AEA Gardens Yield Bounty

Returning to my office from a late meeting today, I was surprised to find a basket of fresh greens on my desk.  The basket contained chard, lettuce, and broccoli, all products of the AEA garden.  I arrived home with the key ingredients for a tasty, healthy salad.  My daughter was very pleased, as you can see from the photo.

Thanks to the tireless work of Terri Hughes-Oelrich, Stephanie Jennings, Board of Trustees member Rudd Schoefel, as well as various parent volunteers, students, and teachers, the AEA gardens are thriving and yielding their bounty.  In addition to vegetables, there is a fruit tree orchard and herb garden, with plans to install international gardens as well.

In these difficult economic times, and considering the epidemic of childhood obesity, what could be better than to have school gardens providing our community with healthy, organic produce?

If you are interested in volunteering in the AEA gardens, the group meets every Saturday at 9am at the A Street campus entrance.  For more information contact Terri Hughes-Oelrich at thugheso@sdccd.edu

Student Engagement in Sixth Grade Math

I have been invited to share in a 6th grade math lesson and am very impressed by the level of student accountability and ownership of their learning. Sixth grade teacher Ms. Small has organized the class into families of 4 students. Their task in this activity is to present problems and solutions related to the CA standard that requires students to solve problems involving percent and interest rate.
When I entered the classroom I had to look hard to find the teacher; she was sitting quietly at the back wall while student teams led the instruction, posed and answered questions, and exercised real ownership for their learning. 

This is not to suggest that the teacher is not involved in the instruction- quite the contrary. She is assessing students based on a rubric that the class has reviewed, and when needed steps in to explain or deepen understanding or pose additional questions. The point is that the teacher is the facilitator, not the exclusive owner and purveyor of learning.

I encourage parents and community members to look for examples of student engagement and problem solving when you visit our campus. These examples deserve to be celebrated and shared throughout the school community. 

--
David Sciarretta, Principal
Albert Einstein Academy
Charter Middle School
3035 Ash St, San Diego, CA, 92102
tel: 619-795-1190
www.aeacs.org
Principal's blog:
http://aeacmsprincipalscorner.blogspot.com/

Teaching our children today to advance our shared humanity tomorrow.

Pennies for Peace Tally

This morning I received an email from our IBMYP and ELD Coordinator Libby Krueger regarding the tally of pennies collected during the Pennies for Peace initiative:


Welcome back everyone!  It took the bank about 2 weeks to count the pennies in total!  Congratulations to all the efforts of the entire Einstein Learning Community, we raised $1800.00 to be donated to Pennies for Peace.  PLEASE be sure and share this total with your students (so many were asking before break).


This is yet another example of AEA coming together to support a worthy cause in keeping with the tenets of IB. Thanks to everyone who made this level of collection possible.


Our next k-8 project will be Books of Hope , in which students create books to be used by schoolchildren in Uganda.

Winter Vacation

Happy holidays!  AEA is currently on Winter Break.  Classes resume January 5, 2009.  While this is a well-deserved vacation for teachers, staff, and students, it is important that students maintain their "academic muscles" in top condition.

A few vacation suggestions for students:

• limit television viewing and video game playing; replace these activities with reading (either for school or for pleasure).
• be sure to continue with regular physical exercise.  You don't have PE every other day over vacation, so it is important to build exercise into your daily routine.
• check your grades online (link from the the individual teacher websites) and take some time to get caught up on assignments that may be overdue.
• better yet, get a head start on those assignments that are due when we return from vacation (check teacher websites for details).

Our custodial staff will be cleaning the site over vacation, and I know of several teachers and staff who will be working on campus sporadically as well.  

I will be working on the following projects:

• drafting a school-wide assessment policy in collaboration with Libby Krueger (this is part of our IB authorization process)
• drafting a school-wide language policy (this is also for IB)
• revising our Title I plan to better serve students who require more academic interventions
• drafting the agenda for the middle school faculty meeting on January 7

Wishing everyone a restful--and also productive--holiday season.  See you in 2009!

Winterfest a Success!

Last Friday all middle school students had the privilege of attending the first annual AEACMS Winterfest. Under the capable guidance and planning of Frau Goehler and Sra. Burnham, and with the assistance of volunteers and students, the Winterfest began taking shape 24 hours earlier in our MPR. By the time the first group of student guests arrived, they were treated to holiday pastries at cafes where they were required to order in German or Spanish.

With the purpose of celebrating the German and Spanish languages, as well as collecting toys for the AEA toy drive to benefit the Western Service Workers Association (see earlier post on this blog), the AEA Winterfest was a tremendous success.

Thanks to Frau Goehler, Sra. Burnham, the volunteers, and everyone who contributed in large and small ways to make this a day to remember.

To learn more about volunteering for similar events through the language department, please contact sgoehler@aeacs.org or aburnham@aeacs.org.

Welcoming AEACMS Student Bloggers

Beginning after the upcoming winter break, I am piloting a student blogger contest with Ms. Peters' journalism elective class (ultimately I intend to open it to the entire middle school).

Students who visit my blog are encouraged to discuss the postings with their parents and families, and then post comments of their own.  Every month I will select one student whose comments most clearly demonstrate critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to establish an argument and support it with evidence.

The winner will be announced as Student Blogger of the Month, and a posting of their creation will appear on this blog.  In addition, they will discuss their writing over lunch with me at a local eatery of their choice.

Many thanks to Ms. Peters for supporting this idea and for encouraging her students to write for real-world purposes.

Burnham Spearheads Community and Service Efforts

Many thanks to all the AEA families who generously donated toys for the AEA toy drive. Your gifts will be sincerely appreciated, even more so in these challenging economic times. The toy drive, spearheaded by middle school Spanish teacher Anastasia Burnham, will benefit dozens of families served through the Western Service Workers Association (WSWA). Located just a mile from the AEA campus, the WSWA provides support for working families and individuals who are simply unable to make ends meet. According to WSWA literature, the non-profit organization serves San Diego County's lowest paid workers, in particular domestic help, landscapers, security guards, independent contractors, and part-time workers. WSWA is located at 3014 Imperial Ave, San Diego, CA 92102, tel. 619-238-9763.

This is the second consecutive year that AEA has supported WSWA and its work; as a school community we are committed to the IB ethic of Community and Service. In large and small ways, our students learn to make a real difference in the world.

Thanks also to the many students, teachers, staff, and parents who assisted in the collection efforts.  Elementary school German Coordinator Birgit Schafer was especially instrumental in transporting and delivering donations to the WSWA headquarters.

For more information about this and future Community and Service projects, contact Anastasia Burnham aburnham@aeacs.org.