Week of May 25-29, 2015

FINAL WEEK OF SCHOOL!!!

Students, we have come to the end of the road. I am so proud of each and every one of you. You have all come so far throughout this long journey. These will be the last five days of school, and there will be many activities going on. Thank you for all your dedication, and I am so happy to have experienced my first year of teaching with such excellent students. I will always carry the memories with me, and I wish ALL of you nothing but the best in your road to success. 

REMINDERS:
Monday: Ac2E seminars
Tuesday: Ac2E seminars
Wednesday: Awards Assembly
Thursday: One Act Play
Friday: School Activities/ Last Day of School

Below are some pictures of our end of year project. The students were asked to make a scale drawing of their favorite candy wrappers. It involved converting measurements as well as constructing their own grid. This was a great activity to introduce them to certain professions they can pursue in the future. Engineering involves a lot of math, but it can be such a rewarding career. Overall, I was extremely happy with the results, and many of the students were surprised by their own artistic talents.

Week of May 18-22, 2015

Only 10 more school days left! I advise you to turn in any missing assignments, and we will be finishing our scale drawing project this week. This will definitely be an eventful week, so if you have any questions (especially 8th graders) feel free to ask.

Monday: Continue/finish the scale drawing math and writing portion
Tuesday: School dance during 5th and 7th periods
Wednesday: 9:00 AM Leo Lopez III presentation/ 8th grade mass @4:30
Thursday: 8th grade MORP 6:00-9:30 PM
Friday: GT training/8th grade promotion ceremonies @ 6:30 PM Paco Zarate Auditorium

We went to Fiesta Texas as our end of the year school trip, and our 7th graders definitely enjoyed themselves.

I wasn't able to capture a picture before they entered the park, because everyone was so eager to enter. However, this is the aftermath and everyone was tired but content.

Week of May 11-15, 2015

Only 15 more school days until you turn into 8th graders! It is so exciting, but first we must finish this school year strong.

This week we will continue with our scale drawings using our candy wrappers as the models. You should already be finishing off your drawings and starting to color them in. I am excited to see your finished products, and the math behind it all as well. Remember, this project is worth 5 individual grades, so please do not fall behind as it will be difficult to catch up. If you have any questions or concerns about it please see me in between classes, during lunch, or any time I am not helping another student during class.

REMINDERS:
Monday-Wednesday: Continue with project
Thursday: Continue with project/ Talent Show
Friday: Fiesta Texas field trip

For those of you attending the trip, please make sure you are brought to campus by 3:30 AM. You will be given breakfast at school before we leave, but you are not allowed to take snacks on the bus. The bus drivers work hard to keep their buses clean and they want to keep it that way, so please adhere to their rules. You may bring a pillow/blanket for the ride over. We expect you to be on your best behavior while at the park as well as on the bus ride to and from San Antonio. You will receive Whataburger after exiting the park and before starting the long drive back home. If you have any remaining questions please see me or any other faculty/staff member.

This past week I attended a GT training along with 3 other teachers from our school, and these are a couple of pictures from our eventful/educational time there.

We were asked to come up with illustrations incorporating the words into the actual drawing. The words chosen were the following: Protagonist, statue, tornado, and equation. The protagonist is batman, the tornado was drawn in the shape of a funnel, the equation was "balanced", and the word statue was incorporated into the Statue of Liberty.

The butterfly was a representation of the many different types of GT students you might encounter in a school setting. They are all beautiful and capable of morphing themselves into whatever they set their mind to, with the guidance of great teachers. On this particular day we were discussing GT students with disabilities. You might not be able to discern the words on the drawing, but they are all relating to twice- exceptional students.

Week of May 4-8, 2015

This past week we had a GT expo. We had a short amount of time to work on our projects, but we got it done. I am so proud of my homeroom class for coming through, and as always we got the job done.

We concentrated on polyhedrons which are 3D geometric shapes that are found throughout architecture structures all over the world. That just proves math really is all around us. My students enjoyed learning how to manipulate pieces of square paper and turn it into a beautiful shape with cycles of pyramids. We also created a structure using circles and a perfect equilateral triangle. An equilateral triangle has all sides the same length. Many of the students wanted to make some for decoration to display at home.

This coming week we have a busy schedule.
Monday: Bring a candy wrapper to class or a small piece of your favorite comic strip.
                Last day to turn in $25 for lock-in.
Tuesday&Wednesday: Continue with our project on dilation using scale factors
Thursday: Movie trip. Bring in $10 if you did not have perfect attendance.
Friday: Worksheets on scale factor/GT training

Below are a few pictures of my students working on their GT projects and also the finished product set up at the MPC.

Week of April 27 - May 1, 2015

STAAR is finally over!
We will continue with project based math activities, so continue making school a priority.  I understand that your minds are already set on summer, but we still have 5 weeks left. We have many upcoming school activities, so make sure you are up to date with deadlines.

Monday: GT projects
Tuesday: continue with GT projects
Wednesday: Create a Grocery Store Flyer
Thursday: Continue with flyer
Friday: Deadline for Lock-In $Money Due$

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and see you Monday!

Week of April 20-24, 2015

STAAR is here and we are ready!!!

We have been preparing ALL year for these upcoming tests, and I know you're going to do great! I am so proud of how far each of you have come.

Remember to arrive on time on test taking days, and eat a good breakfast. You will have 4 hours to take the exam. The schedule is as follows:

Monday: 8th grade Math
Tuesday: 6&7 grade Math
Wednesday: 7th grade Reading
Thursday: Field Day
Friday: Autism Walk

On Monday we will be following a different schedule so show up to the 7000s building. I will not be using my room Monday because 8th grade will be testing in that hallway.

This entire past week has been review and I ask that you look over your packet and bring it with you on Monday. We will review any questions that you may still have.

YOU CAN, YOU MUST, YOU WILL. SOAR!

Below are some photos of my students playing a review game in groups that involved a lot of critical thinking and a basketball hoop! The students enjoyed the game and were very competitive. They were asking for "just one more question" before the bell, and of course that made me very happy. If you know middle school kids, then you know that doesn't happen very often. :)

Week of April 13-17, 2015

Last week of the 5th Six Weeks!!!
STAAR is upon us, but we have nothing to worry about because we have been preparing ALL year for it!

This week it is vital that you DO NOT miss school. We have already covered the entire curriculum, so we will be reviewing every single day. This is the time to ask any remaining questions on anything you feel you still haven't completely mastered.

I have faith in you! I know you will take down the STAAR, but it is up to you to surpass your personal best.

REMINDERS:
Friday 17- Spring Pictures
5 Instructional days left before STAAR [APRIL 21]
5th Six Weeks Ends
TURN IN ALL MISSING ASSIGNMENTS
Wear your Autism t-shirt Wednesdays & Fridays