Room 118

Good job on the Beowulf test yesterday! Most of you did really well. Remember, there is one questions (#43) that was wrong in the grading scale, so if you got that question right, you’ll be getting an extra 1.5 points on your grade. Hooray!

If you missed the test, you will need to schedule a time with me when you can take the test. It is online, and you will have to be with me in the classroom so that I can monitor you. This is not an open note test. If you are not taking TAKS next week, feel free to take it then – just realize that I will be proctoring tests all week, so you can’t wait until the last minute to schedule the test.

Ok, so we had our Beowulf test review today. I recorded the test review that we did in first block, and I placed those videos in LMS for you guys to download and record.

Make sure that you download and listen to those videos – leave a message here or tect me if you have any questions or issues. If you missed any days while we were reading, go back and read a summary of Beowulf.

If you can get to YouTube, go watch the Lego version of Beowulf – it’s the one that we watched in class.

I’ll be here in the morning if you need to go over anything.

We will have visitors tomorrow, so be aware that we will probably have people in the room watching how we take tests on LMS.

I’m really pleased that you guys are doing your journals. These should really be a boost to your average! I am also very impressed that I haven’t had to get on Dyknow and “Big Brother” anyone. And you all have been really observant with the “Music Stoplight”.

However, I am still seeing a lot of empty seats. I know that I have small classes, but we have had a lot of absent students. Please try to make an effort to come to school – there is so much that you miss you when aren’t here. Just think of how many people missed watching students try on chain mail? That’s not something that you can make up after school. You missed it. And that makes me sad.

Tutorials are going on after school for the TAKS test. Please, please, please show up to these tutorials. It would be such a shame if you completed all of your coursework and sat the seat time, but failed to get a diploma because of the TAKS test.

We are currently working on Beowulf and I hope that you all are taking the exact same notes as me in class. This is where all of my test questions from. If you missed a day, please get the notes from someone else in class. It is really hard for me to give you my computer for you to copy notes from; I am always using my computer, especially after school. That’s when I grade!

Great job! Remember, Mrs. Ekster gets a report of who has zeroes tomorrow (2.12.09), so get those grade in!

If you are not done with an assignment and do not turn it in on the day that it is due, I need to have a drop box note telling when you plan on having the assignment turned in. If I have to manually enter grades on LMS, there is a risk of that grade being “locked” – that means you could end up getting a zero on an assignment that you completed and that I graded.

People are starting to slack on the journals – I grade those on Fridays. This should be an easy 100 each week if you answer the questions each day.

You are doing a GREAT job of following my 55 Rules – even when someone forgets and a sword gets picked up, we fix the situation pretty quickly. Thank you. I feel like I can leave my stuff around the room without worrying that it will be broken.

Watch those zeros – if you are missing something, I’ll take it by the end of the week without penalty, but you are going to have to do it on your own time. We are moving on in class and I want to be able to brag to Mrs. Ekster that my classes have no zeros!

See you tomorrow!

1.   Where do you live? Write a little about your area.

2.   Who or what do you most admire, and why?

3.   What is your idea of perfect happiness?

4.   What is your favorite comfort food / meal?

5.   How would you describe your political beliefs? Do you socialise with people who hold opposing political views?

6.   Are you ever responsible for the break-up of your relationships?

7.   Be honest here: What would someone you know, who doesn’t like you, say about you? Give the relationship of the enemy to you, eg: ex-husband, mother-in-law, mad woman in the park…

8.   What is the furthest that you have ever travelled?

9.   Would you risk your own life to save a non-human life?

10.   Given that you basic needs are catered for, What would you do with the last £10.00 or $20.00 you had for the week; it’s only Wednesday?

11.   Which of these genres do you prefer reading?

12.   What single thing would improve the quality of your life?

13.   What if your favorite quote that you live?

I am really good at keeping New Year’s Resolutions. In the beginning, that is. Then I start to get lazy. Well, I swear that I won’t get lazy this time around. New term, new students, clean classroom – what could possibly go wrong?

The only thing that I have to do right now is prepare for the first day. My LMS is up and ready to go – I even have all of Week One’s journals ready to go! The only two things that I have to do are rewrite the First Day Survey and get new folders for my classes. I don’t think I’ll get the folders by tomorrow. It’s 7:30 on a Sunday night now, so I think I’ll put that off until Tuesday. Besides, I don’t know if there will be a schedule change that might mess up my color coordination.

As a backup, I’ll post my old first day survey here just in case I don’t get my e-Instruction one working. It’ll be ready to go on Tuesday, though. I loved that survey.

A few new things that I am trying out this term:
1. I’m bringing back my folder system to keep all of our paper assignments organized.
2. I am keeping a discussion board on LMS that lists every activity that we do on a daily basis. You can ask questions and I can answer them!
3. For every grade that we do, there will be a drop box on LMS. That means if I take a class participation grade, you will need to post a message in the drop box. I promise I am doing this for a real reason – I had so many students who ended up getting zeros as “locked grades”. If you have ever had this happen to you, you know what a pain it can be.

Term Three Dates:
January 26th – First day of Term Three
March 9th – 13th – Spring Break
Last Day for Term 3: April 3rd

I do not yet know the dates for the Final Exams yet, but as soon as I know them, I will post them.

See you all soon!