(Vol. 1, No. 1 - Winter 1996/1997)
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Middle School Diaries
Excerpt from the school diary of Kathy Noble,
an 8th grader at Crosby Middle School
Dear Diary,
Today in social studies Mr. Compton gave our class a test. It was on the
early Explorers of the world. Our whole class got extra credit because we
beat him at a game. The game asked questions about current information that
has been in the news. After our test was over, he gave us a worksheet on
the new chapter we were going to cover. It was on American Colonies. . .
.
In science, our class went over our current events. Current events are science
articles that we read and summarize. We also graded a worksheet that helped
us review for our test on minerals. . . .
At lunch my friends and I usually talk about classes and regular things.
But we mostly talk about the rules. We aren't crazy about them by any means,
and we always are angry when we talk about them -- especially the dress
code. It is very hard to follow. And many kids think it is unfair, including
me. I have a very short temper and if anything seems unjust to me, I definitely
voice my opinion. . . .
Today in Spanish class we got a treat for having the highest average score
on our verb conjugations test. We also played Spanish Bingo using Spanish
words. Everyone in my class thought that Spanish was fun because of the
Bingo, and we are looking forward to playing again on Monday. We all like
the fact that we can have fun in class and not always do boring things.
. . .
Over all this was a good day but it did seem boring at times because of
the weekend coming up. And we had a lot of tests today. I'm a big worrier
so today was a little nerve wrecking.
Excerpt from the school diary of Rodrick Barge,
an 8th grader at Highland Middle School
Dear Diary,
My typical morning is just waking up at 6:30. After falling out of the bed,
I grab a pair of boxer shorts and hop into the shower. When I'm finally
wide awake and decently dressed, I eat my breakfast that I eat every day:
peanut butter, because "it's good for you," according to my mom,
and a coke because the caffeine keeps me awake until lunch at school.
To get to school I ride a quiet bus that some how just explodes and become
noisy when my friend Russell gets on. My bus ride in the morning is usually
full of excitement because there's always somebody to horse around with
even though the bus driver always tells us: "sit down," "be
quiet," but we still manage to have fun.
For gym, the boys and girls seem to come together and play basketball. Basketball
is one of my favorite sports, especially when I'm playing with my friends
from school. Today the kids in my gym class were playing basketball or making
jokes about people, like that famous gym quote: "Man you no game!"
I think our teacher wanted us to learn teamwork and how to get along with
no fighting or arguing. I pretty much did what my teacher wanted -- I played
basketball like a true Dennis Rodman without the red hair!
In language arts class, we read another chapter in the book "Land of
Hope" where we take turns reading out loud to one another. Then we
enjoyed taking each other our families' immigration story. I think I really
learned about immigration like Mrs. Herbert wanted me to because I got totally
into the book and I was real sorry the bell rang right in middle of the
chapter.
Excerpt from the school diary of Chasity Earl,
a 7th grader at Lassiter Middle School
Dear Diary,
Science class was very hectic today because the science fair projects were
due. We also had to stand up in class and talk about our project. The teacher
asked for volunteers to go first and I raised my hand. When I had talked
about it, I told my problem, procedure, what I thought would happen, and
what really did happen. It was a fun project because it had to do with magnets
and electricity. The teacher said I did good so I hope I get a good grade.
. . .
Today in social studies the class talked about the team election. There
are four people running for persident, and I am one of them! The class talked
about how the presidents are going to stand up in front of the whole team
and announce why they should become president. We also talked a little bit
about the U.S. Presidential election. The teacher had to stop a couple of
times because a couple of kids were chatting from time to time.
In problem solving class today I got into class fast and found a seat. When
everyone was seated Mrs. Noe said, "What I'm giving you now is a paper
with a train problem on it. You have to read the instructions and find out
your problem. I will give you till the end of class to do this problem and
if you need any help, me or (the teaching assistant) will help you."
This problem was kind of hard, but once I understood the patterns in it
it was pretty easy. When the class was over and the teacher picked up the
paper on the train problem, everyone got up and left. I hate getting out
of that class because the kids coming in for the next class are always trying
to get in before we get out.
The most interesting thing that happened today was the science fair projects
in science class, because I learned a lot from other people's projects.
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