Words with a PUNCH

Our class number was cut in half last week. We sure missed Adam, Logan and Morgan. And they missed out on making the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever!
We leaped right into our final presentations on the trait of a leader. I went first and chose written communication. As a leader it is so important to speak to your audience, keep them in mind as you compile your speech, letter, email, text, or dare I say, tweet.
Also, word choice, or diction is essential. Use words that tell the reader exactly what you are thinking, not fluffy words that don't have a real meaning. Don't use extra words that add NOTHING to your sentences. Make sure every word in your sentence fulfills a job! Get rid of the rest.
Do not be afraid of edits. Welcome edits. Your writings are NEVER perfect, they are always a work in progress. And most importantly, in order to become a good writer, you must practice. A journal is the perfect way to do this.

Your homework was to make a poster, compile an invitation, etc about the Scholar Retreat! Sell it! Explain why the audience should be a part of the event. I don't want to see any words like great, awesome, fun, etc! Explain why the event will be great, awesome, fun,etc! GOOD LUCK!!! I will give a reward to the best.

Next Thursday, Morgan will present on her chosen leadership trait. Remember, you must decide what trait you think every good leader should have. Give an example of a leader that embodies this trait. And then teach us how we can develop this trait in ourselves. Feel free to assign homework!

Also, we need to get down to business with our activities. The semester is quickly coming to a close.
Trey and Jared need to come up with committees and their responsibilities by THIS THURSDAY. Plus, Trey, CALL Betty Dial!! : ). And talk to Sean Newlun our resident camping expert about how involved he can be with the Scholar Retreat.

Morgan, have you talked with Julie Prestegard?
Logan, are you set for your game day?
Adam, where are you with your field day planning?

Good luck and be ready to report on Thursday.


Sent from my iPad

What's your stance? / Thank you notes and Game Day

On Thursday during debate we looked into the various presidential issues encircling the current election.  As a candidate it is important to take a stance and KNOW what that stance is. 

Have you ever heard of a candidate being called a flip-flopper?  In most cases this means they keep changing their stance.  Don't be a flip-flopper!!

Your homework is to research the following issues and determine your stance on each of them:

Abortion, Crime and Justice, Health Care, and Immigration.

Think policy, strategy and the issues that surround each of these bigger issues.

During the last hour of class, Merry gave a great presentation on Baron Von Steuben.  The best part is when she went off the paper and we could see her interest and passion for the subject.  Has anyone researched more about him?  Thanks be to Morgan, who made the great observation that Merry's presentation incited a desire in her to know more about this Von Steuben character.

We also made great headway with the Scholar Activity.  Logan is doing a fantastic job leading, planning and assigning.

He truly knows the value and the importance of delegating.

The assignments thus far are:

Jennifer - 4 Costco pizzas and water bottles, hat prize and good sport award

Leadership class members - desserts

Merry and Adam - plan and carryout small group games

Trey - spoon tournament

Trey and Adam - develop the criteria for the hat contest winner

Logan, did you check to see if we have plates and napkins available?  If not, talk to Shannon Hayes.

Next Thursday, you have all been tasked with making NUMEROUS thank you notes for use during the auction fundraiser.

Your assignments are:

Set up tables - Katie, Merry, Jared

Gather crayons, pencils, markers, glue, stickers - Adam, Trey

Bring note-cards/glue notes to cards - Logan and Morgan

Lure (yes, I said lure) students of all ages to the table to make cards - Katie, Merry, Jared, Adam, Trey, Logan and Morgan

Another idea is to grab a white board and write phrases that kids can copy onto their own cards. 

Ex:  "Thank you for helping our schools!"

    "Thank you for your help!"

"Thanks for making our school great!!!" 

 

--Use lots of exclamation points : )!

For homework, work on your activities and on completing all your assignments.  Also, it is never too early to prepare for your Character Study presentation. The schedule is as follows:

March 24 - Jennifer Poyer

March 31 - Morgan Miller

April 14 - Logan Miller, Merry Dial

April 21 - Jared Peterson, Adam Blanchard

April 28 - Trey Claridge, Katie Dial

The best way to overcome your apprehensions about giving presentations and public speaking is to do it more and more.  So these presentations we assign you are like a gift to you!  You are so very welcome.   I have seen improvements in everyone.  I love how our class dynamic has matured.  But for this last round, I would love to hear more feedback from all of you.  This is your class, it is what YOU  make it.  Thanks, everyone!

Next week, Teacher Genevieve will teach more parliamentary procedure.  I will see you in two weeks.  

Good luck on Thursday with your thank you note task.  I can't wait to hear about all the success it will bring!

 

American PIE

Well, there is nothing more American than pie, so we took a pie break this week during class.

We made adorable mini pies in canning lids!  The girls did a great job rolling out their dough and pinching the sides.

While the crusts were cooking, we shook cream into whipped cream using pure muscle and endurance!

We then mixed flavored yogurt with our whipped cream and spooned it into our crusts.  

I wish I would've captured some pictures of the gorgeous pies!  Maybe you can make them for Pi day!! It's this Monday.

A few girls decided to take their 13 colony quiz during the lunch hour.  Great job!  Skylynn got all 13 colonies correct.  She earned 13 gumballs for this feat!!

Keep working on your stitching projects.  I can't wait to see them.

Also, I will be gone next week, but Teacher Mary and Teacher Nalani will be all hands on deck.  Be ready to dissect the character of Felicity.

And speaking of decks, the following week we will be heading to Gig Harbor to learn all things boats.  It will be great.  This will fall on pajama day, but maybe you can bring those to change into after our field trip.  We will be heading to downtown Gig Harbor, where you might want to wear regular clothes.

You will also need to bring a lunch for our dockside picnic.

It's a Draw/All hands in for TEAMWORK!

Logan and Morgan faced off over women's voting responsibilities and each proved a worthy opponent of the other.  Logan made it clear that if women really care about women's rights, they should vote for women.  Morgan fought back declaring that true feminism was about women having equal choices, including the choice of who to support with their vote.  WELL DONE!!  I can't wait until your next face-off.

Start researching your chosen presidential issues right now.

Morgan: abortion, education, gay marriage, health care

Logan: crime and justice, genetically modified food, immigration , marijuana

During our second hour of class, Katie gave her leadership presentation on Joan of Arc.  When asked what leadership trait Joan of Arc truly represented, Katie said it was her ability to listen to God.  What a powerful example she showed us.  She did exactly what she believed God told her to do, nothing doubting.

Would any of our country's leaders do the same?  Would WE do the same?

Next week, Merry will present on someone incredible, I can just feel we are all going to be mesmerized and have tons of feedback and questions.

Activity dates are fast approaching and we have loads of work ahead of us.  We need to spend every minute of class engaged in learning, planning, and bringing to fruition our visions.

You each revisited your activities and you each have been tasked with various assignments that NEED to be COMPLETED ASAP!!   WE want your activities to be a SUCCESS.  We want to help you where ever you see a need.  Please start formulating your plan and asking for help.  Organization and time is key in carrying out a well-planned and amazing activity.  I think you each have fantastic ideas and visions.  Genevieve and I want to aid you in any way we can!  We are on your TEAM!!!  GO TEAM!!!

HOMEWORK:

Logan - 1) Get the scholar activity on the FILA calendar via Kellie Schmieder (your mom should have her email.) 2) Compose an invite email announcing your scholar activity 3) Forward this email to me, Jennifer Poyer, so I can send it out via our email group, or ask your mom to do so. 4) Talk to Shannon Hayes about available paper goods to use for activity.

Game Committee - Merry, Katie, Morgan - come up with two game proposals for Logan next week.

Hat Committee - Adam, Trey - Figure out the criteria for the "BEST HAT" vote.

Morgan - talk to Julie Prestegard regarding the Shakespeare bake sale.  Haley Walk and Hannah Owen are also good resources.  They ran it last year.

Adam - Discuss a possible quidditch match with Lisa Miller.  Talk to Shannon Miller about using her pop-up tent for field day.

Trey, Jared - Keep working on building your scholar retreat committees.  Work on job requirements/responsibilities you would like to see them accomplish.  Set a date to meet with Betty Dial during lunch regarding what is involved in planning the activity.

Be ready to report back next meeting!!!  Make us proud by being proactive!!