Education Director's Newsletter

Happy 2021! What a year 2020 was! As we reflect on the past year, HCC is so thankful that even during a pandemic we were able to build our beautiful school in just 6 short months and despite Covid-19, we were able to open with all of our students on campus! We have enjoyed getting to know all of our students and families and look forward to the rest of the school year and all of the engaging activities our teachers have planned.

Taking a hands on approach to learning is what we're all about; exploring and creating to gain a deeper understanding of academic content. Just look at all of the awesome learning going on!

Kindergarten:

ELA Modules- Topic: Weather Wonders, Students will be learning about meteorologists, weather components, temperature, and being prepared for different kinds of weather

Skills Block- Letters: d, f, l, k, y High Frequency Words- on, and, up

Math - Group 1: Compare Height, Length, Weight, and Capacity

Group 2: Number Bonds

Labs:

Create Lab: Illustrate cityscapes and landscapes with weather

Engineer Lab: Construct waterproof and windproof shelters

Research Lab: Examine extreme weather pictures, ask questions about extreme weather, and create a teaching book about extreme weather.

Habits of Character- Perseverance: when something is hard, I keep trying.

1st Grade:

We are starting our investigation of the Sun, Moon and Stars. We will focus on observing how they move and change throughout the day and night and why authors from around the world write about them.

2nd Grade:

Our 2nd graders are becoming paleontologists! They are beginning to dive into their labs where they are digging up fossils, researching and sculpting dinosaurs, and using their imagination to mini films about stories they have read in class.

3rd Grade:

Here is one example from Mrs. Smith's 3rd grade class of a hands-on science activity:

In this lesson, students learned about how fossil dinosaur tracks reveal how quickly a dinosaur was running. In the activity, Outrunning CeeLo, students figured out if they could have won a race with a dinosaur that was just their size. To determine the winner, students compared the length of their running steps with the dinosaur’s steps. They had to convert inches to feet, measure, and determine who could win! Well, the outcome determined they all would have been dinosaur snacks, but we had a blast! Pictured to the right is two students working as a team to determine if they could outrun their dinosaur!

4th Grade:

4th grade is learning about animal defenses in language arts and animal structures/systems in science. We will be writing "choose your own adventure" stories about an animal. We will also be inventing a new animal and analyzing it to see if it could survive in different ecosystems!

This week 4th grade is wrapping up our unit on multi digit multiplication. Next will begin a unit on geometry starting with angles. We will explore the geometric features of our school and environment!

5th Grade:

Science- We are learning about the human body. This unit is full of hands-on activities and experiments. This week the students will look at how exercise impacts their heart rate.

Math- Students are learning advanced operations with fractions.

Language arts- We are reading the novel Esperanza Rising and learning about human rights.

Social Studies- In social studies, we are learning about the foundations of American government.

6th Grade:

Math-In math, we are working on ratios and their practical application in recipes or calculating our own speed.

Science- Students are learning about heat and matter.

ELA- This month is all about personal choice and expression! Each student has joined a "Literature Circle" (a book club) and will be reading and discussing a novel of their choosing that focuses on the study of a Hero's Journey with a group of peers. Students will also be writing their own narratives that reflect "The Hero's Journey".

Social Studies-This month we are learning about several of the early colonies that were established in the "New World". We will be trying to solve a mystery from history, regarding the Roanoke settlement, and will be considering how well we would have fared as colonists in Jamestown and Plymouth

7th/8th Grade:

We are excited to announce that we have added new rotations to our exploratories for middle school. Along with Art, Gardening, Hiking, and 21st Century Skills, we have also added an Improv, Astronomy, and Broadcasting/Journalism rotation. This week, the 7th graders have started with broadcasting/journalism class and will be working on creating a school newspaper. The 8th graders began learning about planets in Astronomy exploratory and had the opportunity to construct a scaled version of our solar system.

Boxtops for Education

Download the Box Tops app, shop as you normally would, then use the app to scan your store receipt within 14 days of purchase. The app will identify Box Tops products on your receipt and automatically credit your school's earnings online.

AmazonSmile

Here's how to sign up for AmazonSmile:

1. Visit smile.amazon.com.
2. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials.
3. search for Hayden Canyon Charter.
4. Select your charity.

Congratulations to our Top Fundraisers!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make our Classroom Climb Playground Fundraiser a huge success. We raised more than $31,000 and had almost 70% student participation! A special thank you to our top five fundraisers who truly went above and beyond: Aubriella G, Charlotte E, Carina D, Delaney A, and Monroe E. It was incredible to see what our community was able to do in such a short amount of time. Thanks to our amazing school community, our swings and slides have been ordered and we will be able to begin building our playground soon!

HCC Gala Kick-off Meeting

You're invited to this year's HCC Gala kick-off meeting. Join us on Tuesday, January 12 at 5:30 at the school as we begin planning our biggest event of the year! We need volunteers with all types of skills and availability to help plan and execute this critical school fundraiser. This year's gala will take place on April 1 at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. More details to come. Please email the HCC Foundation with any questions - HaydenCanyonCharterFoundation@gmail.com.

Parent Crew Meeting

Parent Crew's next virtual meeting will be held on Monday, January 11 at 6:30pm. All are welcome to join! To receive the link to the meeting and be notified of future meetings and volunteer opportunities, please email Parent Crew at HCCParentCrew@gmail.com and/or join us on Facebook in the HCC Parent Crew group.

Classroom Climb Fundraiser Follow Ups

Parent Crew would like to thank all parents for their support of our first major fundraiser. We weren't sure what to expect during these times and are truly grateful for the incredible results which wouldn't have been possible without all of you! Incentive items for those who raised $50 and $250 will be distributed later this month. More info to come about the classrooms who earned a dress down day and popcorn party. Please email any questions or feedback about the fundraiser to HCCParentCrew@gmail.com.

Our lost and found bins are overflowing!!! We will have tables set up in the front entry with all of the jackets, sweatshirts, and water bottles on them next week. Please come check it out if your child is missing something. At the end of the week, any unclaimed items will be donated to Sassy's Closet. Thank you!

Jan. 7- Cyber Safety Training for grades 6-8 with Deputy Goodman

Jan. 18- No School-Martin Luther King Day

Jan. 21-Fundraiser Reward Day

Jan. 28- Free Dress Day/School Spirit Day (trailblazer gear)