8 Days Left

I hope all of you have had a great 3 day weekend.
I cannot believe that there are 8 days left of this school year. Ever since we went to LEST, the school year has gone by in a whirlwind.
It has been a while since I have shared on the Blog. Sorry about that, I let other things take priority and business of the weeks was my excuse. Outdoor School and the time that surrounded it took more time and energy than I had expected.
I have had a blast this year. I recently had a chance to visit with some of my former colleagues at a wedding. They wanted to know how my year went and if I like Forest Hills. I told them that is a "good fit" for me. I certainly didn't want to compare (as that would hurt their feelings) but just wanted to point how much I appreciate being at a place that really matches up with my gifts and talents. On that note...
Thank you for this year. I have had a great year of growth, encouragement, patience, and I have felt loved and appreciated by so many of you. We are doing something truly special here and God is really at work in this place. I am so glad that God has lead me to this place. I am already excited about how God will work in the coming year.
There are so few instructional days left, but I will keep pushing to the end. Here is what your child can expect in my classes.
Bible-- we are now learning about Jesus and his early ministry (there will still be a year end book check, students should make sure they are following along and doing the work in the book)
Math-- we are finishing chapter 9 (Congruence and Similarity) and will be starting to look at Statistics in Chapter 10.
Science-- we are almost done with waves. We just completed our section on audio and visual waves and a quiz is coming. To finish the year, I plan on doing "fun" experiments. This could be anything from making slime to making ice cream. Please send me any ideas you have.
Worship team-- we have two times left this year to lead worship during chapel. The eighth graders have chosen the four songs we will finish with this year. This has been a great addition to the school and we will continue worship team next year.
History-- we have been looking at how Roman culture has influenced so many things, even today. We will finish with it soon and will be looking to a new choose your own adventure soon.
That is it for me for right now. I am always open to ideas or just talking. Blessings on your last days.
Mr. Bauer

P.S. My grades are up to date. There are many missing assignments for the year.
I know each class is going on a field trip on the June 7. 6th is heading to Silver Falls. I am still missing permission on several students. It is not to late to sign up, please see the email sent with the permission slip for details.

Book Reports

Third Trimester Book Report

The final book report of the year is due Friday, May 26.  Students will have Tuesday, May 23 for working on their report in class.  Students should come prepared with their book, writing supplies, and other items as needed.  Students who need to do their oral reports will sign up for sharing on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday of that week.

Language Arts

Grammar, Grammar, Grammar

Now that research papers are completed and turned in for grading we are off to new adventures.  We will be ending the year looking at adjectives and adverbs, words that modify nouns and verbs.  Being able to identify and use them correctly in our writing is important.  When we want others to understand exactly what we are communicating we use adjectives and adverbs.  They also make our writing more interesting!

Subject Update: Digital Literacy

A bunch of grades were just added to Digital Literacy on Gradelink for several projects we had done.  I wanted to give a quick reminder of how Digital Literacy is graded.  All assignments in this class can be resubmitted to earn up to 100% (this also goes for those that did not originally turn it in).  If someone received a score under 100%, there is a comment left for them in Google Classroom on what they need to improve to earn their 100.  The goal is everyone has the opportunity to get 100% in this class if they are willing to put in the work for it.  I hope all make it a goal to get there!

Up and Coming

Good Morning Forest Hills Middle School Families,
So much has happened and will continue to happen since LEST that sometimes I just feel like a whirl wind is passing around me.
First of all, thank you to everyone for the support and encouragement. I felt appreciated yesterday as I got so many hand written letter. I really do enjoy your kids and working along side you as a family. I also want to thank those who have Volunteered to drive for Out Door School.
There are many things coming up to look forward to.
Tomorrow we will do our third round of MAP testing.
Friday is the Fiesta Event that the student council is putting on.
Out Door School is May 16-19.
Year end trips happen on June 7th (6th grade is heading to Silver Creek Falls).
June 6 Laura will cut my hair.
June 8 is the last day of school and 8th grade graduation.
There are probably more things I should write down, but I can't think of anything.

In Science, we have finished looking at light waves and color and have moved on to Seismic waves and Communication waves. If you are in a field that uses communication waves (especially in fiber optics) and would have some time to share with our students, I would greatly appreciate it.
In Bible, we are in the Exile. We have looked at Daniel and his 3 buds and just finished looking at Esther. We will soon get back to the promised land.
In History we are finishing looking at Buddha and will soon start learning about ancient China.
In Math, we will finish translations soon and will test next week. The next chapter is on Congruence and Similarity.

I continue to see God working in this place and enjoy the time I have been given here.
Blessings on you day,
Mr. Bauer

MAP Testing

Next Wednesday, May 10 all students in grades 6 - 8 will be taking their spring session of the MAP testing.  

Please make sure that no appointments are scheduled for this day. 

It is really helpful for students to get a good night's sleep and eat a good breakfast.  Students are encouraged to bring healthy snacks and a really good book (book report reading!!) to read in between sessions.

Research Papers

We are nearing the end of writing research papers.  This week students have

been engaged in creating cover and work cited pages.  They have also formatted their outlines and papers accordingly.  Everyone is working on the editing process which includes reading paragraphs on their own (out of context of the paper), reading sentence by sentence - backwards, and reading it out loud as a story would sound.  During this process students are to make adjustments to their paper, shortening or adding as needed.  We will end this process by reviewing the spelling, punctuation and grammar of the whole paper.

[Since this process is new for the 6th grade their due date has been shifted until next week - possibly Tuesday - to allow time for editing.  Keep in mind this is a learning process, and learning takes time.]  7th & 8th grade papers are due Thursday / Friday.