STEAM LAB SUCCESS

Fifth grade students used robotics to answer the following essential questions:

Pulling: What makes objects move?

Speed: How can a car move faster?

Robust Structures: What other factors make structures earthquake resistant?

Metamorphasis: How do frogs morph?

In collaborative groups students chose one of the questions to examine that was most interesting to them.  Students then created robots to test their initial thinking.  As students continued to work, they made improvements to their robots and tracked how their improvements impacted their results. Students' critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration was remarkable!  All students will have the opportunity to create and explore in the S.T.E.A.M. lab this spring.

CRITICAL THINKING IN LITERACY

Gold Rush believes in fostering growth by challenging critical thinkers.  We know that it is essential for students to think deeply in all content areas.  National reading expert, Stephanie Harvey, affirms that the goal of reading is to comprehend.  She states that we create knowledge by thinking strategically about the information we read (Harvey, 2017).  Gold Rush teachers are committed to explicitly teaching the following reading strategies and creating classroom cultures of thinking. 

Monitoring Comprehension

Activating Prior Knowledge & Making Connection

Asking Questions

Inferring

Synthesizing & Summarizing

Students in all grade levels are using these strategies to better understand the text.  Kindergarten and first grade students identified what they thought they knew about a topic prior to reading and reflected on how their thinking changed after they read.  Second grade students focused on making connections to what they read to better understand characters, problems and concepts presented in the text.

HALLOWEEN PARTY & PARADE ROUTE

Halloween is right around the corner and students are already asking how we will celebrate at Gold Rush.  Halloween breakfast parties will be held on Monday, October 31, from 8:40-9:30 AM.  It is recommended that party treats be balanced with both nutritious options and sweets.  Our school parade will follow at 9:30-9:45 AM.  The parade route is included below.  Students who do not wish to participate in Halloween activities can rejoin the class at 9:45 AM.  We will resume with a normal school day schedule at that time.

We encourage students to be creative with their costumes, but safety remains our number one priority.  Please adhere to the following guidelines when selecting a costume:

* Students should come dressed in their costume and bring a change of clothing.

* Costumes can not be demeaning, offensive or promiscuous.

* Face paint, face masks and weapons are not permitted.

COLLABORATIVE CUP STACKING
Students worked together in Physical Education to creatively cup stack.  Students were challenged to move buckets across the gym and stack them without using their hands.  Students were creative and used their feet and ropes to accomplish this task.  We are proud of their out of the box thinking and team work.

Click here to RSVP

OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR 2018-2019
The Open Enrollment window will be open from November 1st - December 1st. Families that wish to attend, but do not live within the Gold Rush boundaries must apply for Open Enrollment. Click here to apply for Open Enrollment. For more information visit the District School Choice page.

2018-2019 ENROLLMENT CONFIRMATION

It's hard to believe, but we will be starting the planning process for next school year soon.  In order to assist us in this planning, complete the enrollment confirmation survey for your child(ren) by Friday, November 17th.  Please click here for the enrollment survey.  This will help ensure your child's classroom placement for the next year.

UPCOMING EVENTS
* October 31: Halloween Parade @ 9:30-9:45AM
* November 7: No School - Teacher Work Day
* November 15: Celebrations of Learning/Thanksgiving Feast (Grade Level Schedule to Come)
* November 20-24: Thanksgiving Break

ELECTRONIC THURSDAY FOLDER