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June 3 Some final notes: Due to the Wake and Funeral for Father Greeley, the school will dismiss early on Tuesday at 2:00. Tuesday is also the pizza party for the School Patrol Guard. Tuesday is an out of uniform for those students with no demerits/no detentions for May. May 29 Some final things... Religion - Students were well aware that their Confirmation Journals were due on May 29. We are still looking at Chapter 19 in class and there will be two worksheets that go with that. Reading -- Our final project is the booklet the students are assembling on Informational text features. English -- They have a packet due on Comma use. Due on Friday. Spelling - Extra credit worksheet, also due Friday. May 20 7th Religion We will be starting Chapter 19 on Vocations later this week, and are doing all the work in class. There will not a test on this Chapter. 6th Language Arts Selection Test on Gary Soto Poetry on Wednesday. May 13 7th Religion -- We are starting our new unit on women of the New Testament. The students are also wrapping up their Confirmation Journals and they will be collected on May 29 for a grade. 6th Language Arts -- We are finishing our unit on Poetry and also finishing our novels. The students reading "The Island of the Blue Dolphins" quiz on the story on Tuesday, May 14, and should use their "questions" papers to review. There will also be a vocabulary test on IOBD on Thursday. Writing -- We are finishing our "pet peeve" essay, and will finish the year with a Response to Literature essay. April 29 7th Religion -- As you know, and can appreciate the last minute notice, we are scrambling to have our car wash on Saturday, May 4. We need all the help we can get. The students are to let me know if they will be able to participate on Monday, April 29. We can use supplies and help with supervision on Saturday. Again, this is to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project which supports and helps our men and women when they return from combat. Please contact me with any questions. We will be having a short test on Thursday on Ecumenism and Dialog. The students should study their lecture notes. 6th Language Arts -- Reading -- We are continuing our novel study and will have the next vocabulary test on Monday. We are also wrapping up our Poetry Booklet, and will turn to the textbook for close reading of poems. English -- The students are presenting their persuasive speeches, and we will then write our next essay: a pet peeve. The purpose of writing it is to complain! April 15 The school will be attending the performance of "Annie" on Friday, April 19 at 10:00. Good luck to all. Religion -- The first service hour sheet is due this Thursday, April 18. 40 service hours are due by Confirmation, and 20 at this point is a good start. All 20 are not necessary, however, less than 10 will be considered unacceptable. The schedule shows that Confirmation Interviews begins this week, however, I haven't received anything on that as of now. Will keep you updated. Test on Chapter 22 on Thursday. Language Arts -- Reading -- All vocabulary tests will be on Mondays. The students know what words they need to know for the tests. We are continuing with our reading and activities for "AWIT" or "IOBD". We are also working on our poetry booklet. English -- We should have the persuasive essays finished at the beginning of the week. We will then work on our persuasive speeches. April 8

Religion 7 -- We are starting our new Chapter 22 -- on peace and social justice. I am searching for a service the students can do for no reward to help those in need. I have tried a few sources to no avail for various reasons. Any suggestions you have would be most welcome! We will be working in the Confirmation Journal again. It was a little disappointing to see the effort put into the first 20 items. Some had pieces missing, and others were incomplete. Several were very messy and out of order. This is taken for a grade! Please encourage your child to give a good effort to this project. No tests this week. Please refer to the schedule given to you at the parent meeting in November for due dates. Language Arts 6 - Reading -- April is Poetry month and we will be making a Poetry Booklet. For this week we will be looking at close reading on a poem by Robert Frost, and doing some games and activities on figurative language and poetry elements. The students have also been given their next novel--vocabulary words were given that they need to know for chapters before reading. Some students are reading "A Wrinkle in Time", others are reading "The Island of the Blue Dolphins". Students were separated for various reason, but some for no reason other than to balance the boy/girl ratio or kids that work well together. Each week the students will be expected to read 2 Chapters for "AWIT" or 5 for "IOBD". I will be generous with class time with this. The students should expect homework, including weekends to complete our project. English -- We are starting our Persuasive Essay which will be followed by an oral presentation of their piece for persuasive speech. The next essay will be a pet peeve which the objective is to complain// about something. They are looking forward to that! Rubrics are available. We are not winding down---we are gearing up! We have 8 weeks left, and they should expect to be very busy! March 25 Religion -- We will be viewing the movie "Jesus Christ, Superstar" (the "old" version) and discussing the Triduum this week. Reading -- Open Book Test Tuesday Selection Test Wednesday Unit 6 Test Wednesday -- Vocabulary Book March 18 -- 2013 Those of you participating in the Young Author's Project -- I need your finished project by Wednesday - March 20! If you have any questions or problems, please see me. Religion - 7th. As outlined on the schedule given to you at the Parent meeting for Confirmation -- the Sacramental Autobiography was due last Thursday, March 14. Many of the students have theirs turned in. I'm going to give some leeway. I need the finished product by this Wednesday, March 20 after which demerits will be issued. Many students claimed they didn't know about it because I only saw them twice last week. They told me they heard about it over the weekend, but "didn't know what to do." It is a Sacramental Autobiography -- an essay regarding their experiences thus far with the Sacraments. The test on Chapter 20 will be on Tuesday, as previously stated. We will be reviewing on Monday. We will be working on a project in class on Wednesday. Language Arts - 6th Spelling/Definition test on Tuesday -- they have the option of the first 10 or all 20. The next 10 will be given on Wednesday. We are starting our new stories - either "The Circuit" or "The All American Slurp". English -- We will not begin our next essay until after Easter Break. It is going to be a persuasive essay -- with presentation! The Spelling/Definition Test is postponed until Tuesday. The Religion Test on Chapter 20 is postponed until Tuesday. Viva La Papa! 7th Grade Religion Parents --- We had a great time watching for our new Pope on Mrs. Rocus's Promethean Board. Live Stream via CNN. We were not able to review for the test (this was more important), so the test for Chapter 20 will be on Tuesday. History was made. I wish you could have seen your children's faces and reactions. They were so excited. They were hanging on to each other waiting for the news--when one class had to leave because of the bell, the groan could be heard throughout the school. Wonderful. I told them they will never forget this day!
 * Annie ticket/playbill designs are due to Mrs. Washington next week!! ||



CALLING ALL YOUNG AUTHORS!!! As you know from the Wednesday packet last week, the Young Authors Program is here once again! Put on those creative thinking caps. While the program this year is not mandatory, get this: All students who participate will receive a grub day! The four winners per grade level will receive an extra 20 minutes open gym time. Ms. Aspell will arrange a time to take students in Grs. 1-3 and then 4-6. Ms. Aspell will be supervising this. Winners attending Trinity for the special day will be taken out for lunch as part of their day !

Here's the big part. Your first draft is due next Friday, March 15. I will have more information on due dates, etc. on Monday. I wanted to get this information to you right away so your wheels can start turning! Week of March 11 Wow! Thanks to all the students for working so hard last week on the Terra Novas. I'm sure they all did very well! The 6th Grade's field trip to Greek Town is this Tuesday. If you'd like, click on "Greece" in the side bar to see a little bit of what we are going to be doing! Religion -- I will only be seeing 7th Grade Religion three times this week because of field trips. We are working on peace and justice, and helping others in this unit of Christian Living. Monday -- We will be working on completing our study of Chapter 20. The students have been doing their "post its" to help them study. The test will be on Friday, March 15. Other days there will be work in their Confirmation Journals. They need to have all the pages done--I have checked with them several times. After we complete 20 assignments, I will be collecting them for a grade. I will collect them again at the end (this includes their service hour sheets) for an additional grade. Language Arts -- The Open Book test for "Zlateh's Goat" will be on Monday. If there is time on Tuesday we will have the Selection Tests when we return from the field trip, otherwise it will be Wednesday. Friday will be the spelling/definition test for the vocabulary words in Unit 6. We are also working on our classification essays. After this--a persuasive essay that the students will be required to present to the class orally! Week of March 4 Terra Nova Testing is this week. We will have a temporary schedule. There will be no tests this week, and probably not a lot of homework. Please watch this space for updates on any possible homework. It will probably depend on what we get done in school, but I would like avoid having to assign any. Please be sure your child comes to school well fed and well rested. He or she will need #2 pencils and a calculator. While we do stress the importance of the tests, we try not to overdo. We don't want any anxiety! Week of February 18 Monday is a holiday - President's Day. Have a nice weekend. 7th Religion -- Mardi Gras, illness have all postponed the Chapter 18 test, however I wanted to review thoroughly with the students. The test will now be on Tuesday, February 19. We will also be starting our new unit this week. 6th Language Arts -- Spelling -- Tuesday night - Crossword puzzle for Hatchet Vocabulary Words, Wednesday night - Word Search for Hatchet Vocabulary Words, Thursday - Multiple Choice test on those words. Friday -- Unit 5 Test. Hopefully ALL of these grades will boost up some of those grades! :) Reading -- Wednesday -- Multiple choice quiz on "Hatchet" Thursday - Short answer quiz on "Hatchet"  We will be working on Informational Text skills this week as well. Test practice and practice with finding the answer in a passage.  English -- We are writing our Expository essays. The skills are being scaffolded -- In addition to sentence fluency, the students will be graded on adjectives, verb tense consistency and strong verbs.  Week of February 11  Correction! -- Due to the fact that I will not be seeing 7th Grade Religion classes on Tuesday, I will postpone the Chapter 18 Test until this Friday, February 15.  Mardi Gras is Tuesday -- February 12 Games! Prizes! Fun for a good cause (or two)!  Lent begins: Ash Wednesday is Wednesday, February 13 -- the students will be receiving ashes at the 8:30 AM Mass.  7th Religion -- We will be starting work on Lent this week, and will conclude our unit with a test on Chapter 18 on Thursday. We have been taking "post it notes" that the students can use in class. 6th Language Arts -- Reading -- We will complete our reading of "Hatchet" this week. Next week we will have multiple choice and short answer tests for the book. The students will have all they need to be prepared. More info on that next week! English -- We are starting our next expository essay. We will include past skills of adjectives, verb phrases, and in addition -- strong verbs for the grade. As always we will also include sentence fluency. Week of February 4 Raffle Ticket sales for Mardi Gras prizes begin on Monday, February 4. The tickets are $.25 each or 5 tickets for $1.00. The Confirmation Preparation Retreat for 7th Grade will be Wednesday, February 6. The students may come to school out of uniform. 7th - Religion -- We are starting Chapter 18, Matrimony and Holy Orders. This will be the final Chapter in the Unit. We also are working on our 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit Project for our Confirmation Journals. 6th Language Arts -- Spelling -- Unit 4 Test on Monday. Reading -- We are working on "Hatchet" and the students will have homework on Monday -- "After Chapter 12" Essay. English -- We are working on our expository paragraphs, and will begin working on our expository essays. (Emphasis on verbs). First we are going over essay writing. Word search for essay writing vocabulary - Tuesday. Week of January 21 -- Student Appreciation Day is Friday. If your child did not order a pizza, please be sure to send him or her with a lunch and a drink. Friday is also a grub day for the students. Religion -- 7th Test on Chapter 17 on Thursday. We will be reading, taking notes and reviewing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Language Arts 6th -- Reading -- We are working on "Hatchet". There will be a test on Monday on Unit 4 in the Vocabulary book. "5 a day!". I had planned to give the test on Friday, but as one of my students said, "Wow, Some Student Appreciation Day." So Monday it is! English -- We are starting our new Unit on expository writing. The students will be graded on consistent verb tense, and as always, fragments and run ons. Week of January 14 7th Religion -- There will be a test on Chapter 16 on Tuesday. We will be reviewing in class on Monday. PLEASE NOTE!!!! -- As outlined in the packet that you received in November at the Confirmation meeting, there are papers due to me by this Thursday, January 17. They need to have their sponsor's form, parish information sheet, and pledge sheet that day. I have already worked them in class on the letter to the sponsor which included an invitation to the Mass of Election. I have kept them here. 6th -- Language Arts Reading -- Page 56 in their Vocabulary book for Monday night. There will be a spelling test on all 20 words on Thursday. The students may elect to be tested on the first 10 on Thursday and the final 10 on Friday at recess. Some students need to read Chapter 2 in "Hatchet" on Monday night. We will be doing most of the reading in school. We are also working in our Literature book in making inferences, and direct and in-direct characterization. Writing -- Laptops are at a premium!!. I will be working on skills for their next essay in class and will be focusing on specific ones for each essay from now on. This biographical essay will concentrate on strong adjectives, and run ons and sentence fragments. Those criteria will be emphasized in their rubrics. Welcome Back! Hopefully everyone had a great break. God's Blessings on everyone for the new year. Grade 6 will be attending a field trip on Wednesday to the Art Institute for a creative writing class in connection with an art piece. Grade 7 -- Religion Our textbook study will be centering on the Sacrament of Eucharist (reliving our old days!) and the concept of unity. We will be doing exercises in class on how unity with one another strengthens us. We will also be starting our reflective Confirmation Journal. This is an opportunity for the students to stop and think during their busy lives. The Journal will be visited on and off for the remainder of the year and is an opportunity for them to look inward and reflect on their faith. The students will be asked to bring in a binder--one inch is fine, but whatever you have around the house is ok as well. Size is not important. Also, if they could bring in an old magazine that would be great. I'll discuss this with the students this week. IMPORTANT! PLEASE BE COGNIZANT OF THE DUE DATES FOR PAPERWORK FOR CONFIRMATION. THIS INFORMATION IS IN THE FOLDER GIVEN TO YOU AT PARENT NIGHT. IF YOU HAVE LOST THE PAPERS PLEASE CONTACT THE RECTORY AS THEY ARE COLOR SPECIFIC. If you or your child have questions, please feel free to contact me! 6th Language Arts -- Reading -- We will be working on our new stories in connection with characterization and making inferences. There will be a vocabulary warm up for homework on Monday, and a grammar worksheet on Thursday. Also, synonym/antonym work for Tuesday in the vocabulary book. Moving on with Unit 4! Monday I will also be distributing the next novel -- "Hatchet". The students are responsible for the book, and will need to return it upon completion. Watch this space for work with that. We will mostly be reading the book in class--there will be some exceptions for homework. English -- We have completed our narratives, and will now begin working on our next essay -- a biography. The students will be encouraged to look outside of themselves and find out about another classmate. They will be interviewing someone else, and writing their essay based on the other person's experience! Week of December 17 The students are very animated already about Christmas. We have seen the Christmas Pageant with K-3 (great again!), and the McAuley Choir and Strings were here. We have had Christmas Hat Day. The place is buzzing! I may actually make it out alive! Don't forget about Room 203's Christmas Party on Friday, December 21! Religion - 7th --

We have been working on Advent activities, and will complete reading Chapter 15 on Monday and Tuesday. There will be a test on Chapter 15 on Wednesday. We made Christmas cards for the shut ins today.

Language Arts 6th -

Reading -

We will be working on Informational Text this week -- comparing an on-line almanac with textbooks. We will be developing "The 7 Wonders of Beverly" -- man made and natural. Perhaps you can think of some to tell your children about. So far they've come up with a list of restaurants that are their favorite. (and Kettles) Not quite what I had in mind!

English --

We will be finishing our essays. Week of December 10 6th Grade will be having the selection test on "The Wounded Wolf" of Friday, December 14. We will be doing the Open Book Test in class on Thursday to use as a teaching tool.

Religion -- 7th Grade

We will be decorating our "Jesse Tree" this week to depict the lineage of Jesus with symbols. We will also be continuing our discussions on Confirmation.

On Wednesday we will be role-playing a conversation with St. Peter about Pentecost. Tuesday for homework will be to research Pentecost and bring in the information to put together a conversation. 6th Grade Language Arts --

Reading -- Unit Test on Unit 3 in the vocabulary book on Wednesday. Monday - Homework, Vocabulary Warm Ups for "The Wounded Wolf" English -- On Wednesday we will be working on our essays, and hopefully will be able to get them done. If not, they will have to be finished at home. My apologies, but I have to get in the laptop line much sooner! We will have done all of our pre-writing strategies and have discussed at length. They should take home their English book home, if necessary, as well. Week of December 3 I have been having trouble accessing my Wikispace, so I apologize for the delay and hope this gets to you!

7th Religion - We are starting our new Chapter 15, which conveniently enough is about Confirmation. We are also discussing various issues that have to do with Advent. This should run into the Holiday Break. Upon our return in January, I ask that you please have your child bring in a binder because we will start working on Confirmation, and their Confirmation Journal. Please be aware of looming due dates for paperwork in January as well. You received that information at the parent meeting.

6th Language Arts --

Reading -- We are starting our new Unit on Short Stories this week. Work will be done in class until next week. We will be having our Unit 3 Test in the Vocabulary Book on Wednesday, December 12.

English -- We are starting our new essay - a personal narrative. Work will be done in class.

Week of November 26 -- 7th - Religion -- We will be wrapping up our Chapter 14 on Baptism this week. There will be a test on Wednesday. The students should refer to their textbooks for review. 6th Language Arts -- Reading -- Open Book Test Tuesday on either "Names, Nombres" or "The Lady and the Spider", The students were encouraged to bring home their binder and textbook for review. Selection Test will be on Wednesday. Spelling - Page 39, Synonyms, Antonyms and there will be a test on the first ten words on spelling and definitions on Friday. Writing -- We are working on our narrative paragraphs. We will also be visiting nouns again and will have a test on those next week. Fun Facts: The First and Fourth Grades are sponsoring a crazy sock/out of uniform day on Monday, November 19. If your child(ren) brings $1 to benefit the victims of Superstorm Sandy, they can come to school out of uniform--dig out those crazy socks! Or just wear two different kinds! Room 203 came in 3rd place for the boxtop contest and we have decided that Monday, November 26 will be a gym shoe day for 203. Please return the signed report card envelop on Monday, November 19. You can keep the report card itself. (Thursday folders too!)

Thursday folders will be sent home on Friday, November 16 with the report cards. Slips with conference times went home last Friday. If you did not receive one, please let me know. There will be information forthcoming this week regarding the next service project for the 6th grade. We will be doing a hat/mitten drive with the Sisters of Our Lady of the Angels. The Sisters will be speaking after the Mass this Wednesday to the school. Join us if you can. Room 203 - Mrs. McElr oy -- 6th Grade Language Arts  and 7th Grade Religion

Week of November 19 -- Short week -- we will continue reading Chapter 14 on Baptism. Week of November 12 -- We are starting our next Chapter - 14 on Baptism. There will be no tests this week, and all work will be done in class. Week of November 5 -- The students that did not finish his or her Sacrament pamphlet will need to finish it Monday night. We are continuing on with our discussions and there will be a test on Chapter 13 on Friday. Week of October 29 7th Grade Religion --

We are starting our new Unit on the Sacraments. We will be looking at each one in depth. We are starting with a general overview this week. There will be projects done in class along with looking at what our "We Live Our Faith" series has to say. 6 th Grade Language Arts -- Week of November 19 - We are continuing to look at parts of speech -- nouns, pronouns and verbs. No tests or homework this week.

Week of November 12 -- I was not able to include the grades for the essays in the first trimester. All were not finished until today. Those grades will be included in the Trimester 2. This week we will be reviewing grammar again. Our next essay will be a narrative paragraph on a pleasant surprise that the students have received. Some are having trouble thinking of one, so perhaps you could make some suggestions.:)

Week of November 5 -- We have started our descriptive essays, and should be done by the end of the week. This will be a grade for the first trimester. I am working very closely with each student. Time permitting, I will also be working on possessive nouns and noncount nouns.

Week of October 29 English -- Our new writing series has a lot of great information on the writing process. The layout is very good, and helps the students step by step in a grade appropriate manner. This week we will be working on our descriptive essays. The students will be writing an essay about an event with an animal. They can choose any animal they like. We have completed our descriptive paragraphs, and I saw some great things! If there is any homework this week, it may be to bring something in to go along with their story. I'll keep you posted as this project progresses.

In the past I have had the students type a draft, gotten out my big red pen and made corrections and returned the draft to them for final. To save a tree, and free up the hallway printer, I am requesting that each student be prepared with a good, working flash drive. (Yes, I know some are cute, but sometimes they don't always fit in the port correctly and we have problems.) This way the student will type up his or her draft, I will read it on the laptop, and in lieu of a red pen, I will Bold the areas of concern and return it to them. If we don't have time in class to complete this, I can take the flash drive and look at it later. In this way, they will have the corrections ready in time for the next class.

At the present time I will be re-teaching some of the grammar that we have covered so far. One step at a time.

Week of November 19 -- We are starting our new unit in vocabulary - unit 3. We are also working on our stories insofar as fact/opinion and tone.

Week of November 12 --

We will be having the Unit test on Unit 2 on Wednesday. We covered parts of speech today. The students have brought home a categorized list to review. Tomorrow we will be covering stress marks.

Tuesday -- Vocabulary warm up for the next story. Your child will be reading either "Names/Nombres" or "The Lady and the Spider." This will include the literary element tone.

Week of November 5 - Our Open Book test will be Wednesday this week, and the selection test will be on Thursday. On Friday we will have the Spelling/Definition test on Unit 2 on Friday. The students should be reviewing our work in their textbooks (sticky notes) and binder.

Week of October 29 Reading -

We are starting our new story, which is a comparison of literary works. We will be comparing two stories, one fiction and one non-fiction about monkeys.

We will also begin Unit 2 in our Vocabulary Book this week. There will be a spelling/definition test next week on those words. Remember "Five A Day!"

We will be having a make up gym class on Monday, October 22. Please have your child wear his or her gym uniform that day. Week of October 22 Religion -- 7th We will be finishing up our last chapter in Unit 1, and will begin Unit 2 this week. There will be a Chapter 6 test on Thursday. We will complete the study guide, and the chapter review in the book. We will also be doing activities in class for review. Language Arts - 6th There will be an Open Book test on the story the students have read on Tuesday, and a Selection Test on Wednesday. The students will need to take home their books and binders for review. Thursday will have homework -- the Vocabulary page for the next story. English -- Tuesday - Homework - page 598 on loose leaf to be turned in and corrected. Wednesday - Homework page 603 on loose leaf and to be turned in and corrected. Extra credit opportunity for English!!! - The students will complete the "Try It" activities on Page 470. They can just write their answers on loose leaf. This will be due on Friday, October 26.

Week of October 1 media type="custom" key="21020426"

Week of October 8 Enjoy the long weekend! 7th Grade Religion -- We are wrapping up our Chapter 3 on the Blessed Trinity and relationships with others. There will be a test on the Chapter -- **Friday, October 12**. Those that were present on Friday completed the Chapter review in the textbook as well as a study guide. The other students will catch up on **Tuesday for homework**. Also, the students are to interview someone that they know that lives the word of God in actions and conversation. We will take that information and turn it into a short story. The word search for Chapter 3 was due today. It was given on Wednesday. This is also to be due on **Friday, October 12**. A scoring rubric will go home on Tuesday. 6th Grade Language Arts -- Reading -- We are finishing our model selection for Fiction and Non-Fiction. The students will have completed worksheets, graphic organizers and an Open Book Test in school. This Open Book Test is a teaching tool for the beginning of the Unit. These are what the students will need to go over for the selection test that they will have on **Friday, October 12**. We will also have a spelling/definition **test on Wednesday** on the words in the Vocabulary Workshop book for Unit 1. There are 20 words, and I have been harping to them on the "five a day!" plan. Again -- "five a day!" English -- There will be a test on commas that the students will have on **Thursday**. They should review the lessons in their textbooks. Religion - 7th Grade I was so impressed with what the students did with our "Talk Show with St. Paul". I am going to be adding some photos from it here in the Wikispace later this week. We had a discussion afterwards about the things they learned about St. Paul, and I think it is something that will stick with them. This week we will be starting our new Chapter 3 - "Why do Relationships Matter to Me?" and will have discussions on evangelization and the Blessed Trinity. Homework for Thursday -- Word Search for Chapter 3. Language Arts -- 6th Grade Reading -- We are starting our next unit on Fiction and Nonfiction. Homework: Thursday -- page 25 in their Vocabulary Books English -- Commas 4 Page 589 in their textbooks -- answers on looseleaf. Friday -- Test on Commas -- The students should review Lessons 1 through 5.

Week of September 24 Religion - 7th Grade We are working on our Talk Show with special guest St. Paul. I will be attempting to film it, so I'm hoping that it goes smoothly. We have all of our information, and now are just working on "production". We will also be starting Chapter 3 in the text book this week. We will be working on Unity and how to encourage others to participate in that. Language Arts - 6th Grade Reading -- We are going to finish up "Bud, Not Buddy" this week with a Unit Test on Friday. The students can use their questions that we have been working on in class as well as their journals. The students will also be turning in their Journals for credit on Friday. On Wednesday the students will have the second and final spelling test for the unit. We did a pre-test last week and the students know what words they need to study. There will be a homework sheet on both Monday and Tuesday with the words as well. English -- This week we are learning about journal writing and learning logs. Learning logs are good tools to use across the curriculum. We will also be completing pages -- some in class and some for homework on punctuation. This space will be updated if homework is to come home. Also -- so much wonderful feedback about our visit to Smith Village. I'm sure it is something the students will remember and helps it "come home" for them. Dear Parents and Students: There may be some confusion regarding the Test for Religion on Wednesday. The 7th grade will be meeting with the high school reps on Wednesday and we have a different schedule. I am pushing the test to Thursday for Chapter 1 instead of Wednesday. September 17 -- Religion - 7th: We are working on our scripts for our talk show in class. We are looking through the Bible for information on St. Paul and those around him. We have our St. Paul chosen, talk show host, announcer, security, audience, other guests and commercials being prepared. In addition there will be a test on Chapter 1 on Wednesday. -- We will be working on a Chapter review and a study guide. Reading - 6th Grade -- We are busily preparing our questions for our trip to Smith Village. The students have come up with some great stuff! Also, the students were given a pre-test on their next spelling test which will be on Thursday. There will also be a homework sheet on Tuesday and Wednesday on those words. English -- We are discussing the writing process and working on grammar. The students will have homework on Monday (Lessons 11 & 12) and Tuesday (Lessons 15 & 16) in their books. They should answer in their spirals. There will then be a test on Friday on the lessons "Choosing the Right Word." They should review their lessons in the book with their answers in their spirals. We will review any problem areas in class as well. September 10, 2012 7th Religion - The students were to complete a time-line over the weekend, due Monday. They are presently taking notes on class lectures and there will be a quiz on Wednesday on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the function of a Gospel. Thursday and Friday this week and will be creating a talk show, with special guest: St. Paul. Parts have been given out, and the students should be assembling their costumes for their performance the following week. Wednesday - They are to complete a word search for homework on Chapter 1. 6th Reading - We have completed our Power Point presentations for Bud, Not Buddy. The students did a fantastic job! There was a lot of good information, and many great pictures. We have completed our Jazz Club flyer, and they listened to jazz music while working on their flyers. Monday - Homework -- spelling sheet This week: There will be a spelling test on the compound words from Bud, Not Buddy on Wednesday. They need to know when to use the hyphens, and when there are two words. We are working on questions for the Chapters, and there will be a quiz on what we have been discussing on Chapters 1 - 8. They should use their notes to study. The quiz will be on Friday. This week we will also be compiling our questions for our visit to Smith Village on September 18. English: We will be doing grammar practice in our book on Choosing the right word, i.e., accept, except. We will be working in class, but if we don't finish it will be assigned for homework. Check here for updates. September 5, 2012 We are now moving into the school year where things are becoming more normal. :) There are a couple of due dates for assignments.  Reading: - 6th Grade. Worksheet on Compound Words from Bud, Not Buddy due on Friday, September 7. There will be a Spelling Test on those words on Tuesday of next week.    Religion - The students were given a rubric for a timeline that is due on Monday, September 10. They did ask me a lot of questions about it! If they have any more questions, tell them to see me!    Welcome back!   We are on our way for the 2012-2013 school year. The students have been acclimating themselves to the routine and back to school. Our sixth graders are a little "deer in the headlights", and our seventh graders are old pros. Our job is to help EVERYONE adjust!   7th Grade --    You will receive more information at Back to School Night on Tuesday, but the students have been given their books, and we will begin tomorrow, Friday, with lecture. I'm looking forward to having (most of) them as my students for the third time. Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation begins after Christmas. 6th Grade -- The big concern is the summer reading project. Please be sure to gather everything (most have) to begin our presentations next week -- Tuesday for the first day -- of either their Powerpoint or a poster regarding __Bud, Not Buddy__. Over the weekend they will be asked to look for a newspaper article, chart, cartoon, etc. that interests them. They don't need to summarize it or anything, just bring it in for class discussion. Look here for more information later!

** Summer Office Hours: **

Starting the week of June 4th, Mrs. McDonald will be in the school office on Wednesdays from 9:00a.m.-12:00p.m. Messages can be left on the school voice mail and will be returned as soon as possible.

** FSP Hot Lunch Program: **

Hot lunch orders for September will be accepted for new students only in the office during the summer and at the Packet Pick-Up.

** Mandatory Packet Pick-Up Day-Monday August 27th from 5:00-8:00pm. ** Mandatory Packet Pick-Up Day will take place on Monday, August 27th from 5:00-8:00p.m. in the Parish Center gym. (Please feel free to attend anytime during those hours.) Watch the King's page for Packet Pick-Up information. You will be asked to sign up for various events and pay various fees on this day. Please be prepared with your calendar and check book.

** Back to School Dates and Hours: **

** Parents please note the change in the start, end dates,and Parent Nights for the 2012-2013 school year. This information has been recently revised. **

** Parents, please also note that we will be dismissing five minutes later this academic year. Grades 5-8 will be dismissed at 2:55p.m. and Grades Kindergarten through 8th will be dismissed at 3:00p.m. This change is to avoid traffic congestion with Kellogg’s new dismissal time at 2:45p.m. **

** Wednesday, August 29th K-8 First Day of School ** Grs.K-8 9:30a.m. Dismissal

** Thursday, August 30th - Friday, August 31st ** Grs. 1-8:

8:15a.m.-3:00p.m. FSP Hot Lunch program begins Thursday, August 30th

** ImportantDates to Remember: **

August 1st Completed medical forms due for : -first time Preschoolers -Kindergarten students -Sixth grade students

Completed Dental Forms for: -Kindergarten -Second Grade Students -Sixth grade students Vision Forms Kindergarten and Students new to the school ** The Stateof Illinois has mandated that no student will be allowed in school on the first day of classes unless all medical, vision and dental paperwork has been received by the school. ** Forms may be mailed or dropped off at school. These must be in before the first day of school.

Parents' Nights: Grs. 6-8 September 4th 7:00p.m. Parish Center Rms. 2/3

** End of YearDates: **

Grade 8 Graduation Sunday, June 2nd at 11:00a.m.Mass-Christ the King Church Last Day of School Grs. 1-8 Friday, June 7th 9:30a.m. Dismissal

** Uniform Policy Updates: **

**The Warm WeatherUniform Policy will run from opening day of** **School until October 31st.**Students in grades K through 8 may wear dress shorts (no athletic wear except on gym day) to school rather than pants or skirts, or jumpers. Dress shorts must be khaki or navy blue and of reasonable length, no more than two inches above the knee. Dress shorts do not have cargo pockets on the pants’ legs. Wearing dress shorts is optional -this is a parent’s choice. Khaki or navy blue shorts may be purchased at any store. Girls may wear solid color crew socks in lieu of knee hi socks during the warm weather uniform time periods. The warm weather uniform policy will be reinstated starting on May 1st.

**Boys’ and Girls’Uniform:**

Beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year, Ms. Aspell is allowing students to wear grey or maroon pullover fleece with half or full zippers with the CK logo. Students may wear these fleeces in lieu of the Maroon CK sweatshirts.

Please note the 6th Grade forms that are required.

See you next month!

Mrs. Mac Religion -- My last week with the 7th grade---and I have had the pleasure of teaching them 3 different years--2nd grade, 6th grade Language Arts and 7th grade Religion. I know they'll stop in to see me next year. They are a delight and I'll miss them in my classroom everyday! We will complete our Confirmation Journals which I will collect and keep to pass onto Ms. Greene next year. 6th Grade Language Arts -- First and foremost on their list is the Safety Patrol pizza party which will be this Thursday. I will take orders, and we will have pizza for lunch. If they have purchased a hot lunch for that day, they will also be able to enjoy that as well. These teenagers have big appetites! Tuesday -- the Sixth Grade came in second in the CK Can Dance contest so they are awarded a grub day for Tuesday. Wednesday -- the students will enjoy a dress down day for no detentions/no demerits. Also, some missed the dress down day for Hands on Art. Thursday is a grub day for cleaning/helping dismantle the classroom. Important note: Yes, most will not have to wear their uniforms again this year, however, we will have our end-of-year Mass on Friday, and ask they students come dressed appropriately for church. The students do not need to bring backpacks or book bags. We will enter school to the classroom, take attendance, go to church and will be dismissed from church. I will distribute report cards at the end of Mass, and will escort the students to the front of school. Happy summer! Mrs. Mac Week of May 14

Religion –

We are working on our family trees for our Confirmation Journals. The students don’t need actual birthdates, just the year of the births of various family members. It is a good time for them to stop and think about their families. Many are finding out things they never knew before!

Reading –

Continuing with poetry -- context clues and figurative language. We are also starting our final unit in the vocabulary book. We will have a spelling/definition test on the words next Tuesday, May 22. - Remember! -- 5 a day! Selection test on figurative language in poetry on Wednesday

English –

Mechanics of English -- Capitalizations, Abbreviations. Easy stuff - great for this time of the year. Most of the students are proficient in these areas, but can get rusty. It's a good idea to go over these areas to add polish to their essays.

Homework:

Monday – pages 100 & 101 and 104 & 105 – Commas Tuesday – pages 108 & 109 and 110 & 111 – Abbreviations and Quotations Wednesday – Titles

Thursday we will review lessons 1 – 8 for a Test on Friday.

Week of May 7 –

Religion – In our Confirmation Journals this week, the students will need to know their family tree as far back as they can go! They should be questioning you this week. We will do that work on Friday. We will be working the next few weeks on the rest of our work in our Confirmation Journals. The journals have been a good tool for the students to reflect during this important time in their lives. Some have felt comfortable sharing, some have not. It is entirely voluntary.

I have told them that it will be interesting for them to return to their journals from time to time over the next few years to see how things have changed. What is so very important right now to them may become very unimportant in the future.

We are starting our final unit on vocations. We will be investigating various holy people and how them became to be leaders in the church. Who in their families are leaders? Are there any priests, religious women? Is it something they would consider?

Reading –

Poetry continues. Correction: The selection test for the poems we have read last week will be on Wednesday, this week not Tuesday.

We will be doing the Open Book Test for poems on rhythm and rhyme in class on Monday as well as completing their All-In-One pages. There will be a selection test on those poems on Tuesday. (see correction above.) Unit 7 – Vocabulary Test on Thursday.

English – We have started our Comparison/Contrast essays and will continue with those as the week progresses based on laptop availability.

Review for test on Adverbs – Monday Test on Tuesday Week of April 30, 2012

Religion --

We are finishing up our outlines and power points on the particulars of other religions. The students will be presenting their power points on Wednesday, and we will be working in our Confirmation Journals this week as well.

Reading –

Tuesday – Selection Test on Gary Soto poetry. The students were instructed to take home their worksheets on poetry to study for the test. Spelling definitions test on Unit 7 on Friday.

Also, the students should be prepared for Friday with their work for the Literature Circles for “Hatchet”. They have been given their assignments.

English – Homework – Monday – pages 89 & 90 in English Workbook. Tuesday – pages 90 & 91 in English Workbook

We also have begun our lecture on our next essay – Comparison/Contrast. Week of April 23 -- Lots of Notes here! Students have an out-of-uniform for no demerits/no detentions for March on Monday. The field trip to St. Laurence is Tuesday, the students will need a lunch (milk will be provided) and should dress in their school uniform. Thursday is a grub day, and Friday is CK day. The 6th grade is beginning a new art project with Mrs. Washington this week. Each student is being asked to bring in 2 large pieces of white poster board and newspaper. Thank you! Any questions? please email Mrs. Washington at sandy@sandywashington.com 6th Grade: Please send a picture of your child to school. It should be a headshot and sent to school no later than Wednesday -- April 25. Religion -- We are working on our Virtual Field Trip on other Religions and will have a quiz on the information on Thursday, April 26. Reading -- We are beginning our Unit on Poetry. Tests for that will be next week. English - Test on Adjectives on Wednesday - April 25. Review in class on Monday. Week of April 16 6th Grade – Friday field trip to Greek Town on Friday, the 20th, and Tuesday the 24th will be our field trip to St. Laurence – the religious retreat. 7th Religion – We are starting our new unit on Ecumenism and Dialogue. We will be looking at other faiths that include Christian faiths, as well as Islam, Judaism and Hinduism. Rather than create a poster, or rely on lecture, the students will be creating a virtual field trip to share what they have learned about other religions. These will be posted on my Wikispace upon completion. 6th Grade Reading – Monday will be “catch up”. Many students were gone the last week before break, and need to catch up. Tuesday will be the Open Book Test for “Turkeys” and Wednesday will be the selection test. This ends the Unit. Thursday we will being our new Unit on Poetry. Looking ahead: Monday, April 23 will be the “pull out” test for Vocabulary Unit 6. Don’t forget – Five a day! 6th English – We will be using the next two weeks finishing up our unit on Modifiers, and then will begin our next essay on Comparison/Contrast.
 * The reception for Young Author's featuring author Michael Hays is on Monday, April 30 at 7-9 in the Ozinga Chapel on Trinity's Campus. All who attend will be able to participate.
 * Any student who attends the reception on Monday evening, April 30, will receive an out of uniform pass. They have to come see Mrs. Washington at the reception to receive their pass.
 * The Young Author Conference (for the 4 students chosen per grade) will be held on Tuesday, May 1st. The bus will leave at 8:30 sharp and return around 1:30-2:00. A letter and permission slips will be sent home.

There will be a homework page each night in the workbook that accompanies the lesson for the day.

Week of April 2 -- The play was great. It is unbelievable how it always comes together. Many kudos to Mrs. Kenny et al. Please remember--the boxes for Operation Rice Bowl are due on Wednesday, April 4. Either the students can bring them to school or to church. We have Mass on Wednesday. 6th Grade Parents -- Re: Our trip to Greek Town. I have created a Virtual Field Trip in preparation of our field trip. Click on "Greece" on the right. Religion 7th -- We will be working in our Lenten books, but will also be viewing the video "Jesus Christ, Superstar". When I saw this movie as a teenager (am I dating myself??) many things just came together for me -- including how to pronounce Gethsemane! I discussed this with Father Tom and he felt it was a great idea. Reading -- We will have a quiz on "Island of the Blue Dolphins" as well as the vocab/definition test on Unit 6 on Tuesday. We will also be continuing with our new story "Turkeys", but will complete it after the break. English -- The students have completed their persuasive essays. Many chose to produce in a letter format which is fine, but if they do plan to send the letters I told them to check with their parents first. We will be working in our textbook on modifiers. Week of March 26 –

Friday is the play and Hands on Art and Counseling/Library in the afternoon.

Religion – Each day we will be working in our Lenten Books as a beginning.

Monday – Begin lecture with notes on the Funeral Liturgy Tuesday – Complete Lecture Wednesday – Give study guide for test – students are in Retreat Thursday – Test On Funeral Liturgy - students will have notes and study guide and next feature of the Confirmation Journal.

Reading –

We will be completing The Island of the Blue Dolphins and completing our book reports on it.

Vocabulary – Begin Unit 6

Monday – Pages 65 – 67 Introduction of words Tuesday – Pages 68 – 69 – Completing the Sentence Thursday – Page 69 Synonyms & Antonyms

Literature –

Introduce new story “Turkeys”

Monday – Complete Vocabulary warm ups in class or finish for homework

English –-

Monday & Tuesday – Composing persuasive essays in class

Wednesday Adverbs Lesson 6 Workbook pages

Week of March 19 –

Religion – Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday –

We have work to make up from Friday in our Confirmation Journals and in our Lenten books. We will also begin our discussions on funeral liturgies. The students will also learn the Celtic Song of Farewell.

Thursday – Shortened classes. We will be working in our Confirmation Journals, and our Lenten Books.

Reading – Monday -- Finish Discussions regarding “Hard As Nails”. **Open Book on Tuesday** **Selection Test Wednesday** – Special project Thursday in class

English – The laptops are hard to come by this week, so we may not be able to finish our persuasive essays.

Adjectives and Articles –

Homework:

Monday – English workbook pages 75 & 76 Tuesday – pages 77 & 78 Wednesday – pages 79 & 80 Week of March 12 – **Reading Homework Thursday - Critical Thinking Questions page 414 in Literature Book**

St. Baldrick’s is this Friday – March 16! Young Authors Illustrations are due on Thursday, March 15. Also see the following regarding Hands On Art for 6th Grade that I received this afternoon for Friday, March 16. Please let me know if there are any problems.

Pls see below the request for the picture on copy paper...

// 8x10 black white photo AND a color photo of the same picture. It can be of anyone they know/ or a famous person. // // It needs to be the same picture in both b/w and in color on copy-paper, NOT photo paper.It can be picture downloaded from their parents camera and copied from a printer. //

// Pls let me know if anyone has a problem getting a picture. You can also go online at school and the kids can print a picture too, just needs to be 8x10 a black /white picture and a color picture of eth dsame photo. //

Religion –

Each day we will be doing activities in our “Totally Lent” Books, and occasionally will be adding to our Confirmation Journal.

Tuesday – with Room 207, and Thursday with Room 206 – I have signed out the Laptops in order to give class time so the students may compose their Sacramental Autobiography essays. These are due this week, but have a little lee-way for laptop availability.

Reading –

Monday – Review – “Zlata’s Diary” Complete Graphic Organizer on Non-Fiction and Open Book Test together Begin “5 a day” in Vocabulary Book – Discussion on vocabulary words for parts of speech, pronounciation, etc. The test on that is Friday

Tuesday – Selection Test on “Zlata’s Diary” – Students were given homework assignment for Monday night to review for this test. Homework: Vocab/Reading Warm-Ups for "Hard As Nails". We may start these in class--but won't be able to do all.

Wednesday – We will begin the new selection. Friday – Vocabulary book Test

English – Monday -- In order to stay on track I will be using the entire 90 minutes on Reading. Terra Nova week was hit or miss, and I was not able to see Room 202 as much as I liked. I want to be able to review thoroughly.

Tuesday – Begin Persuasive Essay – Lecture with note taking using overhead projector. The rest of the week we will be working on the Persuasive Essay.

Week of February 27 -- The first draft of the Young Authors project is due this Thursday, March 1. Religion --  The Prayer Services went very well. The 4th grade teachers were appreciative, and I "caught" some of the 4th grade students in the lunchroom singing the song, "Awesome God" and doing the gestures that they learned from our 7th graders -- you can't get a better report than that! We are starting our new project on the Eastern Rites and comparing them to our own Roman Catholic rites. We will be looking at the celebrations, history architecture and calendar. We continue our work in our Confirmation Journals, and our Lenten activities. Reading -  Monday - Selection Test on "Becky" and "Southpaw" comparison of literature. The students were instructed to bring home the necessary materials for review  Thursday - Spelling/Definition Test on Unit 5 in the Vocabulary book. Thursday - Homework - English workbook pages for Adjectives - Lesson 1, Unit 4. We are starting new units in Reading (Non-Fiction) and English (Modifiers) this week. Week of February 20 –

Tuesday is Mardi Gras! It is out of uniform. Game tickets will be sold that day, and raffle tickets will be sold up until the raffle on Friday, February 24.

Religion –

Our work continues on the creation of our Prayer Service. The students will be presenting the Prayer Service to the 4th Grade on Friday.

Reading –

We are starting our new story – we are comparing authors’ works. The week is a little different, and there will be no tests.

English – We are starting our next essay – a “How To”. All the work will be done in class.

On Monday of this week information went home about the Young Authors Project. It is a creative writing and illustrating project for grades 1 through 6. The first due date for the draft is March 1. This is a mandatory project and will result in a grade. All due dates and information is included in the letter that went home. Any questions please contact Mrs. Washington. Week of February 13 –
 * We have had a good response to yearbook orders, and would like to extend the order deadline to Friday. February 17th. Yearbooks can be purchased for $20 each. Order forms were sent home in January, please contact Mrs. McDonald, school secretary, at 773-779-3329, if you need additional forms.**

7th Religion –

The students are enthusiastically creating their own Prayer Service. Each class has chosen a theme, and it is connected to the Sacrament of Confirmation and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The class is broken into teams. Each team is responsible for a part – music, liturgy, logistics, etc. The leader for Room 207 is Katie Grant and their theme is Right Judgment. Room 206’s leader is Delaney Mulcahy and their theme is Courage.

I am overseeing the project, but this is a student-centered cooperative. When the service is completed we will be presenting it for the 4th grade.

There will be a test on Wednesday on Confirmation/Sacraments. Review will be Tuesday.

We are also continuing with our entries into our Confirmation Journal.

6th Language Arts

Reading –

Information will be going home regarding the "Young Authors" project. All students are required to participate, and it will be for a grade. I have suggested that the students use the short story they have already written -- half the work is already done! The rough draft is due on March 1, Illustrations on March 15 and the final on March 19. Further information coming soon.

Monday –

Open Book Test for “Zlateh the Goat” will be on Tuesday, Selection Test on Thursday. The students should review their worksheets in their binders, as well as in their All-In-One Workbook.

We will also be continuing with “Island of the Blue Dolphins” – reading the chapters and working on a project in school. We will begin Unit 5 in the Vocabulary Book.

English –

Homework in the English Workbook:

Monday – pages 64 & 65 Tuesday – pages 66 & 67 Wednesday – page 68 Thursday – review for test

Friday there will be a test on lessons 7 – 13. We will review in class on Thursday and a worksheet for review will go home on Thursday. Week of February 6 -- Religion -- Our classes are designing a Prayer Service as well as working in our Confirmation Journal. We will be using some of our Journal information in our Prayer Service. We will then present to a 4th grade class. Reading -- We are looking at parts of speech and stress marks for Unit 4 vocabulary words. There will be a unit test on Friday. FIVE A DAY! AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL. English -- Verbs - continuing in our textbook. Homework: Monday - pages 56 & 57 Tuesday - pages 58 & 59 Wednesday - 60 & 61 Thursday - 62 & 73. WEEK OF JANUARY 30 -- THE SIXTH GRADE WILL BE ATTENDING THE BOOK FAIR ON TUESDAY MORNING, JANUARY 31. Friday is Student Appreciation Day -- Pizza lunch and grub day. Look for changes here due to Catholic Schools Week activities that may cause changes. Religion - 7th There will be a test on Thursday on the Gospel of John 6:56 - 58. The students will have notes to study. The rest of the week will be work in their Confirmation Journals, and our discussion on social justice. Language Arts - 6th Reading -- In the vocab book: We started Unit 4 last week with "Five-A-Day". There will be a spelling/definition test on Monday -- the students have had that information in their planners since last Monday. There will be an Open Book Test on "Dragon Dragon" on Tuesday. The students should bring home their Four-In-One book as well as their binders to review inferences and characterization. English -- Continuing with verbs Homework: Tuesday - Workbook pages 52 & 53 Wednesday - Workbook pages 54 & 55 Thursday - Workbook pages 56 & 57 Week of January 23 -- 7th Grade Religion -- A big thank you to all of those who returned their forms for Confirmation on time! There are a few stragglers, but we should be in good shape by next week! We are continuing our work in our Confirmation Journals. Most of this is done in class, with the occasional assignment for home. 6th Grade
 * There will be a test on Thursday, January 26 on their lecture notes on The Sacraments. **

Reading – I had to put the brakes on our introduction to short stories unit—we needed to review and that pushed back (ahead?) our work in the vocabulary book, and the beginning of our next story. We will be looking at five words a day—the students will be told to review those five each night.
 * There will be a test on the first five chapters of “The Island of the Blue Dolphins” on Wednesday**.

English – We will be doing work on our short stories based on the paintings we saw at the Art Institute.

Week of January 16 7th Grade Religion -- A total of 5 students have handed any required forms for Confirmation out of 27. The forms are due tomorrow, January 19. The packets were given out on November 30. Please hand in ASAP. The quiz scheduled for Thursday has been postponed until Friday. Week of January 17.

Religion – 7th Grade

There will be a test on Thursday the vocabulary for Unit 4 - The Sacraments. We are continuing our work in our Confirmation Journals as well as looking at the Sacraments. There will also be lecture and note taking on the Sacraments as well as a look at John 6:56.

Language Arts – 6th Grade

English –

There will be a test on Unit 3 Lessons 1 – 6 (excluding Transitive & Intransitive verbs – Lesson 4) on Tuesday. We are also working on our Short Stories on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will then return to our textbook on Thursday and Friday – Lessons 7 & 8.

Reading – The selection test for “The Wounded Wolf” will be Wednesday. We are also returning to our Vocabulary Book – Unit 4. Week of January 9 –

Religion – 7th

We are starting our new unit on The Sacraments. We are also beginning our preparations for Confirmation. The students will be working on a Confirmation Journal. From time to time they may be asked to do a small activity at home, otherwise most will be done in school.

The students were to have decided on a way to display the Sacraments categorized by Initiation, Healing and Service. They will need to bring in any articles for that by Tuesday of this week. Next weekend they will be asked to define the 19 vocabulary words that accompany the unit with a test on that next week. Look here for updates.

Language Arts – 6th

English -- The students will be writing their short story in conjunction with our trip to the Art Institute. I was very impressed with the serious manner in which the students took their notes in their spirals. We should have that done by the end of class on Wednesday.

Following that we return to our English textbook. I will be reviewing what was covered before break to remind them! There will be a test next week – Tuesday the 17th on Unit 3 Lessons 1 – 6.

Reading –

Our new Unit on Short Stories begins. We will return to the Vocabulary book next week.

The Open Book Test for “The Wounded Wolf” will be on Friday of this week.

We are also beginning our novel __The Island of the Blue Dolphins.__ The students are looking forward to this. They remember when I read it to them in 2nd Grade! We will be doing most of the reading in class to work on fluency and expression. January 5, 2012 7th Grade Religion -- We are starting our new unit on the Sacraments, as well as beginning preparations for Confirmation. Please have a binder for your "Confirmation Journal". It should be at least 1 inch, but if you have another extra binder at home--please don't buy a new one! Any kind is fine. For Friday - January 6 - Please bring in an old magazine to cut up! Don't forget paperwork that is due on the 19th! 6th Grade Language Arts Our Field Trip to the Art Institute is Friday. If you are a chaperone, please meet us at school by 10:00 AM. Thursday and Friday we will be working on Short Stories, both in our textbook, and as our next essay. Coming soon - permission slips for your child to begin Patrol this month. Week of December 19 –

Religion – 7th Grade

We have completed our Unit on Women of the New Testament and will be finishing our Advent activities this week.

Note: Upon our return from break we will begin our preparation for Confirmation. There are various papers due on January 19 that were handed out at the meeting on November 30.

Also, we will be creating a Confirmation book, and I am requesting your child brings in another binder to use. It doesn’t have to be very big, but if you already have one at home, don’t buy another!

Reading – 6th Grade

We will be having the selection test on symbolism on Tuesday. The students will complete all necessary worksheets on Monday.

English - 6th Grade

We will be continuing our discussion on writing a short story.

Week of December 12: We will be attending the dress rehearsal for the Christmas Pageant on Tuesday. On Wednesday Mother McAuley's orchestra will be presenting and I will also be taking the 7th graders to Reconciliation on Wednesday. Obviously we will have shortened schedules those two days. 7th Grade Religion - We will conclude our short unit on the Mary and the women of the New Testament next week. We are also working in our Advent workbook until the 21st. ** There will be a quiz on Friday, December 16 on work from our newspaper projects which also will include questions on the Magnificat. Review will be Thursday, December 15. **  6th Grade Reading - Selection Test Tuesday on "The Lady and the Spider". The students were to have brought home their workbooks to review pages on fact and opinion and writer's tone. 6 Grade English - Lecture has begun on Short Story Essay work. Look here for updates on any homework in their workbooks this week.

The quiz on Transitive and Intransitive Verbs will be on Wednesday, December 7. Week of December 5

No demerits/No detention out of uniform – Friday, November 9.

7th Grade Religion –

The students are creating their newspaper describing one of the women of the New Testament of their choice. They have researched using the scavenger hunt on the website as well as their Bibles.

We are also involved in activities with relation to Advent.

6th Grade Reading –

We are starting our new story covering a fiction story involving tone.

**There will be a test on Friday on the spelling words involving parts of speech, etc. We will be reviewing this week.**

6th Grade English –

Transitive and Intransitive verbs have been giving us trouble, but the students will be having a test on them on Tuesday. We will be reviewing on Monday with a study guide.

We are also beginning our lecture series on short stories. Week of November 28

7th Religion: We are starting our new unit on the women of the New Testament. We will begin with the students performing a scavenger hunt on the web to answer a list of questions to discover what we need to know. The students will then make a display to explain what was discovered through the hunt.

6th Language Arts: **Test Tuesday, November 29.** We will be wrapping up our selection on Mark Twain. The selection test will be on Tuesday. The new story begins on Thursday with the vocabulary warmup page 192 for homework. **Test Friday, December 2 –** Spelling/Definition Test on Unit 3 in the vocabulary book.

6th Grade English: - Continuing with Unit 3 Lesson 2 – 6 on verbs. We will also begin our lecture on our next essay – a short story. This will coincide with our field trip to the Art Institute on January 6. The students will view two paintings and return to the classroom the following Monday to write a short story about what they saw.

Homework: English Workbook  Monday – Pages 42 & 43Tuesday – Pages 44 & 45 Thursday – Pages 46 & 47 Note changes:  Religion Class will have a quiz on the vocabulary on Monday, November 21. English Class will have a test on Unit 2, Lessons 4 & 5 on Friday, Nov. 18 Week of November 14

Parent/Teacher time assignments went home Friday, November 11. Report cards will be going home on Friday, November 18.

7th Grade Religion –

Students have been given their assigned parables to investigate. We will also be having lecture this week, with a **test on Thursday**. We will be reviewing on Wednesday – they will have all the information they need for the test. It will be based on their notes for the vocabulary and the Beatitude Project.

6th Grade Language Arts –

We will start our new story that covers the skills of identifying fact and opinion and author’s perspective. We will be working in our workbooks and on worksheets for their binder. We are also moving forward in the vocabulary book, but there will not be a spelling test until after the Thanksgiving holiday.

6th Grade English –

We are writing our Response to Literature Essays. The students will also be having a test on the first three lessons in Unit 1 – Nouns - on Wednesday. We will review on Tuesday in class. Week of November 7

This week marks the end of the trimester!

7th Grade Religion –

We are completing our Beatitude Books. We will also be reviewing the vocabulary words. Our next project will be on the parables. We will have lecture this week, and then each student will be given a parable to research on Tuesday. Next week will be the test on these vocabulary words and The Beatitudes.

6th Grade Reading –

We will be finishing “The Market Square Dog” with review of the skills on Monday. There will be a selection test on Tuesday and the open book test on Wednesday. The students will be instructed to bring home their All-In-One workbook for review. Also, don’t forget the information that I gave you on the website to help with review. Monday night would be a good time to look at that!

We will also begin Unit 3 in the vocabulary book on Wednesday.

6th Grade English –

We are starting our next essay on Response to Literature. We will be taking notes Monday and Tuesday, and beginning our construction of the essay on the laptops on Friday. The students have been given their rubrics. These are 6-point rubrics that are very specific.

The students are given a choice on what piece of literature to use. They can take a story from our textbook, or a book from home. They should have the piece read by Thursday, and should bring in the book from home.

Wednesday – Plurals and Possessives – Homework in English Workbook pages 37 & 38 Thursday – Exact Nouns – Workbook page 39

Week of October 31
 * Please be sure that your child has a working, compatible flash drive! We have a lot of issues in the past.**

For Halloween: This is a grub day for the students. Appropriate clothing is required. No hair color, wigs, etc. Seventh Grade Religion –

We will be finishing up our charts and displays regarding the comparison of Luke's and Matthew's Gospels on Monday. Rubrics have been issued, and the students should review them before deciding they are finished!

On Tuesday we will have lecture/note taking on the Beatitudes, assign partners and review the assignment for the book we are putting together on all eight Beatitudes.

Wednesday & Thursday – We will complete our Beatitude project and the finished products, and comparison note taking will be on Friday.

Homework: By Wednesday the students should have gathered all of the required materials for their Beatitude Books – think creatively!

Sixth Grade Language Arts –

Reading

Monday – We are beginning our new story “The Market Square Dog.” We will be looking at Narrator/Point of View and Making Predictions.

The students will also be working on Unit 2 in their Vocabulary Books which a test on Friday. This will be the “pull out” test that accompanies their book.

English –

Monday – Lesson 3, Singular and Plural Nouns – Homework pages 31 & 32 Tuesday – Lesson 4, Possessive Nouns – Homework pages 33 & 34 Wednesday – Lesson 5, Writing with Possessive Nouns – Homework 35 & 36 Thursday – Lectures begin for our next essay – Writing a review of a short story. Sixth Grade Language Arts Parents You may now log onto the website for help with the Reading series. Please go to www.phschool.com/atschool/, click on Language Arts, Literature 9e (Man with the umbrella) Grade 6, and you will find help and activities. Our new story beginning October 31 is "The Market Square Dog." Good luck!

Mrs. Washington is looking for glass pickle / olive jars for the art room. Please carefully wrap and send to school to the art room. As of October 25 there are changes to the English homework. Week of October 24

7th - Religion – We have been researching the ways that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke differ and are similar. This week we will be breaking into groups to show the chronological and narrative differences

This Unit will focus mainly on the Gospel of Luke. Ask your children what they already know about that! I’m very impressed at the students’ enthusiasm!

This week the students will also be working on the vocabulary for the unit. I have given them a list of activities and they have chosen one of them to use all of their words with. This activity is due on Friday.

6th – Reading. We have finished reading “The Stray” and will be completing the workbook pages for this story. I am listing the test schedule below. We will also be working on the next story with the vocabulary and reading warm ups. We are continuing with our work in the vocabulary book.

6th English – Monday we will be reviewing the last 5 lessons on Unit 1.

Tuesday – Friday we will be starting Unit 2 – Nouns. See the schedule below.

Tuesday – English Test on Lessons 6 – 10 in Unit 1 Wednesday – Open Book Test on “The Stray.” Thursday – Selection Test on “The Stray.” Friday – Spelling/Definition Test on Unit 2 in the Vocabulary Book.

Homework: English Workbook: Wednesday – pages 25 & 26 Thursday – pages 27 & 28

Week of October 17 Trek for Tech is Thursday, No School Friday - Faculty In-Service Religion - Our compare/contrast of the Gospels continues. The students are enthusiastically engaging in discussion and research on this. Our unit will concentrate mostly on the Gospel of Luke, and the Ministry of Jesus. This week will be comprised mostly of Bible study and lecture/notetaking. This site will be updated in the event the classwork falls behind and homework is assigned. Reading - Our next story in the Literature series is "The Stray". The skills are concentrated on making predictions and plot structure. We will be working in our workbooks in class, and right now most of the work will be done in class. We will also be starting Unit 2 in the Vocabulary Book. English - We are finishing up our unit on The Sentence. We will be completing Lesson 10 and reviewing next week. Due to the short week we will not be having the English Test until the week of the 24th. Look for homework in their workbook pages 21 & 22 - Writing Good Sentences in Monday, and pages 23 & 24. Fragments and Run-ons. This final lesson is crucial to master as they proceed with their essays. I will have the laptops on Wednesday, and the goal is to finish those essays. Some students have already finished, and the remainder have completed their drafts.

Mrs. Mac

Thursday Folders will be going home on Friday this week - October 14.

Clarification for English: Lesson 9 - Complex Sentences -- homework for lesson on Thursday are pages 19 & 20 - Room 203 only. 7th Grade Religion Next week we will begin our new Unit discussing the differences in Matthew and Luke, and Jesus's ministry. The students have been assigned groups to describe Matthew, Luke, Mark and John, and will be presenting on Thursday and Friday. 6th Grade Language Arts English - Gremlins have hit again. We are delayed in completing our autobiographical essays, but should (hopefully) be done by Wednesday. Thursday - Lesson 9 - Complex sentences and Lesson 10 - Fragments and Run ons. Workbook pages 19 & 20 on Wednesday and Workbook pages for Lesson 10 will be done in class. The following week (October 17) we will review Lessons 6 - 10 on Monday, and have the Test for those lessons on Tuesday (October 18). Reading - We are working on our first selections in class. We are reading, discussing and completing our graphic organizers. I am planning to give a selection test on Friday. In the event that I need to slow down, I will let you know. Students will be bringing home their binders on Thursday for review. Vocabulary Book - Unit 1 Test will be on Thursday. These tests will cover pronunciation, definitions, synonyms and antonyms, parts of speech and spelling on the 20 words. Will be reviewing in class. Mrs. Mac