Grades are Posted

When you look at your grade:

1. Look at Term 2 to see your final grade. The OVERALL Grade is your Grade for the Semester.
2. The Term 1 grade is everything up until the final exam. Term 2 is just your final exam and passes.
3. Look at the Term 1 grades for inidvidual assignment grades, like the project, unit exam, etc.

See you on Monday with a fresh outlook and a new attitude!! ( I mean you, not me!! :0)

Community Event

Do you know any children who would like to learn cheerleading skills and cheer at a high school basketball game? The Award Winning Valhalla Cheerleaders are hosting a clinic to teach cheerleading skills on January 29. The participants then will be invited to cheer at the Basketball game against Helix on February 4. For more information and to download the registration form, please go to http://valhallacheer.blogspot.com/

Grades have been updated!

Please make sure that you are working on the project and doing everything you can to bring your grade up!

Is your student doing their homework effectively?

"Doing" the homework is often not enough for student's to comprehend and retain content. They must also study. Many students will also just skim the text in order to get the work done. But this causes problems because they do not get the context of the term or idea. Please encourage your student to look at HOW they are doing their homework. Doing the assignment is often not enough to truly grasp the content.

Try this:

First make sure all distractions are removed from the study area. No ipods, t.v.s, phone, etc. If there is something more interesting than the history text around, the student will want to pay attention to that!! You will be suprised, cleaning their room may suddenly become very interesting when it comes time for homework. When I do my own homework (grading) I need to remove myself from distractions. But, teenagers will usually not do this for themselves. You may need to make it a rule that your student do their homework in a certain area, like the kitchen table.

Here is something that I reccomended to the kids this week. So many of them feel that they should be geting a higher grade because they do their homework. But they still do not get the content. My hypothesis is that they are not actually reading the material. So try this with your student at home.

How to do your history notes:

Step 1: Read over the notetaking guide. Preview the objectives, key terms and ideas that I expect you to know.
Step 2: Read the section once through without taking any notes. Pay attention to all of the headings, pictures, captions, maps, etc. Really read it!! Do not just skim!
Step 3: Re-read the notetaking guide for that section. Then read the section in the book again, this time taking notes. Yes, reread it!! Do not just skim!
Step 4: Review the notes. Then write the summary for the notes, answering the objective in the summary.
Step 5: Have a parent or other adult look at the note taking guide and quiz you on the terms. You should be able to explain them without looking at the notes. Use the notetaking guide as a checklilst. If you can explain it, check it off. If not, then you need to go back and review that item. Keep going until you can explain everything on the sheet. Kind of like the old spelling list practice.

Hope this helps!!!! Remember the more times you have contact with information, the more likely it will stick in your head!!!!

Grades are updated!

New grades have been posted. Have a great Thanksgiving break!!

Community Service Opportunities

Community Service always looks good on college and scholarship applications. Plus it is just good to help improve the world arround you. Here are some local opportunities from I Love a Clean San Diego.

Trash Trackers Needed! Volunteers 16 years of age and up are needed for a new program at ILACSD that aims to identify problematic types of debris plaguing waterways in San Diego County. Participants will be volunteering for small cleanup studies along a variety of local waterways to track the trash that is contributing to a degraded watershed. Through a partnership with San Diego Coastkeeper, ILACSD plans to coordinate this study to monitor water quality and how trash negatively affects the health of our region. This is a great way to take a more proactive approach to preventing debris, not just cleaning it up. No special experience or requirements are needed to volunteer, just an enthusiasm for the local environment and some flexibility in your schedule. Volunteers will receive a prize pack, including an ILACSD t-shirt and reusable tote bag. Contact Kristina Ros at kros@cleansd.org to get involved. Events will be held once or twice a month in November, December, January, and February, and the first event is scheduled for Wednesday, November 17th at 2PM. Location details are to be determined. A Day Without A Bag… You Can Help Make it Happen! Did you know that the average American uses more than 500 plastic bags each year? Well I Love A Clean San Diego has a volunteer opportunity for you that takes aim at reducing that number of bags, at least here locally. While reusable items are encouraged each and every day, we hope everyone will pay particular attention and remember their reusable bags this year on December 16th. A Day Without A Bag is an educational campaign to save thousands of single use plastic bags in one day, while encouraging reusable use each and every day thereafter. In order to effectively empower individuals and the community at large to favor reusable items over plastics, participating grocers and retailers will be distributing reusable tote bags for shoppers on Thursday December 16th. Volunteers are needed to help distribute these bags to shoppers from 5PM – 7PM in the East County and South Bay regions of San Diego County. Exact retail locations are still being identified, but ILACSD will need volunteers in La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Santee, Lakeside, Chula Vista and Fallbrook. If you would like to volunteer to prevent harmful plastics from entering our environment, contact Kristina Ros at kros@cleansd.org to sign up as a volunteer in these communities. If you are interested in getting involved in another region of San Diego County, please contact our friends at San Diego Coastkeeper and the San Diego Chapter of Surfrider Foundation to sign up for locations in Central San Diego and North County. And don't forget on December 16th to go through the day without a plastic bag. It certainly isn't as easy as it sounds.
5. CREEK TO BAY MAKES TOP 5 Creek to Bay Cleanup Recognized for Effective Awareness I Love A Clean San Diego was honored as a finalist for "Most Effective Awareness Campaign" for its signature event, the annual Creek to Bay Cleanup. Many nonprofits were nominated for the 2nd Annual Stay Classy Awards in this category and I Love A Clean San Diego finished as first runner up. Being a finalist was a great opportunity for people to learn more about the impact of the Creek to Bay Cleanup and discover more about I Love A Clean San Diego's outreach, education and programs! See for yourself the impacts of the Creek to Bay Cleanup next year. Mark your calendars for Saturday April 30, 2011 and log onto the event website www.creektobay.org in the meantime.

College info

I know it doesn't seem like it but college is right around the corner for juniors. At this time next year, many of you or your student's will be applying for college. Now is the time to make sure that everything is on order. That all the correct classes have been taken, that all of the requirements have been met, that you know what to do. Please contact your couselor if you are not sure. Or contact me and I will help.

This is also a helpful website. http://www.knowhow2go.org/