The Google Calendar!

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  You are about to officially finish the second week of the school year and as a reward you get a 3 day weekend :)!  Well, actually, you get Monday off because our government decided that each year, on the first Monday in September, there would be a day off to recognize the contribution workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country.

Okay, enough about that.  Yesterday we set up a Google Calendar together.  From what I could tell, it was a first time for many, if not all of you!  What do you think of the Google Calendar?  Do you think it is something you could use?  Is there someone you can think of besides yourself who it would benefit?  If you do use it (or if you were forced to use it), name three things that you believe it would be most useful to you for?

Thanks!  We'll keep pushing forward in just a moment :)

Mr. Rubin

p.s. As soon as you complete this blog, please work on Edutyping lesson 2.2

Class Assemblies

Good Morning  -

For our blog post today, I would like you to reflect on the school assembly from Monday.  Obviously there were a lot of rules outlined by our vice principles.  If you were in charge of running the school, what would be the 3 most important rules that you would insist on enforcing to ensure the school runs smoothly?  What would you list as the 3 most important rules needed for a classroom to run smoothly?  Are these rules the same or different and why?

Finally, the school has invested a lot of money into providing planners for all students.  List three ways you can/will use your planner and how you feel it can help you be successful during this school year!  Are there other ways that you stay organized?  If so, explain any of the tools you use in addition to/instead of your planner.

Thanks for your thoughtful response!

Happy First Block Day!

Week 1 - Complete

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  When you leave school today you will have officially made it through the first week of the 2013-2014 school year!  For today's post, please briefly highlight what you have planned for this weekend.  Then, I would like you to take a moment and reflect on the classes you have this year.  Which class are you most excited for? Why? Which class do you think will be the most challenging? Why? Is there anything that you plan to do over the weekend to make sure you are as prepared as possible as things start to move a little faster next week?

Thanks for taking your time to write a thoughtful response!  We will get started as a group momentarily!

Using Google!!

Good Morning and Welcome to day 3!  Today we will begin our first unit of the school year.  This unit will be focused on Google!!  For today's blog please write a short paragraph about all of the things that you know Google can do for you.  For example:  We all know that Google is a fantastic search engine. You could write:

Google is a search engine that can help me locate information and images for school or personal use.

Let's see what type of list we can compile as a class :)  Ready, GO!

All About Me - Blog Post 2

For our second blog post, it seemed appropriate to design something that would allow both myself and the rest of the class to learn something about you. Give a brief introduction of yourself including your name and then answer the following questions thoroughly.

Please write about your:

• strongest personality traits (outgoing, caring, social)
• things you spend the most time doing outside of school
• One thing you really enjoy doing
• Goals you have set for the year
• How are you going to achieve those goals.
• How do you learn best? i.e. how can I help you achieve those goals.

As part of this assignment we will include a picture of yourself.

Here's an example:
bout Me

My name is Christopher Rubin.  I was born and raised here in the Menlo Park area and attended Menlo-Atherton High School from 1993-1997.  After graduating from M-A I went to UC San Diego where I majored in Psychology and Philosophy and played competitively for the Men’s Water Polo team.  As we begin the 2013-2014 school year, this marks my 13th year as a teacher. A big part of my time at M-A has also been spent coaching the girls water polo team.  I finished my 11th season as girls water polo coach last year and am looking forward to taking on a supportive role this year (in the stands).

On a personal level, I just celebrated my 2 year anniversary with my wife Laurin who also happens to work at M-A.  Our current family consists of the two of us, our 5 chickens, 4 rabbits, 2 kittens and 2 pygmy goats.  We both love to cook, work in the garden and ride our beach cruisers.  This past summer was probably one of the most relaxing either of us have ever had.  We spent time with friends and family, spent time enjoying the area and, as usual, watched some great Earthquakes soccer games. 

I’m looking forward to meeting each of you as we begin the year and hope this gives you a better idea of who I am as we get started.  On campus, in addition to my role as Academy Coordinator and Mentor Coordinator I also teach 10th grade Computer Applications and 12th grade Government and Economics.  I am looking forward to a fun, fast paced academic year.  In addition to covering core academic standards in my classes I hope to equip each student with the skills necessary to succeed in our world today.

Preparing for the First Day of School

Good Morning and Welcome back to M-A!  Today we are going to begin our year long blog.  This blog will not only provide a good opportunity to use technology, but is a great way to track our course throughout the year, your thoughts on a variety of issues and general information along with a fun opportunity to learn a little about your classmates.  Each day we will begin with a new topic.  Your blog will consist of your opinions, information and more and will be updated (typically) 4 times each week.  For today the question is simple.  How did you prepare for the first day of school?  Did your preparations begin just today?  This morning? Perhaps it began a week ago.  In addition, how do you feel today as school begins.  What are some things you are hoping to achieve this school year?  With each blog post, you are required to include one picture that represents your post.  Obviously, given that today is our first post, if you need help with this, don't hesitate to ask!

Welcome Back Again!! Let's have a great 2013-2014 School Year!