7B
News
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Link to: homework page,
ASB website, online typing
program,7B Newsletters
Welcome to Luz! She has finally
arrived from
Sandwiches this week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Driver: delValle: you can
pick up the sandwiches anytime after 8:15 and they can be delivered between
9:00 and 10:00 to Francis House. Thank you!
Calendar:
|
4/14-5/2 |
WASL Testing
window. Once the schedule is set, we will let you know the details! |
|
4/21 |
Field trip to the
Moore Theater to see Ragtime!
Permission slips in this Wed. envelope! |
|
4/25 |
Faculty Retreat: no
school |
Language Arts: Students have done very well with focusing on the organization and
editing/revising of both expository and persuasive essays. We will continue to
practice a couple of times this week and next.
They should have a dictionary and thesaurus in class every day!
Literature: We focused on a variety of strategies for reading essays for thorough
understanding and how to use context clues to help learn new vocabulary.
Students will complete some more WASL practice readings using these skills this
week. Students will also be reading and responding to their free-reading book.
Social Studies: Each day we will learn a little bit more about
Misc. Now is a good time for students to check
their supplies and see if they have what they need for the end of the year.
They will need number 2 pencils for the WASL testing. Thank you to the students
who volunteered to help with the babysitting tonight. They should meet in Mr. Pozarski’s room at 6:45 (
7B
News
Tuesday, March 21, 2008
Link to: homework page,
ASB website, online typing
program,7B Newsletters
Sandwiches this week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Calendar:
|
3/21 |
Good Friday. Noon
dismissal. Thank you to the 7th graders for leading the school in
our prayer tomorrow. |
|
3/31 |
Welcome to Luz Agosin who will be joining the 7th grade! |
|
4/14-5/2 |
WASL testing window |
|
4/21 |
Field trip to Moore
Theater. This is the entire middle school. We’ll need drivers! We will leave around 9:15 and return around
lunch time. More details soon! |
|
4/24 |
Midterm |
|
4/25 |
No School: Faculty
Retreat. |
Well, it's Holy Week
and your kids have been working hard with Linda Reid to prepare a special
version of the Stations of the Cross to our school on Friday.
There will be room for you to attend if you'd like. They are only
presenting to half the school at a time, so just ask them when they are
leading. For more details, email Linda at lreid@asbschool.org.
Yesterday, the
students and I talked about the upcoming WASL test and how it ties in with our
curriculum here at ASB, as well as what it will test for. I know that our
state is very divided as to the value of this exam,
but I am in favor of it, and let me tell you why. Both types of
standardized testing, the
As a 7th grade team,
we want the students to approach this exam with confidence. Currently,
they are pretty strong and they have most of the pieces in place to succeed on
the test, but they are lacking confidence. When I asked the class
yesterday who was nervous about the test, almost all of the hands went
up. Therefore, in addition to the practice work we'll be doing for
the three weeks leading up to the test, both 7a & 7b students will be going
home with a packet entitled, "Test Anxiety". In it there is
some reading to do and some activities. We ask that this becomes
something that you, their teachers at home, go through with them over Easter
Vacation. We will not assign any other work to do. This will not be
collected, nor is it required, but it is a highly useful tool
that we have had students do in past years to help them see what their
strengths are going into the test.
Over the next three
weeks, our lessons will only be related to the writing and reading portions of
the WASL. The students will learn how to write effective answers to
questions as they search for supporting details from a variety of
passages. In addition, they will work on writing more essays using the
released writing prompts from previous WASL's.
One important detail I got out of meeting with teachers at Blanchet last Friday
was that students are coming in without the skill of effectively communicating
with the teachers. Therefore, one of my requirements over these weeks
will be that each child comes to me with specific questions regarding their
writing. Across the board, the students who do better in school tend to
be the ones who know how to communicate with their teachers because they are
more likely to ask for help without feeling intimidated. I'd love nothing
more than for our students to be able to leave ASB with this skill.
There are some
wonderful resources online from the state of
I heard great
things about the East Coast trip last week. A big thank you to all the
chaperones!
As always, I welcome
your feedback! This is an amazing group of 7th graders and I am enjoying
them very much.
Thank you for the
kind birthday wishes, flowers, balloons, lunch from the room moms and the card
from the students with the makings to bake cookies with Atticus. He loves to help me in the kitchen-
especially if flour or pancake mix is involved: the messier, the better!
I wish you all a good Holy Week and a Happy
Easter. For those who are traveling, travel safe! I’ll be heading to
Just FYI, the next
novel we will be reading will be Crispin, by Avi.
This will correspond with our unit about the middle ages.
Summer Opportunities:
I received
this information about a very exciting summer opportunity, open to current 7th
and 8th graders. It sounds like something that might appeal to many of our students!
“
Each
summer, students from all across
Here’s just
a short sampling from the list of classes:
21st Century pop/Pratt Fine Arts Center
Cartooning & comedy writing/Richard Hugo House
Move it!/Pacific Northwest Ballet
Design and wear
Improv Exploration/INTIMAN Theatre
Check out
the website at www.seattlecenter.com/academy
for more information and for applications.
Applications
are reviewed on three different dates, Mar 14, Apr 18, and May 16 (final
deadline).
Phone:
206-233-3959
Email:
academysc@seattle.gov
*****************************************************************************************************
*NOAA Science Camp is open for registration!!*
For more information please contact Lisa at Lisa.Hiruki-Raring@noaa.gov.
This year, NOAA Science Camp is offering two sessions of camp, July 7-11 and
July 14-18.
NOAA Science Camp is a week-long camp, 9 am - 4 pm, on the WRC NOAA campus, for
campers entering 7th or 8th grades in the fall of 2008.
Please see http://www.wsg.washington.edu/education/events/noaa.html
for more information.
Camp registration fills up quickly - please keep checking back if the online
registration is not active!
Okay- I think that’s it. Thank you for taking the
time to read this, and have a wonderful break!
Trissa
**************************************************************************************
March 4th:
This is a newsletter for both this week and next since some students will be on the East Coast trip next week!
Sandwiches this week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
No School next Friday, so no sandwiches that day.
Calendar:
|
3/5 |
Health
re-screenings |
|
3/9-3/13 |
East Coast Trip |
|
3/11 |
7th
graders participating in math extension building activity. |
|
3/13 |
Report cards go
home |
|
3/14 |
No school- Teacher In-service |
|
3/16 |
Kids for the Cure:
see Wed. envelope for more info! |
|
3/17-21 |
Holy Week. 7th graders lead Stations of the
Cross on Good Friday. |
|
3/21 |
Noon Dismissal.
Easter Break begins! |
Language Arts: I was very impressed with the progress on the most recent essays-
these students have made great progress with their sentence structure and
writing voice. Organization of the
essays and transitions are still a challenge for many. We focused on
organization after learning about foot binding in ancient
Literature: Today we are wrapping up the last novel. We will then focus on some
WASL practice readings and Chinese folktales. Our next book will be Crispin,
by Avi.
Social Studies: We have had a basic overview of ancient Chinese, Japanese, and Indian
cultures. We will be doing more extension activities on this over the next week
and a half.
Misc.
If you did not order
a yearbook, you will get a notice in the Wednesday envelope.
Next Tuesday, seventh
graders in groups of 20 will work together to learn about measurement and
applying their math skills as they build an espresso cart together. This is in
cooperation with the ACG Corporation. Students will work in teams on
electrical, plumbing, etc. and together will build the cart. I will send home a
recap of this with photos afterwards. It should be an excellent example of the
importance of math in real-life settings.
**************************************************************************************
Feb. 20th
Sandwiches this week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Sandwiches next week (Feb 29th:) Driver to drop off
sandwiches: Monica Flora Please
meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Calendar:
|
2/27 |
Health Screenings,
5th and 7th |
Language Arts: This week we will be working on our rough draft of the essay, with the
final draft due next Wed.
Literature: Because of changes in the schedule, we will start the next novel on
Friday at the latest. We will have a read-in as we start the book, students are
welcome to bring pillows if they like!
Social Studies: Integrated with their essays!
**************************************************************************************
Feb 12th:
Sandwiches this week: (Feb. 15th) Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Sandwiches next week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Calendar:
|
2/14 |
Valentine’s Day!
Ice Skating 12:00-3:00 |
|
2/18-19 |
Presidents’ Day
Break Drivers: If you are no longer
able to drive, please contact one of the following parents who also
volunteered: Flora (5), Benadof (6), Foster (6), Thank you to all
who volunteered to drive- it is great to have such a wonderful response! |
|
2/27 |
Health Screenings |
Language Arts: We are continuing the research process for an expository essay and are
working on organization and paragraph structure. I’ve made some changes in the
calendar as we had many students out sick last week. Students have been updating
their calendars in class.
Literature: We have finished reading Shabanu. Today we will review the last
three chapters and will test on those tomorrow. The final test is on Friday and
students will turn in their folders at that time. We will begin our new novels next Wednesday.
Girls will read A Girl Named Disaster with Ms. Prewitt, and the boys will read The
Forty-third War with Mrs. Hodapp
Social Studies: Today students completed the group test for chapter three and made
models of the ancient civilizations we studied. I will post pictures soon!
Misc.
Workload: students
have been doing well keeping organized and up to date with their workload. Last
week there were several quizzes and tests. It is unusual to have as many as
they did in one week. Our guidline for the middle
school is to not have more than two tests on the same day. We spent class time
reviewing concepts and reviewed how to prepare for tests. It is important that
they experience some weeks with more tests and/or projects due as it helps to
prepare them for high school when they will have final exams. If at any time
your child is spending too much time on homework, please contact me so we can
look at the workload, their study habits at school, and if they are using their
time efficiently. Often times the only way we know if things are getting
stressful for a student is when we hear from a parent. We encourage students to
let us know, but they don’t always do so.
On Tuesday and
Wednesdays we have someone from the teacher certification program through
Dave Marshall, ASB
alum: class of 2002, is also helping out on Wednesdays to fulfill his
requirement to enter the education program at
Ms. Hand and I will
make our final decision about the student from
It is a good idea for
students to bring a hat and gloves for ice skating on Thursday along with a
warm coat and $1 if they want to purchase something to drink.
**************************************************************************************
Feb. 4
Sandwiches this week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Sandwiches Next week: (Feb. 15th) Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Calendar:
|
Feb. 5 |
Fat Tuesday- free
dress in Mardi Gras colors (purple, green, gold) |
|
Feb. 6 |
Ash Wednesday. We
will be going to the 9:00 am parish mass, please join us if you can! |
|
Feb. 14th |
Ice Skating party! Free
dress in valentine’s colors: red, pink, white |
|
Feb. 18-19 |
President’s Day
Break: no school |
Students were given a
calendar last week that outlines our main projects and due dates for the next month.
Hopefully we won’t have too many disruptions, but we will change the schedule
if needed.
Language Arts: Reviewing using the right word, taking notes, writing a correct
bibliography (MLA format), writing an expository essay. Tomorrow we will go
over the report requirements and their bibliography and notes are due on
Friday. We will be emphasizing taking notes in their own words and how to avoid
plagiarism.
Literature: We are continuing Shabanu. After this we will be splitting into two
groups: boys and girls. Boys will be reading.
After this, we will be splitting into two groups: boys and girls. Boys
will be reading The Forty-third War (with Mrs. Hodapp) and girls will be
reading A Girl Named Disaster (with Mrs. Prewitt).
Social Studies: Students will participate in a group test that is project based for
chapter three. We will discuss this in class on Wed. and the test is on Friday.
Misc. Please send in the permission slips for ice skating so we can have
everything organized and know if we have enough drivers!
*****************************************************************************************************
Jan. 30, 2008
It’s a bit of a crazy week, but
here is a quick newsletter. Please read the note at the end of the newsletter
from Linda Reid about religion progress reports that are going home in today’s
envelope.
Catholic Schools' Week this week:
-Distinguished Alum assembly tomorrow.
*George and Louisa will be speaking on 7B's behalf for the topic of what we are
doing to help build the city of
***Students completed a reflection about this yesterday and those will be posted tomorrow as well!
*****Start time= 1:00 (All are welcome to attend!)
-Open House at school tomorrow from 9:00-noon
*All students are asked to wear nice uniforms.
***7th grade are tour guides, so the nicer the better!
Upcoming:
This Friday: Ms. McGinley is leading some 6th graders in a presentation about St. Brigid in the church at 2:30. All are welcome and students will be dismissed from the church.
Monday: Noon dismissal for faculty in-service.
Feb. 6th: Ash Wednesday!
Feb. 14th: Ice Skating field trip: permission slips to go home soon!
*****************************************************************************************************
Jan. 22, 2008
Sandwiches this week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
Calendar:
|
1/25 |
Progress Reports go home |
|
1/29 |
Taproot
theater will be here to present, Witness
at 10:30. |
|
1/30 |
Science
Fair! During school in the afternoon
and then from 6:30-7:30 at night, in the gym! |
|
Jan 27th- Feb 1st:
|
|
|
2/14 |
Ice Skating field trip. 12:30-3:00 |
Language Arts: We’re continuing to practice our writing and revising of
paragraphs. Overall, students have
improved quite a bit. Students also now have a handy list showing a variety of
ways they can start a sentence!
Literature: Tomorrow we have a test on
Social Studies: We’re continuing our study of
Misc.
Today we had a
presentation from Brother Tim of the Maryknoll
brothers, and Sr. Beatrice from the Sisters of
One of my New Year’s
resolutions for the class is to spend a little more time double checking their
work. Not all, but many students have been turning in work that looks like they
finished it in the car on the way to school. You may notice that more points
are being “docked” for simple mistakes in spelling, grammar, and for
neatness. For many, this will turn
things around, especially if it makes a difference in their progress report
grades.
Mrs. Reid is sick so
religion progress reports will go home next week. Thank you for your
understanding.
*****************************************************************************************************
Jan. 16, 2008
Sandwiches this week: Please meet in Mrs. Prewitt’s room at 7:15!
***Many
thanks to last week's crew who were all on time within 5 minutes!!!
Calendar:
|
1/18 |
MLK prayer service at 2:00 in the gym. All are welcome! Midterm |
|
1/25 |
Progress Reports go home |
|
2/14 |
Ice Skating field trip. See note below! |
|
Jan 27th- Feb 1st:
|
|
Block: Happy Wednesday Parents!
Yesterday our kids in grades 5-8 attended a police-led assembly on internet safety. The officer did a great job reminding our students of what safe behavior looks like, and showing them how easy it can be to engage in unsafe behavior. For our own students, we have concerns that they are on sites, such as myspace, giving out their own false information, yet not believing that others do the same. In other words, they lie about their age, yet are willing to believe the "new friend" they are talking to is really a 40 year old man disguised as a 15 year old girl. She also showed them how within 20 minutes, using clues people leave behind and stamped all over the WWW, most of us can be tracked. Kids, of course, are the most vulnerable. In their desire to be heard by someone older, they easily believe the so-called advise strangers give them, and it can lead to dangerous behavior.
As we have said before, it's critically important that parents educate themselves about the intricacies of the internet. You should have your child's passwords and check on the history of where they "travel" to. You don't have to do this everyday, but if they know that you are checking, it can help them temper breaking your family rules. Yes, they can create false leads, but, as the parents, you can also remove computer privileges. It's not about control, it's about limits and setting up safety guidelines.
Another ASB tip- no webcams!!! There is no need for one at this age, and kids have been known to accidentally leave them on only to broadcast everything happening in the view of the camera.
Lastly- remind them that they cannot get anything back that is sent out there. Pictures sent are easily altered and reposted. Cyber-bullying is a problem. High Schools, Colleges & Employers are now checking up on candidates for matters related to ethical behavior. One of our own grads & some of her friends lost beloved jobs last summer due to some inappropriate pictures on their sites. She was devastated, and despite removing said pictures, the employer would not hire her. She was an excellent employee, too!
Here are a couple of sites to share with you. More importantly, open the dialog with your kids about the rules in your house and what they need to to to safe on all levels. If we can be of any service to you regarding internet safety, please let us know. Marilu is a wonderful resource!!!
From "Kid's Health" for parents: http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html
Internet safety tips (promises from a kid): http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=208
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Integrated Block:
The students have just completed the first test over Shabanu and did fairly well. They have their tests and should be ask