Novato Unified School District VLA Middle School Newsletter For February 25

Novato CA

26 February, 2021

7:58 AM

Description

Press release from the Novato Unified School District: February 25, 2021 Hello VLA Middle School Families, "Student Shoutout! Shout out to Madison W. for always being on task and willing to take a risk by sharing her work! -Mr. Dinublia (English 6) Class Showcase Ms. Tubach Exploratory Class for 7th and 8th Graders- In all my visual arts classes, we learned about visual artists of the Harlem Renaissance and read poetry by Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. Currently, we are creating art inspired by both the Harlem Renaissance visual artists and the poetry by Hughes and Angelou. I worked with an English teacher so that many of my students were introduced to the poems through English class. For my other exploratory classes, we learned about an up-and-coming artist named Ruth Njenga. We studied why she creates art, looked at her work on Instagram, and are currently working on a piece inspired by her. Additionally, we read about the artist Christian Robinson. Students read an informative article and responded to the artist by writing or sketching. Ms. Lacues and Ms. East- Jensen for 7th Grade English and History During our novel The Outsiders, we worked on the poem "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks. We watched the video where Brooks talks about the fact that when she saw the boys in the pool hall she wondered, "How did they feel about themselves?" The students answered this question by providing specific evidence from the text to explain how Brooks used literary devices to develop tone and meaning in the poem. Then we discussed and answered questions on "The Blue-Eyed, Brown-Eyed Experiment" and "The Art of the Wall". We segued into introducing more poetry by listening to and analyzing the inaugural poems by Maya Angelou and Amanda Gorman before we begin reading Crossover. Crossover, by author and poet Kwame Alexander, is a story told in verse about 12-year-old twins and their family on their way to a winning basketball season. It was the 2015 Newberry Medal winner and a Coretta Scott King Book Honor. We will begin reading the book tomorrow and Friday. Progress Grades Now Posted on Aeries The first progress reporting for 2nd semester now has grades posted on Aeries. I recommend checking Aeries and engaging in conversations with your child around their success and areas of growth. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher. Just a reminder that in any class that your child has a D or F, your child is required to attend the afternoon class sessions to get assistance from the teacher and is also a designated place to work on missing and current assignments." This press release was produced by the Novato Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author's own.