3 ring binder with clear view/insert cover. This way the students can keep the syllabus in view at all times. (Medium sized is fine – not super-thin or super-thick)

5 tabbed dividers: notes, handouts, quizzes, tests, papers

Pen and pencil

5 retractable highlighters: orange, green, blue, pink, yellow. Sharpie is the best brand. You will need to repurchase during the year.

Student composition book (sewn type, not spiral) to use for a Commonplace Book: a place to collect vocabulary, quotes, and examples from their reading.

World Lit Only: 50 3×5 index cards each of 3 different colors. Color choice is up to you, but you’ll need 3 different ones. I recommend either a way to keep these contained and organized in your binder – a folder that can be closed so your cards will stay together.

See your specific booklist for your class to know the rest.

Mark your calendars!

PREP West Orientation  Monday August 13, 5:45 – 9:00 PM, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church

PREP Northwest Orientation  Tuesday August 14, 5:45 – 9:00 PM  Cypress Bible Church

Orientation begins with a general assembly of all parents and students (yes – this is for the whole family!) followed by times with each teacher in her classroom. This is where we go over the day-to-day specifics and expectations. Please make every effort to attend.

If possible, attend the campus where your child is registered. If not, you are welcome to attend the other campus. If you will be absent, please plan to visit the first class for the first 15-20 minutes.

If you have registered for the 2017-2018 school year, you will be hearing from me soon. Expect some emails explaining the remainder of the registration process (supply fee, curriculum purchases, etc.).

Upcoming dates: Orientation for the new school year will be in August. I’ll let you know as soon as we have dates/times in place.

I’m looking forward to meeting you!

One of the joys of teaching is the chance to introduce students to new friends: inside the pages of their books. One way I do this is by discussing what we read. Our talks are informal and, I hope, instructive. Sometimes they are no more than a skate across the surface as we endeavor to see the big picture. Other times we plumb the depths of theme and characterization as we seek to see the inner-workings of the story before us.

Mortimer Adler says it beautifully:

“The teacher’s role in discussion is to keep it going along fruitful lines—by moderating, guiding, correcting, leading, and arguing like one more student! The teacher is first among equals. All must have the sense that they are participating as equals, as is the case in a genuine conversation…These basic insights are epitomized by Socrates…he describes his role as a teacher by analogy with the service performed by a midwife who does nothing more than assist the pregnant mother to give birth with less pain and more assurance. So, according to Socrates, the teacher assists the inquiring mind of the learner to give birth to knowledge, facilitating the process of discovery on the learner’s  part.” ~ Mortimer Adler

Orientation Reminder: If you aren’t able to attend either orientation, August 17 (Cypress) or August 20 (Katy), please plan on attending a brief session the first 15 minutes of class.

Here is the list of supplies for each class:

Reading & Writing 2 :

WriteShop 2 (student edition only)

Synonym Finder (or other thesaurus) – for use at  home

Current Novel: we begin with The Wind in the Willows

The Magic Lens II- grammar book

3 ring binder with clear view/insert cover. This way the students can keep the syllabus in view at all times.

Tabbed Dividers: Notes, Grammar, Handouts, Writing, Returned Work

Include a pocket divider with one side labeled “take home” and the other side “bring back” to keep track of papers

Colored pencils

Pen (blue or black)

Notebook paper (white)

Classic & American Lit:

3 ring binder with clear view/insert cover. This way the students can keep the syllabus in view at all times.

5 tabbed dividers: notes, handouts, quizzes, tests, papers

Pen and pencil

5 retractable highlighters: orange, green, blue, pink, yellow

Student composition book (sewn type, not spiral) to use for a Commonplace Book: a place to collect vocabulary, quotes, and examples from their reading

(American Lit – Bring your copy of Ben Franklin. Classic Lit – Bring your copy of Windows to the World. I will be distributing your Lost Tools of Writing texts at Orientation/First day of class)

Thank you to everyone who attended our PREP High School to College seminar last night! Here is the sample transcript for you to use:

Sample Transcripts

This is the project I’ve helped with for the past year. The new, fifth edition of The Lost Tools of Writing is even better than the last. I’m excited to be able to use this in the upcoming school year with my Classic Literature and Composition students. I’ll have a sample available at the PREP Open House this spring.

CiRCE Online Academy – resumes week of January 5

PREP Classes resume week of January 12

“When I think of Christmas Eves, Christmas feasts, Christmas songs, and Christmas stories, I know that they do not represent a short or transient gladness. Instead, they speak of a joy unspeakable and full of glory. God loved the world and sent His Son. Whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. That is Christmas joy. That is the Christmas spirit.”   – Corrie Ten Boom

Christmas blessings to you and your families,

Mrs. Mathis

I like this planning tool! It’s free, easy to learn, customizable, and very flexible. The video is less than 3 minutes long and gives you everything you need to get started. Except the notebook. You need to find your own notebook.