This year I will be switching to the website format used by most secondary teachers in the Edmonds school district. Please go to http://teacher.edmonds.wednet.edu/madrona/spollock/index.php Thank you.

Permission slips for Richmond Beach and for the movie in language arts should be returned before June 15.

As we approach the end of the school year we would like to review some of our expectations for Madrona middle school students and to inform you about end-of-the-year events. Students with frequent or serious discipline issues will not be allowed to attend the Richmond Beach trip. The school dress code applies to all school events. This includes no halter-tops or spaghetti straps, pants and tops need to overlap enough to cover boxers and midriffs (even when moving) and no short skirts or shorts. Since there is no swimming allowed at the Richmond Beach picnic, no bathing suits should be worn without a shirt and shorts over them. Please plan to follow these guidelines for the dance on June 12th, the beach trip on June 18th and graduation on June 19th. We want the spring activities to be enjoyable for everyone and to use class time for learning. Thank you for your help in making the end of the year a great time for everyone.

If you did not share poetry during class, you can raise your communication grade by reading or reciting a poem during Art Walk. You need to sign up by Friday, May 15 if you plan to participate in this event.

Please check Skyward after May 8 for updated grades/missing assignments. If you are unable to access Skyward or need a printed report for your child, please contact his/her advisor and we will send a copy home. If you are concerned about low scores in any class, you may contact that teacher any time.

Book commercials should be turned in by now. If you know you turned in your commercial and you do not see your grade on Skyward, please let me know. Many commercials can be seen on schooltube. Search for Madrona and see what other students have done.

The tech lab will be open after school, Tuesday, March 17 from 4:00-5:00 for students needing to work on book commercial or other project. All who need use of computers for school projects are welcome.

The Cocoa Cafe (located in the library) will be sponsoring a book club for "A Tale of Two Cities" starting this Thursday, January 29. The club will meet each Thursday during middle school lunch. Bring your lunch and enjoy a great classic.

I will be offering small group tutoring after school on Thursdays from 3:55-4:55 in the language arts room. The focus will be reading and writing about math, using sample seventh grade WASL questions. Please arrange for a ride home promptly at 5:00 from the bus lane at the end of the second unit and see Mrs. Pollock if you have any questions.

We hope you will all have a lot of patience with us as we work out the bugs in using Skyward with a standards-based grading system. Our hope is that parents find the information helpful. A letter will come home soon explaining how to log in and where we are as a middle school in this process. Thank you for your support.

Middle school advisories are currently collecting toys, books and games for Childrens Hospital. The items will be collected through Wednesday, December 17.

The middle school will be going ice skating on Friday, December 19. Permission slips need to be returned by December 15.

Students have a new book to read as part of in-class literature circles. These book do count towards annotated bibliography reading, which is due November 21. The first 1/4 of the book is due Monday, November 3 for Monday/Wednesday classes and Thursday, November 6 for Tuesday/Thursday classes.

Thank you to all parents who participated in conferences this week. Any feedback on how we can make the conference week go more smoothly next year is helpful.

Presentations will start September 26 and end October 31. If you missed signing up for a presentation date last week, you need to do so as soon as possible. If you need help or use of a reliable computer, I will be in the tech lab after school on Thursday, September 25.

Camp will be October 15-17. All forms are due by September 26.

Wednesday, August 27 is our annual back-to-school dessert social. Students will be able to meet with advisory teachers, get class schedules and get information about middle school events this year. Hope to see you all there. To get a copy of middle school supply list, go to August 27 on the calendar.

For reading: Choose an author and read several of his/her books. This can be a new series that you want to read, re-reading old favorites or a combination of the two. In the fall you will be doing a book project on an author and will need to be able to talk about his/her style and themes. The books by the author do not have to be part of a series. For some authors each book is about all new characters. For writing: Prepare for an editing test the first week back to school by studying the list of words sent home in your report card. A copy will also be linked to the August calendar. Have a great summer! See you August 27 for Middle School Back-to-School Night.

Students will read chapters 1-3 by May 16.

See Mr. Proffitt or Mrs. Stephenson for details.

Students are working on a district anchor task for writing. Most of the work will be completed in class, but some work will be homework.

8th graders will have a district writing prompt in the morning while 7th graders work on classwork for math and social studies. In the afternoon all students will have 1 T/Th and 3 T/Th.

Students need to download the spring trimester reading plan and fill in the blank categories by Friday.

Report cards will go home March 21.

Independent reading for this trimester is due this week. This counts for half of the reading grade and cannot be turned in late.

If you are planning on doing option A for extra credit, remember to let me know by Friday.

A final, bound draft of your immigration journal is due Monday or Tuesday (depending on when your language arts class meets). Remember to turn in the notebook with your pre-writing and rough drafts as well.

Book group roles will be due Wednesday (or Thursday) because of missed classes. Please be prepared with assignments which are due.

Tuesday, February 12, Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Pollock will be hosting a workshop to help students learn how to bind and decorate immigration journals. We are looking for parents to help with this event, as well as any materials that can be donated.

Please send me ideas for books that you have read that fit the categories on the annotated bibliography for this trimester.

1 M/W will go to the library on Wednesday. 1 T/Th and 3 M/W will go on Friday. Please bring back all books checked out from the Madrona or Language Arts Libraries. If you are not finished, you may be able to renew the book.

Students should report to first period classes each morning. Monday, you will need materials for 4th and 5th period classes. Tuesday you will need materials for 1st and 5th period classes. Wednesday you will need materials for your 1st period class. Thursday you will need materials for your 3rd period class. Friday will be a normal schedule with all classes meeting. Remember to have assignments for your novel group completed by next Mon/Tues (Jan. 14/15)

County reports will be due Jan. 11. Most students are nearly finished with this assignement, but should be sure to check out notes on MLA style and the grading checklist to be sure the report will meet standard.

Students will be assigned one of four books to aquire and begin reading by January 7th. If there is any problem with purchasing or borrowing the assigned book, students must let me know as soon as possible, so we can take care of it before winter break.