Sunday, January 2, 2011

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed their winter break.  Its chilly out there and will be cold all week, so do not forget to wear a warm jacket and dress in layers.  Long sleeve shirts can be worn under polos if they are black or white.

What's going on this semester?
 HANDS will work on a main thematic unit covering Egyptian, Roman, and Greek Ancient Civilizations. We will also be covering the Tough Terminators program in science, and continue with Connected Math Program (CMP) in math & Accelerated Math (AM). The GRIP program will also continue to come in on Thursdays to discuss gang and bullying prevention. We will also be planning our camping trip to Carlsbad Caverns in May.

This month in Language Arts...
Students will be given the option to read a book that has been made into a movie.  They will have to read the book and then compare it to the feature film.  We will also be using the themes and screen portrayal of the book to analyze popular culture and society.  Please talk to your child about their ILP (Individual Learning Plan).

Due to our snow delay on December 17 our surprise field trip has been moved to Friday January 7, 2011.  We will be ice skating at the Taos Youth & Family Center. Please send your child with $2 and warm clothes on Friday.
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School Supplies and Classroom Needs

HANDS Students share supplies that are pooled in community bins for everyone to use. I am also listing personal supplies students will want/need. Please also check out my national teacher registry at nationalteacherregistry.com Registry can be found through McPartlon or Registry #499999125243 or Taos Middle School.

Community Supplies: No. 2 Non-mechanical pencils, loose leaf paper, blue pens, washable markers, sticky notes (all sizes), tissues, clorox wipes, windex or all-purpose cleaner, paper towels, pencil erasers, and highlighters.

Personal Supplies: No. 2 Non-mechanical pencils, loose leaf paper, 2 lined composition notebooks, 2 graph paper notebooks, 1" binder w/tab dividers (flexible kind preferred), water bottle, calculator, personal pencil sharpener, thesaurus, World Atlas, dictionary, pencil erasers.

Suggestion: Math Facts Flash Cards (All students must be able to pass basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division 100 facts tests by the end of the first 9 weeks of school. They have 5 mins to complete 100 problems with a 90% or higher pass rate.)

Things we need for the classroom: electric pencil sharpener, curtains, rugs, two large welcome mats, outdoor paint (for metal railings) & painting supplies, cups, plates, knives, forks, curtains, bookshelves

Things that would be fun in the classroom: plants and small pets - must be approved by Mr. Cordova.


About Me

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Taos, New Mexico, United States
My name is Hillary McPartlon. I am the teacher of the HANDS Program. H.A.N.D.S (Helping Academic Needs of Diverse Students) is a pilot program at Taos Middle School for 6th graders. It is designed for students who seek a challenging environment with a hands-on approach. Through multi-disciplinary learning, students will learn core academics, real-world challenges, and leadership skills. The HANDS Lab is for learners of all levels and backgrounds. The ultimate goal is to treat each student as an individual learner as part of a cooperative team.

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