Week 29 Update & Schedule

It's been a difficult week with the passing of Lava Ridge student, Ashley Rubio, who was in my 5th period class.  My heart has ached at the loss of such a sweet, talented girl; Ashley will be missed a great deal.  I know many other students have struggled with such an unexpected loss as well.  I have had time to reflect on how very much I love the students I teach and what a privilege it is to be a part of their lives.  I'm so proud to be part of a school where staff and faculty have rallied together to provide support to our students.  We are truly a Lava Ridge family and please know that we are all working hard to meet the educational and emotional needs of your children.  If you have any questions or concerns about your student; please do not hesitate to email or call me.

On Friday, March 1st, students will be receiving Chapter 8: April and Summary to read at home in preparation for a comprehension/analysis based activity on Monday, March 3rd.  It is vitally important that students prepare ahead of time for class.  If they are not in school on Friday or misplace their reading, everything is online for them to read.

I am also handing out Novel Projects rubrics & directions.  They will be available on the blog later today and students will bring one home.  Students have selected a project to do. Most students will be completing these projects at home and students with support classes (Study Skills, GRASP) are working on their projects in-class with the assistance of their support teachers (Musgrave, Haws or Robinson).

The deadline has been extended to Monday, March 18th (the first day back from Spring Break).  However, if students are going to be out-of-town for the break; I have encouraged them to hand in their projects on Friday, March 8th so they don't have to worry about homework.  I do not want late work on this project and I am doing all I can to provide time & encouragement for students to complete their projects.

There will be no Utah-in-the-News this week; I'd prefer students use their time to work on their Novel Projects and finish their readings.

As a reminder, there are daily assignments so if your student misses a day, please have them talk to me before or after school to make-up their work.  If working on Novel Projects at home is difficult, students are welcome to work in my classroom.  I arrive rather early in the morning to school and I stay after school until 3pm each day.  

Here is our schedule for the upcoming week:

Monday, March 4th:  Calendar/Planner Check for Wk. 27, Novel-Talk Activity, Begin Ch. 9

Tuesday, March 5th: Poetry Bellwork, Finish Ch. 9 

Wednesday, March 6th: Begin Ch. 10, Library Time  *AM/PM Reading Club

Thursday, March 7th: Final Poetry Bellwork, Finish Novel

Friday, March 8th: Random Student Spotlight, Novel Project Work Day

**Early-Bird Novel Projects may be turned in today.

I have decided that students need a work day for their projects.  After our CRT Test, students will make Poetry Chapbooks to display the poetry they have created and we'll have a class "Open Mic" poetry reading. At this time, poetry has been recorded as part of their effort grade and their Chapbook will be assessed as an academic score in early May.