Reading Project at Kindergarten

Mrs. Geise's advanced reading classes acted out children's stories for the kindergarten classes at Central Elementary. The teachers in both the 7th grade and at Central were very impressed with the students' effort and enthusiasm, as well as the ingenuity of the sets and wardrobes. Here's a quick look at the rehearsal and performance of three reading groups.

Google in China

We've talked a lot in class about how China is changing. Here is another example. Because China is a communist country, they censor much of the information that the public has access to, meaning people in China don't have access to all information. They only see what the Chinese government allows them to see. As of today at about 3:00 pm ET, Google announced that it has stopped censoring the Internet in China. Google is no longer obeying the Chinese government and people in China now have access to information that they could never see before. Who knows, they might be reading this blog right now. It will be interesting to see how the communist Chinese government responds to this event.

Read this CNN article to find out more about Google in China.

Ready -- Set -- DODGEBALL!

Let's just say it--I love the dodgeball tournament! What a great turnout of players, spectators, teachers, and parents last night. I had a great time hanging out with everybody.

Congratulations to the Smurfs, who captured the title with a come-from-behind victory over the Ronald McDonald Gang.

Here's a quick tournament summary:

First person out in tourney -- Austin B.

Last person out in tourney -- Quinn K.

Man of the Match -- Nick M., who was 1 vs. 4 in the final match but still led his team to a win

Most likely to be first person out -- Ryan D.

Most likely to be last person in -- Anthony C.

(Final three categories as voted on by...me.)

Can't wait 'til next year, but until then keep the duck, diving, and dodging alive.

Kissing Daisey Mae

Oh gosh, where do I begin? 2nd place; the silver medal! I have so many people to thank. First to my mom and dad--thanks for all the love and support you've shown me through the years. And to my loving wife--where would I be without you? I'd like to thank Mrs. Rosamilia and the Jr. High National Honor Society for making this event possible. Thanks to Sabrina and Kiersten for talking me into doing it. Thanks to Jen for calling a penalty on my first kiss (above) so that I had to do it a second time. And to Miss Horner for actually winning so that I only had to kiss Daisey on the cheek. Most of all, thanks to all my fans for voting for me!

In all seriousness, it was a good event and I'm glad some money was raised for a good cause. I'll be sure to post what charity Miss Horner selected when I find out.

People wanted to know how it was. Well, lets just say I'll be looking forward to more of this in the future. (below)

Earth At Night

As promised to my 3rd period, here's a shot of Earth at night. It's very easy to see population density this way.

Chile Earthquake/Hawaii Tsunami

Have you been following the news of the earthquake that happened in Chile this morning? The earthquake was a magnitude of 8.8 (Haiti was a 7.0). According to ABC News, the Chile quake was 64 times more powerful than the one that hit Haiti one month ago. Click here to read more about the Chile earthquake.

To follow up this event, tsunami warnings have been posted for Hawaii, and it appears as though a tsunami (tidal wave) is definitely going to hit Hawaii within the next hour or so. I find it amazing that an event in South America could effect Hawaii. That's over 6,000 miles away! (See map below.) Even more amazing is that they are able to track and predict that a tsunami is about to hit Hawaii. They have even predicted the earliest possible minute that the tsunami could hit, which is 4:05 pm ET.

Continue to follow the events in Chile and Hawaii as they occur.

Snow Day x 2 = Long Weekend!

Hope you all enjoyed the back-to-back snow days. Enjoy them now because we just lost two days off of our Easter vacation. I'm also sorry that the Dodgeball Tournament has been postponed. Listen to announcements to see if it will be rescheduled.

Things you should know:

1. The Unit 7 Map Test will take place either Monday or Tuesday, depending on when I can schedule computer lab time to complete the oil economy project.
2. Speaking of the oil economy project, you will only have one more day in the computer lab, so make sure your graphs are finished.
3. Boys & Girls Varsity Basketball teams will play Saturday, February 27th @ Milton. The Girls Varsity Team will play Mount Carmel @ 12:00 noon, and the Boys Varsity Team will play Line Mountain @ 1:30 pm.
4. Finally, don't forget to blog, but if you're reading this then..........right.

See you Monday!