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January 5, 2009
Happy New Year and welcome back. I am sure you were all bored and couldn't wait to get back to school.
An interesting potpourri of topics today ranging from beach houses to making inferences, to idioms (slang). I particularly liked it when we were talking about idioms or slang for telling your friends someone is good looking. I particularly liked it when K****** asked, "In your time, what did you say if someone is good looking?"
"In my time?"
I of course mentioned that in my time we lacked even basic communication skills, so if we hit someone on the head with our clubs.
 An excerpt from "Prehistoric Eclipse":
"He ran towards me, (body) hair flowing in the wind..."
December 19, 2008
A snow day.
If you did not read about my wonderful day yesterday, read my posting below. It continued today.
I got up at about six this morning and left the house about seven. I wanted to buy some snacks for the party. I also decided to buy a couple of new dvd's. Knowing that Walmart is basically open all day and night now, I headed there. It is quiet in Walmart at 7:20 in the morning, so I walked around, bought some pop, chips, candy, plates, cups, and ice. I also bought some dvd's to choose a movie for this afternoon. Left Walmart just about 8:00 am to go to the school.
On the way, I decided that I would stop at Sobey's for a couple small presents for the custodians. I then grabbed a Tim Horton's coffee and got to the school (in the now very nasty snow) about 8:30. I thought it was weird that there were only about 7 or 8 cars, but I lugged all of the boxes and snacks up the stairs. I then noticed that the before and after school program was not in the library, as usual, and things seemed mighty quiet.
I walked down the stairs and checked the door..."School Closed" was written on a piece of paper and taped to the window.
I sat in the classroom for about a half an hour before the custodian came in and told me the he had to close the school up and he was leaving.
Merry Christmas, everyone. We will definitely look at having our pizza and some kind of post Christmas party in the new year.
December 18, 2008
They say, "bad things come in threes."
They're wrong. Here is my day:
1. Push the automatic garage door button this morning. The garage breaks and comes off the rollers. I prop it up with a ladder and quickly get ready to take off to school. Leave door open. Talk to sleeping 19 year old son to make sure that if I get ahold of someone to fix the door, he will be awake and able to communicate with them.
2. Too late to stop by the river to collect the water sample for the experiment.
3. Hands still covered in grease from the garage door, I accidentally wipe my hands on my shirt. Run into house to change shirt.
4. Realize I have appointment today in afternoon. Quickly try to find a supply teacher.
5. Go to appointment. On the way, call the garage mechanic to tell him that the clutch on my wifes car is sticking. Describe the way it is sticking. Mechanic says, "That's not good." It is not good when your mechanic says it is not good.
6. Decide that I need to test the dvd for Friday with my laptop. Laptop quits and when I turn it on, it refuses to boot and goes into a loop. All data on the laptop is gone.
7. Decide to use my son's computer (which is new) to play the dvd. Sound doesn't work. I take out sound card and put in another. Still no luck.
8. Go to store and decide to buy a new dvd player and speakers to have at school.
9. Realize that I have spent about four hours just trying to find something to play a movie at school.
December 17, 2008
We talked about our ski trip in February. We are heading out to Boler Mountain here in London for a day of skiing. Skiing is what I love to do most of any outdoor activity. My wife, Emi, grew up near the Rocky Mountains (after she moved to Canada when she was about eleven). She grew up skiing the big mountains and was a great skier when I met her. I grew up in St. Thomas. We did not ski...played a lot of hockey, but as my parents were not the outdoorsy types, we did not camp or ski.
When my kids were young, they began ski lessons and soon were really good skiers. We did not have a lot of money in those days so I did not get to ski with them, and as my wife was used to huge mountains, she grew tired quickly of skiing around London. When my oldest son was about ten I bought my first pair of skis. Fortunately, my uncle and aunt own a cottage in Collingwood and we were able to go and ski there many times. I was able to learn fairly quickly. I think it is because I played hockey for so long, and a hockey stop and a ski stop are the same. Once you are confident stopping, it is easy not to get worried about falling over the side of the mountain or running into trees.
I have been skiing now for about nine years. I love it! I know you will all love it too. It is a great family sport and my kids still love going with us on ski vacations (they are now snowboarders but can still do both).
I am going to Mount Tremblant in Quebec over the holidays for a week of skiing!
December 16, 2008
Check out Mr. Spleen's site for a good dialogue of his conversation with "a high quality pizza maker guy".
Too funny. He also has a pie survey (important to those of you who want Friday pie).
December 15, 2008
Well, we just got finished playing the senior girls and boys volleyball teams. Teachers versus students...wow! I think we all know who now has the best vertical jump of any 46 year old male teacher on staff (born in October who also has a twin).
Too much fun. I don't deserve to be so happy. Hey, that reminds me of the end of my favourite holiday film, the 1951 version of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol. This stars Alistair Sim, the best of all the Scrooges.
(this is the ending so if you have never seen it you may wish to wait!
 December 11, 2008
Never found my muse yesterday; hence, the short entry. Sorry. I feel shame (movie reference...remember? A TV interviewer with the goalie of the team). Here is the dialogue to that reference. A hockey "classic".
Intereviewer: Denis, I know that some in our audience don't know the finer points of hockey. Could you tell them, for example, what is icing?
Denis: Well, icing happen when the puck come down, bang, you know, before the other guys, nobody there, you know. My arm go comes out, then the game stop then start up. Interviewer: I see. What is high-sticking? Denis: High-sticking happen when the guy take the stick, you know, and he go like that. You don't do that. Oh, no. Never, never. Interviewer: Why not? Denis: Against the rules. You stupid when you do that, some pig with no brains... Interviewer: Denis, what is slashing? Denis: Slashing is like that (hits interviewer on shin with stick), you know? Interviewer: Mm-hm. And there's a penalty for that? Denis: Yeah. And for trip also, you know. Like that. And for hook like this. And for spear, you know, like that (trips, hooks and spears interviewer with stick). All bad. You do that, you go to the box, you know. Interview: Mm-hm. Denis: Two minutes by yourself, and you feel shame, you know. And then you get free. CLASSIC!
December 10, 2008
I was away yesterday so I didn't post. We had a boys basketball practice after school so I am just back in our room thinking of a post.
I am thinking that I will need to do some more thinking. I will post later this evening when I find my muse.
December 8, 2008
Math test....check. Science test...double check. Now I need to mark them all. What was I thinking?
It is weird with the laptops gone. I will pick them up as soon as I can this week. In the meantime, we have some computer time tomorrow that we can use. I would like to get all of the filming out of the way for our first round of videos so that we can begin to create our video or audio series. You will work to create a production every two weeks around an idea or concept. Mine, as you know, is entitled "Life Lessons". I think it will be a big hit!
December 5, 2008
Don't forget our science test! Remember, the test will include some of the questions directly from the chapter review and key words/ concepts from the chapter (e.g., define the word "dissolve" and draw a picture to represent dissolving at the particle level).
 December 4, 2008
Most of you looked at your fingers and fingernails under the objective lens of a microscope today. I know that many of your were horrified by what you saw. Most of us don't realize how dirty our hands really are. With all the ridges and openings in the human skin, we collect a lot of "junk" throughout the day. A thorough hand washing takes approximately 20 second and requires scrubbing and soap.
When you get to the site, just launch the video. Very interesting. No wonder some famous people (and lots of normal people) are "germaphobes".
There is a downside to being to fastidious about being clean. Being too overly-cautious about germs can mean we do not build up the normal immunities to many illnesses and we become, ironically, more susceptible to disease.
December 3, 2008
My wife and I celebrated our 20th anniversary today...so no post. I trust you'll forgive me :-)
December 2, 2008
Remember to finish your survey using Survey Monkey and create an advertisement page. There are good ads on these sites, so use them as a model:
I need you to add your "Blogger" site to your Google account and to create your template. This will be used for your videos instead of a YouTube account. This will allow us some more flexibility. Link it to this page like I have done.
Their needs to be some consistent items on all of your sites. Remember:
1. Links to students site on your sidebar
2. A link to our class homepage on the sidebar
3. A completed survey in Survey Monkey
4. A page that advertises your survey
5. Create a Blogger account and create a link to that at the top of your "Musings" side.
December 1, 2008
Today we talked about some standard "themes" in writing.
What are the most common writing themes, you may ask yourself. Your conversation with yourself may look like this:
"Self", I says. "What are the most common themes in writing?"
Love
Loss
Pain
Hope
Courage
Friendship
Good versus Evil
Coming of Age (usually, maturing or coming to an understanding that makes you a deeper, or wiser person)
Obviously, most of these themes come in a varitey of forms. The love theme is not simply, boy meets girl, boy gets girl or girl meets boy, girl gets boy (although that is a very common movie theme), it could be theme like "forbidden love" like in Romeo and Juliet.
Based upon my sketchy knowledge of Twightlight (take the suvey on The Black Angel's Site -- I obviously failed it), it seems to me that the general theme may be that of forbidden love. Am I right?
November 30, 2008
I have created a class Youtube site for whole class projects. The link is over on the musings side and will stay at the top. Check out Sens4Life's site as a model of what you can do to personalize your site as well.
Despite his anti-Leafs rhetoric, his site is great.
November 28, 2008
Report card day...
My report card always said, "Jim finishes first and then disrupts the other students".
~ Jim Carrey ~
 Report cards are a snapshot of your progress. What you do with what you learn about yourself in each report makes all the difference.
Not much has changed about report cards and kids since I went to school. Students generally fall into four categories:
1. Students who know they will get great marks (but who are still nervous anyway).
2. Students who are know that some marks will be good, some will be poor, and know exactly why (although they always hope that the bad marks will not be so bad that their parents will really take notice).
3. Students who hope that their teacher did not pay attention to their work and will give them a general in-the-middle mark that they can get away with (i.e., grandma will still cough up a few bucks for a passing report card.
4. Students who lose their report cards (along with their homework and most of their winter clothing).
Overall, a great term!
November 27, 2008 part 2
Thanks to Mr. Spleen for fixing his survey. I now know that he is not fixated on "witches".
By the way, here is some information on "the spleen" (as opposed to Mr. Spleen).
November 27, 2008
Check out Mr. Spleen's survey. It is a great model of the kind of survey that you can do. Ten questions that really stumped me. I particularly like question #10.
One question I have for Mr. Spleen though is, "Why are there witches mentioned in many questions?"
Which witch did you mean to use at the start of your questions (hint, hint)?
 November 26, 2008
Not much time to post tonight as I have my sister-in-law in from Edmonton just for the evening. We are having a traditional Japanese meal called nabemono (nabe = cooking pot + mono = things, stuff, kinds). It is "table-top" cooking and it is great for enjoying a long meal with friends that you have not seen in a while. That way, you can have a long conversation and a long meal without worrying that your food will get cold.
 November 25, 2008
Next time I decide to make polymer balls in class, I need to remember to do them the last period after recess. I think some students were "done" after making their bouncy ball out of Borax, corn starch, warm water and white glue.
Here is the recipe I used. It is an American link so remember that:
1 Teaspoon is approximately 5mL
1 Tablespoon is approximately 15mL
All of the ingredients are common. I bought the corn starch and the Borax at the Sobey's down the street. You don't need a lot of Borax, but it only comes in one size. It cost me about $6.00 and about $1.50 for the corn starch.
 About Polymers
ConceptsA polymer is a chemical compound formed from long chains of the same molecule group, repeating over and over. Principles
Facts
http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/agesubject/lessons/polymer.html All the sites seem to be back online. If you didn't realize your site was effected, then you will be surprised if you get an email for Google apologizing.
URGENT!!!
(WEll, MAYBE NOT URGENT BUT SEMI-IMPORTANT)
Some of your sites have been disabled by Google for "violating the terms and conditions of the agreement". If you get this message, don't worry. It has happened before to one other student and it turns out it is all a mistake. Don't know why but we will talk tomorrow. I have emailed Google with all of the problem sites. They should have them up again in the next couple or few days.
That is what happened in the other case so I assume it will fine again. Frustrating, I know, but it will all work out.
November 24, 2008
We started to read the book "Un Lun Dun" by China Mieville today. It is a wonderful book and the winner of the 2008 Locus Award for the Young Adult Book category.
 The book is set in England and the characters first introduced are all females attending a "comprehensive school". A comprehensive school is a "secondary school" that usually begins in grade seven (so, most students start when they are about twelve years old). Until then, they attend a "primary school".
The terms are a little different than here as we tend to use "elementary" and "secondary" school. Most students in Thames Valley (our school board) attend a kindergarten to grade eight school and then move on to high school. Some schools are still kindergarten to grade six and the students generally go to a large kindergarten to grade eight school if they leave for grades seven and eights. That is like the Northdale/Northridge connection.
We used to have a number of grade seven and eight-only schools but most of them have been changed now to kindergarted to grade eight. We have one school left that is grade seven, eight and nine. That is Annandale School in Tillsonburg. It will soon change too. We also have a few schools that have other different grades (kindergarten to grade three, kindergarten to grade four, grades five to eight). For the most part, these will eventually change as our board wants to stick with just the two kinds of schools -- elementary and secondary.
Other boards and provinces have different school configurations. My sister used to teach in a "middle school" in Toronto that was grades six, seven and eight. Other middle schools can be grades four to eight or grades five to eight. My wife went to school in Alberta and they had elementary (kindergarten to grade six, junior high school (grades seven, eight and nine) and senior high school (grades ten, eleven and twelve).
Anyway, as we read the book, I think you will see that, for the most part, students who are twelve in England act, talk and do many of the same things that students who are twelve in Canada do.
I hope you enjoy the book.
It has two book covers. The one I have (the second one below), and a different one (just below). I like the one below as it has a neat character on the cover that we will be introduced to a little later in the book.
  By the way...the snail in the posting comes from the book too.
November 21, 2008
...keep losing Internet connection...will post later...arg!
November 20, 2008
"Misinformation"
 If we live in the "Age of Information", then we also live in the parallel universe of the "Age of Misinformation". Because almost everyone in the world with a computer connected to the Internet can connect with any other persons in the world with a computer conncected to the Internet, then we know that any information can be transimitted to large groups of people all over the world withing seconds. If you look at my hit counter now it is at 3127. We have 30 kids in the class. That means that either everyone has visited over 100 times or I have had other "visitors" that may or may not know me.
So, what if I post a wrong fact here and claim it to be true.
Like, "In Canada, winters are so cold that many adults choose to be put into a coma-like state in order to hibernate through the long winter months."
What if, by the end of the year, I have (at the rate I am going), about 10 000 hits. What if 10% of the people reading my site learn new information from my site that they think is absolutely true. Then, what if they post this information on their websites and others visiting teir sites believe it is true. Well, soon there could be grade three students in England doing a class project on Canada talking about "hibernating Canadians".
Be careful about what you use on your website. Do the research even if you "think" you hear it from a reliable source.
Case in point. I posted some facts about different schooling days and routines around the world the other day. I talked about it in class and mentioned schooling in Japan (of course, most of you know my wife is Japanese and I lived and taught in Japan, so I do have some reliable background information.
I mentioned that the school day is roughly 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and that there is usually a half day on Saturday. I also mentioned that many older elementary student and high school students take extra classes at night or on weekends in order to prepare for "entrance examinations" (to try to get into prestigious high schools or universities).
I also mentioned that there were certain traits in different cultures that had some meaning. For example, in the example I gave a few days ago I mentioned that the "tanuki" had a big belly which meant bold and decisive. I also mentioned that in parts of the Orient, big ears were considered much beter than small ears. I also mentioned that many Japanese ar Buddhists and the image of Buddha has large ears. Here is an excerpt:
In Western culture small ears close to the head are thought to be the most beautiful, but in the Orient large ears are looked upon as auspicious because they indicate wisdom and compassion.
Well, some students took this information and posted it to their websites without checking for understanding.
Here are some examples of what the final results were.
The thing I learned about was that in Japan you have to go to school from 7:00 a.m to 5:00 pm! That's ten hours of school a day!
Not so bad, just an hour off...then.
Today we talked about Buddha , the japaese king .
Definitely not correct.
He also told us that the chinese had a saying that was that if you had big ears that meant you had good luck
Youch! I am not going to be the one to tell my wife she is she is Chinese and not Japanese.
Be careful, everyone. A little bit of "misinformation" goes a long way.
November 19, 2008
Survey Monkeys out there?
We will be designing and conducting a survey to send out to as many other schools that will participate.
The fact of the matter is that most people will respond to surveys that are closed as they will want to do them quickly and painlessly. If you get a chance tonight, register at Survey
Monkey. Just click on the monkey below to get to the site! Register with your website username and password so you will easily remember it. Use the "Join Now for Free" button. We will use the free tools on this site as they are more than enough for us.
 We will use this data to create more meaningful, large-scale reports using Quattro Pro and Presentations.
November 18, 2008 Part 2
Well, I finished off first term marks and a draft of the reports. The reality is that teachers have to finish reports and submit to the office about a week to ten days before the reports go home. They need to be printed, proof-read, edited, printed again, signed, copied, and stuffed into envelopes. It all takes time while we continue to teach.
So...about the Epsom Salts we used today in science. I won't mention the other use of this salt if ingested (but you probably all remember that it is a "laxative" home remedy -- ew!).
From:
Some facts.
Epsom salts are made up of a naturally occurring mineral that is found in water. More properly known as magnesium sulfate, Epsom salts derives its popular name from the town of Epsom, England, where the compound was first distilled from water. The chemical formula for Epsom salts is a rather simplistic one: MgS04-7H2.
Epsom salts are easily obtained at any drug store or supermarket. Inexpensive and versatile, the salts can be used for a number of different applications around the home. Many of the applications have to do with expediting healing, as well as improving the quality of the skin and helping with basic grooming. Perhaps the most popular application is the Epsom salts bath. As an ideal means of relieving stress at the end of a hard day, two cups of Epsom salts in a tub of hot water can help to soothe jangled nerves and restore a sense of well being. This one application makes Epsom salts a staple in many bathrooms around the world. Cleansing is also a common use for Epsom salts. Many people make use of EEpsom salt compounds to exfoliate skin, applying a paste of salts with a little water to the skin, then rinsing with clean warm water. Homemade skin masks that help with oily skin can be created, using the salts as the base ingredient. Along with the Epsom salts, the mask requires a small amount of lemon juice, an egg, and a small amount of nonfat dry milk. In situations where there is not time to wash hair, Epsom salts can be used to partially clean the follicles, making it easier to comb and set the hairdo. Treating minor sprains and bruises with Epsom salts is also thought to be very effective. A simple Epsom salt bath applied to the area of the sprain or the bruise will provide relief to the impacted area, helping to reduce swelling and minimize the soreness. Immersing the area in warm water and Epsom salts for twenty to thirty minutes not only provides physical relief from the ailment, but also can be refreshing for the mind as well. November 18, 2008
I will post later tonight...gotta finish off with those marks!
Bwah-haa-haa!
November 17, 2008
You can always tell when teachers are working on report cards. They get this glazed over look and have dark circles around their eyes.
My wife tells me I look like a raccoon.
Tanuki Mario...
"Tanuki" is Japanese for raccoon (raccoon dog, to be exact).. They think raccoons are really cute.
There is actually a holiday in honour of the tanuki.
Organizers chose November 8 as the date for the Tanuki holiday because the emperor made his famous visit in November and because the tanuki has special (8) traits that bring good fortune. I won't mention all the traits, the seventh trait of the tanunki is a big belly that symbolizes bold decisiveness Middle age men (like me) are particularly fond of that one. I am bold and decisive, not overweight.
November 13, 2008
Seems like the days fly by right now and that we can never fit enough into the time we are given. I know you probably don't feel this way but I could probably add another hour onto the day just to get through all that I would like to.
Next week, I would like to finish the raw footage for all of the videos. I am hoping that we will have our co-op student every afternoon and we can set up a fixed schedule, including recesses if you need to film inside. I have the two cameras and I will also allow for a one-night sign out.
A sneak preview our next term.
 November 11, 2008
Remembrance Day.
When we heard "The Last Post" today, I know that many students did not know why we were listening to that particular tune.
Here is the tune, The Last Post
Here is the reason.
"The Last Post" was originally a bugle call used in British Army camps to signal the end of the day. The name derives from the practice of inspecting all the sentry posts around such a camp at the end of the day, and playing a bugle call at each of them. The "last post" was thus the last point of this inspection, and the bugle call signalling that this post had been inspected marked the end of the military day. This custom dates from at least the 17th century, and originated with British troops stationed in The Netherlands, where it drew on an older Dutch custom, called Taptoe. The Taptoe was also used to signal the end of the day, but has more prosaic origin. Taptoe originated signalling the moment that beer barrels had to be shut, hence that the day had ended. It comes from the Dutch phrase Doe den tap toe, meaning "Turn the tap off" (not to be confused with "Taps" which has a similar function but different tune and origin).
During the 19th century, "Last Post" was also carried to the various countries of the British Empire. In all these countries it has been incorporated into military funerals, where it is played as a final farewell, symbolising the fact that the duty of the dead soldier is over and that they can rest in peace. November 10, 2008
It is a jolt to return to class after a few days at the symposium I was at. The symposium was entitled "Poverty in Education" and it was about issues that impact children who live in poverty.
Here are some sad statistics on poverty in Ontario.
• 1 in 8 children in Ontario – 345,000 -- live in poverty when income is measured after taxes.
- Before income taxes, 1 in every 6 children lives in poverty. • A job is not a guaranteed pathway out of poverty.- 70% of all low-income children live in families with at least one parent working, part-time or full-time. • Having to rely on social assistance is a guarantee of poverty.- Rates are lower now than at any time since 1967. 67% of children on social assistance are in female lone-parent families. • Poor families are in deep poverty.- The average two-parent low-income family lives $10,000 below the poverty line. • Poverty rates for children in Aboriginal, racialized, new immigrant and lone motherled families are at least double the average rate.Campaign 2000 staff presented at one of the workshops I was in. Their website is here. It also includes some things that WE can do. You can also have your say at:
November 9, 2008
Weird.
I was away at a symposium in Toronto for three days and did not have any access to my webpage, my email or a cell phone. I feel like I was living in the "dark ages". I wonder what we ever did without the technology we are so used to today.
 November 3, 2008
I am going to send home a permission sheet to post your videos to your sites. If your parents agree, then you will feed it through my YouTube Account . As usual, we will never identify the names of the actors in the film. This will allow us to share our work with family.
November 2, 2008
Here it is. Our own production of the egg in the bottle science experiment. This gripping production features my hand, a bottle, some matches an egg and my assistant, Homer.
 November 1, 2008 Part 2
A new colour scheme. Hope you like it!
November 1, 2008
I started "playing" with a couple of files. Our "Egg-cellent Experiment" and our "Sick" (Shel Silverstein) video. Some hilarious acting on that video, by the way.
I will post the egg experiment tomorrow via YouTube connected to this site.
We will watch our Shel Silverstein video Monday and talk about how we can improve our acting and camera-work.
October 31, 2008
Hallowe'en...enough said. I'll post tomorrow.
Have a safe night!
 October 30, 2008
Just got back from a science workshop where I was showing off your journal work as well as looking through the science textbooks we use (as we are "testing" these books and now they are coming out for sale to other schools). Good stuff!
Thanks in particular to "Killa-Joe", Sens4Life, Cloud Kit and Golden Goalie 30 for the responses from their journals that I photocopied for the teachers who attended.
They were REALLY impressed.
Hallowe'en tomorrow. I wonder if the principal will let me wear my IPod to drown out the noise level at the school tomorrow. Kids can get really noisy when they are excited.
 October 29, 2008
Have you selected a poem yet for your video?
Please remember to find one and post the lyrics on your website.
Here is one I think I will do with everyone in my video:
Sick
"I cannot go to school today," Said little Peggy Ann McKay. "I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I'm going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I've counted sixteen chicken pox And there's one more--that's seventeen, And don't you think my face looks green? My leg is cut--my eyes are blue-- It might be instamatic flu. I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I'm sure that my left leg is broke-- My hip hurts when I move my chin, My belly button's caving in, My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained, My 'pendix pains each time it rains. My nose is cold, my toes are numb. I have a sliver in my thumb. My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak. My tongue is filling up my mouth, I think my hair is falling out. My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight, My temperature is one-o-eight. My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear. I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what? What's that? What's that you say? You say today is. . .Saturday? G'bye, I'm going out to play!" Shel Silverstein Here is a sample of a storyboard for the poem I used as an example. Just click on the sample to enlarge. I think it is brilliant. Clearly, I am a gifted artist.
 We talked about geography more today. You do the questions from 1 to 4 on your website. I will provide questions 5 to 7 for you on a sheet tomorrow and then you do 8 and 9 on your site as well. You can sign out the texts or see the October 28th's posting to get the link to the file.
So, you can add links to other sites, pictures videos, and any writing that will enhance the answer to the questions and take your readers on that journey.
So, here are some examples we talked about.
Question 1
Answer what two types of things that would have helped early explorers but then find some interesting facts about early explorers and map-making history. Use links to other sites, pictures and/or videos.
Question 2
Identify the three "economic" centres in Ontario. Find out why they are centres of business. What are the businesses? Link to these places, some of the history of the businesses, images, videos, etc.
Question 3
Find a Canadian song about a Canadian Place. A keyword search like "songs about Canada" would help. Again, extend your work. What does the song mean? Can you find a video of it? What about the artist or songwriter?
Question 4
Investigate the history of a specific place in London.
We mentioned Eldon House, Labatt Park, the JLC, the old London Gardens, Western Fair Grounds, Springbank Park...there are many more.
Question 5 - 7
I will give you the place names to map and time to do the estimation and graphing on page 7.
Question 8
Imagine any three places you would like to go in the world. Again, write down why. Link to images, other sites and videos if you can.
Question 9
Write about one place in the world that is important for groups as religious, holy or spiritual places. Again, include links, pictures, writings, videos.
This assignment will be due November 10th. Don't delay. Get started as soon as you can. I will give you class time but you can easily spare time each night for this.
October 28, 2008
The history Corel Presentations project is due on Thursday. Last day tomorrow to work on it!
I am at school tomorrow by 8:15 if you wish to come in early. We also have one hour left in the library lab. We will post the projects to each of your sites when we are finished.
The geography chapter task is beginning. Students will work to create answer and extend the questions from the review. Here are scanned versions of the questions.
We talked today about how to create a new web page for this assignment and what examples of level four (80% and above) responses would be. Look for some samples tomorrow when we finish going over the review questions.
The Egg-cellent Experiment
Thanks to "Cinderella" for the egg experiment idea. I was reading her site last night and just had to do it. So, I hard boiled some eggs and spent the morning searching in other teachers' blue boxes for a bottle with just the right "neck" size.
It is on her October 7th posting. Here is the video that she used on her site.
 October 27, 2008
Well, I have reactivated the student sites on the links page. Thanks for tidying these up.
We have two more days to work on our History project. This is our "Corel Presentations" file that you are creating at school on a topic around our early Canadian history studies.
We have two periods of information technology tomorrow and one on Wednesday. Most people look like they are in the final stages of this at-school project.
Don't forget, we are choosing poems to make videos out of. Many of you have found a poem online or in one of our books. Please be sure to choose one by the end of tomorrow and we can begin to plan the videos.
We will be having our unit test in math soon that will cover multiplication and division including fractions and decimal conversion.
Be sure to practice skills that you need. I provided two multiplication "algorithms" to you. Try to practice a few questions a night if you have difficulty with this. Remember to think about your basic multiplication and division facts.
Here is the standard algorithm for solving multiplication question bigger than 2 digit x 2 didgit.
 Here is another algorithm that most of you had never seen before, but many of you find easier.
Remember, choose and practice the one you can have the most success with!
 We then extended this to multiplication with decimals.
October 26, 2008: Part Two
Well, it turned out that S****** and E*** were not the only "winners" of the guess my age contest. Ms. Quan and her grade two class at Maple Lane Public School in Tillsonburg managed not only to figure out my age, but to show the excellent math that went into the solution.
Well done Ms. Quan's class (although I wished you had done the math and come up with 26 or even 36 as the answer).
Click on the images below to enlarge their work.
  October 26, 2008
On Golden Goalie 30's site she posted the link to this poetry site:
Some good ideas there. She has first dibs on "I Wrote an Awful Poem".
October 24, 2008
I have reviewed all student sites this weekend and have made some general comments on the "Links to Student Sites" page. Please review this and make any necessary changes to your sites.
Most of you do not have to make many or any changes other than the things I spoke with you individually about this week and any of the notes that may apply on the "Links" page.
I am revamping our daily schedule a bit in order to make sure each student has at least 30 minutes a day to work on our computers for academic purposes. I hope that will allow you more time to enhance your work.
I have also created an email to reach me about any academic questions you have about this site, or your sites. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about your site, anything you may need to work on.
It is mrmooreclass@gmail.com
I will leave it posted on the top of this site.
October 23, 2008
A great day today. I scanned the science tests and they look generally well done. Thank goodness as we put a lot of effort into our science.
I read some Shel Silverstein poems today as examples of the possible video scripts. You will need to choose a poem that you will narrate your video too. Choose by Monday...we start storyboarding then.
 We had two winners for the "guess my age" contest based upon the clue from yesterday. S***** and E*** tied. E*** (aka Sens4Life) posted it on his website and S****** (aka JrMoss) told me first thing this morning.
I only had one chocolate bar prize. Surprise, surprise, they did not want to share.
I then introduced them to the Japanese version of rock, paper and scissors to settle the score. It is called "Janken" and you say, "jan-ken-pon" (sometimes spelled jan-ken-pyon or jyan-ken-pon, I will have to ask my wife, who is the expert on Japanese, being...well...Japanese herself) and then do the rock, paper or scissor action. Here are the basics.
They did it. Two papers...another tie.
They reloaded and this time, had to say, "aiko-desho" just before the rock, paper or scissor action.
E*** won.
He is celebrating the victory on his website. His "We Are The Champions" link is dead though. How embarrassing to gloat and have a dead link. He must feel shame.
 We also had a surprise visit in math by "Decimal Man" and his trusty sidekick, "Zero Boy". Gotta love dividing by base ten numbers.
October 22, 2008 Well, it is my birthday, so I am not going to write too much. Big science test tomorrow...but if you have done the review and studied it, you should be fine as ALL OF THE QUESTIONS ON THE TEST COME FROM THE REVIEW!
I am certainly not going to tell you how old I am but here is a hint.
Apollo 7 was the first manned mission in the Apollo program to be launched. It was an eleven-day Earth-orbital mission, the first manned launch of the Saturn IB launch vehicle, and the first three-man American space mission.
On the day Apollo 7 returned to Earth, I turned the age of six.
There is a prize for getting the correct answer and telling me tomorrow (it won't be a big prize, but hey...a small prize is better than no prize).
October 21, 2008
Today was a work "catch-up" day as we have a lot on the go. I also conferenced with you about the web pages and how you can improve you sites by using mine as a model or using other student sites as your model.
This is called "authentic writing". You need to have a place to write where I can see how you write on an everyday basis. I should see "application" of what you learn. It could be that you realize that you don't use correct punctuation, or that you are now more sure of the use of the correct homophone spelling (there, their, they're come to mind).
I won't hover over the sites but I will conference with you every week or two. Remember, a minimum of three postings per week.
And what about spelling? Well, you are posting on a computer that is on the Internet. Google an unfamiliar word. If you are close, it will give you the correct spelling.
 October 20, 2008
Well, the science review is on...BIG CHAPTER TEST on Thursday! The review consists of students using the chapter study questions (page 32 and 33, #'s 1 to 24) and taking the words from the word wall and defining them (and giving either an example or drawing an diagram to explain the concepts).
All question on the test will be taken from the text questions and word wall. No tricks here!
The word wall words are HERE if you need them.
Don't forget to do your "Embarrassment" sheet. We are writing "definition sentences" that we will need to use in our expository writing.
Why focus on expository writing?
From:
Let's think about the type of writing that most of us encounter in our daily lives. When you pick up and read a non-fiction book, magazines, or newspaper article the author uses expository writing to inform you, the reader, about the topic. At school, students are required to submit school exams and research papers as a means for their teachers to grade their progress. Finally, at work, people are required to produce business reports and memorandums to inform their superiors and co-workers about the occurrences that take place at other levels of the company.
As each of these different cases illustrate, expository writing and speech surround us in our everyday lives. The primary intent of the Expository Writing Program contained at this web site will be to help move students closer to mastering the hows, whens, and wheres to select different oral and written expository styles for a variety of real world contexts.
October 16, 2008
I am away tomorrow...Mr. Driscoll will be in for me.
I have dumped the video on my home computer and we will start to edit on Monday. It is "interesting". Windows Movie Maker, here we come!
October 15, 2008
Mixing in the right proportions is important in all kinds of experiments and everyday activities.
We found that when we mix certain substances without a plan not a lot happened. However, when we mixed them in the proportions that they were meant to be mixed in, we saw what kinds of solutions (homogeneous mixtures) can be created.
We often call this "kitchen chemistry" because most of the substances I used are from the kitchen. Every cook (particularly bakers) know that too much of one thing and too little of another can have a disasterous impact on what their recipe turns out to be.
It could be more of a recipe for disaster!
I would definitely get in trouble if I did THIS!
October 14, 2008
We came back to examine our mixtures from Friday's lab. I had you leave them over the weekend to see if any changes occurred. Most of you found that the mixtures "separated" and did not stay in solution (even if they seemed to on Friday). A few did.
We will examine what you worked with tomorrow. Wouldn't want to give it away as some of you are finishing your lab write-up tonight.
We are almost finished chapter 1 in our new science texts and we will look at the chapter research assignment tomorrow. It is about examining the benefits and costs of certain products, in this case, compact fluorescent light bulbs.
 History research has begun and we looked at how to create a presentation using Corel Presentations. This assignment will be due next Friday, October the 24th. I will provide in-class time and have booked the library lab as well.
October 12, 2008
Well, I have updated the Student Links page and tried to add one graphic from each student's site. I have also done my first assessment of each site.
I am missing a number of sites which may have just got off to a later start than the others. I will get these on Tuesday. I will also begin to conference with each student so that they know what I see on their site and what is required to improve or extend.
Looks like we may have the laptops for about a month this time, so I will be expecting about a posting a day from now on. We have our history project to work on in Corel Presentations and will be posting these to our sites as well.
I am hoping to post student pictures and videos as we produce these. As always, we will never post names associated with pictures or personal information. I will be sending a note home this week about this.
October 10, 2008
I learned many things today. Click here to find out what I learned.
October 9, 2008
We are almost ready to begin filming for our first Movie Maker project. The laptops are back, I have our new digital video camera and we are good to go!
We will start with a basic 15 to 20 second "fun" shot tomorrow and then we will transfer the digital tape footage to the computer (through the firewire connection I talked about -- one of the laptops has firewire so we can do it here).
Here is the song (with a Harry Potter theme video) we are going to use for the music. I remember this song being played late nights on horror TV theatre night.
It is a "less-than-classic" song I remember from the Saturday Night Horror Movies shows common in the 1970's. Television stations used to run "B" movie horror shows late at night and have breaks during the shows. That's when the shows' hosts would kick in. It was pretty ad-lib stuff with the hosts usually on spooky sets and dressed up as horror characters.
These hosts used to do whatever they wanted -- this was usually really bad comedy or bad skits or bad impressions. Sir Graves Ghastly was the worst!
I can still remember his name after all these years. He was a host of one of these kinds of shows (there were lots -- Saturday night starting at midnight). Well, it took some digging but here is some footage of Sir Graves. The first clip is an ad that usually ran in the afternoon and announced the nights movies. Then is goes into a Sir Graves lip sync -- yes, that is him! The second is other skits he did.
Pretty cheesy...really cheesy...horrible actually. I remember having to sit through some of his bad stuff just waiting for the movie to resume.
Sir Graves Ghastly
 October 8, 2008
Science...don't forget to do you reading to prep for the lab on Friday.
Oh...and a classic 80's tune/video, "She Blinded Me With Science" which you definitely have to pull you parents in on.
Click below to listen and view this "classic".
October 6 and 7, 2008
Okay, so I started this on the 6th and finished on the 7th...
Calipers, calipers, calipers...
We used calipers to measure our heads. There are lots of different calipers. Some common uses are in woodworking, metalworking, pottery and even body fat measurement (ouch).
 Woodworking:
Oh, baby! Digital calipers. Call my wife, my birthday's coming up!
October 6, 2008
Here are some interesting facts about Hallowe'en.
When I was younger, Hallowe'en wasn't as big a deal as it is now. Sure there were some parents who would go "all out" and make costumes for their child, but for the most part, we were on our own.
I often wore the standard costume -- the sheet.
 The sheet was a multipurpose costume. If the sheet was old and my mom let me, I could cut eyeholes and be a ghost. If we did not have old sheets, I could not cut up new ones. I had to be sure not to rip or ruin the sheet in any way.
A new sheet could become a cape, or a skirt or even a bad Roman toga. Other accessories usually only included an application of my mother's makeup...to become "a girl", or a mustached Zorro with a cape, or simply to add any other interesting look. The interesting makeup look evolved over time.
As I got older, I found that black circles around the eyes were good to look "ghoulish". The ghoul became my standard. Some oversized old clothes (preferably black), some cheap makeup and "voila", I was Uncle Fester from the Addams Family.
Who cared if I had a head of hair and Uncle Fester was bald. We were both pretty ghoulish. And considering my costume budget was generally, well, zilch, I think I pulled it off pretty well.
October 4, 2008
Some interesting science journal entries this weekend. Many of you guessed the some absorption had taken place. Great!
Most guessed that somehow, the paper I used had a absorbed the water. Others thought there was something in the mug that absorbed the water. Some great guesses. T**** guessed correctly because she had some background knowledge with this experiment (through "Mad Science").
I really liked M****'s guess. She mentioned that there was "water tension" holding the water in place. Interesting idea. Not correct, but very interesting. So, I may go off on a little tangent before our next experiment and do an experiment on water tension. It does relate to our particle experiments very well.
I notice I am not using the "Calendar" and "Class Photos" much. I think that we need to revisit some of this next week and brainstorm items for these pages. I don't want to delete them yet if we can have them serve a purpose.
October 2, 2008
Well, I have changed the colour scheme of my page, deleted the Archives page (no hits in the past couple weeks) and celebrated our 1000th hit (well, celebrated is actually an exaggeration...I simply "noticed it" to be honest).
October 1, 2008
Sodium polyacrylate, a coffee mug and G*****'s head.
I know many of you probably wanted the water to come poring out. I really couldn't do that.
Sodium polyacrylate is most commonly used in diapers. Here are some facts about this polymer.
I used a very small amount and a larger amount of water in my experiment so that it would be a gel and not a powder. Here is what it is like if you use a larger amount of the chemical.
September 30, 2008: Part 2
Just added all the student links that I have. Take a look around. I like some, others need some work.
Remember to post thoughts, pictures and links. Don't just post a simple recall of the day.
Chromatography art?
I think I did a better job than this site, but here it is anyway. Feel free to try some ideas in class.
This one is pretty cool though...
 Here is a sample video of what we did.
Here is a site with an explanation in the "What Happened" section at the bottom of the site.
September 30, 2008
Well, most students have their websites up and going and I will attempt to get them put in the "Links to Student Sites" page.
Remember, a posting should require some thought and should be evidence of reflection on learning or that you have researched something that was triggered through the day.
For example, if some kind of word or phrase triggered a memory, you could write about that. If you are unsure about a concept, research it. Your writing should reflect your thinking on a deeper level. You don't just tell me how you are feeling (tired, bored, happy, etc.). That is not enough. Write about what is happening in the world, in London, at Northridge, what you are reading, how you made a connection today, what the connection was, and why it is important. Write about what you have found on the 'Net and why it might be relevant to you or to others...have an opinion, do some research, write with meaning!
September 29, 2008
Well, no posts over the weekend as I had a wedding to go to on Saturday and lots of paperwork to complete on Sunday (secret teacher-like paperwork. I could tell you what I had to do, but I would get kicked out of the profession...really top secret teacher-like paperwork).
Congratulations to L** and K**** for their weekend hockey tournament victories proving once again, that I am not the best athlete in the class (the oldest athlete -- definitely).
Our reading response journals will begin this week. Write as many as you wish, but know that you must have at least one a week of quality.
Here are lots of ideas on this webpage.
 Why a response journal?
I need to see what you are thinking as you read. Good readers use a variety of strategies to make sense of what they read, not just "decoding" the words (literally, "sounding out the word from the lettters you read). We have already looked at "Making Connections and will look at a lot more this year. Stay tuned.
September 24, 2008
Just a plug to try out for the volleyball team...
There are lots of students in our class with very good volleyball potential. Why not try out for the school team? What's the worse thing that can happen? You don't make the team?
So what?
No risk, no reward. If you don't give anything new a try, you will never find out what you REALLY are good at. I have been "cut" many times in my life. I have also taken chances and played on great teams, made great friends. This is not just a sport talk. This is a life talk.
Take a chance!
Here is a fact about Michael Jordan, legendary basketball player.
Jordan played basketball for Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ironically, Jordan was cut from the varsity team as a sophomore. Instead of giving up after failing to make the team, Jordan used it to spur himself to greater achievements, practicing hour after hour on the court. "Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I'd close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it," Jordan said, "and that usually got me going again." He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship.
 September 23, 2008
Some really good work on the science journals that were handed in to me. I am glad I read them tonight as I have been trying to track down some high quality work.
The journals show that people are on the right track -- thanks!
Don't forget to have a good personal narrative story to write about (just the idea is fine).
We will do a timeline tomorrow with a minimum or 15 to 20 points as a pre-writing activity.
Watched another video about war today at. "I fought in a War" by Belle and Sebastian.
Very poignant.
Video at: Lyrics are very moving. Here they are.
I fought in a war and I left my friends behind me
To go looking for the enemy, and it wasnt very long Before I would stand with another boy in front of me And a corpse that just fell into me, with the bullets flying round And I reminded myself of the words you said when we were getting on And I bet youre making shells back home for a steady boy to wear Round his neck, well it wont hurt to think of you as if youre waiting for This letter to arrive because Ill be here quite a while I fought in a war and I left my friends behind me To go looking for the enemy, and it wasnt very long Before I found out that the sickness there ahead of me Went beyond the bedsit infamy of the decade gone before And I reminded myself of the words you said when we were getting on And I bet youre making shells back home for a steady man to wear Round his neck, well it wont hurt to think of you as if youre waiting for This letter to arrive because Ill be here quite a while I fought in a war, and I didnt know where it would end It stretched before me infinitely, I couldnt really think Of the day beyond now, keep your head down pal Theres trouble plenty in this hour, this day I can see hope I can see light And I reminded myself of the looks you gave when we were getting on And I bet youre making shells back home for a steady man to wear Round his neck, well it wont hurt to think of you as if youre waiting for This letter to arrive because Ill be here quite a while September 22, 2008
So, why do we write about what we read?
We can show our understanding of what we read by writing about it. Our writing connects us to the story and allows for us to think about deeper meanings and themes within what we read.
In the song, The Universal Soldier, we saw that the underlying theme is about responsibility in war. Buffy Ste Marie outlined the connection she made, in prewriting, to seeing American soldiers pass through the Toronto airport sometime in the late 1960's. She then started thinking about whose responsibility war was.
In the end, she decided it was everyone's responsibilty.
Here's the link to the video with an introduction by the artist first.
September 19, 2008
Well...in our study of particles and the particle theory, we saw crystals created out of a copper sulfate solution. I simply boiled water, mixed some copper sulphate solution and then poured it into some eggshells. When the water evaporated out of the shells, we were left with blue crystals -- very pretty as I said. Why use eggshells? Because they look prettier that way. No scientific reason as a few guessed in their science journals :-)
 I am beginning to suspect that our sugar solutions experiment is going to be a dud. Don't know why. I will have to reinvestigate. I am wondering if the jars needed to be in a warmer place, or I needed a more exact recipe instead of just adding more and more sugar until none would dissolve anymore.
It is all my fault, I know. We will perservere even if we don't do anything else this year! (Just kidding).
 September 18, 2008
Okay, I am tired...so just the homework page is updated.
September 17, 2008
We looked at Andy Warhol's art today..."pop art" I called it.
Here is a link.
September 15, 2008
Today, most of us looked at creating our websites. Hence, the change of colours to some of this site.
I will give out the usernames and passwords tomorrow to all students who had a permission slip returned. There are a few outstanding so this needs to be taken care of asap.
Did you get your art in? Was your science journal ready to hand in? If not, then you really need to rethink your afterschool plan.
The best way to get work done is to do it as soon as you get home. Have a snack and get to work. Most of the time it will take you less than thirty minutes. Don't leave it too late each night.
September 11, 2008
Some great work in Science today. Our first group experiment and the students were great.
We have two other experiments on the go...we'll see what happens...and talk about why.
Math quiz on addition of Integers tomorrow.
September 10, 2008
Meet the teacher night tonight so all the kids were really sucking up to me today :-) Except for the kids whose parents are out of town on business.
Science: Well the science jars are all loaded with sugar and food colour. String is suspended in the solution. Wonder what will happen?
I made a concentrated solution of copper sulfate and water and poured it into egg shells. Why? We'll see on both counts.
Just wait and watch...pictures to follow.
Math and Integers. We are all ready for review on the addition of integers and have a solid understanding of the zero principle (which you should be able to recite in your sleep.
September 9, 2008
In Art today we looked at creating patterns known as tessellations.
We started by looking at some of the works by M. C. Escher:
The "Galleries" and Symmetry sections show most of his work that include tessellations.
 We then moved on to learn how to create our own works.
A great site to use for this is:
Check out the "Do it Yourself" section..
September 8, 2008
Another Monday...best day of the week!
We began with writing responses today in our response journals. The focus of the responses are "Making Connections".
I asked what kind of books you read and why your read them...this is a genre preference question.
Most of us have our favourites. I like all genres but I tend to like fantasy (for the escapism) and historical fiction (I particularly enjoy historical fiction that is less recent -- for example, a work based in ancient Rome would appeal to me greatly, but only if the author has done some serious research). I will expand on that tomorrow.
Currently, I am reading, Standard of Honour, by Jack Whyte. This is book two of, The Templar Trilogy, an historical, or "semi"- historical fiction.
September 5, 2008
Friday!
That's all you get from me...have a great weekend!
September 4, 2008
Ultimate Frisbee with a Barbie Frisbee???
Believe it...I need to get out and buy some real ones made by Whamo, not by Disney.
Some great science work handed in today...It is often difficult for students to make educated guesses (hypothesis/ hypotheses) but some good insight was shown. We need to start the experiments and clean the glasswork first.
Science Experiment: Remember to bring in a medium to large JAR -- eat those old pickles up from the fridge! We are going to begin tomorrow (Friday).
I have closed the blog for now as some students have their full name on an email and we cannot have that. I am going to set all students up with a simple google account so we can use it for school and limit to students and parents. A note will come home tomorrow seeking parent permission. We will never use last names or associate pictures and names on our sites. The students will also need a google account to create their own site linked to this. Again, student work will be the focus of each site and will be used for ACADEMIC purposes only.
From yesterday's post. Materials would be great by Monday. Otherwise, I will provide the alternatives.
Students may opt to purchase the following if they have not done so already. If cost is an issue, I do have items in the room that can be used.
1. Binders (2 or more recommended) or duotangs
2. Dividers if a binder
3. A calculator
4. Markers and pencil crayons
5. Two journals (science and reading response).
6. 2 bristol boards (for an Art Portfolio)
7. A refillable water bottle
September 3, 2008
I added a new section today called "Archives". As I attempt to edit this first page daily, previous days announcements can be found in the the new archival link.
Enjoy!
Another great day! We talked a lot today about work responsibility and seeking assistance when required.
The theme of the day..."Quality is Job 1". Maybe not original, but hey...
I began reading "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney today. A good fit with our "Making Connections" reading strategy. I think it will be a popular classroom "borrowed" book.
Homework page is updated... September 2, 2008
A great first day!
Thanks to all of you for your contributions today. We did a lot of "organization" today, so tomorrow we will be in full swing.
In our Writing Class, we worked on generating ideas for writing. Some examples that I gave are in the "Attachments" below.
I have attached the files in WordPerfect (school wordprocessing program) as well as and *.RTF format that most other word processors will pick up.
You are to generate IDEAS for pre-writing and to organize them. You will end up with 21 writing ideas. We will then take these ideas and work towards narrowing a topic for writing.
Students were given the choice of using a binder or duotangs for various subject areas. I have duotangs but many prefer binders. My primary concern is ORGANIZATION. I will work closely to see that you remain organized and not just put (read "shove") items in your binders.
Students may opt to purchase the following if they have not done so already. If cost is an issue, I do have items in the room that can be used.
1. Binders (2 or more recommended) or duotangs
2. Dividers if a binder
3. A calculator
4. Markers and pencil crayons
5. Two journals (science and reading response).
6. 2 bristol boards (for an Art Portfolio)
7. A refillable water bottle
Organization of materials can be the biggest obstacle to student success. This includes organizing in-class work, organizing time for homework or organizing before studying for tests. We will work together to keep this a consistent area of focus. |
Mr. Moore's Musings
UPDATED DECEMBER 6th.
Feel free to comment!
Teddy Bear Toss
My wife and I were at the London Knights hockey game Friday night. It was the annual "Teddy Bear Toss" night. Once a year, near Christmas, fans are encouraged to take a teddy bear (or two, or more) to the game. When the Knights score their first goal, fans are free to throw them on the ice. It is great! The teddy bears then go to the Salvation Army for distribution to children at Christmas.
It's a great idea. It is also really fun to watch the bears tossed from up high and see fans in the first few rows end up shielding themselves from flying bears!
I don't have video of last Friday's game, but here is the video of one year ago so you get the idea.
Christmas Light Procrastination
12:04 pm and still procrastinating. I went downstairs and stared at the Christmas lights for a few minutes. Then I remembered a website called "ElfYourself" and went and made a movie of our cat, Kina, using the free movie maker on that site.
Here it is:
Christmas Lights
Every year, I plan to get the Christmas lights up before the snow blows. Of course, I usually find that there are more pressing issues to deal with around the end of November and early December. So, here I am, on December 6th at 11:04 am, looking out at the cold and snow, knowing that there are two boxes of Chistmas lights waiting by the front door.
A quick check on the weather network confirms my worst fear: Minus four degrees with a wind chill that makes it feel like minus twelve. Light snow is called for all day and it looks very slippery for a ladder on the ground. Did I mention that I am not overly fond of heights?
Maybe I will just move my television to the front window, turn it around facing the street and play a continuous loop of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
 I have calmed down from the cell phone mess (see below). I did it by listening to some good music. Here is a great song by Dashboard Confessional, one of my favourite bands (their most recognizable hit was "Vindicated", the theme song from one of the Spiderman movies).
Is there a theme in this song?
I am on the phone as I post this, trying to sort our my son's $283.00 cell phone bill (that is one month only). He had 5826 "events" (call or text messages). I am thinking about getting him a telegraph for Christmas to replace his cell phone.
 Of course, he is going to have to learn Morse Code!
ARG!
Well, it turns out that the phone company is going to delete the extra 1131 events not covered in his plan...but of course, only because I am signing up for more features so this doesn't happen again.
November 23 to November 28, 2008
What is a "muse"?
I use the term here as a noun.
A muse is any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology presiding over song, stage, writing, music and dance.
So, musing was waiting for inspiration from any of these godesses in order to write a song, a poem, or play, to paint a picture or to create a dance.
Today, some people still say "they are waiting for their muse" when they are stuck writing or creating some artwork. Again, they are really saying they are waiting for an idea, or some inspiration to come to them.
Sometimes we use the word when we are "smitten" with someone (we have a crush or are in love with them). Because a lot of art is said to come from deep passion (love or hate) when an artist falls in love and wishes to express themselves, they sometimes say they have "found their muse".
Found your muse? Write them a poem or a love song tonight!
Here is a painting of the nine muses.
 I remembered that the Beatles had a song that mentioned sharing a birthday.
 Here are the lyrics to "Birthday" by the Beatles.
Birthday
You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah They say it's your birthday We're gonna have a good time I'm glad it's your birthday Happy birthday to you. Yes we're going to a party party Yes we're going to a party party Yes we're going to a party party. I would like you to dance--Birthday Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday I would like you to dance--Birthday Dance You say it's your birthday Well it's my birthday too--yeah You say it's your birthday We're gonna have a good time I'm glad it's your birthday Happy birthday to you. Next time your parents tell you that the Beatles were the greatest band of all time, refer them to this song (I mean, cha cha cha chance Birthday - youch!)
Here is what I found out about sharing a birthday. For a group of people, the odds of two people sharing a birthday increases with the number of people. Makes sense.
Turns out there are a lot of postings on the "sharing a birthday" topic because, as you see below, the odds actual for 25 people are:
Nothing yet on three people sharing the same birthday in a group of 30 people. Any students with mathematics professors as parents? Anyone...Anyone?
November 17 to November 21
Three birthdays in our class on Friday. That is unusual. When you think about the math (which I know you do), that means that 10% (3 our to 30 students = 10%, which you know how to calculate) of our class had a birthday on the same date. Well, considering each student has a 1 in 365 chance of having a birthday on any given day in a school year (which is 2/10 of 1%, or 0.2 %), and the odds that we have two are about 0.8% the odds that we would have 3 on the same day are big). How big...?
I gotta do some digging on this one. This is not an easy math question.
This is for Tilley-Talley. If you read her site you'll know why.
 November 3 to November 14
I only posted once in two weeks on my musing side as I was in marking and reporting mode. Not a great mode. You'll find out when exam times come around in high school.
I only mused briefly last week. Guess I was reflecting on my recent birthday and hoping for a visit from Sherman and Peabody and the "Way-Back Machine".
 Your parents may remember this cartoon. I certaintly do but I have not really thought of it in years. It was part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, one of my all time favourites. It was based around historical people and events but any kid watching it sure would get messed up.
October 27th to October 31, 2008
My hit counter just hit the year of my birth. If I get about 20 more hits maybe I will come to school 20 years younger. I think I will hit the refresh key 20 times and call my wife up to have a look.
Didn't work...maybe I can get a picture like "Dorian Gray" got. There's a prize for anyone who gets that and can post and explanation on their website!
 A Portrait of Dorian Gray
October 20th to October 24th, 2008
Well, I could talk about the Browns, but I would rather not.
I will talk about "my Leafs". I am scared this season will be much like the last, and perhaps worse.
Remember last year?
 Okay, so here are some definition sentences I can make about my favourite sports and teams so far this year. Remember, we are focusing on the creation of defining sentences in writing, using is or are verbs.
Here are my sentences.
Hockey is a game played on ice.
The goal of hockey is to score more goals than the other team before the end of the game.
The game is sixty minutes long.
A goal is the process of shooting a puck in the other team's net.
The Toronto Maple Leafs is the name of a hockey team.
The National Hockey League is the name of the professional league that the Toronto Maple Leafs play in.
The Northeast Division is the name of the five team division that the Toronto Maple Leafs are in.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are last in the division.
My brother-in-law is a Montreal Canadiens fan.
The Montreal Canadiens are in first in the division.
My brother-in-law is happier than I am.
October 13 to October 17
Turkey...I don't know why I even bother eating it when I am with guests. I simply cannot function and need to nap after I consume it. We all have heard that there is a "chemical" (an amino acid, actually) in turkey meat that causes us to be sleepy.
Or perhaps it is a hypnotist turkey. Click on the turkey below to be lulled to sleep!
 Turns out that this is a myth. It is really because we eat so much, and probably more to do with the carbohydrates we consume (like potatoes, yams, and pies) and the amount we eat, than the amino acid, L-tryptophan.
October 6th to October 10th
Well, the Browns didn't lose this week...a bye week :-)
Not a lot of musing last week. Seemed like a busy one. A lot of paperwork to do. If I could afford it, I would pay someone to do all of my paperwork. Not this kind of stuff where I get to think and write, but the mindless kind of stuff..like marking 30 tests that are all out of 61. 61 x 30 = 60 x 30 + 1 x 30 = 1800 + 30 = 1830 That's a lot of questions to mark. Next time maybe I'll make the test out of 1. 1 x 30 = 30 Sounds good...but you would either get 100% or 0%. Pretty risky.
September 29 to October 4
Coming Soon! The full version of the salsa-wallet fiasco! Stay tuned. September 22 to September 26
We have a cat. There is a story in that as I am NOT a big fan of cats. My wife is though.
The cat's name name is Kina which is Japanese for "yellow". As my wife, Emi, is Japanese, she likes to name pets (and children) using Japanese names.
Here is why Kina (the cat) is, well, kina (the colour yellow).
 September 15 to September 19
Well, my Cleveland Browns are 0 and 2 (zero wins and two loses). I am wondering why I always root for teams that never win.
I am a Leafs fan...I was 5 when they won their last cup. I don't remember it. They are picked to finish last this year but I will still watch most of their games.
The Browns...same thing. Haven't won since they were in the AFL.
I like the Jays and watched them win 2 World Series, but really I am not a huge baseball fan. Played it as a kid and love playing but watching it is like watching paint dry.
I like the Knights but am not as passionate about junior hockey as the NHL.
So, I guess I will continue to suffer.
I like this new gadget. Every time I refresh my web page, I see a new "great movie" photo.
September 8 to September 12
I am sitting in the classroom at seven pm after a staff meeting. I should go home to watch Monday Night Football.
My Cleveland Browns lost Sunday. That makes me sad.
For those of you undecided about a favourite football team, may I recommend Cleveland..."da Browns:
Despite our 0 and 1 start to the season, I still have faith.
Go Browns, Go!
 September 2 to 5
Finally got Photoshop to work on editing an image. Here is my picture of Mats Sundin if he doesn't return...yes I am actually both a LEAFS fan and a SUNDIN fan...
Come back Mats...not your fault!  |
