Happy Holidays!

To All My Families,
Have a wonderful and relaxing break and I will see you all again on January 3rd!

Zero Period

The last day of zero period occurred this morning, Tuesday Dec. 13th.  Zero period classes will resume on Tuesday January 3rd at 7:30 AM.  Have a wonderful break!

End of Semester Posting

1.  Please be sure that all tests and make up work are in by Friday Dec. 9th at 2:15 PM.  At that point, I will be going in to the grade book and entering zeroes for any blanks.

2.  The exam for 8th graders in the Zero Period class will be on Tuesday December 13th.  Students may start taking the exam as early as the doors open at GHS.  Students will only have until 8:20 AM that morning to complete the exam.  It is designed to be finished in the allotted time span.

3.  There will be no Zero Period from December 14th-16th.  Zero Period classes will resume on Tuesday January 3rd.

4.  Students who exempt do not need to show up on exam day.

5.  Students who exempt are still required to do any and all review material leading up to the exam.

6.  If a student misses their exam, I am required to enter a grade of zero for the exam.  Exams will be made up after the Holiday Break and the semester grade will be corrected at that time.

7.  Any student wanting tutorials needs to speak with me immediately to set up a good time.  We are getting very close though to the end of the semester and there may not be time enough to get caught up.

8.  All exams will be graded and entered into the grade book by 11:00 AM on Friday December 16th.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me:  julie.mcconathy@gcisd.net or call GHS at 817.251.5210.

Exam Exemptions

The last day to apply for an exam exemption is Wednesday December 7th at 11:59 PM.  Please see me in order to double check that you are in fact eligible to exempt you Latin exam.

Latin Club Picture!

On Friday Dec. 2nd, the Latin Club will be taking its picture at GHS in the auditorium at 12:55 PM. If you want to be in the picture, you must come see me for a pass so that you can be released from class.  We will be taking our picture promptly at 12:55 PM so please be on time!

Exam Exemption Requirements

I copied and pasted this straight from Mr. Denning's weekly newsletter for parents.

Fall 2016 Exam Exemption Information

The general guidelines approved for Grapevine High School’s Exemption Policy are listed below.

To be exempt from semester exams, a student must meet ALL of the following criteria:

∗ No more than 3 tardies per class for the semester

∗ An 80 average in class with no more than one absence

∗ A 90 average in class with no more than two absences

∗ Seniors –Three semester exams may be exempted during the semester

∗ Juniors –Two semester exams may be exempted during the semester

∗ Sophomores –One semester exam may be exempted during the semester

∗ Freshman- are not permitted to exempt semester exams

The following courses are not eligible for exemption because they are assessed by STAAR: English I, English II, Biology I, US History, Algebra I. This applies to On-level, GT, and PreAP versions of the listed courses, as well as, AP US History. *New for Fall 2016 – English III courses are not eligible for exemption due to district-developed semester exams required for all English III students. This applies to on-level, PreAP, GT, AP, and PSAT versions of the English III course.

The following absent codes do not count towards a student’s total absences for exemptions:

A-FN - Funeral

O-FT - Field Trip

O-CD - College Day

O-AT - with Another Teacher

O-CT - Court with Documentation

O-TS – Testing

Or any O coded absence

Y – Special medical

All requirements must be maintained up to the date of the exam.

Next Latin Club Meeting

The next Latin Club meeting will be after school on Wednesday Nov. 2nd in my room.  We're talking t-shirts and activities!

October 17th

Today is the first day of the new grading period and it will end when we have our semester exams. If you didn't do as well as you wanted in the first grading period, this is your opportunity to step up your game and do better:  study more, ask questions in class, etc.

Oct. 7th

October 7th will be the last day to join Latin Club.  Dues are $10!  Be sure to join even if you can't come to the meetings.

The End of the Grading Period....

is near!  The first grading period is over two weeks from today!  Please be checking your grades to make sure you stay eligible and are completing all of your assignments so that your grade does not drop.  If you don't like one of your test grades, you need to see me IMMEDIATELY to discuss the possibility of retaking a test; remember you may retake one test every grading period for the maximum grade of a 70.  There will be no retakes given the week of Oct. 10th.

Latin I: Vocabulary Test on Thursday

All three Latin I classes have their Unit I Vocabulary Test on Thursday, covering Ch. 5-7.  Thursday will be the LAST opportunity to get extra credit for this grading period.  Please be sure to study so that you can max out!

Latin Grades

Unless your student has been absent and missed work or a test/quiz, all Latin grades are currently up to date.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

3rd Period--Thursday Sept. 22nd

My 3rd period Latin II PAP class will be taking D lunch on Thurs. Sept. 22nd due to a meeting I need to attend.  The CHHS students will catch the first bus to GHS and I will dismiss them in time for them to have lunch at CHHS.

Quick Reminder About Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, there are two things happening at the GHS Lecture Hall:
1.  Any parent from CHHS wanting to meet me and here about Latin can stop by the Lecture Hall from 6:30-7:15 PM for a come and go.  I hope to meet as many of you as possible since I couldn't be at your Open House last week.
2.  From 7:15-8:00 PM, I will be having a meeting about a possible trip to Rome at the beginning of next summer--before it gets too hot!--for any interested family of any current or former Latin student. If you cannot make the meeting but would like the information, please email me and I will get the information to you.  This is a very exciting opportunity for the Latin students to see the buildings that we talk about in class and experience The Eternal City for a longer period of time.  We will be spending the whole trip in Rome.  There is an optional extension for an additional cost to see Pompeii, Naples, and Capri.  Again, email me if you would like the information about the trip or if you have any questions:  julie.mcconathy@gcisd.net

Make Up Time for Vocabulary Review Test

On Monday Sept. 12th, all Latin II PAP students took a vocabulary review test, reviewing 100 of the top words from Latin I.  If you/your student missed the test, we will be making up the test on Friday Sept. 15th during class.  Please make sure you/your student are ready!

Open House

Open House for both high schools is Monday Sept. 12th.  I will be at GHS for the evening.  Since I cannot be in two places at once, I have scheduled Monday Sept. 19th in the GHS Lecture Hall to give all CHHS parents an opportunity to come and meet me.  This will take place from 6:30-7:15 PM. From 7:15-8:00 PM, I will be talking about an exciting opportunity for all current and former Latin students to spend a week in Rome in June 2017.  Please email me if you have any questions!

Don't Delay--Join Today!

If you would like to be a member of Latin Club but cannot attend the meetings, join anyways!  Dues are $10 this year.  If you make all A's in Latin but are not a member of the Latin Club, you cannot be considered for the National Latin Honor Society in the spring.  We will be meeting every other week for the first few months and our goal is to also have a club t-shirt for this school year as well.  Going to CHHS and don't want something that says GHS?  No problem--the shirt will either say GCISD Latin or not have a school name on it.  Email me if you have any questions!

Sept. 19th

September 19th is a BIG Night!

On Monday, September 19th, I will be hosting an opportunity for any parent from CHHS to come and meet me, to hear about me, learn about Latin, etc.  This is due to the fact that both high schools have Open House on the same night again this year.  We will be meeting in the Lecture Hall at GHS (enter through the front doors please) from 6:30-7:15 PM.  This is meant to be informal; if you wish to schedule a parent-teacher conference to talk more in depth, please email me so that we can coordinate a time.

After this parent meeting, I will be having a brief meeting to talk about the opportunity for the high school students to go to Rome for a week in early to mid June next summer.  This would be a wonderful experience for the students to see the things that we talk about or have seen in their Latin book in person.  If you cannot make this meeting but would still like the information, please let me know and I will get that information to you.  This trip is not sponsored by GCISD.

Who is Mrs. McConathy and why is she here?
  I am THE Latin teacher for all of Grapevine-Colleyville ISD.  I started at GHS in Nov. of 1998 and began traveling to CTMS the following year.  In the fall of 2006, I started teaching Latin I to 8th grade students from CMS.  For the past three years,  I have been teaching all four GCISD middle schools Latin I through my zero period program and both high schools during the regular school day.
  Latin has been a staple at Grapevine High School since its beginning and I am proud to have facilitated the growth that the program has achieved in my time here in the district.

Latin Books--A Necessity for Survival

If your student is in Latin I or Latin II PAP, they do need their Latin book.  If they have not checked them out yet, then they need to see the assistant principal on their campus in charge of books.  We start learning almost immediately every school year!

Here is the supply list for Latin this year.  

• Pens and pencils; please get at least one red or purple pen for grading; you will also need a highlighter.
• Paper or a spiral.
• Folder or notebook to hold notes and work.
• Latin dictionary for home.  While there are some online dictionaries available for use, they do not always provide the best definition or even give the definitions of common phrases.  
• 4 packs of 100 3x5 notecards.  
• One box of Kleenex.
• Ear buds for classroom use.

Zero Hour Letter

If you have signed up for Zero Hour Latin I for the upcoming school year, you should have received the letter below, discussing our meeting Thursday August 18th from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM.  Please email either Jennifer Hylemon or Jodi Cox with your questions.

Zero Hour Letter

Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year!  I'm excited to be back for my 19th year--where did the time go?  I hope all my students are ready to either get back to learning or begin learning Latin.

There will be a page for each level where you can see what we are doing or have done; where you can see the Remind code for each period; where you can see the Google Classroom codes for each period.

Every now and then, I might come across something fun or interesting that I might post, along with class/school announcements, so please go ahead and bookmark both this page and the class period page for your class/your student.

You may follow me on Twitter:  @mcconathyghs

If you need to contact me, email is always best:  julie.mcconathy@gcisd.net  Since it is my main campus, please call GHS at 817.251.5210; you will be put through to my voicemail from 8:00 AM until about 2:15 PM every day.  If you need a quick response from me, please email me.

Google Calendar Changes

I just wanted to let everyone know that there was a change in how you can view Google Classroom right before our Winter Break.  You must go to your class, click on "About", and then go to the calendar.  I suggest selecting "Download" as opposed to viewing.  If you download the calendar, it will always show.  If you click on "View", it will not save to your calendar and you will always have to go to the page to see the calendar.