10th Grade Fundraiser for Galveston Trip

The 10th grade class will hold a "CAR CLEAN OUT" Thursday and Friday of this week, 2:30-5:00.

Parents will be directed (by ticket writers) to pull around to the East parking lot where students will vacuum and bag all the trash out of their cars, trucks and minivans for ONLY $5!

There will be a waiting area where parents can sit and wait with kiddos as well as purchase treats.
Come out and support our students! (and get clean car!)

Spring is HERE!

Greetings NIAA Parents on this First Day of Spring!

7^th, 8^th and 10^th grade are taking a closer look at poetry this six weeks. Students will understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their understanding.

We will read, understand and analyze the poems of Billy Collins, Naomi Shahib Nye, Langston Hughes and Robert Frost just to name a few.

Our goal is not only to understand the structure and use of figurative language in poetry but also to understand the meaning and message of the passages we will read in class.

See Awakeningthe Heart: Exploring Poetry by Georgia Heard for reference.

Students also have a poet biography reading log due 

March 25^th , a final six weeks essay analyzing poetry and a poetry portfolio which will contain every assignment associated with poetry which will count as a test grade. Students will need a folder with page protectors to organize their work. The due date of the portfolio is April 17^th. (subject to change if students have more projects due from other classes at the end of the six weeks).

UPDATE on activities here at Newman International Academy!

Yearbooks! You can order yearbooks ONLINE!

March:

Mar. 18: Civil Air Patrol Informational

Meeting for Parents 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Mar. 21: International Day

Mar. 25: Walk-a-Thon Kick Off in POWWOW

Mar. 25-27: Secondary Cheer Clinic (Parents

can watch on the 27th) 3:45-5:30 p.m.

Mar. 28: Cheer Try Outs (Closed) 4 p.m.

Apr. 1-4: Mini Cheer Camp for Elementary

Students 3:30-5 p.m.

Apr. 7-11: Scholastic Book Fair

April 8: Wellness Night

STAAR TESTING:

Monday, March 31-- STAAR English I (10^th Grade)

Tuesday, April 1—STAAR 7^th Grade Writing/ 8^th Grade Math

English II (11^th Grade)

Wednesday, April 2—7^th STAAR Reading/8^th Grade Reading

A FEW THINGS:

Make sure students have a good night's sleep and a protein packed breakfast.

Wear a WHITE long sleeved tee under their Newman Uniform shirt because jackets and sweaters are NOT allowed during testing.

NO CELL PHONES can be used during testing, so they will turn them into to the proctor before testing and received them back after testing is complete and they are moving to their next class or simply leave with at home.

ALL ESSAYS (7TH, 8TH AND 10TH) DUE BY FEBRUARY 28TH!

Reminder: Final Essays Due by Friday!

The original due date for the Final 4th 6 weeks essay, which will be counted as a FINAL Test grade, was due Monday, February 24^th.

However, although considered late, student essays will be accepted until Friday, February 28^th  12:30pm

Miss Sanders

NIAA- ELA ( R )

*Rough drafts were composed in class during writing exercises  two weeks prior so most students are very close to completion!

Where's the Homework? There it is!

NIAA Parents and Students,
Please make sure homework is turned in on time! Students are encouraged daily and weekly to write down assignments in their planners as reminders of due dates. If homework is not turned in on time it will result in an infraction and over time these infraction will add up to a detention.

Homework: Why it is Important - an excerpt by Jennifer Atkinson:

What About Traditional Daily Assignments?

"Research has consistently shown that parental involvement in a child's learning is a key factor in that child's achievement in school. With the reality of the test driven world of education, many parents expect what they were given in school for homework, familiar daily or weekly assignments. I do agree with the rationale behind these daily assignments:

• Homework reinforces skills, concepts and information learned in class.

• Homework prepares students for upcoming class topics. 

• Homework teaches students to work independently and develop self-discipline. 

• Homework encourages students to take initiative and responsibility for completing a task. 

• Homework allows parents to have an active role in their child's education and helps them to evaluate their child's progress. 

• Homework activities relate what is learned in school to children's lives outside of school and helps to connect school learning to the real world."

So to avoid the detention assignments and infractions, Let's Get The Homework Done!
Thanks,
Miss Sanders
ELA-R - NIAA

Week Five Full Speed Ahead!

Greetings Wonderful NIAA Parents,

What a great week we had at Newman. Teachers were treated with a buffet of goodies and then on Valentine’s Day our students had the chance to make their friends and teachers feel loved with even more sweet treats and furry critters . Thanks for all the LOVE!

This week in ELAR:

7^th grade is moving from informative text and onto biographies and memoirs. We will read excerpts, located in our school textbooks, from the autobiographies of Eleanor Roosevelt and Malcolm X by Walter Dean Myers

8^th grade also shifting to autobiographies will read about Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas and President Lincoln.

10^th grade will complete the second article “Big Med” by Atul Gawande and to lighten the mood read two humorous essays by Mark Twain and James Thurber.

ALL classes will begin DropEverything And Read a in ELAR; reading short creative non-fiction essays and writing short responses. They will also collaborate in pairs and revise and edit each other’s writing. Grammar practice homework will continue and a final expository essay is due February 24^th as we have already begun working seriously on those compositions.

REMINDERS:

New Attendance Incentive

Starting Monday, February 17th, we will institute a new incentive for classroom attendance for each grade level. Each grade level will compete to see which class has the highest attendance for the week. One class per grade level with the highest attendance will receive popcorn on the Friday of that week. Please help your child’s class win this prize by making sure that your child is at school every day.

Don’t forget to return your Intent to Return Forms to secure you child’s place for next year!

Family Math and Science Night – Mr. Slight’s Classroom

Plan on being here February 20th for the most fun and interactive night you’ve had in a long time!

7:00 - 7:05 David Slight - Intro and Welcome

7:05 – 7:10 Jayson Lewis – Meticulous Math

7:10 – 7:20 David Slight – What in the Cell Does This Part Do?

7:20 – 7:35 Carissima Freeman – Swimming With the Scum?

7:35 - 7:50 Dan Urban – Go Speed Racer, Go!

7:50 – 8:00 p.m. David Slight, Jayson Lewis, Dan Urban, Carissima Freeman – REAL STAAR POWER!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Feb. 17: Inclement Weather

Make Up Day… NOT A STU-

DENT HOLIDAY!

Feb. 24-28: Exam Week

Feb. 28: Last Day of the 4th Six - early release

Spring Trip Info? Click Here!

3rd Six Weeks...Progressing

NIAA ALL Grade SPRING TRIPS

Please be on the lookout for information regarding your student’s grade level class trip and the parent meetings that will be scheduled. Here are the destinations for each grade level:

7th: Nature’s Classroom in Bruceville, TX (near Waco)

8th: San Antonio

9th: Houston

10th: Galveston

11th: Washington, D.C.

10th Grade Parents:
Mr. Allee and I are working with the students and planning a fantastic trip to Galveston, Texas May 27-29, 2014. We would love for you to volunteer to travel with us, especially if you have already submitted a volunteer application.
Student have also brainstormed ideas for fundraising and will appreciate your help in their efforts to earn funds for a well deserved Spring Trip. Ideas, Questions or suggestions, contact us here:
kallee@niaa.newmanacademy.org 
psanders@niaa.newmanacademy.org

10th Grade Plans Discussed so far: 




I am hoping to block rooms at a great location!

Reminders!

Feb. 3: Valentine Orders Due/CiCi’s

 Fundraising Night

Feb. 7: Father Daughter Dance

Feb. 10: PSC Meeting at 6:30

Feb. 12: Progress Reports

Feb. 14: Valentine Parties!

Feb. 17: Inclement Weather Make Up

Day… NOT A STUDENT HOLIDAY!

Feb. 20: Math and Science Night from

 7-8 p.m. in Classrooms

Feb. 24-28: Exam Week

Feb. 28: Last Day of the 4th Six Weeks

 Early Dismissal at 12:30 p.m.

STAAR Test Dates:

Monday, March 31st:
English I
Tuesday, April 1^st:

Grade 4 Writing Day 1 

Grade 7 Writing Day 1 

Grade 5 Mathematics 

Grade 8 Mathematics 

English II

Wednesday, April 2nd:

Grade 4 Writing Day 2 

Grade 7 Writing Day 2 

Grade 5 Reading 

Grade 8 Reading

Tuesday, April 22st:
Grades 3–4 Mathematics
Grades 6–7 Mathematics
Grade 8 Social Studies

Wednesday, April 23rd:
Grades 3–4 Reading
Grades 6–7 Reading
Grade 5 Science
Grade 8 Science

May 5th -9th:
Algebra I
Biology

U.S. History

2nd Semester and 4th Six Weeks

4^th Six Weeks Info      

 

Greetings Newman Parents

We are entering our 2^nd semester with new ELAR adventures are ahead of us.

We will begin the new semester by reading non-fiction and informational text.

“Informational text often addresses children’s interests and questions. Regardless of a child’s text preference, when the text’s topic is of particular interest to that child, his or her reading is likely to improve (Schiefele, Krapp, & Winteler, 1992). Not surprisingly, then, approaches that emphasize reading for the purpose of addressing real questions children have about their world tend to lead to higher achievement and motivation (e.g., Guthrie, Van Meter, McCann, Wigfield, Bennett, Poundstone, et al., 1996). Including more informational text in classrooms may help us address the interests and questions of more of our students.” From “Why informational text in the classroom”  Scholastic

Non-fiction includes memories, biographies, journals and diaries. Informational text are factual text that address topics such as science, research based articles, travel information and maps and other teaching text in which the purpose is to inform the reader.

What will they read?

7th grade will read and discuss non-fiction articles on travel and the importance of homework

8th grade will read and discuss travel articles as well as creative non-ficti0n by author and educator Brian Doyle

10th grade will read and discuss articles addressing education, health and school lunch nutrition

We will focus on non-fiction and information text for the next two weeks. Students will also need to complete two reading logs due on January 31^st  and February 17^th . Reading logs information must be gathered from online news websites and summarized in 3 sentences. Students must also include the web address and date (news information cannot be more than one year old.)

Finally, the Final Six Weeks Essay will be due February 24^th, MLA format ( see OWL online for MLA formatting) typed and emailed or printed and turned in on time.

Parent Portal

If you do not have access to Newman Parent Portal please contact the school at 817-459-8555 and request your sign on information. The advantage of parent portal is receiving information and updates regarding assignments for your students. Once set up you can receive grade information directly to your email. You can also check on your student’s progress daily or weekly which ever you prefer. Please take advantage of the parent portal to keep track of your child's academic progress.

Have a wonderful Week!

Ms. Sanders