WEEKLY UPDATE 11/5-11/9

IMPORTANT REMIDNERS/EVENTS:

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 this 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!

Links you might need…

Pin Oak Middle School PTO: http://www.pinoakpto.org/
Pin Oak Middle School: http://www.blogger.com/www.pinoak.us
Pin Oak School Website http://www.pinoak.us/

The six weeks grading period is over next Friday, Nov. 9, but most of us will stop accepting work before then. The kids have been informed of each teacher’s deadlines.

Help Wanted with Magnet Tours of Pin Oak:
(Please send responses to Ms. Rita Graves, Pin Oak Middle School Magnet Coordinator -- rgraves1@houstonisd.org)

During Magnet Week, November 12-16, tours of Pin Oak Middle School will be offered daily. The tours are led by students, but parents are requested to accompany the tours to be available to answer "parental" questions and to provide supervision.

We need parents to help at the following times, and we particularly need help on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday during the day:

Monday Nov. 12th (12:45pm - 2:00pm)
Tues. Nov. 13th (12:45pm - 2:00pm)
Wed. Nov. 14th (12:45pm - 2:00pm)
Wed. Nov. 14th (6:00pm - 8:00pm) -- evening Open House, parents can work a 1-hour shift Thur. Nov. 15th (12:45pm - 2:00pm) Fri. Nov. 16th (12:45pm - 2:00pm)

Pin Oak Library Book Fair is November 5th-8th and 12th & 13th.
We really could use help before school (7:30am) and especially at lunches.
All responses can be sent to:
Deborah Hennagir
Librarian
713-295-6500 X 324
dhennagi@houstonisd.org

8C FIELD TRIP:
8C will be going on a field trip to the Holocaust Museum in Houston on Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. Letters, information, and permission slips went home with the students Thursday/Friday Nov. 1-2. Please read the letters and fill out the necessary documents as soon as possible. There is a lot that goes into planning field trips and the sooner we have a final head count, the better. Thanks for your help with this. Also, we need chaperones—please email Mrs. Parchman at cparchma@houstonisd.org if you are available and interested (HISD background check required). Permission slips and money are due by Monday, Nov. 12.

English:

This week, we will watch a documentary about Gerda Weissmann Klein, a Holocaust survivor with an interesting story. There will be a related activity to complete after the viewing.

Holocaust/WWII Book Projects are due on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 7-8. These will be presented in class. They are worth 3 grades and will be applied to the 3rd six weeks grading period. Please monitor that your child has this done.

UPCOMING DATES:
New Independent Book Unit has been assigned. Our new unit will be Mystery/Sci-Fi/Fantasy. The book guide lists were sent home Thursday and Friday, Nov. 1-2, along with parent approval forms and other important information. Please read it carefully. Due dates are also listed! Book checks are Nov. 12-13. Parent approval forms are due on or before the day the projects are due, which is Dec. 12-13. Parent approval forms that are turned in on the day of book checks will be awarded extra credit points. On the parent approval form, please read the vital information about Literature Circles—this is something new for this unit.

History:
With early dismissal, guest speakers, field trips, and some technology that did not work, we have not completed all of the History Fair presentations. The exhibits are on display and the finalists will be announced shortly. Those exhibits placing will advance to the All-School Fair on November 6,7, and 8. The documentaries, performances, and research papers all will be considered a part of the All-School Fair and judged by various historians. All documentaries should be on CD’s or DVD’s; the various jump drives are not all working on our machines.

The students in periods seven and eight will have Mr. Jim Cotton from Aramco as their Junior Achievement Consultant. Mr. Cotton will be here once a week helping the students learn about business, entrepreneurship, and economics. Mr. Cotton will give the students a letter explaining Junior Achievement to share with their parents. Junior Achievement is an exciting and interesting program that helps the students learn about practical business decisions, economic history, and this new program on entrepreneurship.

Next week is the National Middle School Conference here in Houston. Pin Oak is one of the schools hosting visitors from throughout the country. Our History Fair projects will be on display as well as some of the timelines the students had due this week.

Science:

Math:
Pre-Algebra 3rd Period:
We will continue to study chapter 3 material. Sections to be covered include 3-4 to 3-7. Students can expect a quiz on Wednesday. Friday will include a special cross-curricular activity.

Pre-Algebra 5th Period:
Students will take an exam over Chapter 2 material. For Monday, students will have section 3-2 for homework. 3-2 is estimating square roots, a topic already covered in class. Students will cover section 3-3 on Wednesday, with a special cross curricular Holocaust activity on Friday.

Algebra 1- all sections:
Students will continue to work on the Carnegie Laptops. Students will cover section 3.4 and 4.5 in the textbook, in addition to the third section of Part 1, “Russian Equations”. Students will have a quiz on the slope, y-intercept, and graphing of lines on Tuesday. Students can work ahead on the Russian Equations as time permits. Students will do a special cross-curricular activity on Friday (see above).

Foreign Language Department BLOG: See link below

http://pomsfl.wordpress.com/