Week of October 17 – 21

Good afternoon,

     We started this week with a lesson on how to organize a bibliography entry; as students gather sources for their arguments, they can now cite the sources properly to avoid losing credit for plagiarism or an incorrect works cited page. Here is a nifty document we made today to help understand how it will look.

     Tuesday will be a silent reading day in class; students should bring their books and read quietly for the duration of the period. Remember to respect the other students in the room and not distract them from their stories.

     Wednesday will be another day to develop essays; students should continue finding sources and providing evidence to support their claims. By now, every student should have a solid claim, so the evidence is just a matter of sifting through the vast quantities of information on the internet to locate credible sources. Remember — just because it is a .org website does NOT mean it is credible. Consider the content and consider the source.

     Thursday will either be another silent reading day or a chance to reflect on the third Presidential Debate, which will have happened Wednesday evening. Should we go with the debate, students will watch and point out logical fallacies, errors of reasoning, and contradictions. As an audience, they will be assessed on their ability to express themselves clearly and listen attentively.

     Friday will be another day to work on the persuasive project. Students should finish finding their sources and begin wrapping up the organization of their essays. Remember that presentations begin on Thursday, October 27.

     After school, today the boys have a soccer game at home, and they have their last home game on Wednesday afternoon at 4:30. Come out and support them! Our field hockey girls have their last home game tomorrow (Tuesday) at 3:30; this is earlier than their usual time, so don't be late! Newspaper club meets Tuesday right after school, and chess club on Wednesday at the usual time, too.

     We have only two weeks until Halloween, which falls on a Monday this year. If you are wearing a costume to school, remember that it must conform to the dress code despite the festivities.

     That's all! Thank you for reading, and get in touch if you have any questions.

Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Homecoming!

Hey Everyone,

     Even though it is not technically a middle school event, if you are in the area and want something to do tonight, get over to the high school. Tonight is the homecoming football game, and many of our kids will be there to cheer and support their fellow Scots. You should join them! The game starts at 7:00, and they have plenty of hot food and drink to keep you warm in the stands.

     In other news, our eighth grade girls won 6-2 against Westbrook tonight, after the seventh grade girls won 9-0 (I think). How's that for some quality playing?

Go Scots!
Mr. DeMaris

Week of October 10 – 14

Good Evening,

     This week has three major components:  arguments, NWEAs, and reading. On Tuesday, students get introduced to their big persuasive project, which will include written, visual, and presentation components. Students will get rubrics for each section in time to ensure they all have the opportunity to earn a three (3) or four (4) in every aspect of the project. There will be ample class time over the next couple weeks for students to work on this in school and to ask questions so the work they do at home will be successful.

     Remember, as students you are responsible for your own success. You have reached an age where you can ask for help when you need it, and you can recognize when you are struggling. While we, as teachers, check in and offer support, you must take charge of your work and stay focused.

     On Wednesday and Thursday, students will have regular Allied Arts classes followed by NWEAs before lunch. After lunch, they will have their standard afternoon classes for those two days. This way, thanks to the Green / White scheduling, they will have all of their four core classes once each over the two days. Students will read silently in Language Arts on those days, taking a break from the computerized tests and the pressure.

     On Friday, students will have a chance to work on their persuasive projects in class; they should be prepared to get up and announce their topics to the class as a whole by the end of the period.

     After school this week, Yearbook Club meets on Tuesday, and the same afternoon sees our field hockey teams facing Scarborough and girls' soccer teams facing King at home. Wednesday is Chess Club, and 8th grade soccer faces SMC. Thursday we play Gorham in field hockey, and on Friday our girls are home competing against Westbrook in soccer. As always, you should take an afternoon out of your busy schedules and come support your Scots — there is always more room for fans to cheer them on!

     Yearbooks are still for sale, but prices have returned to normal — $25 for hardcover, $20 for soft. Buy them online at jostens.com or in person by bringing cash or check up to Room 83. Make checks to BEMS Yearbook. Students will get yearbooks delivered to their homerooms in the spring upon completion of design by the club and printing and binding by Jostens.

    Thank you for reading, and remember to get in touch if you have any questions!

Kind Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Week of October 3 – 7

Good morning!

     This week is a shorter week than usual for students, as Friday is an In-Service day for staff. This means students stay home and do whatever they do when we are not around, and all of us get to come into school and attend trainings and workshops and experience the building with about nine-hundred fewer voices than it usually holds. Thank goodness this doesn't happen too often — it would get far too quiet around here.

     In Language Arts this week, we will hopefully start by having students take the SRI in class, a short, straightforward Lexile test to see how students are doing on their reading levels. On Tuesday, students will discuss the difference between logical arguments based on credible sources and some of the major fallacies in argument — that is, weaknesses that get in the way of credibility and validity. On Wednesday, students will continue to develop their understanding of logical fallacies, including making a quiz or assessment on the subjet, and Thursday will be presentation day, where students present their topic to the class. This time, to earn full credit, students must take some type of test, quiz, or other assessment to determine if the audience understood their topic.

     After school this week, we have a mix of clubs and sports going on. Our soccer girls play a home game on Monday, while the boys play Wednesday. We also have a cross-country meet on Wednesday. Tuesday after school is newspaper club, and Wednesday (an awfully packed day!) is chess club. Go join a club or cheer on our Scots!

     Remember that YEARBOOKS ARE ON SALE AND RIGHT NOW YOU CAN GET THEM FOR $4 OFF!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

Week of September 26 – 30

Welcome back!

     This week will be all about developing the practical use of persuasion. That means combining the simple persuasive method with letters and speech. On Monday and Tuesday, students will write a basic persuasive letter about a selected topic, finding evidence from credible sources to support their claims. Wednesday, the late arrival day, will be for silent reading in the classroom. Students must submit their letters by Wednesday evening to be printed for Thursday. Throwback Thursday will be a chance for students to present their claims and a part of their reasoning aloud to the class, and Friday will be a day for review.

     After school this week, Yearbook Club meets on Tuesday and Chess Club meets on Wednesday. On the sports front, there is field hockey Monday at 4:30, a girls' soccer game Wednesday at 4:30, and a boys' soccer game Friday at 4:30; the seventh grade games all happen at 3:30 the same days. If you have the time, come out and support your Scots!

     Remember, Wednesday is a late arrival day for students. That means everything starts two hours later — busses and the school day.

     Finally, the school news website is up and running! bit.ly/BENewsNet is the official site of the Newspaper Club — check it out!

Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Yearbooks and Book Sale

Hey All!

     This is the LAST WEEK of the discount sale on yearbooks; after this, prices go up again. Buy one now! We still need to purchase many more to make our payment quota to Jostens, so go online and order away.

     After you buy a yearbook, if you have any funds left, bring a few bucks in cash tomorrow (Wednesday) and look through the Scholastic Book Fair down in the library. During Language Arts class, interested student can go peruse the sale and buy books of interest to them.

     The staff beat the students 4–1 in the soccer game this afternoon. The scores were split 3–1 for the girls' half and 1–0 for the boys' half. Muddy J. and Grady J., among others, represented Clan Barclay well in the match, but Mr. Robertson and the rest of the staff were simply too powerful for them. All played well, although I think if we had refs they would have called a few dangerous or off-sides plays. Good game!

Exuberantly,

Mr. DeMaris

Dance Tonight

Hello All,

     Remember that there is a dance tonight from 6:30 – 8:30 at Bonny Eagle Middle School; all 7th and 8th graders are welcome to attend.

     Right now were are at halftime on a tight boys' soccer game against Gorham, and they are up 1—0. Enjoy your four day weekend, and enjoy all the fun you can have in the crisp, fall air!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

Soccer vs. Windham

Hello Sports Fans and Scots!

     Tonight we have games versus Windham at home and away; the boys play here at Bonny Eagle at 4:30, while the girls are away at Windham at the same time. If you are in either neighborhood, stop in and cheer on your Scots! Several Barclay students are on the team. We beat Windham last year, and we can do it again.

Go Scots!

Mr. DeMaris

Soccer at Home

Hello Everybody!

     Today our home game is soccer.  The Boys play Mahoney here at 4:45 PM, while the Girls travel to Mahoney for their game.  If you are in South Portland, be sure to go and cheer on the Girls; the rest of you should come to our game and rally the Boys for another victory!  Unless you're working, you should be there!

     Go Scots!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris


Good Evening!

     Not only did the girls beat Mahoney brilliantly 3-1, but the Boys absolutely crushed Mahoney tonight, scoring 5-0 over two heavily played halves.  Mahoney has some excellent kickers, but we played stronger, fought harder, and came out on top.  The team communicated well and played their best.  Well done, all of you!

      Go Scots!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

Home Soccer Today

Good Morning!

     8th Grade Boys and Girls play against Scarborough today; Girls start at 3:30 PM, and Boys start at 4:45.  Come out to Bonny Eagle Middle School and support our kids as we show Scarborough who has the best soccer teams in the state!

     Go Scots!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris


Good Evening!

      We fought hard and played well; you should all be proud of yourselves.  Despite some solid footwork and plenty of spirit, the Girls lost 0-3.  Scarborough had some impressive kicks that pushed the game into defense more than once.  The Boys rallied quickly, though, and won solidly 4-3.  Let's keep the spirit up, and get ready for the next game!

     Again, I say,
     Go Scots!

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris