The Final Push!

We're almost done! There are 17 school days until summer vacation!  We are still going strong in English and Bible.  Here is a very brief look at what is up in our classroom...

7th English: *Short Story Writing  *Reading the novel Breaking Through *Last Vocabulary Unit

8th English: *Grammar Concepts Total Review  *MLA Paper Writing   *Analogies Unit 5

7th Bible: *Unit 8- THE LAST UNIT in the text!  We will finish the entire curriculum with time to spare!  I'm looking forward to some topical studies in the last two weeks. :)

8th Bible: *Unit 6- Churches Today and Cults; Standing Firm in our Faith

**NOTE: Due to the snow days and new (more time-consuming) grammar curriculum this year, I did not get to one project that I had in store for the 8th grade.  Some of the students were really looking forward to this assignment which is to create a PSA (Public Service Announcement).  The requirements and rubric are already set, and I am allowing students who would still like to participate in this assignment to go ahead and complete it.  I am not making it EXTRA credit, rather, the students who wish to accomplish this task will have an additional grade in PowerSchool.  If a student does not do this assignment, it will show an "exempt" in PowerSchool, and it will not injure their grade.  

**NOTE: For 7th grade, I am sad to say that had to sacrifice my speech writing and presenting project this year due to snow days and such.  I will be implementing this in the 8th grade curriculum, however.  Public speaking is an important skill, and though we have improved our speaking abilities this year, we are not yet masters.  Just wait! :)

8th Grade Field Trip....

Below is a copy of the permission slip that is going home with the 8th grade students today.  Initially, we thought the cost would be less, but according to the explanation written on the slip, the cost will be $18.  If this cost is a burden to you, let me know via a personal, confidential email.

Thanks!
Katie Agate

 

8^th Grade Camping Trip!

When: Friday, May 9^th, 8AM departure (meet in parent pick-up lot in the back of the school) for a 10AM arrival at the campsite.  We will leave the campground at 1PM on Saturday to be back at the school by 3PM for pick-up. 

Where: We are going to Prince Gallitzin State Park

                                        966 Marina Road
                                        Patton, PA 16668-6317
                                        814-674-1000

Cost: $18 per camper will cover the cost of all food (lunch and dinner on Friday; breakfast and lunch on Saturday) and the reservation of five sites for two nights.  Even though we will only be spending one night there, check-in isn’t until 3PM, so two of our chaperones are going up Thursday and setting up as much as possible for our arrival on Friday morning. 

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 (NOOOO!), 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 need enough parents to haul 22 kids (I can take six.), but if we have too many parents, we will have to reserve another campsite.  So please consider driving/chaperoning, and let me know soon! :)

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    *Water bottle

       *Toiletries (There are showers.)              *Towel            *Chair, if you have one

*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 more 5+man tents.  If you have a tent that you would like to have set up prior to our arrival, give it to Mrs. Agate by Tuesday, May 6^th.   However, you may find enjoyment in setting up your site when we get there! :)               

Contact: Email Mrs. Agate with any questions! :) 

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

I GIVE MY STUDENT, ________________________________________, PERMISSION TO ATTEND THE 8^TH GRADE CAMPING TRIP ON MAY 9^TH.  ENCLOSED is $18.

SIGNED:     

Don't Panic!

The 8th graders have started their MLA Research Papers.  MLA (Modern Language Association) format is a way of formal writing that the students will use throughout high school and even in college. If you have questions about the format, please view the handouts that I have provided for the students, or you can go to https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

We will be working on their MLA writing together in class.  We will be going to the library and the computer lab together several times for research and writing purposes, but the students will also have to work on their papers for homework over the next month.  If everyone stays on task, this paper will be a piece of cake!  I have spread out the due dates for each element of the paper in order for this assignment to not be a burden but, rather, an enjoyable learning experience.   The due dates are as follows:

    *April 11^th: Topic

    *April 24^th: Thesis

    *May 2^nd: Works Cited Page

    *May 9^th: Source Cards

    *May 16^th: Outline

    *May 23^rd: Rough Draft

    *May 30^th: Final Draft to turnitin.com

Testing, testing... is this thing on?

The first day of testing was today, and I believe it went really well!  The students seemed up to the task and said that it was mostly easy for them.  That is always an encouraging sign. 

Please make sure your student comes to school with No.2 pencils, an eraser, and they are also allowed to bring a snack for the break times.  Also, bottled water is permitted in the classroom.

We only do testing for 2-3 periods of the day, but I still am not giving homework this week to ensure complete rest and focus. 

Enjoy your week!

MARCHing Onward!

Here's a glimpse of middle school happenings in the classroom...

7th Bible: Our current unit is on prayer.  The students will be keeping prayer journals (starting on Monday), and we are learning the various prayers of our Biblical role models to explore what God's word says about prayer.  The students just memorized a scripture passage of their own choosing according to the topic of prayer.   

7th English: Our current unit is on folk tales and legends as we explore literature from other cultures.   The students will also be listening to several speeches along with writing and executing their own persuasive speech.  For grammar, we continue to classify sentences as we become confident with parts of speech and their various roles in a sentence.  Writing and vocabulary are always on the agenda, and we only have ONE lesson left in our vocabulary books!  Way to go, guys!

8th Bible: We continue in our study of church history as we learn about Roman Catholicism and the rise of Islam.  The students just memorized various Bible verses that have the phrase "one another" in them since we are studying the importance of unity and community within the body of Christ. 

8th English:  Our poetry unit is underway, and students are currently reading, analyzing, and writing various forms of poetry as well as learning about a variety of poets. Soon (the end of March) we will begin reading the classic novel, Lord of the Flies.  The students will also be writing PSA's (public service announcements) and creating multimedia presentations.  Grammar lessons continue through the venues of proofreading, editing, and classifying sentences.  In vocabulary, we only have one lesson left, and then we will begin an analogies unit that encompasses vocab as well. 

Keep pushing, kids!

Love,
Mrs. A

 

Help Our Class and School!

 

Dear Parents,

You have probably already heard of our upcoming Trivia Night fundraiser.  All of the classes were assigned a theme with which to create a gift basket for the silent auction.  Our class was given a "Gift Card Basket" theme.

If you can, please contribute any gift card of any amount, or send in a $5 donation to this cause.  You may also ask friends and relatives if they have any unused gift cards they wish to contribute.  Send your donations in to homeroom teachers by March 14th!

What are we up to in middle school?

Dear Students and Parents,

What a crazy last couple of weeks!  Even though lesson plans are a bit out of wack due to cancellations and delays, we continue to be very productive in the middle school. :)  Here is a brief note to give you an idea of what we are up to in each class.

7th Bible: We are in unit five of our textbooks, and we are continuing with our studies of the prophets.  It is so awesome to see how God calls His people to himself throughout history to this very day! 

7th English: This week we will be finishing our novel, The Giver.  The students have been SO excited about this literature unit.  The majority of the class read ahead and is finished with the book.  (I can't be upset that they couldn't put it down!)  The students will be writing a descriptive essay on their very own "utopia," and tomorrow we are holding a Lincoln/Douglas debate on issues from our novel.  For vocabulary, we are in units 9 and 10.  In grammar, we are on track and half way through the Shurley text books. 

8th Bible: What does God's Word tell us about church?  What should our churches do, look like, be about...?  We are in unit 4.2 on church history, and we are exploring some very interesting events and ideas.  Students will be reporting to the class on various aspects of their own churches throughout this unit.  This is an excellent unit to discover and grow in our understanding of the beautiful unity we have in Christ as believers. 

8th English:  Expository essays are on the menu this week!  Proofreading and editing our written work is also happening in and outside our classroom!  We are learning about writing and recognizing various types of essays.  We are cruising along in our grammar lessons, and vocabulary is underway as well.  The students are also in the middle of a classic literature project.  Everyone is reading an amazing literary work and learning about the author.  Each student was given a concise and specific rubric and instructional sheet for this project. 

Thanks for all your prayers and support for our middle school!
-Mrs. Agate