International Peace Day

This Thursday we at San Pasqual Academy, along with others around the world, will take a moment to consider and recognize the power of--and need for--peace.

While we think about the benefits of peace, let us consider the ingredients of war, violence, and unrest.

Bob Marley: War

Until the philosophy which hold one race superior
And another
Inferior
Is finally
And permanently
Discredited
And abandoned -
Everywhere is war -
Me say war.

That until there's no longer
First class and second class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man's skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes -
Me say war.

That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all,
Without regard to race -
Dis a war.

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace,
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued,
But never attained -
Now everywhere is war - war.

And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes
That hold our brothers in Angola,
In Mozambique,
South Africa
Sub-human bondage
Have been toppled,
Utterly destroyed -
Well, everywhere is war -
Me say war.

War in the east,
War in the west,
War up north,
War down south -
War - war -
Rumours of war.
And until that day,
The African continent
Will not know peace,
We Africans will fight - we find it necessary -
And we know we shall win
As we are confident
In the victory

Of good over evil -
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil -
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil -
Good over evil, yeah!

We're Back!!!

What's happening, everybody!

We are exited to get this new school year moving. We hope that you have had a great summer. We've got a couple of new faces on the UROK crew. Come on down to our new digs at the Tech Center and say, "Hi."

Return of the Bi-Weekly Blog Challenge!!!

Wite an explanation of what is happening in this photo.

The first correct answer to be drawn from the box in Room 204 during the next pizza party wins a book of the owner's choice.

Something to think about...

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to be free.
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

--Emma Lazarus


This poem is inscribed at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in New York. These words are an inspiration to people the world over, who suffer oppression--due to cultural, political, or economic factors(or a combination of these).

There has been a lot of talk lately regarding immigration in the U.S. Many people have talked about tightening our borders, restricting entrance to people from other countries.

What kind of country is America to be? Are we to dim the lamp beside the golden door?


"It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our constitution to everyone in America."

--Molly Ivins

PIZZA PARTY!!! FRIDAY, MARCH 31

Pizza Party on Friday,March 31st at 12:50pm !!!!!

Be there, or be square!

Bi-Weekly Blog Challenge #3:

Alright, here we go...

We all know sayings like, "succes isn't having what you want, but wanting what you have." There are many that use the same format, switching the order of the verbs to create some deep meaning.

You're mission, should you choose to accept it, is to remember or create as many sayings like the example above as possible. Write each entry on a separate piece of paper and drop it in the Bi-Weekly Blog Challenge Box in Room 204 (there is no limit per student).

Congratulations, JULIAN!!!

That's right everyone, we have a winner!

The correct answer to the question, "Who was the first man to prove mathmatically that the earth was round?" is:

Eratosthenes. He made his calculations and discovery while living in Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria lies on the Mediterranean Sea. To the south lay the city of Syene. Syene sat on the Tropic of Cancer, the imaginary line around the Earth that delineates the sun's position relative to the tilt of the Earth on the longest day of the yea--in the northern hemisphere. On this day, the summer solstice, the people of Syene could see to the bottom of their wells at noon, when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. This is because at this time, the sun is directly overhead.

Because of increased communication over great distances due to imperialization, this observation was compared across the the Greek Empire. When Greek subjects who lived in Alexandria, further north, realized that they could never see the bottom of their wells, because they were always in shadows, it caused much debate.

Eratosthenes realized that there was a reason for differences in the angle of the shadows at different latitudes. He theorized that two sticks of the same length planted in the ground at a perpendicular, at a great distance apart, but along the same north/south line, would cast shadows of different lengths.

By comparing the shadow lengths, and using the relatively new Pythagorean Theorem, Eratosthenes discovered that the increasing difference in shadow length could only mean that the sticks were being planted perpendicular to the surface of a sphere; thus proving the shape of the Earth.

He didn't stop there. He extrapolated the data from the shadow to determine the size of the earth (very accurately, considering the lack of reliable measurement over great distance). And then he calculated the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the sun, thereby discovering the true cause for the seasons.

JJ

(P.S. If you would like for me to show you how he did it, come in to Room 203, but you're not leaving 'til I'm done.)

$5 Question #2!!!

O.K. Nobody say, "Christopher Columbus."

A long time ago a man proved that the Earth was round. It had already been speculated for some time that our planet was not flat, like a pancake, but rather that it was round like a baseball. This gentleman, however, decided to do one better than speculation. He actually used math to figure out the size and shape of the Earth. He was the first to do so.

For $5.00:
1. Who was he?
2. When did he live?
3. Where was he when he did it?
4. How did he do it?
5. How close was he to being right?

Answer all five questions for all $5.00 (there will be no partial prizes). Prize will go to the first SPA student to post the correct answer to this blog as a comment. Although your comments will be received, they will not appear on the blog until after school on Friday, March 10.

JJ

Congratulations to our Dragon Ballers!

Hats off to our boys basketball team for their hard work and accomplishment this season! Although the game on Saturday didn't turn out the way we wanted, it was great to be at the Jenny Craig Center at USD with our SPA family cheering on our boys.

Bi-Weekly Blog Challenge

For your chance to win the book of your choice, place your entries in the box on the wall in Room 204. (Limit one entry per student, per challenge)

Challenge #1: Go to www.websudoku.com and print a puzzle. Follow the rules, complete the puzzle and turn it in.

Challenge #2: Four ur chance too win, all u gotta do is re-right this chalenge entry. be shore to corect all the misstakes u find.

The award will go to the student whose correct entry is drawn at the pizza party this Friday, March 10.

Look to the UROK-Blog for your chance to WIN!!!

From time to time we will be posting $5 challenge questions on the bolg. These will be posted at the end of the school day. The prize: $5.00, will be awarded to the first SPA student to find the question and post the correct answer. The answer should be posted as a comment on the blog.

Happy Hunting!

writing skills

The next chapter of Roots due will be that entitled 'able/ible'. it is all of one page (p. 198), and we will be correcting it on Wednesday, March 1. While I know this seems like an extraodinary task to conquer, I have confidence that each and everyone of you can indeed complete it.

hats off to robbie and emmanuel

Every once in a while someone steps up and deserves recognition. While we're not going to host a rewards ceremony in the auditorium, I am going to do one better- put names on the UROK blog!! Three cheers to Emmanuel Robertson and Robbie Brillhart for acing the last Hobbit quiz. Good on ya, fellas.

Congatulations Michelle M!

You are the winner of the $5 blog challenge. Aaron Burr shot and mortally wounded Alexander Hamilton in a duel while Vice-President. Although he won the duel, the event ruined his political career.

Keep your eyes on our BLOG for future $5 challenges. We will try to post at least one per week.

Who Wants FIVE DOLLARS???

I've got FIVE BUCKS for anyone who can answer the following question:

Who was the last Vice-President involved in shooting someone (before Dick Cheney)?

The five dollars goes to the first SPA student to post the correct answer to the blog. Enter your answer as a comment to this post.

Pizza Party Pushed Past Presidents' Day

That's right, y'all.

We wouldn't want to miss the extra special soul food lunch being hosted by Johnny and his cafeteria crew. So, we're moving the pizza party to next Friday, February 24.

See you there!

JJ

The First Bi-Weekly Challenge Drawing Will Be Held Friday, Feb. 24!!!

Hey! Everybody!

Next Friday is the first drawing for a Bi-Weekly Challenge prize. So far, two students have turned in entries. Unless some of you get on the ball, Lukkas or Tanesa will be a guaranteed winner of whatever it is that you aren't going to get.

Refer to the post below for directions on how to enter!

JJ

writing skills

Roots 'tract', pp. 187-197 will be corrrected in class on February 16th. That's this Thursday for you that aren't really sure on how the calender works. The next section due is 'able/ible', p. 198.
We will correct that on March 1.

reading essentials

The quiz on the last three chapters of The Hobbit will now be February 22nd, as opposed to February 24th. I realize that the 24th was originally on you calender, so I'll fit another day in there for you to read in class. Don't forget your vocab. card on this one!

A Quick Note About "Comments"

Recently, I had the extreme displeasure of finding negative and vulgar comments left on our blog. And, no surprise, the offending individual--or individuals--did not have the courage to identify himself or herself. Vulgarity and cowardice, are these the characteristics we choose to practice and develop in ourselves?

It is our goal that through this blog we open an additional channel of communication and support for you, our students. Therefore, we encourage you to participate through the leaving of comments regarding the blog, class, making connections to books, magazines, the news, your own experiences.

Vulgar comments will not be posted. I manage this site, and don't need to read your mental droppings.

Jim Johnson

Bonus Drawings at Future Pizza Parties!!!

If you want to be the first winner of the new Bi-Weekly Challenge drawing at the Pizza Party this Friday, you can do one of two things:

1. Math: Go to www.websudoku.com. Print out a sudoku puzzle by clicking on the "print puzzle" command. Complete this puzzle and turn it in to the Bi-Weekly Challenge box in Room 204 by 12:00 noon, Friday. Each completed puzzle is an entry. (Limit: 5 entries per person).

2. Language Arts: Homonyms are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently(mind/mined, soared/sword). Come up with three sets of homonyms, then use and spell them correctly in a sentence(one sentence for each pair of homonyms). Each entry should have three sentences. (Limit: 5 entries per person.) Drop all entries in the box in Room 204 by 12:00 noon, Friday.

A winner will be drawn from the Bi-Weekly Challenge box at the Pizza Party on Friday, February 17, 2006.

We are still trying to decide on just what sort of prize to offer. So, if you would like to leave a comment with a suggestion, we'd love to hear from you.

You Can Lead a Horse to Water

"Education is effective in proportion to its voluntariness."
-Arnold J. Toynbee

I'm sure you all know the saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Singer/songwriter Ben Harper adds, "You can put a man through school, but you can't make him think." Here at San Pasqual there is a lot of water to drink, but it's you who have to decide to step up to the trough. Nothing makes a greater difference in your growth and maturity than your commitment to yourself. Be alert. Be engaged. Ask questions. Drink deeply...Think deeply.

JJ

WRITING SUPPORT

Just an extra heads up on material due next week.
Roots: ver/vert/vers will be corrected in class on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
GIT 'ER DONE!!

6th period Math Support

If you are looking for Jim Johnson's 6th period math class you can find it at the Tech Center in Mr. Litoff's room.

Oh! And by the way, CONGRATULATIONS to all of my "A" students from last quarter! There were so many, I'm going to have to be tougher next time around. And thanks to ALL of my students for not failing(that's right, no F's). Keep up the hard work and I'll see you in class.

JJ

UROK is back online!!!

This is just to let everyone know that the UROK Blog is up and running. We will be posting tidbits about what we are working on in class. If you have comments for us, please feel free to post them.

isn't this cool?