Happy New Year Project Launch parents! You are great!

Delicate Balance:  World population growth is exploding at a rapid rate as students in class will be discovering this week. Researching at the U.S. Census Bureau website on their population clock page, students will discover how much the population of the world will increase in just 20 minutes of time.  Coupled with the concept of the ecosystem, students are recognizing the delicate balance of our living systems and of the earth’s population explosion with the living space and resources that are available. Shifts in the balance may have a negative impact on systems.

I Pledge: Every day thousands of school children recite our country’s pledge of allegiance without realizing the meaning of many of the words. Project Launch students did a word study to give new meaning to the pledge they recite each day.  Some classes then developed a class pledge for the new year and committed to such things as listening to their parents more, keeping their promises to their friends, and being nice to their teachers.

Learning Centers Begin: Students will begin some math and literacy centers this week in Project Launch. As the semester develops, students will begin some projects in conjunction with their personal interest. I will begin meeting with them next week to help them pick a topic to research.