Last Moments of Term Three

Here we are, at the end of the never-ending term.  Tuesday is the last day, so I'm finalizing grades as we speak!  The weather is warmer (at least today and tomorrow), and I can see my final destination.  My kids are starting their 4-H projects, baseball is beginning, and it just feels like a new season.  Here's hoping that the spring is a good season for us all!

In English 9 this week we finished our research papers, printed them, and turned them in.  I'm going to put them on 4th term, however, so that if someone really needs some help I have the opportunity to offer it.  We also finished and turned in the independent book projects; our celebrations were held earlier this week and I took a picture of them all with their t-shirts.  For those who really read the books and put in the effort, this was a really fun project!

2nd Hour

6th Hour

Coming up this week, we have begun reading the novel Flowers for Algernon, so we're making great headway into the reading, the study guides, and the quizzes and discussions will begin in earnest this week.  Please remind your student that they really need to be in class; so much of what we do is based around group discussion and activity that when they're absent they really miss out.

In English 11 we finished presenting some pretty fabulous group projects.  I took pictures of some of them as seen here:

Presentations were a mixture of digital presentation...

and 3-D traditional projects.

I also took a fantastic group of students to see Macbeth at Wayne State University.  It was a fun day and the students were great!  They were so well-behaved and into the play, I think they represented you the parents, us the school, and Carleton in general in a very positive light.  Here are a couple pictures I was able to get:

Intermission Pictures - These are the people who chose not to fight the restroom crowds.

My favorite picture of the day (I'm terrible with selfies).  This is Mrs. V. and I with a student who shall remain nameless photobombing in the background (it gave him great joy when I showed him the result).

Bus rides and McDonald's...their favorite part of the day! 

We are now writing a research paper.  They are able to pick topics of interest to them, and I walk them through every step.  If you look on HAC and there are zeroes for some of the check-ins, it probably means that your student is not using the immense amount of time I'm offering to work on this paper, so they may need some extra incentives from home!  We started in the library for research time on Thursday and we'll be there through Tuesday, then we'll be in the classroom for a couple of days before heading back to work on typing their draft on GoogleDrive.  I'm going to show them how to use this system for multiple purposes.

I hope everyone has a great week, and that all is well with you all!  Please feel free to contact me at any time.  Cheers!


Last Moments of Term Three by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Spring Is Finally Arriving (I Think)!

The days are getting longer, and though we still have cold days, those 40-degree days are becoming more numerous (how weird is it that I think of 40 degrees as warm).  I hear birds singing all the time, now, which is a welcome sound.  The other morning I was on my way into school at about 6:30 AM and a bird was having his own little party in the trees above me.  Not for the first time, I wished I knew bird calls so that I could identify him.

And as spring approaches, my students get antsy, so at the moment we're doing lots and lots of projects!

In English 9, we're completing two big projects:  their independent reading projects are due on Monday!  The plan is that they will bring in their project, throw on their t-shirts and we'll share what we've been doing for the past month.  I'll bring the food and drinks, and we'll celebrate!  After that, they need to get their final copy of their research paper completed to be turned in by Wednesday.  We've been working for about 3-weeks in class on the computers on this project, so I think we're all ready to see it come to an end.  By Wednesday evening, expect to see Flowers for Algernon books coming home and reading homework, along with study guides, will commence.

Here's a picture of some of my 2nd Hour working on the computers for their research project:

I'll take photos of the Monday presentations and post them next week.

In English 11, we're presenting our group projects.  Many chose to try to use new programs like Prezi and ThingLink, and it has been a lot of fun to watch them learn how to do collaborative presentations.  In Prezi they all work on the same project and so they're given avatars and can see who is working on each slide.  The first day I kept hearing, "Hey!  Get out of my bubble!"  Hilarious!  We started the presentations on Friday after working all week on them, and we'll finish them on Monday.  I'll take more photos to post next week, but here's what I have of some of them working and presenting:

On Tuesday I am taking many of them on a field trip to Macbeth at Wayne State University.  The rest of them will stay back at school and start watching the movie of Lord of the Flies.  By Thursday we'll be turning the corner and starting our research paper.  Packets will follow, but please note that I'm going to have them use Google Drive so that they can access it anywhere and can share for peer and teacher editing.  This will be about a 2-week process.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and feels rejuvenated as spring approaches!  Cheers!


Spring is Finally Here (I Think)! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Two Weeks to Go...

In case anyone has not yet heard, Mr. Lukosavich has extended the end of the quarter to April 1st, so we have about two weeks to go in this term.  Despite the snow day this week, we accomplished quite a bit, so here's the rundown...

In English 9 we have continued to work on our research papers.  All of this is being done in school so that we can type everything and share it on GoogleDrive.  What I especially like about this system is that I can make notes to them which they receive instantly, they can edit immediately, and they can peer edit the same way...and it's all paperless.  So far the steps we have completed are picking a topic, creating a works cited, writing a thesis, outlining the paper, and now we're drafting.  If your student has blanks in the grade book, it's because they have not checked in that step yet.  This coming week we will have three days in the library to type, and then I'll give deadlines for sending me their drafts, editing, and final copies which will be printed.

In the meantime, they are working on their independent book projects.  We're done with the blogs, we're in the middle of the t-shirts (pictures to follow), and they should be working on the large project at home for homework.  We'll present the projects on Monday, 3/24, so they are due that day.

In English 11 we finished reading Lord of the Flies and they have taken the test.  I passed out the project packets so next week we'll be working in groups to complete them.  Presentations will begin on Friday.

On Tuesday night I had the pleasure of attending the 10th grade Wax Museum where I got to see past and present students do some fabulous acting as authors.  It was a lot of fun and I have compiled some pictures here:

Have a fabulous week!  Cheers!


Two Weeks to Go...Blog by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Moving Forward

What a rough week we had!  ACT/MME week is always tough...and draining...but the events of this past week have completely wiped me out.  So, I'm working on getting myself back together and trying to put some normality into the routines and schedules.  Here's what we've got:

In English 11:  we have completed (at least most of the students have) the ACT/MME.  If a student opted out of the third day of testing, Mr. Irwin will come get them to finish it.  No stress; he won't forget.  In the meantime, we've read through chapter 10 of Lord of the Flies and we plan to finish the book at the beginning of the week.  Right now the test is scheduled for Thursday, but may need to move to Friday.  Then we will begin working on a group project.

In English 9:  we are working on two projects.  The first, the Independent Reading Project, is one they are mostly doing at home.  They are finishing their blogs, and I was able...finally...to talk to most of them on Friday to find out where they were on it.  Over the weekend I will get caught up on those grades.  If your student has a "0" in HAC for a blog, I have them getting things finished off and I'll go in and replace the zero with a grade.  I've asked them to have a t-shirt - either new (but cheap), or an old one we can turn inside out - so that we can paint them on Friday.  I've also set the date for the final project.  Most of this is being done at home for homework.  In class, we're writing an MLA Research Paper.  I'm walking them through the processes and assigning check in dates.  I'm also trying to show them how to use Google Drive so that they can access their materials anywhere, and they can share their work for editing purposes before doing a final copy and printing.  This week we will continue to work on this during class time.

All schedules are subject to change this week because of circumstances outside of our control.  The funeral for Chelsea Klocek will be on Monday.  If you are interested in more information, here is a link:  http://www.ruppfuneralhomeinc.com/chelsea-l-klocek/
Our class time on Monday will depend on how many I have in class, especially with the juniors.  My first priority is making sure that my students are OK; academics can wait.  We're praying that Violet makes a full recovery; her family sends us updates from time to time, but are asking for privacy.

Airport Community Schools and Carleton are a wonderful place to work.  I'm reminded of this every time we have a crisis such as this.  I love being in a place where people can set aside their differences and come together to love and support one another.  Your students have been amazing this week, and I love each and every one of them.  Please know that I admire the job you do as parents and hope that I have done much the same for my own children.

Bless you all.  

Laura Stubbs's Bloggs by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

ACT/MME Week

Well, it's here...the week I dread from September through March!  Not really, but it is a disruptive week, and for Juniors it feels like everything has been building to this.  Juniors are very stressed out, so my message to them is that they've done what they could to prepare, so now we just do what they know how to do.  They need to get good nights of sleep, eat healthy, and decompress as much as possible.  We have been encouraging them through room competitions, and treats have been delivered, so hopefully this has helped to alleviate the stress a bit.

So here is the crazy schedule:

• Juniors - we're reading Lord of the Flies on Monday and Friday and doing in-class work, but no homework will be coming home until next weekend.  On Tuesday they should count on coming into school at the regular time and head for the cafeteria.  The administrators will pull everyone together, feed them all a free breakfast, and get them ready for the day.  Then they will send them to the rooms.  No technology is allowed in the room; if a phone or alarm goes off, it compromises all of the scores in the room and we have to report it to the ACT people, so we don't allow them in, including for the teachers.  They usually finish the test about noon, and then they can go.  Tuesday and Wednesday, juniors will report to the building at normal time, take the MME test in their assigned area, and then leave after the test.  Friday is finally back to a normal day.
• Freshmen - we are working on a research paper.  This is a large assignment with many check in grades.  I walk them through the entire process, so it's vital that they are in school for the next couple of weeks unless ill.  Speaking of that, Tuesday they do not report to school.  On Tuesday, following ACT guidelines, only juniors may be in the building.  Wagar and all of the elementary buildings run as usual, but only 11th graders may be in the high school.  Then Wednesday picks up as a regular day for them.  I will have a substitute in my room because of being assigned to help with the MME, but they will have a normal day.
• Scheduling - 9th graders received their schedules for 10th grade on Tuesday last week.  They need to have it filled out to the best of their ability in pencil, and they will be called down to the counseling office to work one-on-one with their counselors starting on Monday.  They will have the opportunity to meet with counseling staff on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  If your student's schedule is not filled out, the counselors will not work with them.  All schedules need to be signed by you and returned by Monday, March 17th.  No changes will be made to schedules after that time, including next fall.  11th graders will start scheduling next week.  I believe the meeting will happen on 3/12.

Well, that's all the news I have for this week.  I hope all is well for everyone, and if you need anything, please let me know.  Cheers!

Laura Stubbs's Bloggs by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.