Trebuchets, Slow Motion, Part 2

Today we had our final battle in the gym. The boys had a great time setting up and knocking down castles. Below is a video that shows at least four tin foil balls hitting a castle and taking it out. The video is best watched in full screen mode, which can be accessed by clicking the icon with four arrows pointing outwards near the bottom of the video.

Trebuchets - Slow Motion, Part 2 from Skip Howe on Vimeo.

Billy Has a BLAST!!

Billy had a great time this past weekend. He played the guitar, went skateboarding, got to see the Ninth Age Pyramid Project up close and personal, and dressed up in Steelers gear???? Billy what came over you? Then again, it looks like he is shaking his head NO in the picture. That must be it.

Trebuchets!!

We fired the trebuchets today for the first time, and they were firing so well that we had a "Destroy the Castle" battle. The students manned the trebuchets, and I built the castle. To see how the castle and its successors fared, click here. Once you have seen that video check out this one which is a clip from the other one with a section in slow motion. Two balls hit the castle at the same time!!!

Another Great Composition

Recently we conducted an egg drop in class. Here is a composition about one boy's experience.

An Out of This World Experience

One of the class parents was kind enough to send in the link to the NASA website that could allow you to witness the last space shuttle launch ever. To see the link with all of the details click here.

The Knights of 9-2

Now that we have entered the medieval period in history class the boys are taking turns wearing chain mail to see how heavy it is. Each boy gets to wear the twenty five pounds of ringed steel for up to twenty minutes. Below is a picture of the first boy who was drawn at random for a turn.

Two Great Compositions

One of the boys recently wrote a great composition about oysters. It can be seen here. Another boy wrote about the dragonfly. It can be seen here. Way to go, fellows!!

Billy, the Good Luck Charm!!

Billy made a new friend this weekend, and had a blast helping his friend celebrate his birthday. From blowing out the candles to helping choose the restaurant, Billy had a great time. He also got to attend his friend's piano recital and later cheer his friend's undefeated team, the Storm, on to victory. Billy rounded out the weekend with a trip to Camden Yards to help cheer the O's to victory over their cross-town rivals, the Nationals. Billy even had time to visit with his friend's cousin, and he made her giggle. What a fantastic weekend!!!

A Great Play

I went to two plays at Calvert this evening which were both very well done. There was a lad from 9-2 in the second one, and he did a great job as the prince in Robin Hood. It is not easy playing a villainous sort of character (especially for such a sweet boy) but he did a fantastic job. Bravo!!

What is Tomorrow?

This summer I am doing some teacher training that I will tell more about in a future post, and one session I am leading is on the Socratic method of teaching which relies on asking thought provoking questions. I use this a lot anyway but have been doing it more so recently to become more familiar with the pro's and con's. This morning I asked the boys as they entered the room, "What is tomorrow?" The answer I was looking for was Spirit Day, because I wanted to emphasize the fact that tomorrow the students could dress in the school colors. The answers I got were interesting. Most students' first answer was Friday. To my query of what else is it I got the following....the 20th, the last day of the week, the day before Saturday, the day I go to the orthodontist, the end of the best week ever, and finally a boy said, "Spirit Day." I kept asking even after I had let the boys know that I had been looking for Spirit Day, and one boy when asked proclaimed without hesitation as his first answer that tomorrow is Championship Day. He is an avid lacrosse player, and tomorrow is the championship between Gilman and Calvert Hall.

I was struck by how many different thoughts the boys are bringing with them that I have no idea are swimming around, until I hit on the right question. What should I ask tomorrow?

The History Quizlet

The Quizlet for the test on Chapters 50-52 may be seen here. The study guide may be seen here.

What in the World?

Part of my family's weekend adventures dealt with the object in the photograph below. What do you think it is? It is seen magnified 400 times

Billy Makes a New Friend

Billy had a great time hanging out with a new friend this weekend. As you can see, Billy is still working on his slam dunk. Keep trying Billy

A Great Day for a Lax Game

On Sunday I got the chance to see this young lad in action in a hard fought lacrosse contest. His team played valiantly and ended up with a 3-3 tie. On one play, this student displayed moves which defy description as he deftly avoided the checks and challenges from about six players. After being knocked to the ground he still had possession of the ball and was still cradling as a foul was called. The opposing coach figured that such a display would only be possible if the stick had an illegal pocket, so he had his stick checked to see if it was legal. It was. There was never a doubt in my mind.

Growing Seeds in Jello

It was planting day in 9-2 as we began our great seed experiment. We planted two varieties of peas and radish seeds in Jello to see if they will grow. We are hoping to be able to observe the root structure and the relationship between the roots and leaves. I hope it works. The radish seeds are small, and the two varieties of pea seeds look strangely like peas (go figure). I had shown the boys the radish seeds (which obviously look nothing like the final product) and then before showing them the pea seeds asked them to predict what they would look like. Most boys (and their teacher) thought the seeds would be smaller in size that they were. The boys seemed okay with the fact that they are eating something remarkably similar to pea seeds when they are having peas for dinner. A few of the boys wanted to try the pea seeds!! Some of the boys thought I had pilfered the Jello from the cafeteria when the Menu Man told them that we were having Jello for lunch. Despite my pleas of innocence it was the different flavor of Jello at lunch that convinced them that my character is still intact. Here are a few pictures...

Billy Takes a Dip

his past weekend Billy decided that the warm weather would be the perfect time to take a swim. Just after the picture was taken, Billy did a perfect swan dive..too bad the water temperature was 53 degrees.

Trading Desks

As part of the Super Bowl game we played in class a few months ago, one of the prizes was to trade desks with me for the day, and that trade took place yesterday. The lucky lad who won, can be seen enjoying his desk for the day below.

Ice Cream Anyone???

The Ice Cream Sundae Composition from Skip Howe on Vimeo.

A Great Composition

Here is a great composition about the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.

Billy in 3-D

This past weekend Billy and his newest friend went to the movies and saw Rio in spectacular 3-D. Afterwards all he could say was, "Wow!!" Billy was quite fond of the glasses and wanted to take them home, but eventually he was convinced to leave them behind.

Out of This World Websites

Today in technology class we looked at the following awesome websites.

http://www.nasa.gov/

http://www.space.com/

http://www.kidsastronomy.com/

http://www.bestedsites.com/astronomysites

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/

http://www.photography-colleges.org/100-amazing-online-tools-to-learn-about-outer-space/