Greetings, this lovely winter morning!
Yes, it has begun to snow and FINALLY, we can say that it is "beginning to look a lot like Christmas." If your children have not already shared this fun fact with you: Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love the Christmas decorations, the scents of peppermint and pine, the excitement of gift-giving to loved ones, etc, etc, etc. However, what I love most about this time of year is the anticipation of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the 2nd week of Advent has come upon us, let us be joyous and glad that God sent his son to be born of a virgin, and to save us from our sins. Happy Advent to you all!
Important Dates:
Candy Cane Sales - December 5th - December 8th/(December 9th)
Kapco Target Trip for Student Council members - December 8th @ 2:30-4:00 p.m.
Student Council meeting - December 13th @ 7:05 a.m.
Last day of school before Christmas break - December 22nd
Christmas Break - December 23rd - January 2nd
Book Talks begin - January 3rd - January 11th
Last Week
6th Grade ~ Last week, the 6th graders continued to work on reading Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. We are about half-way through the book, and I am STILL amazed at the enthusiasm and excitement these students have about reading. I would like to commend all of you parents for raising your children to be excited about reading; it makes my job more fun :) As a review, the students took a very short quiz on DGDP and they all did wonderfully; it truly shows that they are engaged in the story and fully paying attention. Also as a reminder, the student's Reading Strategies Section 2 packet will be due this Monday (tomorrow). In grammar, the students continued to work with prepositions. This week on Wednesday, the students will be taking a VERY short quiz on list #1 of the prepositions. They are aware of this, but I suggest they begin studying for it, if they have not already!
7th Grade ~ Last week, the 7th graders began their new unit on poetry/figurative language. To start out the unit, the students took a poetry pre-test just to show ME how much they know about poetry and figurative language. I was floored by how high the scores were on the quizzes and cannot wait to continue throughout the unit. So far, the 7th graders have learned about poetry structure, characteristics, and topic and theme. On Friday, we began reading "The Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, and on Monday, we will discuss the topic (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) and theme of the poem. In grammar, the students continued to work with prepositions. This week on Wednesday, the students will be taking a VERY short quiz on list #1 of the prepositions. They are aware of this, but I suggest they begin studying for it, if they have not already!
8th Grade ~ Last week, the 8th graders FINALLY started reading The Book Thief. And may I just say that I CANNOT believe how excited and into this book they are already. Every year, I am interested to see how the 8th graders take to TBT, but this group has basically already taken the first part of the book and eaten it up completely. The amount of excitement and enthusiasm for this book is so astounding to me, and it is making this unit so much fun to teach. Thank you for instilling a love for reading in your children. I sincerely appreciate it :) Throughout this novel study, the students will be doing different journaling activities. One of those activities is going to be an "artistic quote journal," where the students find 2 quotes from each of the 10 parts of TBT and "doodle" them down on a page in their journal. Furthermore, if you see your students coloring in their journal, that is what they are doing! In grammar, the students continued to work with prepositions. This week on Wednesday, the students will be taking a VERY short quiz on list #1 of the prepositions. They are aware of this, but I suggest they begin studying for it, if they have not already!
****ALL GRADES ~
Just a reminder that book trailers will begin immediately after we get back from Christmas break. This is just under a month away. I cannot wait to see what the students create this year!
ALSO: Candy Cane Sales begin TOMORROW! Each candy cane is 50 cents and can be bought in the Youth Room just down the hall from TLC.
What a glorious time of the year! The students are enthusiastic about learning and there is snow finally falling from the sky! God's blessings on this 2nd week of Advent. Only 21 days until Christmas!!
Grace
