Scholastic Book Orders --Deadline Dec. 13th!

Dear Students and Parents,

It is not too late to place your book orders for December! Ordering has never been easier with the help of online ordering through Scholastic. Attached you will find a helpful handout that guides you through the online order process.

Scholastic Online Order Letter

Best,
~Ms. Occean

Essay Contest for Extra Credit

Dear Students,

Here is a great essay contest to demonstrate your writing skills! The Massachusetts Credit Union Essay Contest asks that students handwrite an essay of 250 words or less on a particular theme about community service. The deadline is December 16th! In order to earn the 10 extra credit points, please handwrite the essay, complete the contest entry form, and provide a written note from your parent/guardian that states you dropped off your form at your local credit union branch. Here is the following attachment and website link to help you with your efforts:
Essay Entry Form

Essay Contest Guidelines

~Ms. Occean :-)

Explanation of Your Favorite Poem

The due date for the assignment "Explanation of Your Favorite Poem (declamation poem)" has been postponed until Friday, December 9th. The assignment is a paragraph that explains why your declamation piece is your new favorite poem. You will want to address word choice, figures of speech, sound devices, mood, tone, and possibly theme. More information will be provided in class next week.

Have a good weekend!
~Ms. Occean Callum & Ms. Burbank

Update on the Classroom Subscription to Upfront Magazine

Dear students and parents,

This afternoon I placed the Scholastic magazine order for The New York Times Upfront magazine for teens. The discounted price per magazine subscription is $8.29. This discount expires today (Friday, September 30th). I placed an order for 24 copies, which totaled $198.96. With shipping and handling, which cost $19.90, it brought the overall total to $218.86. The students raised a total of $160. We would like to continue raising funds to cover the total cost for 24 copies, even though our goal is to have a count of 28 copies. Please feel free to donate funds to help with this classroom subscription.

Regards,
~Ms. Occean

Cornell Note Taking

Hi Students,

The Cornell note taking handout is available on the blog to download and use for your classes! Visit the "Handouts" tab on the homepage of the blog. There you will be able to scroll, click, and download the "Cornell note template." Happy note taking :-)

~Mrs. Occean Callum

September 11 Video

Students,

In case you want to revisit the brief film 9/11: Stories of Survival and Loss, which we watched in class today, Monday, September 12, here is the link to help with your worksheet:

"Stories of Survival and Loss" Video 9/11 Memorial Site

For your reference for the worksheet, below is a list of the individuals in the film.  Brief notes about the individual or what they said in the film are next to each name.

(in order of appearance)

Dennis Moran – Introduction and conclusion; working on memorial

Marc Wieman – Husband of woman who passed away in the 2^nd tower

Howard Lutnick – CEO on top floors; lost 2/3 of employees including brother

Claire McIntyre – On 91^st floor; remembers plane being halfway in building

Keating Crown – Young man in 2^nd building, 101^st floor; spoke to mother day of; taken in an ambulance

Manuel Chea – Worked in towers on 49^th floor; spoke about community and the firefighters

Tom Canavan – 47^th floor; spoke about being surrounded by steel

Debra Burlingame – Wife of pilot; spoke about Pentagon

Chief Anthony Whitaker – Policeman; command at World Trade Center

Mickey Kross – Lieutenant in the fire department

Welcome!

Dear Students and Parents,

Welcome to my classroom blog! Feel free to take an opportunity to browse the site. On it you will find the daily assignments, useful resources, and some (downloadable) important handouts from class. The tabs at the top of the page will lead you to these helpful tools. Throughout the year, I will update the homework page almost daily. Helpful handouts and links will periodically be added to assist the students with their learning. Please consider becoming a follower of the blog. Feel free to post a comment that shows you visited the site :-)

Best Regards,

~Ms. Occean Callum

Review Packet Resources Available

Students,

You can find the answer key to the grammar review packet under the "Handouts" tab. It is the most recent link I have posted. Hope the key is helpful with your studies this evening!

~Ms. Occean

Essay Check In

Hi Students!

I have returned and recently checked my school email. Some students have been showering me with questions about the essay due tomorrow (Monday, June 20th). Here are just a few reminders:

1) The essay is due Monday, June 20th (except for Section 41 who may turn work in on Tuesday, June 21st due to final exam scheduling).

2) The essay must be a 5-paragraph essay as the rubric addresses. The sample student essay is 3 paragraphs. I thoroughly previewed, explained, reviewed, and offered time for students to ask further clarifying questions about the packet, specifically the difference between the 5-paragraph requirement and the sample 3-paragraph essay. I stated that if you did not conceptually understand the difference between the 5-paragraph and 3-paragraph essay that you should speak to me prior to Wednesday of last week. Make certain your essay is 5-paragraphs!

3) Although I required you to provide 2 sources of information, if you referred to more than 2 sources, those additional sources must be cited in your bibliography as well. Anytime you include information, evidence that is not your own thinking, you MUST cite the source in order to avoid plagiarism. Use Citation Machine and Easy Bib to expedite this process.

See you on Monday :-)

Debate Score Guides Available

The debate score guides that students e-mailed to me are now available on the handouts page of the blog. Feel free to review them. I have also added two links to helpful citation websites for your upcoming essay. I will share more information about the persuasive essay on Monday.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
~Ms. Occean

"Don't Buy It!" -- An Extra Credit Opportunity

If you found the segment of class that focused on our critical study of the media interesting, here is an interactive way to continue your learning! Visit "Don't Buy It," an educational website by PBSkids.org. On this website, you will learn different ways advertisements, commercials, and television manipulates information and sends strategic messages to its audience i.e., consumers and viewers.

Browse through the website. Try some of the interactive quizzes. Then, write a one paragraph summary of something you found interesting during your search. Make certain the paragraph has a clear main idea --topic sentence. No "I statements" in the topic sentence please. No contractions either! Submit by Monday, June 6th, and you will receive up to 4 points!

Link: http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/entertainment/
Feel free to post comments of your thoughts about the website on the blog :-)

Open House Tonight - March 31st (6-8 pm)

Students bring your family to tonight's Open House at the school and show them the secret room book exhibit. There you will be able to explore and show the display of the many secret room books the entire seventh grade class created. More importantly, you may present and share your personal work to your biggest supporters -- your family. The books showcase the wonderful work students have done with poetry and artwork. Unfortunately I will be unable to attend the event due to some work I am doing in Washington D.C. with the Boston Writing Project. Parents feel free to e-mail me about any questions or concerns you may have about your child's performance in Writing class.

Best,
~Ms. Occean :-)

Verb Conjugation Chart

Good evening scholars,

A helpful student from our cluster e-mailed me a chart to help you with the verb conjugation  homework over the weekend (this helpful student may feel free to identify him or herself). Feel free to use it! I've added the document to the handout page. Yes; I did say weekend. Enjoy your snow day :-)

~Ms. Occean