The ASU Sun Devil

These are the proud colors of ASU, Arizona State University, the college I have adopted for my classroom. As students enter the halls of San Jose Middle School this coming Thursday, August 20^th, they will be seeing many different colored pendants and banners from colleges all over the U.S. As a staff, we are excited about the new college focus and have many activities planned around it. The first activity will be our College Readiness Kick-off Event on Tuesday, September 1^st from 1:00-2:00p.m. This event will include guest speaker Dr. Jeri Echeverria, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs of the California State University system. That following Friday will be our first College Friday for students who have been responsible, respectful, engaged and adhering to the SJMS Commitment contract that each student will have signed.

To start out the Language Arts and History core curriculum, students will begin with a strong focus on writing. We will begin with improving vocabulary, writing strong paragraphs and expanding paragraphs to organized essays. In addition, each class will be focusing on writing for the daily warm-ups for the first few weeks to get the students comfortable with writing. Mini-lessons on reading comprehension will be integrated into each History lesson, which will eventually work into collaboration lessons. The intent is to help the students work towards working in groups to investigate mini-inquiry/research questions. Students will eventually be taking a reading placement test (STAR test) using the Accelerated Reader program provided by the district. Once the students reading levels are determined, an AR points goal will be set for each student for the semester. This points goal is a formula based on students reading at their level for a minimum of 30 minutes per night, 5 nights a week. Please help your student by making sure that they have a book (I strongly encourage you to get a free Marin library card) and that they are reading for the minimum time nightly. You could also read to or with them. This is a great way to connect with your teen and to ask questions in order to gauge what they comprehend while reading.

Unfortunately, Technology is not an elective that is being offered this year. My hope is that I will be able to integrate technology into the different subject areas in different ways with the students. That being said, it is important for you and your students to make sure that all information from the packets that are passed out on the first day are returned as soon as possible. Within that packet there could be a form that allows students to get onto the computers at school. If they did not attend SJMS last year or did not turn in their form (AUP – Acceptable Use Policy/Network form) they will not be able to use the computers. This will greatly hamper their academic experience if they cannot participate along with their peers.

A few events that you should be aware of by now include the mandatory parent meetings on Tuesday, August 25^th, Wednesday, August 26^th, and Thursday, August 27^th at 7:00pm. Please find a day that works for you in order to attend one of the meetings. In addition, Back-to-School night is slated for the evening of Wednesday, September 9^th from 6:30-8:00pm. I look forward to meeting you face-to-face on that evening and I anticipate this will be a new, exciting year for us all!

Students have completed research on their careers and will be creating their final product this coming week. It has been fun reading about what they hope to become. One thing is for sure, San Jose Middle School will have an abundance of alumni who will be professionals in all areas.
Seventh grade students have just finished Unit 4 in History about Imperial China. They will be taking a unit test next week (study guides will go out this week) and will begin the next unit of study about Medieval Japan. I anticipate the student will enjoy learning about the warrior class.

In Language Arts, students will begin a novel study based on James Howe’s novel, The Misfits. This novel is about a group of seventh grade students who are not a part of the mainstream. They decide to come up with a new “political party” for the student council elections with an agenda that includes a zero tolerance policy for name-calling. As a culminating activity for this unit of study, my students will create public service announcements, short movies, for anti-bullying.

On another note, there are about seven remaining weeks left of school. Spring fever is running rampant; however, there is still work to be done. Student Accelerated Reader goals have been increased, once again, and the new due date is May 29th. For those students who have fallen behind on their reading goals, it is imperative that they increase their reading time from 30 minutes a night, five days a week, to an hour and include the weekends. Remind them, there is extra credit for any student who can read beyond their independent reading level goal.

I hope you are enjoying our beautiful weather. You may be seeing me riding around Novato with my family. The spring weather makes us anxious to get out and exercise. Perhaps we will see you today at the School Fuel bike ride at San Marin.

If you have any questions, feel free to call or email me. In addition, if you would like to see your student’s PSA on anti-bullying, please send me a note. If all goes well, I am hoping to upload them onto the wikispace page for viewing purposes.

In addition to continued preparation for the tests, students are gearing up to memorize a two-minute speech to present to their classmates. The speeches will be chosen from a variety of topics: book excerpts, persuasive speeches, short story, monologues, etc. (Students will also be informed of links on my resources page to book experts) They are required to memorize their speech with, at most, an index card to serve as a prompt. If you are interested in coming in to observe your child present, please feel free to email me and I will do my best to accommodate the schedule for you. Those students who do an outstanding job may be asked to participate in the SJMS speech contest on March 24th and possibly move on to the San Domenico Speech contest.

In conclusion, I would like to encourage you and your children to read together in the evenings. Students are required to read for thirty minutes every night (their Accelerated Reader points, which are adjusted for their independent reading levels, are based on this daily time). What a better way to end the night by reading as a family and then sharing what you have read. Share with your child the process – what you think about, what you predict will happen, questions you have about why the author chose to portray the character in a certain light or write in a certain way. The more you can model your reading process the more experience they will gain. Ask them the same questions about their reading. I read to my children every night. As we read together, I will stop and ask them questions about what they think might happen next. Too often, students believe there is a right or wrong answer and they can’t appreciate the anticipation and joy that reading can bring. They are used to reading and answering questions from a textbook and are unsure or hesitant about thinking for themselves.  It is amazing how much modeling can help free them up in order to show them they are capable of critical thinking. This will also help them in their Reader’s Journal responses. You could even have them write their journal response letter to you. Wouldn’t it be fun to write a letter back to them?

I understand how life can keep us busy, but there is no greater gift you can give your child than modeling for them how a reader reads, responds and interacts with text. It can be reading the newspaper, a poem, novel or other informational text. The objective is to show the importance of reading and how we make sense of it. You are your child’s first teacher. With your support, we can work together to guide your student towards becoming a life-long learner.

In addition to writing, all students have a new Accelerated Reader points goal. The homework continues to be reading nightly for at least 30 minutes. I have been reminding students daily that the AR points are based on their reading level and a formula based on reading 30 minutes five days a week. Reader’s Workshop will continue on Fridays along with mini-lessons on reading comprehension and read-alouds. GATE students are beginning work on their next Literacy Exploration project.

In History, students are finishing up their unit on Muslim contributions and the crusades to new Muslim empires before moving on to learn about the ancient societies of West Africa. Most students will be working on posters highlighting the Muslim contributions; GATE students are investigating literature with excerpts from The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam, a Sufi mystic who wrote poetry, and the Epic of Kings by Ferdowsi, a Persian nobleman and poet. They will create a product or response that will be posted to their Blogmeister space. Stay tuned!

Technology students from last fall have now moved on to Spanish with Ms. Krott and I have a fresh batch of students for the spring semester. We have begun our first unit of study, Internet Safety. At the end of this section, students create an Internet safety podcast based upon what they have learned. Stay tuned for this audio podcast. It will be posted on the Technology page.

Upon closing, I would like to point out that Challenge day will occur once again for a second year. I would like to say what a moving experience this was for me last year (see my post below) and I hope this will encourage more students to be the conduit that will make the change! Middle school can be a challenging place to get along with others but let’s try and make it the place we want to be. Find it in yourself to treat others respectfully and be supportive of your fellow classmates. We are all more alike than we are different. Let’s start this New Year on a clean slate both academically and socially!

Along with writing, students have been focusing on a Fiction unit of study for reading. The following short stories have been read: Seventh Grade by Gary Soto, Thank You M’am by Langston Hughes, and Zebra by Chaim Potak. The literary skills learned during this unit include analyzing setting, internal and external conflict, cause and effect, plot and theme. Students are currently finishing this unit by reviewing vocabulary from each story and creating vocabulary posters to share with other students. GATE students are currently analyzing a piece of text by Shakespeare, from The Tempest, in order to learn how to self-select vocabulary for their own vocabulary collections. Students will then select words to put on a word-wall within the classroom.

In addition to the above, I would like to point out that all students should have been reading a minimum of thirty minutes per night since the second week of school. Students have also been notified of their goals for Accelerated Reader points. This goal is based on a formula using their reading levels and reading time over the nine-week period. If students are reading independently and completing their novels, they can take tests on Accelerated Reader in the back of the classroom several times throughout the week. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me.

In Social Studies, students started with the Fall of Rome to learn about the rise of Christianity and have continued with Feudalism, the rise of the Church and daily life in Medieval Europe. Students were able to participate in a simulation on feudal systems where our guest attacker, no other than Viking “Ms. Rav”, came in to raid the manors. The unit on the rise of the church provided an opportunity for students to learn in depth about each chapter at different stations where they completed activities such as sculpting gargoyles, creating stained glass windows, learning different instruments and about the seven holy sacraments. As we complete the last sections of daily life, students in the GATE class are presenting short skits to support the topics they have learned in each section.

In closing, I would like to extend an invitation for you to peruse our class blog (see the Blogmeister link) in order to read and respond to student writing by GATE students. I would also like to share a poem written by one of the students as a conclusion activity during our unit on the rise of the church. The students were to come up with a kind of acrostic poem using “the church” and terms learned in the unit. They were to start with an illuminated letter and finish by illustrating it. Although I cannot re-create the drawings here, the writing was exemplary and I was compelled to share it with a larger audience. I hope you enjoy it.

hrown out of his position as a pope,
Gregory excommunicated Henry IV
Henry could no longer gain salvation,
So to Italy he fled to escape damnation

Holy days in a cathedral of Christ
Music and dancing just doesn’t suffice
Bonfires and jugglers, acrobatics and plays
The mummers’ act will stay with you for days

Education used to take place in a church
But rarer is a book for universities to search
Thomas Aquinas, a scholar of theology and philosophy
Bridged the gap of faith and reason with great logicality

Crusades to recover the holy land
Striving to conquer with a sword in hand
Pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome
Traveling on foot until they get home

Holy Orders to become a priest
The blessing of bread and wine, a Eucharist
Sacraments, or sacred rites
Give us peace of mind at night.

Usually formed in the shapes of hideous beasts
Gargoyles, used for rainspouts, at the very least
Gothic cathedrals, naves, and stained glass
Flying buttresses and crosses of brass

Ranks of the church, the pope at the head
Then the cardinals and archbishops instead
Then the bishops come in a mass
The lowly priests come in dead last

Convents and monasteries are a religious order
With nuns and monks whose life revolves around a cloister
They care for the poor; they care for the sick
And the eight church services a day are laid on thick

Hence my travels end,
And my blessing to you my friend
I have learnt the ways
Of the great church of today

-By A.L.

Some students have told me they plan on reading over the summer to get a head start for next year. I highly recommend it! There are so many fabulous new books out for teens. Ms. Collins has put together a Recommended Reading List for the summer. There are several on the list that I have read or plan to this summer. I read first one on the list, The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, just this past Saturday. It was so good I couldn’t put it down. It is a book about a teenager who hopes for a better life while the lives of those around him seem destined for desolation. The main character, Arnold Spirit, seems an underdog but ends up being an incredibly strong character that refuses to give up, even when the worst befalls on him, his family, and community. It made me laugh out loud and cry out of empathy for Arnold.

Students have finished reading The Misfits, by James Howe, and are creating commercials, or Public Service Announcements, for anti-bullying. They are finding images, research, and creating a final message for their PSA. We are hoping to finish them in time for viewing on the last day. If you would like to come in or view your student’s video, please contact me by email so I can update you as to when we will be sharing.

The Technology/Exploratory class is ending out the year with a cooking unit. So far, the students learned how to make pasta sauce from scratch, without opening a jar! In addition, they made a tortilla casserole. The unit will end with Pigs in a Blanket, Currant Scones, and Seven Layer Cookies. Needless to say, the students are eagerly anticipating the cookies! I would like to give a huge thank you to the PTA for helping to fund the groceries for this unit. It has been a big hit so far and the students are having a great time in the kitchen. Also, I would like to thank all of the parents who donated items from their own kitchen that have allowed us to cook and bake. They have been put to good use.

In closing, I would like to say it has been a great year. I have enjoyed teaching all of your students and learning from them, also. Please, encourage them to read over the summer months. Share what you are reading with your students and ask them to share. Read a book together, as a family. On long trips, download audiobooks onto ipods or borrow audiobook CD’s from the library. The main Novato library has quite an extensive selection of teen books. I look forward to talking with the students in the fall about the novels they have read over the summer. Have a peaceful and relaxing summer.

While we spend the next two and a half weeks testing we ask that you help out your students in the following ways. First of all, please make sure they have a good night’s rest. Most teachers are cognizant of the fact that students are consumed by testing and will cut down on homework expectations for these two weeks. I only ask that students continue reading for 30 minutes each night. In addition to plenty of rest, a good breakfast provides good fuel for the brain and will help sustain them throughout the morning of testing. Lastly, please make sure that your student is at school on time. Tardies can be especially disruptive during this time of high stakes testing. Thank you for your support.

The days are passing quickly now. There are only about thirty-four days left of the semester and only thirty days until the Accelerated Reader points are due. Encourage your student to read more as this will count as extra credit. You could even read a book together, as a family. I just listened to a story on CD from the library titled 47, by Walter Mosley. It was part historical fiction and part science fiction. The story was about a fourteen year old boy who was the slave of a brutal master. He meets another boy, Tall John, whom he believes is a slave. Through their brief friendship, he learns to believe in himself and how to be free. I highly recommend it.

In closing, I would like to say I have been sharing books that I have purchased and read with the students. They have been quickly grabbing them up. If you have purchased novels for your students and they are finished reading them, we would love to have them share and contribute those books to the class library. Students are much more likely to pick up a book if it has been recommended by someone else. I have posted in the class the Best Books for Young Adults 2008 list from the American Library Association. I hope to get through the list myself but have only just begun. If your student needs to be inspired by a good book, check out that list. Another good website, which Ms. Collins just reminded us about today is Teen Reads. This is a website where teens give the book reviews. You may even want to have your student frequent that website over the summer. It never hurts to plan ahead for next year!

Best regards.

On another note, students are gearing up to memorize a two-minute speech to present to their classmates. The speeches were chosen from a variety of topics: book excerpts, persuasive speeches, short story, monologues, etc. (Students were also informed of links on my resources page to book experts) They are required to memorize their speech with, at most, an index card to serve as a prompt. If you are interested in coming in to observe your child present, please feel free to email me and I will do my best to accommodate the schedule for you. Those students who do an outstanding job may be asked to participate in the SJMS speech contest on March 18th and possibly move on to the San Domenico Speech contest later next month.

In addition to further test preparation practice, students will begin reading a short novel, The Pearl by John Steinbeck. In this unit of study we will be analyzing the many themes (good vs. evil, the poor oppressed by the rich, things aren’t always what they seem, etc.) and exploring the symbolism, while enjoying the rich language and descriptive characters.

In conclusion, I would like to encourage you and your children to read together in the evenings. Students are required to read for thirty minutes every night. What a better way to end the night by reading as a family and then sharing what you have read. Share with your child the process – what you think about, what you predict will happen, questions you have about why the author chose to portray the character in a certain light or write in a certain way. The more you can model your reading process the more experience they will gain. Ask them the same questions about their reading. I read to my children every night. As we read together, I will stop and ask them questions about what they think might happen next. Too often, students think they have to answer a right or wrong question that they can’t appreciate anticipation and the joy that reading can bring. They are used to reading and answering questions from a textbook and are unsure or hesitant about thinking for themselves. It is amazing how much modeling can help free them up in order to show them they are capable of critical thinking. This will also help them in their Reader’s Journal responses. You could even have them write their journal response letter to you. Wouldn’t it be fun to write a letter back to them?

I understand how life can keep us busy, but there is no greater gift you can give your child than modeling for them how a reader reads, responds and interacts with text. It can be reading the newspaper, a poem, novel or other informational text. The objective is to show the importance of reading and how we make sense of it. You are your child’s first teacher. With your support, we can work together to guide your student towards becoming a life-long learner.

Technology/Exploratory students have finished creating their iMovies and have moved on to exploring the elements of photography. So far, students have looked at light and shadows, camera angle, frame and scale, composition and story sequence. We have several other projects we hope to complete before moving on to the next unit of study which will be art.

In the art unit of study, we will be looking at several artists from different eras and with different styles. This will include artists from the Renaissance, to Post-renaissance, Cubists, Surrealists, to more current artists and styles (pop art, comics, etc.). If you have any experience or expertise with a certain style or artist and would like to come talk to the students – or even present a lesson – let me know. We would love to learn from you.

The students have been in the lab for two weeks typing their stories. Some of the mini-lessons we have covered in the lab have included “really bad words” to stay away from while writing/editing, how to use a Thesaurus to replace dull verbs, writing so a reader can “see it, hear it, feel it,” and how to slow down important parts in the story by creating a “movie” in your mind’s eye. It is exciting to see even the students who struggle inspired to put words on paper. I eagerly anticipate hearing their stories next week. My goal is to have every student read their stories aloud to their classmates the week of December 10th through the 14th. If you are available and would like to come in and listen to your student’s story, please send me an email letting me know when you are available and would like to come.

In addition to writing, we continue with our Friday Reader’s Workshop. Students were recently given a log to keep track of their reading time and pages covered (they are supposed to be reading 30 minutes every night). Students are able to choose their own novels to read and write to me, or another student, about what they are reading. I enjoy being able to write to each student. Please, feel free to ask your student to write to you in their Reader’s Journal about what they are reading. You might enjoy writing back with questions you have regarding what they have written and insights they have as a reader.

I have recently incorporated a new assessment program called Accelerated Reader. This program has just become available to the district this current year. I am the first to pilot this program at SJMS and have been learning about it in order to help other teachers transition more easily. You might be familiar with the program, as many of the elementary schools have been using it for several years. It allows students to take a reading test in order to find out what reading level they are at. In addition, it allows them to do their independent reading and then take comprehension tests. Teachers are then able to cross-reference their independent reading with their actual reading level in order to help students become more successful readers and to analyze student growth. The students earn points for each test they take and successfully pass. The points are based upon numerous factors: book level, pages, time spent reading. The goal for this quarter was set at 20 points. There are a few students who have reached and surpassed this goal but there are several others who have not. Please, encourage your students to read every night. Help them with their goal; encourage them and read to them or alongside of them. If they have reached their goal, encourage and persuade them to read at a higher level and/or a different genre.

I would like to suggest reading to your students and taking them to the public library to select books to read over the winter break. Please see my Accelerated Reader links page to search for AR books by book level and then you can search the Marin County Library database for books on my resources page. Also, with a library card you can place a hold on a book or, if you cannot find the book at the Novato library, you can request the book from another and they will send you a notice when it arrives. After students have finished a novel they can take a test on Accelerated Reader from home by accessing the link on my class page. This will help give them a head start on quarter points for the new semester.

Technology students have been busy collecting data and expressing it in different ways through spreadsheets, graphs, and databases. They have recently finished merging a mad libs story with a parts of speech database to create crazy, unique stories. It was a fun way for students to practice and review grammar! Next week they will be learning how to create greeting cards in Microsoft Word. Again, I would like to encourage fostering typing practice over the break. This is a skill that will help them greatly in the coming years. There are free sites for practicing on even though they are limited. If you would like suggestions on typing programs, please feel free to contact me for advice.

Lastly, I would like to wish all of you a peaceful and joyous holiday season. Your children are a gift and I enjoy each and everyone.

“There are all kinds of courage…It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”

Challenge Day was an emotional roller coaster. So many walls came tumbling down to reveal what was inside of each child, each person. I was so proud of my “family.” What a fantastic group of children! They were able to look past the labels…you’re fat, skinny, ugly, pretty, black, white, slow, nerdy…to say “what does it matter?” We are all human and we are more alike than we are different. By putting a label on someone else it keeps us from knowing what each person has to offer as an individual. I hope these children will be able to stand up to their friends in the future when they see them place labels on others and judge people based on stereotypes.

When I share with people that I teach middle school they often look at me like I am crazy! I think a part of me was drawn to this age because it was such a difficult time in my own life. We all struggle at this age to fit in, be liked, loved and respected. We are in such a fragile state of being and feel like we are all awkward and alone. For some of us, not much changes throughout our lifetime.

I want to thank the P.T.A. for helping to bring Challenge Day to our school.  This experience has taught me that it doesn’t matter what age we are. We are all human and, whether we come from the same background or not, the most fundamental need and desire is to feel loved and have our feelings validated and respected. There were so many sad children who had bottled up their feelings but were able to open up today. I wanted to scoop up each and every child there and tell them they are loved and how special they are. I wanted to tell them they are not alone and I know how they feel.

We all have the power to change a life and make someone feel better about themselves through love and kind words. I was reading some poems to my children this evening and I came across two by Emily Dickinson which made me reflect on the day.

A word is dead

When it is said,

Some say.

I say it just

Begins to live

That day.

In this short life

That only lasts an hour,

How much, how little,

Is within our power!

And, another…

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

I hope to validate the feelings of everyone in my life more than I have in the past. I hope to never tell my children, again, not to cry or don’t cry like a baby. I want them to acknowledge their feelings and understand why they feel the way they do. I want them to know it is alright to have them and to let them out once in awhile. I also hope that I can contribute to mending those broken hearts and lightening the burdens that plague those we are surrounded by.

We could all use a little more love, empathy and compassion in our lives. I appreciate the love I have been given and those lives who I have been blessed to cross paths with. I am surrounded by incredible students who have so much to offer this world. And, I realize how similar we are no matter what age or background. It is our feelings that unite us and make us able to relate to each other as humans. If we embrace and connect to those feelings, we will find the love and respect we all deserve.