Week of October 26-30

Hi everyone. A couple of things before I let you know what we will be doing in class this week.

As I mentioned last week, the first quarter ended on Friday. Many students have been out sick in the last couple of weeks and I am missing quite a few assignments/tests from these students. Report cards will be printed Monday afternoon. Any assignments/tests not made up by that time will be entered as zeroes. But, students with excused absences will still be able to make up work after that time and the zeroes will be replaced with the proper scores. So, if your child has been absent recently, don't panic if report card grades are lower than expected. Also, if your child did not pass 1st quarter, please tell him/her not to give up on me! By receiving a passing grade for the 2nd quarter and the final exam, he/she can still pass the class. I've had it happen many times.

Okay, on to this week's activities:

1st & 2nd hour
A new group of kids this week. We will start with a timing to see how fast everyone is typing right now and then start with the basics.

5th and 7th hour
Having just finished a chapter on taxes, now we will move onto budgeting. Students will complete a webquest where they find out how much it costs to live. They are often surprised! No test this week. All assignments should be completed in class..

6th hour
Students will start a group project about a famous criminal trial. They will be required to research the trial, write a paper, create a PowerPoint and present to the class. We will work on these all week with a tentative presentation date of Tuesday, November 3.

9th hour
We are continuing resumes and cover letters. No test this week as we continue working on book exercises.

MD

Parent Technology Survey

Hi everyone,

I am on a committee writing our district technology plan for the year. This plan helps our district receive funds for technology. We are trying to better understand student, parent, and teacher attitudes towards technology.

If you have a free minute, please take this parent technology survey: http://ddip.lth5.k12.il.us/surveys/LoginCommunity.aspx?su=6&sc=4119 It should only take about five minutes of your time and your opinions will be very helpful to those of us on the committee.

Thanks!

MD

Upcoming Week: October 19-23

We are getting ready to start the final week of the 1st quarter. I have been really happy with student work and tests the last week. I think everyone is trying hard to end the quarter on a good note. Here's what to expect this week:

1st and 2nd hours
This is the last week of Computers for these students. On the 26th, students will move to their next humanities class. This week, we will review what we have learned during the quarter and take a test on Thursday. Students will receive a study guide this week to prepare for the test. Friday will be a free day to celebrate a quarter of hard work!

5th and 7th hours
Last week, we started a chapter on taxes. Students learned about filing income taxes and we completed two 1040EZ tax returns together. On Friday, students worked independently on two more 1040EZs and sections 1 and 2 study guides. Most students completed these in class. If not, they are due on Monday at the beginning of class. A test is scheduled for Friday, October 26. Sections 3 and 4 study guides will be due on Wednesday.

6th hour
Last week, we start Chapter 4 on criminal law. After discussing the different classifications of offenses, students spent two days exploring the Illinois Criminal Code. We will continue the chapter and take a test towards the end of the week.

9th hour
On Wednesday, students took the test over MLA reports. Overall, I was thrilled with the results. On Friday, students completed a reading guide over resumes and cover letters and we will begin creating them in Word on Monday. No tests are scheduled at this time.

Have a great week everyone...cross your fingers for some sunshine!

MD

Upcoming week: October 12-16

The end of the 1st quarter is almost here! It is especially important for students to work hard to keep up (or bring up) their grades at this time. Here's what is going on in all classes this week:

1st and 2nd hours

These classes will only meet for two more weeks. This week we will continue typing personal business letter and memos. Next week, we will review and take a test over what was learned during the quarter.

5th and 7th hours

We finished up the chapter about careers on Wednesday with a test. I was really happy with the test results. On Thursday, students were given an in-class extra credit assignment. Everyone's grade should get a little boost with those points added. This week, we will begin a chapter about everyone's favorite topic...taxes! Students will learn about paycheck withholdings and will learn how to file a 1040EZ form. I will hand out a study guide packet this week, but it will not be due until next week sometime. I will give a definite date next week.

6th hour

We finished the chapter over court systems with a test on Thursday. Each student researched a Supreme Court justice and I'm hoping some will volunteer to tell us about their justice on Tuesday. This week we will start the chapter over criminal law, which students usually find interesting. The chapter will end with a group project and presentation over a famous criminal trial.

9th hour

Last week, we finished typing MLA reports. On Tuesday, we will review the chapter and on Wednesday we will take a test. For the test, students will have a written portion and a production portion. For the production portion, they will be required to open a typed report and apply the required MLA formatting. Then on Thursday, we will start learning how to format resumes and cover letters.

I think that's all for this week. Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend!

MD

New E-mail Policy

In the past, I have sent e-mails each week to a few parents about their child's progress, when requested. So many parents expressed interest in this at conferences (which is great!) that I'm going to change the way I do things, to make things a bit less busy.

Each week, I will continue to post upcoming events on the blog. If you would like to know your child's grade at any given point, please feel free to e-mail me and I will get back with you (usually in less than 24 hours). If your child's grades begin to decline or I have any other concerns, I will contact you by e-mail or phone.

Thanks and keep in touch!

MD

Upcoming week: October 5-9

Hi everyone,

I have been away from school Thursday and Friday at a workshop. If you e-mailed me during this time, I will respond on Monday. I have a lot of grading to get through this weekend and will have updated grades on Monday morning. The high school will be printing and sending progress reports home on Monday afternoon. This next week is a short one for students, with the teacher's institute being held on Friday. Here are the upcoming events for each class:

1st and 2nd hours
We will be starting personal business letters this week. Only three more weeks left of this class and students will be on their way to their next humanities class.

5th and 7th hours
On Monday, we will complete our last career activity. Tuesday, we will review for the test and Wednesday we will take the test over the careers chapter. I will also collect notes on Wednesday. On Thursday I'm planning something a bit different...I haven't quite decided, yet.

6th hour
The students are currently researching one of the nine United States Supreme Court justices. Each student will make a mini presentation this week on his/her research. Ideally, we will take a test on Thursday over chapter 3. I will collect notes the day of the test.

9th hour
We will finish up reports this week. The test over reports will be Wednesday, October 14th, with review the previous day. Next, we will start resumes and cover letters.

Again, if you have any questions/comments, please e-mail me.

MD