NYS Test Scores Released

To My Wonderful Students,

For those of you who still wander onto this blog, I know, I haven't done a good job of updating. There is one crucial bit of news which I just learned. Our mean scale score for the 7th Grade ELA State Test is a 675. This is well above the state average and is by far THE BEST SCORE in the North Country for schools comparable in size to Ti (we beat just about everyone else, too, though one school that houses a whopping 6 seventh graders, and another that has just 24 managed to squeak by us). While I take much more pride in the deep, critical work you did all year, as is evident in your journals, writing folders, and handbooks, it's fine to celebrate beating the odds on the state test. We did it. WE HACKED THE DRAGON'S HEAD OFF!

You know I must be excited if I used an exclamation point. :)

I hope you are all having a great summer and I look forward to seeing you in--gasp--just a few weeks.

All the Best,

Mr. Lang

Book Wish List

The link below provides a list of titles students are currently seeking for our classroom library. Used copies are priced as low as one cent and are more than fine.

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/17XS35SGWHTM9/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go

A Scary Scenario

Note: The next few weeks will feature a series of student essays on various topics. Students chose their own issues to investigate.

You come home from school and log on to the computer. You get on your Facebook page and find new message from one of your so-called friends. She’s calling you a bunch of mean names. This is a scenario that plays out every day in America. Cyberbullying is a big problem that needs to be stopped.

What is cyberbullying? According to stopcyberbullying.org, cyberbullying is when a child, preteen, or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen, or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones. It is among the most common forms of bullying.

There are many horrors associated with cyberbullying. An article from how-to-stop-bullying.com recently stated that school bullying statistics and cyberbullying statistics are increasingly viewed as an important contributor to youth violence, including homicide and suicide. Case studies of the shooting at Columbine High School and other U.S schools have suggested that bullying was a factor in many of the incidents. Bullying is getting to the point where people are committing suicide and bringing guns to school, taking other people’s lives in the process. This is going too far. Furthermore, how-to-stop-bullying.com reports that one hundred and sixty thousand students miss school each day because of the fear of being bullied.

How can cyberbullying be stopped? For starters if you can’t say something nice about someone in an email, IM, chatroom, or anyone else on the Internet, then don’t say anything at all and bullying won’t be a problem. Also, safeteens.com urges teens not to retaliate. Getting back at the bully turns you into one, and reinforces the bully’s behavior.

The bottom line is that cyberbullying is a problem around the world and it has to be stopped. You can take action by confronting the bully and telling him/her to stop or by notifying an adult. Don’t be afraid to inform someone because the bullying will get worse. Tell someone before it goes to far.

-Sadie Thompson

Stop School Tragedies

Note: The next few weeks will feature a series of student essays on various topics. Students chose their own issues to investigate.

A twenty-seven year old at Northern Illinois University kills five and himself. A six-teen year old is shot in the leg over music. This is pathetic: what has American youth come to?

There are many horrific school shootings in U.S. history. According to U.S. News, there there were eleven school shootings in 2007, with one of the worst at Virginia Tech University where twenty-eight students and five faculty members were killed. This is known as the worst school shooting in U.S. history. In Memphis, a high school senior was shot by a sophomore; after the shooting he handed the gun to a coach and said, “It’s over now.” Weeks later, a twenty-four year old went on a shooting spree at a church in Colorado Springs, killing four and himself. The shooter said he “hated Christians”.

What causes these horrible tragedies? An article form bullyingstatistics.org states that bullying is a major reason for school-related deaths. There are many types of bullying that can cause this. Emotional bullying is the most common, which is name calling or teasing. Physical bullying is pushing, punching, etc. According to the National Center for Education, statistics show that nearly a third of all students 12-18 have been bullied at school. Most kids are picked on because of their race, religion, disability, or sexual preference.

There are many different ways school shootings can be stopped. School uniforms could be used to stop kids from picking on each other’s clothing. A guidance counselor, teacher, or helpful adult could be a great person to talk to if someone was bothering or teasing someone in any way.

School is a place to learn, develop, make friends, and have fun. Kids getting killed at school is unacceptable. School shootings can be stopped; it is just a matter of who is willing to step up and stop it.

-Brody Rocque

How Safe Are Pet Foods?

Note: The next few weeks will feature a series of student essays on various topics. Students chose their own issues to investigate.

Some pet food companies are harming our pets’ food with harsh ingredients and toxic chemicals. They pack their products with chemicals to attain a long shelf life. Many of these chemicals can lead to cancer and kidney failure. Clearly, there need to be a stricter regulations for pet food ingredients.

There are a lot of harmful ingredients in pet foods. According to Born Free USA, one such ingredient is dubbed “poultry meal,” which is mainly leftover scraps: “In the case of poultry, bones are allowed, so ‘chicken’ consists mainly of backs and frames or known as the spine and ribs, minus their expensive breast meat. The small amount of meat left on the bones is the meat in pet food.”

Often, the meats used are not fresh, since sick or dead animals can be processed as pet foods; thus, the drug or medicine that was used to treat them can sometimes be in store-bought pet food. Some companies even use the so-called “4Ds” in their products as well--dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animals, which can include euthanized dogs and cats. The fat in pet foods is preserved with either synthetic or “natural preservatives” to give it a long shelf life. According to Born Free USA, “synthetic preservatives include butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl gallate, propylene glycol (also used as a less-toxic verison of automotive antifreeze), and ethoxyquin.” Four out of five of those synthetic preservatives, BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, and propylene glycol, are on the top three death-causing toxic chemicals list. BHA and BHT cause liver and kidney dysfunction. Ethoxyquin is a potenial cancer-causing agent. Last is propylene glycol, which is found in many semi-moist dog foods and causes red blood cell destruction.

There are some pet foods and companies that offer good alternatives. Sometimes the more expensive brand is better for your pet. Here is a list of safer dog and cat foods: Nature’s Recipe, Innova, Life’s Abundance, Azmira, and Newman’s Own Organic. When looking for safe pet food, make sure you read labels clearly.

The bottom line is that some pet food companies put nasty substances and harsh chemicals in our pets’ food. Read your labels with careful eyes. Meat should be the number one ingredient. Learn the research about certain companies. Your pet’s life could be at risk.

-Brittany Bruce

Poaching Problems

Note: The next few weeks will feature a series of student essays on various topics. Students chose their own issues to investigate.

You are driving home and through the dark of the night you see a light shining through a field. It settles on a spot and you hear a gunshot. The vehicle turns off the road. The poachers grab their kill and leave. You may not know it, but you likely just witnessed a crime that occurs too much in New York state.

Deer poaching is the illegal harvest of deer by the use of artificial light during the night. The crime involves shining a light on the deer, thus freezing it just long enough to shoot it, killing the animal at its most vulnerable state. The Cooperstown Crier claims that this horrible wildlife crime usually happens in rural areas late at night. Due to these late hours and unpopulated areas, there are few, if any, witnesses to the crime. During just a seven week period, Environmental Conservation Offices were assigned to saturation patrol in targeted rural areas. In that short time, 137 individuals were arrested for more than 250 offenses.

There are many reasons why people poach deer. An article from the Cooperstown Crier also recently stated that the number one reason people poach deer is because they have either had a rough year, or few years, in terms of harvesting deer. Another big reason why people poach deer is because they are just too lazy to spend time in the woods. They just want to get the easy kill, take the meat, and leave. Furthermore, The New York Post reports that some people poach just for the thrill of the hunt. They like the excitement of shooting a deer.

Fortunately, the poaching penalty is getting more firm. About ten years ago, when you got caught poaching a deer, you were looking at a hunting ban in one state for a year or two and a small fine. Now, in 2011, the penalties are getting more severe. A man in California recently a lifetime hunting ban in thirty-one states for illegally killing a bull elk to Oregon. Also, The New York Post claims that an Ohio man is facing six months in prison and a three year hunting ban for killing deer at night while using a spotlight. New York State poaching penalties are not as strict, but if we want to stop this problem our laws need to improve.

The next time you are driving home on a dark night and you see a car stop, followed by a light settling on a spot in a field, what will you do?

-Ryan Trudeau

Deer Jacking a Problem in New York State

Note: The next few weeks will feature a series of student essays on various topics. Students chose their own issues to investigate.

My dad and I were driving down a back road that goes right through a field. We looked to our left and right and saw bloated deer carcasses in the ditch with bullet holes all over them. Deer jacking is a huge problem in New York that must be stopped.
Deer poaching is an illegal way to harvest deer. Poachers use a spotlight to stop deer in their tracks, and they shoot them down like target practice. Many criminals pay no attention to a deer size or whether it has antlers.
Jacking continues to plague New York state. Recently, six hunters were injured in poaching incidents. There were 107 arrests in Catskills and the Adirondacks alone in 2010.

Deer poaching is not only unsportsmanlike, it can also hurt the deer population. Fewer deer make it harder for predators to survive. It turns everything around in the ecosystem. If there are no predators, rodents will overrun the area, then all the vegetation will be gone and the deer may never come back to that area.

So the next time you see a bright light shining through a field at night and hear gun shots, report it to the DEC. This is the only way we can stop the poachers.

-Chase Dixon

Writing Tonight

Working on my not-so-secret epic fantasy novel tonight. Still outlining and diagraming characters. As the snow falls, I hope some of my students are creating something as well--be it a piece of writing, art, whatever--or find themselves stuck in a good book. See you all tomorrow.

Maybe.

Book Review

Why I Fight

by J. Adams Oaks

Rating: ☆☆☆

What would you do if your family lost its home, you found yourself in a homeless shelter, both your parents wanted to kill you, and your crazy uncle whisked you away in the middle of the night? This is the scenario fourteen year-old Wyatt must ponder in J. Adams Oaks's new novel, Why I Fight.

Wyatt's head is definitely spinning as the novel opens. With both his parents furious at him, he has no problem skipping town with Uncle Spade. Unfortunately, Spade's life is anything but stable. He has no home either, and he often dumps Wyatt off at a random girlfriend's house and skips town for days at a time as he attempts to sell various items, including t-shirts to clueless college kids. Fortunately, Wyatt bonds with his uncle's ladies, especially Lanesha, so his basic needs--food, clothing, shelter--are met. Spade doesn't allow Wyatt to get too comfortable in any location, though, and the two rarely stay in one place beyond a few days, choosing instead to hit the next city in Spade's Chevy. Their bond seems to grow stronger after Wyatt's hidden talent is exposed--he can fight. Spade wastes no time thrusting Wyatt into the dark world of underground street fighting in order for the two to turn a profit and have more cash on hand. Despite his successes, Wyatt begins to question whether or not Spade has his best interests in mind.

Readers expecting non-stop action are likely to be disappointed. There is much more here about the vagrant lifestyle of Wyatt and Uncle Spade. While there are plenty of fights, most begin and end rather quickly. There are really no drawn-out, Rocky-style slugfests to be seen. I think this really points to the theme or "so what?" Oaks is trying to get across to readers. He is more interested in the vagabond existence of his characters than he is commenting on violence. There are people who live like this in America--without a home or steady income. Oaks is conveying the harsh truth: this type of existence is lonely, dangerous, and grim, especially when seen through the eyes of a fourteen year-old boy. This story is told in the first person point of view, from Wyatt's perspective. The diction sticks out like a sore-thumb, with Wyatt relying heavily on slang, which in turn reflects his--and basically all of the characters'-- lack of education: "I didn't got no shoes, and my feet were real cold and real dirty" (2). On the one hand, this makes Wyatt seem more real and gives the story a conversational feel; however, I can also see some readers getting distracted, as some did with Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go.

I had one major problem with the way Oaks laid out his story. The reason Wyatt perturbs his parents so early in the novel isn't revealed until the end of the book, which is fine. However, the synopsis on the back spoils what happened. Without this revelation, I really feel I would have been surprised or even shocked when I discovered what Wyatt did. With the novel's only real sense of mystery taken away, I felt let down. I'm wondering if Oaks is angry with his publishers about this. Also, the ending was a bit of a downer for me. There really aren't any explicit resolutions to most of the conflicts presented.

Overall, Oaks has put together a solid YA novel in Why I Fight, even if the book wasn't what I expected. He did a superb job getting to the heart of the vagrant, trashy lifestyle of his characters--in fact, I think the look at this dark element of American culture was downright provocative. At the end of the day, I wish he had tied up a few more loose ends, as well as allow his readers a bit of surprise in learning what Wyatt did to alienate his parents so. Fans of Todd Strasser would be wise to give this one a try.

-Mr. Lang

Book Rating System

As I sit here with a hot cup of coffee before me, I figured it would be a great time to review our five-star rating system for books.

☆☆☆☆☆ Classic--One of the Best Books You've Ever Read

☆☆☆☆ Excellent

☆☆☆ Good

☆☆ Okay

☆ Poor

I just finished Why I Fight and I should have the review online within the next half hour.

-Mr. Lang

Book Wish List

Here is a link to the Amazon wish list of books students are currently seeking for our classroom library:

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/17XS35SGWHTM9/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go

Used copies are more than fine. With shipping, many of these books can be purchased for under four dollars.

Currently Reading...

Homework Updated

The homework list to the right is updated. Be sure to come to class with twenty-five topics on your heart/brain map tomorrow. Also, letter-essays are due Friday.

Welcome Back

The Blog is back...here's some of the cover art from what I'm currently reading: The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

Finished It...

Wish You Were Dead
by Todd Strasser

Rating: ☆☆

I had no idea that Strasser had a new book out, so when I saw this at Barnes & Noble last week, I had to grab it. Unfortunately, this book holds none of the originality and honesty of Strasser's best work: last year's sensational Boot Camp. However, I think most students will enjoy this book much more than I did.

My problem with the novel is the tired old suspense movie formula it seems to follow--a claim inside the dust jacket that the book is in the tradition of Duncan's I Know What You Did Last Summer is unfortunately dead-on. Todd Strasser is just better than that. He shouldn't need to be following in the footsteps of any other YA writer; instead, others should be following his lead. I always felt he was a pretty fearless writer, which is why I find it so puzzling that he would go this route.

The idea behind the story was interesting for me at first. Popular kids from a local high school slowly begin to disappear. The only clue as to their whereabouts comes through the rants of a blogger known only as "St-r-ssd." I liked how Strasser actually included the blog entries themselves. This nicely offset the traditional prose writing.

Maybe I'm just getting old, but I've seen similar stories too often, and they have always bored me to death. There is really nothing original when it comes to what happens to the missing teens. The whole scenario is also quite hard to swallow. I just shook my head several times. I thought characters were only this naive in bad movies. For example, two teens have disappeared, yet the protagonist thinks it's perfectly reasonable to go places alone, like an out-of-the-way horse stable. Would teens still be out partying when two of their classmates had disappeared just days earlier? The characters seem conveniently clueless.

To be fair, I can see my students liking this book. The suspense will probably keep them on edge. Maybe this is because they haven't seen as many bad movies as I have over the years, or perhaps because they get something from this story that I completely missed. -K.L.

Homework List Updated

The list of assignments to the right has been updated for the second quarter. You can see an outline of what we'll be doing for a while.

Currently Reading...

From the author of Boot Camp and Give a Boy a Gun.

Finished It...

Say Goodnight, Gracie,
by Julie Reece Deaver

Rating: ☆☆☆

This is an older novel that had received a lot of praise, so I thought I would give it a try. The story revolves around two central characters--protagonist Morgan and her friend/boyfriend Jimmy. Both are interested in the theater; Jimmy is a mega-talented dancer and actor, and he even gets an audition for Oklahoma early on in the novel. The two have been inseparable since birth, and their relationship begins to evolve beyond basic friendship. A tragic accident changes their plans for the future.

I really liked Jimmy's character. His personality really stands out through his auditions and in the way he playfully picks on Morgan. Other characters are lacking--both sets of parents, Morgan's aunt, and Morgan herself appear wooden and shallow at times. Their responses to the tragedy have a cookie-cutter familiarity.

I didn't like how the climax of the plot is given away on the first page of the novel. I feel Deaver could have let readers know a tragedy was looming without coming out and saying who the victim was and how it happened. I like the way the novel addressed the themes of grief and drunk driving. Those looking for a new take on loss might enjoy Deaver's critically-acclaimed offering, even if it didn't completely thrill me. -KL

Currently Reading...

Apostrophe Quiz Tomorrow

I hope you paid careful attention as we reviewed the rules of the apostrophe today. You have a quiz tomorrow. Be sure to study.