JPAMs Updated

The research papers and today's test are now on JPAMs.  We will discuss them tomorrow.  Remember to bring your group presentation on the Natchitoches Field Trip.

If you missed today's test be ready to take it on Friday.

Congrats to Neil Nathan!

Congratulations to Neil Nathan for winning the honor of being the Caddo Parish Student Middle School of the Year.

Test 2.7 on Thursday, December 16

Test 2.7 will cover the world history review for the LEAP on the Dark Ages, Huns, and Mongols as well as the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway for Louisiana geography.  All study guides are posted to the iDisk.

The Natchitoches Field Trip presentations or scrapbooks are due Friday.  It is the responsibility of the students to coordinate work time on the project.

Another Good Reason not to use Drugs

Mandatory viewing!

http://www.ktbs.com/video/26084391/index.html

Let's Say Thanks to Our Troops

To say thanks to troops serving and protecting our nation please go to this web site:
http://www.letssaythanks.com/

Only use your first name.

Test 2.6 will be on Wednesday

The test will cover GLE #5, Goths, and Vikings.

Crosswords Posted to the iDisk

Please see the iDisk for crosswords for this week's lessons.

Progress Reports Sent Home

All students received a detailed progress report on Wednesday.  Only those with grades of C, D, or F must have them signed and returned.  All students signed and dated a roster stating that they received a detailed progress report for this class.  Of course, grades may be checked on JPAMS at any time. The lowest test and classwork grades have been dropped for each student and do not show on the progress report unless a lower grade later in the term causes the drop to move.

Research Papers Due Tomorrow

Please bring two copies of your research paper tomorrow (one for English, the other for social studies).  Those on field trips must turn in their papers before leaving.  The late penalty is 25% per day.

Test 2.5 on Friday -- Additional Information

Test 2.5 on Friday will cover GLEs 6, 7, 80, and 81 as well as the Huey Long video.

BINDER CHECK ON FRIDAY -- MATERIALS FROM THE LAST TWO WEEKS.

Test 2.4 on Wednesday and Test 2.5 on Friday

The test will cover GLEs 80 and 81 as well as 1960 to the present in Louisiana history.

Test 2.5 will be given on Friday per the vote taken in class.  It will include more questions on GLE 80 and 81 as well as Huey Long.

Study guides for Louisiana 1960 to the present along with GLEs 80 and 81 were distributed in class and are on the iDisk.  Study your notes on Huey Long.

Natchitoches Trip forms and money due on 15 November

All Natchitoches Field Trip forms and money must be submitted by 15 November.  Any student with a financial hardship must see me by then so that I can help and plan for them to go on the trip. I must pay the bus company before the Thanksgiving Break.  If too few students participate I may have to cancel the Natchitoches Field Trip and refund payments made so far.

Grades on JPAMS have been updated; lowest test dropped

Test 2.3 has been recorded. Please see JPAMS for your current grade.

Grades are up to date on JPAMS

Your current grade, including the binder check on Monday, is posted on JPAMS.

Test 2.3 on Wednesday

Study your notes on Greece, the Long Era, and the GLE #79 worksheet.  Study guides are posted on the iDisk.

Open Houses for High Schools

Magnet High will host 2 information meetings for 8th graders and their parents, both at Magnet High:  Nov. 16 and Jan. 18 beginning at 6:30pm in our Performing Arts Center. Open House is Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011 from 2-4pm.


Byrd Open House – Thursday, Nov 4 at 6:30 pm.


Open House for 8^th graders -Super Gator Gathering at Capt. Shreve- Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 2:00 PM.

Test 2.2 on Monday

Test 2.2 will be on Monday. The test will cover Reconstruction through the 1920s in Louisiana and the GLE #78 presentation. Crossword study guides are posted to the iDisk.

Poinsettia Fundraiser

We are selling poinsettias to raise funds for the Mardi Gras celebration. Fir the last two years, strong sales also permitted us to have a crawfish boil without having an additional fundraiser. Everyone is asked to sell at least two poinsettias to cover the expenses of the Mardi Gras celebration. Ask your doctor, dentist, orthodontist, insurance agent, or other businesses to buy poinsettias. The deadline is 15 November 2010. Please see the handout sent home today for details. 

Study Guides for Test 2.1

Test 2.1 will be held on Wednesday.  Study the crosswords AND your notes for the Civil War (covers GLE #72 and 73 for that period), GLE #76, and GLE #77 (both on on Civil War crossword and on the separate GLE #77 crossword that covers all major wars affecting Louisiana).

Stop Bullying -- Art Contest

If you want to help stop bullying, you can inspire others through visual art.  Enter the Stop Bullying poster contest.  The theme is “Stop Bullying Now: Take A Stand.”  This theme must be on the poster.  1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd place winners from each grade level will receive a trophy, and 1^st place winners will be sent to the Caddo Parish competition for a chance to win top prizes.  All posters entered will be displayed around the school to help spread the message.  Pick up forms from Mrs. Sitton in B112.  All posters are due to Mrs. Sitton by Wednesday, November 10.

Spirit Night at Smashburger

CMM will hold a fundraiser at Smashburger on Tuesday, October 26, from 3-10 p.m.  Funds will support the LEAP/iLEAP incentives plan.

Wings for Angels Fundraiser

Buffalo Wild Wings at 7441 Youree Drive will hold a fundraiser for Holy Angels on 25 October 2010.  The fundraiser will run all day.  Have a parent RSVP to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/bwwshreveport

Drops Seem to be Correct

So far the drops that we have examined today in JPAMS appear to be correct.  Please let me know on Thursday if you find otherwise.

Progress Reports Sent Home Again

I sent another round of progress reports home today for all students.

The Drop

I have entered the grades for this nine-weeks.  I used the automatic drop in JPAMS; as I have previously mentioned it does not work correctly in every instance.  Please check your dropped grades.  If the drop is incorrect you must notify me by Thursday at 2:45 p.m. that you want me to manually change your dropped grades.  You get one drop each for the classwork and test categories.  I removed the quizzes given at the beginning of the year as discussed today in class. Unless you have make-up work or still-acceptable late projects (from Monday) to submit the grade in JPAMS is your final grade.

Test 1.6 on Tuesday

Test 1.6, the last test of the grading period (but NOT a comprehensive final exam), will be on Tuesday.  Please study the study guides for GLE #72 (Antebellum period, 2 crosswords), GLE #74, GLE #75, and your notes/mind maps on the Antebellum period video.  See the iDisk for help on the study guides.

Monday Projects Due

Please complete and submit the following projects, assigned earlier this grading period, on Monday: GLEs 64, 65, 66, 67. 68 (political cartoons), 69.  This has been on the board for a few weeks and was originally due today, but was rescheduled because of the choir and science field trips.

Test Tuesday

Please study your notes on the Louisiana history video and the GLE #71 (explorers) study guide.  Look in the history folder on the iDisk for the interactive study guide.

Reminder: 20th Century Timeline due Friday

Please remember to read the directions and check your work against the rubric before I grade it.

Reminder: 1800s Timeline Due Friday in the Library

Please have your 1800s/19th century timeline ready on Friday.

Aztecs Puzzle Posted for Wednesday's Test

I posted a study guide puzzle for the Aztecs and the interactive puzzles for GLEs 68 and 69 (in their folders in the history section).  The test on Wednesday includes GLE #68, GLE #69, China, and the Aztecs.

Update to the Social Studies Fair Packet

Please discard any copies of the Social Studies Fair Packet downloaded from the iDisk before today.  The version provided today in the library has been uploaded to the iDisk. Your packet should be dated 26 September 2010 at the bottom of each page.

We will be in the library on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  We meet in G-102 for a test on Wednesday.

Point sheets went home last week.

Natchitoches Field Trip

Please save 10 December for the Natchitoches Field Trip.  Details coming soon.

15 October Projects

The following projects are due 15 October:
- GLE #64 Worksheet (10 project points)
- GLE #65 Worksheet (10 project points)
- GLE #66  Historical Figure Resume (50 project points)

Instructions were provided and discussed in class.  If you lost your copies use the iDisk to print new ones.

Timeline Due Dates

The GLE #62 timelines are due on these Fridays:
18th century (1700s) -- 24 September
19th century (1800s) -- 01 October
20th century (1900s) -- 08 October

There is no 21st century timeline.

Test 1.3

Test 1.3, on next Wednesday, will cover China, GLE #68, and GLE #69.  The China study guide puzzle is in the World History folder on the iDisk.  The two GLE study guides are in their respective folders under history on the iDisk.  I recommend making flash cards out of the crossword puzzle clues and answers.  The test is not on Tuesday to provide library time on MTTF of next week for the GLE #70 social studies fair research paper project (due 02 December).

More about the drop

Since JPAMS does not accurately drop the most harmful grade I will do this manually at the end of the grading period.  For now I am removing the drop but YOU WILL get the drop at the end of the grading period.

Free Online Tutoring

Check out:
http://www.homeworkla.org/

Wednesday: Bring a Political Cartoon

Please bring a political cartoon to class on Wednesday.  It may be from a newspaper, magazine, or the web. You will need it to complete an activity in class.

Finished Fixing the Dropped Grades

I have completed fixing the dropped grades; please log on to JPAMS to see your grade.  JPAMS seems to drop the lowest percentage grade regardless of the weight.

Addendum:  I am told JPAMS is working to add an option to drop the lowest grade based on points but has not assigned a date to this enhancement.

Make Up Tests

If you need to make up a test please have a parent note to come to my Stallion Roundup on Monday or Tuesday of this coming week.

Fixing the Dropped Grades

I am about to redo the dropped grades in JPAMS.  For a few minutes the lowest grade will not be dropped.  Please check JPAMS around 5:00 p.m. for an accurate grade.  I apologize in advance for any inconveniences or mistaken automatic phone calls (and accompanying concerns) this may cause.

About the Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) version of the GLE #63 Timeline

While the plain text version is easier to use, the .pdf version may be opened but you must use the magnifying glass tool to enlarge it enough to make the events visible.  If that does not work try the plain text version.  All the information is in it.  We are going over the timeline in class.

Reminder: 1600s Timeline Due Friday

As posted on the board in class, Friday is the due date for the 1600s (17th century) timeline. The 1700s (18th century) timeline is due next Friday.

Study Guides on the iDisk for Test 1.2

I will provide paper copies on Friday.  The test Tuesday will cover GLE #67, Carthage, and the world history section of the GLE #63 timeline from A.D. 800 to 1600.

Edit:  GLE #68 will be on Test 1.3, not Test 1.2.

Problem with the drop in JPAMS

I noticed this morning that the drop in JPAMS is not working as expected.  It should drop one test and one classwork grade.  Instead it is dropping two in one category and none in the other for some students.  I am looking into the problem and will post here when it is resolved and accurate average grades are online.

Drop Applied

I have applied the drop to your grades (one for tests, another for classwork, none for projects) on JPAMS, so your actual course grade is now on display.

Grades Posted

Grades for Test 1.1 and Binder Check 1.3 are posted on JPAMS.

No crosswords on the binder check tomorrow

Have your mind maps and bellringers ready, but no crosswords will be on this binder check.

Update on Tuesday's Test

As I posted on the board in class, study:

• the Major System (click to see the web page discussed in class)
• the GLE #63 Timeline (300 B.C. to A.D. 800) (see the iDisk if you missed any notes)
• Marathon

Test and Binder Check on Tuesday

The next test will be on Tuesday. Study the GLE #63 timeline that we have covered up to that day.

Quiz and Binder Check on Tuesday

The quiz will cover Egypt, Hannibal, and the GLE #63 timeline (just the section on world history to 300 B.C.).  The binder check will only include mind maps. Check the iDisk for a version of the timeline that may be viewed as an Acrobat file. Look in the 8th Grade Social Studies folder > History>gle63. Use your mind map on Egypt to study for the quiz -- it is not based on the crossword puzzle that your did last week.

I recommend reading this article:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/254423/Hannibal

Grades Posted for Quiz 1.1

The first quiz grades are posted on JPAMS.  The binder checks will be posted tomorrow.

Ancient Americans Crossword not Due Tuesday

We will look over it later this week.

Quiz and Binder Check Tuesday

The quiz will only cover time zones and longitude.  I provided crossword puzzle study guides. If you lost your copy look on the iDisk (link to the right on this page) in the Quiz0101 folder.

The binder check will include only those crosswords that we went over in class (Egypt, Cradles, Longitude, and Time Zones).  Also included will be mind maps and the GLE #1 worksheet.

Don't panic, but do study!

Crossword Puzzles Added to iDisk

I posted the following crosswords to the iDisk (link on the right of this page):

• Cradles of Civilization
• Egypt: The New Kingdom
• Map Basics

The quiz and binder check will be Tuesday.

Extra Credit Opportunity

I will award five test points of extra credit for bringing a printout of one page of this blog.  The printout must be signed by a parent and have your name written at the top. The deadline is Tuesday.

Due Monday

Please bring the $10 class fee (checks preferred) and your sketchpad (with colored pencils or markers) on Monday.  I do not collect the sketchpads or colored pencils/markers; you may keep them at home or in your locker.

Ancient Americans Crossword

Please discard the copy I gave you on Friday; I will provide a new copy on Monday.

Welcome to the course!

Welcome to Louisiana History with Mr. Blankenship for the 2010-2011 school year at Caddo Middle Magnet School!  Please check this blog often for information on the class.