It's always hard to say goodbye. The last day of school is not my favorite day, but a special one. I am incredibly pleased with this bunch of kids and I don't want to let them them go! I am truly touched by your words, cards and gifts; you really know how to make this teacher feel appreciated! 

This week we had expert 3rd graders pay us a visit. They shared with us what's to come next year. We also mixed all three 2nd grade classrooms together and broke into small groups to do a cooperative activity. The groups worked together to complete a puzzle without a picture to us as reference. This was a fun way of interacting with kids that might be in our next year's class.

Field Day was a blast. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I'm pretty sore from the tug-of-war battles! A HUGE thank you to Ileene and Steven Tanabe for getting and preparing our whale-rave-green shirts and to Brooke, Kristi and Heidi for helping with making them and walking us to Little Howe. 

On this last day we spent the morning creating a timeline of our 2nd grade year and reflected on all that we've done together. Then by topic, we took a vote of what some of our favorite things. Here's what came out on top:

• PROJECT: Whales
• FIELD TRIP: Whale Watching
• SUBJECT: Math
• COMPUTER PROGRAM: ST Math
• READ ALOUD: Dictionary of Ordinary Extraordinary Animals
• CLASS OUTSIDE OF ROOM 105: P.E.
• RECESS ACTIVITY: Wall Ball
• ALL-SCHOOL EVENT: Field Day

So we're off to new adventures, big and small. I'll be delighted to get emails and check Weebly posts this summer! To Zambia I go…

The Island Adventures Whale Report from June 6, 2014
Island Explorer 4 9:00am

What a treat for our second graders from Seattle! We headed off on our trip through the inner San Juan Islands. We saw several harbor seals hauled out on Pointer Island. We had a mature bald eagle on Willow Island. We continued down to the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward Hein Bank. At Hein Bank, we came across a humpback momma and calf! As soon as we got on scene, the baby began breaching! Multiple times! It was amazing! Then the baby started chin slapping too! Fantastic! The mom was BCY0324, nicknamed "Big Momma", and she brought her new calf! Our second graders were thrilled! They were going crazy with excitement! We spent some quality time with the mom and calf before we headed off, continuing on our search. We did a slow down through the south end of Lopez Island and we pulled some bull kelp out of the water for the kids to play with! We also spotted a couple of bald eagles and a turkey vulture! We had such a wonderful time on the water with a couple of humpbacks and sunshine!

Another day at the office! What a great experience this was. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day or better whale experts to share this time with! This was a tremendous way to wrap up our PBL and the school year. HUGE tail flaps to: 

• James Allen, Dan Archer, Marika Reinke, Steven Tanabe, Kristi Barnes, Joe Bailey, Heidi Roth and Jinky Ruljancich for driving/chaperoning. (as well as the chaperones from the other classrooms).
• Kristi Leland for your continuous PBL support and arranging this trip!
• Mr. Elliott and Carla Kirch for allowing this to happen and taking care of legalities! 
• To my amazing colleagues, especially Julie Colando and Jen Dickens-we make quite the team! And Niki Meyers for joining us and supporting our kids.
• And to all of you who continue to feed our 2nd graders' curious minds and encouraging this adventure! 

Max: I'll always remember that I got to see a humpback whale breeching.
Rowan: I won't forget that I saw humpback whales breeching.
Corrina: I'm surprised that the baby humpback whale was chin- slapping. My favorite part was seeing the harbor seals.
Gordon: We got to see the mom and baby humpback whale breeching, lobtailing and chin-slapping!
Peanut: I wonder if they spyhopped, but we saw them breeching!
Mackenzie: Surprisingly some kids were not there, but even though they weren't there they can learn from us.
Andrew: I'll always remember Nicholas saying "This is the best day of my life!"
Esther: I'll always remember seeing moon jellyfish floating in the water.
Sydney: I'll always remember seeing a humpback whale which is the whale I'm studying! I don't know if I'll ever see one again.
Juliet: I'll always remember how much fun we had and how much we learned.
Marley: I'll always remember the humpback whales breeching and all the harbor seals.
Santi: I'll always remember the porpoises and the bull kelp-I didn't taste it!
Abby: My favorite part was seeing the humpback whale and its baby doing all the tricks.
Lachlan: This day was at least in the top-10 days in my life. I like the part where we saw that the humpbacks chin-slipped and that only happens in Hawaii. 
Matteo: I will never forget the harbor porpoises and the humpback whales. 
Kacey: My favorite part was when we saw the humpbacks breech and the lobtailing. It's surprising that they never saw them chin-slap in Seattle, only in Hawaii. 
Nicholas: I am probably never going to forget that if you look with the binoculars how cute the harbor seals looked and they had gigantic eyes.
Finnegan: I loved how I saw humpback whales doing the behavior I never saw in real life and it made me feel really happy seeing them.
Angela: I think it's surprising that they didn't see chin-slapping in Washington, only in Hawaii. 
Margaux: My favorite part was seeing all the pretty islands and they made me think more about them.
Dana: I enjoyed hearing my mom say that she didn't see a whale until she was an adult. I also like seeing the harbor seals.

2nd graders adapted to a small environment and crowded into one classroom to learn from underwater videographer Laura James. We were in awe from her video footage that captured local sea creatures such as ratfish, rockfish, feather duster tube worms, moss head war bonnets, sea slugs, gooey ducks, crystal jellyfish, comb jellyfish (that eat everything), lion sun star, leather star, red rock crabs, decorator crabs, dungeness crab, hermit crabs, Puget Sound king crab, stubby squid, and octopus (just to name a few). Oh, and she's seen many cetaceans too! The octopus were rather fascinating. We learned that a mother octopus lays 50,000-100,000 eggs and tends to them for 6-9 months by cleaning them and foregoes eating and cares for them to exhaustion. She starts to get frail, her suctions start to wither and she turns color to match her malnutrition. When it's time for these wee guys to hatch, the mother swims from the den to deflect attention away from her babies so they could escape to the surface to live and grow. The mother gives herself to predators and dies. Pretty incredible and sad. 
Laura James had a lot to say about how important it is to keep our storm drains pollutant-free. One new piece of information we learned today was what the #1 pollutant is. Can you guess what it is? Oil? Pesticides? Litter? Well, it's dog poop! She said that after the summer and when we get our first big storms in the fall there is something called "the big flush." There is a surge of drain water that hits the sound and it coincides when many baby seals and porpoises are born and when their at their weakest state. Recently there was a harbor porpoise that washed up on the Alki shores that had a lung infection. She believes it was the contamination of the dog poop in the water that killed it. She asked us to help pick up dog poop and throw it away if we come across any! 

We had storm drain troopers on the loose today! Our first groups stenciled two drains on 4th including a drain right at the 4-way crosswalk section of what is known as "crazy town" on the corner of 4th and Boston. These groups were able to give us tips of what they found worked well and what didn't work so well. They were surprised by the amount of garbage they collected in the nearby area. This is garbage that will go in the trash instead of being flushed down the storm drains and out of the Puget Sound. 

We are working on our whale reports that will be featured during our PBL Showcase on Tuesday, June 10th. In class, each student has researched and drafted a report on a specific whale. We are now working on typing and publishing. While we have been doing a lot of work at school, home participation is encouraged! Most students have started typing their own reports at school. With respect of time, if students would like to work on formatting (choosing a specific font and adding pictures/photographs) then this is something I strongly urge you to wok on at home. Other optional additions include making a table of contents and glossary. Please let me know if you would like me to email you a copy of your child's report. Some reports will be sent home of those who are needing extra time to complete this assignment. It will need to be saved as a word doc and emailed to me to print at school. 
I will also be available to help students before school on Wednesday and Thursday this week. 

As our PBL projects have evolved this school year, it's been rewarding to see how much our Water and Whales units have connected. We know that clean water is essential for humans, and it naturally lends itself to marine life. As we have explored our driving question "How can we as compassionate global citizens help whales?" One way to do so is help keep our ocean waters clean.

Many people mistakenly believe storm drains go through water treatment facilities and don't realize that anything that passes through the drains dump directly into bodies of water (for us it's the Puget Sound). Water, debris and nonpoint source pollutants (leaves, soil, litter, fertilizers, pesticides, street residues) contribute substantially to a decline in water quality. Communities all over the world are working together to teach others how to help keep our waters clean by putting up signs near storm drains. 

Walking permission slips were sent home on Friday. With parent chaperones, small groups will walk to local storm drains and paint them. I am looking for volunteers during these times: Monday 1:00-2:15, Tuesday 9:30-10:30 and 1:00-3:30, Wednesday 9:30-10:30, Thursday 9:30-10:30 and 1:00-2:15. If you're able to help lead small group for this project during these times, please let me know ASAP!

IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Whale watching field trip this Friday! Remember we have an extended day. We will be leaving school by 7:00 and will return around 5:30. Think ahead about snacks for the day, a sack lunch, and having a layer of sunscreen on before departure. More information to come. Until then be sure to locate a hat, sunglasses, a jacket and other useful gear.
• All-school PBL SHOWCASE on Tuesday, June 10th starting at 6:30. All of QAE will be showcasing each grade-levels' projects from this past school year. 2nd graders will have a bus shelter ribbon-cutting ceremony starting at 6:00 pm. Mark your calendars!  

With the guidance of Ms. Meyers, we have been learning about the Zones of Regulation. Over the past few months our students have learned strategies to self-regulate and have emotional control. Throughout our day, we use the terms "expected" and "unexpected" to guide us through activities. For an example, it is expected for you to yell, run around and get excited when you're out at recess, but that behavior wouldn't be expected while we were in class. We have also learned calming techniques, thinking strategies and how to use sensory supports to stay focused.

Today Ms. Meyers helped us think about our "Inner Coach" and our "Inner Critic." When times get tough, it can be easy to give into our inner critics and give up. We shared stories of hard times such as running laps during the jog-a-thon, completing writing assignments, enduring a math problem, working in a group and cleaning our rooms. We all face hard times again and again. With the help of our inner coach, we can attain goals and keep going. The students drew a picture of their inner coach and inner critics to better visualize when these voices are in action. We know the The Little Blue Engine said, "I think I can, I think I can..." What is your mantra? 

Teaching the students to have emotional control is beneficial for any age! So often as Ms. Meyers is teaching the Zones of Regulation or as I'm leading class meetings, I reflect on how I can better handle situations when I feel stressed. I think of nights when we're all tired and getting my kids to bed is the opposite of fun or times when I'm trying to rush my family out the door and our words get louder and harsher. Getting into the yellow or red zone does not feel good and before I get there, I try to utilize what we teach our kids to do! I love my job for so many reasons and being part of helping kids have the awareness and learn these strategies from an early age is crucial. There has been ParentNet meetings that address these topics and resources are posted on the QAE website ("The School- Learning Environment & QAE ParentNet). Working at QAE where we encourage each other to learn more and care about our social well-being has been a huge reason why I teach here. Thank you for sending such thriving children my way each morning. I sure love this class and the thoughtful and caring spirits they hold. 

Yesterday while I was hanging out with my daughters, my three-year-old said out of the blue, "Mommy, I smell lollipops in my heart." I just had to stop and hug her as I love her view on life. May we continue to smell lollipops and think about rainbows and unicorns! 

I hope you had a great three day weekend! The days seem to zoom on by and before heading into this short week, I'd like to try to fill you in with some of the fun stuff from last week.  

Boy did we work hard on the publishing our adapted fairy tales! They were all ready just in time to share at our all-school Young Authors day. Our kids worked feverishly to write and illustrate their stories and they are now on disply in the hallway and will soon be presented on student Weeblys. This day was spent reading our own fairy tales and listening to stories written by kids of all grade levels. My favorite reflections from our class included how impressed our second graders were with the stories written by kindergartners and first graders. 

We ended our week with an incredible presentation from our guest speaker Kristin Laidre. She is a marine biologist who works at the University of Washington in the Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Lab. She spoke about her work in the Arctic, showed us stunning photographs of polar bears, narwhals, bowhead, beluga whales, walruses and seals that she captured personally while on the job. We got to examine marine mammal artifacts and run our hands through polar bear and seal fur. 
Some fun facts: The narwhal tooth (which only males erupt and grow) always grows in a spiral to the left. 
All three arctic whales (narwhals, bowhead, and beluga) do not have dorsal fins as they would get in the way of breaking ice. 

Thank you for returning the whale watching permission slips so promptly. We have enough chaperones to make the trip possible! Final details will be communicated soon. 

This Thursday and Friday morning we will be taking the MAP test. Good rest and a healthy breakfast can go a long way! 

Look for a reading log for the week that will be due on Friday. Reading minutes should include "just-right" books. I will be doing reading tests with students this week and the next. Those students who complete reading logs and turn them in on Friday will earn choice time in class. 

Jeff Hogan, the founder of Killer Whale Tales , shared his passion and expertise with our 2nd graders today. We learned an awful lot while getting in some good laughs, he was quite the entertaining teacher!  We learned about the Souther Resident Killer Whales in the Puget Sound and how to identify them, distinguish between gender, age, and pods, compared how our bone structures are very similar, learned communication sounds, about thier basic needs and how we can help them. Ask your child what he/she learned. Some interesting conversation prompts might be…

• What are the three bumps on either side of an orca's face? (hair follicles) 
• How old is the granny in the J-pod? (she was born in 1911-she is 103, the oldest whale known in the world!)
• How are orca pods determined? (orca whales live with their moms)
• What do orcas love to eat? (king and chinook salmon)
• Teach me some orca calls (we learned that each pod has their own calls. (J-Pod) S1: cowboy, S2: dental drill, S4: duck with gas, (K-Pod) S16: kitty cat, S17: two kitty cats, (L-Pod) S19: hiccup, S37: teacher call
• What are we doing right now that helps orca whales? What else can we do? 

Two thumbs way up for the water song our 2nd graders performed at MMM! Big props to the talented Connor Desai for creating the lyrics from the stories we shared and composing a Motown song to capture it all! I'd like to thank the 2nd graders for taking this to heart, practicing with zest and to the PTSA for funding this music program. The fun doesn't stop here… a music video with this song is in the works! Stay tuned...

I honestly think I had more pep in my step last week, as if the souls of my feet had springs in them. Every person I spoke to, I had to share the news of how fabulous my students and families are. Thank you for such a great teacher appreciation week. Everything from cards, flowers, apples, popcorn, chocolate, afternoon coffees (such a pick-me-up!), adult grape juice and a happy basket packed with all things fun! AND did I mention the delicious dinners? I only wish I took a picture of my plate each night to share with you what talented cooks we have among us. I believe any of us would love to be so lucky to have this luxury-to get hours of time free-up to spend with family instead of preparing dinners. As some of you may know, my husband and I work pretty opposite hours. My meals don't turn out as gourmet when I'm cooking for a 1 and 3 year old each night. Amara said "Amazing" on a couple of occasions and my husband looked forward to his late-night leftovers. This was a perfect and much appreciated gift! 

We have less than 6 weeks left of school, or 26 days (who's counting?)! Our time will be filled with new learning, reviewing what we've already learned, and celebrating how much we've learned together. We have covered all math standards with units taught this year and currently we are doing a big review. The MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) test and a district Common Core math test will be given May 29th and 30th. I will be sending home some recent math progress checks that we've done in class. These are quick samples that demonstrate student knowledge by standard. They've allowed me to do some reteaching and review in small groups as well as formed groups for acceleration. Please take a look at the work your child has been doing and review concepts with them. We have worked a lot around checking our work for accuracy and slowing down for quality control. Please involve your child in all things math in your lives; telling time, counting money, skip-counting, solving word problems, adding and subtracting numbers, and so on. Play games, challenge one another and have fun! 

Ms. Lisa, from NOAA fisheries, shared a wealth of artifacts and knowledge with our 2nd graders today. As a teacher, I get to spend my days with faces that light up and moments full of curiousity and wonder. It is gratifying to have our kids so excited about learning that they want to share what they've learned with me and anyone who will listen! Chances are, if you walk into our classroom you may need to take a seat and stay awhile because they are ready to tell you a thing or two about WHALES!! 
 
Thank you to all of those whom took our survey about the potential whale watching field trip with island adventures. We have heard from about 55/77 2nd grade families and would love to hear from everyone before taking our next steps. Here are a couple things to note to answer some of the questions/comments shared so far:

* We would be on a private boat that holds 100 people. The boat has plenty of bathrooms and indoor and outdoor space.
* A naturalist will be going with us to offer a tour of the wildlife we see.
* The company has assured us that they follow strict guidelines for whale watching and do not go closer to the whales then they are allowed. However some whales do choose to swim closer to the boats after they are "parked" in the water.
* The company does tours with 2nd graders in Anacortes every spring and has experience with children. 

Favorite whale facts we've learned...

Abby: "Even though the blue whale is the largest whale, it doesn't have the largest baleen plates."
Andrew: "Whales, like their relatives dolphins and porpoises, are the only mammals to live in the water their whole lives."
Angela: "The pilot whale has a big melon."
Cole: "A killer whale can eat a shark."
Corrina: "Stranded means stuck on shore."
Dana: "Killer whales can kill a shark in an instant."
Esther: "Only male narwhal whales have tusks."
Finnegan: "Whales use their blowholes to make sounds."
Finn: "A blue whale can make a sound that is louder than a jet engine."
Gordon: "A whale's forehead is called a melon."
Iris: "Only baleen whales have grooves.  Grooves help them make space to get the water in and out."
Juliet: "A minke whale is the smallest baleen whale and their baleen is a whitish-brown color."
Kacey: "A whale's spray smells stale and fishy!"
Lachlan: "A pilot whale weighs 2 tons.  1 ton = 2,000 pounds so it weighs 4,000 pounds."
Lowell: "You can tell what kind of whale it is by the look of the spray out a whale's blowhole."
Mackenzie: "A baby blue whale is the size of an elephant."
Margaux: "The narwhal's tusk has nerves.  Its tusk is its horn."
Marley: "Narwhals only have 1 tooth but a female narwhal doesn't have a tusk."
Matteo: "A killer whale could flip a shark, kill it, and eat it.  It would win the fight."
Max: "An orca is the biggest dolphin."
Nicholas: "The blue whale may be big, but its baleen is small."
Penelope: "Krill can grow to about 6 or so cm. long.  We saw the bigger krill from the antarctic."
Rowan: "The fin whale's nickname is the razorback."
Sydney: "The right whale got its name because hunters called it the 'right whale to hunt.'  It's a slow swimmer and floats once killed."
William: "A blue whale can weigh as much as 35 elephants."

The Carry 5 walk for water event was a great turn-out and a lot of fun (let's be honest, it was hard work)! What a way to walk in solidarity knowing that 1 billion people have to walk for water everyday! This year Water1st was able to raise over $100,000 for water projects and ending the walk for water for over 1,333 people, providing them with water at the turn of a tap. QAE was recognized for a few awards including having the largest team at the event with 77 registered walkers. We hope to make this an annual event and hope you continue to walk with us. I wish I was able to get pictures of all involved, but here are a few. Thank you!  

A few of us were singing our Clean Water song during the walk. During music under Connor Desai's leadership, she took the stories the kids shared about water and created the lyrics to a song that will be performed at Monday Morning Meeting on May 12th. The song and lyrics are below. I personally think it's incredible and hope that you will sing along with your child and practice at home! 

The first time I valued water
Was on a camping trip
We carried three big jugs between us
But ran out of it

There was a stream but the water was dirty
Polluted by the deeds of man
To make it clean instead of murky
Filtering all night by hand
          
CHORUS:

It made me wake up
Clean water is a human right
Though we may be slight
We can lead this fight alright
If you listen then you’ll know it’s true
Let us speak to you
And you’ll know just what to do

The first time I valued water
Was in India
Monsoons left giant puddles
With bacteria

A woman came with a child and baby
Desperate to get them clean
Scooping some into a bucket
Could not believe what I was seeing
               
 CHORUS

The first time I valued water
The tap was running brown
I filled up a glass to drink from
But rusty specks came down

Construction crews had hit the piping
My family’s life was rearranged
Drinking cooking eating cleaning
Simple tasks completely changed

 CHORUS x2