February 22, 2013

Here

 we don't just think outside the box.

We think outside, period.

Inside the snow cave

This is Cody 'tucking in' a group that opted to sleep outside, underneath the stars.

Winter Voyage Reflection Excerpts - 2013

(in draft form)

Colin:

The trail, my head looking down at it hoping it would just end, so that it would come to a close or that it would guide me back to where I want it to be...Home. This is what I was going to think before I changed, before I was someone else. You see, I was afraid, I was scared, I was frustrated but NO! I choose to use no. My mother taught me that if you tell yourself all these things you would be miserable, but in your power mentally and physically Say NO! When I was homesick I would say no i won’t do it and it went away in a snap.This is what changed me, all of those miserable thoughts gone, gone for existence. This taught me to never be afraid of taking the next step, to take that leap of faith that will lead you to a new person. For Example, being “Too Tired” for snowshoeing up montgomery pass while being in a 24 hour cold. I overcame that the time at lake agnes. My class hiked for Six miles and I lead the way for two. I was proud of myself and so were my parents. My goal on this voyage was to complete this Quest and Go farther, to go from my nervous zone to freakishly awesome zone. One thing that I learned about myself is to never underestimate the beauty of the world, to always look up. to never hide in the shadows and come into the beauty of the world, the smell of the flowers growing and singing almost beside you, the power of the sun shining on my body, each ray of light flowing through my viens and making me who I am. I pushed myself at lake agnes when I led the crew up the glorius mountain. I felt like someone who I am not, I went from slow huffy puffy breathing colin to fast pace awesome colin. after the six miles that we hiked that day

Maia:

Going up to Lake Agnese,10,666 feet in elevation.This was our third day, I knew I could do it, but there was an extreme physical pain in my heart.Every breath sent a shiver down my spine, although I was sweating like there was no tomorrow.The whole thing was making me freak,  the wind stinging my face, the over heation of my core, the tips of my fingers, I could not feel, the worst part was my numbed heart whenever I breathed in my ragged breath.

Why did I feel so warm? Was I going into hypothermia? I was losing grip, but I won’t let it show.

Step, step, step was all I was thinking. I stopped for a second thinking that maybe this was not worth it, maybe I should wait at the bottom of this steep, steep hill. I realized that I was holding up the line so I kept moving.

Keegan:

The cold bit at my toes and fingers i was horribly cold and frustrated i just want to be taken home or at least somewhere where sun can fall on the landscape and heat my body. I want to fall down but i know that if I give in to the exaustion then ill lose body heat that i cannot regain again each step feels like a small one in the snow shoes. I tell myself that if i can just make it one more step i can make it to that undescribeable goal to see the mountains and to see lake agnes. If i make it it will be a lifetime experiance that i can relive over and over again. It feels like every step i take is bringing me backward but now i can see it the top hill the last step in my journey, but my asthma kicks down the door to my lungs and i can not breath but i am 15 steps from the top and i can’t see molly she is carrying my inhaler  the  defenders of my lungs  i can see her now at the front of the line i need to push before i can reach her.

            The top is so close, but i need to reach her now otherwise i might give in to the cold air that is attacking my lungs I will not let the cold bring me down i am too powerful to let it. i attack the slope makeing my own trail makeing my way to molly the snow thick but i can’t give up my legs attack it makeing my own trail i am getting closer my body is cold and tired, then i reach her and i beg for my inhaler once i take it i instantly feel it curing me of the cold,  air
but i am spent i can’t go any further then i make a saying  it is not how we fall  or how many times we fall but how many times we get back up again and how we get back up again.

Oliver:

One of my worries was that I was gonna get cold and complain. But I learned to stay warm from the beginning and not get cold half way through. Another one of my worries was that I was gonna get hurt and not be able to finish the trip. But I was careful where I stepped and I only ran where it was okay to.

Keaton:

I think that a challenge was my scenery (“sensory”) issues got in the way on the second day because I did not were the right socks. So my toes and feet froze so much that I couldn't feel them!:{
So now I know not to bring cotton socks.

Chrissy:

During the hike I was thinking: “ At the top, there is a reward, not an item, but the beautiful views, and the frozen lake, and how we will get to slide on the ice.” That was what kept me going when I was wanting to stop every ten seconds but I also knew that: “ When  I stop i get cold, when I get cold, I want to get warm, when I want to get warm, I start to move, when I start to move I get warm, when I get worn I get tired, when I get tired I want to stop, when I want to stop I get cold.”  And I kept repeating this in my head, over and over and over and “Then I knew for sure this time I only had this little hill I would be there and sure enough I did make it all the way to lake agnes. Victory filled my whole body, I knew that for the first time in my entire life that hike was the hike that I pushed myself the hardest.”  And now I know that even when i'm scared I know that that is the time that I push my self the most not when i'm in my comfort zone but when I am challenged.

Winter Voyage Reflection - by Jeanette
    I was tired, cold, and scared. We were hiking at what felt like one hundred miles an hour. The hill was steep and the wind was blowing, hard. I couldn’t stop for a rest because my feet would get more pained and numb then they already were. The only choice I had was to keep going. The wind continued to blow fiercely, harshly. It was as if we were the unwelcome guests and the wind was the guard. Hard, sharp ice blew into my face and scratched my skin. My lungs felt like they were made of steel and I was finding it hard to breathe. I stepped off the path to regain balance and breath.
    “You can do it Jeanette!” I heard the words of encouragement from behind me.
    “I seriously cannot breathe right now.” I panted as panic seeped in through a wall of calmness that I put up for myself. But all of a sudden, a quote that I knew burst in through all the negative thoughts.
Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching? Well  was it? No, somehow I knew it wasn’t. I calmed down and forced myself back on the path. I remembered what my solution was if I was cold and tired and didn’t want to go on any further. Just keep going and know that every footstep gets you closer to your destination. The top is where the true prize was and that’s where we were headed. Even though it was snowing and ice shards were still blowing into my face, chilling me and keeping my face numb, even though I couldn’t see the mountains through all the blowing flakes of white, I fought hard. Fought hard against the harsh, cruel wind. Fought hard against the steepness and slipperiness on the hills. I fought all the way to the top. It was gorgeous. The snow cascaded over the mountains creating a blanket, just translucent enough for me to see the mountains, looming above. The ice covering  beautiful Lake Agnes was about a foot-and-a-half thick, but I could still, faintly make out the bottom. In the end, all the effort was incredibly worth it. When we reached the top, all the effort wasn’t all that bad when the prize revealed itself, and it was a prize beyond explanation.

    The number one goal that I set for myself on the voyage was to (like I mentioned in the anecdote) keep going and to remember that every single footstep counts and every move forward pushes us closer to the top. My goal was to get to the lake. Before this hike, I thought I wasn’t very good at pushing myself to accomplish goals. That’s the reason why I never liked new year's resolutions much. So when we started our hike to Lake Agnes I was scared for the long walk ahead. By the time we were on those hills, I was crying. But when I pushed myself to keep going, knowing that there would be a major prize at the top, every move forward did eventually get us to that beautiful lake. And that goal I set for myself got me there.
    What I learned about myself on this voyage is that I have the ability to push myself to reach goals. Not only on the voyage but in life. Whether at home with working on my priorities first or at school with taking it more seriously. I know that I can accomplish anything if I just focus on that and work hard.

    By knowing that I can work hard enough to achieve goals, I can take that skill and apply it to my life. I think this will help me later because if I set a goal for myself and I find that I’m struggling with it, I can remember back to my winter voyage and put myself back on the hills that we were climbing up to Lake Agnes. When I remember what I felt like that day, and I remember pushing myself to the top, then I can trust in myself to accomplish the goal I’ve set for myself then. Whether it’s just next year for my first year of middle school, or when I’m forty years old and have a family of my own, I know I can be prepared.

     

Results from the survey

sent to our community to assess

interest in exploring an ELOB middle school-

Battle of the Books

Our 5th and 6th graders took first place against

Buffalo Ridge in a heated over time!

Sportsmanship in all things

The team!
Jennifer and Kimberly will have to compete alone next week as the rest of the team
will be gone on their voyage! Go girls!

'Book Tasting' in the library

Ms. Diana - you are just full of fun, clever ideas!

Complete with tea lights!

Assessment

Calendar

Feb.25- March 1st:

Quiet week with lots of people out of the building

Monday:

5th grade leave on  Winter Voyage

Wednesday:

3rd grade leave on Winter Voyage

March 4 - March 8th:

TCap Week :)

Schedule changes = impact to system

Climbing begins in PE

Tuesday:

*RTI 7:15 a.m.

Wednesday:

* Leadership Team meeting 11:00 a.m.

* Artists Edition: Life Is Art 4- 7 pm

Thursday:

* 1st grade Winter Voyage

Classroom Visits

I am trying to decide between a few apps on the Ipad and decide which one works best for me in gathering notes/evidence during classroom visits. I've started with Noteability and have shared those with those of you I've visited this week. I have a few glitches to sort out.

The purpose of documenting my visits is to collect evidence for CITE; for providing you with some observational data; and to throw out some questions or thoughts for consideration. I also hope to work on making the language of CITE more common and understandable for you by using it in my notes.

I am  taking down notes of what is observable. Know that sometimes my 'wonderings' are because I'm only there for a short time and don't have enough information. If I note any questions for consideration those are for you to ponder or answer for yourself. If you want to email me a response or get together to chat about those, that is great too. 

My hope is that while there is a requirement to gather observational data, that we can grow and learn together. Your feedback to me about what helps and what pushes you to think deeper will help me get better at meeting your individual needs.

My notes will not be of a personal nature. I recognize that it feels personal, however, it's important that we all are focused on improving instruction and focused on the learners. If it helps, when you document student learning you likely don't include personal notes - rather specific notes about what you noticed. 

I hope this explanation helps you in knowing what I'm doing on the Ipad when I'm in your room. A part of me grieves the more personal side of dropping in and being present. This is a shift I'm required to do. My hope is that when I become better at it, I can become more flexible with how I do this and maybe it won't feel so detached. Hang in there with me during my learning curve! We're all learning to do our work in new ways. It's taking me awhile to unlearn and relearn!

Have a great weekend!

Deborah