Mr. Rennie's Class

Andraya                           November22, 2010

 Liyra city is a wonderful town because I see lights on the trees and lights on the buildings.

    I hear laughter in the air as kids play in the silky white snow with Christmas cheer.

As some kids are in the house drinking hot chocolateas they wait for their father to come home from work as they put bulbs, candy canes and all types of silly little decorations on the Christmas tree. When the father walks in the room you feel so happy as your dad kisses you on the head. The snow falls down from the dark blue sky that night as the bright white moon shines on Liyra city. Just waiting for Santa to arrive as the the little kids are asleep safe in their little beds.

John                                                                 Nov.17,2010

                UNDER THE SEA OF LIFE

   Going Underwater at night in the summer is like a whole new world that’s hard to explain.  There are many fish to see glowing in the deepest parts of the ocean and more unique animals that others have never seen or discovered.  It feels like water  flowing in every direction, as if it was a nice gentle breeze with the fishes roaming through the currents. There are many corals of different shapes and sizes and jellyfish painlessly bumping everywhere you look. You also might hear bubbles popping.  But one thing that reminds you of the world is that the fish are the people and the corals are their home like Earth has been reborn but underwater.

By:John

  Today I spent the school day at Southgate Middle School's lab hosted by Mr. Rob Hatfield. Aside from renewing aquaintances with 50 or so former students who dropped by to say hi, I was there to get advice on web management and computer instruction. I saw the grade sevens and eights using their google docs accounts to make websites, practice typing and perform advanced animation using Flash. Iwas glad to see how useful and important their google accounts were since all our students already have them and will be able to get right at it if they go to Southgate next year.

  The one application I saw that I think would be most useful and applicable for us was the google sites app. This capability allows you to create a web site around any topic or theme. It allows you to add text, inset images and imbed video into the various pages of your site. I thought it would be a perfect way to explore the cultures of other countries or the rich heritage of Canada's provinces and territories. The sites are shared in pairs and with the teacher but are not open to the world wide web but more the trio of trust web. We'll give them a shot in January. Thanks to Mr. hatfield for a great and useful day.

  On Wednesday we explored setting descriptions. The students chose a picture from a collection of unique, beatiful and exotic scenes then were to write a detailed and descriptive paragraph. The paragraph should make the reader feel like they were there. It should include sensory info and be written in either the first person or as a  third person narrative. They may decide to use it as a lead for a story they'll develop.

  The wrting was very focused in the lab. All students successfully wrote an effective paragraph they could be proud of. Some started doing so right away while many returned to the draft from Monday or and earlier piece. After sharing their paragraphs with a partner we we back to class. Mission accomplished. We are at the point where not only is everyone on task but they are enthusiastic and dare I say, fluent. There was not a single, "I don't know how to start" or "I don't know what to say". This class is doing a super great job and producing engaging pieces of writing.

  Every Writing Workshop session worth the paper the students write on, includes a silent write. The ultimate is a half hour of concerted, focused, independent silent writing. We have yet to reach that yet but today we proved that it can be done in the lab. We just had to widen our definition of silent to include the tapping of keyboards. The kids went to the lab after a mini-lesson on descriptive details. They settled in quickly and wrote for a solid 25 minutes. I stopped them at that point to share with a partner.

  They all did an awesome job. I've heard from some colleagues that the lab wasn't a conducive environment for this creative task. I think however, that when you are into what you are writing, the recording method shouldn't be an impediment. In fact the computer may be the tool which for some, is actually a motivator. For many who might otherwise not produce the computer makes the task easier and more appealing. We have students with past output issues who participated fully and emerged with the satisfaction of having produced a solid piece of writing. Some students actually worked on more than one piece, the true actualization of a workshop mentality. They finished one and simply opened a previous document. I have been thinking about and experimenting with writing and using the lab for years but the commitment we've made this term to moving the workshop into the lab is long anticipated. In the past we would use the lab as a place to do a final copy but this year we have done mini-lessons, drafts and sharing in the lab. I only hope the students feel as satisfied with their work as I do. I have been lucky to try out these new approaches with such a cooperative and willing group of writers.

  Last week the kids posted, indeed reposted some stories and poems. We discussed the fact that the audience for these pieces of writing could be people all around the world. We are widening our audience to provide kids with the opportunity to share beyond the warm embrace of our school community. I hope this in turn results in increased confidence and purpose for the writers. We posted them as blog entries under News. You'll have to scroll through and go back to pages to find what you're looking for. In the lab today we had a shortened period which focused on sharing their work by inviting more classmates to share their writing through google docs. We'll continue to write and share throughout the year and I hope the parents are getting a chance to read the student's work.

  On Thursday I'll be going to Southgate to spend the day in the lab with Rob Hatfield and his students. I hope to get further insight into what our students need in order to arrive at middle school prepared for using the lab. I also hope to discover other applications that our students can explore at O.G.and advice on managing the website,

Peace

Peace is the soft mellow sound of the movie in the other class.

Peace is the first lonely snowflake slowly fluttering down and touching the hard surface of the ground.

Peace is the sound of your teacher calling out the marks on your math test and you getting an A+.

Peace is the silence of Silent Reading only the character in your mind talking.

Peace is the hum of the chair lift as you elevate to the top of the mountain.

Peace is the crash of the waves on the already wet logs.

Peace is the sound of you and your friend getting along.

Peace is the first bite of the juicy hamburger.

Peace is sound of no gun shots.

                                                            By, Owen Boyd

My Definition of Peace

Peace is the feel of popping bubble wrap.

Peace is JESUS!

Peace is eating tomato sandwichs.

Peace is the sound of light rain falling against a window.

Peace is staring at a X-mas tree on X-man morning.

Peace isn’t the feel of a gun blasting away bullets.

Peace isn’t the taste of brussle sprouts.

Peace isn’t Chuck Norris.

Peace isn’t the smell of burnt toast.

Peace isn’t a war.

By Brian

Peace feels like fleece blankets and soft kittens , mugs filled with hot chocolate and warm mittens on my hands

Peace smells like fruity shampoo and chamomile tea, fresh air and cut grass all around me

Peace tastes like popcorn dipped in hot chocolate , melted ice cream and soup with rising steam

Peace sounds like the Jonas brothers new CD and a Justin Bieber track , OK go blaring loud and One Republic in the back

                                         Peace

    Peace is.......

the feel of my dog’s soft fur on my hand when I pet her

to see smiles on faces when their friend’s give them a hug

my favorite ice cream on my tongue when I lick into the bubble gum flavor

the smell of hot chocolate coming from the kitchen

that is all peace but the most important thing is that peace is you

                                                                                              by Emily Cromer