Students, please remember that your Lonestar Book report for the second six weeks is due on Monday, November 17th. If you lost your assignment sheet, I have posted it above for you to view (you can also ask me for another sheet at school). If you do not think that the Lonestar book you put on hold at the FJH library will become available in time, you need to find another way to get a book (public library, Target, Amazon.com, etc.). The list of 2008-2009 Lonestar Books is also posted above.

Remember, this is an outside-of-class, independent assignment. However, I am always happy to help you in anyway I can. If you have questions, please see me.

2nd Period

Choose one of the two prompts and write a short response (5-7 sentences) stating your opinion. Follow the instructions on the "Posting to the Blog" sheet when you are posting.

1. Why do you think Cherry has become a "spy" for the greasers? If her friends found out that she was helping their rivals, how do you think they would react?

2. How do you feel about the fact that Johnny wants to turn himself in? Would you do the same thing, or would you react like Dally did? Why?

Hello Parents!

I just wanted to thank everyone for coming to Open House tonight! I really enjoyed meeting you all and I think I now know why my kids are so wonderful--they have awesome parents!

Just wanted to remind everyone that the district's Pre-AP meeting has been rescheduled to October 20th. The meeting will be at 7:15pm at the Wolter's Administration Building on Ivy St.

As far as our classwork goes, we are still reading The Outsiders and doing some fun, enriching activities with the novel that I think the kids are enjoying. We are also in the (long) process of writing our first paper. We have been doing lots of prewriting activities in class and the kids are really creating some great papers! We will be learning and implementing many different writing tools with this first paper. As we learn a tool/technique in class, we will go back into our own papers and implement the technique, so that the students can use it with something in which they take ownership. Some students will be submitting their finished paper into a writing contest that the district participates in every year. The Scholastic Writing Contest is an amazing opportunity for the students to get their work recognized and published. With this group, I think I could have 82 winners! :)

Let me know if you have any questions!

Mrs. Pena :)

Third Week

Hello Parents!

Here are just a few important things that are happening around FJH in the near future:

We sent home a flyer today with the students about a Gifted and Talented Parent Meeting on September 18th, 2008. This meeting will begin at 7:00pm in the "small auditorium" of Wolters Accelerated High School (400 Ivy St. in Deer Park). If your child is currently identified as GT and is receiving services, please attend this meeting. At 7:45, there will be a Junior High "Pre-AP English" informational session. If you have any questions, concerns, comments etc. about our Pre-AP Language Arts program in the district, you can definitely attend this meeting and hopefully feel more informed about the program. As always, you can also email me anytime with questions about the program/curriculum and I will be happy to do what I can for you. :)

The students will be picking up their boxes of chocolate bars tomorrow to sell for the fundraiser this year. We had an assembly today that pumped them up for the event and I think they all enjoyed it. Some students even took home some extra cash! How cool is that?!? We really do appreciate all those who participate in this every year. What a positive contribution you are making to the school! Thanks for all your support and effort!

We also sent home an order form for yard signs that Youth for Christ is selling again this year. If you would like to show some "Viking Pride" by purchasing a sign with your child's name and organization on it, we have extra forms available just incase. I am a sponsor for the club this year, along with Mrs. Yoder, so I have extra forms available in my room if needed.

In the way of classwork, the students will have a vocabulary test over words from our current novel, The Outsiders, on Monday, September 15th (it was this Friday the 12th, but due to Hurricane Ike, the district has canceled school on this day). They have a study sheet with words, definitions, and notes that they took over a PowerPoint presentation. They can take this home every night to study if they would like.

I am really enjoying your children in my class this year. I've never had such a respectful, funny, and just downright SMART group of kids. They are so wonderful, and they make my job very enjoyable! Thanks for sharing them with me! :)

Always feel free to email with any questions!!

<3 Mrs. Pena

First Week

Hope you guys have enjoyed the first few days of school! I have really enjoyed getting to know all of you!

Just incase anyone missed it on the PowerPoint, I am posting a list of the supplies needed for LA this year. Let me know if you have problems finding anything on this list and I will be happy to help you!

• A 1 inch 3-ring binder
• 1 package of dividers
• 1 durable folder for homework/classwork
• 1 package of 3x5 notecards
• 1 small binder ring (can find at Wal-Mart in office section, or buy one from me for 10 cents)

As always, please make sure your binder is stocked with notebook paper!

Please bring a school-appropriate magazine tomorrow if you would like to cut out pictures for your Writing and Journal Folder.

We will be starting The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton in two weeks, so if you would like to get a copy to have at home, that would be great! (This is not a requirement, but it is definitely helpful!)

You need to read at least one Lonestar book every six weeks. You will take an AR test and do a mini book report over the book. We won't start this assignment until we visit the library for the first time (in a couple of weeks), but here is the Lonestar book list if you would like to get a head start on your reading!

2008-2009 Lonestar List

Remember, if you have questions about anything to do with our class or school in general, my door is always open!

Have a great holiday weekend!

<3

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to Mrs. Peña's blog site!

How cool is this??? We have a blog for our LA class!

This blog was designed for you! I want you all to be able to find important information about your Language Arts class in an easy and fun way! With this blogsite, you will be able to respond to and make comments about current material in our LA class. I don't know about you, but I would rather use the computer over pencil and paper for assignments anyday!

We will use this blog for in-class assignments, but you will also be able to access it from your home computer if you ever have any questions about assignment requirements or due dates.

I'm super excited about this school year and I can't wait for us all to learn and grow together!

<3