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Please see below Page Meeting announcement for copies of genealogy project
forms.
PAGE Meeting!
October 16 @ 6:30pm in the Central Grade Library
On the agenda will be:
Electing Officers/Class Reps/PTO Rep
TAG transition team for 2008/2009 6th graders
Status of TAG 6th Grade after 2007/2008 school year
Educational Fieldtrips (suggestion was made for more)
Audit Team for TCAPs TAG Review Committee
Update on Fall Fundraiser
...any other items of interest to TAG families and staff!
Please come, this is our forum for sharing ideas as TAG parents
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Name ________________________ Date ________________
RESEARCHING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY
Your genealogy is the history of you and your family. It is your mother and
father and grandparents and great grandparents and so on and can also be
called your family tree. A family tree can represent the people of your
family and some basic information. But through research, you can find out
much more than the names of and important dates related to your family
members and ancestors. By asking questions and interviewing and doing
research, you can find out the story of your family heritage. You can find
out how people lived and what life was like in different times.
In this independent project you will create your own family tree, interview
family members, and research ancestors. Primary research would involve
talking to people who are still alive. But through reading and the internet,
you might do other research to find out about ancestors who lived long ago.
Your project will include your family tree, a minimum of two interviews,
information about your ancestors, photos or drawings to represent you
ancestors, and a family crest – all presented on a poster board (maximum size
of trifold) that displays your research in a professional manner. If you are
so inspired, you can research your ancestors as they came to the United
States or even as they lived on another continent or you can write a report
about the story of your ancestors.
One day a week time will be given in school to work on this project, but time
will also need to be spent at home. The due date for this project is
________________.
Please share this assignment with your parents have this sheet signed by one
of them.
Parent or Guardian signature _________________________________________
FAMILY TREE AND CREST
The minimum family tree should include parents, your grandparents on each
side, and your great-grandparents on each side. Sometimes this minimum won’t
be possible, but in most cases it will be. If you are able to go back
further in your genealogy, please do so and include more family members on
your family tree. For each member of the family tree write a paragraph or
more about who they were, how and where they lived and died, and how they are
remembered. To accompany the paragraph, copy a photo or draw a picture of
each person or of something that represents each person’s life.
To construct your family tree use a form like those attached or create your
own. Whichever form you use, your final family tree will be completed
professionally on poster board (single sheet or trifold – whichever fits
best).
When completing your family tree, conduct at least two interviews with an
interview questionnaire that you create ahead of time and include the
completed questionnaires on or with your posters. In your questionnaires ask
questions about life in a different era, interesting family stories,
activities of cousins and relatives, daily activities, special celebrations,
clothing, work, food, discipline, tools – anything that would help you
understand the person’s life and how it affected them and how it was
different than yours is today. Ask what the person remembers about parents
and grandparents. Try to learn about the person, the family, and the culture
of the community.
FAMILY CREST
· Through your family or on-line attempt to locate your original
family crest. If you can’t find it, design one of your own. On-line simply
google your surname followed by “family crest”.
· Display your family crest on your poster.
CHECKLIST
_______ 2 interview questionnaires completed to be displayed on or with
poster.
_______ Family tree fully completed
_______ One paragraph minimum description of each member of the family
tree
completed along with one picture or drawing to represent
each family member.
_______ Family crest created for poster.
October 1, 200
Dear Parents of Sixth Graders:
This week in language arts students have been asked to declare their
individual topics for a personal essay. Ideas for topics have been given to
students, but they may also choose their own subject matter for an essay.
As with each assignment, topic and concluding sentences supported by several
ideas are the organizational/informational goal. We have discussed
paragraph formation and written examples in class, and proper paragraph
formation is a model that students should always be keeping in the forefront
of their thinking as they compose their writing. Along with paragraph
structure we will be working further on clarity of thought and on smooth
transitions within and amongst paragraphs. Thinking about thinking will
also be emphasized as students analyze expository text.
Students are scheduled to have a vocabulary test over a set of SAT words on
Tuesday. They will need to spell each word correctly and to provide its
definition. Time has been given in class for practice, but further study at
home is always recommended. Next we will switch back to Greek and Latin
roots for continued vocabulary expansion. A test per week will be the
approximate assessment schedule.
In math we are studying how to generate symbolic rules for patterns by using
variables. Students have begun to apply this process and knowledge to the
graphing calculator so the calculator can create tables and graphs for
them. The process can be complex as students need to remember what each
variable represents, how that variable shows up on the graphing calculator,
how to find information from tables and graphs on the graphing calculator,
and to understand what the information means in the context of a real-life
problem. In conjunction with transferring variables and meaning to the
graphing calculator, students also need to learn the function keys of the
graphing calculator, itself.
The task can be a daunting one at times.
MEAP testing begins on October 8th. I will not be giving much homework, if
any, that first week. However, pleasure reading in a book that might be
used as November’s Independent Reading assignment might be a good idea.
Please be in touch with questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Nicki Towner / math and language arts / 933-5653 / townerni@central.tcaps.net
Hello,
My name is Karin Cooney. I am the PAGE Treasurer. I am a volunteer. I
have
a job outside of TCAPS. I am a parent of a sixth grader recruited to assist
the teachers with the daunting task of enrichment opportunities.
As you know it is fall in the TAG program. That means we all are receiving
information about our children's field trips this year, where they are going
and how much this enriching education will cost. In the past families have
contributed the amounts necessary to permit our children to participate in
these events. Some families give their share, some families give more, and
some families give less depending upon each families' circumstances.
This year, Theresa Galante, has made another alternative available. She is
spearheading a fundraising opportunity, Sally Foster, to help make these
field trips more affordable. Instead of contributing, families may choose
to
participate in the fundraiser to help reduce their portion of the costs. If
you would to participate in the fundraiser, you can email Karin Cooney at
tccooneys@yahoo.com. Please, list "TAG Fundraising" in the subject line. I
will then forward these names and email addresses to Theresa Galante.
And for those families not wishing to participate in the fundraiser, you may
still send in your contributions to your child's teacher. She will forward
those to me, and I will deposit them into the PAGE account.
It is important to note that whichever option you choose, there are a few
families who truly cannot afford these expenses. Students in these families
receive scholarships. Both options will fund a percentage of these
scholarships based on the level of need within the group.
At some point this fall information will be forthcoming about the PAGE
group,
Parents Advocating Gifted Education. This group formed years ago, and has
come and gone along with parent interest in the group. Some parents have
inquired about the possibility of bringing this program back to TCAPS. A
meeting will be scheduled for interested parents to determine the future and
focus of the group. I will send a flyer home when I have have that meeting
time.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me either by
email as listed above or phone, 935-4224. I do have a job. And I do
volunteer at my home school as well as at Central. Please be patient, I
will
respond to your inquiry as soon as I am able.
Thank you,
Karin Cooney
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