They say that hindsight is 20/20 meaning that when we look back we can usually see more clearly or understand more about certain situations than when we were living through it.  When you look back over the 2007-2008 school year, what do you see more clearly?  What lessons have you learned?

I know that a lot of teams are doing special things to encourage other teams to do well on EOGs which are coming up next week.  MCMS students really do care about each other so much.  Let’s post a great quote or comment to encourage all students to do well on these important tests.  I will start the ball rolling!

“Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was.” Dag Hammarskjöld

Get your rest, come prepared, relax, and do your best MCMS!

One of our families recently had an adventure with a great horned owl.  We would like to pass this story on because apparently soccer nets pose a threat to these lovely creatures and others who hunt at night.

I woke up very early this morning with a sick dog. Just before daylight this morning, Dorothy discovered this fellow in the kids’ soccer net. It’s a great horned owl. We clipped the net to get him to the ground, and covered him loosely with a sleeping bag. He was very tangled up. And with these claws and that beak, we decided to call a professional. We called the wildlife rescue folks and they saved him. I got to help. [It was} really neat. Check out the mitts on this dude!  The lady who rescued it is named Douglass Swanson. She is a specialist for raptors and songbirds. She was pretty cool. After about 50 clips of the soccer net, we had him loose. She tested his wings and checked his feet and we took him to the woods and off he went. If you ever need her services, her number is 728-2939. 

He was around a foot tall. The wingspan was about 3 feet I guess hard to estimate. I wanted to take more pictures, but we were very concerned: he was very stressed. Ms. Swanson estimated that he was a first year bird, and that they often make “hunting mistakes”. We’re taking down the soccer net since we are not using it right now. She said that she has seen them in those before. 

Many bird enthusiasts recommend putting soccer nets away or laying them down on the ground overnight to prevent this sort of situation from happening.  To learn more about great horned owls, click here. 

This will be the first post taken from student suggestions on what students want to talk about on the school blog.  Keep your ideas coming because we will be selecting other student ideas for future posts.

One student commented:

“we really need to talk about lunch and what we want for lunch from the cafeteria. I think we should also talk about the ala Carte and why the prices are so high”

So, let’s talk about the school cafeteria!  What do you want to eat for lunch in the cafeteria?  Should the cafeteria only offer healthy choices or should junk/fried food be allowed?  How much responsibility should the cafeteria have in encouraging students to eat healthy?  Do you think the prices are too high for what is offered?

Remember, if you want your comment to be posted, please be respectful!  Our cafeteria employees work very hard and they do have strict rules to follow on how food is to be prepared and what kinds of foods they are allowed to prepare.  We want to use our school blog as a forum for constructive criticism not bashing others  Thank you!

Wow!  The students of this school have overwhelmingly responded to our blog posts of late.  So, we want to know what students really want to talk about. 

Please post a comment with your idea for a blog post.  In your comment, please put forth an issue you would like discussed on our MCMS blog.  We will select from your comments for future posts on the blog. 

So tell us, what do MCMS students really want to talk about?

Since this is a presidential election year, there is a lot of talk about which candidates will run for office.  What leads people to vote for a certain candidate is his/her stand on certain issues.  Some issues are more important than others, depending on who you ask.  What issue is most important to you?  Here are a few examples:  environment, war, immigration, taxes, civil rights, abortion, gay rights, education, national budget, foreign relations/aid (how we interact with or lend help to other nations), and the economy.  There are others but these are the most commonly talked about.  Is there one issue that means more to you than others?  If you were able to vote this year in the national election, which candidate would you choose because he/she most closely matches what you believe concerning this issue?

First of all, thank you to everyone who commented on the iPod post!  Keep those comments coming!

We here a lot about preparing students for the “real world” and the jobs they will one day hold.  Let’s hear from the students out there about what their dream job would be. 

Now, for your comment to be posted, you must say something about a JOB or CAREER you would like to have one day or maybe one you are aiming for with your education.  Why does that job/career interest you?  How will you prepare yourself for it as far as education or training are concerned?

A lot of students have them.  You see them bopping their head with a little earbud in one ear.  Every time one is produced from a bookbag or a purse, students will gravitate towards the iPod’s owner wanting to see what music or movies are on it. 

While iPods make carrying your favorite music, movies, and games (and even more if you have an iPhone) very convenient, could they be used for more than just entertainment?  Is there a way to use iPods as a tool in the classroom to engage students’ interest as well as teach them a new idea?  

We are very interested in hearing from students about how they think iPods could be used at school to teach something.  Please give us your ideas!

Many people make resolutions to change certain things in their lives at the change of the New Year.  Do you have any and, if so, what are they?

This time of year, it seems like most people are trying to find the most perfect gift to give someone or writing out their Christmas list in hopes they’ll receive the greatest gift ever. 

This writer would like to think that most people try to think beyond the obvious commercialism of the holiday season and give something that can’t necessarily be purchased from a department store. 

When it comes to the greatest gift, I think about meeting a need someone has or giving them something they absolutely love, not because it’s the latest toy/gadget (that they will play with for 2 days and then never touch again) but because it was a dream they had.

I remember singing Christmas carols to the elderly in a retirement home when I was a child.  It was a simple thing but seemed to bring them so much joy.  They enjoyed not just the singing but the conversations we would have afterwards, the hugs, the handshakes, the smiles, the human touch.

How about you?  What is the greatest gift you have ever given to someone?  What is the greatest gift you could ever give someone?