Friday, September 19, 2008

With Tears In My Eyes. . .

It has been a long and difficult week.

My kid is 2,ooo miles away, the victim of Hurricane Ike -- homeless and carless.

Her college campus damaged and inexcessible.

And, through it, she managed to secure a safe place at the home of a friend in Houston. Her life returning to normal with the restoration of power and friends to take her shopping for clothes to replace those she lost. She is set to complete the semester via distance learning and we found, today, the campus may reopen by the end of January.

Then, today, I was called into the office. It appears the middle school and high school teachers took up a collection to help Krysia get through this tragedy.

I LOVE these people. Mr. Fausnaught said we are like a family - we love and we fight, just like any family. Well, here's to you my family -- Thank you, I love you all.

Back to schoolwork
I better get lotsa emails, this weekend, from Sections 62 and 64. You chose not to follow directions for today's experiment and some of you ignored me so much, I was forced to yell at you to get your attention. I know darn well I did get a few to pay attention after my outburst. But, I should not have to do that. So, I wanna hear from you guys so we can finish this project.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Rock-n-Roll LIVES!!!

The early-morning crew started an experiment modeling the erosion action of a tumbling mountain stream, while the late-morning bunch went outside to gather a thumb-sized rock. The rock will be used to emulate Archimedes thoughts on displacement and finding volume of an irregular object.

The early-morning crew gathered their rocks, last weekend, but, we will not do that displacement activity until we are further into the geology unit.

The Latest Buzz from Texas
My kid is safe, fed and has a roof over her head. She is planning to stay in Houston and finish the semester via distance learning. She will stay with the family that took her in during the evacuation. She is not yet ready to leave Texas until she learns the fate of some very personal items she had to abandon in her haste to leave her college dorm. I feel as though a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders and feel I can finally get some sleep after more than a week of worrying about my baby girl. Please pray for those Texans that were left with nothing in the wake of Hurricane Ike. "Them thar are good people."

Have a great night, folks.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Water, Water Everywhere, and Today Was About Soil and Stone

My morning classes went outside in an effort to drive a 4-inch diameter, 10-inch long PVC pipe into the ground, at least 5-cm. Not an easy challenge, but, necessary to measure the percolation of the ground. Needless to say, very little data was collected as water seeped out from under the driven tube, or, in some cases, the tubes did not go into the ground. So, why did the experiments fail to produce the anticipated results? Ask your kiddo, this was a lesson on deduction.

Have a great night, folks.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Parents: Check Your Kid's Science Notebook

Tomorrow is progress report day. I have hardly any grades and therefore will not be distributing progress reports. However, look for one from Mrs. Pulizzi for language arts, and maybe, even from Miss Porter.

Have a great night, folks.

Monday, September 15, 2008

ROCKet Science?

MMy first two classes were to collect thumb-sized rocks for science. I got slivers of slivers and I got boulders. Wow!

Finish Packets
Sections 63 and 61, probably had homework. They were to complete their project packets if not finished in class.

Lost Everything
My kid lost everything to Ike. Now, she has to go to the main campus with but a couple of change of clothing for thte remainder of the semester. First, her car dies and is junked, now she lost everything to a hurricane. However, she is safe. Please pray for the Texans that also, lost everything.

Have a good night, folks.