Monday, September 27, 2010

General Announcements:

• Due Thurs., 9/30: Share Your Hi-Rock Trip Photos! We have set up a Flickr group for the class's trip last week, which we will look at as a class during our class meeting next Thursday. For security reasons, it is a private, invitation only group. You will need a Flickr account to view or contribute to the group (if you have a Yahoo account, you already do). Prisms and their parents should let me know if you want an invitation to the group. Send an e-mail to gmrowicki AT hilltowncharter with the following information:
  1. Your name
  2. The e-mail address to which the invitation should be sent
• Read about the Prisms' ongoing observations in defining intelligent here.
• We need tissues! Cold season is upon us and we need nice tissues for sore noses. If every Prism family donated one box of tissues, that would almost certainly get us through the worst of tissue season.
• Fridays: Bring sneakers, clothes to run in and water bottle for Frisbee!

Math:

• Grade 7 & 8:
  • Due Tues., 9/28: Turn in all homework due Monday (MM 1.2 and revised CMP assignment).

Social Studies:

• Quiz this Fri., 10/1

Science:

• Due Tues., 9/28: Write 1 ¶ on the topic: What is/are the source(s) of energy for our River Ecosystem?

Language Arts:

• Due Tues., 9/28:
  1. Complete evaluation sheet for Camp Hi-Rock trip handed out Friday.
  2. Have your independent reading book chosen—new to you and fitting one of the categories on the form provided you today in class. Read for 20 min. in this new book to you. Have book in class on Monday. (The books should be of a size that they can be carried in backpack and from class to class easily.)
  3. Complete any portfolio elements not completed with quality at this time.

Spanish:

• Grade 7:
  • No hay tarea .
• Grade 8:
  • Quiz Tues., 9/28: Prueba sobre el vocabulario de "El pelo de pepe." (Vocab. quiz on "El pelo de pepe.")

Moment of Zen

On Demand Northern Lights

We're not totally out of luck for seeing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) the old fashioned way around here—especially those who live farther out in the hills where there's less light pollution, but here it's a rare and precious event (see the "Current Auroral Oval" at SpaceWeather for updates about when to look up for this). In the higher latitudes, though, it's a far more commonplace event. So for those other times, the Canadian Space Agency (ASC-CSA) has developed AuroraMAX - a live camera from Northern Canada which takes a shot of the sky every 10 seconds. You can watch it live at night (except during the summer, when the Midnight Sun washes out the view) or check out their gallery of featured videos for some of their best captured time-lapse displays.