Dear Parents,
We have now completed seventeen chapters of Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones. We have also been watching the accompanying movie which differs from the novel in several respects, but is still worth watching. We should be finishing the book either at the end of February or in the first week of March.
On Thursday, we made our annual pilgrimage to see the Windy City Bulls take on the Erie Bayhawks at the Sears Centre in nearby Hoffman Estates. It was a great game with the Windy City Bulls emerging with a 103-93 victory.
In Social Studies we discussed President Donald Trump’s commutation of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year prison term for attempting to sell then-Senator Barack Obama’s Senate seat in 2008. We also began exploring the candidate’s positions on health care and made predictions regarding this weekend’s caucus in Nevada. We also discussed the emergence of Michael Bloomberg as a Democratic candidate for president.
In preparation for our visit to the Illinois Holocaust Museum on March 4th, we have begun watching the mini-series Holocaust which aired on several consecutive nights in the late 1970’s. Among others, it stars Meryl Streep and James Woods. The story follows the plight of the Weiss family, who are Jewish as they are forced from their homes in the late 1930’s and placed in the Warsaw Ghetto.
In Science, we learned about how even animals such as pandas are being given CAT Scans. We also read a story about how a lighthouse along the coast of Denmark has had to be moved as the result of erosion. We also discussed the concept of erosion which occurs when wind and water eat away at landforms. Additionally, we learned about a new type of cast being used to heal broken bones that allows the patient to shower and reduces itching.
In Math, we used our newfound knowledge of rates to understand profit and loss in business transactions, using rounding skills and applying percentages. On Tuesday and Friday, we played the 24 Game. You’ll be happy to know that students are becoming so proficient at the game that they are now challenging me.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at: michael_flynn@platoacademy.org
Dr. Michael