Back to School 2008-2009

On this, the first day of the 2008-09 school year, I want to extend a huge welcome to all of my incoming sixth-graders! Welcome to Tomlin Middle School, the Lion Team, and most of all Mr. Blount's classroom. It was great to meet many of you and your parents at orientation last Friday. I hope you are as excited about the new school year as I am. We will be doing lots of new things together this year, such as interactive notebooks and SpringBoard, but we will continue to immerse ourselves in the strong traditions of reading and writing literature as well. Get ready to write poetry, and essays, and read more books than you have ever read in your life!


Those of you who attended orientation already have a list of school supplies, and of course I will be sending a list home with all of you who need it in class. But in order to make it convenient for parents, I am posting our school supply list here as well.

Parents, in addition to basic school supplies, your child will need the following materials for this class:

• 1 spiral notebook: 5-subject, college-ruled, super-strong coil

(for reading/language arts)

• 1 spiral notebook: 1-subject, college-ruled, super-strong coil

(for Mr. Blount’s geography class only)

• wide-ruled notebook paper
• folder or small binder for storing notebook paper
• hand-held pencil sharpener with cover
• package or box of #2 pencils (mechanical pencils okay)
• package of red pencils or pens
• pen-size fluorescent highlighter
• set of colored pencils
• set of broad-line markers
• set of fine-line markers
• large solid glue stick
• 2” Post-It notes
• box of tissues (homeroom only)
• roll of paper towels (homeroom only)
• bag of hard candy such as Jolly Ranchers for rewards

You will need to purchase a rhyming dictionary through Scholastic Book Clubs in the near future as they become available (required).

Please do not purchase Trapper Keepers® or correction fluid for school use. These supplies do not lend themselves to our approach.

From time to time you may be asked to send additional materials from home for classroom activities. Your assistance and support of your child’s education is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, please call 757-9400, ex. 306, or send me a note. You may also e-mail me at (roland.blount@sdhc.k12.fl.us).

Welcome to the Lion Pride!

Summer Reading: Elephant Run

Chance AKA Fidelis, one of my wonderful former students, bought me Roland Smith's newest book, Elephant Run, at the Scholastic Book Fair last spring. I was completely taken by surprise with his gift because typically book purchases work the other way around. When I asked him why he would spend so much on a pricey hardcover, he told me he knew I liked Roland Smith, and he knew I would like this book. That made the gift of this book especially meaningful to me because I knew Fidelis had put some thought into it, and it showed how well he knew my literary tastes.

I wasn't able to start reading the book until this summer, but I am nearing the halfway point of Elephant Run, and Fidelis, you made a good investment with your gift. Not only is this book another great adventure novel, it is also historical and set in Southeast Asia during World War II. And I love historical fiction!

Thanks again, Fidelis!

Focus Titles: Peak and Stepping On the Cracks

We had to have a major read-a-thon the last couple of days of school in order to finish our final two focus novels of the year, but we knocked them out. The AM class read Peak by Roland Smith, and the PM class read Stepping On the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn.

Roland Smith is one of the most popular current writers in the adventure fiction genre, and this story about a young man who makes an attempt on Everest is one of his best. I'm glad we were able to fit this novel in before the end of the school year, although we definitely cut it close. Two of the commonalities among the characters that populate Smith's books are a young person in some kind of trouble and an older wise person who fills the role of mentor. Another feature of Smith's books, in addition to the action-filled plots, is that they usually include international or domestic air travel. As a teacher, I can appreciate this element because it creates an inclusive worldview in the minds of young readers and by default teaches them not to limit their potential.

Stepping On the Cracks is a perennial favorite of mine. Set in a suburb of Washington, DC, during the Second Great War, this novel was the perfect follow-up to our World War II and Holocaust unit. Complete with bullies, a mysterious stranger, and engaging dialogue, this novel shows the internal and external conflicts of both soldiers and civilians on the homefront while the war raged overseas.

Written Book Responses: Narrative Poems

The final written book response of the year is always the greatest writing challenge for my students. Their assignment is to write a rhyming or free verse narrative poem based on the books they read. This requires that they draw on the poetry-writing skills they have learned throughout the year in order to tell their stories.

I got this idea from a colleague of mine, Mrs. Vicki Callicut (Swinger), several years ago. It is a perfect way to integrate the disciplines of reading and writing.

My students worked very hard on their poems, writing several drafts and participating in conferences with me. The poems published below are some of the best written this year. I selected these poems with input from students in both AM and PM classes. The poems are positioned in no particular order.



“Alias, ‘Uncle Ricardo’”
Ten True Stories of World War II
By Paul Dowswell
(a free verse narrative poem by Ian)

Adolf Eichmann...
Such a cruel, cruel man
He thought the right path
Was to kill...
Kill Jews.
That’s all he wanted to do.

Simon Wiesenthal...
The opposite of Eichmann, matter
Of fact, he hunted Eichmann

A deceiver...
Simon sends a deceiver named Heymeck Diamont.
Diamont finds a picture of the culprit.
Next...
He visits Maria Messenbacher.
She is as cruel as Eichmann
Lies...
All of her words are lies.
So cruel in fact, she reports her own husband dead.
But wait...
What’s this...?
His name is still on the wanted list
Mixed emotions run through Simon’s head
Isn’t Eichmann supposed to be dead?
Oh, no!
Eichmann is far from dead
In fact he lives in South America
Argentina to be exact
On the corner of Garibaldi St.
Under the name of Uncle Ricardo
8 years...
8 years have passed until Eichmann is
Tested...
Tested in court...
What do you think the outcome will be?
Condemned...!
Condemned to death by hanging
I think such a man deserves a sentence as such
Don’t you...?
Or do you...?

Stuck in Neutral
by Terry Trueman
(a free verse narrative poem by Aramis)

I am paralyzed. I can’t move any part of my body
People think I’m a retard, but I remember everything I hear
Even though my Dad can’t stand my seizures . . .
I love them . . . it’s then when my soul leaves my body
I hear my dad is planning to kill me
And I can’t tell him if I’m ready or not
He says he wants to kill me because . . .
He loves me

My Dad believes you can’t teach retards
I too agree, but can’t he give them a chance?
Even though we are unteachable . . .
Crackle-crackle-crackle . . . red light, blue light
My Dad hears about Earl Detraux
He killed his two-year old retarded baby
He said it was because he loved him . . .
Yes, because he loved him
I always thought there was no reason for me to live
So I really didn’t know if I wanted to die or not
But now I know there is a reason . . .
And I want to live

My sister Cindy has a new friend spending the night
Her name is Ally Williamson
She is perfect; she has blondish-brown hair and all I do . . .
Is dream about her

I remember when my brother Paul saved my life
Bullies were going to set me on fire
But then Paul came to the rescue . . .
And he saved me
My mom is leaving for Spokane with Cindy and her friends
They will watch Spartans take on the Fighting Knights
But before they leave they yell.
Go Spartans!
Since I can’t take care of myself
Whenever I’m home alone
A girl comes to babysit me . . .
Her name is Vonda

Suddenly there is a knock on the door
It is Dad
Since Dad is here, Vonda leaves
It is the first time my Dad and I are alone . . .
I’m afraid he’s going to kill me

My dad comes into my room
He came to talk to me
He talks to me about when I was born . . .
And how he prayed

Words are starting to fade from my Dad
Crackle-crackle-crackle
Red light, blue light . . .
Seizure



Deep Down Popular
by Phoebe Stone
(a free verse narrative poem by Hannah)

Jessie Lou, not your average girl
Gets to walk Conrad home from school
He hurt his knee, so he wears a brace
He needs help to and from school
He keeps talking about this dumb doctor
“Oh, he’s going to fix my knee!”
I want to be able to walk with him.

So, snip, snip, snip, my hair is to my shoulders.

My sister Melinda is in a beauty pageant
So of course she gets all the attention
Everything she wants, everything she needs
Melinda this, Melinda that.
I’m glad she didn’t win, real glad
But she was so sad we didn’t go to the carnival.
It’s so not fair. I hate her.

So, snip, snip, snip, my hair is to my chin.

My on and off friend Tiny Bailey
Is making a plane for the parade
He’s been sneaking into the old barn
I think I’ll use him for the discovery project
His plane idea wasn’t a huge hit for the parade
I thought it was good, though no one else did

So, snip, snip, snip, my hair is at my eyes.

Its raining outside, its such a
Slow and gloomy day
Until Conrad’s a-knockin’
On my door, asking to be my date
I run upstairs, jumping into clothes
So he won’t have to wait
We go to the dance, laughing and playing
At the end he kisses me

And I feel Deep Down Popular.



War of the Rats
by Paul Dowswell
(a rhyming narrative poem by Jeff )

In Stalingrad war rages on
Can the Germans be withdrawn?

Both forces will fight through and through
Who do you think withdrew?

The German Sixth Army arrives alive
Can the battered Russians survive?

The battlefield, like a vision of Hell
For the Nazis it's not going well

The most lethal soldier of all, the sniper
The best one of all, Zaitsev, a deadly viper

Zaitsev got forty kills
Due to his amazing skills

Zaitsev takes on another sniper
Which one will need a body diaper

At the end of the battle
The Nazis are rattled

For the Führer, their boss
Has suffered his first major loss



Waiting for Anya
by Michael Morpurgo
(a free verse narrative poem by Cristina)

German soldiers invaded my town
They destroyed Jewish families
Then I met Benjamin
He trusted me
Told me he was Jewish
Had a daughter named Anya
Waiting for her to come
Benjamin took children to Spain for freedom
I knew I had to help
Food
Clothes
They gave me money to buy supplies
German soldiers multiplied
Like cockroaches
Checking every house
We had to hide the children
Dad came home from war
And helped Benjamin
They took the children to Spain
To be free
Like a bird
They made it safely
Every child
Then something went wrong
German soldiers found Benjamin
My dad and I could do nothing
That hurt my heart
Like a big empty hole
They took him to a camp
A concentration camp
Soon the German soldiers left
Left the town
They can't hurt Jews
And make more rules
German soldiers who hurt Jews
Made Jews' lives like hell
Then the day came
She was here
Anya
She is here
But her dad gone
All this time he waited for her
But now he is gone, probably dead



A Friend Called Anne
by Jacqueline Van Maarsen
(a rhyming narrative poem by Calista)

When war started in Amsterdam
That's when Jacqueline met Anne

She walked with Anne to her house
All dressed up in a nice blouse

On the day of Anne's party
A few people arrived tardy

Jacqueline called Anne to play
This is what Anne had to say

I am busy, I can't talk right now
But I'll call you later somehow

Jacqueline wondered where Anne went
Because she left without a hint

Jews started to leave the town
Then the population went down

On the day of liberation
The biggest problem was starvation

Anne's father came home with news
That would make them both blue

He said Anne and Margot died
Then later Jacqueline cried and cried

Jacqueline got to read Anne's diary
That made her very merry

Mr. Frank decided to publish it
Then it became a big hit

Mr. Frank was a good guy
But then cancer made him die



Holes
by Louis Sachar
(a rhyming narrative poem by Tyler)

Stanley Yelnats has a horrible curse
It takes him to the worst place in the universe

The place is called Camp Green Lake
Digging all day just makes him ache

Only the warden know why they dig
Maybe she is looking for something big

He meets a kid named Zero
Can he help Zero read and be a hero?

One day Zero runs away
People thought he was going to decay

In the desert, Stanley found him
Their chances in the sandy oasis were dim

They decide to climb God's Thumb
While the pair are climbing, they become glum

After resting on God's Thumb for a while
The pair walk back over a mile

A couple of hours before daybreak
They are digging around Camp Green Lake.

While the pair are digging for treasure
Stanley falls into a hole with displeasure

There are toxic lizards in the hole
At least they aren't out of control

While lying in the hole with the blues
Stanley's lawyer comes with good news

"You're leaving Camp Green Lake,
and it looks like you have a suitcase to take."

Right before Stanley's very eyes
There is a suitcase with his name on it nearby

Stanley and Zero open the suitcase
They meet a lot of money face to face

Zero goes with Stanley to his abode
Off in a nice car they rode

Most students and I agreed that the best poem of the year was written by Ismael. His poem was written in quatrains and was based on the book A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer. Because of the mature nature of the book and poem, I elected not to publish it on our class blog. Congratulations to all my young readers and writers for a job well done!

Anne Frank at Plant City High School

The Plant City High School Players' presentation of The Diary of Anne Frank was scheduled at the right time for Mr. Blount's Class, right in the middle of our Holocaust unit of study and the day after our visit with Holocaust survivor Mr. Salomon Wainberg. So we decided to take an after school field trip to the Thursday night performance. There were twenty students, parents, and friends in our group, and we met at the PCHS auditorium for a powerful performance.

Kristin at the box office.

Brad and Robby at the door.

PCHS made us feel welcome.

A part of our group before showtime.

Alix and Allie

Victoria, Michael & Ashley

The Plant City High School auditorium held many memories for me. For one, it was the very stage where I performed many times as a junior at PCHS during the 1974-75 school year. Secondly, it was great to see many of my former students such as Kristin, who greeted me and sold me my ticket at the box office. Kristin has a beautiful voice and sings with the vocal ensemble Montage at PCHS. It is the same group, formerly named Opus I, that I sang with when I was in high school. I didn't teach Brad and Robby, but I taught Brad's brother Chris and I knew Robby from the Tomlin hallways. I have great memories of the year I taught Alix and Allie. No one enjoys a laugh quite like Alix; I can still picture her with her head thrown back cheering our knight during the Medieval Times field trip that year. And how could I forget Allie? I remember thinking the first day she sat at her desk in my classroom that she had the biggest smile I had ever seen. (Her brother Jeff is in my class this year.) Victoria, Michael, and Ashley are three of the five Watkins siblings I taught. Ashley is a former Strawberry Queen and currently attends Southeastern University, my alma mater. Allie, a senior at PCHS, was not at the play because she was on her way to the Miss Florida USA pageant. Joie Cleckler, first cousin, played Margot Frank in the play. Victoria and Michael are the youngest members of the Watkins clan, all of whom were great students when they were in my class.

Mr. Frost, director, introduces the play.

An amazing, authentic set.

Anne writes in her diary by lamplight.

The Frank and Van Daan families celebrate Hanukkah in hiding.

Thomas, Saulo, and Benji enjoy intermission.

The Plant City Players gave an amazing performance. Hats off to PCHS, Mr. Frost, and the entire cast of The Diary of Anne Frank!

I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.

—Anne Frank
1929-1945

A Holocaust Survivor Visits Our Class

My class was blessed with a rare and memorable experience last week when Mr. Salomon Wainberg, a Holocaust survivor, visited our class and shared his amazing story. Mr. Wainberg's visit was the fulfillment of a dream I had carried for many years to actually host a survivor in my classroom. Through all the years I have been teaching Holocaust education, only once did my students hear a survivor's story in person, and that was when we took a field trip to the Florida Holocaust Museum several years ago and heard Sam Shryber give his testimony. In fact, it was only through my participation in the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Teacher's Program in Poland and Israel that I realized hosting a Holocaust survivor in my classroom was a very real possibility.

Salomon Wainberg was born April 15, 1936, in Zelechow, Poland, to a Jewish family who owned a food store and warehouse. He was only three when the Germans invaded Poland in 1939. Soon after invasion, the family home was enclosed in the Zelechow Ghetto, and a family of four from the country was forced to move in with them.

On Tuesdays, non-Jews were allowed to enter the ghetto market, and rumors began to trickle in from farmers who lived near Treblinka about full trains entering the camp and empty trains leaving, sparks at night from the chimney, and the smell of burning flesh. Then, in 1942, a cousin of the Wainberg's escaped Treblinka and confirmed the horrible news.

Mr. Wainberg's father made contact with a Mr. Edvard Turek to arrange for a hiding place in the country, but before anyone was able to leave, Mr. Wainberg was picked up by the Nazis and taken with a work crew out of the ghetto. Before he left, he directed Mrs. Wainberg to send their two daughters to a Mr. & Mrs. Sokol's farmhouse that night, and for her to leave with the two boys the following night. The girls escaped, but the next morning was two days after Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and the Nazis had selected that day to begin liquidating the ghetto. Mrs. Wainberg fled down the street with her two boys and hid in an attic with 36 other people for 16 days while the Nazis looted the ghetto. Eventually Mrs. Wainberg and her sons were able to escape, but she got lost and they had to spend the day in the loft of a barn. The next night when they finally arrived at the farmhouse they were reunited with the two girls and surprisingly, Mr. Wainberg, who had gotten away from the work detail.


The Wainberg family hid in the cellar of the farmhouse with a total of 24 people. Every day Mr. Sokol would bring them buckets of soup and water, and he would take out their buckets of waste. The conditions in the cellar were very difficult. Some people smoked, and in April of 1943, one of the men died from tuberculosis. They were unable to bury him for three days.

One day, in June of 1944, while the Sokol family was working in the fields, they heard boots on the floor above their heads. They were terrified, and two of the young men in the group who had guns announced that if anyone entered the cellar, they would begin shooting. They heard the closet on wheels that covered the hidden entrance moving and then a series of trap doors opening. When the cellar door opened, there was a shootout. Young Salomon blacked out, and when he awoke, the cellar occupants were lined up along a wall and blood was everywhere. Their captors were Polish bandits, not Nazis, and they wanted money. Mr. Wainberg fabricated a story about hidden gold in the ghetto, and the bandits believed him, but by the time they buried the dead from the shootout, including one of the Wainberg daughters and an aunt, it was nearing daylight. Mr. Wainberg convinced the bandits to leave and return at night so that he could lead them to the gold.


While the bandits were away, the survivors fled and began a 7-week journey wandering from place to place stealing from food storage caves and hiding in rye fields. At the end of July 1944, conditions worsened and they could hear the sounds of battle in the distance. On August 2, 1944, they met up with Russian troops who escorted them back to Zelechow. A man who had bought the Wainberg home from the Germans gave it back to them. Only ten of the 24 people who had hidden in the cellar survived.

In 1943 there had been approximately 15,000 Jews in the Zelechow Ghetto. By January of 1945, only 250 remained. One day that same month, Polish farmers came to market with pitchforks and sickles to "finish the Nazis' job." Nine Jews were killed, and 36 were wounded in the pogrom.


Eventually, through a twisted course of events, Salomon Wainberg made his way to the United States and became a CPA. He retired in 1998 and moved to the Tampa area to be near his grandchildren.

When asked about the Righteous Among the Nations status of his rescuers, Mr. Wainberg said that later, after the cellar occupants escaped, Mr. Sokol's rescue efforts were discoverd by the Nazis, and he was executed. The other rescuers requested that he halt efforts to seek righteous status for them due to the unpopularity of the honor among their neighbors.

My mother, Mrs. Evelyn Blount, videotaped Mr. Wainberg's testimony.

Our class is collecting money to send a donation in Mr. Wainberg's honor to the Florida Holocaust Museum in hopes of furthering Holocaust education in our area.



Links:

Memorial Book of the Community of Zelechow

Wikipedia: Zelechow

Yad Vashem

Medieval Times Field Trip

Last week, the Wolf Team took a field trip to Medieval Times in Kissimmee. A fun time was had by all!

Charter buses beat school buses anyday!

Waiting in line.

Fidelis went all out.

Five jesters and a knight.

Lovely ladies in waiting.

The call to the banquet hall.

Ready for the feast and fun. Go Red Knight!

Dr. Carbaugh joined us for the event.

Shhh! The tournament is about to begin.

The knights parade in.

Focus Title: Daniel's Story

We have been doing our World War II and the Holocaust unit of study for several weeks now, and we recently finished reading Daniel's Story, our unit focus novel. Daniel's Story is the official children's book of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Many teachers of Holocaust education prefer to use diaries and memoirs of the period rather than fiction with their students, and I truly recognize the value of first-person literature. Although Daniel's Story is fiction, it is based primarily on actual events, and it gives the young reader a great introductory overview of the period. I think it is a good story, and my students really enjoy it.

Our Holocaust unit of study incorporates many different resources including informational and picture books, slides from my trips to Holocaust sites in Poland and Yad Vashem in Israel, documentaries and movies, various learning activities, viewing of primary sources, and a truly special event you will hear more about this week. Of all the literary and thematic units I have conducted over the years, our study of the Holocaust is the one my former students seem to remember the most. As well it should be.

Mrs. Field Speaks During Geography Class

A few weeks ago Mrs. Field, our media specialist, visited our geography class to share about her travels to Morocco and Egypt. Her first-hand stories and photos gave gave us an authentic experience to supplement our study of the continent of Africa. Mrs. Field has not let an injury slow her down while meeting the media needs of our school.



Thanks, Mrs. Field, for visiting us and sharing your experiences!