case his mother is a survivor of the Holocaust. Specifically, she survived Auschwitz, where she had to endure Mengele's "medical experiments." His mother, Rosa, is still alive, living here in the Portland area, but she refuses to speak publicly about her experiences. So Peter has been telling her story for going on 30 years now.

He will be speaking from 1:00 until 2:30. Parents are welcome to join us. It would not be appropriate for younger siblings. Please let me know if you are attending so I can have extra chairs available. 

Summer School Classes

Summer School classes are coming! This summer we have a full line up o f fun and educational topics. From daycare with a twist (Falcon's Nest), to Riggs Camp, Writing Camp, Speech Camp, and Boat Building. Cascade summer camps are an excellent way to stop the summer slump.

I will be running Riggs Camp which helps students that are new to Cascade or struggling with spelling. We spend 4 hours a day on Riggs using a wide variety of hands on activities to help students cement the skills they need to succeed.

Fliers should arrive today. If you have any questions, contact the teacher running the camp!

Field Trip Pictures

Today was a great day. Having two great docents allowed us to learn more than we could have on our own and allowed us to focus on what was most important.

Both docents had nothing but good to say about our class. They asked intelligent questions, participated in conversations, and were very respectful.

Thank you to Mrs. Wesson for the photos below!

April Field Trip

It looks like our April Field Trip is on thanks to Mrs. Wesson, Mrs. Marshall, Mr. Schumacher, and Mrs. McFarland.

Students should arrive at school at 7:45 in their regular school uniform. Everyone should bring a healthy no waste lunch with a largish snack. We will return in time for regular car line!

In the morning we will be building salt dough models of Pearl Harbor. At 10:15 we will load cars and drive to the Nikkei Legacy Center. The Nikkei Legacy Center is described on their web site as follows:
"The term "Nikkei" means Japanese emigrants and their descendants.
Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center is Japanese American history museum in Portland, charged with the preservation and sharing of the history and culture of the Japanese American community. The Legacy Center opened the doors to its current home in September of 2004. The museum now has a larger exhibit space, with exhibits that highlight Issei immigration and early life in Oregon, Nihonmachi (Japantown), and life after Executive Order 9066, including the Portland Assembly Center and contemporary Nikkei life."

It is located one block off Waterfront Park. We will be working with docents to tour their exhibit, hear the stories, and visit the Japanese American memorial at the Waterfront. We will be there from 11:00 - 12:30.

At 12:30 we will be driving to the Holocaust Memorial in Washington Park. There we will meet the president of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center. She will be acting as docent and helping us to dig deep into the meaning of the memorial.

When we are finished at the Memorial, we will have lunch in Washington Park. This will be a late lunch, which is why they will need a larger snack to eat before we leave in the morning.

By the end of the day, students will have experienced many heavy emotions. In the past I have seen profound changes in attitude and world views. Please be prepared for some fairly heavy discussions at the dinner table Friday night.

OAKS Scores Coming Home

Today students received print outs of their OAKS reports. Please ask to see them tonight. It will show you whether they met the benchmark and what strands their strengths lie in. If you'd like to meet to discuss their results, I'm happy to do so!

Field Trips!

We have 4 field trips left this year. You won't want to miss any of them, so mark your calendars now.

The first is next Friday, April 12th, 2013. We will be visiting the Nikkei Legacy Center and the Holocaust Memorial at Washington Park. Rumor has it we have a bus for this trip, so I'll need chaperones but not drivers. (Subject to change at any time :) )

The second trip is a joint field trip with 7th and 8th grade on May 10th. We will be going to Oaks Park to learn about various sports that involve skates. We will have guest speakers to demonstrate roller derby, speed skating, art skating,  jam skating, and dance. 

But wait, there's more!

On May 23rd we have a mystery field trip. The destination is a secret which students will be working to figure out before we get there. I will need drivers for this trip, preferably ones with larger cars or trucks. We'll be gone for several hours, but will arrive home in time for carline.

Then, on May 28th we head out for our annual camping trip. We will leave school on Tuesday morning and return on Thursday evening. We will spend 3 action packed days in Fort Stevens touring the batteries, learning the history of the area, working with rangers and military experts, as well as learning to build fires, put up tents, tell ghost stories, swim in the lake, play on the beach, and cook our own meals. This is obviously a more involved trip and I'll need at least 2 dads and 2 moms that are willing to spend a few days with us. A more detailed information sheet will be coming home soon, please keep an eye out for it.

All of these trips will require chaperones! Please let me know which trip(s) you'd like to attend.