Ask Not...

As many know, I have a penchant for history, particularly famous quotes or speeches.  Well, as I was taking a look at Mr. Bogosian's site, I saw something inspiring.  His latest blog post discusses what each student can do to make Elmer Avenue a better place, which reminded me of this -



For those of you that don't know, that was President John F. Kennedy giving his inauguration speech, on January 20, 1961.  That speech, most remembered for that above quote, is among the most famous in American history - putting the responsibility on the American citizens to bring something to the table.

So, I invite you all to share something you could do to make Elmer Avenue a better place for everyone.  To paraphrase, "Ask not what Elmer Avenue can do for you, but what you can do for Elmer Avenue."

Winners!

Hey---sorry for the reduced posts lately...computer problems.  Maybe it's time to get that iPad?? :-)

Congratulations to:

• Devin D.
• Austin A
• Giovanni K. 
• Heaven W.

They answered this week's riddle correctly - 

A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the first door there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?

Well, the first door is the correct answer, since the sun does not shine at night!

New Riddle for the Week of 10/24/10

Welcome to a new week!!  Here is this week's riddle:

A man is trapped in a room. The room has only two possible exits: two doors. Through the first door there is a room constructed from magnifying glass. The blazing hot sun instantly fries anything or anyone that enters. Through the second door there is a fire-breathing dragon. How does the man escape?

Click here to email me the answer - or post below!

This Week In Rap - October 22, 2010

Enjoy!!

Remember - Social Studies Test on Monday!

Be sure to study ALL of chapter 2 over the weekend, especially the vocabulary.  Attached below (and in the Mesopotamia tab above) is the review sheet.  You will get this all in class tomorrow, but I wanted to post this in case people wanted to get a jump start, or forget their sheet at home.

Happy Studying!!

Congratulations to this week's winners!

Looks like I have to start making the riddles harder!  This week's riddle,


When I'm young I'm tall
When I'm old I'm short
When I'm alive I glow
Because of your breath I die
What am I?

Was answered correctly by...

• Morgyn L.
• Austin A.
• Devin D.
• Jeffrey C.

All for answering correctly with "a candle"!!!

See you all next week!  

Keep guessing!!

Hey all...the riddle is still up for grabs!  We have a few correct answers, but still time before Friday to answer it! 

Click the "riddle of the week" tab above for it!

Be Sure to Check Out ElmerChess.com!

That's right, everyone....Elmer Avenue's Chess Club has an online, virtual home (of course, it has a real home too...on the third floor).

Check out...
www.elmerchess.com

Here, you will find some related materials, online chess games, puzzles, tutorials...and pictures, eventually!  Hope to see you there...and if you would like to join chess club, please get a permission slip and stop by, every Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30.

New Riddle for the Week of 10/17/10

Hey all...Happy Sunday!  Can't wait to see you all tomorrow!!

For the riddle of the week,

When I'm young I'm tall
When I'm old I'm short
When I'm alive I glow
Because of your breath I die
What am I?

Click here to email me the answer - or post below!

Mesopotamia Video!

Hey all..hope you've all had a terrific weekend! In my travels around the internet, I came across a 6-part documentary on ancient Mesopotamia! Below is Part One - but you can watch all six parts in the "Mesopotamia" tab above!



Enjoy! And as always, let us know what you think!

This Week In Rap - October 15, 2010

As always, enjoy!  And let us know what you think!

The Week in Rap - Oct 15th from Week in Rap on Vimeo.

Riddle Answers!

Wow...Im SO happy to see how many people answered the riddle, and from both classes!! 

Congrats to (in order I received the correct answers)...

• Austin A.
• Devin D.
• Nick C.
• Giovanni K.
• Lindsey D

The riddle was...
"Two mothers and two daughters went out to eat, everyone ate one burger, yet only three burgers were eaten in all. How is this possible?"

The answer??
It was a grandmother, a mother and her daughter.  The mother is a mother and a daughter, and the grandmother is also a mother.  Two mothers, two daughters. 

Congrats to all...and thanks to those who participated.  Look back next week for a new riddle, and in the meantime, head over to Mr. Bogosian's site and check out his mystery!  Think you can solve it?

Riddle Update

OK, all...just a heads up!  Since I dont want to ruin the riddle, I want to make sure everyone gets a crack at it!  Keep sending in your posts and answers...but I will wait a day or two to post any answers.

(Oh, and I DO have a few correct answers so far, and some from both classes!!  Great to see students from Mr. Bogosian's class join in too!!!)

So, keep them coming!!

New Riddle for the Week of 10/11/10

First off, congrats to Avory R. in Mr. Bogosian's class for correctly answering this week's riddle.

Now, for this week's:

Two mothers and two daughters went out to eat, everyone ate one burger, yet only three burgers were eaten in all. How is this possible?

Click here to email me the answer!

Congrats to Everyone!

I would be remiss if I did not show my appreciation for all the hard work, determination and maturity that has been exhibited the past few days. From the considerable interest in the classroom "primaries" to today's debate and vote, I commend not only the candidates, but everyone in Sixth Grade.  We received terrific feedback from both Mr. Inglee and Mr. Crane on how terrific of a job everyone did!!

The votes will be counted tomorrow morning, by two separate people, and a winner will be announced after lunch.  Remember, neither myself nor Mr. Bogosian have seen the ballots.

Anyway, congrats to all--you should ALL hold your head held very high.  And, below are the debate, broken into three parts....I will also post these into the "Classroom Election" tab at the top.

President from Mr. Sheridan on Vimeo.

Vice President from Mr. Sheridan on Vimeo.

Secretary from Mr. Sheridan on Vimeo.

Why Do You Like to Read??

Enjoy - GREAT job everybody!!

Why Do You Like to Read?? from Mr. Sheridan on Vimeo.

Ellen Degeneres' Anti-Bullying Message

I saw this on Mr. Bogosian's site the other day, and last night I saw Ellen on the Anderson Cooper show on CNN, so I decided to share it with everyone.  As you know, and some know too well unfortunately, bullying is something that is becoming more prevalent in classrooms today.  Even more so, bullying has taken a nasty step into the cyber world, and is now something that exists on Facebook, MySpace and text messages.

There have been many tragedies the last year stemming from bullying, with children, as young as thirteen years old, have decided that the only resolution was to hurt themselves, or even worse.  Recently, a teenager committed suicide because he was being bullied online.  This needs to stop, and very, very quickly.

Ellen Degeneres, host of the Ellen show, has decided to take action.  Ellen, a victim of hated and bullying when she announced her life choice to the world, has had enough, and is coming out strong against bullying.




As always, let me know what you think. And, due to the sensitive nature of this material, please be respectful in your comments.

Classroom Elections

I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate everyone for taking part in today's classroom elections.  It takes a great amount of courage to stand up in front of the class and put yourself on the line...and so many of you did that today, and to make our class better!  You have tremendous resolve, and all deserve our thanks.

I was so pleased by many of the speeches and the GREAT ideas that came from them.  It seems like you have a tremendous amount of creativity.  I cannot wait until Thursday!

So, a big congrats to Jeffrey, Madison and Fazlema for winning today's classroom election, and best of luck on Thursday during the debate.  Remember - you will have time at the beginning to give a brief "opening statement", which would be similar to the speech you gave on Tuesday.

If you would like to watch Jeffrey's, Madison's and Fazlema's video, click the above tab named "Classroom Elections".  And as always, let us know what you think!

New Riddle for the Week of 10/3/10

Check it out!!

Two girls are born to the same mother, on the same day, at the same time (Edit: of course, not both at once - one right after the other - you know what I mean  ), in the same month and year and yet they're not twins. How can this be?

This Week In Rap - October 1, 2010

Enjoy this musical rendition of the past week's current events - let us know what you think!

Any guesses what this stuff is???

Whomever guessed Chicken Nuggets, good for you!!!  That's right, thats the same as the chicken nugget goop that goes through Jamie Oliver's mesh strainer in the video.

And, in a surprising twist, it gets worse:

Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.

There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.

As if it wasn't official before, it is now.  I have eaten my last chicken nugget.  Washed with ammonia?  That's the same smelly stuff we keep under the sink to wash the kitchen floor..the stuff that smells like death.  I really want to investigate more, to see how other foods are made, but...I dont really want to.  Uggh.

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Enjoy!  Thanks for another FANTASTIC week!!

(And I have to say, that photo thing below is pretty darn cool! Try scrolling through...and it goes full screen too)




We Actually Do a Ton of Work... from Mr. Sheridan on Vimeo.