Cambridge Happening’s At Barnette

October 2016 Volume 2, Issue 2

Below are some of the ways that the spirit of Halloween is celebrated around the world.

Austria: Many people living in Austria consider Halloween to be a magical night. They often leave bread, water, and a lighted lamp out to welcome back passing souls.

Czechoslovakia: On Halloween night, Czechoslovakian children place chairs by the fireside. One is for each family member, and one for each member’s spirit.

England: English children make “punkies,” which are carvings into large beetroots. Once they complete them, they sing the “Punkie Night Song” as they knock on doors seeking money.

Korea: Halloween is known as “Chusok,” in which families use this as a time to thank their ancestors for their hard work.

Belgium: One of the Halloween customs in Belgium is to light candles in memory of past relatives. Belgian’s also believe a black cat crossing in front of you is bad luck.

CAMBRIDGE MATH:In Ms. Walkers’ 4th grade Cambridge Math class, the students were recently working on and discussing problem solving activities and questions from the program Math Olympiad. This is a higher order math program based on pushing students to be creative, collaborative, and flexible in determining how to best solve mathematical equations. Additionally, the students were able to create authentic displays on how math is used within the real world, and how it specifically relates to their own lives on a personal basis. The students are also working on utilizing higher order problem solving strategies as well. One effective strategy example is: Working Backwards. The students were using a “story frame” to collaborate together with this strategy. As a group of 2 or 3, the students collaborated to illustrate and describe a word problem step by step using the

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Working Backwards strategy. The great thing about this process was the freedom that Ms. Walker provided her students in terms of how to creatively solve the problem. Beyond some initial information, they were allowed to be as creative as possible in using the strategy. What a wonderful way to promote risk taking!

In Mrs. Huffman’s 5th grade classroom, the students are beginning to work on a new concept called, I-Weekly. The “I” stands for International, and this will be the beginning of a weekly activity that connects Math, Literacy, and Science based on related concepts. The overall premise is to help the students learn about and explore local and global cultural events tied to a specific country for that week. Each week, the students will receive a kick-off video through Google Classroom, which will provide them with some brief background information to get them started. From there, they will explore various topics and ideas tied into a specific country in terms of Math, Literacy, and Science. For the first activity, the students will be learning about the Dominican Republic, and the World Health Organization event, Socktober. The background building video for the first I-Weekly experience can be viewed below.

Video Link: https://vimeo.com/152985022

Below: An example of a 4th grade Math Olympiad sheet.

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Below: An example from some of Ms. Walkers’ students work on how they can relate math to their own life.

CAMBRIDGE LITERACY:In Mrs. Terry’s 4th grade Cambridge class, the students have been learning about and researching information pertaining to the geography of North Carolina, and the various Regions of North Carolina. Students are also involved in research projects based on the lives of numerous astronauts. During their research, the students are learning about an astronaut’s childhood, the training they completed, their achievements and other areas of interests. Such astronauts as Michael Collins, Sally Ride, Alan Bean and Valentina Tere Shkova, the first woman to orbit space are currently being studied. In Mrs. Mckenley’s 5th grade class, the students were deeply involved in a wonderful classroom discussion about autobiographies: their importance, and what and why to include relevant information. In order to help her students make strong, personal connections, she shared information about her own family, while the students created their own autobiographies to represent their lives. Through these discussions and independent student research, Mrs. Mckenley’s students completed autobiographies of celebrities based on the following criteria: Family Life, Early Life, Accomplishments, Interesting Facts, and the celebrities Obituary. Below you can see several different examples of student work.

Below: Autobiography discussions and Student Autobiographies from Mrs. Mckenley’s classroom.

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Below: Celebrity Autobiographies from Mrs. Mckenley’s 5th grade classroom.

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Below: Regional Projects from Mrs. Terry’s 4th grade class.

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CAMBRIDGE SCIENCE:In Mrs. Terry’s 4th grade Science class, the students were learning about static electricity and how electrical charges can push and pull on other electrically charged objects. The best part of the discussion was how well the students collaborated within their small groups, as well as how they were required to use Scientific Explanations. During their group discussions, strong, supporting evidence was routinely utilized as individual students made their cases. Mrs. Key’s 5th grade students are in the process of beginning a new unit of study on The Water Cycle. Recently, the students took a pre-test to help Mrs. Key determine their current base of knowledge on this topic. Following the initial kick-off, the students were involved in a wonderful debate concerning a question Mrs. Key had posed about the water cycle. During this activity, the students collaborated with a small team of their peers to explain why their answer choice was correct, or not correct. During this discussion, the students did a fantastic job of using key vocabulary terms, as well as providing proof to help support their answers.

Below: A student researches information regarding the Water Cycle.

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Below: Future scientists in Mrs. Terry’s classroom proving their theories on electricity.

Page 11Below: Another great way to show learning and understanding. The students are creating their own stories from the point of view of the Water Cycle.

Perhaps one of the most exciting things our students do while in Cambridge, is participate in their own student led conferences. This is a great opportunity for the students to share the work they have completed the first quarter, the goals they have set and achieved, and their data and future goals. Truly a wonderful way for self-reflection and parent/child conversations.

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One of the best ways to truly show your understanding of something is to write about an example or define it in your own words. Below are some examples of key Cambridge beliefs in the words of our students.

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Zone News/Updates:

On October 10th, Barnette hosted visitors from Stonewell Tell Elementary in Georgia as part of a new collaborative effort with Cambridge schools. During our time together, we visited with three staff members from Stonewell Tell as they are in the beginning stages of implementing Cambridge at their school this year. Not only were we able to begin the process of ongoing collaboration with other Cambridge schools outside of our zone, but it was a wonderful opportunity to “show off” the amazing work our teachers and students are doing each and every day. The team from Stonewell Tell were very complimentary of our school and students, and seemed very impressed by what they saw. It truly was very exciting to be able to share all of the hard work our Cambridge students and staff put in on a daily basis.