UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY – Hannah Peacock

Well finals week is finally here! I have decided to update my last ( ) blog post before I get super-duper overwhelmed with finals and packing and moving and getting everything ready for our house next year and, well, everything that comes along with the end of the school year.

I truly can't believe that this school year is almost over and my college career is half over (two years down, two to go)! Time has gone by so fast that it seems I am just standing still and everything else around me is whizzing by! But to be honest, I am ready for break, and my brain is too! 

I have a fun filled summer ahead of me though! First, I will be working at Subway back home. I will also be working as a Summer Orientation Assistant (SOA) here at the school. For those of you who don't know what an SOA is here is a short description: we are the assistants who familiarize the incoming freshmen and transfer students to the University on their orientation day before school starts. SOA's are the "leaders" of the groups which rotate around to different stations to begin the enrollement process to the University. (If any of you reading this have attended or are attending UIU then you know what I am talking about.) Furthermore I will be training horses this summer back home (so if you have horses and you need a trainer you know who to call). I also hope to get out and go camping with my horses and family and enjoy the (hopefully) beautiful summer weather. Currently I am also shooting in an 8 week summer archery league out at Camp Hitaga in Troy Mills, Iowa! Hopefully my partner and I do well! Other than all that, I hope to spend time with friends and family and catch up with people who I don't get to see during school.

I guess that is enough about my summer but I figured I would share my plans with you. So to finish off my last blog post I want to say thanks to everyone who has been reading these and that I hope everyone has a great summer! Enjoy your time away from school and the weather and time with family and friends! And good luck to everyone on finals!

Last random fact of the week: Kansas state law requires pedestrians crossing the highways at night to wear tail lights.

HAPPY SUMMER!

I don't know about anybody else but I have started a countdown until summer break! (8 days) I can't wait to get out of the classroom and enjoy the beautiful weather. (Plus my brain is ready for some time off.) But, this is the final week before finals on Thursday and Friday next week. There is always a ton of stuff to try and cram into these last few weeks such as last minute homework, projects, and tests. Plus you have to pack and start getting ready to move out of the dorms. But, on the bright side, only a few weeks of stress then its summer! But good luck to everyone on their finals and enjoy the weather while it's not raining!

Random fact of the week: The cost of raising a medium-sized dog until the age of 11 is $6,400!

The question has been brought to my attention: Are there corner pieces on a round cake? This is a very legitimate question if you enjoy the corner pieces of cake! But honestly can there be a corner piece on a round cake? Being a math major this puzzles me because the definition of a corner is something with many tangent lines, but at any point on a circle there is only one tangent line. So does that mean that there can not be any corner pieces, even after you cut it? Or does this simply mean that you will get a wedge for a piece? but what if you don't cut the cake into wedges but into strips and make squares? There are so many different ways to look at it, but I just say eat the whole cake and you don't have to worry about it!!! If you have any thoughts on this topic please let me know!

Anyway, this week on campus it is Residence Life week! For residence life week there are a variety of different activities going on including a glow stick party, mattress races, and are you smarter than a freshman games. If you are interested in learning more about the various activities going on the rest of the week contact the Office of Student Development (OSD)! Next week kicks off GREEK week with another fun filled week of activities and events! Wednesday April 21st is also Fayette Appreciation Day at 8 am!

The random fact for this week: On average there are 178 sesame seeds on the top of a McDonalds BigMac bun.

Well its the fourth week of classes which means that this term is half over and which also means that there are only four more weeks of school until summer break! (that is if you are not taking a May term class!) I am super excited! And this term is going by so fast, as I knew it would! But I hate to make this post extremely short but I have to get to work at the Tutor Center!

And here is a new addition to my blog.. it's a random fact of the week! This weeks random fact is....... : That half of all Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace!

First off I want to say that I didn't post anything last week and I am sorry! I had a very, very hectic week last week and that is just one of the numerous things on my to-do list that got over-looked.

Anyway, this week is not much better but I am TRYING to get everything accomplished.

It is currently the 3rd week of the term, which only means 5 weeks to go then its summer vacation! WooHoo! The weather is getting nicer and nicer everyday which makes it so much harder to concentrate and stay inside during classes and to finish homework. But I have to admit that when I do finally leave the building (which is usually around 7pm) it is still light outside, plus (if you look really hard) you can see some green grass popping up out of the ground!  It makes me excited to finally realize SPRING is on its way!

Happy Easter everyone, enjoy your Friday off!

Well spring break is already over and it's back to the hustle and bustle of school! Although spring break is supposed to be a relaxing and "refreshing" the weather made things a little gloomy around my house. Every day seemed to be dark, rainy, or foggy with little to no sunshine at all which really made me depressed. I guess it wasn't all that bad because seven out of the nine days we had for break I was working indoors, which took my mind off the fact that I could be outside but I was not.

Other than working during spring break I got to ride my horses (not in snow) for the first time this year! The first "non-snow" ride of each year really makes me happy because I then know that spring is coming and I can ride more often!

Spring break also brought me some great news... I got three calls from people who want me to train their horses this summer. This is exciting because not only can I make some extra money this summer but I will be doing something that I really enjoy and something that I am good at. (Plus it will keep me occupied and not fighting with my sister.) 

Well, off to do homework even though it is only the first week of school! Good luck with the new term!

Hello SPRING!

Well finals week is finally here and it is busy, busy, busy!  Finals are Thursday and Friday, March 4th and 5th and then it is time for a much needed SPRING BREAK! 

For finals week the dorms mandate 24-hour quiet hours until Friday at noon. This is for all the residents who wish for it to be quiet so they can study for their final exams.  Also, there is a Midnight Breakfast sponsered on Wednesday March 3rd at 10:00 pm for any resident interested. This is free for residents and give them the much needed brain food for last minute cramming! There are also massages and pet therapy Wednesday and Thursday for those students who need to relax and destress from the pressure  of their finals.

Well, I better get to writing my final paper myself!

Good luck to everyone on their finals and have a WoNdErFuL spring break!

It is hard to believe that it is almost finals week; I feel like this term has gone by so fast! Besides the fact that next week is finals, there is plenty to do. Finals week always brings plenty of last minute lessons and homework asignments! Not to mention homework but also the finals themseleves and all the stress that comes with them.

If you find yourself stressing out about finals, don't worry because every other college student feels the same way! Just remember to relax and work regular breaks into your studying patterns. Group study sessions are also a great way to study and utilize your resources! So study hard, good luck on your finals!

First off, I want to say to everyone who reads these blogs, I am so sorry this blog is late!!!!!

Now, for the meat of my blog, I am currently at the Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) Conference in Des Moines, Iowa. I am the Student Director on the Executive Board for the ICTM. For the past few days I have been corresponding with other Mathematics Teacher Education students around Iowa and informing them about the Pre-Conference and Conference sessions that were held February 18th and 19th, 2010 in Des Moines, Iowa. These conferences are similar to continuing education classes in the sense that you go to different sessions throughout the day about various aspects of math and teaching.

Other than working on ICTM correspondence, I am excited to tell you that have been placed at Valley High School in Elgin, Iowa for my 20-hour Practicum. I am placed in Mrs. Hinton's math classes which include Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Advanced Algebra, and Functions, Statistics, and Trigonometry. So far I have been in the classroom for a total of 10 hours and have had a fantastic time interacting and observing how a classroom runs and how/what the role of the teacher is within a classroom. 

Since my next blog is going to be coming out on Tuesday (you can count on it) I will make this one short and sweet! I finally want to say that if you have any questions about the ICTM Conference or are interested in more information about it (for those of you teachers out there reading this) please let me know and I will be more than willing to give you more information. Also, once again I am sorry my blog is late, but I have not had the time to just sit down and write due to my hectic schedule.

More and more snow has fallen in North- eastern Iowa over the past few days causing a hypnotizing and extremely white "Winter Wonderland". With all this snow I have personally avoided the outdoors for the simple fact that I hate being cold. Breaks in my schedule do not come very often, thus I took advantage of the multiple delays and cancellations of my classes and practicum. First, over the past few days I have dilligently occupied my bed and caught up on some much needed sleep. I also took advantage of this new found free time to do such things as laundry, cleaning, running, and even homework. Although this break in my hectic life has been much needed and well deserved I am ready to get back to my busy schedule since I am the type of person who enjoys always being busy and active!

Also, speaking of hypnotizing, the X-rated hypnotist Sailesh will be coming to Upper Iowa University tomorrow, Thursday, February 11th,  2010! He will be in the East Cafe at 7 pm! Hope to see many of you there!