5/14/12
Dear Parents and Students,
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each of you for the amazing Teacher Appreciation week I had last week! I felt so completely appreciated by all of you. Your heartfelt notes, incredibly delicious lunches, beautiful flowers, and thoughtful gifts were so lovely and I truly felt spoiled!
I can't thank you all enough for making this job one of the most rewarding and fun experiences anyone could ask for.
As we are drawing to the end of this spectacular year, I wanted to also give you a heads-up on other events. Many students will be taking two more Analy Challenge tests this week; Wednesday is the Algebra Challenge Test (at Hillcrest 9:00 - 11:00), and Thursday will be the Spanish Challenge test (at Analy, contact lisabeau.ahs@wscuhsd.k12.ca.us to sign up). Because so many students will be taking these tests, which require additional study time, I have postponed the turn in date for our Trimester Social Studies project. The students can turn them in by Monday 5/21 without penalty.
We will be taking our last field trip to San Francisco's deYoung Museum on 5/31. The following are the drivers who have volunteered for this trip: Diane, Shyamala, Meeghan, Beth, Ben/Naomi, Doug S. A great thank you to all of you who have helped to drive, chaperone, and support our trips this year. I truly could not have done it without you.
Just a few reminders: The ENRICH! performance night is next week 5/23, where all of the 6, 7, 8 grades will be performing "Romeo and Juliet." The 8th grade Celebration Ceremony for the ENRICH! students will take place on June 2nd at Hopmonk (11-2). The students are working on some wonderful performance and art pieces to share with all of you, and I hope everyone can make it. There are several other events, so please check out the calendar in Monday Messages.
I'll look forward to seeing all of you at the many exciting events leading up to the Graduation!
With regards, Kelly Sporrer
4/23/12
Dear Parents,
I wanted to check in with some important information. We will begin our STAR testing series tomorrow, which will extend through May 4. The 8th graders will be taking tests in all four areas: language arts, math, social studies, and science (the social studies material ranges from 6th throuh 8th grade curriculum). As you know, it is important that the students get plenty of rest and a solid, healthy breakfast. Our testing time will be from 9 AM to approximately 11 AM Tuesday through Friday; we do not test on Mondays. The students have been working hard all year long, and I am confident that they will put their best feet forward.
We have two more field trips coming up soon. The first is to the Wells Fargo Center on Monday, May 7th to see a production on Ellis Island. The second is on May 31st to the DeYoung museum to see their Art in America exhibit and a picnic in the park. If you are available to assist with driving and chaperoning on either (or both
) of these trips, please contact me as soon as possible.
With regards, Kelly Sporrer
3/13/12
Dear Parents,
Happy Spring! I wanted to take this opportunity to thank GSF for their generous grant, which was used to purchase several materials that will be used in various language arts activities. These activities will be based on group "stations" which will focus on various language arts concepts. We began our first station activities today, focusing on pre-reading and reading comprehension activities. The subject focus was Civil War history. Each station lasted 20 minutes and allowed the students to explore different strategies in a focused group setting. I am looking forward to incorporating other group station activities throughout the trimester. Please take a moment and check out the photo link featuring our stations in action.
We have just completed our second trimester, and the students will be bringing home their report cards this Thursday. That means the students are entering their last trimester as middle schoolers! This is an exciting time, but also one of transition for the students which can be a bit overwhelming. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
There are a few projects on the horizon, which will be preparing the students for pacing on long-term assignments. The first is a trimester-long social studies project. The students will be choosing a historical figure in history to research, and they will be creating a multi-dimentional project based on his/her choice. The directions for the project have been explained and sent home, so feel free to discuss with your students the particulars of the assignment. We will have several "check in" dates in order to be sure that the students are pacing themselves to complete the project in a timely manner. The historical figure should be someone tied into our U.S. History curriculum and the choice should be submitted by this Wednesday.
In language arts, we will wrap up the last trimester with another whole-group novel study of Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This novel will tie into our study of the Reconstruction Era and will culminate in a character sketch essay. More infomation will follow in a few weeks when we begin the novel.
Finally, we will have our open house April 10. The students have been working hard throughout the year and are excited to share some of thier accomplishments with you. I will look forward to seeing you all then.
With gratitude, Mrs. Sporrer
P.S. Please take a moment to look at the link to photos of our ZEUM trip and other memorable moments.
2/22/12
Dear Parents,
I wanted to let you know that we were visited by the Analy counselors today! It is truly a very exciting time for our 8th graders as they are getting a glimpse into their next four years. Your child will be bringing home some very important papers, which must be filled out and signed by Friday morning. Your child will also be bringing home a pamphlet with important information including testing dates, elective information, college requirements, etc. Your child should bring his/her signed pink and white sheets to school on Friday. Each student will be meeting with his/her counselor to submit elective choices. The academic class sections should be left blank, since the teachers have already submitted that information. For those parents who are considering other high school choices, it would be wise to fill out the paperwork if there is even a remote chance that your child will be attending Analy since they will receive priority choices.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the parents who helped out with our very fun and successful trip to San Francisco last week. The student created some incredible music videos and clay animation pieces based off of our social studies and language arts curriculum. A sincere thanks to Seana, Peggy, Meeghan, Beth, and Diane for making this trip a success. You will be able to see the final production of these pieces during our open house in April.
With gratitude, Kelly Sporrer
1/10/12
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Dearest ENRICH 8thgrade students and parents,
I hope you all had a restful and joyous break and I am sending my best wishes for a Happy New Year! I wanted to send my heartfelt thank you for the amazing movie and dinner gift certificates I received from the class. I already enjoyed the movie (Sherlock Holmes!), and am looking forward to a yummy dinner with my hubby. I also wanted to thank those of you who sent individual gifts; they were truly heartfelt and I am very thankful. My biggest gifts are the days that I get to spend in the joyful company of my students.
Over the next month, we will be starting Literature Circles and moving forward in history toward the Civil War. Finally, we have a field trip coming up on February 14th to San Francisco’s ZEUM. This will be a multi-curricular field trip for both Social Studies and Language Arts. The students will spend the morning creating music videos based on events we have been studying in history. In the afternoon, we will move on to a clay animation project that will bring our Literature Circle novels to their conclusion. This is a great trip, but we do have to leave the campus at 8:00am and will return at approximately 4:00 pm. If you are interested in driving and chaperoning for this trip, please let me know as soon as possible.
With regards,
Kelly Sporrer
12/21/11
Just a reminder that we will be having a holiday celebration tomorrow, Thursday, 12/22. The students will be creating an "edible craft" to take home and enjoy with their families. I have asked each family to contribute one ingredient for this project, and hope you will enjoy the rewards over the break. In addition to our craft project, we will be enjoying a "gift exchange" in the form of an interactive game. If your child would like to participate in the game, please send a wrapped gift that is appropriated for either a boy or girl ($5-$10 limit please). I know that financial times are tough, and I don't want anyone who wants to participate left out, so please let me know if there is a problem with an ingredient or gift contribution.
Wishing you all a very peaceful and joyous holiday.
Best regards, Kelly Sporrer
12/12/11
Greetings 8th grade parents and students.
I'd like to congratulate our class on reaching our 100 point goal! We will be celebrating with a "B" party, which will feature a burrito bar and bunco. The students each signed up for an ingredient to bring, but in case he/she has not shared that with you, I have included the list below. I will be supplying the crock pots and some ingredients as well, but I could also use 1-2 more crockpots if you have one handy.
Burrito Bar Sign Up List:
Katie Alibrio - onions
Sean Arden - horchata
Adri Begley - guacamole
Chris Blakeslee - root beer or sprite
Lauren Bollinger - olives
Hannah Dexter - olives
John Gause - tortillas
Jasmin Halaweh - beans
Natasha Kinmont - sour cream
Julianna McBurney - sour cream
Dylan McCallum - salsa
Haley Saffarinia - lettuce
Jacob Smith - chips
Aidan Vermeulen - root beer or sprite
In addition to our 100 point party, we will be having a holiday celebration on Thursday, 12/22. The students will be creating an "edible craft" to take home and enjoy with their families. I will be asking each family to contribute one ingredient for this edible craft, and I will be sending the ingredient list home next week. In addition to our craft project, we will be enjoying a "gift exchange" in the form of an interactive game. If your child would like to participate in the game, please send a wrapped gift that is appropriated for either a boy or girl between 12/19 and 12/22 ($5-$10 limit please). I know that financial times are tough, and I don't want anyone who wants to participate left out, so please let me know if there is a problem with an ingredient or gift contribution.
Finally, the students have been working very hard on their Secret Life of Bees project and I am looking forward to seeing the final projects tomorrow. The little books that I have seen so far are very impressive, and I'm sure the final projects will be equally fantastic.
Happiest of Holidays
Kelly Sporrer
12/1/12
As you know, our class has spent the last several weeks reading Sue Monk Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees. This novel, which takes place during the tumultuous times of the civil rights era, explores a fourteen-year-old girl’s personal struggles over the loss of her mother. With with the help of some very eccentric characters, the main character Lily finds strength within herself to overcome her unfortunate circumstances. During our exploration, the students have enjoyed discussion sessions and activities based on the books many themes, characters, and symbolism.
The students are currently working on the last project associated with this rich text; a “little book” project which will be their 3rd book report. I am giving the students a bit of guidance with the pacing of the project, in order to help teach them proper time management. Please take a moment and have your child share the project outline and rubric, and hopefully his/her first “little books.” The final project is due December 13th.
I wanted to thank our drivers and chaperones for helping to make our trip to the Wells Fargo Center a success! We saw the live adaptation of some scenes from the novel, which was a treat for both the students and adults. In addition to the brilliant performance we saw today from the Literature to Life Organization, we will also be comparing and contrasting the film version of the book. We will be exploring how certain novels have plot lines, which can lend themselves well to screen plays. I will be sending a permission slip home with the students today. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
With regards,
Kelly Sporrer