Upcoming events: Video Game Carnival

In just two weeks, Milwood Magnet School and the MMS Parent Advisory team will host its first video game night!



We are still looking for volunteers to lend their Wii and a game, their time, or resources for the evening, which will be May 15, 2009 from 5:30 - 9 pm. If you're interested, please contact Mary Hoyle at the school.

Earth Day 2009

In honor of Earth Day 2009, we have compiled a few resources to better help you and your students help the environment.

What is the importance of Earth Day and what does it mean to us?

Did you know...

38% of kids feel that the U.S. needs to improve what they're doing to protect the environment.
53% of kids feel that the global climate change is the most important environmental issue facing the world today.
47% of kids most admire a world leader who makes the environment a priority.
51% feel that their communities could better help the environment by using solar panels on new public buildings.
66% feel that it is the environment is their responsibility.

Source: Scholastic's 2009 Environmental Report Card

A few websites with fun environmental activities for you and your family:
Earthdaytv.net: lots of videos and information on Earth Day.
Waste Management's ThinkGreen.com for students grades 6 - 8.

How much energy do your appliances consume when they're not being used, but still plugged in?
Standby Power will show you the watt usage for many common appliances.

Opening today in theaters:
Disney's Earth follows three animal families around the planet and shows just how fragile our life and our planet really is.

Earth day 2009 from Zoltan Ladanyi on Vimeo.

Upcoming events: Wii Game Night

Milwood Magnet School Parent Advisory is organizing the first Wii Game Night. More details to come!




Today is the last day of school before Spring Break. We will return on Monday, April 13.

Tech Spotlight: Recommended Free Font Sites

In conjunction with the technology spotlight in the April newsletter, here are a few sites that offer free-ware fonts for download:

• 1001 Free Fonts
  


• DaFont.com


• Urban Fonts


• Font Freak


• Font Diner
  

If you're interested in purchasable fonts, here are a few sites to try as well:

• Fonts.com


• Font Garden


• LinoType

As always, please be careful with any file that you download.

Tech Tuesday: Photography Tips

Were you surprised with a digital camera over Christmas? Have you been trying to take award-winning photos with it? Or at least figure out how the whole photography thing works? Do you need some tips to get started but don't want to pay for costly classes?

We can't promise to make you an award-winning photographer, but we can offer a few tips! In general, here are a few things to remember:

* Photography is best accomplished during daylight hours. Dawn and dusk are the ideal time because that is when the lighting is best, but if you aren't able to during those hours, using a shaded area or anytime on a cloudy day will also work. The key is to use indirect lighting. If you take a photo with light directly overhead, you will notice harsh shadows. If you can't find indirect light or a shaded area, the best thing to do is use your flash. It will help to subdue the intensity of the shadows.

* Move your camera rather than use the zoom, if you are able. If you do have to use the zoom, try not to zoom as high as the camera will let you. Most standard digital cameras have 3-6x optical zoom. Anything above that is digital zoom, which is the same as cropping a photo with photo editing software. Most images taken using the digital zoom will be grainy and blurry.

* Hold your shutter button down halfway for a second or two before taking the photo. This allows the camera to automatically adjust the exposure, focus, and white balance settings. If you notice on your camera's screen that the image is still blurry, you may be too close to the object to take a clear photograph. Most cameras can handle and detect focus up to 3" away from an object. If you are closer than 3", then the photo may turn out blurry.

Photographing people:
* Frame in the head and shoulders or a full body.
* Using a flash in a dark room will cause redeye. Use the redeye setting on your camera's flash, if it has one, to help combat this problem. Otherwise, try to avoid taking photos in a dark room or after dusk outside.

Photographing places:
* Try to remember the rule of thirds. This will help the composition of your photos. Imagine a grid of four lines, making nine squares on your viewfinder. Important elements in your photo should be placed along one of the lines or an intersection of two lines.
* Use a tripod when you can. This will allow for straighter photos and less blur in low-light situations.

Photographing things:
* Use a plain background, especially if you are wanting the main focus of the photo to be on the item you are photographing. For dark objects, a lighter background is ideal. For lighter objects, a darker background is ideal.
* Use good lighting. Try to take the photo during daylight hours and without a flash, if possible.

WGOM: Family Computing Program!

Milwood Magnet School has begun the implementation of its Family Computing Program. This program offers families the opportunity to take part in the construction of a computing system for personal usage. The intent of this program is to expose current Milwood Magnet School families to technologies offered by the school, as well as bridge the "Digital Divide." Through this program, families will be given exposure to multiple computer-based tools that include: the Parent Internet Viewer (PIV) system, the Milwood Magnet School web site, and teacher blogs. The FCP offers the opportunity for academic growth in 21st century skills, as well as provides tools for parental support through the demystification of technology.

For more information, or to apply to be a part of our Family Computing Program, please visit Milwood Magnet School's FCP page.

WGOM: Loy Norrix Concert Band treats Milwood Magnet School to a Holiday Concert!

Students were able to enjoy the music of Loy Norrix's concert band on Thursday, December 18, 2008. The band came over during 6th hour and performed several holiday-themed songs for students' enjoyment.

(Due to technical difficulties uploading the video to our viddler account, we are unable to share the video! We apologize for the inconvenience.)

We are enjoying our holiday break! See you back again on Monday, January 5th, 2009!

Q&A: Biotechnology Across the Core Curriculum

Ms. Cook's 7th grade English class recently sent persuasive letters out to local stores urging managers to invest in Fair Trade coffee. Preparation included watching the powerful documentary, Black Gold, which was filmed in Ethiopia. It showed the plight of coffee farmers fighting to get a fair price for their crops.

Planning for the letter included a Persuasion Map Planning Sheet where students developed a thesis statement, main reasons to support their claim, and examples to validate the argument.

Black Gold:

WGOM: Milwood Magnet School Contributes to the Global Food Chain!

Milwood Magnet School Contributes to the Global Food Chain

MMS will meet the immediate food needs of our community by collecting can and dry goods for the Greater Kalamazoo Food Drive.  We will meet the long-term needs of hunger by contributing money to Heifer International.

The Greater Kalamazoo Area Holiday Food Drive is West Michigan's largest holiday food distribution program. 1,500 families will receive food for a week!  The Student Advisory Council will use a friendly Canned Good/Non-perishable food item competition to get students and staff to contribute to the GK Food Drive.  Grade levels will compete against each other.  The competition will begin on December 1st and run through December 18th. 

Heifer International:  Ending Hunger, Caring for the Earth

Heifer's Mission to end World Hunger (http://www.heifer.org)

A world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet.  

To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth.  

To “pass on the gift.” As people share their animals’ offspring with others - along with their knowledge, resources, and skills - an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is created that reaches around the globe. This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for over 60 years. Today, millions of families in 128 countries have been given the gifts of self-reliance and hope.

The Student Advisory Council will use a friendly penny war as a fundraiser for Heifer International.  The End Hunger & Care for the Earth Penny War will take place during each lunch hour.  Grade levels will compete against each other. The competition will being on December 5th and run through December 19th.  Morning Announcements and the December 4th Advisory will be used to help introduce Heifer International and the Penny War. 

Rules of the Penny War

The GOAL of the Penny War is to collect as many PENNIES as possible in your jar and put as many NON-PENNIES in everyone else’s jar. Each team (grade level) will have its own labeled container jar in the cafeteria during lunch. Money is worth “points” based on its monetary value.

Pennies = +1 point 

Nickels = -5 points 

Dimes = -10 points 

Quarters = -25 points

Pennies give your team positive points while nickels, dimes, quarters, and any dollar bills take points AWAY from the team’s total. Therefore, you want to put PENNIES in YOUR TEAM’S jar (positive points) & nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills (negative points) in the jars of OTHER TEAMS. Whichever team has THE MOST POINTS at the end of the Penny Drive, wins!

Also be on the lookout! The December edition of the mailed Lancer Letter should be making it to your mailboxes in the next few days! 

WGOM: Career Day and fun!

Wednesday, November 12 was Career Day at Milwood Magnet School. Guest speakers came to the school to talk to eighth grade students about their professions and the education that was required in order to be successful in their given professions. Speakers included:

Tim Terrentine, Community Services
Cyndi Trobeck, Bank Manager
Ervin Armstrong, Goal Setting
Tisha Yance and Shannon Coleman, Kellogg Manufacturing
Douglas Davidson, WMU Professor
Stacey Allison and Cynthia Weessies, Nurses
Joy Bailey and JoAnn Muncy, AntiRacism Organizers
Jerry Paul from Kalamazoo Air Zoo, Aviator
Delores Rawling, Nurse

Students on both eighth grade teams were able to receive presentations from four speakers.



And just for fun, Ms. Kidman's 6th grade Spanish Class sings the days of the week:

WGOM: Magnet Fair & More

Saturday was the Kalamazoo Public Schools Magnet Fair, where all KPS Magnet Schools gathered to provide information to interested students and families. Milwood Magnet School provided a full stock of technology available to students, featuring the 2Know! Classroom Response System, a Nintendo Wii with the Wii Fit, science experiments, a Make-And-Take Inheritance Bracelet, and a audio stream of The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.



Previous to the Magnet Fair, Milwood Magnet School staff and students participated in the Kalamazoo Holiday Parade, along with the Milwood Magnet School Drum Line, who played cadences along with the Loy Norrix High School Marching Band, who preceded the MMS group in the parade. It was cold, with temperatures in the mid-30's to low-40's and mixtures of rain, snow, and sunshine, but everyone had a great time.

WGOM: Spirit Week and Science Lab!

Last week was School Spirit Week at Milwood. We love teaching students a sense of community and participation through fun events like this. Spirit week included:

Monday: Pajama Day

Tuesday: Mis-match Day

Wednesday: Professional Dress Day

Thursday: 80's Day

Friday: School Colors Spirit Day

Both students and staff were invited to participate and everyone who was able to had a wonderful time!

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Mr. Koch's Science Classes were in the lab this week learning weights and measurements, using both standard and digital scales in order to help reinforce our current unit on technological innovations.