January 2009
74 posts
Half finished or half left? [30 Jan 2009]
There will be no hot lunch all next week. Make sure you bring a lunch the days that you will need them. Also remember that there is a half day on Tuesday and no school on Wednesday and Thursday.
Urgent: Conferences are next week. If your initials are not on the winter conference schedule, please remind your parents to send me an email reserving a time.
The next math test (the first one of next...
Life Skills Letter to Parents [Week 17]
Dear Parents,
This week we began our Self-Esteem Unit! The Call to Action last week was to try to define the term self-esteem. Some of the definitions that students shared were that having high self-esteem meant “being brave, confident and having faith in yourself” and that “sometimes, ads can lower your self esteem because you might feel that the person in the ad is better looking than you.”...
Life Skills Call to Action 15
This assignment is from the Life Skills instructors, Danielle and Katrina, and is due Wednesday, February 11.
Write a gratitude list: List 10 things you are grateful for in your life right now. These can include everything from specific friends and family members to the ability to hear the sound of rain.
Please hold off on reading Twilight for right now. We are still working out the details of...
Map of Harare
Charlie created a Google map of Harare for The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by placing a pin for each of the locations mentioned that actually exist.
View Larger Map
txeT sdrawkcaB →
:oot eno sihT
ʇxǝʇ ɐ dıןɟ →
:sı ǝɹǝɥ ‘ʇxǝʇ ɥʇıʍ ƃuıʎɐןd ɯɐ ı sɐ ƃuoן sɐ
Full schedule tomorrow [29 Jan 2009]
Tomorrow will be another busy and exciting day. After community meeting we’ll enjoy a visit from Robert Laidlaw. Following lunch we’ll have a guest lesson from one of the science/math teacher candidates.
We have less than a sixth of The Ear, the Eye and the Arm left to finish. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to read from it today. Nonetheless, for homework tonight please...
EEA Assignment 1
For homework tonight please make a quick post to your Tumblr reflecting on some element of The Ear, the Eye and the Arm. Your post can be text, audio, or video. If you do choose audio or video, make sure to outline what you want to say before you record.
Here are some possible topics, but feel free to create your own:
Compare one of the characters to someone you know.
Explain how an event is...
WatchParents: Steven Berlin Johnson has some thought-provoking ideas about the value of popular culture. He looks at the benefits of certain video games and television programs. Johnson is the author of the recently released The Invention of Air and several other books. In the video above from last year he talks about his 2005 book Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is...
Life Skills Letter to Parents [Twilight]
Hello Parents!
The sixth graders have been assigned the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer to read for an upcoming discussion group we will be having in Life Skills on March 4th. Many of you have probably heard about how popular this New York Times Best Seller is with young teens. Not only is Twilight suspenseful and dramatic, it also captures many of the topics that we learn about in Life Skills....
Finishing up [28 Jan 2009]
Remind your parents that Step Up Night is this evening.
There is no homework from me due tomorrow unless you didn’t turn in your report today.
If your initials are not on the winter conference schedule, please remind your parents to send me an email reserving a time.
The next math test (the first one of next semester) will be in two weeks on Wednesday, February 11.
Tarea para mañana:...
Due tomorrow [27 Jan 2008]
I’m still missing a few initials on the winter conference schedule.
Your final Nonames report is due tomorrow. Don’t forget to make the corrections suggested by the several proofreaders that have looked over your report.
The next math test (the last one for the semester) will be tomorrow. You should now have an updated concept checklist.
Life Skills Call to Action 14 is due...
WatchJoshua Allen Harris is the artist I mentioned today when reading The Ear, the Eye and the Arm. He uses the air rushing out of subway vents to inflate his creations.
Year of the Ox [26 Jan 2008]
Half of you still need to have your parents reserve a time for the winter conference schedule.
Your final Nonames report is due Wednesday. Make the corrections suggested by your classmate proofreader today and have someone else look it over tonight. You will have time in class tomorrow to have it proofread a final time.
The next math test (the last one for the semester) will be on Wednesday....
TCS 2009/2010 Enrollment Contracts
Parents, here’s a note from the office:
It’s that time of year again! TCS Contracts for the 2009/10 school year are in the mail. If you have any questions regarding your contracts or the return dates please don’t hesitate to contact Julie Lee in the office or e-mail her at jlee@tcslj.org.
Important 2009 Dates to Remember:
Monday, January 26th: Contracts mailed to current TCS...
A week to go [23 Jan 2009]
Many of your parents still need to reserve a time for the winter conference schedule. They need to send me an email to do so. Don’t forget to let them know about Step Up Night too.
Your final Nonames report is due Wednesday. You will have time in class on Monday and Tuesday to work on it and have it proofread. However, if you did not have a complete draft today, take some time over the...
Library Assignment 1
This assignment is from Janie. Please see or email her with questions.
Please do an online search for the term “illuminated manuscript”. Write two sources (address and date retrieved) and validate them. (I want to know who wrote the information). Please read and digest the information and then write me three facts about illuminated manuscripts. I would like this emailed to me at...
CSL Call to Action 1
This assignment, the first Community Service Learning call to action, is from Lisa and Carla. Please see or email them with questions.
Go to the TCS website.
Click on ‘Middle Years’ in the upper right-hand corner.
Choose ‘student forums’ on the green menu to the left.
Click on CSL Forum 2009 (one of the blue options that appear in the same column).
Enter the password key that you receive...
Routes Game →
If you enjoyed Superstruct and are interested in participating in or following another ARG, the Routes Game might be for you. The eight week game focuses on “the world of genetics, evolution and the human genome.” It is a production of Channel 4 in the UK. See the about page for a more detailed description and this page for a video preview.
Grow Tower →
Here’s the newest of the Eyezmaze animated puzzles. Do you remember those from earlier in the school year?
Cicada molting →
Another wonder from Wikipedia: a cicada molting. Click through to watch, but be patient as the animated image takes a while to load. Erin, this will likely be of interest to you as you begin your new PLP.
Art of Problem Solving →
Please see me if you are interested in this highly regarded math program.
Drizzle [22 Jan 2009]
If you haven’t done so already, please direct your parents to the winter conference schedule. They need to send me an email to reserve a time. The sooner they sign up, the better selection they will have. Point out the post regarding Step Up Night too.
The rough draft including images and bibliography of the Nonames report is due tomorrow. For more information see the outline and...
Step Up Night
Step Up Night is on Wednesday, January 28. Here is the schedule:
5:00-6:00 PM — PreK-1st grade
6:00-6:30 PM — Coffee lounge in library
6:30-7:30 PM — 2nd-5th grade
6:00-6:45 PM — 6th grade math and humanities
6:45-7:15 PM — 6th-7th Spanish, athletics, science, technology
7:15–8:00 PM — 7th grade math and humanities
Make a Kids’ Club reservation by emailing kidsclub@tcslj.org.
Life Skills Letter to Parents [Week 16]
Dear Parents,
This week we continued our discussion on Anger Management. The students performed role plays in which they had to differentiate between a “big deal” and a “little deal.” In a “big deal” situation students practiced controlling their anger so that they could assertively express themselves and resolve the situation. Everyone tried to come up with creative and fair resolutions to the...
Life Skills Call to Action 14
This assignment is from the Life Skills instructors, Danielle and Katrina, and is due Wednesday, January 28.
What does “self-esteem” mean to you?
Email your response or a link to your post on Tumblr to Danielle or Katrina.
Conferences are coming [21 Jan 2009]
Please direct your parents to the winter conference schedule. They need to send me an email reserving a time. The sooner they sign up, the better selection they will have.
The rough draft of sections two through seven of the Nonames report are due tomorrow. Check your email for the messages that contain more details about each section.
Related to item one: This morning we talked about the next...
Winter Conference Schedule
Parents,
Below is the schedule for the fall conferences. Your daughter/son will be attending the conference with you just like in the fall. Please email me with your preferred time. As slots are filled I will update this post to reflect such by adding the student’s initials in the appropriate place.
Thanks,
Rob
Tuesday, February 3
12:00 TN
12:30 AL
1:00 TF
1:30 ET
...
Inauguration follow-up
To wrap up the day I’d like to point out some websites related to the inauguration. First, if you read this in time you can follow the inaugural balls at the official website of the inauguration. Then go see the Flickr Inauguration 2009 Pool of images that people from around the word have submitted. You can also see images from a variety of sources stitched together using a Microsoft...
Assemblies [20 Jan 2009]
It was good to see you all again today even if we didn’t spend much time in class.
The rough draft of sections two through seven of the Nonames report are due Thursday. Check your email for the messages that contain more details about each section.
Related to item one: This morning we talked about the next two of the twelve rules that we will follow for this writing assignment. (5) Try...
Casu marzu
Now it’s all making sense — you all decided Sardinia was the best location for the Nonames project because of the food!
“Casu marzu (also called casu modde, casu cundhídu, or in Italian formaggio marcio) is a traditional sheep milk cheese, notable for being riddled with live insect larvae. Although outlawed there for health reasons, it is found mainly in Sardinia, Italy on the black...
To the Getty [15 Jan 2009]
There are several non-homework reminders today: (a) While you are away from school tomorrow I will be off to the Getty with the rest of the faculty and the administration. (b) Please point your parents to this post from the Admin Team. (c) Enjoy the two basketball games this afternoon, Comets!
Continue working on the rough draft of sections five through seven for the Nonames report. (Those are...
Life Skills Letter to Parents [Week 15]
Dear Parents,
This week we began our Anger Management unit in Life Skills! We started off with a discussion about what it means to be angry and why we might need to use tools to manager anger. The group shared some of their own trigger points for anger. Many students felt angry when they weren’t being heard or when people were not being respectful of them. Also, many students said that they felt...
Life Skills Call to Action 13
This assignment is from the Life Skills instructors, Danielle and Katrina, and is due Wednesday, January 21.
Take 5 minutes every day to meditate on your breath. Write about your experience after 5 days. What’s different? What’s the same? Can you meditate for 10 minutes?
Obama Inauguration
In case you were wondering, the class will be watching the presidential inauguration live on Tuesday. Parents, if you haven’t received or read today’s note from Molly (sent via email), below is a partial quote which contains some additional information about the school’s plans for the event. Please note that you too are invited to join us.
On January 20, 2009, we as a nation...
News from the Admin Team
We would like to thank all of our families who have sent friends and neighbors to our Open Houses. We have met some wonderful families and look forward to welcoming new students into our community. We encourage you to once again let your friends and colleagues know that our next Open House for prospective sixth and seventh graders entering the Nelson Middle Years is Thursday, January 22nd at...
Repeat? [14 Jan 2009]
Some of this post may seem very similar to the homework post from yesterday, but I assure you there are differences.
Continue working on the rough draft of section four for the Nonames report. (That’s the section we started in class this morning.) Like the section you worked on yesterday, the research for this one should have been completed several weeks ago, so now you just need to put...
WatchThis isn’t the first time that comics have come up in class or on this blog. Watch yet another TED talk, this one from Scott McCloud about his story and the history and future of comics. His book Understanding Comics, which is one of my favorites, defines comics, tells their history and explains why they are such an effect means of expression.
Martes trece [13 Jan 2009]
For the curious, more information about the title above can be found here.
Continue working on the rough draft of section three for the Nonames report. (That’s the section we started in class today.) The research should have been completed several weeks ago, so now you just need to put the ideas together in paragraph form. Check your email for the outline. Remember to save your work.
...