2/28

HW due Monday, March 5th:

1. Human Rights + Refugee Unit Post Assessment

a. Complete 4 out of the 8 questions 

8th Grade Retreat Packing List + Info

Dates/times: Students need to be at Sunnyside by 8:00 AM on Thursday March 1st.  We will return between 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM on Friday March 2nd (depending on traffic).  Please be here to pick up your student at that time.

Meeting place: Please meet in the auditorium Thursday morning. There, your student will find an area designated by core teacher where they will put their duffle bag, clearly marked with the student’s name (consider putting luggage, pillow and sleeping bag in a large trash bag together). Students will also need a daypack on the bus with them containing school supplies, a sack lunch and a water bottle.

Medications: On Thursday morning, a staff member will be available to collect medications. Please bring all medications in their original prescription bottle or container, contained within a gallon-sized Ziploc bag marked with your student’s name. We will also have a medication form to fill out when you drop off the medication. This includes all medications, over-the-counter, vitamins, supplements and prescriptions.

*Food allergies/dietary restrictions: Please let Eliza - ecoblent@pps.net  know as soon as possible if there are any allergies or food restrictions. This allows us to accommodate your child or to know whether you will be sending supplemental food with your student on the trip.

Birthdays: If your student has a birthday while we are on the retreat, please inform Eliza at the above email.

Packing list: Daily Planner Sharpened pencils Lunch for the first day Layered clothing for all weather - warm, cold and rainy – include raincoat, boots, extra socks and undergarments, hat, warm pajamas, etc. Sleeping bag and pillow Toiletries - deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, hygiene items, etc. (no makeup) Water bottle Day pack Flashlight DO NOT bring electronics.  There is no cell phone reception at camp. DO NOT bring personal snacks. No food is allowed in cabin.

Personal belongings need to be packed in a small, well-contained bag.  No large suitcases, please!

You are responsible for your own gear--please label it and make sure to take care of it.

Behavior: Please have a conversation with your student about appropriate behavior while at camp with many other students. School rules apply at camp.

We want all students to have fun and learn; however, to accomplish this, adequate rest is required during “down time.” Quiet hours need to be very quiet. Also, please encourage your student to take time to talk with students they may not know very well. This is a great opportunity to meet new people!

Emergency contact: The emergency contact number at Camp is 503-371-4064 (this will get you to the nurse).

Thanks for helping us provide this wonderful opportunity for our students!

Sunnyside Middle School Team

2/27

HW due Wednesday:

***A heads up that we will be starting tomorrow's school day in the auditorium for a short special Morning Meeting. We will go back to our core class by 9:05 for our weekly class meeting***

1. Thesis Statement Practice Worksheet ... Complete the worksheet you we started working on this afternoon based off our argumentative essay thesis statement lesson

2/26

HW due Tuesday:

1. Bring silent reading material to school.

2. Read 4 pages from the Ch. 12 handout of Strength In What Remains and complete steps 1 and 2 on the back of the handout 

2/23

Have a good weekend folks!

HW due Monday:

1. Finish your first Human Rights Novel
2. Human Rights Novel Assignment #3

This Saturday, February 24th is our annual Applebee's flapjack fundraiser!! Sixteen of our 8th graders will be serving breakfast at the Lloyd Center's Applebee's (1439 NE Halsey) from 8-10am, Feb. 24. We hope you'll join us for this great experience! 

It is an important GO Fund Fundraiser (our fund that allows ALL students to participate in field trips and overnights), and it's a wonderful community event. PLUS, we need you there as our customers so that these 8th graders can experience what it is like to be a server, an invaluable experience. In addition to the students, a few teachers will be there making coffee and talking to tables! 

Our goal is for 6th & 7th graders to sell a minimum of 2 tickets and for our 8th graders to sell 5. Last year we raised around $3000 from this fundraiser for our Go Fund. We'd love to break that record this year! 

Important note: PLEASE consider bringing your own coffee cup as Applebee's otherwise uses single-use cups.

Tickets cost $10 each (pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs, coffee and juice), and $6 out of every $10 goes directly to SES. Get tickets from MS students. If your student needs more tickets, your core teacher will have them to hand out. If your student does not sell the tickets given to them, they need to be returned so we don't have to give money to Applebee's for unused tickets.

Please join us!!!! We hope to see you there

2/22

HW due Friday:

***Hope you all enjoyed your early dismissal, snow day, and late opening... It makes for a fun and funky week***

1. Writing --- Write 1 paragraph (at least 5 sentences, but could definitely be more) on one experience you have had this week either in school or outside of it and your thoughts on it.

Applebee's Fundraiser is happening this Saturday. Have you tried to sell at least 2 tickets yet?

Syria Lesson - Student To Do

Syria Lesson: 

You have 30 minutes to complete all 3 rotations in any order you want. Some of the links have volume, but you cannot use headphones this afternoon. Instead simply have your volume at a low level.

Rotation 1 (10 minutes) http://zaatari360.martinedstrom.com/... Explore the Zaatari Refugee Camp for displaced Syrians in the nearby country of Jordan... On your note-taking sheet, write down at l least thought, idea, or question that stands out to you while you explore this interactive website.

Rotation 2 (10 minutes) http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/syrian-refugees/story/refuge/... Learn more about individual stories within the Syrian Crisis... On your note-taking sheet write down 1 example of where you see resiliency and 1 personal connection you can make to a story.

Rotation 3 (10 minutes) ... Read through the 36 different fact cards down on the carpet. On your note-taking sheet, write down 1 human rights violation you observe and 1 fact that stands out to you.

2/20

HW due Wednesday:

1. LATE START TOMORROW (no matter what happens with the weather)... School will start (unless otherwise noted... check here if you aren't sure https://www.pps.net/) at 10:45.

2. READ DAILY... All students should have finished their first human rights novel by next Monday, February 26th.

3. Enjoy the early dismissal snow day extravaganza (Snow Day Movie Clip)\

2/15

Wonderful folks of room 211... Enjoy the long weekend!!!

HW due Tuesday:

1. READ DAILY
...Read your human rights novel for at least 20 minutes each day
...You should be finished with your first human rights novel by Monday, February 26th

2. Powell Butte Plant Restoration Field Study Assignment
...Use the rubric on the back of the assignment as your guide

2/14

Happy day of life and love folks.

HW due Thursday:

1. Plant Restoration Field Study - We are going on a morning field study to Powell Butte Park to work on plant restoration and water quality testing with the city of Portland. We will be outside the entire two hours and working in the dirt. Come prepared to be warm, protected from rain, and ready to get a little bit dirty. Bring a lunch and water bottle with you. If you want extra credit, provide 2 facts about the park (Powell Butte Nature Park Website) and 1-3 sentences explaining how to test for the health of a stream (https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-a-Healthy-Stream).

2. 1 Paragraph Reflective Writing --- Pick something we spent time discussing, learning, or doing at school today (for example: class meeting, hate speech/racist jokes, paper airplanes, library, Heidi's USA immigration rotation, etc...) and write 1 paragraph sharing your thoughts, questions, take-aways, etc...  on the experience.

NO SCHOOL FRIDAY!!!!!

Thursday, 2/15 - PM in Class To Do:

Thursday, 2/15 - PM in Class To Do:

Syria Lesson: 

You have 30 minutes to complete all 3 rotations in any order you want. Some of the links have volume, but you cannot use headphones this afternoon. Instead simply have your volume at a low level.

Rotation 1 (10 minutes) http://zaatari360.martinedstrom.com/... Explore the Zaatari Refugee Camp for displaced Syrians in the nearby country of Jordan... On your note-taking sheet, write down at l least thought, idea, or question that stands out to you while you explore this interactive website.

Rotation 2 (10 minutes) http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/syrian-refugees/story/refuge/... Learn more about individual stories within the Syrian Crisis... On your note-taking sheet write down 1 example of where you see resiliency and 1 personal connection you can make to a story.

Rotation 3 (10 minutes) ... Read through the 36 different fact cards down on the carpet. On your note-taking sheet, write down 1 human rights violation you observe and 1 fact that stands out to you.

NewsELA
When done with your three rotations, transition to NewsELA. Check out what score you got on a 1-3 scale in your last written response and think about what more you can add this time. Read the assigned NewsELA article on Climate Refugees, highlight 3 big ideas, take the quiz, and complete the written response.

When done with the assigned NewsELA article you can either choice read other NewsELA articles or silently read your human rights novel.

You may not use headphones during this time.

2/13

HW due Wednesday:

1. Human Rights Novel Assignment #2 
...Please complete this 10 point assignment on the human rights novel you are currently reading that we went over and worked on in class this morning for tomorrow.

2/12

CREA, JADEN MG, JULIAN K, AND OSCAR YOUR SPOKEN WORD POEMS THAT YOU SHARED WITH THE ENTIRE MIDDLE SCHOOL AT MORNING MEETING WERE INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HW due Tuesday:

1. Human Rights + Refugee Unit - Vocabulary Card (round 3)

Pick a word from the list below that you have not yet done a vocabulary card on and create a card with the word, definition in your own words, and image

Refugee, Migrant, Internally Displaced Person, Immigrant, Host Country, Asylum, Asylum Seeker, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Stateless Person, counter-storytelling, climate refugee, stateless person, resiliency, persecution, genocide, nationalism, integration vs. assimilation

Thursday = Field Study @ Powell Butte Park for plant restoration
Friday = NO SCHOOL

2/9

HW due Monday:

1. READ DAILY!!!! You should have finished your first human rights novel by Monday, February 26th

2. Reed College Field Study Assignment
...Consider your self, peer, and teacher feedback from last weeks assignment as well as our discussion and work this afternoon around the field study assignment when beginning your work

If you never brought in the $5 for Mercy Corps, please do so if you can make it happen

2/8

HW due Friday:

1. Read your Human Rights Novel
a. Create 3 images that show moments from your book that were important to the character. Include a captions explaining the images
b. Write a text-self connection and a text-text connection with our read aloud, Strength In What Remains

2/7

HW due Thursday:

1. Field Study to Reed College Cooley Art Gallery
a. Write down 3 facts about the exhibit based off the information you gather on their website (http://www.reed.edu/gallery/) and this interview with the makers of the exhibit (http://www.berlinartlink.com/2018/01/23/truth-reframing-perspectives-an-interview-with-thomson-craighead/) ... The interview is complicated and complex and is ok if you don't read the entire thing, but check out the images and captions to get a sense of what to expect tomorrow
b. We will be eating lunch at the Reed College Cafeteria. If you choose, you can purchase food at the cafeteria (but absolutely no more than $9).

2/6

Sorry for the late blog post, we have staff meetings that go until 5:30ish every Tuesday.

HW due Wednesday:

1. Mic Crenshaw Spoken Word Unit Reflection

2. Human Rights Vocabulary Round 2:

Pick any of the following vocabulary words that you have not already defined and write a definition in your own words with a quick image to go with it:

Refugee, Migrant, Internally Displaced Person, Immigrant, Host Country, Asylum, Asylum Seeker, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Stateless Person, counter-storytelling, climate refugee, stateless person, resiliency, persecution,

Field Study to Reed College Cooley Art Gallery this Thursday!!!

2/5

HW due Tuesday:

1. NO HW DUE TUESDAY!!! READ your Human Rights Novel for 20-30 minutes tonight. Please come to school with your Human Rights Novel tomorrow.

***Big shout out to those who shared their spoken word poem this afternoon! If anyone else wants to share their writing, we are going to hold space tomorrow morning to hear other pieces***

Field Study to Reed College Cooley Art Gallery this Thursday!!!

2/2

HW due Monday:

1. Monday is our last day with Mic Crenshaw! We will write all morning (Who am I? Who are we? What are the stories we carry in our backpack?) and then work with Mic in the afternoon.

2. Human Rights Reading Assignment #1

READ DAILY!!!

2/1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMET BOLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HW due Friday:

We will be working with Mic in the afternoon. Come prepared to rock some spoken word and explore the idea of What stories do I carry in my backpack?

1. Human Rights Vocabulary Card

...Using your assigned vocabulary word, create a vocabulary card with the word, image, and definition in your own words.

1. Refugee 2. Migrant 3. Internally Displaced Person 4. Host Country
5. Asylum 6. Asylum Seeker
7. United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) 8. Stateless Person