So many good things are happening in Room 15!  It speaks volumes about  the great group of kids we have this year that they’re able to accomplish so much despite our four-day schedule.

The students concluded our Nepal Project by generating $86 in contributions this month, for a grand total of $161. Thanks to their help I was able to write a $280 check to the ANSWER charity supporting a Nepalese child’s education.

The students completed their Book Club reading projects with a literary elements exam on Friday. At first glance it looks as though students did a great job. Even more telling, though, was their response to the books themselves. Numerous students reported they cried at the end of Where the Red Fern Grows (one even said her mom and dad cried with her). The tears suggest the readers were able to relate to the main character, a basic indicator of true comprehension. Students will be joining new Book Clubs in a couple weeks. In the meantime, they’re working on their play scripts. They’re also expected to read each night from a book of choice. Their homework, which is now recorded inside their vocabulary journals, includes identifying one interesting or challenging vocabulary word from their reading, summarizing the section read, and getting a parent’s signature. This week they’re also supposed to be making daily entries into their “Lewis & Clark Journals.” These entries can be fictional or real, but the process is to be modeled after the explorers themselves.

Students are, of course, doing much more: The Checkbook Project, Spanish, DARE, completing their “Shoes” four-paragraph essay, starting the Room 15 Sportsmanship Floor Hockey Tourney, and attending the 21st Annual Josephine County Tree Plant on Friday. Be sure to watch the Rogue Valley Mall for Room 15 artwork, too!

As part of the Checkbook Project, Room 15 students complete a Friday Tax Report in which they calculate their “classroom income” for the week and then deduct 10% for income taxes and 5% for Social Security taxes. “Oh my gosh,” muttered a student last Friday. “I have to pay $38.50 in income tax!”  Of course, nobody likes to pay taxes, but the opportunity to brainstorm and discuss what real-world taxes provide us was priceless.  So, too, is all the “real world math” that the Friday Tax Reports entail (to see a sample of a typical tax report, click here).  Ironically, this was also the week we received a letter from Nur Tshering Sherpa, the Nepalese boy we support with our classroom coin drive. Because Nepal is such a poor country with virtually no tax base, public schools are essentially non-existent. Our support allows Nur to attend a private school where his education may actually lead to college and a career away from trekking. Trekking, though exciting by western standards, is extremely dangerous and short-lived–even for members of the renowned Sherpa clan like Nur. So thank you for your support of our classroom fundraiser, allowing Nur to attend school, and thanks also for your support of an Oregon tax system that will keep CPE educating these fantastic kids.

For homework this week, students need to be certain to finish their Book Club selections. They’ll be tested on Friday for comprehension. Also, students need to be reviewing their plays scripts–many of the questions in their vocabulary journals this week apply to the plays. In class, students will be completing their In My Shoes essays, starting their Lewis & Clark journals, and working on their web pages. Be sure to take a look at our 100 Favorite Things posts (some of mine appear below). They say a lot about a person. To view your child’s list, navigate to their webpages and look for the Category called 100 Favorite Things.