Friday, March 7th, 2025

Today is the last day of 3rd quarter. Parent/Teacher conferences are next week, Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-7:30. My schedule is now full. If you would like to meet with me, please email me and I will schedule you on Wednesday after school if that works.

Literary Analysis Essays were due today. These take some time to grade so this grade will be the first one for 4th quarter. I cautioned students that failing this essay would be similar to not doing summer reading. They will start the quarter with an F, and then have to dig out of it. Hopefully that is not the case.

We will begin a new Unit on Monday and students will learn about President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. At the end of this unit, students will choose a leader who had a positive impact on society. (with approval)

I'm super excited about 4th quarter. This part of the curriculum is one of my favorites.

Please email me with any questions or comment. Hope to see you next week at conferences.

Friday, February 28th, 2025

Hello parents!

We lost a week of learning with the snow days, which is fun of course, but it does put us behind in our curriculum.

Interim testing this week did not go as well as I had hoped. Especially since this group did so well last year. Bottom line: 52% of our 7th graders are where they should be academically; the other 48% are either level 1 or 2 which are both below average. Level 1 meaning they are in dire need of support which is about 13% of 7th graders.

I can tell you that half of my students are not doing their homework. This is a weekly article (Black History articles in February) and students show me every week that they cannot make time to read an article. I can't tell you WHY they can't find 15 minutes over a week's time...but they are not helping their grades by ignoring these assignments.

Conferences are coming up in a couple of weeks. (March 11 & 13)

I sent out my conference link today to parents whose students have either a D or an F to give you a chance to sign up first. Everyone will get the link on Monday.

We will finish our 3rd quarter novel, Tangerine by Edward Bloor, on Monday, and then begin a literary analysis essay beginning Tuesday. Essays will be due on Friday, March 7th which is the last day of 3rd quarter. Since we lost a week due to snow, essay grades will not make the next report card. It will be the first grade in 4th quarter.

A rubric and resources to help them write will be posted on Google Classroom on Monday. Grades are updated on HAC. There will be 2-3 more grades next week so students have a chance to bump up their numbers before the end of quarter.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Let's finish strong!

Friday, February 7, 2025

Hello parents!

Next week will be a test over parts 1 & 2 of our novel Tangerine by Edward Bloor. This is an excellent opportunity to raise grades; the PDF is on Google Classroom.

Independent reading is continuing with an article a week which is also on Google Classroom.

Please remember that all graded assignments must be completed AT SCHOOL. This is before/after school or during lunch. Graded assignments may not be completed as homework.

As always, please check HAC on Mondays after 4:00 so you know where your child stands academically. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Friday, January 24th, 2025

Parents,

Students who are absent need to look at Google Classroom and see what they missed. I have an average of 20 students absent every day. I am not chasing them down. They are responsible and accountable for any missing assignments.

I put their name on the board and verbally tell them to come in if they have missed a graded assignment.

If they miss on a reading day... (We are reading a novel IN CLASS THIS QUARTER) ...they are expected to catch up on reading.

Students are not checking GC and they are not reading. This is a big problem; students cannot complete the lesson/assignment/quiz unless the reading is complete. Please help your child stay caught up.

Thanks for your time! It takes a village!

Friday, January 17th, 2025

It's been an exciting start to 2nd semester! We've had a couple snow days and ready to go into our first 3 day weekend. Thank you MLK Jr. for being a great leader that had a positive impact on society.

Science Fair is behind us; Unless your child moved on to the next round. The written report was graded by me and is a Language Arts grade worth 30 points. The 100 point Science board will be Mr. Plantes' grade.

We are about 60 pages into our 3rd quarter novel, Tangerine, by Edward Bloor. Remember if your child is absent they need to check Google Classroom to see what pages were read and then catch up on reading.

Daily agendas and assignments are posted each day on Google Classroom. There is also a PDF of our novel posted.

Independent reading for 3rd quarter is a weekly article from ReadWorks. These are posted on Mondays and students will be quizzed over these articles the following Monday. These are also on Google Classroom.

Grades are updated. Please check HAC each week so you know where your child stands academically. If they did not turn in a written report, their grade is going to look ugly. Written reports were due last week.

Please help your child stay organized. It takes a village. Thanks for your time and reading my updates. Please email me with any questions or concerns.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Already we are halfway through our school year! I hope everyone has the best winter break! I look forward to 2nd semester/3rd quarter. I'm very excited to begin our new unit which includes a novel read in the classroom. It will be very important for absent students to keep up with reading during this unit. The PDF for the novel will be posted on Google Classroom along with our daily agenda and other resources. If you would like to purchase a copy for your child, the novel is called Tangerine by Edward Bloor. It's excellent and would make a fine stocking stuffer. :)

Look for my curriculum letter the week we return with important information about 3rd quarter. For example, independent reading (nonfiction articles about inspirational leaders) will be on Google Classroom each week during 3rd quarter, this is new. Paper copies are available; reading is expected to be completed by Monday each week.

As always, email me with any questions or concerns. Second quarter grades will be finalized and published after we return from break. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Friday, December 6, 2024

Tonight is our winter dance themed "A Hollywood Holiday!" We are super excited to see the kids dressed up and having fun.

Argumentative essays were due today, the last writing assignment for first semester. That was our 4th essay written this year and each one has been different. Practice makes perfect.

We also finished our 2nd quarter novel and tested over that the day we returned from Thanksgiving Break. Students will receive their 3rd novel for this year once we return from winter break. Again, practice makes perfect.

With just 2 weeks left until break we are going to focus on 2 short stories that are Christmas related. Next week we will read together Charles Dickens' " A Christmas Carol." Students will read the "play/drama" version and we usually have lots of fun with this. I tell them to bring their British accents because the story takes place in London.

The last 4 day week will begin with Disney's A Christmas Carol movie. I've been promising it and it will be time after reading the story. The last 2 days before break will be spent on a short story called "The Greatest Gift." This short story was the inspiration for the classic movie "It's A Wonderful Life." *Extra credit goes to any student who watches the movie over break and then writes me a paragraph comparing the story with the film.

As always, please check HAC each week so you know where your child stands academically. Email me with any questions or concerns.

Friday, November 22nd, 2024

I have nothing to add to last weeks' announcements other than have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I wrote on my board today to "put their phones down and enjoy their families over break." Of course many just saw the word phones and thought I was going to let everybody get on them. LOL. I really do love this group. Big hugs to all.

(Please read last weeks' announcements BELOW as there are important deadlines coming up when we return)

Friday, November 15, 2024

Good morning parents and students,

We have begun the 2nd half of unit 2 (2nd quarter) and are learning about argumentative writing, focusing on a strategy called CER: Claim, evidence, and reasoning. Students will write an argumentative essay using this strategy. They will choose a "cause" that is important to them and write about it. We have already begun exploring causes such as orca whales in captivity, cosmetic animal testing, trees, turtles, elephants...but not just animals! We are also looking at St. Jude's Hospital, The Shriner Organization, and other worthy causes.

This essay will be written once we return from Thanksgiving break.

Quick reminder that independent novels should be completed by the time we return from break. Students were not assigned ANY reading over Thanksgiving, but don't be surprised if they have some pages left.

Final test over independent novels will be Monday, December 2nd.

Grades are updated and current unless your student has been absent. Please check HAC weekly so you know where your child stands academically. Our last essays hurt some grades, mostly due to not following directions.

Absences continue to hinder learning. Students must come in at lunch or before/after school to make up graded assignments.

Reminder: Daily agendas and resources are posted on Google Classroom every day at 8am. If your student is absent, I expect them to know what they missed by looking at GC. Weekly reading assignments are posted each Monday and the assessment is the following Monday. I should not be getting emails on Sunday mornings. I got a dozen last Sunday.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I am available every day at 7:00am for tutoring. Thanks for your time.

Friday, October 18, 2024

Good morning parents and students,

We are now two weeks into Unit 2 and have completed lessons/activities 2.5 & 2.6 in our workbooks this week. I have graded Focus on the Sentence (2.5) and entered those into HAC. I have not finished grading paragraphs about celebrity endorsements in advertising (2.6) and I'm afraid I will be working on those over break. Please check HAC Monday, October 28th, when we return, for those updated grades.

Students received their 2nd independent reading novel (for 2nd quarter) today. They had three choices: The Outsiders, Unplugged, or The Borrowers. There is NOT a reading assignment over break, but the students have it if they want to get a head start. This 2nd novel should be completed by Monday, December 2, no exceptions.

I hope you saw my email about last springs' Atlas scores. We are so proud of them. Please look for that if you haven't seen it. As always, please email me with any questions or concerns.

Friday, October 11, 2024

Good morning parents and students,

We are one week into 2nd quarter and it has been fun and busy with conferences. We began Unit 2 called "What Influences My Choices?" This unit is about advertising and how it affects teenagers. They are learning that they are a targeted demo and about the different techniques advertisers use in ads and commercials to "get them!" In a few short weeks, they will write an informational essay about this topic.

Please check Google Classroom for daily agendas and resources. There is an electronic version of our workbook posted on the first day of school, so you just scroll back to the beginning. Also, please check HAC each Monday to see where your child stands academically.

Please email me with any questions or concerns. Let's finish first semester strong!

Reminder: Fall Break October 21-25 :)

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024

I think I may have figured out this new website! Thanks for your patience!

Independent reading begins this week! Students know what they are supposed to do...if not, please have them go to Google Classroom for details. The daily agenda is on Google Classroom every day. This is where students will go for resources (vocabulary words, rubrics, checklists, independent reading assignments, etc.) Parents, use your child's school email and sign-on for Google Classroom, that way nothing is blocked due to being out of network. Same with students, don't sign on with personal emails.

If students are absent, they are expected to go to my Google Classroom, see what they missed, and come to me with any questions. Names are put on my board (in the classroom) if they have a graded assignment that they missed.

Grades are updated each Monday by 4:00. Many times I have this done by Friday at 4:00, just depends on whether it is a writing assignment or not. They take longer and part of my weekend. For example, personal narratives will not be graded and entered until NEXT Monday.

Please check HAC regularly so you know where your student is academically. Email me with any questions or concerns. Thanks for your time.