Hello 7th grade...time to submit our blogs!!  Before break we finished our health issue argumentative essay.  This is now due in blog format on your Weebly blog page.  Below you will see the guide and rubric associated with this project.  Make sure you preview those before submitting it to me for teacher/student edit session.  If you want to see a model, go to the Monday, March 30 blog entry below for a complete example.  
   Rough draft is due today.  To submit for my review paste your url from your Weebly blog page in the comment section here.  I will be contacting you throughout the day for a Zoom, Duo or Facetime meeting. I am very excited to talk to you all.  But first...go through this checklist.
​If you can check each box below, you are ready to submit your presentation. 
 Does your blog include your name? 
 Does your blog include a title that lets readers know what your blog is about? 
 Does your blog entry include a title that entices readers?
  Does your blog entry make a claim and support that claim with facts, statistics, personal stories, or quotations from experts on the topic? 
 Does your blog entry address counterclaims? 
 Does your blog entry conclude with ideas about how to solve the problem presented in your blog? 
 Does your blog include multimedia components that support your blog’s goals? Does it have a CALL TO ACTION?
 Does your blog attempt to increase reader interaction through quizzes, thought-provoking questions, a comments section, or polls?
 Did you cite your research sources on your works cited page? 

    Welcome back!!  Hope Spring Break brought some fun family activities to your household.  
  As we move through this challenging time, I've been incredibly moved by people helping others through kind acts, music, and fund raising.  This weekend the watching the "One World Together At Home" fundraiser for Coronavirus relief was beautiful.  Artists, musicians and comedians worked together to thank first responders, medical professionals and essential workers who risk their lives every day.  We too can do things to help and thank these brave people.  Whether it is a big tip to our delivery person or an exuberant thank you to the grocery store clerk...we can extend our appreciation in many ways.
   We can extend our own acts into our community as well.  Call friends and relatives who may be lonely, Zoom with a lonely friend.  With parent support, offer to help a fragile neighbor who should never go out for supplies.  Here is your challenge...do something for someone.  Make someone's life better in some way.  The link below gives some examples of what other students have done or seen.  Read these ideas, then start your mission.
   By Thursday night post your experience in writing here.  We look forward to hearing from you.
​
PS: Pictures would be amazing too!!!

   Hi 7th grade!!  Ms. Dabney and I are so impressed with a large portion of the 7th grade student work.  You guys rock! Today we continue our work towards completing our Health Blog.  This morning our main goal is to put our Health Essay into myaccess.com and get at least a 3.5 before contacting Mrs. Syfert today for a student/teacher edit (Parents are invited too if they like). Shoot me a text when you are ready...Google Duo, Facetime or phone call...your choice.
    

1. Submit essay to myaccess.com
2. Teacher edit with Mrs. S
3. Get Green!
4. Ask for a tutoring session in Math.  We are ready to help.  Whiteboards are at the ready...but with probability it helps a lot just to have a discussion with a teacher about why the answers are wrong/right.
5. Complete weekly WOOP goal setting with your lead teacher.

   After 2 weeks on lock down I was struggling with what some call "cabin fever."  In the mountains the snow season had reached far beyond it's typical February end.  With March nearing completion I had tired of the fog covered mornings followed by dreary afternoons.  My days had begun to feel like Ground Hog day. (If you don't get the reference...it's a movie from the 80's...:)) The same thing...over and over. But then, I saw them...shining faces looking up at me saying, "Hang in there!  Better days are to come!"  The tulips that had been dormant all winter were responding to their inner calendar.  They knew Spring was here! Suddenly the depression I felt creeping in lifted and feelings of happiness and hope appeared like a rainbow after a storm.  Nature has that potential; it can fight depression sparked by lack of interaction with others and too much computer screen time brought about by COVID-19.   
   Walking in the sunshine, hearing birds singing, and seeing all the beautiful scenes she has to show us can be medicine for our psyche.  Research shows this too.  Researchers at Stanford University found that "people who walked for 90 minutes in a natural area, as opposed to participants who walked in a high-traffic urban setting, showed decreased activity in a region of the brain associated with a key factor in depression." (Jordan) So get out of the house.  Concentrate on the beauty around you.  We live in one of the most beautiful natural places in the world.  Your mind will thank you.
  Nature can heal the mood altering results of large amounts of computer use as well.  Scientists even have a name for the depression that can come about from too much computer use..."nature deprivation."  Studies have shown that too much screen time can even make us less empathetic to others.  Set a schedule for computer use.  Make sure use does not negatively effect you.
   We do need to stay home now.  We do need to use our computers for school work and connecting with others. We do not need, however, to let these things take over our wellbeing.  You can experience nature in your own back yards.  Take a moment to sit in the sun.  Take a break from your computer and do your PE outside by walking or doing Coach Woods' videos in your backyard.  It will bring you the lift you may need.
   In these times of social distancing we need to focus on keeping physically and mentally healthy.  Let nature be your doctor and you counselor.  Stay healthy everybody!

1.  Go into nature...take a picture of the beauty you experience.  Text it to Mrs. Syfert. (Pictures will be shared here on this blog.)
2. In the comments section below in this post write a couple sentences using either Simile, Metaphor, or personification about the nature you experienced.
    Examples:

• Simile-The tulips were like a choir of angels singing nature's song.
• Metaphor-The tulips were a choir of angels singing nature's song.
• Personification-They smiled at me, reassuring me that spring, and the bright days that come with it, was just around the corner.