Monday's class work

On Monday I will be in Washington, DC with the seniors on their trip to Arlington National Cemetery and the Holocaust Museum.

Sections 3 and 6 will still meet.  Here is your assignment, which you are to post to your blog before the end of class.

Embedded in my Prezi on ancient Egypt are three videos - Pyramid Quest, one on mummification, and John Green's Crash Course.  Watch all of them, stopping to take notes where necessary.  Use headphones if you have them; otherwise listen quietly so others can concentrate.  When you are done, summarize each of the videos, and let me know what you thought of them (were the videos interesting, what did you learn, were they worth your time... I'm especially curious what you think of the John Green video).

Work individually, please.

Post your notes and your comments by the end of class.

(Section 4, even though your class does not meet today, I am interested in your opinions too.  Feel free to watch, and let me know what you think.)

break it down

This is me after feeding the horses
at 6:30 this morning 

This has been an amazing stretch.  From Feb 13 to Feb 22, you've had two days of school and eight days off. Let's review the past week, and look at next week, on this bitter cold Cyber Day.

• Mon, Feb 16 - Presidents Day - no school
• Tue, Feb 17 - snow day - no school, but a Cyber Day (completing a five-day weekend)
• Wed, Feb 18 - short classes due to Ash Wednesday services
• Thur, Feb 19 - a full day of classes at JC!  Woo-hoo!
• today - Fri, Feb 20 - frigid weather forces another Cyber Day (assignment below)
• Sat-Sun, Feb 21-22 - weekend - no school (of course)
• Mon, Feb 23 - Mr. Schick attending the Senior Trip to Washington DC (details to follow)

Cyber Day assignment

As you already know, all great civilizations have three things in common: specialized workers, large populations, and advanced technology.  The ancient Egyptians certainly had their share of technological breakthroughs, and they are credited with many different inventions which allowed them to advance as a civilization.

Your assignment is to find five different technological developments of the ancient Egyptians, using the sites below.  (Don't use Wikipedia this time around; just use any or all of the five sites I have provided.)  Using complete sentences, and in your own words, describe these inventions/breakthroughs, including why they were important and how they improved life for the Egyptians.  Rank these by importance, starting with the one you feel was most important.

Post this assignment to your blog.  The assignment is worth 20 points.  It must be posted by midnight Saturday night (when all your Friday blogs are due).  Late assignments, missing assignments, assignments that use Wikipedia as a source, assignments that are cut/pasted from the web, and assignments that are not written in complete sentences and written well will receive a zero.

These sites should provide you with plenty of usable material.

Ancient Egyptian Inventions
Egypt's Golden Empire
Ancient Egyptian Medicine
Discovering Egypt
Egyptian Astronomy

It's a CYBER DAY!

Taken at 6:30 this snowy morning

JC declaring today a Cyber Day means that I need to give you an actual assignment.  By doing so, this is no longer a Snow Day that will need to be made up (by shortening Easter Break, or by extending the school year, for example), but a Cyber Day that includes actual academic activity, which does not need to be made up.

So here's the assignment.

Review the Prezi I have posted, 

take notes on its content, 

and post the notes in your blog for today.

Since Sections 4 and 6 were the only ones due to meet today, they are the only ones required to do this assignment.  Section 3 would not have met today, so they are exempt.

Here is the official JC notice about Cyber Day.  And remember, tomorrow (Wednesday, February 18) will be an A Day (Monday schedule).

In the meantime, enjoy this, your fifth day off in a row!

more Egypt, baby!

Today Section 4 will be introduced to the wonder and splendor of the Egypt Prezi.

Sadly, I will not be in class with the mighty Section 3, as I will be preparing the massive Speech meet we are hosting at John Carroll this evening.  Please use the class time to look at the rest of the Prezi, and make notes on it directly in your blog.  Be nice to your sub!

Enjoy your day off tomorrow...and the day after... and the day after... and Monday, too!

from Papua New Guinea to ancient Egypt

Section 4 took their test today, and the grades are being posted.

Sections 3 and 6 got their first look at my Egypt Prezi.  I hope you enjoy it, I hope it is informative, and I hope it doesn't give you motion sickness.  The link to the Prezi is posted on the right.

good call, HCPS

Ice - even a couple hundredths of an inch of ice - is very dangerous to drive in.  HCPS definitely made the right call in cancelling school today.

As Mrs. Strawbridge likes to say, "Stay safe, and stay warm!"

And stay home.  No reason to drive in this unless it's absolutely necessary.

one last test, then Egypt!

Tuesday's schedule:

One hour late bell for you freshmen.

UNLESS we have a two hour late bell due to icy weather:

• ... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM EST TUESDAY...
• * PRECIPITATION TYPE... FREEZING RAIN.
• * ACCUMULATIONS... A COUPLE HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH... WITH ISOLATED AREAS UP TO A TENTH OF AN INCH.
• * TIMING... THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.
• * TEMPERATURES... UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S.
• * WINDS... NORTH AROUND 10 MPH.
• * IMPACTS... UNTREATED SURFACES MAY BECOME SLIPPERY AND HAZARDOUS.
• PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
• A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES... AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

If we are in school at all, Sections 3 and 6 will move on to Egypt, while Section 4 will take their test on Guns, Germs, and Steel.

In other words, be ready for anything!