Happy Holidays!

Dear Students, Parents, and Fellow Teachers:

I hope you are all having a good break, are spending time with family and friends, traveling or enjoying quiet times at home, eating lots of good food, giving (and receiving) gifts, and, of course, not forgetting everything you worked to learn during the first semester! ;-D

I am very much looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Enjoy the snow pictures and video :)

KF

Things to Achieve before the End of Semester One: December 13-16

Hi everyone!! I can't believe it's already the end of Semester One, that I've been in Honduras for half a year, and that a week from right now I will be hanging out in Houston's airport waiting for my connecting flight back to Iowa!!!

I hope you have all had as great of a first semester as I had...I learned so much, had so many great times, and have truly enjoyed the parents, students, and staff at Discovery School. What a great place this is!!

Anyway, we do have a few things (quizzes) to do before we scamper off for break.

**Students and Parents: if you know you will be gone before the official end of the school year, you need to make arrangements to have quizzes done BEFORE you leave...otherwise we will have a very hard time coming to a final grade!**

6th grade: Great job on your presentations today!! On Monday you will have your final period-one rehearsal for Songfest with the 5th graders...your dance is looking so great!! Tuesday we will have a review session for the quiz and Wednesday we will take the quiz!! Thursday we will have fun and play Native American games--you are welcome to bring some food to share with the class.
--

7th grade: Remember, you will be giving your group presentations on Monday! You won't have any class time for last-minute preparation, but you are welcome to come to the room during lunch. Tuesday we will play a review game, and Wednesday will be the quiz!! Don't forget your timeline or DBQ are due on Tuesday! Thursday will be a game day.
--

8th grade: Monday we will play a review game for Tuesday's quiz, and of course will take the quiz on Tuesday!! Wednesday we will go back over the themes and information we learned throughout the Semester...and Thursday will be a game day.
--

Seniors, I had a great first semester with you...good luck on your finals!!
--

Well, have a fabulously-awesome weekend, and we'll see you next week! :)

KF

Final Senior Blog Post of 2010: Due Monday, December 13

Seniors!

Can you believe the first half of your senior year is almost over?! I hope you have found it to be fulfilling, fun, and full of learning and stuff...

Here is your last blog post for the semester and the year 2010:

You all did a GREAT job with your demonstration speeches, and I would like you to take a minute to reflect on it. Answer the following questions:

-How did you think the speech went?
-Was your audience 3rd grade or 5th grade?
-How did the audience affect your speech? Was it positive or negative?
-What did you learn from giving the speech to a younger audience?
-How will your experience change the next speech you give?
-Any other reflection you want to make?

I really enjoyed having your class this semester! I hope you feel like you have learned something...I hope you have a great holiday season and break, and that you come back refreshed and ready to sprint to the finish of your senior year!! :)

KF

Model United Nations

Students in grades 9-12:

Anyone interested in joining the Discovery School Model UN team should plan to attend a meeting on Tuesday, December 14 during snack break. This will be an informational meeting, and we will discuss Discovery's participation in the National Model UN conference in April 2011.

Hope to see you there!

KF

Are you ready for Songfest?

Hi everyone!!

Hopefully you already know that Songfest is next Thursday, December 16 (my mommy's birthday!!!). It will officially start at 6:00, but there will be yummy food and a guitar/piano prelude before, so you want to get here early!

Also, please remember that the Tegucigalpan traffic on the Anillo can be a bit...heavy...around that time of the day, so, again, I would encourage you to leave home and get here early! That way you know you and your student will on time and ready to perform! Your student has spent a lot of time and energy practicing for this event: you don't want your student to arrive too late and miss their class' time to shine!

6th grade: I want you here NO LATER than 5:30, ready and dressed appropriately (t-shirt and jeans).

Parents, there will be a few changes from previous years: the sales of food will be stopped when the Songfest begins, and there will be no intermission. We will have designated seating areas for each class and for parents, and the classes will be expected to sit together with their teacher for the entire Songfest event. You may not take your student home early, and they will not be allowed to sit with you when they are done performing. Consider Songfest an extension of the school day. Please leave your cell phone in the car or turn it off when you enter Songfest. Enjoy the show, and be attentive not just when your student is performing, but watch all the other classes that have worked hard as well. There will be a designated area for photos--please be courteous to all who want to see the show.

I am excited for my first Songfest, and I hope to see you there!! :)

KF

7th Grade: Timeline/DBQ Deadline Update

Hi 7th grade:

Because I realize you have a lot of homework/stuff to do/a life outside of school I have decided to move the deadline for the individual project (timeline or DBQ) back to Tuesday.

The group project is still due Monday. Come ready to present.

There is, however, a catch--because I moved back the deadline, I will not accept any DBQs or Timelines past Tuesday when I leave school. Don't forget them/leave them at home/let your dog eat them because I WILL NOT ACCEPT THEM ON WEDNESDAY!

Have a great weekend!

KF

Things to do on the Last (Full) Week of School before Break: December 6-10

Hi Everyone!!

It is very chilly today--good thing we will be keeping busy in class!

6th grade: I hope you are enjoying the Native American project...we will have most of this week to work on it, and tomorrow I will be modeling (showing you) what I want your project to look like. You will be presenting your projects to the class Thursday and Friday, so keep working hard!! Your quiz over Native Americans will be next Wednesday, December 15!
--

7th grade: I hope you are enjoying the Ancient Africa project...we will have 3 days this week to work on it. You will be presenting your projects to the class Monday, December 13, and your Ancient Africa quiz will be next Wednesday, December 15!
--

8th grade: I hope you are enjoying learning about Ancient Rome! We will continue answering the question "Who killed Marc Anthony?" this week, and will finish up with the fall of Rome on Friday. Your Ancient Rome quiz will be next Tuesday, December 14, and you will have a semester review on Wednesday, December 15.
--

Seniors: Speeches this week!! Remember, no outline, no speech, no grade!
--

I hope everyone has a great week!

KF

7th Grade: Africa Links

Hi 7th graders:

As promised, here are the links from the Africa project...

But first, scroll to the bottom for a list of major civilizations in your area of Africa (North Africa, remember Egypt is not an option for you):

http://www.africanculturalcenter.org/4_4tradekingdoms.html

(you're welcome!) :)

Here are the links. Just click on them and they will take you to the sites:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/africa/africasbook.html#African%20Societies (primary sources)

http://africa.mrdonn.org/index.html (overview)

http://www.teacheroz.com/Non_Western.htm#africa (overview)

http://www.historyworld.net (search for your region)

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/africa.html (artifacts and information)

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAFRCA/CONTENTS.HTM (African civilization info)

http://www.historylink101.com/africa.htm (overview)

http://www.archaeolink.com/ancient_african_civilizations.htm (Civilization info)

http://wysinger.homestead.com/africanhistory.html (African history)

http://www.missmax.netfirms.com/africa/1_african_project_04.html (another class’ project website, includes good info)

http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0093-african-civilizations.php (good civs info)

http://wysinger.homestead.com/ancientafrica.html (overview)

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/AfCivIT.html (overview)

http://ezinearticles.com/?Great-African-Civilizations&id=425428 (an online magazine article)

http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/history/hisking.html (history)

http://history-world.org/africa.htm (overview)

http://www.mrdowling.com/609-test.htm (overview)

http://www.africankingdoms.com/ (whole website dedicated to Ancient African kingdoms)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=846464 (pictures)

http://www.theancientweb.com/explore/index.aspx (search for your civilization)

Have a great weekend...remember, these projects will be presented MONDAY, DECEMBER 13! :)

KF

A Fun 7th Grade Discussion (and web links)

Hello again 7th graders:

I enjoyed our discussion about Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How today...I hadn't thought about those questions and what they mean for a long time.

To refresh your (and my) memories:
Who = People
What = Things
When = Time
Where = Place
Why = Reason
How = Process

ALSO: Here are the links of the pages you were looking at in class. Enjoy!

The secondary source (the one with the maps and pictures) was from here: http://library.thinkquest.org/13406/sh/

Primary source #1: http://web.archive.org/web/20010210035839/http://www.humanities.ccny.cuny.edu/history/reader/ghana.htm

Primary source #2: http://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/materials/handouts/k_o_ghana.html

REMEMBER: If you have questions, please please please please please contact me!!

KF

7th Grade: DBQ Re-Do Opportnity

Hi 7th graders:

As many of you are aware, the DBQ that was due last week has been graded and returned to you...and some of you did less than stellar.

In an attempt to help you improve yourself (and your grade) I am offering the opportunity for you to re-do the work...

So, come to my class (tomorrow) Wednesday, December 1 at: 7:30 AM, Lunch, or 3:00 PM (tell your parents to come get you by 4) and bring your DBQ--I will go over with you what went wrong, and give you an opportunity to fix your errors...

DBQ re-dos will be due Friday, December 3 by the end of the day!

I hope many of you take advantage of this opportunity...

KF

Three weeks to break: Nov 29-Dec 3

Not that I'm counting down, but I figured you might be... (although I am rather excited because I will get to meet my new niece or nephew when I go home for the Holidays!! He or she is due on Friday!!!!)

Either way, we have 3 weeks left, and those three weeks are going to be {PACKED} with fun and interesting things!!

6th grade: Please remember that today, a week from today, and the final Monday of the semester we will be "dancing machines" with the 5th graders...I am very much looking forward to the final product at Songfest!!

Tomorrow we will begin our Native Americans unit: as you all requested no more packets, we are going to be doing a 2-person project with our table partners. Details to come. :) Your Native American quiz will be Wednesday, December 13.
--

7th grade: You will also be starting a new project this week, the Ancient Africa group project. Working in the groups you had last week (it seemed to go well, I think) you will be completing a poster, 2 other projects, as well as an individual component. You will also have a quiz over Africa on Wednesday, December 13.
--

8th grade: We will continue looking at Ancient Rome this week, beginning with a small research project to find historical anachronisms in some "Roman letters." Don't know what an anachronism is? Look it up! :) Later in the week we will look at what happened when the Republic collapsed (the Empire strikes back) and watch another dreamy David Macaulay movie :) Your Ancient Rome quiz will be Tuesday, December 12.
--

Seniors: The speeches are coming, the speeches are coming!! This week we will spend Thursday working on our outlines in the lab, and Friday critiquing each others' speeches. Your demonstration speeches will be presented in class on December 9th and 10th, and your audience will be 3rd and 5th graders!
--

Well, there you have it! Hopefully you have found something to look forward to in my class this week, and if not...well, there's only 3 weeks to Songfest! :)

KF

Senior Blog Post: 2 parts! 1st Due Wednesday, Dec 1, 2nd part due by class time on Friday, Dec 3

Hi Seniors:

Sorry sorry sorry...I mean, I know most of you do these on Sunday nights ;) but I meant to get this posted on Friday.

Anyway, here it is:

For Wednesday: I want you to have your introduction and conclusion written and posted on the blog. If you need a reminder of what that should look like, check out the outline template at this website.

For Friday: Bring a copy of your outline (introduction and conclusion plus whatever you have done on the body of the speech) to class on Thursday. ALSO you should bring short, written comments on two of your classmates' introductions and conclusions. Give suggestions on things you think they could improve, could expand on, could clarify.

Questions? BB or e-mail me.

KF

6th Grade Songfest Information

Here is a copy of a letter that should be sent home with all 6th grade students today:

--

Dear 5^th and 6^th Grade Parents:

We hope this note finds you well. We would like you to know that for this coming Songfest, the 5^th and 6^th grade classes will be working together on a dance.

For the program we have chosen a mix of the songs “La Despedia,” “Coma Mi Niña Bonita,” and “We Speak No Americano.”

Today was our first meeting, and we talked about the clothing the student will wear for Songfest. The students decided to dress “normal, but cool,” which means jeans and any t-shirt of their preference. They are also welcome to wear a hat.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact either of us at school.

Sincerely,

Maricarmen Raunelli Kristen Fink

5^th grade teacher 6^th grade teacher

--

To prepare for Songfest, the 6th graders will be dedicating 4 hours a week to practice. On Mondays I will take the students to 5th grade during my first hour class with them. On Tuesday they will meet with the 5th graders during 3rd hour, and they will practice together during afternoon classes on Thursday and Friday. In addition, please encourage your student to practice their dance moves at home.

Ms. Maricarmen and I see this collaboration as an excellent way to foster good relationships between the 5th and 6th grade classes, and are excited to see what our students achieve at Songfest!!

KF

Some Things to be Thankful For: November 22-25

Happy Thanksgiving Week, everyone.

I hope you are looking forward to turkey, stuffing, or at least a 4-day weekend. :o)

However, a short week ≠ a week with no learning, so here's what we will be doing for the next 3 days:

6th grade: We are going to start working on our Songfest dance with the 5th graders tomorrow. We will also put on our Incan fashion show for them, so be ready for that. Tuesday and Wednesday we will work on finishing up the Inca packet...you have done a really great job working on these...let's work hard to complete them, and maybe we will do something different for the next unit... :-D
--

7th grade: I had ONE student e-mail me this weekend with a question about the DBQ, so I am going to assume you didn't have a problem with them?? I will look forward to hearing your thoughts tomorrow. We will spend this week looking at Africa, our final unit of the quarter (and semester). Monday we will complete a map and worksheet on the 4 regions of Africa, and on Tuesday-Wednesday we will complete an activity to learn about the traditional stores of these regions.
--

8th grade: After the fall of the Etruscan (and Roman and Sabine) kings, Rome became a Republic. We will learn what that means, and oh, so much more, this week in class! :) You will get to check out my PowerPoint presenting skills and create a political cartoon (due Wednesday), as well as find out the advantage Hannibal had over the Roman army...(hint: it's big)
--

Seniors: Once again, we will not have class this week...so hopefully you are keeping up with the blog, or you will be WAY behind (and not ready for your demonstration speeches) which will be presented December 9-10. Check in with me if you have any questions.
--

I'm sure you were all sad to be out of school last Friday... ...but we teachers had a great time at the 2-day Conference at the Marriott. I attended 5 great sessions and presented at 2 sessions of my own, and I learned a lot! Hopefully you will see some new things being attempted in the class over the next few weeks...as always, your feedback is appreciated... :)

Have a great week!
KF

8th Grade: The Website you Asked For

Sorry we ran out of time today 8th graders:

The website you need to visit to finish your assignment from this morning is:

http://www.roman-empire.net/kings/kings-index.html

I hope you have a great long weekend, and please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

KF

Senior Blog Post: Due Monday, November 22

Hi Seniors:

Since we didn't have class this week, you will have to do what you would have done in class on this blog post.

First, I want you to choose a topic for your speech. This is a demonstration speech, so your topic must be something you can 1) do, and 2) show others how to do. Remember that your primary audience (besides your classmates, Mr. Fenn, and I) will be a group of children much younger than you...use that information when you decide what do demonstrate.

FYI: Edible demonstrations are fine (as long as they taste good :), but please no peanut butter (not because I don't like it, but because some of the younger students may have an allergy.) Also, I am allergic to soy and nuts...but I love chocolate! :)

If you are having trouble deciding on a topic, a good place to start might be this website. For those of you who pay attention, yes, this is the same website I referenced during last week's blog post. I still think it's good. If you don't find anything there, feel free to look at the literally MILLIONS of other websites out there with demonstration speech topics.

Once you pick your topic you need to start planning the speech by forming an outline. As I said before, "Anyone without an outline will not be able to present. Period. This means you will get a zero on the speech." So, I want you to start thinking about your outline this week so you all get good grades. Check out this website for an excellent demonstration speech template.
--

Your assignment for this week's blog post (using information from the template above):
1. Decide on a topic and explain why you chose it
2. Write the purpose of your speech (what do you want them to know/be able to do when you are done?)
3. Post a list of the supplies you will need to give your speech. (Remember, visuals are KEY to a successful demonstration speech)

Next week you will start writing your outline, and a rough draft will be due in the next class we have, Thursday, December 2.

Have a great long weekend,
KF

PS: The question was asked, how long should they be? Plan 5-7 minutes. Definitely no longer than 10, no less than 5.

UPDATE: No Communications this Week :(

Seniors:

Due to an unfortunate (and unintended) scheduling conflict, you will be attending a collegiate visit this Thursday from 1:15-2:07. While college visits are good, your not having class this week is bad, because that means you will not have my class again until the first week of December.

What this means for you: You have a demonstration speech DUE December 9th. (BTW: I am expecting that you will have all materials for your speech with you when you come to class that day, AS WELL AS YOUR OUTLINE. Anyone without an outline will not be able to present. Period. This means you will get a zero on the speech. So bring your outlines.) Without this week's class, you will have exactly 2 in-class periods to prepare for this speech, which means you will have a lot of preparation work to do outside of class. If you have questions/concerns/want me to look over your outline/want to practice/etc. you need to let me know, because I won't be seeing you much.

What this means for me: I will work to make myself as available as possible to you before and after school, during break, and at lunch, as well as by BB and e-mail (kfink@discoveryschool.edu.hn). I will also make the next two week's blog posts be "check-ins" for the speech. I'll put specifics up each week, but plan that for the next two weeks you will be updating me on your speech progress via your blog. I will comment/give suggestions where I think they are needed.

Sorry about this, but that's the way it has to be. KEEP READING THE BLOG. It will be your friend.

KF

First of two short weeks, November 15-18

Hello everyone:

It was nice to see some of you this morning planting trees and supporting the seniors and Discovery going green!

This week will be short and sweet (although not as short as next week) but there will be many new things happening, so it will be an important one.

6th grade: Are you ready to shift your attention to South America? This week we will focus on all-things Incan. I have a lot of fun activities planned, and I hope our conversation last week will inspire you to give 100% effort this week...some of the topics we will cover will be Incan religion, the status of Machu Picchu (you can still visit it in Peru!), and will design some Incan clothing!
--

7th grade: Now we are two groups, there may come a time where we have 2 separate schedules (I hope not to do that, but sometime it may be necessary.) So, please keep your eyes peeled. If all 7th graders will be doing the activity, it will simply say 7th grade. If the classes are split, I will have the 7A/7B distinction, with different colors of blue, and will add a label for the classes.

However, this week I think we will stay together. You all got your first taste of primary sources on Friday (weren't they great?! don't you love them?!!), and will need to remember how important they are as we start our first DBQ (Document Based Question) this week. NOTE: Because I was gone for a week, and our study of Ancient India was so disjointed for other reasons, we will NOT be having a traditional quiz over Ancient India. Instead, your DBQ will count as a quiz :)
--

8th grade: You asked, I listened. Greek quiz will be Monday. I hope you studied/have your notes page ready.

We will move onto Ancient Rome on Tuesday. We will (as usual) start with a look at the geography of Italy, then will use primary sources and Roman myths to focus on the city of Rome. We will finish out the week looking at the original government of Rome, the Etruscan Monarchy.
--

Seniors: Don't forget I moved the blog post's due date to Wednesday. Sorry. (Because I'm sure you're very upset ;). We will only have one class this week, and we will spend it in the computer lab focusing on the demonstration speeches! Check out this week's blog assignment for an excellent website that you can use to help you decide what you want to speak about.

And that's that!

I hope you all have an excellent week (midterms go out on the 22nd!) and are ready to sprint to the finish of the quarter and the semester! (seriously, we only have 5 weeks! Where has this school year gone?!)

KF

:-D Senior Blog Post: Due WEDNESDAY, November 17

Sorry, Seniors!

I can't believe I forgot to do this until now...and I REALLY can't believe none of you reminded me to do it! ;)

However, we can't go two weeks without a blog post, so here it is (and notice, I moved the due date back to Wednesday!)

You just completed your first speech! Congrats!!

Please reflect on how you think it went...What was good? What was bad? Did you agree with the comments from the adults in the room? What will you do differently during the next speech?

I also want you to start thinking about your demonstration speech. You will be choosing/finalizing your speech topic in class on Thursday, but you may want to visit this site to give you some insight...(I especially like the 5 things to consider as you are choosing your topic).

Also, I really like chocolate, and am allergic to tree nuts and soy...just saying ;)

KF

PS: GREAT JOB today at the tree planting. Aren't you looking forward to coming back in the future and seeing your legacy at Discovery bloom?! :)

UPDATE: 8th Grade Quiz Moved to Monday

But now it's going to be a whole lot longer...

Things to study over the weekend:
-Something about each of the elements presented by your classmates: Architecture, Government, Mythology, Philosophy, Women, Education, Warfare, Sports, and Art.
-Similarities and differences between city states (I'd focus on Athens and Sparta, if I were you)
-Greek "firsts" (things the Greeks came up before anyone else)
-How the Greeks affect the modern world (SPECIFICS!)

You may use ONLY one half-sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 computer paper (both sides filled up with notes) for the quiz.

KF

History and Communications: November 8,9,10,11, and 12!

Hello everyone!

Well, I survived! :) And I am very much looking forward to getting back to the classroom this week! :)

Students, I hope you had a good week with the sub(s?) and were able to hit all the benchmarks I set for you...this next week will be important grade-wise.

6th grade: I think I had some pages missing from your Aztec packet (sorry!) so we will get all that sorted out first thing in the morning. My goal is to get you through the Aztecs and have some sort of wrap-up Maya and Aztec quizzy-type thing. We'll see tomorrow. No stress. We will start the Incas on Friday!
--

7th grade: You covered a lot of ground with Ancient India last week, and were asked to start a timeline on Friday...hopefully you didn't spend hours working on that over the weekend (remember, I specifically said not to) because we are going to spend Monday and Tuesday working on it in class! Then we are going to look at the specific places Hinduism and Buddhism affected Ancient Indian culture through the end of the week. You will have your Ancient India quiz next Thursday!
--

8th grade: I am very excited to see your Ancient Greece presentations tomorrow (and Tuesday, if we need to finish them up). Remember, the most important thing is to show us how the Greeks are still affecting our lives today. Your Ancient Greece quiz is going to be this Friday, and there will be a section on the effects of Ancient Greece on today's society. We will spend the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday looking at the Fall of Ancient Greece (oh those pesky Macedonians!), play review Trashketball on Thursday, then Quiz on Friday!
--

Seniors: Are you ready to give your speeches? I sure hope so, because they are due on Thursday! If you have any last-minute questions, want me to look over your speeches, etc, please feel free to pop by my room any time this week. (I am always around no later than 7:15, and I am always here until at least 3:30...just so you know).

Looking forward to our last full week of school before December...wow this school year is flying!

REMINDER: Quarter 2 Midterms are NEXT MONDAY, November 15.
Students, think about what YOU can do this week to get your grade to where YOU want it to be!

KF

Mrs. Fink's Class, Week of November 1-5

Greetings:

I enjoyed meeting some of the parents at Conferences today. If any parent was not able to make it to conferences, but would still like to meet with me about their student, please feel free to e-mail me at kfink@discoveryschool.edu.hn.

FYI: I will not be at school next week (I will be chaperoning Discovery students on a Medical Brigade with Cape Cares.) I hope to have access to my e-mail via BlackBerry, but who knows :)

Meanwhile, students, this is what you will be doing with the sub: (a little more detailed than usual, since I will not be around to answer any questions)

6th Grade:
Monday: Intro to the Aztecs: Pages 1-2 in your Aztec packet (some of you might be surprised at the grades on the Maya packets. Please be sure you are giving your WHOLE effort on these packets--they will be a major part of your Quarter 2 grade.)

Tuesday: Aztec writing: Writing was a 2-person job for the Aztecs, so, in pairs you will be making symbols based on the Aztec language, then writing a sentence using the symbols you created.

Wednesday: Aztec creation story: you will be looking at the beginnings of the Ancient Aztec religion, and creating a short book based on the creation story

Thursday: Aztec Mythology Mystery and the Spanish invade!

Friday: Interview with Moctezuma and Cortés. You will be working with a partner to re-enact the historic meeting between the Conquistador and the Aztec King! (These will be presented to the class on Monday, when I return.)
--

7th Grade:
Monday: Did you know that, even after all these years, India still follows the Caste system to stratify their society? You will use Internet-based resources to answer a series of questions about the Caste system in 2010. Questions assigned last Friday will be due!

Tuesday: The Harappan city of Mohenjo-Daro was built using a grid pattern, with streets running either north and south or east and west (rather different than our own beautiful city of Tegucigalpa!) Using a city map of Mohenjo-Daro as your guide (and a city map of Tegucigalpa as a "what not to do") you will be creating a 15x15 grid ancient city, much like Mohenjo-Daro!

Wednesday: Continue working on your city. Be sure you follow the rubric to get all the points!

Thursday: Following the Aryans, the Mauryans and Guptas took over Ancient India. You will be comparing and contrasting these civilizations, much like you did with the Harappans and Aryans last week.

Friday: So many things happened in the history of Ancient India that it might be hard to keep track of them all. So, you will spend your Friday organizing the 25 major events into a Timeline! Don't worry...this isn't due on Monday! :)
--

8th Grade:
Monday: Remember the Greek Life Project topics you chose in class on Thursday? Well, now is the time to start working with them. You will be in the computer lab every day this week (except Thursday) to give you time to research your topic, answer the questions, and begin to complete your collage and prepare for your in-class presentation!

Tuesday: Continue working in the lab. Don't forget that how you use your class time is part of your grade...the sub will be leaving me detailed notes, so please use your time wisely so I can give you all the participation points!

Wednesday: To the lab again. Hopefully by this point you will have all your questions answered and may have collected some excellent images for your collage.

Thursday: Work in the classroom on your collage. You may cut images from magazines or those you have gotten from the Internet or drawn yourself. Be sure to follow the rubric to get all the points possible!

Friday: Back to the lab for one final day of research and preparation. You will be presenting to the class on Monday!
--

Senior Communications:
Thursday: You will be working on your speech conclusions, the 2nd most important part of the speech! Make sure you go back over what you talked about in your conclusion...and end with a bang! :)

Friday: More conclusion work, and prep for the following week when you will present your persuasive speeches!!! :)


I hope you all have a great week, and I will be looking forward to being back with you the 2nd week of November!

KF

Senior Blog Post: Due Monday, November 1

Hi Seniors:

I will be out of town next week, but you still need to be responsible for this blog post! I will be checking them when I get back! :)

For this week's post I would like you to continue your focus on speech introductions.

Please visit one of the speech links to the right (American Rhetoric or Famous Speeches) and find a persuasive speech in one of those databases. Then read, view, or listen to the speech (or do all 3 if you can) and evaluate the introduction of the speech. Does it follow the 4 steps I am asking you to follow? Does it grab your attention? Does it establish credibility? Does it "tell what they are going to do?

Answer these questions, then link to the speech in your post.

Have a great week next week, I am looking forward to your first speeches when I am back at school!! :)

KF

IMPORTANT PS: Mr. Fenn will be assigning the blog post for the week following (due Monday, November 8) in class next week. IT WILL NOT BE UP ON THIS BLOG. It will be YOUR responsibility to get the assignment and complete the blog post as usual.

8th Grade Projects

Recently I had the 8th graders do an "archaeological dig" in 3 different Greek city-states. They had to complete different activities then present their findings to the class.

Here are the videos:

Sparta


Troy


Athens


Enjoy!
KF

October...almost over!

Hello all:

Due to family coming in over the long holiday weekend I thought I would post this a little early...hope nobody minds :)

6th grade: Feedback time...how do you like the packets?! Most of you seem to be very successfully navigating your way through them, and gaining some "Extra Extra" points... :)

We will continue with the Maya packet next week, looking at (and re-enacting!) an Ancient Mayan story and finding out what happened to the Maya people...maybe :) Packets are due by the end of the day next Thursday, the 28th!
--

7th grade: We only get to have class 2 times next week, due to Monday's holiday, Thursday's costume parade, and Friday's conferences, but we will make the most of them. We are going to do an in-class activity demonstrating the societal roles of the Ancient Indian castes...some of you may need to be prepared to get your hands dirty... :)
--

8th grade: Next week we are going to watch an oldie but a goodie, The 300 Spartans (see a bit about the movie here). NO, this is not the über-violent 300, but the 1962 movie that 300 is based off of. As we watch each part of the movie (each day we will watch about 40 minutes of the movie) we will have 10 minutes of review/questions before and after. The point of watching this movie is to give the students an idea of the differences and similarities between the people of each of the Ancient Greek city-states, something which made this time period unique.
--

Communications: Due to Friday's conferences, next week will be a one-class week. During that one class (Thursday) we will look at speech conclusions and work on perfecting our conclusion-writing skills. Get ready...your first full-length speech will be assigned during the first week of November! :)
--

Conferences: Just a reminder, student-led parent-teacher conferences will be held all day next Friday, October 29 at the school. I will be down in Room #4, happy and excited to see anyone who wishes to stop by...remember, the conferences are first-come, first-served.

**If you wish to have a conference with me, but are unable to
attend on Friday, please send me an e-mail at
kfink@discoveryschool.edu.hn
so we can arrange an alternate time. Thanks!**

I hope everyone has an excellent and safe holiday weekend!

KF

Senior Blog Post: Due TUESDAY, October 26

**PLEASE NOTE THE DAY CHANGE**

Hi Seniors:

Since Monday is a holiday I decided that I'll give you a break on the blog post, so it is now due Tuesday.

This week I want you to think about your impromptu speech from last Friday (those of you weren't in class--look up impromptu speeches and describe what they are). Answer the following questions:

1) What was your topic?
2) Was it hard or easy to talk about that topic for 1 minute? Why?
3) What was the best thing about your speech?
4) What was the worst thing about your speech?
5) What did you learn while doing that speech that will help you on your future speeches?

Have a great long weekend! :)

KF

Projects, Projects, are so fun...

As this is the last day of the quarter, two of my classes have turned in projects in the past few days (the Seniors also turned in papers...check out their blogs (to the right) if you are interested in reading those!)

Here are some of the 8th Graders' Ancient Egypt projects:


























The 6th graders also presented projects, trying to encourage people to visit the North or South American country they researched:



Enjoy!
KF

Welcome to Quarter 2! October 18-22

Good morning everyone:

Well, say goodbye to Quarter One and hello to Quarter 2! The next time we meet for class we will be starting a whole new grading term, a whole new ballgame! Let's make Quarter 2 the best quarter yet!

To start off the new Quarter, the 6th Graders will start learning about the history of the Americas! Our first mini-unit will be the culture of the Maya. The students will be given packets to guide their learning and activities (DO NOT LOSE THESE!!! I WILL NOT BE PRINTING MORE!) with built-in extra credit that can be done during down-time in class.

**Teacher's note: I chose to move to packets for the 6th graders because I found they had trouble taking the instructions I wrote on the board and fully completing them. I'm hoping that these packets will solve this problem by having the instructions RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM!! :)**

The 7th Graders had a great time "judging" Christopher Columbus this past week, but next week will shift their focus across two oceans to Ancient India. They will start on Monday and finish on Thursday looking at how geography shaped the culture and people in India's past.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be "odd" days in 7th Grade--we will have less than 10 students in the room! The track and field competition will be claiming over half of our class for those two days, but the students who stay behind will be watching a short movie explaining the scientific contributions of the Ancient Indians and will completing a webquest in the computer lab!

8th Grade finishes their Ancient Egypt unit today, and will start fresh next Monday with the Greeks. We will begin with the Greeks' arch-enemies the Persians on Monday, then look at the geography of the area on Tuesday. Wednesday-Friday will give the 8th Graders the opportunity to become "archaeologists" and find out about some of the ancient Greek city-states.

The Seniors Communications curriculum for quarter 2 calls for a focus on speeches...but we only get to meet 11 times during the quarter!! So, expect a lot of at-home speech practice and prep. Next Thursday the seniors will look at speech outlines, and learn how to write a totally great speech introduction!

And, of course, on Friday we will be celebrating United Nations day! The students have told me that this is "The BEST day of the year" so I hope to see you all there enjoying it with the students and me! Remember, school is out at 11:45 next Friday. (Click here for a bit of history on the UN!)

Have a great weekend! See you in quarter 2!

KF

Dear 8th Graders:

I am really, really, REALLY sorry I didn't put the review questions up on the blog like I said I promised yesterday. I could give you some excuses about being really busy, but they wouldn't make my forgetting right, so I won't.

To make it up to you, I will be curving today's test (not that I think any of you will need that--you are Ancient Egypt experts!!). Also, I will do my very best to remember to put the review questions up on the blog PROMPTLY in the future. Please feel free to remind me if I forget again.

Please don't hold it against me. :)

Sincerely,
Mrs. Fink

Senior Blog Post: Due Monday, October 18

Hi Seniors:

I know you have been doing a LOT of writing lately, and are ready for a break, so this will be an easy post.

Please reflect on your first quarter of your senior year. What went well? What do you hope to improve or change for the second quarter? Did anything surprise you? What was the biggest challenge? What has been your favorite part so far?

I am looking forward to your responses :)

KF

PS: This will be your first grade of the new quarter...let's shoot for 100% participation! :)

Mrs. Fink's Class: Week of October 11-15

Hello everyone:

I hope you are looking forward to the long weekend ahead...and that you are ready to finish the Quarter strong starting next Tuesday!!

6th Grade: You asked for it, you're getting it...I really enjoyed looking at archaeology with you this week, but next week we are going to move back to geography: specifically, the geography of the Americas! You requested map quizzes, and you are going to get one next week!

Because THE REST of the school year we will be focusing on the history of the Americas, we are going to finish Quarter 1 by learning the countries and capitals of the continents! Then, each student will choose one American country (not Honduras or the country of your birth) to create a tourism-commercial about! Yay!

7th Grade: Monday is a school holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus and the legacy of the Age of Exploration and the colonization of the Americas. Columbus Day (originally October 12, the day on which Columbus first arrived in the Americas) was named as a national holiday in the United States in 1937 by then-president Franklin Roosevelt. The date of celebration was officially moved to the second Monday in October in 1971. You can read a more detailed history of the holiday from the History Channel here.

It may surprise you to know that there is some controversy about the celebration of Columbus Day. The 7th Graders are going to explore this controversy this week by putting Christopher Columbus on trial. Over the long weekend they will be asked to research their "roles" and we will spend the rest of the short week deciding whether or not Columbus deserves all the fame and glory he has been given over the years. Want other resources on Columbus Day? Check out this and this from Time Magazine.

8th Grade: Our unit on Ancient Egypt is winding down...Tuesday you will give your presentations on the Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt, Wednesday we will look at why Ancient Egypt fell, Thursday we will play a fun review game, and Friday will be your test!

Seniors: Don't forget your MAJOR, IMPORTANT, MUST BE DONE paper that is due next Wednesday. Because of the small amount of times (11!) that we will get to meet next quarter, we are going to start our speeches unit a week early so we can get in ALL the important information. Thursday we will spend time in the computer lab looking at some famous speeches, and Friday we will practice the speech outlining process. :) Something to look forward to. :)

Have a great long weekend! :)

KF

Senior Blog Post: Due October 13

Hello again, Seniors:

I have enjoyed the papers that you posted last week...hopefully you learned a bit about senioritis (and how to get rid of it!!), as well as how to write a paper using research.

This week's post will also be a paper, this time about the career of your choice. Remember that you need to follow the rubric closely to make sure you get ALL the points.

Also, remember that you MUST include a works cited page with ALL resources you used. Failure to do this will cause you to receive a zero on the paper.

If you have trouble uploading the paper to the blog, you can make another post of your choice and e-mail the paper to me.

The paper is due Wednesday, October 13 by 8:00 AM.

For your benefit, I have attached the rubric below:

Category	Explanation	Total
Historical Background	A background of the history of the position is given and explained	___/10
Job Skills	Necessary skills for this position are given and explained	___/10
Day-to-day operation	Details of the job’s function are given and explained	___/10
Other details and page minimum	Other interesting information is explained, and page minimum (3) is met	___/5
Summarization, Paraphrasing, and Quotation skills	Author shows mastery of skills in summarization, paraphrasing and quotation. Plagiarism is eliminated.	___/15
Works cited included		Yes/No
Total		___/50

I am looking forward to these papers...the last assignment of Quarter 1!

KF

Classroom Activities: Week of October 4-8

Hello everyone!

Well, quarter 1 is quickly winding down... only two more weeks! How quickly time flies when you're having fun! :)

6th Grade: Next week we will be a short one for us, as we will be enjoying the Opera on Monday! Tuesday you should plan to present your 7 Elements Project Poster to the class, and from Wednesday-Friday we will have our (very short!) Archaeology unit!

7th Grade: Your focus next week will continue to be world religions. We will focus on Islam, the final religion we will study, on Monday-the first half of Wednesday. On Thursday we will play a fun review game, and Friday will be your open-note test!

8th Grade: I hope you are enjoying learning about Ancient Egypt as much as I am!! Next week our study will continue, and in groups you will prepare a lesson on one of the three "eras" of Ancient Egypt: the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. You will present these to the class (and will be evaluated on your teaching and learning in your test the following week.)

12th Grade: I am looking forward to reading your papers (which you are going to submit as your weekly blog post no later than Monday)! On Thursday and Friday we will continue to work on your final research paper, due no later than Wednesday the 13th, also as a blog post. Check your information page and rubric to remind you EXACTLY what I expect on this paper!

So, there it is...keep up the great work, and sprint to the finish of this first quarter of school!

KF

Senior Blog Post: Due Monday, October 4

Hello Seniors:

Hopefully you were given some good corrections or revision ideas during your peer review today...and that you will use these ideas to make your paper the best it can be.

A few things I saw:

-MAKE SURE YOU INCORPORATE YOUR CITATIONS! I want to know EXACTLY where the information came from, and I want there to be no worry that the words or ideas are not your own. When in doubt, cite! And be sure to include the list of the resources you used (you can link to the pages, if you really want to make me happy :)

-Double and triple-check your spelling and phraseology



The blog post for Monday is simply to post the paper, with full works cited. You may take the paper down (if you feel it doesn't fit with your blog format, or for whatever reason) as soon as I have commented on it.

Have a great weekend, and happy writing! :)

KF

A bit of housekeeping...

I have received 15 late passes since the beginning of the school year (to put this into perspective, we have had something like 33 days of school so far).Too many late passes!

If you do the math, (%/100 = is/of, 7th graders) that means that I have had at least one student late for almost half of the days of school.

Because I generally start class right after the tardy bell rings, this means that almost half of the days of class I have had one student or another entering my room, disrupting the activity already underway, and forcing me to give directions to the class twice to make sure the late student is fully up to speed. This is a waste of the rest of the class' time, as well as my own.

->I know this is a problem that other teachers are having, too <-

So, if I may, here are a few suggestions:
Parents: please do what you can to keep late arrivals to school at a minimum. Obviously there are days when things go wrong or there is a problem with traffic, but planning ahead and leaving a few minutes early can sometimes make a big difference. Remember, you are doing this for your student! Keep the valuable class time they miss to a minimum!

Students: help your parents out! Go to bed on time, get up on time, and be ready to go when your parents want to leave. Pack your bag the night before, have your lunch ready to go before you sleep, so all you have to do is get up, grab your stuff, and go!

And I will look forward to seeing you before the second bell rings! :)

KF

Things I'm looking forward to next week: Sept 27-Oct 1!

It's that time again: the weekly update!

6th grade: You are doing a great job with the 7 Elements of Culture...and next week we will be finishing up with the final two we haven't covered: #s 4 and 7! Expect all kinds of artistry next week, thanks to a helping hand from Ms. Campbell! Next Friday we will spend the hour organizing our information for our 7 Elements of Culture Presentation, where you will explain your society (including all 7 Elements) to the rest of the class. These presentations will take place the following Monday (and Tuesday if necessary), October 4-5).

7th grade: Next week we will continue our survey of the history of world religions by moving into the Semitic religions. We will start with Judaism and end the week with Christianity. I hope you are learning a lot--you seem to be enjoying this unit! Your World Religions Test will be October 8.

8th grade: I hope you enjoyed our foray into Hieroglyphs (and Hondoglyphs) and the tangled history of the Rosetta Stone. Next week we will be focusing on Pyramids! We will start the week by viewing a movie made by one of my all-time favorite people, David Macaulay, and completing a Pyramid-building activity. The Ancient Egypt Test will be Thursday, October 14.

Seniors: First of all, please please please please please keep up with your blog posts. Please. Some of your grades are REALLY hurting right now because you are not doing this very simple thing. Secondly, next week we will be continuing to work on our research paper writing skills. Remember your October 4 blog post will be your "Senioritis" paper...and this week's post is up and waiting for you to complete it. You will be writing one, slightly longer Research Based Paper due in a blog post no later than Wednesday, October 13 (more about that later).

So, that's what's happening in our world next week...enjoy your weekend, and see you Monday!

KF

We're going to the Opera!

Just a note, in case you weren't aware: the music department has organized a trip to the opera for all secondary students!

We will be going on Monday, October 4. We leave the school at 8:45 AM and will be back by 1:00, so this won't affect bus schedules.

The cost per student is 200 Lempiras. This is a special student rate, and is an excellent opportunity that I know I am really looking forward to! :)

For more information, please check out Ms. Norma's blog post about the opera by clicking here.

KF

Senior Blog Post: Due Monday, September 27

Hello again, Seniors.

I have been enjoying perusing the colleges of your choice thanks to your last posts. Now I want to know about your major of choice--what are you going to study at college?

Some of you already alluded to this in that last post, but I want you to go deeper. What attracts you to that job? (or, if you aren't sure yet, choose something you think you might want to do--or pick one of the many things you want to do.) Tell me what skills you possess that will make you good at your chosen field (it's ok to brag a little :).

Then, choose your hero in your chosen field. Whose career do you want to emulate? Add a picture and tell me why you want to be like them. (This can be a famous person, or a not-so-famous person. If the person is not famous, and you don't have a photo of them, you can draw a picture or something :)


Rubric:
Name career: 1 pt
What attracts you to the career: 2 pts
Your skills: 2 pts
Your hero's name: 2 pts
Picture of your hero: 1 pt
Why you want to be like your hero: 2 pts

KF

MAP test schedule

Good morning:

As I mentioned yesterday in my post, we are starting MAP testing at the school this week and finishing next week.

If you are interested in learning more about the MAP test, you can click here or here.

This week's MAP test schedule for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades are as follows:

Monday, Sept 20
8th grade: 11:40-12:55
7th grade: 1:15-2:30

Tuesday, September 21
6th grade: 8:30-9:45

Wednesday, September 22
N/A

Thursday, September 23
8th grade: 10:05-11:20
7th grade: 11:40-12:55
6th grade: 1:15-2:30

Friday, September 24
N/A

Please remember that your student needs a good nights' sleep and a good breakfast before taking these tests!

KF

Looking forward: Week of September 20-24

Hello everyone:

I hope you enjoyed your nice long break, and that the last two days of last week were nice to get you back into school-mode.

Grades came out last Friday. If your student (for some reason) didn't give their grade sheet to you, please ask them for it. If they did, please sign them and remind your students to return the sheets to their Homeroom teacher at school. 6th Graders, that means me. :)

We have just 4 weeks left in this quarter, so let's finish up in a strong way!!

6th grade: this week we are going to continue creating our own cultures. We will look at #s 3, 4, and 5 of the 7 Elements of culture. Parents: ask your students what these are--they should know! :)

*UPDATE* In order to better facilitate collaboration with the Art department, we have moved Element #4 to next week. Therefore, we will be focusing on #s 3, 5, and 6 this week, and finishing #4 and #7 next week.

7th grade: we will continue our history of world religions unit, focusing on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism this week. Please be ready to take some notes...in the interest of being fair to all religions, and giving them equal time in class, we will spend quite a bit of time with a Microsoft Power-Point presentation this week...it's not my favorite way to teach, but it will get the info out there in a fair and balanced manner.

*UPDATE* Because of the MAP Test schedule, we will not be getting to Judaism this week. We will start with it on Monday.

8th grade: Are you ready for Ancient Egypt?! We will be going over the DBQ a bit this week, and starting our unit with a glimpse at the importance of the Nile river.

6th, 7th, and 8th grades will also be completing their MAP TESTS this week and next week. Remember that a good night's sleep and breakfast are two of the best things your student can do to prepare for these tests! I will put up the complete schedule for these classes tomorrow morning!

12th grade: We are going to start writing essays this week, and gathering information for our end-of quarter blog essay. Yay! (Right?) :)

Looking forward to another great week at Discovery School! :)

KF

Senior Blog Post: Due Monday, September 20

Hello Seniors:

I hope you had a lovely Independence Day break, and that you are refreshed and ready to get back to work!!

For your blog post this week, I would like you to link to the website of the College or University you are going to (or want to go to) and then tell me what you are going to major in and why you want to go to that college to study that subject. Tell me what excites you about your college and what are you worried about. If your specific major/degree has a specific site, you can link to that as well.

If you visited your school and took pictures while you were there, include a picture or two of yourself or the college. :)

Just for fun, here's mine:

University: Drake University
Degrees: School of Journalism and Mass Communication I Department of History I School of Education

I went to Drake originally because I wanted to be a journalist (Diane Sawyer-style). I also declared a second major in history, because I am a nerd. After two and a half years (and two MISERABLE internships) I realized I hated journalism, but still loved history. So I took more history classes and less journalism classes, and ended up with degrees in both. One year later I was back at Drake to get my Masters in Teaching, so I could eventually move to Honduras and hang out with all of you at school each day. :)

What excited me most about Drake was the hands-on Journalism experience I could get. Not only were there 3 major TV networks in Des Moines, but Drake had their own television station within the school. I was able to act as reporter, producer, writer, photographer, and everything in-between without even leaving campus ... I even got to interview Olympic champions at the Drake Relays! Even after I decided I didn't want to pursue journalism as my career, I was still excited about the options open to me as a Drake Student.

One of the things I was worried about was how much time I would spend doing these awesome extra-curricular activities. Even though they were career-oriented, they took a lot of time, and it was sometimes hard to balance what I wanted to do with what I had to do and what I should do ... not that that ever changes :)

Here are some pictures of my husband and I from my Graduations (well, ok, the first one was 3 weeks before we got married, but he's my husband now):



<=Undergrad Graduate =>















Remember, blog posts are a major part of your grade...those of you who spent time catching up last week...let's please try to stay on top of this!!!

Grading as followed:
2 pts: Name of College or University
2 pts: Link to College or University website
2 pts: Name of what you are going to study
2 pts: Explanation of why you are excited
2 pts: Explanation of what you are worried about
Extra Credit: Pictures (pictures make blogs so much more visually interesting!)

See you in class!
KF