TO CELEBRATE LOVE OF READING - Please bring in any gently used books you may have at home for children, teenagers or adults (mysteries, biographies etc.)

Language Arts 8 - We are concluding our snapshot look at Homer's The Odyssey. We will be shifting to two other brief examinations of epic literature - Beowulf and King Arthur.

Language Arts 7 - We are focusing on writing explanatory essays and we have started reading The Good Earth

Language Arts 6 - We are reading Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief as well as reviewing grammar and parts of speech. We are writing everyday and will begin constructing essays.  We will be participating in an essay contest.

All students will begin preparation for the Optimist International Oratorical Contest.

Thank you for your support of our community service activities during Catholic Schools Week -- all grades made more than 500 sandwiches and we collected over 1000 grocery bags for Casa Maria.

Language Arts - All grades.  Just a reminder - I am always available for tutoring after school 3:00 - 3:30 and during lunch - Monday through Thursday or before school at 7:30. I am also available any day of the week for questions via St. Ambrose email and this includes weekends.  I will read assignments ahead of time to offer assistance before submission.  Students can also redo many assignments but only if they have seen me first to work out the corrections needed.

Catholic Schools Week - Sacks and Citrus - Tired of those plastic grocery bags?  Do you have so many, your kitchen cabinets are stuffed? Casa Maria Soup Kitchen is in desperate need of bags.  As an organization they get charged for the bags we are so burdened with! Please bring in what you have to my room and I will see that they are delivered.  The more, the better.  Also, if you have fruit trees that are bearing more fruit than you can possibly use, Casa Maria can certainly use it for lunches and soups.  Please put the fruit in the bags you donate.  Thank you!

Sandwiches - The Middle School will be making sandwiches Tuesday for our local homeless shelters during lunch and before the Talent Show. Please bring in one loaf of bread and either a can of tuna fish or some kind of sandwich meat if you are able. No peanutbutter please.  I have bags, gloves and can openers. Thank you for any help you provide.

8th Grade:  Please let me know who your student's Confirmation sponsor(s) is/are as I need to send the list as well as the letters from students over to the Bishop's office.  Please note too that the sponsorship forms need to have the raised seal of certification of the parish that your sponsor attends.  Without the seal, I am unable to submit the document to our parish office.  I would like to submit all documents by the deadline listed on your 8th Grade Calendar for the Bishop's letter. Thanks for your help!

Plans are in the works for our celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Our community service activities will be listed once approved by Mrs. Chavez later this week.

7th Grade:  We will be finishing our final projects for mythology and moving to our study of John Steinbeck's "The Pearl."  It is a wonderful book.  Please remember that your student is welcome to bring a soft chair from home to sit and read in while in class. He/she can leave the chair in my room. We will also be taking a structured look at the process of writing 5 paragraph essays of all varieties using a visually interactive approach that will give students the confidence they need to organize their work.  Grammar, proofreading and vocabulary will continue to be taught in the lab using varying computer programs as well as from the texts we have in class.

Plans are in the works for our celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Our community service activities will be listed once approved by Mrs. Chavez later this week.

6th Grade:  We will be wrapping up our selection of mythological stories this week and preparing our final projects related to them. Our next book will be from the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan which is a contemporary series about mythology.  I have the first book

- The Lightening Thief. Most students said they have read one or possibly more of the books.  Students will need to bring in a copy of the book from the series that they have not read. If they have not read the first book - I have plenty but beyond that, students will have to supply their own.  A trip to the library is fine - no need to purchase.  If you choose to purchase a book, there are many used and cheap copies available.

Since our classes are now smaller, I am very excited about getting students into the lab more frequently to build skills and to use programs designed to improve vocabulary and grammar.  We will be using the Read, Write and Think program. Please remember that your student is welcome to bring a soft chair from home to sit and read in while in class. He/she can leave the chair in my room. We will also be taking a structured look at the process of writing 5 paragraph essays of all varieties using a visually interactive approach that will give students the confidence they need to organize their work.  Grammar, proofreading and vocabulary will continue to be taught in the lab using varying computer programs as well as from the texts we have in class.

Plans are in the works for our celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Our community service activities will be listed once approved by Mrs. Chavez later this week.