In Remembrance of Memorial Day

 Freedom Is Not Free 

Kelly Strong

 

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

Gloabloria Wrap Up!!!

This is the last week of school. I'm concerned that students aren't going to get their work completed and posted. I've gone over with them several times what all has to be done. I know that we're all excited about getting out of school for the summer, but the work has to get done. I've explained to them that they've worked so hard all year to let things go down the tube here at the end. The message is: Please stay focused this week and get everything uploaded and posted properly.

No Triple Crown Winner This Year

I love watching The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes.    I love horses and getting to see some of the best racing horses in action is truly            awesome for me.  

In his first race on a dirt surface, Animal Kingdom roared from the pack to capture the 137th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 7th. Animal Kingdom, a 20-1 favorite, chased down Shackleford, who led almost the entire race.                         

 Shackleford withstood a furious late charge by Animal Kingdom to win the $1 million Preakness Stakes Saturday and vanquish the Triple Crown hopes of the Kentucky Derby champion, Animal Kingdom. As you can see from the picture, Shackelford won by a half of a length.

Game Development and End of Year Schedule

With this being Westtest week, we had 1/2 hours classes Monday through Thursday.Next week we have awards assembly and yearbook signing, which will shorten our class time also. The following week we will have the talent show and swimming pool parties, which will definitely shorten our classes. I'm concerned how much work each of you are going to get done. Each day I encourage you to keep working and to get your team wikis completed, to keep blogging and to keep your learning logs up-to-date. Remember you have to create as much as possible of your game and you have to upload it before the end of school. Our last actual class day will be June 1st. You will be swimming on the 2nd, so you won't have class that day. You will have class on June 3rd, which is the day of the spring dance, and June 6th, which is the last day of school. Therefore, we have seven actual working class days left, with two of those class days shortened due to activities. Please work as hard as you can to get as much done as possible. Good luck. I know you can do it. Just stay focused seven more days!!

Ford, Ohio State Working On Dandelions As Rubber Source.

Fred Meier writes in  USA Today:


Talk about a sustainable resource! Ford and Ohio St. researchers are working on dandelion roots as a potential source of rubber.

Apparently the milky-white goo that seeps from dandelion roots can be used to make a rubber that Ford says could eventually be used in the plastics in cup holders, floor mats and interior trim.

Ford notes that this is just part of investment in sustainable materials including soy foam seat cushions and wheat straw-filled plastic for interior trim -- with the advantage that dandelion roots aren't a food crop (for most humans, anyway) and they grow like, well, a weed.

What is FIRST®LEGO® League?

FIRST^®LEGO^® League introduces younger students (Grades 4-8, Ages 9-14) to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface. FLL teams, guided by their imaginations and adult coaches, discover exciting career possibilities and, through the proce

Elementary and middle-school students get to:

  Design, build, test and program robots using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology
  Apply real-world math and science concepts
  Research challenges facing today’s scientists
  Learn critical thinking, team-building and presentation skills
  Participate in tournaments and celebrations

What FLL teams accomplish is nothing short of amazing. It’s fun. It’s exciting. And the skills they learn will last a lifetime.

WESTEST 2 - May 16 - 19

On May 16-19, SCMS students will take the WESTEST 2. The WV Department of Education states: The WESTEST 2 is a custom-designed assessment for West Virginia students. The individual content assessments measure a student’s levels of performance on clearly defined standards and objectives and skills. Student scores are based on test questions that have been developed and aligned to the West Virginia 21st Century CSOs. WESTEST 2 Online Writing is a part of the reading/language arts portion of WESTEST 

The assessment results provide information about a student’s academic strengths, as well as areas that need improvement. Results of the tests will be used by educators to improve student learning and performance.