In a perfect world teachers would not get sick, teacher's kids would not get sick....apparently i do not live in a perfect world:( As of 8pm tonight (Sun.) my daughter's temp hit 101.6 and my own 99.9 --- i wouldn't normally burden you with the germy details of our life, but with night of the notables less that 24 hours away, this is not ideal!!! fear not though, i have Jerry Harms in to sub - he is the best - he has detailed instructions for the day and Michael Riley will be working with the kids as well (his kid is sick too, but he is blessed with nearby inlaws) --- i will be making every effort to attend the evening event and if i am able and if i am able to leave payton briefly, i will try to check in at school as well. if i can not attend, mike riley, rex thornton, and bill holman will be in charge of the evening and i trust all will go just fine - oh, and linda tippett too will be there to take charge of the refreshments! i truly hope i am able to attend and will try my best to be there. if not, i will watch the video with the kids and get the play by play when i return. please accept my apologies. my grades will also be udated as i recover - i apologize for this as well. i have been fighting this bug for quite some time and it finally won :( hope you are all a bit more germ free! happy spring?

PRESENTATIONS STARTED TODAY!!!! Most student were ready to present - although many did not have complete posters or any posters at all. PAPERS(essays) were collected yesterday with points given for on-time turn in and late papers were accepted today for full credit (minus the ontime turn in points) - tomorrow only 1/2 credit is available - after that.....zero :( THE EVENT is Monday 3/22!!!! Parents need to be there at 6:00 to hear a brief presentation about PHS from Mr. Thornton (PHS principal) --- Notables need to be in the multipurpose room in their costumes by 6:15 at the latest!!! EVENT STARTS at 6:30 and runs no later than 8:30!!! All family members are welcome for this fun event! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!! GRADES should be updated by this Friday - the only grade that you will not see on this quarter grade is the essay final score due to time constraints.

aauuggghhhh!!! where does the time go? we have finish TKM --- long gone, too late for any late work :( students should be well into their Night of the Notables research!!! I checked off their "fill in the blank" sheet today and the Q and A sheet is due next Friday. We are studying Japanese American Internment in class - not much out of class work for this. There will be a sub tomorrow and Friday so I can attend a MSP writing conference in Seattle with Mr. Riley so I hope and trust that the students will behave beautifully in my absence. Hope you've been enjoying our early spring-like weather! kw P.S. a reminder that PHS track has started, so if you need to contact me, e-mail is the way to go or call during my 3rd per. prep.

Tuesday's already behind us - here is the scoop on the week:
block one: working on night of the notables essay - this is in class for now, but ongoing out of class research would be great and finding a costume should be underway as well. look for ch. 8 wsh questions by tomorrow.

blocks 2 and 3: questions through ch. 25 were checked in class today - and we started work on our plot trees - for those students not going to the ch. 3 Q6 field trip, tomorrow will be a work day - trees, reading, night of the notables research, newspapers, etc... - for those that are going, they will need to finish their trees by monday. everyone has ch. 26 questions, reading of ch. 27, and a paragraph for ch.. 28 due on thursday. we will finish the reading of the book in class on thursday as well! discussion, an in-class writing, and the movie will follow next week. whew! and while we're at it....THINK SUN - THIS TEACHER HAS GROWN VERY TIRED ON THE GRAY DREARIES.

P.S. remind your students to keep up with the night of the notable research - the first due dates will come the end of this month and then things will move fairly quickly!

sorry for the late post - for blocks one, we are continuing with mrs. cartwright and mrs. johnson as they take the class through the "why try" program (a program to educate students regarding making good choices, goal setting, and understanding consequences) --- we are also working through the remainder of the WSH book.

blocks 2 and 3 - we are continuing to work through To Kill a Mockingbird - all students should be through ch. 15 by tomorrow 2/3 - and through ch. 23 by monday 3/8 --- they should have questions answered for each chapter. We are also learning more about race relations in the america and the civil rights movement as part of our study TKM, but these topics also apply to our study of WSH and Civics.

ALL STUDENTS: Should be working on research for Night of the Notables --- each student has a packet with expectations and due dates.

endings and beginnings

Almost 1/2 way!!! This week is full of new novels (To Kill a Mockingbird - aka. TKM), old tests (MAPS reading), and the ending of chapters (WSH ch. 9) --- students should have a TKM question packet - they need to be through ch. 3 by Friday --- MAPS is on Thursday, this week and next --- and there is a chapter 9 WSH quiz on Friday as well as the due date for 5 paragraphs on possible notable choices (they will make their requests for their notable on Friday too) --- I'm fully aware this seems like a lot of fires going at the same time, but I am trying my best to weave it all together. WSH and English, while taking place on opposite ends of the country, are both dealing with racism and the constitution (this will be a nice transition over to Civics) - and Night of the Notables requires an early start in order for students to use time outside of class. In regards to N of N - they will be getting their packet that outlines all the requirements next week after everyone has their notable approved. From then on, much of the research will need to take place outside of class - at least for blocks 2 and 3. Happy short work week - enjoy our brief hint of Spring :) kw

P.S. grades are mostly finished - only a few small things left to add - for most, WSH will be an obviously passing grade (A, B, or C) at semester, so the small bit of work we have left 2nd semester won't impact their ability to pass - for a few students with a D or an F, I will be communicating the importance of trying to raise that grade as we work on WSH into 2nd semester. Remember that all students must pass this course in order to graduate from high school in Washington.

Happy New Year

Happiest of New Years to you all!!!! Today we went over the graded and returned Native American Diaries - they were generally quite spectacular this year! This is a very creative bunch :) I also returned book projects that had been on display and reminded them all to check their grades on-line --- as we near the end of Washington State History (there will be overlap into 2nd semester though) - they need to make sure they are not in danger of failing since the course is a requirement for graduation and an F would mean retaking the course in high school (and that really isn't ideal) --- tomorrow we will capping our disablitites lit. circle with the movie I am Sam - they are being asked to think about the challenges a developmentally disabled adult would face trying to negotiate the social welfare and legal system -- and also to pay attention to how different people treat the characters in the book. It is a thought provoking film that they should also enjoy. By the end of the week we will be covering ch. 9 in the Wa. St. History book and discussing options for a final project - I will have more on that later. In English, we will be reading To Kill a Mockingbird next - probably starting early next week if not sooner. Have a great week! kw