BUSY CHECK-OUT WEEK

This week 7th and 8th grade Language Arts classes checked out books for their next book report. In 8th grade students needed to select an Accelerated Reader title. Before the students made their selections, I had an opportunity to give each class a book talk. This was great fun for me because I could pick some old and new favorites of mine. Since 8th graders will be leaving Lakeview next year, I wanted to be sure they had a chance to read some of my favorite middle school books which may not be available at the high school. It was rewarding to see a rush of students coming for the books I talked about.

The 7th grade selection was more specific since those classes are reading and discussing a classroom novel. Their book report would be on a book related to their class's novel. The teachers had previously given me a list of themes covered in the novel and I created a list of books on those themes. One class read After by Francine Prose, a novel about one high school's severe reaction to a shooting at a nearby school. Themes of conspiracies, government control, conformity, and suspense were included in the book report selection. Another class read The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson, a CSI-type novel where a teenage girl helps her pathologist father solve a murder. Their follow up book was a mystery book. The rest of the 7th grade read Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick, about an family with a teenage son dealing with a younger son who has cancer. Their follow-up included themes of adolescence, family problems, illness, and sibling relationships.

Next week 6th grade comes for their next book checkout. The advanced classes will be choosing an historical fiction book, while the other classes will be picking a mystery.

COMPUTER RESERVATIONS ONLINE

This year teachers have the opportunity to reserve computers online from their classroom or even from home. With the availability of Mrs. Foellmer's computer lab plus the IMC computer lab plus the laptop carts, more students have computer access during the school day. In fact, since Mrs. Foellmer's lab is listed first in the online reservations, that lab fills up first. Thus this week was rather quiet in the IMC again giving us time to catch up on projects that were put aside during MAPs testing. Also since students are using Google Apps, the old software compatibility issue between school and home should disappear. Now students don't have to use flash drives to save schoolwork to complete at home. They can upload and convert any file to Google Apps and then access those files at home in Google Apps. This password-protected, school-supervised website truly connects school and home. By end of next week all grades will have completed a project using Google Apps.

The IMC will be busy next week with book checkout for grades 7 and 8. Unfortunately there are still a few students who have not returned their summer checkouts despite Mrs. Wilson's frequent reminders. Next week I take over these long overdue materials. Students who do not return their summer checkouts may be restricted in their checkout privileges. Students can see their outstanding checkouts by logging into the I.P.A.C. (online catalog) linked to the Lakeview Library Webpage.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The IMC finally opened for full service this past Tuesday. There were still some students finishing MAP testing, but enough students finished for us to open the IMC. During this week we have had Consumer Ed. classes and 7th grade Social Studies classes using the IMC computers. 

In addition I had an opportunity to introduce the 6th grade to Accelerated Reader, a computerized book report program. In Accelerated Reader students take multiple choice quizzes on books they have read. Reading the book carefully is essential to success in AR because the questions in the quiz are not simple one like "Who is the main character?" or "Where did the story take place?" AR quizzes ask how did the main character act or react in a particular scene. The computer prints a TOPS report after each quiz which students can give to their Reading teacher if the book is for a classroom book report. Many students like to take more quizzes to earn points for our motivational reward system. At regular intervals throughout the year, I take the total points count for each student and send reward coupons to students who have earned 25 or multiples of 25 points. Student can then redeem the coupon for a prize. Getting prizes does not subtract points from the student total. The computer continues to add points throughout the students career at Lakeview. 6th grade students will soon finish reading their first book report book of the year. Then they will take an AR quiz. They will be well on their way to winning prizes.

OPENING DELAYED

MAP testing is nearly finished, but due to some absences the IMC will be closed on Monday, September 10th to allow more students to finish in quiet surroundings of a closed IMC. On Tuesday, September 11th, the IMC will open for full service including opening before school at 7:35 AM. Just a reminder to 6th graders and our new students -- you must get an IMC pass from the gym to come to the IMC before school. There are 40 passes available every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. If you finish your IMC work before the Homebase bell, please sign out and take your pass back to the gym for someone else to use.

NEXT WEEK ALERT: Watch and listen for information about joining IMC Club for the first quarter. Applications will be available on Book Return 2. All applications must be submitted by 3 PM Friday, September 14th. Come and help us in the IMC.