Dear Parents,

We have completed five chapters of Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones.  So far, students appear to be very interested.  We also have an accompanying movie that we have delved into and we discussed issues of safety including:

• Why it is important for one’s parents to know where their child is at all times and with whom
• If your instincts are telling you that something is not quite right, you should listen to them
• Always be aware of how you are to get out of a house, business etc. before entering
• Strangers should not be trusted even if they appear to be extremely kind – wolves are commonly dressed as sheep

In Social Studies this week we discussed the machinations of the impeachment proceedings in Washington.  Specifically, we discussed whether or not additional witnesses would be called and how many Republican senators would vote to allow those witnesses.

We also continued working on latitude and longitude.  After exploring major cities in South America last week we looked at the following cities in Oceania:

• Hobart, Tasmania
• Melbourne, Australia
• Wellington, New Zealand
• Perth, Australia
• Christchurch, New Zealand
• Sydney, Australia
• Papua, New Guinea
• Suva, Fiji
• Majuro, Marshall Islands
• Darwin, Australia
• Brisbane, Australia
• Canberra, Australia
• Dunedin, New Zealand
• Adelaide, Australia
• Honiara, Solomon Islands

In Science we learned about what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct some 65 million years ago.  As Science World teaches us, a gigantic asteroid crashed into Earth near what is now eastern Mexico.  After the asteroid hit, the resulting dust storm blocked sunlight from reaching Earth.  As a result, plants did not grow and dinosaurs no longer could count on a food source and eventually starved.

We also learned about a 15- foot tall pair of lungs that has been constructed in London, England.  The lungs fill with different colors of smoke based on real-time measurements of different air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide.  This gas mainly comes from vehicles burning gasoline and diesel fuel.

We also investigated how football players in America may suffer from brain trauma as the result of suffering concussions during their playing days and what steps are being taken to protect and treat them – something to keep in mind as we tune in to the Super Bowl this Sunday.

Additionally, we looked into how plastic was invented and the many ways in which it is harming our environment – in particular the ocean and its delicate ecosystems.  According to the Science History Institute: In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, meaning it contained no molecules found in nature. Baekeland had been searching for a synthetic substitute for shellac, a natural electrical insulator, to meet the needs of the rapidly electrifying United States. Bakelite was not only a good insulator; it was also durable, heat resistant, and, unlike celluloid, ideally suited for mechanical mass production. Marketed as “the material of a thousand uses,” Bakelite could be shaped or molded into almost anything, providing endless possibilities.

For more information, check out the following link:

https://www.sciencehistory.org/the-history-and-future-of-plastic

 

In Math, we reviewed the metric system and exponents, focusing on millimeters, centimeters, decimeters and meters.  We also looked in to determining the differences between the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales in measuring temperature.  A few facts to remember:

Fahrenheit

Freezing –  32 degrees

Boiling – 212 degrees

Celsius

Freezing – 0 degrees

Boiling – 100 degrees

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at: michael_flynn@platoacademy.org

Dr. Michael

Dear Parents,

We are finishing our reading of Othello today.  We will have an exam sometime next week and perhaps play a game of Othello Jeopardy.  After that, we will begin reading Alice Siebold’s The Lovely Bones as I’ve received consent from each of you to move forward with the book.  We also plan on getting back to our research papers.  If possible, please allow your children to bring a laptop (along with a charger) to school on a daily basis so that we can complete our research.   If you do not have a laptop available, you need not worry as we will find a Chrome Book for them to use

In Social Studies this week we commemorated the 75^th anniversary of liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration camp by viewing a 15-minute documentary which provided footage of the liberation, along with first-hand witness accounts.  The documentary also dealt with the liberation of Dachau and Buchenwald as well.  We also pointed out that while the Nazi atrocities were some of the worst in recorded history, our side committed atrocities as well.  As an example we examined the fire-bombing happened in Dresden, Germany on the evenings of February 13, 1945 and February 14, 1945 in which United States and British bombers killed 25,000 people – most of them civilians.  The Dresden bombing has been viewed by most historians as unnecessary because the war in Europe had essentially already been won and the city of Dresden was an arts center that held no strategic significance.

We also continued working on latitude and longitude.  After exploring major cities in Asia last week we looked at the following cities in South America:

• Santiago, Chile
• La Paz, Bolivia
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Bogota, Colombia
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Asuncion, Paraguay
• Sucre, Bolivia
• Caracas, Venezuela
• Quito, Ecuador
• Lima, Peru
• Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Rio de Janeiro
• San Jose, Costa Rico
• Managua, Nicaragua
• Georgetown, Guyana

In Science we learned about plasma and used a plasma ball to learn about the conductivity of electricity.  Our investigation included the following questions:

• What is plasma?
• What are conductors of electricity?
• Why does the plasma ball light up when touched?
• How is the fluorescent tube lit up when held near the plasma ball?
• Why must you stand on a chair to light the fluorescent tube?
• What does it mean to be “grounded?”

In Math, we looked into the metric system and exponents.  Specifically, we learned that when going from a larger unit of measure to a smaller unit we multiply and when converting a smaller unit of measure to a larger unit we divide.  In particular, we looked at converting the following units of measure:

• Millimeters
• Centimeters
• Decimeters
• Meters

Thanks once again for all your support.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at: michael_flynn@platoacademy.org

Dr. Michael

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

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to the New Year!  May it be a good one for all.

We have begun reading Shakespeare’s Othello this week.  It is the story of an African general leading the army of Venice, Italy into battle against Turkey’s army that is invading the island of Cyprus.  Moreover, it is the story of a forbidden marriage between a Moor (Othello) from Northern Africa who marries a Venetian woman half his age (Desdemona) who also happens to be the daughter of a powerful senator named Brabantio.  Additionally, the story centers around the character of Iago who attempts to manipulate those in his sphere for the purpose of achieving his own selfish goals.  The children really seem to enjoy it so far and have begun to draw parallels to Romeo and Juliet.  We also began playing the board game Othello to compliment our reading.  A special thanks to Ms. Filisa for making the connection between the play and the board game and purchasing the games for us.

As you know, it was my plan to read Alice Siebold’s novel The Lovely Bones as soon as we returned from break.  Before we read it however, I’d like some input from all of you.  As you may know, the novel is a fictional story that begins with a fourteen-year-old girl named Susie Salmon being killed by her neighbor as she returns home from school one day in the fall of 1973.  However, the remainder of the story is about how those we care for never really leave us and how love triumphs over all – even death.

I’ve taught this novel numerous times at this grade level and have found that students embrace it wholeheartedly.  The book serves several purposes in that it:

• Exposes students to compelling, excellent literature
• Introduces them to a protagonist who is their age who lives in a suburb of a large city (Philadelphia)
• Makes students aware that there are a small number of reprehensible people in the world who mean to do them harm who will pretend to be someone they’re not in order to gain their confidence
• Provides examples of what children should not do when being enticed by a stranger
• Provokes thought on what an afterlife might look like
• Makes the argument that in the end there is justice in the universe
• Introduces the reader to a female voice – something we have yet to do
• Has a companion movie

Alice Siebold, the author of The Lovely Bones was herself assaulted as a teenage girl and in part, wrote the novel as a cautionary tale.  The book was meant to entertain, but also to expose a subject which makes many people uncomfortable.  In my experience, parents are more uncomfortable with the novel than their children.  That is understandable, given that it depicts a daughter leaving for school one morning and never returning.  As a parent myself, that was always my worst fear.   It is not my goal to have children fearing for their lives each and every day, but rather to provide them with information that will ensure that they will be as safe as possible moving forward.  We would not refuse a vaccine that protects us from disease because we are afraid of needles.

Let me know what you think.  As I’ve said, I believe this book is a valuable read.  However, we must have consensus.  In essence, all parents must give me the go ahead before we may proceed with the book.  We are in no rush as we have already begun reading Othello.  Thanks!

In Math, we learned about determining perimeter and how perimeter is used in the military, carpentry and urban planning.  We also explored different bases and students were amazed to discover that 9 is the highest number in our universe (ask your children to explain) and how our base ten system is arbitrary.  We also learned about the order of operations.  A special thanks to Alexis who provided us with a method for easily remembering the correct order of operations using the made up word PEMDAS:

Parentheses

Exponents

Multiplication

Division

Addition

Subtraction

In Social Studies, we looked at recent events in Iran, specifically the Trump administration’s decision to assassinate Iranian General Solemani, the Iranian response in bombing American bases in Iraq, the imposing of additional sanctions on Iran by the Trump administration and what is likely to happen moving forward. We also took the opportunity to examine our CIA’s overthrowing of Iran’s elected government in the 1950’s, the installation of the Shah as that country’s leader, his abuses and the revolution that ousted him in the late 1970’s.  We also watched a documentary about the Iranian hostage crisis in which more than 50 American citizens were held captive by Islamic fundamentalists for 444 days who were released on the same day (January 20, 1981) that Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President of the United States.

We also looked into the wildfires that are currently decimating Australia, and what role global warming may have played in both causing and exasperating them.  In addition, we investigated what is being done to rescue wildlife that is threatened by the conflagration.

 

In Science we explored a treetop tower that has been constructed in Denmark as well as a machine that can solve a Rubik’s Cube with a mere 20 movements.  We also learned how the State of California has mandated that school should start later for teens because research has demonstrated that adolescents need more sleep than any other group of people.  Finally, via a special telescope that detects infrared light, we learned that the planet Saturn now has more moons (82) than previous champion Jupiter which has 79.

Take care and have a relaxing weekend.

Dr. Michael