Liar, Liar

"Liar,Liar" is the funniest movie I've ever seen. The hilarious Jim Carey plays a divorced lawyer who has a little son. He's always too busy to spend time with his little son and misses his birthday party. When the son blows out his candles on his cakes he wishes that for just one day, his dad would not lie. The wish comes true and Jim Carey has to tell the truth for an entire day which does not bode well for him, professionally nor personally. He's defending this unsavory woman in court who wants a lot of money from her ex-husband. He has a difficult time as his case was all built on lies. At one point he goes to the bathroom and beats himself up, slamming his head with a toilet lid. Someone comes in and he asks, "What are you doing?" J.C. says, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm kicking my own #%$$!" At the end, he learns that his son should be more of a priority in his life. If I'm ever down or feeling blue, I get out "Liar, Liar" and laugh my #%$$ off!

Things That Make Me Smile

-Dante
-Babies
-Dogs
-People falling down
-Pretty toe nails
-Mistah Huff
-Dolphins playing
-New car smell
-New car
-New outfit
-New shoes
-Paycheck
-Beautiful flowers
-Children playing
-People I haven't seen for a while
-Old boyfriends (glad they're not mine!)
-Watching "our team" win
-My daughter smiling
-My brother's dumb jokes
-Memories of my dad

NUTS!

My daughter, Kalen, the "health nut" has been home for two days and she's on my case! She thinks that I eat way too much junk food...pop, chocolate, ice cream, etc. So this is my second day of giving it up. She says I'll look better and feel better. I'm waiting!!!!!! ha! Anyway, Oprah Winfrey says it takes 21 days to break a habit so I have 19 more days to go before I'll become a changed woman...a "health nut"...can't imagine. By the way, she's making me eat Brazilian nuts because they prevent cancer. Oh boy!

Weather and the Weekend

It's really good to be here this morning and see everyone! We're halfway through summer school and it's gone fast, hasn't it? I thought that on Wednesday we could go grocery shopping for Hawaiian food and play dodge ball and the church. What say you? I'll put up a gadget vote for that so be sure to vote.

Now, the blog topic...the weather. Hmmmmm..... I was so very grateful for yesterday's "cool" day. It wasn't really cool but it seemed like it have a string of 100 degree weather days. I went riding in my boyfriend's SSR hot rod convertible and we went down to the antique car show. I ran into a former student there who is now a MAN and he recognized me; I did not recognize him at first. We had such a nice, long conversation, remembering all the fun times when he was in my class. He was the "Dante" of my class many years ago and used to do a perfect Michael Jackson imitation. It was kind of uncanny because I had been thinking about that with MJ's death.

The storm was a little scary. We (boyfriend and I) were at El Maguey when it hit and didn't have umbrellas. We were parked a hundred miles (exaggerated) away and had to make a run for it. We were soaking wet. Then we went to Mega Movies. We watched Slumdog Millionaire and I really liked it.

Have a great week! I love you! ;)

My Dad

I don't even have to consider this one. Losing my dad four years ago was by far the worst loss I've ever had. He and I were as close as a father and daughter can be. I miss him more today than I ever have. He was my hero. He smoked cigarettes for decades and died early as a result. He died of heart failure and emphazema (sp?). It was a slow, miserable death. But before he died, we talked about his death and planned out his funeral. He died with grace and taught me a lot about death.

Scott Rice

I lost my cousin, Scott Rice, on Father's Day. He was celebrating Father's Day and his oldest daughter's birthday at Wellington Lake when he made a bad decision to jump out of the boat and swim to shore. He and another lady jumped out of the boat to swim to shore. The lady made it and Scott went down. They combed the lake for four hours and finally found his body at 8:00 Sunday evening. By this time, many, many people from Caldwell were on the shore holding hands. He has three children: Lexi, Logan, and Corbin. He also left behind a wife, Kirsten. He was very popular and will be missed by many. I want you all to remember how fragile life is and how important it is to obey safety rules and make good decisions. Even then, none of us really know when our time is over, so be kind to everyone and enjoy each day as it is a true gift. I will see you all on Thursday when we cook Asian food and celebrate life! Love to you all!

My Weekend

When I look back on my weekend, I mainly think of sweating! I worked out in the yard most of the time. It seems that there's always something to do in the yard: pull weeds, water, replant, fertilize, etc.. But I have to admit that I love it. The problem this weekend was that it was so humid and hot! Holy cows! I wasn't used to that! I was a little bit sad on Father's Day as I no longer have a father who is on this earth, and I miss him very much! He's been gone four years and I miss him more than ever! So that was a little sad. My boyfriend, Steve, however, is a father to two adult girls so I celebrated his fatherhood by going to El Maguey. The funny thing is that he picked up the tab...he! he! Isn't that what father's are for? I also took a long nap yesterday which is very unlike me. (Too much yard work!)

If you've taken the time to read about my weekend, here's a secret for you! Please look up a recipe from Asia. Please give it to me after you've printed it off!

My Biggest Worry

My biggest worry today is the country's economy. It seems like I know a lot of people who have either been laid off or hours cut way down. College kids are having a difficult time finding jobs in the chosen careers. I hope the economy turns around soon. And I'm glad to have my job and have the opportunity to work with all of their wonderful students I get to work with in this class.

Five Years

If I were five years older, I would be fifty-seven! Yikes! Why does that sound so old? Because it's close to sixty? Oh my! Hopefully life will be better in five years. Most importantly, I want to still have everyone I love in my life...Mom, Walaby & Aesop (canines), Wade (brother), Steve (boyfriend), Terri, former students, etc.. Also, I want to have retired and hopefully "double dipped" by continuing my teaching career but with more money. Come to think of it, maybe fifty-seven won't be so bad! ha! As I've become older, life becomes a little sweeter. It's a little bit strange. You don't worry as much. The old adage, "don't sweat the small stuff and it's all small stuff" is so true! I hope all of you learn that someday. Getting older is better than the alternative, dying young. Sorry, I didn't make that up either; I've heard it somewhere! (Notice the I;I compound sentence!) Have a good day; we're going to do something different here in a few. ;)

Father's Day

My father died four years ago and I miss him very much! In honor of Father's Day next Sunday, we're going to make magnetic bookmarks. Ask me to show them to you! You can pick the pattern you like and then put what you want on the inside. I think if you type a poem or a short note and reduce the font size as small as you can, it might fit. I also got some scrap booking stickers about dads from Walmart you can look at. The world wouldn't exist without dads so make your dad's Father's Day extra special this year!

Welcome!

I had so much fun yesterday "blogging" with all of you! If you have not made a blog list with everyone on it, you might do that! It is really cool to see everyone's blog.
More than that, it's really fun to hang out with all of you! A week from tomorrow, we go to the church and pack commodity boxes. Meanwhile, we're going to study bees. I have been planning a bee theme for a long time because we are so dependent on bees for food, yet the bee population is dwindling. It's a huge concern in the world! From reading your blogs yesterday, you have a lot to learn about bees. I have learned a lot preparing the unit. I have six "bee hives" or learning centers. Three of them (half, 1/2) are hands on activities that will be really cool! Also, with Ryan's help (ahem!), we are going to do a scale drawing of a giant bee. After all, we have to throw a little math into summer school! I'm going to divide you into groups of two and each group will produce or "blow up" or enlarge a section of the giant bee. If everyone does their section correctly, it will be something we can be proud of and hang in the hall. Imagine that! Also, sometime today, I want each of you to submit a honey recipe for Thursday! Stay tuned for more fun activities and beeeeeeee a good person! Always!

To Bee or Not To Bee

If you want to beeeeee a winner, join us for summer school! We will be studying bees, eating honey, making honey products, etc. Here are some bee websites for references:

http://www.kamali.k12.us/EBC2000/bugs_3.htm

disappearingbeeshttp:www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24science/24bees.html

http://balderdashandblokus.blogspot.com/2007/10/education-pages-httpcals.html

Upcoming Fun Stuff...Don't Miss Out!

• April 29: Present Habitat for Humanity money, $1000!!!!!
• April 29: Casa Trivia Night, Go Fruit Loops!
  
• April 30: Lunch at Southwestern, Happy Birthday Kaitlynn Sutton!
• May 4: Sienna's Birthday!
  
• May 8: Picnic at Island Park, all day long! Bring your fishing rods!
• May 19: Eighth graders last day (if you're in good standing)!!!
• May 21: Last Day of School
• June 8: First Day of Summer School!
  

Spuds for Habitat!

You guys are amazing! With the Legacy's dollar for dollar match, you made approximately $940 to donate to Habitat for Humanity! This is a record high! Along with raising our admission price $.75, we also had a fabulous turn out for the event! The people who attended said your behavior and restaurant skills were impeccible! (For extra credit in theme, tell me what that word means. ; )

Habitat for Humanity Potato Bar

is finally going to happen! Come tomorrow looking your very best, smelling good, and knowing what your role is in making this year's fundraiser a huge success! It will be something that you'll never forget!

Be a positive contributor or be a
potato head! The choice is yours!

Eighth Graders Soar on Math State Assessment!

I couldn't be any more proud of you guys! One student scored a 93, Exemplary!!!! (I won't divulge the name but his first name rhymes with jock!) We have three other eighth graders who scored in the "Exceeds Standards" category....way to go! Three other students scored "Meets Standards" which is something of which you should also be proud. One student is "Approaching Standards" and was very close! He came to our school late in the year and so had a disadvantage of not being here all year long. We're proud of him too! The two eighth graders in our "family" from regular education classes passed too!

Seventh Graders Succeed on Math Assessment!!!

Congratulations to the seventh graders! Seventy-five percent of you scored a 4-Exceeds Standards, and twenty-five percent of you scored 3-Meets Standards! You DID IT! YOU'RE AWESOME!!!! Now....for the eighth grade scores....drummmmmmmroooooooolllllllllll! ;)

Homeless Statistics

Please plug data into createagraph.com and turn it into Ms. Richardson for a math grade by Wednesday, April 8:

1) A survey of 30 cities showed that 49% of homeless are African American, 32% of homeless are Caucasian, 12% are Hispanic, 4% are Indian, and 3% are Asian

Source: usconference of mayors, 1998

2) Homeless people are made up of the following: 44% single men, 13% single women, 36% families with children, 7% minors/ kids alone

Source: Koegel, Paul, The Causes of Homelessness

3) Where homeless people sleep: 59.2% vehicles, 24.6% Makeshift housing (tents, boxes, caves, box cars)

Source: Llink et al.1995

4) Where do homeless live: 35% shelters, 34% live with family/friends, 23% live in motels or other locations, rest live in makeshift (tents, boxes, under bridges) or vehicles

Source: Department of Education, 2000

5) Causes of homelessness: 46% domestic violence, 40% are veterans of war, 20-25% single adults who suffer from mental illness

Source: Koegel, Paul, The Causes of Homelessness

6) Annual Budget of a Family of Four (Income $18,820): 28% housing, 12% utilities, 26% transportation, 26% food, 1% health care (inadequate), 1% childcare (inadequate)

Source: Poverty USA, tolerance.org/teach

Test Taking Tips from your Teacher

Make up a sheet with all the formulas you need to know and memorize all the formulas on the sheet.

When you get your exam, write down all the key formulas on the margin of your paper so if you forget them when you're in the middle of the test you can look back at the formula.

Read the directions carefully and don't forget to answer all parts of the question.

Make estimates for your answers... i.e. if you are asked to answer 48 x 12 = ?, you could expect a number around 500, but if you end up with an answer around 5000, you'll know you did something wrong.

When figuring an algebraic expression, do one step at a time and bring the rest of the problem down.

Check over your test after you are done with it. If you have time redo the problem on a separate piece of paper and see if you come up with the same answer the second time around. Look for careless mistakes such as making sure the decimal is in the right place, that you read the directions correctly, that you copied the numbers correctly, that you put a negative sign if it is needed, that your arithmetic is correct and so on.

Chocolate Games

Click here for chocolate games.

Last Quarter!

Students, you have a "clean slate". That means you can start over and make this your best nine week period ever. If you did well last nine weeks, keep doing what you're doing. If not, here are some suggestions from Ms. Rich.

1. Stay organized. Place every paper in your binder where it should be the minute it gets in your hands. If you don't, there's a high probability (you should know what that means.) that you will lose it.

2. Manage your time well! Have a certain time of day, every day that you do schoolwork outside of class. If you have taken notes, review your notes within a 24 hour period. You'll be surprised how much that helps when it comes to test time.

3. Keep focused. Leave all the drama with your momma and come to school with your mind on school. It's easy once you practice.

4. Have a positive attitude. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...." Never say "can't". It's not allowed. You can do whatever you think you can do. Believe it.

Habitat for Humanity Potato Bar

On Friday, April 9, the students will be participating in a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser in Room 124, Winfield Middle School from 11:00a.m. to 1:00 p.m.. Students will be offering a potato bar for $4.00 and the WMS staff, Coop staff, and Habitat board members will be invited. All of the proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity and will be matched by Legacy, a Regional Community Foundation. Due to limited space and food, attendees will need to RSVP ahead of time so we can plan accordingly.

Summer School

Summer school will begin June 8 and end July 17. The hours will be 8:30-11:30 and classes will be held Mondays through Thursdays. During summer school we will enhance academic skills while studying different countries while we "travel" around the world.

Each week, students will submit a recipe from the country we are visiting. Ms. Rich and Ms. Terri will select two to three recipes. On Wednesdays, we will shop for groceries and on Thursdays we will cook and eat. These are usually complete, nutritional meals with dessert!!

On two of the Wednesdays (one in June and one in July), we will be packing food boxes at First United Methodist Church for the Commodity Food Supplementary Program. This program provides boxes of food each month for the poor and elderly who qualify based on applications. This is a government program and students have an opportunity to serve their community in a very big way! After we work, we will go to the gym at FUMC and play dodgeball or basketball.

This is a program of attraction and an enrichment program. Students who come will want to keep coming back for more and will be more prepared for the upcoming school year! See you there, or......be square! ;)