News for today's 2018: 09/11/11

A Weekend for the Ages

I went into this weekend of sports with excitement. I am not a big supporter of the fall season, but the one thing that gets me through it is the fact that my weekends are filled with football. This weekend would be the first full weekend of football this season, with college football in its second week and the NFL opening up their season on Sunday (well, Thursday, but whatever). Not only would there be a plethora of football, but the Detroit Tigers haven't lost a game since September began. They shocked the Chicago White Sox in a weekend series (culminating with an onslaught of Mark Buerhle and the Sox bullpen for all the nation to see on ESPN2), marched into Cleveland and swept the Indians in style, and then were coming back to Detroit to hopefully welcome the Minnesota Twins into the new House of Horrors. Let's take a look at the weekend and see what happened: Friday: Twins and Tigers -MLB After a Verlander game, it's been a bit of a letdown lately with Brad Penny struggling right behind him. But on Friday the offense picked up the slack for Penny, who gave up four runs in the first but picked up the pace for the rest of the game. Alex Avila hit a three-run home run in the second and Ramon Santiago hit a two-run homer in the fourth to put the Tigers ahead for good. Saturday: Twins and Tigers - MLB This was one of FOX's afternoon games, but I was not able to watch it due to regional coverage of another game. But my dad was fortunate enough to go - albeit with a Twins fan - and he had a heck of a game to watch. Max Scherzer pitched seven innings and only gave up two runs, but it looked as if the Tigers weren't going to get ahead, because the Twins pulled into a tie in the sixth inning. In the ninth though, defensive replacement Brandon Inge came up, and with nobody on, he smacked a Glen Perkins fastball into left field - the same area my dad was sitting in with his buddy. I was coming back from a concert when I got a text from my dad - all it said was, "Walkoff!" I have never seen a walkoff home run, so I was jealous and elated at the same time. Saturday: Notre Dame and Michigan - College Football When the game started, it looked as if all the Michigan hype was going to be for those new permanent stadium lights, and the Michigan team on the field was going to act as though the lights were off. I was able to watch this game on my computer, and when the game first started, I was getting the correct video but the audio from another game. So I went on to MGoBlue.com and picked up the Michigan audio feed with Frank Beckmann and Jim Brandstatter. The delay was noticeable, but I'd much rather hear those guys than Brent and Kirk. You'll have to let me know if they were leaning towards ND for most of the game. Of course, "most of the game" didn't matter in the end. Even though I was tempted after multiple turnovers, stupid penalties, and embarrassing defensive series to turn off the game and pop in a movie, I kept it on. And when the fourth quarter began, I was glad I did. Michigan managed to take a 24-7 deficit at the start of the quarter and roll four touchdowns down the field. From making up for fumbles to passes from QB Denard Robinson to taking advantage of missed coverage and getting from the UM 20 to the ND 16 and setting up for an unbelievable finish, they did it all. And all I could do was sit there and think, "Is this really going to happen for a third straight year? That's impossible!" And then I saw Robinson lob a pass up to Roy Roundtree in the end zone, and Roundtree leaped over the defender and kept his foot in bounds, and I was in complete shock. It happened again! Notre Dame's turnovers (like the one in the red zone late in the fourth quarter) doomed their team into looking at a sea of maize beside themselves with joy long into the night. An evening that began with a walkoff ended with an amazing catch under the lights. Sunday: Twins and Tigers - MLB Thanks to MLB.com who made this game the free game of the day on MLB.tv - and I managed to learn about it in time. I spent the majority of the game pining for another few runs, because I knew the Twins, even with their AAA club in the house, could easily tack on two runs and erase our first inning lead. But Doug Fister showed me a clutch performance that made me like him even more. When Jose Valverde came into the ninth with a chance to break Todd Jones 11-year-old record of 42 saves in a season by a Tiger, I was very nervous. When Valverde walked Mauer, I was really nervous. I was not thrilled when Miguel Cabrera couldn't handle the ball and turn a double play to end the game. I was on the edge of my seat when Mauer scored to cut the lead by one. But when I saw who was coming up - some dude named Rene Tosoni - I felt a little better. And I think Valverde did, too, because he threw three straight pitches past him and was able to do his Potato Dance of Joy in front of the Tigers faithful. Three straight sweeps. They're starting to make me look bad. Sunday: Detroit and Tampa Bay - NFL When I heard on Friday that Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount was tweeting that he'd be running over Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, I said to myself, "We better crush this team."  But I wouldn't be able to watch it, due to regional coverage of another team. (I'm really starting to hate that.) I kept an eye on the score, and got a little frustrated when I saw a "6" on the Lions side. That's a number I'm used to, because it means the Lions couldn't get into the end zone and had to settle for their kicker Jason Hanson to kick a field goal. It seems to be how we used to score in previous seasons. Fortunately for me, QB Matthew Stafford turned into the Matthew Stafford we were hoping for, throwing 24-for-33 with 305 yards and helping the Lions score three touchdowns in the second and third quarters to help shut down Tampa Bay. Even though the Bucs scored late in the fourth and attempted an onside kick, WR Calvin Johnson shut the door by catching the kick and avoiding an offensive attempt to tie it up. Do you know this was the first time since September 30, 2007 that both the Tigers and the Lions won on the same day? Isn't that ridiculous? I hope and pray that this wonderful weekend of sports is not the only wonderful weekend of sports I will get this year. I don't want this to be the highlight of the fall season. If these teams can keep up this momentum (and the Wolverines can figure out their offense and defense), I'm thinking we all will be enjoying more than the changing of the leaves in the next few months.

A Weekend for the Ages

A primary school project your students will love - the Monster project - sign up opens 12 September!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Last year we participated in a yearly project run by Terry Smith, Assistant Professor of Education at Western Illinois University in the USA. I was the IT support to Grade 5B at Fish Hoek Primary who actually won the Top Monster Award with their Tokoloshi Afrika! Let me tell you about it – maybe you would like to participate this year.  A word from Terry Smith the project leader “Greetings Monster Makers, Remember Tokoloshi-Afrika from Mrs. Beagley's class in Cape Town, South Africa? That was last year's TOP Monster. Be warned - the Monsters are coming again in 2011!! Another year, another colossal collaborative global event - Be There, If You Dare! Project site: <a href="http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters">http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters</a> To Join: e-mail <a href="mailto:smithterryk@gmail.com">smithterryk@gmail.com</a> See Past Photos and Student Work: <a href="http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters">http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters</a> Get Signed Up - Sept 12-23" How we went about it in 2009 It all started in a mysterious way. Mrs Beal (that's me) and Mrs Beagley got to hear about a global Monster Literacy and Design Technology project. 38 classes from around the world were collaborating by each giving a description of a part of a monster in the form of 8-12 adjectives, and then actually making the monster from everybody's adjectives. It was a type of competition because in the end everyone votes for the best monster. Well, you know what Mrs Beagley is like - she LOVES learning that is combined with fun! And you know what Mrs Beal is like - she ADORES global projects. The project is run by an Assistent Professor of Education at Western Illinois University in the United States, so we looked at his website, found out all about it - and JOINED!!! We had 30 days to make our monster...till the end of October. We sent in a photo and description of the class First we had to send in a photo and description of our class for Mr Smith to upload to his website. This is what we wrote about Grade 5B <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlb6yD6NcCH145ytyup8rUtllsEmi_a36RSsqAq5iDXk_OBX3Ckx4VgctT4giwNOoz_HYotRPQty3VoG7oeCQIM0CZPrF50LOtz05aZx4qja-gzk0xMrR6D2n47lUdIdGm822_-ZE6gxk/s1600-h/monster%252520project%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="monster project" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGaPiP54A7axPKiYzQzHIcPYedfUA-r00Sc9nYOkemhHXSE-33UZ6aDa1rPgC_F6rKd4J2mfLY28wLAIDK1_uQHglSfU6ls6WqBJlRcrHws0mGAkq3N5Ny3FqEWy0gGCxIeYa7Xeo2nGM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="monster project" width="308" /></a></div> We chose a body part which was available on the monster website Well...to continue our tale. By the time we signed up not too many parts were left. We chose the earings. Here is our final description of the earings. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdeqzFIW4-EtWSl-ibd18QjVRH3ZZL_s3tk6xAZQjxg67VsYr1jKaJpzasEd6zK6MWUlHCnYkZ3Y8XS-L48Ax0xnSPHzYMzKPf4oL8mfKMCCs2NVpuMD_KjFzfMpWI0Y7_7H1E6-eA90/s1600-h/earings%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="earings" border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNQNAGxqMuol__LziZf_MB2m8g1tpxYNeteMrYK_-JvSAlX7rkKxZLJKKbooe4YcqzKx-Qgh1FBHfKElzI7Cwq5MmSX4Rm3ORTZ6tJOYSCtgx5VWvlR-9mZdyx_MnIxyrnIJ8PcWiPU0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="earings" width="320" /></a></div> We started to design a monster according to the descriptions given by the other classes of the body parts they had chosen.  Designing the monster We downloaded all the 38 classes’ descriptions, printed them out and Mrs Beagley’s class got down to work, in their groups. When they had finished Mrs Beagley selected the best one. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEytlNmgdh_W-J926sVy2w8RuDpK3-0GPOqCP8OkqtcAGMszWi0n94qCwUyaDJCE5-gNMtiF475A8oC5lHSO4FK9A20VJIUcq_0-nQtioHMMsJq_r-KzguRDk3UlupClkw6d7Dbuq7dHc/s1600-h/xyz%252520503%25255B2%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="xyz 503" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05CC24PiTGNbzYxIOko5ZEVhLJHw_CdVwD2kW_IjMP4XiDQbvBOOgPLnPQmE_fiL3M9n_FKg8ZmjNpYJTdl3GLJKDN1Q0gDT56poWuWAXhbDKgOFtdctDnb2E7Wvj0xAjEQ33wYtE8bA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="xyz 503" width="320" /></a></div> Then it was a case of cutting out from card <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzde25ij7uUPfkHg9cwvR8chOV4ea7_9k83tRTUe_jRFvTMi_55WMYkZIbZCGvoOiF1TR-ibJ69PXWEFsjhAqWcagZYTgofKVHwAva2O_jDnLx61qV_4PVWqU3LxDqKQsQFMUiaW_oR0c/s1600-h/design2%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="design2" border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Mr8GiERR3tyWv3YOr5UgxJ4xv7sUwn4jeR32T65lVgRPnDgxnrpQ_kMAJKKfqe1STYqNv0xZKHF8dOCT1w3U81kjY1HMxbXNBV8fZPKGiICoSHmkcqHPAnia0dOmhid3hyphenhyphenq4RUZFjME/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="design2" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnpm_8NBIuR1KjefUFntpGuBmvnwOR2aERGFBqoQpwFzkZBD-Vnl7H0UcSYKQ_Z4MPJPccISfmXmghKOoHm9rLW8xz0oKR73sgCl88FDuaSsXt1gmQGJtLSp8bN4konygM7v7uYp2l8c/s1600-h/design1%25255B7%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="design1" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQriNHN6uc47woj653yYv6bUJkNymc0cfPYLIoIWY_sDpGxsreO1N87t5k6rk3hRpNZFF5kj0TtwxlwnKiuncxo7YbF_9fY53jgQbCdPcdtTxrZ_-DNnY11G0vBbdUTCnX6PxrK_QqiPI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="design1" width="320" /></a></div> There was a lot of painting involved. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFacyMT7X_e4iem-Bul5A99dDkANMie8o6CFE99nfMh0nUya6t5aEmFZX8nwuDfvLY683tO02Qy67ndB-mIDdPvXN3B8X1xm4E68EsSPQPq9pgieIFnMYpmEncQNtP53nyN7S_1fFh_s/s1600-h/Capture%25255B5%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Capture" border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoA-h0cFMT8Zs2mo0b6_yG6USK7TcMgIM3Cfn-F3fxr4bI-DL1eivswAiZRifYwND8e7tHpUCyMBsC99riuGILL-S2T-Nutn6GVeYQiG2o3bol33BdYTV_O14mltIK6jMrzS7ETZwBM0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="Capture" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzAJjLSdUgMJqzvAS7yhpjd36KbdUWL5QCoJaQWVn0ieBLKCA6BD2vrp0XOSaugLf8shV7Vp2X0WQizBIryJv5Ux3yL_iN_ga_WokWic1K56NnltpZJNGDvbA4MujXewEFddW5wFeQv0/s1600-h/paint1%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="paint1" border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2V4Q9qktMtH-e3nE3HkvRpCuE9afINTVK00vR6M31MwL3PhNTuDIH-ZwE6hN9c7p6jizB1YbTHUN1QIv3e4nZCvP6DVd9W19459DM5_OdjeINCRXdDg2wpuh_rf4gl-f981fTp0bw09g/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="paint1" width="320" /></a></div> The classed used so many different materials <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7RU0yTxXSLj5APTWmZQsgCBiD6q2ZkOyHAkD1-63Jtc4JuKmFAFG15ZMYBHUHQ1_yDk4Scm3tzWohdsM8PscNOsPRUoaWyWmvc8BXsucclo151_m8mChvEEDvCPi8rHWXwupI4anT_MM/s1600-h/materials%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="materials" border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAT-g-z-aKUzQ5-vRnZgw7H_9dUXd8jd9wb235gqmcoqFQQmme54k9De8sTU_RDvQfjOmRqB98KppzJ572RrE4DJlLqIEVLSvK8SpU1CC1eVP0Dyjwa8yh1d3F82jUBSPOih-vIvhLDuk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="materials" width="320" /></a></div> We even had a visit from 40 of the Microsoft Innovative Teacher finalists attending the World Finals event. They loved the monster.  <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3JtwqfCB-nuOzBO-9SvEygCQSUYEiEI-xYgS6_2UDfaSC7xcOYP3AdVlXER2WgSlusySMXLIvca-ofkRAzbxD3CEJzeGGaizfXdnUqVl_qFySOgUhWYe9Y-Qm1hfcL5Emxd2hQ7JbMA/s1600-h/inn%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="inn" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4S8sKqxgnKbmWg6ZjWd3_zrpWwQxjG3cqRn-i6QLertAysP2eyVHSmW67GIewcRB5b6Ls-rI0bD_vP32x-2DzdVKXGzdYR2T4Tl8L_09otaXtPqblDTVG2UIaIXXjwLF_9ZZSoeJ5ik/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="inn" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiIUZe2QKyeC4S01iZG1TFm3JAH3er3pp-Ou8d2tkAku97Kx5sz4GoznJryIBQjyZvPVbZ5a07ilXgC1Z7A0RDm4Ka141s0zYrY6_Wgxic2cu3Zm35vod5561S9PfI8PDB6h9Qt1q4ly8/s1600-h/inn2%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="inn2" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqlqyakfM2lMqu3B1t1sD0RENoAM5lE5G_NwM_vzVvp9hFx-c8g-7ZQfWmGqH2b5jLWErDKvQJcnEFEmnc96xSXgNfS3ogtu3JvJBoZ2afsfaBGr4HBfHadeb0nU5-yl48g3qGOHyQVg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="inn2" width="320" /></a></div> Terry Smith sent us updates all the time from the 38 classes. The last step was to find a name. We decided on Tokoloshi-Afrika. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFGin9OZLo97Pezwf1MlWhRNeY08EXNm27aNmFz8KPQ6VVmvvGRNOZyekbetsveqR9XzITKck_gMkDbVRBeME0mWzpc7QconSRqrq3SfM2_0pSjj5O1DMJ2p9kV_jnMUIqrrZG5InF5s/s1600-h/tok1%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="tok1" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifTmvDM4hObV0Mgd6Ihxq2nlYnQsDIFHV7f6bAAKPFm2k2mJJJxfWNy2bfscrPEWLuv3P0elVA2EXXuz5TljnOiAv4SgSlmgaCBQ3Gf2mb83ePtXSbBxphzRfM8mYmnglgr6kzICbVnEM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="tok1" width="320" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_O2EaFye67I9XQ3DMBDqmtCdkwK9ermIZo5C_xjdhPDyhxWQx-Er2kJyKzQyelpR_VXtvslg3Ev0vDCsAj7hTDrFLaEYlcy0ULm7cZhIlS7gUNkmVEycPSYwsR2jgWoTTVWCTV_dBmeo/s1600-h/tok2%25255B6%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="tok2" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTgbjaSf-CFW1CKs0RPu__7c4ZSG2ns8mtWwpBcOB1h_YiGWwaQh4q8o-DHi8O1N7W_RtwEWypM093dwTwigwxr_4j3oMuZmEIPTe3n99-zYklNvf73e7fjGjmcD5fVSbzmsnEDNAWyY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="tok2" width="242" /></a></div> The other classes all voted on the best monster. Mrs Beagley’s class won! Now for a word from Tokoloshi-Afrika himself.  Click on the picture and then click on the play button on the new page. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://grade5fishhoekprimary.blogspot.com/2010/11/grade-5bs-monster-tells-it-all.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="monster" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gTLI_8dLBE37aHJAwlCtjIrO8aWuBZP1lJeDUtgKCn0SPnSklE2JywWtKhMxeyI9puesSY8hMe008W2qOf2knTl61I-6NQw32t1MrctHCf1b-rXz7KPXW4DVmtqR-sDojDm2Wax2oIQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="monster" width="320" /></a></div></div>

Collaboration Project-based learning A primary school project your students will love - the Monster project - sign up opens 12 September!

Last year we participated in a yearly project run by Terry Smith, Assistant Professor of Education at Western Illinois University in the USA. I was the IT support to Grade 5B at Fish Hoek Primary who actually won the Top Monster Award with their Toko…

A Weekend for the Ages

A primary school project your students will love - the Monster project - sign up opens 12 September!

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