One option for public education that is available to students in Livermore, California is the Livermore Valley Charter School. The school serves about 900 students in grades K through 8. Both of my daughters go to the School. Kayden is just finishing up the 3rd grade with Miss Apodaca. We are happy to know that Kayden will have Miss Apodaca next year too. The school is structured so that students in grades 1 and 3 stay with the teachers they currently have. The practice is sometimes called “looping”. Parker is just finishing grade 6.
I spent this morning at school as a parent volunteer. I started the day helping to unload old electronic equipment out of cars. “The Mouse Squad”, Parker’s computer tech club at school was conducting an electronic waste “e-cycling” event — both as a community service, and as a fund-raising event for the club. It was a fun trip down memory lane for the parents, as people brought in such items as 2400 baud modems, dot matrix printers, and turn-tables.
Then it was on to Kayden’s classroom, where for the last 8 months, I have served as the Spelling Dad. Every Thursday, I meet individually with the kids out in the hall and test them on their individualized list of spelling words for the week. I usually work with one or two other Spelling Moms too.
As it happened, today was also the day of the school science fair. After spelling, I followed the kids into the multi-purpose room, for a quick look at the projects. There was a lot to take in, so for now, I’ll just report on Parker and Kayden’s projects.
Parker did a study on several types of Solar Beverage Warmers. For each SBW, she measured the rise in the temperature of 100mL of water. Her design that incorporated a fresnel lens was the best warmer. A simple galvanized pipe spray-painted black was a close second.
Kayden did a study that involved heating different volumes of water with a candle. She then went a step further to see if adding baking soda to the water would change her results.
The kids all did a great job, and as usual, the LVCS students’ participation rate in their fair was impressive.
As the end of the school year approaches, don’t forget to “show the love” for your teachers. Kyle Design has something for every one, for every occasion, and can personalize many items such as business card cases, credit card holders and metal wallets with an engraved message.
Technorati: Teachers, Livermore Valley Charter School, Charter School, Livermore, daughters, e-cycling, Electronic waste, mouse squad, spelling, science fair, Solar powered beverage warmer, student participation, engraving, teacher gifts, personalized gifts, night light, stainless steel flask, whiskey flask, flame design, sun design, christmas ornament, business card case, pre-school teachers, magnet clips, refrigerator magnet, computer geek, apple design, nightlight
Filed under: Bay Area, California, Charter Schools, Daughters, Education, Gifts, Kyle Design, Livermore CA, Parenting, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged: apple design, business card case, charter school, christmas ornament, computer geek, Daughters, e-cycling, Electronic waste, engraving, flame design, Livermore, Livermore Valley Charter School, magnet clips, mouse squad, night light, Nightlight, personalized gifts, pre-school teachers, refrigerator magnet, science fair, Solar powered beverage warmer, spelling, stainless steel flask, student participation, sun design, teacher gifts, Teachers, whiskey flask
