All students and parents

Last night we felt was a great success. Students took the conferences very serious and did an outstanding job. All should be proud. I do not think it could have gone better. Parents seemed pleased as we circulated and chatted, students were explaining and taking responsibility for their grades, and as for the teachers, to see this experiment come to fruition and be that smooth on the first attempt is a testament to the entire community here at ICS.

We have one more night of conferences on Thursday. The Tuesday group set the bar pretty high, but I know you can do just as well.

Thanks for making it such a success.

Mr. Clark

7th Grade Notes

Here are notes for 11-2. They need to be in your notebook. I will be checking.

Climate and Vegetation
Chapter 11
Section 2
What Influences Climate?
• Distance from the Equator
– Runs through the midsection of Africa
– Tropics also run through Africa
– Much of Africa has a tropical climate
– Influences not only climate, but also seasons
• Role of Elevation
– Higher the elevation- colder the temperature
– Irrigate- supply with water from another source
– Drought-long period with little or no rain
– Oasis- a fertile place in the desert with water and vegetation
• Unpredictable Rainfall
– Because of Africa’s size, rainfall varies from region to region
– West Coast and Central Africa get a lot
– North and South get very little
Vegetation Regions of Africa
• Tropical Rain Forests
– Covers close to 20% of Africa
– Lush vegetation and variety of wildlife
– Farming, Fishing, Hunting, Logging
• Tropical Savannas
– 2 seasons- dry and wet
– Tall grasses and scattered trees
– Large pack animals
– Farming(wet season) Trade(dry season)
• Desert Living
– Nomads- people who have no permanent home
– They follow trade routes or migrating animals
– Live up in the mountain regions during rainy season and around oases during dry seasons
– Make a living trading, herding, or caravan leaders
Climate & Health
• Sleeping Sickness
– Tsetse Fly- found in 1/5 of Africa
– A bite can kill a cow
– A bite to a human causes “sleeping sickness”
Malaria
– Spread by mosquitoes
– Moist climates- breed in swamps or standing water

7th Grade

Parents......The students are using you as an excuse to not get the notes off the blog. I know this is not true. I am asking for some assistance. Please check agendas and if they have notes to get help me make sure they are copying the notes. It makes class discussions very difficult when they do not have the notes to refer to.

Students..... you are now a day behind because many of you failed to get the notes. I am running out of patience for excuses. A large number of you that claim to not be able to get the notes are the same students staying until 4 or later in aftercare. School is your job. Your boss at a real job would not accept lame excuses and I will not either. Start taking responsibility for your education. It is disheartening when your teachers and parents care more about your grades than you do. Step up. This is a new quarter and your grade will only be as good as the effort you put into it.

7th Grade

Here are the notes for 11-1.

Africa Land & Water
Chapter 11
Section 1
Regions and Landforms
• Africa has 46 countries
• 5 main regions
– North
– West
– South
– East
– Central
• Each region has several different climates and landforms

• The Regions
– North
• Rocky mountainous, seemingly endless deserts (Sahara, the world’s largest desert)
– West
• Most populated
• Grasslands
• Fertile soil for farming
– East
• Few Plateaus- large, raised areas of mostly flat land
• Many mountains
– Central and Southern
• Flat rolling grassland
• Thick rainforests
• Mountains
• Swamps
• Deserts in the south(Namib and Kalahari)

• Plateau Continent
– Much of Africa is a raised Plateau
– Elevation- height above sea level
• Mountains
– Highest is in East Africa
– Mount Kilimanjaro
• Coastal Plains Edge the Continent
– Dry and sandy
– Marshy and moist
• Great Rift Valley
– Formed millions of years ago as the continents pulled apart
– Rift- deep trench
– most of Africa’s major lakes are in this area

• Africa’s Rivers
– 4 large rivers
• Nile
• Congo
• Zambezi
• Niger
– Nile River
• Longest river in the world
• Fed by the White and Blue Nile
• Tributaries- smaller rivers that feed into a larger river
• Farming along the Nile
– land has been farmed for 1000’s of years
– Over flows it’s banks and deposits fresh silt every year
– Fertile- rich in the substances that plants need to grow
– Aswan High Dam prevents this area from getting fresh silt now….land will become in fertile in time
– Used to produce electricity
– Created Lake Nasser- largest man made lake in the world
– Congo River
• Flows through rain forests of Central Africa
• 2nd largest river in Africa
• 100’s of tributaries
• Fishing and farming in this region
– Niger River
• 3rd longest river in Africa
• Flows north then cuts south
• Fishing and farming
– Zambezi River
• 4th largest river in Africa
• Southern Africa
• Forms the border of 6 countries
• Boats can only travel 460 miles of the 2,200 miles of river
• Used for electricity
• Victoria Falls mist can be seen up to 40 miles away

Fall Break is coming to an end

Well it is Friday morning and Fall Break is coming to an end. I fly back to Indy Saturday afternoon. Everything went smoothly here in Phoenix. I was overwhelmed at the amount of "stuff" my grandmother had pack ratted away over the years. Amazing. I am anxious to get back to school and get started on Africa, and move closer to the American Revolution. The classes start getting interesting from here on out.

Hope you all had a great break and I am looking forward to you all returning rested and ready to learn. 11 weeks until Christmas Break.

My homeroom, congratulations, I am so proud of you guys. Only one F in the class. You all have come a long way from the beginning of the year last year. We have been through a lot and to see you all passing is incredible. Way to go and keep it up! I knew you had it in you.

See you Monday.

Mr. Clark

The family and I had a GREAT time at Mammoth Cave and Cave City Kentucky. We saw a lot of really cool stuff, all of which I have photos of to show you on Monday. I also went to this way cool antique shop and picked up some awesome things for U.S. History. I bought a tobacco spike from the late 1700's to early 1800's. I also picked up a tobacco cutter from the same time period.....how awesome is that!!!!!. To add to our discussions about cash crops and middle colonial farming, I bought an actual cotton plant with cotton buds on it and picked tobacco and brought back some leaves to show you all.

I leave in the morning for Phoenix to lay my Grandmother to rest. She has been waiting a long time for the day she gets to meet her savior and, if you believe like that, she has now closed her eyes and taken her last breath here on earth and opened her eyes and took her next breath in heaven with the Lord.

Looking forward to getting back to school and sharing all the exciting things I got with all of you.

Hope your break is going well and all are safe and having fun.

Mr. Clark

To All

We made it!!!! Grades are done, whatever Power School says is what it is.

The first quarter is over and we made it.

Enjoy your break.....you earned it.

See you on the other side of Fall Break

Mr. Clark