Research Paper

The 8th graders are starting their culminating history assignment--the research paper. Please check my history page to find some information.

Digital Storytelling--CCLS commercials

Check out these commercials made by the CCLS Digital Storytelling Elective!

Gospel Groups 12/7

Use this link to get to the Hour of Code activity.

Partner up and get coding! :)

Beads of Love for CCLS-Uganda

Jennie Kirchwehm will be hosting jewelry creating sessions at the Kirkwood campus every Wednesday from 1:30-3:00, between now and the WONDER jewelry gift boutique, Thursday, November 19th, at the Kirkwood campus. All are invited to join with her for an afternoon of fun supporting CCLS-Uganda. Come to create a piece of jewelry, organize jewelry for the sale or just socialize with other CCLS moms.

Please mark your calendar for the WONDER Jewelry Gift Boutique on November 19th at the Kirkwood Campus. Benefitting CCLS-Uganda and Refuge, a St. Louis home for sex trafficked girls.  Beads of Love for Uganda and Monarch Jewelry will be sold, along with other Christmas gift items

Welcome to 2015-2016!

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! I am incredibly excited to begin the year and share it with my CCLS family. This blog is in an important place to get started. Here are a few notes about how to navigate.

• This main page is where I will post larger announcements that are not necessarily grade/subject specific. I may also leave homeroom information here.
• My Twitter feed will also appear in the top right corner of the main page. I will do my best to leave  reminders, as well as post pictures of activities in real time. You do not need Twitter to get that information. It will always show up on the blog. Of course, you are more than welcome to follow my school account if you already use Twitter.
• The links to information on 8th grade Discipleship and Scholastic book information are on this page.
• There are links at the top for each individual subject area. On those separate blog spaces, I will leave information and pictures. Students, you can use the links on that blog for assignment directions, lost assignments, etc. Parents, I will try and update the blog with information and pictures of what is happening in class. It will also be the place I post most of the technology projects we do in class.

It would be a help to subscribe to this and each subject blog so you are alerted when I update.

Check the history blog!

8th grade parents, please check the 8th grade history blog for information about the research paper. We are in the very early stages, but these stages lay the foundation and are perhaps the most important!

Academic Team

This post is a bit late, but I wanted to congratulate both teams that competed in the Missouri Scholar Bowl. We had amazing results, and I truly had a great time spending practices and meets with these students.

Congratulations to both the White and the Red team! Sorry that I only have pictures of the team that I coached. We were second in State--which is a truly great achievement!

CCLS Auction Classroom Challenge!

Hopefully your calendar is set for the CCLS Dinner Auction on 2-12-15. As a classroom, 8A has the cool opportunity to participate, even if not everyone can attend the auction itself. Our classroom is going to take part in the "2-2-1-1-5 Classroom Challenge"! The great part about it is that if we complete the challenge, our class will receive a Free Dress and Popcorn Day. I know that I would love to wear jeans to work! :-) 

Here is what 2-2-1-1-5 stands for:

2 Volunteers--2 Desserts--1 Auction Item--1 Table of Guests--5 Raffle Tickets

2--Desserts

• Sign up to donate a special dessert to the Dinner Auction.  Guests will bid on a dessert to enjoy with dinner, so we are looking for desserts that will bring top dollar!  Desserts may be homemade or purchased and should be valued at not less than $20.  After you sign up, you will be contacted by the Dessert Auction Coordinator with more details.

2--Volunteers

• Donate your time as a volunteer worker on the day of the dinner auction (February 21).  Volunteer workers are needed to help with set up (in the morning), to serve guests and monitor the auction during the event (evening), and to clean up (evening).  After you sign up, you will be contacted by the Volunteer Coordinator with more information.

1—Table of Guests (1 Table=10 Guests)

• Sign up to attend the dinner auction and sit with other parents in your child's class.  Or, buy an entire table and fill it with your family members and other friends!  Tickets are $65 each or $600 for a table of 10. After you sign up, you will be contacted by a representative of the Dinner Auction Planning Committee to complete the registration and payment process.

1--Item

• Donate an item to be auctioned at the event: Merchandise, services, travel/recreation/entertainment/sports experiences, and gift certificates are popular.  The item should be valued at not less than $25.  Fill out a Donation Form and bring it with your item to the elementary or middle school office.  Donation deadline is January 16.

5—Raffle Tickets

• Sign up and purchase a ticket ($30 each or 4 for $100) for the Tuition Raffle.  The winner of the raffle may select from 1 year of free tuition for the 2015-16 school year (in the amount of the CCLS association member rate) or $3,000 cash.  By signing up at this link, you authorize your TADS account to be charged for the number of tickets ordered.  Tickets will be delivered to you byJanuary 30.

That's it! If we all contribute together, this is an easy way to support CCLS.

Volunteer Spot Classroom Challenge Sign Up

Auction Website

The deadline for completing the Challenge is January 16, 2015. If you have any questions about the Challenge, or the Dinner Auction in general, please feel free to contact Jen Pawlitz, Dinner Auction Co-Chair, or Erica Eggerding, Acquisitions Manager, at auction@ccls-stlouis.org.

Short week 11/10-12

Please remember that next week we have two full days of school (Monday and Tuesday) and Wednesday is an early dismissal (12:15).

Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year! I am incredibly excited to begin the year and share it with my CCLS family. This blog is in an important place to get started. Here are a few notes about how to navigate.

• This main page is where I will post larger announcements that are not necessarily grade/subject specific. I may also leave homeroom information here.
• My Twitter feed will also appear in the top right corner of the main page. I will do my best to post the homework each afternoon and leave any reminders. You do not need Twitter to get that information. It will always show up on the blog. Of course, you are more than welcome to follow my school account if you already use Twitter.
• The links to information on 8th grade Discipleship and Scholastic book information are on this page.
• There are links at the top for each individual subject area. On those separate blog spaces, I will leave information and pictures. Students, you can use the links on that blog for assignment directions, lost assignments, etc. Parents, I will try and update the blog with information and pictures of what is happening in class. It will also be the place I post most of the technology projects we do in class.

It would be a help to subscribe to this and each subject blog so you are alerted when I update.

Happy 450th birthday, Shakespeare!

Ever said for goodness sake or claimed that someone was leading you on a wild goose chase? Ever used the word...swagger (or the shortened form swag)?

Today is the 450th celebration of Shakespeare's birth! If you don't think Shakespeare is important or made any contributions to our current world, you may want to check out this article.

Some 6th graders celebrating with Shakespeare (he's a finger puppet...and an awesome gift!)

Shakespeare's Globe Theater, taken in the summer of 2012

The set for Henry V, taken in the summer of 2012

Poetry Madness

Our poetry competition--Poetry Madness--has just begun! Check out the literature link to see the videos and voting forms!

3rd quarter book project info

You can find the information for the 3rd quarter independent book project on the my literature page. Please know that I often update those pages and not always this main page.

Look for Scholastic book orders soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

It's almost Thanksgiving break!

I, for one, cannot wait until Thanksgiving break. I have a few books I have been meaning to read, I will enjoy sleeping a little bit later, and I am excited to spend time with my family. Also important--my mom's cran-apple pie, to which I look forward every year! Now is a perfect time in the quarter to be checking mykoob and getting in any missing work. It is very easy to get lost between Thanksgiving and Christmas break but make sure you are staying on top of your homework, especially tests and projects at the end of the quarter. Also, look for a new Scholastic order when we return from Thanksgiving break...perfect timing for Christmas presents! :-)

National Cross Country Meet

Congratulations to the CCLS teams for their great finishes at Nationals! The girls finished fifth (the highest placement we have had) and the boys finished 10th.

Schedule and Assignments--8th grade 10/28-11/1

This week the 8th graders take the EXPLORE test on Wednesday. Because of this, the schedule has a shortened class that day. There is a test in literature this week and a short class will not be enough time. So, I have switched some of the days around--just for this class.

Mykoob will be very confusing with these changes so I have the week's schedule and assignments on here.

Monday--B Day (Literature)
test review

Tuesday--A Day (History)
Finish Chapter 11

Wednesday--B Day (HISTORY)
begin chapter 12--skits

Thursday--A Day (LITERATURE)
The Outsiders test
Cast project due (was formerly due on Wednesday)

Friday--B Day (Literature)
"The Tell-Tale Heart"
pg. 84 #2,4,6,7
2 sentences each (due Tuesday Nov 5)

Hopefully this isn't too confusing. Let me know if you have any questions!

Cross Country State Champions!

Congratulations to the 2013 cross country teams! The girls won State and the boys came in third. Both teams are headed to Mequon, WI, for Nationals this weekend!

The team and coaches (missing three runners).

The boys with their third place plaque. Carter is missing from the pic.

The girls with their banner and first place plaque. Macy left early and is not pictured.

The boys before the race.

The girls before the race.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be upon us soon. If you would like to make an appointment to see me at a specific time, please call the office to do so. Otherwise, you can come at any point during conferences and meet with me when I am free. I look forward to seeing you!

Please continue to check my subject blogs (found above.) I try to update them once a week, but at least bi-weekly.

We've really been in school for a month?

Time has flown by. What a great year so far! Please remember to check each subject area blog. Scholastic orders are due on September 30th. Please use the tab at the top of this main blog.