Mr. Brilla's Musings

Welcome:  Welcome to November! As we turned the page on the calendar we also turned to a new quarter and a new unit of study. This quarter is all about the physical growth of the United States as we start our unit of study called "Surviving and Thriving in the American West." Finally, the students took part in the Chester County mock election--here are the results for our school.  Social Studies (Periods 2, 6, 7 and 8):  This Past Week:  Manifest Destiny Defined:   We started the week with a Pear Deck to help the students better understand the meaning of the term "Manifest Destiny" and how it relates to the physical growth of the United States in the 19th century. The students were also asked to analyze a painting from the 19th century called "American Progress."  Flashcard Factory:     We played a Flashcard Factory to help the students make sense of four key terms for this unit; thriving, surviving, manifest, and destiny.  #03-Territories Ch...

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...

Welcome:  Just like that, we are into the last week of September. I was talking to one of the students in my third-period class about how quickly this year is flying by—we are already one-eighth of the way through it. The students participated in some Spirit Week competitions to help celebrate Homecoming this week and it was great to see so many kids decked out in jerseys, team colors, and, school colors.  I decided to show a quick clip from the movie The Pursuit of Happyness  since we were discussing the Declaration of Independence. The movie is a great movie based on the real-life story of Chris Gardner. We watched a 2-minute clip about the importance of dreams and never letting anyone squash your dreams.  This Past Week:  The Fight Begins: The students used this slide deck to guide them through most of the work they needed to complete this week. I was out on Monday and Tuesday for training from the district so this helped them.  Boston Massacre Writing A...

Welcome:  This week, we had the privilege of watching a video titled "Dear High School Self," created by a former student. This heartfelt message serves as a poignant reminder for our students to cherish their time in school, as it passes quickly. Many students found it relatable and impactful, highlighting the importance of reflection during their formative years.   This Past Week: Monday: I was out today for a few doctor's appointments and the students worked on a Wizer activity meant to help them differentiate between primary and secondary sources and recognize bias. The guest teacher had nothing but great things to say about the students!  Tuesday:  Today was the final day for the students to work on their Unit One Timelines (#10 on the Google Classroom). It was great to hear the students discussing the different ways to go about finding the information for the timeline. One student said, "ohhh, it's like a game and you have to put together the clues."  ...

Welcome:  I simply cannot believe how quickly these past two weeks have gone! We are nine days into school and the students are doing great. They have been learning the new morning routines and bell schedules and it's starting to feel like we never left for summer break.  This week I showed a quick little video about happiness by Jay Shetty. If you follow anything in the personal growth space you may know that Shetty has come under fire recently as claims that he may have embellished his background have surfaced. I feel that we can all believe whatever we like about him, but the message of this video still stands--it's all about how to be truly happy in life.  This Past Week:  Tuesday: The students came back from their long weekend today and were given time to finish the Week 1 Gameboard before we used MagicSchoolAI to practice using AI to research so we can formulate and defend opinions. The big question for today was "Should we study history or is it a waste of tim...