6^th graders have their vocabulary/spelling test on Monday, March 23. Unit 13, words 1-10. Sentences for their words are also due that day.

Both 6^th and 7^th graders have a peer review of their Young Authors Faire Books on Wednesday, March 25. Students must have all of the written content finished, copyright, dedication, and biography finished. And if applicable, students must have: the document typed, artwork mostly finished, table of contents, and a bibliography if students need to cite outside sources used to inform or add to the work, such as graphics, pictures, and information from the internet. In a few cases I told students they would benefit from having a forward explaining what informed the writing; what inspired the writing; what technology or other skills were involved in creating the original work? For example, I have two sets of students who created picture books with text. They did this entirely using computer software. To the naked eye one would not know that. A description of this process would be very informative for the judges. Pagination is also required on all books.

Congratulations to our THREE 7^th graders who placed fourth and second in the Science Faire this week: Christopher Perez-Zapata, Nicholas Ratto, and Aidan Deak-Murphy. These students are reminders to me of the excellent talent present in this 7^th grade class. This class never stops impressing me; I learn from them and they inspire me. These awards are also yet another reminder to me of what an amazing school we have at St. Philip Neri. The parent support, the dedication of students, and the tireless creativity all teachers put in to their everyday planning and instruction, are all banners of our love for learning. I feel very proud this week to be part of this Alameda Family.

Thank you to Mr. McNamara who was a guest, expert speaker on the sacrament of Holy Orders this week. Throughout the year, 7^th grade has genuinely had very legitimate questions about monastic life; what goes on in the seminary, what does it mean to receive holy orders, and who can receive holy orders? I always did my best to answer these questions, and added personal stories too, but when Monica said her dad had first hand experience at this, I jumped at the opportunity to have him in. He had the students’ full attention and we all learned something new. Thank You!

Next week students will receive the blessing of reconciliation. We talked about how lucky we are that we can talk to God and be forgiven. We encouraged students to spend time in prayer, soul searching for how they can improve. I look forward to this sacred time with my students next week.

Lastly, 7^th grade has an in-class assessment coming up Friday, March 27. Students have the copy of the poem, and we did some in-class preparation already. I have been modeling for students how to deconstruct poetry for weeks now. And students made quick reference posters for six most commonly used literary devices in literature.

7^th Grade In-Class Essay

In this multicultural unit, students read a variety of poems and short stories from different cultures including: Mexican-American, African-American, Chinese-American, and Jewish-American. While we in no way covered literature from all of the diverse voices and perspectives in America, we did uncover many important themes or meanings in written work, as well as other elements of literature such as literary devices, genre, purpose, style, imagery, and mood.

The poem “Diving into the Wreck,” by Adrienne Rich, discusses identity and life experience in a culturally neutral way; at the same time it relates to the themes we’ve discussed in this unit. Write a holistic essay that addresses the following questions?

·        What literary devices does she use? Cite/quote specific examples with line numbers. Discuss to what effect does this or these have on the overall meaning of the poem.

·        What is the tone of the poem? Cite specific words or lines that prove your thoughts.

·        What imagery do you notice? Cite specific things mentioned that help form a picture in your head. To what effect does this have on your understanding of the poem?

·        What is the mood of the poem? Cite specific words used or lines of text that prove your theory.

Address at least three of these writing prompts in a five paragraph essay. 

In your introduction give a summary of what the poem is generally about. You might then list the three topics that will follow in the body. For example: This theme is developed through Rich’s artistic blend of metaphor, imagery, and tone.

In your conclusion make a statement about the message the author is trying to convey to the reader? Is there a moral? You may want to address who might be Rich’s audience; to whom did she intend her audience to be if any?

 When you quote the poem cite that in this manner:  (Rich, line 24) or (Rich, lines 1-3)