Update and Parent/Teacher Conferences

Hello All!
Today we finished up the presentations of the body systems. For the most part, they were pretty good. We still need to work on summarizing the information we gather before we put it in our wiki. The students kept copying and pasting things right from the internet. They are not allowed to do this. We talked about this so much before they got started because it is called plagiarism and will get them into serious trouble. We looked at the tool bar on the wiki and discovered that there is no spell check or grammar check button to hit, so they need to double and triple check their spelling and grammar, too. I think the next time we use the wikis, they will be so much more complete.

After these were completed, we began our look at the last system we need to cover. It is the reproductive system. This is a very touchy subject because some are afraid that it will end up being a sex education class, but let me assure you that it is not. The state of Ohio wants the 6th graders to look at this system as the reason why we continue to have all these different species on the planet. If there were no reproductive systems, then all life on this planet would stop. I am not the "how to" class, but the "why" class. We will go right into genetics from here. I feel that we had a very good class discussion today. I put on the board the things that the kids know. Some things were wrong, so I had the opportunity to make the information correct. My class makes next year's health class much easier.

I need to let all of you know that I will not be at school for conferences. I am having surgery on my arm Thursday and will be out until after Thanksgiving. I will be happy to meet with you after the holiday, if you would like to do so. My prep time is during 2nd period. The time of that period is 8:40-9:25. You can call me after we come back, during that time, and we can set up a day for you to come in. I can, also, talk to you through email. My email address is tphipps@minfordfalcons.net. I check it periodically throughout the day and try to reply that day, but may not get to until my prep the next day. I can do phone conferences, too, during that same 2nd period prep time. I am so sorry for this inconvenience, but I hope you understand. The students have watched me hold and rub my elbow for a long time now, and I have the chance to get it fixed permanently.

I hope everyone has a very wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!! The students will be working on their big projects during class, while I am gone. They can bring in their backboards and get them all done, work on their reports, or work on their experiments and demonstrations. The computers will be there for them to use. Everything will be completed by Tuesday, November 30. Oral presentations will begin on Wednesday, December 1. Talk to you after the holiday. Try not to eat too much!!!! ha! ha!