No…not Oglethorpe Thunder Dowling, James Oglethorpe was born on this day in 1696. As you recall, Oglethorpe was the founder of one of the 13 Colonies. Oglethorpe created the colony of Georgia as a fresh start for English people in debt.
Might as well get it out of the way right away. Question of the Day: Which word was the hardest to spell during the Spelling Bee?
One more day after today. Amazing that 2009 is almost over!
Don’t forget that the Political Cartoons handouts are due tomorrow. Be sure to use complete sentences and finish both packets. I believe all of the classes had the final cartoon on Iraq to finish for homework.
It should not take you very long. This is one of the shorter homework assignments that you are going to have this year.
There is a new ABC news anchor and her name is Diane Sawyer. Sawyer takes over for Charlie Gibson. I rarely watch the evening news but of the 3 news reports at 6:30, I think Gibson’s was the best. Sawyer has some pretty big shoes to fill. Journalism in the truest sense is a dying art. Hopefully Sawyer can breathe some life back into it. Today is also Diane Sawyer’s birthday. Hopefully with her new gig comes a raise!
Laughs and Lunch is scheduled to meet tomorrow! My former student Chris H. allowed me to borrow EVEN MORE Looney Tunes. We’ll keep watching them until the Loyal Lunchers tell me they need a break from them…in a nice way of course.
Busy day today…not looking forward to driving on the roads. I haven’t left my house/yard since Saturday afternoon so I have no idea what the main roads look like. Hopefully they are ok. Either way, I’m going to be as careful as I possibly can be.
Spelling Bee, Locker Cleanup…No Bus Drills? Good luck to everyone participating in the Spelling Bee.
Spent yesterday reading, creating review lessons, watching The Revolution on DVR/The History Channel, watching Slumdog Millionaire (not the movie of the year in my opinion) and watching parts of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert from MSG. U2, Mick Jagger, Fergie, Billy Joel are all stars oozing with charisma. There is just something about Bruce Springsteen that makes me want to turn off the television. But people love him. I guess I’m not a music expert, what do I know!
This Day In History
1620-The Pilgrims on the Mayflower go ashore for the first time.
1937-Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered. It has been forever (probably since around 1989 or 1990) that I went to Disney Land. Question of the Day:When is the last time you went to a Disney themed park? Has anyone never gone to one?
Celebrity Birthdays Include Phil Donahue (a guy who used to have a talk show that competed with Oprah)…remember, “Say No To the O”, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Romano, and Jack Bauer himself…Kiefer Sutherland…I saw a great clip today of Jack Bauer interrogating Santa Claus. 24 is one of my all time favorite shows. I can’t wait for it to return in January.
Today was also the Birthday of Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin.
Today after school I supervised the boys basketball game. Great game…reminded me of a JV game. Some of my former students on the team include The Kobi, Jermaine B., Luke R., and Ryan K. They played really well. Stephen M. was great on defense and offense. We’ve been keeping track of his scoring during homebase. Right now (if my records are accurate) he averages 25 points per game. We’ll update that once I get a total from yesterday’s game. Jermaine was particularly sick on defense. He has a way of just blending in on the court and then opponents take shots that he easily blocks. Nice job all around although it did get close when the run and gun started during the 5th quarter.
No, not the snow. The Reds have extended the contract of Scott Rolen. Some Reds fans will probably be unhappy with the move. But I think Rolen made the lineup and defense much better when the Reds got him in August. Rolen does have a history of injuries but hopefully he will be in the lineup more often than not.
This news is a lot better than the rumors of trades of Arroyo and Harang. It seems that those rumors were untrue. However, it does appear that the Reds would like to trade Harang if they could.
You are in town…is there enough snow to cancel school tomorrow? Everyone on the news seems to be saying that the roads are very dangerous. I guess it is a distinct possibility especially if it begins to rain/freezing rain/become very windy. What’s going on in Port Washington? Anyone willing to play amateur meteorologist?
Another great Disney classic
This one used to be shown before the Christmas Carol.
We may need the skiing tips (pronounced shiing) after all of the snow that is on the way
Bowling Scores for the Week (and proof that I’m man enough to post my failures): 141, 138, 136
Can the Dolphins beat Tennessee this weekend? I say yes. Only time will tell. They must win if they want a chance to play in the playoffs. They basically started their playoff run 2 weeks ago…and can’t lose. There are just too many teams in the hunt…Baltimore, Jets, Jacksonville, Miami and New England with the Patriots and Ravens having the edge.
As I sit here, the snow hasn’t arrived yet. The malls and supermarkets are probably a zoo. The last weekend before Christmas and a blizzard warning…Yikes!
Anyone looking forward to the spelling bee on Monday? Does anyone think they have a chance of moving on. Last year, it was a Green 7 student that represented Weber in the regionals. Can we do it again? I sure hope so.
It is also locker cleanup on Monday.
And the Spike it Up Tournament. I know that a bunch of our students are playing. I wish you all luck. Despite my height, I have no volleyball playing abilities. In fact, I’ve never even played volleyball.
This Day In History
1732-The Great Enlightenment Thinker, Ben Franklin began publishing Poor Richard’s Almanac. Did you know? Ben Franklin was a chess fanatic. He would fit in well in Mr. Joseph’s class during lunch. I for one had no idea that he was such an avid chess player until reading it today. But then again, I’m not surprised.
Eventually we will watch the musical 1776 in Core Extension. Franklin is one of my favorite characters in the movie.
Speaking of writing, in 1776, Thomas Paine published “The Crisis”. Thomas Paine is also known for writing Common Sense, a pamphlet laying out multiple reasons for why the colonists should struggle for independence. I read Common Sense not too long ago. Paine’s writing is concise and spells out step by step why it was necessary for the colonists to seek independence. His writings are right up there with Jefferson’s in my opinion. Washington read “The Crisis” to the troops at Valley Forge, which is where they would be camped out at a year after around this time.
1843-The Dicken’s classic A Christmas Carol was first published. I guess it was pretty good timing that we watched Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Have any of you seen the new Christmas Carol movie? I’ve heard mixed reviews.
More later…I have to go shopping before the Blizzard of the Century!
1998-Bill Clinton was impeached. The charges were perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton was the 2nd President impeached. Question of the Day: Who was the first president to be impeached?
By the way, impeachment does not mean removal. Neither of the Presidents that were impeached were removed from office. Impeachment is the formal charging of a President. Then there is a “trial” in the Senate with the Senators casting the vote for removal. The House of Representatives is responsible for the impeaching.
Hard to believe Alyssa Milano turns 37 today. I remember her as a little girl on the TV show Who’s The Boss. Have any of you seen that show? She was also on Charmed and Melrose Place as an adult.
Today also would have been the birthday of Edwin Stanton, the secretary of war under Lincoln and obviously the secretary of war during the Civil War.
In response to a comment yesterday…I’m pretty consistent with when Laughs and Lunch happens…Fridays. Actually, it is more accurate to say, the last day of the week because I plan on meeting next Wednesday as well, the day before vacation. Mr. Buchman usually does nearly every day except Friday. But as I said, I do it for the students who want to come…there are no hard feelings if you aren’t one of them. You would definitely be welcomed the following week. Besides, I think Laughs and Lunch will have to be discontinued during Quarter 3 because I have Lunch/Recess duty. It is possible that it will resume during Quarter 4. But we’ll figure all of that out when we get there.
There are rumors swirling around the Reds that they might be trading one of their pitchers in the next few weeks. Aaron Harang has been rumored to the Dodgers and Bronson Arroyo has been rumored to be going to the Mets. I think the likelihood of Arroyo being moved is slim but I do believe that he would be excellent in CitiField. The dimensions of that place are perfect for him. If either are traded, I hope they are getting quality arms in return because you cannot win in baseball without quality pitching especially with a lineup that struggles to score runs. We’ll let this one unfold before I comment anymore. Sometimes rumors are just rumors and nothing comes of it.
Speaking of “rumors”. There is a distinct possibility that it might snow this weekend. Earlier this morning on the news they said it could be 6 or more inches of snow on Saturday. It was approximately a year ago (the Monday before vacation) that we were hit with a snow storm that canceled school. I for one hate driving in snow and I’m still struggling with sinus trouble that I’d hate to be out in the cold shoveling snow on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Maybe it will be nothing. Time will tell.
Study Skills continues in Core Extension today.
My last question of the day that has a rhetorical/humorous slant: When we go to Australia, we say we are going “Down Under”. When Australians come to America do they say they are going “Up Over”?
To the 8th graders that want to know if I want to go to Australia: My response is the same as always…I’ll tell you tomorrow!
Ok…now that I’ve got that out of my system…back to normal with the questions of the day.
On This Day In History
1865-Slavery ended when the 13th Amendment became official. This came about due to the Union’s victory in the Civil War. Remember the slogan I shared with you to remember the years of the Civil War…In 1861 the war had just begun…in 1865 not a rebel was alive.
Today’s Celebrity Birthdays include: Brad Pitt (Dowling fact: I’ve never seen a Brad Pitt movie), Katie Holmes and Christina Aguilera
It also was the birthday of famous baseball player Ty Cobb. It was on 9/11/1985 that Pete Rose passed Cobb to become the all-time hits king. Rose ended up with 4,256 hits in his career. Unfortunately, he has been barred from the Baseball Hall of Fame because of his gambling habits…a major no-no in baseball. Heck, he has been treated worse than the steroid users.
We didn’t get as much done today as I would have liked. The good news is there is always the next day or in this case Monday.
In Core Extension we continued our study skills discussion. I introduced the ideas of PORPE and the Ticket to the Test. I will do the same workshop during Monday’s Core Extension.
Laughs and Lunch was enjoyable as always. We had a pretty good turnout which was nice. I haven’t watched Mickey’s Christmas Carol in years…probably not since I was about 10 or 11, maybe 12. It is a great story. Mr. Joseph has the Dickens classic if you ever want to read it.
It made me think of the all time great holiday specials. As luck would have it, one is playing tonight. Frosty the Snowman will be on CBS at 8 pm. I won’t be home to watch it but thankfully I have DVR.
Have you been adding tools to your educational toolbox? If you already have all the necessary tools, are you keeping them finely tuned?
We will be continuing our unit on study skills for the next few days (perhaps even for a few days in January). I think there is a lot that we can learn. One of the strategies that I will be sharing I learned from a student last year who learned it from Mrs. Frank. That is why one of the topics for discussion is your ideas. Even my educational toolbox has room.
Question of the Day: Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
A little busier this morning than usual…more later on.
Am I allowed to vent? I guess so. After all, it is my blog. It is amazing that I had to drag students that are not doing well into my room to “learn how to study”. How could you not care? The problem is for some students, their parents and teachers care more about their grades than the kids do. I wish the parents could have seen students avoiding me in the hall, or making faces as I asked them to come in so they could do better in class.
The good news is that the group I am describing is small. There is a huge amount of students that care and put in the effort…too bad it isn’t contagious. For the good ones, thank you for being the way you are. Whether you know it or not, you are good role models for your fellow students. You also make this job worth it. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Laughs and Lunch will meet tomorrow. I’m not sure how big of a group we have because it seems that there are a few viewing options during lunch now. However, I’ll continue it because it is a good stress reliever for me and I enjoy spending the time with the students. Tomorrow we will watch Mickey’s Christmas Carol and then go back to the Looney Toons.
I’m liking the new holiday look. We’ll keep it around for a few weeks. I figured it was time to spice things up a bit. However, the “classic look” will be used most often. Can something be classic when it has only been around since June? Perhaps standard would be a better word.
Dinner with the team was fun. We are all very lucky to get along as well as we do. Mrs. Convey, Mr. Buchman and Mr. Joseph are hilarious. We had never done this before but it was a great idea to get together the way we did.
Today in class we will be working on ELA Practice. I hate missing class time but it is worth getting the feel for the test you will be taking in April or May. There are going to be 4-5 weeks in April and May that are going to be very chaotic for teachers and students. Hopefully everything goes smoothly but this is new for all of us. The part that we will work on today focuses primarily on listening comprehension. As you recall, we practiced the skill during our Mayas, Aztecs, Incas lesson. Additionally, we have worked on two listening comprehension assignments in Core Extension: Native Americans and horses and The Middle Passage.
Question of the Day: Is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?
On This Day in History
1773-The Boston Tea Party…everyone knows about this event in colonial American history. We are only a few days away from briefly discussing it again. Which reminds me, a great book to read is Johnny Tremain. I read it for the first time last year and thought it was excellent. I have a copy in the back of my room and I know Mr. Joseph has several copies if you are interested.
Today was also the birthday of Beethoven, the composer not the dog.
I enjoyed reading the Physical Education newsletter yesterday. It actually is worth reading. If you still have it, take a look at the health tips for the holiday season. It is definitely easy to over indulge during this time period.
I was also impressed to find out that 3 of our teammates and one student from my Study Hall participated in the Turkey Trot. Congratulations to Joceline R., Trevor M., Johnny N., and Laura R. The most I’ve ever run in a race is a 5K and that was over 10 years ago. I’d love to try it again, but I never find the time to run any more.
On This Day In History
1791-The Bill of Rights become official. Where would we be without our rights being protected! In honor of the Bill of Rights, our Question of the Day: If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?
1966 also marked the death of Walt Disney. To “celebrate” Disney, we will be watching a Disney cartoon this week during Laughs and Lunch
On Wednesday and Thursday during Core Extension, I will be discussing study skills (ways to study). If you are in another Core Extension besides mine, you are welcome to attend as long as your teacher is ok with it. I will definitely be sharing one new strategy tomorrow/Thursday. It could be helpful to you right away or perhaps not. However, you should always have many “tools” in your tool box. You will never know when you will need them.
When I was in 7th and 8th grade I barely studied. I paid attention in class, did all my homework and then went in and aced all of my tests. However, over time, the content got harder and I had to study. The only problem was, I didn’t know how and it took some time to figure it all out. My grades suffered a bit because of it. Everyone will eventually hit that wall. I hit it around 9th or 10th grade. For you it might be college…Perhaps it already happened. If it did, it is now time to stop expecting things to change when you haven’t. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different and better results. We will take the first steps at becoming better studiers tomorrow. I’ll lead…but you will have to follow.
I’m off to meet with the team for dinner. Hopefully a good time will be had by all.
This one is for me more than anyone else. That is, unless you are a big fan of biographies, baseball and the Cincinnati Reds.
I just finished reading Joe: Rounding Third and Heading for Home. The book is about a Cincinnati Reds legend, Joe Nuxhall. Nuxhall played for the Reds for over 20 years (partially in the minor leagues) and then went on to be their radio broadcaster for over 35 years.
Nuxhall gained his fame by being the youngest baseball player every in the Major Leagues (15 years old). However, he was treated like a god in Cincinnati. It was a great read and I learned a lot about Reds history.
This might sound strange coming from an adult but there were excellent pictures in the book that, in my opinion, made the book even better.
Nuxhall died a few years ago but his legend definitely lives on in Ohio.
