MHS: Home to RI's Teacher of the Year!

What an exciting week for all of us at MHS as we welcomed Governor Carcieri and Commissioner of Education Gist to our school. At first it was expected that the school was being honored for its great improvements on the state science and math tests but as the event rolled on we quickly noticed a change in tone...a change in direction...and then it was announced that our own Senor Ramey was being named the Rhode Island Teacher of the Year! We are so proud of all that Senor Ramey does to make foreign language a meaningful experience for all of us. So we pause to applaud and say thank you to an exemplary teacher!

CWI

This week we continued with our study of India. You had your map and text quiz. You were allowed to use your map and notes to take the quiz so high grades should have been earned by all. When doing your maps, you should be asking yourself why you are being asked to put certain countries, regions or landmarks on the map. You need to be integrating information from your readings as you assemble your map. Some students indicated that Kashmir was a country while in fact it is a region that has caused great conflict between Pakistan and India. As you read “The World Today” you learned about that on going conflict.

We watched and listened to our President toast Prime Minister Singh at the recent state dinner. The President’s remarks linked directly to our readings: largest democracy in the world and a shared heritage with Gandhi and King.

We read an UpFront article “India at the Crossroads” that spoke about the efforts to industrialize and modernize India while preserving its agricultural base. You had a guided reading worksheet that should have been turned in at the end of class. We also read a New York Times article on the young women who left their rural towns to seek employment in Bangalore. As we read we listed how their lives changed and then listed what remained the same. This article directly links to your life as you begin to ponder what your life will be like once you leave MHS. Will it be time for you to venture off to a new location...maybe a big city...maybe a new state?

We also watched the Emmy award winning NOW show “India Rising.” As we watched this show, we listed how globalization and the rise of the middle class in India could help the US and how it could hurt the US. Knowing that Indian students are competing with you for the jobs of future will hopefully give you an added incentive to work hard.

Our current events would not be complete without watching and discussing President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize speech on December 10. The President outlined his thoughts on a just war and how America must be held to a higher standard as we try to eliminate evil forces in the world. He spoke of the need to talk with our enemies and to use world wide sanctions in an effort to get all nations to treat its people with dignity and to provide economic opportunities for its citizens.


On Friday you handed in your status of assignment sheet and I was pleased to see many of you with improved scores. You are responsible for keeping your portfolio up to date and the status of assignment sheet filled in. If you are absent, you need to take the time to stay after school to get the missed work and to update the sheet. You will be glad you did as we approach mid terms and you have all of your work in one place. If you are below standard, you still have four weeks to pull up your grade. When reviewing why a student might be below standard it usually comes down to one reason: they didn’t do the assignments. You have amply time...you can use notes and maps for quizzes....you have the opportunity to revise...it is up to you.

World History

This week we continued our study of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. We added to our chart on the advantages and disadvantages of factory work for the workers and the owners. Sometimes we spend too much time dwelling on the ill conditions of the workers when we must also look at the risk that the owners took as they financed new inventions and processes. The owners also had to manage large groups of people something that was new as people moved from domestic or cottage industries to large scale facilities.

We watched the video clips which helped us visualize the factories and the improvements to transportation systems with the introduction of the steam engine.

Finally, we started looking at a variety of primary sources. What are we learning about the Industrial Revolution that we can connect to our prior knowledge? Why were these sources written? What was the intended audience? Are they reliable or biased? All of these questions must be asked as we try to discover the validity of the sources. We will continue to practice analyzing the documents as we prepare for our first portfolio task.

Interterms are this week. Congratulations to all who are meeting standard. If you are below standard, this is the time to ask why...are your revising? Are you handing in all of the assignments? Are you earning high grades on the current events?