Weekly Newsletter 9/10 - 9/14

     Another great week down with my amazing seventh grade team!  We had two successful field trips happen this week that were all organized by students.  I want to thank all the parents that gave up their time to drive and/or chaperon  Both trips went smoothly and this couldn't have happened without the help of our dedicated parents.  The first trip took place on Tuesday, which was an all middle school field trip.  The kids had tons of fun in the beach, playing volleyball, grilling vegetables.  Our team brought in quite an array of food for our potluck.   We also had a short field trip to Torrey Pines and spent the morning there.  The purpose was for the kids to see what a pristine beach looks like.  Pristine is one of our vocabulary words for the month of September.  When we cam back from the trip, we discussed what made that beach pristine compared to others the team has visited.
     We continued creating and discussing our team agreements.  Small groups will be presenting their agreements with the class this upcoming week.  We also kicked off DEAR (Drop Everything & Read).  We will dedicate 30 minutes 3 days a week to just reading.  Students are expected to bring their own book from home or pick a book from our class library.  They'll read the entire time and when they are finished reading the entire book, they'll get to write a book review/critique on Amazon or Barnes & Nobles.  Here's a link to suggested books for 7th graders in case your child needs some helping finding a book he/she will like.  http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/read-in-7th-grade
     Most of the team finished up the first step, brainstorming, of the Where I'm From poems.  The purpose of the Where I'm From poems is for our team to know a little more about each other on a deeper level.  We'll learn what memories and events have helped shape each of us so far.  Here is a link to the original "Where I'm From" poem, written by George Ella Lyon.  http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html  We will go through a mini version of Writers Workshop with our poems.  The steps include:  brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.  This upcoming week, we will draft our poems and then give and receive feedback from our peers.  The final piece will be there published poems and individual collages of images that represent where we each are from.

 Small groups presenting their posters on their class agreements and getting feedback from the team.

 Above are our subtopics for our class agreements.  Each small group is focusing on one of the subtopics.

Team agreements on what DEAR will look like in class.

Announcements:

• Brainstorm packet "Where I'm From"  was due last Friday, 9/14.  
• DEAR will take place on Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday from 1:15-1:45.  Please remind your child to bring in a book.
• We are also looking for families who are interested in Suzie's Farm Raiser boxes ($25 for a box full of local organic fruits and vegetables). If you would like to sign up please email Beth Foster at beth@innovationsacademy.org or sign up in the front office.
• If you have any used books that you'd like to donate for our class library, we'd greatly appreciate it. 

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at jennie@innovationsacademy.org

Where my parent is from . . .

This week, I'd like you to write a post describing where one of your parents, grandparents, or caregivers are from.  Talk to them over dinner, on your way to school, etc. and ask them to describe where they are from.  Remind them to think beyond a location, think of the ways we as a class described where we are all from (food, traditions, holidays, etc.).  Once you've gathered the information, write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) on your blog describing where your family member is from.  Include the title (Where My Parent Is From), paragraph, and image.  Use the example below as a model.


Where My Mom Is From . . .

My mom, Sally Abraham Chacko, is from the houseboats, backwaters, busy streets, and rubber trees of Kottayam, Kerala.  It's a highly populated city in the state of Kerala, located in Southern India.  It's a city filled with people of all different religions and backgrounds who accept each other's differences.  Education is valued in Kottayam and has the highest percentage of literacy.  Kids wear uniforms to school even if they go to a public school and all the schools are English speaking schools.  Sally and the kids of Kottayam would play cricket, ride on houseboats, and hopscotch for fun.  

Welcome to 7th Grade

Welcome to our 7th grade community!  I am extremely excited to start the new school year and meet you and your amazing kids.  I hope to see you tomorrow night at Open House from 5pm - 8pm.  If you haven't had a chance, please visit Wes' blog at http://superbseventhgradeblog.blogspot.com/ to complete our parent survey.

Below is a list of supplies that will help your child and our class have an amazing start to the school year.

Student Supplies

(2) Pocket Folders
(2) 2 inch three ring binders
(1) Writing journal (any notebook that inspires writing)
(1) Pack of twelve pencils
(1) Roll of Scotch Tape
(1) Texas Instruments TI-30 Series Calculator

(8) Binder tabs/dividers

(1) Pack of colored pencils

(1) Pack of markers

(1) Large durable pencil box/pouch

(1) Pack of binder paper - college rule

(1) Bottle of White Out

(1) Pack of 3 Glue Sticks

Updated Wish List

Glue guns and hot glue sticks

Acrylic Paint - Assorted colors and sizes

Paint Brushes

Gift cards to Michael’s, Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart, etc

Floor Pillows

Area Rug

Classroom Plants

Board Games - used or new

Deck of Cards

This week in Humanities . . .

June 12, 2012

Dear Families,

The class and I are all feeling excited, happy, and a little sad all at the same time this week.  I can't believe graduation is just a few days away.  Lisa and I have been sending out emails about POLs and Graduation, but just wanted to add a few things about this week.

Tomorrow -
America Through My Eyes is due.  The kids have been working on an art/poetry project that will be showcased in the classroom the rest of this week.  Tomorrow is the last day to turn it in and kids can take the posters home with them tonight to finish

POLs begin tomorrow through Thursday.  Please have your child practice tonight.  Having everything written and complete isn't enough, they'll do much better if they practice saying everything aloud a few times.  At the POL, you will receive your child's portfolio that has all their work from the entire school year.

Thursday-
POLs will continue.

Graduation is at the Gazebo at Old Poway Park.  Students need to arrive at 5:45 and the ceremony begins at 6PM.  Potluck will follow at the picnic table immediately after.  Students will receive their report cards at graduation.

Friday-
8th grade Beach Party.  See Lisa's email for more info.

This week in Humanities 5/29-5/31

So happy to have the kids back from their trip.  It was very lonely here the past two weeks without them :)
This week we have been discussing immigration in the past.  The kids have been learning reasons why immigrants chose to come to the US during the Immigration Boom.  We also did an Ellis Island simulation today for them to experience the difficulties entering the US back in the day.  Tomorrow, we will do an Angel Island simulation and the class will be able to compare and contrast both experiences.  If you have the time this week, maybe during dinner, discuss with your child the reasons why your ancestors left their home country and came to America.

Next week, we'll be looking more at present day immigration.  The class will also write poems on America and their views and feelings of the country.

Upcoming Dates
-Vocabulary Showdown/Quiz - Thursday 6/7  (immigration terms)
-Six Flags - 6/8
-Presentations of Learning - 6/13 & 6/14
-Graduation 6/14

**I will be sending an email out shortly on details of graduation.  I'll also be looking for volunteers to help set up chairs and tables at gazebo for that evening.

Thanks again for all you help and support.  I can't believe this school year is already coming to an end.  It's been a really wonderful experience for myself to work at Innovations Academy and be a part of this amazing class.  

This week in Humanities: April 30th - May 4th

     I am so proud of my students this week!  They've been working so hard on their Superheros Project as we have come to the final week of the project.  You can see the pride and ownership they have of their superhero's story and comic strips.  Their comic strips are due today.  Lisa and I decided instead of having the kids produce an entire comic book, they will produce 5 comic pages instead that represent parts of their short story.  The final pieces of the project are preparing for Exhibition, a student project reflection and partner evaluation.  


     We are all excited for you to visit the classroom and meet their superheroes!  A few of the superheroes you'll meet are:  EnerJoe, Matter Man, Static Man, and Mr. Chintastic!  School wide student led conferences are being held May 9th - May 11th.  We'll be holding our Superhero In The Making Exhibition on May 10th and May 11th.  This will be your opportunity to see the process of this project and learn about our students' superheroes.  We will send an email shortly with specific times of the Exhibition.


     In other news, Innovations Academy will be participating in the 13th Annual SRCA COMMUNITY FAIR and ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL!  It will be held this Sunday, May 6, 2012, from 12:00-5:30p.m. at the Scripps Ranch Community Park on 11454 Blue Cypress Drive. We will have a booth set up where various activities will be available for friends and families to enjoy!  Our theme is RE-USEABLE ART:  making art out of PAPER you might normally throw away! 

This week in Humanities . . .

April 23 - April 27

Upcoming Dates:

Monday - 4th draft/Final Draft of Short Story due in class.

• Make all corrections teacher commented on.
• Proofread (spelling, grammar, punctuation, & capitalization)
• Include all Elements of Fiction (Expostion, Rising Conflict, Climax, Falling Conflict, Resolution, & Theme)
• Cover Page - title of story, authors, school name, teachers' names, and date
• Turn in copies of completed peer edits.

Tuesday - Star Test - Language Arts Part I

Wednesday - Continue working Superheroes Comicbook / Civl War & Reconstruction

Thursday - Star Test - Language Arts Part II / Civil War & Reconstruction

This week at a glance - We getting closer to the end of the Superhero Project. The final draft of their creation short story was due before lunch today. The checklist of what needs to be done before being complete is listed above. The creative and exciting part gets to come into full swing this week and students begin working on their actual comic book. We are using www.comiclife.com to create the book and are very excited to see the finish products.

The kids are also learning about the Civil War this week, which many are really interested in. The best part is that they'll get to watch a Civil War reenactment during their 8th grade trip in a few weeks.

They will also be doing two days of Star testing, so please make sure they get a good night's rest and arrive on time to school this week.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Jennie