The Internet has the ability to shrink our world by making it easier for us to connect with each other. With a smaller world, there is hope for peace and understanding between cultures.
by marymoran on August 15, 2008 at 12:14 am · Filed under Assignments
Okay, okay…. it’s been a long time since my last post. Things get busy, and the swimming pool and good books beckon, and time just slips away! But this teacher’s thoughts are turning to those of school again, so it’s time to post.
I have often said one of the reasons I became a teacher is that I love, love, love the beginning of the school year, and being a teacher was a way I could always ensure that each September meant new notebooks, pens and markers. More than that, though, it’s always a fresh start. I’ve been thinking about my hopes and dreams for the year. This will be our first blogging assignment; to share our answers and thoughts about hopes, dreams, and a new school year. What are the things you love about the beginning of the school year? What do you dread? What are your hopes and dreams for this school year? How can we work together to realize those hopes and dreams?
by marymoran on February 14, 2008 at 12:18 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
We’ve been very fortunate lately to be able to learn from some great minds. The most recent was our virtual conference yesterday with Astronaut and Senator John Glenn! We were able to connect to a live videoconference with him and only three other schools, and listened while he told us about his experiences in space.
We also had a visit from Alex Kossett, an engineering student at the University of Minnesota. Alex has worked with robots for a number of years, and demonstrated some practical applications and uses for robotics.
Finally, we were able to travel to Macalester College in St. Paul, where we were hosted by the geology department, and were able to learn more about their studies and equipment.
All of these people were scientists doing what scientists do – investigating, inquiring, and creating.
What thoughts can you share about these experiences?
by marymoran on December 8, 2007 at 5:21 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
It’s a chilly Saturday afternoon, and it’s especially cold here in Edgewood, where the heat gets turned off on the weekends!
So this is just a quick post before my fingers fall off from the cold, to tell you to check the Flickr website for some new photos. I have a few of our Lego team building activities. As soon as I find where I put the camera (!), I’ll put some more up of Robotics!
by marymoran on November 28, 2007 at 7:09 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
As Mikayla has pointed out to me, it’s been awhile since I posted. It seems like time gets away from me, and with report card marking coming up, there is a lot to do.
We have been busy learning the basics of programming our Lego Robots, and everyone is doing quite well with them. Today, we learned how to use a touch sensor to stop the robot; tomorrow, we will be working with light sensors. It’s been a learning experience for me, too; this is the first time I’ve taught this, so I am making lots of mistakes. Fortunately, I have my many helpers to keep me from straying too far.
As I am finishing up grading papers and beginning to think about marking report cards, I am reflecting on what we have accomplished so far, and setting personal goals for next trimester. With both the Monarch Fair and (soon!) Robotics Fair done, we will be spending a lot more time on Math and Social Studies. As you think about the upcoming trimester, are there goals you can set for yourself in those two subjects? I’m interested in knowing what they are!
by marymoran on October 27, 2007 at 3:02 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
It’s definitely been a while since I posted here – is anyone still checking on the blog?
We are winding up quite a few things right now! We have completed our monarch study, and are preparing our photos and investigation for the Monarch Fair. We have also completed our Voyage of the Mimi unit, and are about to begin Robotics! There should be some good photos from that; make sure to check out the flickr site. I’m still working on editing my Ireland photos – there’s never enough time!
What has been your favorite thing about the school year thus far?
by marymoran on September 29, 2007 at 10:03 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
This week, we began an investigation into the effects of light and dark on monarch caterpillars. Our experiment includes a control caterpillar, as well as one that is kept totally in the dark, and one that is kept totally in the light. We discussed what an hypothesis is, and how it must be both testable and falsifiable.
What do you think a good hypothesis would be for our caterpillar investigation?
by marymoran on September 22, 2007 at 12:35 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
It’s Friday, and I’m happy to say I don’t seem to be suffering the effect of jet lag – we’ll see what Saturday brings!
Here’s what’s going on in my class and at Edgewood:
We are working on a Cave Art project. Students needed to create a story using some commonly used Native American symbols. They then created a rough draft and followed this to create their ancient-looking cave art. Once we have them hanging up, I’ll post pictures.
We have also begun Voyage of the Mimi, and have completed episodes 1 and 2. Students have been learning about humpback whales, and the enormity of the world’s oceans.
And, we had a new student – for one day! See his picture in the pictures section!
by marymoran on September 18, 2007 at 3:32 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Well, today I said goodbye to my new friends at St. Cronan’s, but I’m full of lots of ideas and they are ready to make some connections with our school, so I am excited to begin!
I spent today finishing my tour with Matthew, Mark and Jack – they were excellent and attentive tour guides, and I learned a lot about the history of the school and the history of Bray and Ireland. One thing that I have found to be true of everyone I had the chance to talk to is that they have a strong sense of tradition, and take a great deal of pride in their country and their heritage. It has given me a lot to think about. I also spent some time in two other classrooms, and then was back in Mr. O’Broin’s classroom for a short while. I’m bringing back something from them to share with you all. Mrs. Stennes, get ready!
One interesting thing I learned on my tour is that a few years ago, a student working in the garden area of the school found an axe head – and it has been dated back to the Mesolithic period! It now resides with the National Museum, as it is considered quite an archeological find.
I had the opportunity to make a short visit to the National Museum with Mr. Dodd tonight after school, and he had a lot of information to share with me about Ireland’s history, as well! Probably the most fascinating thing I saw there were the remains of two ancient people who had been found in the bogs. Quite an interesting (and gory) story – I’ll tell you about it if you are interested when I return. We also saw quite a bit of gold work that was done by early people; it surprised me how intricate, detailed and exact the work was, given the fact that they had few tools and resources.
Later, Mr. Dodd took me walking down Grafton Street, quite a busy shopping district located near the National Museum. We went to dinner at a restaurant called ‘Captain America’, which is a great deal like our Hard Rock Cafe is in the US. And then, sadly, it was back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the long journey home. There is still so much that I could learn from the folks here, but I have a lot to share when I get back. I’m happy that it is so easy to be in touch with people nowadays, though. I think back to when all of our ancestors left places, and how many of them never had contact with their families again. With the coming of the internet and cell phones, that isn’t a problem for us, so I know we’ll be in touch frequently as we work together this year and beyond. The students in Mr. O’Broin’s class were trying to plan a field trip to America, and although that is not very likely, we can all take ‘virtual’ field trips into the schools and homes of others around the world, until the time comes for each of us to travel to those places.
So with that, I’ll say ‘slan’, which is Irish for ‘be safe’, and see you all on Thursday!
by marymoran on September 17, 2007 at 3:33 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Hello, EW friends!
It’s after eight here, and I want to hurry and write a post so that you might see it before you leave school.
This morning, Mr. Vaughan Dodd, the head of St. Cronan’s School, picked me up and drove me to Bray through very bad rush hour traffic! We had a great chat along the way, though, and I learned lots before I even arrived.
At the school, I was just in time for their morning break. During this time, all students go out on the fields while a few teachers supervise. The rest of the teachers gather in the staff lounge,where pots of tea, plates, and cups are set out for them. These breaks are very short, only 15-20 minutes, but it was a nice way to meet people, and very different from how we do things at Edgewood.
Following the break, I spent some time in Mr. Karl O’Broin’s classroom, answering and asking a lot of questions. The students have as many questions about you as you have about them! The class was quite large – 35 students, but they were all very curious and had good questions. There is even a student in the class whose last name is Moran, although he pronounces it differently that I do.
After the time in Mr. O’Broin’s class, 4 students gave me a tour of the building. They did such a good job explaining that we didn’t finish the tour – we’ll have to do that tomorrow. All of the teachers met again for lunch (and tea), and then Mr. Dodd, Mr. O’Broin and myself began to plan some ways to connect our two classes. I have some plans in store for you already!
There is a student teacher in the 5th class (similar to our 5th grade) who is from New Ulm, Minnesota, so she and I spent some time with Mr. Dodd talking about our schools and school systems. Then, he took us out for a delicious dinner. And now, here I am, back in my room.
I didn’t get too many pictures taken today, because we did so much planning, but I do have a few I will put up tonight, and maybe a few more from Saturday and Sunday. I’m glad to hear that the caterpillars have arrived! We’ll have to take good care of them now. Make sure to get going with the photos right away, and we can put those up for our St. Cronan friends to see. They do not have monarchs here in Ireland, so I’m sure there’s a lot of information you could share with them!
This is long enough for now. I’ll post again tomorrow, and then it’s back to Minnesota on Wednesday!
by marymoran on September 16, 2007 at 5:26 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
We had two busy and amazing days! We drove up the Antrim Coast to the Giant’s Causeway, and stopped along the way at four castles, each very unique and different from each other. Along the way, we also stopped in a few small villages and did a little sightseeing and shopping. At about 4:00 p.m., we arrived in the village of Moville, where we were met by John Jackman and led to Culdaff.
John’s wife. Muriel is my 4th cousin. From Muriel and John, I learned a lot about this area and my family. Muriel and John live atop a hill which overlooks the Culdaff area and the bay; on a clear day, you can see Scotland from their driveway. Just across the lane, there is a burial site that dates back to the time before the pyramids in Egypt were built.
The highlight of Saturday was being able to see the home of my ancestors. This was home to my great, great, great grandfather, Alexander Moran, and his wife, Mary Thompson Moran, who lived here with their nine children in the 1800s.
Also in this small Irish village is the church they were married in, and in which their children were baptized. One of their children is buried in the churchyard.
Although there was a small store in the village, the people who lived in this area relied mainly on their crops and animals for the food they needed to survive.
Culdaff is located on the Atlantic, in the most northern part of Ireland. As the emigrants left their homes along this coast, their families lit fires atop the high and rocky cliffs to honor their departure from the homeland most would never see again.
On Sunday (today), we drove down to the dock in Moville, which was the point of departure for my ancestors. We walked on the dock that was the last place they walked before leaving for new homes and new lives in America.
That’s it for tonight – it’s almost 11 here, and I have a big day tomorrow. Vaughan Dodd, the head of St. Cronan’s School, will be here bright and early to bring me to the school! Look for more information tomorrow!
Next entries »
