Welcome to JMS English!  Check here for class updates for students in Mrs. Gastelum’s First Period Critical Thinking class.  We are beginning a unit on Charles Dickens’ story, A Christmas Carol.  Check out the links on the Documents page for more information about Charles Dickens.  The biography study guide should be completed and turned in by Thursday, November 12, 2009.

Here’s your chance to attempt a new world record! Join together with other kids from your school to read as many books as you can over the summer. Here you can log the number of minutes you spend reading and keep track of how other schools are doing. The top 20 schools will be featured in the 2010 Scholastic Book of World Records, along with the total minutes read by ALL participating schools. On this site you’ll also find fun games and challenging brainteasers to share with friends!

So get ready, get set, and GO read your way to a record-breaking performance!

Follow the link below to sign up today!

http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/record/index.asp

Pick up a copy of these books from our local book store, Andrea’s.

Auch, Mary. Wing Nut. Square Fish, ©2008. Grady’s mechanic dad died seven years ago when Grady was only five-years-old. Since then 12-year-old Grady and his mom have been bouncing from one shaky work/living situation to another. On the road again, their duct taped junker dies near a small town. Lila must again find work and a place for them to live. Luckily a local, elderly man needs a temporary cook and housekeeper. As Grady quickly learns, the older man is a “nut” about purple martin birds and also has car mechanic knowledge. These three strong characters team up to deliver a heartwarming, upbeat story. (Grades 5-8) (AR 4.4)

Couloumbis, Audrey. The Misadventures of Maude March. Yearling, ©2007. Sallie March, 11, loves to read Western adventure dime novels. At the beginning of this tale, she has no idea that she and her lady-like sister will soon be living a wild-west story themselves! After their guardian Aunt Ruthie is shot by a stray bullet, the sisters temporarily live with the Reverend Peasley and his family who promptly take advantage of the hardworking girls. After several worrisome events, the girls disguise themselves as boys, take two horses, and strike out for Independence, MO, to find their uncle. Along the way, sweet Maude becomes Mad Maude March, a “wanted woman.” These strong female characters will keep readers moving quickly through the adventure-filled pages. (Grades 5-8) (AR 5.1)

Durst, Sarah Beth. Into the Wild. Razorbill, ©2008. In days long-ago, fairy tale characters escaped from their make-believe stories and entered the real world. The enchanted forest or the Wild now resides under Julie’s bed. Twelve-year-old Julie and her mother, Rapunzel, want to contain the Wild and fear the consequences if it should escape. When the Wild is wished free, it takes over the town, entrapping townspeople as well as familiar story characters. Brave, but reluctant Julie battles wicked witches, survives poisoned apples, and meets marriageable princes on her way to reach the heart of the Wild in order to free the town from the Wild’s hold on reality. Wit and humor punctuate this fun, fractured tale. (Grades 5-7) (AR 4)

Fleischman, Sid. The Entertainer and the Dybbuk. HarperCollins, ©2009. No, the ventriloquist, Freddie, wasn’t dreaming. There really was a wisecracking dybbuk or Jewish spirit in the closet. The dybbuk explained that he had been a young child before the Nazis killed him along with many other children during World War II. Now three years later, the American ex-GI is touring Europe with his not very successful ventriloquist act. The young dybbuk, Avron, verbally spars with the ventriloquist and finally takes up residence inside Freddie. Together they form a winning and entertaining act in which Avron’s wisecracks reap huge laughs. Mature readers will balance the harsh accounts of Nazi cruelty with the witty dialogue. (Grades 5-8) (AR 3.7)

George, Jessica Day. Dragon Slippers. Bloomsbury USA, ©2008. Her aunt devises a not-so-clever plot to bring riches to the family by dragging Creel out to the dragon’s lair. Once there, the aunt is hoping that Creel will be rescued by the local prince, leading to marriage and a life of luxury for the family. Unexpectedly, Creel develops friendships with the dragons who send her on a journey through the kingdom with a pretty pair of seemingly ordinary slippers. The mysterious slippers begin to wreak havoc and it falls to Creel to save the kingdom and defend the dragons against certain doom. Adventure, humor, and unexpected events make this a must read fantasy. (Grades 5-8) (AR 5.7)

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Found. Bloomsbury USA, ©2008. Six words in a letter change the lives of thirteen-year-old Jonah and his friend Chip – “You are one of the missing.” Both boys know they are adopted, but Jonah has never given it much thought until he and Chip start receiving mysterious letters. The boys and Jonah’s sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery involving a smuggling operation, the FBI, and an airplane that appears out of nowhere. After enjoying this page-turner, readers will eagerly look forward to the next book in this new series. (Grades 4-8) (AR 5)

Hahn, Mary Downing. All the Lovely Bad Ones. Sandpiper, ©2009. Twelve-year-old Travis and his younger sister, Corey, must spend the summer with their grandmother at her Vermont bed-and-breakfast inn. The two mischievous children decide to scare the guests with some ghostly special effects. Unfortunately, the pair also provokes real ghosts: young boys who had lived there in the 1800s when the place was a county poorhouse. Additionally, Ada Jaggs, an evil and vengeful spirit, who was responsible for the children’s deaths, also puts in an appearance. This fast-paced spooky thriller will have readers on the edge of their seats from first page to last. (Grades 4-7) (AR 4.5)

Harkrader, Lisa. Airball: My Life in Briefs. Square Fish, ©2008. The small Kansas town seventh-grade basketball team is losing games. In the meanwhile, the hometown hero’s jersey will be retired at the last University of Kansas game of the season. Unless the boys start winning games, they will not be permitted to meet their hero and basketball star. Coach looks for creative ways to help the team improve and start winning games. One strategy he uses is taping up the gym windows and handing out invisible uniforms; consequently, the boys are playing in their briefs. Additionally, klutzy Kirby Nickel believes that the basketball hero is his father. Quirky characters and an interesting side story all add up to a quick, enjoyable read. (Grades 5-7) (AR 4.4)

Hart, Alison. Gabriel’s Horses. Peachtree, ©2007. Deep in Kentucky horse country during the Civil War, twelve-year-old Gabriel is a young slave who dreams of becoming a famous jockey, just like his father. Gabriel’s dad is a free man who joins the Yankee army to earn enough money to buy his wife’s freedom. In the meanwhile, Gabriel must work for a cruel new trainer and, eventually, he must use his bravery and cunning to save his beloved horses. In this thoughtful story, characters explore the many meanings of freedom, from emancipation to realizing a dream. Historical facts and gripping plot are cleverly blended in this fast-paced story. (Grades 5-8) (AR 4.6)

Hobbs, Will. Go Big or Go Home. HarperCollins, ©2009. Brady was enjoying the Perseid meteor shower when a meteorite blazed through the sky and ended up crashing through the roof of his Black Hills, South Dakota, home. The young astrophile is thrilled and names it Fred for “Far Roaming Earth Diver.” Brady quickly calls his cousin Quinn to share his “extremely insane” find. The two boys embark on bicycling, caving, and fishing adventures, including Brady somersaulting over a buffalo’s horns. Are these sudden abnormal physical feats by asthmatic Brady linked to Fred? Join the boys and their “extremophile” organisms in this contemporary, fast-moving adventure. (Grades 6-8) (AR 4.7)

Jaramillo, Ann. La Linea. Square Fish, ©2008. After seven long years, Miguel’s parents send word that it is time for him to cross la línea and join them in California. On one hand, Miguel is sad to leave his grandmother and their home in Mexico, but on the other hand, he is excited about finally reuniting with his parents. When fifteen-year-old Miguel leaves his home, he is unaware that his thirteen-year-old sister Elena is following him. The grueling trip proves dangerous; they are robbed, face dehydration, and encounter unscrupulous men. Readers will root for these brave, resourceful teenagers as they face the harsh realities of their journey. (Grades 5-8) (AR 4.3)

Korman, Gordon. Schooled. Hyperion, ©2008. Growing up knowing only one person – your hippie grandmother – has serious disadvantages, particularly if you have grown up on a farm commune and have never gone to public school. Now at the age of thirteen, his grandmother Rain has fallen out of a tree, broken her hip, and is hospitalized. Cap (short for Capricorn) must live with the guidance counselor and her cranky sixteen-year-old daughter. For Cap, who has never watched television or eaten a pizza, attending middle school is a strange and alien experience. Cap’s roller coaster ride in school goes from outcast to class president to beloved. This smart, funny, contemporary story told from multiple characters points of view will spark lively discussions on school culture. (Grades 5-8) (AR 4.9)

Smith, Sherri L. Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet. Laurel Leaf, ©2009. According to Ana’s social studies teacher, she has a “marvelously biracial, multicultural family.” However, Ana’s Chinese American and African American heritage do not always blend easily, particularly when all her grandparents are together for her eighth grade graduation. After the water main bursts during the graduation ceremony, Ana invites Jamie Tabata, the cutest boy in school, to her house for a home-cooked meal. Conflicts arise during the four hours in which the family have to prepare the meal. Eventually, Ana learns the value of family and her unique heritage in the blending of the hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors. (Grades 6-8) (AR 3.9)

Stead, Rebecca. First Light. Yearling, ©2008. Peter, 12, has grown up with parents who are professional scientists. His father is a glaciologist and his mother is a genetic scientist. Peter is delighted when his dad decides to take the family to Greenland while he studies the effects of global warming. While out exploring, Peter accidentally meets Thea, 14, who lives in Gracehope, a secret utopian society under the Greenland ice. Join Peter and Thea in their quest for answers in this thought-provoking contemporary fantasy. (Grades 6-8) (AR 4.8)

VanDraanen, Wendy. Runaway. Laurel Leaf, ©2008. Life for Holly has never been easy. Now she has run away from an abusive foster home and faces a daily struggle for survival as a homeless person. In the past, a compassionate teacher had given Holly a journal in which to document her life. Holly knows that words can’t fix her life or give her a family, but she consistently writes her poetry and story in the journal. Mature readers will root for Holly as she navigates dangerous streets on her way to finding an “ordinary” life. (Grades 7-9) (AR 4.7)

This information was taken from http://myssyra.org/grades6_8/68list.html To print a list of books, visit these links: Annotated book list for grades 6-8. [.pdf, 2 pages, 41K] Brief book list for grades 6-8 [.pdf, 1 page, 32K]

Congratulations to the returning library helpers and the newest members of the LMC library staff.

Allen, Ramie 7
Anderson, Sade 8
Annis, Kearstin 7
Buckles, Taylor 7
Casto, Breanna 8
Casto, Kyndal 7
Counts, Ava 8
Cumbus, Caitlin 7
Daniels, Dalton 7
Doggett, Autumn 7
Edwards, Matthew 7
Frederick, Jordan 7
Glasford, Brooke 8
Hickenlooper, Kate 8
Kennedy, Ella 7
King, Tyler 8
Matheny, Brent 7
Michael, Summer 7
Pamplona. Stevie 7
Saucerman, Lane 7
Seitz, Elizabeth 7
Watson, Layne 7
Welch, Catherine 8
White, Haylee 8
Wilkinson, Shelby 7
Winkleman, Baylee 8

The first day of school will be here before we know it and things are coming together very quickly. I’m pleased to announce that Mrs. Stephanie Twitty has been hired as the new Gifted teacher. She will be teaching Language Arts just like I did last year. I’m also pleased to say that with the new Reading class that all teachers will have first period, I’ll be seeing many familiar faces. I’ll be teaching 8th grade and will see most of my seventh graders from last year. I hope you’re as happy about this as I am! It won’t be the entire class, and we’ll have some new faces too. Be ready to get to work because my goal is to help you score even higher on FCAT this year or to maintain your high score and avoid that eighth grade slump we so often see. Enjoy the rest of your summer and email me if you have any questions.

I know this is a late post, but I wanted to share our videos of this event. Mrs. Wilkinson, our reading coach, came to see me about possible ideas for the Celebrate Literacy Week. My first thought was using video to create interest in the events and my second idea was to do a commercial similar to the Publisher’s Clearinghouse ads where people are running to deliver the good news. I thought that a good way to promote Celebrate Literacy Week was by having students bring and share the books they were currently reading. The class who had the largest percent of students with books for the morning was recognized the next day and taken to the cafeteria for breakfast. I called it Bring a Book to Breakfast! Take a look at the results below.

This was the first commercial. Notice we had both Dr. Surrency and Mrs. Oliver (Principal and Assistant Principal) right there in the middle of the fun! They certainly got in their exercise for the day.

The first winner was Mrs. McDonald’s class. There was a bit of drama to go along with this first “win”, but that story is for another day.

[MEDIA not found]

The second winner was Mrs. Symonds’ class. As they paraded down the hallway, other classes cheered and clapped for them.

The third winner was Mr. Matke’s class. We’re not sure who was more shocked at our arrival at his door, Mr. Matzke, who had no idea his students had won or the “suprise team”, who had to knock twice to get his kids down to the cafeteria in time for breakfast.

The fourth and final day ended with a tie between Mr. Drew’s class and Mrs. Leary’s class. Both teachers were thrilled to have won and Mr. Drew even made us jump back by yelling, “What do you want?!?” after we knocked on his door. His big grin, however, made it pretty clear he was just teasing us.

[MEDIA not found]

I was very proud of the library assistants who made this part of our celebration a huge success. It wouldn’t have been nearly as fun and exciting without our “suprise team” arriving at each room every morning.

On Thursday, April 9th, students picked their favorite Sunshine State Young Reader Award title. On arrival at school, the student media assistants, along with Mrs. Gastelum’s first period Language Arts class, immediately went to work setting up the media center for the day’s voting.

Ballots, voting stations, and goody bags were generously provided by our Putnam County Supervisor of Elections Office. Mrs. Pam Keene was our contact and the one responsible for ordering specially designed ballots just for the occasion.

At the end of first period, the three classes of students who had teachers that read out-loud to them began to arrive. Because these teachers read at least three titles, each student in their classes was eligible to vote in this year’s contest. Those teachers were Ms. Barnett, Coach Bennett, and Mr. Gastelum. During the next three periods, students from 6th through 8th grade arrived in the media center to add their votes.

When students entered, the voting procedure was explained and names were checked for eligibility. Each qualified student was given a ballot and sent to a voting station. After voting, the ballots were collected at another table and a goody bag was made available to each voter. Then students moved on to the cookie table. After getting cookies, students were able to relax and socialize while enjoying their cookies.

In all, we had 210 ballots submitted.

Our top pick was The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson. Our second place winner was Peak by Roland Smith, and our third place winner, with only 4 votes fewer than Peak was Red Kayak by Priscilla Cummings.

Jenkins is just a small part of the vote. So far over 18,000 middle school students across the state of Florida have cast their votes. We are the only middle school in Putnam to participate this year, however, and right now, the plan is to have even more eligible students next year! Dr. Surrency is already trying to find ways to provide teachers with classroom sets of the newest Sunshine State Reader titles for the upcoming year. We’ve also been lucky enough to receive a $350 donation for new titles. This will buy almost three sets of books!

A special thanks is extended to Mrs. Pam Keene who made it very special by providing real ballots and real voting stations and the goody bags, to Coach Bennet, Ms. Barnett, and Mr. Gastelum for finding the time in their busy schedules to read three of these books to their students, and to the students who provided all of the support for the day and who made sure everything worked so smoothly. These are the days that make me proud to be the media specialist at Jenkins Middle School!

Sixth graders spent time in the media center this week taking their SRI and then competing in a nonfiction read-a-thon. After completing their SRI, students were asked to choose nonfiction books, read them, and then take Reading Counts tests to show comprehension of the books that were read. What started as a simple contest turned into a RC points blow-out! Mrs. Holley’s classes earned a total of 350 points! In second was Mrs. Staple’s classes with 259 points, followed by Mrs. Gastelum’s with 214 points. Mrs. Evans students made a decent showing by earning 150 points. Mrs. Brauman, who has just one 6th grade class, earned a remarkable 134 points. The winner has been determined by averaging the total number of points by the total number of students for each teacher.

Mrs. Holley’s students earned an average of 5.4 points each. Mrs. Staples students earned an average of 3.4 points each. Mrs. Gastelum’s students earned an average of 6.7 points each and Mrs. Evans’s students earned an average of 3.0 points each. Mrs. Brauman’s class had only 14 students and they earned a huge average of 9.6 points each!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Mrs. Brauman’s 6th grade Language Arts class! You rocked Reading Counts this week! Congratulations are also in order for Mrs. Holley’s students for earning the greatest number of points. Earning 350 points in one day is impressive!

Congratulations to the following top readers. The top ten students for each grade leve are listed below. Some of on the verge of setting a new school record!

6th Graders:

Lane Saucerman	848
Yun Tin Lin	374
Joshua Williams	343
Taylor Seitz	341
Jessalyn Curtis	249
Donavon Jordan	235
Micheal Dejesus	224
Taylor R Smith	220
Alek Bennett	209
Ella Kennedy	205
Gavin Reed	199

7th Graders:

Sade Anderson	715
Breanna Casto	467
Stephon Johnson	436
Shae Jackson	406
Victoria Clower	358
Chase Parker	352
Kincaid Aubrey	345
Rachel Allen	279
Valerie Clower	263
Kelly Coston	251

8th Graders:

Hunter Harper	301
Sierra Hill	285
Josie Bennett	283
Khalia Garrison	282
Patrick Clower	254
Caitlin Young	250
LaHazel Lewis	241
Taylor Bray	221
Taylor Fox	206
Krystle Stallings	205

There are more great readers out there who could easily make it into the top ten. As an incentive, each student who earns 100 points will earn a free paperback book. The event will take place very soon, so read and earn those points today!