Tomorrow is our Middle School Science Fair. Parent viewing will take place between 8:15 am and 8:45 am in the Multi-Purpose Room ( slideshow projects will not be available for viewing until 8:30). Please stop by and view the hard work our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders have done. Students from Amundsen and Lake View will be attending our Science Fair and they will be judging each project and student presentation once parent viewing has finished. If you have any questions please let me know. 

I have changed the due dates to provide students more time to work. Here is the updated timeline. This information is also posted on Google classroom.

Final Science Fair Research Paper - 317/216 Due Tuesday, November 27th Printed and on Google class
Final Science Fair Research Paper - 313/311 Due Wednesday, November 28th Printed and on Google 
Final Board or Slide Show - Due Friday, November 30th
Classroom presentations - Week of December 3rd
Middle School Science Fair in the Multipurpose Room - December 7th

Melanie Heuiser Hill will be coming to speak to 6th grade on Friday, October 19th at 9am in the gym.  
Melanie Heuiser Hill is a graduate of Hamline University's MFA program in writing for children and young adults. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and children. Giant Pumpkin Suite is her debut novel.  https://www.melanieheuiserhill.com/
 
Twelve-year-old Rose Brutigan has grown seven inches in the last eight months. She's always been different from her twin brother Thomas, but now she towers over him in too many ways. The gap in their interests continues to widen as well. Musically talented Rose is focused on winning the upcoming Bach Cello Suites Competition, while happy-go-lucky Thomas has taken up the challenge of growing a giant pumpkin in the yard of their elderly neighbor, Mr. Pickering. But when a serious accident changes the course of the summer, Rose is forced to grow and change in ways she never could have imagined.

Review Quotes:
There's abundant warmth, humor, and heart in this charmer, and readers will root for both characters and pumpkin. A winning debut.  --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
 
In a warmhearted debut novel, Hill shows what happens when a serious-minded girl is forced to reevaluate her priorities and reach out to others...Offering distinctive characters, a relatable plot, and some useful gardening tips, Hill's story promotes connectivity in neighborhoods and communities.  --Publishers Weekly
 
The book is a bittersweet tribute to the experience of growing up in a close-knit neighborhood; characters are written with care and depth...Fans of Sharon Creech's Moo and other books about intergenerational friendship will enjoy this book.  --School Library Journal
 
This book is an easygoing title, highlighting the stress that goals of perfection can bring. Readers will love just how particular and grownup Rose tries to be, rejecting any bit of frivolous behavior, and they will find comfort as her community helps her ease back into the joys and simplicities of life outside of music.  --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
 
A variety of subplots--an elderly Japanese neighbor introduces the tea ceremony and the concept of kintsugi, mending with gold; a con man convinces the group to enter the pumpkin in the Minnesota State Fair-- add depth to the novel, and Rose's earnest struggles with her precocious appearance and oddball tendencies keep a unique character from descending into twee”
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If you would like to order a copy of the book the author will sign it the day of the visit. 
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I will be making edits to the Science Fair due dates sheet. Once I have completed the edits students will receive a hard copy and I will post on Google classroom and my website. Science Fair is still scheduled for December 7th, I am just giving myself more time to work with students on solidifying their topics.

317 students were given their Dunes trip Packets yesterday. The first page is a double sided permission slip that needs to be returned. If you write a check please make it out to Coonley. In addition to the paper permission slip parents need to fill out the Google Form for their child. This Google form is required and requested by the Dunes Learning Center.  Below is the link.  

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeFmU-jxl8ZNfqcqp53QidRamiSUGarKUmlrmxDuPlkgIJJyA/viewform

Types of  CPS Volunteers
Examples of Level I Volunteers:
Overnight-Field Trip Chaperones
Mentors
Tutors
Coaches
Non-supervised classroom assistants

Examples of Level II Volunteers:
Day-Field Trip chaperones
Assistants in schools with administrative duties
Other volunteer activities in contact with students while supervised

Attached is an diagram explaining the process of approval for each level