Farewell 2011!

It's hard to believe that 2011 is coming to a close.  For my seniors, it means we're almost to your graduation year!  You'll have five short months to finish up your high school career.  For juniors, you're one year closer!  They say time flies when you're having fun.  Hopefully you enjoyed 2011 and have no regrets.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone is enjoying our break from school!

Happy Hanukkah

This evening begins the Jewish celebration of the Festival of Light.  Since most of my students are unfamiliar with Jewish holidays, I would like to take this opportunity to share a few facts.  This isn't simply a Jewish Christmas.

• It is a celebration of the Maccabee's victory over a Greek army that was occupying their holy lands.
• The eight days are a remembrance of the number of days the meneorah stayed lit, although there was only enough oil for one day.
• Children often play games with the dreidel and are given gelt--real or chocolate coins.

A Little Time Off

Tis the season to have a winter break from school!  While I know all of my students (and myself) are looking forward to some time off school, I wanted to remind everyone that our students should follow the JVS schedule.  Our break begins on Thursday, December 22nd.  And, because I know you will miss school, we return on Wednesday, January 4th.

The Annual JVS Food Drive

Every year, the Lorain County JVS holds a food drive during November and December.  All proceeds are donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank and are then distributed to numerous pantries across Lorain County.

All students, teachers, and staff are encouraged to donate five pounds of food each.  If this would happen, the JVS would donate over three tons of food to the Food Bank.  This would go a long way in helping those in need during the holiday season.

It has been my experience that the students of JVS are always very generous during the food drive, our two blood drives, and any other collection held for those in need.  I am proud of all our students are able to do to help make our county a wonderful place to live!

Reminders!

We have a lot going on this month.
**In American Civics, students are researching an influential figure for America.
**In Psychology, students are working on projects for a psychology fair.
**In Computer Applications, students are exploring Google documents and creating their own blogs!

It's a Stressful Time of Year!

Try not to get caught up in the rat race.  Make sure you're keeping a healthy balance of school, work, family, and friends!  Don't allow your assignments to pile up; it's so much easier to simply do the work as it's assigned!

Washington, DC

This week, I am travelling to Washington, DC, to attend the annual conference for NCSS (National Council for the Social Studies).  This is a great opportunity for me to participate in various workshops, visit with other Social Studies teachers, and attend lectures by prominent professors and authors.  I have been looking forward to this for a few months and I look forward to sharing lots of new ideas with my students and colleagues when I return.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I'll have the chance to explore the city a bit while I'm there.