(Continued from page 15)

• Honors English - Mrs. Hanten
• The Honors students also began the year with the famous novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck.  The next unit they will be studying the progression of the English language, in conjunction with the literature of England.  This first unit will include reading some famous Anglo-Saxon literature such as Beowulf and The Seafarer.   The Honors students have also started working on their Senior Memory Book; however, their project consists of thirty chapters about memories and thoughts from their lives.  This means an essay is due almost weekly from these honors students.  It is amazing the progression and maturity I see in their writing skills as we move from the beginning to the end of the year.  Their final product will be a very valuable keepsake for students and parents alike.  Honors students are also required to read independent, Accelerated Reader novels as part of the class requirement.  However, they must achieve a higher point value for each letter grade and are required to read some specific classic novels each semester.   
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• 7th Grade Math - Mrs. Cheryl Hanson
• We are off to a good start in another great school year.  In 7th grade we have been exploring problem solving strategies, sometimes working independently, sometimes working cooperatively in a group.  With our new core standards procedures to problem solving is more important than ever.  With the core standards, we need to learn "why" and "how" things work, such as why a formula works, how a pattern applies, etc.  The students have also been hearing me say over and over that some of our learning comes from making mistakes along the way, correcting those mistakes, and doing better the next time.  As long as we are trying, we can learn.
• Our year started with a review in decimals, which then led us to converting and measuring in the metric system and working with numbers in scientific notation.  We are currently working with operations and rules with integers and then using the order of operations with integers and exponents.
• I have shown the students useful internet sites that accompany our textbooks.  One is online quizzes for each section throughout the textbook and the other is homework video tutors, which is especially helpful for any days they have been absent or reinforcing the day's lesson.  Both of these are great way to study for math tests.  Students will have homework most days and it is very important they keep up on a daily basis.  We need understand, then practice, practice, practice.
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• 8th Grade Transition Math - Mrs. Cheryl Hanson
• We are off to another year of math!  Transition math is essentially pre-algebra; it takes kids from the 7th grade basic math into preparing them for Algebra next year. 

(Continued on page 17)