Check It Out

Go to our biography tab and check out the great bios created by our 7M students.

Rate and Ratio

Math test Tomorrow

Fractions, Decimals, Percents. Make sure to study.
Science
Geography

Holiday Fun With the Grade 1's

Check Out These Moves

Some Great Pics of Some Great Kids

Check Out Today's Problem Solving Question.

Give it  try........


Get Buckets Question

Congrats to our November Students of the Month

Fractions, Decimals and Percents Help

    Converting fractions to decimals: How to express a fraction as a decimal






    Converting decimals to fractions 1 (ex 1): Converting decimals to fractions 1 (ex 1)






    Percent and decimals: Expressing percentages as decimals.  Expressing decimals as percentages.




Here is a link to the practice site.  Practice from there finish the question and go to the left hand tool bar to try more.

Practice Makes Perfect

Hey guys please go to Khan Academy this weekend and practise adding and subtracting, multiplication and division as well as ordering fractions. Review your Evernotebooks and be ready for Monday's test.

Have a great weekend!

Fractions Fractions

http://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/fractions/e/multiplying_fractions_0.5

Students Become The Teacher

Today the students made video tutorials using Educreations. Great learning experience.

Apps Gone Free For iPad

Check out the links to get some free apps (today only). These will help with fractions and multiplication! Everybody loves free stuff:)

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2012/11/todays-apps-gone-free-super-snack-time-elasticam-avocado-and-more

Problem Solving

Today's problem solving question was a tough one check it out:

Track Training

If you didn't finish this in class make sure to finish it for homework.

Multiplying Whole Numbers

Comments??????

What do you think?????

The iPad "A Students Best Learning Tool."

It has almost been about a month since we started using the iPad cart in our classroom. When we began I was excited but also had a sense of trepidation. Questions like:

• Are they just a gimmick? "
• How can I make them an effective learning tool for my students?
• Will the kids understand how to use them, or will they be a distraction?

filled my mind.

Those fears have been quickly erased. The iPads have far exceeded my expectations as have the students use and engagement with them. In the short time that we have had them we have conferenced during literature circles with Edmodo, transformed our whole math problem solving with Google docs and iMovie and created Hollywood worthy PSA's to spread important social messages.

My students have instant access to an invaluable resource, created online shared notebooks in Evernote and have editing pictures to bring math to life with Skitch. When reading books in iBooks students can highlight and bookmark key passages, literary devices and define unfamiliar words with a few simple taps of the screen. Imagine reading a story like Iqbal and zooming into it's setting in Lahore, Pakistan with Google Earth.

Descriptive settings with Voice Thread, creating trapezoids with Sketch Pad and practicing concepts on Khan Academy are just a few other amazing ways the iPads bring learning to life.

Let's not make this all about the device itself. My students are amazing with these tools, they create, collaborate, problem solve and are excited and engaged with the learning. They are not only learning themselves but also teaching me new and exciting things.

Thinking not only as teacher but a parent as well, I can honestly say that the iPad is the most useful learning tool for students that I have used in my ten years of teaching. iPads and tablets are the wave of the educational future. They will be sadly missed in February when we have to send them to another school. Good thing the holidays are around the corner maybe my students will be lucky enough to get one from Santa.

The Ultimate Holiday Gift

What gift do you most want this holiday season?

What is the first question that comes to your mind?

More PSA's

trim.Dnidsg from Elisabeth on Vimeo.

Stop Bullying from David Sabic on Vimeo.


bullying from Mona on Vimeo.

Another 7M PSA

Drug PSA Philip, Sarik, Arvind from Sarik Hassan on Vimeo.

Check out this great PSA by some 7M students

Drunk driving from Hadeja Faraj on Vimeo.

Vimeo links

Post your Vimeo links here.

Homework

Make sure to review today's problem solving question and put your answer into Evernote.

Question Time

What is the first question that comes to your mind?

Homework

• Comment on the post prior to this.

• If you weren't satisfied with your problem solving today on the Monkeying Around question. Try it at home tonight. We are taking it up first thing in the morning.

What is the first question that comes to your mind?

Comment below.

Wingspan

What is the first question that come to your mind? Post comments! 5 Blazer Ballots to everyone who comments today.

Week in Review

Well we were only at school for a FRACTION of the week but it was a WHOLE lot of fun. We started our unit on fractions and worked hard on our PSA's. Many groups are very close to completing them.

It was great chatting with some 7M parents last night and today the grade 7 teachers planned some exciting activities for the coming week.

Have a great weekend.

Monday is the last day for cereal boxes.

Homework

Complete the following practice lessons on Khan Academy
http://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/fractions/e/ordering_fractions

http://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/fractions/e/equivalent_fractions

Making groups

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H3wLT9PygY31HkdpgTo3vrSocSTecDHqtviPXBlwTbk/edit

My Daughter Vera Response

Today we watched a very powerful play put on by the Walkerville students. Please share your thoughts, feelings, connections, likes or dislikes in the comment section of this post.

Weekend

• Next week we start fractions in math. We will be ordering, adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions and relating them to real life experiences.

• In Language we will continue to read Iqbal and also finish our PSA's.

• Monday is our field trip to the play My Daughter Vera. If you have not brought in your purple consent form please do so Monday or you will be unable to attend.

PSA's

Choose two PSA's and complete the Target Audience form in your Evernote.

Iqbal Chapter 4

Illustrious -
Ointment -
Gestures -
Arrogant -
Comprehension Questions:
1. Why was Hussain worried?
2. Why did Hussain have to treat Iqbal with respect?
3. Why does Iqbal think about his relatives and village before he goes to sleep?


Extension/Writing Activity:
Fatima is afraid of Karim but she also expresses understanding for the hard life he has had. Do you
think it’s possible to feel sympathy for someone you don’t even like? What does this tell you about
the character of Fatima? Is she a nice person?  Does she seem like someone
you would want as a friend? Why do you feel that way?

Math Quiz

Angles quiz tomorrow on geometry, use the shared math vocabulary notebook in Evernote to prepare. Here are a couple videos that will also help.

complementary_and_supplementary_angles practise

Homework

Math Page 68-69 Questions 6,8,9,10,14

The Sequel

Read the link:

http://o.canada.com/2012/10/31/average-trick-or-treater-will-bring-home-seven-pounds-of-candy-tonight/

After the average 12 year old eats all of their Halloween candy, how many sugar packets have they consumed?

The Weekend!

It's been a busy week exploring angles in the real world. Today we calculated the angles in multiple triangles in the Louvre. Earlier in the week we classified Usain Bolt's body geometry at the beginning of a 100 m dash and we also found relationships in parallel and intersecting lines.

Relating our math to real life situations seems to help us understand concepts a little clearer and gives us a vivid reminder of what we have studied. This upcoming week we will be talking about similar and congruent shapes. Students should make sure to have their Evernote notebooks up to date with all of the weeks math concepts. If you need to refer back to our Google Docs please do so.

In literacy we seem to be done our descriptive settings on Voice Thread. We will be playing them for the class this week and hope to be terrified by your spooky scenes.

We say a sad goodbye to a great member of 7M. Brooklyn we wish you all the luck in the world over at Anderdon and we will miss you lots!

Congrats to our October Students of the Month!

Math Questions in Google Docs tab Oct 30th in the consolidation section.
Organize your Evernote notebooks.

Evernote Homework

Please create two Evernote notebooks tonight,
1. Entitled Math Notebook (Your Name)  and the other Language Notebook (Your Name).
2. Tomorrow you will share those accounts with me.

Math Homework

Find a picture on the internet identify the as many different angles in the picture as you can and label them. Create a chart to classify the angles. Upload it to your Dropbox account.

Iqbal Chapter 3

Comprehension Questions:
1. What did Iqbal’s father do every morning? 
2. What happened to Salman when he was in the tomb? 
3. Why did Iqbal’s father go into debt? 


ACTIVITY
1. How do you think the children felt when Iqbal told them what he believed about the debts? Do
you think Iqbal is right? Why?  Write a dialogue between you and Iqbal showing
how you would respond if you were there and heard what he said. Create a video of your dialogue.

Khan Academy Links for Today's Class

Angles Video

Angles Practice

Homework for Tonight

Go Into the Google Docs folder and finish the lesson we started today on Angles it is labelled
Algebra Oct 25th.

Homework

Try and record your Voice Threads at home tonight if you have not done so at school today.

Beep Beep!

What is the Beep Test?

The beep test, also known as the bleep test, multi-stage fitness test, or shuttle run test, is used by sports coaches and trainers to estimate an athlete's maximum oxygen uptake better known as VO2 Max. The test is especially useful for players of sports like football, hockey, or rugby. The test involves running continuously between two points that are 20metres apart. These runs are synchronised with a pre-recorded audio tape, CD or laptop which plays beeps at set intervals. As the test proceeds, the interval between each successive beep reduces, forcing the athlete to increase velocity over the course of the test, until it is impossible to keep in sync with the recording.

                                      This is the after effects of level 17.12

At Talbot Trail we introduced a modified version of the beep test which is about 17 metres. Our grade 7 and 8 students challenge themselves to better their results each week. Coach B and myself are so proud of the progress and effort of all our Blazers and look forward to see increased results for all of our students. Go Blazers!

One Reason To Learn About Angles

Any Comments??????

Weekend Homework

• Make sure to finish your descriptive writing so we can start recording Monday.
• Math test on Monday. 
• Sign up for an account on Khan Academy to practice your measurement concepts for Monday's test.

iPads in 7M

The iPads have landed and the students of 7M are taking full advantage of them. In Language Arts we have used them for literature circles using Edmodo, created character sketches using Popplet and have started our descriptive settings using Evernote and Voicethread. We have fully online notebooks for math and language through Evernote.

In Math we have used Geometry Pad + to create trapezoids, completed three part math lessons using Nu Annotate, and Google Docs and shared files using Dropbox. We even had our first fully online math quiz using Google Forms.

Many fun and exciting things are on the horizon with our iPads so stay tuned.

Homework

Measurement review: page46-47 all questions. If you have questions or concerns tomorrow please make sure to ask.

Voicethread

In the next few days we will be starting to use the Voicethread App for our descriptive settings. Take a look at the following two videos. they are also located in the Technology tips section of our blog.

Math Quiz

Someone's Birthday Somewhere!

So happy birthday, no homework! That doesn't mean you can't read a little or write for fun.

Khan Academy Practice

http://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry/area--perimeter--and-volume/e/areas_of_trapezoids_rhombi_and_kites

Go to the above link for a cool online area of trapezoid challenge.

No other homework this weekend.

Math link for today's lesson.

Area of a Trapezoid 

Homework

• Edmodo response
• Set up your dropbox account if you have yet to do so.

iPads Have Taken Over 7M

On Tuesday we recieved our 10 pack of iPads for our 7M classroom. We are one of 20 classroom around the school board who were lucky enough to be selected for this pilot project.  The iPads are ours for 4 months and we will make the most out of the time we have with them.

Today we were very fortunate to have had Guru Mr. Pearce from Tecumseh Vista in to help teach us some tricks and tips to help get us rolling. This is a very exciting initiative sure to enhance our learning experiences.

Homework

• Read Chapter 15 in Stormbreaker (no lit circle jobs).

Homework

Math questions page 44 11,14,16,17,21
Edmodo assignment, read questions carefully.

Home Work

Math pg 42 # 4,5b,9,10 and 13

Lit circle group job

History if not completed

Geography project due thursday

Have a good thanksgiving

from Brooklyn and Rahul

My Friend Ed

My first week with Edmodo was great because it was a lot more fun then writing in my own notebook. Its was pretty good because our whole class got to do constructive feed back on what ever the assignments we had to do.  Edmodo is allot like Facebook but it is a social network that is for school use and to keep in touch with classmates. We have to use "proper grammar" which really stinks but everything else is okay, maybe I will even get better with my grammar. My group is called lit circle gruop 2. This is why Edmodo is the best app to use for school, and Mr.Mousseau is the BEST teacher ever because he lets use edmodo.

                                                                        By:Brooklyn and Rahul :D!!!!!

Homework

• Math quiz, Area of a parallelogram, triangle, perimeter and converting measurement.
• Lit circle jobs on Edmodo.

Homework

• Go back to the blog post about literary devices and comment if you haven't already. 
• Create a free EVERNOTE account. Click on the word to go there.
• Math work sheet 
• Literature circles job.

Homework

Make sure to do a great job on your lit circle jobs!

Perimeter and Area

    Area and Perimeter: Area of rectangles and triangles.  Perimeter of rectangles.

A Video Review

    Perimeter and Area Basics: Definitions of perimeter and area.

Blogger Response: Figurative Language

Today we learned about similies and metaphors, your task is to research what the definitions for the other four literary devices on the diagram above are. Give an example of each. Post your findings as a comment to this post.

Homework

• Converting Measurement worksheet
• Read chapter 6 in Stormbreaker

Blogger Response: If I Had a One Way Plane Ticket...

    If I were to get a one way plane ticket I would go to Hilton Head Island SC. Me and my family go there all the time, I know a lot of people would say "why don't you go somewhere else?" I don't like going anywhere else because in Hilton Head there is everything to do there, like jet ski and tubing and that's my favorite part.

  When I get there I will get my bags in my room and run down to the beach. When I am down at the beach I will find sand dollars in the ocean, I will go back down to the pool and get something to eat because i am too lazy to go back to my room. Later that day I think I would go jet skiing and tubing.

When my beautiful vacation was over I will get on the plane and get home and tell all my friends and family about my wonderful trip to Hilton Head Island.

-Jessica

Homework

• Math Blog question.
• Measurement and Numbersense Vocabulary.
• Post travel tracer to wiki (take a screen shot and upload it to your page).

Math Question

Research 3 jobs that measurement is important for and why. Note: You cannot use builder or construction worker. Comment on this post with your three and the reason why.

I've changed our web address...

Because of the ridiculously long web address, I have finally changed the address. Here it is.....
7mmoosetracks.blogspot.com

Homework

Language Chapter 3 summary, finish chapter 2 Word Wizard if you already haven't or if you did it incorrectly.

Math Quiz tomorrow on number sense ( place value, scientific notation, multiplication, division, order of operations)

Meet the Teacher has been cancelled, sorry for the inconvenience.

Homework

• Order of Operations Questions
• Word Wizard definitions

Parents, if students have tablets at home we will be using them for our literature circles.  If you wish to send them in with the students they will be allowed for academic use.
Thanks, Mr.M

Healthy Breakfast Planner

Follow the directions to make a healthy breakfast plan for the week.

Homework

• Healthy Breakfast Planer
• Order of Operations Worksheet
• Chapter Summary
• Free Wr iting
• Science Quiz

Student Blogger: Cross Country Day

Cross Country Day

 On Friday was our cross country day, it was a lot of fun. It rained half of the day but the event was still going on. Hedeja, Alyssa,Gabe, Genoah and I were together by the pond cheer the little kids on and telling them were to go.We even gave them high fives, after all the grade 1-4`s were finished we sat back and talked.While we were on break Gabe saw her mom and cousins walking by, they cheered with us. When it started  with the grades five and sixes we got back to our post.

While we were cheering them on Mr McGibion asked me to help the staff pull the gains while he went to do work. At first I pulled the wagon with Owen and I guess he didn't like me because he kept getting out and walking so I got to push the wheelchair. We went around the whole course and when we were finished our walk I took him back inside and the staff thanked me like a million times. then I returned back outside and the 7 and 8`s were already running so I went around the course and collected the white boards.

I think that having cross country day was a great idea because it got kids outside and getting fit. We should do this every year and it was also a good idea for Gabe to bring in cookies because all of that money goes to the breast cancer center. So that was my cross country day I had lots of fun!!

Brooklyn

Homework

Division Questions
10 Character Trairs and Justification
Computer forms

Our Review is Almost Done

The last week has consisted of mostly review and routines, tomorrow we start getting into some more in depth work and by next week we should be in full swing. Please make sure you have your acceptable use policy (green computer forms) in by tomorrow as we are using the laptops.

Make sure to finish the division questions assigned.

Blazer Athletic shirts are still on sale.

Homework

• Division sheet
• Paragraphing

Student Blog Post:

My topic today is about something called THE STORM BREAKER!!!! well it was on that day when everything turned bad. The worst Storm  came to the City of Windsor it was horrifying! Everything got blown down There was Tornadoes,Hurricanes,Thunder&Lighting The worst you could imagine....All in one City. As you could probably tell nobody could come out... Some didn't even have homes to stay in. Most of the schools and houses were gone and you know what I'm talking about. The City of Windsor evacuated there was no one there it was like the Chernobyl the happened in part of Russia and Ukraine but only with storms not the Gas leak thingy. Yeah so nobody was there they all went to some other part of Canada which is.. I don't know but there wasn't anyone Windsor.This is bacicly what happend at the end.The storm left Canada and when to make them Americans mad. >:)
                                                               THE END! 
                                                                                        -Rahul

Macro Nutrients

Multiplication Review

    Multiplication 6: Multiple Digit Numbers: Working our way up to multiplying multiple-digit numbers with each other

Weekend Update

What a great first week of school. I am lucky to have a fantastic class. Occasionally i will post some videos or graphics for you to review to reinforce your learning. Have a great weekend, see you Monday.

Homework

• Fingerprint
• Multiplication sheet
• Blogger response

Comment on the Following Video

Homewor

Math Sheet: Estimating Sums and Differences and Adding and Subtracting.
Free writing.
Capitalization Worksheet.
Computer Use forms
Agenda $5
T-shirts $10

Student Blogger: My worst Experience

     My worst experience when when I got attacked by geese. I was already scared of birds but this made it even worse.

    One day I was biking in Southwood Lakes, I was going around a lake at the park closed to my house, when there where about eight geese standing infront of me. Dispite my fear of birds, I didn't want to hit them., so I thought I might go on the road instead of the sidewalk, where the geese were. But I finally decided to stay on the sidewalk but go around them. There were four adults geese and four baby geese, so I was going really slowly when one huge adult goose stuck out it's tounge and hissed at me. Of course I screamed and stared biking faster, by that time they were all hissing at me. Then, a panicing baby goose was going the same direction as I was. As I hit the breaks, the goose hit my leg.

  Scrached by the bike. terrified by the geese, and worried that I might have hurt the baby goose, I was screaming, and I'll admit that I was crying, and biked faster to my house to go make a Facebook staus about it.


By: Rhonda.

My Grade 7 Year

Boom! it hit me I just relized tomorrow was the first day of school. I was so scared everything was going threw my mind, what teacher would I get, who would be in my class and if this will be a good year for me. Hello im cathryn and this is all about my grade 7 year.

 Today is a fresh day it is the first day of school I got a great teacher a great class and im very happy! My goal for this year is to get better grades in my not so good subjects for example french and history. If I do not like a subject its usualy the ones i dont get good grades in because they do not interest me that much. Some of my favourite subjects in school are math, gym, dance, and art. these subjects are eather fun or easy to me whitch of course make me like them even more. Another goal this year for me is to start writing with more larger and difficult words, so my stories and writing is more interesting to the reader and my self. I hope this year will be fun and easy!

Those are most of my goals,  good and bad subjects and hopes for this year. So hopefully all of it goes good for grade 7.

Welcome to Grade 7

Welcome to another exciting year at Talbot Trail. I am very excited to be your grade 7 teacher for the year and look forward to learning with you.

A few notes about our class. I believe in a fun, active and productive classroom. We will be trying new and innovative ways of learning using technology and a collaboration. If students have tablets, i.e., iPads, Itouches or laptops, I encourage there use in my classroom for academic purposes. It should be noted that they are the students responsibility and should be cared for as such.

I also will be encouraging daily physical activity so it is suggested that you have running shoes and comfortable shoes every day. For gym classes students must wear proper attire (t-shirt, shorts, track pants or sweats, as well as running shoes).

Some suggested classroom supplies that will benefit the student.
1. Pencils
2. Rulers
3. Red pen
4. Calculator
5. 3 ring paper
6. Extra notebook
7. USB stick.

Please check the blog nightly for updates, homework and student blogging.
Thanks, Mr. M

Have A Great Summer

Fingerprint of Our Life

Even Superstars Read

7M Superstars

Thank you to whoever posted about the Superstars here are some real 7M superstars.

1. Sydney- For dedicating herself to becoming a better student and working hard each day.
2. Judy- For being such a strong person to bounce back from a tough injury and even ask for a Pokemon tooth.
3. Tiarra- Hopefully proving it on the track this week and for all her athletic achievements.
4. Izzy- For her everyday positive attitude.
5. Eric- For his generous soul and his unique sense of humour.

Health Unit

Dear Parents, This week we will be doing three lessons in our human growth and development unit. The topics covered are often sensitive in nature and will include (expectations pulled directly from the Ontario Curriculum): GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT (1998) OVERALL EXPECTATION By the end of Grade 7, students will: • describe age-appropriate matters related to sexuality (e.g., the need to develop good interpersonal skills, such as the ability to communicate effectively with the opposite sex). SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS By the end of Grade 7, students will: • explain the male and female reproductive systems as they relate to fertilization; • distinguish between the facts and myths associated with menstruation, spermatogenesis, and fertilization; • identify the methods of transmission and the symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and ways to prevent them; • use effective communication skills (e.g., refusal skills, active listening) to deal with various relationships and situations; • explain the term abstinence as it applies to healthy sexuality; • identify sources of support with regard to issues related to healthy sexuality (e.g., parents/guardians, doctors). I will be teaching these lessons on Tues, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Please have a discussion with your students about appropriate behaviour and interaction with these lessons

What a Day

Well today was pretty exciting. I saw Judy after school and she is doing great and I am hoping Danny is doing well too. Thanks to a very dedicated 7M for searching for Judy's tooth, you are great classmates.

Metaphor poems and will be due Monday. Be sure to have all outstanding poems in to me so I can mark them.

Have a great night.

Homework

• If you are not done your billboard ad please post it, Sense poems are due. 
• Simile poems due Friday.
• Metaphor Poems due Monday.

Go Ryder!!!

For anyone who wants to see if Ryder H becomes the first Canadian to win a grand cycling tour watch the time trial Sunday morning on SportsNet ch 151 on digital cable.

Homework

Make sure your Cinquain poems are done!

Track and Field

Track and Field tomorrow
Remember your:

• Proper appropriate running attire
• sunscreen
• water
• lunch

Homework

Co-ordinate grid assignment due tomorrow
Concrete poem due tomorrow
Remember to track your fitness and screen time.

Homework

• Data Management project due tomorrow (Friday)
• I AM poem due tomorrow (Friday)

Homework

• Data Management project and I AM poem due Friday.

6 Words Classroom Visual

7M 6 Word Memoirs

Tonights homework

Make sure you have all of your data tracked for your data management project.

Last Nights Homework, due Monday

• Math Page 323 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
• Health Poster: create a slogan for stopping drug abuse and add a graphic to go with it.

This Weekend

Make sure to get your 6 Words on the 6 Words page of the Wiki, you can add more than one on your own page but please only choose one for the 6 Words page.

This Week's Superstars!!!!

Congrats to this week's superstar's.

1. Hussein is the first person to volunteer to help set up for P.E. or to run an errand, he is helpful and kind and deserving of the label superstar.

2. Caleb quietly gets down to work, comes in early to finish and will stay in a a nutrition break to put the final touches on any task.

3. Bryn is our global superstar. Helping people near and far and is always willing to challenge her teacher and peers with a smile on her face.

4. Liz has been really challenging herself to produce great pieces of work and apply the skills used in class to her everyday life. She is the first on the blog or wiki to place an encouraging comment to compliment her peers.

5. Daniel is a super group member who always contributes and always interacts with a kind, calm voice. Daniel is also great for anyone's self confidence when he pays one of his thoughtful compliments.

Great job to all of our 7M Superstar's, keep up the super work!!!

Homework

• Math Circle Graph.
• 6 Words Brainstorming.
• "the Kiss" or "The Ride" Writing assignment on wiki.
• Field trip consent.

Weekend Homework

• Track you team throughout the first round of the playoffs.
• Rough copy of your creative writing.
• Math self evaluation graph.

Featured Author -Lizzy

Writing prompt (picture) 


Dear Journal,                                                                                                                                           Apr/28/1997
When is he ever going to come back? Am I ever going to see him? Will he come back alive or dead? As these thoughts came into my head, tears flooded down my face like rain dripping into a puddle.  These thoughts were for my one, and only, Dad. He left out to war about 4 months ago and he still didn’t return, YET. God only knows if he will ever come back to our family. Back then, he wrote so many letters to Jenny, (my younger sister), and I, but recently, he hasn’t wrote. Not even once. And not even once did a bright orange letter come to our door, which I am glad for. Those kind of letters mean that a family member has deceased; I’d rather have my Dad alive then dead, that’s for sure! Wars, like these, happen in our country every so often. They usually last to about 6 months,  maximum.  Hopefully, my Dad will return until then.

Dear Journal,                                                                                                                                           May/29/1997
The fifth month has finally arrived! I really do hope that a white envelope will come to our door, which means that he is returning soon.  As I write this, I am worrying by the second. You can almost feel the worrisome feeling that I am right now, even if you were in China, as I am here in Britain. My sister Jenny, has her head in clouds right now. Being the usual 6 year old, she thinks our Dad will just come through the door, and gleam like a shining star. Little did she know…

Dear Journal,
No white letter??

Dear Journal,
Still no white letter?

Dear Journal,                                                                                                                                           Jun/27/1997
I can feel the tingling of excitement all over my body as the radio in our house announces that the war is over! Hurray! The only thing that I am worried about is our Dad. Did he survive the war? Did he not?
Of course, Jenny thinks he’s perfectly alive, so she’s not a single bit worried; typical. As for my mom and I, we prayed every single night, in hope of a white letter. I certainly hope that our prayers are not going to waste.  I can just feel the tension creeping up my body, like as if a cold gust of wind slapped me on my backside.  I can’t wait for the results!

Dear Journal,                                                                                                                                     Jun/28/1997
Today is officially the day that the army must go back home. Since it is a Sunday, the radio is shut off, so they can’t announce the names of the people who are currently alive. It gives out more tension and shivers to my mom and I. Just the thought of Dad not being alive… is a frightening thought.  I am still praying, for him to return safely and quickly. The Government said that if we get a knock on our door, and we see a man holding an envelope, it means that your relative has not survived. But if we see a man, with our dad, then it means that, obviously, he is alive! I am waiting here with my journal in my lap for over 3 hours now. What am I going to do? Is he alive? Oh, God, please let him be alive! I will give anything for that to happen. I love him too much!  …*knock knock* WAIT. Journal, it might be him!
My mom, Jenny and I slowly opened the door. First we saw a white coated man... And then there was another man next to him... IT WAS OUR DAD!  We all screamed with joy as we exchanged hugs and kisses.  To make my hug special, I leaped onto my dad, and held him tight around my arms. I had missed him so much. On this special day, I have found out the definition of the word “hug”; a loving embrace. 

Here is an example of an online survey, please participate.

Click here to take survey

Inspiration for your creative writing.

Creative Writing

It's time to get your creative juices flowing. Your task is to choose one of the following two pictures and write a one page story about it. Here are your guidelines:

1. Use the writing process.

2. Be creative, hence "creative writing".

3. One to one and a half pages long.

4. Have fun. 

Be descriptive and tell the story behind this hug. Tell the what, when, where, why, who and how. Use the senses to help capture the moment.

Awesome!

Great discussion and ideas in math today guys, continue to participate and keep those great ideas coming!!

7M Superstars!!!!!

Everyone knows I love running shoes. The shoes in the picture are some of the most recognizable over the last 3 decades, The "Adidas Superstars" They are stylish, dependable always the perfect compliment to any outfit and simply do their job.

Not to compare my amazing students to sneakers but I wanted to recognize 5 superstars who make 7M a great place to be. I have many and will continue to recognize 5 each week until the end of the year.

1. Sara- Friendly on task and very self motivated.
2. Gurvir- The first to volunteer and the last to complain!
3. Dani- Driven, respectful and responsible.
4. Mackenzie- If you want to smile simply look in her direction, takes and applies advice with a smile.
5. Rikin- Gets down to work, contributes to class and never has to be reminded of routines.

Thanks to all the 7M Superstars for making my job easier and our classroom productive.

Homework

Data Management tracking
Math page 284 Q. 10,12,14
Blogger Response from last night.

Something to ponder.....

Hey can you infer what is going on with this guy? What makes you think that?

Post your thoughts, there are no wrong answers.

Homework

Math Questions on Stem and Leaf plots. Can someone please post the numbers I forgot to post before I left.

Update data management

Hi 7M, I wasn't planning on being away these last two days but want to thank you for being the great kids that I'm sure you have been. Please make sure to continue tracking your statistics for the data management project. Some great games were played last night. I will see everyone Monday when we jump into the exciting world of Stem and Leaf plots and Maximum Ride School's Out Forever. Please also bring any high interest reading materials of your choice (books, magezines, newspapers, etc, please no iPods for this activity). Have a fantastic weekend and I look forward to having a busy and creative week next week.

Homework

• Track the stats for your data management project. 
• Wear green for Earth Day

Homework

Track your stats for your NBA players. See the data management tab for more details.

Homework

Math Vocabulary and math pages 277-278 Questions 4-12

Homework Update

There has been very little homework this week as we have been working in class on our major literature circle projects and doing in class activities for math. We start data management in math next week and there will be a few more assignments coming up. There is no homework for the weekend but be ready to present your drama skits on Tuesday. Have a great weekend! Here is a sneak peak at our first lit circle project completed.

Please Create This Free Account

We will be doing some activities in class with the website http://linoit.com/. Please go and create a free account. If you have an ipod touch, ipod or iphone please down load the app. We will try and use this app in class tomorrow.

Awesome!

Congrats to Sara, Tian and Gurvir on receiving awesome awards at today's assembly. 7m has many awesome students who do so many great things, awesome school work, athletic achievement, global awareness, leadership and musical endeavors. Have an awesome weekend and I look forward to an awesome last three months of the year. - Mr.M

Homework

Great job while writing the C.A.T. Test. Maximum Ride is finished and we will be working on our final lit circle project for the next week. No homework tonight. Awesomness assembly tomorrow. Wear your Talbot Trail colours.

Sara and Tian

Hi Sara and Tian, I have reverted your wiki pages back to before your last edit. You may have lost the last thing you posted but should be able to edit now. Give it a try and let me know. Have a great weekend.....Mr.M

Lit Circle Homework

1) Choose a character from the Maximum Ride book.
2) Chose a different book, movie or character from a book or movie to compare
3) Write the differences and simlairities between the 2 things
4) It has to be at least 3/4 of a page to 1 page and a half
5) Post it on the wiki, if you can't post type it and print it out or if you have no computer access hand write it neatly.
-Gurvir

Homework

Math worksheet: one side for those of you who did your work properly yesterday. Both sides for those who didn't. Literature Circle Jobs.

Homework

• Math work sheet.
• Lit circle journal entry from the perspective of a character.

Homework

• Literature Circle Jobs

Weekend homework

• Monologues to be presented on Monday.
• Lit Circle Jobs.
• Have fun.

Homework

• Math Test tomorrow on 3D shapes.
• Maximum Ride Jobs.
• Monologues presented next drama class.

March Break Maximum Ride Readings

Please read the following Chapters over the break to keep us on pace with the book.

For each section in point form jot down the main events.

1. CH 47-50

2. CH 50-53

3. CH 53-57

4. CH 57-61

5. CH 61-67

I.E., Read Chapters 47-50

In your book

Maximum Ride Chapter 47-50

Main Events

1._____________________________

2._____________________________

3._____________________________

4._____________________________

5.______________________________

The Maximum Ride graphic novel depicts Ari as seen in this picture. Is this how you imagined him? What differences is your visualization?

Blogger Response

What is irony? Why was it ironic when Max was hiding in a closet full of white lab coats?

Flying by Jilian

It was THE best sensation. Yes, that's how I would describe it, a sensation. Not everyone could've had the opportunity to grow wings, much less actually have them work, but yes, it was simply wonderful.

Twelve hours ago, I was sitting on a wooden crate, caressing the feathers that were forcibly implanted into my back. I stood up abruptly and thought to myself, since I had wings that, thankfully, I was in top condition, I might as well use them. As I walked through the forest into a clearing surrounded by giant sequoias, my wings kept twitching, as if they wanted to reassure me that they're still attached and that I have a reason to jump off the tallest trees in the world. I had stumbled, I remember, at the top. A slender branch had just enough stability to support my weight. Up there, I felt alone and I felt like there was nothing that mattered, and in some way, it took my breath away. Amazingly, that was what made me jump off that branch.

Suddenly, fear gripped me and it felt like I was in shock. Open your wings, I had whispered to myself, catch the air, use wind resistance. But by the time I finally came to my senses, the ground was merely a couple meters away. I'd braced myself for the fall and rolled myself into an upright position. My feet landed flat on the floor, white pain seared up my leg, from my heels, to my ankles, through my calves and striking the top of my knee.

I don't remember much after that, just that I lay there, curled into a ball with tears stinging my eyes and my vision slowly fading and turning black. I know I remembered that I wanted to fly, because I hadn't noticed IT while I was in fear, but now I had collapsed onto the cold hard earth blanketed with leaves bight with autumn colours and I thought about IT. What's IT, you ask? The air whipping my hair, making it feel like a crown of steamers, the whooshing sound it made as it flew by my face, the way it made me feel as light as paper and most importantly the freedom I had been longing for unknowingly. That was IT, and I knew I wanted more, which gave me the willpower I needed to dust myself off and climb that tree again.

This time, I took about forty minutes climbing that tree, about four times as much as the first time. Scowling to myself, I once again heaved myself onto the exact same branch, and once again I jumped off, this time with more confidence. But yet, I wasn't able to unfurl my wings on time and crashed to the ground another time. But I was gleeful that my wings spread about a quarter of the way, taking away most of the pain caused by landing. By and by I climbed the tree and by and by I tumbled down, but each time, I was able to open my wings a little more. After the sixth time, I was truly fatigued and I leaned against the sequoia, and sighed. Glancing to my right, I caught a speck of something familiar in the middle of red and mahogany. Picking up the fragile piece of sequoia bark, I examined it.

Slowly, I bent my knees and prepared to lift myself from the branch one more time today and as I started extending my legs, the scrawny twig I had stepped on seven times snapped, leaving my knees to buckle and let me fall. Panic made my heart race and I noted that this was the most thrilling fall yet. Heck, there was no way I was letting this end. Grinning like an idiot, I knew this was my war to win. My brilliant white wings unfolded and light blue shadings that I never noticed before appeared, glinting in the sunset. I wasn’t done yet. Summoning all my strength, I beat them against the fluff-like wind. With speed and overwhelming joy, I shot upward and hit nothing but pure contentment. Bringing my wings up, I stayed up there, watching the trees swaying in Wick Wood and I’d sighed, my feathers rippled as the light air blew little breaths on it.

England is beautiful, New Forest national park along with it. I stayed about five or ten minutes. Curfew was at seven. You might be thinking, eleven hours of practicing for five minutes of flight? So not worth it. But here, coming from an aves-human hybrid, it definitely was.

So now, I’m lying on my bed covered with wrinkled, pink-purple sheets typing and longing to sneak out and fly again. …Nah, if there are people like us, there are probably vampires out hunting or something. Wow, that just turned the whole world upside down. Did that mean there were unicorns and zombies, too? Great. But now I’m getting sidetracked. Anyhow, the gift of flight was really comforting, because even if there was all that stuff out there, I had my powerful wings. Hmm…the gift of flight, I like the sound of that, and to all of you reading this, I sure hope you don’t have to get anything surgically implanted, but if you’re ever offered the chance to fly, take it, it will be
Sen. Sa. Tion. Al.

Homework

• Lit Circles jobs


• Blogger Response

Blogger Response

Chose one of the three questions to respond to in a the comment section.

1. Research a Ferruginous Hawk and write a paragraph about them.

2. Imagine you have just learned to fly, descriptively describe the experience.

3. What does the quote, "desperate times call for desperate measures mean?"