Hydroxy Cut

I rarely post things that are not related to the class, but I thought that this might affect some of my students. According to the FDA, you should stop using all Hydroxycut products immediately. 

Here is the article from CNN.com. 

Random Updates

Since some of you do read the blog regularly, I have decided to post a few things that I found interesting today.

As some of you know, I love the Muppets. I found this article on CNN.com about Jim Henson's inspirations for some of his greatest characters. Very cool.

I also found this article about Marvel releasing motion comics for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. If you are familiar with the Watchmen, DC has already released a motion comic for the entire series (a bit pricey, in my opinion-- but they are great!).

I will be giving 3 bonus points to the first person from each of my classes that can identify the muppets in the above picture [the lobster's don't have specific names]

Good Luck!

New Kindle from Amazon!

Students,

While I am not entirely sold on the device for my everyday use (since I make so many annotations in my books) I do really like Amazon's Kindle (if you don't know what it is, you can think of it as an iPod for books).

Here is an article on the new version of Kindle that was released today. I think that some of you might find it interesting.

This device intrigues me, not because of the current applications, but because of the future applications. Wouldn't it be great to have all of your textbooks on one electronic device? Instead of going to the college bookstore and spending hundreds of dollars on textbooks, one day you might be able to download them wirelessly for a fraction of the cost! Very cool.

Of course, if the Kindle catches on, I might be making fewer trips to Half Price Books!

Terrible Towel Challenge

Update: The window of opportunity for this bonus has closed. Thank you to all of the students that sent pictures in! I will leave the pictures up as a way to celebrate our Super Bowl Championship. Way to go Stillers!

Mr. Cullen

In anticipation of the Stillers Super Bowl victory, I am going to offer students a chance to earn up to 3 bonus points for finders pictures of Terrible Towels in random places around the country or world. Pittsburgh and Tampa don't count. I will give bonus points based on how crazy/awesome the location of the Terrible Towel is. You can email me the picture and I will upload it to this post.

For example, here is the Terrible Towel at the International Space Station.

and here is a picture from www.postgazette.com:

Good Luck!

Update: submitted pics as of 1/28:

Sophmores: Anthem

Sophmores,

As promised, here is the information pertaining to our reading of Ayn Rand's Anthem. On this post you will find study guides and the vocabulary handout. If you have any questions about the book, please feel free to post a comment (I am sure that another student may have the same question!).

Chapter 1 Study Guide (Due 1/28). Please write out the answers to these questions in your journal.

Vocabulary List You will have a test on the first 12 words Friday (1/30) after your 4-Sight test.

Left your book at school? Here is a full-text version of Anthem (not easy to read, but you can still do your homework!) 

Sophomores: Test on Wednesday 10/1

This is just a reminder that there will be a test the Wednesday. The test will be on everything that we have done with plot structure so far this year.

For the test, you should be able to do the following:

1) Identify the parts of the "class plot structure diagram" (see picture above)

2) Complete the "plot structure analysis" worksheet (the one we have been using in class) on a story that you have never read before.

3) Answer questions about the three stories we have read thus far (Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets, The Leap, and The Pedestrian)

If you would like to sign a book out to re-read the stories, you may do so in class on Tuesday. If not, you should study the plot structure worksheets that I have handed back to you.

If you have any questions about the test, please post them here on my blog.

Problems with Family Access?

I have heard from some students that their parents are having problems with the Family Access portal in Skyward. Here are some helpful links that should answer your questions:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Login Trouble?

System Requirements

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will try my best to answer them.

Sophomores: 5-Paragraph Writing Due 9/11

As the title indicates, your 5-Paragraph writing assignment (that we wrote last week in the library) is due on Thursday, September 11th. Please have the paper printed out and ready to turn in at the beginning of class. Remember to use size 12, Times New Roman font and double space the final copy.

If you have the rough draft that I made comments on, please include it with the final copy. If you have any questions, please feel free to either email me or post a comment on the blog.

Welcome to Another Great Year!

I hope that you are excited for the new school year as I am! While some of you are returning students (and familiar with my blog), others have never used it. The blog is pretty simple: I post things that we did in class and what is due for the next day (or next week). 

First and foremost, I would like your parents to sign up for the "parent portal"  using the instructions that were mailed to them. The "parent portal" on Skyward will allow your parents to access your current grade and grades for all of the assignments that you have completed. 

Once your parents do this, they can email me through the portal, my blog, or my email address to say that they have done so. Once I receive this email, I will add 2 bonus points to your grade.