Wonderful Work Samples!

Hi Families! 

I want to congratulate those of you who turned in EXCELLENT work samples! 

Here are a few AMAZING samplings of what I found when I was looking over your work.  Keep in mind, this is just some of the stellar work that I saw from my students.  Due to space and time constraints, I was not able to publish everything to the class blog.  Many of you turned in exemplary work samples!

Read over the following excerpts from student work, maybe one of them is YOU! 

An 8^th grader who was commenting on his Art sample:

“In this picture I created an abstract tree by using simplified shapes and colors.  I used repetition by using several ornaments on the tree in similar shapes and sizes.  I arranged the white ornaments in a way that it drew your eyes down the tree...”

A 7^th grader who wrote about Johannes Gutenberg for her History essay:

“…the most influential person in European history was Johannes Gutenberg.  He invented the printing press with moveable type.  This was a groundbreaking invention, and without him and his printing press, knowledge would not have spread nearly as fast.  As a result, the world would be nothing like it is today.”

A 6^th grader comparing and contrasting early civilizations in her History paper:

“…So are there any more interesting facts about these civilizations?  Yes, there are many little bits and pieces of fun information that I haven’t yet told you.  For example, did you know that China is the world’s longest-lived civilization?  Sumer has actually built humungous temples layer-by-layer to form five-story monuments!”

An 8^th grader writing about conservation in America for her History paper:

“Sometimes too much of a good thing turns out to be not such a good thing.” (GREAT HOOK!) “Because we Americans were so rich with so much land, we became very wasteful.  We had so much land and resources that we thought we would never run out.  America grew so rapidly.  Thomas Jefferson though we had enough land to last us until the hundredth or thousandth generation.  That was obviously not so.  In 1980, when the US Census Bureau said that there was no more land, it came as a shock to the people of the United States.”

A 6^th grader’s artwork:

An 8^th grader’s artwork:

Great job students!  THIS is the reason why I love being a CAVA teacher!  Keep up the amazing work!!  

January Student of the Month

Meet Aliya!

She is new to CAVA and is absolutely loving it!  I have had the opportunity to meet Aliya on a couple occasions and have always been very impressed with her positive attitude and ambition.  For example, she fulfilled a semester's worth of Study Island requirements in just a few short weeks!  She has been so successful with CAVA that her older sister was encouraged to join just a couple weeks later!    

But more about Aliya:  she is a musician and plays gigs locally with her mother and sister.  What instrument, you ask?  The drums!

She is also a fantastic artist.  I have seen some of your work from Art and it is absolutely amazing!
   

December Student of the Month

Meet Jacob!  He is a second grader with CAVA and our student of the month for December!  I had the opportunity to hang out with him this week and find out a little more about him.  Here is what I discovered:

Do you have any brothers or sisters?  Yes, a big brother.
What is your favorite thing to do? Play on the computer.
Do you have any pets?  Yes, a dog.
What are your favorite subjects?  P.E. and music.
What are your favorite foods? M&Ms and french fries!
What is your favorite color? Blue.
What is your favorite vacation spot? The beach.


Thanks Jacob for being such a cool kid!  We hope you are having a wonderful winter!  Congratulations on being Student of the Month!


Maybe next month it will be YOU...

Sacramento Children's Museum

Tuesday I met with one of my K-5 Sutter families to visit the new Sacramento Children's Museum.  The museum is designed for children ages "birth to eight" so it is a great place to go if your family has younger kids!  We had fun with air tubes,the golf ball racetrack, playing in the water, trying on costumes, and painting!  Thanks to Jamie M. for finding this great resource!

The Sacramento Children's museum is located at 2701 Prospect Park Drive in Rancho Cordova, CA.  Click on the link below to visit their home page! 

Visit the Sacramento Children's Museum home page!
 

Water play

Solar powered "cars"

Movable art

Painting wall

"Airways" tube rockets

Occupational "dress-up" station

If you find (or have a favorite) educational place to visit in your area, please email me or comment on this page so we can share.  Perhaps we will choose yours as a future CAVA outing!  

Random Trivia

In what year was the tomb of Tutankhamun discovered?
Please post your answer below!  First student to respond will receive a surprise...

Check out the Hunger Games trailer!

I am so excited to see this movie!

Homeschool Days at Discovery Kingdom

Hi Everybody!

Check out Homeschool Days at Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo.  Click on the link below for additional information and the flyer you will need to print out and bring to receive discounted admission to the park on November 11th.

http://www.sixflags.com/discoveryKingdom/assets/pdf/SFDK%20Homeschool%20Day%202011.pdf 

(Remember, this is not an official CAVA outing, as Friday is a school holiday!)

Study Island Stars this Week!

Pumpkin Carving Winner

Congratulations to Matthew L. for his wonderful submissions in our class Pumpkin Carving contest!  His amazing pumpkins have earned him a surprise that will be delivered shortly!  Thank you for participating Matthew and making our fall a little more festive!  You rock!  

CAVA Canned Food Drive

Guess what…Your Student Council wants to hold canned food drives all over the state of California to help the hungry in each of our areas.  YOU can help.  If you would like to:
·        Decorate a food donation box,
·        Be at the drop off spot (at scheduled CAVA Close-Ups),
·        Count the cans of food (to see if your area collected the most),
·        Take a picture to celebrate this great service;
then you should:
1.    Ask your parents to make sure it’s ok with them,
2.   Email Mrs. Lenhart mlenhart@caliva.org .  Let her know that you live in the Sutter or Sonoma area and that you would like to help too!

Let’s do good things together!