On Tuesday, February 11th at 7pm in the Corte Madera School Annex, PVSD is privileged to be hosting David Foster, Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Math Initiative, an expert on the new Common Core math standards and Smarter Balanced Assessments, and a thought leader in the field of math education.  David will talk about how the Common Core State Standards will affect math instruction in PVSD and K-12 schools throughout the country.

In the past few years California and 44 other states have adopted the Common Core State Standards in math.  Impetus for the development of new math standards came in part from US students' continued lackluster performance on international tests of math proficiency. The latest PISA results, from 2012, show that 15 year-old U.S. students ranked below average in math among the world's most-developed countries. According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, "The widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics presents an unprecedented opportunity for systemic improvement in mathematics education in the US. The Common Core State Standards offer a foundation for the development of more rigorous, focused, and coherent mathematics curricula, instruction, and assessments that promote conceptual understanding and reasoning as well as skill fluency. This foundation will help to ensure that all students are ready for college and careers when they graduate from high school."

What does this mean for PVSD students and teachers?  If you're interested in finding out, please come hear David speak about the shifts we'll see in how math is taught, what math courses will be offered, and how students' understanding of math will be measured.  In addition, PVSD school administrators will be present to answer parents' questions about what work has already been done or is in progress to prepare PVSD students and teachers to take full benefit of this promising step forward in math education. 

For more information about the Common Core State Standards in math, see the following resources:

http://www.corestandards.org/resources/key-points-in-mathematics

http://www.svmimac.org/

 http://www.smarterbalanced.org/sample-items-and-performance-tasks/ (this website includes sample Smarter Balanced Assessment questions)

Teacher Jeanne Rusch

This has been a busy month for our Scientists at Ormondale!

We just successfully completed Ormondale's 31st Science Fair- and it was fantastic! With 282 participation ribbons handed out, it was truly an all-school event. The Friday Science Night on January 24th had a massive turnout, and students stood by to explain their experiments and the questions they explored. There was even a demonstration of a dog washing machine, with the dog coming out wet, happy, and cleaner than ever! 

As I read through the 150 plus projects, I was struck by what great, kid-generated, questions were asked at the Science Fair this year. For example: "Could Luke Skywalker really have survived the night inside of a tauntaun? Would it truly have been warm enough?" The science behind finding answers to questions like this, made this year's Science Fair come alive!

I want to thank all the students who applied themselves to their Scientific questions with such verve, to their parents who helped them make it all happen, and to the teachers who supported the student efforts.  A special thanks goes out to Matt and Cheryl Richter for their patience, time, and love of science! The "Make-it-and-take-it" piece of this year's Fair wouldn't have happened without Matt and Cheryl's efforts.

        Holding a Bubble in 1st                   Testing an Electromagnet for the 

                                                                      Make-it-and-take-it

Balancing "Crayfish" in 2nd

Upcoming Units in Science:

The big news is that once the Kindergarteners start back with a full day, I will be getting to see them for Science every week! The Third grade did a double-dose of Science with me at the beginning of the year, and will be focusing on Environmental Science in their own classrooms for the next couple of months. Here is the basic outline of what we will be exploring in each grade level:

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten we will start with the exploration of some of California's habitats, including the local habitats of redwood forest, creek and valley.  I hope to get out and explore some of these up-close and personal so the children will have some direct experience with which to make observations. We will then move on to the FOSS unit on TREES, which will include noticing trees differences and similarities, measuring them, collecting leaves, and observing leaf shapes and how they are similar to some of the geometrical shapes the students have been learning about. We will especially focus on the fact that trees are alive,anddiscuss how we might be able to tell that they are living things.

First Grade

Having just finished up our Solids, Liquids and Gases unit we are now seamlessly moving into the study of WEATHER. We have built parachutes to study the movement and capture of air, and watched balloons zoom across a string "track" to explore air pressure. We also learned about "cloud language" and how, with only five basic cloud words (cumulus, cirrus, stratus, nimbus and alto) they can now learn to name most of the clouds that they will see in the sky! That is very empowering. Upcoming- we will use bubbles to look at the wind, learn about a simple scale to measure wind speed. We will also be creating our own simple "thermometers," and then will learn how to read a basic analog thermometer. Be prepared to be weather watchers!

Second Grade

We are currently involved in a physical science unit called BALANCE AND MOTION.  It is proving to be an incredible amount of fun! You might also ask them whether it is possible to balance a pencil on its' tip....? Or, what exactly, is a "counterweight" and why do you sometimes need one to be balanced? This unit continues by exploring many different types of motion, including  "spinners, zoomers and rollers" and learning what sort of force it takes each to get each of these going. Tops, roller coasters and the back-and-forth motion of sound vibrations are all in our immediate future. It should be a blast!

ORM Science Teacher

Tennis & Soccer registrations are available online here.