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/