BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS »
English, History, Science, Fine Arts, & Speech for Middle Schoolers entering 7th or 8th grade.

English, History, Science, & Fine Arts for 6th grade has been added to the schedule for the 2011-2012 school year!

Qualifications & Experience

  • BEd General Education & Special Education
  • MEd Literacy Instruction
  • Certified Reading Specialist
  • State Certified Teacher
  • 12 years teaching experience

About Me

We are a state certified reading specialist and a state certified librarian devoted to assisting children to become master readers!

6th Grade Academic Classes & Tutoring

  • ONLINE COURSES COMING SOON!
  • Tutoring available for reading, spelling, writing, science, & math available upon request.
  • Classes meet twice a week
  • PreAP English
  • American History, Geography, & Introduction to Political Science
  • Earth Science & Life Science
  • Fine Arts
  • Cost: $130 English; $75 all other classes per month

7th & 8th Grade Academic Classes & Tutoring

  • ONLINE COURSES COMING SOON!
  • Tutoring available in reading, spelling, writing, history, & science upon request
  • Classes meet twice a week
  • PreAP English
  • American History, Geography, Texas History, & Introduction to Political Science
  • Life Science & Physical Science
  • Speech
  • Fine Arts
  • Cost: $130 English; $75 all other classes per month

Contact me anytime at: mrsasacademy@gmail.com

Thursday, September 30, 2010

The Happenings for October

Students will embark on many academic adventures this month!

English: Students will work on creating a narrative poem; they will begin analyzing Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and many other famous poets; we will conclude our poetry unit this month with an exam where students will annotate and analyze a final piece of classical poetry.

Science: We are continuing our study of the solar system. Students learned about nuclear fusion and the development of stars, convection, and the characteristics and chemical make-up of our sun, Newton's Third Law, crater formation, tides, and so much more. They will continue studying stars and their life cycles. Students will work on a two-week long constellation project that will be presented to the class during the second week of October. Our solar system unit will be completed this month and students will be given an exam to test their knowledge. It will benefit each student to review his/her notes on a regular basis. The exam is open to ask questions related to any material shared in class.

History: We are continuing our exploration of Europe! It has been an exciting adventure to learn about cultures, regions, religions, traditions, physical characteristics, and more! Students are working on familiarizing themselves with the four hemispheres and latitude and longitude. We will complete our tour of Europe during the first week of this month, and then we will explore the African continent. Students have successfully learned the 5 themes of geography: location, region, place, human interaction, and movement. Scientists worldwide use the 5 themes of geography for their own research, educational endeavors, explorations, and the like. Each continent studied will end with an exam regarding information shared during the study of that particular place in our world.

Spanish: Students are continuing to build their Spanish vocabulary daily. Students have become familiar with animals, numbers, colors, objects, and more. We will begin simple sentence structure this month and conversation in Spanish. Each vocabulary lesson ends with a quiz.

Fine Arts: Students have just finished their first masterpieces! They produced beautiful watercolor landscapes. Pictures will be brought home during the first week of this month for you to enjoy. Our next project will allow students to get familiar with the Italian art of mosaic design. Students will design and create their own mosaic creations.

Our first month of school has been amazing! I am enjoying our informal school environment. Students are conversing and sharing what they know, asking questions, solving problems, and they're doing it all based on their own desire to learn! We are definitely getting into a wonderful groove and the students are getting to know each other and learning to adapt to different personalities and they are adjusting well. Watching them skateboard has been highly entertaining during the two days each week we share lunch together!

Our first field-trip proved to be an exciting tour of space. My Mrs. A's Academy students blew away the college teacher who gave a lecture prior to the show. Our children were the only one's in the audience answering questions about our universe! The college students were quite intimidated I was told.

I am still waiting on the calendar for the Goliad war reenactment field-trip opportunity. I will keep you posted regarding information you will need to know about this upcoming field-trip.

Calendar Update:
We will have the whole week of Thanksgiving off.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

FUNDRAISERS FOR WASHINGTON D.C.

Our tour of Washington D.C. has been planned and packets went home with your child on Thursday! I hope they were able to relay all important information to you. Everyone was extremely excited about the possibility of visiting our nation's capital and touring so many great and exciting places. 
Please visit the link here: schooltoursofamerica.com
Once there, click on "Our Tours" at the top of the home page to the right. Then, scroll along the right margin until you come to the section titled "Videos". Click on "Washington D.C." and enjoy viewing all of the wonderful places we have an opportunity to visit! 
It's very exciting!

As a class, we brainstormed many different ways we could raise money as a group to help pay for our tour. Suggestions: yard sale on large church property where we will serve breakfast burritos, drinks and BBQ! Dinner Theater: all students perform a play together and family and friends come for entertainment, silent auction, and a meal. We are open for other suggestions as well. 

In order for our fundraisers to work, I am going to need help from you! I would like to have a volunteer who is willing to coordinate the yard sale. And I would like to have two people (at least) who are ready and willing to coordinate the Dinner Theater. Are you game? Do you want your child's ticket covered by...not you? Then let's put our heads and our energies together and raise some Washington D.C. money! Please email me or come and visit me with your desire to help!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Washington D.C.

Just a few of the places we will see...
Your official Washington D.C. packet has arrived! 
Our trip is planned for the third week in April 2011! I am prayerful that all of my students will be able to attend and participate in this awesome opportunity...History Alive! After reading about it, studying it, and writing about it, it's time to see it right in front of our own eyes!
We will visit:
The White House
Supreme Court
Library of Congress
Smithsonian Complex
Arlington Cemetery
Mt. Vernon
Night Tour: Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Kennedy Center & Iwo Jima Memorial
Embassy Row
Washington Cathedral
National Zoo

The packet will outline your payment obligations, itinerary, and more. I have made arrangements through School Tours of America. They have set-up a payment plan for each family, so payments can be made directly to them over the course of the next 6 months. However, no family is under any obligation until you register. Please review the packet and determine whether or not you are interested in having your child participate in this near the end-of-the-school year adventure! If you have any concerns or inquiries, please email me at your convenience. I know this may be something you desperately want to do, but you are worried about the cost. I am worried about that too because I have to pay for myself (if ten reservations are made, the teacher-me-is able to go for free) and my daughter. Please email me or visit with me about your concerns. I am open to brainstorming fundraising ideas! The students enrolled in art might be able to put on a gallery showing for friends and FAMILY. Masterpieces could be sold and earnings would go towards that students ticket. We could also do a dinner theater event. Students sell tickets to friends and family and put on a show for their guests. Again, earnings go directly to the students.

A few of my students have shared with me that mom or dad might want to attend the trip with us. Parents are definitely welcome to join us.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Field-Trip This Week!

Tuesday's the day we experience space at the Scobee Planetarium at UTSA! Science students: please bring your $3 plus $10 for lunch at Chik-Fil-A!

We are really settling in to our school routine and much is going on in our little school! Students will spend this coming week touring the European continent, working with latitude and longitude, discovering the chemical make-up of the Sun, analyzing poetry, writing poetry, practicing numeros en espanol, creating artistic masterpieces with water color, and much more! Please ask your child to show you their student agenda to make sure they are staying on task with homework expectations. 

Progress Reports will be sent home during the fifth week of school.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

HOMEWORK...

Homework, homework, homework seems to be the big topic of this week!
Rest assured I have heard your cries for "Help"! Homework will be modified beginning this week. 
My intent was not to overwhelm but to adequately prepare all of my students for the academic rigor of advanced placement courses when they enter high school. 
The reigns will be pulled back a bit and breathing room will again be felt amongst all!

However, homework will still be assigned, just not as much. It is necessary because our school day is shorter than the norm and we do not attend classes on Fridays. The students must fulfill and meet all of the academic goals and objectives as outlined by Texas' education system and the national standards.

Please keep in mind that I am always available to listen to your comments, questions, or concerns. I want there to be an open line of communication between us all. The only way this adventure will truly be successful is if we are in it together as a team!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

FIRST FIELD-TRIP...UTSA PLANETARIUM...September 21

SCIENCE STUDENTS ONLY

Our first field-trip has been scheduled. We will be visiting the UTSA Scobee Planetarium this month. The show we have been invited to see was designed to entertain college students from the University of Texas, but the show's coordinator believes this would be a perfect experience for my students! The show's content fits in perfectly with some of the requirements for this year's science objectives.  We will sit in awe as the instructors treat us to a 3-D display of our universe!


 “ULTIMATE UNIVERSE”

"From the edge of space and time, through vast fields of wondrous galaxies, to the majesty of our solar system, this show takes our audience on a grand tour of the universe. Take a trip back into time to witness the creation of the cosmos.  Tour the galaxies and see how stars are born and the bizarre ways they eventually die. Plus, we will encounter each of the planets and a few of their astounding moons.  'Ultimate Universe' is a three dimensional journey through the cosmos in search of its most provocative secrets," Scobee Planetarium.

Cost: only $3 per student!