Working on Scale Model Projects
Monday, February 4, 2013
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Facts about Thanksgiving, according to the History Channel (History.com)
Though many competing claims exist, the most familiar story of the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, in 1621. More than 200 years later, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941.
Sarah Josepha Hale, the enormously influential magazine editor and author who waged a tireless campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday in the mid-19th century, was also the author of the classic nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
In 2001, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative Thanksgiving stamp. Designed by the artist Margaret Cusack in a style resembling traditional folk-art needlework, it depicted a cornucopia overflowing with fruits and vegetables, under the phrase "We Give Thanks."
The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimated that 42.2 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2010.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state in America, with a planned production total of 46.5 million in 2011. Six states—Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, and Indinia—account for nearly two-thirds of the 248 million turkeys that will be raised in the U.S. this year.
The National Turkey Federation estimated that 46 million turkeys—one fifth of the annual total of 235 million consumed in the United States—were eaten at Thanksgiving.
In a survey conducted by the National Turkey Federation, nearly 88 percent of Americans said they eat turkey at Thanksgiving. The average weight of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds, which means some 690 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the U.S. during Thanksgiving in 2007.
Cranberry production in the U.S. is expected to reach 750 million pounds in 2011. Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington are the top cranberry growing states.
Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and New York are the major pumpkin growing states, together they produced 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkin in 2010. Total U.S. production was over 1.5 billion pounds.
The sweet potato is most plentifully produced in North Carolina, which grew 972 million pounds of the popular Thanksgiving side dish vegetable in 2010. Other sweet potato powerhouses included California and Mississippi, and the top producing states together generated over 2.4 billion pounds of the tubers.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured just over 12 feet long. It was baked on October 8, 2005 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, and included 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice and 250 pounds of crust.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
7th graders have been working on many things in the past week. One of the things is a weather factor map. This project counts for three different class grades, Com Arts, Social Studies and Science. We will be presenting a map of many weather factors and pretend we are a news reporter and are on the air. We also started on the third Habit of Highly Effective Teens. We are almost done with the book The Outsiders and it is a very good book in my opinion.
Parent teacher conferences will be held tomorrow and Thursday evening. All students are encouraged to bring their parents to review samples of their work. School will not be in session on Friday.
The Select Choir, made up of 7th and 8th graders, presented a concert with the High School last week, which went very well.
Boys basketball try outs were held yesterday. Girls try outs will be held today, immediately after school.
Thank you for reading our blog!
Parent teacher conferences will be held tomorrow and Thursday evening. All students are encouraged to bring their parents to review samples of their work. School will not be in session on Friday.
The Select Choir, made up of 7th and 8th graders, presented a concert with the High School last week, which went very well.
Boys basketball try outs were held yesterday. Girls try outs will be held today, immediately after school.
Thank you for reading our blog!
The Electoral College: Not a place but a process to elect the President
The founding fathers established it in the Constitution as a
compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election
of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.
The Electoral College process consists of the selection of
the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and
Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress.
Here is map of all of the states:
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Blog Update for September 24-27
In science we have been learning about clouds. Next week we will be completing cloud projects in class. 1st quarter science exploratory has been making rockets, which we will be launching next week as well.
Do you know your clouds?
In social studies we are finishing up learning about Missouri Government. We have a test on Monday and Tuesday.
Math has been learning about adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing integers. It is difficult, and progress is being made. Pre-Algebra is working on simplifying algebraic expressions. Do you know how to simplify 3x + 7y - 4 + 2x - 10y + 2? Just ask your 7th grader, they might be able to show you how.
English Language Arts has been continuing to read The Outsiders, as well as work on improving their writing skills. In fact, final copies over the topic, "The Reason for School" are due on Monday and Tuesday.
Art has been working on clay sculptures of cakes and pies. Some of them look so delicious you might want to eat them!
Upcoming Events:
Monday, October 1st- Volleyball here at 5:30
Tuesday, October 2nd- Football here at 5:30
Thursday, October 4th- Volleyball at Troy at 5:00
Don't forget the 5K walk/run for Abbi Lucas on Saturday October 13th. Pre-register by turning your form into the middle school office. Meet at the square that morning. It will be a fun time for all! Come out and enjoy some fall leaves, and walk around the beautiful town of Bowling Green with your friends! T-shirt included with entry fee.The route will even pass the historic home of Champ Clark.
The middle school student council will be selling temporary spirit tattoos. You can buy these at the office, or from the middle school teachers during lunch. Just come visit our table to purchase. : )
Monday, September 24, 2012
Last week in the Seven Habits, we read habit two which is to Begin with the End in Mind. We learned that setting big goals and having an end in mind makes us win and accomplish all these little goals we would have to do to accomplish the big one.
Also last week we saw a video in B.G.M.S. cat time about a boy who was born with no limbs. It was an inspiring story of how he fought through his battles involving not only physical endurances, but emotional wars with himself about his own self-worth, and how now he helps students with self- esteem issues in schools across the nation.
Last Wednesday the softball girls had team bonding. We went to Dos Primos. We had alot of fun. Afterwards we went to the high school softball game and they won. Its been a great season.
The choir is working hard to prepare for Veteran's Day and for our joint concert with the High School on October 18.
Also last week we saw a video in B.G.M.S. cat time about a boy who was born with no limbs. It was an inspiring story of how he fought through his battles involving not only physical endurances, but emotional wars with himself about his own self-worth, and how now he helps students with self- esteem issues in schools across the nation.
Last Wednesday the softball girls had team bonding. We went to Dos Primos. We had alot of fun. Afterwards we went to the high school softball game and they won. Its been a great season.
The choir is working hard to prepare for Veteran's Day and for our joint concert with the High School on October 18.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Our classroom order code is: HXJJL
Sunday, September 16, 2012
This week we had "dress-up days" to celebrate homecoming. On Monday we had senior citizen's day. It was funny to see the creative outfits the students and teachers wore. Tuesday it was crazy hair day! We saw many unique ideas. There were crazy ponytails, super curls, and lots of ribbons. On Wednesday it was twin day. Some people that stood out were Emma M. and Alyssa E. They wore white shirts with matching, homemade designs, sunglasses and jean shorts. On Thursday it was super hero day. There were a lot of capes, hats, and super hero logos. Last but certainly not least was Friday's red and black day. Everywhere you looked there were students and teachers celebrating their school spirit! The dress up days were a BLAST!!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Missouri Govt: How a Bill Becomes a Law....For the students who thought my class notes were long and complicated
No law is passed except by bill. Bills may originate in either house and are designated as Senate Bills or House Bills, depending on the house in which they originate. No bill (except general appropriations bills) may contain more than one subject, which is to be expressed clearly in its title. No bill can be amended in its passage through either house so as to change its original purpose. No bill can be introduced in either house after the 60th legislative day of a session unless consented to by a majority of the elected members of each house. The governor may request consideration of proposed legislation by a special message. No appropriation bill shall be taken up for consideration after 6:00 p.m. on the first Friday following the first Monday in May of each year.
Introduction of a bill
Legislation approved by the 1971 General Assembly (H.B. 156) provides for preintroduction of bills beginning December 1 preceding the opening of the assembly session and continuing up to, but not including, the first day of the session. Bills filed during the preintroduction period are automatically introduced and read the first time on the opening day of the session. Bills may also be introduced by any senator or representative during the session. Bills may be written by the legislator or drafted by the staff of the Committee on Legislative Research at the request of a senator or representative. When introduced, a bill is assigned a number and read for the first time by its title by the Senate or House reading clerk. It then goes on the calendar for second reading and assignment to committee by the speaker of the House or the president pro tem of the Senate.A public hearing before the committee to which a bill is assigned is the next step in the legislative process. Except in the case of some unusually controversial, complex or lengthy bills, the bill is presented by its sponsor and both proponents and opponents are heard in a single hearing. When hearings are concluded, the committee meets to vote and makes its recommendations. The committee may: (1) Report the bill with the recommendation that it "do pass"; (2) Recommend passage with committee amendments, which are attached to the bill; (3) Return the bill without recommendation; (4) Substitute in lieu of the original bill a new bill to be known as a committee substitute; (5) Report the bill with a recommendation that it "do not pass" or (6) Make no report at all.
Perfection of a bill
If a bill is reported favorably out of committee or a substitute is recommended, it is placed on the "perfection calendar" and when its turn comes up for consideration it is debated on the floor of the originating house. If a substitute is recommended by the committee or if committee amendments are attached to the bill, they are first presented, debated and voted upon. Further amendments can then be proposed by other members with their changes designated as House or Senate amendments to differentiate from the committee amendments. When all amendments have been considered, amotion is made to declare the bill perfected. Perfection is usually voted on a voice vote but on the request of five members, a roll call shall be taken. If a majority of members vote to perfect, the bill is reprinted in its original or amended form.
Final passage of a bill
After perfection and reprinting, the bill goes on the calendar for third reading and final passage. When the bill is reached in the order of business any member may speak for or against its passage but no further amendments of a substantive nature can be offered. At the conclusion of debate, a recorded vote is taken. Approval of a constitutional majority of the elected members (18 in the Senate and 82 in the House) is required for final passage.Passage of the bill is then reported to the other house where it is again read a second time; referred to committee for hearing; reported by committee; and third read and offered for final approval. If further amendments are approved, these are reported to the originating house with a request that the changes be approved. If the originating house does not approve, a conference may be requested and members from each house are designated as a conference committee. Upon agreement by the conference committee (usually a compromise of differences), each reports to its own house on the committee's recommendation. The originating house acts first on the conference committee version of the bill. If it is approved it goes to the other house and upon approval there, the bill is declared "truly agreed to and finally passed." If either house rejects the conference committee report, it may be returned to the same or a newly appointed committee for further conferences.Upon final passage, a bill is ordered enrolled. It is typed in its finally approved form, printed and the bills are closely compared and proofed for errors.
Signing of the bill
Bills truly agreed to and finally passed in their typed form are then signed in open session by the House speaker and Senate president or president pro tem. At the time of signing, any member may file written objections which are sent with the bill to the governor.
Governor's part in lawmaking
The governor has 15 days to act on a bill if it is sent to him during the legislative session; and 45 day if the legislature has adjourned or has recessed for a 30-day period.If he signs a bill, it is returned to its house of origin with his message of approval, then delivered to the Office of Secretary of State. If the legislature is not in session, it is delivered directly to the Office of Secretary of State.If the governor vetoes a bill, it is returned to the house of origin with his objections. A two-thirds vote by members of both houses is required to override a governor's veto.If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within the time limits prescribed by Article III, Section 31 of the Missouri Constitution it shall become law in the same manner as if the governor had signed it.
Effective date of laws
The 1945 Constitution provides that no law passed by the General Assembly shall take effect until ninety days after the end of the session in which it was enacted, except an appropriation act or in case of an emergency, which must be expressed in the preamble or in the body of the act. Some bills specify the exact date when they are to take effect.
Duties of the secretary of state
The secretary of state preserves the finally typed copy of the law. All the laws are bound together in one volume at the close of each session and seldom are seen unless some question arises. Prior to binding of the laws, the secretary of state publishes annually a volume of "Laws of Missouri", which is distributed to members of the General Assembly, state officials and other interested persons.The general statute laws are revised by the revisor of statutes in the Office of the Committee on Legislative Research, digested and promulgated. These are known as the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Under legislation, the Committee on Legislative Research also publishes annual supplements to the statutes to include changes in laws since the last revision.
Introduction of a bill
Legislation approved by the 1971 General Assembly (H.B. 156) provides for preintroduction of bills beginning December 1 preceding the opening of the assembly session and continuing up to, but not including, the first day of the session. Bills filed during the preintroduction period are automatically introduced and read the first time on the opening day of the session. Bills may also be introduced by any senator or representative during the session. Bills may be written by the legislator or drafted by the staff of the Committee on Legislative Research at the request of a senator or representative. When introduced, a bill is assigned a number and read for the first time by its title by the Senate or House reading clerk. It then goes on the calendar for second reading and assignment to committee by the speaker of the House or the president pro tem of the Senate.A public hearing before the committee to which a bill is assigned is the next step in the legislative process. Except in the case of some unusually controversial, complex or lengthy bills, the bill is presented by its sponsor and both proponents and opponents are heard in a single hearing. When hearings are concluded, the committee meets to vote and makes its recommendations. The committee may: (1) Report the bill with the recommendation that it "do pass"; (2) Recommend passage with committee amendments, which are attached to the bill; (3) Return the bill without recommendation; (4) Substitute in lieu of the original bill a new bill to be known as a committee substitute; (5) Report the bill with a recommendation that it "do not pass" or (6) Make no report at all.
Perfection of a bill
If a bill is reported favorably out of committee or a substitute is recommended, it is placed on the "perfection calendar" and when its turn comes up for consideration it is debated on the floor of the originating house. If a substitute is recommended by the committee or if committee amendments are attached to the bill, they are first presented, debated and voted upon. Further amendments can then be proposed by other members with their changes designated as House or Senate amendments to differentiate from the committee amendments. When all amendments have been considered, amotion is made to declare the bill perfected. Perfection is usually voted on a voice vote but on the request of five members, a roll call shall be taken. If a majority of members vote to perfect, the bill is reprinted in its original or amended form.
Final passage of a bill
After perfection and reprinting, the bill goes on the calendar for third reading and final passage. When the bill is reached in the order of business any member may speak for or against its passage but no further amendments of a substantive nature can be offered. At the conclusion of debate, a recorded vote is taken. Approval of a constitutional majority of the elected members (18 in the Senate and 82 in the House) is required for final passage.Passage of the bill is then reported to the other house where it is again read a second time; referred to committee for hearing; reported by committee; and third read and offered for final approval. If further amendments are approved, these are reported to the originating house with a request that the changes be approved. If the originating house does not approve, a conference may be requested and members from each house are designated as a conference committee. Upon agreement by the conference committee (usually a compromise of differences), each reports to its own house on the committee's recommendation. The originating house acts first on the conference committee version of the bill. If it is approved it goes to the other house and upon approval there, the bill is declared "truly agreed to and finally passed." If either house rejects the conference committee report, it may be returned to the same or a newly appointed committee for further conferences.Upon final passage, a bill is ordered enrolled. It is typed in its finally approved form, printed and the bills are closely compared and proofed for errors.
Signing of the bill
Bills truly agreed to and finally passed in their typed form are then signed in open session by the House speaker and Senate president or president pro tem. At the time of signing, any member may file written objections which are sent with the bill to the governor.
Governor's part in lawmaking
The governor has 15 days to act on a bill if it is sent to him during the legislative session; and 45 day if the legislature has adjourned or has recessed for a 30-day period.If he signs a bill, it is returned to its house of origin with his message of approval, then delivered to the Office of Secretary of State. If the legislature is not in session, it is delivered directly to the Office of Secretary of State.If the governor vetoes a bill, it is returned to the house of origin with his objections. A two-thirds vote by members of both houses is required to override a governor's veto.If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within the time limits prescribed by Article III, Section 31 of the Missouri Constitution it shall become law in the same manner as if the governor had signed it.
Effective date of laws
The 1945 Constitution provides that no law passed by the General Assembly shall take effect until ninety days after the end of the session in which it was enacted, except an appropriation act or in case of an emergency, which must be expressed in the preamble or in the body of the act. Some bills specify the exact date when they are to take effect.
Duties of the secretary of state
The secretary of state preserves the finally typed copy of the law. All the laws are bound together in one volume at the close of each session and seldom are seen unless some question arises. Prior to binding of the laws, the secretary of state publishes annually a volume of "Laws of Missouri", which is distributed to members of the General Assembly, state officials and other interested persons.The general statute laws are revised by the revisor of statutes in the Office of the Committee on Legislative Research, digested and promulgated. These are known as the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Under legislation, the Committee on Legislative Research also publishes annual supplements to the statutes to include changes in laws since the last revision.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Class Update: What We Learned This Week! Week of 8/31
What we learned this week-Brought to you by Mr. Bierly's CAT time
According to R.R., the 7th grade class learned the following this week:
"In Social Studies we learned who the State Auditor was. In Science we learned that the atmosphere has many layers like the troposphere and stratosphere. In Math, I learned about the commutative and associative properties. In careers I learned what the word "principle" means. In ELA we explored the questions "What is an American?"
According to R.R., the 7th grade class learned the following this week:
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Blog Update for August 16th-24th
Please enjoy our short video of important things we have learned so far.
Class Updates-
Science- We have been learning facts about Earth's atmosphere. Did you know that without Earth's atmosphere we would be much more likely to be hit by falling space objects? Lucky for us the atmosphere burns most of them up. Also without the atmosphere the water cycle would not be possible, and we would have no oxygen.
Social Studies- We have been learning about Missouri's government. Each class also got to choose stocks to "buy". We are going to see which class chose the most profitable stock, and who will make the most money by December.
Math- We are learning the Order of Operations. We will be writing a rap to help us remember them. We can't wait to share our raps with everyone!
English Language Arts- We have taken the Star test. We have also made covers for our Data Notebooks. To create the covers we could choose to use one of the following websites, either wordle.net, or glogster.com. Both are neat and useful websites.
All 7th graders also learned how to check their school e-mail, and how to find their homework assignments and worksheets on the web, using the school website.
Upcoming Events-
Friday August 31st-School Pictures
Friday August 31st- First softball game, 5:00
Friday August 31st- The Bowling Green Student Council will be hosting the first middle school dance from 8-10 pm. This dance has a patriotic them, and student council winners will be announced during the dance. Please attend, and plan to wear your red, white and blue. The cost is $2.00 with student ID, or $2.00 without. 
Pictured above are some of our 7th grade softball players. This week we had to sadly say good-bye to Coach Minter, as she will be moving to a new job, but we are excited to have our new coach, Coach Murphy.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Missouri Govt: Unclaimed Money and the Missouri Treasurer
The State of Missouri is holding nearly $700 million in unclaimed assets in more than 4.3 million owner accounts. The average return is $300 and 1 in 10 Missourians has unclaimed property. This is "Missouri's Largest Lost & Found" and Clint Zweifel (our current state Treasurer) encourages you to search for your property so it can returned to you as soon as possible.
BTW: Money in these accounts can never be spent by the state of Missouri, it just sits in the accounts until some steps up and claims the money. However, some unclaimed assets like jewelry can be auctioned off by the state.
Link to search the database: http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/content/find-your-property
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet
This is the tablet that the 7th grade class will be using this year:
Some may argue that the "Angry Birds" app. may help students learn physics, but.....We are going to keep things a little more educational around here. Also, the tablets will remain here at school and will not be taken home.
Here are the specifications for the Lenovo, our model is the 183822u: Lenovo Thinkpad Specs-pdf
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