Conversation with students

I was glad to hear from many parents that they had a conversation with their child at home about the Greek newspaper assignment. Again, it was not something that the majority of students did, but it was a significant enough number (and happened in every class) that I felt it was important to address now. Thank you for your support on this issue.

We have begun our unit on Rome. We are focusing on reading for information, taking notes, and creating outlines to solidify thinking. We will be going through Chapters 10 and 11 in the World History book slowly, reading and outlining, before we address the final essay test. I will be sure to prepare the students as best I can for this. I know that many of their future teachers will appreciate them knowing how to communicate their learning.

Happy New Year!

Welcome back! I hope you all had a great Christmas vacation, I know I did. It was hard to get up with the alarm clock, but I'm excited for the new half of the school year. Mid-term grades (for the 2nd trimester) will be posted on Friday (1/8), and a paper copy will be sent home next week.

We will be starting our Greece newspapers this week, and spend the next couple of weeks working on it in class. There may be some research work or typing that individual students need to finish at home, but I have scheduled class time and time in the computer lab for this project. Students will bring home instructions and a rubric for the newspaper by Wednesday.

Greece and Christmas

Hello! It seems like an age since I updated the posts. I have added another class, so I do not have a prep during the day. It is a great group of kids (thanks Mrs. Lea), but it leaves me less time to do "all those other things", like posting on the blog. We have started our unit on Greece. Students should have brought home a permission slip for Hercules yesterday (12/10). After Christmas, we will be starting our Newspaper project, and students will have instructions and a rubric then.

Christmas break will start on 12/19 and students do not need to return until Tuesday, 1/5. Enjoy the holidays! Thank you for all your support! Merry Christmas!

2nd Trimester Has Started

We have begun our second trimester. This will end in February. Students will need to remain focused on their work as we go, so that they don't end up behind. We will be studying India, China, Greece, and Rome in this trimester. Our Egypt Books were due (1, 3, 4, 5, 6) last week and for 2nd period, are due this Friday.
Our next break is for Thanksgiving - we will get out early on Wednesday, and have no school on Thursday or Friday. Since Thanksgiving week will be short, there will be no Thunderbolt time that week. Our next Thunderbolt session (#4) begins on Dec. 8.

End of 1st Trimester

1st trimester ends tomorrow! Report cards will come home early next week with your student. We will be having a Thunderbolt Open House event...watch for more news!

I am very pleased with most students' learning in my class. This has been an enjoyable year so far...please be sure to encourage your child to read every day, as this is the most important skill they can master. If you watch the news, please ask your child to watch with you occasionally and to talk about current events. It helps them to form connections to the world around them and to be aware of things beyond their immediate world, which helps with our history studies.

Thank you for all you do and for sending great kids to SRIS!