A day in the field...making observations, collecting and logging data...

Students present customized Human Impact lessons learned from SFSU CAD student's.

San Francisco Science Fair Time.....Congrats for 4th place and two Honorable Mentions! Great Job Everyone!

Area and Perimeter - Using your feet! Searching for congruent and similar objects.

Applying circumference, diameter and radius, dissecting word problems, tacking History Math and probability.

Lawrence Hall of Science...

Math Warm ups, PEMDAS and Pythagorean theorem

Neighborhood Clean Up, Trash Dissections and Human Impacts Math.    How can we remove the trash in the bay?

Let's examine how much plastic MCS uses in 7 days...counting...wow...this is A LOT! 568 pieces from 10 people...biodegradable bags anyone? See our plastic challenge for more details...

A little hanging round and some PE...

November was our science study of Space Systems, which provided amazing experiential learning opportunities! We explored outer space and our solar system at the Chabot Space Center, which prepared students for recording the phases of the moon. We tracked the movement of the sun with Sun Spotters, watched a Planetarium show at the California Academy of Sciences, and took a tour of the night sky complete with Native American legends provided by one of our very own parents (who used to travel with an astrology team and a pop up camper teaching the solar system to students). Students also found themselves inspired by the STEAM carnival held at AT&T Park. Critical thinking science questions for the month were:

• What is the universe? What is a galaxy? What is a solar system?
• Where is Earth in the universe?
• What patterns of motion can be observed, described, predicted, and explained using models of the sun, the moon, and stars in the sky?
• How do eclipses of the sun or moon work?
• Why are there seasons? What is the cause of the effect we see in the changing of seasons?
• What patterns can we observe of the lunar phases?
• What effects does gravity have throughout the universe?
• What consistent, measurable patterns have we observed throughout this month? How are we observing, measuring, and recording these patterns?

 
 
Group math topics included comparing and contrasting ratios and probability. After a few rounds of grabbing random objects from a bag, students created a graph of their data that showed the difference and connection between the two concepts of ratios and probability. Students also made connections to space with proportion and scale and began the hands on introduction to algebra for some while providing random review for others.  Individual math time continued to focus on individual skills and memory strategies.
 
Literature: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton was chosen because of its connection to DNA, genetics, artificial and natural selection, and ethics, and provided a movie with Spark Notes to ensure understanding of the text (which will be invaluable in high school and college, when they will need to know how to use these resources on their own). We introduced students to Spark Notes and or Cliff Notes and practiced using them, which will be revisited yearly. Students wrote multiple essays, and took two tests. Students’ essays focused on the following:

• Themes with evidence from the novel
• Character perspective; different groups in the book
• Villain – human and animal kind
• Compare and contrast
• Symbolism; foreshadowing
• Plot and Story Summary

 
Through this, students began to build healthy judgements, evaluate opinions and stereotypes, which was the foundation for upcoming debates.
 
Language Arts Grammar had a heavy focus on building up student’s vocabulary, with writing warm ups for commonly used words. There are two parts to this activity: 1) students brainstorm as many adjectives they can think of. Once typed out, students arrange them in ascending order to understand the value or weight of each word they will use in their writing.
 
Narrative writing was the focus for November. Students began this unit by writing a personal narrative, then connecting to Art, which branched off into a narrative essay based on a famous painting. This exercise had each student examine a famous painting with which he/she connected. Some of the painting images chosen were Norman Rockwell, Diego Rivera, and Monet.  Students began by brainstorming with their story mountains to differentiate between background, rising action, climax, falling action and conclusion. Two drafts were written, individual feedback provided for each and ultimately a very creative, written piece of work was completed.
 
For History students were introduced to the foundation of the American political system and the ways in which citizens participate in it. Students examined firsthand the voting process, and made connections to math by discussing how one vote, talking with friends about politics, writing letters about an issue of concern, and volunteering on a campaign can exponentially increase impact in the democratic process. The message was "Yes, it's important to vote but it's also important to participate in other ways." They also learned about corruption in some of the polling stations which was discovered by a mathematician. Math connections were re-enforced in history, as students experimented with the process of probability as it relates to voting. Students learned to develop a broader perspective of American Revolution by reading and discussing the flip perspective book The Split History of the American Revolution focusing on the American perspective side. Students also visited the Museum of American Heritage to learn about how people previously lived to make connections to what life was like before the inventions they learned about.

Executive Functioning focused on strengths each student has and what are the skills they need the most support in. Over two class periods, students were given a list of 74 Executive Functioning skills that are needed for middle and high school, and life and rated themselves. Students were paired up based on opposing executive functioning skills and peer teaching began. Each week we worked on specific skills that support the upcoming math, writing or science lessons. This looked like abstract brain games before a math test, visual spatial exercised before studying speed and distance for science, geometry puzzles for math or category word work.
 
Wellness focused on mindfulness and mindful eating. One experiment involved students eating while watching a movie, then documenting what they ate, what it tasted, smelled, felt and looked like. Later, students tried the same foods while not watching anything and built their list of descriptive words …students had an a ha moment when they realized they could provide over 40 more words to describe what they ate when focused on their food(and not watching a movie). Additionally, Jennifer Russ returned as the Mindfulness Coach for an afternoon with the students introducing them to ways they can become more mindful and the benefits of doing so.
 
Art for the last two months included the basics of color theory, painting a landscape of Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park and creating mosaic beetles. All students showed up at different levels and each piece of work reflected individual themes that came up in wellness.

August
We kicked of the 2015-16 school year with an MCS picnic at Aquatic Park.  Families and students gathered the Saturday before the first day of school to connect with new and older members of our community and to strengthen current bonds between students and the MCS families.  Students played catch, cards, shared summer stories and went swimming. We usually spend these few hours together at the beginning of each school year to re-familiarize the students and dramatically reduce first day jitters.
 
We also spent a couple of energetic weeks on team building and exploration of student preferred learning styles at the Fulton Playground Clubhouse in the Richmond District (SF). Our Wellness class began by exploring each student’s preferred learning styles though a variety of hands on, multi – sensory activities. Our new students were surprised to learn about what their personal themes were, and motivational factors that showed up. Our returning students found themselves either diving deeper into their favorite themes or becoming interested in new topics. We also take a significant amount of time to teach students about their brain, what side of their brain they utilize most, and compared that to their past educational environments. This normalizes their past learning experiences and prepares them for a new more positive learning experience.
 
September and October
In art, students experienced painting landscapes in nearby Golden Gate Park, as well as spending time making observations of plant and animal adaptations. We enjoyed getting to know our new neighbors by supporting the Richmond District Neighborhood Center and volunteering in their food pantry for local seniors. As we eased into the school year, students started diving into their core subjects: math, literature, and science. They also began yoga, executive functioning, history, Brain Gym, basketball and wellness class.
 
September and October were full of integrated learning. In History, we focused on the American Revolution, with literature being tied in through the novel Attack of the Turtle, which centered around the making of the first submarine. Students visited the USS Pampanito, a submarine, and the Balclutha, an early 1900’s cargo ship, both docked in SF. History and Science co-mingled as students looked at their own personal and family history and dove into DNA, genetics, and evolution; including natural selection and adaptations. Adaptation exploration was further examined during an ongoing community service project with Save the Bay and their SEED program, where local shoreline bird characteristic traits were observed and the students noted what helped the birds adapt to their environment.
 
My City School would not be complete without multiple trips to our favorite museum, the California Academy of Sciences (CAS), where we deepen our current studies in science and history. We strive to drive curiosity and maintain motivation for learning through hands-on experience, thoughtful questioning, and reflective writing. We foster the scientific process particularly through CAS classroom kits. Students also excavated fossils and examined strata rock at the Mission Science Workshop and worked with USF science instructors for two sessions of individualized experiential leaning. Some of the critical thinking science questions students had to answer this month were:

• What are evidences of common ancestry? (Connections to observable traits and genetics)
• What is natural selection? Is it really survival of the fittest?
• What are adaptations? Can animals and plants choose these adaptations?
• What is the geologic time scale?
• What evidence do we find and conclusions do we draw from looking at rock strata and fossils/fossil records? What does this evidence tell us about the history of Earth?

 
 
At the start of the year, math was kept extra fun and engaging in hopes of alleviating anxieties around these subjects. We launched the math class with group activities to determine the strengths and weakness of each student and to get a clearer picture of
Where they were with their learning in terms of computation and what they could apply.

We used a combination of group games, hands on activities and individual work with our instructors. From there, we spent extensive time with students helping them understand that the math book to work from may be at a level where they are challenged but would not be overwhelming. For some students, this meant they were working a few grades below their grade level. They were assured that they would also be learning at or above their grade level during group review or independent work with the instructor. And, for students who had significant issues with math, they learned they would finally get some help and move beyond the issues and regain their confidence. One experience that is encouraged every year, is for returning students to explain how they had been working at a fourth grade level last year, but were now working at their current grade level (7th and 8th).  It was so rewarding to hear our returning students assuring the new students they really would bridge the gap, have fun and stay positive in doing so.
 
For new students who struggle in math, MCS spends much of the first half of the year:

• Filling in any missed foundational skills and instructional gaps
• Finding specific ways to help students access a deeper understanding of what they are doing
• Helping students identify the math strategies they need to be successful in math (drawing, games, using blocks, telling stories etc.)
• Supporting students in failing and bouncing back

 
As a result, students are able to break down a problem and identify the parts they know, and articulate what they need help with understanding. They also discover the difference between understanding and applying what they know versus just getting the work done. The biggest payoff of all is that they learn to use their math book for support and develop a rigorous work ethic
 
During Language Arts, class starts, as it often does, with writing warm ups. For example, students listen to a short story, visualize it, draw their visualization, and then compare the picture they each created to the actual picture in the book. Another way class began was by building a word bank for common adjectives while tossing a ball among the group. Because picturing what one hears or is reading about is key to descriptive writing, MCS spends a significant amount of time building this strategy up at the beginning of the year. Students created a fantasy picture, wrote a descriptive essay about their art, then passed just the essay to a peer and had them draw what they imagined from the essay and compared the two pictures. Follow up discussions took place as a group to examine the differences and what words created the images. Grammar focused on sentence structure, punctuation, and adjective word building, all of which was incorporated in the descriptive writing.
 
Executive Functioning (managing time and skill building) always begins with helping students establish their organizational structure for the year. Building self-awareness and identifying what the student’s strategies are when they hit a road block are key stepping stones to success for the year ahead. Following the foundation work in EF, we next focused on problem solving strategies. We continue with support for each student’s organizational needs and the building of healthy homework habits, which we expect to continue throughout the school year. Students were also introduced to a tool that they will use throughout their time at MCS called a Discussion Sandbox. It serves as a guide to develop their critical thinking, analysis and discussion skills. This is pulled directly from common core and students are expected to know all elements noted on the Sandbox fluidly by 9th grade.  One example to build perspective and support flexible thinking, (connecting to history), students read the Flip Book Perspective on the American Revolution and George vs. George. Discussions took place examining each side’s perspective, while utilizing the Discussion Sand Box.
 
 
The start of Yoga Class focused on introducing core strengthening exercises, posture and abdominal breathing to activate the Vagus Nerve. Each yoga class included relaxation techniques, and understanding what our bodies are telling us for a mind body/connection. Learning to identify how we feel, connecting this to our experiences and what this does to our heart rate, and chemistry, are a regular discussions in every yoga class. At My City School, we approach yoga from an individual and group experience level. Warm ups include stretching, strengthening exercises, posture and breath work. Once complete, students practice group poses which foster team building and learning to rely on each other, self advocacy and trust.