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Launching into Eco Literacy 

10/27/2013

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Leader of the Week, Tommy, rounded up his classmates (with their clipper cards in hand) and we took MUNI to the New Conservatory Theater for drama class.  Our train was delayed because of concern that a "person was on the tracks."  We had a discussion of safety on the tracks, and the train eventually proceeded uneventfully. On our return we spoke with a geology professor from SF State who was studying the topography of the Randall Museum area with his class.  Back in the classroom, we weighed the water loss of specimens we are tracking and researched independently on how to turn a bunch of grapes into raisins. We executed a plan for this experiment based on research and the tools we have in the classroom.  Each student was responsible to take a photo and create a caption for this science experiment.  

The students discovered a newly-deceased bird outside the classroom and reported it to the Randall Museum's animal caretaker. Dominik shared that this was a migratory bird who had traveled down from as far as Alaska to meet its destiny with our window. (We are going to research decals for the windows next).  It is a specimen quality Sooty Fox Sparrow. Dom said he would wrap it up so that it could be submitted to California Academy of Science which one of the students piped up "We are going there tomorrow!" It was agreed that the children would submit the specimen to the scientists there and then they created a card with their names, location, and suspected cause of death and attached it to the hermetically sealed package containing the bird, which was safely stored in our school refrigerator! 

At the California Academy of Sciences the middle schoolers checked in for their Plants and Carbon Lab. They were amazed by the microscope and investigated stomata on the leaves of plants – pores that open and close to allow carbon dioxide to come in and oxygen to get out. 

Cooking from the Garden was a culinary success with Kale Chips and Fried Green Tomatoes fresh from the garden. The recipes are documented in their journal.

We wrapped up the week with a full day of Design Thinking and structures investigations. This was an excellent extension of their previous work with bridge designs. The students were quite shocked to learn that,  for scientists, the concept that FAIL is good. Scientists deal with failure all the time and they learned it as an  acronym: Future Advantage In Learning. This Design Thinking day included an outing to the Presidio to examine the Golden Gate Bridge exhibitions that are at the south end of the bridge to learn more about its construction. They enjoyed lunch en route to the Mark di Suvero exhibit.




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Muni Manners

10/27/2013

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Picture
Muni Manners by Will Donohue
  1. Use frontpacks on busy buses and trains so you do not hit anybody.
  2. Give up your seats to seniors.
  3. Have a fun ride to wherever you are going.

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Bridges, Government Shut Downs, Ties and White Gloves

10/13/2013

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Looking back on the last two weeks, you can see how flexibility, adaptability, and versatility are skills that the students work on at My City School. We said good-bye to our temporary classroom and moved in gusto to our new room. We started our drama class at the New Conservatory Theater with flair. CandyLand was adopted to MetricLand as we kicked off our science curriculum starting with metric measurements which tied into our math focus. We wrapped up our Home is Where the Heart Is Tours in Mill Valley where we experienced the government shutdown firsthand when trying to visit Muir Woods. In History, we began our investigation of the Gold Rush from the point of view of Chinese Immigration. Our new high school intern Elena joined us. The kids cleaned up nicely from the sweaty Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival to the refined Midweeklies. We wrapped it all up with SPAN and LOAD with a hands-on study of bridges: arch, beam, and suspension. 
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