What a great year!

Well, the posters are down and the students are gone, but it has been a fantastic year at FCCS.  Thank you so much to all the students, parents, and staff that have made this year so great for me.  I look forward to seeing most of you next year.  Those I won't, may the future hold untold blessings for you... I suppose those should go to those I'll see too ;p  Have a great summer!

Summer Reading Suggestions

Note to parents of FCCS students:

The Reading Lists and assignments below are suggestions for children who will be entering 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th grades in Fall 2014.

Books such as Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and the Goosebump series do not promote the patterns of thought that produce intellectual and personal excellence.  Though popular with a large number of young readers, these types of books utilize short sentences, simple sentence structure, easy vocabulary, uncomplicated paragraphs, and simple plots.   Also, comic books are image-centered and, therefore, do not qualify as “books” for free reading time. We do, however, recommend the use of audio books as a supplement (not a replacement) to reading and strongly suggest that the student read along with the audio.

In addition, it is recommended that parents purchase a composition notebook (now referred to as "My Reading Notebook") that students can use to journal their reading assignments. These notebooks can be purchased at any store that sells school supplies. The purpose for the notebook is for students in grades K-6 to write/draw their assignments and maintain these assignments throughout the years.

Grades 3-5 are challenged to read TWO of the assigned books and complete the assignments in My Reading Notebook.  The other books are suggested reading.  Additionally, Grades 3-5 should also try to memorize the two assigned pieces and be able to recite.

	Assigned Books	Reading Assignment	Memorization Assignment
3	The Children’s Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus & the Tale of Troy by Padriac Colum Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Gulliver’s Travels adapted by James Riordan	Child will read at least 30 minutes per day from assigned reading. Using one of the books (student’s choice) the child will write a summary of what they have read twice per week in the My Reading Notebook. After choosing another book from the list, the child will read and answer assigned questions* in the My Reading Notebook. Child will have 50 minutes every day to read another book from the assigned list or books of his/her choice.	The Preamble to the Constitution The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence
4	Black Beauty by Anna Sewell Treasure Island by Fernando Fernandez based on work by R.L. Stevenson A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis	Child will read at least 30 minutes per day from assigned reading. Using one of the books (student’s choice) the child will write a summary twice per week in the My Reading Notebook. After choosing another book from the list, the child will read and answer assigned questions* in the My Reading Notebook. Child will spend at least one hour per day reading another book from the assigned list or books of his/her choice.	“A Song of Enchantment” by Walter de la Mare “All Day Long” by Carl Sandburg
5	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Heidi by Johanna Spyri The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White Johnny Tremaine by Esther Forbes	Child will read at least 45 minutes per day from assigned reading. Using one of the books (student’s choice) the child will write a summary twice per week in the My Reading Notebook. After choosing another book from the list, the child will read and answer assigned questions* in the My Reading Notebook. Child will spend at least one hour per day reading another book from the assigned list or books of his/her choice.	Homer’s “Invocation of the Muse” from “The Odyssey” Henry Van Dyke’s “Gone from My Sight”

 After choosing the second book from the list, the child should answer these questions in the My Reading Notebook:

·         What is the title of the book you read?

·         What are the major characters in the book?

·         What is the setting?  When does the story take place?  Where does the story take place?

·         What is the plot of the story?

·         If you could change the end of the story, how would you have re-written it?

Derived from Summer Reading Assignments: The Academy for Classical Education 

Note to parents of FCCS students:

The Reading Lists and assignments below are suggestions for students who will be entering 6^th and 7th grades in Fall 2014.

It is recommended that parents purchase a composition notebook (now referred to as "My Reading Notebook") that students can use to journal their reading assignments. These notebooks can be purchased at any store that sells school supplies. The purpose for the notebook is for students in grades 6-7 to write their assignments and maintain these assignments throughout the years.

Grades 6-7 are challenged to read TWO of the assigned books and complete the assignments in My Reading Notebook.  The other books are suggested reading.

Suggested Summer Reading Assignments

	Assigned Books	Reading Assignment	Essay Questions
6	Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck The Call of the Wild by Jack London Roll of thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls	Students should read at least 60 minutes per day. Students should read the first TWO books on the list.  After reading these books, students should answer the TWO essay questions in the My Reading Notebook. Students will read other books from the list or of his/her choosing for independent reading upon completion of the above reading assignment.  The student should write a summary of the book in the My Reading Notebook.  Include, plot, setting, main characters, major turning point in the book, and the ending.  Additionally, explain how you would have re-written the ending of the book if you had been the author.	1. How does the setting of Mice and Men influence the book’s thematic development?  Consider the connection between the novel’s setting and the characters’ vocations. 2. Explain how the beginning of The Call of the Wild illustrates the idea of “survival of the fittest.”
7	Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson The Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings	Students should read at least 60 minutes per day. Students should read the first TWO books on the list.  After reading these books, students should answer the TWO essay questions in the My Reading Notebook. Students will read other books from the list or of his/her choosing for independent reading upon completion of the above reading assignment.  The student should write a summary of the book in the My Reading Notebook.  Include, plot, setting, main characters, major turning point in the book, and the ending.  Additionally, explain how you would have re-written the ending of the book if you had been the author.	1. How did the perfect society in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies fall apart?  Could the society have been fixed?  Write an essay that discusses what crucial errors the boys made that they could have made differently and, thus, made a better island society. 2. After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, create an epitaph for Anne that captures her outlook on life.  Then write a eulogy that expresses what you think were her finest personal characteristics.

 

Derived from Summer Reading Assignments: The Academy for Classical Education 

The Society for Creative Anachronism comes to FCCS

Wow, what a day today.  The 2nd and 6th graders were able to see some historical reenactments from the medieval period!  I have some wonderful pictures, although I suppose I need to get some photo releases to be able to post them on here.  Seeing Anna with a battle helmet and a long sword was quite scary though!

Thanks to the Society for Creative Anachronism for coming by.  If you are interested in working with them or learning more you can visit their website at SCA.org or email info@highland-foorde.atlantia.sca.org .

Tests and Quizzes

Homeroom has their Wordly Wise Test on Thursday, 5/29.

5th Grade has their Rome test on Friday, 5/30
Here is the study guide.


6th Grade has their Europe quiz on Friday, 5/30.  This quiz will cover the dark ages (Charlemagne, Vikings, etc...), Feudalism, and England (William, Henry II, and John II)

Thank you!

Wow, I have never had such amazing teacher appreciate week.... in fact, in all my years I don't think I even realized it was more than one day!  Thank you, everyone, for all of the kind words, the goodies, the cards, and my awesome door decoration.  There hasn't been a day I have been so glad I made the choice to go to FCCS.  Thank you for your thoughtfulness and by raising such wonderful children.

Wreck found off Haiti could be Columbus’s ‘Santa Maria’

A shipwreck found off the north coast of Haiti could be the 500-year-old remains of theSanta Maria, which led Christopher Columbus’s famed voyage to the New World, according to a team of marine explorers.

“All the geographical, underwater topography and archaeological evidence strongly suggests that this wreck is Columbus’s famous flagship, the Santa Maria,” Massachusetts marine investigator Barry Clifford said in a press release on Tuesday.

“I am confident that a full excavation of the wreck will yield the first-ever detailed marine archaeological evidence of Columbus’s discovery of America,” he added.

Permanent exhibitionMr Clifford (68), who led a reconnaissance expedition to the site last month, was due to hold a press conference at the Explorers Club in New York to announce the discovery. He said he would like the ship to stay in Haiti as part of a permanent exhibition to help the country’s struggling tourism industry. But a Haitian official reacted with scepticism, saying it was unlikely that anything remains of the wreck.

“It’s a historical and scientific mistake to say that the Santa Maria could have been found under the sea,” said Erol Josué, director of Haiti’s national ethnology office, noting that its timbers were used by survivors to build a small fort, named La Navidad, considered the first European settlement in the New World.

The wreck was discovered in about three to 4.5m (10-15ft) of water near a reef, and matches the length of the Santa Maria’s 35m keel, according to the exploration team. Its geographical location coincides with Columbus’s description of where the Santa Maria sank, and stones found at the wreck site match a quarry in Spain that provided ballast for Columbus’s ships, the team said.

“The size of the wreck is consistent with the dimensions of the Santa Maria,” said Dirk Hoogstra, general manager of History, a cable TV channel that funded the latest expedition to the wreck site. “There’s not a whole lot of wood left after all these years,” he added, saying it’s unclear how much of the ship could be recovered.

The location of the Santa Maria, the La Navidad fort, and the fate of the shipwreck survivors have mystified scholars.

Shorter route to Asia
The Santa Maria was one of a fleet of three vessels that left Spain in 1492 to look for a shorter route to Asia. The ship, after arriving near the Bahamas, drifted onto a reef on Christmas Day and had to be abandoned. After the shipwreck, Columbus left behind 39 men and sailed back to Spain on the Niña. He returned a year later to find the fort destroyed and none of his crew alive.

Archaeologists from the University of Florida have been searching for the remains of La Navidad. Last year, they said they had found what could be the site of a nearby Arawak Indian village.

Mr Clifford has worked on numerous historic wrecks around the world, including Captain Kidd’s flagship off Madagascar. His team first discovered the wreck off Haiti in 2003, but it was unable to identify the ship. Yet the discovery of Columbus’s encampment on nearby Haiti and data from the explorer’s diary prove the heavily decayed vessel on the sea floor was the Santa Maria, he now believes.

A cannon was initially found as part of the wreck, but archaeologists at the time misidentified it as dating from a different historical period, Mr Clifford told CNN. After conducting further research on cannons from Columbus’s day, Mr Clifford concluded it could have come from the Santa Maria.

On last month’s reconnaissance trip, Mr Clifford’s team measured and photographed the ship. Some items, including the cannon, had been looted since his earlier visit. – (Reuters)