• Memorial Day (no school): May 29
• Celebration of Learning: June 15
• Juneteenth (no school): June 19
• Passages: June 21-22
• Eighth Grade Graduation: June 22
• Last Day of School: June 23 - minimum day

Thank you, volunteers!!

A HUGE thank you to our Staff Appreciation Week volunteers! You worked so hard, making SELS crew leaders and staff feel special. Thanks for all your time and efforts!

The Great Skate 

June 23 at the Northstar California skating rink. Don't forget to get your raffle tickets at the next Coffee Cart - dates listed below.

Coffee Cart - June 6 + 16

Come and grab your raffle tickets and SELS gear for the Great Skate that will take place on June 23. Raffle prize is $500 cash!

Join the PTC!

Join Danielle Gallagher, Staci Tsuda, Carrie Riley, and Kelly Vickers on our SELS PTC as Co-Chair! We meet once per month at a local restaurant where we discuss upcoming PTC events, decide on grant allocations, and more. Dads are encouraged to apply as well - we'd love to have a dad in the mix. Want to learn more? Email us at ptc@truckeecharterschool.org. Know someone who would be great? Send us your nominations!

Together We Are Crew, Not Passengers



-The SELS PTC

The Telfer Crew has spring fever! We're enjoying the sunny, warm weather and spending as much time outdoors as we can. We have wrapped up our Weather Expedition and started on the Kinder-Garden! Students investigated the life cycle of a plant and created a beautiful life-cycle mural based on their knowledge.

Small groups were challenged to 'get these seeds to grow,' and are currently caring for their baby plants. Next, we will be writing an informational piece on different plant parts and how they help in survival, growth, and reproduction. We are currently planting the Kinder-Garden with seeds and starter plants in hopes of having some produce for our end-of-year party.

Our crew is also wrapping up our swim program adventure. Thank you to the swim instructors for their positive attitudes and energy with the kids. It has been such a fun experience and everyone has improved their swimming skills each week.

Our Once Upon a Time… Expedition is in full swing! The first graders have been hard at work comparing life now with life in medieval times. They used hula hoop Venn diagrams to compare and contrast, helping the students realize that, despite many changes in lifestyle over hundreds of years, many similarities exist as well.

The Bell Crew has also delved deeply into the process of peer critique this past month. The first graders have become skilled at offering both positive feedback and suggesting changes as a way to improve their peers’ "Peek In" projects (castle life research). Come on into the Bell Crew and “peek in” beyond the castle walls to learn what life was like way back then!

This week, our expedition studies have shifted to the second case study— Tell Me A Story. The first graders are exploring how the tradition of storytelling— passing on stories from one generation to the next— helps us learn about people long ago and also helps us learn about ourselves. 

Seaborg Crew News

Better World Day was a huge success! Students worked with their Bear Dens to paint and pot plants that they delivered, on foot, to Tahoe Forest Hospital, Truckee Cancer Center, and their favorite, the Nevada County Library. Way to go, crew!

In expedition, students are demonstrating their knowledge by making an Anato-ME book for their final product. They completed many hands-on activities to help them write informational paragraphs about each body system. The writing process including brainstorming on anchor charts, drafting, engaging in peer critique and feedback, and typing their final drafts.

Welch / Hansen Crew News

The Welchsen Crew has been busy this May! We recently walked to the Tahoe Forest Hospital (TFH). We had the opportunity to learn about lab procedures and blood draw. We also toured the x-ray room, kitchen, and surgery center. We made our own stethoscopes and practiced listening to each other’s heartbeats. The Crew was so excited to learn new things and also share what they have learned with the TFH staff.

Many thanks to Savalla’s Mom, Jenny, for organizing this fieldwork. We have completed three informative writing pieces on Anatomy. This Crew loves Anato-ME!

The Akers crew has been busy and creative this month as we work on final projects and products for Celebration of Learning! The students have picked one significant historical person for their biography project and they are researching, reading, writing, and creating a "soda bottle" person to share with our crew. Student projects include researching Sybil Lundington, Harriet Tubman, George Washington, Chief Sitting Bull, and more.

Students are also working on their individual time capsules. After learning about how Paul Revere and Ben Franklin made a time capsule and placed it in the cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House, the students were inspired to create their own time capsules that will be saved until graduation. They will place items that represent themselves right now, a letter to their future self and other objects that will be fun to open in when they graduate high school!

The Brisbin Crew is having fun, wrapping up their last projects of the year for Celebration of Learning. We have been deep into studying poems and the students are making their own poetry books to include art and poetic words crafted through their studies. Students are also writing biographies, creating projects with bottles, and filling time capsules to open when they graduate high school. We are having so much fun creating and seeing all of our hard work come to fruition! 

Everyone knows that 6th graders' energy is renewable, and renewable energy will be an important solution to climate change! In our exploration of renewable energy, the Worster Crew students are reading “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” while using engineering design principles to create and improve the energy production of their own wind turbines. Students also felt the power difference between LED, CFL, and incandescent light bulbs while using the Project Recharge Light Bike. 

This has been a busy month for the Santos Crew. We went on a week-long trip to Half Moon Bay and had the privilege of visiting several universities to see their genetics labs. We heard from bio-engineers who are working on the cutting edge of genetics. We also visited a forensics lab where DNA evidence from animals is processed for use in criminal investigations. Students conducted labs to see how DNA leaves its markers and how we can change bacteria to make different colors. 

On Better World Day, we delivered joy to our community by bringing cards and flowers to nearby businesses. We also hosted the Día del Niño celebration for our school community to enjoy. Between our community service projects, we worked on our science projects, simulating natural selection and creating artwork that represents how species change over time. Finally, we completed our mentor portraits and narratives that will be put in a book and given as a gift to amazing members of the Truckee community. 

These kids worked hard this month in their learning, community service, and projects. The next month should be equally busy. 

The Masur crew has been busy this month! This week, we are wrapping up our social action projects, where students chose an issue they care about, conduct research, and take action to help address the issue. Some of us chose to educate others through websites and artwork, others sought donations for local organizations, and others sought to enact legislative change by petitioning our representatives.

As we near the end of the school year, we are spending time on our Power to the People Expedition final product: slam poems about social justice issues that we care about. The Spoken Views Collective in Reno visited our classroom to present two workshops: one about the writing process and one about performing. We are also getting ready for Passages and final fieldwork next month. We can't wait to share all that we've learned about ourselves throughout our time at SELS!