Over the next few weeks, we will be doing some persuasive writing. The best assignments are usually written by students who feel passionately about an issue because they can brainstorm lots of strong ideas to support their opinion.

Here are some issues that students brainstormed in class.

1. Should city pounds be allowed to kill animals?
2. Should women be allowed in the NHL?
3. Should children be allowed to go into space?
4. Should teachers be allowed to use corporal punishment?
5. Should thirteen year olds be allowed to drive?
6. Should video games be banned?
7. Should society use asylums?
8. Should 13 years olds be allowed to work?
9. Should abortion be legal?
10. Should 7/8 students be allowed to join high school teams?
11. Should bullying be considered a crime?
12. Should media be censored?
13. Should school only be four days a week?
14. Should pets be allowed in school?
15. Should people give money to the poor?
16. Should students have less homework?
17. Should gum be allowed in school?
18. Should boys and girls be in separate classes?
19. Should there be less advertising?
20. Should the voting / driving / lottery age be lowered?
21. Should society have a  dress code?
22. Should volunteer work be mandatory?

Later on, you will be choosing a topic that you already know about and feel strongly about. This is not meant to be a research assignment.  Not all topics will be appropriate for all students. Please make sure you chose a topic that you know know what the issue is, and you’re comfortable with discussing the issue.

Please leave a comment below with other topics that students could write about.

E8B / R7C / R7F: The Reading Ravens assignment on Oscar Pistorius will be marked over the weekend.  

• Please type up your response to Debate #2 (Should Oscar Pistorius be allowed to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games). There is a template that you can use. Log into Google Docs > Create New > From Template > Reading Ravens (it’s the last template at the bottom.)
• Make sure your answer includes ideas from the other debate questions, as well as from the four guiding questions that you answered on the Reading Ravens website.
• Hint: Try to use evidence from the text to back up your ideas. (It’s kind of like a persuasive reading response. Try to use “It Says, I Say, And So” in your answer.)
• Make sure you share the document with my Google Docs email address.
• Our Reading Ravens forum will be locked this weekend. Everything needs to be completed before I start marking on Saturday.

E8B / R7C / R7F: Reading Response H (the last one!) is due on Monday Feb 22. If you are feeling overwhelmed in trying to catch up, please speak with me on Monday.

E8B / R7C / R7F: The February Scholastic order will be placed on Fri Feb  26. (R7C / R7F, I will be giving you the TRC flyers when I check your reading logs.)

R7C / R7F: I will be checking your reading logs on Tuesday. Please make sure it is signed and up to date.

E8B: Homeroom Stuff

• Please make sure you bring in your movie field trip money and permission slip if you haven’t done so already.
• Camping Trip: The $100 deposit is due by March 1. Please contact me if money is an issue so we can discuss options.

E8B / R7C / R7F LA:

• Reading Logs will be checked Wed Feb 17. Please make sure you have filled out your logs and it is signed.

Spirit Week:

• Tue 8:30AM-9:00AM – Free pancake breakfast (if you’re wearing Raven colours: Black, Purple, Grey, White)
• Wed – Wear School Colours
• Thu – Wear your favourite Sports Clothing
• Fri – Wear Red

Year-End Camping Trip:

Here is a copy of the letter that was sent home at the end of January 2010:

A successful level of interest has been reached for the year end excursion to Arrowhead Camp. As such we will be requesting a payment for the trip. The total price for the trip is $210.00, which includes transportation, lodging, food and all activities. You have an option to make one payment or to pay in instalments. We are requesting a $100.00 deposit by March 1st, 2010, with the remaining balance due on or before April 16th, 2010. Please send in post dated cheques with your child. Cheques should be made payable to Longfields Davidson Heights Secondary School.

This trip is optional and a regular academic program will be provided for those students who choose not to participate.

The nature of this trip requires that students be able to exercise a certain degree of maturity and work well in group situations. Should these traits not appear evident in the context of the student’s daily activities, parents will be notified in advance that their son/daughter is at risk of being excluded from the trip.

Should you have any questions regarding this excursion, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s homeroom teacher at school. We are also seeking parent volunteers to assist on the trip. If you are interested please inform your child’s teacher. The dates of the trip will be during the first two weeks of June.

LDHSS Intermediate Trip Information Sheet

• 3 day trip to Arrowhead Camp (camp website- www.arrowhead.on.ca)
• Students will sleep in cabins with electricity, plumbing and brand new showers. The male and female cabins are in separate areas.
• Students will have input into cabin assignments (8-12 per cabin)
• The camp will cater to food allergies, vegetarian meals and specific dietary requests. All meals and snacks are included in the price.
• Activities will include canoeing, kayaking, tennis, field sports, volleyball, basketball, fishing, swimming, nature and crafts.
• The camp will have a nurse on site. The hospital is located 15 minutes from the camp.
• Teachers and camp staff will supervise the students on all activities and in the cabins.
• The camp is a nut free environment.
• We will be the only school using the facilities at the time.
• Dates- June 2nd-11th (we will divide into groups by grade)
• The trip provides a great opportunity to experience a unique part of Canada’s wilderness.
• The students will get to choose the activities that they participate in.

Program Highlights

• Tug Of War (Class vs. Class)
• Dance
• LDH Idol (Talent Show)
• Camp wide game of Capture The Flag

Some of you may be having difficulties submitting your work on our Reading Ravens website.

• Sometimes if it takes you too long to type your answer and post your response, the website will log you out because you’ve been inactive.
• Sometimes there are too many users online at the same time and you’ll get a “General Error” screen.

To avoid losing work, please make sure you answer the questions first in a Google Doc or some other word processor, and then copy-and-paste your answers into Reading Ravens. That way, if something goes wrong, you still have the answers somewhere else.

Here are the questions for the Oscar Pistorius assignment:

1. What are the advantages of new technology in sport? What are the disadvantages?
2. Do advancements in science and technology give athletes an unfair advantage? Do they give countries unfair advantages?
3. How does science and technology affect the values of the Olympic Games?
4. As a member of the IAAF, you will make a judgement to decide if Oscar Pistorius can compete at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Mark sheets went home today. (An electronic copy will be sent sometime this week to those parents who have provided their email address.)

You have until Friday March 5 to improve your mark for Term 2.

Here are some ways to improve your mark:

1. Finish all of your work to the best of your ability. (Students who are missing several assignments are at risk of receiving a “R” because there is insufficient data to assess your understanding. If you are concerned because you were absent for a few assignments, please come in and speak with me during second nutrition break and I can tell you exactly which assignments you are responsible for.)
2. Do a great job on the Reading Ravens assignment. I will be getting a Reading, Writing, Oral/Visual Communication, and Media mark from this assignment.
3. Fix the errors in your narrative and hand it in again.
   1. Students were given specific feedback on their narrative rubric. If you would like to improve your writing mark, please fix all of the items on the rubric and check things off of the rubric as you fix the error.
   2. On the rubric, I only listed a few examples of the errors you made. For example, you might be making run-on sentence errors. I might have listed 1 or 2 sentences that contained a run-on sentence, but you still need to go through your work to see if you can find other run-on sentences.
   3. After you improve your narrative, you need to write a paragraph reflecting on the types of errors you made and how you improved your writing. I will be marking this self-reflection paragraph.
   4. I will not remark your narrative unless you hand in 1) your rubric showing that you’ve fixed all of the errors and 2) a paragraph explaining the types of errors you made and how you improved them.
   5. WARNING: If you do a poor job of fixing the errors in your narrative, your writing mark can go down.
   6. WARNING #2: If you are re-writing your narrative, you still need to go through the entire writing process (including all of the brainstorming graphic organizers that we did)

If you have any questions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak with me. It is easier for me to help you if you come in right away. If you wait until March, there will be several students asking for help, and so it becomes harder for me to help you.

Have a great long weekend.