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Postcard To My 12th Grade Self
Article posted June 22, 2007 at 12:54 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 2825
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[Editor's Note: My 2006-2007 students have just graduated 5th grade. They have been in school for about six years. In another six years they will be a senior in high school. Believe it or not, they are about half way through their public schooling life!
Below is a postcard they wrote to their "12th grade self." I will mail it to them in June 2013!]
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Article posted June 22, 2007 at 12:54 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 2825
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SWING, HIT, RUN….SAFE!!
Article posted June 21, 2007 at 02:00 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 483
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When is the last time you hit an inside the park homerun? Don’t you think it’s fun to run around the bases? Join a little league team so you can do it all!
Kids should because it’s fun, good exercise, and, most importantly, you make new friends. Last year, I was on a softball team and I knew no one. By the end of the season most of them were very close friends.
It’s also fun to watch yourself improve. I used to always go for the walk. Now I can hit it all the way into the outfield.
It’s also good exercise. Between running around the bases and scrambling to get the ball, you’re really giving yourself a work out.
In conclusion, I say Little League is not only fun, it's good exercise, entertaining, and you walk away with a lot of friends. So join a little league team now!
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Article posted June 21, 2007 at 02:00 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 483
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Craziest Talk Show Ever
Article posted June 5, 2007 at 02:49 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 429
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CAST
Sara - London
Arielle - Paris
Gaby - Samantha
Mr. Brune – Oscar Zingkinghimerpants
Bisma -Miny
Isabella - Tokyo
Amanda - Audience
Margo - Audience
Stefan - Bebopper
Jackie - Audience
London - Welcome, to the Craziest Talk Show ever. I am your host, London Ruby Girl with. . .
Paris - I can say my own name, you know!
London - All right, this is London Ruby Girl reporting live with. . .
Paris - There you go with that name again!
London- Then say it already!
Paris - With Paris Pinktop because my top is Pink and I LOVE the color pink!
(London pushes Paris.)
London - Ruby’s on! Girls are sooo much better. . .
Paris - Wellllll. . .
Oscar - Quiet! You’re worse than my students. They use markers in their notebooks, they don’t finish 25 pages of work in 2 minutes, and they goof off in the middle of "Express Yourself" time.
Samantha - Now, now, Oscar Zinkerhymerpants. Calm, serenity, deep breaths. In (hoo), out (haaa), in (hooo), out (haaa).
Oscar - But I can’t. It is too hard.
Samantha - So try this: AHHH. . .MAAA. . .DAAHH. . .la de maaa deeeee la.
Oscar - What did you say, Samantha?
Samantha - Ohhh maaa daaahh la de maaa dee la.
Fuzzy - Are you done already? It's like a cat and a dog fighting and the cat is winning and the dog is losing.
Miny - Yah, sure, this is better than the talk show.
Oscar - de ohh be na manny bay ahh
Samantha - I beg you pardon.
Oscar (in a slightly nervy voice):
But, but, but you told me to say this.
Paris - Anyway, Sammy, how long have you been working for Mr. Zinkerhymerpants?
Samantha- My name is Samantha.(turns around) serenity (turns back around) Whooo Ahhhh Whoooo Ahhhh Well, there have been many calmers in his past and so far for me about 3 ½ years.
Lonan- Sammy, how long has Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Whateverpants had his fits in being crazy.
Samantha- My name is Samantha, not Sammy. The longest fit was 5 hours and 15 min.
Tokeyo (attitude)- Oscar how long have you had fits?
Oscar(jumping up and down)- I DON’T HAVE FITS!
Samantha- Oscar, repeat after me:le dah dah
Oscar- le dah mahhh ba ba ba
Samantha-close enough.
Paris- Sam, have you ever lost your cool?
Samantha- My name is Samantha and no I have never lost my cool in 2 ½ years.
London- Wow!
Anna- What does it feel like to be the meanest teacher ever?
Oscar- I AM NOT THE MEANEST TEACHER IN THE WORLD! OR AM I?! NOOOOOOOOOOO! With my Pre-k class this is the Algebra: 33 @ 22Cents + 7 + 14 + 18 + 15+27cents=45x+25y+84-19
Paris-How can they answer that ABC junk?
Oscar-NOOOOOOOO they STINNNNNK!
Jumpy-How do they answer it then?
Oscar-They stay until they do. One time I had a 16 day rally until they finished. Really.
Teddybear-I’m Teddybear Nightlight. They call me Teddybear because I sleep with a cute pink teddybear. My last name is Nightlight because I have a pretty pony nightlight and I can’t sleep without it. And I am from. . . .
Oscar-Will you get on with the question already.
Teddybear- Sheesh. . .somebody's got a BIG temper problem.
Oscar (getting all mad)- What did you say?
Samantha (trying to change the subject)- Nothing, he said nothing at all.
Miny-Ok, now this is getting crazy, but I mean the BEST craziest talk show ever!!!
Paris-Yeah, I know. I am the BEST!
Londan-No I am!!
Paris-No, me.
Londan-I said it second.
Samantha-Be QUIET!!! Soon you will have to go to me!!
Paris and Londan-SORRY!!!
Londan-Remind me, Sammy Pants. . .
Samantha (jumping up and down)- My name is not Sammy Pants!
Paris (high five)- You got it Rubygirl!
Samantha-I hate you all.
Oscar-Samantha, calm it down. Cool it.
Samantha (leaves crying saying 2 ½ years wasted) - This is, ah, backwards.
Londan and Paris- And that. . .is the Craziest Talk Show Ever!
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Article posted June 5, 2007 at 02:49 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 429
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Final Pioneer Diary Entry
Article posted May 17, 2007 at 08:21 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 483
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[Editor's note: This journal was found among other artifacts on the Hacker Trail, a trail used by Pionneers traveling to the Oregon territory in the mid 1800s.]
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Article posted May 17, 2007 at 08:21 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 483
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Spider found living in boy’s ear
Article posted May 16, 2007 at 05:20 PM GMT0 •
comment (1) • Reads 557
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Nine-year old Jeese Courtney in Oregon, America had an ache in his ear and a weird popping noise. He told his mother and she took him to the doctor. The doctor thought he saw something way down in his ear. He washed his ear out and a dead spider came out followed by a living one. The doctor thinks the popping noise was the spider tapping around.
If I had a spider in my ear I would be horrified and scared to death. I wonder how they got in there? I wonder why they wanted to get in there in the first place?
Read more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6630000/newsid_6632300/6632317.stm
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Article posted May 16, 2007 at 05:20 PM GMT0 •
comment (1) • Reads 557
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The Constitution Works! Justice Gaby's Opinion
Article posted May 11, 2007 at 06:30 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 416
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The Denver Dispatch v. the United States (2007)
Docket Number 93-8000
The story:
The Denver dispatch published top-secret information about biological weapons and the government didn’t want them to.
Denver Dispatch goes to the Supreme Court
Lawyers for the Government argued:
We made a treaty with the Soviet Union and they feel we broke the treaty.
Lawyers for the Denver Dispatch argued:
People should know about the environment and things around them. And they might panic if they don’t know more about biological weapons.
Justice Gaby wrote:
I think yes, we should have freedom of the press. But the Denver Dispatch is writing things that could destroy America. The government should be able to test things with no interferences. What would happen if we got into war and none of our biological weapons worked? That would be a really big mess, don’t you agree? Also, we would probably lose the war. A newspaper could publish that we know that terrorists are going to come. That would be like a surpise party. Then they wouldn't come because the surpise wouldn't be what it would have been. A newspaper could print if the terrorists are going to knock down whatever building so we could have security there. The terrorists probably wouldn’t come because the attack wouldn’t be what it would have been. Or a newspaper could print if the terrorists are attacking whatever building or if armed soldiers will be there. I think this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because I think they gave too much information and that is why I am in favor of the government.
[Editor's note: "The Constitution Works" is a role-playing exercise that gives students a chance to learn about the United States Constitution and government. The students role play a hypothetical court case called Denver Dispatch v. United States. Students take on roles as a lawyer or Supreme Court Justice. They think about what is more important: the freedom of the newspaper to print what it wants OR the government's duty to protect our nation's security.]
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Article posted May 11, 2007 at 06:30 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 416
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DARE (Audio)
Article posted March 23, 2007 at 05:43 PM GMT0 •
comment (5) • Reads 477
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EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it! More than half the kids in the middle school died from smoking!
Okay, that’s a little overboard. As a matter of fact, only 9% of eight graders reported smoking in the past 30 days. If you think about it that’s great because that also means 91% don’t smoke.
Officer DiRuzza taught us about so many things, like the different kinds of peer pressure. I didn’t even know there were different kinds of peer pressure. There’s positive, bullying, friendly and teasing. Also there’s more than one way to respond. There’s unsure, demanding, and one you should use is: confident. When you are confident there are things you have to say or do. Here they are:
A. Avoid the situation. Just stay away from places where people do drugs.
B. Strength in numbers. Hang out with people who don’t do drugs.
C. Walking away. Here’s an example: “Let’s smoke.” Say “no” and walk away.
D. Ignore them.(Which is pretty simple, right?)
E. Give a fact. Here’s an example: “Do you want beer?” I could say. "No, I’d be grounded for life.”
F. Change the subject. Like: “Let’s smoke.” Then you go off topic.
G. Skipping CD. If they ask over and over, keep saying the same thing.
H. Use humor. An example would be: "Want some alcohol?” You could say, “No, I need my brain cells”.
I. Dear Lord, I have to be the easiest: JUST SAY NO! Isn’t that easy?
So if you get in situations like these, these are some of the things you can do.
Now it comes to friendly or positive peer pressure and why it is hard to say no to a friend and why it’s important to make your own decisions. It is hard to say “NO” to your friend simply because they are your friend and you trust and like them. You have to make your own decisions because it is not fun to go through life as someone’s pet and have them treat you like a puppy.
In conclusion, I can say, I will never drink alcohol (you could get drunk, have a loss of coordination, have poor judgment, have memory lapses and have slurred speech), smoke(you could die from cancer, have trouble breathing, get wrinkles, get bad breath and yellow teeth), or do drugs (get short term memory loss, have a loss of ability to concentrate, have slowed coordination and reflexes).
I pledge not to drink, smoke or do drugs because it is too risky and this is not a risk I am willing to take.
[Editor's note: This year millions of school children around the world will benefit from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the highly acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of our nation's school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives. We thank Officer DiRuzza for leading us this year! To read more about DARE go HERE.]
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Article posted March 23, 2007 at 05:43 PM GMT0 •
comment (5) • Reads 477
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Chinese New Year
Article posted March 14, 2007 at 05:14 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 356
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It's time for the latest celebration! So back your bags and get your passport! Planes are loading!
Millions are going to China for Chinese New Year. And this year it’s the "Year of the Pig"! Chinese New Year is China’s most important holiday; so many people went to celebrate. People from Beijing all the way to Singapore are going to temples for good fortune. You know Chinese New Year is celebrated in other countries, not just China.
I think it’s good that people all over celebrate a different holiday all over. It’s also good because holidays could spread. Like Germany started celebrating Thanks giving.
Read more at:
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/news/story/0,6260,1026224,00.html
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Article posted March 14, 2007 at 05:14 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 356
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The Naturally Egyptian. . . (Video)
Article posted March 9, 2007 at 07:53 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 347
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[Editor’s note: Our class had the privilege of working with the Lincoln Center Institute
for the Arts in Education Program here at MAS.
This year, our class worked with Teaching Artist Lynn Ligammari. We studied the work of Ecos del Sur by Camera Latina. Ecos del Sur is a program of classical Central and South American music that covers ten different composers from nine different countries played by an ensemble comprising six different instruments. Five musicians—piano, flute, guitar, cello, and voice—perform in various combinations and as a full ensemble.
We focused on how musical elements (such as rhythm, tempo, and ensemble interaction/balance) are used to convey multiple moods and musical landscapes in Camerata Latina’s Ecos Del Sur.
We reflected on and discussed what we noticed from the Ecos Del Sur performance and how music “tells a story.” We then focused on some of the musical patterns from the performance and how those musical patterns make us think of visual and verbal patterns and tell a “story.” We selected an instrument to “tell a story,” drew visual representations of that “story,” and worked with others (ensemble) to compose your own piecesong (composition).
Hear and see our compositions by clicking the “play in browser” icon below!]
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Article posted March 9, 2007 at 07:53 PM GMT0 •
comment • Reads 347
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