Seventh Grade

August 16, 2012 (Thursday)

Here it is at last!  Awesome teachers, more responsibility, more things to carry, more things to learn.

Seventh Grade
Seventh Grade

So beautiful!

First Day
First Day of School

My classes this semester are: Spanish, Physical Education, Pre-Algebra, Social Studies and English.

August 29, 2012 (Wednesday) – Back To School Night

[Meeting teachers and learning about her school schedules and the things they’ll learn.  So much to look forward to.  They’ll have a much heavier homework load and will need to be responsible for their assignments, study and projects.  All of her teachers are excellent but I was particularly happy to see one her teachers from 6th grade teaching them English.  Her math teacher is superb!  I’m very excited to have richer and deeper conversations about these subjects – I will try to supplement the course material with documentaries, movies, literature, music, National Geographic magazine articles, visits to the museum and other events.  She’s starting to piece together the music, religion, science, inventions, food, customs, history, events, wars, and breakthroughs of particular periods of our civilization.  The main point is that all these dimensions inform and interact with each other going down through the ages.]

Period  Class
1 Spanish 1A
2 Science
3 Pre-Algebra
4 P.E.
5 Social Studies
6 English 7
7 Choir
8 Advisory 7

 

Daily Class Schedule

Daily Class Schedule
Daily Class Schedule

 

2012 Trek District S

My new ride.  It’s a 2012 Trek District S (52 cm), the replacement for the Trek Soho S that got stolen.  Like the Soho, it’s a single gear bicycle and that means it’ll be really light and easy to carry on and off the train.

My Trek District S
My Trek District S

Another View
Another View

Details
Details

More Details
More Details

We picked it on August 24, 2012.  Rode with Maya R. around downtown Palo Alto.

Continue reading 2012 Trek District S

Tall Ship Summer Sailing – 2012

Aboard the SSV Tole Mour in the Summer of 2012

7 Days at Sea / 278 Nautical Miles

SSV Tole Mour Expedition 534, August 4 – 10 (click here)

Ship GPS Location

SSV Tole Mour
SSV Tole Mour

[They’re sailing around the Channel Islands off the coast of California.  They’ll be learning seamanship, marine ecology, marine science, oceanography – but mostly they’ll be having a very memorable and awesome time.  What a great way to cap-off the summer.  What a journey!]

August 4 (Saturday) : Day 1

The journey begins.  Flight from San Jose (SJC) to Los Angeles (LAX).  It’s just two of us, my best friend Maya and I, on our first air flight by ourselves.

Intrepid World Travelers
Intrepid World Travelers

AMS:

When we got to LAX, one of our counselors, Shannon, a.k.a “Shanananana”, picked us up and we met the other kids who also flew into LAX.  They drove us to Rainbow Harbor, Long Beach where we gave our bags to the Tole Mour crew.  We then got our bunk numbers, our watch group assignments, and got outfitted with wet-suits and snorkeling equipment.

Arrival at Rainbow Harbor
Arrival at Rainbow Harbor

Continue reading Tall Ship Summer Sailing – 2012

Midsummer Mozart Festival 2012

July 28, 2012

Our 6th consecutive Midsummer Mozart Festival at the Gundlach-Bundschu Winery, Napa.  Arriving at our usual time of approximately 4 PM, we were able to get our awesome seating again.

Mozart 2012
Mozart 2012

We met the same older couple there that we’ve been seeing since 2007 (when we started going).  Nice to see the same people year in and year out.  Christina Major was wonderful as usual, I think this is the 5th time we’ve enjoyed her singing!  Took photos with Maestro George Cleve as usual.  One of the nice things about this festival is the accessibility of the artist.

Program II
Program II

Seymour Lipkin
Seymour Lipkin

Christopher Bengochea
Christopher Bengochea

Christina Major (r) and Rebecca Davis (l)
R. Davis (r) & C. Major

Ticket Memories:

Ticket Memories
Ticket Memories

Pellegrino with raspberries
Pellegrino with raspberries

Cozy
Cozy

Menu:

  • Cucumber sandwiches with nova lox, cream cheese and capers
  • Asparagus noodles (courtesy of Robert)
  • Pellegrino
  • Raspberries and cream with chocolate cookies
  • Chessmen cookies (courtesy of Robert)
  • Hot chai
Maestro Cleve with the Two Kids
Maestro Cleve with the Two Kids

Memorable once again.  Long drive home….

Summer School 2012

June 18 – July 13, 2012

LEARNING STRATEGIES IN ENGLISH, MATH, SCIENCE, AND SOCIAL STUDIES

This course is designed to give students, grades 6-8, strategies in note-taking, outlining, highlighting, vocabulary enrichment, listening skills, test taking skills and organizational skills. These skills will be useful to students throughout their academic curriculum classes.

MATH POWER-UP

This course is only open to students entering 7th grade Pre-Algebra who need a review of the 6th Grade Mathematics Standards. Emphasis is placed on reviewing and reinforcing the basic skills needed for success in future math courses. Students will “firm up” their understanding and knowledge of mathematical concepts and procedures and apply these in solving real world problems. Teaching methodologies include direct instruction, small-group and cooperative learning. Manipulatives and technology are used to illustrate mathematical concepts.