Person of the Year 2008

UPDATE: Guess who won? Barack Obama.
Click here for the Time.com website. Your assignment is to comment on whether you agree or not with their selection and why/why not. Do you think someone else should have gotten it? Why/Why not? Your comment must be in at least two well-written sentences and is due by Friday, December 19th at 3:30 pm.

Previous Post: Each year Time Magazine names a Person of the Year. There are 25 candidates this year and the winner will be revealed this week. Click here to take a look at the possible choices and vote for your favorite. Will it be Barack Obama, Tina Fey, Michael Phelps, Sarah Palin or... Note: Whe you go to the Time.com site, you must Click ENTER to scroll through the Pros & Cons of the 25 possible candidates and rank each one.

Pioneer Eagles for the Troops

Hey Troops!

By now you have received our letters! We were honored to have the opportunity to write to you. During Veteran's Day week, the 8th grade at Pioneer Middle School read a short story called "Stop the Sun" by Gary Paulsen where we gained a little perspective on the sacrifice that soldiers and their families make when they serve our Country. We surely appreciate your service and the sacrifce that you and your family make for us. We hope that you enjoyed reading our letters and we wish you a safe journey back HOME!

We are very interested in finding out a bit more about you! Please give us a little information about yourself and where you are stationed.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and say hi!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Santana's Class

MySpace Cyberbullying

You may have heard about a case in the news called the MySpace Cyberbullying Suicide. Watch the video below for a quick overview. Click this link for the full story told by Megan Meier's Mom. Read this article for the latest news on this case. Then see your assignment below:



Your assignment is to watch the video, read the articles and answer the following questions:
1. What is your reaction to Megan Meier's story?
2. How often do you think people are cyberbullied? (MySpace, IM, text message, etc.)
3. What can and/or should be done to stop cyberbulling?

Responses to this blog are due no later than Friday, December 5th, 2008 by 3:30 pm or before.

Great + Full = Thanksgiving

We've recently written letters to the troops letting them know how much we appreciate their service! Now it's Thanksgiving ... it's time to think about all of the things we are grateful for in our own lives.

Your assignment is to post a comment about some of the most important things that you are thankful for! (Minimum three well-written, complete sentences.) Comments are due by Friday, 11/28 at 3:30 pm!

Just because I like it so much... I am sharing one of my favorite Thanksgiving poems below. So, what do you think?

Point of View
by Shel Silverstein

Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless
Christmas dinner's dark and blue
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey's point of view.

Sunday dinner isn't sunny
Easter feasts are just bad luck
When you see it from the viewpoint
Of a chicken or a duck.

Oh how I once loved tuna salad
Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too
'Til I stopped and looked at dinner
From the dinner's point of view.

DUI Presentation

On Thursday, November 13th, 2008, Renee Napier came to Pioneer to speak to the 8th grade about the dangers of drinking and driving. She bravely shared the painful story of her beautiful daughter, Meagan Napier, who was killed in a DUI car accident. Watch the YouTube video above. Eric Smallridge, the drunk driver who is currently serving his 11 year sentence, wrote this open letter as a warning to young people who are tempted to drink and drive.

Your assignment is to read Eric's letter and answer the following questions:

1. How did Mrs. Napier's presentation affect you?

2. What part of Smallridge's letter stands out to you the most?

Responses to this blog are due no later than Friday, November 21st, 2008 by 3:30 pm or before.

Safe Haven Laws

Have you ever heard of a "Safe Haven Law"? Many states have laws that allow the parent of a "child" to drop them off to any Safe Haven location - no questions asked. The parents relinquish (give up) their rights and the child becomes a ward (in the custody) of the State. Florida has a Safe Haven Law that allows parents of infants up to 4 days old to drop off their babies.

Supporters of Safe Haven laws claim that the law saves lives by encouraging parents to surrender infants safely instead of aborting, killing, or discarding them. However, some people do not like these laws because both parents of the child are not required to give consent, so it's possible to give a child away that the other parent wants to keep.

The state of Nebraska has been in the news lately because of their Safe Haven Law enacted this July. Their law has been interpreted to define a "child" as anyone under 18 which has resulted in abandonments of teenage children -- up to 17 years of age!

Your assignment is to read THIS ARTICLE and post your reactions by answering these questions using complete sentences:
· What do you think about Nebraska's Safe Haven Law?
· Do you think Safe Haven Laws, in general, are a good idea?
· What do you think the age limit should be for this law?
· What should happen to the parents who have dropped off their older children? What should happen to the children?

Responses to this blog are due no later than Friday, November 14th, 2008 by 3:30 pm or before. Remember:
· Include First name & Last initial and Period # under NAME/URL.
· No personal information!
· Use proper conventions of writing. Run it through word or have someone help you edit if you have to.
· This is for a grade, do your BEST!

Victory Speech

Ok, I felt the need to switch the post this week. The old post is still up for your viewing pleasure so you can read my post and the comments of your classmates. Everyone who commented on "You Can Vote However You Like" got their points for the week. Anyone who hasn't must comment to this post for this week's points.

Have you seen Obama's Victory Speech? If not, click HERE. People have said that this speech reminds them of the Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech because it is uplifting and inspiring.

Your assignment is to post your reaction. What do you think? What specifically did you like or not like? What did you agree with or not not agree with? What touched you or bothered you? Write at least 3 complete sentences explaining your opinion. Responses to this blog are due no later than Friday, November 7th, 2008 by 3:30 pm or before.

Remember:

• Include First name & Last initial and Period # under NAME/URL.
• No personal information!
• Use proper conventions of writing. Run it through word or have someone help you edit if you have to.
• This is for a grade, do your BEST!

"You Can Vote However You Like..."

With the election upon us, I thought that you would really get a kick out of this YouTube video! It's a 7th Grade Debate Team performing their debate as a rap parody, or imitation, of T.I.'s "You Can Have Whatever You Like." Click HERE to watch. Towards the end it is difficult to hear what they are saying clearly. Click HERE for the lyrics. Your assignment is to post your reaction. What do you think? Write at least 3 complete sentences explaining your opinion.

Responses to this blog are due no later than Friday, November 7th, 2008 by 3:30 pm or before. Remember:

• Include First name & Last initial and Period # under NAME/URL.
• No personal information!
• Use proper conventions of writing. Run it through word or have someone help you edit if you have to.
• This is for a grade, do your BEST!

Welcome to the first posting of our blog!

We will be using this blog as another way to communicate with eachother... kind of like "Woobi, Jimmy..."; our red, yellow, green, purple and blue class journals. You will be asked to read my postings and those of your classmates and post your replies.

Even though we are on the internet, in this arena you must still use the conventions of good writing in your posts. That means no IM language, use capitals & proper punctuation and check your spelling. Before you publish your comment, you will be asked to Choose an Identity. I want you to select NAME/URL and enter your FIRST NAME & LAST INITIAL & PERIOD NUMBER ! If these requirements are not met, you will not earn points for your posting!

Let's start right now and ease into it. Being that this Friday is Halloween, post a comment about what your costume will be. If you don't have anything planned, write about one of your favorite costumes of the past. If you've never gotten dressed up for Halloween, write about a costume or character that you like. Whatever you write about, try to give us a visual picture with your words so that we can clearly see your descriptions!