PBH Due 1.6.14

Hello All,

Please do the following:

421 - If you have not resubmitted the Mid-Unit test that I am recounting, you must submit it by Monday. There are a number of students who have not and that is why there is no grade on LearnBoost for you.

Both Classes
Meet with your Pre-College Research groups to research additional information. Choose a side: were the Vietnamese and the United States justified in entering into war or not? Please note that although it may be tempting to choose "No" or maybe even "Yes" you must, however, read and reread your articles in depth and do additional information to truly prove your claim. In order to choose correctly and objectively (fact based not opinion based) you must take your own feelings out of it, put it to the side, and really examine all aspects of the war. Please remember that this is post-war.

Novel
We will continue with the novel by starting unit 2. Be prepared by bringing in your novel and workbook.

Book Review Due Dates - TBA

Continue to check the BlogSpot for updates!

Always remember that extra-help is set aside on a specific day for each class. It is posted on the classroom door and has been there since September. I've mentioned it to all of you and some of you need to take advantage of that. For those of you who have been coming regularly, your grades have improved.

If you have any questions, please email me at thereadingcafe@aol.com M-F before 7pm or call Dial-A-Teacher @ 212.777.3380 M-F between 4-7 pm for assistance in other subject areas.

Miss. N

FYI Reminder

There is no book review due on January 2, 2014. You will receive the dates later.

PBH Due 1.3.14 (and other dates too)

Hello All,

Please do the following:

THE READING CAFE BLOGGING

421 Blogging due before 7pm Monday, December 16, 2013. Use this homework post to post your blog comments.

Question: Using the research article you printed for your group's focus topic and the novel, How did the social/emotional, physical/health, socio-economic, environmental or political impacts of the Vietnam War affect Ha and her family?

419 Blogging due before 7pm Thursday, December 16, 2013. Since I still have your articles, you will receive it on Wednesday. However, those students who scored a 2 and below on their printed articles must research a more appropriate article in order to receive a better grade. Please use this homework post to post your blog comments.

Question: Using the research article you printed for your group's focus topic and the novel, How did the social/emotional, physical/health, socio-economic, environmental or political impacts of the Vietnam War affect Ha and her family?

You must respond to another person who is not in your group. For example, one person who posts a comment about the political impacts must respond to another person who discussed any of the other topics that is not about politics. This will give you a more well-rounded overview of all aspects of the war that affected both Vietnam and the United States.

LEARN BOOST SELF-EVALUATION - EXTENDED UNTIL 12.19.13.

NO EVALUATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THAT DATE. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SCROLL TO THE PREVIOUS PBH POSTING TO FIND THE INSTRUCTIONS AND QUESTIONS FOR THE EVALUATION.

COMMUNITY SERVICE REFLECTION - Due 1.3.14

421 - Your reflection outline is different from other classes since you had more community service experiences than the other classes. Therefore, you must follow the outline and leave nothing out. Please note that for each of the community service projects you participate in physically, you will receive 5 extra points. You have had 5 community service experiences thus far, so that is 25 points multiplied by two. You will only receive these points when you attend the trip and complete the reflection essay. It must be typed, 12 font, Times New Roman, double spaced (paragraphs only not the heading) and college block style heading. Follow the heading example on the outline. Any other font size or lettering style WILL BE THROWN IN THE GARBAGE!

419 - Your reflection outline will only be about your visit to The Salvation Army. You will receive the outline on Wednesday. Please note that the same pertains to you. You have been on two community service trips and that is a total of 10 points. Please note that you will receive it by attending the trip as well as completing and following the outline for the essay. Those students who did not attend the trip or complete the Flushing Meadow Park reflection will not receive points. It must be typed, 12 font, Times New Roman, double spaced (paragraphs only not the heading) and college block style heading. Any other font size or lettering style WILL BE THROWN IN THE GARBAGE!

END OF UNIT QUICK WRITE TAKE HOME TEST - Due 1.3.14

Use the graphic organizers that I gave you the week of Monday, December 16, 2013 to help you craft your two quick write paragraphs for the poem "Saigon Is Gone" and the transcript "Forgotten Ship: A Daring Rescue As Saigon Fell". You will receive a copy of the test with the instructions and materials needed on Wednesday or Thursday.

For class 421 students, who don't have your workbook, which I think is all of you, please click on the following link below to access pages 185-191. These pages contain the transcript you will need for extracting evidence for the essay. 
http://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/8m1.1.pdf

If you have any questions, please email me at thereadingcafe@aol.com before 7pm M-F or call Dial-A-Teacher, when school is back in session, for assistance in other subject areas between 4-7 pm M-F @ 212.777.3380.

Have a Merry Christmas and A Blessed New Year! : )

Take Care!

Miss. N

PBH Due 12.16.13 (and other dates too)

Hello All,

UPDATED INFORMATION!!!

LEARNBOOST ASSIGNMENT

If you look on learnboost, you will see your grades posted. You are still responsible for answering the LearnBoost Self-Evaluation Questions which will be due on the 13th, however, you will not receive your progress reports until next week, since most of you need to show me your redone classwork/homework in your workbook.

Please note that the grades you see now, will either drop or increase based on what you receive on your other classwork and homework assignments. You will not get another opportunity to redo your yellow workbook from the day that it is due. It is your responsibility to complete it either at home, during extra help 7th period on your class's assigned day or during extended day. If you choose not to redo the work, your grade will remain the same or if it is not done at all, it will be a zero. There are no surprises on my part and there shouldn't be on yours. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

Also, please note that you will see on learnboost that there are workbook assignments with no grades. When you hand in your workbook on Monday the 16th, your grades will be posted between Monday and Tuesday afternoon/evening of that week. Later that week, you will receive your progress report. This must be signed by your parents and brought in on the day I tell you. Once it is signed and returned you will receive an extra 5 points.

PRE-COLLEGE ASSIGNMENT

Follow the Pre-College Research Assignment instructions so that you will know what to do. When we complete Lessons 12 and 13 in class, we will begin the research. Therefore, this means that the thesis statement and any other part of the essay will not be due until we begin our first day of research for the pre-college assigment, which has not begun yet. Please note that judging from the days it takes to complete the lessons, the other business we need to take care of in the classroom and trips, some of the dates I told you to change may change again and may go into January of 2014, the week we return from vacation. I will let you know when we begin the research what changes will be made.

TAKE HOME TEST

As mentioned, there are 14 lessons in Unit 1 and the 14th lesson is an assessment. You will do this assessment at home using the workbook, your notes and Inside Out & Back Again. The test MUST BE COMPLETED DURING VACATION AND RETURNED ON JANUARY 3, 2014. You will receive further information later.

TOYS R US TRIP on 12.12.13

I NEED AT LEAST 5 PARENTS TO CHAPERONE AS WE GO TO VARIOUS AREAS OF THE STORE. IF WE DON'T HAVE PARENTS, GUARDIANS OR ANYONE FROM YOUR FAMILY 21 AND OVER, I MAY HAVE TO CANCEL THE TRIP.

If you have any questions, please email me at thereadingcafe@aol.com before 7pm Mon-Fri or call Dial-A-Teacher for help in other subject areas at 212.777.3380 Mon-Fri between 4-7 pm.

Take Care!

Miss. N

PBH Due 12.9.13

Hello All,

Please do the following:

1. Word Wall due Wednesday, December 4, 2013.
2. Progress Reports Due 12.10.13. You will receive 5 points for having it reviewed and signed by your parent/guardian. (You will receive the report by the end of the week).
3. 421 Trip Permission Slips due 12.9.13
4. Yellow Workbooks (Redo Scores 2 and below) Due 12.16.13
5. There are students who have not returned the Enrichment Student/Parent Contract from the parent teacher meeting. Please hand it in on Monday, or request for a contract if you did not attend or misplaced it. You will receive 5 points when you return it signed.
6. Nonfiction Blogging - Due 12.16.13. Use the articles you printed for your Pre-College Essay Assignment to respond to the following question: How did the social/emotional, physical/health, socio-economic, environmental or political impacts of the Vietnam War affect Ha and her family? You will receive the detailed outline this week.
7. Nonfiction Book Review Due 1.2.13. You will continue with the biography you were reading. Go to the library and choose a biography immediately if you haven't done so already or would like to change your book selection. Please remember that a biography is a book written about the life of someone else. Do your research and find a book. This assignment requires an engaging introduction with a proper and clear thesis statement and quick write style body paragraph.
8. Follow the due dates of the Pre-College Essay Assignment Outline. However, the dates are subject to change very soon! Articles due Monday 12.9.13.
9. Learn Boost self-evaluation Due 12.13.13: Answer the following questions in complete and detailed sentence format:

• What are my current ELA scores for homework, classwork, test/quizzes, etc.?
• If my scores are below 85% in each subject (regular general education classes) and 90% (enrichment only) in each subject, how can I improve my scores?
• What opportunities are available for me from my school and my teachers to help me improve my scores?
• Which opportunity is more beneficial to me and how will I keep track of my progress?

10. Bring in your baked goods for the teacher and student bake sale on the dates we agreed as a class.
11. Mrs. Middleton needs judges for the Senior Dance this Friday. If interested, please see her ASAP!

If you have any questions, please email me at thereadingcafe@aol.com M-F before 7 pm or call Dial-A-Teacher @ 212.777.3380 M-F between 4-7 pm.

Miss. N : )

PBH Due 12.4.13

Hello All,

I hope you are enjoying your long Thanksgiving weekend! Please do the following:


Both Classes:

1. Yellow Workbooks (Redo) Due 12.16.13 - I will give you the opportunity to complete all pages that you received a 2 and below. You will receive full credit for those pages. However, if you choose to not do it, it will remain the same. Any page marked N/A simply means that page is "not applicable" to you. Those N/A pages are the ones assigned to table groups a few weeks ago.  For example, if you were tables 1-3 you were assigned to complete section 2 and so forth.
2. Pre-College Research Assignment - TBA continue to check the BlogSpot for updates. You will receive an outline print out in class next week. However, you must bring in your printed articles on Monday to class and it MUST be present on your table not on your flash drive waiting to be printed.
3. 421 ONLY - Visit http://sco.org/ to find out more information about St. Christopher Ottilie (SCO) Family of Services. Click "about us" on the home page to find more detailed historic information. This will allow you to be more informed to eloquently articulate to others if they ask you questions and when you create the buddy SCO poster that will be alongside the Bake Sale list.
4. Learn Boost self-evaluation Due 12.9.13: Answer the following questions in complete and detailed sentence format:

• What are my current ELA scores for homework, classwork, test/quizzes, etc.?
• If my scores are below 85% in each subject (regular general education classes) and 90% (enrichment only) in each subject, how can I improve my scores?
• What opportunities are available for me from my school and my teachers to help me improve my scores?
• Which opportunity is more beneficial to me and how will I keep track of my progress?

Reminders:

• 421- Bake Sale will be from Tuesday, December 3rd until Monday, December 9th. The teacher bake sale will be on the 2nd floor outside the main office and the student bake sale in the cafeteria. Please note that on Monday, December 2nd, we will take our class time to prepare for this sale (ex: list of baked items, price list, flyers, SCO poster, morning announcement memo), Santa Trash classroom appointment/visitation set up and purpose, coupons for Toys R US as well as the activities for the kids at the SCO. You heard what Mrs. Middleton discussed today, therefore have the following for Monday: a box of gloves, plastic aprons, poster paper, eye-catching poster paper boarders that are Christmas-like, a white plastic table cloth, a white table skirt, presentable and clean serving platter trays to hold your baked goods, Christmas music in a battery operated radio or battery operated iPod on a stereo dock, Santa or elf hats, etc. Make it look good in order to sell well. Bring your creative ideas to the table because it is CRUNCH TIME! 
• Manal - Exit Slip Box (let me know when you will have it completed)
• Extra Credit Project/Assignments will be offered in the next few weeks to anyone interested. Please note that only those students who actually complete ALL ASSIGNMENTS will be allowed to do extra credit. The point of extra credit is so that your previous work that you completed, did not receive high scores therefore you decided to do extra credit assignments to boost your average. Therefore, if you haven't been doing your work, you have many incomplete assignments and don't pay attention in class and have no clue as to what we are discussing, you should NOT ASK FOR EXTRA CREDIT. Once you start doing the right thing where your work is concerned, it will be offered to you. However, if you have been doing well and would like your grade to be higher, you are more than welcome to do extra credit.
• There are students who have not returned the Enrichment Student/Parent Contract from the parent teacher meeting. Please hand it in on Monday, or request for a contract if you did not attend or misplaced it.
• Return progress reports by Monday, December 9, 2013. You will receive 5 points for having it reviewed and signed by your parent/guardian. You will receive a print out next week.

If you have any questions, please email me at thereadingcafe@aol.com M-F before 7pm. Call Dial-A-Teacher @ 212.777.3380 for assistance in other subject areas M-F between 4-7 pm.

Take Care!

Miss. N

PBH Due 11.25.13

Hello All,

Please note that any work that is due the week of the 18th is posted on the previous blog post. Therefore, you may need to scroll down to read it.

I have made some changes. Please do the following:

Classes 419 & 421:

Vocabulary Games final project due 11.25.13.
All game pieces must be in place and ready to be played on Monday. This will be your test. Each game will be evaluated by your peers and the teacher. You will be evaluated on how well each student was able to acquire new words by playing your game. You will be evaluated on how engaging, fun, creative and clear your instructions were for the game. Lastly, you will be evaluated on how much time it takes to play the game. The game should not be too quick and easy nor too long and difficult. There must be an midway length of time for your game.

Flushing Meadow Park Reflection 
Due 11.25.13 - Write a reflection about your community service experience cleaning Flushing Meadow Park. It must be typed, 12 font, Times New Roman and double spaced. You can hand write your reflection if your handwriting is not clear. It must be at least one page and you must answer the following questions: 1)  What did this experience teach you about leadership and team work?
2.) How does this community service experience prepare you for future real life work experiences? You must provide examples from the trip based on what you felt, observed and what you heard others say.

Reminders:
1.High School Apps due to Mrs. Cruz Monday, November 25, 2013!
2. Class 421's Bake Sale will begin on Tuesday 11.26.13. Details will be explained on Monday 8th period as well as elections. Buy your baked goods between today and Sunday. Kimberlin get ready!
3. Continue to check the BlogSpot for updates!
4. All videos of the in class courtroom scene must be handed in during lunch time Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
5. Class 421 - A snack during ELA time is not candy. No candy or gum allowed. Cookies, chips, crackers, water, a mini sandwich, or anything that falls into that category is ok. This is only for this class because you have me right before lunch.
6. Riki return the slips that were handed to you on the bus. Due Monday, 11.25.13.


If you have any questions, email me at thereadingcafe@aol.com Mon-Fri no later than 7pm. Do not wait until the last minute or email me on weekends! Call Dial-A-Teacher @ 212.777.3380 for assistance in other subject areas.


Miss. N