A beautiful moment at Rivier today

Google internet scavenger hunt

Exploring the Google Search Engine

Directions: Use the Google Search Engines (www.google.ca) to answer the questions.  Write your answers in the spaces provided below.

1. Enter your school’s phone number including the area code.  Write the kind of information that is returned on the hits page.

Repeat this with another (land line) phone number you know.  What do you find?

2. Enter your postal code.  What type of information is returned?

List one benefit and one drawback to this feature.

3. Type your full name in quotation marks (or your online screen name) into the Google web search engine.  Are you on the web?

How many hits are returned for your name?

4. Go to www.whitepages.ca and click the “Reverse Lookup” tab.  Type your home phone number, including the area code.  What do you find?

How is this feature useful?

What does this feature mean in terms of Internet safety?

Type in a cell phone number including the area code.  What do you find?  Does a landline or a cell phone number return more information in the search?

Exploring more Google features

5. Go to www.google.ca and type define: enigma.  What is the first definition provided?

6. Go to www.google.ca and click on “Images.”  Type the name of your favourite actor, actress, or musical group and see what images you can find.  What websites provided the photos?

7. Type “Rivier Academy” (including quotation marks) into the search bar and click on the first photo hit.  The website from which the picture came is displayed below.  What is the title of the website?

8. Return to the Google homepage.  Click “Maps” and type in your complete address, including city and province.  What appears?

Google maps can be used to search foreign cities as well.  Search the Eiffel Tower.  Name one of the streets nearby.

Search the Statue of Liberty.  What is the name of the island on which the Statue is situated?

9. Click on “News” at the top of the Google search bar.  Search “Prince Albert, Saskatchewan” and list the top 2 headlines.  How recent are the news stories?

Challenge:  “Search is so highly personal that searching is empowering for humans like nothing else.  It is the antithesis of being told or taught.  It is self-empowerment; it is empowering individuals to do what they think best with the information they want.”

–      Google CEO Eric Schmidt

Do you agree or disagree?  Support your answer.

Don Ross - Michael, Michael, Michael

Well, readers of Miss Campbell's Corner, it's Thursday (which, of course, everyone knows is "Friday Eve"), and this Thursday in particular is special for me.  After I catch a Grade 8 volleyball game after school and snap a bunch of pictures for the yearbook, I'm heading off to Saskatoon to see Don Ross play at The Bassment.  If you're not familiar with Don Ross, he's one of my favourite guitarists EVER. I've given some of you his music to use in your iMovies from time to time.  This is one of my favourite Don Ross tunes, "Michael, Michael, Michael" (if you like this and want to check out more of his stuff on YouTube, look up Klimbim - that's probably my second favourite):



So, all you lovely people, enjoy your Thursday.  It's almost Friday.  One of my francophone friends posted on Facebook from Quebec this morning: "C'est jeudredi aujourd'hui!"  I love the word allision between Thursday (Jeudi) and Friday (Vendredi).... it sounds so very hopefully optimistic!  I thought about it in English for a second but realized that "Thiday" (Thigh day?!) didn't sound quite so poetic.  So, happy Jeudredi!

Choir dance planning

Hi Choir girls!  If you want to have input into the dance themes and dates, please comment on this post to have your voice heard.  If you have any other suggestions please leave them in the comments section as well.

Potential themes:

- Halloween costume party
- Masquerade ball (semi-formal dress, masquerade ball masks with jewels and feathers, elegant gloves, etc.)
- 50s sock hop/ice cream shop (poodle skirts, hand jive competition - think the movie "Grease")
- La Fiesta (Mexican theme)
- Out west (cowboy/cowgirl)
- Groovy 60s (daisy flower decorations, bright colours)
- Red carpet affair (paparazzi, photo booth, formal "Hollywood" dress)
- A night at the movies (decorate with film reels, serve popcorn, Mike & Ike's candy, etc.)
- Hawaiian luau (blender drinks with umbrellas and straws, etc.)
- Disco party (70s, disco balls, bell bottoms, round sunglasses, etc.)
- Blackout (dress in all black, decorate with black lights and glow sticks)
- Starry night (formal romantic)
- White hot (everyone wears white)
- Snow "ball" (semi-formal, winter decorations)

Potential dates (these have not been verified as being viable options yet... just brainstorming):

Oct 25th (Thurs - no school Friday) - Halloween theme?
Nov 9th (Friday after P/T interviews) - would need more parent chaperones, as teachers will be tired!
Nov 15th (Thurs)
Nov 30th (Fri)
Dec 6th (Thurs)
Dec 7th (Fri)
Dec 13th (Thurs)
Dec 14th (Fri)

Let's hear your feedback!  If you have other ideas please include them in your comment!

Camp RYLA promo video 2012

Check out the video that I made for Camp RYLA.  This relates to the post I wrote a few days ago about the camp (as part of an IP 10 blogging assignment).

Enjoy!

Things to do on a limited budget

Our newest IP 10 blogging assignment is to create a list of things to do on a limited budget.  This post will be written in numbered list form.  Please remember proper spelling and grammar, capitalization, etc. as you are writing your list.  This isn't as formal as an English essay, but it should not look like a lazy text message.  Be as creative as you want with your ideas; we will be going through each other's blogs in the next class period to comment on these posts, share our favourites, and generally give each other a thumbs up for all the awesome brainpower we have displayed.  Woohoo!

Here's my list!

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1. Paint your toenails like Smarties (a different colour for each of the 10!).  Bonus points if you have an extra toe!
2. Paint your toenails like a piano (white, black, white, black, white, white....)
3. Read a book
4. Clean your room, or a spot in your house that has been neglected for a while
5. Learn to play an instrument.  Put on a concert!
6. Sign up to volunteer at an organization that resonates with you (SPCA for animal lovers, Food Bank for humanitarians, Rawlinson Centre for musicians and actors, hospital for people lovers, etc.)
7. Pick up a new hobby like sewing, crocheting, tap dancing, soccer, speed skating... the possibilities are endless!
8. Plan a trip to your dream destination
9. Write a snail mail letter to a friend
10. Edit photos online
11. Go for a walk in a new neighbourhood
12. Go out for coffee at a new coffee shop in town, or at a place that you pass by all the time but never stop at
13. Experiment with fun make-up or hair colours/styles
14. Go through your closet and get rid of what you don't need.  Donate your used items to Value Village, or have a "swap party" with a group of friends.  Everyone brings their old stuff and you trade each other for things you want.  One person's junk is another's treasure!
15. Organize a potluck dinner.  It'll end up a huge meal for a fraction of the price!  Not to mention the awesome company of your super cool friends.
16. Lay in the grass and watch for shapes in the clouds
17. Take pictures of interesting things.  Little Red has some great nature spots!
18. Update your resume and consider applying for a job (this is a great way to increase your "limited budget!")
19. Watch a movie
20. Tackle that big organization project that you've been meaning to do (cleaning out your binders and putting new divider pages in, finding matches for all of the single socks in your drawer, filing your papers away, updating your iTunes account, deleting old files from the computer that you don't need anymore, etc.)
21. Write a poem
22. Learn all the words to a song you like to sing along to (but that you never seem to remember all the words)
23. Learn how to make friendship bracelets from embroidery thread.  Make a bunch for your friends in their favourite colours.
24. Go on a photo/video scavenger hunt with your friends.  Create a set list of challenges before you go, then (in teams or alone) try to find and record everything on your list.  This is a SUPER fun challenge and costs you nothing, except for gas money if you're driving.
25. Have a relaxing spa bath with bubbles
26. Go for a nature hike
27. Put a blanket in the dryer for 10 minutes, then wrap yourself up in it and watch TV on the couch.  This is the supreme lazy, guilty pleasure for those cold winter months.
28. Make somebody a homemade gift
29. Organize a traveling dinner party with your friends.  One person is responsible for making salads and appetizers.  One is in charge of main course.  Another is in charge of dessert.  Another does drinks.  Travel from one house to the other and enjoy a great meal, with the only cost involved being your portion of the meal and gas money.
30. Go for a run to work off the effects of #29.  :o)
31. Or, just get into your pyjamas and enjoy a lazy night at home.  Putter around the house and do whatever you feel like doing.  Glorious!
32. Go for a walk in a field with a friend and have a portrait photo shoot
33. Learn to bake or cook something new using ingredients that you already have in the house.  If you can't find a recipe that uses those ingredients, start experimenting and come up with your own masterpiece (or culinary flop... that's fun too)!
34. Grab some friends and learn a new piece of music in 3- or 4-part harmony.  Record it!
35. Use your digital camera and your creative genius to make a music video with a group of your best friends.  Pretend that you're a famous band and go for it!
36. Practice increasing your typing speed on the internet
37. Write in a journal
38. Plan a surprise party for someone close to you
39. Find some free attractions or events in your city such as museums, galleries, concerts, or tours.  Acting as a tourist in a place that you know so well may just result in you learning something new about your own hometown!
40. Write a time capsule - a letter to yourself, as you exist today, and seal it away in an envelope marked for you to open in 10 years.  Open it 10 years later and smile as you remember how you used to be.  :o)

Testing adding photos to a blog post

Here are a couple photos that we added during IP 10T.  You can put captions on your photos, choose how to justify them (left, right, center), and change the size of the photo by clicking on it in your compose post section of your blog.

Alto saxophone

Old Music Notes

Jazz Choir favourite standards

Hi Jazz Choir!

List your favourite jazz standards here (in the comments section)!

Terry Fox walk

Here are some Grade 8s displaying the Terry Fox banner on our walk this afternoon.

Here is Terry Fox during the Marathon of Hope.

Terry Fox Week questions

Name: Homeroom: 1. When was Terry Fox born? 2. Which leg did Terry Fox have amputated? 3. What amount of money did he hope to raise? 4. How many days did he run for? 5. What was Terry Fox's favourite hour to run at? 6. What was the last province he ran in? 7. When did Terry Fox pass away?

Smile On Music Video

Here is a music video that I created with my friends at International Music Camp this summer.  The song is "Smile On" by Anthems and can be downloaded for free from the San Diego tourism website.

Enjoy!

"My Countdown" IP 10 blog assignment

Our IP 10IC blog post assignment for today is to create a countdown widget on www.mycountdown.org, post it to your blog using the "Add a gadget" tab (under "Layout") and copying the HTML script from the bottom of the My Countdown website after you've customized yours.

Once you have successfully added a countdown to your blog, the writing assignment is to explain why you are counting down to said event.  Maybe you are looking forward to a birthday or a family gathering.  Maybe it's to a concert or another social event.  Maybe it's a vacation or a trip somewhere.  Whatever it is that you're counting down to, give your readers some interesting information about why you've chosen to count down, what you're looking forward to, special features or interesting facts about this event (if applicable), its importance, etc.

I'll start.  :o)

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I am counting down to Camp RYLA, which runs for the first 2 full weeks of August each summer.  RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and is basically a Rotary-sponsored summer camp at which students learn and develop leadership and teamwork skills.  There are 2 weeks of RYLA each year; one week is for junior students (ages 12-14) and the second week is for senior students (ages 15-18).  RYLA is held at the Anglican Church Camp in Clear Lake, Manitoba, near the small town of Onanole (north of Brandon).

I was a student at RYLA for one week in the summer of 2000 (I was 15).  As I grew older and was looking for summer employment during breaks from university, I ended up working for many years at International Music Camp in North Dakota (where I still spend part of my summer each year), and RYLA fell by the wayside.

Fast forward 11 years, and picture me sitting on the couch in the fall of 2011.  I was looking for a new summer camp experience, and I decided to apply for a job as a counsellor at Camp RYLA.  Long story short, I applied, and I was hired, not as a counsellor but as the camp facilitator.  I would be in charge of running the entire camp.  What a neat but scary opportunity!  I also ended up being sent to Washington DC for a conference to get me prepared for RYLA, courtesy of our Rotary District 5550.  Double score!  I had an amazing time in DC and came back ready to roll with Camp RYLA at the beginning of August.

I had no idea what was in store for me at RYLA, but I quickly became comfortable with my new coworkers upon arriving at the camp in Riding Mountain National Park (Clear Lake, Manitoba).  They were friendly and welcoming, and we became friends instantly!  We got things organized on that first night, ready for campers to arrive the next day.

To sum up my experience at RYLA, in those two weeks I met some of the most amazing young people I've ever known.  They reminded me of so many of my Rivier students: mature, responsible, fun, intelligent, well-spoken, open, caring, hilarious, up for new adventures, and ready for a challenge at every turn.  We took part in leadership and team building activities such as "Low Ropes" (the human ladder, tarp flip, and team bundle race), making fruit kebabs under set leadership styles (dictatorship, democracy, consensus, etc.), a "Strong (Wo)Man" competition where teams had to create a free-standing humanesque structure to hold a barbell fashioned out of 2 apples and a pencil, etc.  Every evening we'd have planned events.  Some highlights were the photo/video scavenger hunt, the dance, RYLA's Got Talent, and my personal favourite, THE AMAZING RACE!  Everyone had an amazing time, and we ended off each week with a special campfire where we did "kudos."  Kudos consisted of going around the campfire and letting everyone have their moment to talk about their camp experience, thank the people that made a difference in their lives that week, and to say whatever they wanted to say on their last night at camp.  At the end of their speech they'd take a handful of flour (yes, all-purpose flour from the kitchen) and throw it on the fire.  It would explode and sparkle!  It was definitely a neat bonding experience on our final nights at RYLA.

I am so excited to go back next year.... and this time, I hope I can bring Rivier students with me!

To Brenna

To my dear Brenna, on the day of her wisdom teeth extraction:

I was going to post step-by-step instructions for you on how to set up your blog, but upon going through this with the class, I realized that the set-up process looks different for different people for some reason.  It would be better if we could just sit down and go through the process together when you're back to school.

In any case, I hope you're feeling better than these people (and I wouldn't suggest keeping your gauze in with an undergarment.... it's socially awkward and probably not super comfortable).  See you when you're all healed up and good to go again!

News Broadcast outline

Comp 9 News Broadcast iMovie Outline

Create a (roughly) 2-minute news broadcast using the “News” template from iMovie ’11 (due date TBA). The following guidelines should help you on your way:

Length of project:

·               You must profile at least 4 “news” stories (they can be real or completely fictional as long as they are school appropriate, relevant, and interesting to the viewing audience)

·               Aim for a finished broadcast of approximately 3-4 minutes (30 seconds to 1 minute per story) – this means be concise and efficient with your news coverage, as this time will pass by very quickly!

Audio and sound effects:

·               Make use of the iMovie jingles (audio files).  Ones to check out: “Broadcast News” short, medium, and long.  There is also a “Vintage News” jingle but it doesn’t fit with the contemporary template that we are working with.  Play around in the jingles section and see if anything else fits your project.

·               You can alter video clip audio by double-clicking the clip in question and then the “audio” tab.  You can drop the audio out entirely by dragging the volume toggle all the way to the left (0%).  This is helpful for the clips in which you want the news jingle to be playing over the video in the background.

·               Feel free to add sound effects if they enhance your newscast.

News story considerations:

A news story has very little time to catch its audience’s attention, deliver the facts, and move on.  Here is a checklist to run through with each of your mini-stories:

·               Do I have an attention-grabbing opening sentence that indicates the topic of my news story in an engaging manner? (I.e. Use “Mother Nature has struck again, this time in the form of a devastating hail storm just outside of Vancouver ” rather than “There was a hail storm in Vancouver yesterday,” etc.)

·               Do I identify the location of the story?  Date/time of day if applicable?

·               Do I personalize the story by explaining who is affected by this event and/or how they are affected?

·               Do I inspire the viewer to take action, if appropriate?

·               Am I using language that is professional, exciting, and descriptive, or do I sound like I’m having a casual conversation with a friend?

·               Am I covering all of the content in a time-efficient manner?

·               Do I provide “on-the-scene” coverage of the events to engage the viewer, or is my entire broadcast just video footage of me talking?

·               Have I provided a variety of stories with a variety of emotional content?

Have fun, and be creative.  Happy reporting!

Band handbook

To all band students, grade 7-12:  Your band handbook "acknowledgment form" is now due.  Please bring it to me asap with a parent/guardian signature as well as your own signature and the date.  You can now begin to practice your instruments and record your time on your Record of Achievement (practice) charts for September.  Just a reminder that you are required to practice a minimum of 60 minutes per week to achieve 100% on your practice charts.  Just 20 minutes, 3 times a week, will get you there!

Jazz Choir and Senior Choir both rehearse today.  We are already developing a nice sound after our first couple of rehearsals.  It's very exciting to imagine what we will sound like by our Christmas concert!  Let's start thinking of items for Variety Night as well.  Any individual acts should start brainstorming, as Variety Night will be here before we know it (mid-October).

Happy Monday!

Timetable assignment

Today you will be creating a timetable for your class schedule in Microsoft Word 2011.  Here's a step-by-step guide to follow if you missed class today, or if you forgot how to complete a certain task:

1. Open Microsoft Word (located in the Microsoft Office 2011 folder in your Applications)
2. Choose a blank word document and open it.
3. Click "Layout" on the grey bar, next to "Home."  Change the orientation of your page from Portrait (vertical) to Landscape (horizontal).
4. Insert a table by clicking "Table" (on the very top toolbar at the top of your screen) and selecting "Insert" and "Table."  Create your table with 7 columns and 16 rows.
5. In the top left cell, type "Time."  In each subsequent box in that row, type "Day 1," "Day 2," "Day 3," etc. (up to Day 6).
6. In the column underneath "Time," type in all of the times found on your agenda timetable (see example below for class and break times - click to enlarge).
7. Starting in the second row, second column (next to the 8:50-8:57 time slot), highlight all of the cells in that row, right to the end.
8. Click "Table" and select "Merge cells."  This makes the entire row into one cell (not including the time cell).
9. Do the same for the next row, beside the 8:57-9:00am time slot.
10. Fill in the text "Homeroom/Prayer" in the first merged cell, and "Announcements" in the second.
11. Using your knowledge of how to merge cells, merge all cells for class changes, lunch hour, and homeroom.
12. Fill in your class schedule in each of the remaining cells.  To space them attractively, leave one Return (Enter) line above and below the subject name.  Center the text in each subject cell by highlighting the text and typing Apple (Command) E on your keyboard.
13. If you wish to change the colour of your cells, highlight the cells you want to colour and select "Format" from the very top menu at the top of your screen.  Choose "Borders and Shading."
14. In the "Borders and Shading" menu, click the "Shading" tab and choose your colour.  If you don't want to use any of the pre-designated options, click "More Colours" and use the colour wheel/slider to find the perfect colour.  Click "ok" and your cell should be coloured.
15. Don't forget to save!  Using your keyboard, the shortcut Apple (Command) S will save your document.  Please label it with your last name first, and the file name "Timetable" (i.e. Campbell, Timetable).  If there is another student at Rivier with your last name, please use your first initial as well (i.e. Campbell, L Timetable).

Example of student work on this assignment (click to enlarge):