Today is the official middle of the second quarter. (Where has the time gone?) We will complete the second quarter before Christmas vacation. Most of the students should have brought home mid-quarter grades. Some of the grades were excellent and some were not so pleasing. For those that were not so good, I would like to encourage students to ask for help. I am in each day at recess and more than willing to help students. I am also at my desk by 7:40 each morning. A helpful thing may be for students to place a sticky note on their homework to help remind them to ask for help.

We have used the analogy of homework being daily practice - such a we do for sports. The test then becomes the "big game." Poor practice habits lead to poor performance in the "big game." This is true in all aspects of life. Help is ALWAYS available. Please encourage your child to ask.

To those students who had a good mid-quarter grade, remember to give thanks.

Permit me to share a closing thought: "The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much Pi."

Thanksgiving blessings to you and your family.

As you have probably noticed, the Saxon math series jumps from one topic to the next, almost on a daily basis. Then, they constantly review. This is quite beneficial for the students. Many of the classes have been studying measuring lengths. Talk about lengths of common items and approximate them with your student. Sometimes we can be quite accurate and sometimes, not so much.

I would like to encourage you to talk about numbers, in general. Keep them before our students!!!

Permit me to share a silly joke for the weekend.

WHAT DO YOU CALL THREE FEET OF TRASH? ANS. A JUNK YARD

Have a blessed weekend.

We have been trucking right along in all the math classes. We have tested several times and the great majority of the

students are doing an amazing job. In discussing homework, I have used the analogy of practicing in sports. We practice

almost every day and we do homework almost every day. The test is the "big game!" That's why we do homework, to prepare for the "big game." Just as in sports - practice makes perfect (or at least quite good).

For those students not doing as well, please encourage your child to seek help (from me or from another classmate). Math is a cumulative subject. A person can not afford to get behind. Remember, help is ALWAYS available.

As the weekend is approaching - I'll leave with a silly joke.

"Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Answer: Because 7 8 9.

Blessings on your weekend.

ENGLISH: As of this week, 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders have begun working on their essays for the Veterans Day Essay Contest. While we will spend some class time on these, students may need to work at home as well. Listed below are the topics and approximate length of the essays for each grade:

6th: Choose a patriotic song to write about. Who wrote it, when and why was it written? What do the words mean to you? Is this song represent our country well, and why or why not? What do you think about when you hear this song or see the words? Length is 225 to 275 words.

7th: What does being an American mean to you? Does it affect your life in any way? What about America would you not be willing to give up? Length is 275 to 325 words.

8th: Write about one of the rights or freedoms we have as Americans. What are the responsibilities that go with it? What might our country be like without it?

Sixth Graders are singing (with 5th Grade) at the 8:00 A.M. service at Christ Lutheran Church on Oct. 16th. All Christ Lutheran members are expected to be there. We encourage all other 6th Graders to attend, but we understand that there may be conflicts with scheduling at home congregations. This is a great opportunity to use God-given abilities and add to the worship service.

We recently attended the Plum Creek Literacy Festival held on Concordia's campus in Seward. The 6th Graders attended sessions by illustrator/author Brian Pinkney and author Roland Smith. Both presenters spoke about how they got started, the importance of being willing to rewrite and edit, and how an author needs to write about what is important to him/her. We enjoyed getting books autographed and also enjoyed seeing different parts of the campus, including the track and football field up close (REALLY UP CLOSE)! What an awesome day!

Many 6th Graders have turned in their permission slips and meal money for the choral clinic to be held later this month. If you haven't sent these papers back to school, please do that ASAP!

Parents, this information might be helpful to know: Memory in 6th Grade is due on Tuesday and Thursday. The October memory list has been out for a couple of weeks and two copies (one for home, one for school) were available to each student. In Spelling, generally the assignment is due on Tuesday, the test is Wednesday, and a pretest for the next unit is given on Friday. The Science quiz is usually on Wednesdays.

This is the New Upper Grade Blog that teachers will use to help keep parents and students informed of what is going on.