Mystery Skype with Students
From Around U.S.A.
eventh-graders in Zach Skrinjar’s geography classes played
rounds of Mystery Skype with students from around the
nation through the Microsoft Educator Community.
Set up by librarian Meghan Clark, students assumed various roles
such as questioner, charter, answerer and silencer. To determine
their roles, each student filled out a job application and defended
why they should be given a specific role.
They worked together to determine the geographic location in
the U.S. of another class of students by asking Yes/No questions via
Skype. The questions students formulated utilized their knowledge
of geographic map skills such as latitude, longitude, time zones and
regions.
Throughout the day, students spoke with other kids from
Indiana, Minnesota and Georgia. As the year proceeds, Mrs. Clark
and Mr. Skrinjar plan to expand the Mystery Skype meetups to
international locations and also take students on virtual field trips
to state and national parks.
Watch Out for a Kindness Rock!
G
rade 8 students at the middle
school in Dawn Zahorchak’s
literacy arts class have designed,
created and distributed colorfully painted
Kindness Rocks with inspirational quotes
throughout the North Hills area as part of
a unit entitled “Kindness Matters.”
The effort is part of The Kindness
Rocks Project, a worldwide campaign
that gained immense popularity this
summer and fall. Students hope their
rocks will promote positivity and bring
a smile to the face of a person who finds
it. Going forward, anyone who finds
a rock is encouraged to post a photo
of them on social media (Facebook,
Instagram or Twitter) with the hashtag
#rockonNHMS2017 and then place the
rock somewhere else to continue the
random act of kindness cycle.
#rockonNHMS2017
50
ROSS TOWNSHIP