Announcements LA Updates Special Presentation from UMass Dartmouth Biology Students 50-50 Day **Permission Waiver for Field Trip to Newport for Volvo Ocean Race** A few announcements:
Home of the Brave This week we finished Home of the Brave. The class agreed that finishing the book was very bittersweet. The students are working on a final project to culminate the reading of this wonderful story. They are working in small groups with the other FA fifth grade class to illustrate and explain the proverbs that Katherine Applegate used in her story. The proverbs are: When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. You only make a bridge when there is a river. One doesn't forego sleep because of the possibility of nightmares. When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. A sandstorm passes; the stars remain. You can see photos of their progress below, first discussing and planning, then sketching and finally adding color. They will present their posters on Monday. On Thursday we had a special presentation from seven UMass Dartmouth biology students thanks to Isabelle's dad, Erin Bromage. His students shared with us their research and presentations on several topics in immunology, focusing on animals. We learned about why frogs are dying and how to help them, why the flu shot is important, why there are more ticks after a warm winter, why bees are dying and how to help them, why sleep is important, and why polar bears are dying. The presenters were a little nervous to present to fifth graders, but everyone (fifth graders included!) did a wonderful job. These opportunities to see other students, albeit a bit older and discussing more advanced topics, share passion for science and demonstrate expertise to a larger group. Our students were sitting still, listening with engagement, and asking thoughtful questions for a full hour! 50/50 Day As a school school community and in our classroom we have been discussing 50/50 day and what we can do to make our world more equal across genders. We looked at percentages of men and women in different professions. We read about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act, and how it was made. During our discussion, women in politics around the world also came up. Our Congress is about 80% male, but our country is only 50% male. However, there are some countries whose governments show much more equality, with Rwanda being the most diverse in terms of gender. Below are some the articles and the video that we looked at. Students also wrote a letter to me about an area they see gender inequality in the media. Video from Let It Ripple about what it would be like if men and women were represented more equally Article about Lilly Ledbetter and how she was underpaid for years, as she was told that asking for a raise would potentially cost her her job. TED Talk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on "Why We Should All Be Feminists". We also were lucky to have my "little" sister Allison come visit us and present on what 50-50 day means to her. The reason she visited us is because she is a mechanical engineer, now working as a Technical Sales Engineer for HVAC equipment. She is oftentimes the only female on a jobsite, in meetings, or even when she was in college lectures. Allison shared images like this with us (you can probably tell which one she is, since we look somewhat alike). Her share led to deep discussions, gave students thinking points, and displayed to them tangible ways that gender inequality occurs- directly and indirectly- in the workplace. Lastly, as a reminder I've sent home a waiver that all students must have signed before we attend our upcoming field trip to the Newport Volvo Ocean Race Village on May 17. It is a bright green paper in their backpacks this weekend. Please return it as soon as possible! I've also attached an electronic copy in your email for your convenience in case the paperwork somehow doesn't make it home...
Happy weekend! Let's hope for some more warm and sunny weather. Best, Sarah
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