Weekly Update May 23

NEWS:

• Look for an updated blog post after our trip to University of Wisconsin-Madison today. We are going to be sharing our NOLA experiences.

• CHOW field trip is Wednesday. 

• Did you catch us in the news? 

ACADEMICS:

Language Arts: 1) Vocabulary due on Friday. Words are listed below. 2) Media Influences: In-class response to the podcast/video on beauty pageants and how it relates to Body Image. 3) Essay test on Media Influences Friday.

Math: 1) Continuing the book, What Do You Expect? Homework tonight is a worksheet, must do page 146, other side (page 147) is a challenge side. Due tomorrow (Tuesday).

Science: 1) Continuing observations on Milkweed bugs. Make certain you keep up with your lab books. 2) Keep working on Science Fair projects.

Social Studies: 1) Current events due Wednesday. 2) Cornell Notes due Tuesday on pages 472-477.

Reading: 1) We will start reading and delivering speeches this week. 2) Poetry booklets were great!

Vocabulary

1. deodorant
2. decrease
3. discontinue
4. disrespect
5. nonviolent
6. nonstop
7. nonfiction
8. unbreakable
9. undefeated
10. unfortunately
11. dehydrate
12. decline
13. disability
14. disgraceful
15. discourage
16. nonexistent
17. nonprofit
18. unemployment
19. unconscious
20. unpredictable

CHALLENGE:

1. dehumidifier
2. disenchanted
3. nonessential
4. businesslike
5. determine

Mid-week update May 18

NEWS:
Permission slips for the CHOW fieldtrip May 25 was due today with the $3. As we told the students, no more will be accepted. No exceptions.

Permission slips for the fieldtrip to the UW to present our NOLA project is due Friday. No late slips will be accepted.

Thank you for all your support as we strive to help your child become independent and responsible.

ACADEMICS:
Math: Quiz on Tuesday, no homework assigned Tue or Wed.

Language Arts: 1) Vocabulary - we went over the definitions to this week's words. As you can see, the words all have to do with movement or transactions, so students really need to study as the definitions are subtly different. 2) Independent Genre project due today - grade for writing was given.

Reading: 1) Independent Genre project due today - students were assessed on their knowledge/demonstration of Literary Devices, and ability to read/interpret texts for understanding. Students were also given a grade in Oral Language for their actual presentation. Poetry presentations were enjoyable!

Social Studies: 1) Response/Research paper on NOLA due Thursday. 2) Current events due Friday. 3) Africa CONTINENT test is Friday, May 20.

Science: 1) Students worked in groups on their Ecoscenario project. Presentations will be given May 26th. 2) Lab Books need to be filled in as you observe the Milkweed bugs. 3) Test on Pop and Ecosystems is Thursday, May 19.

Updated Weekly Assignments 5/16

NEWS:

If you haven't read last week's blog entry, it features Joseph Gardner's views on Service Learning to NOLA, and a few pictures. There is also a way to access the invitation to our upcoming presentation at the UW-Madison.

20 days until the end of the school year, and only three Mondays left!

There is still plenty of academic learning left in the 20 days, so please stay focused and driven to do your best.

ACADEMICS:
Math: 1) From What Do You Expect book: ACE#11-13, page 13; #23-28, page 17; 2) 1st quiz from this book will be tomorrow.

Language Arts: 1) Vocabulary due Friday. Words listed below. *NOTE: More than 1/2 of the Jomana students performed proficiently on last week's test. There is a new assignment for students who need to perform to proficient standards. Due tomorrow. 2) Independent Genre project is due tomorrow, Tuesday, May 17th. No late projects will be accepted. 3) Media influences study will continue.

Reading: 1) Independent Genre project due tomorrow - this project will be assessed for Writing and Reading comprehension.

Science: 1) Read pages 6-21 resource book, and do pages 21-26 in lab book. 2) Populations and Ecosystems test on Investigations 1-5, plus the science packet and Mono Lake video - THURSDAY, May 19th. 2) Science Fair storyboard due May 27th. Science Fair is June 2nd.

Social Studies: 1) Response/Research paper is due Thursday, May 19th. All of this has been done in-class. 2) Africa Continent Test Friday May 20th. Students were given practice sheets last week. 3) Current events due Friday, May 20th.

Vocabulary Words - Definitions, Sentences, Write words 3x each
1. immovable
2. emotion
3. locomotion
4. mobile
5. submit
6. missile
7. dismissal
8. procedure
9. intercede
10.concession
11.motivate
12.motive
13.commotion
14.immobilize
15.transmitted
16.remit
17.intermittent
18.receding
19.procession
20.predecessor

Challenge
1. promotional
2. missionary
3. commissary
4. antecedent
5. accessible

A View from the Home Front

We’ve been home for 9 days now, and we haven’t let up.   Ask any Jomana student what’s happening in the classroom now, and in their own words, they will tell you that it’s business as usual on the Home Front.  Two-thirds of the class reported to school on Friday, a day and a half after our return from NOLA, and were greeted with their usual academic core:  Writing assignments (poetry), podcasts (an interview with a poet on the HBO series, “Treme”), science lab (we made habitats for milkweed bugs), a math review (studying linear equations), and social studies (requirements were given for a Response/Research paper on NOLA).  Nothing less for the Jomana team! 

It really felt good to return to Madison greeted with so much enthusiasm and pride in our students.  Thank you for all of your feedback!  It was especially meaningful to know that you followed us on our blog and on our Facebook page.  To have support from the Home Front helped us stay connected.  We needed your bit of news, your cheering from afar, and your comments to help us stay grounded on our trip.  It was a great feeling!  On the day we boarded the bus to come home, we knew how important it would be to process and reflect upon our experience, as well as to ask the question, “What next?”

It is still a looming question to all of our Jomana students, and to us as well.  As expected, most “want to go back to NOLA to be more helpful.”  Several would like to return as early as next summer to be a part of a service learning project for the Lower 9^th Ward Community Village, run by the influential Mr. McClendon, aka “Mr. Mack.”   One student, perhaps one who stands out to us because of the significant changes we saw in her through this school year in terms of her insight and academic progress, said it best:  “If I do anything more, one thing I’d do next is find ways to keep on giving.  Give to New Orleans, to Madison, to Sherman . . . “ 

Giving back right here on the Home Front.   That is our greatest hope – to help students find projects right here in Madison where they can keep on serving.   As we move forward, students are still defining for themselves what service means and how they will continue it.  We can help, but we are also hopeful that this trip will lead them into the world of service independent of us. After all, they initiated this Epic Education to New Orleans, and with some guidance, we are confident many will continue to lead.

Students are continuing to process the experience daily and we have a ton of pictures and videos that we are still sifting through.  An upcoming event is an invitation from the UW-Madison  where our students will be discussing their learning experiences before, during, and after New Orleans.  We would love to see you there!  Click here for more information.

Finally, we’ll leave you with a video and a few pictures to keep the spirit of service-learning alive.  

Writing in service-learning journals at the Make it Right site

Chantelle and Kayla putting together RIF literacy kits

A sampling of New Orleans food:  fried alligator, which our students were courageous enough to try!

Another Update May 11

ACADEMIC UPDATES:

1) Language Arts: 1)  Poetry assignments due tomorrow:  a) Short biography of the poet you're studying, 1-2 paragraph; b)  Keep working on your poetry booklet - must include Haiku, Bio poem, Name poem, and Diamond poem.

2)  Math:  ACE #1-2, page 10; #19 page 15; #'s 14-18 pages 14-15. 

3)  Science packet due TODAY. 

4)  Social Studies:  Rough draft for NOLA response paper due TODAY.  We are starting to type our papers this week. 

More Information for Week of May 9 - Social Studies

SOCIAL STUDIES

1)  Friday 5/20 will be the ENTIRE continent of Africa map quiz. You have plenty of time to study and if you have been studying all along you should do fine.

2)  Turn in any late work from your Africa novel- that will be a large part of your 4th quarter grade.

3) Today we are introducing a response/research paper re: New Orleans. That will be due Thursday 5/19. You will receive the requirements today in-class.  The MAJORITY of this paper will be done in class, so please plan to attend school every day so you maximize your time.

We're Back!

Weekly News and Academic Update Week of May 9th

NEWS:  We're back, and so thankful for our experience.  Stay tuned for more updates from our students about New Orleans.  Upcoming blog post:  Specific student experiences related to NOLA, videos, and pictures.  Thank you once again for all of your support!

ACADEMICS:
Math:  1) Linear Equations test Tuesday (tomorrow) 5/10.  Review today - just about everything that was reviewed in today's math class will be on the test tomorrow.  Study!  2)  Start a new math book on Wednesday.

Language Arts: 1)  We listened to a podcast related to Treme today - students wrote a reflection.  2)  Vocabulary due Fri, test Fri. (below) 3)  We will continue our study on Media Influences this week. 

Science:  1)  Students made milkweed bug habitats last Friday.  Continuing to make daily observations of the milkweed bugs into lab book.  2)  Science Fair projects

Social Studies:  1)  Current events due Wednesday  2)  Map Test Friday 5/19  Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe

Reading: 1)  Independent Genre Project (POETRY) due date has been EXTENDED to May 17th.  2)  Name poem is due TOMORROW.  I made additional copies of the project requirements for students - many said they lost theirs. 

Vocabulary: 

1. completely
2. believe
3. weirdest
4. beige
5. through
6. thirtieth
7. experiment
8. perfume
9. doesn't
10. decision
11. politely
12. fierce
13. briefcase
14. sleigh
15. lieutenant
16. maneuver
17. recruit
18. biscuit
19. gauge
20. preserve

CHALLENGE:

1. unyielding
2. beguiling
3. beauteous
4. precipitation
5. preferably

If We Could

Jomana students love New Orleans 

Many of us are not ready to leave New Orleans, but our time has come to an end and we've loaded the bus and are on our way back to Madison.  There's still so many things we want to see and do.  If we could stay longer, we would . . . 

Build houses

Go back to the site of Make It Right, where Brad Pitt is building homes in the Lower 9th Ward

Go to Congo Square to see all the activities and shops

See street musicians

Check out Mardi Gras celebration

Paint a house in the affected area

Teach kids

Make murals

Help people all around make arts and crafts

Be a part of the 9th Ward Community Village

Help get the New Orleans Six Flags re-opened.

We love our Northside neighborhood like the Lower 9th Ward loves theirs.

All of these are fresh on our minds so it's good to brainstorm ideas.  It is more likely to happen if we spend time thinking about our goals that we met, and ones still out there.  Many of us want to go back to New Orleans, but we also know there is service to be done in our own home town.  

The bus ride seems to be going by much faster, maybe because we already know the route and we're stopping less.  Also, when we left Madison, we had a lot of stuff to look forward to and couldn't wait to get to New Orleans.  Now that we've done our service project and tours, we're returning back to the same 'ol life. 

To get Life in Madison to feel "new" again to us, lets perform service in our home town.  One of the goals of our project was to take the lessons we learned from NOLA, and apply it back to Madison.  We want to give back.   Service in our own city of Madison could be things like . . .

Reach out to other schools to help build a garden like ours

Start more community centers to keep kids out of trouble, especially in the North side

Be a part of building houses for others

Put together reading kits for kids 

Volunteer to coach or mentor young kids in sports

Help in the food pantry

Do arts and crafts in senior center homes.

Creating a garden was one of our service projects

We have learned how to appreciate, and we could also still learn how to give more, instead of always taking.  It would be cool to celebrate our history in Madison like New Orleans does.  They take pride in their history, and it seems like we can make our city more alive if we knew its history and loved its culture.  Speaking for all the Jomana students, we can say that we all love New Orleans!  

Like yesterday's post, we ended with a video with Tia telling us why our trip was an Epic Education.  Here is Vaughn's perspective on our Epic Education.  

Epic Education II

Our third day in New Orleans was packed.  After a routine like breakfast, we set out for the French Quarter by way of the street car.  It wasn't difficult to take, and they seem to run all of the time.  It is definitely different from riding public buses in Madison. 

Our first job of the day was to accomplish a task list for the Scavenger Hunt in the French Quarter.  Imagine being brand new to a city and expected to find very particular things on the list.  For example, we had to find a New Orleans fire station, a major waterway, and Exchange Alley, among other things.  We are used to asking strangers for directions so we were brave and asked strangers questions like, "Where is Jackson Square?"  "What do you like best about New Orleans?"  "Where is the local fire station?"  This was a great way to tour the French Quarter and make connections to images and references from the classroom. 

We spent a good amount of time in the French Quarter.  One highlight was getting to try Beignets (a fried donut) for the first time.  Ms. Prout spent the day with us - we may have mentioned that she is very special to the Jomana Team.  She followed our project when during our initial fund-raising efforts and we were so lucky that we had a local as one of our guides on our trip.  Ms. Prout started each day with us and always had something positive to contribute.  She is encouraging all of us to return every two years:  14 to volunteer for the Kaboom playground projects, at 16 to volunteer service to build homes, and at 18 to go to college at one of the universities we got to see - either Tulane or Xavier.  It was a tearful parting, but we really hope Ms. Prout comes to Madison so we can return the adventure back to her and show her our beautiful city! 

After the French Quarter, we went to John Lafitte National Historical Preserve where we got to witness New Orleans' ecosystem, and the wildlife and habitat.  Of course our main goal was to see alligators and snakes, but we were also there to find out why swamps are important as a valuable part of nature in Louisiana.  We saw quite a few alligators so that was very exciting!  They pop up out of nowhere and even though they move quickly, these were pretty slow so we got to observe and examine them as we walked along the boardwalk.  One group saw several snakes native to Louisiana, birds, frogs, and turtles.  It was a great way to spend the day and get to experience both the city life and the wild-life.

See the gator?

 

 

 

And speaking of alligators, the restaurant, "Mulate's" served them fried.  A few of our students were adventurous and ordered a platter.  They said it tasted great - "just like chicken," no lie.  This restaurant served Cajun food - everything from fried oysters, crab, chicken, catfish, and shrimp, to pasta with traditional Cajun seasoning.  It was our chance to try Cajun food and even dance to a band that played square dancing music.  It was a great way to spend our final night in New Orleans - most of us dressed up, a few of us were bold and tried new things, and mainly, we got to spend more quality time with our friends. 

It's our final night in New Orleans and we are pretty sure none of us want it to end.  Tonight we packed our luggage and cleaned the Hands On Volunteer house so we could just roll out of bed, brush our teeth, and head onto the bus.  Our journey isn't quite over - there are many people to thank, a lot to reflect upon, more things to learn, and of course, lots more fun times with our friends on that long bus ride back to Madison.  Yesterday we titled our post, "Epic Education," and said we'd be interviewing students to see if this fits their description of the trip.  We'll leave you with one now, and plan to share more in the days to come. 

In case this video doesn't work here, try this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW_VTCjwQO8
And don't forget to check out our FB page - it's been updated with photos from today.  Thanks for being there for us! 

Epic Education

Today was one "Epic Education."  We have met so many people - a number who have supported us from the beginning of our project, so it's been really fun to actually meet them in person.

Ms. Prout - she is one of our donors who contributed a large amount of money through Donors Choose, making us all realize that people care about us, even when they don't know us personally.  She is from NOLA, and traveled with us all day today - she is really special.  She'll be with us tomorrow, but one thing we learned about her, is that she was a former teacher and she volunteers for Kaboom!  Kaboom is an organization that builds playgrounds.  Stay tuned for pictures and her involvement with us tomorrow.  

Another person with great influence is Ms. Massey.  We learned so much from her, and her energy really made us feel great.  Thanks to her knowledge, we saw a bunch of sights, including the: 

Superdome from a distance  

Fats Dominos house

MLK school - the only one rebuilt in the Lower 9th Ward 

Xavier College 

Congo Square

French Quarter

levee 

canals

Mississippi River

Lower 9th Ward 

We also met Mr. "Mack," the executive director of the Lower 9th Ward Community Village - a center he hopes to build to its fullest complete with computers, books, tutoring opportunities, meeting spaces, and entertainment.  He was inspiring, telling us three lessons:  1) Do everything in our power to protect your light, 2) Make your job never feel like it's a job, and 3) When you find your purpose, I guarantee you that if it's service, you will be happy.  Mr. Mack told us that he's really jealous of us because we are getting to volunteer and do service now, and it took him a lifetime and a disaster to learn how to care.  When he shared his story with us, he told us that he personally things it's going to flood again.  He said he learned that he will leave for the storm, but that he will ALWAYS come back to the Lower 9th Ward.   Mr. Mack is back in his community, but not back in his house.  He was amazing to spend so much time with us.  

Ms. Perry helped us understand the true impact a disaster has on a person.  Her home is across the street from the Lower 9th Ward Village, and she chose to rebuild instead of move out of the Lower 9th Ward after the Flood.  She had only lived in the 9th Ward for three months when Hurricane Katrina hit.  She was so great to explain the Make it Right Foundation http://www.makeitrightnola.org/ to us, giving us a sense of what it is like for residents to return to the Lower 9th Ward and accept that their house will be rebuilt, but not in the way it once was.  She traveled with us throughout the day too.  

After lunch, we went to the Sara T. Reed High School.  The Americorp volunteers were ready for us.  They gave us a brief orientation to help us assemble the Literacy Kits, and reviewed the plan for the garden.  Sara T. Reed is a high school with many challenges, including only 20% of the students are at grade level for academics.  In addition to this, many of the students are young mothers, so they are faced with many demands related to being a teenager still in high school.  Our work went pretty fast, especially the Literacy Kits.  It's hard to believe we accomplished two small mini projects in a day.   One thing that happened was we used our skills from the Sherman Garden to help plant theirs, and we brought a trellis, stepping stones, and garden tools to help them start their garden.  We planted marigolds, petunias, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, cantalope, basil, okra, rosemary, celery, and many other things that they will be able to pick and eat and use right away.  We felt pretty satisfied.  

We built a fence

This ground was just dirt when we arrived.  It looks so pretty now. 

 We ended our day at City Park - it's huge, 1300 acres, and the sixth largest park in the United States. It's amazing to see it so beautiful, since the Flood really damaged it, and it was at one time under water.

Ask any one of us, and I think we will all agree that today was - in Torshia Lee's words, "An Epic Education."  Tomorrow we will interview other kids to ask them why they think our New Orleans trip fits this description.  Until then, thank you for your support!  

PS:  Follow us on our Facebook page:  New Orleans Service Learning Project.  

We Arrived New Orleans

New Orleans welcomes the Jomana students!  The boys described our bus trip as:

long

exhausting

interesting

humid

funny

fun

big weather change

pouring rain for hours

After stops at McDonalds, Taco Bell/KFC, and Iron Skillet for our meals, we arrived New Orleans at 11:40pm.  Greeted by Sara Massey, president of Communities in Schools in New Orleans, it was a long-awaited arrival, not to mention a tiring one.  One can only imagine the chatter, laughter, practical jokes our students engaged in.  There was also a lot of music, movies, reading, and EATING.  We challenged and encouraged students to make healthy choices.  By the time we got to Iron Skillet for dinner, most of them chose a salad for dinner. 

Jomana students took a break from movies and typical interactions for a 30 minute lesson about the Lower Ninth Ward.  We discussed a sign that said:  

TOURISTS.  

Shame on you.  Driving by without stopping.  

Paying to see my pain.  1,600+ died here.   

 

Joshua reported that he had mixed emotions about the sign.  He felt sad and empathetic, while at the same time, he understands that tourists are out to see the sights.  And, the Lower Ninth Ward was a devastation everyone wants to see. 

For most of them, the St Louis arch, Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain were new sights.  Crossing state lines from Wisconsin to Illinois, then Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, and finally, New Orleans - it was a novel thing for everyone. 

Students are holding up well.  They are thinking about their families in Madison, wishing everyone were here.  Now we are getting ready for an agenda that will be packed.  First is a tour of New Orleans with our dedicated locals, Ms. Perry and Ms. Massey.  We are looking forward to meeting Ms. Prout, our amazing friend who has followed our project from the beginning.  Stay tuned!