EXCITING NEWS! This past week, the Nobel Peace Prize was co-awarded to Malala Yousafzay for her "struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education." To learn more about this amazing young woman, be sure to pick up her memoir I AM MALALA, which has been called "incredible" and a book that would "inspire some activism after the final pages." The good news is that we have several copies of Malala's memoir in class - please check one out and tell me in the comments below if you think she is worthy of such a prestigious award and why...

What are YOUR strengths?

Try out this website Mr. Swarstad found. In the free report, you will receive a list of your 24 strengths, in order. Try it, post your top 5 strengths in your blog, and let me know if you agree or disagree and why.   Is there something significant which you believe is missing?

 1. Appreciation Of Beauty & Excellence You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

 2. Love You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

 3. Gratitude You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

 4. Humor You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations.

 5. Prudence You are a careful person, and your choices are consistently prudent ones. You do not say or do things that you might later regret.

 6.Social Intelligence You are aware of the motives and feelings of other people. You know what to do to fit in to different social situations, and you know what to do to put others at ease.

I believe these are strong qualities for me. I am always struck by beauty in patterns, colors, views, human expression - which is why I love taking photos.  I adore my family and friends, and tell them so with great frequency. I am grateful each and every day for my many blessings as an overseas teacher, as a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend.   I approach every situation with humor, and am acutely aware of the feelings of others.   And yes, I'm not a risk taker. I calculate advantages and disadvantages of every situation before making a decision.   What's missing from my list? I love learning and improving myself continually.

Team RLA7 2014

Never before in history, has there been such a professional and passionate (not to mention gorgeous) group of 7th grade RLA teachers. Do you know how LUCKY you are? :)

Finding Narnia

   

Confession - for many, MANY years after I finished reading the Narnia series (I devoured every single book in that series!), I would secretly check the back of closets and cupboards in the hope of finding my own path to Narnia. I'm not sure what I wanted to find there - the land of magical talking animals, or perhaps I was hoping I could find handsome Peter and win him over. In any case, I was completely under the enchantment of that magical land and even into adulthood, could not resist the temptation to tap the back of a cupboard. Now confess, have you ever done the same? :) Write a brief personal memoir on the book that created a passion in your for reading, and why.  Green Eggs and Ham? Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief? A-Z Mysteries?  Twas the Night Before Christmas? The Giving Tree?

CWW Happy Memories

7B CWW McDowell 2014

Thank you for such a fun week at Desaru last week! I loved learning more about you, and about how we work together as a group. My favorite times were hanging out with you at the beach, and watching the synchronized swimming. You made me proud. xx

Back to School photos!

Click on this link to check out some great back-to-school photos.

Writing according to Avi (or, "What would Avi do?" WWAD)

Six Secrets to Good Writing One: Read, read, read. Reading is the key to good writing. The more you read, the better the writer you can be. You can never read too much. Two: Write! It's not written until it's on the paper. Story telling is a great art, but it is not story writing. Three: Write what you would enjoy reading. You'll have more fun, and it will be better. Four: Rewrite! No one ever writes anything well the first time. The first draft cannot be the last draft. (I rewrite my work fifty-sixty times—or more). Here's a tip: read your first draft, and if you think it's good, you are in trouble. But, if you read it and you see it's not that good, you are in great shape—to get going. The more you rewrite the better your writing will be. Five: Write for readers. Maybe you understand what you have written, but the writer's job is to have the reader understand it. Keep in mind: writers don't write writing, they write reading. Six: Listen. Read your work out loud (pencil in hand) and it will let you hear your own writing. It will almost improve itself. For more tips, read Avi's blog, “Thoughts on Writing.”

Avi's Advice for Writers

I've been reading a book about you recently

It's called Mindset, and it explains how people are divided by two mindsets: fixed and growth. A person with Fixed mindset accepts limits and failures (a bad grade, for example), avoids challenges and gives up easily. A person with growth mindset takes risks and tries to grow, even if he/she fails the first few times. Growth mindset finds lessons and inspirations in other people's success rather than feeling jealous or threatened.  Growth mindset sees everything as an opportunity and a challenge  (even a bad grade or a low MAP score). I see myself in both mindsets but I am inspired to let go of my safety anchors and take flight. Which one are you?  Imagine a future where you are not defined by a grade or a score or what other people's success. You are free to make mistakes,  learn from others, and keep moving forward!

A one minute video to explain the book, or a 45 minute video with the author explaining growth mindset at Young Minds 2013.

And one more for Hogwarts fans...

Imagine how awesome Disney princesses would have been if they'd gone to Hogwarts like Hermione and Ginny!  Disney sends those ladies back to school!

MUGGLES rejoice! Hogwarts is Here!

© 2005 Warner Bros. Ent. Harry Potter Publishing Rights J.K.R.

A group of intrepid Harry Potter fans have made my childhood wish come true, creating a website called Hogwarts Is Here, where you can take free, online classes in the same subjects studied by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  Read this article for more information. 

Photos from our Poetry Week

Click on this link to see fabulous photos of our week with Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger
Poetry Week with Sara and Michael

I hope you dance!

From the Lee Ann Womak song, "I Hope You Dance"

Inspired by our interesting conversations this week about the United Nations, child soldiers, and educating girls, my wish for you is that when you have an opportunity to make a difference, even a small one, you will take it.   Don't sit back and let life happen to you. You are small but mighty. You have choices, you have every advantage, you have the world at your feet.

When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. :)

Looking for a New Book? Try this!

Psychic book selector

Movies: Rowling's Fantastic Beasts to Be a Trilogy

Movies: Rowling's Fantastic Beasts to Be a Trilogy



People, what do you think of this nonsense?? :)

Punctuation Matters

We've been spending time making sure our punctuation enhances our work. Take the extra time to revise and edit so you don't look like a psycho!

Stories are around us, everywhere

Everytime you hear a great story on the news, try asking yourself what makes it so good? It is the qualities of a good story, or just good storytelling? Is it a character or theme which resonates with us? I just read this story and and was profoundly moved. It's beautiful. I hope it will inspire your storywriting this weekend.

Finding Theme

We've been talking a lot recently about finding themes in the books we're reading. I came across this one which seems like a great one. Have you found this theme in any of your book club books? :)

Do you agree?

What Will Your Verse Be?

We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering – these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love – these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me, O life of the questions of these recurring. Of the endless trains of the faithless. Of cities filled with the foolish. What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer: that you are here. That life exists and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” What will your verse be? (Thanks to Prakrit for sharing this Apple ad inspired by a scene from Dead Poet's Society)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome back everyone! Hope you are all rested and re-energized from three weeks away from school. I know I am. What did you read over the break? I devoured Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the end of the Lane, a creepy supernatural book like Coraline but for a slightly older reader. The main character is 7 years old. Actually, he's a middle aged man reflecting back on something that happened when he was 7. I liked it, but that's not surprising since I like most of what Neil Gaiman writes. So, confess. Did you think of your teachers even ONCE during the break? Did you miss us? Can you imagine anything as frightening as seeing one of your teachers while on vacation somewhere remote and unlikely. Well, pity poor Sophia Lesser, one of only a handful of tourists in the picturesque Chateau Gruyere, Switzerland, on the last afternoon of 2013. In truth, Sophia was very good natured about the whole incident, and didn't seem to be disturbed in the least to see her RLA teacher in a small Swiss village named after a very smelly cheese. I know that I was very pleased to see her! Here's the photo as proof. Please note how exceptionally fabulous we look in our cold-weather clothing. :)

Did you see anyone you knew during the holidays? Did you read any great books? Please share your news with us in the comments below: