Picture Day tomorrow

Hello All,

Since Picture Day is tomorrow, I will have a substitute in class while I coordinate the entire school to get their pictures tomorrow.

I have stressed and stressed to the students that I don't give busy work and I expect them to work hard tomorrow so we can continue strong on Wednesday.  Please reinforce this at home.  With block schedule, we don't have time to lose between now and the 15 1/2 weeks away last day of the semester (that number just keeps going down...).

Happy Monday!

Week 3 Yearbook

Hi All!

I'm really excited with our the theme and progress of our book are coming together.

I want to remind you that if you haven't finished your picture page, that's been due.  I need you to finish it so 1) you can get a good grade on it and 2) we can do the next step with that page.  Be ready for Monday--we're going to use those pages!

You can also check out the calendar to get an idea of what all is going on in class this week.

Picture Day is Tuesday and I'll have a sub that day.  However, to keep us on track, during 4th Block we'll have a pretty awesome (if I do say so myself) assignment to complete about good journalism.  Some volunteers will be helping be during 2nd period with Picture Day itself, but I'll need all students on point during 4th with that assignment.  We'll need to discuss it in class on Wednesday to keep pace, so finish it at home if you need to (you shouldn't need to if you spend your time wisely).

Happy Friday!

Week 3 9th Lit

Hi All!

I've updated the calendar with the major plan for next week.  As I've been telling students in class, as we're adjusting to block schedule we're finding that our pacing will have to be adjustable--sometimes we move through activities quicker or slower than I anticipate, so the calendar might have to be adjusted as needed.

Did you notice when the quiz would be?  Based on your responses in your Student Surveys, that was the most popular day.  So that day it is!

Have a great weekend!

PS:  Don't forget your homework!

Week 2 9th Lit

Hi everyone!

Just a quick reminder about your homework tonight!  

• You're to finish reading and notetaking "The Lottery" (copy linked on the blog).  
• You need to finish the discussion questions to the best of your ability.
• You need to attempt to diagram the plot of the story. Try to find the point of highest tension for the Climax.

All of this is so we can continue our class discussion and have a fun activity as our opening tomorrow.  If you're not prepared, we'll have to have a boring class :(

Students who worked hard in class today, have a lot less homework tonight.  Although as a reminder, you have homework every night.  If you finish the tasks above, what should you do? ;)

Happy Wednesday!

Week 1 Done! Yearbook

Congratulations on having your child make it through the first week of school!

I wanted to go ahead and touch base with you.  This week we focused on breaking down the elements of a yearbook, elements of theme, elements of photography, and started working with our yearbook software.

Some students have been rock stars in the class, doing everything I ask of them, following along, helping other students, completing all of the work, everything!  Some students have been taking their time getting back into the swing of things.  It is a lot of information for the first week of school, but in yearbook, our deadlines and responsibilities start coming hard and quicker than you can imagine.  We have to hit the ground running.

Some students are already ahead of the game and have finished most of their homework for the weekend, but please double check that your child is on track.

1. They need to go over the syllabus with you so that they and you are clear about the expectations of the class.
2. They need to complete the Welcome to the Class Student Survey that is linked on the blog.
3. They need to get you to complete the Parent/Guardian Survey on the blog.
4. They need to upload their practice pictures to eDesign, tag them eDesign Practice, put the on their practice page, and label them with which rule of composition they showed in their picture in a caption. (Due by Monday, I'm checking it first period).
5. They need to look through their assigned theme list and try to think about the feeling of the school.  Write down some themes that they think they could use to express the feeling of the school (ie: tradition is a boring theme, but we have traditions because we're a family, what themes could we use to express this feeling of family?).
6. They need to come to class prepared to discuss a theme for next year based on their homework.

All of these links can be found on the Yearbook Resources page of the blog.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or leave me a voicemail. 

I really look forward to working with you to have an amazingly successful year together.

Sincerely,

Kim Bundschu

Week 1 Done! 9th Lit

Congratulations on having your child make it through the first week of school!

This week we focused on breaking down our reading by closely reading 2 poems and our summer reading assignment.  We worked on annotating (marking up) our texts and looking for specific things: connections, questions, figurative language (specifically similes, metaphors, personification, and imagery), and grammar (sentences and prepositional phrases).  Some of this is a review from years' past, some of this is kind of new for some students.  

Some students have been rock stars in the class, doing everything I ask of them, following along, helping other students, completing all of the work, everything!  Some students have been taking their time getting back into the swing of things.  We had a group discussion today about their effort and our goals as a class.  I recommend you also discuss this with your child.  Unlike in middle school, you have to pass ALL of your classes to move on in high school, and your GPA for college matters starting right now.  I know that every student in my classes can earn an A, but it's up to them to put forth the effort to earn that A (you can ask them about my experiences in my chemistry classes.  Yes, plural).  I know how hard it is to be a student, and I know the effort you have to put into each class.

Some students are already ahead of the game and have finished most of their homework for the weekend, but please double check that your child is on track.

1. They need to go over the syllabus with you so that they and you are clear about the expectations of the class.
2. They need to complete the Welcome to the Class Student Survey that is linked on the blog.
3. They need to get you to complete the Parent/Guardian Survey on the blog.
4. They need to make sure they've annotated their Summer Reading for 5 connections, 5 questions, figurative language (underlined and labeled, i.e.: S if it's a simile), and circled any vocabulary they didn't understand.
5. They need to respond to the quickwrite prompt about the tone in the Summer Reading article "There Will Come Soft Rains."  The instructions for the prompt were covered in class and can be found on the Tone and Mood PPT linked on the blog.

All of these links can be found on the 9th Lit Resources page of the blog.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or leave me a voicemail. 

I really look forward to working with you to have an amazingly successful year together.

Sincerely,

Kim Bundschu

Welcome to 9th Lit or Yearbook with Mrs. Bundschu

Welcome to Mrs. Bundschu's blog my for 9th Lit and Yearbook classes.

I am so happy to have you in my class.

First up, let's discuss how you use this blog.

This tab is Weekly Updates.  It will just give you an overview of what we have planned in class this week.  It is used for a quick update.

The Resources tab for your class is the most important tab you will use.  It is where I will upload EVERYTHING for this class, including (but not limited to) important links, copies of assignments, copies of handouts, powerpoints, videos, anything we use in class.  If there is a digital version (and I do try to work in digital versions whenever possible) it will be linked on the Resources Tab.

The Calendar tab for your class is the 2nd most important tab for this class.  I use my calendar as my lesson plans.  It will show you all of the activities we do through out the day.  This is important because it not only shows you what is upcoming in our schedule, but is also where you will get the information you missed when you are absent.  If you have any questions about what you missed, you can email me at kimberly [do] bundschu [at] cobbk12 [dot] org or discuss it with me before or after class (not during) when you come back, however, I will expect that you first checked the calendar.  I put a lot of time into getting that information to you and appreciate it when you use it.

The names of activities should be the same on both the calendar and the resources page to make it easy for you.


Next up, let's talk about your first assignments.  All of these assignments will be linked on the Resources page by the first week of school.

9th Lit

1. You will get a grade for completing your Summer Reading Assignment.
2. You will get a grade when you complete the Student Survey.
3. You first major assignments will be a novel study of Anthem by Ann Rand (as a part of the Summer Reading Assignment), we will have free copies for students to borrow, but you may choose to obtain your own copy.
4. You will get your errand passes for your parents/guardians completing the Parent/Guardian Survey AND you complete the Student Survey.  These function as your bathroom/I need to go somewhere passes as well as turn into extra credit at the end of the semester if you don't use them.  It is very important you get your Parents/Guardians to fill out this survey.

Yearbook

1. You will get a grade when you complete the Student Survey.
2. You will get a grade when you complete your Yearbook Responsibilities form.
3. You will get your media pass when your parents/guardians complete the Parent/Guardian Survey AND you complete the Student Survey.

Have a great last two weeks of summer and I'm looking forward to meeting you on August 3rd or at Stampede on July 23rd.