The SBUSD Year of Learning Project

Worth the Walk

This year I’ve had the privilege of teaching a fantastic group of 4^th graders at Emory Elementary.  My classroom is on the outskirts of campus, but I think it’s the “best room in the house.”  Why?  Because just outside my door is a beautiful, lush school garden!  Everyday my students and I get to walk by the overflowing planter boxes filled with fruits, vegetables and flowers of all varieties.  There are edible plants, sweet-smelling plants, and unusual plants (have you ever seen what a Brussels sprout plant looks like??)  Students at Emory are able to volunteer in the garden under the guidance of GATE teacher Angelica Goulding. She has worked tirelessly to transform the space from a few empty planter boxes into an abundant, fresh, green paradise right outside our classroom door.

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Technology Take-over

“When I was a kid, there was no ‘internet’”….. It’s hard for students today to fathom a world with no X-Box, Wii, iphone, texting, or YouTube.  The generation of children that we are teaching today live in a much different world than the one we grew up in.  In my opinion, they also have much LESS experience with nature, as they are constantly bombarded with electronic images and saddled into indoor activities such as video games and TV.  What happened to bike riding, roller skating, and making mud pies on the sidewalk?  Luckily for the students at Emory, they can involve themselves in such old-fashioned pursuits as pulling weeds in the garden or discovering an earth worm or ladybug in a planter box.  Harvesting the fruits and vegetables is perhaps one of their most rewarding moments as well – just the other day my student Azeneth excitedly handed me a floppy, freshly washed lettuce leaf, demanding that I take a bite.  There was a look of pride on her face as I proclaimed it the tastiest lettuce leaf ever!

Learning Opportunities are Everywhere

On a recent field trip to Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, students from my class who tend to have difficulty sitting still, focusing, and doing “traditional” school activities were suddenly immersed in hands-on science exhibits.  They eagerly explored them one by one, discussing with each other how things worked and which exhibits were the most fun.  One student, Ivan, later asked me why we were allowed to spend a whole school day “playing.”  I pointed out that their activities had actually been educational, just not the typical desk learning that we do in the classroom.  And it’s true!  Learning, great learning, can take place anywhere – while sitting at your desk writing, or digging for worms in a planter box filled with tomato vines and butterflies.  These are all moments to take in something new.

Summer is just around the corner, and the vegetables will soon be ready to harvest.  I am so grateful for the wonderful school year I have spent at Emory, and the amazing staff and students who collaborate to produce such ambitious projects as our school garden.  I hope you have a chance to stop by and take a look sometime.  Enjoy our last few weeks of school and have a great summer!

About the Author:  Angela is a Bilingual educator, proud teacher to 31 amazing fourth graders and mom to 3 energetic children.  She enjoys being in the classroom – both as a teacher and a student – and believes in the importance of noticing the positive in life.

As we move forward into a new era of teaching students, my biggest learning this year is that it is no longer acceptable to only teach students to read, write and answer questions – even at the elementary level. Whether students continue their education past high school or not, students must learn to talk and make sense of the world around them in order for them to be successful young teens and adults, and become part of the solutions to problems.  We need to expose students to different perspectives of a topic that has more than one approach to the solution, and have them think what the implications will be for different groups of people.  Students need to learn to share their ideas, the ethics of disagreeing, and respect for differences of opinions. They need to learn to ask deeper questions that challenge the author and to search for answers that will create even more questions.

In an article, by Debbie Miller, titled, “Not So Gradual Release” she says her main goal as a first grade teacher is to lead students to independence, and the path is “through active thoughtful reading, and discussion.” She used to think, “But are they ready? Are they really ready? Ready for what? To think? Of course they’re ready!  Releasing responsibility to children early and often gives them opportunities to use language and THINK.”    As we focus on our work together for next year, let’s remind ourselves that all students can think, and it is up to us to help them express that thinking.

About the Author:  Elizabeth Oviedo, Educational Services Coordinator has been in education 23 years, and is a proud mother of 4 adult billingual-biliterate children who were inspirational in launching her career. Children learn by role-models and examples; Elizabeth had to set the best!

What Defines a True Friend?

A true friend is that one who accepts you for who you are and one you hang around with.  He/she does not expect you to be perfect. A friend is someone who knows you as how you are, understands where you have been and what you have gone through.  A true friend allows you to make mistakes because they know you will learn from them.  Your true friend makes your problems, their problems, so that you don’t go through them alone.

A true friend does not talk about you behind your back because they care about your feelings.  They understand that the tongue has no bones…but it is strong enough to break a heart so watch your words.  He or she understands that you may also have other friends and respect that.  They don’t go tell others about your secrets.  You can trust them.

Remember the greatest gift is not found in the store but in the heart of true friends.  The sad thing is that you will meet very little people who fit this description, but once you find them, you will know that they will not leave.  Your soul will find peace.

About the Authors:  Azeneth and Daphne have been best friends since kinder.  They enjoy spending time together and on Facebook.  Daphne also enjoys doing gymnastics and would like to go to the Olympics one day.  Azeneth would like to be a pediatrician and work with kids who have cancer

This writing comes from Mrs. Arancibia’s first grade class at Howard Pence Elementary. We represent the LSU Tigers as our “No Excuses” university. This collaborative writing piece was meant to introduce informative text and writing.  Through our journey we learned that tigers are an endangered species and our focus changed. As a class we decided to take action and help save tigers by raising $50.00 to adopt a tiger through the World Wildlife Federation.

We used the power of persuasion to write a persuasive essay that included what we had learned about tigers and why we think it is important to take action to save them. During the writing process we created a tiger word bank chart to help spell out words that were not first grade friendly. Next, we came up with a sentence and wrote word for word using whiteboards. Lastly, individual students came up to add each word to our master writing, it was truly a class effort. Once our writing was complete we practiced reading it for fluency. After a couple of days of fluency practice, we were ready to read our writing to friends and family.

We exceeded our goal and raised $175 and were able to adopt 2 tigers and 3 tiger cubs. One student Leila Padcaycan, was our shining star and raised $95. One of our stuffed tigers sent to us as part of the adoption process has been named Leila.

This project is my proudest teaching moment, my students used the power of writing for a good cause. Writing is not just random words put down on a page but our word choice has meaning and can be very powerful. I believe that this project was successful because I was able to connect my passion for service learning and develop curriculum around it. Geaux Tigers!

When starting school nursing I had no experience in pediatric nursing.  I’ve learned many things. I came from a healthcare setting where medical language is used and had to adapt to a community setting where medical language is a foreign language.   I’ve learned children need to know the difference between feeling bad and being sick.  I tell a child that a lot of people feel bad every morning but they aren’t sick; they go to work and they feel better.  Children live in the moment and need to know an ache or a pain will not last forever.  Children understand and visibly relax when told the discomfort they are feeling will last for a while and it will go away.  Providing health information to students and adults, I’ve gained new perspective on other cultures’ attitudes and practices.  Talking to students and parents provides an opportunity to exchange health information and I’ve learned that health advice provided by the nurse has a different impact than when given by a non-nurse.  When I teach health classes, I am gratified by the insightful questions students ask.  SBUSD nurses have access to help children obtain glasses.  Students with new glasses are amazed when they can see the board.  Unfortunately some children develop serious health condition such as diabetes.  Working with parents to plan a child’s school care allows me to form a special bond with a child whose world has changed.  It is a privilege to help children become and stay healthy.

About the Author:  Martha Mangan graduated with a BSN from the University and M.Ed. from the University of San Diego.  Before starting in the district she was a Navy Nurse.  Ms. Mangan has been with South Bay Union School District for 20 years.