Honor.

Last week, students from Alpha through twelfth grade discussed the meaning of Shorecrest's Honor Pledge. After considering the meaning of the Pledge on their own the night before, we gathered to talk about what these words mean to each of us. in a manner very similar to the way in which we have learned to discuss books we read. I initiated the conversation by talking about the meaning of the word "pledge" as a promise one makes to do, believe or support something. Certainly, words carry meaning, and to promise something is serious business. Following my beginning, students took over the conversation and broke the Pledge into its parts, considering the meaning of each of the pieces. On the image of the chart to the left, I recorded the notes I took as I listened and facilitated the class discussions.

As the conversation neared a natural conclusion, Michael shared that he believes the overall meaning of the Pledge is similar to that of the Golden Rule--do unto others as you would have them do unto you. He argued that the Honor Pledge is really Shorecrest's Golden Rule, and that it not only guides us at Shorecrest, but in the greater community as well. We then realized that we could refer to the Pledge as the "Green and Golden Rule" to signify the connection between the timeless adage and the Shorecrest community.  Students were so excited about the name they came up with that asked me to share their idea with Mr. Murphy, which I did. Luckily for us, Mr. Murphy returned our email with a visit in person. Students shared with him their process and result. He was thrilled, and suggested to the students that they should figure out a way to propose a name change to the the entire LD student body.

Today, students began the process of brainstorming ways they could not only educate the student body about the new name, but have begun planning how they might conduct a school-wide vote. Certainly, we are in the beginning stages, but hopefully by next week, they will have a clear plan that they have initiated to propose this change to their peers. Current ideas include presenting at Town Meeting, making posters, visiting classes or creating fliers that can be distributed to students in their classes.  Collecting votes seems to be a more daunting task, but doing something online or using a ballot box are popular ideas. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

In math, as we embark on a new unit, students are working diligently to understand how fractions work. As we move through this unit, students are learning how to both add and subtract fractions. We begin first by using pattern blocks to actually see addition and subtraction in action. After working to define and understand equivalent fractions, soon students will learn about the need to give fractions common denominators in order to add and subtract them.

Just a reminder that if you are interested, Scholastic book orders are due. Also, if any of you are interested in joining us for writing, please let me know. We would love to have you participate by joining us for our lesson and then staying to conference with our young writers. Writing instruction occurs in the morning and lasts about 45 minutes. Please let me know if you'd like to stop by and help out!


Upcoming important events:
January 16: MLK observance--no school
January 18: Geo Bee, 1:30 in the theater
January 27: Grandparents and Special Friends Day--noon dismissal
February 3: We Haz Jazz performance, 8:30 a.m.
February 9: Conference Day