Last week was an eventful yet short week, this means we are hitting the ground running this week!  This week the junior high students have their Service Hours due as well as their Independent Reading Book Projects.  Both of these were assigned the First day of the Trimester, so each student should have completed their necessary reading and work.  If you are unable to access the information regarding service hours and IRB projects, please contact me directly.  This week the students in the 7th grade will work on their Persuasive Essays.  They will have time in class each morning to complete these assignments, and they will be due Monday March 4th.  Please look over your child's writing, things you notice may be an indicator of where they need additional assistance and focus in the writing process. The 7th grade also has a Unit 11/4 exam on Tuesday that focuses on the use of pronouns.  Please help your child study and review notes.

The 8th grade will finish The giver this week and will continue work on their Utopia Project.  They each have specific jobs within their groups, however presentations and decisions should be made as a group.  Encourage your children to remain on top of their work as to not fall behind.  Group members depend on the efforts of each person. 

I hope that everybody enjoyed their weekend and was able to enjoy this year's Super Bowl Sunday.  As we head back into school this week students in the 7th grade will be focusing in on types of poetry.  We have focused over the past two weeks on different poets as well as the figurative language used in poetry.  We will continue to look at devices used in poetry and make the connection to how they are used in short stories and effect the meaning of what we read.  We will look at lyrical, concrete, free-verse, sonnet, haikus and more this week.  We will conclude this unit next week (February 11th) with our Poetry cafe.  This is a tradition for the 7th grade at Saint Jerome and is an opportunity for them to share poetry they compose with their peers as well as you!  Please consider joining us during the school day for our poetry cafe.  The 7th grade will turn in the formal letter they began last week on Monday.  For those students who wrote to a person of historical significance that is still alive, I will mail out their letters from school.  Many students chose great people to focus on.  We will be taking the second round of Benchmark tests administered by the Archdiocese this week.  This is a great opportunity for us to understand students knowledge of content as it lines up with the common core standards.  This is a transitional year so these results will help guide instruction in language arts for the remainder of the year.  Finally, we will be scheduling a field trip for the 7th grade to the Museum of Tolerance this week.  Be on the look out for a permission slip to be sent home.  We will also be in need of chaperones for the day, so if you are able please mark the permission slip accordingly.  This is a great way to interact with your child's peers as well as receive service hours!  Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have this week.