The Gemini Blue Tuesday Sheet

“A Weekly School-wide Communication from Teachers to Families for School Success”

October 14, 2003

 

English – Mrs. Rezendes: This week in English students will be turning in their fairy tales.  The final draft is due tomorrow (for red and orange classes) or on Thursday (for yellow, green, and blue classes).  A reminder:  If you are unable to print the final draft of your story at home, you may bring it into school to print.  However, you should also e-mail it to me at [email protected].   By e-mailing it to me, you can ensure that you get full credit even if something happens to your disk on the way to school.

 

Geography – Mr. Palagi: Explanation of 1st Class, 2nd Class, 3rd Class, and 4th Class. Because we are on a rotating schedule, in a normal five-day week we meet four times. 1st class would be the first meeting of the week. For red, orange, yellow, and green that would be Monday but for blue it would be Tuesday because they drop on Monday. As the week progresses each color, blue on Monday, green on Tuesday, yellow on Wednesday, orange on Thursday, and red on Friday “drops”, or does not meet. This results in some classes having the sense of being ahead of others. The 1, 2, 3, and 4 stand for the first, second, third, and fourth meeting of the week. It makes it simpler to refer to classes this way, again because we have a class every day that drops.

 

1st Meeting: (Will be on Tuesday, Oct. 14th) IMC (school library) GeoFair 2003 topic materials; searching to find all the information that will complete the project spaces. 2nd Meeting: Classroom area. Demonstrating the project spaces; sample projects and pictures of previous projects. Questions and answers; signing up for final topic selection and groupings: single, pairs, and groups (3-4 people). 3rd Meeting: Applications: making project maps, dioramas, models, collages, and other art forms to demonstrate the connections between the fair theme, “Habitats and People”, the five themes, personal interest in the subject chosen, and concepts of geography exemplified in the first ten chapters of the text (home book).

 

Math – Ms. Burgess:  This week in math, students in the Yellow, Green, and Blue classes will be wrapping up their “Probability Pandemonium” Lab, where they have been using manipulatives to find theoretical and experimental probability of simple events.  They’ll be ready for Vegas in no time!  J   We will then begin work on tree diagrams and the counting principle.  Students in the Red and Orange classes will be continuing work on Chapter 2, specifically on adding and subtracting integers.  What are your chances of having a fabulous week?  Ask a student from Yellow, Green, or Blue math class!  J

 

Reading – Mrs. Wheeler: This week we will be working with “QARs”  -- Question Answer Relationships.   We will be reading Gary Sotos’s short story, Seventh Grade, and informational text to practice identifying QARs.  Students should begin planning  their October Bookfest project (make sure you review the criteria sheet!).  The fifth journal of term 1 is due Friday.

 

Science – Mr. Fisher: This week in Science we will be learning how cells reproduce through the process of Mitosis.  We will be creating our own mind maps for this chapter and will be participating in some other different types of activities to learn these concepts.  We are concluding our unit on Cells (All living things are composed of cells) and will be having our Chapter Cheeseburger (that’s a test) at the beginning of next week.  Have an interphase-like week!  Questions, comments?  www.mfisher.net  or email to [email protected].  Thanks!

 

Educational Support Specialist – Mrs. Baker:  Mid-term progress reports have been issued. Are you happy with your progress so far? If not, what do you plan to do differently for the rest of the term? Many students take advantage of the extra help that is offered after school on Tuesday, and Thursday. An efficient, effective, independent learner uses time wisely, makes a plan, and works to complete the plan well before the DEADline. If you haven't started working on your October Bookfest project, better get going--DEADline is in two weeks (October 30th). With all the other projects and activities coming up this month, don’t wait until the end of the term. Take an active role in your education.

 

World Languages—Mrs. Borstel and Mrs. Wesley: We are continuing with activities based on Vocabulary A—greetings, goodbyes, and how are you’s. Vocabulary A quiz will be on Tuesday.

 

TEAM News:

Congratulations to Greg Hughes for winning the 7th Grade Reader’s Digest Word Power Challenge!

 

Gemini Artists:  Gemini Artist group will begin this Thursday.  This club is open to all GEMINI students who are interested in creating great works of art or learning how to make cool art projects!  If you’re an artist, even if you NOT an artist, come and learn and have fun and make Gemini beautiful! 

 

Progress Reports: Students on the Gemini Blue Team were given their mid-term progress

report on Friday, October 10, 2002. This report must be signed by a parent and returned to the

homeroom teacher by Friday, October 17, 2002.

 

Scholarships Available: All Blue Team field trips are planned with specific academic and curriculum goals as well as team building goals. We feel field trips are extremely valuable because we can provide students with hands-on experiences not possible in the classroom. We want EVERYONE on the team to participate in all field trips. We are also aware that the costs of field trips may be a hardship for some families. Therefore, we want to announce again, scholarship money is available for all or part of the cost of a trip. Please just send a note to your child’s homeroom teacher.

 

Important Dates:

Friday, October 17                     Signed Progress Report return deadline

Wednesday, October 22                    ½ Day In-service – Dismissal at noon

Thursday, October 30                    October Bookfest Project Deadline

 

 

Have a pleasant and productive week!

 

Together Everyone Achieves More

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