Mr. Black got married!!!

On June 20th, I got married to Rachel Crooks (now Black). She teaches kindergarten at Frankstown Elementary, which is one of Hollidaysburg's elementary schools. Our wedding was awesome and everything turned out well. A few days later we went on our honeymoon to Fort Myers, Florida. If you get a chance to check it out on Google Maps you should. It was a really nice area and we saw a lot of different animals and plants. We also got to eat a lot of really great food. We saw the Wizard of Oz at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater. If you want to work on your "Googling" skills, you could check out their website to see all the new shows that will be going on there. The next show that was going to be on after Wizard of Oz is High School Musical. I know a bunch of you would probably enjoy that. We also got to go out on an airboat and see alligators. Finally, the last major highlight was when we went on a jet ski tour to see dolphins. Seriously, if you are bored take some time to read up on alligators and dolphins. Maybe you can even look up the difference between gators and crocodiles and post a little summary of what you find. I would love to hear what all of you have been doing so maybe you can comment letting everyone know how your summer is going. It will be over before you know it!!!! Now that things have calmed down a little I will try to make a few more posts. If any of you read this be sure to pass it on to your classmates. I have a feeling Parker will check it out!

School's Out for Summer...

School may be finished for a while, but you don't have to stop learning. Keep up to date with things this summer as I hope to make about 1 post per week. One of the first things I want to update you on is a link to some pictures of the Envirothon, the class trip to Baltimore, and Track & Field Day. Miss Sollenberger took all of these pictures and I uploaded them to the internet so you could all check them out. I have also added the link to the right side of this page. There are over 200 pictures, so check them out!

http://community.webshots.com/user/nbcgrade6

You can keep in touch if need be by emailing me at gblack@nbcsd.org.

End of the year is upon us...

Well, well, well...

We are just about finished with the 07-08 school year and summer is just around the corner. What were some of your favorite things about sixth grade? Best memories? Just comment and tell your story as long as it is appropriate!

Memorial Day...

On the last Monday every May, Americans observe Memorial Day. Take a few minutes to read about this day so you have a better understanding about what it is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

Also, I'd like anyone who reads this and has a relative who is in or has served in the military to post a little somthing about him or her. Memorial Day is more of an observance for people who are no longer living but there is no reason not to celebrate those that are still with us today as well.


Here are a few of mine:
Grandfather-
Edward Holesa, served the US military in the Korean War

Uncles-
Mike Price, Vietnam veteran (received the Silver Star for his actions in battle)
Jim Pepple, served in Desert Storm

Brothers-
Step-brother, Terry Bush has served in the US Navy for over 15 years and has been overseas
Brother-in-Law, Jason Salas recently completed basic training (Air Force) in San Antonio


Another option for commenting is to post about which branch of the military you would want to be a part of and tell why.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the weather, but take some time to remember why we are off school on this day.

Create-a-Country Projects...

It has been a few weeks since my last post, but I figured now would be a good time to start gathering feedback from you on this project. I was hoping you would comment with your thoughts and feelings regarding your favorite parts of this activity as well as listing things you would like to see changed. Remember that you will be presenting on Monday! I'm really excited to see all the interesting things you have come up with!

Have a great weekend... Hopefully, you can find a way to enjoy all this rain we are getting :)

What do you want to know about Japan?

Wednesday and Thursday of this week, you will be searching the internet to find out all sorts of interesting information about Japan. It is your chance to learn about whatever interests you the most. Maybe you want to know about Japanese food, cars, art, music, sports, history, and on and on. Whatever it is you want to know about you can research today. I want you to look for at least 3 facts, summarize them on an index card (no copy and paste allowed!), and then post it as a comment to the blog.

Here are some sites to get you started:
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/ (look under LEARN on the left side of the page)
http://www.uni.edu/becker/japanese.html
http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/WorldGeography/Japan/Japan.htm
Finally- http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/wes/webquests_themes/japan_theme/japan_theme.html
(There are links on the right you may want to look at as well.)

If those aren't what you are looking for you can search on Google. Just be sure you are specific in your search and that everything you are looking up is appropriate. I did a search for "Japan for kids" and found all sorts of great stuff, so I know that search will work.

Have fun in your search....

Adverbs...

We've been learning about ADVERBS in my English class, so I decided now would be a good time to add the Schoolhouse Rock version of adverbs... ENJOY!

Bridge to Terabithia...

This week after PSSA's we watched the movie Bridge to Terabithia. One movie was made in 1990 and the other was created in 2007 by Walt Disney. The newer movie was a big hit and most of you really seemed to enjoy it.

Time to BLOG! I want to see you create an alternate ending to the movie that would change the story. It will take some writing and some extra time, but this could be pretty neat. Start creating your new ending at the point where Jess gets invited to go to the art museum with his teacher. I am excited to see the new endings you come up with. Hopefully we get a couple so we can discuss our favorites. Let's see some comments!!!!

In search of facts about Siberian Tigers..

Comment with any information you can find about Siberian Tigers. I'll post some of the better stuff you guys and gals find! I know we've moved on from Russia, but there is no reason to stop learning about things you might find interesting.

POETRY!

Since we are writing poems about Russia, I thought it would be fun to give you guys and gals some poetry to read. http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poemcategories.aspx is one of my favorite websites for funny poems. Check it out!

I thought this one by Robert Pottle was pretty good. It is called "Gotta Go".

I gotta go! I gotta go! I’ll ask the teacher first.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I think I’m gonna burst.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I’d better raise my hand.

I gotta go! I gotta go! But maybe I should stand.

I gotta go! I gotta go! My hand is raised up high.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I hope my pants stay dry.

I gotta go! I gotta go! I’m really in a bind.

I gotta go! I gotta— Uh-oh. Never mind.