Zoo Trip

Evan Longoria: telling the truth?

Today we studied an article in the St Petersburg Times which examined a controversial YouTube video showing Rays star third baseman catching an errant baseball bare handed while being interviewed. We watched the video to see if we agreed with the paper's PolitiFact team. The article by Aaron Sharockman argued that the catch was faked. I wanted the students to see a different form of writing....a hybrid, part persuasive essay, part news report. I also explained that PolitiFact usually investigated the truth telling of our elected officials. Here's the link, see for yourself.

Eurovision Song Contest: Azerbaijan Wins But Still Not in Europe

I'm not a big fan of pop music but I love the Eurovision Song Contest. I've been following it ever since I lived in Belgium in the seventies. Then it was just for western European nations. The Berlin Wall hadn't fallen. The Cold War was still on. The people of my village would gather near the school to watch the finals on TV's set up for the crowd. This was also before cable and TV a common thing there. It was also before Azerbaijan, Armenia and Israel (not geographically in Europe) were participants. This year the song from Azerbaijan won best in show. Next year's contest will be held (as is the custom) in the winner's capital city Baku. See the link here to the website and links to all the songs.

This is a huge event....which I think we should try for the states. Forget American Idol...lets have an American Song Contest among our fifty nifty.

New Mexico Plate: Best in Nation

My state's flag wins awards for best design and now our license plate is so recognized. See this.

Colonial Food Reports: Apples to Wheat, Squirrels Too

Here are the colorful report covers for the Foods of Colonial America project. You can read these reports and explore the technology applications each student put together next week at our Tuesday celebration. Their electronic portfolios will be on display as well. See you then.

Portfolio & Author Share Event

We will be showcasing the work of each student for about 90 minutes on the morning of May 24th. Starting at 8:15 in the Computer Lab, students will present their electronic portfolios which highlight their years in the Lower Division. Following that we will return to the classroom to listen to each student read a selection from his or her collected writings these last two trimesters. We will also be celebrating several history projects including their colonial food report and Comic Life project about the events that led to the American War of Independence.

Zoo Trip Lunch Requests Needed

We need to know if your child needs a box lunch from Sage for our trip to the zoo on May 23rd. The deadline to let Sage know is upon us. If you have an account with Sage, we still need to know if you want them to provide the lunch. Thanks.