We just received a call from the IT department in Malden, MA. Anthony Rodriguez of the IT department called for our student, Courteney and left a message saying that he will be telling all Malden city departments to follow 4th grade's advice and change the margins.
Soon after our phone message we received a personal letter from Deval Patrick congratulating us and saying he would be considering the idea to Change the Margins. Less of a committment than we had hoped for but exciting just the same.
You will see copies of the Governor's letters and letters from State Representatives Corey Atkins, Alice Peisch and State Senator Tolman in the hallway outside the classroom.
And Tamara Krinsky is pitching our "curriculum " to Hewlett Packard as a HP contest school idea.
We thought we were going to lobby Mayor E. Denise Simmons during her open office hours BUT, Jeff Walker, her chief of staff had 2 copies of engrossed* versions ( gold stamp seal, hand signed by the Clerk and in leather folders) of the resolution R-51 from the City Council of Cambridge. This resolution was read by the Mayor to our students and then presented to Eli and Mark, Cambridge citizens who wrote the letters that initiated this action by the Mayor. School Committee member Nancy Tauber, was also present. The resolution recognized the Atrium 4th grade class for their efforts and the Change the Margins idea as a very important one. The Mayor promised to work to implement this change throughout Cambridge. And Ms. Tauber said she would spread the word to the schools.
This is a huge boost to our campaign! Great work class and especially, Eli and Mark!
In other news, the Mayor's office of Malden has promised to bring Courteney's letter to a department head meeting: We are in receipt of Courteney’s correspondence.
Please be advised that Mayor Howard is planning on presenting Courteney’s proposal to our department heads at a meeting he has scheduled for next week ... We’re hoping that these efforts will result in saving paper and a better environment.
If you have any further suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.
Thank you - Maureen Taylor Office of Mayor Richard C. Howard Malden Government Center
Great work Courteney! She has, along with Ilana, Sophie, Asha, Eric, Christian, Harriet and Isabel, been making follow up phone calls. And thanks to Alie and Shayna, Eli Cole and Mark who have been making displays for the bulletin boards.
* engross: To write or print the final draft of (an official document). [Middle English engrossen, to collect in large quantity, monopolize, from Old French engrossier, from en gros, in large quantity : en, in (from Latin in; see in-2) + gros, large; see gross. Sense 3, from Middle English engrossen, to make a finished copy of a legal document, from Anglo-Norman engrosser, from Medieval Latin ingrossre : Latin in-, in; see en-1 + grossa, a copy in a large hand (from Late Latin grossus, thick).
A recent comment on the blog from an exec at HP. Feel free to share with your students to show how they are immediately making a difference and inspiring others to do the same!
Best,
Tamara
Subject: [Change the Margins] Alison submitted a comment to '4th Graders Take Margins to Beacon Hill' To: changethemargins@gmail.com
Comment: I am in LOVE with this idea. What a total AHA! moment. I wrote about it in my blog post and included a link to your blog, which I hope will drive some additional traffic and interest your way. In the meantime, I'm going to both of my children's schools to see about putting a program together with them to get kids on the bandwagon. You're right -- starting with kids is a terrific idea -- and let it roll from there. In addition to changing their margins, companies can save tons of paper by setting their printers to the automatic duplex mode -- so they automatically print two-sided. Thanks so much for what you're doing. Best, Alison
Vamos a leer. Let's read. Vamos a cantar. Vamos a jugar.
Inventor's Podcast at:
http://storypodnewengland.libsyn.com/ click on link above and choose a podcast for your PC or Mac. Listen to personal narratives, fairy tales and poetry from our 4th graders
Green Streets
2008032820080328Walk/Ride Day! Go and Wear Green to Participate
2008042520080425Walk/Ride Day! Go and Wear Green to Participate
2008053020080530Walk/Ride Day! Go and Wear Green to Participate
May 30: Walk/Ride Day!
2008062720080627Walk/Ride Day! Go and Wear Green to Participate
Jun 27: Walk/Ride Day!
Palabras Divertidas
Feliz primavera Happy Spring ¡ Pero, hace frio ! But, it's cold!!! Vamos al recreo. Let's go to recess. Cuando es el recreo?When is recess? Me toca a mi. It's my turn. Te toca a ti. It's your turn. Puedo jugar? -- May I play? Quiero jugar.--I want to play. Hoy es el día de los pijamas -- Today is pajama day. Espera, un momento, por favor -- Wait one moment, please. Mas o menos - more or less ¡ Yo lo tengo ¡ -- I got it. ¡ Chiste! -- Just kidding Solo bromeando. -- Just kidding Lo que paso, paso -- What is done, is done. ¿ Que tal ? -- What's up? more to to come...
http://portaportal.com Enter at “Guest Access” atriumgrade4 – with nospaces. And click on “visit”. Under the Math icon click on Great Skill Games and choose a game to practice. Check out the new “challenges” link which includes the Sieve of Eratosthenes, an ancient algorithm which was used to find prime numbers.
First Snow Recess
We went out to enjoy the first snowflakes
Inventors reading
GM annouces Volt, a new electric car ~ JAN 2007
January 7, 2007 - Last month, Bob Lutz, General Motors' renowned car czar, stood before a room full of reporters and offered a stunning meaculpa. "A few years ago," he said,"we made a bad decision." That decision: GM failed to green light a hybrid car, even though it had the know-how and the technology left over from its failed EV1 electric car. The Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid that GM says will go 150mpg or more.When will the Volt arrive? GM won't say.
