Monday, August 27, 2012

Welcome back!


Welcome back!

We're off to another great school year at FMS!  I look forward to using this blog to communicate with you and let you know all of the great things that are happening in my classroom.  Come visit anytime!

6th GOAL:  Students started the year by getting their reading logs and contracts ready.  They also completed a reading survey that we discussed.  Next, they'll be starting their Models & Design unit, which is a hands-on physics unit.  We'll be starting with black boxes and exploring black boxes in science (Black boxes are things that, for a variety of reasons, cannot be easily understood or studied, like black holes, atoms, etc.).

7th GOAL:  Students started the year by getting their reading logs and contracts ready.  They are beginning the year with a nontraditional poetry unit, sparking their creativity and ability to think outside the box with words.

8th GOAL:  Since 8th graders will have an English class this year that includes a reading requirement, they will not be keeping a reading log in GOAL.  This class jumped right into a unit on Mandarin Chinese.  We discussed the importance of learning a foreign language and some of the benefits of that language being Mandarin Chinese.  Students are working on learning initials and finals to be able to read Chinese Pinyin, and we'll learn some basic vocabulary.

8th Critical Concepts:  Students learned all about their assignment journals, really discovering every nook an cranny in an effort to keep organized this year.  From there, students will work on a unit called Netsmartz.  This unit will address cyber-bullying and being safe on the internet.

If you have any questions or concerns this year, please feel free to contact me at school by phone (see our website for information at www.fairfieldsfuture.org) or by e-mail at tena.nelson@fairfieldsfuture.org.  I know we're all going to have a great year!

P.S.  Don't forget picture day tomorrow (8/28/12)!