ENGAGE, EMPOWER, INSPIRE
“Every child should have the chance to be exceptional without exception.” ~ Dr. Joseph Renzulli This year we are thrilled to announce that we are expanding our enrichment model at Barton Creek Elementary. The program is based on the School-wide Enrichment Model developed by Dr. Joseph Renzulli. The philosophy of the model is built on a set of pedagogical beliefs: 1. Each learner is unique. 2. Learning is more effective when students enjoy what they are doing. 3. Learning is more meaningful when content and process focus on a real problem. As part of our expansion this year we will introduce E-Slot, a block of time on Fridays (7:55-8:55), which is dedicated to enrichment for all students. We will run a revised schedule on Fridays with minimal or no impact on core classes’ instructional minutes. Children in all grade levels will participate in enriching activities during the E-Slot block of time. Some children will also participate in Enrichment Clusters. The second component of our expansion is to offer more students the opportunity to participate in Enrichment Clusters. The expansion includes a pilot of Enrichment Clusters offered to all of the 4th and 5th grade classes for an 8-week period beginning in January. It also includes a K-1st Enrichment Cluster pilot with two classrooms, Rimkus (K) and Peichoto (1), that will begin after Spring Break. An enrichment cluster is a learning situation that is purposefully designed to produce a product or service that will have an impact on an intended audience. Children will explore a potential area of interest or talent in a small multi-age group. A teacher or parent who also has a passion for the topic will facilitate the group. During the first three weeks of school, all students took interest surveys. This data will help the teachers gather ideas for enrichment activities in the classroom offered during the E-Slot block of time. The data will also be used to create topics for cluster classes for the two pilot Enrichment Cluster Sessions. The children participating in the pilot Enrichment Clusters will choose their top choices from a list of topics. The enrichment activities in the classroom and the Enrichment Clusters both focus on student strengths and talents. Enrichment activities in the classroom are more fluid in topics, time frame and groupings. Students may also be introduced to a potential area of interest. In addition, Service Projects are considered enriching opportunities for children. Clusters have more structure with an end product or service; and, students choose topics from a list. You are welcome to read more about the School-wide Enrichment Model at http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/. You can also view a short video on the BCE website. Click on the Enrichment at BCE link: http://bcebluejayblog.weebly.com/. How would you like to be involved in this exciting opportunity for you child? If you think you may be interested any of the following, please click on the link in the e-mail to complete your responses: 1. Would you be willing to serve as a guest speaker in your area of interest or talent for your child’s classroom? 2. Would you be willing to serve as a guest speaker in your area of interest or talent for any classroom? We are starting a guest speaker’s list. 3. Are you interested in volunteering in your child’s classroom on Fridays during the enrichment activities? You will have a chance to give input on a time commitment. 4. Are you interested in volunteering in a cluster classroom when the clusters are being offered for 4th and 5th? This Enrichment Cluster Session will begin on January 9th and continue for 8 consecutive Fridays. 5. Are you interested in volunteering in a cluster classroom for the Peichoto/Rimkus pilot after Spring Break (6 weeks)? 6. Are you interested in being a facilitator for the 4th/ 5th pilot or the Rimkus/Peichoto pilot? Think about your interests and talents. 7. Are you interested in volunteering to help when the 4th and 5th grade children share what they learned at a Showcase in March? This is a wonderful opportunity for parents and teachers to work as a team to engage, empower, and inspire all of our children at Barton Creek Elementary. Bryan Shippey Mo Greulich Cadie Evans Creating from “Scratch”
Mr. Orozco, our Ed. Tech. visited class and shared an interactive game that he and his son had created. It inspired the gamers to see the possibilities of programming. They continue to program using code as they have fun remixing or creating their own games from “Scratch”. Just one more class before they have a chance to showcase what they have learned in just a few short sessions. The excitement builds!! Creating from “Scratch” Decisions, decisions! After a discussion of the difference between a product and a service, the programmers all decided to create products. Each has chosen to either remix an existing program or create a program from scratch. The programmers will work at their own pace for the next two cluster meetings, analyzing code in order to showcase their creations! Pet Lovers At the request of our Pet Lovers, our pet visitor this week was a dog! Mrs. Casey’s dog Sally joined our class and enjoyed meeting the kids. We discussed the history of dogs, and many of the great things that America’s favorite pet does for their favorite animal....humans! The Pet Lovers came up with a plan and a materials list for items that we would like to create for the Showcase. We look forward to making pet toys to show what we have learned about what makes pets happy and why. Golf This past Friday we had our golf pro back. We talked about the longest shot, the drive. Our golfers were designing their own putting course and perfecting their grip. Next week we'll be focusing on specific shots in golf, from close in to far out. Creating from “Scratch” We started our day with the inspiring video clip of the “Hour of Code”, demonstrating the value of the thinking behind the skill of programming. Did you know that there are thousands to millions lines of code behind our electronic lives? The engineers then jumped back into Scratch, continuing to remix programs. Next week they will decide if they would like to offer a product or a service for our showcase and focus on developing their choice. Working at their own pace, they continue to explore, imagine, and create! Film This week, we had another great movie-making experience! We discussed details of our next movie, including structure, scene creation and characters. We also looked through costumes to find the perfect costume for each character. Finally, we scouted locations for filming throughout the school. We are all getting pretty excited to film on Friday! Sugar Rush This week in the sugar rush cluster we layered marshmallows, chocolate chips and graham crackers to make gooey s'mores! Students whisked, packed brown sugar, and layered the ingredients! While the s'mores were cooling we discussed what our cluster product or service to the community could be, and we are working towards our goal! Pet Lovers We had three wonderful small pets visit our Pet Lovers this week! The kids enjoyed meeting Cody, a Dwarf Russian Hamster, Andrew, a pink eyed white Guinea Pig, and Coco, a crazy ferret. Even though these animals seem similar, their care and preferred lifestyles are very different. We had a great conversation about what kind of a home would be best for each of these animals, and if any of our Pet Lovers think that their own parents could handle one of these great small furry creatures! The Pet Lovers also discussed what kind of a product they would like to create for our Showcase. The Pet Lovers have decided that they would like to make something for pets! |