Parents,

 

Today our testing went very well!  The students seemed to take their time and put forth their very best effort.  Tomorrow they will take the math portion of the CSTs.  Please be sure your child does the following:

 

1.  Gets a good night sleep

2. Eats a good, wholesome breakfast

3. Brings a chapter books to school to read when they are finished with their test.

 

Thank you for supporting your child!

 

Mrs. Davis

Dear Parents and Students,

 

The due date for the Hoplite Project has been changed to accommodate state testing.  It will now be due Monday, May 13th.  Please do not get behind on this project, students!  Remember, you can use our district's data base, Destiny Quest to do your research.  You MUST turn in a proper MLA work cited page with this project.  Destiny Quest can do this for you with a few easy clicks!

 

1.  Go to Shivela Middle School's website

2.  Click "School Directory"

3. Click "Library"

4. Click at the bottom of that page, "Destiny Quest"

5. Type in "Find"  Hoplite

6. Click the top tab "One Search"

7. Choose one of the search engines they offer- I recommend using Sweet Search

8.  When you open up Sweet Search, it gives you many articles on Hoplites.  Click each one to see if you think you could use it as a source. 

9.  For each article you want to use, click "Add to my list".

10 Exit out of the orange bordered One Search page

11. This will bring you back to the home page.  On the far right is a tab that says "My Lists"

12.  Click My Lists. 

13. Click Print Preview

14. Click the bubble for MLA listing

15. Hit print. This gives you the MLA work cited!

 

 

 

We used the computer lab today to research information needed for the Hoplite Project.  We used the DestinyQuest engine that is linked to the district library database.  Here is how to access this from home to complete the project:

 

1.  Go to Shivela Middle School

2.  Go to the "School Directory" tab

3.  Click "Library"

4.  Scroll to the botton where it says:  "Destiny Quest (click here)

 

Once on Destiny Quest, follow these directions:

 

1.  Type Hoplite in the FIND browser box

2.  click the tab for One Search

3.  This will display several search engine sites.  Click both Fact Monster and Sweet Search as these have the best information

4.  Once you hit one of these, it will give you the option to add each listing to a  " add to my list"  tab. 

5.  choose 5-6 to read, adding them to "my list"

6.  to print out a copy of the MLA citing, do the following

   a.  click print options at the bottom of the list

   b.  click the bubble for MLA citing

   c.  print

Dear Parents,

 

Please make sure your child has a few pencils each day.  I am getting too many students coming unprepared to school each day.  A small pencil sharperner is also recommended.  Thanks for your support!

 

This weekend I started grading the Kite Project essays.  It is apparent that many of the students are not heeding the warnings of plagiarism.  Please know that I will return your child's essay for them to rewrite it if it is evident that they did not write it in their own words.  To assist your child, I have included a tutorial on plagiarism and how to cite sources on this webpage.  It is also important that your child use more than one source for their research.   I will be sure to list this requirement on all future assignments, however, I discussed this with my students when we went over the project directions.  Plagiarism is taken seriously in school.  I am here to help.  I plan to take a portion of our language arts period next week to go over this issue.  Students do not always realize they are using another authors words and calling it their own.  They do not always know that they must first take notes when researching facts and those notes must be paraphrased and then proper credit must be given to the original author.  Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Thank you, in advance,  for your patience if it turns out your child is required to rewrite their project.  Also know, that any future written reports will receive an automatic F if any plagiarism is detected.  

Due to my absence, our study sessions will change.  I will see students before and after school today, Tuesday, March 5 and Wednesday, March 6th.  I will no longer be able to see students during their lunch period! I found out they are not supposed to be eating in the classroom; therefore, when they come afterwards their is simply not enough time to work on the task. 

 

Parents, let me also let you know that your child is still expected to study at home.  The sessions are meant as a way to show your child "how to study" not merely finding the answers to the questions on the study guide.  So please make sure they are using their compostion notebook to study as well.

Next Tuesday, February 26th is the day you will receive your child's progress report.  Please note, that at this time, grades are still being inputted into ABI.  Language Arts grades still need 2 more assessments before the final report.  Depending on how your child performed on these, you will likely see a much higher grade than is currently posted.  Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or concerns.

 

Kite Project
DUE MARCH 1st

Parents- please be aware that the kite your child turns in for this project may NOT be from a kit, however, they are allowed to use the sticks and string from a previous kite (not the fabric or main part that flies).  This kite should be tested at home to ensure it flies.

Please feel to contact me with any questions. 

It happens to the best of us:  just when we need to turn in an assignment, we can't seem to find it!  Aside from blaming it on the paper-craving pup at home, losing homework is serious business.  It can cost you points toward your grade.  One thing that I want to remind everyone of is that I do not make extra copies of lost papers.  I run 100 copies each week for 97 students.  I cannot make extra copies due to time constraints and the fact that I simply would not use up precious paper that way.  So the best way to avoid losing handouts is to keep yourself organized.  If a binder doesn't work, try a new method:  a separate folder per subject, an accordion folding holder per subject or core (LA/SS for one and MATH/SCI for another?)  There is no one right way to organize oneself except for what works for YOU!  Good luck and get those assignments turned in.  You'll thank me for this at the end of the semester! 

As we come off a dreamy winter break, it is difficult to get back into the swing of things.  I understand.  Please know, however, that it is very disruptive when students do not come to class prepared.   I have seen this all week.  So, here is a friendly reminder of the items that your child needs to bring each day: