Here are some tips for families to enjoy poetry at home!

Sharing poetry with your child is both fun and rewarding! Doing so can brighten you the morning drive to school or provide a soothing end to the day for both you and your child.

• Read poetry together-for younger children, Mother Goose nursery rhymes and lullabies are good choices. Read just a couple of rhymes, poems or lullabies each night and enjoy the “sing-song” quality of the rhymes. For older children, maybe select one or two poems to read, recite together and talk about. Encourage children to talk about the feelings they have after hearing the poem and share your own. Resist the urge to teach and just share your ideas and listen to your child’s ideas.
• When reading poetry and verse that rhyme, try playing “Fill in the Rhyme” game. Read the first line of the poem and read all the phrases of the next line up until the rhyming word. Then stop and encourage your child to supply the word that rhymes.
• Host a “Family Poetry Night,” where everyone chooses a favorite poem and then spends a week either memorizing or rehearsing the poem. On a designated evening, share your poems with each other.
• If you have a reluctant poetry reader, try a collection that revolves around a “theme” or interest that you know your children love.
• You might try your hand at writing a poem in a similar form to what your children have been learning on how to write poetry.
• List each letter of your child’s name down the side of a sheet of paper. Encourage your child to think of words that would describe himself or another family member. Send them as gifts or make them as a card.
• Encourage your child to write or draw in response to a favorite poem nd send it on to the poet. Many authors do write back, so watch your mailbox!
• Many authors, including poets, maintain a website that features information about their books, biography and details about the reading process. Try searching a favorite poet’s website.
• To find poetry books, ask your child’s teacher or check out your local library or bookstore. 

Being an influential poetry fan will be an excellent role model for little ones and older siblings too. The attention will be great for this self-esteem and encourage reading fluency. We hope some of these poems inspire your family and offer a warm welcome to into the world of poetry.

What is global citizenship? It is acting as a citizen of the world: being a part of what goes on. Global citizenship is connecting multiple countries together through exchange, communication, ECT…. In Africa, unclean drinking water is a continuous problem. The hazardous water takes lives and decreases their population more and more everyday. This problem is spreading everywhere in Africa. There is one thing we are planning on doing to save many lives, and that is taking action. Although we may be just a small class in a big world: making a difference in the lives of those in Africa is far from impossible. We are planning on giving the simple necessity of water to those dying of thirst.

In Mrs. Kitzman’s social studies classes, we are acting as global citizens though the ‘Saving the World One Well at a Time’ Global Project 2013. Our first step is raising money to buy wells from Heifer International. The goal that we have set is to raise $2500. Then a generous, anonymous donor is planning on matching the amount we raise to go to our cause. In order to do this, we are willing to start raising money by selling baked goods, t-shirts, concessions, accessories and much more. T-shirt forms will be available next Friday the 26th at the concessions stand during the PBIS Celebration Day.

By participating in the Global Project, not only will we help those in need, we will also better ourselves with the knowledge of what’s happening globally.  How many students does it take to save lives in Africa? Just 28!

The PSAE is the state achievement test for all grade 11 public high school students. Current legislation requires that all students take the PSAE to receive a regular high school diploma.

This year we will be testing on Tuesday 4-23 and Wednesday 4-24. We will be testing over three academic subjects: reading, mathematics, and science. We will also be adding a fourth test on 4-24 that will be about locating information which can earn students a Career Readiness Certificate from ACT.

Click here to access a two page question and answer document to help parents with any questions. There are helpful websites that you can visit in the document. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions or concerns.
Sincerely,