Area 2 ALT Program

A Tribute of all Tributes

Griffin Middle School has had a challenging year and the entire staff has worked hard to try to meet their goals.  We all know that with change, there are times of joy, times of trepidation, and times of frustration, as change always brings about a myriad of emotions.

Just today, Anne Aurand's 6th grade classes completed a culminating assignment that gave Mr. York an  idea of how much the Griffin community appreciates his hard work and support of the students.  Over the last two weeks, 6th grade art classes worked on a mystery assignment that not only had to do with pencil drawing, but scale, proportion, and perspective.  Students were unaware of what the final piece would turn out to be, but were determined to complete their square pieces of artistry to the best of their ability. 

The end result, currently hanging in Mr. York's office as we read, is bound to make anyone and everyone proud the students' achievement. Mrs. Aurand's ability to bring skill, art, inspiration, and cross curricular learning to her classes for exceeds her years in the classroom.  I wish I had an art class like this when I was in MS!

8th Grade Math Students Take Flight!

  The Griffin students in Mrs. White's 8th grade Math classes are working on project, Pack Your Bags!,  in which students will plan a vacation to a foreign country.  This fantastic project will have them using their math skills in real life tasks. That's Performance Based Instruction at its best! 

First, students will determine the exchange rate for the American dollar. This information will be used to write proportions and convert currency for transportation, hotel, food, and souvenir expenses.

Next, students will write percent proportions to determine what percentage of their total expenses were spent on transportation, hotel, food and souvenirs. 

Last, students will use technology to create a circle graph of their total trip expenses. This graph is to be included in a powerpoint that gives an overview of their visit to another country.

We all know how students tend to be a little distracted these last weeks of school. How engaging and interactive is this project?  And, the possibilities for cross curricular connections is tremendous. Way to Go Mrs. White!  We can't wait to see/hear about the end results.

Why We Do What We Do

I was in one of our schools the other day and a 6th grader, Stephanie, asked for some assistance in the copy room.  As I was helped her, we chatted.  She told me about her weekend, that she had an older brother in the 8th grade, and that she liked middle school very much.  She liked her time at Fair Oaks, but now she's in middle school. Then,of course you know I had to direct my conversation back to what she was doing in class...

[Me]        Are you having a good day?  
[Stephanie]     Oh, yes ma'am.  How about you?
[Me]     I am, thanks!  So what is it that you're doing in class today, do you know?

[Here's where I grinned from ear to ear]

[Stephanie]    Well, I am in science.  And we learned about the earth's atmosphere.  You know, the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere! My teacher did a  demonstration, you know? About it, I mean them - the layers.  And, you know, like the weather today?  That's coming from the troposhere.  Did you know that?  Are you a teacher here?  What do you do?  Can you come to my class and see?

Understanding and Inquiry.  We need to do everything in our power to keep that it going. Some teams gave their new teacher groups the following poem as a reminder that we are making a difference, and we can't forget that.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING
By Mary Rita Schilke Korzan

When you thought I wasn't looking, you displayed my first report, and I wanted to do another.
When you thought I wasn't looking, you fed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking, you gave me a sticker, and I knew that little things were special things.
When you thought I wasn't looking, you put your arm around me, and I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt--but that it's all right to cry.
When you thought I wasn't looking, you smiled, and it made me want to look that pretty too.
When you thought I wasn't looking, you cared, and I wanted to be everything I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking -- I looked...and wanted to say thanks for all those things you did when you thought I wasn't looking.

Griffin goes to the State Robotics Cometition

Stephanie Clark, Griffin Middle's faculty sponsor, accompanied the Robotics Team to Saturday's State Robotics Competition at Georgia Tech.  Griffin competed with 47 other schools in four categories:

- robot performance
- technical design
- research presentation, and
- teamwork.

This was the team's first year, and they made it to this level!  They did a great job and learned of valuable information. 

Griffin won the “Spirit Award”, an award given to one team who enthusiastically demonstrates a commitment to getting others to see how accessible, fun, and rewarding science and technology can be, especially when part of a great team.

Students were filmed & interviewed, a segment that is to be a part of PBS's This is Atlanta. Look for it around March 14th! 

Congratulations Eshan, Jenny, Juan, Daven, Kanchi, Ronak, Nirosha, Jason , and Mrs. Clark!

How well do you know your own body?

Here's one example of a book created by Fiona, a 7th grade science student...

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Here is another 7th grade product - Valheria's book on tonsils...extremely creative and informative!

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Taking a Stand (Pt.2)

Piggy backing off yesterday's post, Mrs. Ellen Simond's small groups are also writing their thesis statements, along will starting the body paragraphs.  The process the 8th grade is following is thesis statement, body paragraphs, introduction, and conclusion. Put them altogether and what is the final product?  A fabulous essay, of course!

Yoana wrote:

Animal experimentation is wrong because it is cruel, unnecessary, and unfair.

Here is Blake's body paragraph for the reason of "it is cruel".

Animal experimentation is wrong because it's cruel.  Specifically, testing cosmetics on rabbits is not only terrifying, it's torture. For example, scientists force-fed mascara to these creature until they painfully convulsed and died.  Clearly, this type of study is a cruel method. Using animal for scientfic research is barbaric.

Taking a Stand

In an earlier post, we learned of the hard work Griffin's 8th grade students are putting forth while preparing for their Persuasive Writing Unit. To continue to highlight their work, Ms. Sally Sullivan's class have produced insightful thesis statements (in their groups) that are sure to develop into top notch essays.  The assignment included groups taking on opposing point of views which may lead to practicing debate skills; therefore, readers may or may not agree with the statements below.

**Area 2 personnel - Send me your students' work and I will highlight their work as well!**

Richard wrote:

Watching television can help small children by developing language skills, increasing attention spans, and helping children interact with other people.

Kamon, Tripp. and Joseph wrote:

Smoking for teens is an inappropriate decision because it creates effects that are evident, is very addictive, and it causes many diseases.

Danielle and Ginika wrote:

The death penalty should not be banned as a form of punishment because it creates a punishment deterrent to crimimals, justice is better served, and it gives closure to victim's families.

Lindey, Samantha, Jessica, Hena, and Wendi wrote:

Smoking for teens is deleterious (harmful) because it is toxic, addictive, and causes health risks.

Vishal, Ross, Park, and Blake wrote:

Juveniles should not use drugs because it can lead to harmful health effects, arrests and sentencings, and rehabilitation.

Khabrea, Ruben, and Erica wrote:

Smoking is dangerous to teens because the chemicals in cigarettes are toxic, saying 'no' to tobacco is hard, and it can lead to many health risks.

Milan and Kyana wrote:

Alcohol advertising does not influence the consumption and abuse of alcohol because the amount of money spent on alcohol has little to do with advertising, the advertisers focus their efforts on loyal & legal customers, and commericals do not cause young people to drink.

Iris, Alexia, and Shamiran wrote:

The death penalty should be banned because it backs up the court system, it is possible immovent people be out to death, and the process does not bring back the victim.

Two thesis statements with unknown authors by this blogger include:

Animal experimentation should be banned because animals suffer, results are unreliable, and cruel methods of testing are used.

Smoking for teens is unhealthy because it is harmful to the body, it can become addictive, and it can cause cancer.