I know that you've all been notified that I will be away while my son is having his surgery and is in hospital. I want you all to understand that I would not choose to be away from you if it was not absolutely necessary. Emmett is getting a tracheostomy. That's a breathing tube in his throat that will hook up to a machine that will help him breathe. Originally the doctors wanted him to stay in the hospital for three months. If all goes according to plan, our goal is to be out in three weeks. Em will be in the intensive care unit for the first week and then in the extended care unit for the remainder of his stay. He will have to learn how to speak again afterward. This is a very stressful time for my family and I and I need you to know that I'm depending on you to be polite, do your best work, and not take advantage of the fact that I'm away. I'll be back as soon as I can and they, man, will we work our butts off!!!

I will be checking my email periodically, but all academic questions/concerns should be directed to Ms. Felbel, the teacher who will be taking over. She can be reached at 269-6210.

GRADE 8 ELA

-been given their new reading logs (due January 6th). All reading goals should be 

  higher than 800 pages

- been given their grammar booklets
- been reminded that they are responsible for reading three MYRCA books by
   the end of Spring Break
- will continue to work on improving their reading comprehension and fluency
- been informed that they will be working on a short story unit
- been informed that they will be working on a science fiction writing piece –
   due before winter break (Ms. Felbel will assign the specific due date)

- been informed that there will be a final unit test for The Outsiders novel study.

  Ms. Felbel will assign the date of the test

^{GRADE 8 SOCIAL}

^{We're currently in our Early People unit. Ms.Felbel will be finishing the unit with students and then introducing a unit on Mesopotamia. Falsh cards should be completed by November 10th.}

^{Early People Unit
Quiz #1 - November 15th
Quiz #2 - November 22nd
Unit test - November 28th}

 GRADE 9 SOCIAL

Students will continue working on the Citizenship unit.

HAVE YOU STARTED TO STUDY FOR EXAMS YET? I RECOMMEND STUDYING FOR
30 - 60 MINUTES PER SCHOOL DAY AND AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ON THE WEEKENDS. IT'S BETTER TO BE OVERPREPARED THAN UNDER...

REMEMBER - NO SCHOOL ON JUNE 6TH - JUST THINK OF ALL THE STUDYING YOU CAN GET DONE!!!

GRADE 8 ELA
- Song Assignments due - presentations start on - CANCELLED
- Practice Essay
 - rough draft was due on Tues.
 - There were too many students in 8-6 not finished!
 - You had 80 minutes of work time in class and you were asked to finish at home
 - final draft - due Wed - no exceptions
 - You must take these practice assignments seriously or you'll regret it!
                                                                                        
EXAM ESSAY
 - Topics/expectations will be introduced on Friday in class
 - All writing takes place in class - nothing goes home
 - You must "prove" your opinions by using quotes from appropriate materials (short                             
    stories, poems, lit circle novels, The Outsiders, or movies) COVERED IN CLASS!
- Personal experiences may only be used extra - they will not earn you marks in place
  of quotations
- WORTH 30% OF EXAM

ROUGH DRAFT ESSAY PREP

                                                 8-6                                   8-7

Tuesday, June 7th                Period 5 & 8                   Period 6

Wednesday, June 8th           Period                       Periods 2 & 7

FINAL DRAFT FOR ESSAY 

Friday, June 10th            Periods  4 & 8               Periods 5 & 6

GRADE 9 MEDIA

- Song Assignments
   - Written part due Frida
   - Oral presentations begin Wed June 8th - You have to be ready to go when your 

     name gets pulled from the hat - NO EXCEPTIONS

                                 

                                                 

*WERE HANDED OUT ON MAY 20TH  - WE WILL NOT
     BE REVIEWING EVERY QUESTION - ONLY THE PROBLEM AREAS.  SO IF YOU
     HAVE A QUESTION, MAKE SURE YOU ASK!!! ***


WE WILL BE WRITING THE ESSAY PORTION OF OUR EXAM DURING CLASS TIME NEXT WEEK.  3 CLASSES WILL BE GIVEN TO CONSTRUCT YOUR ROUGH DRAFT. 2 CLASSES WILL BE GIVEN TO WRITE YOUR FINAL DRAFT. ALL WRITING MUST TAKE PLACE IN THE CLASSROOM.

• All Lit Circle novels must be handed in to Mrs. Fuerst by Friday, May 20th 

POETRY

• Song Assignment - due Tuesday, May 31st
•                           - your presentation is also your 3 minute public speaking assessment
•                           - see handout given in class

SHORT STORIES

• Two stories and their respective questions in "Short Stories and Stuff"
• "The Snow Woman" and questions - Thurs, May 26
• "On the Sidewalk, Bleeding" and questions - Fri, May 27th
• "The Sniper" and questions - Mon, May 30th

GRADE 8 SOCIAL STUDIES

• Check out these websites:
• http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/a_history_of_ancient_rome.htm
• http://www.exovedate.com/ancient_timeline_one.html
• http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/
• http://www.surfnetkids.com/rome.htm
  
• Ancient Rome Assignment due June 2nd

Ancient Rome Test - open book June 3rd

*** VOCABULARY LIST EXAM REVIEW HANDED OUT FRIDAY,  MAY 13th***
       Students should be gathering their flash cards for practicing their vocab.

GRADE 8 ELA

**REMINDER** STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO COMPLETE A MINIMUM OF 3 MYRCA
                             NOVELS AND THE EVALUATION SHEETS BY APRIL 2ND. THIS HAS BEEN
                             AN ONGOING ASSIGNMENT  SINCE SEPT. (see course outline)

 INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE UNIT/DRAMA

• Students have finished reader's theatre with  "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Each student played various roles throughout the play.
• They are working an translating one scene from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" into modern English. They are allowed to work in groups (with up to three members). Scripts must follow the format discussed in class. No more class time will be given. DEADLINE: Friday, March 18th
• Shakespeare handout must be completed by Friday, March 18th. We will be completing them in our groups.
• Shakespeare Test - Tues. March 22nd
• Students will be asked to memorize a minimum of 10 lines/one passage from one of Shakespeare's plays/sonnets - Due Monday, April 11th
• The unit will wrap up in June with two more reader's theatre experiences.

SPELLING

• Pages 1-7 have been taken up in class
• Students have pages 8-38 in their binders and should be working on them during down time, at home, and when given class time
• Pages 8-15 due Thurs. March 24th

SCIENCE FICTION UNIT/WRITER'S WORKSHOP

• Students have completed the activation activity - Science Fiction Is...
• Students have been exposed to examples of Science Fiction in class (Star Trek, Star Wars, War of the Worlds, etc...
• Assignment - Students will be tasked to:
• In their groups, write a story treatment outlining the protagonist, antagonist, and plot line for their scripts. The treatment should be in paragraph form (approx. 1/2 page long) DUE: Thurs. March 17th
• In their groups, write an original script for a science fiction story. It must contain a minimum of 3 characters, include rising action, climax, and resolution, follow the format outlined in class, and be approx 5 pages long. Final draft must be typed. DUE: Wed. April 6th

PUBLIC SPEAKING UNIT

• Students will be tasked to complete the following:
• 30 seconds about themselves - impromptu
• 30 seconds - "My Pet Peeve" - prepared
• 1 minute - "My Favorite Person in the World" - prepared
• 1 minute - Random topics drawn from a hat - impromptu
• 3 minutes - topics TBA in class - prepared
• in conjunction with our independent inquiry project on ancient Egypt - 5 minutes on their topic - prepared (must include visuals/props)
• 5 minutes - topics TBA in class - prepared *FINAL ASSESSMENT*

LITERATURE CIRCLES

• Central Theme is Acceptance
• Mrs. Fuerst will introduce the unit after Spring Break
• Students will be given the opportunity to read novels of their choice and complete activities to demonstrate comprehension
• Students must complete 2 novels and the accompanying activities/exercises to acheive curricular outcomes over a 5 week period.

GRADE 8 SOCIAL STUDIES

• Students are working on Independent Inquiry Projects about ancient Egypt. Please see handout/rubric in binder. DUE: March 24th. Presentations begin that day.
• Egypt Unit Test - Tues. April 5th