tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8275368713466982812009-11-07T19:37:56.502-08:00A Digital Science ExperimentJoenoreply@blogger.comBlogger89125NewsNotesFromMrWoodsClasshttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-75517682248760106292008-06-08T08:09:00.000-07:002008-06-15T08:57:43.508-07:002008-06-15T08:57:43.508-07:00

I hope by now each of you are enjoying your summer vacations. I know I'm ready for a big, long nap on the couch!I enjoyed being your teacher this year and will miss many of you as you journey on to high school or 8th grade. I know each and every one of you will do very well in your future and I feel very lucky to have met you. My advice for high school and 8th grade - make sure you study hard,

Joenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-66523518372319604002008-05-23T08:43:00.000-07:002008-05-23T10:23:00.133-07:002008-05-23T10:23:00.133-07:00

Grades are updated and reflect all current assignments and exams. Make sure you check your grade and let me know if I made any mistakes.Today in Physical Science we started the Car of the Future project. As I am sure you have heard your parents discussing gas is very expensive these days, so this project is quite timely. I hope you enjoyed the NOVA program today and it has you thinking about

Joenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-51829896200272265212008-05-06T14:04:00.000-07:002008-05-06T14:36:10.414-07:002008-05-06T14:36:10.414-07:00

Congratulations! All of you successfully completed STAR testing for 2008. That must mean that summer is right around the corner! Who-hoo! Notice, I said right around the corner, so don't mentally check out yet. We still have a one month together. :-)Today 8th graders started the annual Roller Coaster Project. This activity will demonstrate your knowledge of 8th Grade Physics and is a great

Joenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-16598577059764614522008-04-25T14:10:00.000-07:002008-04-25T14:42:28.182-07:002008-04-25T14:42:28.182-07:00

Well its finally that time of the year here at Somerset - STAR Testing. It must mean summer is right around the corner. :-)I have watched all of you grow this school year and based on what I see in my class and hear from your other teachers I know you are ready for all of your exams. Testing will occur during Advisory classes next Monday-Thursday (April 28th - May 1st) and then the following

Joenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-58121454143089821362008-04-18T13:01:00.000-07:002008-04-18T13:27:41.482-07:002008-04-18T13:27:41.482-07:00

Grades are up to date and I am actually going to be adding a few more things over the weekend. Check to make sure I have your scores posted correctly. I'd hate to give you an incorrect grade on your progress report next week.We have just one more week until STAR testing. Make sure you are focusing in each and every once of your classes. This weekend there are a couple of exciting things I

Joenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-65833691030062675432008-04-16T09:29:00.000-07:002008-04-16T09:33:52.245-07:002008-04-16T09:33:52.245-07:00

Last night the Google Earth Blog notified readers that there was a major Google Earth Update. I know how much many of you love Google Earth, so I thought I'd make sure you are notified too. :-) Take a look at the video below posted by Frank Taylor at Google Earth Blog for a quick tour of some of the new features.Its definitely worth the download. I love the sunlight animation and street view.

Joenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-39591436619520329272008-04-14T12:20:00.000-07:002008-12-12T18:04:05.666-08:002008-12-12T18:04:05.666-08:00

Grades and the Assignment Calendar are up to date. Look over your grade report and check for "inc" or "ab." Both of those are calculated as zeros. If you have been absent recently you should see an "ab" for assignments not yet turned into me. These need to be turned in ASAP or else they will become "inc," which is a permanent zero. At the end of this week I will be completing your progress

Joenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-49140752964921951212008-04-04T14:35:00.000-07:002008-04-04T14:53:44.990-07:002008-04-04T14:53:44.990-07:00

Grades and the Assignment Calendar are up to date on Moodle. If you haven't moved yourself in to the Trimester 3 page, you'll need the password mentioned in this post. Speaking of previous posts, check out the one below on STAR testing. The 8th grade science STAR test is May 6th!Today you heard me yammer on and on (okay it was only 2 minutes) about Picnic Day at UC Davis. You all know how

Joenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-86050462787889971532008-04-01T14:42:00.001-07:002008-12-12T18:04:05.892-08:002008-12-12T18:04:05.892-08:00

Believe it or not we have only 47 more school days until the end of the school year! While that seems like a very small number, what's even amazing is that there are only 18 more school days until STAR testing begins!Now I realize some of you might be yawning, "Oh STAR testing...who cares?" Well you should care! These test scores are now just as important to your future as your grades. STAR

Joenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-29233124955182183372008-04-01T14:31:00.000-07:002008-12-12T18:04:06.163-08:002008-12-12T18:04:06.163-08:00

Google, always notorious for April Fool's Day pranks, announced a little fictitious project today, Virgle. Virgle is a plan between Virgin Atlantic and Google to colonize Mars and the amount of work that went into the website is quite amazing. You can even take a 15 item questionnaire to determine your own ability to be a Virgle pioneer.While its an April Fool's prank, the topic actually has

Joenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-69477570570004165132008-03-21T11:20:00.000-07:002008-03-21T11:23:19.852-07:002008-03-21T11:23:19.852-07:00

I saw two videos this morning about the future of education. I am curious what you guys think. Post a comment and let me know.Mr. Wood1. iPhones in College 2. British School Foundation's Future of EducationVideo: BSF Showcase Trailer

Joenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-50108555618056386922008-03-20T12:45:00.000-07:002008-03-20T12:54:31.968-07:002008-03-20T12:54:31.968-07:00

Happy Spring Break! In just a few hours you will be on your way to 10 days of vacation. I hope each and every one of you has something fun planned. I will be spending my vacation unpacking boxes, catching up on my graduate school homework, and riding my motorcycle around town. If you are one of the students going on the Washington DC trip have a great time and I can't wait to see your

Joenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-9238324169294825192008-03-13T15:04:00.000-07:002008-03-13T15:08:44.089-07:002008-03-13T15:08:44.089-07:00

Your final grades for Trimester 2 have been posted. These reflect both your recent final and any last minute assignments I received. Your grades are posted on both the Trimester 2 Moodle page and the new Trimester 3 Moodle page. I am still working on the Trimester 3 page, so things look a little sparse. However, take a moment to enroll yourself. Click on this link and use the enrollment key "

Joenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-6984473176526690482008-03-03T14:51:00.001-08:002008-03-03T14:58:10.267-08:002008-03-03T14:58:10.267-08:00

8th Graders! I finished the Trimester 2 Podcasts over lunch today. They are up on Gcast and should appear on iTunes shortly. Tomorrow we will be using them in class. I completely forgot to remind you to bring your ear bud headphones (the tiny ones that come with an iPod or MP3 player) if you have them. If you'd like to listen to the podcasts tonight check them out in the player below or on

Joenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-32022373894255218132008-02-29T14:07:00.000-08:002008-02-29T14:24:09.071-08:002008-02-29T14:24:09.071-08:00

Grades are up to date and I will be working on the Assignment Calendar. Check back later this weekend. If you see anything I need to fix on your grade sheet let me know ASAP!Next week we're focusing on getting ready for Trimester Finals in all of my classes. The Trimester 2 Final will be held on March 11th in both 7th and 8th grade classes. Make sure you're working on the review activities I

Joenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-22840308099728361672008-02-27T14:10:00.000-08:002008-02-27T14:14:54.723-08:002008-02-27T14:14:54.723-08:00

Grades are updated. Check them out to view your most recent test score and other assignments. If you're turning in extra credit get it to me ASAP!In my 7th grade class we talked about the NOVA program about the Four-Winged Dinosaur that was on television last night. I played a small snippet in class, but if you'd like to watch the rest here is a link to the show. You can watch it online. It

Joenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-45815283455669757262008-02-26T11:31:00.000-08:002008-02-26T11:42:40.664-08:002008-02-26T11:42:40.664-08:00

I am in the midst of adding the last few assignments that have been turned into me. Take a moment to check your grade and let me know if you see any mistakes. If you are interested in turning in some extra credit I need it ASAP. Next week I will start finalizing your grades for Trimester 2. Tonight 7th graders should be completing their workbook pages that went along with today's notes if they

Joenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-10535143864441860412008-02-26T11:19:00.000-08:002008-02-26T11:55:04.004-08:002008-02-26T11:55:04.004-08:00

The following Animoto Flash Card Projects were submitted this morning. I think you guys did a great job! They even earned a few extra points for going above and beyond. Let the creators know what you think of their work. A certain gentleman is supposed to give me his iMovie project, but he lost his CD. Perhaps he will upload it to a video hosting site for all of us to see. :-DMr. Wood

Joenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-67596585787020388932008-02-20T17:11:00.000-08:002008-02-20T17:14:35.625-08:002008-02-20T17:14:35.625-08:00

Here is another way to make vocabulary flash cards. Each of the photos in this project is actually a PowerPoint slide with pictures from Flickr and text added by my. To turn your PowerPoint slides into pictures all you need to do is choose JPEG as the file type under "Save As" in PowerPoint. Once your slides have been turned into pictures all you have to do is upload them to Animoto and select

Joenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-7698004423128461852008-02-20T15:58:00.000-08:002008-02-20T16:05:46.530-08:002008-02-20T16:05:46.530-08:00

According to CNN sometime this evening its expected that NASA will shoot down USA 193, the out of control spy satellite. Until then you can track the satellite's progress using Heavens Above's Decaying Spy Satellite page. The picture above shows the satellite's current location at 3:40 PM Pacific Time.If you are going to go outside and try to see the satellite you might also take a look at the

Joenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-16306053559783802722008-02-20T12:51:00.001-08:002008-02-20T13:06:24.222-08:002008-02-20T13:06:24.222-08:00

Who says science class isn't important? I saw a post today on Yahoo News about a young man who is using his science skills to contribute towards research on his very own cancer. When you have a chance read the story by clicking on this link. It will remind you just how fortunate you are to be alive and healthy. Speaking of science-related news the due date for extra credit is coming soon!

Mr. Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04890390311151026371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-28401317515302588492008-02-14T06:47:00.001-08:002008-02-14T13:29:36.372-08:002008-02-14T13:29:36.372-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks for making me laugh each and every day. My Valentine's Day present to you is Homework Amnesty. Should you have any missing assignments from Trimester 2 bring them in by Tuesday and I will give you half credit.Don't forget that today is double lunch for Renaissance students and we have a four-day weekend starting tomorrow. If you are an 8th grade student, here is

Joenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-73494746811934512202008-02-13T20:58:00.000-08:002008-02-14T08:20:05.063-08:002008-02-14T08:20:05.063-08:00

When I was in 3rd grade if I was really well-behaved and didn't torment my brothers too much my parents would let me stay up until 9pm to watch my favorite show - Knight Rider. Yes, that's right I was a KITT-obsessed Knight Rider nerd. I even played on an under-8 soccer team called the "Knight Riders." So when we went to Universal Studios Hollywood I pretty much thought I had died and gone to

Joenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-70255353553143394882008-02-06T19:16:00.000-08:002008-02-06T20:40:42.309-08:002008-02-06T20:40:42.309-08:00

Since February is College Awareness Month it has me thinking of a little reminder I wanted to give each of you. Did you know that you can earn 30 extra credit points in science just by writing a one page paper about where you would like to attend college?Right now I know all of your teachers are talking about their college days, so you should have lots of ideas. Perhaps you want to attend UC

Joenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-827536871346698281.post-30313085380742848712008-02-05T14:53:00.001-08:002008-12-12T18:04:06.604-08:002008-12-12T18:04:06.604-08:00

In celebration of Super Duper Tuesday, when California residents finally get to vote in the Presidential Primary Election, we had a small mock election in our class today. Since students aren't registered with one particular party affiliation or another everyone could vote for any of the candidates running. Based on the 95 students in my three classes here are the results. Later tonight you

Joenoreply@blogger.com5