Tuesday, April 29, 2014

IMPORTANT Continuation Information-- Please read and take action!


Jefferson County Open School cordially invites you to the
Sixth Grade Continuation Council Ceremony
Please come to celebrate this very special occasion.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Schedule for the Evening
5:15-5:30 Arrival (must be present no later than 5:30!)
5:30-7:00-Council Ceremony
7:00-9:00-Let’s Party!
Hearthstone Common House
4700 W. 37th Ave. Denver, CO  80212 (on-street parking available)

RSVP by Friday, May 2, 2014 to 
cpisano@ccdenver.org or to Catherine at 303-523-9224.

*Please send to school one baby or childhood picture of your child. This picture will be returned to you the evening of the Ceremony.

**Due to space constraints we are limiting the number of attendees to the student and up to four guests. If this is a concern please contact Catherine at 303-523-9224.

***We are asking for donations to fund the Ceremony. If you can, please send $25 with your child to be given to Gabi to help support this event. Any contribution would be greatly appreciated. If you can give more that would be great and if you cannot contribute we understand. Thanks in advance for your support. Please make checks out to Catherine Pisano. If anyone has contacts with companies or services that could help make the continuation a success or reduce the cost of the party and or wants to help with the celebration please contact Catherine.

We are looking forward to a very special evening!!!  Congratulations to the 6th grade class!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Field Day Note from Rosie

The school year is coming to an end and it's time once again for field day.  Field day will be held on Friday, May 2nd and will follow this schedule.

8:45 to 10:15-- IA
10:15 to 11:30-- Preschool, Kindergarten and ELC
11:30 to 1:00-- Set up for the afternoon
1:00 to 2:30-- Pre-Walkabout and Walkabout Events

Please make sure your child wears clothes they can easily move around in, tennis shoes, sunscreen and a jacket in case it's cold.  If you have any questions, please call and leave a message on Rosie's voice mail (303-982-7045).  You are also more than welcome to come join us and participate in field day.  We look forward to a super fun day.  Cross your fingers for good weather!

                                                           Thanks!
                                                           Rosie and Phil

Student Led Conferences are HERE!

Students will need around 20 minutes to show and tell highlights from the 6th grade academic year.
Open House Schedule
Thursday, April 24
8:30-10:00 - Paul, Lily D., and Zane
10:30-12:00-  Henry and Lily W.
1:00-2:30- Katzi, Ely, and Tyler
3:00-4:30- Tomas, Gavin, Gracie, and Claudia
Friday, April 25
8:30-10:00 – Kate Z., Grace, Coby, and Luka
10:30-12:00- Leif

Individual Times:
April 23 at 1:30- Gage A.
Friday, April 25
2:20-2:40- Jaden
3:20-3:40- Drake
3:40-4:00- Sara
4:40-5:00- Mason

Monday, April 28 at 8:00- Gage M.

Friday, April 18, 2014

A small selection of Downtown Denver Day pictures.





















Whole IA Student Meeting

IA ADVISING NOTES

On Thursday, April 17 the entire IA community, many staff included, had an advising meeting before lunch to discuss break/recess norms. 

We value our JCOS community so much.  Many adults in the community have noticed that there have been some playground behaviors that don't help BUILD community.  Games that are "us against them" or "tricks" that are played on others that can be painful are NOT acceptable for our community.  Students are excluding others and being mean-hearted when it comes to community.

During our meeting many students raised their hands to show they, too, have noticed that our community is sometimes at odds.

What can students do to help build community?

Stop playing in exclusive groups and play with people that are not in your closest peer groups. 

Positive problem solving without the help of a para educator. Be gentle and calm when you are saying something difficult to hear.  

Invite and play with students who are not joining in and who need someone to play with. Make sure they are having fun and understand the rules, too.

Work on problem solving at the time- don't wait until the bell rings- and DON'T hold grudges.  Use an adult or a mediator to help problem solve.  It is okay to expand your social group so friends who are fighting can get a break from each other. 

Don't physically grab, force, or block students choices.  

Reassess the goals of a game so they are less competitive and more collaborative. If there is a competitive game make sure the rules are clear and clarified at the beginning of the game and all students need to follow the rules.

If you feel yourself getting "wound up" during a competitive game, play with the positive spirit of the game and remember we are here to HAVE FUN.  If the game can't stay fun it shouldn't be played by certain individuals or whole groups, depending. Trouble shoot, problem solve, and discuss before abandoning a game.

Perhaps some games need to be simplified so new people can learn to play.

As an IA community we need to make sure other people feel safe.  Even our littlest preschoolers and kindergarteners might need gentle reminders to keep their hands to themselves and to follow group norms.  Even if we are not playing directly with the younger kids they are looking to us as role models and learning from our interactions and our language.  

Avoid the little cars and that area so the preschoolers are safe and don't need to keep a constant eye out for bigger kids.

We know many boys feel the need to be physical.  Organized sports  (flag football, races, obstical courses) are a great way to meet that need.  Roughhousing and play fighting are NEVER allowed at school.











Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Downtown Denver Day Details

On Friday students will be traveling with parents to a cultural highlight.  

This day is for exploring something historic, cultural, and/or unique to Downtown Denver.  Shopping is at a minimum (please be respectful of students and families that don't have the option of sending extra money for this activity).

We are asking students to bring $10-$15, a sack lunch, and a water bottle.  This money is for transportation (Light Rail is $2.20 round trip for the day) or entrance fees to any activity. There should be absolutely no borrowing or lending money between students and students are not allowed to ask adults for money.  No one will be denied this experience due to inability to pay. Students who are unable to afford this trip need to let Gabrielle know right away so scholarship funds can be found. 

Students are welcome to bring cell phones but should, unless there is an emergency, only use the camera feature on the phone.  It would be great if each group can take a picture and email it to Gabrielle so she can put it on the blog.  ghovinen@jeffco.k12.co.us.

Groups need to stay together at all times and HAVE FUN!  Groups are very welcome to combine and visit together! Advisors will be stationed at the downtown Tattered Cover.

Please make sure your emergency contact numbers are up-to-date with our robo-call system.

Students need to return to the school by 3:00.

Jennifer R will be taking Gage A., Tyler, Lizzi, and Sofia.
Catherine will be taking Paul and Gage M.
Angie will be taking Leif and Drake. 
Adam will be taking Grace, Gavin, Cya, and Luka.
Michelle will be taking Henry, Mason, and Coby.
Aurora will be taking Jaden, Kate S., Gracie, and Lily.
Mark will be taking Sara, Claudia, Katzi, and Kate Z.
Bobbi will take Tomas, Zane, and Ely.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

It's a go!

Thanks to all the parent drivers who stepped up and have made Downtown Denver Day possible this Friday!  Students should arrive at the regular time with $10-$15 and a sack lunch.  

Monday, April 14, 2014

Downtown Denver Day? Also, CONFERENCE TIMES.

At this moment we DO NOT have enough parents volunteering to take sixth graders to Downtown Denver Day.  We have enough parent drivers for 19 students, leaving 7 students without.  I will "officially" call this event a 'no go' and plan for a regular school day if we don't come up with two additional adults willing to join the adventure.  

Thanks to all who signed up for the student-led conference open house slots.  Next week students will be organzing their materials and practicing what they will share with you.  The actual conference time will only take 20-30 minutes.

Claudia- Thursday, 3:00-4:30
Coby- Friday, 8:30-10:00
Cya-
Drake- Friday, 3:20-3:40
Ely- Thursday, 1:00-2:30
Gage A- April 23 at 1:15
Gage MG-
Gavin- Thursday, 3:00-4:30
Grace- Friday, 8:30-10:00
Gracie-
Henry- Thursday at 10:30-12:00
Jaden- Friday, 2:20-2:40
Katzi- Thursday 1:00-2:30
Kate S.-
Kate Z.- Friday 8:00
Leif- Friday, 10:30-12:00
Lizzi- Thursday, 8:30-10
Lily W.- Thursday at 12:oo
Luka- Friday, 8:30-10:00
Mason- Friday, 4:40-5:00
Paul- Thursday, 8:30-10
Sara- Thursday, 3:00-4:30, Friday 3:40-4:00
Sofia-
Tomas- Thursday, 3:00-4:30
Tyler- Thursday, 1:00-2:30
Zane- Thursday at 10:00

Friday, April 11, 2014

Fun Magazine Extras

Go to this website to make a crossword puzzle that is specific to your SDL topic.  Gavin recommends also printing out the answer key so you can put it in the back of your magazine if your readers get stuck! Look back at your feature articles in order to come up with a minimum of twenty questions and answers before you log on to this website.

worksheets.theteacherscorner.net

Discovery Education has a great Puzzlemaker site where you can make word searches, mazes, and more.  Gabrielle recommends coming up with a large list of words (perhaps from your glossary?) that you can save and spell check BEFORE starting to make your puzzle.  

discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/

You can find a free printable comic strip template at this website.  This tool allows you to type in your words and the program will transform it into a comic strip template with a comic strip font. This is for writers who already made a comic rough draft and know what they want their panels to say.

donnayoung.org/art/comic-strip-template.htm

You need to create a free account, but ToonDoo is a really fun website that lets you add text and pictures for your comic.  Use this site if you can print in color!

toondoo.com

Let me know if you have discovered any tricks we should utilize when creating on these websites.  Found a different (free) site that should be added to our blog?  Let me know as soon as possible!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Blog Archive