Join us for the Ancient Civilizations Fair
Tuesday, December 20, 11:00am
Jackson Campus Dining Lodge
Tuesday, December 20 is the Journeys Middle School Ancient Civilizations Fair. Come to the Dining Lodge at 11:00am sharp for a welcome and introduction to the project. Then peruse the exhibits of different civilizations the students have studied this fall, including the Mycenaeans, early Hindus, Japanese, Aztecs, Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, and Mongols. Read the Basecamp News article released two weeks ago for more information about the project, its objectives and outcomes.

Come See Our Life-Sized Body Overlays!
Tuesday, December 20th, 11am-12pm
As the culmination of the integrated art-science-technology body overlay project, students’ “bodies” (oil paint or sharpie on Mylar) will be displayed in the Dining Lodge during the Ancient Civilization Fair, Tuesday, December 20th from 11am-12pm. Please come celebrate your child’s hard work, creativity, and learning about the way we work. We look forward to seeing you there!

Earn One, Give One and Service Learning Opportunity on Campus
Tuesday, December 20
All 5th through 12th grade students are invited to join members of the “Snow Ball” Gala and Auction committee from 3:30pm-5:00pm on Tuesday, December 20th in the Welcome Center lobby for a fun Earn One, Give One Service opportunity. We will teach students how to make (really cool) large paper snowflakes that we will be using for decorations. All supplies, cocoa and cookies provided. Please let Maggie Schilling (maggie.schilling@tetonscience.org) know if you can join us!

White Elephant Exchange
Wednesday, December 21
The middle school will celebrate the last day of school before winter break, Wednesday, December 21, during 5th period, with a White Elephant gift exchange, a middle school tradition. Please have your child bring in a “crazy,” gender neutral, inexpensive or homemade, wrapped gift. The sillier, the better! This has been a pre-winter break highlight for students in the past. If your student will not be participating, no need to bring in a gift. If you have questions, please contact your advisor.

Fifth Grade Gets a Taste of Middle School Life
January 4-13
Beginning the first week of January, 5th grade students will be visiting the middle school for a full school day to experience new classes, peers, and the routines of middle school life. Students will be paired with current 6th grade students and go through an entire day of Daily Practice, classes, lunch, and elective classes. We are thrilled to welcome these students into our community and look forward to their fresh energy and ideas!

Ski Days
Friday, January 13 and Friday, January 20
Middle school students will participate in the yearly excursions to Teton Village for two days of skiing after winter break. Two Fridays in a row, January 13th and 20th, all students will be involved in either skiing or snowboarding. Watch for more information from Khale Reno to come home soon.

Free Ski Passes for 5th and 6th Grade Students
Courtesy of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, all 5th and 6th Grade students attending school in Teton County receive 10 free days of skiing at Jackson Hole anytime during the 2011/12 season. They are also eligible for ten ski or board rentals from JH Sports in the Bridger Center. To receive your Passport Pass, parents must fill out a JHMR waiver of liability (available at the Season Pass Office) and bring the student to the Season Pass Office The Season Pass Office will confirm their eligibility for the program (we sent them the names of all Journeys School 5th and 6th grade students) and issue a 10-day pass and a 10-day JH Sports rental voucher. If a student already has a 2011/12 JHMR pass, bring the pass to the Season Pass Office and they can add 10 days of skiing and/or rentals to that pass. If you have questions about the program, please call Margaret Brady, Special Events Coordinator for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, at (307) 739-2770.

On Your Child’s Mind
This week, announcements will provide an overview of what your child is learning in language arts and math.

Language Arts: What’s a Book Brag? Every Tuesday during Daily Practice a student shares a book with the rest of the school. The Book Brag has two components, a short and creative activity and a written summary of the book. In order to engage their sleepy classmates at 8 o’clock in the morning and to introduce the book, the presenter begins with an activity that somehow relates to the book. These activities have included modified capture the flag games, a prime number maze, and sharing stories about extreme experiences in the snow. The presenter then segues into his or her practiced summary of the book, displaying it to the audience and then answering any questions. After completing them throughout the fall, students now excitedly anticipate the Book Brags every Tuesday. The eighth grade students have done a great job mustering enthusiasm from the rest of the school. In the winter the seventh grade will have an opportunity to present, and the sixth grade in the spring. Ask your child if he or she has completed a Book Brag, what was his or her activity and book? If your child has yet to complete one, ask what book and activity he or she would do.

Students in Math 2 are currently wrapping up their unit on polygons by learning how to compute the interior angles of quadrilaterals. Extrapolating on that knowledge, students have learned a formula for finding the sum of the interior angles of polygons with any number of sides. They formed a table allowing them to identify patterns in shapes. Challenge your child and ask them how to find out the interior angle sum of an octagon, or better yet, a 20-gon. They can now figure it out themselves!

Students in Math 3 are exploring surface area of various shapes. The surface area of ellipses and circles are being combined with previous knowledge of the area of rectangles to help determine what the area of a dumbbell or other shapes might be. Conceptual understanding of geometry can be a very difficult topic to cover but the students are working hard together in groups to figure out possible solutions to complex problems that promote out of the box thinking.

Thank You for the Blood Sugar Testing!
Thank you Linda, Samantha, and Sarah Soper of Teton Valley EMS for testing students’ blood sugar levels before and after breakfast. By “seeing” the breakdown and absorption of sugars into the bloodstream in real time, students gained a lasting understanding of how their bodies work. Thank you also to the student and faculty volunteers for postponing their breakfasts and donating a few drops of blood in the name of science!

Gingerbread Jackson Campus!
A very special thank you to Joohee Muromcew for her efforts in construction of a gingerbread Teton Science Schools’ campus. Along with Joohee, the middle school students crafted everything from our beloved sledding hill to the school’s own solar panels.

Winter 2012 After School Enrichment Program
The After School Enrichment Program is available to all students enrolled at Journeys School in grades 2-12. Winter classes will meet for nine weeks, January 16th through March 23rd, with no classes the week of February 20th. Classes are $135 each and run from 3:30-5:00pm. To register, or for more information, contact Sam at sam.kitchen@journeysschool.org or 734-9851.

Learning Lab with Sarah Kate Gessford
Grades 6-8, Mondays
Get your homework done early! Join Sarah Kate Gessford for a study session. The class will include establishing good homework habits, completion of homework, and support with class assignments. Students will start the session with a short recess and snack.

Baking Club with Charlotte Davis
Grades 3-7, Tuesdays
Join Charlotte Davis, Pre-K faculty (and former pastry chef!) in Baking Club on Tuesdays. Baking Club will consist of reading recipes, baking, clean-up, and eating. The first meeting, Charlotte will choose a dessert to create with the children, and the group will come up with a list of foods that students are interested in creating for the remainder of the meetings. After the first meeting, the group will use students’ recipe ideas. By the end of the 9-week class, students will have a better understanding of measurements, cook-time, flavor, creating tasty things from scratch, and (hopefully) will be excited to continue exploring the kitchen on their own. If there is sufficient interest, we will add a Thursday Baking Club. Please let Sam know if your child(ren) would like to attend Tuesdays and Thursdays.


Important Dates
Tuesday, December 20: Middle School Ancient Civilizations Fair, 11:00am, Dining Lodge
Tuesday, December 20: Young Alumni Panel
Thursday, December 22-Friday, December 30: Winter Break
Thursday, January 5: Parent Council Coffee, 8:15am
Friday, January 6: Early Release, 12:30pm
Wednesday, January 11: Elementary Open House / Info Night, 5pm
Thursday, January 12: Pre-Kindergarten Open House / Info Night, 5pm
Wednesday, January 18: Middle School Open House / Info Night, 5pm
Tuesday, January 31: Bring a Friend Day for Grades 3-12
Wednesday, February 1: Admissions Application Deadline
Thursday, February 2: Pre-Kindergarten Open House / Info Night, 5pm
Thursday, February 9: Re-enrollment Deadline
Thursday, March 1: Tuition Assistance Application Deadline