February  2012

Sixth and third graders work to make Valentines for Veterans as part of Catholic Schools week. 

     

   As we enter the third quarter everyone should be busy reading and testing in accelerated reader.  Remember the purpose of this program is to help all of our students enhance their reading ability.  This is so important as high school is right around the corner and the reading becomes much more intense there.  We want our students to be ready before they go.  Parents please remember you can visit Commonsensemedia.org and find reviews of the literature that your student is reading. 

   We are beginning our third quarter classroom reading and remember the students will be able to count these as one of their required reading assignments for the quarter.  The sixth grade is reading Wringer by Jerry Spinelli.  This is a story about a young boy faced with the pressures of doing something he really doesn’t want to.  The students will learn from this story that sometimes it takes a lot of courage to say no when they feel it is the right thing to say and others might not. The seventh grade has just begun The Giver by Lois Lowry.  This is  a futuristic story about a young boy who finds himself facing great challenges in the “perfect” world in which he lives.  Soon he finds that things aren’t as they seem and he bravely takes a stand .  Finally, the 8^th graders will learn about Buck, a domestic dog who is sent to live among sled dogs and endures a life quite unlike the one he so dearly misses.  Despite it all however, Buck returns to his instinct and answers The Call of the Wild.  This is a classic novel by Jack London.

   The 8^th graders have begun researching their Civil War topics and have been learning about conducting research, citing sources MLA style and writing a thesis statement.  The 7^th graders are writing narratives based on the title Something Fishy is Cookin in the Kitchen.  They have been learning about the elements of a great story including characters, protagonist, antagonist, conflict and much more.  Finally, our sixth graders will be writing about great American writers as part of a research writing assignment.

   Finally, we are most excited about our Catholic Schools Across America writing project.  Here is how it works:  Each sixth grader was assigned a Catholic school in two states to write to.  Along with their letter they also sent a list of questions asking for information about the school.  Included were the same questions with answers about St. Peter’s.  It is hoped that each school will answer the questions and send them back to St. Peter’s.  When the responses are received Mrs. Schlumbrecht will have the student place a star on his or her state with the name of the school on it.  The hope is that we will hear back from all fifty states.  Not only is this a great lesson in letter writing but also a great geography lesson as well.

   Well, that’s all for now!  I wish you a February filled with Christ’s love.

Mrs. Wagner

   I trust that this message finds you all well rested from the Christmas break and no doubt ready to send your children back to school.  Well, we are ready for them! 

   As the quarter is drawing to a close (January 12) please note that your students must be completing their reading and testing in accelerated reader.  The last day the students will be allowed to test will be January 12^th.

   In the last two weeks of this quarter we will be completing unfinished business so that all grades can be finalized and entered.  The Cay powerpoints were a major focus for seventh graders in the second quarter who learned not only how to create a presentation told from the perspective of the main character of the story, but  also learned how to import music into the presentation.  In doing so, they learned how dramatically the music affected the overall presentation.  Seventh grade parents should look forward in the near future to receiving a copy via email of their child’s completed presentation.  In the third quarter, sixth graders will complete power point presentations which apply the elements of fiction to a story we will read called Wringer, by Jerry Spinelli.  The 8^th graders will be completing a research paper on a Civil War topic and will create a power point to go along with it.  The 8^th graders will learn how to embed a you tube video into the presentation and will be required to have one on their completed presentation.  We are constantly striving to integrate technology in our middle school subject areas so that our students will be prepared for the demands of high school. 

   Also in the third quarter 7^th graders will read The Giver and 8^th graders will complete an author study on Jack London and will read The Call of the Wild.

Please know that I feel blessed daily to be a teacher!

 

   We have entered the season of Advent here at St. Peter’s School.  Advent is a wonderful time of year when we prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus.  This is always a great time to be a teacher because the students can barely contain themselves as they anticipate all that the celebration of the Christmas holiday will bring. It is fun to watch.  However, the work continues!

   In these last few weeks before our Christmas break we will be reading various selections.  To begin with, in the sixth grade, we will be studying the various genres of Literature.  We have begun with the biography and have just begun reading Matthew Hensen at the Top of the World.  What is really interesting about Matthew Hensen is that he is from Charles County.  The students were amazed that this man who helped Robert Peary explore the North Pole was from the same place they are.  Next, we will read The Fun of It an autobiography by Amelia Earhart.  In the seventh grade we have conducted an author study on Charles Dickens and will spend the weeks before Christmas reading his classic A Christmas Carol.  In the seventh grade Literature book, this story is in a play format.  Therefore, we will be able to discuss the elements of drama as well as read this heartwarming Christmas story.  The seventh graders are also completing their Tribute to Timothy powerpoints and will present them to one another before break. Finally, in the eighth grade we will complete our discussion on A Mother in Manville and our discussion on how the setting of a story affects the tone and mood of a story.  Then we will read Flowers for Algernon by David Keyes.  A story the students always love.

   In English we are completing our problem solution essay in the sixth grade, our proposals (persuasive essays) in the seventh grade and our autobiographical incident essays in the eighth grade.  We will also be doing some creative Christmas writing pieces in all three grades.  All three grades wrote letters to Mrs. West in Afghanistan wishing her a warm and safe holiday season and thanking her for her service to her country.

   Please note that the students should be reading to meet the goals set for them at the beginning of the quarter.  If you have any questions about your student’s goal just let me know.  The students seem to be aware of how to find books they want to read and how to identify their levels through AR bookfind.  Remember you can be looking at home as well through AR home connect.

God bless,

Mrs. Wagner

   How quickly 2011 is passing.  The end of the year is in sight and Christmas is right around the corner.  October was lots of fun and quite productive. In the middle school ELA classes we completed reading our stories, The Cay, The Diary of Anne Frank and Maniac Magee.  The 8^th grade participated in secret annex day.  When all was said and done I believe all three grades learned a lot about the injustice of prejudice.

   Accelerated reader is well under way.  In the second quarter students no longer have to read just three books but must meet the goal set for them which is based on their Start Reading test.  Parents can visit the Renaissance Learning home connect to see their student’s progress throughout the quarter.  I am also running a contest between the three classes to see which grade can read the most in the second quarter.  The winning class will have either a pizza or ice cream party, whatever they choose. 

   We’re talkin’ turkey in the middle school.  Make sure to stop by our hallway and read the turkey recipes written by the 6^th grade, the odes to a turkey, written by the 7^th grade and the creative writing piece by the 8^th graders called “A Turkey’s Plea.”

   Since November is the month we honor our Veterans, 7^th and 8^th graders both read a story that teach about life after the Vietnam War.  One of our favorite veterans, Mr. Jerry who helps out at lunch time, spoke to the 7^th graders about his service in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam war.  The students listened attentively as he told him about life in Vietnam.  He taught about the food they ate,  the clothes they wore, the supplies they carried.  It was an interesting lesson and we appreciate Mr. Jerry for coming in.

   Many, many thanks to all of the veterans who are  members of our St. Peter’s family.  May God bless you in every way for your service.

Have a wonderful November and blessings for a bountiful Thanksgiving.

God bless. 

Pinch and his sixth grade friends enjoy the Race for Education!

   Happy fall!  My favorite time of the year.  Things are going great so far in Language Arts in our middle school.  We began the year writing about our experiences with the hurricane and earthquake.  The students shared their adventures and you can see some of them posted outside of the classroom door. Our theme was, “I survived hurri-quake week 2011.  Then they chose about one of these experiences to write about.  It was interesting to read how different everyone’s experience was, especially with the earthquake.  Some students were home, in a car and on the beach, but everyone had one thing in common as they told their stories, no one thought it was an earthquake!  At first that thought never entered a single mind!! 

   In the sixth grade we are reading Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, in the 7^th, The Cay by Theodore Taylor and in the 8^th grade we are reading the play adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank.  I choose these three particular stories to read because each one deals with the issue of prejudice in quite a powerful way.  Through each of these stories your students learn the importance of looking beyond the color of one’s skin to the individual who is within.  Each story leaves the students thinking every year.  At the end of the Anne Frank unit the 8^th graders will have the opportunity to experience secret annexe day as we will simulate the conditions of the secret annexe right in my classroom.

   Please keep in mind that the students will need to read and pass a test for three stories by the end of the quarter. It appears that most all students are well on their way.

   Finally, the students have been sharing their summer reading with one another in our book talk discussions in the classroom.  From these discussions students learn about stories their peers really liked and it gives them great ideas for what to read. For 8^th grade parents your students posted on a blog on the St. Peter’s website. If you wish to see what your student said about his or her summer reading visit our website, click on my (Mrs. Wagner’s) classroom and a tab will come up that says summer book discussions.  Click on that and scroll down and find your student.

   Have a wonderful October. Please contact me with any questions you may have at any time.

Mrs. Wagner

August, 2011

   Summer is going by fast and before you know it school will be in full swing once again.  I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer. My family and I have been busy at times, but there has also been lots of quiet time as well.   I am looking forward to a brand new school year with our sixth, seventh and eighth graders at St. Peter’s.  Hopefully by now all of our middle school students should be completing summer reading.  Although you need not complete a summer reading project before school begins you need to make sure that you have read a middle school level book as you will be given directions for your summer reading project the first week of school.  When reading find a quiet spot away from everything where you can concentrate on your story and enjoy whatever adventure it takes you on.