GENERAL NEWS

Am I dreaming or is April almost over? It is incredible how fast time goes when you grow up! The Class of 2012 has weeks left ( I know they have it down to a number of days) with lots of learning and fun yet to come. This Tuesday is Ribbon Ceremony so I hope lots of you can attend with us at 9:00 Mass.  Mrs. Murphy and I have collaborated to create our vocab descriptions of each student and we are happily waiting to share those on Ribbon Day.  If you can’t attend just email me and I will send you the document for your reading pleasure. Next week the  Sports Awards Ceremony is Thursday, May 3rd at 7pm and Friday is 8th Grade Day and Spirit Red/White dress down day.  Don’t forget Cotillion on Mondays and Tuesdays this week and next. Looking forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming celebrations!

REGULAR ALGEBRA

What a joy this group has been! They are working hard and asking such good questions and I am so delighted in their progress. They will be successful in their math classes next year as a result of their dedication now. We are in the middle of Chapter 8 which is a full month ahead of any other regular algebra class in my past. How proud I am of their work! Things are getting difficult and the amazing part is that it just seems to prompt them to ask more questions and dig deeper. Mind you, this is all first period in the morning! Next week I will quiz them on sections 8-1 to 8-3 on Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday we will work on scientific notation. Next week we will study exponential functions in sections 8-5 & 8-6 with a Chapter 8 test on Thursday, May 3rd. After that we will study parts of Chapter 10, 9, and 12 in my effort to expose them to as much as possible before graduation.

ACCEL ALGEBRA

Today was the quiz on Chapter 12 from 12-4 to 12-7. Our next path is Chapter 11 sections 11-2 to 11-5 which will cover radicals and the Pythagorean Theorem.  This coming week we will process sections 11-2 and 11-3 on working with radicals along with 11-4 on the Pythagorean Theorem. Next week we will complete Chapter 11 with the midpoint and distance formulas, review and take a Chapter 11 test on Wednesday, May 2nd. I will give the students answers this week to the review I gave them so they can work toward successful answers and ask questions if they are not achieving that success.  This group has many high level students working hard but many are not as well.

RELIGION

I have given the students a mid-term document that is to be done by Friday, April 27th. I have collected their letters to parents about something they are trying to ask of you but have not been successful to date. I will be sending those home this week so you can read and respond to your child.  The purpose of this assignment was to test the maturity of their communication skills and see if they have learned a better or proper way to ask for something. You will be the judge of that for them. We are discussing some controversial topics in our curriculum including abortion, euthansia, suicide and love of self. The title is choosing life and hopefully our teens will always want to choose and respect life (their own and that of others). Be sure to share your thoughts with your children on these sensitive topics.

GENERAL NEWS  Summer is upon us whether we like it or not.  I hope the DC trip went well. We had a fabulous group of students here at school that day who helped everywhere and had some time for fun. Lunch at Mangia Mangia was great and the weather was perfect for a walk to lunch.  This week is the long awaited play and I know it will be fun and fabulous.  We do have stations of the cross on Friday this week and I hope many of you are participating in the teen production of living stations on Good Friday.  The performances of Willy Wonka are Wednesday at 4 and Thursday at 7. I hope you ordered your tickets.  Students will stay at school on Wednesday to get ready for the early performance so send a snack along with Wednesday lunch.  On Thursday the students will return about 6:30 (earlier if you are a lead role or tech) for the evening performance.  The following week after the play is Holy week and report cards go home Monday, April 2nd.  We will be starting Easter break after school on Holy Thursday, April 5th.  School resumes on Monday April 16th. Where does the time go?

REGULAR ALGEBRA

We are in Chapter 7 and all is well. This Monday we are taking a second look at a quiz on 7-1 to 7-3 as there are many careless errors. Due to the play we will only cover 2 sections next week so I will get the Chapter test in Wednesday  before spring break.  When we return from break we begin studying exponents  and exponential functions.  I am proud of this class and their desire to learn. They really work hard to process this advanced work and they are doing quite well overall. When your work ethic is good you can learn anything.

ACCEL ALGEBRA

We have completed the first 10 chapters and are right on schedule but I am worried about the last quarter. The work is daunting and difficult and the class has been increasingly disconnected.  I have had great difficulty with lack of attention and continuous talking. I ask that you help me get this group focused by talking to your child to see if they take any personal responsibility for the poor learning environment. I will continue to focus on those who are with me and want to learn. I will not devote any extra time to those who don’t.  On Monday we will begin the sections of Chapter 12 we will cover and I will only get to 2 sections this week due to the play.  I will be planning a quiz before Easter break on sections 12-4 to 12-7. After break we need to cover half of Chapters 11 and 13 then on to review for the second semester final. 

RELIGION

We are back into our Moralilty course now until the end of the year. Confirmation was a wonderful day and I was so happy to meet many sponsors and extended family. I rejoice with you in the maturity and strong faith life your sons and daughters have embraced. I look forward to sharing more as I see them in church in the future. Our study now turns to the morals we seek and the good life. We center this week on learning to love through obedience and communication. Your students will be writing you a letter about something they really want to see if they have the communications skills to ask properly and make it happen. I will share the letters with you after Wednesday when they turn them in to me. Good communication skills are not only vital to families but the work place as well.  We will have one more Religion test before Easter break.