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

Upcoming Absences and Assessments

Hello All,

     I will be out of the classroom tomorrow, Tuesday, May 3; rather than pay a garage hundreds of dollars to replace the exhaust system on my car, I am taking the day to do it myself. As a man who doesn't own a garage or a car port, or even a nice pop-up canopy, I need to take the only partly sunny day in this week of rain to accomplish that. I'm sorry I won't be around, but it has to be done.

     Next week, Thursday and Friday (May 12 – 13),* I will also be out of the classroom, attending a conference at King Middle School on classroom design, lesson design, and modern teaching practices. This is a great opportunity to learn more about my job and hopefully experience a few good things. Believe it or not, I do always want to be a better teacher, so I take these conferences seriously and get what I can from them. I hate to be out of the classroom, especially with the year winding down, but this should be worth it.

     Tomorrow (Tuesday) students take the Voice and Mood quiz; you all have the notes on Google Classroom. The quiz is entirely multiple-choice, and involves definitions and examples. Make sure you know the differences between active and passive voice, and ensure you can differentiate between indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive moods. Remember, subjunctive is NOT the same as conditional. Look it up.

     Thursday of next week students take the SRI (Standard Reading Inventory), the in-class assessment of reading level and ability they have taken twice already this year — once in October, and once in February. Please do your best on it, and take it seriously. I want to see growth on these, not dismal scores. Even if you aren't confident, you should at least do better than you have in the past. Remember, the goal is not always to outdo the other students, but to outdo yourself. Take the challenge, and succeed.

     As usual, if you have any questions, please email me. I won't necessarily be able to respond from under the car tomorrow, but I can certainly address any concerns before or after.

Sincerely,
Mr. DeMaris

* — That was an en dash inside those parentheses; see how it replaces "to" or "through" in the list?

Bring your Charger Tomorrow

Hello All,

     I hope your vacation went well, and you had a chance to enjoy the free time and the sunshine. I got three days down in Boston out of the deal, which were fantastic. This was a good time to get out of school and take care of things at home.

     Heading back into school tomorrow, we are beginning state testing on Monday, which is entirely computer based. This means you need to have a fully charged computer. That said, I know some of you have battery problems and some of you have a problem where you don't charge your battery, so bring your charger with you to school. That way, you don't have to worry about running low on power just when you need to finish an answer!

     Don't freak out about the tests, either. This isn't something you can study for, and it isn't something you can improve by worrying about it. The tests simply see where you are right now in skill level compared to your classmates and other eighth graders across the country, and help school organize what classes you take and what we teach you. Do the best you can, and take it seriously. Just don't feel like they are the end of the world.

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris