Week of December 15

Welcome to the final week of school for 2008! On Friday of last week, the students began reading a new story, "Soumchi." "Soumchi" is a story about an 11-year-old Jewish boy growing up in Jerusalem during the 1940s. In class, we talked about some of the political tensions that were present during that time and which affected our character in the story. On Monday, we will continue to read and discuss this story further. We will proceed with our normal process of taking directed notes and having shared inquiry discussion about this story throughout the week.

This week the students will also participate in a class 'spelling bee' covering the key words which they have learned throughout this semester. We will be focusing primarily on the key words from the 7 Habits portion of this course. On Friday, the students will learn about the importance of renewing and strengthening the final dimension of Habit #7: the soul. Discussion of this topic should provide a wonderful segway into the holiday season for the students!

Here's wishing each one of you a wonderful, safe and joyous holiday celebration!

Week of December 8

This week the students said "goodbye" to Bala, Kotil, Medana and Ulikini as we wrapped up our study on "The Last Great Snake." Before doing so, however, the students gathered in groups and composed one final paragraph in response to a question about the story. They shared their collaborative responses and then took the opportunity to review and revise all the groups' written work.

We are also revisiting Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw. This habit teaches us the importance of regularly renewing and strengthening the 4 key dimensions of our lives: the body, the brain, the heart and the soul. Having focused on the body last week, this week we discuss ways to sharpen our brain and renew our hearts. You may be receiving a little surprise in your mailbox soon from the study of this habit! Be sure and ask your child how he/she sought to renew their heart in class today. :)

We will end this week with a brief discussion about what was going on in the 1920s and 1930s with regard to the happenings in and around Jerusalem. This discussion will serve as an introduction to our final story, "Soumchi." Next week we will read Part I of "Soumchi."

Week of December 1

Welcome to December! This week the students begin the story they've all been dying to read... The Last Great Snake. Enticed to read this story by the dramatic illustration on the cover of our text book, the students have been captivated by this adventure involving giant serpents with a magic stone embedded in their skull. The disappearance of one man's magic stone, given to him by his grandfather who fought a great snake to obtain the stone, causes another man to retreat into the wilderness in search of the "last great snake" who holds the final available magic stone. This story delves into the issue of good vs. evil and challenges the students to think critically about how and why an action may be deemed good or evil.

We will end this week by beginning our study of Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw. In this habit, the students will learn the importance of regularly renewing 4 key dimensions of their life: their body, their brain, their heart, and their soul. They will participate in some fun activities which will help them remember how and why they should stay focused on strengthening each of these areas in order to become more effective in all aspects of life.