And so it continues

It has definitely been a good year so far. I'm not going to say that our students all of a sudden want to be in school rather than doing just about anything else, but sooo many things have been going right some of us are curious about which anchor is going to drop first.
Our sophomores are in the process of their first presentations. They are rough, but that's OK as they need to begin somewhere and improve. I am afraid that too many of them still feel as if their first attempts have to be perfect. We had several students who got the opportunity to replant their peas. Either their medium didn't work (and smelled up the science room--who will forget the great flour experiment of 2011) or maybe something went wrong with the seed or maybe they overwatered... any number of things could be the issue. Thankfully, those who have replanted (almost all) have now started growing.
We are working on reading for details in English II--the other half of this PBL experience. I have to agree with the kids that picking up a book like The Notebook is more interesting, but this has to be accomplished as well.
We also picked up a class pet the other day thanks to a friend. We were at Wagner Lake in Wagner and the kids fishing were catching a lot of crawfish. So, we found a bucket and collected some water and brought one home.

He's a fun character to watch and has a personality. He was very black when we got him, but he's slowly eating the "stuff" that was on him and is almost a pretty blue.
English IV is working on Packer Press and their first interviews. It's always a challenge to get them curious enough to want to write newspaper articles. But I always have to remind myself, too, that in a small town the "news" isn't always fit to print. They also are creating a children's version of Beowulf. I love the story and I'm anxious to see what they come up with. I've sneaked a peek at a few and they have the right idea.
Business English is working awful hard on a portfolio--resume, letters, etc. Again... a great group of kids if I can keep their attention. They get along well enough that I'd be a little afraid if they ever decided to gang up on me.
English III is also working on a presentation. What would they be seeing if they walked across the land that is currently SD in the 17th century. They are finding that many of the preconceived notions about this area are not founded in fact. I threw a quote at them to think about over the next couple of days. "It takes a whole lot of history to create a little bit of literature." I'd love for them to walk away from this class with the understanding that history and literature never meld so well as it does in America.
Novels class is also doing well. It's nice to have the opportunity to talk to kids simply about the joy of the book.

So.... it's been interesting and busy. I've got ideas and thoughts going through my head every night. Too many.