Do You Have A Sinus Headache?

Whew! Had a doozie this a.m. With the storm coming in the head pounded. All three grade levels were off-the-wall by lunchtime. I saw two 8th graders about to duke it out, but, stopped when they saw me in the hallway. A herd of 7th graders stampeded past my room coming back from lunch, and the sixth graders were climbing the walls and crawling on the floors. It was nuts.

One group opted out of our experiments
One section of students opted to destroy my equipment, throw sand on the floor or play water tag at the sink. The continued to chatter and refused to listen, much less, follow directions. I ended their hydrology project and tossed their labs into the garbage. The frequency and severity of the misbehavior of several Cretans in the classroom forced my move. I am saddened by the fact that a dozen or so children that do not misbehave are suffering. However, it is a matter of safety and when it goes beyond my control, I must take action to restore order.

Thanks for the help, Ms. Silvagni
My parent volunteer, who comes in on Fridays to help with PSSA preparation has been a Godsend. She is not only adept at mathematics, but, the kids pretty much know her and respect her. Plus, we went to high school, together. So, when the cherubs are out to lunch, we get caught-up on post-high school news. I work with a couple of former high school classmates. It keeps us from getting old, ya know.

Have a great weekend, folks.

Do You Have A Sinus Headache?

This is NEWS!!!!

I have nothing to say. I am actually dumbfounded.

Have a great night, folks.

At What Point Do You Realize.. .

you actually do make a difference?

I received a hug, this morning, from a young lady that I thought was so terrified of me, I was concerned she would learn to hate school. Folks, I simply melted.

I made an appearance at History Night, last night. I was overwhelmed by the number of cherubs that ran-up and joyously greeted me, excited that I came to their presentation.

A young man that hauntingly teased me about how well he is doing in Mr. Conoway's 8th grade science. How easy 8th grade is compared to 6th grade science. Did I have anything to do with him finding 8th grade easy?

My Boy Leaves Monday
His four-year hitch in the Air Force begins on Monday. Talk about nervous. At 22, my boy, it is time for you to live your life. Enjoy the ride.

Have a great night, folks.

Not One Kid Asked Me. . .

a.) what it was like during the fall of the Roman Empire
b.) if Ben Franklin and I hung-out, as kids
c.) my age
and for that, I eagerly await History Night in the middle school, at 7 tonight. Mrs. Walls' students are presenting some of the things they have been working on in her classroom. If it is anything like Museum Night, a couple of weeks ago, at Schick elementary school, I am in for a rewarding night.

I hope to see lotsa my current and former students - and their folks - tonight.

T'Ain't Gatorade
A new use for old plastic bottles. Filled with colored-water, they served well in offering my students a chance to discover tracing the water flow through an aquifer.

Have a good night, folks.

Flow Rate

A couple of groups, today, worked on the permeability of a one-liter sample of sand. Setting a countdown stop watch to 40-minutes, they activated the stopwatch when the water poured through the sand began to trickle through the other end of their two-liter soda bottle. Not a very dramatic experiment other than to determine the flow rate of water through a material that is one-third pore volume.

Have a great night, folks -- Spring is a'comin'!!!!!!