Panther Pride

Our entire school gathered at the large structure on the playground this morning to pose for our yearly panoramic picture. As I stood among the 7th and 8th graders, observing the rest of our community join us, I was reminded how much I love the students I get to work with every day. I know what a misunderstood group they can be at times and I have not forgotten where their attitude comes from - the secret feelings of insecurity, not knowing what they want, or what to do. Look at me - don't look at me. Tell me what to do - don't tell me what to do. I want to join in but I can't tell you that because that wouldn't be cool. All I want to do is eat, sleep, hangout out with my friends, and be alone in my room.

At school, I work very hard to break them out of that spell. I want them to enjoy the work they do every day and if not always enjoy it, find purpose in it. It's important to laugh, smile, be silly, and take risks, all while learning.

Here are 8th graders spending 15 minutes working on their typing skills and stamina while playing an interactive racing game on the Chromebooks. The site is www.nitrotype.com if you are interested in checking it out. The state exam will be coming up soon after spring break and I want them to be comfortable with their keyboarding skills. It will help them be more efficient when typing in answers and crafting essays.

7th grade planned and performed skits for their classmates to help prepare for a test tomorrow. Here are pictures of them planning out what they are going to do.

With only ten minutes to prepare - they pulled through and created some very entertaining acts everyone enjoyed -  lots of laughter and applause!

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Welcome!

Welcome to our clan of 7th and 8th graders at Penryn School! So much is happening that I thought a blog might be a great idea to keep all of you up-to-date in what is going on in our world. I know I am not the best at sending out newsletters on a regular basis so I think this may help you get an even better glimpse as to what is going on in your child's Language Arts and History classes.

As writers, we are currently crafting arguments; utilizing tools and strategies that I've gleaned from TCRWP at Columbia University the past two summers. Students set up a note-taking system for researching before establishing a position in an argument, find articles on both sides of an issue, read closely for ideas and evidence, rank evidence in order of importance, create a "Boxes and Bullets" graphic organizer to organize their thoughts, and craft an essay that defines the debate, makes a clear claim and supports the claim not only with reasons, examples and evidence but addresses the counterclaim as well. PHEW! Enough said.

Just today, I applied to attend a week-long advanced session in June and hope to hear back in the next few weeks. Attending professional development keeps me refreshed, informed, and inspired!  I get to bring that energy back to school and into the classroom to share with everybody. If you would be interested in making a financial donation that will go to towards the cost of this institute, please send in a check made payable to Penryn PTC in any amount ($10 to $825 - lol! That's the actual cost of the class) ANYTHING helps!