In this process, the Bell Crew connected with Reno muralist, Erik Burke. Together they created an image of the SELS’ story and a visual interpretation of “community”.

The woman represents creation and nurturing, looking into the distance as she imagines continual growth and experiences. Her braided hair signifies the weaving together of various pieces to develop a collective whole, at once beautiful and functional. Individual purple flower petals combine to create a lupine more magnificent than its parts.

Bell Crew students highlighted key character traits that they each bring to the SELS community, and with Erik Burke embedded these traits into the braid.

The SELS community is grateful to Erik Burke and the Bell Crew for adding beauty and meaning to our campus, and for including all of SELS in their Art of the Story expedition.

In addition to his art at SELS, you can see Erik’s work in Korea, Italy, Norway and throughout Reno.

Questions to Ask Your Child:
How do you think art tells a story?
What evidence do you see around you of art that tells a story?
What similarities and differences have you noticed of how people live in Mexico and The United States?

Crew News
¡Bienvenido a México! The Bell Crew has flown across the border to learn about life in Mexico! The first part of our journey involved engineering an aircraft that could “carry” 24 passengers (22 students and 2 teachers!) south of the border to the capital of Mexico—Mexico City. It took the crew two and a half days to complete the engineering challenge of transforming three enormous refrigerator boxes into an airplane and then designing and building wings that were suspended off the ground. The flight itself was a memorable event—complete with in-flight snacks and entertainment (a tourism video of Mexico City). While using a world map to track our travels, we learned about the seven continents and the five oceans as well as how to use a compass rose to describe the relative location of places on the map. Upon arrival in Mexico City, we experienced a local market and learned a bit about buying and selling our wares with pesos. So far the sights have been amazing!

After a brief touchdown in modern day Mexico, we took off on our real adventure (via time machine) to explore ancient Mayan life. Our first Case Study—The Mayan Story—will work to answer the question: How does ART tell a STORY? We will spend several weeks learning about the various forms of art that have given modern day people clues about how the Mayas lived—i.e., wall paintings, sculpture, architecture, pottery and more. We will be sculpting clay pots, weaving small mats…and perhaps even designing and building a Mayan pyramid! All the while, we will be exploring the notion that history is the story of people’s lives across time and across regions of the world.

We are keeping scrapbooks of our journey but we will also keep you posted on our learning along the way!
¡Adiós!

SELS News
I am currently finalizing plans for spring fieldwork. This is a brand new expedition, so connecting with new experts always takes a bit more time. I will get dates to you soon as I can. Our spring fieldwork will involve a trip to the Nevada Museum of Art as well as a Reno Mural Tour (possibly on two different days in May given the demands and scope of each outing). In addition, we will have the great privilege of working at SELS with a professional Reno muralist, Erik Burke, in late May. You can see his work in Reno on the walls or at his website (http://eriktburke.com/). It will be a busy spring…so thank you all in advance for your support in making our exciting fieldwork possible.

Upcoming Fieldwork:
o Arts for the Schools/drumming performance: Friday, May 19th
o Bell Crew Campout/Donner State Park: Thursday, June 8th (tentative)

Highlights
Students: The Bell Crew members have been working hard on using integrity to produce quality work. I have seen wonderful improvement in the quality of their writing in particular. Congratulations, Crew!

Parent Volunteers: Thank you again to Loren McCormac, our Harvest of the Month volunteer, and to Jen Trombetta, our fieldwork coordinator. We appreciate you!

Questions to Ask Your Child:
• What happens when you put something in the path of a beam of light?
• How can you tell if a material absorbs, transmits, or reflects light?
• Describe the engineering design process.

Crew News
We had an exciting day of fieldwork at the Reno Discovery Museum last week. Our marvelous Ms. Landis arranged a special light lab at the museum. The children were able to further explore what happens when one places an object in the path of a beam of light. Using flashlights, projectors, colored cellophane, index cards, tape and more, the children determined whether materials were transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. It was a wonderful day!

Our School Counselor, Alaina Reichwald, has invited her friend and colleague, Shanti, to visit our crew this week. The children have completed a series of mindfulness lessons that Shanti developed. The lessons teach us to use breathing, positive self-talk and visualization to manage stressful situations. Shanti will join our crew for morning meeting to help further our mindfulness skills.

Loren McCormac, our fearless Harvest of the Month volunteer, continues to broaden our palates and challenge the first graders to use adventure to try new foods. Last week we tasted Meyer lemons (“Yum!!!” they all said.). This week is cabbage.

SELS News
Progress reports go home this week. Please them read carefully and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I am always happy to meet to discuss your child’s progress.

Goal setting conferences are just around the corner! Please remember to support your child in their work on their goals. Progress takes place with daily practice.

For a full school calendar, check our website: https://truckeecharterschool.org/calendar/

Highlights
I want to highlight the entire Bell Crew for their focus and enthusiasm during our mini science expedition this month. They have truly embodied what it is to be active learners and 21st century scientists/engineers!

Many thanks as well to the drivers/chaperones who drove us safely to and from the Reno Discovery Museum. With the wet roads and windy weather looming, you managed your volunteer job with extra responsibility and adventure, and I am grateful! Thank you: Jessica Stevens, Lorna Stucky, Sarah Biebl, Katie Hickey, Michael Penwarden, Stefanie Scapini, Saira West, Loren McCormac, Gideon Jostrand and Tim Loper. I hope I didn’t leave anyone out!

Case Study #2: My Sierra Nevada
I can identify local mountain peaks.
I can describe my connection to the mountains around me.

Case Study #3: Weather or Not I’m Prepared
I can determine how the weather will affect my outing in the mountains.
I can explain how the mountains affect local weather.

Questions to Ask Your Child:
• What do you notice about the shapes of the local peaks?
• Can you teach me the different peaks that we can see from the Glenshire Legacy Trail viewpoint?
• How do you remember the order of the peaks? (“Tigers Always…”)
• Identify the following terms: peak, base, range, landform (island, mountain, valley, cave)

Crew News
All ABOARD!!! … Bell Crew! We have been focusing on mastering the names and order of the local peaks we can see from town. Using a mnemonic device, your children have become experts at naming the peaks. Ask them to teach you our memory trick! We have also been busy sketching and tracing templates of the peaks to compare and contrast their contours. We have learned several geography terms (see the list above) and are about to embark on a group writing project that will demonstrate our knowledge. After Thanksgiving break, we will launch into our third case study that involves the weather as it relates to mountain living. It will be an exciting start to winter!

In literacy, we have delved deeply into the realm of revision. The first graders have written many “small moment” stories about their personal experiences—from pumpkin painting to horseback riding. They have worked with writing partners to solidify the sequence of events and to bring their characters to life with dialogue and details. They are in the final stages of editing their work for spelling and punctuation. They are extremely eager to publish their work!

SELS News
Book Bags: Your children are doing a wonderful job of being responsible for switching out books and bringing them to and from school daily. If your child is forgetting to do so, please help them set up a routine to be successful.

Independent Study: An updated IS form will be sent out after Thanksgiving. Be on the lookout for that and please save the new version to your desktop. Please be sure your child does quality work for each day of school that is missed.

Goals: Thank you for helping your youngsters select an academic and character goal to focus on until March. Please be sure you are supporting them at home—several times per week if not daily. The pay-offs will be measurable!

Mark Your Calendar
Thanksgiving Break: 11/21 – 26

Winter Break: 12/19 – 1/2

Minimum Day Release @ 1 pm: 12/7

Highlights
Students: The Bell Crew has been working hard to develop responsibility during Literacy Time. They are doing a wonderful job!

Parent Volunteers: Many thanks to all of our chaperones/drivers to the Glenshire Legacy Trail! You persevered through a chilly/windy day to provide out students with a wonderful learning opportunity. Many thanks to Bill Hammond, our geography expert from UNR who taught us about maps, globes and mountains!

Questions to Ask Your Child:
• What are some things that good crew members do?
• What are the SIERRA norms?
• How have you used a SIERRA norm to overcome a challenge this week?
• What are some examples of teamwork you have seen in your crew?

Crew News
All ABOARD!!!…Bell Crew! We have been out trailblazing in the mountains this week. Our first hike up to Lake Angela was a tremendous success! The first graders managed “The Great Switchback Challenge” with strength and adventure. (Be sure to ask your child about those 14– or was it 15?– switchbacks!) They also thoroughly enjoyed some Solitude and Reflection time—showing amazing respect and integrity for the peace and beauty around them.

In the classroom, we have been deepening our understanding of the SIERRA norms through literature and small group discussions. We also had an expert, Kevin Hickey, come in to teach us about the importance of teamwork in mountaineering. Kevin led our crew through several exciting initiatives to foster communication and cooperation. Be sure to ask your children about the hula-hoop and marble challenges! Last but not least, the first graders have put their beginning reading skills to the test by working on our first complex text challenge: reading the Hiking Plan for our first fieldwork. In pairs they used multiple strategies to read their “strip” (one step of the plan), then together we sequenced the strips and read the complete plan. It was exciting to see them tackle a difficult reading task with adventure and strength.

SELS News
SELS paperwork: Please be sure to turn in all outstanding paperwork as soon as possible.

Volunteers: We will begin welcoming literacy volunteers next Monday, 9/12. I will send out a google.doc with the list of volunteers.

Future Fieldwork: Tuesday, 9/13 = Peak #2; Thursday, 9/22 = Peak #3

Mark Your Calendars:
September 20: School Picture Day
September 23: All School Dance @ 6pm
October 6: Gratitude Evening
October 7: Summit Day

Highlights
Students: The Bell Crew supported each other beautifully on our first hike!

Parent Volunteers: Many thanks to all of our chaperones/drivers to Lake Angela (Lorna, Loren, Hanna, Tim, Michelle, Jessica, Saira, Stefanie, and Jill). We greatly appreciate your upbeat attitude and your happy-hiking attitude! Thank you to Kevin for being our expert!

Here is the framework of our winter expedition:

Title: The Strength of a Bear

Guiding Questions:

• What makes a bear a bear?
• How does strength help us learn and grow?

Case Study #1: The Bear Necessities

Learning Targets:

• I can explain how the physical features of a black bear help it survive.
• I can evaluate the conditions a black bear needs to survive.

Case Study #2: More Than a Bear

Learning Targets:

• I can illustrate why bears are an important symbol of our school.

We are currently learning about the physical features of a black bear and how each part of its body serves a particular function. A black bear “research center” housed in our loft allows our young scientists to explore a variety of bear artifacts–a skull replica, claw and paw replicas, actual bear pelts,  dehydrated bear scat, posters and more from the North American Bear Center in Ely, MN.

Our friends in the McMains Crew (6th grade) came and helped us participate in our first jigsaw protocol. Each mixed-age group was responsible for researching the answer to a bear question (Ex., What do black bears look like?) and preparing a creative presentation to teach the rest  of the group. We had groups sing chants, explain homemade posters, and even dramatize bear cubs climbing up tree trunks to safety. It was a day filled with learning!

These young writers are busy learning about the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts. They worked in small groups to sort our classroom bear books according to “storybooks” or “teaching books” (fiction or non-fiction). We are now closely studying the characteristics of non-fiction texts (actual photographs, index, captions, diagrams, charts) and learning to use those features in our own writing. The kindergartners are at the beginning phases of creating their own “teaching book” on bears–complete with text features we have learned about. It is amazing to witness their dedication to the project and the amazing writing stamina they have developed since early fall.

Activities to look forward to:

• studying bear behavior on a fieldwork excursion to a nearby zoo
• walking under the full Bear Moon at night (!) to learn about what local black bears do during these winter months

Kindergarten is an exciting place to be! Come on in and visit!

It has been a delight to get to know this new group of SELS students. Our crew is starting to take shape as a thoughtful and interested group of young learners.

Expedition News:

Title: Building Community

Guiding Questions:

• How do we build community?
• How do we contribute to community?

Case Study #1: Building Our Community

Learning Targets:

• I can describe the behaviors of a good crew member.
• I can identify and explain the SIERRA norms.

We are knee-deep in our first Case Study, Building Our Community. We have been exploring the idea of “crew” and what it means to work together and trust each other. On our adventure hike in Martis Valley last week, the kindergartners maneuvered a creek crossing and a blindfold partner walk to foster collaboration and trust. A wonderful day was had by all! Many thanks to our parent drivers: Sarah Biebl, Katie Hickey, Gideon Jostrand, Susan Krick, Jill Penwarden, Caren Schatz, Sara Somervell, Justin Stevens, Mike Trombetta and Loren McCormac…as well as several others who joined us for the adventure (Kathryn Smith, Stephanie Scapini…and who am I forgetting?!). Your enthusiasm and support were gifts to us all!

The focus of these next two weeks is to identify and emulate traits of a good crew member. We have been reading countless fictional stories about friends and searching for text-based  “evidence” of good crew member behavior. It is exciting to witness these youngsters build opinions about characters in the stories and begin to substantiate their beliefs and share them with their crew. This search for fictional crew members will involve a close look at the characters in well-loved nursery rhymes. Be sure to dust off your nursery rhyme collections at home (or run to the library!) and start reading them with your children. You might be hard-pressed to find evidence of “good crew-member behavior” in those old favorites…but we will be investigating!

Case Study #2: On the Job!

Learning Targets:

• I can compare and contrast the use of tools.
• I can use the design process to build a project.
• I can explain the importance of teamwork.

This construction-oriented case study will begin in early October…Stay tuned for exciting changes and developments in the Bell Crew. Parents, please email me if you are tool-savvy and would like to volunteer as an expert at the workbench during Explore Time in October (2:15-3:00pm).

Crew Information:

• Book orders:  Due Sept. 29th. Please order online if possible. (coming home in Red Folders today)
• Red Folders: Please return them to school on Friday.
• Please continue to remind your children about proper hand-washing/cough-covering. Thank you!

Upcoming Dates:

• 9/29: Book Orders due
• 10/5: Teacher Work Day–no school for students!
• 10/9: Family Dance (PTC event)
• 10/11: Family Photo Shoot (PTC event)
• 10/22: Fieldwork– Hardware store/Reno
• 11/12: Fieldwork– Architect’s office/Construction site
• 12/3: tentative Building Day!

We are off to a grand start with our month-long expedition, Sound & Light Engineers. Brooke Landis, local science/engineering expert, will continue to work with our crew throughout January to explore the ways sound and light travel. Thus far, we have been working as scientists to observe sound and light and to question and investigate some of our ideas on these topics. During the second half of the month, we will become engineers and learn about the design process, so we can design and build devices that use sound and light to communicate. Swing by our room any afternoon this month to see your youngsters at work. The atmosphere is literally buzzing with excitement and learning!

Guiding Questions:

• Do we need light to see something?
• What happens when you put something in the path of a beam of light?
• How can we manipulate a beam of light?

Learning Targets:

• I can investigate how sound and vibration are connected.
• I can investigate the path of a beam of light.

Extending the Learning at Home: (notes from Brooke)

If you have a tablet, the Exploratorium in SF has two great, free apps that would be fun to explore at home. Look for Sound Uncovered and Color Uncovered by the Exploratorium on the iTunes app store.

brought to you by the Bell Crew/First Grade…

Who: Entire SELS student body and staff members

What: First annual SELS Summit Day

Where: All-day hike to Castle Pass

When: Tuesday, October 28th

Why: To experience ADVENTURE, CHALLENGE and COMMUNITY!

How: With the help of amazing staff, parent drivers and chaperones!

The first annual SELS Summit Day served as the final product of the first graders’ expedition, entitled “I Love the Mountains!” The expedition focused on goal setting, adventure and developing a sense of place through the mastery of local geographical landmarks– specifically, the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In the week preceding the event, the first graders made goal-setting presentations to each SELS crew (K-8). The presenters used first-hand experiences to demonstrate how breaking a goal into manageable parts makes an impossible goal feel possible. In addition, the first graders presented their own hand-drawn “peaks profile” to teach their peers how to identify the main peaks visible in our area. SELS students used the profile as a resource on Summit Day to identify local mountains.

Through the expedition, the first graders aimed to answer two guiding questions:

• How do challenges make us stronger?
• What is special about our Sierra Nevada Mountains?

Case study #1 involved goal-setting, adventure and self-challenge. We worked with local mountaineering experts to learn the process of setting and attaining goals, and we put our goal setting to the test by hiking two local peaks. Case study #2 focused on local geography and establishing a sense of place. We learned terrain vocabulary as well as became experts at identifying the local peaks from Castle Peak to Tinker Knob.

Summit Day proved to be a wonderful example of the beauty and strength of our community. Up on Castle Pass, the first-grade crew shared poetry and a song demonstrating their love for the Sierra Nevada Mountains before facilitating a moving time of solitude and reflection for close to 250 students and staff. Students of all ages shared written reflections on personal challenge and growth. The snow-capped peaks were shining in all their glory, and the brilliant sunshine seemed to pierce the bluest sky we had seen in days. It was a moment of pure bliss.

 “Before Summit Day, I just thought of fieldwork as a neat part of our school’s curriculum. But after sitting on the crest of Castle Saddle, surrounded by breath-taking views, and hearing the depth of the reflections that students shared from their solitude and reflection time, I recognized how truly transformative fieldwork can be.”  –Holguin Crew Parent

Thank you, SELS Community!

Title:   I Love the Mountains!

Guiding Questions:

• How do challenges make us stronger?
• What is special about our Sierra Nevada Mountains?

Case Study #1: Trailblazing!

Learning Targets:

• I can use the SIERRA norms to overcome challenges.
• I can design a realistic goal for myself.

 Case Study #2:   My Sierra Nevada

Learning Targets:

• I can describe the characteristics of local landforms.
• I can identify local mountain peaks.

 Case Study #3: Weather or Not I’m Prepared

Learning Targets:

• I can determine how the weather will affect my outing in the mountains.
• I can explain how the mountains affect local weather.

The first graders are off to an exciting start with their study of the mountains! Thanks to mountaineering experts, Elizabeth Scott (14 years old!), Andy Scott and Mike Davis, the first graders have learned how to prepare for an outing in the mountains (gear, weather, itinerary, food/water, route) as well as how to set and attain personal goals.  Andy Scott taught the children how to break a large goal into smaller, more manageable parts. He highlighted this strategy as one used by mountaineers who attempt to summit enormous mountains such as Mount Everest.  Armed with this knowledge, the first graders were able to tackle the daunting task of summiting Donner Peak.  They identified three, short-range goals along the route, and everyone made it to the tip-top of the rock “crown”.

Next week, we will be applying our new goal setting skills to the realm of the classroom. Our crew will be identifying academic strengths and pinpointing areas in which to improve. This will serve as useful preparation for our upcoming goal setting conferences. In addition, our crew will “take our show on the road” to kindergarten next week. The first graders will make a presentation to their younger schoolmates on goals and goal setting. This presentation will, in turn, prepare the kindergartners for their first experience with goal setting conferences.

Writing time has been very closely linked with our mountains expedition this fall. The first graders have been busy exploring the form of narrative writing. Our focus has been on sequence and expanding upon a topic. Following writing guru, Lucy Caulkins, we have written “small moment” stories about our hikes. The children learned to take an interesting moment in time and make it come alive. There were several stories about licking “lolliTops”–complete with wrappers, sticky lips and yummy details! Ask your first grader if you don’t yet know what a “lolliTop” is.  

Your youngsters have also been busy reading up a storm! I am amazed by how well they have adapted to our Daily 3 literacy time. They practice reading and word work with great seriousness of purpose and independence. Parent volunteers have been a wonderful addition to literacy time. Volunteers act as a living “listening center” by reading aloud to small groups of children. Research tells us that children benefit from many models of fluent, expressive reading. Thank you, volunteers, for reading to our crew each week! If you are interested in signing up for a day, please contact me. We would love to have you! Also, book bags and sight word lists will be coming home shortly. An email will follow next week with more information.

Last, but not least, we have been delving deeply into the world of numbers during math time! Our new Bridges curriculum is rich with opportunities to explore the concepts of “big” numbers, skip counting, addition and subtraction. Ask your youngsters to describe the number racks they made with beads and pipe cleaners. (It is somewhat akin to an abacus–in style.) They have been busy being “number detectives” and trying to determine missing addends in various equations. They are beginning to “see” combinations for the numbers 1-10. This is a necessary precursor to one of our first grade goals, mastering +/- math facts to 10.

All in all, we have had a fabulous start to the year in the Bell Crew. Your youngsters are truly starting to develop a sense of “crew” together. They depend on each other, they support each other and they even cheer one another up the mountains!

Hooray for the B Crew!

 Crew Dates

• Oct. 9– Geography Fieldwork
• Oct.28– SELS Summit Day

 SELS Dates

• Oct 13-17 – Minimum Day Week; Goal-setting Conferences
• Oct 22 – Minimum Day
• Oct 28– SELS Summit Day
• Oct 31 – Bear Walk; 9:45-11/11:30 am