Week 25 Classroom News

Hello Families,

It’s hard to believe Spring Break is upon us! We wish you all a restful and/or adventurous two weeks, and look forward to seeing you back at BBS in April.

Whole School:

• March 13: BBS 6th graders competed at the Redmond OBOB “Friendly” Match today and won 3rd Place! Congrats to Roxy, Everett & Gavin!
• March 15: Last Day of Ski & Ride Celebration. PTO will provide pizza lunch for students. Families are welcome to join at the Lodge at 12:10pm to celebrate the season and thank Hoodoo instructors. Stay to ski & ride with kids in the afternoon.
• March 16-31: NO SCHOOL – Spring Break.
• Check out these new blog posts highlighting Bond Updates and videos with virtual tours of new school design.
• April 1: Swim Program begins. This is the first day back after Spring Break.
  • The swim days are scheduled for Monday/Wednesday/Friday during the first two weeks of April. Students will be bussed to Redmond after lunch for lessons at the Cascade Swim Center.
  • NO EARLY RELEASE Wed 4/3 and Wed 4/10. 
  • Sisters students can be dropped off early when we pass through town after lessons on 4/3 & 4/10. We can drop off at 2:35pm at Sisters Library and 2:40pm at Daybreak Wellness. We will confirm bus drop off times with families this week. Camp Sherman students will be on the normal bus schedule on these days.
  • Send students to school with a swimsuit, towel, goggles, a plastic bag for wet items, plus hair brush & hair bands for long hair.

From Ms. Steele: ssteele@blackbutte.k12.or.us

• Bebop (2nd/3rd) & Hodag (4th-8th) Math: Hello Parents and Friends.  Tomorrow is Pi day (3.14) and we are going to make circular (and some square, too) waffles to celebrate this amazing math number. Even though there are some people who have pi memorized to at least 100 digits, we won’t be doing that.  We will be finding the circumference of our waffles (if they are a circle) and perimeter of our waffles (if they are square).  It’s going to be a yummy time.
• Health Class
  • Older students: Yesterday we had an amazing guest speaker.  Mel, from Youth Line, spoke to the students about stress and its causes and how we can manage it in healthy ways.
  • Younger students: Yesterday we had a great health class about safe touch and safe bodies.  We determined that everyone has different comfort levels around hugging and touch and that we get to decide what happens to our bodies.  We practiced firmly saying no and letting people know what we do like.  Maybe things like “I don’t really feel comfortable with a hug, but I’d do a high five!”.  It was a great discussion. 

From Ms. Kassie: kdemarsh@blackbutte.k12.or.us

• K/1 Math class: First grade students have been working on collecting and understanding data. They have made different types of data tables and have learned how to compare the data. Kindergarten students have been working on number partners for smaller numbers like 6 and 7 to start to understand the connection between addition and subtraction.
• K-3 Science: Students have been exploring how to understand how fast dinosaurs could run based on fossilized footprints. Ask them if they could outrun a dinosaur with similar sized legs as them (not all dinosaurs were giants). See picture of students measuring out a dinosaur’s foot step compared to their own. 

From Mr. B: ebarrons@blackbutte.k12.or.us

• Mr. B’s K/1 Literacy: Students suspect leprechauns are playing mischievous tricks in the pine room and elsewhere. Some have even wondered what a leprechaun smells like! I suggest herbaceous. The kids really loved that word. Students are getting pretty deep into weather, seasons, and words associated with these topics. I think they are excited for some sun and a good thaw!
• Mr. B’s Bebop Literacy: Students are working on their personal narrative rough draft. We will hit poetry hard in April!
• Mr. B’s Art Literacy class: We are wrapping up our study with a pineapple still life in the mood and style of Wayne Thiebaud. Poetry will merge into our visual art work this spring.

From Mr. Sharp: dsharp@blackbutte.k12.or.us

This will be our last update for a few weeks. Most of the students have been working really hard lately and are ready for a nice break.

• Humanities class: In Humanities the students have been really focused on their Pioneer Essay. I was really impressed with the group as they tackled this difficult assignment. The writing abilities have really taken flight this year for many of our students. They are wrapping those up tomorrow as their last big assignment for me. When we return in April we will begin a poetry unit. 
• Field Studies: We had a really fun Field Study class on Monday. We got out the school’s microscopes and explored a wide range of prepared slides. Students examined everything from fleas, to hair, to bee wings, to worms. They really seemed to enjoy using the microscopes. We will get them out again in April as we dive into the world of cells and microscopic creatures. See photos below.