Journal: Week of June 17, 2024

While away, I had a few more items purchased on my Etsy shop.  When we returned, the items shipped to Maine, New Jersey, and North Carolina. :) Items sold this past week included lanyard pen holders, classroom window curtains, and a dog bandana.

Ashlyn and her friend, Andy, went swimming on Tuesday afternoon for about an hour.  Our HOA in the neighborhood was sponsoring, Pops at the Pool, so we had a popsicle along with enjoying the pool for a bit.

Tuesday evening, Ashlyn completed her BSA Astronomy merit badge.  They were able to complete everything but one requirement while camping at the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Her last thing to complete was to draw a sketch of the Big Dipper's orientation in the early evening sky.  Then a few hours later, sketch it again including the North Star in both sketches and the position.  I could sure tell the difference between the views from our campsite, Glacier Basin, in comparison from our house with all the light pollution.  It was much harder to see, but it was there.  Saturday evening, Ashlyn submitted her last requirements for her BSA Camping merit badge.  

Reach 4 the STARS Bulletin Board

My coworker inspired me to create this bulletin board this past school year.  I just completed my 15th year teaching.  In the past fifteen years, I have taught 7th math, 7th honors math, 8th math, and Algebra.  This past school year I taught 8th math and Algebra.

Students received a star when they earned a 100% on a CFA (Common Formative Assessment) or a QC (Quick Check).  These were quizzes both of us gave together to all students.  These quizzes focused on primarily essential standards.  We compared our scores together to see how students did on the specific standards.  A response plan was created based on how students performed.  Response plans varied from each quiz, but primarily it focused on specific practice on which questions they missed since most questions were either different standards or the type of question to help students along the way.  Students who scored extremely low worked with us at our horseshoe/kidney tables to reteach the concept to attempt to catch them along the way.  Students also received a star when they scored an 85% or higher on a unit test. 

As I started adding stars to the bulletin board, it really inspired students.  Each class period had their own color card stock.  Since mixed card stock assortments are packaged with five different colors, I decided to group my Algebra class to one color.  Last year, I used blue for Algebra.  Therefore, blue looks deceiving because they appear to have the most.  In reality, it was two class periods with 35 students.  

I have started using my Cricut Explore Air 2 device to begin cutting new stars for next year.  I have adjusted the size to allow one card stock sheet (8.5x11) to have six stars cut from it.  Each star for the upcoming year will be approximately 3.5 inches wide.  In my bulletin board from last year, they ranged between four to five inches wide.  The size was great for the wall, but disliked the wasted paper when cutting them.

STARS 6 Cricut File

Journal: Week of May 20, 2024

Ashlyn earned her Star rank with BSA Scouts on Monday, May 20, 2024.  She is getting one step closer to Eagle!  Jakob earned his Eagle rank about the week before he turned 17.  Her current goal is to beat him by earning Eagle before the time he earned his rank.  However, only time will tell though.  She still has a bunch of Eagle required merit badges to complete.  Back in January, she switched troops to an all-girl backpacking troop and has been extremely happy with the challenges along with the other girls in the troop.

We finished off the last day of the 2023-2024 school this past Friday.  It was a busy school year as always.  Ashlyn finished off her 7th grade school year.  I finished my 15th year teaching.  In the past fifteen years, I have taught 7th grade math, 7th honors math, 8th grade math, and Algebra on my campus.  

Part of our check-out for the end of the school year was to put our big tables in the hallway.  My room is changing next year.  I will be downstairs and I will have windows!  I am excited about having windows again.  It has been quite some time since I have had windows, so I am looking forward to it.  Prior to leaving last Friday, I was able to pack everything up and store most of it in my classroom along with the math closet.  After our school finishes with all the cleaning, I will work towards moving everything to my new classroom when we return for the next school year.

My Side Stitch Creations EtsyShop is slowly picking back up which is fantastic.  Last week, new pen holders and a keyfob shipped out to North Carolina and Illinois.

Jakob started back to lifeguarding again this summer.  He appreciates the hourly pay rate and really likes the management team where he is currently lifeguarding.  He completed his first year at college and did well overall for his first year away at college.  Thankfully, due to his scholarship, he was able to live on campus.  This past spring break, we found him a fully furnished student housing apartment where he will live for his next school year.  I know he will appreciate having a private room and private bathroom.  He will have a shared living room and kitchen area with one other student.

Journal: Week of April 29, 2024

This past week went well.  My Algebra and 8th grade math students took their end of the year STAAR test.  Hopefully, they did well.  We will not know the results until much later in the school year most likely.  Last year we did not know their results until the beginning of our current school year.  We have three more weeks of the 2023-2024 school year.  

We completed our annual swim test for BSA on Wednesday.  In order to pass the BSA swim test, you must jump feet first into water over the head in depth, level off, and begin swimming. Swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: sidestroke, breaststroke, trudgen, or crawl; then swim 25 yards using an easy resting backstroke. The 100 yards must be swum continuously and include at least one sharp turn. After completing the swim, rest by floating. I recently purchased a Samsung Watch 6 and was impressed the watch knew which stroke I was doing while completing my test.  

Ashlyn went on an orchestra field trip with her school this past Thursday.  They did well and scored superior rating in all the categories.  After their performance, they went to Andretti Indoor Karting & Games.  

Friday evening, Ashlyn helped Jakob move the rest of his things from his dorm to the house.  He bribed her by buying her Whataburger for dinner and then ice cream afterwards!  He has a few more finals remaining next week, but otherwise has completed his first year at the University of North Texas!

Jakob's Sixth Grade Report Card - 2nd Semester

Jakob continued to stay busy during his second semester of sixth grade including student council, mathematics and calculator UIL, orchestra club, and after school art club.  Outside of school, his time is well spent helping with church and Boy Scouts.

Subject	3rd Nine Weeks	4th Nine Weeks	Semester 2	Year
Contemporary World Societies	98	96	97	96
Math	92	95	94	94
Orchestra	96	97	97	98
English	94	91	93	92
Reading	90	94	92	90
PE	100	100	100	100
Science	91	90	91	92

Jakob participated in Academic UIL in sixth grade focusing on Calculator UIL and Mathematics UIL.  At the Invitational UIL event, hosted at Navo Middle School, he placed 3rd in Mathematics.  As a team in Calculator UIL, they placed 1st and he also placed 1st individually between the competing schools.

On April 22, students competed at the district academic UIL meet at Harpool Middle School.  He placed 6th place in Calculator UIL out of all of the students completing.

1/28/2017 - Invitation UIL Event

4/22/2017 - District UIL Event

Jakob's turned twelve on February 1st.  The family all came over and we had a nice lunch at Babe's Chicken in Frisco, TX to celebrate.  Afterwards, we all came home, ate cake, and then Jakob opened presents.  Jakob had a few friends over to celebrate and a few stayed the night.

2/4/2017 - Roland, Jakob, and Ashlyn

2/4/2017

Boy Scouts:

Jakob continues to enjoy Boy Scouts.  Since he was in Confirmation with church, he was unable to attend as many campouts during the second semester.  However, his schedule should open up this upcoming school year to allow him to attend the monthly campouts.

Shooting Sports
February 17-19, 2017

2/17/2017 - Selfie with Jakob

2/17/2017 - Shooting Sports

Camporee
April 7-9, 2017

4/7/2017 - Buying Dinner at Sonic before
heading to Denton

4/7/2017 - Jakob and Ashlyn

4/7/2017 - Selfie with Jakob before the
boys headed out to Camporee

Jakob earned his Second Class rank with Boy Scouts Troop 366 on April 25, 2017.

4/25/2017 - Jakob earned 2nd Class with
Boy Scouts Troop 366

4/25/2017 - Jakob earned 2nd Class with
Boy Scouts Troop 366

Jakob continues to enjoy playing his viola in orchestra.  He continued to stay most days after school to practice.  Near the end of school, we were able to upgrade him to a size 15 viola.  It was a brand new nice looking instrument and he was so excited!

WINDY orchestra concert
March 23, 20017
Union Park

3/23/2017 - Sixth Grade Orchestra Concert

Jakob and the other orchestra players had their last concert on May 23rd.  He received an award for his class for best work ethic.

5/23/2017 - Spring Orchestra Concert

5/23/2017 - Spring Orchestra Concert

With the changes occurring at Cross Way UMC, I am thankful Jakob was able to complete confirmation prior to Pastor Chris leaving to his new church in Greenville, TX.

5/28/2017 - Jakob with Pastor Chris Yost

And... we made it!  Ashlyn finished her first year of Kindergarten and Jakob completed his first year of sixth grade in middle school!

6/1/2017 - Last Day of School

Check out Jakob's 1st semester of sixth grade here.

Jakob's Sixth Grade Report Card - 1st Semester

It sure is hard to believe Jakob started middle school already and half the year is already completed!  Jakob has been involved in a variety of school activities and clubs including student council, mathematics and calculator UIL, and has been enjoying the after school art club.  He finished his first semester of middle school with the following report card.

Subject	1st Nine Weeks	2nd Nine Weeks	Semester 1
Contemporary World Societies	94	96	95
Math	96	92	94
Orchestra	98	97	98
English	88	91	90
Reading	90	84	87
PE	100	100	100
Science	89	96	93

8/18/2016 - School Picture

8/22/2016 - First Day of School

Jakob had an active first semester.  He attended his first school dance on September 30, 2016.  In November, he used money he received from his Meme to purchase new books from the school book fair.  He was quite happy with his purchase!  Sixth graders also attended a field trip to the University of North Texas on November 17, 2016.

9/30/2016 - Sixth Grade Dance

11/1/2016 - Jakob used money from Meme to purchase new books from book fair.

11/17/2016 - Sixth grade Field Trip to the University of North Texas

Orchestra is one of his favorite subjects.  He started orchestra in fifth grade where they practiced twice a week.  Now in sixth grade, they practice daily.  Jakob normally stays after school to practice his instrument in practice club.  They even had a Halloween party for the orchestra students where they were allowed to dress up in costumes.  Jeff convinced him to wear the state-puff marshmallow man costume from Ghostbusters which was a hit for him!  His first orchestra concert was on November 10, 2016 where we listened to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders play their instruments.  It sure is amazing to see and hear how our talented students.

10/28/2016 - Orchestra Halloween Party

11/10/2016 - Jakob all dressed up before his first sixth grade orchestra concert.

11/10/2016 - Jakob and Caleb after their first sixth grade orchestra concert.

Jakob bridged to Boy Scouts Troop 366 during his fifth grade year.  He is still active and went on four camp outs during his first semester of sixth grade. 

Eagle Rock Loop - September 9-11, 2016
26.8 Mile (Jakob's group of boys ended up hiking over 28 miles due to taking a wrong turn and getting lost.)

9/9/2016 - Boy Scout 26 Mile Hiking Campout

Biking / Caving Campout - October 7-9, 2016
Colorado Bend State Park, Bend, TX 76284

10/7/2016 - Boy Scout Biking and Caving Campout

Wilderness Survival Campout - November 12-13, 2016

11/13/2016 - Jakob and Jacob survived their Boy Scout Wilderness Survival Campout.

Cold Weather Campout - December 9-11, 2016
Oklahoma Wildlife Refuge

12/8/2016 - All packed for cold weather campout.

12/9/2016 - All set for the cold weather campout.

Jakob made Tenderfoot rank on November 8, 2016.

11/8/2016 - Jakob made Tenderfoot rank in Boy Scouts!

On Thanksgiving, my family and I ran in the Abilene Turkey Trot.  There were over 1300 people who either walked or ran the 5K that morning.  Ashlyn cheered us all on from the sidelines along with Lana and Gregg, my mother and father-in-law.  Jeff's goal was to finish under thirty minutes and my goal was to finish under 45 minutes.  We both beat our goals with Jeff finishing in 26:08.1 and I finished in 36:55.  When the race begin, the boys took off ahead of me.  I caught up to Jakob and was able to help challenge him to run a little more and he actually finished before me with a time of 36:38.6.  We were proud of him because he had only done a little training prior to running this 5K.  Roland did not give up and finished in 54:38.

11/24/2016 - Abilene Turkey Trot

Jakob received a 2x2 and a 3x3 rubik's cube for Christmas and solved them both after watching videos to learn the algorithms.  He received the 2x2 from his Uncle Randy, Aunt, Nikki, and his cousin Sophie.  The 3x3 rubik's cube was from Meme and Papa in Killeen.

12/30/2016

Ashlyn's Kindergarten Report Card - 3rd Six Weeks

Ashlyn has sure enjoyed Kindergarten which makes my heart happy!  She has a love of learning and is currently on her fourth sight word list.  Students are given a list of ten words and then once they know all the words, they move onto another list.  We have flash cards at home that she continues to practice all the words together also.  Her teacher, Mr. Stein, has been sending home level D books which is slightly ahead of where the district expectation is for her age.

Ashlyn was working on reading a book for homework recently and realized the picture of the ship was like the one we went on with her Uncle Randy who is in the US Navy.  She was estactic to receive the 100 Words and My Little Pony books for Christmas from her Uncle Randy, Aunt Nikki, and her cousin Sophie along with the Bob Books from us.  Whenever she gets a chance, she also enjoys logging into iStation to practice her math and reading.

Our district uses standards based grading for elementary which indicates what level students are on for specific student friendly TEKS.  I personally love it especially for the younger grades because it helps parents know what their children are working on and where we can help give support at home.  The report cards also indicate which topics will be upcoming.  

The report card grading scale:

• meets standards 3
• developing 2
• beginning 1

Integrated Language Arts

Reading

Use strategies to comprehend a variety of texts - 2

Writing Process and Conventions

Use the writing process to compose a variety of texts - 3

Listening and Speaking Conversations

Listen attentively - 3
Communicate ideas, experiences, and needs using academic language - 3

Early Literacy Inventory (ELI/SELI)

Letter Identification - 3
Letter Sounds - 3
Concepts about Print - 2
Phonological Awareness - 2

Guided Reading Level

Student Guiding Reading Level - C
Student Uses Strategies to Comprehend Guided Reading Text - 2

Mathematics

Compose and decompose numbers with objects and pictures - 3
Model addition and subtraction as the joining and separating of numbers - 3

Assessing Math Concepts

Counting Objects

Keep track while counting accurately, remember how many, and cont up to a particular quantity - 3

Social Studies

Social Studies Conceptual Understanding
Participate as an Informed citizen of a Constitutional Republic

Identify rules and their purpose - 3
Describe the process of working, earning money, and using money to meet needs and wants - 3

Science

Physical Science

Describe the way objects move - 3