At the end of last week we started working on our world maps. The students are responsible for finding and adding all the locations given to them on the MAP. They will have two sets of MAP as the world MAP gives the context, then the students will move to the more continent specific maps that I will be attaching. They will be having a test over these locations within the next week or so.
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Welcome back, I hope everyone had a great summer and is ready for the new school to get started!
I have had a bit of a change in schedule so that will necessitate a change in topic for this space. Last year, I used this blog mostly for the Support classes. I was trying to communicate with students and parents about major events happening in other classes in the building. This year the focus will shift to what is happening in my classes. Mostly this will pertain to Ancient History as that is the class with the most daily work that will need to be completed by certain deadlines. My ELA and Math classes are within the resource room and necessitate individualization. Therefore, the vast majority of work in those classes will be done in class. So there isn't as much need to update parents on daily work. For Ancient History, I plan to update this space with assignments and projects as well as other useful information as we move through the school year. You can bookmark this page and check back into it as we move throughout the year. I have also set up a Twitter feed as well as a Facebook page that will shoot out notifications that this blog has been updated. You click the logos at the top of the page for access to those. I am very excited about teaching Ancient History and I am looking forward to getting to know the students this year! Please e-mail me or leave a comment if you have any questions!! See letter attached below. Basic gist is that email is down in Kennewick School District. It has been for a couple of weeks. [email protected] is the place to send me an e-mail until further notice. This letter will coming home today with all students in my class. I apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.
Welcome back! I hope every got enjoy a bit of spring break. Mine was fantastically spent with my 4 year old daughter in Portland. We went to the zoo and the children's museum and had lots of time to spend with family. So I am re-charged a bit and ready for the stretch run.
Lots going on with testing this quarter. We started two weeks before spring break and we won't finish until June. So there will be days where student miss significant time in class. Using Support class wisely along with extra homework time will be critical for students to make up missing work. So keep that in mind and let me know if you have questions or concerns about getting work made up. Also, report cards are coming home this week. So, parents, look for those from your student today or tomorrow. Because of report cards there will be no progress reports this week in Support class. It has been a strange week for the students. Usually Spring Break represents a natural break in the schedule that teachers plan projects around and use to finish up units to start the final push in April. That has been the case year but with Common Core testing starting this week for many students it has made for a very crazy week.
The Common Core tests are very time extensive. There are two two hour tests for reading and for math. There is also a one period lesson to prep the students for each of those tests. With our school having only 3 computer labs and 960 students to test this means that students tests will be spread out over the next couple of months. I should also mention that those times for the tests are estimates and we also need each student to take a reading and math MAP test before the end of the school year. So it is going to be a crazy few months around Desert Hills. I have spoken to the Support classes about this testing both strongly encouraging them to take the testing seriously and not stress about it. The Common Core test is a pilot and we will never see individual scores but it is still good practice for students to be prepared for future testing. I would encourage parents to discuss this with their students and encourage them but don't them get upset. This test is very difficult and we have not yet implemented the standards over which the students are being testing on! Which makes the whole thing very unfair in my opinion. Especially when dealing with students who are in Support classes because they struggle with some aspect of school. All of this is just food for thought. Many of my Support students have done one day of the English/Language Arts test and we are scheduled to go again for Part Two the Monday after break. Many students did their best and did very well. Others did their best and got very frustrated by the questions. Again I am trying to keep each student positive about this experience. Have a great Spring Break! I am looking forward to 4th quarter and a strong finish to the school year. As we hit the dog days of winter and of the school year, I have remembered that I been neglecting this space. There have been several reasons including transition meeting with the high schools that have sucked up a lot of my time, but the most important reason is that there hasn't been a lot going on to talk about. Students are well into the routines and the end of the semester gave a small break before things got off to a stronger pace again. With projects coming due again and unit tests starting to get rolling I am hoping to update this space more frequently.
With all that being said; there is science test tomorrow in both Mrs. Barnes and Mrs. Nelson's classes. Study those weather fronts tonight. All the students should have their review guides home tonight to study with. Report cards should be coming home today with each student 7th period. Make sure you ask your student about those. Students, make sure you are giving those to your parents tonight!
We did not do progress reports in support yesterday because report cards are coming home today. Progress reporting will be back to normal next week. Another thing 2nd Semester is officially underway. This means that we are halfway through the school year!!!! This also means that report cards are on the way home this week and that all students grades are now 0/0 for the second semester. As close to a blank slate as you can get. If your student was struggling try asking to see their planner on a nightly basis. They should have assignments and HW written down there. We have two months of 3rd quarter then Spring Break, then testing madness starts in full force. So teachers are going to be squeezing as much learning and projects in as they can this time year. Be ready!
THE END APPROACHES!!!! Thankfully, it is only the end of the semester not some other end. However, judging by the student's attitudes about report cards it might as well be the end of the world! Because of MAP testing no progress reports were sent home last week. I am sending them home today. I wanted to make sure everybody knew what was due by the end of the week. With report card prep half day on Friday, student's need to have all missing work in ASAP or Friday morning if possible. Some pretty panicked faces in Support class today!!
Winter MAP testing is here. All student's in a Support class plus all 8th graders are going through MAP testing over the next couple of weeks. We are trying to get all Support students done this week so many students have missed class time this week trying to get it done. We have tried to minimize this by doing testing in Support class as much as possible, but with absences and students taking longer to test this is not always possible. Students need to check with their teachers on what they missed as well as with me for any make up work that I can help them with or get excused if needed. Also, parents be aware that students did not have their regular Support time this week so more homework will need to happen.
Also, because we don't have support time this week there is no time for progress reports. Check parent portal or let me know if you have any questions. Look for progress reports next Thursday. End of the Semester is coming! Friday the 24th is the last day of the semester. All student make up work needs to be done before then. A four day weekend is a great chance to get caught up |
AuthorThis is the official blog for Room 113 at Desert Hills Middle School. Archives
February 2017
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