Monday, January 25, 2010

General Announcements:

• Wednesday, Jan. 27: Final trip contributions due. Turn money in to Grace before 8:30 on Wed. morning. If you're not sure how much you have remaining to fulfill your $75, please check in with Grace at school or by e-mail (grace DOT mrowicki AT gmail). If you have a concern about being able to get all the money together by Wed., 1/27, please see Jane or John.
• Friday, Feb. 5: Prisms' Coffeehouse! St. Mary's Church, Haydenville, 6-9 PM — Dinner, dessert & entertainment! Tickets now available for purchase! $5/person, $20/family
• Eighth Grade project documents available here, including Phase 2 calendar (updated 1/22/10).
• You must have an independent reading book every day. If you are getting close to the end of one, have the next one at school and ready to go.

Math:

• 7th Grade:
  • Due Tue., 1/26:
    • Have tools.
    • Complete Extension #7 on p. 33. Follow direction in book, plus cut out each pentomino and label each by writing the area and perimeter on the pentomino itself. Answer questions on separate paper, as usual. Place cutouts in envelope with tiles.
    • Rewrite an edited first draft of friendly letter to Reds and Oranges about their performance on Friday. Follow model format. Be specific, avoid, "cool," write in pencil or erasable pen. Staple first draft to model format.
• 8th Grade:
  • Due Tue., 1/26: Have tools. Complete 2.1 and Follow-up on p. 17-18. Record area of each figure next to the figure itself. You may show or explain the strategy in words.

Social Studies:

• Due Tue., 1/26: Complete worksheet on Connections (begun in class today).
• Due Wed., 1/27: Rough draft of essay on Caesar as a leader due (use Connections sheet to help you develop points and organize, and for reference to format and length).

Science:

• Due Tue., 1/26 (Gp. 2) or Wed., 1/27 (Gp.1): Read text, pp. 27-31. Answer #1-3 (p. 36) on lined paper.

Language Arts:

• Due Wed., 1/27: Memorize the list of subject, object and possessive pronouns on the form provided. There will be a quiz on Wednesday, 1/27 covering these pronouns and their function.
• Due Tue., 1/26 Group 1 Only: Bring in a different photo or other personal item to use as a conversation starter at Overlook.

Spanish:

• 7th Grade:

• 8th Grade:

Moment of Zen:

Images From the Factory Farm

Artist Nathan Meltz has taken the evocative idea of the "factory farm" in a very concretely visual direction in his recent art series "Animal Farm," where he imagines farm animals more as robots and integrates the same mechanical aesthetic into a wide range of farm-related images. Click the image above to see more from the Animal Farm series (including the "Chicken Coup" animation) and read an interview with Meltz by sociologist Gwen Sharp (from the fabulous Sociological Images blog, which breaks down a wide range of images from pop culture into what they can tell us about ourselves as a culture.).