Angevine Classroom Spotlight

Parents, you may feel like you know all of the great things are happening in our AMS classrooms. But, if your child is anything like I was as a middle schooler, they're probably not divulging details on in-class activities. Here's a sample of some cool activities I've witnessed these last few weeks in a variety of Angevine classrooms:

6th grade LA classes taught by Mr. Cook and Mr. Stankovic, recently participated in a quiet read aloud. It was the beginning of November, so the Halloween vibe was still fresh in the air. I decided to read one of my favorite creepy tales, "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl. The story is rich with foreshadowing and creepy details with an ending that leaves its readers on the edge of a cliffhanger.

Interested in listening to the story yourself? Here's an audio recording of "The Landlady": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFWBsMeIYlM

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Ms. Pyatt's 7th/8th Grade Drama Elective helped me design a commercial we submitted for OverDrive (our eLibrary). We had some students employ acting, filming, directing, and script writing skills to develop a cohesive commercial (big shout out to Caedmon Burgtorf for some additional directing, editing, and creative energy!)

If our advertisement is chosen, we will win an OverDrive Kiosk for the library and our advertisement will be a part of a national campaign by OverDrive.

If you don't know about OverDrive already, it's a great place for your child to login (using their BVSD username and password credentials) to check-out eBooks and listen to audio books. They can download the app on any device or use it through a web browser, and within minutes be browsing through a list of hundreds of middle school level titles- so cool! Especially as you might be traveling this holiday season, it's a nice alternative to lugging around hard copy books.

Interested in seeing the ad? Here it is: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hq-cBQSUCV_hhuqpRnvCzqqy6WSTB-f2/view?ts=5a0f10fa

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Mrs. Shald and Mrs. Omori-Jones have both recently hosted discussions and debates in their 8th grade Social Studies classes connected to the Declaration of Independence and what exactly it means to have unalienable rights. Both teachers have used different methods to encourage students to participate that include an online "Back Channel" called TodaysMeet. This is really for students who are maybe too shy to speak in front of their peers, but are definitely still thinking and engaging with the content. To get a view into the format and conversation from Mrs. Omori-Jone's 5th period class, here's a screenshot:

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Teachers and students at Angevine are certainly ready for a hard-earned break. As the teacher librarian, it's really fun for me to be a part of so many different learning activities and opportunities that all of our student have in classes.

As for the library, we're working on finishing another 750 piece puzzle!

I hope you and your families have a safe and happy week off.

Warmly,

Liz Barcheck