IMPORTANT REMIDNERS/EVENTS:
HIGH SCHOOL INFORMATION:
All HISD Magnet High School Coordinators were on campus last week to speak with our 8th graders and to hold a high school “fair” in the Multi-Purpose Room. We are proud that our students behaved well for our guests and presented the coordinators with intelligent, thoughtful questions when visiting each high school’s table. The students received a lot of information, and hopefully, they passed the information on to you. If you have any questions at all, the high school coordinators encouraged inquiries via email or phone. Ms. Graves, our Pin Oak Magnet Coordinator, encourages all students to consider and apply to several schools, instead of betting on getting into one school. The time to attend tours and apply for high school is approaching quickly, so please spend some time with your child discussing options.
HIGH SCHOOL APPLICATIONS: Necessary documents
Ms. Perez, our records clerk located in the front office, is available to provide school records (necessary for applications) to students upon request. Requests will be filled within 48 hours. Please encourage your child not to wait until the last minute to obtain these important documents. In addition, some schools require teacher recommendations via letters or school-specific forms. Please read the instructions carefully and allow teachers ample time to complete these. Most recommendation forms are to be signed by the parents, then completed by the teacher, and directly mailed to the school, not given back to the student. Please provide addressed, stamped envelopes with these requests. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
PIN OAK in the SPOTLIGHT!
The National Middle School Association is having their annual conference right here in Houston this year. This is very exciting because Pin Oak has been chosen to be a tour stop for NMSA Conference attendants. Educators and Administrators from all over the nation will be visiting our campus on Thursday, Nov. 8th. We look forward to seeing our students represent Pin Oak positively and sharing the great things that are happening here with others. We are proud to represent HISD!
Information from the Pin Oak School Store:
If you have comments/questions, plead direct them to: pinoakschoolstore@gmail.com
Now that we finally have some cool weather, stop into the school store before or after school or at lunch on Wednesday or Thursday to purchase your hoodie. We are fully stocked in all sizes and the cost is $25 each.
Parents, the school store now accepts Visa or MasterCard for your convenience!
Also, beginning Wednesday, all Halloween merchandise is 1/2 price. Be sure to stop in for a bargain!
Pin Oak Middle School PTO: www.pinoakpto.org Pin Oak Middle School: www.pinoak.us
English:
Next week, we will finish reading the play, “The Diary of Anne Frank.” We will continue our study of sentence diagramming and learn about verbs. Students should be prepared to be quizzed over diagramming very soon! We will begin reading Daniel’s Story, a Holocaust novel, in class soon (students are not required to purchase the book).
UPCOMING DATES:
Independent Book Projects: CHANGE IN DUE DATE! I have pushed the due date forward, due to scheduling conflicts, to W/Th, Nov. 7-8. This should be helpful for many students who have not yet finished their books, of which there appears to by many.
NEW PROJECT introduced Friday, Oct. 19: Pre-World War II European Jewish Life Photo Project. Students were given the assignment sheet in class. This is due on Th/F, Nov. 1-2.
FIELD TRIP:
8C will visit the Holocaust Museum-Houston on Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. This is a powerful experience for our students, and we hope that every student will be able to attend. We will need parent chaperones for the trip, so please email me if you are able to help. HISD requires a background check for any volunteer, so those with that process already completed are welcome, and those who need to complete the process should contact the HISD Administration Bldg. This can take some time, so the sooner the better. Thanks to any that can help out!
History:
Most of the History Fair Projects are quite well done. The exhibits are attractive, the documentaries are informative, and the one performance I have seen is interesting. However, there are some that exhibits that need some attention. If the pictures and other papers are not evenly cut or the background is not matching, the whole project does not look neat even though the information may be excellent. I have suggested to some that they improve the appearance of their projects by Friday. The students are presenting their projects to the classes; all House C exhibits are on display in the House Commons where they will be judged to advance to the All-School Fair which is November 6, 7, 8. Those advancing will be announced next week so any improvements need to be done immediately. The project grade is based in the annotated bibliography, process paper, presentation of information, and the information itself.
This week my second period had guest teachers on Tuesday. These are four men from the Sharpstown, Bellaire, and West University Rotary Clubs who will be coming on Tuesdays for the next four weeks instructing the students in some basic economics. My eighth period class also had a guest speaker. This was Ann Linsley, advanced geography teacher at Bellaire High School. Ms. Linsley is going to Antarctica in a few days on a research expedition and she brought part of the clothing she will have to wear there to show the students and explained the project to them. They will be able to communicate with her by e-mail and web cam when she is in Antarctica. Mrs. Parchman and Mr. Scott brought their students so most of the 8th grade students were involved with this presentation. On Wednesday, the seventh period had a pep rally. Therefore, those classes all will have some “catch-up time”.
Those missing the test over Chapters 3 and 4 on Wednesday will take it on Friday. The scaled timeline over Chapters 5 and 6 will be due on October 31 and November 1. This is a very important assignment and should be well done along with drawings and other decorations representing that period in history. We will continue our class discussion on Chapters Five and Six.
The students also are receiving the maps on Europe for the Holocaust Project this week. We will spend one day in class using the historical atlases to work on this map. The other map can be done for homework because it is a map of current Europe. I am giving the students a website where they can locate information about the death camps.
A number of the students will be receiving low grades on their progress reports because there are three assignments many have not submitted. These are the two assignments relating to Plymouth and Jamestown and the map of the colonies with their products. Please encourage your student to stay current with assignments. These need to be in immediately. The Declaration of Independence activity brought in a number of very clever bumper stickers.
Science:
It is GREAT to be back!
ALL CLASSES
TLW
1. Describe ionic and covalent bonds.
2. Explain how to determine oxidation numbers.
3. Write formulas and names for ionic bonds.
4. Practice math skills completing formula problems.
All classes will have a unit test on chemistry Friday, November 2.
Please be sure your child is using the study guide to prepare for this major exam
I will be assigning a small project for the week of November 5-9 and will send information about this next week.
Thank you for all your kind wishes and prayers during the time I was gone I can’t tell you how much they meant to me and my family.
Thank you
Jamie Scott
Math:
Algebra 1:
Students are off and running using our new Carnegie Software! We are currently working on laptops on Thursdays and Fridays. Students need to bring their Carnegie materials to class each class period. For this week, students do not need to bring in their red textbook or practice book. We are currently working in the linear equations section in the Carnegie text. We’ve just begun Chapter 3 in Carnegie.
Pre-Algebra 3rd Period:
Students have completed Chapter 2 of the text and are now working in Chapter 3, “Real Numbers and the Pythagorean Theorem”. This week, students will concentrate on taking the square root of and estimating the square root of numbers. Students will also use Venn Diagrams and will learn to compare real numbers. Specifically, students will cover sections 3-1 to 3-4. Students will use Neufeld Math on Friday. This is a computer software program that helps student master math concepts.
Pre-Algebra 5th Period:
Students will finish chapter 2 with the study of exponents and scientific notation. Because of early release on the 31st, students will begin Chapter 3 and will take the Chapter 2 exam on Monday, when more time will be permitted to complete it. Students can expect to cover square roots on Wednesday and Neufeld Math on Friday. This is a computer software program that helps student master math concepts.
Foreign Language Department BLOG: See link below
http://pomsfl.wordpress.com
Thursday, October 25, 2007
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