February was a snowy month resulting in more than a few snow days! In response, our first available “Topic Tuesday” for all English classes, 6-8, was; “What if we had a “snow-in” day? So much snow we had to stay in school overnight….with no pizza delivery?” Students shared some of their journal responses. Check out some writing consistency I noticed: “Somehow, the teachers would get locked into the Teacher’s Lounge. Ice cream from the lunchroom would be the main staple for dinner, unless they could take the tunnel to the social hall, where most writers were sure there was enough food to stay for a week, if necessary. Hallway sports, music over the PA, game rooms, reading rooms, and movie rooms were proposed, along with taking care of Little Buddies. After parents rescued them by morning using skis, snowblowers, bulldozers or snow tunnels (that worked like waterslides?) the whole school would get to go home… for another snow day! There is no shortage of creative thinking or writing in the Junior High at St. Clare.

We are well into the third quarter and the fifth grade students are working hard to get their Accelerated Reading points.  This is a reading program where the students read a book and take a computer quiz on that book.  They will need to get 13 points by the end of the quarter to meet their goal.  In reading, we are starting the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.  As we read the book, the students will take quizzes, reenact some scenes, and rewrite parts of the book in their own words.