We've had a great first full week in 7th-grade Humanities. In English we reviewed the 8 parts of speech and practiced using them in context by writing about funny pictures like the one below:
In Social Studies, we talked about the GRAPES (geography, religion, achievements, politics, economy, and social structure) of civilization, then began exploring the geography of medieval Europe, our first major unit.
Students have done a great job bringing a book for SSR (silent sustained reading) every day and many have already started logging books toward the 30-Book Challenge on our class reading log at Readlio.com! I think we are going to see some really great reading and growth this year.
One concern that has come up already is the amount of time that students are spending in the bathroom. We have very short passing periods in our schedule and we do not allow students to use the restroom during passing periods. Because of this, students are allowed to use the restroom during class time. However, there has been a LOT of restroom trips this year, especially since we have started doing more difficult academic work. In fact, I can guarantee that as soon as I give directions and tell students to start working, at least three will raise their hands and ask to use the bathroom!
Of course, if a student has a real bathroom emergency, they should go to the bathroom! However, if students are using a trip to the bathroom in order to avoid doing work, that becomes a problem and we will have to reevaluate our bathroom procedure since students are missing out on valuable learning experiences. Please have a conversation with your student this weekend about appropriate times to ask to use the restroom during class and remind them that class time is for working and learning.
Finally, if you have not completed the "parent homework" as we have been calling it in class, please head over to tinyurl.com/EllisParents and do so ASAP. There are two forms linked on the home page for you to fill out. Let me know if you have any questions!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Megan Ellis
mellis@westlakecharter.com
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