THE HISTORY FAIR IS COMING! THE HISTORY FAIR IS COMING! Friday, February 22, 2013

Dear Parents, Since taking over for Mrs. Martin at the beginning of December I feel like I have been on survival mode, but I hope you and your student have always felt like you are my priority. I have been very involved in learning my responsibilities and writing curriculum and daily lessons. It has been a challenge, for sure, but a welcome one. I appreciate so very much your patience and understanding during this transition. Hopefully third term will go smoother than second term and so on. Having said that, I am finally wrapping my brain and my schedule around the upcoming History Fair to be held on Friday, February 22, 2013. There was a deadline that Mrs. Martin set up that has come and gone (December 21, 2012) for the students to submit their thesis statements for their chosen topics and I didn’t catch it quick enough. So unfortunately, we are a little behind schedule. So to try and catch up, I am going to be helping the students learn about and write their thesis statements this week. I have a list of the students who turned in their topics to Mrs. Martin, so hopefully everyone has a topic that they have been thinking about and planning for. The new deadline for turning in thesis statements is going to be Tuesday, February 5, 2013. I know that is only a week away, but hopefully we can all work together to get everything done quickly, a little at a time. Students also must pick a way to present their research. They may choose from five different categories: web site, historical paper, documentary, exhibit, or performance. All the History Fair information can be found on my web site (cleverkearneysblog@blogspot.com) under the History Fair side bar. So students’ thesis statements and the way they want to present their research are both due on February 5. As you already know, the research for your student’s History Fair Project is to be done at home. There is no time in our history curriculum for students to work on this during class time, so this is an at home project. Many students have formed research groups, so they will need to arrange times outside of school hours to meet, plan, research, and prepare with their group members. If students decide on a topic change or a change in their groups, they will need to let me know as soon as possible. Here is a rough schedule of future deadlines up to the February 22 History Fair Day: Tuesday, February 5 Thesis Statements and Presentation Choice due to Mrs. Kearney Tuesday, February 12 Title Page, Process Paper, and Annotated Bibliography due Friday, February 15 “Dress Rehearsal” for History Fair (done in class) Friday, February 22 Jefferson Academy History Fair

Thank you for helping your student in this educational experience. Please contact me at dkearney@jeffersonacademy.org with any questions or concerns. Dianna Kearney