Saturday, December 17, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
SPEAK
Hello!
Hope you're having a nice weekend. Please post your AWESOME poem to the blog. Don't forget to add your name and the title of your poem.
Try to remember, poetry is about freedom of expression and creativity.
So...welcome...the mic is open to you...SPEAK :)
Hope you're having a nice weekend. Please post your AWESOME poem to the blog. Don't forget to add your name and the title of your poem.
Try to remember, poetry is about freedom of expression and creativity.
So...welcome...the mic is open to you...SPEAK :)
Monday, November 21, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Toiling Upwards
Hey There,
Have a great summer! Camping, traveling, swimming, playing sports, and spending time with your family and friends. I'll be doing some of all that!
I am truly impressed by all your hard work this year. You met every challenge (social and academic) with resolve and determination; you overcame difficulty and adversity; and you brought joy and laughter. You were creative, responsible, hard working, and lively! The list of accomplishments could go on and on! GREAT JOB! Special thanks to all our supportive parents and family members! Job well done!
And...Wonderful work on the end of the year portfolios. If you forgot to pick your portfolio up, you can always pick it up when we return to school in August. Keep these binders as souvenirs, mementos, and something to reflect upon as you move forward.
Remember what it was like to be a sixth grader? At times, it was hard to find a true friend. Upper classmen acted as if they were superior. Don't believe the hype. There's no room for bullying or teasing. When you return as a 7th grader, help make RMS a place were all students are treated as equals and embraced for their uniqueness and individuality. We are one learning community - we must work together to ensure that our school is a peaceful, friendly place to be.
Lastly, I wish to share with you a memorable quote and a famous short poem:
"The heights by great men and women reached and kept were not attained in sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upwards in the night."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
No man is an island,
entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
Each man's death diminishes me,
for I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
for whom the bell tolls,
it tolls for thee.
-John Donne
Best Wishes!
Mr. Briggs
p.s. Don't forget about the Washington D.C. trip early registration deadline, June 8th. Several students in our classroom have already registered! Way to go! Let me know if you have questions.
p.s.s. Feel free to post your comments!
Have a great summer! Camping, traveling, swimming, playing sports, and spending time with your family and friends. I'll be doing some of all that!
I am truly impressed by all your hard work this year. You met every challenge (social and academic) with resolve and determination; you overcame difficulty and adversity; and you brought joy and laughter. You were creative, responsible, hard working, and lively! The list of accomplishments could go on and on! GREAT JOB! Special thanks to all our supportive parents and family members! Job well done!
And...Wonderful work on the end of the year portfolios. If you forgot to pick your portfolio up, you can always pick it up when we return to school in August. Keep these binders as souvenirs, mementos, and something to reflect upon as you move forward.
Remember what it was like to be a sixth grader? At times, it was hard to find a true friend. Upper classmen acted as if they were superior. Don't believe the hype. There's no room for bullying or teasing. When you return as a 7th grader, help make RMS a place were all students are treated as equals and embraced for their uniqueness and individuality. We are one learning community - we must work together to ensure that our school is a peaceful, friendly place to be.
Lastly, I wish to share with you a memorable quote and a famous short poem:
"The heights by great men and women reached and kept were not attained in sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upwards in the night."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
No man is an island,
entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
Each man's death diminishes me,
for I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
for whom the bell tolls,
it tolls for thee.
-John Donne
Best Wishes!
Mr. Briggs
p.s. Don't forget about the Washington D.C. trip early registration deadline, June 8th. Several students in our classroom have already registered! Way to go! Let me know if you have questions.
p.s.s. Feel free to post your comments!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Dog Takes Cat Abuse
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Baby Sings Bieber!
Omg!!! This kid is awesome!
<a href="http://video.msn.com?mkt=en-us&brand=msn video&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:d6a64100-bb66-4141-8a3f-795dadfed45f&showPlaylist=true&from=ol_en-us_msnhp&fg=MSNvideo_divoverlayplayer" target="_new" title="Baby Sings Justin Bieber">Video: Baby Sings Justin Bieber</a>
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Where, O Where, Is Prince Charming?
Meg Bender, Classroom Journalist S. Briggs, Editor
The Greeks believed that love was sacred. You may have heard of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. Greeks referred to love at first sight as, theia mania, which means a passionate madness from God. Has modern culture shifted away from Greek mythology on love? Are people falling madly in love as the Greeks did…or faking it? Could it be that the pursuit of love and romance has lost a true cult following?
Modern psychology suggests that there are two bases for ‘love at first sight’. First, people fall in love through attraction. A study suggests that we determine a person’s attractiveness in 0.13 seconds on average! Secondly, in the first few minutes of meeting someone new we form conjectures about a relationship’s future potential.
In a separate survey I recently conducted, I discovered that even young people have cast off the idea of love at first sight. Less than half of the middle school students I surveyed held a belief in finding true love. One student commented, “If you don’t get to know a person you cannot fall in love with them right away.”
Yet, if we look to Hollywood, the pursuit of true love is still a major cinematic theme. For instance, in The Notebook Noah immediately falls in love with Allie when he first sees her. Or take A Cinderella Story where Austin falls in love with Sam when he looks into her eyes. Similarly, in West Side Story Tony and Maria fall in love instantly. Begs the question: Is true love something we can only hope to embrace on a movie screen?
Love is a mystery – an unending quest which eludes many. William Shakespeare once said, “Love is a wonderful, terrible thing.” Nonetheless, there is hope for hopeless romantics. Ladies, you must be patient and not too preoccupied – Prince Charming will come to sweep you off your feet. And fellas keep searching for Cinderella and her glass slipper…she’s waiting for you to find her!
Friday, March 25, 2011
LeBron James Scrimmage at UCSD Featuring: Romeo Travis, Damon Jones, Kim...
This is a nice video of LeBron James playing hoops with kids. Enjoy!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Amazing: Egyptian Uprising
The fall of a modern-day Egyptian pharaoh: Mubarak. In your blog post, answer at least one of the following questions:
1. What will or should be written about him in the annuls of history and in classroom textbooks?
2. If you were a historian decades later, how would you describe the political scene in Egypt during 2011?
3. After 30 years in power, what finally led to the uprising?
4. What's your opinion/perspective on the matter?
5. Lastly, feel free to comment on the video and/or the music (Kanye West, "Amazing" - The lyrics are perfectly synchronized with the video). Which segment/clip of the video stands out to you the most? Let us know by indicating the exact time it appears (for example, 0:02-0:06).
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
I hope you stay connected to this wonderful poet, educator, and singer. May her words change you, challenge you, and inspire you...
Sunday, February 13, 2011
"Curry Finds a Seam"
"I think any shot that's open or I'm about to take is going to go in." -Stephan Curry
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Amistad
Based on real events, Amistad is a fascinating account
of the trial of fifty African slaves in America in the year
1839. 'Amistad’ was released in 1997 and directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Film Summary:
It is 1839. Fifty Africans have been kidnapped from their
home in Sierra Leone, in West Africa. They are put in chains
and transported by ship, in terrible conditions, to Cuba in the
Caribbean, where they are sold as slaves to two Spaniards,
Ruiz and Montes. The Spaniards put them on another ship,
the Amistad, and the ship sets sail for America, where the
Africans are to be put to work in the sugar plantations.
Then something extraordinary happens. Led by Cinque, the
captives break loose from their chains and kill the Spanish
sailors. However, they do not kill Ruiz and Montes, but
instruct them to sail the ship back to Africa. Instead, unknown
by the Africans, the two Spaniards continue the journey to
America. At New Haven in Connecticut, in north-east
America, an American ship attacks and defeats the Amistad,
and the Africans become prisoners again.
The Africans stand trial for murder, accused of killing the
Spanish sailors. Different people insist that the slaves belong
to them: the Queen of Spain, Ruiz and Montes, and the
owners of the American ship that defeated the Amistad, all
say the Africans are their property. However, one young
property lawyer thinks differently to everyone else. He
believes that because the Africans were kidnapped and not
born into slavery, it is the kidnappers who are the criminals.
Men, he says, must kill for their freedom if necessary. The
Africans, he claims, are innocent.
The attention of the whole of America is on the trial,
because by 1839 slavery is an issue that threatens to split the
country in two. The President himself intervenes in the trial.
But he is not on the side of the Africans ...........
___________________________________________________________________
BHM Assignment #7 - Briefly respond to one of the following scenarios. Post your response to the blog.
· Scenario #1: Imagine that you are living in Africa in the 1830’s. You were taken from your parents, marched to the coast of Africa, and are now chained in a smelly, dark ship's hold. How do you feel? What are you thinking? What would your biggest fears be? If you were a child on the Amistad, would you have liked Cinque (Cinque was the captive that led the revolt/mutiny aboard the Amistad)? Why or why not?
· Scenario #2: Imagine that you are Cinque and you have just been told that you and your companions are to be killed. How do you feel? What will you do? How would you justify your actions?
· Scenario #3: Imagine that you are a slave trader. Why are you in this business? What are your feelings toward your slaves? Do you regard them as people, or property, or both? How would you justify feeling this way about your slaves?
President Obama in Ghana at the Cape Coast Dungeons pt 1-2
Though you are not required to comment on this video, I do encourage you to watch the entire video. This video clip captures President Obama's visit to an important historical site in Ghana where Africans were carried away from their home and shipped, like cargo, to America to be sold and traded as slaves. At the outer contours of the Cape Coast Dungeons the words "Door of No Return" are posted above an ominous corridor that leads out to the Atlantic.
I urge you to watch the video especially around the 4:10-5:40 mark. In this segment of the video, President Obama reflects on the relevance and importance of learning about slavery.
Feel free to leave a comment, if you wish!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Bieber Fever: “Never Say Never”
“Never Say Never” Makes a Good Case for Teen Heartthrob
Bieber fans...and haters...write your review of his latest 3D film in the comment section below! Click on the link above to read a review written in the San Francisco Examiner.
Bieber fans...and haters...write your review of his latest 3D film in the comment section below! Click on the link above to read a review written in the San Francisco Examiner.
Monday, January 3, 2011
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