Dec. 10, 2015 Hello Parents, I hope you and your family are going to have a happy and fulfilling few weeks. Before that our students have some important work to do. I just wanted to give you a wee heads-up:
Thank you, as always, for your support, Daryl Brook October 23, 2015 As you are likely aware, students have been working hard to understand the conditions that led to the founding of our United States. This week and next they will be looking at the critical foundational document, The Constitution. We will culminate our study with research of a contemporary revolts, coups and revolutions. Students will use media to represent a comparison of a contemporary revolution with our own nation's experience to better understand the motivations and risks involved in a struggle for independence. They will then narrate their presentation while recording it using screencasting. After, we will turn to our second novel study, this time the historical fiction of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. We are also very excited to be going to see He Called Me Malala to learn and be inspired by this remarkable young activist. Best, Daryl Brook Sept. 27, 2015 Hello parents, I am excited to finally have a compiled list of your emails so that I can say a little 'hello'. As most of you will remember, our year's learning is guided by the question, "what does it mean to be an American?" We have been digging deep into the history of America's first peoples, and the analyzing the effect of European contact and colonization. Students have been studying a "balanced" approach to this history through our text History Alive, but have also been challenged to be even more critical of this narrative through the readings of counterstories, as compiled by Howard Zinn. This first unit will culminate in a performance assessment this week that asks students to apply their understanding, before turning to investigate the reasons for starting a revolution. Simultaneously, we have been reading American Born Chinese, a graphic novel whose themes of identity, prejudice, alienation, and cultural fusion/assimilation allow students to connect historical issues to real-life problems that persist today in a diverse and multicultural society. When we get to the American revolution soon after, we will be reading the historical fiction novel Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson. I am also excited to share that we have obtained funding to go as a grade to see He Named Me Malala, the movie story about the remarkable activist Malala Yousafzai on Oct. 16. Please consider joining us a parent chaperone! Lastly, in the effort to communicate in a more timely and effective way with parents I will be using a service called Remind, used by 1 in 5 teachers in the USA to communicate with parents. It allows me to send out quick messages that you will get via text message. You can either go to www.remind.com, and join with class code "@0cfe2", or I will also email an invite which will tell you how to join. Thanks everyone for your support to an already great year. I look forward to your ongoing cooperation as we get these fine minds ready for high school and college. Warmly, Daryl Brook Welcome Class of 2016! You can not believe how excited I am to be your teacher, and for many of you again. We are going to quickly ramp up the expectations for achievement, so get ready for an engaging and challenging year. Best, Mr. Brook  |