Learning How To Google Draw

The Alder classes have been learning how to use drawing tools in google.  They were assigned the task of creating a water transportation system to alleviate a common problem that was meet by the ancient Mesopotamian civilization.  Here are few of the completed projects.

Nonfiction Text Element Scavenger Hunt

The Clarkia have been working on finding information and creating their own piece of expository text.  Before completing their writing we first had to learn the best ways to unlock information using text tools.  Our focus has been on using:  table of contents, index, headings, captions, glossary work, and much more.

We went on a scavenger hunt using the Oregon School Library Information System.

Using the National Geographic Kids ebooks we looked to see how quickly we could find information on rocks by using the many text tools.  This was a lot of fun and we found out some cool facts in a short amount of time.

Stop Motion Coding

During our coding elective our animation group has been working on creating dialogue using stop motion technology and coding.  This takes a lot of perseverance and troubleshooting.  Often students will need to work together to find out the reason glitches are occurring and form solutions.  I am proud of how hard they have worked to overcome these obstacles and make a final product.  Please take time to check out a few of our creations.

Carter's Project

Cody's Project

Emi's Project

Criss-Anna's Project

Annie's Project

Author Highlights

 

The Trillium have been gaining expertise in identifying influential authors and illustrators in children's literature.





Can you name these well known authors and/or illustrators?

We have explored Bill Martin, Jr, Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, Lois Ehlert, and Mo Willems' works of art.  

 Much to our delight Lois Ehlert, uses nature collage to form her illustrations.  In, "Boo To You" many of her artwork include gourds!  Something the Trillium know about from our school garden.  We look forward to expanding our knowledge in finding other talented authors and illustrators. 

Migration Of Fables

                  

The Huckleberry classes have been deep in exploring the habits of migration.  If you have not seen their work on their salmon pillows it is a "must see".  One of the things I love about our school is that we carry our themes throughout all subject areas.  Our library, music, and PE classes work hard to make our students' learning relevant to what they are immersed at the time.  With that focus we discovered that folktales also have migrated across cultures, time, and space.  We learned that Little Red Riding Hood was first developed somewhere between Asia and Europe.  There were and are many different versions of the famous fairy tale.  We learned that Goldilocks and the Three Bears most likely came from Britain although the first story most likely had a "silvered haired" woman as Goldilocks.  Rapunzel is a herb grown over the country of Italy where, most likely this story originated.  We learned that the original story had a lot of differences compared to the recent Disney movie, Tangled.


Folktales are an important part of our culture.  I would encourage you to revisit these well-known stories with your children.  Here are some of my favorites:

  


     

               

Kick Off OBOB Meeting

Dear Parents and Students in Grades 3-5 and 6-8,

We are looking forward to the new season of Oregon Battle of the Books! The Oregon Battle of the Books, OBOB, is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program. The mission of OBOB is, "to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase reading comprehension, promote academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students".

As the organizers of the team for students, we are looking forward to starting our 2017-2018 season.  Our first OBOB meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 1st, 2017 during lunch in Mr. Foote’s room.  This will be a brief informational meeting for any students who are interested in joining Battle of the Books this year.

If you have any further questions about OBOB in general or to see a list of the 2018 books visit the OBOB website at https://www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org/2017-2018-obob-book-titles/

For any questions about the program please email Mrs. Quinlan at iquinlan@mra-k8.com.

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Quinlan, Mr. Dante, and Mr. Foote

Computer Science in Electives

This semester our 5th-8th grade students have had the option to choose a coding class for electives.  This computer science class was a first exposure for many students.  We are using a  CS-First program that uses Scratch to complete some fun coding projects.  CS-First's goals for students using code is to:

1.  Increase their confidence when using computers.

2.  Instill courage to try new things.

3.  Grow perseverance when tackling difficult problems.

4.  Provide a sense of belonging in technology for underrepresented students.

5. Demonstrate the impact that CS has in careers and communities. 

We have found these goals to be truly represented as we try to tackle some challenges in creating our story and animation.  I would encourage you to click on a few of the links to watch what our students are creating.  

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/177057209/#editor

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/177629840/

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/177263968/

2018 Oregon Battle of the Books

It's that time of year again to start thinking about Battle of the Books.  Oregon Battle of the Books is a fun competition to get kids reading different books.  It was started in 2007 and 135 teams across the state formed teams and battled using their wits and knowledge of what was read to answer questions from each of the 16 books.  

MRA will compete in the two divisions, 3rd-5th and 6th-8th.  The teams are composed of four students with one alternate.  We will host our local school battles beginning January 2018.  The top team will go on to regionals sometime in March.   We will hold a meeting towards the end of October during lunch for all students who are interested.  Parents are welcome to attend as well.  The teams will need to be in placed by November of 2017 so that students can practice and make sure they have time to read the books.   Now, is the time to talk to your child about being a part of a team and reading the selected titles.  Our Mountain Meadow Library has copies of each of these books.  Please encourage your students to come check them out.  It's not too early to start.  

Please click on the following link for more information:  https://www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org/obob-history/

Trillium's Squash

Our Trillium students have the big job of watching over our squash and gourds in our Roots Garden.  In the past couple of weeks they have taken some close observations to determine what makes our squash happy. 

 This week we read a great story about Sophia who loved her squash so much that she named it Bernice and took her everywhere, including the library.  She was dismayed to find out her squash was turning spotted and getting squishy.  What is Sophia to do with a squash she loves? 
She finds out Bernice holds a great surprise...




Will our squash have surprises for us?  

Great Reads

In our library classes this week, we read some great books on book care, how to find a "right-fit" book, and what it looks like to read a book.

Molly, the librarian gets a little mixed up and brings her bookmobile to the zoo.  The animals jump on the chance to read while Molly explains how to best treat books which inspires the animals to create and organize their own zoobrary.  This story mimics a Dr. Seuss style of writing and the students loved it.  

This funny and creative book explains that bringing a circus to the library may not work as well as Magnolia thought it may.   In the end she finds it much more fun to find a book to ignite imaginations for her audiences.  

This clever book by Kate Messner tells a story within a story with the intention of showing readers the best way to share and read a story.

A Look At Our First Week

Our class time in library and computer this week was spent touring and getting reacquainted with our revised media center.  We learned where our seasonal, non-fiction, chapter, theme, holiday, everybody, and biography books are kept.

 We hope to begin our book checkouts this week.  We have over 150 new titles added this summer to our collection.  Please remember to help your student bring back their library books on their library day.

Welcome Letter to 2017-18 School Year

Welcome to MRA’s Mountain Meadow Media Center

September 5, 2017

Dear MRA Families,

I would like to welcome you and your students to a new school year!  It was exciting to see how many student participated in our scholastic summer reading program.  We read for a combined 23,202 minutes!  I am looking forward to creating an environment for a passion and love for books and resources.   I encourage you to come and wander around our newly revised media center.  We did some moving of walls and shelves this summer and created more spaces for students to delve deeper into books.  

I am excited to see that our library collection has grown and is growing.  With that in mind I want to make sure that we continue to respect the gifts of books we have been given.  The students will be challenged to understand that our media center is a special collection of resources and requires care from all users.  We will be focusing on how to locate and access many different digital/print resources.  They will be using the information they gather in their classroom and personal projects.   I hope you will partner with me in helping our students become responsible learners.  

The students (K-8thth) will have a media center time each week and will be allowed to check out 1-4 books depending on age and responsibility shown.   They have two weeks to read and enjoy their books.  After that time if they have not returned their overdue books they will not be able to check out another until those are returned.  If a book becomes lost or damaged (accidents happen) please let me know.   Then a fee will be issued to replace the book unless we can come to another agreement.

Library/Media Times

Trillium:  Mondays 1:30-2pm

Huckleberry South:  Tuesdays 1:30-2pm

Huckleberry North:  Fridays 1-1:30pm

South Clarkia:  Mondays and Tues. 8:30-8:50am

North Clarkia:  Thur. and Fri.  8:30-8:50am

Alder West:  Mon and Thurs. 2-2:45pm

Alder East:  Tues. and Fri. 2-2:45pm

Cedars: Will use as needed

I am looking forward to a great year and thank you for your support.  Let me know if you have any questions.  iquinlan@mra-k8.com

Happy Reading!

New Fiction Books Added This Year!

Our New Non-Fiction Books

Our New Everybody Books

Mountain Meadow in 2017-18

Our Mountain Meadow Media Center will have a different look this year.  We are working hard to make this space one in which students can easily find a comfortable place to cozy up to a book.  We took down a few walls and added some seating with the goal of furthering to create an environment that enhances collaboration work, uses of different types of resources, relevant research capabilities, and new and exciting literature to capture all audiences.   Please stop by and check out our 100 new titles added to the library this summer.  

Yes, we have the newest Land Of Stories!  

Thank you to all our avid summer readers.  So, far Molalla River Academy has recorded 22,665 minutes on our scholastic summer reading program.   Please check out this program by going to:   http://www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src-2017   Keep up the great reading.  I look forward to hearing what you’ve been reading.