Thursday, May 27, 2010

Thursday, May 27, 2010

General Announcements:
  • Important End of Year Dates:
    • Thurs., 6/3: 8th Grade Project Presentations
    • Sat., 6/12: Hilltown's 15th Birthday Party
    • Thurs., 6/17: Summer Celebration at Overlook
    • Fri., 6/18: 8th Grade Graduation
    • Tues., 6/22: Last Day of School
  • 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 Fri., 5.28: Complete 3.2 & Follow-up (about the plan for the new dump) on p. 26.
  • 8th Grade:
    • None assigned
Social Studies:
  • None assigned
Science:
  • Fri., 5/28: Test on plant studies/genetics. See gold review sheet handed out today for details about what material will be included.
Language Arts:
  • Have an independent reading book with you—one you want to read.
Moment of Zen:

Swim Trunks?

The story of Rajan just gets more remarkable the farther you follow it. Rajan, a 60 year old elephant who lives with his slightly younger mahout (elephant driver), Nasru, on Havelock Island, just off the coast of India. Rajan and Nasru have become fixtures along the Havelock's beaches, going for their daily swims. Click the picture to see more pictures of Rajan and Nasru in the water and read more about their story. Both are remarkable, not just for Cesare Naldi's stunning, award-winning shots of them in and out of the water, but for how well they illustrate the intense bond that can be created between elephant and human.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

General Announcements:
  • Important End of Year Dates:
    • Thurs., 6/3: 8th Grade Project Presentations
    • Sat., 6/12: Hilltown's 15th Birthday Party
    • Thurs., 6/17: Summer Celebration at Overlook
    • Fri., 6/18: 8th Grade Graduation
    • Tues., 6/22: Last Day of School
  • 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 Wed., 5/26: Complete 3.1 Follow-up on p. 24-25.
  • 8th Grade:
    • Due Wed., 5/26:
      • Do #8 on p. 16 and #10 on p. 17
      • Bring to atelier materials for cutting out letters, etc.
      • Make a detailed (in color w/labels) sketch of exhibit board & layout
      • Bring project binder and journal to school.
      • Have a good breakfast and night's sleep.
Social Studies:
  • Due Tues., 5/25: (8th Grade) Final draft of political cartoons.
  • Ongoing:
    • Continue working on newspaper assignments.
Science:
  • Fri., 5/28: Test on plant studies/genetics. See gold review sheet handed out today for details about what material will be included.
  • Due Wed., 5/26: (8th Grade) Finish your illustrated version of Goethe's "Metamorphosis of Plants" (section we memorized).
Language Arts:
  • Wed., 5/26: In-house writing assessment this morning.
Moment of Zen:

More News You Didn't Hear

Two weeks ago, on May 11, a bomb went off in Florida in a crowded building. Even though no one was hurt, you would think this would be news, with our heightened anxiety about terrorist attacks - the bomb discovered in Times Square on May 1 didn't even have to go off to become major national news. I guess no one's interested when the place being bombed is a mosque. The bomb, which went off during evening prayers at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville, is being investigated as a "possible hate crime" and is thought to have been planted at least partially as a response to the appointment of Parvaz Ahmed, who attends services at the Center, to the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. However, this is not the first time in recent history that prayer services in the same location have been interrupted. On April 4th, a white man walked in during services and started yelling, "Stop this blaspheming!" before being removed.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Monday, May 24, 2010

General Announcements:
  • Tues., May 25: Bring acoustic guitars for music class.
  • Important End of Year Dates:
    • Thurs., 6/3: 8th Grade Project Presentations
    • Sat., 6/12: Hilltown's 15th Birthday Party
    • Thurs., 6/17: Summer Celebration at Overlook
    • Fri., 6/18: 8th Grade Graduation
    • Tues., 6/22: Last Day of School
  • 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 Tues., 5/25:
      • Be ready for a brief quiz on Inv. 1 & 2
      • Complete Reflections for Inv. 2, p. 23.
  • 8th Grade:
    • Due Tues., 5/25: Do #3 and #5 of 1.3 Follow-up and #1 on p. 12
Social Studies:
  • Due Tues., 5/25: (8th Grade) Final draft of political cartoons.
  • Ongoing:
    • Continue working on newspaper assignments.
Science:
  • Fri., 5/28: Test on plant studies/genetics. See gold review sheet handed out today for details about what material will be included.
  • Due Tues., 5/25: (8th Grade) Finish your illustrated version of Goethe's "Metamorphosis of Plants" (section we memorized).
Language Arts:
  • Tues., May 25: Bring acoustic guitars for music class.
  • Quiz, Tues., 5/25: Quiz on sentence structure. Review practice sentences from the last few days.
Moment of Zen:

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

With pollution in the Atlantic getting so much press these days, let's not forget the havoc we wreak in farther distant seas as well. What amounts to one of the world's largest landfills lives afloat the Pacific Ocean about a 1000 miles offshore from anywhere. About 10 million mi² composed of trash from at least three continents, approximately 80% of which washes out from land, the Garbage Patch is formed by a pattern of converging ocean currents called the North Pacific Gyre. The Garbage Patch, for all its concentration, presents a difficult cleanup. It does not cohere into an "island of trash" but instead floats lots of pieces of debris in close quarters, largely under the surface. Additionally, floating matter of this becomes an unhealthy habitat for a number of marine species, which further complicates cleanup. Click the picture above to read more from the National Science Foundation about the Garbage patch, or click here to read what Mother Nature News has to say. On a related note, here's an article from the UK's Guardian newspaper about efforts underway to have the term "ecocide"—referring to actions which lead to the large-scale destruction of an ecosystem—recognized and established as a crime (to be tried by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands) on par with genocide. The Guardian also has a photojournal of its Top 10 ecocides.