March 2011
46 posts
Not receiving the message [28 Feb 2011]
Welcome back! How does it feel to be starting your last Great Artists?
Fall Conferences: Please remind your parents to email me to schedule your March student-parent-teacher conference as soon as possible.
Humanities: Continue reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: John is in charge of the poetry prompt for tomorrow.
...
SPENT →
In case you are looking for the simulation that we talked about in class today, here’s SPENT.
NMY 7/8 March Conference Schedule 2011 →
Parents: This is a link to the schedule for the seventh and eighth grade March conferences. Your son/daughter will be attending the conference with you. Please email me with your preferred time. As slots are filled I will update the post to reflect such by adding the student’s initials in the appropriate place.
February 2011
47 posts
Piglet [18 Feb 2011]
Are your project reflections (science and humanities) posted?
Humanities: You can continue reading your book over break.
Humanities: Have you finalize your plans for the next project? They begin when we return to school on Monday, February 28.
Great Artists: Great Artists begins the day we return from break. Be ready to start working on your research and your projects. The name of your artist...
Dissertation Haiku →
You know what a dissertation is, yeah? Did you know that Laure is in the process of writing hers. Well, considering our explorations of poetry, Dissertation Haiku seems to be worthy of a mention:
Dissertations are long and boring. [Not Laure’s, of course!] By contrast, everybody likes haiku. So why not write your dissertation as a haiku?
An entire blog dedicated to haiku stand-ins for...
Meatscape [17 Feb 2011]
Thanks for lunch!
Humanities: Continue reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: Project reflections are due Friday.
Humanities: Finalize your plans for the next project by creating the expectations, descriptions, and timeline by tomorrow.
Herd of Turtles: Tomorrow is your last chance before we go on break to address any of the...
Calling All Parent Volunteers
Wednesday, March 2, 2011 is Pajamas and Pancakes/Read Across America Day and the PA needs your help! If you are interested in volunteering during the Pajamas and Pancakes event, please sign up here. Help will be needed to set up, cook pancakes, serve/deliver pancakes, and clean up. If you have any questions about volunteering for the Pajamas and Pancakes event, please email Sherilyn Clayes at...
Green, like Yoda [16 Feb 2011]
Due to your cooking project in science, we won’t have a humanities block tomorrow.
Humanities: Continue reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: Project reflections are due Friday.
Humanities: Finalize your projects plans by creating the expectations, descriptions, and timeline by Friday.
Herd of Turtles: Tonight’s...
Picnic
Weather permitting,
we’ll find a nice lawn,
share some food,
run around (but not too hard),
play fetch,
argue with each other,
and people-watch.
We’ll pack up
and go home
sooner or later.
If you wear pajamas,
or maybe even take some drugs,
we can call it
a baseball game.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner →
Here’s something that I posted to the tcsnmy7 blog a while back:
For tomorrow night’s* poem, I am sharing a lengthy one that I first encountered during high school: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Notice that I am just linking to the poem, not posting it here — it’s a long one that tells a story. And it’s famous, it even has its own Wikipedia entry, so...
Nubes [15 Feb 2011]
Due to your cooking project in science, we’ll have an extra-long humanities block tomorrow, and we will not have class on Thursday.
Humanities: Continue reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: Project reflections are due Friday.
Humanities: You’ll need to plan your next set of projects in class tomorrow. Bring your...
One-liners [14 Feb 2011]
Remember that there is no school next week.
Humanities: Continue reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: The history and government projects are due tomorrow.
Herd of Turtles: Tonight’s homework is to practice and try to master at least 20% of the concepts you are still missing. This is a proportion, so how much work you...
Three-Seven-Four/Three-Ninety-Nine [11 Feb 2011]
Did you promise to bring something for Monday’s lunch?
Humanities: Continue reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: The history and government projects are due Tuesday.
Science: In preparation for our cooking activities next week, please do some research about recipes and equipment that will be needed to complete the...
Tony's Waste Disposal Service [10 Feb 2011]
All ready for tomorrow evening?
Humanities: Continue reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: Post yet another poem (by someone else) of your choice to your blog by tomorrow.
Humanities: The history and government projects are due Tuesday (note the change). Are you on schedule? Have you found a variety of references for your...
Morning Meeting Spelling Bee →
Tati held a spelling bee as the activity for today’s Morning Meeting. If you are interested in reviewing the list of the “100 Most Often Misspelled Words” take a click over to the latest post on her blog.
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
I’m Nobody! Who are you?
Are you – Nobody – too?
Then there’s a pair of us?
Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!
How dreary – to be – Somebody!
How public – like a Frog –
To tell one’s name – the livelong June –
To an admiring Bog!
— Emily Dickinson
The Art of Disappearing
When they say Don’t I know you?
say no.
When they invite you to the party
remember what parties are like
before answering.
Someone telling you in a loud voice
they once wrote a poem. Greasy sausage balls on a paper plate.
Then reply.
If they say we should get together
say why?
It’s not that you don’t love them any more.
You’re trying to remember something
too important to forget....
Feeling out of the loop… [9 Feb 2011]
For your clipping convenience…
✂ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Humanities: Begin reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: Post yet another poem (by someone else) of your choice to your blog by tomorrow.
Humanities: The history and government projects...
Why I Need My Library →
Courtesy of Janie, here’s another video contest opportunity. You can help win up to $3,000 for the TCS library.
This Is Just To Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
—William Carlos Williams
Stakeout [8 Feb 2011]
Thanks to Anthony for today’s morning meeting treat!
Humanities: Begin reading your book. Be prepared to share its contents with your classmates from time to time.
Humanities: Post another poem (by someone else) of your choice to your blog by tomorrow.
Humanities: The history and government projects are due Monday. Are you on schedule? Have you found a variety of references for your...
Piñata-filled apartment [7 Feb 2011]
Don’t forget to RSVP for the dance on Friday.
Humanities: Have a copy of your book you chose by tomorrow.
Humanities: Take a look at the poetry resources that I posted to this blog earlier today. Post a poem (by someone else) of your choice to your blog by tomorrow.
Humanities: The history and government projects are due next Monday, February 14. Are you on schedule? Have you found a...
Book Club News
From Janie: Due to popular demand, the Book Club will review two books and anyone who wants to can join in — regardless of age! The first book will be Figgs and Phantoms, by Ellen Raskin, and will meet in the library at lunch time on Thursday, March 3. The second book will be Because of Mr. Terupt, by Rob Buyea and we will meet Friday, March 4 at lunch in the library. Read one or both, bring your...
YouTube - Animated Billy Collins →
As a final Billy Collins link for the day, take a look at the YouTube search results for animated Billy Collins.
Poetry 180 →
In conjunction with The Library of Congress, Bill Collins has created Poetry 180:
Poetry 180 is designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year. I have selected the poems you will find here with high school students in mind. They are intended to be listened to, and I suggest that all members of the school community be included as readers....
The Art of Poetry No. 83, Billy Collins →
Did you like that poem? Here’s an interview with Billy Collins from The Paris Review.
Introduction to Poetry Analysis
by Billy Collins
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.
But all...
RhymeZone Rhyming Dictionary and Thesaurus →
There are a variety of rhyming dictionaries available online that can be useful for writing poetry. Here are just a few of them.
Barbican - Can I Have A Word? →
The Barbican’s Can I Have A Word? provides activities that can help you begin writing poetry. The four topics are “Changing Voices”, “The Elements”, “The Human Body”, and “The Odyssey”. Give one a try and report back with your creation.
The Poetry Foundation →
This is the first of a series of links to online poetry resources. The Poetry Foundation helps you find poems and poets. It is an opportunity to discover poetry by allowing you to search by poet, category, occasion, title, first line, and glossary term. The content of the site includes numerous audio files, including podcasts, and video files. Don’t miss the Poetry Learning Lab and the iPhone OS...
The Big Picture
Just a reminder: A full look at TCS’s eighth grade program should include visits to Carwai’s NMY Math Science 7/8 blog, Rosana’s Español NMY, and Laure’s TCSNMY Film & Photography blog. Also, don’t miss the rest of the links in the sidebar on the right, especially the initials pointing to student blogs. Been there lately?
Science as Art - Clemson University contest for... →
TCS Parent Amy Conover sends along this interesting website:
Sometimes, science and art meet in the middle. Visual representations of science and technology provide a valuable connection between scientists, artists and the general public. Since its inception in 2006, “Science as Art” has challenged those at Clemson University as well as South Carolina high school students to share the powerful...
World Book Online →
From Janie: World Book Online has a lot for kids from non-readers to High School. Our TCS subscription link is Worldbookonline/TCSLJ. If you enter from campus, you don’t need a password. You can enter anywhere else by going to worldbookonline with user name ‘tcslj’ and password ‘read’. I hope you have a chance to look at it with your child. It’s fun!
F.A.B. →
In case you missed it, here’s a link to Laure’s impressions of the Community Meeting that you all led last Friday.
You are who you eat. [4 Feb 2011]
Thank you to Larry Schwimmer for sharing his coin collection and delving into history with us this morning. Also, kudos to TCSNMY7 and TCSNMY8 on this morning’s Community Meeting.
Humanities: Choose a book by Monday. Have a copy of your book by Tuesday. Note: See Google Docs for the list of books that were discussed in class, but do not feel obligated to choose one from that list.
...
ThinkQuest : Competition →
Anyone interested in participating in ThinkQuest 2011?
This exciting competition challenges students to apply their critical thinking, communication, and technology skills to a real-world problem. Teams research, develop, and test their solution before presenting it to a global audience.
As always, let me know.
Tom Swifties Adverbial Puns →
As requested by Tobin…
To each his own [3 Feb 2011]
For what it’s worth, I am encouraged by your willingness to try a different approach our next for book reading session. Don’t be afraid of trying something new.
Humanities: Choose a book by Monday. Have a copy of your book by Tuesday. Note: See Google Docs for the list of books that were discussed in class, but do not feel obligated to choose one from that list.
Humanities: The history and...
Groundhog Day →
This is tonight’s extra credit for anyone with access to a Netflix account.
5000 years in 124 slides [2 Feb 2011]
Thank you to Wendy and Trevor for today’s Chinese New Year celebration! Thank you to Alex for a fascinating walk though the history of China!
Humanities: The class will discuss the next reading series tomorrow. Come prepared with suggestions: books, poems, stories, etc.
Humanities: The history and government projects are due on Monday, February 14. Are you on schedule? Have you found a...
Resolutions [1 Feb 2011]
Expect an altered schedule tomorrow was we celebrate Chinese New Year a little early with lunch and a visit from the Chinese Historical Society.
Canyon Cleanup: Can you make it to the canyon cleanup event this coming Saturday? Let Carwai know.
Humanities: Interested in watching Animal Farm? Click through for two options.
Humanities: The history and government projects are due on Monday,...
