..And This Is How We ROCK!

Graduation was a success at Alpine Church in Riverdale. Special thanks to Alpine for allowing us to use the facility! We were blessed with a wonderful evening!

Girls Night!

Running a little behind with the posting, but Girls Night Out was a hit as we went hiking, enjoyed dinner at the Oaks and then hit up the movies to see the Powerful Oz....we finished off our evening at Farr's Fresh in Riverdale and had an all around splendid time!

Grad pictures to follow as soon as parents start sending them in! :)

Rockefeller and Carnegie!

Today our class had our Monopoly Bracket Competition. Four brackets played for a period of time which determined four winners. Those four played for another 45 minutes after lunch. Students were required to calculate their entire net worth when the time was complete. Sam Pope won and McKenna Tracy came in second. For earning the most net worth, Sam was "coined" Rockefeller, and McKenna, Carnegie. Some students had never played Monopoly previously, so now they have the bug to play more. If we have time next week we may have a game day....

Tomorrow the scholars will take their final test on Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. They will also be finishing up the math unit so we can take that last test on Thursday. Scholars will be finishing up To Kill a Mockingbird and we hope to have enough time to watch the movie. If we don't have time this week, we will watch it next week. We will also finish up our last history unit and have an open book test on Friday.

Speaking of FRIDAY!!! We will be launching our rockets in teams on Friday morning. We could use a couple of parents to help with crowd control and sighting as we launch them. They will definitely go out of sight and we hope to be able to recover even a few.  If you would like to join us and help the scholars, we will be launching from 8:30 to 9:15 or so. The weather is supposed to cooperate...so we will see! :)

I will be adding a page to the blog which will include a reading list for grades 6, 7, 8 and is classical in nature. If you are looking for summer reading and your new school does not provide a list, feel free to use this one!

Rockefeller and Carnegie...it's all about the money! ;)

Monopolies, Legislation, and Girls' Night Out!

Tomorrow in class we will be taking our Latin Final exam and then focusing on our Rockefeller Competition. If you own an ORIGINAL Monopoly game, please send it in for our tournament. We have finished our study of Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morgan and Vanderbuilt, and now it's time to put our own strategies to task. Also history related is each student's "family legislation." It is now time for each student to present to the family the bill that they would like to pass. They are to give you 48 hours to answer after they have answered all of your questions. Good luck!

Scholars also have math homework tonight to prepare for their test on Thursday.

Girls Night Out is back to Saturday May 25th. We will meet at GFA at 4:00 pm. We are going to head to an easy hiking trail near the Oaks Restaurant in Ogden.  We will then have dinner at the Oaks and hopefully catch an early movie at the Ogden Theater. I have to check and see what is playing and then we will get approvals from parents! Mrs. B. and I will be taking the ladies. We will then return them to GFA for pick up that evening. Hopefully it won't be as late as the boys!

PowerPoint Presentations are due Thursday. Please be sure your scholar is saving it on his/her thumb drive!

Have a great evening!

Peanut Butter, Smashed Cars, and Kettle Corn Abounding!

What a two day whirlwind the scholars have had! Lagoon was an astounding success as Addison Fenn captured fourth place in the egg drop competition. Her peanut butter container made the news, and we are so proud of her work! CONGRATULATIONS ADDIE!!!
The Standard Examiner ran the story:

http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/05/18/fair-lagoon-proves-students-physics-amusing?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+standard%2Ffrontpage+%28Standard-Examiner+Latest+Headlines%29&utm_content=FaceBook#.UZjRi_fvnto.facebook

We had a great time riding the rides and being goofy for the day...a much deserved celebration of our physics unit and all the hard work the scholars put forth this year. Thank you to our devoted parents who drove and chaperoned for the day.

Saturday found the gentlemen feasting on dinner at Grideli's and heading to the Man Mania Demolition Derby. Along with the loud crashing and engine noises, scholars enjoyed authentic kettle corn and eating plenty of mud and dirt! :)  It was after midnight when we finally left the fairgrounds.

Onto our last working week of the school year. Important dates for the scholars are:

Monday - History Test
Tuesday - LatinTest
Wednesday - Math Test 14/Final Test Roll of Thunder
Thursday - Open Book History Test/PowerPoint projects due
Friday will have us finishing up our portfolios and getting ready for graduation! :)

The Following Week - Tuesday Evening -  May 28th, graduation at 6:30. Scholars are to be at Alpine Riverdale by 6:15 the latest.
Wednesday 29th is field day/ Aunt Alexandra's Tea Party
Thursday 30th - clean out lockers, move as much as possible downstairs.

getting ready to drop our projects!

Addie Fenn - Forth Place! Congrats!

The egg survived!!!

Guys Night Out - Grideli's and May Mania

waiting for the craziness to begin!

Jared, Ian, and Ashton caught Weber Shirts!

Flipping vehicles over!

right up to the railing!

Excellent dinner

Grideli's burgers!

...AND We Blew it OUT OF THE WATER!

Congratulations to our incredibly deft scholars as they blew away the NWEA math exam today. The average gain from fall to spring was 14 points per student with some gaining 28 and 29 points! Virtually unheard of with many scores far exceeding 255, a 10th grade math level! WOOT! We ROCK!

Parents please remember to cancel lunch purchases for Friday as we will be at Lagoon for the day!

Tomorrow the Physics Projects are DUE! Students should bring them in at 8:00 and they will be weighed and measured. Any that need tweeking will be sent home tomorrow night.

Cities are coming along as the scholars continue to build the two physical settings for To Kill a Mockingbird and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. We are using our three dimensional shapes that were created in the 12th unit of Math.

If you haven't volunteered for graduation yet, please get to Elizabeth Tracy so that she has the people required for the kinder graduation on the 22nd.

Thank you all for working with your scholars this year to show these vast improvements in their education! I am so blessed to see their out of this world scores!!!!! :)

Demolition Derby, Here We Come!

The boys just voted and the May Mania Demolition Derby at Golden Spike won the vote. It was close between the derby and laser tag!
Therefore, we will meet at Grideli's at 5:30 (off I-15 at 400) on Saturday the 18th. This is the saME exit for the Weber Fairgrounds. Turn left, and left at 1900, Grideli's is right on the corner. We will have supper and make our way over to the derby. It starts at 7 but we will want to get choice seats by 6:30. It is right down the road from the restaurant. Feel free to join us if you like.

I will be picking up tickets on Thursday. $8 for the boys, $16 for adults. Please send the money into school so I can pick them up! Looking forward to a great night with the guys! :)  If your son needs to be picked up, we will travel back to Grideli's after the derby and you can pick up there. We will call when the derby is ending to provide enough time to get back to Grideli's.

Thanks! :)

Important Info!

EARLY BED TIME tonight as tomorrow morning is our last NWEA - Math! Please be sure scholars eat a healthy high protein breakfast!

Parents, please remember that Thursday at 1:00 pm Mountain Heights Academy will be here to present to our scholars about their new Junior High. It should run about an hour. Please come if you are interesting in hearing what they have to say.

Physics Projects are due Thursday morning. If students need to rework them, they will have to take them home Thursday and return with them Friday morning.

If you are driving to Lagoon on Friday please be to the school by 8:30, or stay in the morning. We will be placing students with chaperones and we would like to leave GFA by 8:30ish. All scholars have to have a ride home from the park at 4:00. Please be certain your scholar knows how he or she is getting home.

If you are willing to help out with the Kindergarten Graduation on the 22nd, please contact ET Tracy immediately. We need to help them, so that they will help us!

Saturday is Guys Night Out. As of today the scholars haven't decided what we are doing. If they don't decide today then I will decide for them. Stay posted as to what will be happening Saturday evening.

More to come later! Have a great afternoon!

And the Winner is.......

Friday was a busy day as both males and females worked sedulously to complete their roller coaster projects and present them to the Headmaster and Dean. Scholars were required to have certain elements in the coaster, and had to present Newton's Laws in the process of the overall presentation. The ladies were quite deft at utilizing purple and green, and the men showed teamwork as they broke up sections and delegated who would build each part. Even though the boys won the competition, all scholars learned and used their knowledge proficiently.

Scholars have the Science NWEA in the morning. Please be sure they eat a healthy breakfast! Our Math NWEA will be Wednesday morning. We will be ready to celebrate on Friday at Lagoon when these tests are complete! :)

The Oily Mess...and Surfactants..NWEA Tomorrow!

Tomorrow morning is our Language NWEA. Please be sure your scholar eats a high protein breakfast and gets plenty of rest! Thank you for helping them perform at their best!

Scholars spent time this morning refreshing their grammar skills, reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and finishing up our math unit on Statistics.
This afternoon we headed outside in the beautiful weather and spent time attempting to clean up oil spills; a very real problem existing in our oceans and water supply all over the earth. Scholars were broken up into groups and given certain "tools" to attempt to clean up their spill. Various tools included spoons, cotton balls, wipes, eye droppers, straws, and napkins. Once scholars spent time trying to solve the problem, we then added a surfactant to break the surface tension of the oil. We then discussed what have been done in the past to break up and collect oil spills in our oceans.

First Schedule Change.....GRADUATION!

We were busy today in the suite. We are going to change our science test and have an open book science test Wednesday on oceans. Scholars have been working on their Cornell notes and have plenty of information to study and organize. I believe this will be a positive working test to help organize information in their minds. We will begin Newton's Laws on Wednesday also, so that they can start working on their projects for Lagoon.

The Physics Day at Lagoon will take place on the 17th of May. We will all meet at school and then I will need two to three other parents to chaperone and drive. We will leave school around 8:30am. Your ticket will be free for the day if you are an assigned chaperone. If other parents wish to go, you may, but you will need to pay for the entrance ticket upon arriving. Scholars may bring their backpacks with them in their chaperone's car. They will need to carry their project into the park with them. I will have their entrance ticket. All scholars will need to have a ride home at 4:00 pm. Coach, Mrs. Hartman and I will be at the exit gate from the park and we will see to it that all students have rides home. Please be sure those arrangements are made prior to Friday. Permission slips will go home tomorrow.

GRADUATION has been officially moved! Scholars will be graduating Tuesday night May 28th at 6:30 at Alpine Church in Riverdale. Information about committees will come out this week from Mrs. Tracy and the volunteers from Mrs. Hartman's class. There are countless jobs to be done, including  programs, cake and punch, and some minor decorations. We will need volunteers to help prepare the certificates and get everything in order on Tuesday. Stay tuned for more info later this week!

If you get a chance to come up our hallway, please indulge for a moment and take in the Urban Legend projects completed by our scholars. They did a marvelous job and the best of the best are displayed in the hallway.

Today we began separating all of our 3D shapes to build our cities from the novels we are reading. The class is divided into two groups, one for ROTHMC, and another for TKAM. They started sketching their towns and they are going to be very creative! See photos...

This Friday scholars will be building roller coasters for an in class project. They are allowed to bring in any materials they would like to use, but they can not use pre-made roller coaster parts. They may use pieces of scrap pipe, or any of the parts that were listed on the board today. This is an enjoyable activity that gives them a good idea of how hard the high schoolers work to prepare their roller coasters for the competition at Lagoon.

A Hairless Pie in the Face...and A Lunch from Heaven!

What a day! Just getting home at 8:37 gives you an idea of how long it actually went! We had the assembly of a lifetime this morning as we celebrated out fundraiser triumphs with pies in Mrs. Robbins and Mrs. Rivera's faces as well as shaving heads of Mr. Hassell, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Petersen. See the article for great photos, as well a the photos that I am including. We also had an excellent presentation by Jonah, our hero, as he sang his rap!

http://www.standard.net/stories/2013/05/03/heads-shaved-money

Then we went on to a wonderful luncheon after presenting our Urban Legend Projects. All in all it was a great day. Enjoy a marvelous weekend!

Jonah the Rap Star!

Showin us how it's done!

and flying through the air with the greatest of ease!

Mrs. Robbins, you asked for it, you got it!

Mrs. Rivera, you did not ask for it, but you got it! lol

men with hair

women with razors

men with less hair

Ms. Downs is having a bit too much fun, don't you think???

oops! the guard fell off!!!!! Oh well, it will grow back!