Stuff, More stuff and then its the WEEKEND!

General:

Grade print outs should be ready to go by monday. I've been trying to keep these frequent, and have not done such a great job. Expect more regular checkups in the future.

Parent connect should be fixed and showing all grades now. If you get a grade print-out and it has assignments that are not present on Parent Connect, please let me know so I can fix it.

If you have specific questions about your grade, please make sure to see me between bells, before or after school. It is far too hectic to try to discuss grades during class, or in the last 10 minutes.

Also remember I do make mistakes when entering grades. Please remember to save all graded work that is passed back. If you have a paper with my grade on it, and it does not match the grade on a print-out, then I'll gladly change it. If you simply "remember" that you made a specific grade, then you do not have sufficent evidence and I apologize for the confusion, but the grade stays.

Chemistry :

It was pretty eerie how fast you guys figured out that Straw Lab, I was pretty impressed!

Monday or Tuesday it looks like you guys will be doing the "Spectrum Tube Lab" in order to better your understanding of atoms in their excited states. Reviewing the notes on excited state orbital diagrams might not be a bad idea.

We are gearing up for a test which will most likely be during the following week. We have a few more concepts to cover, and judging by the quizzes, you guys are getting the material fairly quickly, despite all the interuptions we've been having.

UPDATE: I am going to try and test next Thursday (Tentative), so we'll start reviewing earlier in the week. As usual, you can expect a large, fearsome, study guide. Expect it to hit you like a freight train come monday. The Spectrum Tube lab is getting pushed back to either friday or early the following week.

Physical Science:

The Chapter 3 and 7 test was...interesting... to grade. There were some surprising performances on both ends of the spectrum. The test format may change, but this is the "level" you can expect to be tested at.

Judging by the averages, I will be allowing some way of getting points back. It will be up to the individual to decide wether or not they want to take my method, or just do a recovery.

Once again, tests, makeups and recovery are only discussed before or after class. This is the only really practical way to do it, and I apologize if it seems inconvienient. My homeroom is 4B and I will write you a pass if that's the only time you can come by.

Regardless, now is the time to step up and take responsiblilty for your grades. Handle your business, as the saying goes.

Random:

This is one of my favorite poems. I think it pretty much hits the nail on the head. There is a lot of wisdom here, if you listen to it.

"If"

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
--Rudyard Kipling