SHOJ - English Language Arts

Dear Families, We'll be placing our order for April on April 11th (2 weeks from now). Please check out the catalog or the reading brochures your students brought home to find books that interest them!  To Shop Online: scholastic.com/readingclub One-Time Class Activation Code: L7ZJ6 Due by 4/11 With Scholastic Reading Club: - Every book you buy earns FREE Books for our classroom library - You can choose from handpicked, grade- and reading-level-specific books for your child - You'll find the best values on a variety of formats, including eBooks Each month, your child will bring home Reading Club flyers. Together you can choose from books hand-selected by teachers and experts, and then order online or by returning your order form and payment to me. I 'm excited to get our class reading! Thank you for your support, Miss R. If This Is Your First Time Ordering Online: - REGISTER at scholastic.com/readingclub - ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code  L7ZJ6

8th grade families,  Check out the 2nd-annual 8th grade class magazine, this year entitled  This is Us.  Fifty students contributed to the magazine, which is bound like a magazine and looks like a professional publication. In the magazine, students share their "Where I'm From" poems, giving readers a glimpse of the people, places, events, and objects that have shaped the students' lives. This is a great collection from the wonderful class of 2014 and shows the voice and personality of each student who participated!  The proceeds from the magazine benefit Sacred Heart. The magazines costs $20 per magazine. Families can place an order at Brown Bottle. If you are not able to attend Brown Bottle, you can have a friend sign up and pay for you or you can contact me (sarah.rajewski@shoj.org ). Parents can purchase this item for themselves, grandparents, the student, and anyone else you think might enjoy it.  After ordering, the final magazines will be delivered

Thanks to the students who came with me to the writing workshop today. We had a great time and learned a lot! For anyone interested, a summer writing conference was announced. It sounds like a great event!  2014 Summer Student Writing Project July 7 – 17, Monday – Thursday, 9am – Noon UMKC Volker Campus The Student Writing Project’s atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and geared toward intellectual and creative excellence. Students entering grades 4-12 who like to write will love the individual attention they receive while drafting, sharing and revising their work within a creative and supportive writing community. To find more information and to register, visit this website .   We have read over 200,000 pages in middle school this year! Both of the 8th grade classes have read over 50,000 pages, which Price Chopper celebrates by sending us supplies for a party. Keep up the reading!  This week and next week, 7th graders are working to format a hook, thesis sent

As Fourth Quarter begins, I am proud to announce that both 7th and 8th graders will meet all of the objectives expected for students across the nation at the same level!  While we finish up probability and statistics units in both grades, we will review for the State Assessments (taken the week of April 7- get lots of rest and eat a great breakfast!).  After assessments we will continue reviewing concepts covered throughout the year, especially the units from first semester.  When students have shown mastery (again) in these skills, we will start preparing for next year!  My hope is that the 7th grade will start learning 8th grade material, and 8th grade will continue preparing for high school.  I hope this builds their confidence while they make the big transition.   *Many parents have asked about summer programs and tutoring.  I plan on having a "Math Camp" for Middle School Students and students entering high school in the summer.  This way, students get to review and en

Dear 8th grade families,  We are testing out a new vocabulary program, instead of the workbooks we have used in the past. Your child will be using Membean, a fully automated, differentiated, and multimodal vocabulary learning system that will effectively address your child at her or his own level of vocabulary expertise and learning style. This learning program is fully web-based, and uses a patented Adaptive Reinforcement Engine which ensures that your child will remember her or his vocabulary words, not just for a test, but on a long-term basis. At Sacred Heart, we are testing out this program with our 8th graders to decide if we want to make it our vocabulary curriculum in middle school. We will also include the students' opinions on this decision, which is why the 8th graders are testing it out.  Depending on the day their class has lab time, students will get the chance to get started sometime this week. To take a tour of the site, visit:  http://membean.com/tours/studen

Dear families, We wish you a wonderful and relaxing week! 7th graders, I saw this and thought of you. After spending time last semester learning about the Holocaust, this exhibit sounds very interesting. From now through Monday, March 31st at the Kansas City (MO) Public Library, there will be an exhibit looking at Holocaust related information through comic books. If you've got time over spring break or the week after, you should check it out! I'm planning to. Here's the description from the website : The role played by comic books in fighting fascism is explored in an exhibit spanning almost 70 years. During the war, superheroes such as Superman, Daredevil, and Captain America did battle with Adolph Hitler and his Nazis. Dr. Seuss, then an editorial cartoonist, depicted Hitler frolicking beneath the swaying bodies of executed Jews. The postwar years introduced the classic  X-Men  character Magneto, a Holocaust survivor who uses his superpowers to wreak veng

The 7th graders looked awesome today as Greasers and Socs. We started the movie, which they are enjoying! Thanks for participating, 7th graders.

Dear families, We have finished our 7th and 8th grade novels. 7th graders have had their study guides for their test Monday, and we spent today in class reviewing. The test will be over vocabulary for Ch. 7-12 and applying literary terms to the novel. 8th graders received their study guides today for their test on Tuesday over compound sentences and applying literary terms to To Kill a Mockingbird. We spent all class today reviewing and will spend Monday reviewing more. The students can complete the study guide for extra credit. 8th graders working on making a tool to help them remember compound sentences.  Each group was assigned a FANBOY (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).  The 7th grade "casting call" projects were fun to read!  Have a nice weekend!