Late Arrival / Reading Day

Good evening!

     Remember that Wednesday is a two-hour delay (one of only two we have left, since we axed the rest to make up for storm days) for students, not staff. Classes will be shortened, but all after-school activities should continue as usual.

     Students in Clan Barclay will be reading all period in Language Arts; make sure you bring your books!

     Also, if anyone needs a refresher on figurative language, here is a video I posted for the class this week. Another, relating to rhyme, is below.

Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Well, how about that…

Hello Everyone!

     It appears we have ourselves an extended weekend! Two days of cancelled school in a row, since Tuesday is off, too. Students, this is a great opportunity to get outside and get some exercise cleaning up fallen limbs, downed trees, and blown leaves — remember that more time outside and more time physically active is directly tied to more happiness! Or, if you just don't want all those health benefits, or for some reason you can't get outside (but still have power and access to the internet!) you can always proofread and resubmit assignments on Google Classroom!

     Or, when all else fails, get yourself a book, find a quiet spot, and read. Get those lexiles up, and lose yourself in another world!

     Last but not least, there's nothing like a day of making memories at home to remind you that you make memories at school every year. What better way to capture those memories than in your own yearbook? Order your yearbook here!

     Enjoy your fourth day of the weekend, and stay safe on Halloween!

Warm Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Week of Dec. 5 – Dec. 9

Welcome to Trimester Two!

     It has been a busy first trimester, but it is done at last! Grades are being calculated and posted by teachers at this very moment, and report cards will go home by the end of the week. Trimester One report cards will include, for Language Arts, persuasive writing, grammar, presentation, and timeliness scores. Before you know it, we will be on vacation again, and then it will be a new year. But that is getting a bit ahead of things, so let's focus on the present.

     This week in Barclay Language Arts, students will take the SRI (Standard Reading Inventory) to check on how their reading comprehension has improved since the start of the year. In the coming trimester, we will be focusing on that exact subject, so this will be a handy score to compare to the end of the trimester. Students will have all class on Monday to complete this, and may finish it on their own time at home. This must be completed by Wednesday so we can compare progress by Friday's in-class student-teacher conference about it.

     On Monday, before taking the SRI, students will get five vocabulary words for the week, which they will be expected to spell and match with a definition and part of speech on Friday.

     On Tuesday, students will dive into scene descriptions, examining one moment from their novels and identifying all the descriptive words from them. Proper reading comprehension means depth of understanding, so recognizing how authors describe a setting is key to success. Students will work on this in groups or individually, and will turn in their work by the end of class.

     On Wednesday, which is a two-hour delay start for students, they will engage in a similar activity regarding a character from their novel; this time, the descriptions may come from anywhere in the text, not just one scene. This is a more student-driven assignment, and so will be done in pairs or individually. Students must be prepared to present their characterizations to the class verbally (without a computer) on Thursday.

     On Thursday, students present their characterization to the class and attend to the characterizations by their peers. Any remaining time will be used to review the concepts of characterization and setting.

     On Friday, students will take a quick vocabulary quiz, write a Week in Review, focusing on how much they understand about setting and characterization, and will be brought up to talk about their reading comprehension one at a time as they write. Any remaining time in the period will be spent reading.

     After school this week, our boys play at home against Lincoln at 4:45 on Monday, and the girls play at home against Windham at the same time on Thursday. The Newspaper Club meets Tuesday afternoon immediately following school, and Chess Club meets on Wednesday.

     Get in touch with any questions or concerns, and welcome to Trimester Two!

Sincerely,
Mr. DeMaris

Week of Nov. 21 – Nov. 25

Good afternoon!

     This week is a short one from the school's point of view; there are only two days of classes, followed by Thanksgiving Vacation. The days are slightly unusual as well.

     On Monday, classes are their usual times for a Green day, but a few classes will be catchup periods. RTI will be primarily dedicated to Social Studies, with students who are set in that class given time to work on Math, Language Arts, and Science.

     On Tuesday, students will likely have shortened classes in the afternoon, and in the morning they will attend an assembly run by local meteorologist Charlie Lopresti. He will talk about extreme weather conditions, show some videos, and share his experiences working with a new company. This ties in nicely with our current science curriculum, which is about weather patterns. Tuesday is Full Chorus day during RTI. Yearbook club meets Tuesday afternoon, too.

     Wednesday through Friday is Thanksgiving vacation for students and teachers alike. Take this time to remember what good things you have in your life, and let someone who cares for you know you care for them. See family, smile, and share a few moments. The weather on Thanksgiving is supposed to be grey and rainy, but you can still appreciate the warmth indoors.

     Thank you for your time, and keep in touch if you have any questions.

Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Week of Nov. 14 – Nov. 18

Good afternoon!

     This week is off to a great start; students were focused and attentive for the most part, and the weather was beautiful outside. This is also a pretty straightforward week, with only one aberration in the middle.

     Academically, all four classes are starting formal work with narratives; Gold, Green, and White classes began today with Elements of Literature definitions, while Blue class brainstormed what they knew about World War I, sharing it with the class. Every class will transition soon into story-based analysis over chosen books, with Blue class focusing on World War I literature that ties into Social Studies class.

     The rest of this week will be dedicated to choosing which book students will read in class; there are four options available, and students will be spending class time reading them, discussing them, and responding to them to develop their literary analysis skills. With rare exceptions, books will be kept in the classroom.

     Wednesday is a late arrival day, but other than that the weekly schedule seems normal. Next week, remember, is Thanksgiving, so we only have two days of school.

Regards,
Mr. DeMaris

Late Arrival for Students

Good evening,

     Please remember that Wednesday is a two-hour delay for students; staff still arrive on time, but the student day does not begin until 9:10, instead of the usual 7:10. In Language Arts here in Clan Barclay, students will be reading silently, so make sure everyone has their book.

Regards,
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

This Week in Preview

    This week's standard is L.8.1:  "Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking."

    Our focus is on parts A and B:

"Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences."

"Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice."

     This week's story selection is "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service (1907). A link to a reading by Johnny Cash is included below.

Monday——Make a list!

Quickly review last week’s skills as needed, introduce the story selection and Words of the Week, and take a skills prequiz. The Words of the Week are the words you must be able to spell, identify parts of speech for, and define by Thursday. This week, they are:

brawn (n.)

grisly (adj.)

hearken (v.)

homely (adj.)

scowl (n.) and (v.)

Once we cover these items, students may read "The Cremation of Sam McGee," this week's story selection. It is a poem by Robert W. Service about an unfortunate southerner who travels north in search of gold.

Tuesday——Time for work!

Cover skills and story selection for the week. Students who demonstrated proficiency in the skills on the content prequiz may sit in the back of the room today and read the story selection as a group, then answer questions about it collectively. The majority of students will take notes on the skills and practice their use individually and as a class.

This week, we discuss verbals and verb voice.

Wednesday——Write!

This is writing day in Language Arts. Answer a series of questions about the story selection. The Wednesday Write will always relate to both the skills and the story selection. For full credit, use and identify a gerund, a participle, an infinitive, and active and passive voice in your answers. You may write a short story with a surprise ending for more credit.

Thursday——Think it over!

In the first ten minutes of class, take the Thursday Think, a quiz on the Words of the Week; use it to spell, identify part of speech for, and define each word. After that, review the Wednesday Write as a class. In the remaining time, review verbals and verb voice in preparation for the Friday Finish.

Friday——Finish!

First, complete the Friday Finish, a review or quiz on the week’s skills and the story selection. Then, write a letter to Mr. DeMaris about your week; this Week in Review letter is only graded on completion, not on grammar or spelling.* Once complete, you may Review and Improve any missing or inadequate work. If you have none, you may read or write quietly or help a classmate with his or her work.

Each week is graded as follows:

Ten         (10) points apply to the     …    …    Wednesday Write.

Fifteen     (15) points apply to the     …    …    Thursday Think.

Twenty     (20) points apply to the     …    …    Friday Finish.

Five         (5) points apply to the     …    …    Week in Review letter.

This is a total of fifty (50) points per week. Extra assignments may be added or adjusted as negotiated by individual students and the teacher.


Sincerely, 


Mr. DeMaris

*——Mr. DeMaris always encourages proper spelling and grammar, though—— so try!

"There Will Come Soft Rains"

Hello All,

     Kam C. did a fantastic job reading the entire second half of a story in Language Arts; he read with passion and feeling and great enthusiasm!  Today, he was an excellent and inspiring student who earned extra credit for his work. I look forward to having him read again.

     Well done, Kam! Watch the video below if you want to see him in action.

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris