The End

Can you believe it's the end of the year already? While I'm certainly ready to enjoy summer vacation (especially because of this heat), I can honestly say I am going to miss working with these children. They have been such a fun, creative group to teach. The projects they have created, the music they have made, and even some of their goofiness that they have bestowed upon us, have made this a truly wonderful school year. I am going to miss them a great deal! I wish each one of our eighth graders the very best of luck in high school. I will pray that God guides them in everything they do.

This week they helped me create a Jeopardy game that reviewed the last chapter in Religion class. We had a lot of fun playing that yesterday.

In Literature they are giving their "I Have a Dream" speeches. These speeches took them on a little journey through time. First, they stopped in 1963 where they listed to Dr. King give his "I Have a Dream" speech. Because they were so inspired by him, they went even further back in time to the Great Depression to speak to the characters from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. They are sharing their hopes, wishes, and dreams with these characters and pointing out how MLK's ideals tie in with the various examples of prejudice that the book's characters have been through. The speeches have been very good so far, and I am impressed with how hard the students worked on eye contact, gestures, and articulation.

In English, we have been reading the sequel to Roll of Thunder. While we won't finish Let the Circle Be Unbroken, the students have seen how some of the issues from Roll have been resolved. I would encourage the students to finish reading the book over the summer if they are interested.

REMINDERS: The kids will be cleaning out their desks tomorrow, so please send bags along. Also, we will be cleaning on Friday, so they will need a bucket, some rags, and a cleaning product.