Find a path before a path finds you. Don't forget to be awesome everyday

Don't take time for granted. It's limited. Truly try to take in the best form every moment.

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats

Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy

One of the best feelings in the world is knowing your presence and absence both mean something to someone

What is life without purpose

The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door

Enjoy the little things for one day you may look back and realize they were big things

You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one

All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be

Nothing worth having comes easy

Today you are you that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.

Don't be afraid to change. You may lose something good, but you may gain something even better.

Be your own hero

Go the extra mile

Everything you can imagine is real. - Pablo Picasso

Think positively, network well, exercise daily, eat healthy, work hard, stay strong, build faith..

You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly.

3 Nice Stories, Faith, Trust and Hope

If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing started with a dream and a mouse.

If life was easy where would all the adventures be?

Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest.

If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. -Dr.Seuss

Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right.

People cry not because they're weak. It's because they've been strong for too long.

What is life? They say it's from B to D. From birth to death, But what's between B and D? It's a choice. Our life is a matter of choices. Live well and it will never go wrong.

We make our choices, then our choices make us.

Apologizing does not always mean you are wrong and the other person is right. It just means you value your relationship more than your ego.

If what you see by the eye doesn't please you, then close your eyes and see from the heart. Because the heart can see beauty and love more than the eyes can ever wonder.

To love is nothing...To be loved is something.. To love and to be loved is everything.

A good friend knows all your best stories, a best friend has lived them with you

I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in this world

Sometimes when i say "Im Okay", I want someone to look me in the eyes, hug me tight and say, "I know you're not."

I love this crazy tragic sometimes almost magic awful beautiful life

Excellence is not a Skill. It's an Attitude.

Being unique is better than seeing your self suffering in different ways

Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Be yourself. No one has the right to tell you how to act or who to be

I believe in you

Don't impress the world with your intelligence, let them accept your stupidy

Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it

A goal without action is only a wish

If you are afraid of criticism- say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses -Lao Tzu-

Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment -Lao Tzu-

Silence your mind and consult your heart. It's your direct line to the 'God' within you

5th grade "Somos Amigos" Student Videos

5th graders had the "assignment" of having a friendly conversation with a friend from class all in Spanish. Each conversation uses the basic questions and answers that we have been practicing in our first unit, "Somos Amigos" (We are Friends). Check 'em out! They did a great job!!!

Bagnall Blurb for Octubre

Bagnall Blurb #2

Octubre

Padres y Amigos,

This is a great time of year! I absolutely love the different colors outside on the trees and the crisp air that comes into my classroom when we crack open a window. I also enjoy now being into a “rhythm” at school. It always takes awhile to get used to the schedule and pace of life, but I think that both myself and the students have adjusted well. I am also (anxiously) awaiting the arrival of our first baby… the due date is one week away! The students have been very curious about this baby, and I’ve promised to come back and visit before Christmas. Before I take my maternity leave I wanted to update you on what has been happening in my classroom!

Quinto Grado (5th): We finished our first unit of “mis amigos”. The video dialogues went well and students impressed me with their great Spanish accents and knowledge of the questions and answers! We are now in our second unit “En clase” (In class). We are learning classroom and school related vocabulary with the verbs tengo/necesito (I have/I need). Please use quia to practice these new words (There is a link to quia on the upper right hand side of the blog)! We are also learning a new praise song in Spanish, “Demos Gracias al Señor”  which expresses thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for all that He blesses us with. Feel free to practice this song at home by listening to the video on the blog as well.

Sexto grado (6th): We just finished a great assigned by researching a famous Hispanic person. Each student created a profile on their assigned person all in Spanish using the vocabulary and verbs that we have been practicing in class. We are now moving on to study how other verbs work (and conjugate). We are starting with the verbs comer and beber (to eat and drink).

 I also want to make you aware of my quiz policies, and that is that if a student/parent is disappointed with a quiz result they may take their quiz home with them and fix any mistakes, return the quiz, and earn ½ of each point that was taken off back. It is the students’ choice to do so, and he/she must be responsible for remembering to turn it back in… but I thought it might help if you all also knew about this nice bonus!

 Finally, in conclusion of our first unit we have memorized the bible verse I Juan 3:1 “!Fijense que gran amor nos ha dado el Padre, que nos llama hijos de Dios! Y lo soy!  (See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!) , perhaps you could ask your student to say it at home before dinner or bed sometime in the upcoming weeks!

Séptimo Grado (7th): In 7^thgrade we are about to finish our first unit. Before we end, we have two big things to accomplish. The first, being our end of the unit final quiz.  A review sheet was done in class this past week and there are review games on quia for students to practice with. The second, next week we will be starting a project that required students to make a family tree in Spanish. Students can choose to use real family pictures and relatives, or create an “imaginary” family with cartoons and celebrities. Please ask your students about these two big graded assessment pieces and look on net classroom for grades to be posted.

Coming up will be our second unit “el cuerpo” (the body). Our vocabulary will include all body parts, how to describe pain, and how to give advice. We will also being asking students to share (in Spanish) a home remedy that they may have in their family (for example, putting tooth paste on a bee sting or taking a tablespoon of honey for a sore throat). So look for more information on that to come!

 Octavo Grado (8^th): As the weather is changing outside, our eighth graders are learning how to talk about the weather in Spanish! Putting vocabulary, grammar, and culture together… students are creating their own weather forecast videos reporting from various Spanish speaking cities. The scripts have been written and the videos have been recorded. The videos are due on Tuesday, October 16tth. I will attempt to post some of the videos that turned out well on the blog, so be sure to check back for those. We will be wrapping up our first unit with a final quiz that will be on Tuesday, October 23^rd. A review sheet for this quiz was sent home today and is a homework assignment due next week. Lastly, be sure to check out the Spanish assignments and grades that are posted regularly on net classroom.

For everyone, … I will continue to pray for all of my students and classes as I am at home with the new baby Bagnall. I am sure that time will pass quickly and I will be back at it in early January. Until then, please direct your questions and communication to Kim Knoester (kknoester@grcs.org) who is my maternity substitute. Please schedule a time during parent teacher conferences to visit with her and hear more about Spanish here at GRCMS! Adiós y hasta luego,

Sra. Becky Bagnall

bbagnall@grcs.org

616 574 6343

La Vida Loca El Tiempo

BBC has put out a great interactive video series entitled, "La Vida Loca" (The Crazy Life) to learn Spanish in a fun way! Here is a link to an episode that uses weather phrases and vocabulary. 8th graders are learning these same phrases so it is a great way to put our new vocabulary to use! Use the listening guide passed out in class to help! CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EPISODE