Newsletter #4

Classroom Newsletter Mr. Choquette Sci-8 / SS-8

October 21, 2011 Contact Information: Email: cchoquette@kas.kh.edu.tw Phone: 07-5830112

KAS students, faculty, and administration attending our Fall pep-rally.

Onward into the Second Quarter of the year!

Tuesday October 18th marked the end of the First Quarter and the beginning of the Second Quarter. It has been a pleasure teaching, advising, and learning with the 8th graders here at Kaohsiung American School; they bring so much energy and fun to the classroom. Over the past couple of days I have met with each student independently to discuss their performance in the past quarter and show them their grades. As I did in the last newsletter, I encourage parents to again take some time to ask their child to reflect on their performance so far in the school year. As always if you have questions or concerns about your student’s performance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sci-8 Update: Minerals of the Earth’s Crust In Science students have put “Mapping the Earth” behind them and shifted their focus our to the study of the “Minerals of the Earth’s Crust.” Student’s have learned what minerals are, studied the groups of minerals, and learned approaches in identifying minerals. I was so proud of my students work on their recent Flex-Projects.

The concept behind the “flex-project assignment” is to center students on a theme or concept and then give them the flexibility to choose how they would like to undertake their individualized learning journey. It is always exciting to see what students come up with on these flex-projects. Our 8th graders have a great amount of energy, creativity and technical know-how. Students made videos, recorded songs, made digital presentations with PowerPoint, Prezi and Glogster, and some students made old-fashioned paper posters. Ask your student to share their flex-project with you if they have not already J.

Oral debate in Science triggers passionate learning experiences We are currently learning and discussing various issues related to Mining Minerals. On Thursday October 20th students participated in a classroom debate focusing on the positive and negative aspects of surface and subsurface mining. The debates were very academic; arguments were well thought out and passionately presented. It got pretty intense and I know that the students had a lot of fun. Look for the video of Block G’s debate on online at Mr. Choquette’s Educational Videos hosted at http://blip.tv/choquette.

SS8 Update: Feudalism is on the decline in classroom 38.

World History students been moving briskly through medieval times, the last few weeks have been devoted to the study of religion in feudal times focusing mainly on the growth of the Roman Catholic Church; its influence and core beliefs. We will be learning about several major religions throughout the year. It is important for students to gain familiarity, respect and understanding of world religions because religion can be a powerful component of a person’s cultural and personal image.

It is my contention that an effective Social Studies educator shines a light on ignorance, plants a seed of understanding and nurtures compassion to develop

“… an effective Social Studies educator shines a light on ignorance, plants a seed of understanding and nurtures compassion to develop moral citizens who are globally informed and locally active.”

Students complete a mind mapping activity in SS-8

moral citizens who are globally informed and locally active. We are currently learning about daily life in medieval times but will quickly be moving next week to turn our attention to the decline of feudalism. Students have participated a few really great projects in SS-8 over the past few weeks but I believe they and I most enjoyed creating and filming their skits. I have made their movies available through the Kaohsiung American School and my Mr. Cho’s Classroom Facebook pages. If you have not visited these pages and “liked” them head over to them soon and take a look!

Final thought: Character Counts I often tell my students that I know how lucky I am to have such dedicated, considerate and friendly students to teach. Kids will be kids however, and it is important that they are receiving clear and consistent guidance in regards to inappropriate comments or behaviors. It is paramount that our young adults learn now, in 8th grade, that it is not okay to laugh and joke at someone else’s expense. We can joke and play around but there is nothing funny about discounting another person. American educator John Holt once commented eloquently, “The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do.” As we move into the Second Quarter I welcome your continued support in guiding our youths socially and academically. Thank you and as always please do not hesitate to contact me.

2

Mr. Choquette / Newsletter #4 / October 21, 2011