Christmas Wishes

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish my students and their families a Merry Christmas.  I hope that this holiday season will be one filled with much peace and happiness.  Take this time to reflect on the things that matter most to you, and recharge your "educational batteries" for the remainder of the school year.  I'll see all of you in January if all goes well.

Back to blogging

This year has been very hectic, so I must apologize for not writing during the first quarter.  That being said, I have many of the same concerns this year as I did last year.  Many of my students need to spend more time reviewing their notes and preparing for unit exams.  Reviewing notes should be a DAILY occurrence.  Fifteen to twenty minutes each night would greatly improve your child's test scores.

I want to remind everyone that I still offer tutoring each morning before school, at lunch, and most days after school.  If your child is struggling in my class, this will help tremendously.  I hope more of my students will take advantage of this help.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

"This is the end"

We finally made it!  In just a few days the 2010-2011 school year will be over (which I'm sure will be a relief  for some of you).  My students faced a lot of challenges this year: a new teacher to Liberty, a demanding course, and high expectations.  I hope that many of them learned to be responsible for their actions.

So, what now?  Relax, enjoy the summer, and I'll see you in August when you will improve your abilities in science with the Life Science course.

To the 8th grade class: you know how I feel about all of you.  You were an incredible group of young people, and I will miss you.  Please stay in touch.

It's Not Over Yet!

The good news this month is AIMS testing has been completed, and the end of the school year is rapidly approaching.  The bad news, however, is many of my students (particularly the 7th graders) are starting to slack off.  There is still a tremendous amount of instruction that will take place during the next 5 weeks.  Please ensure that your child continues to complete homework assignments and studies their notes each evening.  The race won't be over until they cross the finish line May 25th.

Nearing the End

Three-fourths of the school year is now behind us.  It appears that most of my students were able to relax and refresh themselves during spring break.  However, now they need to gear up and continue to work diligently until the end of the school year.  This fourth quarter is no time to slack off and let their grades lower.

The Life Science students will be reviewing in order to do well on the AIMS tests that are coming soon.  Afterwards, they will get the opportunity to do some labs that will reinforce many of the concepts taught throughout the last quarter.

The Earth Science students had an opportunity right before spring break to activate the volcano models that they built.  It was a fun way to reinforce the knowledge they learned in class.

Third quarter concerns

Half of the school year is past, and yet I continue to see the same disturbing trend with many of my students: not turning in homework assignments.  Unfortunately, the students who continue to choose this path are those that have repeatedly failed to turn in assignments during the first two quarters.  As a result of this poor choice, these students failed the first half of the science course and are in SERIOUS danger of not meeting the requirements for promotion to the next grade.

Please encourage your child to complete ALL assignments for my courses.  As always, I am available before school, during the lunch hour, and after school to tutor and provide additional help.