Affirmative Action

Should race be considered in college admissions? The debate has raged on since 1961, at least. Most recently, a 2003 landmark Supreme Court case ruled 5-4 that race can be used as a factor in admissions decisions. However, the Court also ruled that colleges cannot assign race to specific point or quota systems.

Vote for or against Affirmative Action

Blog Posts

You are expected to create at least one blog post everyday, as well as comment on three blogs. Post your own original thoughts and ideas. about the world and your life. Your blog needs to be school appropriate including pictures and graphics (Remember the grandma rule, make your grandma proud not embarrassed!!).

First Day

I'm Ms Chambers and I'll be your teacher for 10 weeks, 13 weeks or a semester.

Let me know what you would like to learn about in class. Before we can use the computer everyone needs to turn in their AUP policy.

Make sure that you understand the proper use of the computers at school.

Reset Passwords

Reset your email password before you leave for summer vacation. You have to be at a LAUSD campus to reset you password.

Click on the link: Student Password Reset

Last Day

Last day to finish your work. Make sure you take all your work off the computer and off the back wall.

Final Weeks

Make sure you have everything you need on your jump drive and wikispace. I will be deleting all work on the computers by Friday, June 13th.

I will deleting the class blog links on my blog. If you want the blog website addresses of your friend's make sure you add them to your Google Reader or you own blog links.

Turn in your final work assignments.

Book Binding

If you want your work to be bound in a spiral book (like my samples); it'll cost $6. You need to have your assignments completed and money by Friday, June 13th.

Items that should be included in your book:

• Title Page - Your Name, 2007-2008, Ms. Chambers Computer Class
• Table of Contents
• Wanted Poster
• Autobiography Outline
• Autobiography
• All About Me
• Quiz About Me
• Restaurant Menu
• Skittle Report
• Road Rally Map
• Road Rally Place to Visit
• Road Rally Itinerary
• Road Rally Mileage
• Road Rally Scrapbook
• Road Rally Newsletter
• 6th Grade Overview/Thoughts
• Anything else you would like to include.

Good Luck

Almost the end....

It is almost summer time but we need to keep working.

Last assignements:

• PowerPoint about your Road Rally
• Road Rally Newsletter

Once the assignments are completed you can have your bound (put in a book, like our sample books).

Miles Per Gallon

Excel

Skills: create a table, 2 graphs, 2 pictures, use formulas to multiply and divide

Objective:

1) How many gallons of gas does each car use every day of the trip?

2) How much does the gas cost for each car every day of the trip?

Step:

1) Choose an exotic and normal car.

2) Find the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) on the highway for each car.

3) Create a table with: days, miles, gallons for each car, price of gas, cost of gas for each car as columns. Write the days in the first column. (see sample below)

4) Complete the table. (see step 2 for miles; gallons = miles/mpg; cost of gas = price of gas * gallons) Use formulas to find the number of gallons and the cost of gas, don’t just write the answer.

5) Create a graph that compares how many gallons each car u ses, every day of the trip.

6) Create a graph that compares how much gas cost for each car, every day of the trip.

7) Include Pictures of both cars.

Days	Miles	Gallons Car 1	Gallons Car 2	Price of Gas	Cost of Gas Car 1	Cost of Gas Car 2
1	(see step 2)	gallons = miles/mpg			cost of gas = price of gas*gallons
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Itinerary

You should be creating an itinerary of your daily activities. Be sure to include the places you'll visit in your writings. You can think of the project as a journal of your daily activities.

Places to Visit

National Parks

1. Name, City, State

2. Name, City, State

3. Name, City, State

4. Name, City, State

Major Mountain Ranges

1. Name, State

2. Name, State

Museums

1. Name, City, State

2. Name, City, State

3. Name, City, State

4. Name, City, State

5. Name, City, State

Amusement Park

1. Name, City, State

You can start your itinerary. What is an itinerary? (click here) Create an itinerary for each day of travel. Make sure you include all the places you are going to visit in your itinerary.

State Capitols

Do you know your state capitols? Take the quiz and find out. Post your score in the comments.

State Capitol Quiz

State Capitol Matching Game

Travel Details

You should have your google map completed (route marked), making sure that you pass through at least 15 states and 8 state capitols (they don't need to be one of your days to count).

We will be finding out more details about each city that you will be visiting and verifying that each location is less than 550 miles apart!!

You need to find the following details about each location in a document:

• Miles
• Travel Time
• Total Miles
• Population
• Elevation
• Temperature

Sample Outline

Starting Point: Los Angeles, CA (any West Coast City)

Day 1: Las Vegas, NV (each day will have a different city)

• Miles:
• Travel Time:
• Total Miles:
• Population:
• Elevation:
• Temperature:

Day 2-9 the same details as Day 1.

Day 9: Washington D.C. (everyone will have the same Day 9)

Hints:

1. Use google maps to find the miles (from the day before to the end point) & travel time.
   
2. Use google keyword search to find population, elevation and temperature.
   
3. Total miles refers to how many mile you have traveled the whole trip to that point (hint: add up all the miles you've traveled so far).

Google Maps

Your Google map should be completed today!! Nine days - less than 550 miles apart!! (Sample Map)

Create a document that lists the 15 states and 8 state capitols you visited. (You can change your map if you didn't visit enough state capitols or states.)

15 states:

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   
4. 
   
5. 
   
6. 
   
7. 
   
8. 
   
9. 
   
10. 
    
11. 
    
12. 
    
13. 
    
14. 
    
15. 
    

8 State Capitols:

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   
4. 
   
5. 
   
6. 
   
7. 
   
8. 
   

Starting Point: (west coast city)
Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
Day 8:
Day 9: Washington D.C.

Goodbye Brooke

A Virtual Road Rally

Students choose a specific starting point on the West coast of the United States and travel to Washington D.C. in 9 days.

Road Rally Parameters:

• 550 miles per day is the maximum number of miles you can go.
• Students are required to visit:
• 15 states
• 8 state capitols
• 4 national parks
• 2 major mountain ranges
• 5 museums
• 1 amusement park
• 9 days to get to Washington DC

Travel Details

• Mileage
• Total mileage
• Travel Time
• Population
• Elevation
• Temperature
• States Visited

Assignments:

1. Places to Visit and Map with route marked (MS Word)

2. Travel Details (Mileage, Travel Time, Population, Elevation, etc)

3. Outline of Places to Visit (States, Capitols, National Parks, etc.)

4. Itinerary for the Trip (Day 1 – Day 9)

5. Mileage (Excel)

6. Scrapbook of the Trip (PowerPoint)

7. Newsletter (MS Word)

Step 1

1. Decide what city and state you are going to stay in for the nine days.
2. Create a map, using google maps, mark the eight cities you will spend the night and draw a line connecting the cities. ( Create a route map.) (sample map)

Start Here: Google Maps - log in with your LAUSD/Blogger account

Road Rally Instructions

Vote for Brooke!!

Brooke will be singing two Niel Diamond songs, hopefully she does a good job.

Freshman P.E. Reqirements

Can you pass??

Boys:

• 24-45 sit-ups
• 14-30 push-ups
• 9 1/2 minute run or under

Girls:

• 18-32 sit-ups
• 7-15 push-ups
• 11 minute mile run or under

Use your P.E. class time wisely!! These maybe the requirements for you when enter High School. If you can't pass these your freshman year you may end up taking PE for four years instead of only two.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/state&id=6104460

Converting Audacity into a Mp3 File

Follow the directions:

1. Use this file and download it http://www.gaclrecords.org.uk/lame_enc.dll
2. Once it is downloaded copy it
3. Open my computer, go to C, into program files, and into the Audacity folder
4. Paste the file just inside the audacity folder
5. Open audacity, go to edit, and go to the bottom and click preferences
6. Select the tab that says file format
7. At the bottom click "Find Library" in the mp3 section
8. At the top there is a drop down called "Look in" and select My computer
9. Click C disk, go in program files, in the Audacity folder, and then select lame_enc.dll
10. Then go in file and click export as Mp3 then choose where to save it and click save
11. Then another menu will come up and write the name of the file and artist.

• Don't forget your money for lunches (Thursday & Friday) and souvenirs
  
• Bring a warm jacket & camera
• Pack light - you will be carrying your items for a long time!!
  

Mavis and Make up

Make sure your wikispaces is completed and that you have a script for your podcast. We should have your first podcasts posted by Friday.

Vote for Brooke White

Survival

You survived Open House and the conversations afterwards. Several of you should be very proud of your work and progress that you have made. Others had to make promises to your parents that you will improve your grades and get your work completed. Make sure you keep those promises and get all your work done.

Finish up your wikispaces and write your script for the podcast. Periods 1 & 3 already started recording their podcasts and need to focus on publishing them on my podcast wikispace.

Open House & Grades

Grades have already been submitted. I recommend that you continue to work on your late assignments to bring up your grade for the next report card.

Create a posting on your blog for your parents. Be sure to talk about how you are doing in your classes and what you'll be doing to bring up your grades. Let your parents know what they can do to help you earn better grades and create a better work ethic.

Open House - Prep

Make sure you have your work ready for open house.

Items to show your parents:

• Work on the back wall
• Room Animal
• Your Quiz About Me
• Wikispaces
• Podcast
  

Mavis and Make Up

Work on past due assignments or Mavis Beacon, no podcasting today. I'll be turning in grades at the end of today.

Creating a Podcast

1. Create a script
2. Download Audacity
   
3. Check out a headset (student ID card)
4. Record Podcast
5. Use Lame Mp3 to convert the sound file to an Mp3
6. Upload file to Podomatic
7. Post the Podcast on my podcast wiki page
8. Create another one
   

Podcasts

Listen to the following podcasts and apply what you hear to your own podcast. Make your podcast interesting and entertaining. Make sure that you include important elements of your biome.

• SoCal Hockey
• TechSavvyGirlz
• Animal Planet

Audacity

Audacity offers more options for recording and editing your podcasts. It is a free open source program that you can download at school or home for free. If you use audacity you need to use another program called lame mp3 to convert the files to a mp3 file, which will upload to podomatic.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Download Audacity

Grades

I handed out grade reports for all students with a "D" or a "F". Most of you that are not passing did not complete your wikispace project. I recommend that you complete it as soon as possible. I'm turning in 10 week grades next week.

Podcasting

We will be creating podcastings about a biome. Choose a biome and create a script for the podcast. Think of the podcast as radio broadcast. You can choose who you want to be (an animal, vegetation, a safari leader, news reporter, etc). Create a program that is at least 3 minutes long.

Once you create a script:

1. Sign up for a Podomatic account: https://www.podomatic.com/path/signup
2. Check out a headset or microphone to record your podcast. (Turn in your student ID Card to check out equipment.)
3. Record podcast
4. Post the podcast in the correct biome.

A podcast is a collection of digital media files which are distributed over the Internet, often using syndication feeds, for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term podcast, like "broadcast", can refer either to the series of content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.

Last Day to turn in Wikispace biome work.

Last day to finish turning in your wikispace assignments.

We will be starting podcasting on Wednesday. You will need to write your script for your podcast (or radio broadcast). Pick a biome, describe what you see and hear in the biome. You can pretend your animal, plant, a safari visitor or a news reporter.

You will need a completed script and your I.D. card to check out a headset with a microphone to record your podcast.

Vote Brooke White

Grading for Wikispaces

I will be grading you on wikispaces today!! You will need to send me an email for each biome, the subject line should be the name of the biome. You will need to copy and paste all four categories for that biome in the email. I should receive a total of five emails from each student (one for each biome). You can substitute the rainforest or the marine ecosystem for one of the five biomes listed below.

• Tundra
• Desert
• Chaparral
• Grasslands - Prairie
• Grasslands - Savanna

Starting on Wednesday we will be recording podcasts for each biome. You will need your ID Card to check out equipment and you will need to have a written script.

Wikispaces and Grades

Make sure that you complete the postings in each of the Biomes. On Monday, I'll start grading on the five biomes that I've assigned tables. Each biome will be worth 40 points (10 points for each category). To get credit for the posting it needs to be 5 sentences long with a picture. Pick one animal, vegetation, part of the geography or aspect of the climate to write about. Talk about the categories in specifics not generalities.

• Table 2 = Tundra
• Table 3 = Desert
• Table 4 = Chaparral
• Table 5 = Grasslands - Prairie
• Table 6 = Grasslands - Savanna

Good luck

Wikispaces and Grading

You are required to leave postings on my wikispace in each biome and each category. I will start grading you on Monday. Make sure that you use your class time wisely and complete all postings. Work with the people at your table and post a comment in each category for the biome your table is assigned for that day. Please email me if you have any questions.

• Table 2 = Desert
• Table 3 = Chaparral
• Table 4 = Grasslands - Prairie
• Table 5 = Grasslands - Savanna
• Table 6 = Tundra

Wikispaces

Make sure you verify your email address from wikispaces. (Check your email and click on the link from wikispaces.)

• Table 2 = Chaparral
• Table 3 = Grasslands - Prairie
• Table 4 = Grasslands - Savanna
• Table 5 = Tundra
• Table 6 = Desert

Each person needs to pick a category and post comments under that category. Each posting needs to have at least 5 good sentences and a picture or video.

* Animals
* Geography
* Vegetation
* Climate

http://room42.wikispaces.com/

We will be viewing the tour videos for wikispaces.

http://www.wikispaces.com/site/tour#introduction

Go Brooke!!

Wikispaces

Today you will joining wikispaces and posting your ideas on my wikispace about the biomes. Check your email and follow the link to my wikispace.

• Table 2 = Grasslands - Prairie
• Table 3 = Grasslands - Savanna
• Table 4 = Tundra
• Table 5 = Desert
• Table 6 = Chaparral

Each person needs to pick a category and post comments under that category. Each posting needs to have at least 5 good sentences and a picture or video.

• Animals
• Geography
• Vegetation
• Climate

http://room42.wikispaces.com/

Chaparral

Describe the geography, animals, vegetation, and climate of the chaparral.

Women's History Month

Who are some important women from history?

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenshistory1.html

Spring Break

I hope that everyone is enjoying their Spring Break. Leave comments and tell everyone what you are doing.

Tundra

Describe the geography, animals, vegetation, and climate of the tundra.

Prairie - Grasslands

The grasslands are divided into two categories, called savanna and prairie depending on their locations, either north or south of the equator. The savanna and prairie have very different vegetation, animals, and climate. Today we will be talking about the prairie grasslands that are located north of the equator. Describe the geography, climate, vegetation, and animals of the prairie.

Virtual Field Trip:
Lewis and Clark Then and Now: Plants and the Expedition II--The Grasslands Prairie

Contents of the Broadcast:

1. Opening to 3:46—Introduction, welcome, orientation to today's topic, and introduction of our guest Malinda Slagle, Restoration Ecologist with the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Prairie Restoration Project.
2. 3:46 to 12:50—The first topic explored answers the question “What is a prairie?” Subjects include types and locations of grasslands around the world, differences between tall, medium, and short grass prairies, and rainfall impacts on the prairie. Images include slides of grassland locations and video of tall, medium, and short grass prairie. Student questions and comments on these topics are weaved throughout the segment.
3. 12:50 to 19:42—Next, we investigate the prairie more by looking at plants of the prairie. Images of numerous plants are provided including big blue stem, blue grama grass, Indian grass, fleabane daisies, goldenrod, white indigo, lead plant, and sunflower. Student questions and comments are included.
4. 19:42 to 23:42—In our next segment we look at animals of the prairie both now and during the time of the expedition. Numerous images are included. Examples include the badger, bald eagle, bobcat, bison, red wolf, gray wolf, coyote, deer, prairie chicken, pronghorn antelope, prairie dog, and pheasant. Student questions and comments are also included.
5. 23:42 to 28:07—Next, we take a look at the prairie underground. Images include a cross section of the prairie showing plant growth above the ground and root length below the ground. Topics include the impact of rainfall, the importance of the root system to the plant, and why one finds so few trees on the prairie. Student questions and comments are included.
6. 28:07 to 43:25—Now it’s on to how the prairie maintains itself. We look at the impact of insects and pollination, the wind, predators, and other animals on maintaining the life of the prairie. Student questions and comments are included as is video of bisons on the prairie, insects pollinating prairie plants, and wind sweeping across the South Dakota prairie.
7. 43:25 to 52:18—Malinda shares the importance of fire to maintaining the prairie, both naturally and in controlled burns. Video footage is included of a controlled burn on the Missouri Botanical Garden’s restored prairie. Student comments and questions are included as well.
8. 38:38 to End—In our final segment, we discuss why the prairie ecosystem matters. What are its impacts on nature, humans, and biodiversity. Student comments and questions are included. We end with thanks and goodbye

Savanna - Grasslands

The grasslands are divided into two categories, called savanna and prairie depending on their locations, either north or south of the equator. The savanna and prairie have very different vegetation, animals, and climate. Today we will be talking about the savanna grasslands that are located south of the equator. Describe the geography, climate, vegetation, and animals of the savanna.

Vote for Brooke White!!!

Watch Brooke White tonight and vote!!!

Desert

Describe the geography, animals, vegetation, and climate of the desert.

Rainforest

Describe the geography, animals, vegetation, and climate of the rainforest.

Marine Ecosystem

What are the different zones of the marine ecosystem? What animals and vegetation exist in each zone? What is the climate like in each zone?

Biomes

The Earth has many different environments, varying in climate, vegetation, animals, and geography. Each of these habitats has distinct life forms living in it, forming complex communities of interdependent organisms. A complex community of plants and animals in a region and a climate is called a biome.


Choose a biome you know. Describe the biome's climate, vegetation, animals, and geography.

Election Results

The Republicans have a candidate: John McCain. John McCain has earned enough electoral votes to secure the republican nomination.

1,191 Needed (Explainer)
1. McCain 1,224
2. Romney 253 (Out)
3. Huckabee 261
4. Paul 14

The Democrats are still figuring out who will be their candidate. Hillary Clinton won Texas, Rhode Island and Ohio. Barrack Obama won Vermont.

2,025 Needed (Explainer)
1. Obama 1,477
2. Clinton 1,391
3. Edwards 26 (Out)
Republicans Total


What do you recommend the democrats do to determine a candidate quickly?

American Idol

Vote for Brooke White tonight!!!

Election

Vermont, Rhode Island, Texas and Ohio are voting for the presidential primary election. Today is a big day for the Democratic Primary contest between Obama and Clinton. Who do you think will earn the most electoral votes?

Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth's surface, atmosphere, and people.

Describe the geography (landforms) of the five different climate areas.

Vegetation

Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. The term vegetation does not, by itself, imply anything regarding species composition, life forms, structure, spatial extent or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader than the term flora which refers exclusively to species composition.

Perhaps the closest synonym is plant community, but vegetation can, and often does, refer to a wider range of spatial scales. Primeval redwood forests, coastal mangrove stands, sphagnum bogs, desert soil crusts, roadside weed patches, wheat fields, cultivated gardens and lawns; are all encompassed by the term vegetation.

http://www.brainpop.com/science/cellularlifeandgenetics/plantgrowth/


Describe what type of vegetation would exist in each of the five climate zones.

Climate

Climate and weather do not mean the same thing. Everyone knows about what weather. It's what is going on in the atmosphere at a particular place and time. Weather is measured in terms of wind speed, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness, and precipitation. In most places, weather changes from hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season. The word climate refers to the average pattern of weather in a region.

Climate is the average weather in a location over a long period of time. A place that doesn't get much rain over many years would have a dry climate. A place where it stays cold for most of the year would have a cold climate.

Weather is the day to day forecast and climate is the average over a long term. For example, Southern California has a warm dry climate even though it might rain today.

What is your ideal climate? What weather conditions could be present in that climate (for example, clouds, snow, high winds, etc)?

Where in the world does that climate exist?

http://www.brainpop.com/science/weather/climatetypes/

American Idol

Brooke White Rocks!!

Animals

• Pick an animal.
• Describe the type of habitat this animal would need to live.
• What type of climate?
• What types of vegetation?
• What type of geography?
• How does this animal affect the food chain?
• What would happen if this animal no longer existed?

Skittles Report - Analysis

Did your results surprise you? Was your hypothesis correct? Do your results apply to other bags of candy, such as M&Ms? How do your results from your skittles experiment apply to other bags of candies? If we used bigger bags of skittles will your results be different?


Printing Requirements:

1. Heading - top right hand corner
2. Title
3. Three Sub Titles - Hypothesis, Data, Analysis
   
4. Table
5. Graph/Chart
6. No longer than two pages
7. Email or USB Drive, Print, Hang Up!!
   

Skittles Report - Results

Do you expect to get the same results as your classmates? Do you expect that every bag of Skittles will be the same flavors? Do you expect that every bag of Skittles to have the same number of skittles? Do you expect that every bag of Skittles to have the same number of each flavor?

American Idol - Top 24 Results

Brooke White made it!!

Watch her next Wednesday!!

Skittles Report - Scientific Method - Hypothesis

What are your favorite types of Skittles? What is your favorite candy? What do you think we will discover from this experiment?

Lunar Eclipse

Did you see the lunar eclipse? I saw it at 6:52pm, when I was getting home, I was going to take a picture but I forgot. When I saw the eclipse it looked similar to the picture above. It was amazing to watch and realize that our planet is constantly moving.

Top 12 Girls

Vote for Brooke White!!
1-866-43657-06
Text 5706

Elections Update

On Tuesday, Hawaii, Wisconsin and Washington voted in the democratic primary. Senator Barrack Obama won all three states. Hillary Clinton replaced her campaign manager recently. If you were Hillary Clinton's new campaign manager what would you recommend she does to win the democratic nomination?

John McCain won the Republican Primaries in Washington and Wisconsin. If you were Mike Huckabee's campaign manager what you would recommend he should do?

Delegate Count:

Democrats Total

2,025 Needed (Explainer)

1.	Obama	1,319
2.	Clinton	1,245
3.	Edwards	26 (Out)

Republicans Total

1,191 Needed (Explainer)

1.	McCain	942
2.	Romney	253 (Out)
3.	Huckabee	245
4.	Paul	14

Weekend Round Up!!

This last weekend I celebrated my nephew's first birthday in Utah. My niece Emily came and we had a lot of fun playing in the snow. I went cross country skiing with a college roommate, Lori.

What did you do this last weekend?

Presidents Day

Presidents Day (or Presidents' Day), is the common name for the federal holiday officially designated as Washington's Birthday. It is celebrated on the third Monday of February.

In the late 1980s, with a push from advertisers the term Presidents Day began its public appearance. The theme has expanded the focus of the holiday to honor another President born in February, Abraham Lincoln, and often other Presidents of the United States.

Although Lincoln's birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington's Birthday observances as "Presidents Day", "Washington and Lincoln Day", or other such designations.

It is also interesting to note that "Presidents Day" is not always an all-inclusive term. In Massachusetts, while the state officially celebrates "Washington's Birthday," state law also prescribes that the governor issue an annual Presidents Day proclamation honoring the presidents that have come from Massachusetts: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy. (Coolidge, the only one born outside of Massachusetts, spent his entire political career before the vice presidency there.)

Alabama uniquely observes the day as "Washington and Jefferson Day," even though Jefferson's birthday was in April.

In Connecticut, while Presidents Day is a federal holiday, Abraham Lincoln's birthday is still a state holiday, falling on February 12 regardless of the day of the week.

In Washington's home state of Virginia the holiday is legally known as "George Washington Day."

What president's do you think we should honor and why? What can you do this weekend to honor our presidents?

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards, or offering candy. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow. The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

What nice things are you doing for your family today?

You can make a valentine for your family and I'll print it out for you!!

Black History Month

Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in the month of February, while in the UK it is held in the month of October.

Watch an overview of important people in black history. http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/



Pick a person to learn more about and post interesting facts and new things you learned about the person. (Many other people have contributed in a significant way to Black History but I can't list everyone.)

• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Rosa Parks
• Nelson Mandela
• Jackie Robinson
• Louis Armstrong
• Bill Cosby
• Jesse Owens
• Frederick Douglass
• Sojourner Truth
• Thurgood Marshall
  

American Idol

My Favorite American Idol Contestant:

Don't forget to vote!!
Brooke Ray "White"

Election - Predicitons

This weekend several states had Democrat and Republican contests.

Saturday, February 9

• Kansas Republican Caucuses - Huckabee
  
• Louisiana Primary - Obama & Huckabee
  
• Nebraska Democratic Caucuses - Obama
  
• Washington Caucuses - Obama & McCain
  

Sunday, February 10

• Maine Democratic Caucuses - Obama
  

Delegate Count:

Democrats Total

2,025 Needed (Explainer)

1.	Clinton	1,063
2.	Obama	962
3.	Edwards	26 (Out)

Republicans Total

1,191 Needed (Explainer)

1.	McCain	714
2.	Romney	286 (Out)
3.	Huckabee	217
4.	Paul	16

Who do you think will be the Republican and Democrat candidate? Who do you think will be the Vice Presidents for each party?