The Countdown Begins.......

Good Saturday Morning/Afternoon to you!

First off, I want to congratulate everyone for the FABULOUS FEAST we had on Thursday! What a great way to end this very involved project. I'm SO happy with how it went, the food, the help, and the fun! You all did a great job bringing in some really delicious foods from around the world. Please thank Mom and Dad for me for their generosity. Remember, if you want a copy of the recipe book, you need to give me a typed copy of your recipe. Include the name of the dish and the country it comes from, along with your name. You must list the ingredients and clear directions for preparing the food. Please have these to me by TUESDAY, MAY 31. I would like to thank our terrific parents that helped me set up that morning. THANK YOU for also helping with the clean up, too! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the help. They made the "work" fun and easy and I couldn't have done all of that without them. So three cheers to: Mrs. Bilfield, Mrs. Simon, Ms. Coward, Mrs. Schold, Mrs. Garcia, Mrs. Russo, and Mr. Garson. I hope you all also enjoyed yourselves, too! ; )

The actual Around the World projects are amazing! I'm so proud of everyone's efforts and accomplishments, and of course will be seeking out a few donations. You have all made tremendous gains this year and it shows. I see more ownership from you and a strong desire to want to do well. Your research skills are second to no one, and grasp of concepts is impressive. However, we still have a few days of school to go, so keep that momentum going! Don't start vacationing quite yet! We will continue presenting reading projects on Tuesday and Wednesday, and hopefully finish our planet presentations on Tuesday. Remember, your final test on Science Chapter 16 (Stars) is Thursday, June 2. Sorry, but the word "gibbous" will not be on this test! : )

The Michigan trip is Friday, May 3. It's so hard to believe that we are actually at that point in the year. Michigan is a great day, fun, AND educational. Be sure to read over the informational sheets that I sent home with you on Friday. Make sure your parents read them, too. Get lots of sleep the night before and get your walking shoes ready!

I ran another race this morning. This one was in Bay Village and was for the American Cancer Society. I had my best time to date, but I'm still not quite at my goal time. But eventually, I'll get there! Next weekend I'm doing a double-header! I have a race on Saturday in North Olmsted, and another one on Sunday in Solon. Anyone want to run in the Solon one? Mitch? Will I see you there? It would be great to see a lot of you there. You don't have to run; there's also a walk, or you could just come to clap, cheer, and support the runners. Let me know. I believe Mr. Anderson and Mrs. Lauer are also running. Hope to see you there!

Well, this "old lady" is a little tired from running, so I'm going to chill for a little and try to get some grading finished. I hope you all have a nice long holiday weekend. See you Tuesday!

Miss D'Amore : )

Okay Megan....Here Ya Go!

So Megan, I posted your comment, but now I can't find it! What blog entry did you comment on? I've looked around for it, but it seems to be missing in action. And yes, I'm sooooooooo proud of you for leaving a comment! I just wish others could see it. Let me know if you find it. I also agree with you that Mr. Ealy should have better things to do than eat cake in front of all of us! What's up with that?

I'm sure by now you have all figured out that this time of the year is project time! Everyone seems to be really getting into the planet project and research portion. This astronomy "stuff" truly fascinates me! I could seriously teach this all year....we're only scratching the surface in class, so please learn about even more yourself when you're online. There are TONS of astronomy and space websites, as you're discovering. Once we are finished with the project, we have our last chapter (16) to complete, which is on stars. You had a crash course in this when we went to the planetarium. We'll study the sun, as well as other stars. In the past, students seem interested in how stars are "born," but more importantly, they can't get enough of.......you guessed...how they DIE! Now don't go getting all nervous....the sun has a few billion years to go before it fizzles.

Speaking of projects, I'm very proud of how so many of you are already done with your books for the Reading Around the World project and also that almost half of you have a tremendous jump on your packets. I can't wait to see all of your final products! And obviously, we all can't wait to EAT! Remember, snoop around the Internet for a main dish or a side dish from your country. We'll negotiate desserts later! I'm getting hungry now, and since this is a "training night," I was already hungry once I sat down to write this! : )

Well, this one's short and sweet. See ya'll tomorrow! Check out the waxing crescent tonight as it makes its way over to a first quarter in a couple of days!

Miss D.