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):

Something to think about as you prepare to come back to school...

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.  You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself.  Make new mistakes.  Make glorious, amazing mistakes.  Make mistakes nobody's ever made before.  Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever."

Welcome back to school - I can't wait for another year of adventures with you!  - Miss Campbell

Back to school.... back to school....

Here are some great little back to school bits of humour for you as you get ready to grace the hallways of Rivier again.  Can't wait to see you!

The past 10 days of my life, in photo form!

It would appear that Blogger is not allowing me to move my photos around freely, so here is an update on my trip to Washington DC and New York City, quite out of order indeed. :o)

Any photo story that starts with a picture of the airplane wing and some clouds has to be a good one!

Riding the metro in New York City with my giant green backpack

Catching a fusion jazz concert at the Blue Note Jazz Club in NYC (SO good!)

I was on Broadway... literally!  What an awesome experience!  I saw 4 shows in 4 days and it rocked my world!  Porgy & Bess, Chicago, Sister Act, and Avenue Q.

Me and a few great new friends at the Capitol in Washington DC

Amanda J's mom met me in NYC and we took a train to Hoboken, New Jersey.  Guess what was there?!

 I got to have my picture taken with Madeleine from "Cake Boss."  So cool!  We bought cannolis at the bakery and they were even better than I had imagined.  A successful journey to NJ after all!

We didn't have tickets to a taping of the show, but here's where David Letterman's show is filmed

Showing off my ticket to Ford's Theatre in Washington DC (also sporting my snazzy new $2 sunglasses)

Ford's Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated

Standing at Strawberry Fields, the John Lennon memorial in Central Park, NYC (I sang "Imagine" as I stood there.... very neat experience.)

Posing with my friends on the stairs inside the Library of Congress in Washington DC

Checking out a NY Mets baseball game on my last day in NYC (just yesterday afternoon actually!)

Posing in a fake Oval Office in a Washington DC gift store :o)

I got to play the piano at the Embassy of Nicaragua in Washington DC!

I also got to plank on top of George Washington's head.  Secretly I know you're a little bit jealous of this one. :op

I attempted to eat a pretzel from an NYC food cart, but it was TERRIBLE.  I took a picture anyway.

I met Raven Symone!  You may remember her as Olivia Huxtable from "The Cosby Show" or as the star of "That's So Raven."  She was the headliner in "Sister Act" on Broadway, so we stuck around to meet her after the show.  Very cool!

Inspired by Mrs. C and Quinn, I bought these "SHUT UP" shoes from Forever 21 in NYC.  Fabulous, right?!  (Oh, and I also got that tattoo this summer on my day off from IMC!)

Times Square in NYC.... sensory overload!

My #1 photo mission while in Washington DC - I did it!  I took all of these photos at the various landmarks depicted on the US dollar bills.  From top left, clockwise: the Capitol ($50), the Lincoln Memorial ($5), the White House ($20), and the US Treasury ($10).  Such a fun project!

So there you have it!  My 2 weeks in Washington DC and NYC were a smashing success!  I also worked for 2 weeks at IMC which, of course, was an absolute BLAST... Quinn is there as we speak, and Rina went for Choir week.  You can ask them all about their experience when we go back to school in September!

Next on the agenda for Miss Campbell's summer: Do a few home renovation projects while I'm in town this week, then I'm heading off to work at a leadership camp called RYLA in Manitoba for 2 weeks at the beginning of August.  Near the end of August I'll be teaching saxophone at the Yorkton Junior Band Camp, then it's back to school to see all of you lovely people again!  I hope you're enjoying your summer and finding some time to relax and hang out with friends and family.  We'll be back before you know it, so enjoy the holidays while they last! :o)