Photos from Washington DC/NYC June 2011

Chris with his finger on top of the Washington Monument!
Loved the Bull at Wall Street in NYC

Robert and Mrs. D at the Jefferson Monument in DC.

The next President and First Lady?

Chris caught a firefly in Arlington! Most of the kids had never SEEN one before!

Chris and Jeff posing with a really old tombstone!

The HomeLink girls with Washington State's monument in the Nation's Capitol!

Ghost stories in Arlington!

The King Center in Atlanta.

Mr. Julio got fired and walked through Trump's Door!

The Homelink girls riding the ferris wheel at NYC's Toys R Us in Times Square!

Stephen, Austin and Robert take a spin in the Fire Truck!

Shannon, Zack, Heather and Megan are all M and M's!

Yep! Chris teaches piano to Katelyn and Kayla at FAO Schwartz!

Jeff with Lady Liberty!

Robert and some of the girls took a spin on the NYC Police Motorcycle...

ok well they really just sat on it!

Imagining Peace at Strawberry Fields in Central Park!

Future Supreme Court Justices!

Megan, Mr. Julio, Shannon and Heather at George Washington's house in Mount Vernon.

A group photo at Mount Vernon!

Yep...they went O.G...Original George!

F.D.R's memorial fountain (one of 4) in DC

Soup kitchen line up!

Found the Mushroom Cloud in the Smithsonian!

Exhausted but still having fun!

Chaperones going bonkers at the Lincoln Memorial!

Loved the White House!
What a fantastic trip!

And we are walking!

Oregon Trail Picture Website

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/two/

November-American Heritage Assignment helps...

Here are the links to the assignments you will need to do this month!

November 5th: Video link for Veteran's Day Username: jodavis Password: Learn360
Link: http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?SearchText=Veteran's+Day&GradeLevel=3360056&ID=316504

November 9-10: National Tea Party Website http://www.teapartypatriots.org/

November 12: www.thisnation.com/congress-facts.html and www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obamacabinetmap/index.html Be sure to look at his advisors too!

November 19: National Women's Hall of Fame http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php

November 30: National Debt information Tax Freedom Day Article http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/jborowski/celebrate-tax-freedom-day-on-april-10th

October

First of all my apologies! My parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary so I have not updated my blog in a few weeks!

The students should all have their calendars and are on their way to success!

Washington State History:
Students this month are focusing on Indians and will soon move on to explorers. We are going to have CReHST Museum coming in with a presentation this month on Lewis and Clark!
Students have their reading assignments for the month and rather than having them turn in ONE project they will have weekly assignments.

American History
Students are finishing up their study on the branches of government and will not we will be looking at the roles of the President as well as Supreme Court cases.
The final two weeks we will be looking at the Washington State Senatorial race as well as initiatives that voters will be voting on in November.

Week of October 18th

American Heritage: http://www.tvw.org/elections/2010videovotersguide.cfm?CFID=8285893&CFTOKEN=82710098&bhcp=1

Reading Selections for High School-High School

Students should be selecting for October a Mystery or Science Fiction novel! This is key for them to earn a Language Arts credit! Please have them bring them to class every day we meet. They will have 3 seperate writing assignments and in order to earn those points (25) they need to have the book with them. On October 7th they need to have their book selected and bring to class for their first 25 points.

Reading suggestions for Middle School-October

This month the students should be selecting books that deal with Native Indians or the Pioneers. Here are some that I found while searching...I have NOT read these so please check them out prior to your student reading them. This should at least give you some idea of books to select from.


Alexie, Sherman (2007) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. NY: Little Brown.

Broker, Ignatia. (1983) Night Flying Woman. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society.

Bruchac, Joseph. (1998). Children of the Longhouse. Puffin.

Deloria, Ella. (1988) Waterlily. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Ehrdrich, Louise. (2002) The Birchbark House. Hyperion.

Harjo, Joy. (1996) Woman Who Fell From the Sky. W. W. Norton & Company

Linda Hogan, Power. 1998.

Hungry Wolf, Beverly. (1980). The Ways of My Grandmothers. New York: Quill.

King, Thomas. (2003). The Truth about Stories. Minneapolis: U of Minn Press.

Rockwood, Joyce. (1976) To Spoil the Sun. New York: Henry Holt

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Gardens in the Dunes. 1999.

Wallis, Velma. (1993) Two Old Women. New York: HarperPerennial

Upcoming Community Events

Here is a list of upcoming events at Barnes and Noble and in the community that may be of interest to you:
Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 2:00 & 3:00 PM
Music Therapist Bill Dluhosh
Join us on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 2:00 & 3:00 PM for a prelude to the Kadlec Neurological Resource Center's upcoming Music and the Brain conference on October 15, 2010. At the Barnes & Noble event Bill Dluhosh, MT-BC, a Board Certified Music Therapist at Kadlec Regional Medical Center will talk about and demonstrate how music can be used for more than just enjoyment. Several studies over the last 40 years have shown how the brain both responds to and can benefit from music. Music is just another tool that can be used with people affected by Autism, Dementia, Strokes, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Great for educators, caregivers and parents.

Saturday, October 9, 2010 9:00 am to 5:00 PM
Rivers of Ink: Celebrating local authors and their work
Get up close and personal with local authors of almost every genre including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, spirituality, fantasy, cookbooks, children's literature, and more. Discuss the inspiration behind their books, get insights into the writing process, or discover the challenges of developing a manuscript. Have your book signed or purchase a new book. Then relax with refreshments while listening to a panel discussion and dramatic readings of selected book excerpts. New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs is our keynote speaker.
Rivers of Ink is hosted by the Richland Arts Commission in partnership with Richland Parks and Recreation and American Association of University Women, with support from Barnes & Noble and Adventures Underground. Admission is free and all are encouraged to attend. For more info, visit www.riversofink.org .
Fall Educator Appreciation Week and Events at Barnes & Noble


Tuesday, October 12 4:00 PM
For Home School Educators
We are featuring author Jeremiah Robinson (Helping Students Become Equation Experts) and Renee Riva (Saving Sailor, Taking Tuscany, & Heading Home) We will also have a new book talk, treats, and giveaways.

What you missed on September 20th!

If you are sick or just set sailing on the High Seas and were gone today; I wanted to let you know what you missed today!

Washington My Home:
1. Entry task: What symbol did you choose and why? Are you ready to present, why or why not? 2. Class presentations on the State Symbols they selected.
3. Went over proper citation of material that students may use in the research! Please check email as I will be emailing it to you!
4. Went over homework for Tues and Weds...REMEMBER TO PRE-READ PAGES 44-45 FOR THURSDAY!
**Change on your calendar: Class presentations on the regions will be postponed until Thursday, October 7th due to me being gone!

American Heritage:
1. Entry task: To amend means to change...what change do you believe needs to be made to the Constitution? Be sure to include the social, political and possible economic influence and impact that this will affect.
2. Class presentations on amendment that each student selected.
3. In class reading on Federalists. We discussed the importance of knowing not just the facts but the WHY in history.
**Change on your calendar: Class presentations on your novels will be postponed until Thursday, October 7th due to me being gone!

Leadership
We are meeting about what the needs of the week are but most importantly we are going to plan a kick off for the Chimpanzee Sanctuary service project!!

What you missed on Sept 16th!

Washington State History
1. Collected permission slips for 9/25 trip to Sacajawea Days…please bring on Monday!
2. I also made sure each student had a library book to be reading throughout the month! The students should be bringing these everyday to class.
3. We went over our graphic organizers on the regions of Washington State and made a collective list of what makes each unique.
4. Each group presented their findings in class.
5. Students reviewed homework for Monday and the rubric for their poster presentations.


American Heritage

In class we:
1. Verified that all students have a biography on a colonist/founding father for their September reading project…please see calendar for more information!
2. Passed out flyer on “Invisible Children” assembly on Tues. Sept 21st from 8:30-9:30. It is optional but will be a REAL look at what is going on in the world!! See flyer for more info.
3. Entry task was “What impact did the Bill of Rights have on the development and signing of the Constitution?” Please turn this in as it is worth 5 points!
4. To review the important aspects of the Bill of Rights we played a smartboard game. Please review these at home before Monday.
5. I gave out the Federalist paper #1 written by Alexander Hamilton for students to do a vocabulary search/review and to rewrite in their own words. You may definitely use a dictionary for this!!
6. Reminded students about their Amendment assignment on Friday and gave out a rubric. This must be ready to go on Monday and students are required to have parents sign the form stating that they have heard the presentation.


Have a fabulous weekend!!

I will be out of town this weekend so please be patient as I may not reply until Sunday!

Mrs. D

Welcome Back!!

Washington State History links:

September 22nd Online Article: http://www.komonews.com/weather/faq/4306627.html

September 24th Video http://www.learn360.com/ShowVideo.aspx?SearchText=washington+state&Subject=9331597&GradeLevel=3360055&PageSize=50&ID=132114
**You will need to enter my username: johannad and my password: learn360


American Heritage links:

September 10th Magna Carta link:

http://www.usconstitution.net/magna.html

Leadership
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest http://www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/

End of a GREAT year!

Tomorrow we are back on track to finish the school year strong!
In cooking class we will be emptying all of the cupboards and scrubbing the kitchen clean to return it to the church even better than we got!
In Language Arts classes and History classes we will be collecting Culminating projects and wrapping up the year.
I won't have grades finalized until next week so no worries if your student's grade doesn't look like it should.

Thanks everyone for a GREAT year and I can't wait to see what we are able to accomplish this year!
Mrs. Davis

WINGS Grades Not Right?

Dear Parents and Students,
PLEASE be aware that grades will not be 100% current until after Spring Break.

I know that many of you are working at getting all caught up and I appreciate that! I will have some time during lunch tomorrow (11-11:30) as well as during LA classes to try and let you know what you are missing but I have a huge box of papers that I will not be able to get to until after Spring Break.

Thank you for your many kind words of support as I am still on the road to recovery but not close to being where I need to be.

Thank you for your patience and I will truly do my best to have ALL work graded and recorded before the end of 3rd Quarter (April 9th) and certainly before the next Monthly report (April 16th).

Again, thank you very much and I plan on seeing everyone tomorrow in class.

Mrs. Davis

Monday, March 22nd

I will be gone on Monday but want to give you a heads up on the activities you should expect.

Creative Foods:
Please make sure you bring in your ingredients for our Easter Dessert activity!!

Leadership Class:
Please bring your 7 Habits book and workbook to class in case you have extra time but you will be working on a student survey and wrapping up March activities.

HS and MS Language Arts Classes:
First of all PLEASE have your final drafts of your Expository Essays and Autobiographies done and ready to present in both small groups and the larger class group and turn in! I will really try and have them all graded for Thursday!

Second there will be NO monthly novel test this month but be ready to give a short oral presentation on your novel that you read this month. You will fill out a short survey on the book.

High Schoolers you will need to turn in your Taxonomy Questions on Thursday please come to class with these done.

Psychology Class:
Your test on Chapter 3 will be open book so be prepared and bring your book to class. You will NOT be able to use any notes so feel free to bookmark or post-it note your book if need be.

US History Class:
Monday you will be writing your OWN test on the Chapter; the test will demonstrate your depth of knowledge on the information we have covered.
Great job on the Progressive Movement this month and we will do a visual presentation activity in class to wrap it up on Thursday.

Calendar Changes

Dear students and parents,

Due to me being out next week I have changed a few due dates:
HS Language Arts Essay will not be due until Monday, March 22nd. They do need to bring it EVERYDAY to class though as I will be monitoring their progress~! Those that need to email it can email it to themselves and then print it out in the computer lab before class!

MS Autobiography will not be due until Monday, March 22nd as well. Same thing as the High Schoolers...Bring it to class EVERYDAY so all questions can be answered by the substitute.

Psychology quiz for Chapter 3 will be open book but I do expect the kids to work hard at studying it as it will be timed so we can correct it in class!

Please if you have any questions please be aware that the fastest way to get an answer just may be calling the office at 943-7340 as I am not promising that I will even check my email next week. But I don't want anyone to panic...just work through the assigned topic and I am sure you will be good to go!

One last thing...High School testing is next week. ALL 10-12th graders who plan on earning a Washington State Diploma or a Richland School District diploma are REQUIRED to take the HSPE next week for Writing and Reading. This is key as there are other options that may be available but this will be the most convienent for 99.9% of you! Please contact Alice if you have any questions as to whether your student needs to take the test.
The test will begin Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:45 in my classroom.

Have a great week and know that I will be thinking about each and everyone of you even if I am not there!!

Whoops...Muckraker site!!

Sorry Middle Schoolers...here is the website you need to do today's assignment:

http://www.sonic.net/~scds/resources/US-History/1904_Lincoln%20Steffens,%20The%20Shame%20of%20the%20Cities.pdf

Just copy and paste and you are good to go!!

Welcome to March

Now that we are just around the corner from Spring Break I wanted to make sure we are all on the same page!

WINGS is updated with not only what grades students have earned from February but also all their assignments for March! This hopefully will help everyone out in planning their schoolwork.

All the students were able to get their calendars and I gave them all the handouts they will need for the month as well!

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help out!

Mrs. Davis

Psychology Feb. 26th Assignment

For those that are wondering about Question #5...if you complete this assignment I will be offering "bonus points" for those that need it for their test they took on Monday. One of the few opportunities for Extra Credit so I would encourage you all to complete it!!

Out on Monday, Feb 22nd

I am so sorry to say that I will not be at school on Monday. I am having some medical tests done and will be leaving Mrs. King in charge! Here is what I have left for her and you to do:
Leadership: clean up after Valentine's Day and make springish posters!!

HSLA: You will be looking at an in class reading of "Why Terroroists do the things they do" This will be tied to your week's homework. It is different than what is on the calendar so please make a note of it!
You will also be writing 10 questions and answers that show a true understanding of your novel...Remember novel tests on Thursday!!

MSLA: You will be turning in your permission slips for Beauty and the Beast field trip on Thursday!!
Also you will be looking at the historic aspect fo the story and selecting a fairy tale to modernize!

Psychology: Yep; even though I am not there your test will be!! Please no notes or handouts just your brains!! You will do great! Just do your best! If there is time you will also watch a short video.
For homework you will BEGIN to do a psychology outline on a problem we have here in America...the example is TV and Violence; what is the connection? You can choose whatever topic you are most interested in. Homework is to select a topic, begin your outline and find 3 sources that are either pro or con on the topic! You can find ideas at http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/ just search "psychology" and you will be able to find quite a few ideas. Another great site is: http://www.juliantrubin.com/fairprojects/psychology/memory.html


US History: Using your notes Mrs. King is going to help you brainstorm the causes of the Progressive Movement.
You will also have an inclass reading from Chapter 9 of Upton Sinclair's book The Jungle
Homework will be to select an invention and tell me it's development, developer and it's importance. You can find a list of these items at: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1800b.shtml


Hope the day goes great and if you have any questions I will be at school (hopefully) on Tuesday from 8-2pm!

High School 2/18

High School Language Arts looked at Howard Zinn and his belief in rewriting history to show both sides of the story...students started with their opinion and then looked at the article to try and support their beliefs. It was great to see students look at documents to find their evidence. Hopefully this document encouraged open-thinking even if they didn't agree with Zinn.
Students also were reminded that they have their novel test for their books on Thursday, the 25th.
I did give the students a few minutes to catch up on their reading but students should be doing focused reading time in order to finish their books on time.

Psychology looked at the various careers that are involved in the topics we are going to be covering. Numerous students did not have it done so I reminded them to have it done on Monday. WINGS has been updated so you can check to see if your student has this assignment completed.
Students were reminded that they have a TEST on Monday over Chapter One.
I gave them an in-class pretest to give them an idea of what the test will look like! Students should do their online self-check quiz as well as make sure they are able to complete the Chapter Assessment in their textbook. They will turn in the online test to me on Monday!