I understand two or three hours is quite a time commitment for people to make in the middle of the work day, so I'm doing my best to make a schedule for the day.  I'm positive we won't be on time exactly, but having an order of events should help a bit.  If you can only come for part, don't feel bad about that at all. :)

9:00 - Opening Ceremonies 
9:20 - First Four Design Pitches (20 minutes each)
9:20 - Massaging Backpack – Andy, Arielle, Kimmie
9:40 - Spray Paste – Zari, Kolbi, Mitchell
10:00 - Rain Clock – Abby, Jordyn
10:20 - Hetos Clothing – Braden, Avery, Nick
10:40 - Break
10:55 - Last Two Design Pitches (20 minutes each)
10:55 - Twisto Jar – Payton, Liam, Christopher
11:15 - The Hair Hero – Molly, Jaymar, Kassidy
11:35 - Closing Ceremonies

I don't have an exact schedule for Friday yet, but what I do know is that the presentations will start at 9 and won't go any later than noon.  I'll figure out a presentation order soon, but even then we're going to have to be pretty flexible.

Officially, reading blogs were due today.  However, a number of students waited until the last night to write their blog posts and now they need to be re-written in order to receive credit.  Any re-written blog posts must be turned in by 8am tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

Don't forget to bring food for the food drive tomorrow!  It's our last day and we'd love to be able to give a lot of food to the food bank.

My mistake!  Originally I had our history test next Tuesday, thinking it would be the second day we were back after the weekend.  However, since there is no school next Monday, we'll have our history test on Wednesday and use Tuesday to review in class.

Last week, started reading a new book called Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  It is a very different book than our previous read.  It is a serious historical fiction book dealing with themes of racism, love for family and how to deal with injustice.  

I encourage parents to check out a copy from the library or borrow your child's book and read along.  It is an extremely well written book and I'm sure you'll appreciate it, but more importantly than that you may want to help guide your child through some of the issues it raises.  We have taken and will continue to take a lot of time in class discussing these issues, but a teacher isn't a parent.

One of the controversial choices the author, Mildred D. Taylor, chose to make is to include the "n word" at times in her book.  Her intended audience is young adults, but she doesn't shy away from the harsh truth of our past.  You should know we don't use this word in class and if it comes up during read alouds, we just say "n".  We will continue to discuss it though.  What does it mean?  Why would she use it in a book for young adults?  Should she have used it?

Let me know if you have any concerns or questions, or if you would prefer your child was reading an alternate book.

Last Thursday, we took some class time to talk about the culture in our classroom.  I explained to the students that I saw a persisting problem with blurt-outs and taking too long to settle down.  The students said they saw the same thing.

We had a long discussion about what causes the problem and then how we might solve it.  Most of the suggestions from students revolved around some form of rewards and punishments.  After they had suggested a number of systems like this, I asked, "So do you want to do good because you get candy, or do you want to do good because it's right?"

I went on to explain that as they mature, they need to become people who do the right thing because it honors the Lord, not because they are avoiding punishment.  Our classroom is a great place to practice honoring the Lord and having self-control by giving our focus to assignments that are sometimes less interesting than our friends.

We decided that instead of names and checks on the board, we are going to try to remind each other that everything we do we do for the Lord.  For my part, I'm going to try to give them movement breaks often and assignments that involve collaboration and moving when appropriate. 

The school is hosting four meetings to help equip parents in teaching their children about areas of sexuality. We will be watching and discussing a DVD series produced by Relationships With Integrity, the publishers of the school’s sexual education materials. It is critical for all parents to attend this, as parents are responsible for a significant part of the BCS sexual education curriculum. Save the dates of 10/16; 10/23; 10/30 & 11/6. Each night will be a different topic.

History and Spelling were updated today.  Check in now to see how your child is doing!