Founders Classical Academy of Fort Worth
Week of December 14 - December 20
"Cowards die many times before their deaths;
the valiant never taste of death but once ."
— William Shakespeare
IMPORTANT DATES
-ELAR/LITERATURE SEMESTER ONE EXAM: DECEMBER 11
-FINE ARTS HOLIDAY SHOWCASE: DECEMBER 18TH (12:00 - 2:00 PM)
-CHRISTMAS BREAK: DECEMBER 19TH - JANUARY 5TH
Week in Review
This week, both 6th and 7th Grade students participated in our monthly poetry recitation, demonstrating strong memorization skills and clear presentation. It was exciting to see their confidence growing as they recited pieces with expression and accuracy. In addition to poetry, each class continued reading their respective novels. 6th Grade pressed further into Julius Caesar, examining how Shakespeare builds tension through rhetoric, ambition, and shifting loyalties. 7th Grade continued exploring The Jungle Book, focusing on how Kipling weaves together moral lessons through Mowgli’s encounters in the jungle. Across both classes, students made meaningful connections between character choices, themes, and the broader messages of their texts.
Next Week
Next week, both grades will pause their novels to review material from earlier in the semester. Students will revisit key themes, vocabulary, and plot developments from the books they have read so far. We will spend time strengthening comprehension skills, discussing major characters, and practicing written responses. All of this work will help students feel well-prepared for their literature exam on Friday. It should be a productive and focused week of consolidation.
Words of the Week
augury — noun: the practice of interpreting signs (often through birds) to predict the future; a significant concept in Roman culture and in the play.
lair — noun: the den or resting place of a wild animal; often used when describing where jungle creatures live or hide.
Did You Know?
Rudyard Kipling wrote many of the Jungle Book stories while living far away from India—in Vermont! He later said that writing about the Indian jungle helped him cope with homesickness, showing how vividly he could imagine landscapes from memory.
Poem(s) of the Week
By Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!
Resources for Parents
Here are a few excellent, free sites to help students build reading comprehension skills at home:
ReadTheory – adaptive online reading practice with comprehension quizzes:
https://readtheory.org/
CommonLit – free texts with guided questions and assessments:
https://www.commonlit.org/
Newsela – leveled nonfiction articles to strengthen reading comprehension and critical thinking:
https://newsela.com/
About Mr. Laurence
Mr. Ethan Laurence-Gauglitz earned his Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of North Texas, also studying a semester at Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität in Hannover, Germany. After graduation, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kosovo, working as a grant writer for the local municipal government and teaching English in local schools. These experiences deepened his appreciation for cultural exchange, global perspectives, and the power of language to connect people.
Most recently, Mr. Laurence was the Academic Coordinator and Lead English Instructor at Excel Academy in Henderson, Nevada, where he developed curriculum, supported teachers, and helped students reach their full potential. He brings to the classroom a love for languages, literature, and learning, and is excited to share these passions with his students this year.