Poemland!

Hey there, Grammarland readers!

This week, my students recite a li'l grammar poem....but after that, it gets real!

My sixth graders will learn the first stanza of "Rabbi Ben Ezra", By Robert Browning. It's due October 25.

Rabbi Ben Ezra

BY ROBERT BROWNING

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith "A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!''

My 7th graders will re-visit our old friend from 6th grade, Robert Frost. This poem is also due Oct. 25.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

BY ROBERT FROST

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

And my 8th graders.....

I scared myself reading this stanza the other night:

Yes, it's "The Raven", by Edgar Allan Poe. 8th graders will recite the first half by November 8...or they may really challenge themselves, and memorize the whole thing for a test grade!! This poem is so magnificent that it earns its own vocabulary list. Study it on Quizlet! https://quizlet.com/431529888/the-raven-vocabulary-flash-cards/

Next Tuesday we will have vocab tests in 6-8 grades. Study on Quizlet! https://quizlet.com/join/P7BRFEtkA

Coming soon.....projects for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Last Battle.

This Friday at 4:00 is the last home game for Varsity Soccer. It's also senior night, and we are playing our cross-town rivals, Grace Christian. Come out and support our soccer team!( If you happen to see me and I'm all teary-eyed, it's because my son is one of those seniors, and this will be one of the last few times he'll wear his Falcon uniform. This mom life!)

Please send items for our Fall Festival basket:  COFFEE: PLEASE AND THANK YOU!! Next week I will send a sign up sheet for our fall festival game. It's a soccer shootout...made challenging by using those lightweight playground balls!

Here's a word for your weekend: unperturbed:  not worried, upset, or disquieted. 

It's an adjective. Use it well!

Blessings,

Mrs. Desjarlais

Turkish Delight

Greetings, Grammarlandians!

Well, my students enjoyed some Turkish Delight, but they agreed: it's good, but it's not good enough make a person betray his family. Of course, I checked the box on Amazon for  "not cursed by the White Witch", so maybe it was not a fair assessment.

Congratulations to Marina and Grace!! They are the first 8th graders to bring goodies for our lovely Fall Festival basket!  Coffee for the win!

I'm super proud of all of my grammar students. They are adjusting well, and we are really getting started with creative writing. My 8th graders just wrote a letter to a character; my 7th graders are about to explore the Biblical view of a lion (who represents Jesus) transforming a dragon back into a boy, but a boy who is kind and good and right . My 6th graders will soon begin their first project...details coming soon!

ALL middle school English: You grammar poem is due next Thursday, Sept. 26.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for Remind!

Don't forget: Wednesday dress code is khaki pants and a Lee Christian polo shirt.

Instead of a Word of the Day, here is a beautiful verse:
Psalm 59:16: But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. (NIV)

Blessings,
Mrs. Desjarlais

Important info! Read all about it!

Greetings, middle school!

Let's get ready for the most fun fundraiser ever: the Lee Christian Fall Festival! This year's festival is on Saturday, November 2, at the Lee County Fairgrounds. There will be food, games, crafts, and fun, but the big event is our auction. Each grade/homeroom collects items for a themed basket, and these amazing baskets are auctioned off to the highest bidder. If you have items to donate to the auction, such as services, game/concert tickets, or gift cards,  please let me know.

8th grade: our Fall Festival basket is a COFFEE basket! Please send coffee items, such as ground coffee, gift cards to local coffee shops, K-cups, attractive/eclectic coffee mugs, coffee decor, or even a coffee maker. Students will receive incentives for each item they bring for the basket.

6th-7th-8th

Parents, please join the Remind class for your child if you have not already. This is a great way to get timely reminders about tests and other important events.

6th-8th Grades: Narnia vocabulary test next Tuesday. Study on Quizlet - it's a free app, and you can study anywhere !https://quizlet.com/join/P7BRFEtkA

Middle school grammar is on fire!! 6th and 7th graders are learning to end the madness of using apostrophes to make words plural, while the 8th graders are unraveling the mysteries of the comma. And we are Team Oxford Comma all the way!!! Yes, I endeavor to turn your children into little grammar nerds.  Ahem, grammarians. I promise that it 's good for them!

Planners: Please be sure your child has a planner. It's extremely important that kids write down their assignments.

Another Word of the Day: blatherskite: nonsense; a person who is speaking nonsense. It's a noun!

I love my students, and I pray for them. I'm so blessed that God has called them to our school, and that I get to be a part of their middle school story. 

Blessings,

Mrs. Desjarlais

Week 3 in Grammarland

The White Witch. The Dawn Treader. King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn. Narnia is the place to be in middle school lit!
I’m ordering Turkish Delight for my students next week, though it won’t be enchanted like the kind Edmund ate. Well, probably...

6th - 8th graders - study your grammar poem, and be sure to join my quizlet class for vocab. Here’s the join link-
https://quizlet.com/join/P7BRFEtkA

Shout out to Nathan in 7th grade, who has already recited his poem!

And way to go - I’m super proud of my middle schoolers who run cross country and who play soccer and volleyball.

I’ve always wanted to have some flexible seating in my classroom, so this year I took an old bench, gussied it up with a cushion from Pier One, and placed it in the old home of the rock case ( which finally went to live in Mrs. Ross’s classroom). My second group of 7th graders have dubbed it the “squishy bench”, and one student per class may sit on it each day. The ones who have done it so far looked pretty comfy!  I kinda love the idea of students having the option to forego a desk.

I love words, and I try to share that love with my students. I also love learning, so every day I receive  2 emails with 2 different “words of the day”. Today’s word was one I’ve never before seen, but instantly love. I’m sharing it with you, in case you want to wow your friends and neighbors with it. Here it is:
Bombinate: to buzz, to drone, to hum. It’s a verb. Use it well!

That’s it for Grammarland this week! Please know that I love your middle schoolers, and that I am praying for them.
Blessings,
Mrs. Desjarlais