Three questions up front:

1. Just because everyone else is making resolutions, does that mean I have to (If everyone jumped off a cliff, would I follow them?)?
2. Who said I can only attempt to improve myself on January 1 every year?
3. Is there a rule that says I can't make more than one resolution?

That being said, if you are one to make resolutions, consider the following:

• Get my child to school on time every day.
• Ask my child about his/her day.
• Diligently read every note that is sent home from school.
• Listen to my child read every day.
• Take time to explain things to my child, including daily news and ethical choices.
• Finally get my child to master basic facts in all four computation areas (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).
• Read to my child every day.
• Start and maintain a back-and-forth "journal" with my child.
• Help my child with work when necessary.
• Ask my child to explain his/her work.
• Get both sides of the story before advocating for my child.
• Set a good example for my child, knowing s/he watches the same screens I do, sees the places I visit, listens to my speech and my tone, and notices how I treat my spouse, family, and friends.
• Attend family events when they are offered at the school.
• Begin a positive family tradition.
• Work to make my home a safe, stress-free place for my child.
• Stop to appreciate the responsibilities and blessings that come with being a parent.

I don't make formal resolutions, but I think and pray about these things every day.  These suggestions, and others, guide me in my very serious task of parenting (Of course, I have a number of similar thoughts concerning the children I teach.).

Our second and final virtual visit to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello focused on the enslaved people on the plantation.  Our class was highly engaged in a terrific presentation in which our guide stopped regularly to answer their questions.

After learning about the first submersible vehicle used in combat (believe it or not, in the Revolutionary War, 1776), we had the chance to make our own, with a science connection.  Students experimented with a single variable - the amount of water inside their cartesian divers, developed by René de Cartes.  Nicknamed a squidy by the science company that sells them, ours mimicked the movements of the Turtle designed and built by David Bushnell.

Students used pipettes with the ends cut off.  These are disguised within fishing lures that mimic squids.  Each is weighted with a hex nut.  Students had to adjust the amount of water inside the pipette to make it float at just the right level.  If they could do so, they could place the contraption in a bottle of water.  Once the lid is tightened, a person should be able to squeeze the bottle and watch the pipette sink; when the grip is loosened, the pipette should rise.

The end of the year brings a time of reflection.  As I continually want to remember the things that have brought me to this point in my professional career, I try to add to my personal timeline every year:

1983
Mr. Hoggatt begins working for his degree in Communications from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO).  He takes classes to add a secondary teaching certificate to his degree program.

1985
Mr. Hoggatt graduates from USAO.

1986
Mr. Hoggatt completes his student-teaching requirements at Yukon High School and Mustang Middle School (Oklahoma) and receives his teaching credentials.

I may not share Jefferson's opinion of miracles, angles, and resurrection, but I must appreciate the lengths to which this man went to study the words.  Few people I know have spent the hours Jefferson did in discerning the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth...

Now, I am left to wonder at his opinions of the rest of the New Testament (and the Old Testament for that matter).  ​

We're so happy to announce our second quarter Honor Roll recipients.  The Honor Roll is a proud traditional at our school, where we still value grades and do not water down success.

Eight wonderful students earned straight A's for the second quarter, and six others received A's and B's.

You may not have thought George Washington would have much to do with a camel at his Mount Vernon mansion in Virginia.  Still, there were no zoos in his day, so he certainly would have been been intrigued by this exotic animal, so he paid a man 18 shillings to bring one to Mount Vernon.  Every year, this camel returns to Mount Vernon for visitors to enjoy.  Here is a video chock-full of science and history information about "Aladdin the Christmas Camel".

We have come to the first point in our year where we can recognize improvement.  We take the NWEA test three times a year, and after the second and third times, we can compare with the previous sessions.  If students have kept up with their goals in one subject (Reading, Language, Mathematics, or Science), they receive a bronze certificate.  This time, that includes six students.  For students meeting their goals in two areas, a silver certificate is awarded.  For this round, that adds six more students to the list.  When a student adequately improves in three of the four areas, a gold certificate is awarded.  We have two students who achieved that in our recent testing.  Finally, if a student raises scores in all four subjects, a platinum certificate is administered.  We're very happy to have a platinum recipient in our class this time.  Out of 15 eligible students, all 15 made the list for the winter testing results!  Here is the list:

Our Christmas party marked the end of the first half of our school year, with no shutdowns or snow days.  We're proudly ending the first semester, while looking forward to the upcoming holidays and another semester of successes.

We've grown in all areas possible, and our class personality has developed into one in which we can have fun while working.  We are a family.

Beginning in the upper left corner of a full sheet of construction paper, line up the straight top of the taped shape with the top of the paper.  Trace the shape.  Sliding it to the right so that the left side of the shape fits within the right side of the tracing, keep tracing the shape.  When you have made it across the page, slide it down to make a second row.  Do the same until the larger paper is covered with the tessellated shape.  Trace over the pencil outline with a black marker.

Finally, alternating colors, use your crayons to neatly decorate the tessellated masterpiece.  Display it with pride; you have just tessellated!