Let's build an awesome classroom community this year. See you all tomorrow!
Just a quick post to say I can't wait to meet you all, and I can't believe the new year is already upon us!
Let's build an awesome classroom community this year. See you all tomorrow!
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Hello Spiegel Core Families!!
Wow, I can't believe the year is over. For anyone who knows what it is like to be a first year teacher, it feels like a monumental victory from my perspective! For anyone who knows what it's like to be a middle schooler, making it through a year is a huge victory for our students, too! We did it!! I just want to take a moment to thank you all for making my first year so amazing, and for making da Vinci feel like home. I am so lucky to be a part of this community and to be able to work with such incredibly talented, insightful, inspirational, creative students. I learn and grow every day as much as they do, and I couldn't ask for more than that! Students and parents working together with teachers is one of the things that makes da Vinci so great, and every core student and parent has helped keep this year productive and fun. From the bottom of my heart, I can't thank you all enough for the growth, positive change, inspiration, challenges, and opportunities for improvement that I experienced this year, which wouldn't have been possible without all of you. I will be a better teacher next year and every year after thanks to you. And I will never forget my first class :) Have an awesome summer!! And students, keep being critical thinkers and mindful citizens - don't neglect your brain!! Check the website in the next week, as I will be adding links to summer resources! Thank you all again!!! Hello Spiegel Core Families!
First - HOLY MOLY! Those capstone pieces and performances were incredible!!!! These eighth graders have worked SO hard, and it shows! I couldn't be more proud of all our awesome students! We're in the home stretch! Here's the list of things students should be finishing: -Illustrated Literary and Poetic Devices - Due Monday 6/8 -Final Poem - Due Monday 6/8 -History Alive - Chapter 26 notes in purple workbook - Due by Tuesday 6/9 -History Alive - Chapter 31 open book assessment - Due by Tuesday 6/9 -Appreciation Cards for TEN classmates - Due by Tuesday 6/9 (if needed, see me ASAP for another copy of your list) (You can TEXT ME - 503-997-7853 - and I will text you back a list!!) We have had ample time in class for working on these projects, and we will have time on Monday (for 6th and 7th graders) and possibly Tuesday. IMPORTANT! STUDENTS NEED TO TAKE HOME ANY AND ALL PROJECTS THEY WANT TO KEEP BY THURSDAY 6/11 - I will organize the counter and move projects around to make things more accessible on Monday. Thank you all for your participation in making these last two weeks go as smoothly as possible. A lot of students have been feeling undue stress, and I believe we should try to stay positive. Let's work together to make the last week hectic in the fun way instead of the intense, negative way! Please feel free to email me with any questions, and let me know if you'd like to meet with me for any reason during the month of June. I'm suddenly very available after Monday the 15th! Also, if you haven't heard, I'm taking over the yearlong Photography class next year. Part of that job means making the darkroom run smoothly. We have a darkroom at da Vinci that is in need of a little love, and we are seeking help from any parents or students who want to get on board. On Friday 6/12 and Monday 6/15, I am hoping to do a little revamping of the darkroom. We need to rip out the carpets, test and remove broken enlargers, clean, organize, and a few other things. It shouldn't take a very long time if we have a good group, and it will make our photography experience infinitely better next year! If you want to help with our darkroom efforts, please email, call, or text me!! Thank you all, and have a great final weekend before the long weekend that is summer! Hello Spiegel Core Families!
The final 2 weeks are upon us! I have implored your students to use this coming week as an opportunity for POSITIVE momentum - we're so close, so let's have some good energy! We have some important things to finish up, and I know we can stay focused on the academics for at least one more week ;-) Students should be finishing up their Independent Book Projects, as they are due on MONDAY. Final Poems and Illustrated Poetic/Literary Devices are due on Monday 6/8. We will spend this coming week focused mainly on Ancient Greece, Greek Mythology, and the Hero's Journey. There will not be much additional homework at this point, unless students do not use class time wisely. Ask your student what they know about Beowulf! Ms. Savage/Descamp's class showed us their awesome Beowulf projects on Friday and taught us about the story. Students did a great job participating in this process. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with several parents this week, and we discussed student progress throughout the year and plans for next year. If you are still interested in doing this, let me know! It's not too late! I hope you all have a great weekend. Let's make these last two weeks rock!! Hello Spiegel Core Families!
Give your students a huge pat on the back - we finished our two-week testing block today! They were all well-behaved, hard-working troopers during the whole experience. Kudos all around. It was a difficult, often confusing test, which our students approached with calm resolve, and tackled with skill and precision. Awesome. The school year is winding down, and students are crackling with restless energy as we approach the last days. Please remind your students to channel their energy into schoolwork whenever possible; these final weeks are crucial, and we've already lost too much time to testing. CHECK OUT THE ASSIGNMENTS TAB TO SEE WHAT'S DUE! Our debates have been AWESOME! I am so impressed with how much work everyone has put in, and with how professional they have been during the debate process. These were high level topics and students rose to the occasion beautifully. One last debate on Tuesday: School Uniforms. We will finish off the year with a short unit on Ancient Greece (using mythology and the Hero's Journey), while completing our work with poetry and literary devices. Because of all the preparation that went into debates (students essentially wrote an entire argumentative essay in order to make this happen), all the poetry and Articles of the Week, and the sheer amount of writing that went into the SBAC testing, we have completed all our major writing projects for the year. Students will still write one final poem and a short Hero's Journey analysis, in addition to other short writings for the next few weeks. During our final days together, we will write appreciation letters for one another. Don't forget to set up a meeting with me for next week! I would love to talk to you about your student. Don't hesitate to call or text at 503-997-7853 or email me, please! Lastly, next week is SPIRIT WEEK! The days look like this: Monday: No School - Memorial Day Tuesday: Crazy Hair Day Wednesday: Dress up as a teacher Thursday: Dynamic Duo (Like Batman & Robin, Thing 1 & Thing 2, or chips & dip) Friday: Neon Day (wear neon - there will be a dance party with a black light later - YOU'LL GLOW!) I think that's about it. I'm off to Bend for a concert and some camping - have a great long weekend! Hello, Spiegel Core Families!
Short update this week, as we spent an inordinate amount of time focused on the SBAC tests, and had little time for much else. Your students deserve a round of applause for completing their first week of rather grueling testing. We have been diligently working to prepare for our upcoming debates, which start on Monday and go through the following Tuesday. The debate schedule looks like this: Monday 5/18 Teacher Pay Tuesday 5/19 Abortion Wednesday 5/20 Gay Marriage Physician Assisted Suicide (Death with Dignity) Friday 5/22 Racial Profiling Violence in Video Games Tuesday 5/26 School Uniforms Please come prepared on your scheduled day!! Don't let your teammate down! If you need support, please come talk to me. Be an advocate for yourself and don't stop until you feel you are confident and ready to debate. Stay tuned for Illustrated Poetic Devices, ancient Greece, Microfiction, and a few other projects to wrap up our year. Don't forget Independent Book Projects!!! Due JUNE FIRST! More to come! Thanks!! P.S. I have scheduled a few conferences already for the last week of May, and I look forward to hearing from more of you soon. I hope I will have the chance to meet with many of you before the year is through. Hello! Just a quick Tuesday post to say that grades for recent assignments should appear in Synergy by Thursday. Several rapid things happened in a row that impeded the process. Thanks for your patience!
Thursday Update: I fought the universe, and the universe won. Please forgive me if grades don't appear until tomorrow. What a week! Hello Spiegel Core Families!
I hope your sunny weekend is going great :) Quick Homework Reminder: -Annotated Discography due Monday 5/4 (students should add their citations, links, and annotations to the shared class Google Doc. Follow the directions in the document to correctly cite your songs (includes a link to the Purdue OWL website) -Debate Research due Monday 5/4 (students should have carefully investigated 2 sources that support their side and 2 sources that support the counterarguments) -"Possibilities" poem due Wednesday 5/6 (see Links & Documents) Students did well with both subs, though they were more productive on Tuesday. Both teachers said they enjoyed the kids, though :) Each student has a debate topic for which they are responsible, and they need to have at least four helpful resources to help them plan their debate. Students need facts, surveys, expert quotes/opinions, etc. to support their arguments. We also started creating 3-D relief maps of China, which we will complete next week. These show a more complete picture of how geography and topography influenced Ancient China, which will provide a helpful lens through which to view their rich history. We will complete the unit in the next two weeks, and the rest of the school year in Social Studies will focus on Ancient Greece. Next week, we will explore critical thinking strategies and logical fallacies. This will better prepare us for the debate process, as the next step will be to fully craft and practice our arguments. Independent Book Projects and Current Events will begin on Monday. Both of these are at-home projects that last the month of May, requiring a completed Book Project and 2 Current Events reports. Our Smarter Balanced testing is coming up, starting on May 11th. We will spend an hour of our time together each day on testing until everyone has completed. Students who are opting out need to bring reading materials and homework. You will be expected to use your time VERY wisely. Stay tuned for more information. We lost momentum on the baby pictures thing, so please make sure everyone brings in their baby pictures next week! ASAP! We want to do a fun activity with them, but we need everyone to get involved. We are still missing more than 10 students!! Students will be marked down if they do not bring something or at least talk to me about why they don't have one. Check for grade updates in Synergy this weekend, and stay tuned for more info. One more note: "Hodge Podge" on Friday 5/8! 7th and 8th graders know what this means, and I will be announcing and seeking their help on Monday. Thank you! Have a good one :) Hello Spiegel Core Families!
We've been busy as usual these first couple weeks of the third quarter. As you know, we are making progress toward developing strong debate arguments on the affirmative and negative side of some serious issues. Students are beginning the research process this weekend by finding 5 reputable sources that cover their topics. We have a ways to go before the class will be ready to debate; after we tackle some critical thinking and arguing strategies, students will be ready to build a strong case. As you may also know, we've been reading a ton of poetry! Between last week and this one, we've read "Silence" by Billy Collins, "The Quiet World" by Jeffrey McDaniel, "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost, "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams, "It's raining in love" by Richard Brautigan, and more! We started with a few of the classics before we began our transition toward more free verse style poems. Next week, poems from Eudora Welty, Wislawa Szymborska, Sylvia Plath, William Stafford, Langston Hughes, and many more!! Our main poetry focus has been "extended metaphor" thus far, and students are exploring this through their own Family Metaphor Poems. They are crafting an elaborate metaphor with many working parts that can be represented by each member of their families. Students will try to create a cohesive, complex metaphor that works throughout the whole poem. Check the "Links & Documents" tab for more info! Students have been making progress on the Annotated Discography assignment. They should have some rough draft progress on 2 annotations to add to the class document. After this weekend, the Google doc should be up and running, and students will be expected to post their final annotations on the shared document. Students may post one anonymously and one with their name (though they are strongly encouraged to put their name on both) but they must let me know so that I can give them credit for all their work. Check the "Links & Documents" tab for more info. In case your student didn't mention it, the whole class did an awesome job in participating in our "Silent Discussion" last Friday. Students walked around the room and silently wrote responses to 4 questions on posters around the room. The questions were about bullying and empathy. I am in the process of typing up your student' awesome, poignant responses so everyone can read their thoughtful and thought provoking words. Though your students were bold enough to sign their names, I am going to type them anonymously so that the school at large might benefit from their insights. Stay tuned - I will email you and post the typed responses on this very site! Things to expect in the next weeks until the end of school: -More reading and writing of poems -Debate! -Current Events (modified, as we are so busy with debates and testing) -Independent Book Projects -Ancient China, Greece, and Rome -Argumentative Essay structured around debate topics -Reading groups - short stories As always, your kids never cease to amaze me. For this reason, I was surprised to learn that da Vinci does not do a second round of conferences at the end of the year. Though it may sound crazy, I would really like to extend an opportunity for Spiegel Core parents and students to come in for conferences during the last week of May (Tuesday the 26th - Sunday the 31st.) If you are interested in meeting for a conference, I am happy to drive somewhere that is convenient to you (within 25 miles of da Vinci!) during most times of the day. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, I can meet at da Vinci between 8 and 10:30. Weekday evenings, I can meet you at da Vinci or elsewhere between 3:30 and 7:30. That weekend is pretty much wide open. If that last week of May doesn't work for you, and you still really want to meet, of course we'll make it work! Anyway, expect an email soon with your students' awesome responses to the "Silent Discussion" as well as more information about these Special Spiegel Core Conferences (which is what I am now calling them.) Phew! There's probably more to say, but I think that will do it for now. Don't forget to check the "Assignments" and the "Links & Documents" tabs. Both will be updated even when the blog isn't. Though I know Christie was a diligent blog updater, I find that this much communication overwhelms me. I know you are all empathetic and wonderful, so I have no doubt that I am beating myself up for no reason, but I hope you will all accept my continued apologies when the blog seems sparse. Thanks! Have an awesome weekend :) Today in History . . .
Last WeekFriday was a huge success! Check out these amazing drawers and cabinets painted by our class!! The wall is still a work in progress, but it's looking pretty great :)
I was so happy with how well everyone worked together and collaborated to make our party fun, safe, and awesome! Thank you to kids and parents for doing such a great job making this happen - you never cease to amaze me!!! We earned that fun Friday with another week of hard work. The class has started making their way steadily through The Watsons go to Birmingham, using their groups and packets to help guide the process for them. We will have a Packet-Check at the end of this coming week, so students should be ready to turn in their packets on Friday, 3/20. We had an in-depth class discussion about the five US island territories whose citizens don't have the same rights as other Americans. Ask your student about these nations!! In addition to these fascinating activities and discussions, we talked a bit about India, worked on Vocabulary and WWW, and did quite a lot of work with current events and other articles. Remember to check the "Assignments" tab for the latest due dates!! Important ones coming up: SBAC Practice form - due Monday 3/16 (TOMORROW!!) Watsons packet check - Friday 3/20 Written Current Events (2) - due Friday 3/20 History Alive! workbook check - Friday 3/20 Independent Book Project - due Thursday 4/2 Stay tuned tonight or tomorrow for info about next week!! Thanks! |
Ms. SpiegelEnglish Language Arts Archives
November 2016
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