Online Journal 26

"No kind action ever stops with itself. One kind action leads to another. Good example is followed. A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. The greatest work that kindness does to others is that it makes them kind themselves."
~Amelia Earhart

As we have been studying poetry, this week's blog is a little more complicated. Archibald MacLeish once said, "A poem should not mean, but be." Similarly, this week, you are not going to sit and think, but get up and DO. So, your blogging assignment is go out and perform a random act of kindness--a kind act for the benefit of someone else which brings no profit or honor to yourself. Then come back here and tell us what you did, how the recipient reacted, and how you felt after you did it. Make a difference to someone today, then see if it makes a difference in you!

Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver. ~Barbara De Angelis

EOC on Monday April 23!

'High-stakes tests develop a love of learning?'  Okay, maybe not.  But these EOC Exams do give you a chance to show off all the analytic and comprehension SKILLZ you have learned this year!  As this week is already high-stress, there will be no blog due this Friday.  Just do your best on the test!  After all, as Gandhi once said, "Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment; full effort is full victory."  If you read every passage and try your best, you are already a SUCCESS regardless of your score.  Words to live by!!  :)

Online Journal 25

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. 

~Alexander Graham Bell

EOCs.  They are on our minds and seem to be completely dominating our instruction time.  But really, we're not doing anything any differently from what we've done all year.  It is just in more of a review format right now, as the exam is only days away.  So while we are spending every moment in class practicing and preparing for success on the test, tell me this:  When is a time you have had to spend days or weeks really working hard to get ready for something?  Maybe for some type of performance or game?  Maybe for your driver's test, or for getting a job you wanted?  How about an occasion when you spent a great deal of time and energy creating something new--an assignment for school or something for home or a friend?  For this week's entry, describe a time you had to practice and prepare for something important to you, and then tell us how it turned out.  Did all your hard work pay off?  Did you realize you should have spent a little more time practicing instead?  Let's take a break from practicing and just relax, reflect, and write for a while!  :)

Online Journal 24

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm. ~Colette

The month of April has blown in with bright sunshine, warmer temperatures, and a myriad of April Fool's Day follies!! The thrill of the end of winter is upon us, and many seem to have some extra energy to unleash upon the gullible. So in light of all that, what is the best April Fool you've ever experienced:  a joke you've pulled or one you've fallen for? Did you see any good ones this year? How do you feel about practical jokes in general? Does it make a difference if you are the joker or the one getting duped? What do you think?

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said. "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late. ~Jack Handey