GENERAL NEWS We had a great open house and as always it was great to meet up with many of you that day. The high school placements are gearing up so if I can be of any assistance with your choice please contact me. You know your children better than anybody so I’m sure you will know what the best soil will be for your child to grow. Some are good when pushed and others are not. There is always a window for change after the school year begins so that’s an option too.  This week is Catholic School’s Week and lots of activities are planned.  It will be fun to culminate the week with our traditional red & white day. Please get your conference forms back to me so scheduling can begin. That date is Feb. 19th. This week Thursday I am going with Ms. Wollensak to the 7th grade Scholastic Bowl at Naz, therefore, math help sessions are only Monday & Tuesday this week.

REGULAR ALGEBRA  We are closing up the chapter on writing a linear equation this week. We will have that Chapter 5 test next week. I am ahead of last year at this time and that speaks to the hard work of these students this quarter. They have really stepped to the plate and mastered some difficult topics and homework is being completed in a more timely fashion. It is very difficult to succeed in math without doing assignments as it creates holes in the learning process. Then it makes it difficult to build on those holes. I think the students are getting that fact so they are working better than before. The more we can cover this year, the easier it will be next year.

ACCEL ALGEBRA We are testing Chapter 8 at the end of this week and will begin Chapter 9 next week.  Before the year is out we need to complete chapters 9 and 10 completely along with portions of Chapters 11, 12 and 13.  We are on track to do that but can’t waste one minute along the way.  I am disappointed in the fact that I am getting more dedication and a better work ethic from the regular group than the accel group overall. Many are working well and hard but many are not. On a recent quiz grades were very low despite 100′s on homework. There’s something amiss here.  I’m not sure what it is specifically, but I do know it tells me that homework isn’t being learned while it’s being done. Working in groups, copying, rushing, taking my work as your own during class explanations are all contributing factors. There is no substitute for hard work and knowing what you need to know for the next level.  Many thanks to those who are already there!

RELIGION  We are beginning sesion 5 out of 8 toward Confirmation and I am enjoying the process. I hope the students are also. Test scores in the second quarter were low in spite of the whole test being mapped out ahead of time. I tell the students exactly what to know and even share the essay questions prior to the test date.  Those who prepare as I outline do well, and those who don’t prepare have those low scores. We will have 4 more tests in the Confirmation series and then return to our study of Morality to finish out the year. Discussions are good and projects are well done, now let’s get those test scores up where they belong.  We will attend Mass on Tuesday this week for Catholic School’s Week. Let’s appreciate the fact that we can worship together during our school day!