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<tr><td colspan="3" style="background-color: #efefef;">Message sent from San Francisco</td></tr>
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<b>Message From:</b> Jennifer Estrella<br>
<b>Context:</b> 0067 - Science 7 (Frances Ladue)<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Happy Winter Break!
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<p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Hello! </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Welcome to the end of the Fall semester! I apologize for not being able to email for a couple of weeks, but as things are busy in the classroom with our group and individual project, I also had to take care of other things outside of the classroom.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">The students completed their first group and first individual project for our Chemistry unit. Many of the groups received full credit on their group project. They had to test different chemicals to see which were best for an endothermic (cold) or exothermic (hot) reaction, and then build a bag that would work in releasing the liquid into the bag to allow the reaction to occur. We had bags that passed and then others that did not, and the ones that did not were able to redeem their full credit by explaining the changes they would make to have their bag work if they were given an opportunity. This group project was originally due on block day (12/9 or 12/10), but was extended to Friday, 12/23, to allow groups to finish (despite my constant reminders and encouragement to come in during lunch to get work completed).</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">The individual project was assigned the week before Thanksgiving break. The students had to create an advertisement for their cold/hot pack. I told students to email me or come see me at lunch/after school if they had any questions or needed help starting their project. Only a few had contacted me, and asked questions during class. This was due on Friday, 12/13/24, and I was very impressed with many of the projects turned in. Because we had lost two full class days to the extension of the group project, students were explicitly told to complete work at home for this project and to come in for extra support. As much as I wanted to extend the deadline for this project, teachers had to submit their grades on Wednesday and I needed to be able to grade their projects (without myself feeling stressed about my own deadline). </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">At the end of the project, students also complete a Peer Evaluation for each member in their group. These are anonymous and students do not get to see their grade until it is posted in Student/ParentVue. I take the average of all the scores for each student which is why you might see it a little differently compared to the usual scores for our class. This is the opportunity for students to also share their experience working with certain folks in their group, and give them the opportunity to learn more about what it means to be a good teammate. </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">In all, I think the students had learned a lot about not only our topic of Chemistry, but how to be a better student. Students really had to learn time management, communication within their group, learning to balance other priorities outside of our own class, and how to continue to push themselves to complete things even if it seems like it's difficult. The students took time to reflect on their fall semester, and reevaluated their goals that they want to complete for next semester. Feel free to ask them to show their reflection to you. </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">I want to share that I will be out for a week at the beginning of the semester. As some of you may have heard from your child, my daughter is having surgery and I will be taking time off to take care of her. The students are very aware of this and I will remind them again in the new year when they see me. I will be there on Monday and Tuesday, then out for one week. You have very sweet students and I know they will be okay for that time with the substitute. I will be prepping them for the sub on Monday, so I hope your child will be in school. If not, please have them review the slides that day prior to returning to school. I will be creating videos for our lessons, and will be readjusting all the lessons so that it is doable while the substitute is there. They are always welcome to email me for help, too.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">With that, I hope you all enjoy your break and have a wonderful time spending time with loved ones whether or not you are staying local. I wish you all a very happy new year and good health.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Take care,</span></p><p>Mrs. Jennifer Estrella (she/her)<br>7th Grade Science<br>Herbert Hoover Middle School</p>
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