Monday

After notes we corrected 140-141. Then we learned about why it is important to first, stay away from drugs and alcohol and why. We stay off of drugs and alcohol because we have important work to do in our lives. It is harder to do that work if our minds aren't learning what they need to when they are young. Then we saw a story about a little boy, who through no fault of his own, developed leukemia. We watched his progress and talked about those who had gone to school, earned a good education, and were able to help this sweet little boy and his mother fight to overcome the disease. We do not go to school to get good grades. We go to school to get a good education, grades are designed to show if we are doing that. I hope the students took away the idea that they can make a difference in other people's lives if they will just stay with their education and work hard.

Thursday

Today is the last day of the trimester. Grades should be coming out Wednesday or Thursday. You will get the grade that you have worked for. Today is a little unusual. The last basketball game of the year starts at one so the students will have shorter classes today so they can go to the games.

In science we had a homework assignment due today. We will correct it on Monday. It will go on next trimester's grades. Students also were to turn it the paper that tells us when to contact a parent when the student hasn't finished their homework. This is an effort to keep parents notified about what is going on.

Today we are doing a bit of a review about the past year's learning. It was a long time ago that we studied invertebrates and cells, but we want the students to remember the most important aspects of what they have learned.

Wednesday - homework

Today we learned about the magnetic field around the earth. We learned that the aurora borealis or northern lights, come from solar winds hitting the earth's magnetic field. Then we went to Youtube and watched what the aurora borealis can look like. It is beautiful. The students had the choice of finishing their periodic tables and biomes, which they have been working on all trimester, or doing their homework, 140-141 complete sentences (c.s.) and correct spelling (sp) are required. The handwriting needs to be neat enough for me to read it without working hard.

I also sent home a paper that requires signing by a parent or guardian. Parents have voiced concern that they do not know how their child is doing. When a student does not turn in their work I will have them call their parent right then. I hope that this immediate response will encourage them to get their work in and done on time. I am asking for a name and a number to call. If it is a bad time, let me know when a better time would be and I will have the student come in, either during lunch, during study hall or after school. I sincerely hope that this reduces the number of times that work is not turned in. Students in fifth hour did not receive the note, they will tomorrow.

Tuesday after President's Day

We are turning a nail into a magnet by using a battery and a coil of wire. We are also using a battery, a couple of safety pins and two magnets to make a motor. Then students got to experiment at their desks feeling the force of magnets. Finally they filled out a paper to find out how much they have learned about magnets.

It is at this time of year students come asking for extra credit. It is really too late for that. Students had the chance to correct every test they took home. Those test could bring their grades up dramatically. They had in-class work to help their grades and homework assignments with time in study hall to complete the work. The important question students need to ask themselves, have I done the work I needed to do to LEARN the material. The grade matters, but what is more important is did the student learn the material. A few extra points will not help the learning process and that is why they are here in school. I hope they learn that they need to get their work done well and in on time.

Thursday - no school on Monday

Good morning, remember that Monday is President's Day. I hope that you will do something to honor those who have served in that office. Did you know that George Washington didn't even want to be president. After he had run the army for all those years he just wanted to stay home and run his plantation. He said to the men that came to encourage him to run, "Haven't I given enough for my country?" And then he went and did what needed to be done. We could learn quite a lesson from him.

Today we corrected the homework from Wednesday. Then we started to learn about magnets. We talked about some of their properties, which elements are magnetic, and why some items respond to magnets and some do not.

Wednesday

Today we reviewed circuits and then watched the explanation on Plato to check to make sure that everyone understands the concepts. Students then drew a four stage cartoon to show electricity safety.

Homework was handed in by most of the students. However, we will not grade it until everyone hands their paper in. Those that are late will only get 60% credit of their correct answers.

Tuesday homework

We learned about circuits today and turned in the stories. Homework was page E113 1-5. Remember to use complete sentences, start all sentences with capital letters and end with the correct punctuation. Stories will be turned back shortly.

Monday finish your story

Today is the Valentine's Dance. We are using study hall and five minutes off of each class so students can have their dance. Students also will be allowed to participate in an activity if dancing is not something they like.

Students wrote a story today indicating what would happen after one day, one week and then one month without electricity. The three paragraphs are due tomorrow.

Thursday

Today was our last Project Northland. Mrs. Bloxham showed a movie about the effects of tobacco. The movie shows the faster aging process, the dangers of smokeless tobacco, and the effect of emphysema on those who smoke. The goal is to encourage students to choose not to smoke and lead a healthier life by making that choice. There was also a brief discussion about drinking and driving and the effects that can have on many lives. Last week-end a Utah teen was found dead in a field after a night of drinking. Another teen had noticed his wallet was missing and went to the field where he had been drinking with his friends. He discovered the body of one of his friends and another friend was also there suffering from hypothermia. Fortunately the hypothermia victim is recovering. Our goal is to teach these students, while they are young, that they have choices, but those choices do not just affect them.

Wednesday

All the students who fixed their tests turned them in today. It is getting close to the end of the tri-mester and every bit helps.

We learned about static electricity today, how lightning works and how electrons jump across to meet with the protons. Then we played the lightning game where each student had a card positive or negative. Then they played the part of electrons and protons during a lightning storm. It was fun and hopefully the students learned about the law of electric charge.

Project Northland is due tomorrow.

Tuesday -Fixed tests are due tomorrow at the start of class

Today we are learning about how electricity works and how electricity moves through different materials. We practiced finding the difference between insulators and conductors. Then we watched the Plato section on Electricity Circuits and Power. We will finish the electricity section tomorrow. If you want to watch this go to Plato.blsd.net Then for your Plato name put in your last name and first name with no space between them. In the group name put 2017, and in the password, type in your student number.
Remember, Plato only works on Internet Explorer. It will not work on Google Chrome or Firefox
Plato name: smithsamuel (your last name first name all lower case)
Group name: 2017 ( this is the group name for 6th graders)
Password: 217000 (use your regular school password)

If this is not working, please contact me here and I will try and fix it.

Tests were returned today. They must be returned tomorrow at the start of class or they will not be accepted. All questions, that includes multiple choice, matching, completion and short answer. All must have complete sentences. The words also must be spelled correctly. Students only do the questions they got wrong.

Monday

Students corrected their tests today, I will look over them and make sure they are accurate, then they will take the tests home and, for 1/2 credit, fix their mistakes. That should be Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how well they corrected the tests.

We learned about static electricity today by pulling two pieces of tape off of the desk and then holding them close to each other. The tape pieces were repelled by each other indicating that they had the same charge. Then we put one piece of tape on top of the other and pulled those apart. The pieces of tape moved together indicating that the pieces of tape had opposite charges.

If you were absent and have not taken your test it is your responsibility to come in and get it done as quickly as possible. The tests are available and I will remind students, but they must come in.

Project Northland is due on Thursday. It is required and worth 5 points, please get it in early.

Thursday

It is still pretty cold outside, but fortunately we got to come to school today. It was Project Northland and a group of 8th graders taught the students about the dangers of tobacco. They also brought in pig lungs. One was healthy, you could see it move when the air was blown into it. But the tobacco damaged lung did not move. The students had the opportunity to feel both lungs (they wore gloves) and feel for themselves what smoking does to your lungs. Then Mrs. Bloxham went over their Slick Tracy book with them. It is homework and will be due next Thursday. Finally I told them about my dad and the suffering he went through after 50 years of smoking.

We are trying to teach the students to make healthy choices, choices that you will never have to regret. We want them to get a good education, and that includes both mind and body.

Wednesday Brrr -28 was the low!

We aren't having school today because it was too cold. Did you try and start your car? Did it work? Mine wasn't happy about starting. Remember to do your reading and finish Project Northland so it can be turned in on Thursday. Stay warm!

Tuesday

Students took the test today. We will correct it tomorrow and then move on to electricity. Those who finished early could have finished the homework during class. They were to read E94-105 and know the answers to the questions in red at the top of each section and those at the end of the chapter. Students are not required to write the answers at this time. It will depend on how well they know the answers when we discuss it in class tomorrow.