Thank you parents for sharing in the events of school family night. The lasagna- cheezy-hashbrown dinner was absolutely delicious and warm to the soul on a drizzly evening. I appreciated those families who could stop by and see our classroom and chat for a few minutes. I understand many of you are busy and it was not possible to join us last evening. You are welcome anytime.

Today, 8th graders spent a second day reading and discussing our new Church History curriculum. We are already starting to understand, church history is about who we are today.
For English, we(as partners) revisited the "trust" game. One student is blindfolded and his/her partner guides them through an obstacle course. This activity has brought out some good personal responses to trust: deepens with time, nice does not always mean trust, trust can be scary, a two-way relationship, related to feelings of security, trust can be in degrees, blindness strengthens trust. We connected this activity to our reading of the first 15 pages of The Old Man and the Sea: the old man/boy relationship. Students shared sentences from text that demonstrated good-tight (concise) writing. This short novel thrives on clear text. By Thurday, students should read to p. 41 and be prepared to share 3 things (using textual evidence) we learn about the old man. We are working toward a discussion on Hemingway's skill to develop his main character. Students will have the last 45 minutes of today to read this portion or read from their "outside" boooks. Soon we will be discussing the format of a book report to be given on a book read outside of class.

7th Graders finished map presentations and then completed a "student survey" designed to give me more information on how students learn. And what interests they have outside of school.

6th graders in World History will form tribes (hunters and gatherers) and prepare a visual that shows the life of the tribe. They will consider the challenge of migrating to locate food and shelter.

Tomorrow we celebrate our Native American Liturgy. Please remind your son/daughter to dress appropriately. For Native American students, we hope you can join the opening procession.