Mr. Wilson's 15 Seconds

BONUS Journals

2009-04-27T08:05:00.003-04:00

Interested in getting some extra marks? take a look at the following article(s) and write up your opinion as a journal entry.

Montreal Gazette - Are kids growing up too fast? This article takes a look at how more pressure is being put on children in an increasingly materialistic society.

Term 4 Begins!

2009-04-14T11:45:00.003-04:00

Term 4 has finally begun and I'm sure you are all anxious to start your final Career Exploration. However, before we start that, we have to finish some Journal Entries and the POPWiki Project. So in case you have been absent or a little lost, here's a list of what we have done so far:

Professionalism - Discussion and Journal Entry
The Millennials - Movie and Journal Entry
Stress - Research and Journal Entry
The Job Interview - Pre and Post Journal Entry
Unemployment - Only POP-10 and POP-05, the rest will cover this through the POPWiki.

Everything is available on the PORTAL - even the PPT files if you were absent!

Career Exploration 2

2009-02-27T09:27:00.005-05:00

At this point you should all be working working working to get your second Career Exploration done, so that you can relax and enjoy your spring break. As always, everything is posted on the Portal for your viewing pleasure. Don't forget to up-load your work into E-Pearl once you're finished!

If you have any questions or if you need some extra help, I'm in the Lab every morning at 7:30am...Drop by!

BONUS MARKS!!! (He can't be serious!)

I've come across some great articles lately and I want to share them with you. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we will probably not be able to cover them in class. Take a look - write a journal entry - get some marks...Simple right?

Staying the Course - An article from The Gazette about the dropout rate in Quebec.
The Impact of Facebook on our Students - a scary look at what social networking might be doing to your social skills.
Facebook - Wikipedia Entry - read this and tell me what stands out in your mind?
Microsoft 2019 - This is where Microsoft hopes to be in ten years. What do you think?

Good luck!!!

Portal Survey!

2009-01-30T08:10:00.001-05:00

Here's a survey from the EMSB about their Portal. Take a look and help make the Portal better!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=IbBwV_2fAutIHtt_2fOTvklR_2bw_3d_3d

Welcome to Term 3

2009-01-28T08:18:00.005-05:00

This is the part of the year where things start to get really interesting. I'm also excited to announce our first group action project: THE POPWIKI

Wiki pages are becoming more and more useful, and you can see them just about everywhere nowadays. Here are some of my favorites to check out:

Wookiepedia.com - This is a Wiki page dedicated to anything Star Wars related.

Batman Wiki - This one is very similar, only it's for Batman.

Uncyclopedia.com - Can you believe people have this much time on their hands? (I have Richard Mondoux to thank for this one...)

Take a look, get some ideas, and then let's see if we can included them in our own POPWiki project.

Have fun with it!

End of Term 2

2009-01-05T15:16:00.003-05:00

Get your stuff together because you only have until Friday Jan 9th 2009 to hand in your work for Term 2. Here's a list of all the stuff you are responsible for...

Journal /Blog Entries

Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals
TOKW Assignment
Cover Letter and CV (journal entry)
Communication and Teamwork Movies

E-Pearl Artifacts

TOKW Assignment
Cover Letter and CV
Career Exploration #1

If you are missing something, all of the assignments are still up on the Portal, go download them and get them ALL done! If you have any questions about your work or how to hand stuff in, drop by room before Friday and we'll discuss your options...

Good Luck!

Your First Career Exploration

2008-11-28T09:12:00.006-05:00

Here is a list of the work you should have completed up until this point:

In your Journal/Blog

Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals [did you add them to E-Pearl?]
TOKW assignment
Entry on your Cover Letter and C.V.
Entry on Communication and Teamwork

E-Pearl Artifacts:

TOKW Assignment (did you attach the URL of your Blog?)
Cover Letter and C.V. (attach both of them as separate Word documents.)
Career Exploration #1

Career Exploration #1

For the rest of Term 2, we will be concentrating on your first career exploration. Your project will have FOUR parts...

Proposal (what's your top five career choices?)
Exploration (research!)
Presentation (ooooh....Scary!)
Follow-up and Works Cited (reflect!)

The complete project will be due JANUARY 9th 2009. However, your presentation will be due before that, so be prepared! CHECK WHEN YOU ARE PRESENTING! All you have to present is some of the main points of your exploration: Did you interview someone? What did you learn throughout this project? What are your thoughts on this career now that you have tried it out? Etc.

I have lots of tools for you to use, SO USE THEM! Here's just a small taste:

DIIGO - cery cool internet researching tool, get into it!
Toolkits - pick your career and we'll see if you can use one of the toolkits I have!
ACADEMOS.QC.CA - great site for interviewing people about their careers.
VODZONE - Wanna watch a movie? Check out Discovery education

*All usernames and passwords are on the Portal!*

Cover Letters & CV's

2008-11-11T08:26:00.003-05:00

Now that TOKW is behind us, we can concentrate on some more basic job skills - HOW TO APPLY FOR A JOB? But before we start, let us create an artifact in E-Pearl under the Term 2 folder using the following information:

Title - Cover Letter and CV
Task - what are you being asked to do exactly and why?
Criteria - Skip this one for now!
Task Goal - What do you want to achieve during this assignment? (Is this a S.M.A.R.T. goal?)
Strategies - Name at least 3 different strategies you are going to use to achieve your goal.

The rest of the artifact can be filled in later, once your work is complete.

First, you need to find a job to apply for - Where are you going to local for local advertisements? If you look at The Montreal Gazette online, it has access to its "working section" where you can search for job advertisements here in Montreal. Keep it simple! Try to find a job that you could apply for TODAY with the qualifications you already have! COPY AND PASTE THE AD INTO A WORD DOCUMENT IN CASE YOU DO NOT FINISH THE LETTER THIS CLASS.

1 - Find an advertisement that seems interesting and then pull up your old John Example letter. It should be on the Portal, E-Pearl, or you USB. If it is not - Then you will have to re-type it!

2 - Change all the necessary information on your John Example letter so that it fits the job you are applying for. (Re-read it a few times to make sure it makes sense!)

3- Once you are finished, save your Cover Letter with a title and your name, then attach it to the artifact you created.

Second, open up a new WORD document and open the Résumé Wizard. Fill in all the necessary information and include the following sections (in this order):

Objective - what position are you applying for?
Languages - what languages do you speak and write?
Education - where do you go to school? Where have you gone to school?
Awards - have you received any awards at school?
Work experience - have you ever had a job?
Volunteer experience - have you given back to your community?
Interests and activities - what kind of sports or organizations are you a part of?
Hobbies - what do you do for fun on the weekends?
References - who can I contact to find out if you are a good worker? What is their first and last name, their position at work and their work phone number.

Try to fill in EVERY category! If you cannot, then do not include it in your CV.

Finished all that? (Nice.) Save your CV and attach it to your artifact.

PS: Still working on your TOKW entry? Wow. GET MOVING.

PPS: Still working on your GOALS? Too bad, you will have to finish it at home.

Post TOKW Day

2008-11-06T12:00:00.004-05:00

November 5th 2008 was Take Our Kids to Work day. As a result, most of my Secondary III POP students diligently followed their parents to their respective places of work. Many had a great time and I am looking forward to hearing all of your individual stories but first we have some work to do:

1 - If your parent(s) are not self employed, you will have to write a Thank-You letter to their "boss" or manager, thanking them for the experience.

2 - You will then have to re-copy whatever notes you wrote down throughout the day into your Blog / Journal. (Refer to the assignment if need be!) PORTAL LOGIN

3 - Then you will have to create an Artifact using E-Pearl about your TOKW experience. E-PEARL LOGIN

Get to it!

PS: If you are still working on your "Personal Goals" - THEN YOU ARE BEHIND!

Unauthorized Dam in Pennsylvania

2008-10-31T08:28:00.008-04:00

*This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries regarding a pond on his property. It was sent by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, State of Pennsylvania. This guy's response is hilarious, but read State's letter before you get to the response letter.

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond.

A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2009.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action. We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.

Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:

Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. Price,

Your certified letter dated 12/17/07 has been handed to me to respond to. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane , Trout Run, Pennsylvania .

A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood 'debris' dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natures building materials 'debris.'

I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.

These are the beavers/contractors you are seeking. As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is:

(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or

(2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued.

(Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.)

I have several concerns. My first concern is, aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation -- so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names.

If you want the stream 'restored' to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2009? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! The bears are not careful where they dump!

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.

THANK YOU,

RYAN DeVRIES
& THE DAM BEAVERS

Moving Forward??!

2008-10-20T16:56:00.001-04:00

In an effort to stay ahead of the times, I have created a "Blog" (can you almost hear the cringing?)

Now you may be asking yourself - "is this really necessary?" Probably not, but the whole initiative here is to give my students more opportunity, more diversity, more options then the same old.

Will it work? Hell if I know.

Are we going to try it out? Most definitely.

Does Mr.Wilson have a beard? You betcha.

Have fun and try new things!

Mr. Wilson