Monday, February 20, 2012

This Week

Good morning!

This week, your students will be learning about Jacksonian Democracy! We are currently studying content that is supported by Chapter 10 in their U.S. History textbooks. Here is the schedule for the week:

Tuesday - 2/21 - Lecture in class over Jacksonian Democracy - Students will have a guided notes organizer to fill out as we are going through the lecture together in class. This lecture will also be recorded and uploaded to Angel so that students who are absent can view it and get caught up :)

Wednesday - 2/22 - Students will watch a video lecture over Jackson's Administration. This will be done independently on their netbooks and students will be asked to complete a Check Your Understanding Question Set on their netbooks.

Thursday - 2/23 - I will be out of the building for half of the day. Students will be assigned to a group and will rotate through 4 stations. At each learning station, they will read a section of text and answer the questions listed as a group at each station. This activity will focus on the Indian Removal that occurred in the United States under the Presidency of Andew Jackson.

Friday- 2/24 - Students will take a scrimmage and will have a TeenBiz Article with Activities assigned for them to complete. We will focus on learning how to make connections to text (fix-up strategy for reading comprehension breakdowns).

Announcements for this week:
•McGary School will be having a Talent Night on April 13th. Auditions will take place February 28th and March 1st from 3:00-5:00. Please see Mrs. Schweizer, Mrs. Patchin, Miss Schmidt, Miss Henderson, Mrs. Mullen or Mrs. Ennis if you have any questions.

•If you are interested in playing baseball this spring and summer, there are informational sheets in the office for both Harrison Youth Sports League and Evansville Youth Baseball.


As always, please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, comments, or suggestions! Let's make this a great week!

Keshia Seitz

Monday, February 6, 2012

American Foreign Policy and Culture

Hello parents!

Last week we discussed the trends of American Nationalism, Sectionalism, and Foreign Policy. This week we will be talking about the development of American culture. Next week, we will be reading segments of American writing about the culture of America during this time period. We will look at classics by James Fennimore Cooper and Washington Irving. Next week, we will also be viewing the short film, Rip Van Winkle and analyzing it for trends and insights into American nationalism and culture. We will refine our skills of comparing and contrasting using a Venn diagram to explain the differences between what we read about American culture and what we observed by watching the video. On Friday, we will also be taking the 8th Graders (who returned permission slips) on a field trip for Junior Achievement (February 17). That is also the day of our Spaghetti Dinner for the Washington, D.C. trip :)

As always, contact me if you have any questions or concerns!! :)

Recent Announcements:
•PTSA will be hosting a Valentine's Day Dance Friday, Feb. 10th from 2:40-4:30pm. Admission will be $3.00 without a PTSA membership card or $1.00 with the card. The PTSA membership card is not the same as a Blue Card. Refreshments will be sold.

•Students interested in TEENPOWER should pick up an application in the office. Applications are due to Mrs. Seitz or Ms. Schmidt by Friday, Feb. 10th. See either of them if you have any questions.

•This is a reminder for students going on the Washington, D.C. trip over Spring Break 2013-Sell those Spaghetti Dinner tickets!!! Money is due to Mrs. Seitz in room 5 by Friday, Feb. 10th. See Mrs. Seitz if you have any questions.

•As another fundraiser for the Washington, D.C. trip, silk flowers will be sold before and during the Valentine's Day dance on Feb. 10th and before school and during lunch periods on Feb. 13th and 14th. You will have the opportunity to purchase a flower for that "special someone". Flowers will be delivered during 9th period on February 14th-Valentine's day. You can even send a flower anonymously as a "secret admirer".

Keshia Seitz