Daily Messages 3/11-3/15

3/11
Good morning everyone!
I hope you all made it home safely on Friday. It was pretty crazy that school wasn’t cancelled. Beth told me that Mayor Menino was on the national news for not calling off school. Yup, that’s right, all over the country they were talking about Boston having school in the snow.
This weekend we had a little birthday party for Oliver, who will be 1 on Wednesday. (FYI: Wednesday is Nancy’s birthday too... she will be more than 1!) I have a few pictures now, but will have many more on Wednesday.

3/12
Hello!
FYI: middle school will be selling shamrock milkshakes for St. Patty’s day. They have two flavor choices: banana or mint. Shakes cost $5 and will be delivered on Tuesday, March 19th during 4th period. For more details see Brittany or Martha.
Also keep in mind that we will not have school on Monday (yay!!) next week, but for you 10th graders we will be starting ELA MCAS (boo!!).

3/13
Good morning! Today is lucky 13 for me - it’s Oliver’s birthday! This time last year I suspected that the baby would be born but I wasn’t sure. At 9:35 pm Oliver finally was born! It was a lot of hard work, which is why they call it “labor.” It has been a tiring year, but I wouldn’t trade any of my experiences with Oliver for the sleep I’ve lost!

3/14
 Hello everyone and happy pi day! Can you guess why today, March 14th is “pi day”? Hint: if you don’t remember pi, take a look at Kate’s shirt.
Some other fun facts for today: #
- Today is Albert Einstein’s birthday.
Do you know who Einstein is? What is he famous for?
- Today is Liz Oliver’s birthday


3/15 -5th period
“Beware the Ides of March!” This is a quote from Shakespeare. #
Can you find out why this quote is important today? You may use your phones, the computer, or the iPad. 5 points to whoever figures it out first!


I hope that everyone is looking forward to the long weekend. I certainly know that I am!





3/15 1st period
“Beware the Ides of March!” Jalissa, pay attention, because this is a quote from Shakespeare. 5 bonus points to anyone who can figure out why that quote is significant today.
I hope that everyone is looking forward to the long weekend. I certainly know that I am!
Aspartame - the chemical sweetener that tastes like a tin can (to Kate, anyway).
Suspenders - to “suspend” means to hold something up. Suspenders hold up your pants.
#

A year and more...

It's been a while since I've posted anything related to my class. Since my brief post in September the staff at Horace Mann have embarked on a daily message project in order to increase our students' exposure to printed English. I have decided to try and use this blog to keep track of the messages.
Here is the message I shared with my 5th period class today:
Hello everyone!
I’m sorry that I haven’t had any messages recently. I’ve been sucked into MCAS. My goal is to try to have a message even on the days I am not in the classroom. Please remind me.
Yesterday I went to an awesome workshop. We learned a lot about Challenge-Based Learning. That is when you learn new skill as you try to solve a problem in your life, or your community.
Ask me to show you the video about the geese. Here is the link to the video:
Challenge Based Learning in the Elementary Classroom