With so many questions about the new trimesters, I wanted to share with you some information about what we are about to undertake. I also want you to have a place to ask questions if you don't have the time or opportunity to come and ask me yourself. I am posting the questions that were given to me by the Car Ramrod pack, along with my answers. If you have additional questions, please post them here. I'll try to answer as many as I can.
CAR RAMROD: How will trimesters affect student scores on mandatory tests such as ITED's and MAP tests?
MRS H: Studies have been conducted on the effect of trimester schedules on standardized testing. The results of these tests have been mixed. Some studies found that student scores increased; some found that they stayed the same; other found that scores decreased. There seem to be too many variables to determine how trimester schedules will effect standardized tests.
CAR RAMROD: Can students learn as well in a trimester schedule? (i.e. will they get sick of sitting for longer periods of time, can they take in a lesson and a half nd absorb that much information all at once)
MRS H: Most research has found that in trimester/block schedules, students' grade point averages tend to increase. However, some research found mixed results.
CAR RAMROD: Will the number of credits to graduate have to increase?
MRS H: Not at this time.
CAR RAMROD: How many trimesters of PE will we have to take?
MRS H: The Healthy Kids Act requires 120 minutes of activity per week. In addition to this, the state requires that "all physically able students shall be required to participate in the program for a minimum of one-eighth unit during each [trimester] they are enrolled." In order to comply with state requirements, each student who is physically able must have PE each trimester.
CAR RAMROD: Will we do away with study halls?
MRS H: No. However, a student will need to be in 4 classes plus PE to be considered a full-time student. In a 6-period day, this allows for only one study hall in addition to the study hall opposite PE.
CAR RAMROD: Will seniors still be able to graduate early?
MRS H: Yes. Seniros will have the opportunity to graduate early at the end of the 1st trimester in November or at the end of the 2nd trimester in February.
CAR RAMROD: What if I am scheduled for the first semester of a class in the 1st term and then not again until the 3rd term?
MRS H: Research shows that most of the loss of information occurs in a very short period of time and then plateaus. The other issue regarding retention deals with whether or not students have developed a deep level of understanding. Real learning is measured by a student's ability to both understand and apply what they have learned.
CAR RAMROD: Will we still have semester tests?
MRS H: Yes. We will have tri-tests which will be given the same weighting as semester tests.
CAR RAMROD: What if teachers don't change the way they teach, and we just end up with a study hall at the end of class?
MRS H: Teachers will also need to be trained to work with a trimester schedule. Teachers will need to be innovative to make the best use of their class time.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Warrior Pack Council
Today, we have two tasks for you:
1) Elect, nominate, or appoint a Warrior Pack Council representative. This can be anyone 9-12 who would like to join representatives from other packs in giving input as to what we cover in Warrior Packs. We will meet once every other week at about 8 in the morning (day to be determined).
2) Brainstorm some ideas for your pack rep to take to the next council meeting. What would you like to see happen during Warrior Pack? What topics need to be covered? What kinds of competitions would you like to see? You may post your ideas on this site, e-mail them to Mrs. Hanson, or write them up for your rep to bring to the next meeting.
1) Elect, nominate, or appoint a Warrior Pack Council representative. This can be anyone 9-12 who would like to join representatives from other packs in giving input as to what we cover in Warrior Packs. We will meet once every other week at about 8 in the morning (day to be determined).
2) Brainstorm some ideas for your pack rep to take to the next council meeting. What would you like to see happen during Warrior Pack? What topics need to be covered? What kinds of competitions would you like to see? You may post your ideas on this site, e-mail them to Mrs. Hanson, or write them up for your rep to bring to the next meeting.
Friday, October 29, 2010
7-8th Grade November 3rd Warrior Pack
Well, I’ve got some good news. According to last week’s survey, approximately 70% of those who took the survey have neither bullied anyone on the internet nor been bullied on the internet. However, if you aren’t one of those 70%, don’t feel bad. There were only about 25 responses, so the survey isn’t an accurate reading of the entire school. Still, some people answered that they have been a victim of cyberbullying. So, let’s look at what cyberbullying is…
The No Name Necessary pack offered this definition: “A deliberate put-down of another by use of an online communication source.” The 307’s had a very complete and accurate definition, too: “Cyberbullying is using any type of technology to try and hurt somebody emotionally and mentally.” Car Ramrod got a little more specific by citing the following as sources of cyberbullying: “phones, texting, tweeting, sending embarrassing photos, internet, sending embarrassing photos to youtube, facebook/myspace, posting harassing things on social networks, impersonating someone else on a social network, skype, and webcams.” The formal definition of cyberbullying is intentional and repeated use of computer and cell phone networks by kids and teens to cause harm or distress to other kids and teens, but I think I like what our groups came up with better. If you have a moment, go check out what other groups posted on last week’s blog.
"Cyberbullying: Who me? Why should I care?"
What happens when you witness cyber bullying? Today we are going to look at one online behavior that could be considered cyberbullying: online videos. Some videos you find online serve a positive purpose, such as promoting good citizenship, education, entertainment, or social actions.
Here is an example of one that promotes Breast Cancer Awareness: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw
Here is another example of a video that is just for laughs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDbGqJ2KYk
Unfortunately, some people post these videos for less positive reasons, such as to hate, ridicule, and embarrass others.
Consider the following situation:
Kevin sends his friend Jose a short video he made at home – a reenactment of a famous fantasy movie scene. Jose, laughing at how Kevin looks, shows it to some other boys at school. The boys laugh at Kevin, too, and decide to post it on a video-sharing Web site. Millions of people view Kevin’s video. Nasty comments are posted. Every day, Kevin goes online to check and sees more comments like “idiot” and “fat nerd.” Every day he goes to school and hears more cruel comments from his classmates.
Think about it: When kids intentionally embarrass another kid, that’s just plain mean. Embarrassing or humiliating another kid using the internet is cyber bullying. When Jose and the others posted the video online, they set up a cyber bullying situation. They made it easy for other kids in school, and kids all over the world, to join in with them and post hurtful words online – again and again.
Today’s post: Get in a group of 2 or 3 and create a post discussing the following: In this true story, many people contributed to the cyber bullying. But there were many times more kids knew about the situation but did not get involved. Kids who are not cyber bullying but who see, hear, or know about it are called bystanders. In this situation, kids in school who witnessed the abuse and kids online who viewed the video were bystanders. What would you do if you were a bystander? What could you do or say to Kevin? What would you say to Jose? What could you say to the other kids at school who viewed the video and left cruel comments?
The No Name Necessary pack offered this definition: “A deliberate put-down of another by use of an online communication source.” The 307’s had a very complete and accurate definition, too: “Cyberbullying is using any type of technology to try and hurt somebody emotionally and mentally.” Car Ramrod got a little more specific by citing the following as sources of cyberbullying: “phones, texting, tweeting, sending embarrassing photos, internet, sending embarrassing photos to youtube, facebook/myspace, posting harassing things on social networks, impersonating someone else on a social network, skype, and webcams.” The formal definition of cyberbullying is intentional and repeated use of computer and cell phone networks by kids and teens to cause harm or distress to other kids and teens, but I think I like what our groups came up with better. If you have a moment, go check out what other groups posted on last week’s blog.
"Cyberbullying: Who me? Why should I care?"
What happens when you witness cyber bullying? Today we are going to look at one online behavior that could be considered cyberbullying: online videos. Some videos you find online serve a positive purpose, such as promoting good citizenship, education, entertainment, or social actions.
Here is an example of one that promotes Breast Cancer Awareness: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw
Here is another example of a video that is just for laughs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLDbGqJ2KYk
Unfortunately, some people post these videos for less positive reasons, such as to hate, ridicule, and embarrass others.
Consider the following situation:
Kevin sends his friend Jose a short video he made at home – a reenactment of a famous fantasy movie scene. Jose, laughing at how Kevin looks, shows it to some other boys at school. The boys laugh at Kevin, too, and decide to post it on a video-sharing Web site. Millions of people view Kevin’s video. Nasty comments are posted. Every day, Kevin goes online to check and sees more comments like “idiot” and “fat nerd.” Every day he goes to school and hears more cruel comments from his classmates.
Think about it: When kids intentionally embarrass another kid, that’s just plain mean. Embarrassing or humiliating another kid using the internet is cyber bullying. When Jose and the others posted the video online, they set up a cyber bullying situation. They made it easy for other kids in school, and kids all over the world, to join in with them and post hurtful words online – again and again.
Today’s post: Get in a group of 2 or 3 and create a post discussing the following: In this true story, many people contributed to the cyber bullying. But there were many times more kids knew about the situation but did not get involved. Kids who are not cyber bullying but who see, hear, or know about it are called bystanders. In this situation, kids in school who witnessed the abuse and kids online who viewed the video were bystanders. What would you do if you were a bystander? What could you do or say to Kevin? What would you say to Jose? What could you say to the other kids at school who viewed the video and left cruel comments?
9-12th Grade November 3rd Warrior Pack
Well, I’ve got some good news. According to last week’s survey, approximately 70% of those who took the survey have neither bullied anyone on the internet nor been bullied on the internet. However, if you aren’t one of those 70%, don’t feel bad. There were only about 25 responses, so the survey isn’t an accurate reading of the entire school. Still, some people answered that they have been a victim of cyberbullying. So, let’s look at what cyberbullying is…
The No Name Necessary pack offered this definition: “A deliberate put-down of another by use of an online communication source.” The 307’s had a very complete and accurate definition, too: “Cyberbullying is using any type of technology to try and hurt somebody emotionally and mentally.” Car Ramrod got a little more specific by citing the following as sources of cyberbullying: “phones, texting, tweeting, sending embarrassing photos, internet, sending embarrassing photos to youtube, facebook/myspace, posting harassing things on social networks, impersonating someone else on a social network, skype, and webcams.” The formal definition of cyberbullying is intentional and repeated use of computer and cell phone networks by kids and teens to cause harm or distress to other kids and teens, but I think I like what our groups came up with better. If you have a moment, go check out what other groups posted on last week’s blog.
9-12 Warrior Packs
“Connected 24/7”
Sometimes you need to go online in order to do homework assignments. You want to have portable electronic devices for networking with your friends. But the more you are online or connected to cell networks, the more likely it is that you will be involved in harassing situations. You may not have posted a single comment – or maybe you did. You may not be the person getting abused or threatened. Yet it is very likely that you have witnessed it. Not everyone reacts the same way, but many teens say that when these kinds of bullying behaviors occur at any time of the day or night, both online and face to face, it can be very depressing.
Check out this story: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDBiqUWRtMo
It’s true that researchers have found that some teens are not bothered by cyber bullying behavior. However, some report feelings of anger, sadness, or frustration. Because the cyber bullying can take place 24/7, the effects on teens can be very intense.
Consider the following situation: A group of girls were fighting with one of their friends, Beatrice. They created a “Rate Beatrice” group on Facebook. They posted embarrassing photos of Beatrice from middle school and high school and invited hundreds of “friends” to join the group to look at the photos, and tell Beatrice how she stacked up. Cruel and crude comments were posted on the group’s message board. One message said that some girls were planning to beat up Beatrice. At school, Beatrice got text messages on her cell phone saying, “Take a look at what everyone thinks of you.”
Discuss within your pack: How might Beatrice react to this? What advice would you give her about how to cope? What would you do if you were a witness to this?
Today’s Post: Teens are called “early adopters” because they are often the first age group to use new technologies or find new ways to use existing technologies. As a group, make a list of the positives and negatives of social networking sites like Facebook and My Space, messaging, and cell phone technologies. Post your list when you are finished
The No Name Necessary pack offered this definition: “A deliberate put-down of another by use of an online communication source.” The 307’s had a very complete and accurate definition, too: “Cyberbullying is using any type of technology to try and hurt somebody emotionally and mentally.” Car Ramrod got a little more specific by citing the following as sources of cyberbullying: “phones, texting, tweeting, sending embarrassing photos, internet, sending embarrassing photos to youtube, facebook/myspace, posting harassing things on social networks, impersonating someone else on a social network, skype, and webcams.” The formal definition of cyberbullying is intentional and repeated use of computer and cell phone networks by kids and teens to cause harm or distress to other kids and teens, but I think I like what our groups came up with better. If you have a moment, go check out what other groups posted on last week’s blog.
9-12 Warrior Packs
“Connected 24/7”
Sometimes you need to go online in order to do homework assignments. You want to have portable electronic devices for networking with your friends. But the more you are online or connected to cell networks, the more likely it is that you will be involved in harassing situations. You may not have posted a single comment – or maybe you did. You may not be the person getting abused or threatened. Yet it is very likely that you have witnessed it. Not everyone reacts the same way, but many teens say that when these kinds of bullying behaviors occur at any time of the day or night, both online and face to face, it can be very depressing.
Check out this story: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDBiqUWRtMo
It’s true that researchers have found that some teens are not bothered by cyber bullying behavior. However, some report feelings of anger, sadness, or frustration. Because the cyber bullying can take place 24/7, the effects on teens can be very intense.
Consider the following situation: A group of girls were fighting with one of their friends, Beatrice. They created a “Rate Beatrice” group on Facebook. They posted embarrassing photos of Beatrice from middle school and high school and invited hundreds of “friends” to join the group to look at the photos, and tell Beatrice how she stacked up. Cruel and crude comments were posted on the group’s message board. One message said that some girls were planning to beat up Beatrice. At school, Beatrice got text messages on her cell phone saying, “Take a look at what everyone thinks of you.”
Discuss within your pack: How might Beatrice react to this? What advice would you give her about how to cope? What would you do if you were a witness to this?
Today’s Post: Teens are called “early adopters” because they are often the first age group to use new technologies or find new ways to use existing technologies. As a group, make a list of the positives and negatives of social networking sites like Facebook and My Space, messaging, and cell phone technologies. Post your list when you are finished
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Welcome to the Warrior Pack Blog
Our topic for this week is...Cyberbullying. It's out there, folks, and we need to talk about it. First thing is first, though. What do you think about cyberbullying? This week, I would like you to do 2 things:
1) Each person in your Warrior Pack should take the survey to the left. Please be honest - we'll use this to talk about in future Warrior Packs. It is an anonymous survey, so don't worry about anyone else knowing what you selected - unless you tell them.
2) Each Warrior Pack should come up with a definition of "cyberbullying" and post on this site. Talk about it together and come to a consensus about what it means to you. Let's compare what we all think.
Also, feel free to post other comments or concerns on the site. What do YOU think we need to talk about in Warrior Packs?
1) Each person in your Warrior Pack should take the survey to the left. Please be honest - we'll use this to talk about in future Warrior Packs. It is an anonymous survey, so don't worry about anyone else knowing what you selected - unless you tell them.
2) Each Warrior Pack should come up with a definition of "cyberbullying" and post on this site. Talk about it together and come to a consensus about what it means to you. Let's compare what we all think.
Also, feel free to post other comments or concerns on the site. What do YOU think we need to talk about in Warrior Packs?
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