Post date: Oct 17, 2015 4:12:8 AM
Happy Sunday Everyone! Is it finally Fall?
Thing 1: Saturday. I assume that many of you had a good time at the Fall Festival yesterday. Thanks to Mae and the volunteers for doing our part in contributing to the community effort that makes the day happen. For me, the day was spent with my family at Wilder and Swanton Ranches, pumpkin farms, Pescadero, and "Alice's Restaurant" on Skyline. I'm really excited about hitting some of these spots during our class' CalCoast trip in mid November.
Thing 2: High Schools. I've received a few emails from Kim Salle as well as a parent or two with information about high schools. To help organize the information I created a High School page on my site a few years ago and will update it with dates and events as they are communicated to me. If any of you have your feelers out there in that world and want to take over the task of updating and enhancing that page, please let me know and I'll make you a collaborator. No commitment or web-page experience necessary!
Thing 3: Books. For the next four Wednesdays, reading groups will be all about historical fiction books (To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Book Thief, Chains, Diary of Anne Frank). If your kid has not already gotten a copy of their book, please help them get it. Most libraries and bookstores will tell you (online or on phone) if they have copies, and there are probably copies in classroom libraries as well. I feel that a family copy of any of those books is a worthwhile investment. Also, in the realm of book purchases, if any of you are willing to help bolster our classroom library, please take a look at Mae's amazing list of local sources as well as this spreadsheet that shows what 8th graders read or have read.
Thing 4: Cal Coast Walkabout. As stated in Dianne's most recent email, the $150 donation/payment for the trip can be made online. Take a look at the Walkabout page, including the budget, and I think you'll agree that the kids are getting a good experience for $50 per day. Also, Leo, Violeta, Kevin, Janet, and John have volunteered to chaperone, which covers 20 kid-seats, but we need one more person (mom?) to take the remaining 4 or 5 kids. Could that be you?
Think 5: Intensive Rotation. As this calendar shows, our class's great stretch of homeroom-all-morning (HAM) time ends after this coming week. Starting on October 26, the kids of room 25 will be doing a "Banned Books" intensive with Bonnie Malouf, and the kids of room 29 will be coming to me for three weeks of physics from 9:00 to 10:40 each day. It will be great for each class to get to know another 8th grade teacher and vice versa. Bonnie has heard me rave about our class many times and she is looking forward to working with them to explore literature and the cultural perspectives that "edgy" books have challenged in the past (and still today).
Thing 6: Late work. On Thursday, the class and I had a quick discussion about what might be a reasonable and effective "credit schedule" for assignments. We agreed that things turned in on time will, of course, receive up to full credit, and that things turned in late will have a ceiling equal to 10% per day beyond due date. Once an assignment has been passed back to the class, the maximum credit it can get is 60%. Non-late work can always be redone (QAR format) for more points. Let me digress a bit here, to say that I strive to create assignments for which the motivation or value is not just to get the points, but rather to gain knowledge or skill, and/or to pursue personal interest or awareness.
Thanks for reading this far and please reply with just a 'hi' if you like. My inbox gets its hopes up after I click send on these newsletters every Sunday afternoon.
Chris
October 20: (Tuesday): Picture Make-Ups
October 26: Banned Books intensive starts
October 26-30: Fall conferences
November 11: Veteran's Day (no school)
November 16 to 18: Cal Coast Walkabout
November 23-27: Thanksgiving Break
December 4 (Friday): Middle School Dance
December 18 (Friday): Early dismissal
December 21 - January 10: Winter Holiday
January 18 (Monday): No School, MLK day
January 26 (Tuesday):8th grade class photo
February 5 (Friday): Semester 1 ends