The End of an Era...

Yesterday's 8th Grade Clap-Out not only ended the school year, it was the end of an era for my family.

I have had my son or my daughter in the same building with me for the past five years. (I did not teach either of them but guided them while completing their National History Day projects in 8th Grade.)

Their Middle School years were full of wonderful experiences, both inside and outside of the classroom. From my son's 6th Grade 50s-Themed Band Concert, track, clubs like Quiz Bowl and Stock Market Club, APT to Succeed interview, Civil War Day, and the Troybery Celebration, to my daughter's clubs like STAND and Stock Market Club, basketball, cross-country, track, cheer, pep assemblies, and both of their 8th Grade Washington DC trips they've had three exceptional years, ones that both have already looked back on fondly. My son, a rising High School Junior, was definitely prepared for High School because of his Middle School years, I have no doubt my daughter is, as well.

Middle School is a time of great academic and personal growth. I'm grateful I've been able to see this growth first-hand. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Historical Perspective and Peel the Fruit Thinking Routine

Image
Practicing historical perspective is an essential social studies skill. Historical perspective is being able to step into a historic situation and examine the motivations, biases, and beliefs of a person or group of people. Students have to revert to the beliefs of a group of people even if those beliefs completely contradict the views we have today. They must weigh decisions based on the situation of the time, not necessarily how situations are viewed today. The C3 Framework for Social Studies states that "Historical understanding requires recognizing this multiplicity of points of view in the past, which makes it important to seek out a range of sources on any historical question rather than simply use those that are easiest to find. It also requires recognizing that perspectives change over time, so that historical understanding requires developing a sense of empathy with people in the past whose perspectives might be very different from those of today." http://www.so
Read more

Name That Executive Role!

Image
Students today learned about the many roles of the head of the Executive Branch, the President of the United States. I found several images of former Presidents in these roles--can you guess which is which? Post your answers below or email them to me. Choices: Commander-In-Chief Chief Executive Political Party Head Chief Diplomat 1.  President Eisenhower 2. President George HW Bush (on the right side of the picture) 3. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt  4. President Reagan meeting with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (this one's a bit of a giveaway!)
Read more

Industrial Revolution Haiku

Students have been learning about the Industrial Revolution in the mid1800s and how it changed life in New England. Today students processed their learning by creating haiku poems on the subject. They were challenged to think about and evaluate this topic within the structure of a haiku, a 3 line poem with 17 total syllables--5 in the 1st and 3rd lines and 7 in the second line. The poems have been impressive and some will be posted here soon.
Read more