Good Morning,

As the end of the year gets close, I wanted to make you aware of a few things.

• All Lakeview students will have to turn in their Chromebooks on May 17.  Students will get the Chromebook back when they return to school in August but will not have it over the summer.  Because of this, any electronic work that is due should be done by May 17, unless the student has a computer at home and plans to use it.  For my class that means all iLit and NoRedInk assignments should be done by May 17 unless they are working at home.  I have reminded students of this for several days now.  
• OELPA results are expected to be released on May 14.  Hopefully I will have them soon after that.  I am anxious to see how our students did on the State EL test!  I will let the students know as soon as I know something.  Parents reports are usually sent home early in the summer.  
• Many teams have special activities planned near the end of the year and there are some building award programs as well.  Please make sure you are communicating with your student about these and also checking your email for the weekly newsletters from Mrs. Bertke, our principal.  If you are NOT getting these newsletters, please check your email on Infinite Campus or let me know.

I have enjoyed teaching your children this year.  As always, if you have questions, please let me know. 

Good Morning,

Tomorrow is the first day of State Testing at Lakeview.  The schedule is as follows:

Wednesday April 11 - 7th grade English

Thursday April 12 - 7th grade English

Monday April 16 - 8th grade English

Tuesday April 17 - 8th grade English

Monday April 23 - 8th grade Science

Tuesday April 24 - 8th grade Science

Wednesday April 25 - 7th grade Math

Thursday April 26 - 7th grade Math

Monday April 30 - 8th grade Math

Tuesday May 1 - 8th grade Math

As you can see, each test is split over 2 days.  For most students this is a timed test, however, EL students have extended time up to one day.  Please encourage your child to do his/her best.  Some important reminders - 

• Students should bring their Chromebooks FULLY CHARGED and bring their chargers.
• Students may use their own earbuds but wireless earbuds are not permitted.
• No cell phones, Apple watches, Fitbits allowed during testing.  
• Get a good night of sleep and good breakfast before testing.  

All EL students will be testing with me unless an interpreter is needed.  I do not want want students to stress over this, however, this is important.  Please make sure your child is at school during testing days and is prepared. 

We have been using some class time as work time due to the fact that most students are missing many assignments.  This is not an ideal situation, but it is imperative that students complete work to the best of their ability and turn it in.  Also, a friendly reminder to my 4th period English class that weekly reading logs must be turned in on Friday.  That is a big part of their grade and many are missing.  Daily reading is VERY important for all students. 

As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions. 

Good Morning,

Today in our 2nd period support class we started a project that we will do throughout the week.  We are working on writing questions and answers that could be helpful to new students.  First we brainstormed things that students wish they had known before they started at Lakeview.  Some topics were dress code, how to open lockers, how to find out about closings/delays, how to try out for sports, and many more.  Each student chose one topic to write about.  Tomorrow we will work on a rough draft and then we will do some peer editing and revising before our final copy is due on Friday.

In 4th period Sheltered English we started a thematic unit on statistics today.  This will hopefully build vocabulary and skills to help with the current unit in math.  I am excited to try this idea. 

Next week is spring break.  No school all week. 

Have a wonderful week!

Good Afternoon,

Many thanks to those of you who have scheduled parent teacher conferences.  I, and your child's other teachers, look forward to meeting with you.  We know that we are a team working together to help your child reach his/her potential, and we always value the opportunity to meet with parents. 

I had a stern conversation with students today in my second period support class about missing work.  We are less than two weeks in to the new grading period and most students already have some missing work.  I have been setting aside some periods of time during our class for students to work on homework, but it is not enough to complete everything.  Students at this age must plan on doing some work outside of class. 

We still have two full weeks before spring break begins.  Please encourage your child to do his/her best.  April will have many interruptions due to Ohio AIR testing which all students will  participate in. 

As always, let me know if you have questions.  Stay warm in this crazy Ohio weather today!

Good Afternoon,

Today is the last day of the second trimester.  All missing work was due today.  Unfortunately, missing work is the biggest problem that students are having right now.  Please review the grades on Infinite Campus with your child.  If you find anything you believe to be in error, please let me know before Monday Feb. 26.  On that day I will finalize and publish grades for report cards. 

OELPA, our State EL testing, was finished on Wednesday.  Students were very cooperative during testing and it went smoothly.  Last year the results were available just before the end of our school year.  Hopefully this year will be the same. 

Beginning on Monday we will be doing some station work in our second period support class.  We will rotate between reading activities, grammar activities, and working on homework for any class.  We will also continue to do our weekly vocabulary work. 

I encourage you to read the many emails that the school and the district send out.  They are filled with important information that all parents should be aware of. 

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.  As always, if you have any questions, please let me know. 

Good Morning,

Today is our second snow day.  We do not have to make this day up but all students must complete Blizzard Bags for each class.  Students have 10 days to complete the Blizzard Bags.  If the Blizzard Bag is not completed, the student will be marked absent for that class.  I have posted the Blizzard Bag for my class in Google Classroom and all other teachers will or have already done the same.  Students may work on these assignments today or any time before they are due.  They will not be given class time to work on these assignments.  They must be done outside of class. 

I had planned to give students their individual OELPA test schedules today.  I will give them to students tomorrow.  Friday we will do the practice OELPA test so that students can become familiar with the technology.  Testing will begin on Monday.  Please make every effort to have your student in school on his/her testing days.  Also, please encourage your child to do his/her best on the test.  I have several students who I feel could exit the EL program, but they must demonstrate that on this test. 

Please be aware that the second trimester ends on February 23.  Any outstanding work not turned in by that day will be marked as a zero. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.  Be safe today. 

Good Morning,

Some brief updates for you.

• As of a few moments ago, all grades are up to date in Infinite Campus.  
• The Second Trimester grading period ends on February 23.  All work must be completed and turned in by that time.  
• Two-hour delay next Wednesday - February 7. 
• OELPA Testing (Ohio English Learner Proficiency Assessment) begins on February 12.  All EL students will take the reading, writing, and listening parts of the test on February 12, 13, and 14.  The speaking part of the test will be given one-on-one on a date following that.  I have assigned a time for each student.  Students will receive their personalized schedule next week and will have a chance to go through the practice to test to familiarize themselves with the format and technology.  Please make every effort to attend school on testing days.  

Please email me if you have any questions.  Have a wonderful weekend.  

Good Afternoon,

It has been a rather unusual couple of weeks since the winter break with all the weather related closings and the other scheduled closings.  We are working to get in to a routine.  Students are struggling with turning work in.  This is a very serious concern that I have as a teacher.  It is impossible to be successful in school without doing the work.  It usually takes EL students longer to complete assignments that most students.  This makes it necessary for students to do some work at home.  One of our vocabulary words this week is "deadline."  I am trying to impress upon students the importance of meeting deadlines.  We all do this as adults with paying bills, meeting obligations at work, etc.  Junior high is not too young for students to know this concept too.  So here are some deadlines that students have for my classes.

Friday - January 26  2nd period Support Class

Vocabulary Quiz - January 16 list.  Students have had this list since last week.  We have been playing a review game in class daily to help us with the words and definitions.  The words are set up on Quizlet for students to practice independently.  We will have a quiz each Friday (unless it is a very short week, which should not happen). 

iLit - ALL assignments through week 13 should be completed.  (Students new to the country this year are not on this program.) A couple of students are many weeks behind. 

Friday - January 26 4th period Sheltered English Class

Reading Log - The form is on Google Classroom so all students should have easy access at all times. 

Today students were to turn in the two vocabulary words that they choose for next week.  They have had this assignment since last week.  Five of eleven students turned it in.  I am in the regular English classroom with most EL students and some students are struggling to bring pencils and notebooks to class.  Overall, being prepared for class is a skill that students need to work on.  In the junior high, we expect that students have materials with them in class and do not need to return to lockers for items.  Please check with your student to make sure he/she has the necessary pencils and earbuds. 

Absent?  Many illnesses are going around now.  We understand if a student is ill and must stay home.  Most teachers post class work on their Google Classroom so students can keep up on their schoolwork at home or shortly after returning to school.  Work MUST be made up.  The general rule is that if a student is absent one day, he/she has one day to make up the work, etc. 

In mid February we will take the OELPA test.  This is the annual state test that allows students to show their proficiency with reading, writing, speaking and listening in English.  The only way to exit the EL program is to pass all 4 parts of this test.  I have already had a couple of students tell me that they were going to fail the test on purpose because they like getting extra help.  This is a disappointing attitude.  Please encourage your child to do his/her best on this and all school work. 

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Have a safe, warm week!

Good Morning and Happy New Year!

I hope that you all had an enjoyable break.  I am looking forward to seeing your children again tomorrow.  I wanted to send you an update to let you know what kinds of things we will be doing in our EL classes now. 

2nd Period Support Class

• For some time I have been asking students to write an academic goal each week.  The reason for this is to help them think about the responsibility they have to be successful in school.  On Friday of each week I ask them to evaluate if they they reached the goal or not.  We will continue to do this but I have changed the format just a bit.  We will now complete this assignment in Google Classroom and it will count for 5 points each week.  
• For the first half of the year, I was picking the vocabulary words for students each week.  Beginning this week, students will pick the words.  Each student will be responsible for selecting 2 words each week that they want to learn.  I have prepared a paper for the students to complete with the words each one chooses.  I will then combine the words and share lists and definitions with the students.  We will review daily and have a quiz weekly (on Friday).  Turning in the words will be a 5 point assignment each week.  The quiz will be one point per word as it has always been.  
• iLit - We will continue to do iLit - the district purchased program to help with reading.  There will be some changes in grading, however.  I will no longer grade the Interactive Reader part of the program EXCEPT for the Critical Thinking Response.  I have a rubric prepared for this (10 points) which I will go over with the students.  I am also considering asking students to do an oral presentation in class about their critical response piece to get some more speaking practice.  Some of our students are very shy about speaking in class.  Since speaking is a tested part of our state EL testing, I feel some additional practice is warranted.  All other parts of the program will continue as before.  This week the students will be taking the mid-year assessment on iLit.  This is not for a grade but is used by the program to determine reading level so that appropriate assignments can be given.   (Our 3 newcomer students are NOT on this program.)
• NoRedInk - This is the method we are using to work on grammar and punctuation.  It allows students to select which lesson they want to do and in what order.  Students who score 80% or above on the pretest are finished with the lesson and do not need to continue with that lesson and may move to a different one.  Students who score less than 80% must complete a practice piece before taking a post-quiz.  Students need to communicate with me when they finish a section so that I can assign the next piece to them.  (This program has proven too difficult presently for our newcomers.  They are doing alternate work in place of this.) Most students are behind in this work as 7 lessons must be done by the end of the grading period on 2-23-18.  

4th period English ONLY

• We will begin some more intensive phonics work this week.  It is work designed for older students and EL's.  I am looking forward to trying these lessons and activities with the students.  I hope students will learn new vocabulary and also learn more about spelling patterns, etc. of the English language.  
• Students in this class will also start reading logs this week.  Students will select a book from the classroom library and be expected to read at home for 20 minutes each day (Monday through Thursday) and complete a brief reading log about what they read.  Reading logs will be turned in for a grade (completion grade) on Friday.  

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me any time.  Stay warm and safe in this crazy weather.