Relay for Life

My final posting for the day....!

With January upon us, it is time to begin thinking about Relay for Life.  Mrs. Cook and I will begin going over this information with you in January.  Check out the blog and edline to keep up with all of the great things that we will be doing.

At the bottom of this page I have a couple of links for you.  One is a link to our Venturer/Navigator page where you can officially join the team.  We will go over all of this information with you next month.  The second link includes some pictures from Relay for Life last year.  You can get an idea from these pictures that we had a lot of fun!

James River High School Relay for Life Website

Relay for Life May 2010 Pics

DC Trip

Though this posting is a bit late, I do have a few pictures from the DC trip.  Can you believe we actually went on a field trip during snow days?  I hope everyone had a great time, with lots of good memories.  I have posted a few pics here.  Check the link out below for a few more.....

I wasn't as industrious with the camera as I thought I'd be....

Mrs. Estes and Mrs. Utz Enjoying the DC Snow!

Getting Ready for the Theatre!

CLICK HERE FOR A FEW MORE DC PHOTOS

Venturer Holiday Bazaar

I hope that everyone has had a great holiday break.  I have been meaning to post these photos of the holiday bazaar but I have been busy with Winter Break activities.  I have enjoyed not thinking of school for a bit, and I bet you have all too.  Now with next Monday looming, I've started thinking about school again. 

Mrs. Cook and I are so proud of each and everyone of you for the work you put into the Bazaar.  We raised over $1000!  We are well on our way to reaching our fund raising goal.  Mrs. Cook and I stayed after school on Tuesday and counted the money and made sure we had it safely in the school's vault.  We will donate the money in January to the Relay for Life organization.

Below the last picture there is a link to a photo gallery that you can access of the many different booths.  Hopefully I was able to snap everyone's picture.

See you on Monday.

We even had live music!

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME MORE PHOTOS OF OUR HOLIDAY BAZAAR

DC Is Just Around the Corner!!!

Check out the Ford's Theatre trailer for "A Christmas Carol"!



 Also check out this video from a Hotel Harrington visitor!  You can see what a room looks like....




Check out someone's video from the outside of the hotel.

Immigration Reenactment by the 7th Grade

A Russian Immigrant...so serious...

My 7th grade students created a reenactment of an immigrant's experience at Ellis Island in New York City.  We researched immigration experiences, received identities as processors or immigrants, then created costumes and "back stories" to make the experience seem more authentic.  I am so very proud of everyone for their time and effort in making this activity worthwhile.  

I have uploaded some video and pictures of this event.  The first pictures are of the immigrants outside of the classroom, as well as a few being processed.  If I did not get your picture...please forgive me!  Once Mrs. Cook's class came in for their observations of the event, it was incredibly difficult to move around from place to place.  There were 60 people in the classroom!  In a way, this makes for an authentic simulation, as the processing stations on Ellis Island were frequently overcrowded and confusing.

A Greek woman on her way to a potential deportation.

On the left you can see the doorway to the classroom.  This is where the newly arrived immigrants were processed.  Their first station was used to get some background information.  Students were speaking in accented English, or using phrases from their native tongue.

Immigrants frequently came with next to nothing, carrying babies and their possessions to begin a life in the USA.   The photos below show the immigrants getting ready to go to the first station.  Many look confident and happy to be in the USA!

I have also tried my hand at video camera work for this event.  Check out the videos below.  Mrs. Cook is an amazing actress who totally livened up our reenactment.  Thank you Mrs. Cook for adding drama and excitement to our activity!