May Academic Calendar

The sun rays of summer can be seen in our distant future, but hasten not towards those rays...for we have much learning to do!

English: We will read several short stories during the month of May and while doing so, we will revisit annotation, denotation, connotation, inference, author's voice, author's purpose, theme, plot, and so much more! First book read: "Duck on a Bike"; it was quite entertaining and very difficult to dissect. Students will work on 3 essay assignments while reviewing the rules of punctuation and grammar.

Science: The cell is the current hot topic in science class. Students are learning the differences between animal cells and plant cells; and the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic.  Do you know which of the latter mentioned cells is bacteria? The Periodic Table of Elements will be introduced and a review of this year's hot topics will be the challenge of the last two weeks of school.

History: Seventh graders are studying Texas State History.  We began with the first colony, Fort St. Louis, and students learned about LaSalle, a French explorer who settled on the Texas coast by accident! He was looking for the mouth of the Mississippi River!  We will progress through early Texas and end with the state's admission into the Union.

Eighth graders are continuing the most important topic of American History. They are reviewing the Revolutionary War, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and will end-up at the doorsteps of the Civil War.  

Beginner Spanish: Students are continuing to write simple sentences in Spanish using vocabulary they have learned throughout the year and they are including in their sentences conjugated verbs!  We will continue to review vocabulary, fluency, and writing simple sentences throughout the month of May.

Fine Arts: Students completed mosaic action silhouettes and abstract art and are now embarking on the challenge of pointillism self-portraits. There are a lot of sweaty brows in the classroom, but the artwork being produced is truly phenomenal!  

Algebra 1: The girls have finished a long chapter on polynomials and will work on measurement problems, distance/time problems, and more during May.

TAKS TESTING IS OVER!

The children and I are thrilled that our Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills testing is complete! I am so proud of all of my students! Almost every single student was Commended (the highest score label possible) in Reading, Writing, and Language Arts! I had several students who missed "0" on these tests! All students passed the history and science assessments! I am very proud of the work we accomplished thus far at Mrs. A's Academy. I had several students that were behind in core academic areas, but we have persevered together and every student took on an active learning role and worked hard to achieve greatness! Not only did we catch up, but we went way beyond the required goals and objectives! WE DID IT!

*Keep in mind that these tests are given informally here at Mrs. A's Academy and are used only as an assessment tool to provide information necessary to parents and to myself regarding academic goals and objectives as outlined by the state, the nation, and ourselves.

My Country Tis' of Thee

Sweet land of Liberty.

Our Washington D.C. trip was phenomenal!  Words can not accurately describe how amazing it was to see the many artifacts and landmarks that represent the birth place of our great country. The memories we made together will last a life time.

Day 1: Capitol Hill

The Potomac River at Mt. Vernon

Pondering greatness.

Deciding whether or not to take a pebble found at Mt. Vernon.  George Washington may have held that tiny pebble between his own fingers...

Outside the Washington's home at Mt. Vernon

We saw the original Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  All were so faded we could barely read them. It was completely inspiring!

Beautiful magnolia tree in full bloom at Arlington National Cemetery

One of the admirable soldiers chosen to keep guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Soldiers perform a changing of the guard ceremony every 30 minutes.  They perform this duty regardless of weather conditions. 

Cherry blossoms in full bloom. Absolutely breathtaking in person.

The White House

These are only a few of the pictures taken during our visit. We visited nearly 30 different places and took pictures of everything we saw! Many will be published in the yearbook and a DVD will be made for each family by School Tours of America showcasing all of the pictures taken on our trip.

The children were wonderful! Fun, completely engaged, kind, respectful, and I was totally blessed to be able to hang out with them for 4 complete days!