Remember we are off on Monday, February 20th, for President's Day. 

We are concluding the DPC Challenge.  Yet, the wetland design work is ongoing, and we will continue developing the area throughout the school year.  The students' slide show on their research and efforts was beautiful and much appreciated by all at the Peace Ceremony.  

We have started new books in literature, Animal Farm and The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle.  As such, we are writing our own fables and stories about animals.  We are enjoying Aesop's Fables as well.

Our MMUN position papers are due Febraury 28th so that research is approaching an end.  However, much like the DPC Challenge, our work will continue as the committees prepare the speeches for New York and the tri-fold board representing Australia that will be displayed at the conference.

Thanks to everyone who visited during Parents' Night.  Special thanks to our students for explaining their projects.  We hope to see everyone again at our school play, "Alladin,"  February 10th.

Happy New Year!

We are excited to have everyone back from the holidays.  Please join us for Parents' Night on January 26th.  At this time your child will present his or her Planet Challenge Research, MMUN investigations, and other work to date. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!  Enjoy the time you have with friends and family.  We will see you back at school on January 4, 2012!  We will start chapter 5 of The Hobbit for any of you who missed the last day.  Here's to our time together in the new year!

Davis and Thomas led our E.G.G.O. My Lego Team to win second place in the qualifying tournament!  They are on their way to the Alabama State Championship in Huntsville, AL December 16th and 17th!  Congratulations! 

We have started reading The Hobbit.  We will not finish before the holidays, but students do not have to read over the break.  They can if they wish, plus it is available on audio if students wish to read along as they listen to it.

Our next step to restore our wetlands is to work with two Auburn experts.  Such real-life problem solving skills are some of the many attributes that we hope you are developing as life long learners.

We look forward to seeing each of you at the Holiday Program on Tuesday night, December 13th, and on the 15th from 2:45 to 3:15 to discuss the Middle School Extended Classroom Trip to the Nothwest.


Exams are as follows:

Monday,       Dec 12th = Science

Tuesday,       Dec 13th = Literature

Wednesday,  Dec 14th = Math

Thursday,      Dec 15th = History

Friday,          Dec 16th = English Composition

Monday,       Dec 19th = Vocabulary 

We have had a fun first half of the year!  When we return in 2012, we will focus on MMUN work as position papers are due in February.

The Lego Robotic Qualifiying Tournament will be at JSB December 3rd!  All middle school students are invited to earn some money for our trips by joining us in working at the event.  The doors open at 7:30 and we will conclude by 3:30.  The money made from selling food will be divided among the students who work, based on their time.

We want to congratulate Davis and Thomas for demonstrating how their robot works when their team was featured on the ABC 33/40 news.  We hope all your programs work on the 3rd as the top teams from the JSB tournament will go to the State Lego Robotics Championship in Huntsville!

Our research concerning how to improve the health of our wetlands has been very exciting as two soil erosion specialists joined us for a day to survey the area.  We discovered the best steps for us to take are to research ways to bring wildlife back such as planting specific plants, supplying bird and bat homes, etc.  It is exciting to think of how we can make such a difference to our school.

We learned a lot about the Middle Ages through our study of Crispin.   Now research teams are preparing plays to teach their peers the most important aspects of their areas of interest.  These plays will be Tuesday, December 6th, so stay tuned for at least one video to be posted to our blog.

We hope the holiday season is a blessed one for you and your family!

For Halloween on Monday everyone is invited to our annual school-wide Halloween Parade at 9:00am on the track.  Students may dress up in costumes representing book characters, famous historical people, or examples of typical cultural fashions.  The middle school students will have a party in the afternoon and watch part of The Thief Lord, which half the class is currently reading. 

Don't forget to earn money for your class trip on November 1st by helping to "babysit" students from ages 2 and up (there will also be adult supervision) while their parents attend the meeting in the gym.  Parents, this is an opportunity to hear about positive discipline from an international speaker.  Please drop off your child a little before 7:00 pm in the aftercare building to earn some money, and join us in the gym.  For details, follow the link at the right to our JSB website.