Tuesday, November 29, 2011

General Announcements:

• If you ever notice something missing or wrong on the blog, comment to let me know about it - I don't always have the whole picture. -Grace
• Wed., 11/30: Mummers Play Meeting! First meeting is this week. Interested parties must attend or contact Seana with their excellent, compelling reason they cannot attend. Rehearsals will take place every Wednesday between here and Solstice from 3-5 PM in the River Classroom.
• Sat., Dec. 3: Winter fair!
• Fri., Dec. 16: Prisms/Purples Dance. Job sign-ups and song request lists up in both classrooms.

Humanities:

• Long Range Project: Stories of White and Native American Encounters
  First Draft Due Mon., 12/19
  Final Draft Due Thurs., 12/22: Write a story, diary entries or a series of letters from the perspective of two people living in the early 1800s in West Virginia. The first chapter, letter or diary entry should be set in the year 1800. The final chapter, letter or diary entry should take place in 1838.
• Ample class time will be dedicated to this project and related, short-range deadlines will be updated

Math:

• Graph paper link on the sidebar →
  Grade 7
• Nada
Grade 8
• Due Wed., 11/30: On handout, p. 296-297, do #6-8, 10, 12, 17-24
  Challenge: #25-27

Science:

• Due Thurs., 12/1: read pp. 221-228, and answer the following questions on lined paper:
  • p. 225, #2-3; p. 229, #1-6
• Long Range Project: Independent Heredity Research
  • Each student will pick a topic relating to work in Science about heredity, relating to a particular inherited trait such as eye or hair color, hereditary diseases such as Sickle Cell anemia or muscular dystrophy, or ethical question regarding human interference in heredity such as selective breeding for traits in plants and animals, cloning, or a particular genetically modified organism. Each student will present their research either in an essay or Powerpoint presentation.
  • Deadlines:
    • Fri., 12/2: Submit topic proposal
    • Tues., 12/6: Submit 2-3 reputable sources about your topic
    • Fri., 12/9: Outline of info due
    • Wed., 12/14: First draft due
    • Fri., 12/16: Final draft due

Español:

• Bring home all Day of the Dead materials!

Moment of Zen:

Microscopic Wasp

Measuring at just 100 microns (0.10 mm) in length, the Megaphragma wasp or "fairy fly" is the smallest multicellular animal in the world. In fact, there are varieties of single-celled animals that are larger than it. The parasitic wasp lives in Guadalupe and feeds off the eggs of other insects. Click above to find out more about how its body accommodates being so small.