Well, that's all, folks!

Dear students,

I guess this is the end of Mr. Marshall's Pender Blog for the time being.  As I post this, nearly 18,000 views would suggest it has been a useful endeavor.  I would like to thank you for your part in what has been for me, a wonderful past number of years.  We have had our ups and downs and been affected by stressors from within and without our school, but through it all, we have managed.  I like to think that a big reason for that is the family atmosphere that we have.  Yes, our school is small and no, it doesn't offer the broad selection of courses and activities that a larger school can, but we do feel connected and cared-for.  I have always tried to foster a sense of academic and personal responsibility for you, without neglecting the need for laughs.  I have tried to adapt our classroom to follow what I see as best practices and that has meant the need for flexibility on your part.  I like to think that we have fostered a relationship of mutual trust and respect and the result has been the creation of what I hope you will agree has been a desirable place to be.  In school, we often talk about how teachers help students, but I want to acknowledge that you have helped me.  There is no doubt that I leave Pender a better teacher than I arrived and I wish to thank you for supporting my pursuits both inside and outside of Room 102.

I'll be thinking of you...

English 8: Thursday, 14 June

It is a sad day for me today :(

For our last class together we took time to reflect on all that we have participated in together this year.  I was amazed at the depth of your recall and touched by the many kind words and wishes that you expressed both in your wonderfully genuine card and your reflective paragraphs.  It has been my great pleasure to work with you all.  I will remember you as an energetic, cooperative and willing group of students.  I never had to wait for volunteers; I never heard anyone say, "This is boring;" in fact, I never witnessed anything but kind and respectful behaviour.  It would be hard to find a better class anywhere.  I hope you can continue to model such positive behaviour in the future: you are wonderful role models and give me hope for the future of our school! You should be very proud of your many accomplishments (I know I am).

English 8: Tuesday, 12 June

Today we started the class by trying to figure out where the multitude of alarm clocks ringing in the classroom were located.  Then we read the play Tender Places.  It was another typical Class of 2016 effort: 100%.  There is no homework - I'm saving it for the last class (on Thursday).

Eng 8: Friday, 8 May

Today we read The Green Morning by Ray Bradbury.  We had a discussion about oxygen and some of its special concerns in certain environments.  Finally, we examined some of the elements of fiction in a group discussion about the lesson PPT.  There is no homework this weekend - enjoy yourselves.

English 8: Thursday, 7 June

Today we discussed the elements of survival and the questions we might ask if we found ourselves shipwrecked.  Then we read "Side Bet."  Finally, we wrote about a scene from the story FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE RAT.  Please have that ready for tomorrow's class.

English 8: Tuesday, 5 June

Today we read U is Part of Us and had a discussion about "balance' in our lives.  We also talked about the things we do at home and the things that our caregivers do.  For homework, please complete the letter to one of your caregivers as per the notes.

English 8: Tuesday, 29 May

Today we closed our descriptive paragraph writing unit by writing a 100% solo effort that was handed in as a reflection of our growth in this area.  My hope is that you have learned some useful strategies that you will be able to call upon any time you have to write in the future.  Next class we will start a brief short fiction reading unit to close out the course.  There is no homework tonight.

English 8: Thursday, 24 May

Wow!  We had another very productive day of descriptive paragraph writing.  Yet again, I was pleased and impressed with your mature response to the task.  In essence, you have created a collaborative writers workshop that is supportive of each other specifically and of your writing in general.  We are getting quite a collection of writing on our wall.  There is no homework.

Eng 8: Tues., 22 May

Today we reviewed the components of our descriptive paragraphs and then continued with the composition and revision process.  There is no homework.

En 8: Tuesday, 15 May

Today we worked on paragraph # 2 (and some worked on paragraph #3).  I am enjoying the chance to work with you one-to-one in the editing/revision process.  I continue to be very satisfied with the effort and progress that you are making.  Who would think that you would stay engaged in the writing process to effectively over such sustained periods of time.  Keep up the great work - there is no homework.

Eng 8: Friday, 11 May

Today we finished our first photo-inspired paragraphs and some people were able to get started on their second.  I am very pleased with the finished products.  As we continue, I'll slowly keep removing my support so that you become more and more independent writers.  There is no homework.

English 8: Thursday, 10 May

Today we extended our photojournalism activity into a descriptive paragraph.  We shared our topic sentences with a focus on creating the mystery or wonder required by a good topic sentence.  We'll continue working on this tomorrow.  There is no homework.

English 8: Tuesday, 8 May

Today we learned how to create a digital contact sheet in Google Images.  We learned that photos around 500 x 500 are big enough to expand to full page size.  Next we searched for three or four good photos suitable for use in helping to write a descriptive paragraph - see the sample to see how we pasted text boxes to explain why we chose the images that we chose.  Next class we'll do the paragraph writing.  There is no homework.

English 8: Tuesday, 1 May

Happy May Day!  Today we took our writing further by examining considerations for descriptive writing.  To have a common focus, we started by using a short video and then moved to a still photograph.  We also wrote a pre-write activity where we made a table to identify imagery for each of the five senses.  Next, we shared our two best examples from our tables.  On Thursday we'll write the paragraph for this second pre-write. There is no homework. (Thanks Sam, for the pic of the boardwork)

Eng 8: Thursday, 26 April

Today we reviewed our paragraph writing from last day and then wrote a second paragraph.  Your style and structure is improving.  Please have a good copy to share for Tuesday's class (attached are the topic sentences we wrote).

En 8: Tuesday: 24 April

Today we did a quick review of our grammar work and then practice the structure of a paragraph together.  Next, we each wrote our own paragraph following the sample model. There is no homework.

English 8: Friday, 20 April

Today we worked to understand the concepts of subject/verb agreement and pronoun agreement - two very common grammar faults.  You continue to do well.  There is no homework - enjoy your weekend.

English 8: Thursday, 19 April

Today Ms Dimond borrowed the first half of class to do a HACE careers activity.  I then returned your grammar test and we reviewed the answers.  I was very pleased with your results - good work!  We then reviewed the work we did last class on run-on sentences, and left off with a brief reflective paragraph on the careers work you did.  Please complete that journal entry for homework if you were unable to get it finished in class.

En 8: Tuesday, 17 April

Today we reviewed, then wrote our parts of speech test.  Afterwords, we began looking at run-ons.  There is no homework. 

SAM AND YASMEENA: PLEASE REMEMBER TO GIVE ME YOUR MISSING ASSIGNMENTS TOMORROW.

English 8: Thursday, 12 April

Today we did a short parts of speech quiz in preparation for Tuesday's test.  We then reviewed.  There is no homework except to prepare for the test.