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November 21, 2008

This will be the last edition of the Buzz until after the Thanksgiving break.  The Buzz will return on Friday, December 5^th.  We hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

The first marking period has ended and report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, November 25^th in the Tuesday folder.  Please look over this report with your child during the break and return it to us signed as soon as possible.  If you have any questions about your child’s grade, please contact the guidance office to set up an appointment with the cluster.  Progress reports for the second term will be sent home on December 16^th.

The next early release day for students is Thursday, December 4^th.  Circle the date on your calendars and expect your child to return home from school early on this day.  Classes will be shortened and lunches will be served, but your child will be dismissed at 12:30.  We hope that you make arrangements for your child’s early return home.

The final performance of “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” is scheduled for tonight.  Students at the school had the opportunity to watch a dress rehearsal performance in school on Wednesday.  What a great job by everyone involved!  We hope that you will be able to attend tonight if you missed last night’s show.  It is a great time for all.  Congratulations to Miss Sinerate and the cast for a job well done.

Another exciting dodge ball tournament was held today after school.  It was great to see so many students and members of the faculty participating.  Thanks to the phys ed. department for putting it all together.  We look forward to more exciting sporting events as the year continues.

Picture retakes are scheduled for Friday, December 12^th.  If you missed having your picture taken the first time around and you still don’t have an ID, this is the time to have it done.  Check with the office for the forms to be filled out before pictures are taken.  Also, please make sure that you dress appropriately.   

Social Studies – Mr. Hammond

We began the week discussing the rise of two Mesopotamian empires, Babylon and Assyria.  There were many good thoughts and ideas tossed around during this time.  By the end of the week group work began on translating some laws from the Code of Hammurabi.  I was very pleased at how well each student worked within the group to accomplish this task.  We will finish our discussion of this ancient civilization before the break and hopefully view a video, adding to their knowledge. 

I thought that we would be able to wrap up discussions on Mesopotamia before the break and have a test, but that has been pushed back until after the break.   Along with a test, students will be assigned a map project to complete.  Please look for the scoring rubric and assignment in their binder.  I should be distributing the assignment to students within the first few days of our return to school after the Thanksgiving holiday.  This assignment will also be posted on homeworknow.com, along with the due date.

Science – Mrs. Murray

With a beaker of ice on a hotplate, students made observations, collected and graphed data on the changes of temperature versus the change in state of matter. They recognized that ice has a melting point and boiling point.   Children should now have a better understanding of how matter changes from state to state in terms of matter gaining or losing energy. We will have a lab next week on salt and ice and its affect on the freezing point of water. Being a short week we will complete the work on section 3 with a reading check worksheet followed by a section review.  Please see that your child does some homework nightly in science, even if there is no specific assignment.  They can review the study guide and learn the vocabulary words. When accessing the text online be sure to go to Chapter 2, section 3 – pages 40 to 45. 

English/Language Arts – Miss Lenza

Students have already completed four assignments for second quarter.  You can see these in their master binders.  I have shown them how to average their points for these grades so they know exactly where they stand in terms of their grades.  I will give them the total possible points number at the end of the week and they will be able to keep track themselves.  Several students already need to refocus and get on track or stay on track for second quarter.  Students are welcome to come in before school to work on any assignments they may have difficulty with, or I may have them work on skills and strategies that I think they would benefit from.

We are incredibly busy with our novel Tuck Everlasting.  This is a challenging text involving a great deal of symbolism and a great many literary terms as well.  We are currently working on similes and metaphors as well as developing better sentences through the use of these two literary elements.  Students are also listening to the text on tape if they wish to, or I or they feel they need to do so.  I have been pleased with most of their responses to comprehension work and we will be continuing with these things, and more, as we read further in the novel.

Both groups are almost finished with their novel card project involving their favorite choice read so far and we will have these completed prior to the beginning of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Best wishes for a happy Thanksgiving! 

English/Language Arts – Mrs. Creonte

In reading class this week we finished up the short u concept unit by working with idioms and taking the final spelling and dictation test.  Toward the end of the week we continued to work through the reading program and began discussing the schwa sound.  Students analyzed syllables within words, listened for word parts and broke words apart into the number of sound units.  Next week the students will be introduced to their first book review assignment on the independent book they have been reading in class and at home.  The assignment is a Podcast Book Review.  Templates and a script will be provided to the students and the due date will be the last week in December.  Please keep your eye out for more information to follow in the upcoming week.

In English the students have continued to work on their author’s party pieces.  At this point all students have drafted, revised and conferenced.  They will continue to type their stories and edit their work through the use of spell check, grammar check and Write Out Loud for publication on Tuesday.  I hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable Thanksgiving!

English/Language Arts – Ms Gurry

In reading class this week students met in their reading groups. We have been focusing on proper reading fluency. For example, raising your voice when you come to an exclamation point and pausing after periods and commas. We have also continued our study of phonemes. This week, we worked on the short u sound in words that contain blends and digraphs. Students have also been practicing using the suffixes s, ed, & ing in words.

In English students began to brainstorm ideas for their narratives. Students are writing creative stories on a topic of their choice. They are currently working on their graphic organizers and by the end of the week they will be working on their rough drafts. We also discussed what idioms are and the students drew pictures describing the idiom they chose. Reminder: Vocabulary quiz on Friday! 

Math- Ms. Turkington

This week the students worked on prime factorization, greatest common factor and least common multiple.  I have been very impressed with how well the students are able to write the prime factorization of a number.  The number theory test has been moved to Monday.  Please make sure that your student has studied his/her number theory vocabulary terms (green paper in binder) and has completed the review guide over the weekend.  On Tuesday we will play a game that will serve as a cumulative review of the quarter.  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.    

I want to congratulate the green class for winning the homework percentage competition with a 95% average!  

English/Language Arts – Ms Scalese

“Life’s got to be lived, no matter how long or short. You got to take what comes.” ~Mae Tuck

We are moving right along through our second required novel, Tuck Everlasting. This week, we spent some time reading in class and stopped often to discuss the characters, identify the themes and explore the use of Natalie Babbitt’s language.  We found many examples of imagery, personification, symbolism, metaphor, etc.  In addition to our reading and discussion activities, we played “fishbowl” and had the chance to share some deeper thoughts and feelings about the story.  Next week, we will continue to journal and complete questions packets that help us analyze the text and relate the ideas from the story to our own lives. During our discussion this week we learned that many students would no longer enjoy having the ability to be immortal, having read to this point in our novel.  The general class consensus was that ages 11- 25 are the most fulfilling ages with the least amount of struggles to be faced. Sadly, students didn’t think those of us in our 30’s or 40’s had much to look forward to; so you can imagine our struggle to find positive thoughts about growing older than 50! This might be a nice talking point at home as parents and older, wiser relatives might be able to offer a bit of insight into the joys of growing older.