New York Times Article about Natural Hair

"Going Natural Requires Lots of Help"
I read this article today and am so excited about the links it gives to other natural haircare websites for women of color.

Dear Parents,

As you may know, my husband and I were recently blessed to adopt two infants. We will be traveling to Ethiopia on February 2^nd to bring home our son Atticus and our daughter Norah.

Upon our return, I will be taking an extended maternity leave. Ms. Barbara Bandera, a St. Adalbert graduate with several years of teaching experience, will be substituting in my classroom for the months of February and March. She has already spent time in our school and I feel she will work wonderfully with my students. In April, Ms. Bandera will be moving to Kenya to teach for two years. We are currently searching for a substitute to replace me for the months of April and May. I will return to school for the last two weeks of the year.

I'm sure to miss all of your children during my leave, but I feel confident that Ms. Bandera will help them to make the transition without disruption. Please keep my family in your prayers as we begin this exciting new stage of our lives.

All of God's Peace,

Mrs. Elizabeth Drake

Eighth Grade Research Papers

Do you still need help writing the rough draft of your research paper or composing the bibliography? Check out this link for more instructions.

January

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful vacation!

Eighth graders are completing research reports about presidential candidates. The answers to the questions on your worksheets are due on Monday 1/14. We will be working on the rough drafts of your reports next week. Please be sure to follow the 2008 presidential campaign at home by watching the national news on television, listening to NPR, or reading the newspaper regularly. Some helpful websites include:
CNN
USA Today
The New York Times
Time Magazine
VoteSmart.org

Sixth and seventh graders are busy preparing for the It's All About Words Pentathlon. They need to have memorized their first poem by Friday 1/11 and also need to study the first column of commonly misspelled words and pp.25-26 of commonly misused words in their pentathlon packets.

Christmas is Almost Here!

It's Advent and we're busy getting ready for Christmas! I'm very grateful to my students who decorated my classroom and made it look festive. It's beautiful!

Please remind your parents and other family members to attend our Christmas program on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. There will be a very special performance by the teachers and I'm sure nobody wants to miss that!

Remind Your Parents about Conferences!

Welcome back students! You have half days on Thursday and Friday so that your parents can come in to meet with the teachers. Please remind your parents to attend! The time and date of your conference should be listed in your agenda.

We have a lot of work to do this week:
6th grade - Your test over The Westing Game will be on Tuesday.
You have a vocabulary test on Tuesday.
Your revised creative writing story is also due on Tuesday.
We will begin reading No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman on Wednesday.

7th grade - You have a vocabulary test on Tuesday and your creative writing story is also due.
We will finish reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham tomorrow and will begin
the real-life history behind the events of the story.

8th grade - Your test over A Raisin in the Sun is tomorrow! Good luck! We will begin reading
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle on Wednesday.

Thanksgiving Vacation Is Here!

There's no homework this weekend. Enjoy your time with your family and friends! As a side note, if any of your family members has a recipe for tamales that uses leftover turkey, I'd love to hear it!
Rest up, be safe, and have fun!