Elle opened the Photoshop template for her capstone poster. I made a template that would show all of the work that she had created so far so that she could see the variety in her work. I instructed Elle to create a third poster but this time she had to use a different background, different colors for lettering and new bag to feature. Once she completed the image, I added it to the rest of her work that she completed. She was able to see the work and add it to her portfolio.

Elle reviewed for the exam. The new date for the exam is next Monday.

30 minutes - substitute. We watched CNN and discussed current events, especially the State of the Union speech by President Trump which was given last night.

Elle completed revising her persuasive letter and final edit. She printed a hard copy.

We spent some time reviewing a bit of the President's State of the Union address last night. We spent most of the lesson learning about the Chinese New Year currently being observed in China. 2019 is the year of the pig. Elle looked for her own Chinese zodiac sign. Elle's Chinese zodiac symbol is the rooster.
During the Chinese New Year's celebration, people participate in many traditional activities. The Chinese believe that as they enter a new year, they should put behind them all things of the past. They clean their houses, pay off debts, purchase new clothes, paint their doors and window panes, and even get new haircuts. These activities symbolize new life and new beginnings.
What would Elle do to begin the year anew?

Today, Elle and I did some kickboxing. Elle was taught the 6 basic punches and two different kicks. I was extremely impressed with Elle today. Her flexibility certainly assisted her in her ability to perform the kicks. She has amazing power and strength both in her punches and kicks. Elle is very athletic and her ability came through today.

Elle practiced applying eyebrows and also a smokey eye. She also did an improv involving dance/cheer.

Elle identified 15 rocks as igneous, sedimenary or metamorphic today. She used characteristic charts that used a variety of graphic organizers to identify the rocks. She then identified several minerals by using scientific testing procedures (Moh's Scale of Hardness, Streak test, Color and Luster).

We again worked on rewriting linear functions in standard form to slope intercept form. We also worked on determining slope by ordered pairs.

Elle is about to begin reading the classic novel, "Lord of the Flies" in English class. I explained a bit about why this is a classic book. As far as Social Studies class, it touches upon the themes of how groups need to work together for survival. I hope we can discuss the book more as Elle begins to read it. We also focused on current events. The President will give a State of the Union speech this evening. As most of North America contends with freezing winter temperatures, Australia is dealing with a summer heat wave and terrible flooding from rains. I explained to Elle that February is Black History month and we will be focusing on the lives and achievements of notable Americans throughout the month in class.