We’re back from a wonderful week break and are starting to read new novels! Grade 6 has just begun reading about the adventures of Professor William Waterford Sherman in the book The Twenty-one Balloons. The seventh graders have read the first six chapters of Hatchet, a thrilling story of survival in the Canadian wilderness, and the eighth graders are reading a John Steinbeck classic, The Pearl..
For the past week students have raced into the language arts classroom, eagerly checking to see the next clue about where we’ll be going for our Middle School camp in May. First, there was a bottle of sunscreen… then a rock.. hiking boots.. .a picture of a cat.. .a fox paw print… and lastly, a few goldfish crackers…
So, where do these clues lead?
(drum roll, please)….we’re going to Catalina Island! May 2-4.
More details will come as we get a little closer to May 
Every year the seventh graders read The Outsiders, the poignant story of two competing social groups- the greasers and the socs. It provides wonderful topics for discussion: peer pressure, group as well as individual identity, whether violence/fighting is ever a solution, what courage is, and all the complexities around “fitting in”. It was fun to watch the movie today starring a young Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze.
In addition to wonderful trips, lazy days at the beach, BBQs with friends and family… lots of books were enjoyed by Middle Schoolers ! Here are some of the titles:
Treasure Island, The Help, Tales From the Odyssey, The Bread Winner, Where the Red Fern Grows, The London Eye Mystery, Siddhartha, Catching Fire, Missing Since Monday,Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse, Marked, Small Steps, Stargirl, The Hunger Games, The Westing Game, The Search for the Red Dragon, Artemis Fowk, The Lying Game, Percy Jackson- The Last Olympian, Every Soul a Star, Charles Dickens, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Thought of High Windows, The Unforgiving Minute, Hero, Black and white, The Giver, Elsewhere, Eon…
Read on!!!
We’ve been learning and writing different forms of poetry. Here are some of the haikus written by sixth graders.
Green moss grows thickly
the trees are full of wisdom
in the morning haze
by Sydney
The pouring water
fills my heart with warmth and joy
and strengthens my soul
by Michael
The river is calm
it is undisturbed and clean
a true masterpiece
by Sammy
The top awards for children’s books 2010 are announced in The Los Angeles times:
January 10, 2011 | 9:48 am
“The American Library Assn. presented its top honors for books for children and young adults at a ceremony in San Diego Monday morning. The highest award, the Newbery Medal, is awarded each year to the most distinguished book for children; it went to “Moon Over Manifest” by Clare Vanderpool. The Caldecott Medal, the top award for illustration, went to the book “A Sick Day for Amos McGee,” illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead.
The ALA award medallions, which can be found on the covers of later editions of the winning books, not only signify excellence, they also can mean a longer commercial life for the books, as well as assure they find a place in libraries. Finalists also receive the medallions.
The hour-long ceremony, which began at 7:45 a.m., included the announcement of dozens of awards and finalists before an audience attending the ALA’s midwinter conference. The roster of winners was too long to invite the authors, illustrators or publishers to the podium to accept their awards.
The Printz Award, presented to a young adult novel, went to Paolo Bacigalupi for “Ship Breaker.” Bacigalupi is an author to watch; “Ship Breaker,” his first young adult novel, was a National Book Award finalist. His adult fiction has won major science-fiction awards — the Nebula and Hugo — and his 2009 debut novel was named one of the year’s best by Time magazine.
Other notable awards included the Coretta Scott King Award to author Rita Williams-Garcia for her book “One Crazy Summer”; the YALSA Excellence in nonfiction award to Ann Angel for “Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing”; the Pura Belpre Award to “The Dreamer,” written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and illustrated by Peter Sis; and the Theodor Suess Geisel award to “Bink and Gollie” by Kate diCamillo and Alison McGhee, illustrated by Tony Fucile.
Finalists for the Caldecott Medal were “Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet Slave” illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill and “Interrupting Chicken” written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein.
Finalists for the Newbery Award were “Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night” written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen; “Heart of a Samuri,” by Margi Preus; “One Crazy Summer” by Rita Williams-Garci and “Turtle in Paradise” by Jennifer L. Holm.”
– by Carolyn Kellogg
Check out the American Library Assn.’s webswite for a complete list of the awards, winners and those finalists receiving honors.
Well, we have interviewed our first Olympic athlete as part of our oral histories project! Yesterday, Henry and I went to Fiesta Island and met with Chris Barlow, coach of the San Diego Junior Canoe and Kayak team. Armed with our new digital recorder,a camera, and a list of questions, Henry confidently and professionally conducted about a great interview. Chris was a member of the U.S. Canoe and Kayak team at the Barcelona, Spain, Olympics and competed in the kayak 1000 meter K4 race. He shared about his 4 years of training leading up to the Olympics and about his most memorable moments at the games. He said that he’ll never forget sitting at the starting line at the final and thinking, “Well, this is it- the moment we’ve all been training for”…. how exciting!
So…our first one is done… Now, we look forward to making more contacts and lining up our next interviews. Stay tuned.
