Another glimpse....

Here's an update on what we are doing in here! :)

7th Bible:  We are learning all about the Book of Proverbs!  We are already on Unit 5 in Bible!  I pray that we continue to gain WISDOM and understanding in God's Word.  The students have chosen their own passages from Proverbs to memorize.  The unit test (including the Scripture memorization) is this Friday.

7th English: We are in the midst of our poetry unit.  Students are learning to identify and analyze a variety of poetic forms.  They are also exploring some of the common poetic elements such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphor, simile, imagery, meter, and more.  We read over a dozen wonderful poems from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.  The students are also practicing poetry comprehension and learning to question the texts that they read.  At the end of the collection, students will write and present a descriptive essay using sensory details and figures of speech.  They also have been writing poems throughout the unit, which is always fun!

8th Bible: We just started a new unit!  In our study of church history, we are in first century Rome, and Constantine is the emperor.  It's an exciting time in history to learn how God grew His church.  The students will learn more about where church traditions originated.  We will look to scripture to understand why we believe what we believe. When the students return from break, they will be completing their church reports.  Students in the past have loved presenting their own denomination before the class.  We have twentyfour students and nineteen different churches represented by the 8th grade!  I know that God will bless our time of sharing about the diversity, yet unity, in the Body of Christ.

8th English:  We just finished reading the Shakespearean drama, A Midsummer Night's Dream.  We had a wonderful time analyzing the witty language and even performing many scenes of the play in class!  The current vocabulary lessons have all come from the play as well.  The students will have a test on the play this Wednesday.  This week the students will also start on their mini-research papers (five pages).  They will understand MLA Format much better at the conclusion of their research and paper writing.  They students have chosen topics under the umbrella of PLAYS.  They could have chosen a particular theater production, a playwright, a drama from our literature text books, etc.   I will teach them how to research, create a research outline, document sources, transition from thought to thought, and much more.  This will be the last assignment due at the second quarter.


These are just some of the wonderful elements of our middle school classroom in English and Bible!
Keep the students and me (that is correct grammar-promise) in prayer as we, with the Holy Spirit's power, finish strong before Christmas break!

Don't Forget About Tomorrow!

Tomorrow we will be having our second Falcon Frey Battle Day during 5th period (right after lunch).

*Don't forget to bring in cans or dry goods to contribute to the homeroom competition and to support Pitcairn Food Pantry!

*Don't forget to wear your homeroom t-shirt to school!  (They are $3, and you can still purchase and retrieve yours tomorrow.)

*Don't forget to bring in a pie if you want to enter into the contest!

*Don't forget to bring in Christmas decorations for your homeroom's door!

Fun times will be had by all tomorrow! :)

Books! :)

Hello!

I just wanted to let you know that I am placing a Scholastic order tomorrow!  The shipment will be here next week.  If you want to order online, you can click the link below.  You can also go to the Scholastic Website and enter our class's code: JJW7D

Have a great day!
Mrs. Agate

Mrs. Agate's Scholastic :)
https://orders.scholastic.com/JJW7D

Inside Mrs. Agate's Class...

We are almost to the end of the first quarter!  The students are on track and even ahead of the curriculum in some areas.  Woo hoo!  Please look in their English binders and at their Bible study guides for more information on each element below.  Here is just a glimpse of what is currently happening in middle school English and Bible...

7th English

• Short Story Literature Unit: We are in the midst of reading ten classic short stories.  We are learning the various elements and writing techniques of a variety of genres.  We are enhancing higher level thinking skills as we learn what the author is trying to say through discussion of themes.  
• Vocabulary: We are increasing our vocabulary through our current Analogies unit and also through the literature we are reading.
• Grammar Unit 6: We are practicing classifying sentences, and we are learning verbals. 
• Writing: We are working on Persuasive Five Paragraph Essays and learning how to create a strong thesis statement. The students also do written responses to stories which assesses their reading comprehension through writing.  There is a weekly writing prompt as well.

7th Bible

• Unit Three: Job and the Books of Wisdom
• We are learning through Job that we can be refined through trials and tribulations and tested to be made pure, just as gold goes through the fire.  Students also learn to be godly friends in this unit and are encouraged to be a spiritual encouragement to others.  Looking at Job and the other Books of Wisdom also strengthens our faith in understanding that all will be well because God is in ultimate control.  
• Current memory passage is Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 ESV.  This will be a fill-in-the-blank assessment. 

8th English

• Holocaust Literature Unit: We are in the midst of reading The Hiding Place (on chapter 14).  We are also reading various poems from the prisoners held in concentration camps.  We learned about Anne Frank and skimmed the play The Diary of Anne Frank in our literature books.  
• Vocabulary: The next vocabulary unit will begin next week and will coincide with an Analogies unit.  
• Grammar Unit 5: We are continuing to practice grammar sentence classifications and strengthening grammar through writing.
• Writing: The students are writing a thesis paper on why eighth graders across the nation must visit Washington DC.  The format for this writing was explained in class; the students were given an essay outline as well as an example paper.  We are working on organizing ideas in structured writing and supporting thoughts with strong evidence and intelligent vocabulary.  The students also do written responses to assess reading comprehension as well as writing skill.  
• PLEASE NOTE:  Due to the classical poetry we have at the end of the second quarter, call me crazy, but I am extending the Poetry Portfolio due date to that time.  (See website for exact date.)  You will have to trust me that there is a method to my madness.  

8th Bible

• We are just finishing up Unit Two and moving on to Unit Three by next week.
• Students have learned about the start of the early church in terms of how church leaders are chosen to understanding what a believers life should look like even today.
• The current memory passage is Galatians 5:13-18 ESV
• Students are also to be familiar with chapter 11 of Hebrews ("The Faith Chapter") as well as chapter 12 of Hebrews which speaks of how we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.  Students recently turned in a "Person of Faith" mini-report.  

And here is a random sampling of "twin day" during Spirit Week.  :) 

Spirit Day! Go Falcons!

Falcon Frey Battle Day!

This year, the middle school is participating in a battle of the homerooms competition, and we are calling it "The Falcon Frey."  The students have had fun obtaining points for their homerooms for organized lockers, 100% homework participation, random acts of kindness, boxtops, and more.  Last Thursday was our first Falcon Frey Battle Day where we took one class period to compete in relay-type games to earn extra points!  Below you will find pictures of Schroeder's Shredders, Jensema's Jedis, and Agate's Aerial Aces.  These students are the best! :)

What's happening in English and Bible?

We have been having a wonderful first quarter so far.  The students are such a delight!  They bless me everyday with their positive attitudes and on-task behavior.  May God be glorified through the fruits of their labor in and outside the classroom!

Sometimes middle schoolers aren't so forthcoming in giving Mom and Dad the details of their school days.  So, here is an update on what is going on in my classes.

7th Bible:  The seventh graders just completed the first Bible unit which included an overview of the Bible as a whole.  We studied the beautiful covenants that God made with His people.  With joy we talked about the New Covenant by which we are all saved through Jesus' sacrifice.  We were assured in seeing God's faithfulness to His people throughout history.  We will continue understanding these concepts through an in depth study of the Jewish Feasts and holidays, which is our current unit.  The students will learn the English and Hebrew terms for these festivals, the significance of each event, and how Jesus has fulfilled them ALL from Passover (Pesach) to The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) to The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and more!  The students are also having group projects to discover more about the individual feasts.  Fear not, parents-- these projects will not cost any money, and each student will be graded INDIVIDUALLY on his or her contribution.  The group won't even have to get together outside of school!  We will have two work-days in class allowing time to collaborate, and each member's part will contribute to the whole.  I have done this assignment in the past, and it is always a wonderful endeavor.  

7th English: We finished The Giver a couple weeks ago and took the test on vocabulary and reading comprehension. (I have given them more time to complete their projects, due September 29th.  I can't wait to see how the lessons on journalistic writing paid off!)  The students loved the novel, and most rated it as a "ten."  Hooray!  Even though the novel was an easier read, we discussed the deep issues that the novel presents and how our Christian worldview affects the way we see the utopian society.  Lois Lowry's work covers the value of an individual's life and the power one person can have to change the world.  How true is this in our Christian lives?  We discussed how our lives are not our own; we belong to God.  How much MORE are we worth, then?  The students were wonderful in having these deep discussions involving the symbolism and themes of the novel.  Additionally, we are covering grammar, and we even have had a grammar relay race which was fun and successful.  The students are great at classifying sentences and seem to have a strong foundation in grammar.  I am looking forward to building on that foundation with the goal to become better writers.  

8th Bible: The students just finished their mini-projects on the Gospel and Epistle writers and books.  In their current Bible unit, we are doing an overview of the New Testament which will lead us into the birth of the early church.  The unit test will be next Tuesday, and their Bible memory passages are the seven last "words" of Jesus.  They have the references in their folders. :)

8th English: Our poetry unit is going wonderfully well.  The students are learning many poems, literary elements, poetry forms, and more!  They are working on a poetry portfolio, which will be due in a month.  I am so impressed with their abilities to discover poetic themes and to analyze poems! In addition to reading, writing, and discussing poems, we have been getting into grammar.  Some of the students LOVE classifying sentences and seem to have such fun during our grammar lessons.  Other students cringe when I say the dreadful words, "Open to the grammar section of your binder."  Like it or loathe it, they will be getting tons of grammar under their belts this year!  I can say that the students enjoy the writing prompts that we have had, and we are looking forward to becoming great writers this year as well.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Love,
Mrs. A

The Sweetest Sweeties

Here is the current seating chart.  Names were drawn at random, and we shall see if I need to put more strategy behind it in the future.  So far, so good!  These students are wonderful! :) 

Off to a great start....

We are off to a great start in middle school!  Here are a few reminders.

1. The students received their planners today.  They are to bring their planners to every class.  They are to bring them home each evening.  The planner is the size of a notebook and can easily be kept at the top of the locker for easy access.

2. Please make sure that all textbooks are covered by tomorrow (Friday).

3. Don't forget to order Scholastic books!  They have amazing and very affordable selections online.  The link is on my website.  Scholastic is currently running a promotion for teachers where they will give my classroom library a free book for every two books purchased by parents.  :)

4. Remember that the dress code requirements include solid bottoms, and the collared top can be patterned.

5. If you have a "smart" device of some kind, download the RenWeb Application for school notifications and such.  It will even alert you when your student is tardy to class (not that this will ever happen).

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!


And here is a fun, helpful little article for you:
How Was School Today, Sweetie?

Summer Reading

Dear Parents and Students,

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for a wonderful year.  The students worked very hard and learned TONS! :)

Here is the summer reading letter that I sent home today, and below the letter are the questions in lieu of the "attached" document.  The link is on the left-hand side of the website. :)

June, 3, 2015

Dear Parents and Students,

Summer is here!  Congratulations!  We have made it through another school year!  Even though the school year is through, it is not time to take a break from education altogether.  I have implemented a mild summer reading program for the students who are entering eighth grade.

Since this is the first year for the summer reading program, all each student has to do is read ONE of the novels from the provided list.  The list can be found on my website, and you can email me for the link as well.  You may chose ANY selection from the seventh or eighth grade lists.  Additionally, if your student is planning on completing the TCS Classics Reading Challenge, the summer novel WILL count towards this goal.

Upon completion of the novel, each student will fill out the attached forms to answer questions about the novel.  This simple assignment is worth the first fifty points of the eighth grade year.  This is a fantastic opportunity to grow in literature and higher level thinking skills.  

To make your literature choice easy, the link on my website includes links through amazon to each of the novels.  This means that you can look at reviews, read the summery, and even order the book if you like.  Also, all of the titles should be available at your library.  If you are having trouble retrieving a title that you would like to read, please do not hesitate to contact me.  

Thank you so much, and happy reading!

Love,

Mrs. Agate

***********************************************

Answer these questions about your novel choice.  You may type or neatly handwrite your answers.  Bring this with you on the first day of eighth grade.

1. Novel title: ; Author: ; Date published:

2. Describe the setting. (7+ sentences)

3. Describe the main characters. (2+ paragraphs)

4. What conflicts occurred through the course of the novel, and how were they resolved? (3+ paragraphs)

5. Draw a timeline of the plot.

6. Who was your favorite character?  Why?  (2+ paragraphs)  

7.  Which character was the least relatable to you?  Explain. (7+ sentences)

8. Would you recommend this novel?  Why or why not?  (1+ paragraph(s))

9. What would you rate this novel on a scale of 1-10? Explain your rating.

10. What  did you learn from this literary work?  (3+ paragraphs)

  

Bible Bowl 2015! :)

Today we held our Fourth Annual Middle School Bible Bowl Competition in the auditorium.  It was great fun, and the students were super pumped up to be a part of this tradition.

Our "game show" was complete with music, lights, a charismatic host (student council member, Jason Rucker), a "Vanna White" (student council member, Elizabeth Handley), judges, and even a fog machine!  All I had to do was read the questions! :)

What was most exciting was how the students displayed their knowledge of God's Word.  Believe it or not, the SIXTH grade took the championship this year lead by eleven year old genius, Samuel Dutton. :)  Fun times were had by all!

THIRD PLACE: Seventh grade. Competitors included Dean Merritt, Jillian Thomas, and Jacob Pan.
SECOND PLACE: Eighth grade.  Competitors included Aristotle Theofilis, Jacob Riviere, and Zack Gould.
FIRST PLACE: Sixth grade.  Competitors included Haley Hart, Samuel Dutton, and Sarah Gould.

7th Grade Story Writers

About a month ago, the 7th graders were assigned a kindergarten buddy.  Each 7th grader was to interview his or her buddy, and then create a book for the buddy with the gathered information.  They worked hard on creating wonderful stories with conflict, resolution, colorful illustrations, and more-- all starring their kindergarteners! :)  Today, we were able to present our "published" (laminated, at least!) books to the little sweeties who were thrilled to receive such a special gift.  What a cherished time of sharing and love! :)

Happy Campers :)

I had a blast with the 8th graders on the camping trip!  We hiked, swam, biked, cooked over the fire, and worshipped the Creator of the amazing beauty of which we were in the midst!

THANK YOU ALL!

Dear Wonderful Parents,

Thank you SO much for donating your time and delicious treats to our middle school fiesta! :)  I would especially like to thank Sherida Blackburn who was at school at 7AM decorating and setting up for this Mexican feast!  Thanks to Jill Gunniers for all her help putting this together and for providing the most amazing piñata I have ever seen!  Thank you, Lisa Riviere for creating delicious and incredible taco cake pops!  WOW!  Many hands contributed to this fun party, and I was blessed by you all!  Enjoy these fun photos! :)

Field Trip Permission Slip and Information

8^th Grade Camping Trip!

When: Sunday, May 17^th, 3PM departure (meet in at school front parking lot at 2:45PM ).  We will leave the campground at 1PM on Monday to be back at the school by 2PM in case students need to take the bus home or go to track practice, etc. 

Where: We are going to Laurel Hill State Park

                       
                                          Somerset, PA

                                          814-674-1000

Cost: $28 per camper will cover the cost of all food (Snacks and three meals : dinner on Sunday; breakfast and lunch on Monday), fire wood, supplies, the reservation of four sites, etc.

Why: As we just finished reading Lord of the Flies (which could eerily coincide with camping) and as a means of a last hurrah for our 8^th grade sweeties who will soon be in high school (Boo Hoo!), we thought this would be a fun opportunity to fellowship together though camping (devotions, praise and worship, games, journaling, fishing, hiking, etc.).  We hope that everyone can attend!

Help: We may need one more driver! You do not have to stay as we have enough chaperones, but let me know if you would be willing to haul kids and/or camping equipment to the sites.  J 

What to bring:     *Sleeping bag     *Flashlight      *Bible and Notebook/Journal          *”Play” clothes            *Fishing gear       *Comfy shoes for hiking      *Bug spray             *Pillow           *Games, Cards, Puzzles            *Any special snacks you would like

            *Toiletries (There are showers.)            *Towel          *Modest Swimsuit *Chair, if you have one!         *A bike if you have the means to get it there

*Any camping tools such as hotdog sticks, mountain-pie irons, etc. are welcome!

*We will work out the tent situation together in class.  We need four 5+man tents.   

Note:  We acknowledge that this Sunday departure is an anomaly in our policies at TCS.  We do not wish to take anyone away from church obligations or family time on Sunday.  We tried to accommodate this by having a 3PM departure.  If leaving on a Sunday presents a conflict for you, please let me know.  This field trip is not mandatory.  However, we do hope that all of our classmates can take part!

Contact: Email Mrs. Agate with any questions! J 

ALSO-- IF THIS COST IS A HINDRANCE TO YOU, PLEASE SEND A CONFIDENTIAL EMAIL TO MRS. AGATE, AND IT WILL BE TAKEN CARE OF.  THANKS.

-           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -          

I GIVE MY STUDENT, ________________________________________, PERMISSION TO ATTEND THE 8^TH GRADE CAMPING TRIP ON MAY 17^TH.  ENCLOSED is $28.

SIGNED:     

Here is a shot from last year's trip. :)  I can't wait to help provide more middle school memories for this year's special group of 8th graders! 

Update! :)

The middle school is a happening place!  There are just a few short weeks of school left, but we will work until the not-at-all-bitter end! Here is what you need to be "in the know"....

7th English:  *Grammar Wrap-Up  *Last Vocabulary Unit  *Short Story Book for Kindergarten Buddy   *Inspirational Speeches  

7th Bible: *Last Bible Unit on Biblical Literary Genres    *Last Memory Passage (Lam. 3:22-26)

8th English: *Grammar Overview    *Last Two Vocabulary Units   *MLA Research Papers   *Persuasive Speeches     *Literary Essay Mastery

8th Bible: *Last Unit on Current Church History    *Last Memory Passage (Heb. 12:1-3)

Other important happenings:  *Work-a-Thon is this Thursday, May 7th!   *Choir Concert is Tuesday, May 12th at 7PM     *Student Council Elections are Wednesday, May 13th at 8:30AM     *Middle School Cinco de Mayo Celebration is Thursday, May 14th at 11:30AM-12:30PM      *Kennywood Day is Friday, May 15th     *8th Grade Camping Trip 3PM Sunday May 17th - 2PM May 18th *Band Concert is Tuesday, May 19th at 7PM    *Middle School Awards Banquet is Thursday, May 21st at 8:30AM  

By the way, I think the students are still in great spirits during this crunch time!  Here is a typical picture of what happens as students settle in to class.  I love middle schoolers! :)

Research Papers....

Blessings to you on this gorgeously sunny day!

Just a note about...
8th Grade MLA Research Papers:  You may have heard of this paper already.  The guidelines and due dates have already been distributed, and the requirements have been explained.  The eighth graders are learning how to properly research and will hopefully master writing a paper in MLA format.  This process should not be overwhelming at all if your student follows the simple agenda.  Also, this is a combined English and History grade as Mr. Jensema also wants to impart his knowledge of how to research and choose sources.  The English component will include the writing and formatting of ideas and how to properly cite in the paper. Mr. Jensema and I will be holding their hands throughout this paper and will be guiding them very carefully.  Please check with your student for the list of requirements.

Field Trip!

Dear 8th Grade Parents,

A week from today, we will be going to visit the Greek Orthodox Church (Aristotle Theofilis's church).  This will be a wonderful opportunity for the class to get a look at Eastern Orthodoxy in light of our recent Bible unit.  The majority of the students mentioned that they have never seen the inside of such a church, and although Ari's descriptions and the pictures in our texts gave us a general idea, we thought it would be cool to check it out for ourselves.  Ari's priest will be showing us around and answering any questions we may have about the church.

The drivers for this trip are Mrs. Theofilis, Pastor Handley, Pastor Schmidtberger, who has taken many TCS students on church tours in the past.  Thank you, drivers! :)

Please get those permission slips in!  The cost is free, but the kids still need parental permission.  We will be back in time for lunch, so no need to pack.  If you have any questions about the trip, please email me.

Thanks!
 

  

Back to Normalcy! :)

Finally, testing week is over!  And, Lord willing, so are delays and cancellations!  We still have much to cover in the classroom, and lots of learning is to be had by all!  Despite this fact, we did take twenty minutes of time to take the students outside today.  Here is a picture of some sweet seventh grade girls enjoying their time in the sun. :)

  

And here is the briefest glimpse of what's happening indoors....

7th English: We are finishing our poetry unit this week with a test on Thursday!  The students have learned how to write many forms of poetry and have studied a large variety of poems written by authors from all walks of life.  The students also have gained a deeper understanding of literary terms in reference to poetry.  We begin a new novel, Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez, next week, and we will be continuing with grammar and vocabulary lessons as well.

8th English: We are bringing our short story unit to a close this week.  The unit will culminate with short stories written by each student.  We have been learning how to develop characters, setting, plot, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.  The students have also read a variety of short stories from different cultures and different times and of different genres.  We will start reading Lord of the Flies by William Golding next week.  This is an excellent classic novel which bring an amazing depth of discussion to the classroom.  There will be several writing assignments as well that coincide with our next unit.

7th Bible: We only have ONE unit left in the curriculum.  Our current unit is on the intertestamental period in Biblical history.  The students are usually intrigued about what happened between the old and new testaments.  This unit also provides a wonderful time of spiritual growth in discovering how God is most certainly, always there, even when we don't see or hear Him.  We learn to praise Him even more for the blessing of His Word!

8th Bible: We are on the very last unit in our text books.  These 8th graders flew through the curriculum, but, more importantly, my prayer is that they grew closer to the Lord and have gained a deeper love and passion for His Word and His people.  This current and last unit is about the modern church and includes lessons on cults.  The students will be giving presentations on their own churches during this unit as well.  We discuss more ways to minister and evangelize through a variety of activities.  This is always an interesting time for our 8th grade class and my favorite unit of the whole year.