The club really need to nurture this youngster! 🤩

Today as a guest blogger, I have a wonderful colleague, Deb Hewey. She is our ELL teacher at the elementary level. I know you will love her piece about the power of music on the brain. ~EMP “Music making stands head and shoulders above other disciplines in its likely impact on overall learning” (page 45). If you are an educator that quote should grab your attention enough to at least ask why? And if you are a parent, how about this statistic: students who participate in half a year or less of art study (which could be music lessons) score an average of 487 on math and verbal SAT’s, one year of music increases those averages to a score of 510, two years brings an average of 512, three years of instruction shows an average of 514 and four years of instructions jumps the average SAT math and verbal scores to 538 (page 44). Have I got your attention? Music integration is a purposeful merging of musical learning and academic content. It is not a catchy tune to remember the states or prepositions (although those have their rightful place in influencing the brain and memory). It is carefully looking into the music standards of singing, reading and notation, playing instruments, and critical response and pairing it with the benchmarks of literacy, math, science, and social studies to create lessons enriched with novelty and challenge for both student and teacher. It is another way of teaching a concept that requires a little more planning and “thinking outside the box”. The resulting lessons, however, surpass pencil and paper tapping into emotions, movement, creativity and extended learning. The effects of a music integrated curriculum go beyond cementing a new concept into the mind of a student. It is actually changing the brain itself!View Full Post

Digital Crate Digging Continues as we proceed and continue on this so called Terrible / Terrific Tuesday where things can go either way! The terrific outcome is claimed now we're at your service when we swerve with this / when we let the music play! Thought and fashion police are mad at us because we didn't agree to the terms of service plus we didn't scan the QR Code! Sonic assaults are unleashed when we swerve with this plus this good word is dropped when Brotha O spans the globe... ...brainstorming; plus strobe lights are the norm per this O-Dog Day Party as we drop The Grau Club Sessions #30 [Summer 2024 / House / Dance / Club] Carlos Grau! Check out the playlist and the mix as we O-Dog Day Party to this; this is what's up with a brotha! Music Credits, Artists & Download links 🎧🎶🔽 1 - Something Good (Yotto & Karolus Viitala) - Rhythm - 00:45 2 - Chocolate Puma, Mike Cervello - You Are My Life (Extended Mix) - 4:45 3 - Genix, flowanastasia - Lights, Sound, Camera, Action (Extended Mix) - 09:07 4 - Tom Ferry, Kelli-Leigh - Home (Extended Mix) - 12:01 5 - Simon Ray - All Night Long (Extended Mix) - 15:57 6 - Chris Lake, Gotye, Kimbra, Sante Sansone, FISHER (OZ) - Somebody (2024) (Extended Mix) - 18:50 7 - Nico Falla - Eres Para Mí (Extended Mix) - 22:10 8 - Rasmus Faber, Clara Mendes - Demanda (Hosiannah Edit) - 26:10 9 - Mark Knight & Wh0 & James Hurr feat. Kathy Brown - Turn Me Deeper (Extended Remix) - 30:25 10 - Genix, Sandy Chambers - Baby Baby (Extended Mix) - 33:52 11 - Mr. Belt & Wezol - It's Not Right But It's Okay (Extended) - 37:20 12 - David Penn, Monia Amore - Ocean Drive (Open Your Mind) (Qubiko remix) - 40:08 13 - Ponymeadow - Over the Edge (Extended Mix) - 45:45 14 - Eric Prydz - Generate (Kydus Remix) - 50:45

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 28, 2018 Trump tries to put squeeze on Canada as U.S. and Mexico make NAFTA breakthrough The U.S. and Mexico have c…

TOP TEN TUESDAY January 20, 2015 It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic was a freebie so I chose: My Top Ten Fantasy Books (s…

Synopsis Expand/Collapse Synopsis A charming adventure full of magic and mystery, set in the land where stories come from. Something is broken in the land of story. Real and imaginary worlds are colliding—putting everything and everyone in grave peril. Tuesday and Baxterr, at the request of the Librarian, and with the help of Vivienne Small, venture to find the Gardener—the one person who can stop this catastrophe. On their way, they'll meet friends and foes, and discover strengths they didn't know they had. Will they be able to save the land of story? A Week Without Tuesday by Angelica Banks, with illustrations by Stevie Lewis, is the charming sequel to Finding Serendipity, a middle grade novel full of all the magic, mystery, and adorable illustrations readers have come to expect from this series. This title has Common Core connections. “All the worlds are fully rendered and themes of imagination, courage, family, sacrifice, and friendship are beautifully explored. Fans of Edith Nesbit, Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story, and Roderick Townley’s The Great Good Thing have a new home with Angelica Banks.” —Booklist, starred review “Banks’s wondrously whimsical language helps transport readers into this imaginative world. . . . Creative young authors as well as fantasy lovers will enjoy this inventive book.” —School Library Journal

This week's Top Ten Tuesday challenge is to suggest titles for a book club based on its interests in a specific book, subject, author, etc. In keeping with the focus of this blog, I've decided to share fictional books I think would be great for a Catholic book club. Though some of the books mentioned are written by Catholic authors, and have specifically Catholic references, there are also plenty of books by non-Catholics mentioned here. These are books which espouse a Christian worldview consistent with the Church's teachings about sin and redemption, love and sacrifice, belief and faith. (Links throughout the body of this post will take you to my reviews.) The first two authors I want to mention are so obvious, I almost feel silly including them, but I'd feel just as strange leaving them out. They are, of course, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. While plenty of non-Catholics enjoy these writers (and C.S. Lewis himself was not Catholic), there is something about Middle Earth and Narnia that is especially appealing to the Catholic mind. I am not a big fantasy reader, as a rule, and I think that is partly because I have a hard time connecting fantasy worlds to my real life. I have not had this problem with The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or with any of the Narnia books I have read so far. They are not true to my life, but they are true to my faith, and I believe reading these books has bolstered my beliefs in a way that purely secular books simply do not. Also in the fantasy realm are George MacDonald, author of The Princess and the Goblin and Elizabeth Goudge, author of The Little White Horse. I found the religious references were a little harder to pinpoint in The Princess and the Goblin, though a Christian sensibility pervades the entire text. Little White Horse is not a Catholic book per se, but it talks a lot about repentance and making things right with God, and again, there is a feeling of religiousness about the book which comes across even without explicit statements about a specific faith. Next is Flannery O'Connor. I first discovered her work in high school, when "Good Country People" was assigned to me in my senior year English elective, "Short Stories." I was blown away by how darkly comical the ending of that story is, and I was pleased to have an author with such a sharp wit on "my" team. Years later, when it came time to write my English thesis, I discovered that certain academics were arguing for a reading of O'Connor that ignores the religious interpretations of her work. Knowing that O'Connor always intended her stories to be of a religious nature, I used my thesis as an opportunity to trace those threads through her novel, Wise Blood, as well as many of her short stories. If you can't get into her stories, try her letters, collected in The Habit of Being. I found that I loved her writing that much more once I got to know her a little bit better. Another wonderful author, whose books I only discovered last year, is Meriol Trevor. Like O'Connor, she writes explicitly religious novels, generally about conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism. Trevor is British, so her style is quite different from O'Connor's, but her novel, The Rose Round, is the closest thing to a perfect book that I have ever read. (My review explains why.) A close second is Trevor's Sun Slower, Sun Faster, which involves time travel to various points in the history of the Catholic church in England. It also includes the following beautiful passage about the Eucharist: Then a movement began among the people. They creaked to their feet, shuffled and fumbled up to the front, kneeling on the floor, and she saw little Thomas at the beginning of the row. The priest turned and made the sign of the cross and all signed themselves; then he came forward and moved along the line, placing the Hosts in the mouths of the people. Cecil had a very strange feeling; she felt that this was at the same time the most natural and the most unnatural thing she had ever seen. They were like little birds being fed by their mother, and yet it was grown people who knelt to receive what looked like a paper penny of bread on their tongues. She knew at once why the Mass provoked such love and such hate. Either what they believe is true, or else it is a dreadful delusion, she thought. These two books are written for teens, but they had great significance for me as an adult as well. Trevor's adult novel, Shadows and Images, which is about a fictional woman's friendship with the real John Henry Cardinal Newman, is also a compelling read that I really enjoyed. Finally, there are two Newbery-winning books that are must-reads for Catholic kids and adults alike: I Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino and The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. In I, Juan de Pareja, title character Juan is a devout Catholic who seeks out the sacrament of Reconciliation after committing an act of wrongdoing. This is a matter-of-fact part of the story, and the sacrament is given its due respect and reverence. The book as a whole is also beautifully written and unexpectedly brought me to tears. The Bronze Bow is set during the time of Jesus and it explores the social and political climate in which Jesus lived and follows a blacksmith's slave on his journey toward Christian belief. Though these books are intended for children, neither is a childish book, and both have much to offer teen and adult readers as well.

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and the wonderful Amanda from Teaching Maddeness to share some highlights of my week. I apologize for being so MIA this week! I am missing all these great link ups during the week because well, life, has been getting in the way! Falling asleep on the couch every night while trying to get my schoolwork done is getting O.L.D.!! I can't wait to have a break from daily planning and grading (then, I can have more time for blogging! lol). My little girl turned SIX on Wednesday! We were thrilled because her checkup after her tonsil/adenoid surgery was the morning of her birthday and she was cleared to go back to school! Daddy brought her into school with her birthday treat and all her friends ran up to her and gave her lots of hugs and love. I wish I could have been there:( She had her family birthday party on Sunday. Her friend birthday party is tomorrow at a Little Diva Day Spa for girls ages 3-12. She is having seven little girlfriends join her for a couple hours of pampering fun with a fairy theme!! Here she is at the Memorial Day parade with her favorite present from Grandma (crutches for her doll!). My little buddy, Charlie, loved the parade and firetrucks too:) Wednesday was "K day" for "KITE DAY!" Our students are LOVING the ABC countdown calendar that I read about here at the amazing Amanda and Stacia's blog, Collaboration Cuties. It was the perfect day to fly a kite with a great breeze and some cloudy skies. I lost count of how many students told me that this was their first time EVER flying a kite! A student from my homeroom and ELA class won 2nd place in an essay contest for the county!! The American Legion sponsors an essay contest on the topic, "What the American Flag Means to Me." There were over 1,100 entries and representatives from the Legion made a special trip to our school to present our winner with his prize of $75 in front of his classmates! I videotaped the presentation as well as the student reading his essay to the entire 4th grade. I will give a copy of the video to his parents. Proud student moment right here! I FINALLY had my walkthrough observation on Thursday!! We had a formal observation back in the fall and the walkthrough is new this year. Good news? It's over and I have that weight lifted off my shoulders! Bad news? I now have to write a formal lesson plan and have all my artifacts ready for Monday. We have to keep 24 artifacts throughout the year (needed 12 at formal observation and 12 more after walkthrough) to address domains one and four of the Danielson Rubric evaluation system for teachers. They also cannot be just ANY artifacts. The artifacts must be one of the three "recommended artifacts" from our negotiated rubric. So, my principal walked in right before ELA was about to begin and we worked on our Book Clubs!! I think it went well (I hope!) and I had created these forms that the students already had. I will blog more about how Book Clubs went and the forms I created after the students finish their final meetings (June 11th). One thing is for sure about my book clubs...the learning is DEFINITELY student centered! Today we took the students on one of my favorite field trips! The 4th grade classes toured Chautauqua Institution (founded in 1874). This is the only one of the "Grand Hotels" with wood frames that have survived from the 1800's. This is a picture of the amphitheater where a bustle of activity takes place all day every day throughout the summer!! Although I still have three weeks of school left, I can't help but notice that many of my BBB's are on summer vacay! I was hoping you could complete a quick survey about how you would like to continue "Tried It Tuesday" over the summer (thanks for the idea Amanda and Stacia!). I am loving all the ideas linked up every week and am happy to continue the linky each week as long as there is interest! I just don't want to overwhelm anyone or make my normal link ups feels pressured to link up each week:) I know I will be blogging more over the summer but I don't know if that feeling is the norm. Please take the quick survey to give me an idea of how to proceed:) Thank you so much for your support! XXOO Loading...

Did you know that one year I forgot to teach graphing? Oops! Check out these activities to make graphing fun with bar graphs, line plots, and much more!

Last year, I ran one of the most highly-attended anime/manga clubs in the San Antonio Public Library system. Not bad for a part-time library assistant. What was so charming about my club? First of all, I lived in Japan for three years. As soon as I said that, the teens were enthralled. I got questions like, "Is it as cool as we all think it is?" or "Are you crazy? Why did you ever leave?" I don't like to brag, so it's not like I would talk about Japan so I could go, "Bam, son!" Sometimes, making a reference to Japanese culture just happens to be the right thing to say. Clearly, though, the way I relate to teens is not based solely on having lived somewhere totally rad. (Yes, I'm bringing "rad" back.) There are plenty of other things that can be done to ensure that an anime/manga club becomes-- and remains-- exciting and fun. Once I get another anime/manga club of my own, I'll make sure to repeat the successes of the past by doing the following: Let them choose a name for their club. This club is where teens can meet other teens. It is a source of identity, in a way. Give them control over what they can call their clan. The club I headed chose to name themselves "The Otaku Ninjas." They even came up with a hilarious and endearing signature Otaku Ninja move. So let them throw ideas around and don't cringe visibly. They should get to contribute to the atmosphere of the club just as much as you. Create meetings worth attending. Of course, showing anime is fun but that shouldn't be your end goal. Go the extra mile and design a fun activity for each meeting. I've done Japan Jeopardy contests, action writing seminars, and lessons on Japanese language, calligraphy and origami. Use your resources! Try getting ideas for short programs online-- such as this innovative teen programming wiki created by my librarian friend Michael E. Cox-- or even teacher's manuals. Wee icebreakers go a long way; you might find something inspiring at Dave's ESL Cafe. If something doesn't work, get creative. Change things around, if possible. Whether it's a game, craft, debate, or whatever, they'll be happier doing something than nothing at all. Let the kids talk. Maybe they've been cooped up in boring classes. Oh yes, they will want to talk. There are worse things than a loud group of teens, like having no attendees at all. At the same time, pay attention to their interaction. Some things are just not cool, like punching or bullying. At one of my meetings, a girl brought in this awesome Sailor Moon baton that lit up. It got thrown around too dramatically and someone broke it. Make sure that respect is a rule from day one. Learn from them. I got to know a lot about anime and manga during really productive meetings. The kids would start talking about the latest anime they were infatuated with. Chobits. Cromartie High School. Azumanga Daioh. Show interest in these suggestions. Spend a few hours learning about them, even if it means reading some manga that you don't care for. I've had mini gush-fests over which Death Note character was more appealing, Light or L. Talk to them about the material they enjoy and they will keep coming back. (Useful websites: ADV Films, Anime News Network, Manga Updates) Assert your role with grace. They know plenty of teens, so you don't have to start acting like one. You are the leader. Be accessible, be fair, and above all, stay involved. Some of my Otaku Ninjas started coming to the library more, not just for the club meetings. They quickly realized that I was there for them if they needed me and that their ideas for the club were important to me. I've heard of some teen clubs that run themselves, with very little librarian participation. I'm personally biased against that model. It will only work so long as the kids have the energy for it, and the demands on their time are great. Make sure that you are in charge so you can keep the club going after the teens start leading adult lives and may no longer attend. And don't rely on flyers around the library to be your sole mode of advertising. Be vocal. If you see a teen checking out a manga, tell them about your club! Collaborate on a special event. By throwing ideas around we came up with the Otaku Ninja Cafe, a festival celebrating Japanese culture. Everyone got to contribute: one teen created the flyer, another made cupcakes, another brought Dance Dance Revolution. All were encouraged to dress up as in a cosplay. It was amazing how quickly they stepped up to the plate-- making tea, washing tea cups, writing guests' names in Japanese. Also, invite a journalist from your local newspaper. How cool is it to find an article in the culture section about your club? Once parents see what an awesome job you're doing, they will want their teens to participate. Every librarian has their own style. I've seen some people do amazing things that I would probably never have thought of doing. This is what makes teen librarians such an adventurous lot! We aren't afraid to try new things, even though they may not work. So what if you feel you don't know enough about anime/manga? Don't let that stop you. Start off with meetings about Japanese culture, or just show some anime if you have the license. Get to know what the teens are interested in. Then use those suggestions to design your next meetings. You might be surprised at just how many teens have been waiting for a club like yours! As they say in Japan, ganbatte! (Go for it!)

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote is close to buying French Ligue 2 club, Valenciennes. According to French media outlet, Entreprendre, the business mogul, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dangote Group is ready to acquire 60% ownership of the club. The Dangote Group is the largest industrial conglomerate in Africa. The Nigerian businessman was interested in buying Premier League club, Arsenal in the past but failed to achieve his objective. HAVE YOU READ?: Cristiano Ronaldo to escape punishment from Man. United for smashing an 14-year-old autistic fan's phone but Merseyside Police are investigating alleged assaultValenciennes was formed in...

Let me start off by saying that I am a non-science person. I have been following various blogs and presentations to psych myself up and made the plunge this winter. This goes to show you that if I can do it, you can too. Before the program I started off by giving any science program for ages 7-12 a catchy name-Mad Scientists. The topics may change, but it will always show up as Mad Scientists in our newsletter and on our online calendar. I do this to create a following. (Our ages 3-6 programs are called Little Scientists.) The idea came about as a combo from two sources-The Show Me Librarian's Attack on the Fort blog post and a presentation about STEM programs at MLA's 2013 Annual Conference. In Lisa-speak, I mushed them together and added a twist to create a catapult program. I booked our auditorium for this program as it has a large open space that was perfect for flying projectiles. We registered 25 kids for a program during their midwinter break and filled up almost immediately. Supplies Cost is very important to me when deciding on a program. This is was my list of supplies and the cost: 1 box of craft sticks for $8.99 1 bag of rubber bands that we had in the building to wrap holds. Free 1 box of plastic spoons from Meijer for $1.99 Bin of pom poms from our activity closet. Free (already had) 1 roll of masking tape from our supply closet. Free (already had) The total cost was $10.98 which makes my cheap heart very happy. The program As the kids came in, they picked up their nametag (our way to check registration) and sat at one of the tables. At each space was a handout with directions, 9 craft sticks, 1 plastic spoon, and 4 rubber bands. This way I wasn't running around passing out supplies. Almost everyone was able to make their own catapult. I did have to help a few kids in making an X out of the rubber bands. Now for the fun part-target practice! I set up a bunch of masking tape targets around the room and piles of ammunition (pom poms). My bullseye that makes me think of skee-ball My castle Gotta have some Xs to mark the spot Every 7 year old boy's favorite target The kids spent the next 45 minutes shooting their catapults. As they started sending pom poms flying, they came up with good scientific questions, such as "What is the difference between a catapult and a trebuchet?" and "Which works better-the big pom pom or the little pom pom?" Some of the kids took their original catapults apart and experimented with different designs-one was a v, one had a lot of pom poms under the rubber bands, and another added more sticks to make his middle taller. It was fun to see this science stuff in action. The kids also got a bit creative. They asked if they could have more targets. I said okay as long as they told me the designs. We ended up with: Tic Tac Toe It started off as a smiley face. Then, it got angry eyebrows and a tongue. To me it looks like a cover of a Bon Jovi album. With five minutes left in the program, I yelled out "Clean up time!" The kids picked up all of the pom poms that were now scattered throughout the room. Out of 25 kids, at least 20 spent an hour flinging things at targets. I was amazed at their attention span. Wrap-up So I learned after I did it that my director is not fond of tape on oak paneling. Luckily he didn't see it, but it is something to keep in mind for the future. For now I am going with the philosophy of "don't ask, don't tell." The size of the group worked really well with the size of my room. The kids were able to spread out enough that they could each hit targets, but not so far that they would chase each other around the room with catapults. You do need to keep an eye out in this type of program as they will begin to find other targets. We ended up with pom poms hitting the clock, the garbage can, and people. Two kids played catch with theirs where one kid would fling the pom pom and the other would catch it. It was organized chaos so you have to know where your comfort level is and where you need to lay down the law (clock and garbage can were no's, but catch was okay). Personally, I was surprised that it kept their interest for a full hour. I was expecting kids to trickle out after 30 minutes, but that didn't happen. It was definitely a program to do again in the future.

Today is National Puzzle Day! It's an unofficial holiday, but still fun to celebrate anyway. Take some time to do some puzzles with y...

PacWest Bancorp plans to implement a merger deal with Banc of California.

This news comes as no surprise, O'Riley's form has been on another level this season but even previously, Kjaer said he was being looked at last winter ahead