Oral Book Reviews...in the New Year!

Ladies! Along with decking the halls and ringing in the new year, I know you'll all be deeply ensconced in reading and annotating your biographies/autobiographies/memoirs! Enjoy that endeavor as you look for that perfect passage to share with your classmates.

As a reminder, here are the dates when each of you is scheduled to deliver your formal oral report: (Know that if you didn't sign up, you were assigned an available slot)

Tuesday, January 8:
(Core A) Taryn/Alice/Lucy
(Core B) Emma M/Anja

Thursday, January 10:
(Core A) Kathryn/Louisa/Lena/Anna
(Core B) Thalia/Gillian/Cecilia/Gemma

Friday, January 11:
(Core A) Le'Jayah/Emily/Madeira/Amalia
(Core B) Honore/Gabby Jackie/Hannah

Monday, January 14:
(Core A) am: Emma S/Maya/Kayla pm: Lilly/Maddy/T'Mike
(Core B) pm: Clara/Meena/Alaina/Unity

Tuesday, January 15:
(Core B) am: Kimmy/Sam/Rhys

These dates and times are firm, so please plan on being ready and present!! I think you'll agree that they're both interesting and actually fun...be prepared to hear some riveting tales as well as get to know some interesting people!

Happy Holidays, Sally

Testing, Testing...!

Ladies! This blog entry is just a test...for me to see just how many of you actually check/read these messages that I post from time to time! In keeping with yesterday's 8th grade community meeting theme of getting and staying organized (see the blog entry entitled "The Long and Winding Road" on our general 8th grade page...hint: it's green!) - a system whereby you regularly check the teachers' blogs is paramount to your academic success and general well-being at SGS!

So let's see just who's on top of it all! Once you've read this entry, PROVE IT by making a comment (preferably a positive, loving one!!) Just click on "comment" below and let me know that you've read this message in a timely fashion! Be sure to state your name so that you'll get full credit for being on task!

Oh and YES! There will be a prize and lots of public approbation! XO Sally

Calendar and Due Date Amendments

Ladies! As I just heard Bert say to Core A, "Next week's schedule is gonna be a bit goofy!!"...I completely echo that. I just updated and amended my blog calendar with important due dates, so be sure to check that. There have been some changes, so beware!!

For instance, your RD of the Literary Letter will be due on Tuesday, not Monday, of next week...and the beat goes on from there.

A word to the wise: do your best to stay on task and meet the various deadlines I've designed...if you don't, you'll find yourself with two writing projects going at a time, which isn't fun.

Secondly, we'll begin writing our high school essays once we're back from Thanksgiving break. So you might want to reflect on which school you'd most like to impress and choose an essay question from that school.

We'll talk more about this in class! XO Sally

Your WOD Journals

Ladies! I'm giving you fair warning: On Friday, November 16th, I'll be collecting your WOD Journals at the beginning of class and quickly assessing them as you take your November Vocabulary Quiz. On Tuesday, November 13th, I'll give you a self-assessment sheet for your WOD Journal which you'll submit along with your journal. Soooo....if you've somehow gotten behind in maintaining an up-to-date and properly formatted journal, I heartily suggest that you start NOW getting your journal up to snuff. A complete and proper journal is pivotal to a positive first term assessment...and a gateway to your bright future in high school and beyond! Think I'm kidding? THINK AGAIN!!

Your Significant Adult Reflection RD

So Ladies! By now you should be well on your way to generating the rough draft of your Significant Adult Reflection - due on Monday, November 5th. Remember to refer assiduously to the Writing Reflection Handout I passed out in class AND emailed you a while back. If you simply answer each question thoroughly, giving each a full paragraph, in the end you'll find that...voilà...you have a five paragraph essay! It's that easy! (Of course, feel free to generate more than five paragraphs; after all, you have a three page margin!) Remember to word-process your RD, double spaced with lines numbered. Refer to the green RD rubric that we went over for the Bee Tree practice essay to remind yourself of other important RD details. But more importantly, pace yourself so that you don't end up ruining your weekend with a last minute rush job. Nobody enjoys that...neither the writer nor the reader!

Dr. Sandler's presentation on Thursday

Ladies! Tomorrow morning, right after Community Meeting, we will hold a very brief rehearsal of our Bunny Sandler presentation...practice having the fourteen "firsts" readers speak loudly, clearly, succinctly and with good energy...that kind of thing! Oh...and just so you know, tomorrow will also be the first event at which you, as 8th graders, will sit on chairs at the back of the room (versus languish on the hard linoleum as in years past!) Needless to say, this is one of those instances where "with great privilege comes great responsibility." You will be responsible for getting your chair, occupying it quietly and with notable respect for both the speaker and the rest of the audience, returning the chair...that kind of thing. I know that Dr. Sandler will be most impressed with your knowledge of her personal and professional background, as well as your general warm enthusiasm for her visit. I was very impressed with your ability to answer the questions I'd given you to research less than twenty-four hours earlier. You guys rock!

Subscribe to my calendar...

...as there are many due dates pending! At this point in time you should be finishing up with your Significant Adult book and planning your interview. Don't back yourself into a corner on this...or you'll regret it!

On another note, your Final Draft (FD) packet for the Bee Tree essay is due on Tuesday, October 23rd. No excuses!!

Remember...as in DON'T FORGET...

1. That you had three Thank You notes due last Friday...to be submitted to your Women Fly Folders: 1 to your carpool driver, 1 to your Museum Tour Guide (either Don or Bob), and one to Gus (if you're in Core A) or Kyle (if you're in Core B.) I want to get these in the mail no later than tomorrow morning, so please attend to this asap!!

2. You have two Thank You notes due on Tuesday morning: one to your pilot and one to Mr. Peter Morton.

3. Flight Day Reflection due on Tuesday as well: Feel free to email it to me in a Word Document attachment. Be sure to label both the email AND the document correctly: YOUR NAME - FLIGHT DAY REFLECTION.

4. You should have already quizzed the significant adults in your life about what book(s) they read when they were your age that particularly impressed them. We'll be discussing these titles in class on Monday and Tuesday.

Stay on top of your assignments ladies...they will continue to arrive like waves on the beach. As long as you're on task, you should be fine. If you get behind, it'll get difficult...trust me!!

See me with any problems or issues...compliments are accepted as well!!

Significant Adult Book Project

We're about to embark on a most interesting journey...one I've dubbed "The Significant Adult Book Project" because it involves signicant adults in your life...AND BOOKS! To begin the journey, you're doing to need to talk to the significant adult(s) in your life and ask, "What book did you read when you were my age (13-14) that particularly impressed or impacted you? Were there any books that changed your life or gave you a new or different way to view your world?" Once your significant adult thinks back and remembers a title or two, note the book and its author...we'll be discussing these titles on class on Monday!

More Journal Assignments and such...

As I mentioned in class, I won't be present on Thursday, but look forward to seeing you all take to the skies on Friday...weather permitting!

Remember to write your "How I'm feeling about Friday's flight" reflection BEFORE the flight! Duh! Also, know that I will be handing out a Post-Flight Reflection which will be due on Tuesday, September 25th. So don't forget to get a copy of that packet from me after your flight on Friday!

As if that's not enough, should you take any stellar pictures of your flight experience, be sure to share them with Yearbook! Simply send them as an attachment to my SGS email (smclaughlin@seattlegirlsschool.org) ...and you'll see them in our...YOUR book in Spring!

Curiosita Journal Assignments

Ladies! As I explained to you in class, you'll have several Curiosita Journal assignments to complete before we formally meet again NEXT MONDAY! Crazy, huh?

1. Turn to the page in your journal where you wrote the "intention" that you'd like to work on. (Hint: it should be dated 9.17.07) On that page, reflect on the curiosita challenge you've given yourself. Describe how you plan to approach this task OR imagine what life will be like for you once you've incorportated this task into your daily way of being.

2. Formulate your TEN POWER QUESTIONS:
• Return to your 100 Questions and choose the ten that seem the most significant to you.
• Rank them in importance (to you) from 1 to 10.
• Write your TEN POWER QUESTIONS on a Word Document and email it to Sally!

(Remember our format: name your word document YOUR NAME - TEN POWER QUESTIONS...then when you write your email to me, on the subject line name it the same way you named your word document, i.e. YOUR NAME - TEN POWER QUESTIONS!)

My email address is smclaughlin@seattlegirlsschool.org

Random Synapses:
1. I bet you're wondering if you need to keep doing Word-of-the-Day (WOD) even though you won't be having regular Sally cores this week. The answer is an emphatic YES! OUI! JA! SI! You need a word for each day that SGS is in session...which means five words this week!

2. I know I told you that you won't have my core again for the rest of the week, but then I remembered that I switched with MM, so we WILL meet on Wednesday, during the late morning. We'll do WOD then and continue with our investigation of our Strengths, so be sure that you complete the online VIA Signature Strengths assessment to be found at Dr. Martin Seligman's webiste: authentichappiness.org. Once you've completed it, turn your 24 strengths list into a PDF and email that to me, entitling both: YOUR NAME-STRENGTHS. (See the email I sent you on 9.17.07 regarding this assigment.

That's about it for now! See you at the Museum of Flight on Tuesday, SGS on Wednesday, and Galvin Flight School on Friday!

Sally