Wednesday, February 13, 2013

General Announcements:

• Friday PE: Wear or bring clothes/shoes to move in indoors.
• 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

Humanities:

• Due Wed., 2/13: Finish your novel about South Africa (Cry, The Beloved Country or Chain of Fire), complete reading log and come ready to discuss.

Math:

• Big Ideas Math Website: choose your color/name of book.
• Graph paper link on the sidebar →
Grade 7
• Due Wed., 2/13:
  • Level 1:
  • Finish finding the surface area of both cylinders that can be made from an 8½ by 11 sheet of paper.
  • Quiz tomorrow on surface area of prisms/cylinders
  • Level 2: Make a net to scale for your assigned pyramid and do textbook, p. 274, #7, 9. 14
Grade 8
• Due Wed., 2/13: textbook, p. 234, #18-23 odd, 27-32.
  Challenge: 34

Science:

• Due Thurs., 2/14: 2 page reading on salt, p. 172-173
• Test Fri., 2/15 on limestone cycle. Use study guide handed out today to prepare.

Coffeehouse:

• Due Fri., 2/15: Script for your Dr. Seuss skit due to your group members and room leader (Grace, Beth, John) via Google Docs

Spanish:

Grade 7
Grade 8

8th Grade Project:

• Due Mon., 2/25: 100 notecards (total) on topic due.

Moment of Zen

Now You've Seen a Giraffe Sweater

Japanese artists Mai Yamashita and Naoto Kobayashi knit this sweater as a gift for a 4 meter tall giraffe in a zoo. The giraffe has, as of yet, declined to wear it.

See also: Penguin Sweaters.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

General Announcements:

• Friday PE: Wear or bring clothes/shoes to move in indoors.
• 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

Humanities:

• Due Wed., 2/13: Finish your novel about South Africa (Cry, The Beloved Country or Chain of Fire), complete reading log and come ready to discuss.

Math:

• Big Ideas Math Website: choose your color/name of book.
• Graph paper link on the sidebar →
Grade 7
• Due Wed., 2/13:
  • Level 1: textbook, p. 266, #5-13 odd
  • Level 2: Finish Ant & Caterpillar. If done, start "Squaring a Greek Cross"
Grade 8
• Due Wed., 2/13: textbook, p. 234, #1-6, 11-17

Science:

• Nada

Coffeehouse:

• Due Fri., 2/15: Script for your Dr. Seuss skit due to your group members and room leader (Grace, Beth, John) via Google Docs

Spanish:

Grade 7
Grade 8

8th Grade Project:

• Due Mon., 2/25: 100 notecards (total) on topic due.

Moment of Zen

Elementals for the Whole Periodic Table?

Cartoonist Kaycie D. has been comping up with characters to represent each of the elements of the periodic table since her high school Chemistry class. Many years later, she's come up with characters personifying each of the 112 elements of the periodic table. She's illustrated each with a brief description of the element, which usually explains why she chose to draw the character the way she did.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

General Announcements:

• Friday PE: Wear or bring clothes/shoes to move in indoors.
• 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

Humanities:

• Due Fri., 2/8: Finish draft of essay on Music and Apartheid in South Africa and share with Beth on Google Docs.

Math:

• Big Ideas Math Website: choose your color/name of book.
• Graph paper link on the sidebar →
Grade 7
• Due Fri., 2/8:
  • Level 1: textbook, p. 260, #6-14; R & P journal, p. 144 A-B
  • Level 2: Look over examples in 6.3, p. 266, #1-7, 10, 12, and either 15-24 OR 15-19 and challenge problem on handout.
Grade 8
• Due Fri., 2/8: textbook, second page of Chapter 6, "What You Learned Before"

Science:

• Due Fri., 2/8: Read Discovery Kids magazine about atoms and do exercises on separate paper.

Music:

• Due Thurs., 2/7: Those who have still not had their recorder song approved need to be ready to perform tomorrow. Everyone needs to bring their recorder and music folder.

Spanish:

Grade 7
Grade 8

8th Grade Project:

• Due Mon., 2/11: 80 notecards (total) on topic due.

Moment of Zen

Death Star Lollipops!

Not sure what flavor they are, though. What do you think?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

No new homework, just this:

Monday, February 4, 2013

General Announcements:

• Friday PE: Wear or bring clothes/shoes to move in indoors.
• 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

Humanities:

• Due Tues., 2/5:
  • Chain of Fire: Read Ch. 22-24, Reading Log.
  • Cry, The Beloved Country: Read Ch. 26-29, Reading Log.

Math:

• Big Ideas Math Website: choose your color/name of book.
• Graph paper link on the sidebar →
Grade 7
• Due Tues., 2/5:
  • Level 1: textbook, p. 254, #4-6, 10-13, 28
  • Level 2: textbook, p. 260, #1-8, 14,16, 20
    Challenge: #22
Grade 8
• due Tues., 2/5 textbook, p. 217, #1-6, 7-27 odd (not 13), 24
  Challenge: 30

Science:

• Due Fri., 2/8: Read DiscoveryKids magazine about atoms and do exercises on separate paper.

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Due Fri., 2/1: Pobre Ana chapter 4 sheets
Grade 8
• Due Mon., 2/4: Chap. 7 translation due.

8th Grade Project:

• Due Mon., 2/11: 80 notecards (total) on topic due.

Moment of Zen

This Camera's Smile is on the Inside?

Click to read more about photoheads Kiyoshimachine

Thursday, January 31, 2013

General Announcements:

• Friday PE: Wear or bring clothes/shoes to move in indoors.
• 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

Humanities:

• Due Fri., 2/1:
  • Chain of Fire: Read Ch. 19-21, Reading Log.
  • Cry, The Beloved Country: Read Ch. 22-25, Reading Log.

Math:

• NEWS FOR YOU!  You now have a link to your textbook!  This  link will bring you to the Big Ideas Math Website, where you will choose your color/name of book.  Then you can search the entire textbook - like today's sample problems done together in class.  Check it out - you can search without a username and password in the "Home Edition".
• Graph paper link on the sidebar →
Grade 7
• Due Fri., 2/1: Finish Record & Practice Journal, page 135-136
Grade 8
• Nada

Science:

• Due Fri., 2/1: Answer questions from "Modeling Molecule" activity packet, #1-6

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Due Fri., 2/1: Pobre Ana chapter 4 sheets
Grade 8
• Due Mon., 2/4: Chap. 7 translation due.

8th Grade Project:

• Due Mon., 2/4: 60 notecards on topic due.

Moment of Zen

I Speak for the Trees...

Statement from the artists, a couple who work together as the Zonenkinder Collective: "The Tree Project" is an ongoing art project since 2006 inspired by the beauty and the decay of nature. We are constantly in search of new forms of expressions and we love to play with unusual surfaces and locations. In the Tree Project we visualize the atmosphere of the moment, the usually hidden spirit and dreams of the trees and the the living nature which surrounds us. By painting eyes, faces and grimaces on the trees, by ornamenting and dressing them we emphasize our close and unique connection with nature. Thereby reflecting that trees are exceptional and beautiful living individuals. This stands in contrast to the often destructive and indifferent interaction with the environment of mankind. Please note that we take environmental issues serious: for all tree-paintings shown here we use natural and biodegradable colors that will fade away after a while.

Here are some impression from Denmark, Germany, France.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

General Announcements:

• Friday PE: Wear or bring clothes/shoes to move in indoors.
• 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

Humanities:

• Due Wed., 1/30:
  • Chain of Fire: Read Ch. 16-18, Reading Log.
  Cry, The Beloved Country: Read Ch. 18-21, Reading Log.

Math:

• NEWS FOR YOU!  You now have a link to your textbook!  This  link will bring you to the Big Ideas Math Website, where you will choose your color/name of book.  Then you can search the entire textbook - like today's sample problems done together in class.  Check it out - you can search without a username and password in the "Home Edition".
• Graph paper link on the sidebar →
Grade 7
• Due Thurs., 1/31 at Morning Meeting: Finish Record & Practice Journal, page 135-136
Grade 8
• Due Thurs., 1/31 at Morning Meeting: textbook, p. 210, #1-3, 5, 8-12 even, 15
  Challenge: Telescope Problem

Science:

• Due Fri., 2/1: Answer questions from "Modeling Molecule" activity packet, #1-6

Spanish:

Grade 7
• Due Fri., 2/1: Pobre Ana chapter 4 sheets
Grade 8
• Due Mon., 2/4: Chap. 7 translation due.

8th Grade Project:

• Due Mon., 2/4: 60 notecards on topic due.

Moment of Zen

Tallest Surfed Wave

This past Monday, pro surfer Garrett McNamara (who, incidentally, is originally from Pittsfield), topped his own world record for tallest wave surfed, catching a wave off the Atlantic coast of Nazaré, Portugal thought to be over 100 feet tall. His previous record, set two years ago in Nazaré, was 78 feet tall. Click to read more about McNamara and the geological reasons that Nazaré gets such massive waves.