THREE Reminders! :)

Don't Forget....

1. Tonight is Trinity's Spirit Night! Be in the gym at TCS at 6PM for a fabulous time!  See The Trillium or the school website for more information. Admission is only $1 for kids and $2 for adults.

2.  This Monday is DR. SEUSS DAY!  All students from K-12 are allowed to dress up as any character from any work of Dr. Seuss, or they can simply wear a Dr. Seuss t-shirt!  The middle school will be going down to read stories and make butter and bread with the kindergarten, first, and second graders.  (Read The Butter Battle Book for further explanation.)  Additionally, we will be having a schoolwide assembly in 6th period on Monday to celebrate this special day.

3. Standardized testing is the week of March 9th-13th.  We will test for around two hours each day that week.  On Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, the testing will take place in the morning, before lunch.  On Wednesday and Thursday, the testing will take place in the afternoon, after lunch.  We gave the students a specific chart regarding these testing times.  Students will take the tests in their homerooms, and their homeroom teachers will administer the test.  Please make sure your student is present and well rested during these days and times.

The Lock-In!

Permission slips and money were due today for the Annual Middle School Lock-In.
Below is a copy of the permission slip in case it was misplaced last week.  Please get these in tomorrow at the latest!  THANKS! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JYou’re Invited!J

Who? TCS 7^th and 8^th Graders

What? Middle School Lock-In

When? 7PM Friday, February 13^th – 8AM Saturday, February 14^th

Where? Trinity Christian School- meet in the cafeteria at 7PM

Why?  We want to create lasting memories and bond together as junior high students! J

How? We will have an entire night of fellowship, games, food, worship, and more!

Please bring…

*$10 to cover the cost of pizza, drinks, and a pancake breakfast in the morning!  Any leftover monies will be donated to the senior class who will be helping the teachers chaperone this event! J

            *a sleeping bag and pillow.

            *any snacks you wish to share.

            *your Bible for a time of devotions.

            *athletic attire for a basketball and volleyball competition

            *modest, comfy clothes

NOTE: Only students who are currently enrolled in 7^th or 8^th grade at Trinity Christian School are permitted to attend the lock-in.  Also, parents may be called to pick up their student at anytime if necessary (for misbehavior, not abiding by rules, etc.). 

Please return the bottom portion of this form and the $10 cost to a middle school teacher by Monday, February 9^th so that we may plan accordingly.

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

My student ____________________________________________ (name) has my permission to participate in the Middle School Lock-In on February 13^th.

Parent Signature:________________________________________________________

                                                                                                            PAID:________  

Chugging Along! :)

Can you believe we are at the half-way mark of the third quarter?!  Progress reports already go out on February 13th!  

Here is what your students are currently doing as well as a glimpse of what they have to look forward to in the remainder of the third quarter....

7th Bible: As we just finished our unit on the prophets, we have begun a unit on prayer.  We are on the sixth unit, and there are only eight in the entire curriculum!  These kids are flying through!  More importantly, my prayer is that they are drawing nearer to Jesus during our Bible time together.  Right now, their Scripture memory work is a four verse passage of their choosing that has to do with prayer.  They submitted their individual choices today, and all were approved.  Ask your student what part of God's Word he or she is currently memorizing!  

7th English: We are currently in the midst of a non-fiction unit which started with learning how to write a formal business letter.  Each student wrote to a business of his or her choosing, and we will see if we get any results from our sent letters!  We are also on vocabulary lesson 8, and we are continuing in our grammar exercises as well!  The students will enjoy reading some non-fiction selections from our literature text in the next two weeks.  After this unit is through, we begin our poetry unit where we create our own poems as well as read some classical selections by Poe, Frost, Emmerson, and more.

8th Bible: Church history continues on!  We are currently in the 1500s!  (Please remember that we began with Pentecost in the book of Acts!  Wow!)  It is amazing to look through history to see how God has sustained His beautiful body of believers.  We look to His Word daily in light of what our founding church fathers have taught.  We pray that as we learn, we grow in a deeper understanding of what Scripture has to say about the church.  We humbly ask for wisdom and guidance while looking at various beliefs on worship, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and more.  I love this class's grace and kindness as well as interest in one another's church backgrounds.  From Baptist, to Presbyterian, to Eastern Orthodox, to Anglican, to Evangelical Free, to Methodist, to Lutheran, and more-- the eighth grade is truly a picture of the diversity in The Body of Christ.  How interesting it has been to see where each of us has derived our traditions, always seeing God's Word as the foundation of Truth.  After these units on church history, we have a unit on "cults" and seeing the results of the church departing from The Scriptures.

8th English: The students did a fantastic job with our recent Shakespeare unit, and they completed wonderful literary essays on their interpretation of the themes of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Now we are on to a short story unit!  We will be reading some classic short stories from our literature text.  We are currently on lesson 6 in vocabulary, and we definitely had fun with these words today.  We are never short on laughter in the 8th grade.  We press on with grammar and will be covering two more units of Shurley Grammar in the next three weeks in the midst of literature, writing, and vocabulary!  After our short story unit, we will be writing speeches.  Perhaps I will invite parents for the speech presentations?  Hmmmm....  I will keep you posted!

THANK YOU for sharing your kids with me.  They are doing a wonderful job.  There are a few students who may be losing some gusto in this third quarter.  Please make sure to check PowerSchool occasionally, and we will work together to hold your student accountable.  Let's shoot for NO missing assignments this quarter! :)   

   

THANK YOU! And news...

A special thank you to Mrs. Gunniers, Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Echegaray, Mr. Smith, Mr. Drew, Mr. Judgie :), Mr. Jensema, and Mrs. Schroeder for driving the entire middle school to see The Hobbit!

I greatly appreciate all of your willingness to chaperone and drive!

THANK YOU! :)

In unrelated news, I am making a book order this Friday.  If anyone wishes to order books, click the scholastic link on my website.

Additionally, I would like to remind everyone that The Classics Reading Challenge is underway!  We are halfway through the school year, but it is not too late to start reading novels for this wonderful opportunity!  For those of you who have already begun, keep pressing on!  See me for information, books, forms, etc.

HAVE A GREAT DAY, EVERYONE!

HOBBIT FIELD TRIP!

The following field trip permission slip will be sent home tomorrow...

           As the 7^th grade recently finished reading The Hobbit, and the 8^th grade read it last year, we have the privilege of taking the entire middle school to see The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Part 3)! Cinemark Theater in Monroeville Mall is opening their doors early JUST FOR US!

            The students have been anticipating this (some since last year), and I hope that we all can make it to the show.  The movie is rated PG-13 due to “epic battle sequences / fantasy violence.”  This field trip is not mandatory; it is optional as to respect all families’ movie viewing standards.

             After the movie, we will eat together in the food court of the mall.   

            Turn in permission slips and money by this Thursday, January 15^th.  Make checks out to the school.   Please consider driving/chaperoning! J

DATE: Tuesday, January 20^th  

TIME: We will leave school at 8:30AM and return by 2PM

COST: $9.75

NOTE:  The cost includes one admission ticket and one CinneMovie Snack Pack (drink, popcorn, snack-size candy per person).  Additional concessions can be purchased as well.  The theater requires us to purchase the whole package (ticket and snack combo price).

**Please make checks payable to the school.  If you are coming on the trip as a chaperone or driver, please purchase YOUR ticket through the school as well.  You do not need my “ok” to attend.  All are welcome, so just send the full amount with this slip if you would like to join us.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

______________________________________________________ has my permission to attend The Hobbit on January 20, 2013.

_____________Yes!  I will drive, and I can fit ________________ students in my vehicle.

# of tickets: _____________ x $9.75 = _____________________________ (amount enclosed)

SIGNED:_____________________________________________________________

MidTerm Exams

I pray that you all had a fabulous break!  I was continually reminded of your generosity and love over break.  I reread all my Christmas cards, ate delicious treats given to me by various families, lit some lovely candle gifts, and enjoyed spending some very kind giftcards!  WOW!  You're all such blessings to this teacher! :)  THANK YOU AGAIN!

Now for other news....Midterm exams are next week!  I gave the students a copy of the master  schedule today.

Here are some pointers on studying and some information:

*Use all your saved tests as study guides for the exams.

*Do not wait until the night before to review for a midterm!

*Take thorough notes in class during review days.

*Midterms are 5% of the semester grade.

*While studying, write down any questions you may have for the teacher.  The Monday of exam week is totally dedicated to review!  This is a great time to get extra clarification on a topic or concept.

*Get some rest, relax, and ask the Holy Spirit for help! :)

Love,
Mrs. A

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I pray that everyone has a wonderful break!  

• THANK YOU to all the awesome parents who made our Christmas party so special-- especially Mrs. Blackburn and Mrs. Gunniers! :)

• THANK YOU for all the wonderful cards, treats, and gifts given.  You all are too kind!  I feel very appreciated.  You all are such blessings and encouragements to me!  :)

• THANK YOU for raising these amazing, wonderful students.  I enjoy every day with them, and, as much as I am looking forward to break, I will miss these sweet kiddos!

ADDITIONALLY, here is a look at what we have been doing in the classroom since it has been a while since I have updated the webpage...

7th English: We just finished a large grammar unit and are more than half way through our vocabulary curriculum.  Their grammar and writing are coming along!  Many of the kids enjoy grammar, surprisingly-- especially when we have grammar relays. :)  Our next novel, when we return from break, is Tuck Everlasting.  It is an easier read for the 7th grade (it's on their level rather than above it), but the coinciding concepts and discussion are very deep.  We will also be doing more vocab, grammar, and writing, as always! :)

8th English: Grammar, grammar, grammar!  Writing, writing, writing!  We just finished learning to write an expository essay, and the students are beginning to better grasp structure and mechanics.  When we return from break, we will be beginning Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The students LOVE this unit.  It's tons of fun, and their vocabulary is sure to increase through learning this play!

7th Bible: We are in the middle of Unit 5 on The Prophets.  The current Bible memory verse is Isaiah 41:10 ESV.  It has been awesome that, while we are studying the context and historical setting of the individual prophets, we can see that God's message is relevant for us as well.  Over break, the students will be completing devotional charts to document what scriptures they are reading on a daily basis and what prayers they are bringing before God's throne.

8th Bible: We are in the middle of Unit 4.2 on Church History.  We have discussed how Constantine changed the church and have learned about the early church fathers.  The students have especially enjoyed hearing messages from Ambrose, Augustine, and Chrysostom.  These preachers are as relevant today as ever, even though they ministered in the 4th century!  We are currently memorizing the Nicene Creed.  Over break, the students will be completing devotional charts to document what scriptures they are reading on a daily basis and what prayers they are bringing before God's throne.