Welcome to

Mr. Barber's 

They say that time goes by fast when you are having fun. If that is true, we must be having a tremendous amount of fun. Time is really going by quickly. In August, I told the 8th grade students that June and graduation seemed like a long way off, but it would creep up on them. Now they believe me, because it is truly creeping up on us. In just 3 months, they will have already graduated.

Your kids, (our kids) continue to work hard. The 8th grade will soon be studying the Civil War in history. Right now, they are working on the westward expansion. This includes the California gold rush and the Texas Republic. The 7th grade has just finished reading about the early English and French monarchies. The 7th grade is also starting on their castle projects. They have divided themselves into groups and will be building a castle, and writing a story about it.

We have just two weeks left before our final deadline for the yearbook. We are securing ads, and taking lots of pictures. We think you will enjoy this year's edition of "The Eagle".

We are also making plans for our long field trips. The 7th grade will be going to The Tech museum in San Jose on April 16th. The 8th grade will go to Sacramento on May 2nd, and to Magic Mountain on May 31st. You will get more details later.

Parent-teacher conferences are coming this week . You are urged to attend. It is very important that we get together and talk about your child's progress. I would also urge you to bring your child with you to the conference. I hope to see all of you at that time.

Once again, I must compliment you on your children. They are wonderful, and I enjoy coming to work every day. Helm Eagles are truly #1!!!!!!!!!

 

Computers are an important tool to help students meet standards. 

 

On-line lessons:

Build a Rocket	On-line Spanish/English Dictionary
Egypt	Translator.go.com
California State Railroad Museum

Castles:

• Build a Castle -- Download free software with plans for building a castle, or link to on-line instructions for building your own castle
• Castles on the web -- This site will link you to hundreds of sites about castles--with a special section of "Castles for Kids"
• Knights and Castles -- This is a commercial site, designed to sell model castles. (Don't worry about getting sucked in. They are probably too expensive for any teacher to buy!) It does, however, provide many really excellent pictures of castles and their surroundings.