Honoring our Veterans
While Veteran’s Day is officially
November 11 (a day originally selected to commemorate the end of World War I on
11/11 at the 11th hour) we have Monday off, so I would encourage all of you to
pause for a moment to remember and thank our Veterans. We especially mourn the
loss of one of our own...Sgt. Michael Paranzino, a 2006 graduate of MHS. Sgt.
Paranzino, 22, was killed in Afghanistan on November 5, 2010 while serving as a
cavalry scout. He had been in
Afghanistan for 7 months after serving a tour in Iraq.
As we read about areas around the
world that are struggling with oppression we must recall the service that our
men and women in the armed forces have provided over the course of our history.
Without their unswerving support for “life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness” we would not be the country we are today.
CWI
We have finished our study of Africa
and have started watching “War Dance,” an inspirational story about the
children of Northern Uganda who have lived in a war zone their entire lives.
While war has dominated their lives, they refuse to let the conflict define who
they are. We will finish the movie next week and then have an in class writing
assignment.
Before we leave our study of Africa, I
thought you might be interested in knowing that a senior State Department
official has visited Somalia, the first such visit in over 20 years. It clearly signals that we see Somalia moving
forward by organizing its government and tackling some of the difficult
challenges confronting the country. On
Friday, Captain Perry Yaw, our guest speaker from the Naval War College, used the
Somalian pirate problem as an example of how navies from around the world are
cooperating successfully in an effort to make the seas safe.
South West Asia
You have the rubric for the South West
Asia map which lists countries in this region.
While I have not yet assigned the map, you can use the list of countries
for your next current event, due November 14.
Many people still refer to this region as the Middle East, but
geographers have renamed it South West Asia in an attempt to sound less
Euro-centric. Politically, militarily and
economically, this region is of critical importance to our nation and poses
some of our greatest challenges. It is
likely events there will be affecting you for the rest of your lives, and as
responsible citizens you need to be informed. You are encouraged to look for stories that
might appear on the front page of major newspapers. You will be amazed how easy it is to find news
stories on Syria, Yemen, and the continuing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
End of the Quarter
We have finished our first
quarter. We have established a routine we
will continue for the remainder of the year, where you keep track of your
assignments and grades and place all graded work in your folder, which is kept
in the classroom. On Friday I went
through all the folders and was pleased to see most of you have done a great
job organizing your work. Staying
organized helps you manage your time and feel on top of things. By keeping your folder up to date, you can
monitor your grade and keep work organized as we move closer to mid-term exams.
International Speaker Series
We had a full house Friday as we heard
from Captain Perry Yaw, Director of the Naval Command School, which hosts
senior international officers at the Naval War College. His presentation covered the mission of the
college and its efforts to reach out to the international naval community to
foster friendships and trust among officers from all nations. These relationships with international navies
are especially helpful during a time of crisis. He pointed out that you also
have a role in this mission because we have many students from foreign lands at
MHS. That gives us the opportunity to
reach out and show them Americans are a generous people.
Our next speakers will be on November
30 when we will hear from officers from Chile and the Netherlands.
I want to compliment you on your
attention to Captain Yaw. You were a
great audience!
World History
This week you had another opportunity
to use the document analysis sheet by reading a letter written during the time
of Louis XIV. We will be using the
document analysis sheet on a regular basis so you will be ready to do your
first portfolio task.
We focused this week on comparing
absolutism in France with the rise of Parliament in England. We learned some of the reasons why two
countries so closely linked by history and geography developed two very different
methods of governing. We had to do some
back tracking by reading about King John and the Magna Carta before returning
to the 1600’s.
Your graphic organizer gave you the
opportunity to see the progression of parliamentary power from James I to William
and Mary. This period of about 100 years
included such major events as the signing of the Petition of Right, the English
Civil War, the execution of Charles I, rule by Oliver Cromwell, and the Glorious
Revolution. Parliament succeeded in
limiting the monarch by passing the English Bill of Rights. These rights will become the basis for the
colonists in the New World to revolt against England. While the monarch still
had power in England, it was now limited and required the consent of Parliament.
To get a better understanding of this period
we read the play about the execution of Charles I. These plays help history come alive.
Next week we will move on to the
Enlightenment, also known as the age of reason, when philosophers fight against
the old ways of thinking and promote goals of well-being and social justice.
End of the Quarter
There is much to get used to when you start
high school and one of the challenges is staying organized. You have had numerous assignments over the
quarter and you have a folder and status of assignment sheet to help you
monitor your work and grade. I checked
the folders on Friday and was pleased to see so many that were well organized. This is a great system. By staying on top of
your work and keeping it in one place you will be ready for the mid-term exam in
January.
This quarter you could have earned 180
points. We did a wide variety of
assignments including current events, announced quizzes, a spoke diagram, and the
scientific revolution poster. What you
did not have was a traditional test. We
will do a traditional test this quarter so you can get practice with this type
of assessment.
Congratulations on a successful first
quarter!
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