School Uniforms?

A couple weeks ago someone suggested to our school board that they institute school uniforms for our students.
So I thought this would be a good opportunity for a language arts experience for my students as well as a way to gather some input from those that would be most effected by the school board's decision. And another nice way to use technology. So I set up a blog on my classroom website. To get to the blog just click on the word blog. Keep in mind that most of the comments are my 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade students with several posts submitted by older brother and sisters, a few parents, a couple teachers, the school board president, and an older former school board member (the "mysterious Kevin W." as my kids refer to him). I do have very stringent rules about posting - after all this is a language arts activity. And if a student has errors in his/her post I take the opportunity to edit with the student. All posts require my approval before they become visible. No slang - no slams - no cute CUL8R text - no calling someone else's comments "stupid". So far there are 230 posts and some of them are pretty good. I dare you to figure out who the 3rd grader is and who is a 6th grader. If you want to see the rest of my class website just go to http://jmemmott.oberlinschools.org/. And, by the way, it is pretty obvious what my students feel about the school uniform idea - can't tell you how many exclamation marks have been deleted during the editing process!

Cricket

Sad news. Our "young" dog Cricket died quickly and unexpectedly Sunday evening, October 28th. She had been acting oddly starting mid-afternoon - not eating or greeting us at the door with the usual sock in her mouth. By 10:00 she couldn't move and by 10:30 she had passed away - quietly and I'm convinced without pain. Both Nicki and I were with her.

The "old" dog Samantha seems accepting though a little confused.

This is going to take some getting used to.

Cricket was at least 10 years old. No services are scheduled. Burial will be in the family backyard plot after cremation.

John & Nicki

Taste of Ellicottville

The day after Jim's retirement party (see below) the siblings all rendezvoused for the Taste of Ellicottville. Lots of good food and beverage, manageable crowd, and warm but tolerable weather. And afterwards relaxing on the homestead porch.

Jim's Retirement Party

Brother Jim's retirement party - held at Rooney's Restaurant (more info here) in Rochester, New York. Attended by all his siblings, associates from his newspaper career, and the "coffee club" of Geneseo - a good crowd. A good time was had by all.

California Trip - Oakland

July 12-21

Oakland - Picnics with Sarah's friends and Sergio's family and a trip to the movies where we met with the Simpsons.

California Trip - Pacific Coast

July 19-21

Nicki and I drove up the California coast on Highway 1 as far as Mendocino. Stayed at the Little River Inn just a couple miles below Mendocino, with a great view of the ocean from our room's porch. Ate a late supper rocking in our chairs watching the moon's reflection setting into the ocean, had a fire going in our fireplace and listened to the waves all night. Next day drove back to Half Moon Bay where we met Sarah for beach walking and supper at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company before heading to the airport for our overnight flight back to Ohio. Smooth flight. End of vacation.

California Trip - Yosemite National Park

July 16-17

Yosemite National Park - Two trips into the valley. Sarah and Sergio climbed to the bases of the Yosemite Lower Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. Nicki also did some climbing but not as far. Much more crowded than Sequoia National Park - lots of foreign languages.

California Trip - Hetch Hetchy Reservoir & Evergreen Lodge

July 16-17

Evergreen Lodge - Great place to sit on our cabin's deck and watch the shooting stars - and good dinner and breakfast.

Hetch Hetchy Valley/Reservoir - A movement is underway to remove the dam and return the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state which would be similar to the Yosemite Valley.

California Trip - Sequoia National Park

July 14-16

Sequoia National Park

Crystal Cave

General Sherman Tree - World's largest tree (by volume - not height).
Moro Rock - A granite dome and challenging climb for old people.
One bear and cub sighting, several deer.

Osprey at Quaker Lake 6/24/07

Nicki and I spent a Sunday afternoon at Quaker Lake in New York State's Allegany State Park. Nice that you can launch from near the spillway without needing to enter the park and pay the entrance fee. There were several kayaks on the lake. We had just about decided that there wasn't much wildlife on the lake and were heading back to the launch when we came upon a pair of osprey perched on a tall old dead tree. They were reasonably cooperative and allowed a bunch of photos before moving on down the shore to a new perch. We may have even seen a flying eagle from a distance. And on the drive back to Little Valley we noticed an osprey nest on the edge of the park. For better versions of the photos go to my Picasa site and use the slideshow button.

Alumni Dinner 2007 & Poetry

Photos from the Little Valley Central School annual alumni dinner held Saturday, June 23rd. And more photos from famous Little Valley native (and contemporary) Ira Joe Fisher - weather reporter for the Saturday Early Show and poet who recently wrote Some Holy Weight in the Village Air (which has references to Little Valley experiences we all share). Joey was the featured speaker at the dinner and also did a poetry reading the following day - a very unusual event for Little Valley. A good time was had by all - including a Sunday breakfast at Dina's in Ellicottville.

Rocky River for Fathers Day

Late afternoon - early evening near Cleveland on the Rocky River where it empties into Lake Erie. And then dinner at Macaroni Grill. A nice way to celebrate the day.

And the summer begins...

The school year has ended. No more classes - both the college and the public schools. Nicki is almost done with her year. And this weekend has had beautiful weather - perfect for kayaking. So back to Findley Lake and chasing the birds. We even left the kayaks up on the Honda in case we want to go back out tomorrow. I think having the Honda parked around Oberlin with the boats on top is a sign for the town that summer has truly begun. By the way, I'm beginning to think we should start naming the birds. We're pretty sure they are starting to pose. Very often the herons take off acting annoyed and then circle back for another shooting session. But more often than not they tolerate us and rarely do their dinosaur sqawk anymore. And the geese could care less if we join the family.

Nicki's Night Out

We celebrated Nicki's birthday in style this year. It was a surprise for her - I had warned her to keep Tuesday evening unscheduled. For dinner we did the annual college staff picnic - held under a big circus tent the college uses for the almuni/graduation weekend - tons of food and lots of locals. Then we drove toward Cleveland. We parked near the airport and took the rapid into Cleveland. At that point I let her in on the secret which she would have figured out eventually given the tons of people getting on the train with Cavs shirts. The game was very good - lots of noise and excitement - intensity - and the Cavs won 91-87 which evens the series and gives them momentum. We even got free t-shirts and waving towels. We didn't get home till around 1:00 AM which made for a long and very excellent night.

Illumination & Herons

Laura, Nicki and I took Ursula to the Oberlin College's Illumination in Tappan Square Saturday evening. It's crowded but you see everyone worth seeing, and there's pie and ice cream and band music and Chinese lanterns (lit with real candles). Ursula didn't last long but we went back to absorb some of the atmosphere. It turned out to be a very comfortable night. Oberlin is a very special place during this weekend.



Today (Memorial Day) we first dropped Laura off for her flight back and then loaded the kayaks and went to Findley Lake. The birds are back especially the herons. Tell me what you think the bird with the fish in its mouth is. There were lots of people fishing and picniking but the kayaks allowed us to get away from the crowds and sneak up on the birds. A good way to end the long weekend.

Some Grand Pianos to start the weekend

Nicki and I started our weekend with the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music's Grand Piano Extravaganza featuring the piano faculty and some of the 2007 graduating class. A very interesting and impressive concert. 1 piano piece played entirely with only the left hand, 8 pianos (all Steinways of course) played by 8 pianists - later by 16 pianists, 6 rushing and running pianists playing 3 pianos, and 1 piano played with 6 hands. Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Copland, Chopin, Bernstein, and Rossini. Players in costume, toddler ballerinas, grand Steinways, mini Steinway, and rigged gameshows between pieces. And given we had free tickets it was a good way to spend the evening.

Oberlin College has their annual alumni events as well as graduation ceremonies this weekend. Laura is home. And if the weather holds it should be a nice weekend.

Kayaking Again

Great day for kayaking. Windy which gave Findley Lake a little chop and going one direction was a bit of a workout but of course the other direction was a breeze. We did a couple hours in the late afternoon before we decided it was getting too cool.


Saw a couple Great Blue Herons, a lot of geese, and a couple of our usual exploding carp. Also were a lot of swallows skimming the lake surface - hadn't seen groups of them doing that before. There weren't any bugs in the air so we're not sure what the swallows were hunting.


It was a good day for taking photos. Nicki is working on hers while I do my blogging. Otherwise the weekend has been spent with a little shopping, housecleaning, mowing, Cavs game, Indians games, our dogs visited Ursula, and I took a couple hundred photos of student artwork at Prospect School in preparation for a Fine Arts Evening we'll have this Thursday.

Tech Levy Fails

It’s been a long and interesting week. The big news is that our school’s technology levy did not pass - 1,094 to 747 - which for Oberlin is a substantial loss. Evidently a lot of people who said they were going to vote yes changed their minds in the booth. We could probably blame it on the electronic voting machines but more likely it was a combination of a lot of negative issues. Even a New York Times article about schools giving up their one-to-one laptop programs that appeared a couple days before the vote was a factor. I could go through the list but you’ll get a better idea of what we faced if you go to Community Diaries - a blog that was formed by a group who might have been opposed to the levy to discuss the campaign. Don’t know how effective it was as a lot of people stopped reading it after a while but it does highlight all the questions that came up. The campaign website that I worked on can be found at LEAP for Oberlin. The photo above shows a house painted encouraging viewers to vote No (Elizabeth you'll note the grammar). It is right next to the High School. That livened things up a bit. I had expected the vote to be close so the result is frustrating. We’ll need to reform and put a new issue on the November ballot. Otherwise our technology funding will disappear as of January 1st - a situation I would prefer not happening.

Life in Technology

This is how I spend an evening at school. Silly teachers.


Sad Cart becomes Happy Cart

Smoky Mountains Spring Trip

Our Spring vacation photos can be found on my regular website http://johnmemmott.com. Included are shots from the Cades Cove section of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, two encounters with black bears, several waterfalls, lots of old farm buildings, windy and very cold Clingmans Dome, and the ritzy Richmont Inn in Townsend, Tennessee. You won't see a Comfort Inn just above Cincinnati or the one in Marietta, a rainy drive back along the Ohio River, or our shopping trip at the Pittsburgh Ikea. It was a great trip and felt really good to get away from a very busy Oberlin.

LEAPing for Oberlin

And here's another way I keep busy - being webmaster for the Oberlin City School's levy campaign (vote happens May 8th). Passage of the levy will provide the funding for a "Laptop computer program that will put a high quality laptop, a robust software suite, first rate communications tools, and 24-7 access in the hands of every Langston Middle School and Oberlin High School student while improving technology support at Eastwood and Prospect Elementary Schools." We first passed a levy specifically for technology 10 years ago and again 5 years ago. The difference this time is we're asking for double the money and it will be a continuing levy instead of being renewed every 5 years. And more than half the students in our district will get laptops to use at school and home starting the fall of 2008. To read more information and to see the website click on LEAP for Oberlin.

Independent Study Fair Projects

I've been busy. This was the week our 4th, 5th, and my 6th graders presented their independent study projects at the annual independent study fair for teams of judges (made up of local community members, teachers, administrators, and parents). 44 projects, all started in November and exhaustively researched. To view the projects click here. Probably one of the better examples would be Andrew's "Blacksmithing" project or Lucy's "Motown" project. But there are plenty others well worth checking out. And if you want to see a rather large collection of photos (mostly mine) taken showing the preparation and final event just click here. This is what I do.

Kitchen Redux

Kitchen Redux

We're having a little minor repair work done in our kitchen. A door put on a cabinet that was original left off to give the dogs a place to have their water dish (didn't work out as the dogs preferred their dish on the floor and it didn't really make sense to have a dish of water sitting inside a cabinet) and a slight adjustment to the side counter which was sagging slightly in the center. The slight adjustment required some support material under the counter and some glue and a clutch of clamps to help the glue set. Tomorrow the clamps come off and the counter becomes laser-level - or so we've been told. We're using the same contractor that did the original kitchen work so I figure this is like taking the kitchen in for routine maintenance. Click on the photo above to see more shots of the clamped counter.

Brothers

Brothers

Click on the above for more photo.

Here's the entire collection of photos from Nicki and my visit to Little Valley last weekend. Celebrating the usual collecting of personalities in front of the cupboards for a going-away photo. Sometime we need to get a similiar "Sister" photo or the full collection of siblings. Maybe even get a little dressed up?

I've also added just a couple more photos of the gas line repair project grouping. Just click on the meter below. We now have a scenic mound of dirt in our front yard. I'm thinking "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". Suspect we'll have that visual reminder of the experience for a long time. I believe eventually it settles to match the lay of the land and can then be seeded.

We're Cool

Heatless in Oberlin

We have heat! Nothing like a night with no heat and no hot water. I warned Nicki that the water heater wouldn't still have hot water after 16 hours. Warm almost. The story goes like this. Nicki had noticed for quite some time a slight smell of natural gas near the garage (where the gas meter is/was) and called the gas company later afternoon Wednesday. Apparently they treat any gas smells as emergencies and sent a crew right out and yes they found a leak in the line going to the house and then they shut off the gas which fuels our furnace and hot water heater. I guess we were lucky that the leak was found and that our gas wasn't shut off a week ago in the middle of the winter storm and the extreme cold. And we found out that it isn't as easy to contact a plumber after 5:00 PM. But we did and a team came out this morning and dug a pit in our front yard and another next to the garage and snaked a new plastic line through the old pipe and moved the meter out of the garage (code violation). And the gas company came out just before supper and turned the gas back on. Tomorrow the plumbing crew comes back out to fill the pits and tune up the furnace. But right now we have heat and hot water and that's okay.

By the way - homeowners out there - if your gas company offers that gas line repair coverage you might want to get it. Wish we had had it. We don't have the bill yet but I'm sure it is going to be impressive.

A Little Valley Winter

Little Valley Winter Scenes

Click on the photo above for more scenes.

Nicki and I drove up to Little Valley yesterday. Mark and Martha had already arrived. Supper was turkey chili, homemade Martha bread, salad, and apple crisp for dessert. Very filling and warm which was perfect considering the cold and light snow outside. This morning we all met Ed at the VFW for breakfast - a $5 bargain. Always nice to eat at an endless buffet surrounded by the military rifles on display. The snow in the area is light and deep - brought back typical winter memories. Plows have been out so the drive back to Oberlin later today should be fine.

Ursula's 96th Birthday

Ursula's 96th Birthday

Click on the photo to see more.

Nicki and I held a small ceremony at Kendal to recognize Ursula's 96th. Balloons, ribbons, cute candles in small cupcakes and jello hearts, the cafeteria staff singing "Happy Birthday" - the works in moderation. Ursula seemed pleased to have the attention and also enjoyed the cards and flowers she received throughout the day. We'll celebrate more as more family is available and when/if the weather cooperates.

Valentines Day & Snow

Snow Days

Click on the photo above to see more shots.

Ah winter! I measured an average of 12 inches on the ground but the wind has made some impressive drifts and roof overhangs. Spent a good share of the afternoon snow-blowing and shoveling ours and Norma's drives - even after we had a nice neighbor plow out the heavier snow at the bottom section of Norma's drive. Traveling is supposed to be bad everywhere so maybe it was a good thing that I did the trip from Columbus instead of waiting until today. As you can see the dogs are enjoying the snow. And we had a hawk grab a bird from our feeders - all that was left was a pile of feathers. School tomorrow? I'm sure. We've used four snow days so far and have only one left before we need to make up what we use over the allotment. Even Oberlin College closed so Nicki and I enjoyed Valentines Day together.

Slippery Trip

Just returned from 2 nights in Columbus attending a state technology conference. Did 2 presentations today - one on the program we use for our teacher websites and the other on using technology during levy campaigns. Both sessions went well - not heavily attended but I'll blame the weather for that.

It was a worthwhile trip only complicated by the weather that rolled in today. The trip home usually takes 2 hours but today it was 4 1/2 - with lots of cars off the road - even a few semis jack-knifed luckily in the other direction. Nice to have the 4-wheel drive and the snow tires and fairly decent winter driving experience. Harkened back to the old days.

School was canceled today and already for tomorrow. Even Oberlin College is closed tomorrow and that rarely happens. Nicki and I have a Valentines Day together - good timing. I've already used our snowblower to remove the bulk of the snow from ours and Norma's driveways. But with the gusts I bet they will fill in tonight. East coast people - you are warned - it's coming. Here's our forecast:

A MAJOR WINTER STORM IS ONGOING ACROSS THE REGION...AND WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. SNOW WILL REMAIN HEAVY OVERNIGHT. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE.

ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS...CAN BE EXPECTED FROM LATE THIS EVENING THROUGH DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 16 INCHES ARE LIKELY BY THE TIME SNOW ENDS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

NORTHEAST WINDS WILL GUST TO NEAR 35 MPH AT TIMES CREATING CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES. WIND CHILLS WILL ALSO DROP TO 10 BELOW TONIGHT.

Cold, Really Cold

Middle of Sunday afternoon and we've already received the word that school is closed tomorrow - too cold and getting colder. Maybe I can watch the SuperBowl commercials without a pile of school work in my lap. Of course Nicki will probably be working as usual tomorrow as the college never closes (and it is the first day of a new semester).

From the National Weather Service:

1131 AM EST SUN FEB 4 2007

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST TUESDAY.

TEMPERATURES A FEW DEGREES ABOVE OR BELOW FREEZING WILL COMBINE WITH STRONG WESTERLY WINDS TO CREATE DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS. WIND CHILL READINGS THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING WILL BE 10 TO 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.

IF YOU WILL BE OUTDOORS USE COMMON SENSE AND DRESS WARMLY MAKING SURE THAT ALL EXPOSED SKIN IS COVERED. IF POSSIBLE AVOID PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE COLD TO PREVENT FROSTBITE AND HYPOTHERMIA.

A Cold Winter

It's getting mighty cold in Oberlin. It isn't the snow - we've had a couple inches but nothing to even worry about shoveling. But the wind and oncoming cold is making it difficult to go outside. Right now it is about 10 degrees (Saturday 5:30 PM) but the forecast has us going much colder tomorrow and Monday. Nicki is visiting her mother and stocking up on food. I did my school tech work this afternoon and stocked up on beverages.

Now we can bar the doors and toss on a couple dogs and weather the weather.

Squirrels

This morning over breakfast I counted 8 squirrels at one time attacking our feeders. Yesterday we had a visit from our local white squirrel. It's hard to get a good photo shooting through dirty glass but I wasn't about to do the National Geographic thing and position myself amidst the feeders in the cold (11 degrees outside right now). Besides it is hard to time when the white squirrel will appear so having my camera nearby in a nice warm house is enough preparation.

By the way, Nicki suggested I mention that many of the feeders used in our photos come from Wild Birds Unlimited. The feeders actually attract birds too which are then available for a local hawk that has visited as recently as today.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer had an article about “Enchanting Ellicottville” in their Sunday Travel section today. You can read it online by clicking this link or this link. The crowds will probably be horrendous in Ellicottville now. Glad they didn’t mention the real Dina’s. The map in the paper did show Little Valley.

LV Attic 2

Work continued today on the attic insulation. Would have been finished but the workers decided to not open a new bag and instead bring an already opened bag tomorrow when they come to start the roofing work. Martha swears you can already feel a difference upstairs.

Got the photos by stepping cautiously over the empty plastic bags and then sticking the camera into the ceiling entry hole. The workers didn't seem to mind the company and didn't let it interrupt their work.

Did have breakfast with Ed at the Harvest Moon. Usual dishes so I won't go into detail. Came back to LV and chatted about family history while hearing the progress of the attic work. The day had started out sunny but was getting gray after breakfast and by the time Nicki and I arrived back in Oberlin the rain was falling. Martha also reported snow in LV.

Photo of the Kelly Quilt won by Martha in the Little Valley Public Library raffle.

LV's Attic

Nicki and I are in Little Valley with Martha and have just inspected today's work on the attic insulation project. Note the very large bags containing the rolls of insulation and think about the little opening in the upstairs hallway ceiling that the rolls were forced through by the three workers that are doing the job. Maybe by tomorrow evening our homestead will be blanketed in comfort and we can worry no more about ice building up on the roof - of course, with global warming we probably just wasted our investment. But at least all the several generations of unused and unremoved electrical wiring has now been pulled out.

This last picture is to suggest where we might go with the next house project or why we are now getting the roof fixed.

Nicki, Martha and I earlier did dinner out at the Myers Hotel in Salamanca. Nicki - Chicken Cordon Bleu, Martha - Chicken Parm, John - New York Strip Steak with a Cube Cheese and Ellicottville Brewery Beer soup. All excellent. Breakfast tomorrow morning with Ed at Harvest Moon also in Salamanca.