Music Research

Let's finish off the year with some 

highly engaging research about music!

Students pick a musician or band that they like 

and create a project around that.

Click here to see the assignment.

These photos show the process 

in which students are engaged.

We got to hear music from all different genres and develop new appreciations for artists we had previously not heard.

This was by far the most engaging project we have worked on all year! What a great way to finish 8th grade!

Thank you to my students for expanding my musical horizons and re-introducing me to some old favorites.

Student Bio

One of my students submitted this biographical essay for the blog. The student was brave to be vulnerable and tell so much about themselves. I've posted it anonymously. 

My own biographical information is available in the About Me section of this blog.

Life

Life is what everybody loves. The better you are at things and the better you try the better your life will be. The thing is life isn’t that easy. You have to put in a lot of work to get what you want. I have a great life. I would not change my life for anything. I have great parents that will do anything for me. I have a special girl in my life that I care about a lot for, I have toys and more toys. Usually when you are a kid you get some toys maybe 3 or 4 to keep you busy but not me I was treated a little differently a kid.

When I was smaller I could remember getting almost everything that I wanted. The older I got, the more things I wanted. I have been spoiled for as long as I can remember. I am so spoiled that whenever I want something and my parents tell me no, I would get pissed off and have an attitude. I am now 13 and I am still learning respect and how to not to talk back. My parents do so much for me and I appreciated it very much, but they have treated me too good. I feel like I have a right to be able to talk back to my parents even though I know I will get in trouble.

I have a mentality right now that I don't really care about what happens to me or what my parents take away because I know when I do better they will give it back to me. I don’t really have any chores to do. My job is easy, my job is go to school get good grades, clean the dishes, brush my teeth pretty much everything a person should be used to do everyday. I always feel that I can face anything and I can put up with whatever comes my way. But the truth is I only think that I can but that is not always true. I need help from my parents and friends but I choose not to take their help.

I have never been a person that likes to ask for help because, I want people to see me as a person that is smart enough to do anything and strong enough to face whatever comes towards me. I want people to look up at me as a good person and to want to follow in my footsteps. The thing is, I am not yet the person that I want to be. I am not the smartest person or the strongest person. I am a normal person that is trying to be something he is not. I know I have to ask when I need the help but I am too hard headed to see that.

I have to learn that I am not the best at all things and that, sometimes I do need help from that people that are willing to help me. The sooner that I learn to be respectful, kind, and comfortable to ask people for help, the sooner my life will get even better. Even though that I am not the smartest or the strongest or the perfect person that I want to be I would not trade my life for anything. If I had a choice to live a perfect life I would choose the life that I have right know. 

I have the best mom ever. She always helps me no matter what life problems I face. She never gets mad at me for messing up. She talks to me and explains what is right and what is wrong. She is one hundred percent the best mom ever. I also have the best dad in the world. He works extra hard so that I can have fun and be the best at what I want. He works two jobs so that he can pay for my basketball and still be able to pay the bills and the house. He is the best father ever. I also have a great sister. She is a very smart girl and I am very proud of her. She is doing very good in school and it is amazing how smart she is. Even though she can be a pain at times I still love her and wouldn’t change her for anything. 

That is my life right now and the problems that I face.

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GUEST BLOGGERS

Movie Review


I watched the movie “Nerve” and it is so far my favorite movie! Nerve is about a high school senior named Eve Delmonico who is a good student, always makes good choices, and rarely takes risks. Vee is suddenly pressured by her friends to play the very popular game, Nerve. Nerve is an online game that allows others in your town or around the world to give you dares and if you do the dare it gives you money. The more dangerous the dare is, the more money you will get. Eve suddenly meets this new guy on her very first dare and they suddenly fall in love and start doing dares together but the more they play the more dangerous it becomes. People die from this game but if you tell the police the game itself takes control over your entire life. The game takes all of your information from your social medias, bank accounts, and it even googles you! I really like this movie because our society relates a lot from it with social media and doing anything we can for followers or likes. The movie itself is just so good and I have never watched a movie like this before. I would 100% recommend it! The main characters are Ian ( Dave Franco) and Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts).

By: Yureli M

Landscape Mural

On our campus right now, a mural is being painted by some amazing and creative students.

They shared some ideas and came up with a plan with local artist, Christine MacShane. Sutter Buttes, almond blossoms, Snowy Egret, rice fields, butterflies...

An hour at a time, students are working together, demonstrating teamwork and camaraderie.

I am so proud of their maturity and independence.

They are creating a work of art that will be 

appreciated by thousands of adults and students

for years to come.

Thank you to Arts for All for sponsoring our project. We look forward to continued dedication to our students' art educations in the future.

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GUEST BLOGGERS

Interesting Person: Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes was born on December 24,1905. Howard Hughes was very smart.  He was one of the most successful businessmen in the world. Although he was a very successful man in his days and he was a smart person, he had a problem. He was a germaphobe.  He became a germaphobe later in his life.  He was obsessed with being clean and afraid of germs.  It is not a bad thing that he was a germaphobe but Howard took it to the extreme. His obsession started small.  He started by wanting everything to be clean.  Howard Hughes insisted in not having any dust, dirt or anything dirty in his whole house.  Little by little his obsession with germs grew bigger and bigger. As howard's obsession grew, he stopped showering and did not go out in public. Howard Hughes went from a smart very handsome adult to a very smelly not very attractive person. He tried to get away from germs but the more he tried the more germs he was attracting.  Howard Hughes died at the age of 70. He died on april 5, 1976. He died of liver failure. He died on his private airplane when he was flying from Freeport to the Grand Bahamas. It was too bad that he had to live the last 10 years of his life away from people.

Marcos B

Shakespeare Sonnet #130

We are learning about Shakespearean Sonnets. All of us! 

Have I mentioned that this is my first year teaching 8th grade English?

Have you read this sonnet?

Yesterday my students analyzed the structure of this poem: 14 lines in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme (ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GG).

Then they talked about it. They said such insightful things! My favorite comment went something like this: "I think it's beautiful that he can see all of her imperfections, and still celebrate his love for her."

Now that's a love poem!


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GUEST BLOGGERS

Movie Review

I recently watched the movie Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life. I really liked this movie because I am still in middle school and at this age nobody likes rules. I first wanted to watch this movie because an actress I knew played a role in this movie. I really liked the character Jeanne played by Isabela Moner. Jeanne was a good girl in the movie, the one who followed the rules and volunteered for anything. She was your typical good girl, straight A’s student. The main character, Rafe, had recently gotten his drawing notebook thrown in a tub of acid by the principle, the antagonist. Seeing all of his drawings that took hard work and time in his life go down the drain, he wanted revenge. He planned to break every rule the school had. While breaking these rules he had to have a partner in crime, his “best friend” Leo. Aside from trying to break all the rules he had family problems, girl problems, and his own personal problems. This movie contains comedy, emotion, and a little romance. I recommend this movie because not only is it funny but it is also age-appropriate.

-Ariel L   

Two Truths and A Lie

1. One Elective I did for 7th grade was a semester class called STEM. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. In STEM you do projects like making robots, learning how to code, and creating paper nets. My favorite part in STEM was making robots and coding them so they can move.

2. Another Elective I did for 7th grade that was also a semester-long class was art. In art you learn about how to improve your art works and other fun projects as well. My favorite project in art was the chalk walk. The drawing I did in the chalk walk was based on a Clash Royale theme.

3. On my phone I play this game called Clash Royale. Clash Royale is my favorite game to play on my phone. Clash Royale is a strategy game. The goal in the game is to destroy your enemy towers first. My favorite card in the game is the miner which travels underground and then pops out and attacks.

-Evan A.

Movie Review- The Fault In Our Stars

I know I'm a little late, but last week I watched The Fault In Our Stars with my best friend. Since almost everyone knows what it's about I won't do a summary. I just want to share my favorite parts and what I liked about it. What I liked most about the movie is that it stayed true to the book. I watched the movie first, and relaxed while reading the book that it's almost exactly the same. In most movies, besides the title, you wouldn't know that it was based on the book because it strays so far from the book. Also I love that it's not predictable in anyway. I can usually know what is going to happen in the first 25 minutes of the movie, but in T.F.O.S if was completely left on my toes. Now you can probably tell I would give this an infinity (hahaha! get it) out of ten.

P.s don't feel bad if you cried, I was balling for the last 30 minutes.

Iyanah B

Two Truths and a Lie

1. When I was 9 years old I got lost at the Westfield Galleria mall in Roseville. I was lost for so long that the police had to call my name on the mall loud speaker and my mom had to come get me. Afterwards I got in trouble.
2. I have never been out of the United States. I was born in Massachusetts and moved to Sacramento when I was three years old. At the age of seven I moved to Chico and attended Emma Wilson Elementary where I met most of my friends that I have today.
3. At the end of sixth grade my friend invited me to her pool party. While we were having fun, an old friend stopped by and came swimming with us. They all were running around my friend Ally’s pool and someone ran into this girl. The girl fell and hit her head on the cement. She had to get an ice pack and sit out.

Ariel L.