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Classroom Update
Well, it is very clear that we are nearing the end of the school year. The differences in energy levels, for both students and teachers is momentous. Malaise, fear, apprehension, hormones, pollen, and joy float through the air of my classroom on a daily basis. For many of us the beginning of spring brings about a change in attitude as the long, and potentially depressing, Northwest winter finally comes to a crashing close.
With their last large writing assignment completed, the students are increasingly turning their attention to independent projects. We have a very exciting variety of projects this year and should have some very unique and insightful presentations. In Language Arts we have turned our attention to some end of the year business, which will include a final on-demand writing sample and a revision paper. In Humanities we are completing a unique and challenging exercise centering around the writing of bills to become laws. The students have come up with unique laws that they would like to see enacted at the national, state, local, and even school level.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 5/10/17
A Note from the Talent Show Audition Committee:
Dear Families,
The annual Talent Show will be held on June 8 at 9:30 am. Auditions will be held the week of May 22 - 26th during lunch recess. Sign-ups will be available in each classroom on May 15.
Acts should be well rehearsed and performance ready. In the case of spoken word or singing for example, performers should know all lyrics, speak or sing clearly and do so with expression and projection. For vocal acts that are accompanied by music, student must supply the karaoke version of the song on a flash drive or via email prior to the audition. Dance routines with music accompaniment must also supply the music by flash drive or via email prior to the audition.
Acts that are not performance ready may be asked to re-audition or may not be included in the show as this is as much a celebration of hard work and discipline as it is about performing arts. Students that are unprepared on audition day will not audition.
We look forward to seeing you at auditions!
Audition Committee Ms. Fety, Mr. Luke, Ms. Blythe and Ms. Ingalls.
Research Papers, Learning about Government, and State Testing
As a general update on classroom curricular goals and happenings, I wanted to let you know what your students' are doing in the West Cedars classroom.
In Language Arts we are working on a research paper with students allowed to select their own topics. Personal choice is an important part of any successful classroom and/or school, and I still think fondly on research papers I wrote in middle and even elementary school. To this day I retain a greater understanding about orangutans (see I spelled it right on the first try) and cancer due to these explorations in my early educational career. MRA students are learning how to find appropriate resources, conduct efficient and effective research, and write using the informative mode. Additionally we will be making an attempt to follow the most recent guides provided by the Modern Language Association (MLA) regarding citations, formatting, and a works cited page. These are important skills that are essential for college students and will be reinforced throughout high school as well.
In Humanities we are beginning our exploration of government structures, with a strong emphasis on the American political system. Students will be learning about the levels of government (local, state, and federal) as well as the branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) and the various responsibilities of these groups. This is such an interesting time for our young people to be learning about government because it has been so prevalent in local and national news media. No matter how you feel about today's political climate, the president, or our system of checks and balances, being knowledge about the political system is often viewed as every citizen's responsibility.
As a write this blog post, I sit in our wonderful media center surrounded by seventh grade student diligently working on their English Language Arts Computer Adaptive Test provided by the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Teachers would say: "The kids are taking their ELA CAT through OAKS." I have previously written about my own feelings on these standardized tests, so I won't get into that here, just know that the selected grades for testing will be spending a bit of time in the month of April working on these tests. I, for one, am confident that this year's Cedars students will continue to raise MRA's standardized test scores (which at the middle level have improved across the board in the last few years). You may not be aware that in Oregon you can check on the progress of every school in the state. These reports are based on a number of norms and criteria, one of which is the state testing students are engaged in now. If you are interested, here is a link to the Oregon school report cards: <http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx>.
Hope you had a wonderful break, and it really is good to see all the kids back at school today!
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 4/4/17
Back to Normal?
Well things have settled down a little bit for the Cedars students, and teachers, and we are progressing into the second semester with vim and vigor. In Language arts the students are wrapping up their personal narratives, continuing with Literature Circles discussions, and working on analogies (8th grade) and advanced grammar topics (7th grade). In Humanities we have turned our attention to the American antebellum period, which preceded the civil war. We are examining topics such as slavery, emancipation, statehood, the expansion of the country, and the political machinations that led to the civil war.
Major projects on deck for the Cedars include E-Portfolios, which will be shared with parents at student led conferences, and Independent Projects, which should already be in progress. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about Independent Projects. These are a major undertaking and can lead to a number of questions for students and parents. If your student has not made meaningful progress on their project it's time to get in gear. What we've seen in the past is that as time gets shorter, the quality of projects decreases, so it does not pay to procrastinate here.
Enjoy the pictures below from American Heritage Day and make sure to click over to the electives tab, where there are pictures of the ceramics class working hard and having fun!
Mr. Poff 3/2/17
Personal Narratives & Play Productions
Hi parents, students and dedicated readers,
The Cedars students are knee deep in their study and composition of personal narratives. We have read several personal narratives to this point and are currently examining a personal narrative speech given by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). The students have taken a very serious approach to this writing task and are applying the various methods, modes, and techniques that we have been working on all year. I am confident that, due to the students' individual growth as writers and the personal focus of this assignment, for many this will be their finest writing piece of the year.
Preparations for our American Heritage Day plays are getting hot and heavy and I think everyone is a little stressed out. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to make all the preparations. From sets, to costumes, to rehearsals, we still have tons to do and only eight days to get it all finished! What a great learning experience for the students! I wish you could see their tireless efforts. Of course stress is not the goal here, but learning how to better prioritize project tasks, set personal and group deadlines, and work under stressful conditions are all skills that we want our young people to possess.
I hope you are able to join us on February 17th either in the morning or the afternoon. Let me know if you have any questions or need any additional information.
Mr. Poff 2/10/17
Literature Circles Have Begun
Today the 7th and 8th graders hosted their first Literature Circle meetings. Literature Circles is a Language Arts curriculum that encourages students to talk about books using predefined roles that they rotate on a weekly basis. Think of it as training students to become members of a book club. Discussing literature with peers in a meaningful way prepares students for the advanced rigors of academic language by increasing comfort-ability with difficult texts, improving use of comprehension strategies, and building positive reading habits in our young people. See below for a slideshow of 7th and 8th graders engaged in their Literature Circle meetings.
American Heritage Day Moved
Our American Heritage Day celebration date has been changed to February 17th. This is a week later then we had originally anticipated but will allow us the time and attention to appropriately culminate our learning and produce a fully developed finished product. Please contact me if you would like to get involved with American Heritage Day, either on a regular basis or on the day of the event. We hope that as many parents as possible are able to attend.
We Need Your Help - costuming donations
The Cedars classrooms are looking for donations to help our costuming for American Heritage Day. If anyone has colonial clothing or costuming laying around we would love to borrow it. Ok, that's kind of a joke. There are lots of everyday items that can be used to create or simulate colonial clothing. Below I have copied an email from room parent Missy Marshall who is coordinating our costuming donations.
Hi West Cedars Parents,
Sorry if you are getting this email as a repeat I have been having trouble with my email for the last month. For our Heritage Days we are still in need of boys dress shirts (24 of them), Vest, soccer socks, and knickers or pants that can be knickers. If you have any of these or know anyone that has these that we can borrow or have would be great. The sooner the better. The girls were fortunate enough to get dresses from Poff's Assistant Pam. If you are in question of what we are looking for I have put a link below. In colonial days there were not bright colors or floral. If you have any questions please feel free to email myself or Ben. If you haven't received previous emails from me, I am the home room parent for this year.
For the first time MRA will be offering ceramics as an elective choice for Cedars students. A kiln was donated to the school some time ago, but it has never been put into use. The Cedars will merely be the first group that gets to work with clay and use the kiln as eventually the ceramics program will be introduced to the elementary teachers and students for use in their classrooms. How can you get involved? We are trying to offset some of the outstanding costs associated with running a ceramics program. If you have any clay or ceramics materials to donate we would love to take them off your hands. This could be anything from clay and glaze, to molds and tools. Here is a brief list of everyday items that come in handy for working in a clay/ceramics workshop: spray bottles, baking sheets, knitting needles, tweezers, scoops, spatulas, slicers, blunt edge knives, etc. We will also be looking for any adults with clay experience to assist classroom teachers in the coming months. If you have this type of experience, or are simply interested in getting involved, please contact your student's teacher. Please bring any donated materials to the MRA office, if you have any questions you may contact Mr. Poff at [email protected].
American Heritage Day Celebration
The 7th and 8th grade Cedars students at MRA have begun a tradition of annually hosting cross-curricular immersive learning days for the younger students. Last year we hosted our first Renaissance Fair (the second Renaissance Fair is scheduled for next year). This year, as part of our American history and government curriculum, the students will be hosting a new festival titled “American Heritage Day.” The Cedars will be role playing and teaching on a variety of topics from early American culture, government, lifestyles, regional differences, and many more. There will also be two plays performed in the afternoon.
The Cedars students and teachers would like to extend an invitation to you and your family to attend American Heritage Day on February 10th. There is an opportunity to tour the Cedar teaching stations in the morning, with or without your student's class, and the plays to view after lunch. (Times to be announced soon.) Remember that guests need to check in at the office.
These hands on learning projects afford our Cedars students, not only opportunities to be role models and teachers to our younger schoolmates, but also the chance to engage in meaningful project based learning as culminating works. The students will be creating, planning, rehearsing, and fulfilling all of the roles for this endeavor. They will need to design costumes, backdrops, and props; plan out presentations, scripts, and flow charts; and work as directors, builders and coordinators. All while working together with each other and school staff.
We hope to see you all on February 10th for MRA's first American Heritage Day! Sincerely, Mr. Poff 12/20/16
Holiday Greetings from the Poff family!!
If you weren't in the holiday spirit yet, hopefully a few missed school days due to ice and inclement weather were enough to change your outlook. Our girls helped decorate the tree and hang Christmas lights as soon as our neighborhood thawed out on Saturday, and though Lilly is still too frightened to get on Santa's lap, we are looking forward to some family time and the chance to catch up on some much needed cleaning projects around the house. Hopefully you and yours are looking forward to the holiday season as much as your students are looking forward to a break from school! I would encourage you to keep the less fortunate at the forefront of your thoughts this holiday season and look for simple ways your family can make a positive impact in our community. If you're interested in some new holiday traditions here is a link to "100 Ways for your Family to Make a Difference" this year.
Stay safe, warm, and have a wonderful holiday season!!
The Poffs Ben, Angela, Lilly, and Kayleah
Mr, Poff's homeroom students create stick reindeer for Molalla area business windows.
Cedar Students work with descriptive writing using found objects from the MRA campus.
Hello parents, students, and readers,
A quick update on the West Cedars curricular goals for November. In Language Arts our focus has shifted to descriptive writing. We have practiced writing detailed descriptions of specific items and most recently vivid landscape photographs. We will soon be moving to describing specifically memorable moments and using descriptive language to talk about our favorite music. These can be challenging areas for burgeoning descriptive writers, but our early successes with this mode of writing have me extremely confident in the students' abilities. In Humanities our independence simulation continues and we are quickly nearing the first continental congress. Many students have taken well to this project and have been able to formalize their learning of American history through this unique format. For some students, however, our play acting has not helped them learn / remember the details that led to the stamp act congress. This was evident in some of the grades from our first quiz. Students who failed the quiz have been given an opportunity to earn back some of their quiz points. This is challenging materials and can often feel very disconnected from the lives our students live. We are making some adjustments in our preparation of materials for congressional debate days and will try to bring our quiz scores up for the next congress.
Remember that if you missed conferences, or would like to follow up on our discussions it is very easy to schedule a meeting with myself or Mr. Luke before or after school. Just drop one of us an email.
Thank you all for reading.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 11/16/16
MRA students of all ages take advantage of a sunny Friday to work on the grounds as part of our Playspace initiative.
Cedars students working on literary themes in The Outsiders.
Basketball Season is Here!!! Go Blazers!!
Okay, so the title has nothing to do with this week's post, but I still get excited for Blazer season every October.
In the West Cedars classroom students have been tasked with two very different learning opportunities that will challenge them in very different ways.
The first, in Humanities, is an independence simulation which has the students each assuming a colonial identity and arguing the merits of breaking away from Britain and achieving independence or remaining as part of a near global empire. The students will be having their first congress this week (the Stamp Act congress) as the loyalists and patriots in each class work to convince the neutrals that their plan is the best. There are some wonderful parallels happening here between our simulation and this year's presidential election.
In Language Arts both classes are embarking on their most challenging and longest writing assignment of the year. This two page essay assignment requires students to choose a theme from our novel The Outsiders and work to explain their thinking through the use of specific examples and quotes from the text. This is high level literary analysis and though this kind of work is very common in college literature classes it is often not approached at the high school level, and is rarely included in middle school curriculum. I have the highest confidence that our students will be successful in this endeavor.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 10/31/16
Rooting for Roots Day!!
Roots day was a wet and soggy success! The Alders provided some excellent learning opportunities and the best, and most abundant, food for a roots day yet! The rain held off long enough for us to get through our activities and have a rousing campfire. However, massive showers began very shortly after we got inside. The Cedars acted as guides and assistants to the adult group leaders. Many were paired with individual students from the Trillium and Huckleberry classrooms and helped these kids be successful with their behavior and learning. I was extremely impressed with the job the Cedars in my group did in this regard.
A note about Independent Projects: Independent Project Proposals are now past due. Many of the 8th grade students have not submitted a proposal and a few 7th graders as well. On Friday, during our community time, we will be watching the movie to our Language Arts novel The Outsiders, it is rated PG. Students who have not submitted an IP Proposal will not be allowed to watch the film, and will instead work on completing this responsibility.
As always if you or your student are struggling with the Independent Project, or anything else, do not hesitate to contact me. It is my goal to respond to your emails in a very timely manner and will often get back to you immediately, even during non-school hours (afternoons, evenings, and weekends).
Friday's Jog-a-Thon was a huge success even though it sprinkled on us the entire time! The kids had a blast and were able to channel their inner Oregonian while simultaneously earning money for MRA's Playspace projects and other school initiatives. We are very grateful to the students and families for helping to raise so much money. Remember, you have until October 13th (that's Thursday) to turn in any money to be considered for prizes.
In humanities this week the students will be doing the teaching! No I'm not being lazy; teaching is the best way to solidify new learning. No other activity gets the brain working so hard. In order to teach a concept or idea a reasonably firm mastery is necessary. For students working in groups, seeking this type of mastery ensures that they have a complete understanding of the topic in question.
We have read six chapters of The Outsiders and have recently been exploring the theme of innocence lost, a major idea in the text, through Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold can Stay." The students have begun writing their own poems as well. These will be on display in the classroom within the next week or so. Please stop by and check them out!
Nothing Gold Can Stay Robert Frost, 1874 - 1963
Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 10/10/16
What a Novel Idea
Today (Friday), the Cedars students received our fall class novel, S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. This story, set in the 1960's, follows a group of teenagers attempting to navigate the landscape of high school, social pressures, and the world around them. We will be looking at issues such as personal identity, social justice / empathy, and family relationships. This novel was selected because it perfectly complements this year's theme: How do I Impact my Community and How does my Community Impact Me? A quote from the unit plan sums up this connection quite well: "The characters give students a voice through which they can speak, reaffirming the trials of being a teenager yet calling for hope and for change."
In humanities we have begun our exploration of the original thirteen colonies, which has included some tough discussions surrounding the triangular trade, American slavery, and race relations. Though this material can, at times, be very difficult for students to face, I feel it is extremely important for understanding the ever-changing American social and political landscapes. The students have been completing weekly current events assignments (due each Thursday) and have really stepped up their ability to search out thought provoking issues that lead us to stellar debates and conversations in class. I encourage you to help your student(s) understand the news that they are hearing and reading about. Watching the nightly news together can be a great family tradition that allows families to discuss meaningful issues, ask hard questions, and build connections with the wider world in a comfortable and safe environment.
Progress reports will be distributed to students on Monday and all grades will be updated by then.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 9/30/16
Independent Projects Update A significant academic goal at Molalla River Academy is that each student in every grade completes an independent project. For the Cedars students this endeavor is a year long project consisting of three main components: the physical project, the written project, and the presentation. At this point we have completed our initial brainstorming and have met individually with every student regarding their plans. The official project proposals are due the 7th of October and we will be continuing to work on these in class. The project proposal form has been updated and can be found on my home page. (A Google Docs version will be posted soon.)
I would really like to encourage you to talk to your student about their project ideas. This can be a confusing process for many students and they may need help with developing appropriate goals, designing activities that meet expectations, and coming up with mentor ideas (mentors are required for 8th graders only). Independent Projects are not designed to be completed in a total vacuum. Students are supported by school staff, members of business, non-profit, and government sectors, friends, and of course family members.
If you have any questions regarding Cedars independent projects please get in touch with me early rather than later. Even though we work on this project all year, procrastination can still sink even the best of ideas and intentions.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 9/27/16
Two weeks in the Books!! (pun intended)
The Cedars students are in the process of completing their first essay of the new school year! This is a persuasive piece in which each student is trying to convince a specific audience of some change that we need. A number are writing about the MRA uniform, some are writing about additional clubs and sports teams that we could have, while a few are writing about larger social issues, such as international garbage management, littering, and parenting styles. We will wrap up these papers this week and turn our attention to writing a persuasive letter next.
In Humanities, the Cedars will be transitioning out of pre-contact American history and beginning to look at European explorers and the first immigrants to settle long term in the Americas. Today we will be creating the first graphical/pictorial representations for our timeline (photograph coming soon).
Check out some photographs from a team-building activity we did on Wednesday
Photos from our Labor Day family Vacation to the Poff enclave in Tillamook
We Made it Through the First Week of School!
This week Cedars students were introduced to class structures and goals, set up learning materials for the year, and were generally oriented to being a middle school student at MRA. It's going to be a great year full of growth and learning for all.
One of the activities this week that we completed in Language Arts was a very simple personality test. I encourage you to ask your student(s) about their results. (They should have the sheet in their binder and I've included a link to the original documents.)
One of the things I re-realized about myself through this exercise was that I really enjoy my work! This is one of the characteristics of people with a "green" personality. Summer break is wonderful of course, but my days don't really feel complete, maybe fulfilling is a better word, if I'm not working with students in the classroom.
Next week we will begin exploring our first curriculum content. In humanities we will look at the world before the "discovery" of the new world, focusing primarily on the American and European continents. In Language Arts we will begin looking at the language of argument and persuasion, beginning with Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, or the three modes of persuasion as coined by Aristotle himself.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me, either through my website, through the Jupiter gradebook system, or directly at [email protected].
I hope that you have enjoyed a summer of learning and adventures outside of the classroom. I am excited for the beginning of the year and to see all your smiling faces back again. We have a busy year ahead of us that will surely challenge your skills, knowledge, and patience. I look forward to you each rising to the challenges!
Personally I have been extremely busy teaching Lego engineering all over the state of Oregon, playing disc golf as much as possible, and welcoming a new baby girl into the world. Here is Kayleah Rose with her sister Lillian. This week, I will also be ripping off and replacing a roof for my buddy. Weather reports show it may be over 100 degrees!
Don't forget about the classroom supplies:
Alders/Cedars (5th/6th and 7th/8th) One binder or expandable folder for daily classwork Spare pair of tennis shoes for PE Calculator with the students name on it Water bottle to keep at school with students name on it Back Pack or Book Bag (copied from the MRA newsletter)
Make sure you get outside these last few weeks and enjoy Oregon's finest months....we sure do live in the finest place on Earth.
Respectfully yours, Mr. Poff 8/16/2016
Hello friends and families,
I wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update on the things that we’ve been working on in the classroom. In Language Arts we are in the middle of a several week unit on Edgar Allan Poe. The “Master of the Macabre” is providing some expected challenges to the students as his unique style, antiquated vocabulary, and focus on the dark and disturbing make it difficult to understand his true meaning. Through Poe we are focusing on questions related to narrators, perspective, inferring and interpreting, as well as vocabulary development. For social studies the students have been working for a few weeks to create PowerPoint presentations focused on political revolutions from around the world. Each student group has been tasked with researching a specific revolution and are now building the PowerPoint that will allow them to present their findings to the other students. We are primarily focused on the following questions: 1) Who revolted and why? 2) What did the government do in response? 3) What changes, if any, occurred in the country as a result of the revolution? A few of the periods being studied include the; American, French, Nicaraguan, Russian, Haitian, Iranian, and Cuban revolutions. Make sure to join us at the MRA showcase on May 20th as these PowerPoints will be on display for you to check out at your leisure.
Enjoy that sunshine, Ben Poff 5/12/16
Spring Break is right around the corner and as mentioned previously the number of deadlines and significant projects your students are working on has increased. One of these major projects is the portfolio process. Our goal with the portfolio project is that students create an artifact from their school year that represents and reflects the job they have done all year. The process can be somewhat cumbersome and with its multitude of requirements can prove somewhat challenging for students. To ease this situation I have tried to post all the relevant documents to the home page of this website. The only portfolio components not present there are specific reflections required by other classroom and specials teachers. The portfolio checklist should be your student's guide to the many required components while the portfolio rubric should act as a measuring stick for evaluating the quality/completeness of all portfolio components.
Over spring break your student has received two assignments from me. These are not designed to be all consuming of student time, but will require some commitment. The first assignment is completion of a reading selection and a literature circles role sheet. Student literature circle groups have agreed on a reading commitment and chosen which role sheets each member wants to tackle. The second assignment is slightly more involved. This is a revision writing piece that is a required portfolio artifact as well as a class assignment. Each student has selected a piece of their writing from this school year that they will be revising for inclusion in their portfolio. These revisions need not be completed by the time we return to school, however I am telling students they need to make a significant amount of progress over break as there will be a very limited amount of time to work on this assignment when we return.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about portfolios, spring break work loads, or anything else. I always love talking to parents! I will be checking my email periodically over spring break.
Have a wonderful and relaxing break!
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 3/17/16
Welcome Spring!!!
As the blinding sunlight pours through my classroom windows I can declare, personally if not officially, that you have arrived. Spring is always an exciting and extremely busy time in schools across the country. This is a time when teachers are often struggling to fit in all of their curricular goals for the year, there is standardized state testing to worry about, end of the year projects and performances, and a host of other business to take care of. Here's an update on what your Cedars have been working on in their humanities classes.
Language Arts: We are working on a Storytelling unit that has had us making appearances in other classrooms to tell traditional children's stories. We are now working on writing our own fables to share in a second round of storytelling.
Social Studies: We are in the middle of a war unit where we are focusing on the causes and results of our modern historical wars. Today, in fact, the students will be engaging in a simulated Versailles Peace Conference much like occurred in France in 1919.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 2/29/16
Hello Parents and Students:
What an amazing time we had at the Renaissance Fair! Thank you to all who attended and made this event possible. The students did an amazing job on this project! Their talents, skills, and hardwork are what made this possible, I am beyond proud of them. If you were unable to attend, I have embedded a slide show so you can experience a small piece of the morning's learning stations and the afternoon play. We also had a super fun, and somewhat relaxing, time at the Cedars cast party, where we watched movies, played games, and ate pizza.
We will now be turning our attention in Language Arts to writing a work sample in reflection of the Renaissance Fair experience and project-based learning in general, as well as as study/survey of oral storytelling. Our next book study, a project called literature circles, will be starting in about a week as well. In Humanities we will begin a month long study of war throughout the ages. Where we will look to analyze the causes, outcomes, and consequences of various world conflicts.
Thanks for reading, Mr. Poff 2/8/2016
Dear parents and students,
THE BREAKFAST BAR HAS OPENED! For the last towo days, Cedars students from both classes have been enjoying a small snack of fruit, oatmeal, juice, tea, or hot cocoa, in the morning before class. So far the process has been great with students fulfilling set up, clean up, and donation tasks. I currently have these chores organized in an excel sheet at a weekly level. Your students have signed up two weeks in advance. We are asking families to contribute items on a rotating schedule, however, I would like the students to take responsibility for procuring these and bringing them to school. Donations to the Breakfast Bar should not create an economic hardship for your family. If you or your family feel like donating on a regular basis will be financially difficult please do not hesitate to contact me. This information will be kept confidential.
My apologies for not making a blog post in such a long time. It's been a very busy time here at MRA. Your Cedars students are trying to manage multiple deadlines, a variety of learning tasks and topics, and the general difficulties of being a teenager. I am happy to say that they are meeting and conquering these challenges on a daily basis!
In Language Arts, Cedars students have been hard at work writing an expository piece exploring a local Native American tribe. This assignment utilizes our previous learning about the Five Themes of Geography. Students have been guided through the writing process and are nearing the end of this journey. Students are being required to use the Modern Language Association's (MLA) guidelines for citations and paper formatting. In the past the use of MLA has been restricted to high school students, but recently it has become more imperative for middle school students to get started practicing these, sometimes difficult, writing demands. In my day, and probably in yours, we didn't even use MLA until college. This is just one more bit of evidence that shows the increased demands society is placing on our young people.
In Humanities, Cedars students have finished their exploration of philosophies from around the world and we are now turning our attention to the religions of the world. We had a frank discussion yesterday in class regarding the attacks in Paris over the weekend, as a way to connect our learning to the current events. Terrorism will certainly play a role in our conversations about Islam, but we will be emphasizing that terrorism is not a core value for the majority of mainstream Muslims. We are starting with the three monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and will then move into Buddhism and Hinduism. I encourage you to have discussions with your student(s) about religion, terror, and the history of global conflict, which focuses too often on humanity's differences.
The independent projects are coming together, albeit a little slower than I had anticipated. At this point somewhere around half of the Independent Project Proposals have been given final approval, several others have been approved in principal, but are awaiting corrections/improvements to the language, grammar, and formatting of the proposal form. If you or your student are having problems with the independent project, please get in touch with me as soon as possible. It is much better for us to be proactive about getting the kids working on their projects, as procrastinating in the fall can lead to catastrophe in the spring.
Check out some finished products and works in progress from the woodworking class below.
Thank you as always for giving me the opportunity to teach and learn with your children!
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 11/18/15
Hello parents, students, and readers,
I hope the change in weather suits you well and that you've been able to take some time to enjoy some autumn colors (raking leaves does not count). For me, the end of October contains extra portent as it signifies the arrival of the NBA season. (I got my picture taken with the Rip City sign at Sunday night's preseason game against Utah.) For students, this time of year generally signals increased rigor in the classroom as teachers and students alike have "found their stride" and begin tackling more complicated, meaningful, and challenging learning tasks and subjects. For your students two of these main challenges will come in the form of writing instruction and the beginning of independent project work.
*Be a part of your student's homework time*
It is well understood that students can be more successful when family members get involved in their homework. This may mean merely providing a safe and quiet location in the home for homework completion or it may mean more directly hands on assistance. Each student has unique needs to be supported and strengths to be celebrated. The class website has been designed to enable parents and guardians to take a more active role in their student's education and specifically homework. Let me know if there are any ways I can make this resource more productive.
*Conferences*
Please join us for conferences! It is my firm belief that parent attendance at student conferences can have a noticeable impact on student success. If you'd like to schedule a specific time to talk with Mr. Luke or myself on Friday, October 30th there are sign up sheets available at the front office. Otherwise I would encourage all of you to drop by Thursday, October 29th. I will have student work, progress reports, and classroom information available. If you are unable to attend but would like to schedule some other conference time simply drop me an email or call the MRA office.
*Breakfast Bar update*
Several parents have stepped up to coordinate the breakfast bar, though there is still time to get involved. Look for new developments on this front in the future. It is my goal that the "bar" would open before the weather gets real nasty.
Thanks as always, Mr. Poff
10/19/15
Hi Everyone,
Roots Day was a fantastic success! Many thanks to all our volunteers and organizers who made it possible. Your Cedars were challenged with an extension activity booklet that had them completing a short learning activity at each station, above and beyond what the hosting Alder students had designed for lessons. I will be reading through these this weekend, and can't wait to see what the students came up with!
In humanities, we are continuing to explore Native American tribes, however, our class focus has shifted to religion and philosophy. The difference between these two human constructs is one of our main themes this year and students are already beginning to explore and sort some of the primary differences as they begin to conceptualize each as a part of Human/Social Studies. Rest assured that all religions will be treated fairly (without bias) and our class approach will be from a historical and analytical perspective. We will be expanding our studies to religions from across the world in the coming weeks. If you have any concerns about your student learning about religion feel free to contact me.
In Language Arts, almost every student group has finished their Stargirl HotSeat videos. Below you can find two sample videos (the rest will be coming as soon as I receive digital files from students), additionally I have posted a really cool Native American rap video that I came across. The students have been working with a variety of nonfiction texts, as well as their novel study, and this week we will begin planning and outlining our first major writing project. A nonfiction introspective into the spiritual and philosophical worldview of a local Native American group.
Lastly, I wanted to say a word about the Independent Projects that MRA students of all grades complete each year. Cedars students have been brainstorming topics and working on goal setting. We expect to have the majority of topics firmed up within a week or two. An Independent Project Packet will be unveiled very soon (I will post to the website) that will create a guide for students and parents alike. This year, we are expecting students to complete a physical project as well as a written piece. Examples of physical projects include: hosting and organizing a fundraiser, exploring a career through jobshadowing, organizing a camp or other teaching event, conducting a scientific experiment, or organizing a service project. Of course there are innumerable ways to meet the expected goals of the Independent Projects and your students have already come up with some wonderful ideas. I am excited to guide them in this year long process in partnership with staff, teachers, and community members.
As always thanks for letting me work with your kids, I love coming to work everyday!
Sincerely, Mr. Poff
10/9/15
Your Cedars teachers have been hard at work cleaning, planning, and making other preparations, and we are super excited students to arrive on Tuesday. Personally, I am looking forward to meeting your parents tonight almost as much as meeting you. While it's sad to see the end of summer, for teachers this is one of the best times of the year. Yet is also one of the busiest and most nerve-wracking times as well. I hope you're able to get some end of summer fun time this weekend. Enjoy an extra day off and I will see you on Tuesday!!
Mr. Poff 9/3/15
A whole week completed already??? How time flies. It's been an amazing first week in the West Cedars classroom. Your students have been working on a class mapping project where they are designing the layout of our classroom, have done some research on the events of 9/11/2001, and been introduced to their first novel. I feel extremely privileged to work with such a hard-working, multi-talented, energetic, and fun-loving group of young people. I have included some photos below. The first is a picture of our new soft start. This is what the room looks like at the beginning of every day. Students come in, make a reading selection, and sit quietly. This procedure, amazingly, only took us one day to practice. The second image is student groups hard at work on the classroom mapping project. They are pouring over their charts and notes as they attempt to design the most cohesive and inclusive learning space possible.
A couple notes:
1) HOMEWORK: students are expected to read through Ch 4 of Stargirl before coming to school on Monday. This is important because Monday's lesson will build upon what we read over the weekend.
2) BREAKFAST BAR: It came up during our classroom design brainstorm that the students would be interested in establishing some sort of breakfast area solely for the middle school students here in the quonset building. This could easily be done in my room with some parent support and volunteers. The goal would be to provide a small amount of healthy food and to provide a social gathering place for students. The "bar" would probably need to open before school starts, maybe 7:45, and end when school begins at 8:00. I've seen similar projects increase student confidence and comfortability at school, improve student engagement and build stronger connections between students, staff, and families. Let me know if this sounds like an exciting idea to you or if you have any concerns. If you would be interested in volunteering, organizing, or donating please drop me an email.
Thanks everyone,
Mr. Poff 9/11/15
This week your students completed the classroom mapping project we've been working on, and I've got to tell you that our room looks and feels great! (See the picture below). Congratulations to the winning design team! It was great to chat with some of you at the BBQ as well as play some epic basketball with MRA students of all ages. In Humanities we have been exploring a framework for studying the world called The Five Themes of Geography and we are beginning to look at mapping, global positioning systems, and navigation, and these studies will continue into next week. For Language Arts we are continuing to read Stargirl, expand our vocabulary, and respond to the text through reading comprehension questions. Next week your students will be shooting video interviews (in a style that appears in the novel) and I will be posting these videos to the website on Friday.
Mr. Poff 9/18/15
It was a very exciting week in our woodworking elective as students were finally able to begin cutting on their patterns this week. Only a few are still waiting for permission slips so they can begin working on the saws. Check out the pictures below of students cutting. In language arts students have begun working on their Hot Seat video interview project. This is an activity that appears in our novel Stargirl. Students will be interviewing one another, videotaping the results, and lastly posting them to this website. This project gives students an opportunity to work on a surprising number of state common core standards. In Humanities the students have finished their exploration of the 5 Themes of Geography and are now beginning to apply what they have learned through a research project that has them looking at one of several local Native American tribes.
Mr. Poff 9/28/15
Well, the students have mostly wrapped up filming their Hotseat Interviews in Language Arts. Look for these videos to appear on the website sometime this week. We are continuing to work on our reading comprehension and vocabulary development through our study of Stargirl. We have been discussing the books themes of conformity, individuality, and peer pressure, and how these ideas meld with our overall theme of being a change maker. In Humanities we continue to look at Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest and make some comparisons with tribal peoples from throughout the Americas and the world. Students are learning how to be better researchers and to document their information more completely. We will be shifting this week to focus on Native American religions as we get closer to a unit on philosophy and religion that is right around the corner.
We are still looking for any parent volunteers that would like to get involved with hosting a breakfast bar here in the classroom. The goal would be to provide a small amount of healthy food and to provide a social gathering place for students. The "bar" would probably need to open before school starts, maybe 7:45, and end when school begins at 8:00. I've seen similar projects increase student confidence and comfortability at school, improve student engagement and build stronger connections between students, staff, and families.
Sincerely, Mr. Poff 10/5/15
My daughter, Lily, as a flower girl last weekend in Klamath Falls.
Well, it's summer. I hope that you are enjoying this time of sunshine, vacation, and holidays. I have been hard at work getting settled into a new home and a new classroom. It's shaping up to be an exciting school year for the 7th and 8th graders of West Cedars. It's always energizing to select and design new lesson plans, make literary selections, and create a dynamic world of learning for students. I hope you've all been reading this summer and I am looking forward to meeting students and parents alike. Don't forget about the mandatory back to school night coming up on September 3rd. I'll see you there.