Week 8 SAT Words

Cerebration (not celebration) (sĕr ə brāˈshən) thought; the act of thinking
· The guests at Einstein’s birthday celebration were all deep in cerebration.
· The SAT requires careful cerebration to obtain a good score.

Lackadaisical (lak ə dā′ zi kəl) uncaring; lacking in interest or spirit
· His lackadaisical approach to leadership created an uncommitted and indolent team.
· Lackadaisical students generally are unhappy in school because they are not involved.

Tirade (tī′ rād) long and vehement speech
· The principal spent the morning announcements on a tirade about the lackadaisical attitude of the students.
· A long tirade by the coach pushed the team to work a little harder.

SAT Words-- Week 7

Acclivity (ə kliv′ ə tē) sharp incline of a hill
· A cliff is an example of an acclivity.
· The steep acclivity loomed ahead of the runners as they neared the end of the race.

Erudite (er′ yo̵̅o̅ dīt) scholarly
· Erudite people say things like, “Ere you diet, would you partake of the torte?” instead of “Want some cake?”
· Even the most erudite person can make a silly mistake.

Supercilious (su per sil′ ē əs) haughty; conceited; disdainful
· All the waiters in the upscale restaurant made dining uncomfortable with their supercilious manner.
· Most people just laughed at his supercilious way of speaking.

More Time on Drums

Some classes will need a little longer to finish the novel. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week we will be working on the computers. Students will be practicing iMovie and Garageband on the laptops. These two programs will be valuable in creating multimedia projects in the future. Once you become familiar with the programs, you should visit the computer lab after school to get more practice and create your own projects.

We need pictures and video of any Kimbrough events for our team 7-3 "Night at the Movies." Please contact Ms. McDaniels if you have any pictures or video clips we could use.

Finish Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie & Turn in Robinson Questions

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, we will finish reading the novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. We will also turn in the questions done from Read XL on Jackie Robinson. Make sure to use the OER strategy discussed in class to answer number one on the comprehension check questions. It is very important to practice this strategy, so make sure to use it when answering this question.

Week 8 SAT Words

Allay (a lā′) to soothe; to make more bearable
· The teacher allayed the student’s fears of failure by providing him with extra help in math.
· The malodorous odors coming from the closet did not allay the potential homeowner’s anxiety about purchasing the home.

Epitome (i pit′ ə mē) something that perfectly represents an entire class of things
· Jason Witten is the epitome of a committed, classy professional football player.
· The Fonz was the epitome of cool!

Pedestrian (pi des′ trē ən) commonplace (another meaning: traveling on foot)
· Richard was in a quandary about changing his rather pedestrian job to something more tempestuous and exciting.
· The MISD employees’ vocabulary could never be described as pedestrian due to their extensive use of SAT words in everyday conversation!

On Wednesday, we reviewed how to answer open ended response questions like we discussed on #14 of "Baby Stephen" on the last Milestone test. After a brief review, we read Jackie Robinson from the Read XL p. 78. We briefly discussed the photo essay as we listened to the reading. We pointed out that this essay is non-fiction. As a piece of non-fiction writing, it is based on facts, the text is divided into sections with subheadings, and there are pictures with captions describing the pictures. We also discussed point-of-view as we read this essay. The essay is written from the voice of Jackie Robinson, making it first person point of view. Read the first page and see if you can tell the difference in the speaker on the second page. This is a good example of first person point of view.

On Thursday, we read from Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie for most of the period. In most classes, we made it up to the chapter titled "I'm a Man Now," but some classes might be a little ahead or behind.

Friday was AR day. We read our library books all period and took AR tests. You must have your five points by next Friday, which is the 30th of October. Please come and talk to me if you are going to have a problem meeting this requirement. We did receive a grade in class Friday for AR participation.

7-3 Night At The Movies

Team 7-3 is tentatively scheduling a movie night for Tuesday, November 17, 2009. We will meet in the cafeteria from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Popcorn and cokes will be served while parents and students watch our feature presentation. The presentation will consist of various pictures and video clips from 7-3 extra curricular activities and some academic content as well. If you are a parent or student on team 7-3, please plan to attend this event. Additional posts will confirm the time and date, so please check back soon for details.

Week 7 SAT Words

Descry (di skri′) to discern; to catch sight of something that is difficult to see
· Through the mist they could descry the form of the hungry, one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater munching on a bag of purple Skittles.
· Can you descry the ghostly form through the trees?

Malign (mə līn′) to say bad things about; slander
· Flozel is often maligned for his plethora of penalties (grrrrr).
· The angry student unjustly maligned the principal.

Vacillate (vac′ il lāt) to waver from one side to the other
· While the skier vacillated about whether to use Vaseline or Chapstick, his lips got chapped.
· Laura loves chocolate and vacillates between Snickers and Milky Way as her favorite.

OER Questions for the TAKS Test

We covered open ended response questions in class today. We talked about the questions on the test "Baby Stephen." We specifically discussed question #14, which asks about a conflict Victor faces in the story.

All open ended response answers must include a statement that directly answers the question. The statement should be followed by some specific piece of evidence (quote) from the passage. Then, the next sentence should explain the importance of the quote.

Next, the writer must include a second piece of evidence (another quote) that supports the original statement. The following sentence should explain the importance of the quote, just as done with the first quote.

So, all open ended responses should include:

1. a statement that answers the question
2. evidence that supports the answer
3. an explanation of the evidence
4. more evidence that supports the answer
5. another explanation (of the second piece of evidence)

SAT Words -- Week 6

Amity n. (am′ ə tē) peaceful relations; friendship
· The amity between the rival football teams creates a strangely noncompetitive atmosphere.
· The learning atmosphere was enhanced by the perfect amity in the classroom between the teacher and students.

Garrulous adj. (gar′ â lous) very talkative; loquacious
· My garrulous seat mate on the plane drove me crazy with his constant talking.
· A garrulous student often has trouble complying with classroom discipline rules.

Vehement adj. (vē′ ə ment) with ardor; energetically or violently forceful
· Rather than showing any contrition, the crook vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
· Tony suffered vehement criticism due to his mediocre play against Denver.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

As we continue to read from the novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie in class, most classes made it to the chapter titled "Trouble." In the previous chapters, "Take Me" and "Fever," we saw Steven's mother helping him get ready for the school dance and telling him how handsome he was, while he was thinking he looked like the original "dorkmaster." We come to the conclusion that Steven's opinion ("Dorkmaster") is probably a more accurate description as his mother reminds him to zip up his fly and Steven throws on a black band (geek) t-shirt. The chapter ends with Steven asking God to please "Take Me" (instead of Jeffrey) because his mother rushes in to the dance wearing her sweat pants. She asks the DJ to stop the music and call Steven Alper to the front. Steven is so embarrassed, but his mother is in a total panic because Jeffrey has.... you guessed it.... "Fever."

In the next chapter, "Fever," we get an inside look at exactly what Jeffrey has been going through in the hospital. It is ironic because in earlier chapters Steven had sarcastically referred to Jeffrey's hospital stays as "Vacation." Once Steven spends a little time with Jeffrey in the hospital and watches as Jeffrey is poked with needles and exposed to cold, scary machines, he realizes that it is no vacation to be in Jeffrey's shoes. Steven does a good job comforting his brother in the hospital and pretends to be one of Jeffrey's favorite toys, Matt Medic. Jeffrey is glad that Steven is there with him in the hospital.

Many of the chapters in this book seem to end in suspense. This is a good way to keep the reader involved and eager to keep reading. We are still in the rising action of the plot. All of the action in the plot is focused around the conflict (Jeffrey's cancer).

WeeK 5 SAT Words

Demur v. (dē mur′) to object mildly
· She politely demurred when the stranger asked her to dinner.
· When the discussion turned anti Cowboys, she had to demur with a smile.

Indolence n. (in′ də ləntz) laziness
· If you study with indolence, it will definitely be reflected by poor grades.
· Indolent behavior is not conducive to a successful career.











Philanthropy n. (fə lan′ thrə pē) improvement of the world through charity
· The philanthropy of our students during times of crisis is an inspiration to all.
· Rather than purchase homecoming mums, the students decided to find a philanthropic way to spend their money that would benefit children in other countries.

9/29 - 10/2

In reading class this week, we have gone over the answers to the first benchmark test that was taken on 9/9/09. This test included the passages on "Allison's Gift," "Mikhail's List," and the newspaper article on Luis Jimenez's alligator sculpture in El Paso. Make sure you understand all of the correct answers on this benchmark. It is very important.

Today (Thursday 10/1) we will begin discussing non-fiction, which is based on fact. We will review some common factors that characterize non-fiction, such as subheadings, pictures, and captions. Next we will read a passage from the Read XL book on page 166 titled, "Doctors Without Borders." After reading the passage aloud and silently reading pages 170 - 171, students will complete the questions on pages 172-173, Talk About It, Comprehension Check, and Vocabulary Check.

Tomorrow we will go to the computer lab to begin learning how to use the program iMovie. Bring your flash drive with pictures on it!!!

You will receive 50 points on Friday for bringing your library book to the computer lab. You will receive another 50 points for having your KMS book completely filled out for this six weeks. These two grades will be combined together for 100 points.

Please continue to read your library book and work on your AR goal.

SAT Words -- Week 4

Celerity n. (sə ler′ i tē) swiftness, speed
· When the light turned green, Mr. Adams floored the gas pedal with celerity spilling his latte all over his shirt.
· The celerity with which Mr. Perkins completes tasks is amazing.

Malodorous adj. (mal ō′ dər əs) smelling bad; having a bad odor
· The air coming from the field house is malodorous after a long workout.
· The malodorous pile of shoes was thrown into the trash bin.

Quandary n. (kwän′ də rē) state of uncertainty; dilemma
· Jerry Jones was in a quandary about whether to go to the football game or just watch it on television.
· The decision to downsize for the sake of profit or maintain the status quo to preserve jobs is an ethical quandary.

Mood & Tone

Hopefully, you have watched the music video "You Were Meant for Me," and tried to figure out the mood, tone, and any symbolism in the video. Now, compare that music video to the following music video. How are the mood and tone of "Goodbye Earl" different from the mood and tone in "You Were Meant for Me"?

Make Life Easier on Your Teacher

Please make our lives a little easier by putting your heading and a title on every paper that you turn in. We get a lot of papers every day, and we need you to do this. It helps us get all your grades recorded accurately!

JUST DO IT!

SAT Words Week 3-- Extra Credit Project

PowerPoint Project
Students will be given extra credit if they create a PowerPoint Project using the SAT words. Refer to the example shown in class if you plan to do this for extra credit. Save the PowerPoint on your flash drive to show later.

The words for this week are:

Ambulatory adj. (am′ byoo lə tôr ē) able to walk
· After he was run over by the ambulance, he was no longer ambulatory.
· My grandmother is fully ambulatory even though she is approaching 100 years of age.
· Justin Tuck is just barely ambulatory after the shot he took from Flozell Adams in the second quarter.

Laconic adj. (lə kän′ ik) not saying much; brief; terse; concise; succinct
· Melanie uses a laconic physical style to match her laconic vocal delivery.
· Laura’s laconic observations about life at work always make me smile.
· Romo’s laconic press conference showed his contrition for losing the game all by himself.

Tempestuous adj. (tem pes′ choo əs) stormy; turbulent; like a tempest
· The teenager’s tempestuous relationship created lots of drama for her family and friends.
· The spring is full of tempestuous nights with rumbling thunder and pounding rain.

Mood & Tone

Students,

Hopefully, you watched the PowerPoint on Mood & Tone, which was posted on 9/7/09. It's titled "Mood & Tone (Reading Class)." If not, watch it. As we read stories, begin to think about the Mood & Tone of each story.

As practice, watch this music video created by my students in Seagoville. Listen to the words and watch the pictures and see if you can figure out the Mood & Tone in the music video.





Did you understand the video? Was there any symbolism in the video? Think about what is going on between the couple. Why are they breaking up? Watch the following YouTube link to get a hint about the message in the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17GWt6GknqY

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

Open House 9/17/09

Open house for all Kimbrough Middle School students will be held Thursday evening from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Team 7-3 parents are meeting in the library. Other teams are meeting in the cafeteria and gym, so don't be confused. Team 7-3 parents should report to the library. Please try to be in the correct location by 6:00 p.m.

Beginning at approximately 6:10 p.m., each teacher on team 7-3 will give a brief introduction of himself/herself and then review important course information. This will take about 20 minutes. From 6:30 - 6:45, parents will have time to ask questions and address individual concerns. From approximately 7:00 - 7:45 p.m., parents will have time to visit the elective classes. There will be a handout specifying the locations of elective teachers.

Please be sure to visit the front foyer to purchase KMS items and a school yearbook. Also, PTA will have a table set up in the front foyer, and we really need parents and teachers involved in educating our students. We would love for you to join.

You will also have an opportunity to ask any questions about our cookie dough fundraiser. Please help us make this a very successful fundraiser for our school.

Math Video on Fractions

This video on fractions is kinda cool.... check it out:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=24266&title=Mr_Duey___Fractions_Official_Video

And a comical video reminder to always follow the rules:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=4423&title=Classroom_Rules

Hope you have a great day!

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

Characters:
Steven Alper
Jeffrey (Steven's brother)
Mom & Dad
Mr. Watras
Mrs. Galley (counselor)
Mrs. Palma (Steven's teacher)
Renee Albert (hottest girl in school)
Annette Watson (math whiz)
Sam (cancer patient)

Exposition: Jeffrey is Steven's little brother. He is the blond haired, blue-eyed, adorable little angel that mother and father dote on, while Steven, the older brother, is in the awkward stages of adolescence. Like most brothers, Jeffrey & Steven get along sometimes, and sometimes they fight.

Setting: Near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Plot: As Steven begins his 8th grade year, his brother, Jeffrey, is diagnosed with Leukemia. Steven's entire 8th grade year is very difficult because Jeffrey has to go back and forth to the hospital for treatments throughout the year. During this time, Steven is pretty much on his own while his father slips into a deep depression. You will find both humor and sadness in each chapter.

In the end, Steven learns that although brothers can be a big pain, he really loves his brother, Jeffrey. He also learns not to worry about the things you cannot change, but rather, to focus on the things that you can change. These are two important themes that author, Jordan Sonnenblick, develops in this heart-warming novel.

Point of View: The story is told from the first person point of view because Steven Alper tells us the story as he sees it through the eyes of a typical 8th grade American male. He places himself in the action and uses words like "I," "me," "we," and "us," so it is first person point of view.

Learning to Make iMovies

Students,

We will begin working on some multimedia projects in the future. Many of our projects will be done using the program iMovie. If you would like to begin reviewing some video tutorials on this software program, please visit the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xU-QbdyPd0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxiKRJnu0JA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PFtzPfqev0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q9iNiUZ64g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ReWikMcIXs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY7fgw45oZk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaoWg_V6D5A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-q5D-9LVtg

If you review these links a few times in advance, it will be helpful when we go to the lab to begin discussing our first multimedia project. (Note: These tutorials are not accessible from school. You will have to watch them from home.)

Start putting some pictures of the following items on your flash drive:

• yourself
• your pets
• friends
• family
• and anything else that represents or symbolizes you in some way

Please make sure everything on your flash drive is appropriate for school. This piece of technology is to be used for school purposes.

Pictures for "No Guitar Blues" p. 217

Here are some pictures of things that Fausto refers to in the story "No Guitar Blues." The first few shots are common pictures of bands that appeared on the popular show American Bandstand.

Exposition: Fausto remembers watching some of the these older groups (probably with his parents as a younger boy), and he mentions Ray Camacho and the Teardrops, whose picture and music are featured in the video. In the beginning of the story, he thinks about these older bands while he is watching a newer band, Los Lobos, perform on American Bandstand. After watching the band perform, Fausto dreams of playing the guitar in his own band one day.

Conflict: Fausto does not have a guitar; family is too poor. Internal or External conflict?
Other conflicts? Does Fausto ever struggle internally or feel guilty in this story? Is that an internal or external conflict?

Everything in the plot of this story is centered around the conflict. Pay attention to how the plot of the story unfolds. Think about all the parts of plot: conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution as we read the story.

What is the climax of this story?

In addition to the plot of the story, you should examine the other elements too:

• characters
• setting
• point of view
• theme

Parent Teacher Conference

If you are already checking the blog, you know that Parent Teacher Conference at Kimbrough is this Thursday, September 17th. We hope you will come and join us. We would love to meet you and go over some important things that will help your child be successful this year. See you there!

My Students Rock!

Students,

I got an excellent report from the sub today, and that says a lot about you! Thank you so much for being on your best behavior. You guys ROCK! We are going to have the most fabulous year. I didn't want to be absent from school today. It was a real disappointment because I had put a pair of blue socks in my back pack (Just like Berin from "Smelly Feat"), and my digital camera. I was going to make it a really fun Friday by having us re-enact the scene in the story when
Mr. Lovell refuses to allow Berin to leave school to help Old Shelly, so Berin takes off his shoes and "gasses" the class with the odor. Maybe we will have time to fit it in on Monday before the Quiz on Elements of Short Stories!

I really miss you, 2nd period! I haven't seen you in two whole days, and now the weekend.... We'll get all caught up on Monday. Have a good weekend, and come prepared to learn next week!

Don't Forget Pictures are 9/11/09

In reading class today, we read a story from ReadXL titled "Seventh Grade," by Gary Soto. The story is on page 6 in case you were absent. It is a short story about a boy named Victor who has just started 7th grade. He likes a girl named Teresa, and she is in Victor's French class, which makes him very happy. However, Victor gets embarrassed in class when he pretends to know how to speak French. The teacher almost blows Victor's cover by trying to have a conversation with him while the class is listening. Have you ever pretended to know something that you really didn't know just to impress someone?

Reminders:

• Quiz on Short Story Elements on Monday since McD is absent today (9/11)-- review notes and/or video
• Everyone should be through with their Reading and English Benchmarks by now
• Progress Reports come out Monday, September 14th
  
• Parent Teacher Conference is Thursday, September 17th

Team 7-3 Policy on Zeroes

Parents,

It is very important that you understand our policy on zeroes. Nothing is as damaging to your child's average as a zero. Therefore, KMS teachers simply do not give students the option to take a zero on any assignment. Instead, any time a student fails to complete an assignment and turn it in, he or she will be sent to the office. The office will notify the parent that the child needs to stay after school (that day) to complete the assignment. This is mandatory. In order to avoid this, students should make sure all assignments are completed and handed in on time.

We realize this is a high expectation, but this was the policy that we enforced last year, and it was quite successful. Please help us by checking your child's binder and KMS book regularly. Also, please subscribe to our blog, where we will post important information daily.

Tone & Mood (Reading Class)

We will be discussing Tone & Mood on Monday & Tuesday. The link below is helpful in understanding mood & tone:

http://www.authorstream.com/presentation/ttravis-57906-Mood-Tone-Moods-Positive-or-Negative-Writer-Create-Images-Surro-Education-ppt-powerpoint/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDUhDV-72S0&feature=PlayList&p=466E771C495556AA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=44

Make sure to review the notes on Short Story Elements and be prepared for a quiz on Thursday. You should be able to list all 5 elements of short stories and break element #1 (plot) into it's main parts. You will have to label the parts of plot on a diagram. Review your notes from Friday (9/4/09)

5 Short Story Elements:

• Plot
• Characters
• Setting
• Point of View
• Theme

Tuesday & Wednesday in Reading Class

Students will take their Reading Benchmark tests on Tuesday and Wednesday. Make-ups will be Thursday. All tests must be completed by Thursday afternoon. Benchmark tests are important because the results indicate what each student needs help with in order to pass the TAKS. Teachers don't know how to help you prepare if you don't do your best on the Benchmarks.

Come to class prepared with pencils and a clear mind, so you can do your best on the Benchmark!

Extra Credit for Reading Class

Students,

If you want extra credit in your reading class, ask your parents to send an email to Ms. McDaniels at mmcdaniels@mesquiteisd.org. The email MUST contain your name (the KMS student) in the subject line in order to receive five extra points on your newspaper assignment. The email must be sent before 9/10/09.

Short Story Elements (Reading Class)

AR and Lone Star Books

AR stands for Accelerated Reader, and most of the books in the KMS library are AR books. You can always tell if a book is AR because there will be a yellow sticker on the spine. The yellow sticker will have a number on it. The number on the yellow sticker shows how many points you will earn if you take the AR Quiz and score a 100.

After you read a book, you should ask your teacher to take the AR Quiz on the computer. You will get a grade and a certain number of points based on how many questions you answer correctly. Your grade will be sent to the librarian (on the computer), and she will give
your teacher a list of all of your AR grades at the end of each six weeks. Those grades will be averaged together to count as a test grade in reading class. By the way, you don't have to print the test or turn anything in. Just log off after the test.

Most AR quizzes have 10 questions, but the quizzes for longer books have 20 questions. You can read as many books as you want and take as many AR quizzes as you want during the 6 weeks, but you MUST earn at least 5 AR points per six weeks. Each six weeks, you can:

• read one book worth 5 or more points
• choose to read several shorter books worth fewer points that total up to 5

If your book is only worth 5 points and you don't score 100% on the test, you will need to read another book and take another test to make sure your total is above 5 points for the six weeks. Therefore, you should earn your 5 points early in the six weeks, so you have time to read additional books in case you need to bring your total up or improve your test average.

If you earn 20 AR points within a six weeks period, you will receive an AR card, which means you will have an "untuck day" or a "jean day" around the end of each 6 weeks. In addition to an "untuck" or "jean day," you will also receive a small prize, such as a locker mirror or coupon, each six weeks you earn 20 points. If you earn 120 points by the end of the year (check with Ms. Jayroe for the exact cutoff date), you will get to go on a field trip to Incredible Pizza.

Lone Star books are basically the "Top 20" or favorite books for the year. All Lone Star books are on the AR list. If you read at least five Lone Star books during the year, you will also get to go on a field trip to Celebration Station at the end of the year. You must pass the AR quiz on each of the 5 Lone Star books to go on the field trip.

Please visit the following link to see a brief video about the current Lone Star books:
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=117031

Please review this video tutorial before asking to take an AR test in the classroom.

• Learn your Student ID (you need it to log in to the computer)
• Learn your combination to your locker
• Learn your cafeteria pin for the lunch room

Reading Activities for 9/3/09

In reading class today, the students turned in:

• newspaper project
• Smelly Feat questions from p. 64-65 from the book
  
• Words, Words, Words worksheet on vocabulary and prefixes/suffixes

*7th period ran out of time and did not turn in the above assignments. Those assignments will be turned in tomorrow (Friday) for 7th period.

We also discussed the process of checking out a library book from Ms. McDaniels' library in 4th, 5th, 7th & 8th periods. We will discuss this in 2nd period tomorrow.

We will review the elements of short stories and watch the video about short stories in class on Friday.

University Village Teachers' Email Addresses

If you would like to reach one of your child's teachers, please feel free to reference the list below to find the email address. This is the best way to communicate with us. Also, please continue to visit our blog, since we will try to keep important announcements posted here.

mmcdaniels@mesquiteisd.org
bhaar@mesquiteisd.org
mjohnson@mesquiteisd.org
mwilliams@mesquiteisd.org
rwashington@mesquiteisd.org

"Smelly Feat" P. 53

Code of Conduct

Tips for 7th Grade Survival

Public Service Announcement for Literacy

Rikki-tikki-tavi

This summer is already off to an interesting start! Peanut just recently returned from her time-travel expedition, where she met quite a few interesting characters. Check out the video to see who she's been wagging tails with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtZnhylsCwk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtZnhylsCwk

I Wanna Be a TAKS Star 2008

Team 8-2 of Kimbrough Middle School worked very hard on their TAKS video the previous year. The video was very inspirational to our 7th graders as they created their TAKS video this year. Many times we would look back at last year's video as a guide for how to go about completing this massive project. Although the songs are very different, we followed the same steps each year as we composed the lyrics, planned the shots, and finally perfected the audio. It took a lot of work, but it is a project we will never forget.

So What? I'm a TAKS Star 2009

The 7th graders at Kimbrough Middle School created an awesome music video to motivate other students to strive for excellence on the 2009 TAKS Test. The results came back a couple of weeks ago, and team 7-3 had approximately 91% passing. Around 37% of the students on team 7-3 achieved commended performance on the reading portion of the test. Way to go Courgars!

Creating this music video was a very difficult task. It took several months to write the lyrics. Once that was done, we created most of the video and still shots based on the words to the song. Then, of course, we had to spend hours rehearsing and practicing the vocals. Overall, this project really helped our students work together as a team to produce a video that we enjoy watching and we are very proud of. Please let us know your thoughts about the video.

TAKS Tips 2009