May is a time of review and preparation for Regents Tests. The 4th quarter is the hardest and the students need much encouragement to finish well. The best part about this month is that after all the hard work we went on our “End Of The Year Celebration”. It included going to a Chinese buffet and then to Juniper Valley Park for some R & R. It was a cool day thanks to Coach Wong, Mrs. Santana, Bernice the bus driver (The BEST bus driver ever), Mrs. Miyares, and my oldest son Ian. They helped make it very “doable”. I was thrilled to so see all my students, 6th grade through 12th grade, interacting together and having such a good time.
Mrs. Kemp
For the month of May Resource students focus on English language as well as how to study for tests. Because students need a strong vocabulary base to do well on the College Board SATs and also need it for a deeper understanding of their academic subjects they are introduced to vocabulary building exercises such as exploring word analogies and words with similar spelling; understanding context clues and key terms; using word maps or word charts; and, of coarse, playing the game called “Blurt”.
Mrs. Kemp
For the bulletin board in the Resource Room, I am challenging the students to write a passage reflecting on I Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” I’m looking forward to seeing how creative and yet thoughtful they will be.
Mrs. Kemp
Resource Room I really want to keep my students on task and not loose momentum, however, in some cases we have to start rebuilding momentum. In the aftermath of Academic Fair the classes evaluated how they did by going through each rubric and comparing what are the differences in the requirements for a “D”, “C”, and an ”A” research paper. A hindsight view of “what’s it all about” will also be explored by evaluation.
Mrs. Kemp
Andrew Jackson was a “man of the people.” He lost his father and mother at an early age, and was an orphan at the age of fifteen. He knew the hardships and struggles faced by the common person. Students not only learned about his upbringing, but also controversial decisions, such as removing the Cherokee Indians from their homeland in Georgia, which forced the Cherokee to trek the trail of tears to Okalahoma where thousands lost their lives. In response, students enjoyed writing a personal letter to President Jackson, expressing their frustration with his Indian removal policy.
Mr. Sanchez
As the year ended, the students in computer lab mastered one last part of technology. The students learned how to use Microsoft Publisher 2007. Microsoft Publisher is a program where you can make greeting cards, signs, and more. Some of the middle school students even got the privilege of making cards for their mom’s to celebrate mothers day last month.
Mr. Miller
As the school year comes to an end, it’s always great to see where we have progressed and also see the areas we still need to improve on. In the beginning of the school year each student filled out a little card writing down any areas in their lives where they would like to see change. The time finally arrived to hand them back to the students! This was just a great way to see so many of them encouraged, knowing that God can change many things just in a matter of a few months. This year our students have learned the amazing power of prayer….that through Him all things are possible! My prayer is for each and every one of them to carry on what they have learned into their everyday lives even their summer vacation.
Miss Ramos
Students enjoyed talking and learning about Spanish foods. They made up their own café and even created beautiful menus.
Mrs. Colon
The superheroes have arrived in Room 204. Be on the look out for the superheroes that the Middle School Reading Lab students created. We have read about many types of different characters throughout this year, so for the final project of the year the students had to create their own superhero character. Those superheroes are now hanging around room 204. Stop by and you will see Superkid, Peace Chick, Rubberband Man, J-Blaze, CC Woman and many others.
Mrs. Bienemann
We’ve been reading the novel Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. This story takes place during the the beginnings of the American Revolution. The main character, Johnny, is humbled early on in the story by a career-ending injury to his hand. As he learns more about why the Bostonians are rebelling, he decides to help in their fight. Students learned a lot about history and pereverence as we read this book together.