Hoosier Press
Winter Edition
Mrs. Glenesk's L.A- Sydney Gance
This month in Mrs. Glenesk's LA class we have been working very hard on our magazines. We should have around 3-4 paragraphs written for our final product. We have been learning all of the 5 topics for our magazine including,description, problem and solution, sequence and order, cause and effect, and compare and contrast. We have also been reading Maze Runner and are over half way done. We are still working hard on reaching our goal of getting to 8th grade level on Mobymax!
Mrs. Dunn's L.A- Ella Sternke
In Mrs. Dunn's LA class, we are reading A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. We are reading each stave, and then we are comparing it to the movie. We will hold a Socratic Seminar to wrap up our unit. We are working on subordinating and coordinating conjunctions in grammar. We have finished our realistic fiction story, and will have an author's celebration party when we return. We will be working on our Letters about Literature contest in January.
Mr. Ioannacci's Math- Katherine Kesler
During the months of November and December, we have been working hard and learning lots. In early November we finished up with our transformation unit and had our test over it. Next, we began to work on linear equations, slope, slope intercept, and converting from one form to another. Recently, we finished with our semester final. We have been working very hard and hopefully the results show.
Mr. Ioannacci's L.A- Myles Todd
So far, in Mr. Ioannacci's Language Arts class, we have started to read " A Christmas Carol", and we are watching the staves along with it. We also just finished our last word study unit before winter break, and it was a long process like the others. We are going to start grammar when we get back from winter break, and we are trying to fit in all of the Achieve 3000. We haven't done a lot of quizzes, except for some that had to do with a Christmas Carol, but there were very little other than those. Mr. Ioannacci is teaching us a lot, and all of it was very helpful and fun at the same time. Hopefully it will stay the same when we get back from break.
Mrs. Glenesk's Science- Sydney Gance
This month in Mrs. Glenesk's regular science class we have been working on all types of energies and recently took our test. We worked on a rollercoaster to show kinetic and potential energy. This included loops, turns, and funnels. We were also asked to write a few paragraphs that explained potential and kinetic energy in our rollercoaster. The drawing on our rollercoaster described our marble traveling through the coaster.
During the months of November and December, we have been learning about living organisms and how you classify them. We learned the scientific study of classification called Taxonomy, and all the different levels of classification. The levels of classification are domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. We also learned about evolution and Charles Darwin's theories. In science, we did a lab that showed how adaptations evolve to even better adaptations. We pretended that we were woolyboogers (a fake species) and we had to use a clothespin, a glove, a spoon, and a toothpick to pick up beads which served as their food.
Mrs. Dunn Social Studies- Jackson Liner
In Mrs. Dunn's Social Studies class, we finished Unit 5 by learning about the legacy of Greece, such as the contributions to our government and astronomy. We also learned about the contributions to our medicine, architecture, and language. We started our Rome unit and are learning about the influences of different cultures on Rome. We are also learning about the origins and spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Worldwide Christmas
Mexico
Many countries have winter celebrations. Some have Christmas and some have Hanukkah. Mexico's holiday is based off of Christmas, but they have different traditions. They call it Las Posadas, a nine day celebration. Las Posadas starts on December 16 and ends on December 25. On the ninth evening, which the Mexicans call Buena Noche, the children walk and lead a group of people to the church and place the Christ Child, Jesus, in a nativity scene, which they call a nacimiento. Then, at midnight, everyone goes to mass. After mass, the Three Wise Men arrive and they give each other presents. Their houses are decorated with lilies and evergreens. Also, a kind of flower called poinsettias (which only bloom in the winter), are used to decorate the houses and streets. If you were to walk the streets during the winter, you would see nativity scenes everywhere.
Italy
Can you imagine a week of complete reversal? One unique winter holiday in Italy is Saturnalia. Saturnalia is a week-long feast of total reversal lasting from December 17th to December 23rd. Saturnalia was originally created for celebrating Saturn, the Roman king of gods. For the whole week while Saturnalia was occurring, all schools and businesses close, all fights are forgotten for the week, etcetera. During the festival, masters serve their slaves and men wear women's clothing. People give wax fruit offerings to the god Saturn during the festival. The main event of the week is the crowning of the King when a criminal is picked out of the jail and becomes King for the week and the King is put in jail. In Italy Christmas is celebrated not only on December 25th but also on December 26th. On Christmas Day, Roman Catholics must go to two masses. One at dawn and one at midnight. Despite the fact that it is such a Christian holiday, the idea of having a Christmas feast comes from the feasting of Saturnalia! Another holiday Italy celebrates is Epiphany, also known as the Twelfth Day. It is a dual celebration in the Catholic Church. Jesus' baptism and the visit of the Magi to Jesus are the two events being celebrated. In the Roman Catholic Church, the baptism is not as stressed as the visit of the Magi. New Year's Day is also celebrated in Italy in a lot of the same way it is celebrated here. Those were just three of the holidays celebrated by Italy in winter!
Germany
Christmas in Germany has some similarities to Christmas in America, but there are still several differences. First of all, in Germany, Christmas is a three day long festival of eating, drinking, talking, and being with your family. On the 24th, they put up a calendar called advent, showing what they are going to do over their three days of Christmas. Advents are created in various ways. The standard way is a sheet of paper with firs hanging over it and 24 presents tied to the firs. The presents are given to someone special on the 25th. In Germany the kids have someone similar to our Santa called the Christ Child. Kids decorate letters to the Christ Child with sugar and glitter to make it *sparkle*. Then they hang their letters on the windowsill and wait for the second day of Christmas. The second day of Christmas ( the 25th) is the time were they give the second round of gifts out. On this day, it is said that santa Claus gives the presents. This is the time were they have a huge feast. The feast consists of sausages, baked potatoes, mulled claret, etcetera. In Nürnberg, a girl is selected to dress like an angel and be the center of attention in a parade. The Nürnberg open a traditional Christmas market the day of the parade.
England
In England they have Christmas together to open presents. Most families have one or more families in their house for Christmas. Everyone usually helps decorate the Christmas tree. Christmas trees were first popularized in England. Holly, Ivy, and Mistletoe are also sometimes used to decorate homes or buildings. Most homes or villages decorate with Christmas lights.The most famous Christmas lights in England are in Oxford Street in London. Every year they get bigger and better. Most of England people love to enjoy Christmas music.In England the traditional Christmas dinner is usually eaten at midday on Dec. 25, during daylight.
Russia
In Russia, Christmas wasn't originally celebrated. New Years was the important holiday. Now, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th, though some Catholics will still celebrate on December 25th. It is celebrated on a different day, because the Russian Orthodox Church uses the old "Julian" calendar for religious holidays. Hanukah used to be shunned and looked down upon. All religious holidays weren't celebrated much. Now celebrating Hanukah is perfectly fine. Another holiday is Trinity. Trinity celebrates the three forms of God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday is the Sunday after Pentecost. Even though Russia is far away, it isn't too different from us!
Africa
In Africa, Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, which is the same day as Americas Christmas. Africans that can afford gifts, (which are mainly clothes for kin)will give presents to other family members to wear to church. On Christmas Day, carols are sung from Ghana, all the way down to South Africa. It may surprise you that Kwanzaa is not celebrated by the Africans, but only African Americans. Kwanzaa is a secular festival observed by many African Americans from December 26 to January 1 as a celebration of their cultural heritage. The symbols of Kwanzaa includes crops (mzao) which represents the historical roots of African-Americans in agriculture and also the reward for collective labor. The mat (mkeka) lays the foundation for self- actualization. The candle holder (kinara) reminds believers in the ancestral origins in one of 55 African countries. Corn/maize (muhindi) signifies children and the hope associated in the younger generation. Gifts (Zawadi) represent commitments of the parents for the children. The unity cup (Kkimbe cha Umoja) is used to pour libations to the ancestors. Finally, the seven candles (mishumaa saba) remind participants of the several principles and the colors in flags of African liberation movements -- 3 red, 1 black, and 3 green. It was created by Maulana Karenga, and was first celebrated in 1966–67. Africa's Christmas is very interesting, and there is a lot to learn about.
Christmas Survey
People in our pod are doing many different things over the holidays. For example, Myles is"shoveling snow, celebrating, etc." He is pretty excited for the jubilant break. Zoë's schedule is "Going to my grandparents and hanging with my family." These people have a long schedule. Sydney has an exciting adventure. She is going to the Bahamas. Jess Halmaka will be playing in the snow, she will watch me movies, and she will play board games and card games. Chiamaka is playing in the snow, celebrating her birthday, and she cannot wait to celebrate Christmas. Over all, most people have quite a full schedule.
Riddles of the Month
1.) What is at the end of a rainbow?
2.)A horse is on a 24 foot chain and wants an apple that is 26 feet away. How can the horse get to the apple?
3.)What is the longest word in the dictionary?
(Email toddmyl000@hsestudents.org with your answers in the link, and you might be in the next newsletter)