Geography:  Continue studying for the AP exam!  Show me your organized work folder if you haven’t already.  The  AP exam will be TOMORROW, May 18, first thing in the morning.  (We can meet up in my classroom starting at 7:30 before you all head over to the gym for the exam.  Bring your own breakfast to my classroom, if you like.)

APES:  Complete corrections/make-up work for any tests that you want to raise to 70% or missing homework.

Friday, May 25 is the last day that I will accept late work or test corrections.

In reading, we began book groups on Monday and Tuesday. Each group has a daily reading assignment, with an accompanying written response. Some people have not been ready to discuss their books at our daily meetings. All groups have weekend assignments, so please check in with your child to be sure that the reading and writing are completed, and books and papers are returned to school on Monday. We plan to finish all books next week on Friday. (Speaking of Friday, remember that next week is a five day school week.)

Students handed in final copies of mystery stories and Oregon Trail stories today. Some folks had not used their class time wisely, so had to turn in unfinished papers, even though daily reminders were given of the due date.

Our final language arts project is a presentation about A Great Place to Visit. Each student has already chosen a special place in Oregon or a spot in another state that was important to the Oregon Trail or to Lewis and Clark. This weekend is the time to gather information from the internet, books, and other sources. Any photos or maps that you have at home would also be helpful. Bring all information to school next week. We will plan the presentations in class, organize notes, and practice speeches. The formal speeches will be given on May 29th and 30th.

Please mark your calendar for Portfolio Night, coming up on Wednesday, May 30th. This is a time for you to come to school, sit down with your child, and view selected work from this year. No need to make an appointment; just drop by between 4 and 8 p.m. Plan to spend about 15-20 minutes in conference with your student.

The district is once again offering some summer enrichment classes. Robotics, Wacky Water, Japanese, Basketball, and more! Check out the exciting opportunities at
http://corbett.k12.or.us/summer_enrichment/Summer%20Enrichment%20Class%20List.php Class sizes are limited, so don’t wait!

HELP NEEDED! We are in need of one or more parents who are willing to mix salt, flour, and water together to prepare dough for making salt maps. It’s a messy job, but someone has to do it! I will furnish recipes and ingredients. The dough must be made at home on Monday afternoon/evening, or Tuesday morning, in order to be delivered to school by 11:00 a.m. Please let me know if you are willing to take on this monumental task. Thanks!

Plan to stop by the school this weekend to visit the Art Show, sponsored by the Corbett Education Foundation. There will be plenty of art, music, food, and even theater classes for kids. Check http://www.corbetteducationfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=10 for details.
Dates to Remember:

• Thursday, May 17th – Registration closes for CAPS
• Saturday & Sunday, May 19th and 20th – Art Show at the school 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• May 21st-May 25th Five Day School Week
• Monday, May 28th Memorial Day Holiday – NO SCHOOL
• Wednesday, May 30th Portfolio Night 4-8 p.m.
• Friday, June 1st Last Day of School – Half day

Columbia Gorge Art Festival Flyer

Geography:  Continue studying for the AP exam!  Show me your organized work folder if you haven’t already.  The  AP exam will be this Friday, May 18, first thing in the morning.  (We can meet up in my classroom by 7:45 before you all head over to the gym for the exam.)

APES:  Complete corrections/make-up work for any tests that you want to raise to 70% or missing homework.

Friday, May 25 is the last day that I will accept late work or test corrections.

P.S. There are tons of pictures that look really similar, taken by the amazing photographer, Lucas. I left them in because it is SO funny to watch the kids’ faces as the number of books climbs.

Geography:  For tomorrow, outline a detailed answer to your assigned FRQ.  Continue studying for the AP exam!  Show me your organized work folder if you haven’t already.  The  AP exam will be this Friday, May 18, first thing in the morning.  (We can meet up in my classroom by 7:45 before you all head over to the gym for the exam.)

APES:  Complete corrections/make-up work for any tests that you want to raise to 70% or missing homework.

Friday, May 25 is the last day that I will accept late work or test corrections.

This morning I walked through the Springdale School building.  The sun was shining through the windows, I played a few chords on the old piano that still sits in the building, looked at old school maps hanging in front of chalkboards and my mind’s eye was quickly filled with images of students entering the newly refurbished building to attend their first year in Corbett Arts Program with Spanish (CAPS) at Springdale School next year.  It is really exciting to be building something while other places are struggling with cuts.

CAPS applications close May 17

Corbett families are excited too.  Parents and students are eager about the Spanish portion of the CAPS program.  Students in grades K-8 at the CAPS program will get Spanish instruction every day that supports the curriculum they are learning the rest of the day.  If K-2 students are studying community they will be learning vocabulary associated with community in Spanish, if 3-5 students are exploring simple machines Spanish language related to that topic will support their science instruction, and if 6-8 students are learning about the weather Spanish will focus on those terms.

Images of students spending their daily “Studio Time” practicing guitar, painting a piece of pottery, rehearsing the lines to a play they have created, constructing a set, or working on the perfect amount of shading on their drawing all serve to build excitement amongst parents and students. Parents and kids are also excited about how “the arts” are going to be infused across the curriculum to support instruction in the core topics.  Dance, drama, painting, drawing, pottery, voice, strings, poetry, to name a few areas will be integrated across the curriculum. It is fun to imagine the possibilities.

CAPS Design

Designed to foster connections, relationships and learning across all core subjects through a unique artistic lens, the Corbett Arts Program with Spanish (CAPS) exists thanks to the powerful partnership and vision of staff, community and students.

Our mission at CAPS is to create an insatiable hunger for learning while exploring and perfecting students’ gifts and talents through a wide array of visual, performing, technical and language arts. Through a unified effort of family, staff and community involvement, CAPS students will become confident, vibrant citizens prepared to experience life on both an artistic and global stage.

CAPS at Springdale School: An Asset for the Community for Generations

The foundation of the CAPS educational program is the complete integration of visual, performing, technical and language arts with Corbett School District’s standards-based curriculum. Leveraging the success of Corbett Grade School’s place-based education –which approaches learning through the lens of the Columbia River Gorge– the CAPS program uses visual, performing, technical and language arts as the context for the school’s curriculum. The arts are diverse and powerful, so students who apply to the CAPS program will not need to have a specific interest in any art form to thrive in the school.

Classroom teachers and visiting artists will provide rich experiences that enable students to explore all art forms and integrate learning experiences in other disciplines. Arts can be explored as both the subject matter and the lens through  which teachers will communicate core academics. For example, CAPS teachers will incorporate language arts into the teaching of dramatic works, and vice versa. Speaking, reading and writing skills will be embedded in the creative expression of stories, mathematical challenges or social studies themes. Students will be able to learn to dance, sculpt, paint, act, play an instrument and read music, while at the same time they learn about these art forms in both a historical and cultural context. In this manner CAPS students will be able to reflect on their own artistic work and that of others with respect for one another’s work.

CAPS Open in 2012-2013 For K-8 Students

Apply Now

More than 115 students have already filled out the application to attend CAPS next year in two K-2, two 3-5, and one 6-8 classrooms that will mark phase one of the CAPS program. The last day to apply on-line for the CAPS program is Thursday May 17^th. The application is at the top of the district home page in the upper right hand corner or at the bottom of this article. If there are more applicants than we have space we will do our best to balance gender, and grade level in each grade and each level.  All resident students and transfer students are free to apply for the CAPS program.

Feel free to drop me a line or phone if you have any questions!

Randy Trani

CAPS Application