Mr. Brilla's Musings

Welcome:  This week marked the end of the Make a Difference Day donation drive for our district. We had the opportunity to unload the bus at the Coventry Food Pantry with the wrestling team and it was amazing to see how much the OJR community donated. Thanks to all of those who sent materials in!  We had the time to watch a quick video this week and I showed a great video from the now-defunct Livestrong Foundation. The video, about a cancer-survivor who summits Mt. Everest on one functioning lung, is a great reminder of how powerful humans can be. I think my favorite line from the entire video is when he says "everybody has mountains to climb." I hope you enjoy!  This Past Week:  Social Studies (Periods 2, 6, 7, 8): Monday: We started the day with a few rounds of Blooket to review for the Civics Exam and then the students had some time to finish their writing piece of the Electoral College Cyber Sandwich from Friday. Some of the students finished early enough to use ...

Welcome This week we continued to collect for the North Coventry Food Pantry as a school for the annual Make A Difference Day drive. The students can continue to bring in canned goods, paper products, and personal hygiene products throughout the week. This is an outstanding drive since everything stays right here in this community.  This Past Week:  Social Studies (Periods 2, 6, 7 and 8)  #38-Three Branches Infographic:  This assignment is designed as a culminating project where students synthesize their understanding of the three branches of government. After thoroughly investigating the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, students created an infographic that serves as a quick reference for key information. This includes the primary responsibilities of each branch, additional roles they perform, and the specific requirements for serving in each branch. The infographic offers a visual summary that students can use for future reference in understanding the ...

Welcome:  Just like that, we are into the middle of October and more than halfway done the first quarter! The students started the annual fundraiser this past week and went wild over rubber ducks and possible trips to Citizens Bank Park. Next week marks the beginning of the Make a Difference Day collection--the students will be collecting canned goods, paper products, and personal hygiene products to donate to the Coventry Food Pantry to support local families.  I've been listening to a lot of Ryan Holiday and his Daily Stoic podcast lately and he has been on a moment mori kick. Momento mori  is the idea that everything must die, it although it sounds morbid, is a great reminder for us to live our lives to the fullest. This reminded me of one of my favorite clips from the movie Dead Poets Society-- we didn't have time to watch it on Friday so we'll start the week with it on Monday.  This Past Week:  Three Branches Mastery Grid: The students spent most of the wee...