Dear Parents,
We are already halfway finished with our reading of William Shakespeare’s Othello. We are currently finishing up Act III. Students are getting very proficient at comparing and contrasting Shakespearean characters. This week, we looked at the similarities/differences in the characters of Iago from Othello and Mark Antony from both Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra. We determined that both men were extremely manipulative and were highly successful in getting others to do their bidding. We found Mark Antony to be far more noble than Iago, but no less manipulative. We also agreed that while Iago’s motivations were purely selfish in nature, Antony’s (while not altogether altruistic) was largely attempting to do what he thought best for the Roman Empire.
We also watched a 60 Minutes piece which aired last Sunday January 12, 2020 on how global warming is destroying the city of Venice, Italy, largely believed to be one of the world’s most beautiful cities and the setting for Othello. According to the piece, catastrophic floods that occurred in Venice once every 100 years are now happening each year. If you would like to view the piece, please copy and paste the following link:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-blamed-for-higher-tides-creating-uncertainty-for-venices-canals-60-minutes-2020-01-12/
In Science we assembled a four-foot high puzzle of the human body and looked into the function of each of the following:
- Brain
- Heart
- Lungs
- Liver
- Stomach
- Large intestine
- Small intestine
- Appendix
- Bladder
- Kidneys
- Esophagus
- Thyroid gland
- Pituitary gland
- Arteries
- Veins
We also continued our study of how wolf packs on Isle Royale (a 50-mile long island in Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula) have been decimated by global warming and what is being done to reintroduce more wolves into a fragile ecosystem.
In Math we worked on converting feet into yards and yards into feet. We also worked on understanding how ounces, pounds and tons are related. We also conducted a spirited 24 Game which ended in a tie. Furthermore, we took our understanding of pi to a new level by beginning with circumference and finding the diameter of a circle using pi.
In Social Studies, we worked on determining the latitude and longitude of the following cities in Asia
- Mumbai, India
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- Tokyo, Japan
- Tehran, Iran
- Manila, Philippines
- Seoul, South Korea
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Kabul, Afghanistan
- Baghdad, Iraq
- Beijing, China
- Ankara, Turkey
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Damascus, Syria
- Taipei, Taiwan
Thanks once again for all you do to make my job easier. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at: michael_flynn@platoacademy.org
Dr. Michael