Hello Oxbow Talons,

Please read this information carefully. It contains directions for your 1st 9 weeks project.

I AM…
You, one of the world’s famous mathematicians, will be writing your “auto”biography and publishing it on your own page in our wiki located here at wikispaces.com.

You will also appear in person on a date yet to be selected in our classroom’s living history math museum. This will be the equivalent of a rock concert for all your adoring fans (and parents and community members) who will want to hear straight from the horse’s mouth all about your life and most important mathematical discovery(ies).

In order to be ready, here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Select a famous mathematician using the following criteria:

• You are genuinely interested in this person.
• This person made an important contribution to the field of mathematics OR they used mathematics extensively AND critically (couldn’t have managed to do what they did without math) to accomplish their most well-known achievement(s).
• This person may be living or deceased (dead).
• You are able to locate at least three (3) different, reliable, trustworthy sources of information about this person from books or non-internet-based encyclopedias.

2. On an index card, write and turn in to the appropriate homework basket in the back of the room:

• your name (first and last), (1 point)
• Period___, (1 point)
• the name of the mathematician you selected, (1 point)
• the titles, authors, publishers, and ISBN numbers of the 3 books or encyclopedias you found that reference this mathematician. (12 points)
• the reason you chose this person, (1 point)
• one interesting fact you’ve discovered about this mathematician so far. (1 point)

Complete Steps 1 and 2 by September 1, 2008.

3. Receive approval to go ahead with your project from Ms. Walsh. (3 points, if first submission approved)

Complete Step 3 by September 8, 2008.

(Students who do not receive approval on their first selection, may have until September 8, 2008, to select a mathematician and receive project approval.)

Need ideas? Google “famous mathematicians”, visit your local public library, browse the biographies and autobiographies sections and mathematics sections at a local bookstore, visit the school library.

from tcpalm.com

St. Lucie County schools are closed Wednesday; Indian River open; Martin undecided
By Mike Canan, Kelly Tyko, Colleen Wixon

Originally published 03:58 p.m., August 19, 2008
Updated 05:15 p.m., August 19, 2008

St. Lucie County schools will be closed Wednesday. Indian River schools are open, and Martin officials are likely to have a decision made by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

There are public safety concerns because of extreme flooding conditions throughout St. Lucie County. District offices and other administrative facilities will also remain closed and employees should not report to work.

“The Martin County School District reported damages and power outages. Power has been restored and damage assessments are being conducted. Parents will be notified by the outcall system concerning school schedules and through media reporting after 6 p.m.,” according to a Martin County news release.

On the Indian River School District Web site, an update states that a “decision regarding the status of schools will be made at approximately 6:30 p.m. this evening.”

Parents are urged to stay tuned to local media and visit school district Web sites for the latest updates.

Updates will also be posted here at TCPalm.com.

Staff writer Jim Kirley contributed to this report.

Homework Template

Students completing homework on sheets of paper MUST use the following template.
math-assignment-directions1
This allows me to quickly and efficiently-

• identify student who completed work
• identify student’s class
• identify assignment completed
• grade papers

ALL papers turned in without a name will not be graded and will not receive credit.

Students who do not follow the assignment template may not receive credit for their work at teacher’s discretion.

ALL students should show their work. This allows the teacher to understand where a problem occurs when errors are made. Simple computation errors may occur; but more seriously, misconceptions may occur. The best way for this to be discerned is for a teacher to see the work done to reach any given answer. 

Thank you for complying and following directions. Remember, there are approximately 100 students on our team.

Due to Tropical Storm Fay, no school Tuesday. Wednesday, school is scheduled to resume, dependent on weather conditions.

In the excitement of the first day of school, don’t forget to send in your child’s breakfast and lunch money. They will turn this money into the cafeteria directly at their first meal.

MEAL PRICES (daily prices from tcpalm.com)
$1.50: Elementary lunch (for 180 school days - $270/yr; 5 day wk - $7.50/wk)
$1.75: Middle and high school lunch (for 180 school days - $315/yr; 5 day wk - $8.75/wk)
$0.40: Reduced price lunch, for students who qualify (for 180 school days - $72; 5 day wk - $2/wk)
$0.75: Breakfast (for 180 school days - $135/yr; 5 day wk - $3.75/wk)
$0.30: Reduced price breakfast (for 180 school days - $54/yr; 5 day wk - $1.50/wk)
Meal prices are higher for adults.

(My notes:)
Extras
SOMS has extra options available for student purchase. These items include chips, drinks, cookies, ice cream, etc.

Free and reduced lunch applications
Students who will be receiving free or reduced lunch/breakfast MUST fill out an application at the beginning of every school year. They will be sent home shortly.
It is IMPORTANT to fill out all information and social security numbers on these forms, as I receive many back to return to families from the cafeteria as incomplete every school year. Also, only ONE application per family is necessary, even if your students are enrolled in different schools.

Meal ID numbers
Meal ID numbers are on the top of students’ printed schedules and are a four digit number. Students enter their meal ID number into a keypad and this keeps track of their student meal account.

Homeroom Period 1:

Bring a book to read during homeroom daily! (Any book will do, PROVIDED your parent approves of it and it contains language and content appropriate for the school setting. I recommend choosing books about subjects or stories you are genuinely interested in.)

Your child will receive a Student Code of Conduct book (purple cover). Parent and child must fill out and sign page 37. RETURN PAGE 37 ONLY on Tuesday.

Fill out and return Emergency Index Card (both sides) on Tuesday.

Your child will also receive

• Lunch menu (green),
• Student insurance application from Cigna. Send in envelope provided to Stuart if you participate.
• Florida KidCare application (mail to Tallahassee in envelope provided if you want to apply-government funded program-also the application for Medicaid).
• Student Planner. Must bring this to school daily. Includes my contact information if your child wrote it down as asked. Includes FCAT dates and scores information on white pages-see page 16.
• Parent/Health Screening Letter
• Free and Reduced Lunch application AND WHITE instruction sheet

PERIOD 2/3

wkbk 1-1 (chapter 1 lesson 1)

PERIOD 6/7

Bring a book to read during dismissal daily! (Any book will do, PROVIDED your parent approves of it and it contains language and content appropriate for the school setting. I recommend choosing books about subjects or stories you are genuinely interested in.)

wkbk 1-1 (chapter 1 lesson 1)

THANKS
Thank you parents, students, and families for coming to our open house tonight. We appreciate the opportunity to meet you! Your participation in our school is one important component to help ensure your child’s success.

MORE WAYS TO BE INVOLVED
If you would like to become more involved, you will be invited to join the PTO-a fabulous group of parents-and the School Improvement Committee. Information will be coming home with your child once the school year is underway about these two organizations.

What to expect Monday morning
On Monday morning, your child should go to their homeroom at 8:55 a.m. This is the first classroom on their schedule. If your child wants breakfast, they can attend breakfast in the cafeteria at this time. They will need their lunch pin number (listed as meal ID) which is on the top of the schedule they were given by their homeroom teacher tonight.

Homeroom
My homeroom students should bring a book to read every morning. Even though I teach math, reading is an extremely fundamental subject and can help guarantee success in life. You are allowed to read any book you like as long as your parents or guardians approve of it, and it is appropriate for school (meaning the content and language should be acceptable).

All students should be in their homeroom classroom no later than 9:15 a.m. The first class will begin promptly at 9:15 a.m.

Attendance
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of every period. If you are tardy for school, please go to the office where you will be issued a tardy slip. This slip should be given to the teacher in the class you attend next. The tardy will be marked excused, if you bring a (permissible) excuse note with you, or unexcused if you do not.

The district will notify parents by ConnectEd (phone) if a child is absent from classes. Parents can also sign up for the parent portal in the school office or partially online and obtain attendance information (as well as student grades) through this system. Check here for more information on the parent portal.

If your child is absent from school, they may bring an excuse note when they return. They should turn this note in to their homeroom teacher.

Students will remain with their individual class throughout the day and sit together at lunch. They will be accompanied to all classes by a teacher.

During specials, 2 teams of sixth graders will attend specials together. Our team goes to specials right after lunch during the fourth period.

Dismissal
Dismissal is at 3:45 p.m. Students who are walkers or parent pick-ups will be called first. Students who ride buses will be called and dismissed in three waves.

Supplies
Please click on the Class Supplies page and the Oxbow Supplies page for requested classroom supplies. These pages are listed in a column on the right, under the About square. Times are rough. If you cannot afford all supplies at once, or at all, don’t worry. Let your teacher know, and we will obtain what you need. If you can afford some, not all, just start with the basic necessities of paper and pencils.

From experience, there are never enough pencils. If I buy 100 pencils they can disappear in a day! Insane, I know (but, that’s just one per child). So throughout the year, you may wish to ensure your child’s supplies stay replenished.

Oxbow
There seemed to be some confusion about which children were on the “Oxbow” team. If your child is on the Talons team, and if your child has Mr. Barrish, Ms. Walsh, Mrs. Thompson, or Mr. Babcock-your child is on the Oxbow team. IF your child does NOT enjoy nature, getting wet, hot, and sweaty, or investigating plants and animals, you may desire to seek a different team placement for your child.

Your child will participate in the Oxbow program on select Thursdays. (Almost, but not quite, weekly once the school year is underway.) If your child has math and science in the morning; they will attend Oxbow in the morning. If your child has math and science in the afternoon; they will attend Oxbow in the afternoons. The two teachers that will accompany your child in the Oxbow program are Ms. Walsh, Math, and Mrs. Thompson, Science. On occasion, Mr. Babcock, and/or Mr. Barrish may attend also.

7th graders-The Oxbow team for 7th graders is led by Mrs. Patrick, science teacher, and by Mr. Rivero, math teacher.

Have I answered all your questions? If not, please ask in the comment section.

Here’s some questions for you:
Now that you will be a middle schooler, what are you most excited about? What are you most anxious about? Comment away! I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
Comments are monitored, so your comment may not appear right away.

BECOME A SUBSCRIBER
If you find this information helpful, or you’d like to stay apprised of our math class, you may subscribe by email and/or RSS to this classroom blog. Just look to the right columns to select the method you like best.

I just learned about the whole web 2.0 “thing” in June.

If you don’t know web 2.0, here’s a short definition. Now the internet is designed for communal interaction. You don’t just absorb information; you take part in creating it, dispersing it, reacting to it. It’s conversational, and you are invited. In fact, YOU are web 2.0.

But so much is out there.
Well, here’s a directory, www.go2web20.net, I found thanks to Stumble Upon (a web 2.0 type site designed to let you discover sites, photos, videos, and anything posted on the web that others who share your interest have found and given the thumbs up to).

To use this directory, just mouse over an interesting looking application logo that catches your eye. Go2web20.net will highlight that logo in a green box, along with a phrase that describes what it does. If you click on it, a more detailed description appears at the bottom of your screen. If you click on the logo again at the bottom of the screen, you will be brought to the actual site, without losing your place in the go2 directory.

Welcome 6th graders to Southern Oaks Middle School. The new school year is about to begin.

Our Open House for 6th graders and their families has been scheduled for Thursday night, August 14, 2008. It will be held between 5 and 7 p.m.

This is your chance to meet your new teachers and administrators, see where your classrooms will be, and get your school supply list, and contact information. Class schedules will be available. School begins Monday, August 18th, 2008. Students may enter their homerooms at 8:55 a.m. Please ensure your child knows their school bus number.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 7th and 8th graders will have their Open House, Friday evening, August 15, 2008. Also between 5 and 7 p.m.

Update: This child has been found safe as well. Our community has a lot to be thankful for.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/aug/07/missing-port-st-lucie-girl-found-safe/
From today’s www.tcpalm.com-local paper.