news and notes 10/30/07

Upcoming Events:

10/31 Halloween
11-5-9 ERB,s, There will be no homework.
11/16-17 Twelfth Night

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime + post-it notes. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Math:
PS Packet #7: Graphs and Charts #7,due 11/5
SMJ 70 and 71, SL 2.7, due tomorrow

French: not on the board

Spanish: Sentences for your Halloween Costume, due 10/31

Other: Book Orders due 11/15

Notes:

Well, today Kathryn Lee visited to talk to students about doing small service projects. The hope is that every student will take up a small project they can do on their own. We'll be talking more about documenting and this work later in the week.

Joke:

A young man driving his convertible car with his loud music and cool demeanor pulls up to a stop light next to this young mother and 4 year old son. The little boy looks at the man and turns to his mom and says; “poor man his car is broken.”

news and notes 10/29/07

Upcoming Events:

10/31 Halloween
11-5-9 ERB,s, There will be no homework.
11/16-17 Twelfth Night

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime + post-it notes. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Math:
PS Packet #7: Graphs and Charts #7,due 11/5
SMJ 66-67
Study guide, due 10/30
Quiz tomorrow

French: not on the board

Spanish: Sentences for your Halloween Costume, due 10/31

Other: Book Orders due 11/15

Science: Show book, due 10/30

Notes:

I can hardly stand the anticipation! Reading Buddies begins Friday! OMG!

Bob Barcklay has kindly posted our pictures from the farm on the web. The link is http://picasaweb.google.com/barcklay/LivePower?authkey=XD3M3dJVIyQ

Arella and Katie created another farm related website. It www.orangelo4peace.ning.com.

Joke:

Ladies and gentlemen, hobos and tramps,
Bug-eyed mosquitoes and bowlegged ants!
I'm about to tell you a story I've never heard before,
So pull up a chair and sit on the floor.
Admission is free, so pay at the door.

One fine day, in the middle of the night,
two, dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back, they faced each other,
drew their swords and shot each other.
A deaf policeman heard the noise,
and saved the lives of the two dead boys.
If you don't believe my lies are true,
ask the blind man, he saw it too!

news and notes 10/25/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime + post-it notes. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Math:
not on the board

French: not on the board

Spanish: not on the board

Other: Book Orders due 11/15

Notes:

I'm slowly making my way through students' Sustainability Notebooks. I've been impressed by the way many students mixed their imaginations with the facts about the natural world in Bay Area. I'm looking forward to our return to our Sustainable World later this year.

Joke:

TEACHER: What is the chemical formula for water?
SARAH: "HIJKLMNO"!
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
SARAH: Yesterday you said its H to O!

news and notes 10/24/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime + post-it notes. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Math:
Slash strategies in MJ

French: not on the board

Spanish: not on the board

Other: Book Orders due 11/15

Notes:

I had the pleasure of reading everyone's first piece of writing for the year. Everyone clearly worked hard to craft great pieces that reflect their personalities and priorities as writers. Of course there are things to work on: editing, spelling, punctuation, but there's a lot to celebrate: humor, sadness, fun. Thanks for your writing!!

Joke:
Q: Why did the three pigs run away from home?
A: Because their father was a boar!

news and notes 10/19/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Humanities: Finish definitions for Environmental Sustainability chapter, due 10/23

Math:
Packet work
SMJ 63, 65
SL 2.6

French:

Spanish:

Science: Chapter 7: Good Life reading, due 10/23

Other:

Notes:

Have a great weekend!

Joke:

Two buddies are fishing, but they haven’t caught anything all day. Then, another fisherman walks by with a huge load of fish. They ask him "excuse me, but where did you get all those fish?"
The other fisherman replies,” If you just go down the stream until the water isn't salty, there are a ton of hungry fish."
They thank him and go on their way. 15 minutes later, one fisherman says to the other "fill the bucket up with water and see if the water is salty."
He dips the bucket in the stream and drinks some. "Nope. Still salty." 30 minutes later, he asks him to check again.
"Nope, still salty." One our later they check again. "Nope. Still salty."
"This isn't good," the fisherman finally says. "We have been walking for almost two hours and the water is still salty!"
"I know," says the other. "And the bucket is almost empty!"

news and notes 10/18/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Humanities: Sustainability Notebooks, due 10/19
Finish definitions for Environmental Sustainability chapter, due 10/23

Math:
Bring graphs if you forgot today
SMJ 60
SL 2.5

French:

Spanish: Wrong or right sentences

Science: Ecological footprint, due 10/19
Good Life reading, due 10/23

Other:

Notes:

6S did amazing work unpacking the info in a chapter from the book Stuff. Now they know more than most people do about the making of soda in a can. Ask them about!

Joke:

In the middle of a forest, there was a hunter who was suddenly confronted by a huge, mean bear.
In his fear, all attempts to shoot the bear were unsuccessful. Finally, he turned and ran as fast as he could. The hunter ran and ran and ran, until he ended up at the edge of a very steep cliff. His hopes were dim.
Seeing no way out of his predicament, and with the bear closing in rather quickly, the hunter got down on his knees, opened his arms, and exclaimed, "Dear God! Please give this bear some religion!"
The skies darkened and there was lightning in the air. Just a few feet short of the hunter, the bear came to abrupt stop, and glanced around, somewhat confused.
Suddenly, the bear looked up into the sky and said, "Thank you God, for the food I'm about to receive..."

news and notes 10/16/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Humanities: Sustainability Notebooks, due 10/19
Finish definitions for Environmental Sustainability chapter, due 10/23

Math:
SL 2.4
test corrections
SMJ 57
bring in graphs
review SRB 4

French: not on the board

Spanish: not on the board

Science: Ecological footprint, due 10/19
Good Life reading, due 10/23

Other:

Notes:

We celebrated our first piece of writing today. I was really impressed with everyone's commitment to their own writing, and to reading and suppporting the writing of others. I'm looking forward to the work we'll do throughout the year in our writing notebooks.

Because of picture day we had to struggle through a humanities lesson at the end of the day. It wasn't easy, but thanks for all your hard work

Joke:

So there's this man with a parrot. And his parrot swears like a sailor, I mean he's a pistol. He can swear for five minutes straight without repeating himself.
The trouble is that the guy who owns the parrot is a quiet, conservative type, and this bird's foul mouth is driving him crazy.
One day, it gets to be too much, so the guy grabs the bird by the throat, shakes him really hard, and yells, "QUIT IT!" But this just makes the bird mad and he swears more than ever.
Then the guy gets mad and says, "That's it. I'll get you." and locks the bird in a kitchen cabinet.
This really aggravates the bird and he claws and scratches, and when the guy finally lets him out, the bird cuts loose with a stream of invective that would make a veteran sailor blush.
At that point, the guy is so mad that he throws the bird into the freezer.
For the first few seconds, there is a terrible din. The bird kicks and claws and thrashes. Then it suddenly goes very quiet.
At first the guy just waits, but then he starts to think that the bird may be hurt. After a couple of minutes of silence, he's so worried that he opens up the freezer door.
The bird calmly climbs onto the man's outstretched arm and says, "Awfully sorry about the trouble I gave you. I'll do my best to improve my vocabulary from now on."
The man is astounded. He can't understand the transformation that has come over the parrot.
Then the parrot says, "By the way, what did the chicken do?"

(Many thanks to Bob!)

news and notes 10/15/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week
Your typed piece is due Tuesday. Get ready to celebrate!

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime. Use the new Reading Log 2.0

Humanities: Sustainability Notebooks, due 10/19
Finish reading Environmental Sustainability, due 10/16

Math:
SMJ 53-56
test corrections
doggone decimals
SRB 235

French: not on the board

Spanish: not on the board

Other:

Notes:

Today was a busy day with lice checks, and tomorrow we'll be celebrating our writing and taking pictures. I hope that we'll be able to enjoy the outdoors this week, but it looks like it'll be wet once again.

Joke:

“Have you got any kittens going cheap?” Asked a customer in a pet shop.
“No, sir,” replied the owner. “All our kittens go “Meow.”

news and notes 10/12/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week
Your typed piece is due Tuesday. Get ready to celebrate!

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime

Humanities: Sustainability Notebooks, due 10/19
Finish reading Environmental Sustainability, due 10/16

Math:
SMJ 50, 51
PS Packet #4
SL 2.3

French: not on the board

Spanish: not on the board

Tech:

Other: Izzy , your AUP is due.

Notes:

Have a great weekend!

Joke:

Q: What does a bankrupt frog say?
A: "Baroke, baroke, baroke."

news and notes 10/11/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime

Humanities: Sustainability Notebooks, due 10/19

Math:
SMJ 47,48, 49
pg 20
SL 2.2
Estimation Exploration
Graphs

French: Go on the blog

Spanish: Wrong and right sentences, due 10/12

Tech:

Other: Izzy , your AUP is due.

Notes:

Today's news is lice. Please remember to do lice checks for the next 3 weeks at home. We'll have a lice check at school on Monday.
Great work today, 6S. You were focused and so committed to your work AND managed to make every day this month something special.

Joke:

Some boy scouts from the city were on a camping trip. The mosquitoes were so fierce, the boys had to hide under their blankets to avoid being bitten. Then one of them saw some lightning bugs and said to his friend, "We might as well give up. They're coming after us with flashlights.

news and notes 10/10/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime

Humanities: Sustainability Notebooks, due 10/19

Math:
SMJ 44, 45
pg 19 odd or even
SL 2.1
SMJ 47 #1,2

French: Go on the blog

Spanish: Wrong and right sentences, due 10/12

Tech:

Other: Izzy , your AUP is due.

Notes:

I'm noticing a troubling trend with homework. Last week many students did not finish a reading assignment for class and today I found that only one out of nine students had made recent entries in their writing journals. The homework we do in homeroom is not overly demanding or just busy work. I expect all students to consistently do their homework, and to discuss it with me when they cannot. Needless to say, I'm not happy about this.

So, why aren't we getting our homework done 6s?

Joke:

During a training exercise, an army unit was late for afternoon inspection.
“Where are those camouflage trucks?” the irate colonel barked.
“They’re here somewhere,” replied the sergeant, “but we can’t find’em.”

Websites to go to for info for your Sustainability Notebooks

These are the sites that we've used in class.

• http://www.sparrowcreek.com/Sinew.htm
• wildwoodsurvival.com
• primitiveways.com
• natureskills.com (chose “primitive skills”)
• abotech.com/Articles/Articlemain.htm
• primitiveskillslinks.com
• http://www.alpharubicon.com/primitive/tanningdragoona.htm
• http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/miwok_material_culture/
• http://www.cccoe.net/miwokproject/Lesson5.html
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld (click on terrestrial ecoregions of the world)
  

news and notes 10/3/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime

Humanities: Finish skimming and scanning, and reading Chapter 1: Sustainability. Complete the KWL chart. Work for no more than 30 minutes, due 10/4

Math:
Estimation Exploration
Graphs

French: Read page 10, make flashcards, due 10/10

Spanish: Sentences due 10/10

Tech: Tech survey 10/4

Other: Izzy and Jared, your AUPs are due.

Notes:

Today we did some intense academic reading. Even so I think we did it in a way that made it possible for everyone to develop a deeper understanding of sustainability.

Don't forget: Tomorrow is a minimum day.

Joke:

Question: What goes up and never comes down?
Answer: Up

news and notes 10/2/07 otherwise knows as 6S BTSN

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime

Math:
SMJ 36, 38
Estimation Exploration
Math problems every night

French: Date assignment, write in words, due Wednesday 10/3

Spanish: 14 flashcards and sheet

Tech: Tech survey 10/4

Other: Izzy and Jared, your AUPs are due.

Notes:

Today I'll be meeting parents briefly to show off our class a little and talk about my expectations of the school year. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone's parents (I think I've met most of them). Although we are only a little more than a month into the school year, we've done a lot as a class, including live on a farm for 4 days. I hope to share a little of what we do (like, What's the News?) and what we've learned.

Unfortunately I heard some bad news from Abigail today. Most students did not complete the homework for her today. Was it because you did not write it in your planners?

Joke:

Computers are like conditioners. They work fine until you start opening windows.

news and notes 10/1/07

Homework:

Writing: 15 minutes, 4 nights a week

Reading: 15 minutes 4 nights a week + entries in reading log everytime

Math:
SMJ 34, 35, 37
SL 1.10
Estimation Exploration
Math problems every night

French: Date assignment, write in words, due Wednesday 10/3

Spanish: 14 flashcards and sheet

Tech: Tech survey 10/2

Other: Izzy and Jared, your AUPs are due.

Notes:

Congratulations to the newest big brother in our class - Jared Warren - and his parents. The newest addition to the Warren family is adorable.

Joke:

A dog thinks: Hey, these people I live with love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... They must be Gods!
A cat thinks: Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me, and take good care of me... I must be a God!