Happy Holidays

Hello 7M family, I wanted to take the time to send out a huge thank you to all of the families who sent the very thoughtful and generous gifts to school yesterday. Your generosity is very much appreciated. It has been my pleasure teaching such a fantastic group of kids the past few months and I look forward to what 2014 has in store for us.

I wish all of you a very safe and happy holiday season will see everyone in a couple weeks.
-Mr.M

Homework

• Pot luck food ideas
• Divergent questions

Soda Santa

Soda Santa Question

Divergent Chapter 11

When did the fence go up around the city?  Why does Tris question development?

 

 

Tris’ dad voted to get Dauntless out of the factionless sector—why did he do this and why is Tris not willing to share that with the other?

 

 

 What job will the Dauntless initiates end up (once becoming a member) if they don’t rank in the top five?  How can they advance in this position?

 

 

  What are some of the options Dauntless have for job choices?

 

 

 What job does Tris think will best fit her?

 

How are the gates to the city locked?  Why is this odd?

 

 

 What does the conversation between Tris and Four and Four’s behavior imply?

Divergent Chapter 10

• What happens to Tris’ bed?  Who did it?  How does Tris feel about this person and why is this odd?

•  How is Tris “famous” in Dauntless right now?

• What is the one strategy Tris reminds herself to use during her fight?

• Tris thinks Four leaves the fight because it’s not interesting—do you agree?  What could be another reason he leaves?

•  Tris has a childhood memory of going to the hospital with her mother—what does this memory reveal about Caleb as a child (that Tris never realized before)?

• Al thinks he is a coward because he lost a fight on purpose, but Tris says he’s not a coward just because he doesn’t want to hurt people—who do you agree with and why?

•  What is Visiting Day?  When is it?  How do Al and Tris feel about Visiting Day?  What does Tris feel will happen for her and why?

Tris cries for the first time at the end of the chapter—what causes her to cry?

Wednesday Homework

Chapter 9 questions

Bring in field trip forms and money

Get items and ideas for primary craft ideas.

Chapter 9 Questions

Why is there friction or conflict between Eric and Four?  How do they differ in their beliefs? Explain.

What is Tris conflicted with and why is she disgusted with herself?

Tris remembers her father saying, “Human reason can excuse any evil; that’s why it’s so important that we don’t rely on it”—what does this mean and how does it apply to Tris (page 102)?

Homework

• Divergent questions
• Converting fractions to decimals top recents note in Evernote.
• Field Trip consent forms.
• 
  

Divergent Chapter 8 Task

This is the excerpt from chapter eight where Tris explains the tattoo she wants:

“Yes,” I say. “Three of these flying birds.”

I touch my collarbone, marking the path of their flight—toward my heart. One for each member of the family I left behind.”

People get tattoos for a variety of reasons here are some of the most popular reasons:

• Tattoos represent a loved one, living or passed away
• Religious reasons including crosses and the face of Jesus or Mary
• Military tattoos representing patriotism
• A dumb mistake (tattoos can be removed, so this reason is diminishing)

 Just for fun — just “because” a friend did it

If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be of and what would the reason be for getting it. Draw a picture of your tattoo or find a picture of it.

Divergent Chapter 7

Describe , "The Pit", in detail. How would you feel entering it for the first time.

Make a text to self connection to an event in chapter 7.

No Homework

No homework tonight, sorry for the late post.

Weekend Homework

Divergent Chapter 6 Question

Compare and contrast,"Beatrice" and "Tris". Why is her transformation so dramatic? How does she feel about it? Use examples from the text. If you had the ability to change who you are, how would you change and why? Would you have a new name?

Fraction Problem Solving

Aryan practices ⁶/₇ hour of soccer each day for 3 days. How many hours of soccer did he practice total?


In a restaurant, ²/₃ of the diners order drinks. Of those who order drinks, ¹/₂ order coffee. What fraction of the diners in the restaurant order coffee?


In a city, ³/₄ of the people own pets. Of those who own pets, ⁴/₆own dogs. What fraction of the people in the city own dogs?


There are 32 gems on a necklace and¹/₄ of them are brown.
How many gems on the necklace are brown?

The Choosing Ceremony Questions

Why do Beatrice and her family take the steps to the top of the Hub?  Why do you think Abnegation members are the only people using the stairs?


Explain the process of the Choosing Ceremony.

According to Marcus, why were factions formed?  Explain the belief of each faction as to why society failed (Hint: this individual belief is the reason behind why each faction was created.)

What is the motto Beatrice remembers reading in her history textbook?  Why is this significant?

What faction does Caleb choose?  Is this surprising?  Why or why not?

 What faction does Beatrice choose?  Why does she say, “I am selfish.  I am brave” (page 47)?

Divergent Chapter 4 questions

What does Beatrice have to suppress if she decides to stay in Abnegation (page 28)?

While she is speaking with Caleb about the test, Beatrice hears a train horn in the distance; how does she feel about the sound?

 Explain how the city is governed (page 33).

Why were the factions created in the first place?  Why does this system continue?

When Beatrice looks into Caleb’s room, she sees an unmade bed and stacks of books on his desk— what could this indicate about Caleb’s character?

Beatrice has narrowed her choice down to which two factions?  And why has she left the third one out?

Five Factions of Divergent

Here are the five factions from Divergent. Which do you feel you should be a part of and why? Justify your answer in a paragraph.

http://www.divergentfans.com/page/faction-quiz

Homework

Divergent questions chapters 1-3.
Order of Operations of fractions questions.

Homework

Order if Operations of a Fractions Sheet

If you can get Divergent for your device or a hard copy bring it tomorrow.

Challenge for you

Remember your order of operations, BEDMAS.

FRACTION RULES

Multiplication, multiply the numerator and denominator.

Division, keep the first fraction, change the sign to multiplication, flip the second fraction, multiply.

Addition and subtraction, find a common denominator. Add or subtract the numerators (depending on the signs) keep the denominator the same.

*Remember to reduce to lowest terms.

Math Antics - Dividing Fractions

Here is a video to help with todays lesson.

Homework

Your only homework is to finish your recipricols worksheet.

Great Message

http://youtu.be/m5yCOSHeYn4

What 5 things do you think we should say more to each other?

Tuesday Homework Watch the video and Comment

http://youtu.be/CTKMK1ZGLuk

Quiz Alert

Monday we will have a quiz on equivalent fractions, ordering fractions, comparing, adding and subtracting fractions. As well as converting from Mixed numbers to improper fractions and visa versa.

Monday News

Sorry I had to leave today. please make sure to have your consent forms if you haven't returned them yet. If you don't have a form you CANNOT go on tomorrows field trip.

Katie and Foula please record the audio for your descriptive settings and put it in your Evernote.

I will give you more time to work on your Maximum Ride casting assignment later this week.

Fractions Quiz

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1SPpPZi2WOOS4tVLv59nQKUnNbBuXzxf64x1RYqiPfJo/viewform

Weekend Response

It's been a little while since we read Maximum Ride. Here is a fun a little activity. Imagine Maximum Ride is being made into a movie and you are the casting director. Choose actors to play each of the characters from the book. Include reasons why you think they would be best suited for their respective roles. Make sure you include all the members of the Flock, Jeb, Ari and any other characters you feel would be important to the movie. Post your responses in your Evernote Language notebook. Have fun!

A Fraction of Fattoush

Mr. Bulat, Mr. Fink and Mr. Mousseau go to Taza for lunch they order a large fattoush, a large hummus and a basket of pita containing 8 pieces of bread.

Mr. B ate 2/8 of the hummus, ¼ of the fattoush and 3 pita’s.

Mr. Fink ate ⅙ of the hummus, 4/8 of the fattoush and ¼ of the pita’s.

Mr. Mousseau ate 4/12 of the hummus, 3 pita’s and 2/8 of the fattoush.

What fraction of each plate is left over to bring back to Mr. Quaglia?

Extension 1

The bill was $22.50 if mr. Bulat paid for 2/3 of the bill what would Mr. fink and Mr. Mousseau have to pay? split the bill equally what would each teacher have to pay.

Extension 2

Create your own fraction word problem that relates to you.

Homework

Fractions problem solving, choose 3 questions from the sheet. Complete a minimum of 1 with the problem solving model. If you want to use the model for all of them, go ahead.

No homework

No homework tonight, enjoy the sunshine.

Reading Response

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/big-man-bullied-jonathan-martin-reminds-us-victims-arent-always-8C11519754

Homework

• Sorry for the late post, make sure to complete the practise test to prepare for tomorrow's test.
• Bring in your cereal boxes for the cereal drive.

Are Athlete's Worth this Much Money?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1832995-lakers-set-to-pay-kobe-bryant-whopping-24-million-lump-sum-on-friday

Write a response in your Evernote:
Are athlete's really worth this much money? Justify your answer.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Dietitian+offers+advice+avoid+putting+Halloween+pounds/7453782/story.htmlhttp://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Dietitian+offers+advice+avoid+putting+Halloween+pounds/7453782/story.html

Homework

• Math 3 Questions Page 72 Q.2, 11 and 16
• In your Evernote finish the following statements: The difference between similar shapes and congruent shapes are .............. and I can use ..... to help me decide.
• Descriptive Settings recordings

Sugar Packets

Sugar Packets

Thriller

Amazing Thriller Dance Crew

The Walking Dead strolled through the Trail.

Some 7M Zombies

History: Bet You Didn't Know - Halloween from hscusa.tv on Vimeo.

Classifying Quadrilaterals Quiz Good Luck!

Have a Great Weekend

• Math quiz on classifying quadrilaterals on Monday.
• Rough copy of descriptive setting.
• French Test
• Fundraising $$$ anything you can donate.

Homework

Math page 72, 73 Q. 3,4,6,9

Bring in your fundraising money.

Homework

Chapter Problem page 64

Onomatopoeia

Onomantopeia is defined as:
1: the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss).
2: the use of words whose sound suggests the sense.

They are a great way for horror writers to create suspense and atmosphere. They are even better to describe a setting.

Here are a couple of examples: The door on the old Wilson house creaked and squeaked when it opened.

The children screamed as they heard the boom and crash of the fireworks.

The wind howled when it whipped through th trees.

Now read the next 5 chapters in Maximum ride and see if you can find any onomatopeias.

Math Homework

Finish what you didn"t get done in class.
Pages 57-59 Q. 10,11,14,17,19,20,21

Angles and Triangles

Geometry Quiz

Spirit Day Fun

Congrats!

Congrats to all of our 7M XC runners! the girls are the district champs!

You girls worked hard and it paid off!

Homework!

• Prepare for the math quiz on angles on Monday.
• Have a fun weekend!!!!!

Tonight's Homework

Create your parallel lines and intersecting lines note and post it in your Evernote math notebook.

• Describe both types of lines and insert a picture of a real world example.
• Draw a set of parallel lines with an intersecting line through. Measure all the angles and describe the relationships between them.

Travel Tracer assignment due Friday. Choose a landmark that the Flock has visited in New York City. Research that location and give a overview of it including pictures. Describe any connections between the real landmark and how it is portrayed in the book. Do this in your Language Evernotebook.

XC Day

The members of the XC team did a fantastic job representing Talbot Trail and 7M with hard work and determination today. The day was capped off by an Intermediate Girls 1st overall thanks to great performances by Maryam, Paulina, Japneet and an amazing 15th overall by Jerriah way to go girls!

The boys did a great job as well with Ryan, Aryan and Joel all putting in great efforts. Go Blazers!

Homework

• Finish your complimentary and supplementary angles note.
• Lit circle Jobs
• Blogger Response to the post below.

Complementary and Supplementary Angles

Watch the video and post a comment with any thoughts or connections you can make.

Homework

See the post below

Lit circle jobs

Reading response

Angles in Sport

Today we talked about angles in the body position of cyclists. In what other sports do angles play a key factor. Tell me one sport and why angles are important. Post a comment with your response.

Homework

Math definitions

Literature Circle Jobs

Math test signed

$20 per student fundraising goal.

Weekend Shoutout

To my fantastic class, thank you for working so hard this week and making each day a pleasure to come to work! Have a fantastic weekend, I'll see you on Monday.....Mr.M

Tonight's Homework

• 5 Paragraph Essay Final Copy in Evernote.
• Area test tomorrow: rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, composite shapes.

Homework

Math Page 45 q. 4,5,7,8, 11,14
Lit circle jobs

Homework

Rough Copy of your writing

Math Question page 233 q 17

Science question 2 and 3

Student Verification form

MYCI Pre Survey

Here is the link for the pre survey:

http://tapintoteenminds.com/myci/

Weekend Homework

Find 3 Trapezoids in and around your house, take a picture of them, measure them and calculate the area for each. Show your work in your Evernote Math Notebook!

Students of the Month

There we so many deserving candidates this month but these two were definitely AWESOME!!!

Congrats!

Explaining the Formula for Area of A Trapezoid

 Good video Explaining the formula for area of a trapezoid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTnYRpcZA9c&sns=e

Watch the video and comment on what you learned.

Homework

Area of a trapezoid worksheet. Make sure to check the Evernote Math Notebook if you are having difficulties.

Take some time to work on your brainstorming for your five paragraph essay.

Homework

Finish your Trapezoid note in Evernote. Read something interesting (your choice, i.e., magazine article, newspaper, etc.) and be ready to share your thoughts.

Homework

• Picture day
• Math page 24 Q.6,7,9,13

Great Writing and Grammar Site

Are you looking for a resource to check your grammar or writing process? Check out this grea site:

Grammar

Friday Night

     So here I am on a drizzly Friday night sitting in my recliner tapping away on my iPad. I just finished reading many fantastic students accounts of their first three weeks of grade seven. I enjoyed hearing their enthusiasm about using the iPads, being student leaders on cross country day and taking on new responsibilities such as lunch monitoring.
     Hearing their challenges is also helpful in shaping where we go from here. It's okay if you aren't a runner and wish the Trail had a pool, and it only makes you stronger to muttle through your homework or three laps of the cross country trail.
      I can't promise that there won't be struggles filling the gaps in between the laughter but with fantastic students like mine we are sure to have an incredible year.

By the way Katie, come June Mr. price won't stand a chance:)


*Sevens make sure your Essays are edited and put into your Evernote. People who have already submitted theirs, please go back in and edit for spelling, sentence structure and other errors in writing conventions. There was also a few students who had a title but no body.

7M Character Traits

Homework

• Math Page 20 Q, 3,5 6,9, 11
• Meet the Teacher 5-6:30 come see the classroom and say hello to Mr.M. *Remember these aren't interviews. 

Homework

Create your character sketch note in Evernote.

5 character traits with justification along with 5 extra words relating to yourself.

Homework

Finish your literature circle jobs.

Order of Operations Review

Homework

• Lit Circle Jobs
• Math Pages 28-29 Q. 6,9,12,13,15

Remember

When solving an equation with multiple operations we must follow the Order of Operations to solve the equation correctly. Use the acronyms 

BEDMAS OR BODMAS to help you remember the proper order.

B rackets

E xponents O rder

D ivision  (in order left to right)

M ultiplication (in order left to right)

A ddition

S ubtraction

8x7- (2+4)+ 4 x 2=

20 + 3(5 - 1) =

* some helpful tips

A number next to a bracket means to multiply:

I.e., 3(4) is the same as 3 x 4

A number over another means to divide:

24 

 3

Is the same as 24 divided by 3

Which is the same as 24/3

Homework

Chapters 4-7

1. Find two similes.
2. Find  5 unfamiliar words define them in your own words and create a sentence incorporating that word.
3. Make two connections from the reading selection and justify your connections.

Math page 15-17, Q. 6,8,9,15,18,20

Tonight's Homework

• Finish your converting measurement tasks if you didn't finish them in class. 
•  5 French Sentences 
•  Geography work
• Cross Country Day Friday!

Learn Thriller Dance -- Part 10 of 40 clips

Tonight's Homework

If you didn't finish in class: Maximum Ride Reread the chapter Make a list of all the characters introduced so far. Write a description of the character and your impressions of that character. Support your impressions with your reasoning. Create an illustration of the characters. Math Chapter One Key Terms and examples. I will be sending emails throughout the night for my shared Evernotebooks, please join by following the steps once you receive the email.

Converting Measurement

Watch this video this week end to prepare for Monday's lesson. Unit conversion within the metric system: Metric unit conversion

Homework

Finish your fingerprints. What did you like/dislike about using Khan Academy in class today? Post your response as a comment.

Khan Academy Multiplying and Dividing Help

Multiple Digit Multiplication 2-digit times a 2-digit number: Multiplying a 2-digit number times a 2-digit number
Long Division Introduction to long division: Dividing into larger numbers. Introduction to long division without remainders
Dividing Decimals Dividing a whole number by a decimal:

Homework

Finish your reading comprehension
Math readiness sheet
Bring in your forms
Get outside and enjoy the nice weather!

First Day Homework, uggh

Show your parents this blog, put it in your favorites or bookmark it for easy access.
Bring back your signed forms ( check both sides, Abby).
Follow our class Twitter feed @7_moose

Comment on this post by writing one sentence about your first day in grade 7.

B.Y.O.D

Bring your own device. We are fortunate at Talbot Trail to have a vast amount of technology provided for us. Unfortunately, there is not a device for every student every day. Luckily, for us we have the "bring your own device" policy at our school. This allows students to bring their own iPod, iPad, laptop, or smart phone to use for education purposes under the supervision of their teacher, following our acceptable use policy.

In 7M this would be your students most valuable resource. I try my best to limit the use of paper in my classroom as much as possible. We will have online notebooks, using Evernote, using many apps, cameras and video for lessons, as well as be accessing this blog many times a day.

Student devices will have their own cupboard when they are not in use. Students are responsible for the care and handling of their own device. Students shouldn't be taking the device on the playground, in the hallways (the exception being under teacher request) or in bathrooms.

Please consider allowing your child to bring their device to help assist them in their daily educational activities.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at the school.

Thanks, Mr. M

* For some free programs that we will be using, students will be required to have a valid email address, to sign up for the applications.

Problem Solving

Marina measured her pulse and found that her heart beat at a rate of 80 beats a minute at rest. At this rate, how many days will it take her heart to beat 1,000,000 times? 

Technology Survey

Weekend Homework

Make sure all of your poems are done, including your title page, table of contents and About the Author page. Either print them or have them in Evernote to print first thing Monday. Have a great weekend!

Congrats to our three Student of the Month Recipients: Genoah, Gabe and Hayley.

Track Girls!!!

Great Day of track and field, congrats to all the athletes especially the 7M runners and jumpers!!!!!

Important Dates and News

• Wednesday June 12 Track Meet
• Thursday June 13 Gralbot Grail Play to raise money for Mrs. McDonald, minimum $2 donation. 
• Friday June 14 Cartesian Plane assignments due.
• Monday June 17 District Track meet
• Tuesday June 18 Band Tour/ Marketing Project due.
• Friday June 21 Student of the Month Assembly
• Monday June 24 Poetry Cafe, bring in some bake goods and your hipster outfits. 
• Tuesday June 25 Minute to Win it Challenge.
• Wednesday June 26 field trip to On the Green for mini golf, and Lakeshore cinemas for a movie. $18
• Thursday June 27 Last Day of School/ Potluck. Please bring in a dish to share with the class.

Gauss Test

Congratulations to Mengyu on taking top stop in the honour roll in the Gauss math contest. Great work.

Science and Math with Lebron James

Watch this ESPN Sports Science clip. How many different strands (i.e., measurement) of math can you identify? Give examples.


http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9331580

Homework

Math Problems on Evernote 4 of the 5.
Respond to the post below this one.

?????

Too much homework????? What is the first thing that comes to mind? Comment.

Integer Word Problems

Integer word problems

Homework

Adding and Subtracting Integers questions
Multiplication of Integers in Evernote.
Quiz on Friday.

Math Survey

http://tapintoteenminds.com/myci/

No homework tonight

No homework tonight but get ready for multiplying integers tomorrow!

Homework

• Integers questions in Evernote
• *Remember two like signs are positive, two different signs is negative.

Homework

French progress reports signed and brought back.
Math Page 349-350 Q5-17
Blogger response.

Response

This is Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, after a hard stage 9 of the Giro D'Italia.

He struggled in this stage and finished +2:09.

The race leader Vincenzo Nibali is -3:11 to Hesjedal.

What do these numbers mean? Explain.

Remember

Data Management projects are due on Monday!

Create a story for what this graph is telling us. Be creative.

Respond

Respond to he question above? Go Heat!

Homework

All links to your rants should be posted into your Evernote.
Data Management project due Monday.

Measure of Central Tendancy Question

Lina the owner of Unique Sweets catered a party for 200 Angry Birds super fans. She made an equal number of blue, red and yellow birds as well as green pigs. The box below is all she has left.

From what is left over can you determine what colour Lina should back more of? Can you relate this to the mode when talking about measures of central Tendency?

No Homework tonight

Just had an awesome game of Fireball in the backyard with the neighbourhood kids. What did you do in the beautiful weather? Hope it wasn't infront of a tv playing video games. Get outside!

A Message From a Former Blazer

Published in the Massey Newspaper

A Not so Modest Proposal

Face the facts. Being you is overrated. You put yourself out there, just to be ripped apart by the vicious critics. Time and time again, you get shut down, shut up, and shut out – that hurts.

So you do the smart thing. You close yourself up to shield from those oh-so-perfect individuals that chuck disapproval at you like it’s their job. You decide to put on a mask and join the zombiecrowd that enjoys being flawlessly ordinary. You become defined more and more by what you wear and the possessions that you own. Sooner rather than later, your wonderful and original self is lost. But who cares? Not you.

You have concluded that it’s better to be judged by whom people think you are, rather than who you really are. In that way, it’s not really you that is receiving the heat.

Maybe that is true. So please hold back. Hold back because expectations are scary and pressure is overwhelming. Hold back because your friends are holding back. Hold back because you aren’t talented enough, or skilled enough, or tall enough, or pretty enough, or bright enough. Hold back and stay with the assembly of idling minds because that’s what all the cool kids do.

You shouldn’t run the risk of deviating from the norm because others may disapprove. You shouldn’t give yourself a chance in trying something new because you might not be good at it. You shouldn’t aim to achieve great things because you might fail.

You shouldn’t because what’s the best that could happen? Well, you could be extraordinary.

But, who in their right mind would want that?

A Great message from a former 7M Superstar 

Great Day!

We had a great day of fitness at Windsor Squash and Fitness!

Homework

• Final copy of Rant
• Math key terms 

NBA Playoffs start today

NBA playoffs start today make sure to track your players stats for your data management project!

Field Trip

Mr. Bulat and I have decided to take our intermediate students to Windsor Squash and Fitness for a morning of  fitness and fun. The trip is on Friday April 26th 8:45am - 12:00pm. We will be doing a variety of fitness activities and playing squash. the cost is $9 which includes club fees and bus. Please bring your money in ASAP.

Apologies

Nour scolded me today for not updating the blog yesterday so here a couple pics to make up for it:

Here is our Fantasy Teams for our data management project.

Our Minute to Win it finalists!

Homework

• Create your data organizer
• Math test: Volume and Surface Area
• Rough Copy of your Rant.

Homework

Math Problem Solving: Stomach Ache
Veronica Mars Questions

Homework

Homework= math textbook work + detective character sketch - video games - texting:)

Sticky Cabinet

Act 1 Video

How Many Sticky notes will it take to cover the outside surface of the filing cabinet?

Homework

Free Writing
Math page 257 Q.17

Homework

Math Problem solving found in the Google Docs tab of this blog. Solve it on paper then put it into your Evernote math book.

Homework

I know i said no homework this week but I would like you to finish your, surface area net sheets.

No homework

No homework this week as we have CAT testing all week!

A couple things

A short busy week this week, we have our Mystery stories due next Wednesday and will be full swing into 3D Geometry. Have a great long weekend. Thanks to Obadah's mom for the awesome cupcakes!

7M and Sport

Homework

3D Shapes
Mystery outline

Number The Stars Play

As outlined in the handout given last week, Mr. Rinaldi Ross has booked a stay at school field trip tomorrow. We are fortunate to have the Number the Stars play coming to Talbot Trail. The play's focus is racial inequality and social justice. This is curriculum based and a great opportunity for our students. The cost is $4 and the money is due tomorrow morning. Please contact me if you have any concerns about the cost.

Survey Sorry for late post

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5L2YTTD

Homework

Get Ready for Geometry pages all questions.

The Case of the Ruined Roses

"That was a neat program on UFO's," said Nina to her cousin Max as they walked down the street. "I think what really amazed me was that UFO's were reported as early as 1800."
"That's pretty hard to believe," said Max. "Anyway, do you really believe there are such things?" Nina started to answer when they heard a loud scream coming from Coach Thornton's house.
"Come on," shouted Max. They ran into the yard where the coach was staring at ten rose bushes that had been pulled from the ground.
"Look at that!" he demanded. "Just look at that."
"That's terrible," cried Nina. "Who could have done it?"
Coach Thornton looked disgusted. "I had to bench three of my best football players for cutting class. They were pretty mad at me."
"First thing, we'd better get these roses back in the ground," said Max. "Then we'll figure out who did it."
Nina and Max helped Coach Thornton replant the roses. Then he invited them in for milk and cookies.
"Now," said Nina. "Am I right? You benched Sam Cartland, Mike Brooks, and Alex Avery."
"And you lost the game," added Max.
The coach rubbed his eyes. "I know, but rules are rules."
"I'll bet one of them did it to get even," said Nina. "How about we nose around a little?"
"Let's see," said Max after they left. "Coach said the roses were all right when he looked out at nine. But shortly after ten, he found them pulled up."
"So, we check to see who doesn't have an alibi between nine and ten. Look!" Nina pointed. "There's Alex Avery over at the Dairy Bar."
Alex looked up as they came in. "Hi kids," he drawled.
"Hello, yourself," said Max. "We missed seeing you in the football game."
"That was a bummer all right. But I guess the coach didn't have any choice."
"Where you been all morning?" asked Nina.
"I've been right here since nine." He turned to the girl behind the counter. "Isn't that right, Amy?"
"Uh huh. You helped me carry in that heavy box."
"So you weren't anywhere near Coach Thornton's house?" asked Max.
Alex looked surprised. "No, I'm not mad at him, but I don't intend to visit him."
After they left, Nina looked down the street. "That's Sam Cartland's house. Let's see what he's been doing."
"What do you two want," growled Sam when he came to the door.
"Hey, lighten up, Sam," said Max. "Can we talk with you?"
"Sure, come on in." He pressed a button on his remote control and turned off his VCR. "I've been watching some football tapes to improve my game."
"We wondered what you were doing between nine and ten this morning," said Nina.
"I was right here watching that program on UFO's."
"That was a good program," said Nina. Remember when that guy from Roswell, New Mexico insisted he had been abducted?"
"Yeah," laughed Sam. "The one with the bushy hair. Funny how this has been going on for so long. That pilot, Kenneth Arnold, started it back in 1947 with the stuff he saw."
"Very interesting," said Max, trying not to look bored. "But we have to get going."
"Maybe we can find Mike Brooks working out at the gym," said Nina as they left.
"Probably," agreed Max.
They found him on the treadmill. "Hey, you two want to join down here? It's a great place to work out."
"Not right now," said Max. "We were wondering about what you were doing from nine to ten this morning."
"Right here. You can check the log book. Why?"
"Just curious," said Nina with a smile as they went back to the desk. Sure enough, Mike had signed in at five of nine.
This is great," Nina groaned. "They all have alibis."
"I'm not so sure of that," said Max.

Can you solve the case?