Monthly Archives: November 2019

LA Update — Weeks of 12/2 and 12/9

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LOTS happening as we prepare for our coffeehouse event on Thursday, December 12th.  Thank you for all your support.  The key details:

Paul’s Coffeehouse and Tea:  956 W. Cherry in Louisville.  (East side of McCaslin)
  • Block 1 will be reading from 5pm-5:45pm.
  • Block 2 will be reading from 6pm-7pm.
The Cafe is well…  cozy.  It will be crowded and may be standing room only.  Thanks in advance for your patience and flexibility.  Students should plan on arriving 10 minutes before their class begins reading — and in the spirit of support and community, please plan on staying throughout the entire performance.  (You don’t need to stay for both performances!)
  • Every night:  Reading.
  • Tuesday:  Two copies of your coffeehouse excerpt, proofread, printed, and stapled to construction paper
  • Wednesday:  Your introduction and closing for your reading.
  • Friday:  Strong draft of your blurb for peer critique at end of class.
  • Monday 12/9:  Final draft of blurb
  • Tuesday, 12/10:  Program cover design due.
The “ Blurb” also doubles as the PSR for LA (with minor adjustments).  We’ll go over this in class.
Again, the expectation that all students are attending the coffeehouse reading.  This is an important event to celebrate your student’s writing.  If your student is not attending for whatever reason, please let me know asap.  Thank you in advance.
Hope you are enjoying the snow!  -JF
Ps.  We’ll do a lot of microphone practice in class, but if your student is feeling particularly nervous — please encourage them to meet with me before or after school and we can practice together.
Pps.  I’ll email a draft copy of the coffeehouse program when it is ready (probably around December 11th)

Co-op Update — Weeks of 12/2 and 12/9

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Hopefully your student has shared their LA and Math rubrics with you.  Students should have printed these for insertion into their portfolios.  (If students are doing a digital portfolio, rubrics should be shared and linked.) Expect to see integrated rubrics just before winter break.
Here’s what else is happening:
  • We have our first athletic day on Friday, December 20th.  Students will sign up for one of three choices.  1) A day of swimming/ice-skating at the Apex Rec Center in Arvada, 2) a “Hot Chocolate” hike game day, 3) and a ski day at Loveland.  (Skiers/snowboarders should bring in $40 for a lift pass unless they already have a pass for Loveland.)
  • We are going to see “The Grinch” at the DCPA on Thursday, December 5th.  Students should plan on dressing up for the event and bringing a sack lunch.
  • POLs are December 3rd and 4th.  Parents are encouraged to attend.  Our last day of integrated will be on December 6th.  Second semester integrated classes begin January 7th.   If your student had social studies in the Fall, they will have science and vice-versa.
  • Integrated classes end on December 6th. Health classes will commence on December 9th and continue through December 19th.  Students will be broken up by grade level for this curriculum.  Check out the CHOICE Weekly for more details.
Thank you for all your terrific support!  -JF
Ps.  Friendly reminder to check Infinite Campus for missing assignments.

Shark Tank Update — Week of 12/2/19 (final one!)

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Hi Everyone,

…and just like that, the semester is over!  Please check IC for missing assignments.  Those need to be turned in as soon as possible and there will be no opportunity to do once the class ends. Our final Shark Tank Integrated class is on Friday, December 6th.
Here’s the plan for this upcoming week:
  • Monday:  POL Worktime.  Students will be fine-tuning their POLs and presenting to peers in small groups.  Students will have a <small> bit of work time to get signed off on their PSRs if they haven’t done so already.
  • Tuesday and Wednesday:  POLs.  Click here is the POL presentation schedule.  Parents are invited.
  • Thursday:  Students will be completing their self evaluation rubrics.  We’ll also have our geography challenge award ceremony and engaging in a fun Asian trading simulation to better understand international trade.
  • Friday:  End of semester party.  Here’s the food sign-up.  We’ll be watching the Queen of Katwe, a great movie about chess and Uganda.  Students need to have their PSRs signed off in order to participate.
I have LOVED this class.  Thank you so much for this opportunity to be your student’s teacher.
Best,  -Josh
Ps.  Upcoming due dates one more time:
  • Past Due:  PSRs
  • Tuesday:  Final Draft POLs ready to go.
  • Thursday:  Semester rubrics (competed in class)
  • Friday:  Food to party.

LA Update — Week of 11/18/19

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It’s so exciting to see the stories evolve over time.  Our focus this week will be on polishing and proofreading as we finish the final drafts of our stories.  Here’s the grammar/polish protocol that we’ll be using to finalize our work next week.
Also, friendly reminder that our coffeehouse event at Paul’s Coffeehouse in Louisville (on Macaslin) on the evening of Thursday, December 12th.  This evening is a really important celebration of their hard work and it’s an expectation that all students attend.  It is also a collaborative performance so if your student is unable to join us that evening, please let me know by Wednesday, November 20th so I can adjust accordingly.  Again, Block 1 will be reading from 5pm-5:45pm and Block 2 from 6pm-7pm.
Upcoming due dates:
Wednesday, 11/20 by 9pm:  Final draft due via Google Classroom.
Every day (including Thanksgiving break):  Read 30 minutes.
Have a wonderful thanksgiving.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to be your student’s teacher.
Best, -JF

Co-op Update — Week of 11/18/19

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Not too much new to report… here’s the latest:
1) November Checklist — this is where students should be with regards to their portfolio.  Thanksgiving is a great time of year for community service!
2) POLs (Presentations of Learning) will take place during integrated class the afternoons of December 3rd and 4th.  Parents are encouraged to attend.
3) Fall Integrated classes end on December 6th. Health classes will commence on December 9th and continue through December 19th.  Students will be broken up by grade level for this curriculum.  We’ll have more information in the CHOICE Weekly.
4) Hopefully your student has shared their LA and Math rubrics with you.  Sometime between now and our mid-year conferences (late January), Your student should print these out and insert these into their portfolio OR link them digitally if they are doing a digital portfolio.  Expect to see integrated rubrics just before winter break.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to be your student’s teacher. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
-JF

Shark Tank Update — Weeks of 11/12 and 11/18

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Upcoming due dates:
  • Friday, November 15th:  Last day for any revisions to LTP
  • Friday, November 15th: Refugee Micro-lending due at end of ADI
  • Monday, November 18th:  Trip around the world Due
  • Thursday, November 21st:  Strong draft of POL ready to present to mentors.
  • Friday, November 22nd:  PSR should be signed off for portfolio.  (Can be done earlier)

As always — so much happening in Shark Tank.  Here’s the latest.

  • Thursday, we had the Chief Investment Strategy Officer of Techstars, Nicole Glaros, come talk to the students about accelerators, company financing, and how to pitch ideas.
  • Students are planning their own trip around the world!  They’ll be visiting Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania as they see big cities, small cities, natural wonders, and sacred sites.
  • Last week, we also conducted a conversation cafe about religion.
  • On Friday, November 15th, we are headed to CEDS to meet some refugees who are now entrepreneurs.  Afterwards, we are going to eat Sudanese Food.  Hopefully, all the students will be brave enough to try eating ful or shakshuka. Students will not need lunch if they are open-minded eaters.  To prepare (and as time allows), we’ll be learning about rRefugee Micro-lending and reading some stories about refugees throughout the world.
  • All the LTPs (Business Plans) have been assessed.  If students wish to do revisions, they are encouraged to do so and they are due by Friday, November 15th.  Students should connect with me prior to commencing the revision process.
  • POLs are right around the corner. Here’s a link to the pitch planning document and rubric.  Here’s a POL timeline:
    • Wednesday, November 13th:  Introduce POLs:
    • Thursday, November 21st:  POLs should be ready in draft form.  We are having seven mentors from the entrepreneurial community to come in that day to work with students.  Students will have the chance to give their pitch multiple times to different mentors to get feedback.  If your student is NOT going to be at school on the 21st, please let me know as soon as possible.
    • Tuesday and Wednesday, December 3rd and 4th:  POLs in class.  I’ll send a schedule when it’s ready.
  • PSRs — We’ll be introducing Portfolio Reflections on November 15th.  Students will be selecting work from the semester for inclusion into their portfolios and then writing reflections.  Here is the PSR write-up guide.
Thank you for all your support!  Have a wonderful week.   -JF

Co-op Update — Weeks of 11/4 and 11/12

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Lots to share from Co-op
1) Portfolios — Here is the November Checkpoint which outlines where students should be with their portfolio by November 21st with regards to community service, contributions to CHOICE, goals, and their personal section.
2) On Friday, November 8th, we are headed to the Denver Film Festival for a special screening of Well Groomed..  It’s a documentary about dogs and we’ll have the chance for a talk-back with Festival Programmers following the show.  (Here’s a link to the trailer.  Students do NOT need to dress up for this event, but should pack a sack lunch.
3) Friendly reminder that there is no school on Monday, November 11th (Veteran’s Day)
4) Students are in the process of reflecting for their 1st trimester rubrics in LA and Math.  Look for these!   Students should plan on the following:
  • Sharing the rubrics with you with teacher comments on Tuesday, November 12th in class via email.
  • Printing a copy of both their LA and Math rubrics for their portfolio.  Students creating a digital portfolio should link theirs neatly within the rubrics section.  (Integrated rubrics will be shared in December.)
5) Alumni Night is on Thursday, November 14th from 5:30-6:30pm.  This is a great opportunity for current 8th graders to hear from former CHOICE students about their experience at different high schools throughout BVSD.
6) On Friday, November 15th, we will have our final ADI for the semester.  Students should connect with their integrated teachers for appropriate gear (clothing/lunch/etc.)
In the next few weeks, we’ll have a council dealing with the theme of “seeing beyond labels” — and specifically looking at stereotypes and misconceptions about identity.  This also ties in with our read-aloud book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian.
Thank you for all your continued support.
Best,   -JF

LA Update — Weeks of 11/4 and 11/12.

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The big topic for the next few weeks is peer critique. This is one of the most important topics that we’ll address all year in LA.  If students can learn to give one another kind, helpful, and specific story critiques, they also learn to  “step outside” of themselves as editors.  This allows students to begin to see their own writing with a more critical eye.  Here’s the peer critique protocol that we’ll be using to guide our process.  We’ll be introducing and modeling this on Monday.
After Veteran’s Day, we’ll be fine-tuning stories and working on endings.  How do authors “show, not tell” their big ideas?
Upcoming due dates:
  • Every night:  Reading 30 minutes.
  • Thursday, November 7th by 8:30am:  All peer critiques should be complete. Peer Critique Survey due.  (Students will have time to do this in class)
  • November 20th by 9pm:  Final Draft Stories Complete
Don’t forget our coffeehouse reading is on the evening of Thursday, December 12th.  (5pm for Block 1.  6pm for Block 2.)
Happy November!  -JF