BV school website

Always trying to improve the website, I've been working on a couple of
things the last couple of days.

* About a week ago SOCS updated our template, that meant that you
can now see more headlines on the front page and the navigation
section has been cleaned up a little with "drop-down" menus.
* We totally revamped the "Standards & Benchmarks" page under
District; Curriculum. Lots of thanks to AEA rep. Terri Bush and BVN
Title Reading teacher Alison Leisinger for their help with that.
* It dawned on me that I haven't been utilizing the top banner
position, so I coded-in scrolling marquees to with the Drill and
Basketball teams good luck in their contests this weekend. This will
be a great way to flash important announcements (like cancellations
and postponements due to weather)
* SOCS now offers polls. We could have a different poll on every
section and subsection if anyone has any suggestions. I put a simple
presidential Iowa caucus poll on the front page. Vote early and vote
often!
* And... TaDa! I revamped our masthead. It just seemed like
another way to help Boyer Valley's website stand out from other
school's, not that the in-house graphic designers at SOCS don't do a
great job- but I really like the new look.

As always, please email me anything you think should get put on the site.

_____________________________
Ted's cartoons, artworks, photos, and commentary at:
http://tmal.multiply.com

"The gospel is meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the
comfortable." ~Garrison Keillor

Picture of the Week

Hey staff-

Sorry about being stalled with the computer's not having access to
either the network or the web.
If you'd like, we can go back to the book! Actually we probably will
anyway, so I shouldn't joke about it or use it as an idle threat. But
hey- great job selling ads. We're only around $1,800, and it would be
much better to have around $2,700 or more, but like I keep saying,
we'll have a couple more waves in our campaign.

In other news, the senior class voted to pop for a color section. So,
once our computer lab is in business again, we should select a team to
layout those pages- even without many pictures yet. That's an
important principle of graphic design that we should all learn. Layout
first, then put pictures into it- don't just slap a layout together
after you have pictures. That's not a design, that's an accident.

But here's what I'm REALLY writing you about- Photography. I've
instituted a new feature on the school website, called "Pic of the
week." I back-loaded a picture for each week we've been in school so
far already and unfortunately most of the ones I could find were by
me. Believe it or not, vain as I am, I'd much rather feature YOURS.
So, from now on, think of it as a contest. Take pictures at school or
at least of school people/stuff and let me know when you have a great
one that you think would make a good Pic of the week. Upload it or
email it to me and make sure I know what to look for- write me a note
or something- you know what a flake I am.

When they're posted, you'll see them at
http://www.boyer-valley.k12.ia.us/vnews/display.v/SEC/District%3E%3E%20The%20Archive%20Yearbook

See you 6th hour

Music

Drawing by Sophomore Christine Harriott, PhotoShop enhancements by Coach Mallory

Our post-literate society

A 24 hour moratorium on consumer spending - participate by not participating

This November 23rd, environmentalists, social activists and concerned citizens in as many as 65 countries will hit the streets for a 24-hour consumer fast in celebration of the 15th annual Buy Nothing Day, a global cultural phenomenon that originated in Vancouver, Canada. Read more.

When

North America: 23rd November, 2007
Find out more

Digital Learners

I know, I fail at this too. It's easy enough to use ourselves, but how do we harness it to teach? And I know, if we stopped blocking all these sites, how could we keep all the viruses off our servers and how could we keep the kids from texting and instant messaging all the time, dirty stuff, naughty stuffy, mean stuff, gossip, bullying etc. etc?

I don't knw. But I know we need to do better.

Hey kids,

I've been doing some work on our school's website. It's always a work
in progress; I'm trying to fix some things that we could do better and
add some new things that I've been learning.

Please give it a visit and bookmark it as one of your favorites. If
you're on a school computer, you may even consider making it your
homepage.

How many Boyer Valley students, parents, and alumni do you have in
your email address book? Recent grads in college? Any over in Iraq or
Afghanistan? I've had some tell me that since their Publisher's
illness, the Dunlap Reporter hasn't been able to maintain their
website, so recent graduates come to our school's site to see what's
going on.

http://www.boyer-valley.k12.ia.us

Have any ideas for how we can improve it? Is there anything that you
or your parents feel like you need on a school website? Let me know.
On the bottom of the page there's a "contact our website coordinator"
link, click it and send me an email. The goal is communication. You
can help me make it the best school website around.

Sub Lessons Tues 11/13/07

1. Web Design
Chris Reiz and Chris Groniga should work all hour on their personal DreamWeaver sites. They should both try to get at least 3 pages pretty well done by the end of the hour. —Shawn Pallaya should 1. Help the Chrises with their pages, 2. Go back and work on his Case Problem site, or 3. Use today as a study hall (even if he needs to go to Mrs. Koenig’s to do that).

2. Intro Drawing —
Draw a portrait of each of your three classmates in your sketchbook Should be drawing all hour, but it’s alright if they only get 1 or 2 done- that should mean they are doing their best

3. Planning Period —
Enjoy a break

4. 7th Grade Art —
In pencil, on the 11x14 paper, using a mirror- draw a self -portrait (Lunch isn’t until 11:52) — 12:15-12:32 Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) time. One student per table, SILENT reading.
not homework, not talking, not watering plants- quiet and reading

5. Ceramics —
Continue working on skulls

6. Yearbook
Upperclassmen should either work on the cover design, or help the underclassmen with their pages. “Coaches/Mentor” assignments: Bonnie- Vicki & Kensie, Jamie- Olivia, Cody- Holli & Kenzie, Chris- Miranda & Christine

• Holli- 062 Cross Country
• Olivia- 048 Yearbook
• Christine- 076 Band, 077 Choir
• Kenzie H- 027 MS Volleyball
• Kensie J- 079 Activities Division
• Vicki- 055 Sports Division
• Miranda- 047 Clubs Division

Underclassmen should be working on their assigned layouts in InDesign. If they either finish or are at an impasse, they may use the time as a study hall or may start one of the following pages for extra credit:

• 003 Elementary Division
• 026 MS Football
• 052 NHS
• 056 Baseball/Softball

7. Middle School Cheer —
NO Middle School Cheer today- must report to study hall, Should leave for basketball game immediately after school and look for Rena Hayden.

Help Crawford County Memorial Hospital win an MRI

Siemens is giving an MRI scanner away free. This $1.5 million scanner could be won by CCMH if they receive enough votes for the video they made. Go to www.winanmri.com to vote. You may vote once a day until Dec. 31st.

Difference between conceptual & perceptual

I don't usually like seeing pictures of myself, but I caught a yearbook staffer trying to shoot me during 7th Grade Art and it occurred to me that I may as well be using this blog as part of my teaching portfolio that the State requires. Also a chance to share some stuff with elementary teachers for their professional development and to reinforce stuff that high school drawing students are learning.

To introduce junior high students to the element of design, line and to drawing, we talked about how to accurately draw what you see in real life, you have to overcome the prior knowledge you already have of the subject matter. In other words, to avoid making mistakes, you have to avoid letting your fast working, logical brain from superimposing concepts about things and using over-simplified "clip art."
For example. Our brains "know" that a stool has a circle for a top, and four legs that are all the same length and all on a flat level. Ah, but knowing is not seeing. What we see, is an elliptical top that is way to narrow to ever sit on, and each of the legs is a different length and even a different width. Kids often make mistakes in drawing because they "know" too much about what they are looking at, resulting in distorted perspectives and overly simplified images. Ironically, Cubists like Picasso drew that way on purpose, because they were visually analyzing and abstracting the basic concepts and geometric shapes of things from multiple perspectives simultaneously.

Is this getting a little deep? Maybe the next picture will make more sense.

We "know" that adult humans have 32 teeth. But if you draw a smile with exactly 32 teeth in it, it's going to look ridiculous, because even Jack Nicholson as the Joker in the Batman movie doesn't have a broad enough jaw to show all 32 teeth! Gums and lips and tongue and the natural curve (the "arch" as dentists call it) all conspire to hide most of them. The best way to draw teeth is not to. by focusing on the negative-space around the teeth and the shared edge between the teeth and the darkness of the inside of your mouth, you're much more likely to record accurate perceptions where the size and placement relationships are more correct.

Word Game for Free Rice

A little vocab never hurt anybody!

Test yourself here

 For each word y0ou get right, they donate 10 grains of rice through the United Nations to help fight world hunger.

http://freerice.com/index.php 

This is also a great mind-challenge! Of course, if you want to help and learn more words thereby stretching your vocabulary- instead of flexing intellectual muscles you already have; open http://www.merriam-webster.com in a separate tab or window so you can cheat! Hey, you're still helping people.

_____________________________

Pirate Prayers at:
http://malloryprayer.blogspot.com

Ted's cartoons, artworks, photos, and commentary at:
http://tmal.multiply.com

"The gospel is meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." ~Garrison Keillor

Yearbook; important dates

Remember to get your planned-absence sheets from Mr. Mallory ASAP because...

• Thursday, November 15- Sell Ads

There are also some other dates you should be aware of:

• Friday, November 30- Currently assigned pages due
• Friday, November 30- Cover Design due (Cody & your team- Jamie, Liv, House?)
• Wednesday, December 19- Cover due in to plant
  
• March 31- Plant Deadline 1- 28 pages due
• April 1- Color Deadline- IF SENIORS vote to pay for color, the Senior Section must be in
• June 9- Final Deadline for 2007-08 book

Other stuff you should know-

• Soon, you will be able to do some of the work for the yearbook online. Next week, I'll give you your login names and passwords, and give you a quick tour of http://yearbookavenue.jostens.com
• You may also be interested in Colleen's website, so get ideas and maybe even help that you don't get from me. No password necessary to visit http://www.yearbookexplosion.com
• You can now pre-order your copy of the 2007-08 Yearbook just by visiting the school's website http://www.boyer-valley.k12.ia.us

Don't just order your own yearbook, but be sure to tell kids and their parents, email them the web address, get this out there so people start buying them.

• Yes, we'll go back and review those terms from 2 weeks ago, I'll actually post them here this time, and we'll re-schedule our little vocabulary quiz for NEXT Friday (11/16).
• Hey- I wanna tell you. You guys are doing a great job so far. I really appreciate how you're pretty much all actually diving in and trying to do this layout thing on InDesign. I know you'll probably think I'm just blowing smoke here, but I think that this may be the best yearbook staff I have EVER had. I mean that. I even told Colleen that I thought so. Keep it up!

Drawing a blank to see better than ever

Drawing students are taking notes this week, learning about the correct placement and proportions of features in portrait drawing (see also pp. 168-170 in 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain). Each day we tackle a different feature. Wednesday was eyes, Thursday were noses, Friday will be mouths, and so on through ears and hair. After taking notes they have to sketch the featured features from real life! So, don't feel awkward if someone is staring at you in class, they're just studying your anatomy!

Next we'll deal with profiles and 3/4 Views, then the skull, and back to full-fledged real life faces.

Ceramics; Haunted Houses

Vicki's two-story fixer-upper

Kara's Flintsone's cave, complete with Dino!

Ashley's Dark Tower, notice the bat just below the ramparts!

Just before Halloween, Ceramics students used the slab-construction method to create haunted houses. They are certainly scary!

Drawing; A "real" perspective drawing

Kassi

Zach

Ryan

Last week, Drawing and Seeing students took to the halls with their 18x24" newsprint pads and used the skills they'd been learning about "sighting" angles and relationships, and using a "basic-unit" to record their perceptions as accurately as they could. Their assignment came from pp. 152-153 in our textbook, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

Yearbook; November

• Thursday, Nov. 8, Colleen Arneson from Josten's will be visiting
• Tuesday, Nov. 13 Mr. Mallory will be at a workshop for school website directors
  
• Thursday, Nov. 15, Fall Ad Canvasing Day- get your planned absence make-up slip from Mr. Mallory
• Thursday, Nov. 22 Turkey-Day! Give thanks for a couple of days off of school.
  

Editor/Coaching Teams:

Bonnie- Vicki & Kensie
Jamie- Olivia
Cody- Holli & Kenzie
Chris- Miranda & Christine

Page Assignments

Save pages in "\\Server1\archive\2008 Yearbook\Deadline 01"
if the computer won't let you, please let Mr. Mallory know and temporarily save your layouts in
"C:\2008 YearTech\2008 Yearbook\Deadline 01"
Bonnie, Jamie, Cody, & Chris' pages were due Nov. 1
The rest of these pages are due Dec. 3

• Bonnie- 058-059 Volleyball
  
• Holli- 062 Cross Country
  
• Olivia- 048 Yearbook
  
• Christine- 076 Band, 077 Choir
  
• Kenzie H- 027 MS Volleyball
  
• Chris- 061-062 Football
  
• Kensie J- 079 Activities Division
  
• Vicki- 055 Sports Division
  
• Cody- 057 Fall Cheer
  
• Jamie- 080-081 Homecoming
  
• Miranda- 047 Clubs Division
  

Feeling ambitious? Cody, Jamie, Liv & Chris- gonna get our cover designed? Also- Once you have you're assigned pages done, here are a few others that should get done soon for Deadline 01:

• 003 Elementary Division
• 026 MS Football
• 052 NHS
• 056 Baseball/Softball

Cheerleading Tryouts

Varsity Cheer for Basketball:

• Tryout practices 3:20-5 pm Mon Nov 12
  & 3:00-4:30 pm Wed Nov 14
  (Mr. Mallory will be gone on Tuesday)
  
• Cheer Tryouts Thursday, Nov. 15
  
• Sign-up sheet outside room 219
  
• Please pick up permission forms and Teacher recommendations from Coach Mallory Wed-Fri this week

Click here to download paperwork

Web Design; Bob

Wanna see the website (in-progress) that our web design class has been working on?

http://boyer-valley.k12.ia.us/Bob's/index.html

Coming soon, individual student websites too, maybe.

Web Design; New terms for Friday Nov 9th Quiz

Anchor tags for absolute and relative links (See page 118).

• Absolute Link; specifies the complete path (web address) to a linked page.
  example- "http://www.sitename.com"
  
• Document Relative Link; specifies the location of a linked page within the same web site relative to the page you're on.
  example-"anotherpage.htm"
  
• Site Root Relative Link; specifies the location of the linked page relative to the local root folder. Used sometimes when sites have subfolders within the root folder.
  example- "/subfolder/anotherpage.htm"