Final Exam Week October 5-8

Greetings Lobos!
As we finish our 9th week we have a few reminders for everyone.

First: Spirit Week has been fantastic!
Monday: Mismatch Day
Tuesday: Breast Cancer Awareness Day (Wear Pink)
Wednesday: Tie Day
Thursday: Super Hero Day
Friday: Class Color Day + Spirit Assembly!
Continue to show your Lobo Pride by dressing up according to the daily theme.

Second: Final Exams begin next week!
We will be reviewing the semester's information and practicing on Monday and Tuesday of next week.
We will begin our final exam (100 questions) on Wednesday. We will finish on Thursday along with finalizing our grades. There is no school on Friday (School Grading Day).

My advice to Lobo Students is:

Continue to be here everyday.
Continue to turn in your work on time.
Continue to strive for excellence.

Let's finish the block strong together!

Mr. Rodriguez

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!! LOBO SOCCER (Futbol) WINS!

Congratulations to the Lobo Soccer team for their 7-0 win over Academy of Tucson.

Great Job Coach Harrison and the Lobo Players!

We are all proud of you!

Go Lobos!

Looking at the Future Quick Write American History 9/23/09

Yesterday we took time to look into the future. The students were challenged to look at themselves in the mirror and say what they want to do with their life.

'If there were no restrictions put on you, what job/work/carreer would you pursue?'

The students were to list 5 'dream' jobs they would pursue.

The students then turned to a neighbor and shared their list before sharing selections of their list with the group.

My Dream 5 were:

1. Teach/Coach Oceanside, CA

2. Coach College Football

3. Be a roadie for Motley Crue

4. Work on the beach

5. Own/run a silkscreening business



Some of the student's responses were:

Professional piano player, own a music label, CEO of a fashion line, broadcasting engineer, be a Marine, chef, jet pilot, own a shoe company (skateboard), animator, pro soccer athlete, doctor, pro baseball player, CSI, Sniper, Video Game programmer, movie director, automotive design engineer, author.



The second half of the question was: What happens if your 'dream' job doesn't materialize? What is the back up plan?

This line of questioning made students realize that they must always have a back up plan while pursuing their 'dream'.

My back up/fall back plan to my dream 5 was

1. Teach/Coach in Tucson, AZ. (I already taught and coached in Oceanside for 8 years).

2. Coach Junior College football in Tucson.

3. Be a roadie for a Motley Crue tribute band (sometimes the tribute bands are better than the real thing!)

4. Visit the beach as often as possible.

5. Lean the silkscreen business during the off season.



The student's responses were as follows:

Nurse, Police officer, real estate agent, math teacher, join the armed forces, photo journalist, baseball coach, lawyer, go to college, mechanic school, graphic designer, Chef, probation officer, construction and excavating, firefighter, editor of a fashion magazine, animal care taker, dental assistant, radiologist, interior designer, cosmetologist, soccer coach.



Our students are as talented as any around. They sometimes don't realize just how talented they are. They are universally thankful for Alta Vista High School and the support they receive on a daily basis.

I'm thankful for having great students who work very hard for me daily.

Go Lobos!

Mr. Rodriguez

Joker's Wild Workout Fitness Strategies 9/24/09

As we come to the end of our 8th week, we continue to find new ways to keep our workouts fresh.

Today we did what we describe as 'Joker's Wild'. We have a deck of cards that represent the possibility of 54 separate excercises (52 cards + 2 jokers).

Each card is given a value:

Joker = 50 repetitions, Aces = 30 repetitions, Face Cards = 20 repetitions, 10 Cards = 10 repetitions, and number cards = face value of the number.

Today we completed 20 separate movements for a total of 237 repetitions. The Lobos got their sweat on today and kept the workout fresh! Below is a list of what they accomplished

Push Ups, Crunches, Muscle Ups, Plyometric Vertical Jumps, Jumping Jacks, 4 laps around the ramada area ( around 250 meters per lap), Pull Ups, Tricep Dips on a bench, Incline push ups on a bench, Cartwheels, Leg lifts, Yoga planks.

No Joker's today but we had a few face cards, 10's and aces.

Another great day at the Kino Center!

Fire Up!

Coach Rod

Lobo Freerunning (Parkour) Video Style! 9/24/09

This is my first attempt at posting video of our class. I don't have all of the new 'bells and whistles' technology.
It was filmed with a 4 year old Kodak digital camera (5.0 megapixel).
It was put together on a 6 year old HP Laptop with Windows Movie Maker.
Took me a couple of hours to put together (old technology crashed a couple of times but thankfully auto-saved most of the project:) It should be easier from now on.
The students look really neat on film and truly work their tails off for me in class. This is my first tribute to them. I just hope I do them justice with this 1st project. Thanks go out to the Kino Center for allowing us to use their fantastic facilities and to Alta Vista High School for giving me the opportunity to do what I truly love to do: Teach and coach students.
Fire Up! Coach Rod.

Parkour/Freerunning Lobo Style Part II: Skyriders!

Angel, Shaheed, KJ, Izzy, and E rising above the 7th brick level.

Cool Stuff!

Airborne! Parkour/Freerunning Lobo Style! Part I 9/21/09

Taken From Wikipedia:

Parkour or l'art du déplacement (English: the art of moving) is a physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, as if moving in an emergency situation, using skills such as jumping and climbing.

Free running is a form of urban acrobatics in which participants, known as free runners, use the city and rural landscape to perform movements through its structures. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as trickingand street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving.

For our Lobo Fitness Strategies class, we define it as having fun while working out!

Using our environment at the Kino Center (in this case, brick pillars) we created a series of plyometric jumps while incorporating agility and balance on our landing.

Some of our Lobos are quite athletic and explosive in their movements. Others are just starting to realize the potential they possess.

The students first started with a launch towards the pillar, plant their right foot on the pillar then push off. They were then to land on both feet in an athletic manner (bent knees, ballanced).

They were then to switch feet and push off with the left foot, then land.

They then had to launch with their left leg, touch both right then left feet, then land.

We then added a 'muscle up' at the top of the pillar with a soft landing.

They truly enjoyed the challenge.

Enjoy the photos.

Fire Up!

Coach Rod

Open House Photos Part II 9/18/09

Some more photos of our staff, faculty, students, and Lobo Community enjoying our Open House.

Alta Vista Open House 9/18/09

Alta Vista High School hosted its fall open house this past Friday.

Thank you to all of the families who attended.

Thank you to all the administration, faculty, and staff who helped make this event an annual reality.

Here are some photos of the successful event!

Go Lobos!

American History Puzzle Challenge Leaders Period 2 9/18/09

My second period class did not finish the puzzle in time, but will pick it up on Monday.

Here are some photos of the action!

The current leaders with 31 answers out of 50 are

Coraima, Brianna, Ashley, Veronica, and Cesar.

To be continued.........

American History Puzzle Challenge Champions Period 1 9/18/09

Today our class competed in a crossword puzzle challenge.

It is a collaborative lesson where students had to answer trivia questions that are based on the history of the United States. The clues were taken from regional, collegiate, professsional sports teams, popular culture, and famous citizens.

For example: "The Terminator is governor of this state."

Another example: "Means 'red' in Spanish and home to Rockies and Broncos."

The first group to turn in a completed form would earn an extra 25 points and their photo on our blog! Here are some photos of the action and the results!

CHAMPIONS!

Irving, Miguel, Adriana, Cela

CONGRATULATIONS LOBOS!

Russian Kettlebell Workout, Lobo Style!

Russian Kettlebells (girya) are very popular in today's cutting edge physical fitness programs.
The kettlebell has become a popular exercise tool in the United States due largely to the efforts of strength and flexibility coach Pavel Tsatsouline.
However, the kettlebell is not necessarily a new device. It first appeared in a Russian dictionary in 1704 (Cherkikh, 1994) and was said to be used by Russian Royalty and the Special Forces of the military. Today the device is popular among many military, police, and mixed martial arts (MMA) practitioners.
They come in both kilogram and pound varieties (depending on your preference).
They start as low as 5 lbs. and work their way up to over 100 lbs.
Common Kettlebell lifts are:
Kettlebell swing (The above photos are examples of one and two arm swings)
Kettlebell snatch
Kettlebell jerk
Kettlebell Power Clean Squat Thrust
I personally enjoy the kettlbell because it breaks up the monotony of a workout cycle and keeps my workouts 'fresh'. Make no mistake, I am super sore when I wake up the next morning, but that means I accomplished something the day before.
We used them in what are known in the fitness world as 'Rounds'.
A typical round would include
- two hand kettlebell swings (minimum of 20 reps)
- one armed overhead shoulder press (minimum of 15 reps)
- 4 point burpies (minimum of 20)
- Incline Sprints (using a nearby hill, minimum of 5)
- Jumping Jacks (minimum of 50)
We would then complete 3 to 4 rounds, time permitting.

The kettlebells are widely available today at your local big box department store or sporting goods store. You can also purchase them online. Just search for 'kettlebells' in your browser and multiple sites will pop up.
I purchased mine at GNC (10 lbs), Sport Authority (15 lbs) and Wal-Mart (20 lbs).
I plan to purchase a couple of more (25 lbs and 30 lbs) in the next few weeks.
Fire Up!

Fitness Strategies Photos II 9/17/09

Some photos of our speed ladder routine.
Our quickness and agility has increased over the past 7 weeks.
As I describe to the students, they can now 'walk and chew gum.'
Lobos are working hard every day.

Fitness Strategies 9/17/09

Here are some photos of our static warm up.

Fitness Strategies Photos III

Finishing up our workout on 9/16/09.
Great Job Lobos!