Happy Summer!

I hope everyone is relaxing and enjoying the much needed break!  Remember to accept the reading Harvest Middle School Summer Reading Challenge!  See the HMS library home page or school webpage to print out additional log sheets or read up on the details.  Let me know if you have any questions, or better yet, comment below about what books you've been reading this summer.  I just finished The Phantom Tollbooth, a boy's fantastic journey through a world of wordplay and brain-teases! Keep those pages turning, and have a fun (and safe) rest of your summer. 

Love you guys!

-Mrs. Banta 

The Outsiders!

The end of the year in 7th grade Language Arts = time for The Outsiders novel!  We've been reading all about Ponyboy and his experiences as a Greaser.  We are also introduced to the opposing gang--the sophisticated, high-class Socs.  For our end of the year project, students will get an opportunity to dress like a Greaser or a Soc at school on Wednesday, May 22, or students can memorize and recite the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" on page 77 in the book.  Students can choose to do both requirements for extra credit!

Here are some sample photos of Greasers and Socs.  See the project sheet that will be coming home with students this week for more details.

Lots Going On...

We are finishing up the Chapter 6/7 Orange Packet relating to Non-Fiction Materials.  We recently read two interesting articles: one about baseball in America versus baseball in Cuba and the second about cyber-bullying.   Here are links to the introduction videos we watched in class.

http://youtu.be/FjHKV2x6Nh8  (Link to Baseball in Cuba video)

Cyberbullying...a New Virus:

Also, students turned in their Non-Fiction Projects today--which means now it's time to prepare for class presentations.  Students will need to:

• Introduce self & the project type
• Share the book title, author, and sub-genre
• Read the main idea sentence
• Share the 5 interesting facts
• Conclude with a final thought and say "Thank you!"

Practice, practice, practice!

Lastly, CST's start next week.  Be sure to get a good night's sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, breathe, take your time, and think your way through the test...YOU'LL BE FINE!  You're ready for this Hawks!

Sample Non-Fiction Projects

Here are some sample power point projects below that were turned in for the bonus points.  Great work, Katie & Ileana!  There will be sample poster projects in our classroom available for viewing this week if you aren't quite sure what to do on your project.  Thanks to Sienna, Jennifer, Sebastian, Andrew, and AJ!  We've also had one video project turned in by Caitlin & Charlotte.  Nice work everyone!  Keep it up!

Mrs. Banta's Project

Katie O'Donnell's Project

Ileana Puente's Project

Mid-Trimester Updates

Lots of stuff happening in Bantaland!  Here's the latest:

Non-Fiction Project

Make sure you've read over the project requirements sheet, selected a non-fiction book to read cover to cover, and decided on what type of creative project you will complete.  The project sheet link is posted below.

https://docs.google.com/a/nvusd.org/document/d/1Ps4-sa4hJ9towxbGttJl3TzZDF5YMrQXlj2DemZ-wfQ/edit

Orange Chapter 6/7 Packet

We've been working our way through Chapters 6 & 7 which are related to reading Informational Materials and analyzing Non-Fiction texts.  As of this week, students needed to complete pages 1-10.  The binder paper pages in the packet are for the Cornell Notes for pages 648-651 and 700-703 in the textbook.  Make sure you've read and taken the notes!  We will have a Chapter 6 Mastery Test next class.

Trimester 3 Progress Reports

Remember grades are due for Trimester 3 Progress Reports...so check in with all of your teachers about what your grade is in the class.  Make sure you've completed any missing assignments!  End the year strong!

Hawks in the Valley

Did you see today's newspaper?  7th grade is in the news!  We had a great, educational day and made a difference in our environment.  Check out the link below:

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/students-tour-remnant-of-napa-valley-wilderness/article_dd4854ec-8b42-11e2-8a2e-0019bb2963f4.html

Students should be finishing up their red Ch. 3/4 packets--they are due next week on Wednesday, March 20th.  We will be starting our next packet for Ch. 6/7 next week.  Keep an eye out! 

Read to Succeed!

Congratulations to students for surviving the two writing tests we have worked hard to prepare for all year! I was so proud of students as they took the tests.  They really wrote their hearts out and rose to the occasion!  The District Writing Assessment results take about a month and a half to get back to students and the State Writing Test will factor into students' CST Language Arts scores for this year.  

Next up is World Read Aloud Day...March 6th!  There will be 20 minutes of reading aloud during 4th period tomorrow and in our Language Arts classes.  The Year of the Reader at HMS continues!!

Finally, Accelerated Reader Trimester 3 goals are being made this week. Please leave a comment below with the book you are currently reading and what you like about it in 2-3 sentences. Be sure to leave your last name so that you'll get credit for the assignment.