Peregrine Press
November 17-21
Schedule
Monday: Cultural Celebration at Pacific University 1:00-2:00
Tuesday: No Out and About
Wednesday: P.E.
Thursday: Out and About to Cornelius Elementary School to share our Heritage Projects (We will be riding the Tri-Met bus.); Art
Friday: Running Club
Last Week
What a week! I am still trying to recover and rest up from the very intense week of Outdoor School. I hope that all of your children are bathed and rested and ready for a regular week of school. I am sure that you are hearing many of the songs and riddles that the students were taught and I hope that they have all shared the wonderful and interesting things that they learned while at camp.
The day we arrived was by far the wettest and most miserable day but I was incredibly impressed with the focus and positive attitudes that the students maintained through it all. Unfortunately the beach field study on that first day was cut short due to the weather, but the students were still able to learn about dune grass and the Snowy Plover, mole crabs, tides and tide-pool critters. Wednesday we hiked up to the high meadow and learned about the forest on the way up. We learned about compaction, tree parts, photosynthesis, and beaver adaptations (and a few other things along the way). Thursday our field study took us to the estuary. We learned about the water cycle, macro-invertebrates, water quality, estuary ecosystems and ghost shrimp adaptations. While on this field study we were also lucky enough to see lots and lots of seals out in the water watching us.
Campfires and mealtimes were entertaining with a number of songs and skits performed by both the staff and the students. Thursday night we ventured off on our night hike with the cabin groups. I joined a group that was lucky enough to go inside a cave and learn about dragon teeth and these interesting sweets called "dulces de dragone." The girls that I was with were very brave and the field instructor was a very gifted story teller that made the whole experience of the night hike incredibly memorable. Friday we said goodbye to everyone and hiked back out the 3 miles to the bus. This Outdoor Experience will definitely not be forgotten!
In planning for next year I would really like some input from you, the families, about Outdoor School. I know that you were not able to join your kids there but I would like to know how your kids felt it went and if it was worth the "money." I know the expense of it was much greater this year than last year so I think it is important for us as a staff to get family input about how valuable of an experience was. Please email me with any feelings you have about it. In planning for next year there are a few options: there are 4 different camp locations and we have the option of fall or spring. Thank you.
I will say again that I was incredibly impressed with the positive attitudes these kids had through the whole week. They treated the staff and counselors with great respect and really made me very proud! There were no behavior problems at all with this class!
This Week
This week we will be completing our Heritage Projects and sharing them with our buddy class at Cornelius Elementary School. We will also spend some time following up on our trip to Outdoor School. For homework this week I would like the students to do some work to follow up our trip to Outdoor School. This will be in place of some of the other work they normally would have. I will pass that out to all of the kids on Monday and I would like it returned on Friday.
Upcoming Events:
November 26th, 27th and 28th No School for Thanksgiving
November 24th: All School Meeting and Buddy Lunch
December 3rd: Celebrations of Learning Combined with a Hot Chocolate and Coffee Social at the School 5:00-6:30 (Please bring in your own mug.)
**At the celebrations of learning there will be a slideshow of pictures for those of you that would like to see what camp was like.
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