Welcome back, Class of 2016!

Yay! It's finally time for school to begin! I know you all are so excited to be back!

Here is what I have in store for you this week:

Monday
In class:
-Introductions, room orientation, and procedure review
-Read Ms. Grinnell's introduction letter and first assignment instructions. This assignment will serve as a writing diagnostic.
-Begin brainstorming and drafting Getting to Know You Letter (First Assignment)
*Getting To Know You Letter (2 Column View)

Homework:
-Complete your first draft of Getting To Know You letter.
-Get parent/guardian's signature on team letter and bring back to Ms. Grinnell on Tuesday

Tuesday
In class: Edit, type, and submit your Getting To Know You letter in Google Classroom.

Homework: Read for 20 minutes.

Wednesday
In class: Vocabulary pre-assessment

Homework: Read for 20 minutes.

Thursday
In class: Close reading of academic article

Homework: Re-read and annotate article for evidence to answer discussion questions.

Friday
In class: Fishbowl discussion of article

Homework: Read 20 minutes

Summer School iMovie Project

Project guidelines

Useful links:
iMovie on iPad tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzkMWIj7ywc
iMovie support from Apple: https://www.apple.com/support/mac-apps/imovie/
Tutorials: http://www.izzyvideo.com/imovie-tutorial/

released school statistics: https://ncreportcards.ondemand.sas.com/SASVisualAnalyticsViewer/VisualAnalyticsViewer_guest.jsp?reportPath=/ReportCard/NC_SRC&reportName=NC+Report+Cards

School Climate Assessment Survey

Hi all!
In order to help the Culbreth Equity Team figure out how to better meet the needs of all students, we would like for you to complete an anonymous Climate Assessment survey. This survey is optional (meaning you don't have to take it), but the information you provide will be very valuable in helping make Culbreth a better school for all students, teachers, and staff. Your answers will be kept anonymous and your email address and specific identifying information will not be recorded. The anonymity is to make you feel more comfortable giving very honest responses. There will be no implications or repercussions from your responses. We are just trying to collect data for school improvement. Thank you for considering this survey!

Below is some information from the National School Climate Center that might help you decide whether or not you want to take this survey:

What is school climate?
School climate refers to the quality and character of school life as it relates to norms and values, interpersonal relations and social interactions, and organizational processes and structures. School climate sets the tone for all the learning and teaching done in the school environment and, as research proves, it is predictive of students’ ability to learn and develop in healthy ways.

Why is school climate important?
Research proves that a positive school climate directly impacts telling indicators of success such as increased teacher retention, lower dropout rates, decreased incidences of violence, and higher student achievement. 

Why measure school climate?
Measuring your school climate is the first step toward improving your school climate. Schools are using CSCI to measure, evaluate and improve their school climate for a variety of reasons:

• To conduct a school-wide needs assessment. The Comprehensive School Climate Inventory (CSCI) evaluates your school's current climate for learning and identifies areas that need improvement. The assessment provides answers to the concerns vital to school success, such as: Is my school safe? Do students and faculty believe they are learning in a safe environment? What areas, if any, could use improvement? Are there subsets of the school community who perceive the school climate more negatively than others? Do we have effective rules and norms? How can this information be used to promote student learning and positive school improvement?

Survey Link: 
https://docs.google.com/a/chccs.k12.nc.us/forms/d/102Ysf3DQsNIoLqfF0p-oKA_w9yxyeFQ4ae_RtjL-m6w/viewform?usp=send_form

Commencement Speech

8th grade Commencement Speech: (+2 points on project/quiz grade)
Prepare a commencement speech in order to share your experience, values, and advice with your graduating class. What life lessons have you learned during your journey at Culbreth? What important, fun, or special memories stand out to you? What will you miss the most? The least?

If you are interested in entering the contest, come to Ms. Grinnell's room at lunch next Wednesday to present. You will present your speech in front of a panel of Culbreth teachers. If you win, you will present the winning speech at the practice graduation ceremony. 

In order to earn the 2 bonus points, you must take this seriously. Speeches that are irrelevant, unstructured, and full of errors will not get points. +1 more point if you are selected to give the speech.

Here is a cool NPR story about successful commencement speeches: Anatomy of a Great Commencement Speech.

Tuesday, 5/26

1. Sit with your peer editing partner. (I assigned you a partner.)

2. Read your partner's paper closely. Fill out the form completely. Do not just put random comments. Random comments will not help your partner.

3. Click this link to go to the released EOG test from last year:
EOG Practice
Start on page 20 with the short story "A Poetic City." (Page numbers are on the bottom of the test page.) Answer questions 32-48 on looseleaf paper. Just write the letter choice.
Do not just guess or write random answers. Use the skills you've learned in class to pick the best answer. See Ms. Grinnell when you are finished so you can review the answers.

EOG Test Taking Tips:
1. Look for what the question is asking you: meaning, tone, explanation, analysis, emphasis, connection, impact, etc.

2. Look for the connotation of the words in the questions (positive/negative). Determine whether your answer will most likely have a positive or negative connotation.

3. Look at the connotation of the words in the answers. If you don't know a word's meaning, remember that words with positive connotations usually have soft sounds, while words with negative connotations have hard sounds. (That's not always 100% true, but if you're in a bind, try it.)
Look at the different parts of the word. What do you know about the word based on its prefix, suffix, or root? Does it sound like other words you know?

4. Eliminate distractor words (words or phrases that are exactly the same at the beginning of your answer choices.)
Ex: If these were your answer choices, you'd cross through "They are" and just look at the main answer word.
A. They are happy.
B. They are sad.
C. They are stinky.
D. They are bad.

5. Look for words that stand out to you in the passage and indicate their connotations.

6. Find evidence from the text that might support your answer.

7. Eliminate answer choices that don't match the connotation of the question.

These tips may help you on the EOG, especially if you have problems with reading stamina and have a hard time with the long passages.

Hey! Do you remember how to write topic sentences? What?! No?! Here is a link to review to ensure you know the purpose of a topic sentence: Awesome Topic Sentences.

Research Paper Rubrics (based on Common Core aligned Smarter Balanced Rubrics)
Yep, this is going to be tough! Awesome, right?!
ELA: ELA Rubric
SS: SS Rubric


Please check out this resource to help build your vocabulary before EOG: Miller Analogies Test Practice