Thursday, January 28, 2016

Ladakh Semester Final - Class Recap


Congratulations! If you passed the class, you have completed a semester of Global Studies! Photo taken at Niagara Falls in 2010.

Dear class,

Today was finals day in class and, as promised, we did a essay test on the Ladakh, with multiple different possibilities for learning targets to address. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1:  I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.

Soundtrack: "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. Selected for today because Ladakh is located in Kashmir, India. A classic song! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/28/16:
News Brief – Jonathan F.
Grades
Class Feedback
Ladakh Final

Homework: Read the blog. Good luck on the rest of finals! See you next week! Next news brief: Jonathan B.

News Brief: Jonathan F. selected an article about this story for the news brief today: CNN.com - Israeli vulture detained in Lebanon on suspicion of being a spy. What a fascinating story! We talked about the geography of Lebanon next to Israel, and perhaps some of the paranoia there. We also discussed the Flint, Michigan water crisis and what happened there. Thanks, everyone!

Jonathan B volunteered to do the next news brief.

We forgot to watch the one minute BBC World News update in class (I was busy with trying to go quickly to give students enough time on the final). Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Grades: After the news and checking in with students about if anything fun or interesting was going on outside of class, I talked about how grades for the class (and the final) would work. Basically, the Westview Global Studies team has a general agreement to use the final to help improve student grades, instead of bring them down. That said, if there is an obvious lack of effort or knowledge, we will take that into account, as well. So, if you are an A student, you can be almost assured of keeping that grade. If you have a lower grade, the final is an opportunity to improve. I am only going to put scores in the gradebook (StudentVUE) that improve grades (so you might just see a blank grade for your final), so that I can finish grading everything by the deadline. We have a grading day on Friday (no students), so I am hoping to submit grades then.

Class Feedback: In the spirit of assessment, I asked students to provide me with some feedback about how class has been going this year so far, and what can be improved. The four questions that I asked students to anonymously answer were:

What do you like about this class? What do you think you as students are good at?

What does this class (you, as students) need to improve at?

What do you like about Mr. Fritz as a teacher? What is Mr. Fritz good at as a teacher?

What does Mr. Fritz need to improve at as a teacher?

I will show everyone the combined results from this next class, so we can learn about what is working and what could be improved. Thanks for participating in this!

Ladakh Final: This was the assignment for the rest of class. As promised, I let students use notes from the previous class(es) on Ladakh. The test itself was four questions (all the questions needed to be answered), followed by a short response essay for each one. There were five different learning target possibilities that the final addressed (written out above). I am looking forward to reading these over and assessing where you are at! If students finished early, there was time to quietly work in class.

Final grades for the semester are due by Monday morning. Thanks for your hard work, everyone! See you next week! :-)
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Monday, January 25, 2016

Ladakh Final Prep - Class Recap


We finished the Ladakh documentary in class today, in which we learned that many of the people there are Buddhist. This is a famous Buddhist temple (Swayambhunath) in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo taken in 2015.

Hi everyone,

Today was our last day of preparation for the semester final, which will be later this week. I think we are generally in a good place and ready to take it! Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Communication LT 1:  I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Critical Thinking LT 1: I can explain multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Knowledge LT 10: I can demonstrate an understanding of the connection between the physical and human systems.
Knowledge LT 15: I can explain how culture both reflects and shapes society.
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.

Soundtrack: "Final Hour" by Lauryn Hill. Selected for today because it is the last class before finals, and Ms. Hill references a thesis in her song lyrics.

AGENDA 1/25/16:
News Brief – Sergio
Seminar Debrief
Ancient Futures, Part 2
Ladakh Final Prep

Homework: Read the blog. Prepare for finals (see below)! Period 2 final is Wednesday at 7:45. Next news brief: Jonathan F.

News Brief: Sergio selected an article about this story for the news brief today: TheGuardian.com - Isis video threatening UK claims to show Paris attackers in Syria and Iraq. We found Syria again in our world maps and talked about the continuing violence there.

Jonathan F. was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Seminar Debrief: I wanted to talk a little about how the Socratic Seminar on the Rise of Hitler reading went last class. I was super pleased with how students were able to take control and lead the discussion! I also randomly chose a few students today in class to give their opinion on the activity. It did seem like the consensus was that it was worthwhile and interesting, so I will look for ways to incorporate it again in the future!

I also told everyone that the Behavior Learning Target grades for the mini-unit on the Holocaust are now in the grade book and can be looked at on StudentVUE. I think it is a good indication of where everyone is at! Thank you for participating!

Ancient Futures, Part 2: As I have been explaining in class, your final will be based on a case study of what happened in Ladakh, which is an region in India. Students will be asked to write about many different aspects of the Ladakh, using almost all of the learning targets we have been through this semester.

Here is the reading packet I passed out last class. Students were taking notes on the back page during the documentary:

We watched the rest of this famous documentary, looking at traditional Ladakh.  Students are analyzing how it has changed, and how geography, culture, and structures of power play a role in the society.


This is an old movie, for sure (I remember watching it when I was in high school), and also so good at going over the themes we have been talking about all semester.

Ladakh Final Prep: Please finish your notes on the different learning targets and how they relate to the case study of the Ladakh by reviewing the reading material! Let me know if you are confused about how to prepare. See you next class, for our last class of the semester!
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Thursday, January 21, 2016

The Holocaust, Day 4 - Class Recap


A quote on the wall of the Miami Holocaust Memorial. Our discussion today in class had a large part to do with whether or not we believe something like this could happen again. Photo taken in 2011.

Dear class,

This was a somewhat challenging day for me as a teacher, to try and give control over to student discussion. Although there were points where it was quiet and awkward, I still think almost everyone did well and that the conversation was productive. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT 2:  I can self-direct my learning.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "Talk" by Coldplay. Selected for today because most of the class was made up of students talking about the rise of Hitler and whether or not it could happen again. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/21/16:
News Brief – Isaac
Socratic Seminar
Ladakh Readings
Ancient Futures, Part 1

Homework: Read the blog. Prepare for finals (see below)! Next news brief: Sergio.

News Brief: Issac selected an article about this story for the news brief today: BBC.com - Five SA children die 'locked in freezer'. This was a very sad story to start the day. Isaac came up and pointed out where this happened, and we talked about how it could have happened, too.

Sergio was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Socratic Seminar: This was the first time we have attempted to do this in class, and I think it went really well! I was proud of everyone participating.

This was the reading that we were discussing in class:


The questions and answers that I wanted the class to do in preparation for the discussion on this were:

1) What happened so that Hitler could get power?

2) Make three discussion questions (not yes or no answers) about the reading. Try to base your questions on specific quotes from the reading.

I passed out this form for assessing how the discussion and unit went, which will be graded on the behavior learning targets: 

Google Drive: Socratic Seminar Self-Assessment

I explained that I wanted the discussion to be student led and directed, and then I tried to get out of the conversation as much as possible. Overall, I was pleased with the conversation and I think you touched on some really important issues and questions! Thanks for being willing to participate. We will talk more about this next class. Of course, there were times when I wanted to jump in and provide more information or bring up a question, but that was not my role! Important for me to remember, too.

After the discussion, we finished the Behavior targets self-assessment, then moved on.

Ladakh Readings: As I have been explaining in class, your final will be based on a case study of what happened in Ladakh, which is an region in India. Students will be asked to write about many different aspects of the Ladakh, using almost all of the learning targets we have been through this semester.

To start, here is the reading packet I passed out. Students are taking notes on the back page during the documentary:


Please treat this as homework. There will be time next class to finish this, and it would also be great to have ready, so you can study after the documentary finishes.

Ancient Futures, Part 1: We watched the first 10:30 or so in this famous documentary, looking at traditional Ladakh. Next class, the documentary will switch to more modern Ladakh. Students are analyzing how it has changed, and how geography, culture, and structures of power play a role in the society.


This is an old movie, for sure (I remember watching it when I was in high school), and also so good at going over the themes we have been talking about all semester.

Next class, we will finish the documentary and I will give students final prep time. I look forward to seeing everyone then! Almost there to the end of the semester!
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

The Holocaust, Day 3 - Class Recap


The Boston Holocaust Memorial was one of the most powerful I have seen. As you walk through the glass, steam comes up from the grates, and names of people that were killed in various concentration camps are on the sides of the glass. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

We are getting closer and closer to finals! A couple of more days of learning about the Holocaust, and then we are there! Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 1:  I can manage my responsibilities as a student.
Behavior LT 2:  I can self-direct my learning.
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2. Selected for today because the song is in large part about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose legacy we honored on Monday with not having school. I hope you did something to try and serve our community with your time! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/19/15:
News Brief – Zack
Finish Tea Party
Rise of Hitler
Socratic Seminar Prep

Homework: Read the blog. Finish reading the Rise of the Nazis article and making 3 discussion questions for next class. Prepare for finals! Next news brief: Isaac.

News Brief: Zack selected an article about this story to bring in: NBCNews.com - Motorcycle Suicide Attack Hits Major Pakistan Highway, Killing 10. We found Pakistan in the Middle East on the world map packet, and we talked about the continuing conflict with the Taliban in the region.

Isaac was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Finish Tea Party: After the news, we finished the "tea party" activity from last class. Instead of just giving students a reading, I though this was a more interesting way for everyone to learn (and move around, and talk with each other) about some key figures and events in Nazi Germany. Here is the assignment that students filled out:


And here is the document of different events and people that students were learning about, in terms of their importance in helping the Nazi government establish and maintain power (the knowledge target for the unit):


Thanks for doing a good job with this activity!

Rise of Hitler: I asked how the Holocuast was possible, and if we could consider something like this happening to us - either as the Nazis or the persecuted people. I think it is hard to consider ourselves capable of such horrific acts. Which is why the Stanford Prison Experiment is so famous. Basically, it was a psychological experiment based on assigning roles to Stanford students (really smart people) - either as "prison" guards or prisoners. The prisoners were taken and not allowed out for six days (until the experiment ended early). The prison guards turned into awful, terrible people. Here's the clip we watched in class (there are many others out there - do a search if you want to learn more):


After the clip, I came back to the idea of wondering if something like the Holocaust could happen again. It's a difficult question for historians, and for people in general. We want to believe that people are good. If we aren't careful about learning the history and psychology to combat it, I think there is a better chance of something like this happening again.

With that idea, I passed out this reading, which has to do with how the Nazi political party and Hitler came to power in Germany:


The questions and answers that I wanted the class to do in preparation for a discussion next class on this were:

1) What happened so that Hitler could establish power? Could this happen again?

2) Make three discussion questions (not yes or no answers) about the reading. Try to base your questions on specific quotes from the reading and grounded in reality (NOT: what if World War II never happened?).

Socratic Seminar Prep: Next class, we will have a graded (on the behavior targets) discussion on the Rise of Hitler reading, so I wanted to go over how that will work.

I passed out this self-assessment, which students will use in evaluating themselves on the discussion and unit work:


To go along with the preparation, I also passed out some tips on how a good Socratic Seminar works (it is my hope to sit back and let students run the discussion, so that it is more authentic with participation):


The rest of class was devoted to reading the article and preparing discussion questions. Next class, I am hoping that we can have an interesting, student led discussion on the article and the questions it generates - specifically about if this could possibly happen again.

Thank you for your hard work, everyone! See you next class.
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Thursday, January 14, 2016

The Holocaust, Day 2 - Class Recap


The barbed wire around Auschwitz I in Poland. Photo taken in 2013.

Hi everyone,

Today was another day looking into more depth on the Holocaust genocide. I showed some of my pictures from visiting Auschwitz in 2013, we finished the textbook work, and began  Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "So What" by Miles Davis. A bit of jazz (no lyrics) to start the day! Selected because I wanted to explain the answer to "so what?" in regards to the Holocaust.

AGENDA 1/14/16:
News Brief – David
My Photos
Finish Textbook Work
Tea Party

Homework: Read the blog. All late/missing/revised work is due this Friday (tomorrow)! Check your updated grades and know what to do to improve! MLK Day of Service is on Monday: do something for your community! Next news brief: Zack

News Brief: David had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: CNN.com - U.S. official: Navy boats drifted off-course into Iranian waters. We found Iran in the world map packet and I showed why geography (and country boundary lines) were so important to this story. We also talked about the upcoming long weekend, along with MLK day on Monday.

Zack was selected for the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

My Photos: After the news brief, I showed students photos from my visit to Auschwitz in the summer of 2013. I wanted everyone to see what it actually looks like, and explain what it was like to visit there. Hopefully this was interesting! I would highly encourage anyone interested in history to visit at some point. Incredibly powerful.

Textbook Work: We finished going through the Modern World History textbook and what it has to say about the Holocaust on pages, 502-505. The assigned work in class was:

Summarize the two sections: The Holocaust Begins + The Final Solution

Write out vocab definitions (words in blue)

Complete questions 1-8 at the end of the Chapter (page 505).

After about 20 minutes of work, we went over the answers together, as I randomly called on students. Keep these papers - they will help you with understanding the vocabulary in the unit and in our upcoming discussion!

Tea Party: Obviously, there wasn't any tea, or a party in class. A "tea party" is a teaching activity where students take on the persona of a historical figure or event. In this case, there were eleven different people or events to talk about. I asked that students go around the room talking about their person or event. Here is the worksheet that goes along with this:


The directions were to:
1) Write the event or name of the person you were interviewing down on the left column.
2) Write the top 3 most important elements of the story on the slip of paper.
3) Write how you think the Nazis used the person or event to establish or maintain power.

We did not completely finish this in class, so next time, we will talk about where we ended up and go over the events and people together. Thank you for treating this activity with respect. See you next week!
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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

The Holocaust, Day 1 - Class Recap


Auschwitz II in 2013. The chimneys are the only remainder of much of the camp.

Dear class,

Since everyone read "Night" in Mr. Puterbaugh's class, I thought it was especially important to go over some of the basics of the Holocaust in class. Today was our first day looking more in depth at what happened. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 17: I can explain how and why world societies organize themselves and how power is established and maintained.
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "Rebel Rebel" by David Bowie. Selected for today because David Bowie passed away over the weekend. A total legend, and someone who was speaking about gender and sexual identity issues publicly long before it was socially acceptable to do so. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/12/16:
News Brief – Christian H.
The Holocaust
Textbook Work
Grade Checks

Homework: Read the blog. Check your updated grades and know what to do to improve by Friday! All late or missing work is due then! Watch the State of the Union address tonight at 6 PM, and the Republican Response after! Next news brief: David.

News Brief: Christian H. had the news brief today and selected this story to talk about: BBC.com - Turkey: 'IS suicide bomber' kills 10 in Istanbul Sultanahmet district. This was a breaking news story from this morning, and pretty crazy to me, because I once stayed at a hotel a few blocks away from where the explosion happened. We talked about Turkey being bordered by Syria and how that might impact this event, which seemed to target tourists.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

I also asked about the weekend and what people were up to, before moving on.

The Holocaust: Again, I think it is really important that I not gloss over the history here (especially with Mr. Puterbaugh teaching Night next door), so we began looking at the Holocaust in depth today. To begin, I asked students to make the Cornell Notes template on a blank sheet of paper, then went through this PowerPoint:


All of the pictures in the PowerPoint are from my own travels. I made sure to try and explain each slide in depth and I was happy to try and answer all of the questions from the class.

Along with the PowerPoint, I passed out two papers. This one was a map of the concentration camps and death camps in Europe, along with some statistics about the Holocaust:


The second paper was a timeline of the Holocaust and a "Pyramid of Hate":


All of these are resources that should help you better understand the Holocaust and what Mr. Puterbaugh has been teaching you through "Night."

Textbook Work: Near the end of class, we started looking at the Modern World History textbook and what it has to say about the Holocaust. A mere four total pages, 502-505! That said, it does have a quote from Night at the end, and I did use it to reinforce the vocabulary terms and concepts. The assigned work in class (we will finish next class and go over it together) was:

Summarize the two sections: The Holocaust Begins + The Final Solution

Write out vocab definitions (words in blue)

Complete questions 1-8 at the end of the Chapter (page 505).

That was where we ended for the day. Next class, you will finish the work in the textbook, go over some more information about the Holocaust and how it relates to our lives today, as well as learn about how the Nazi party rose to power.

Grade Checks: At the end of class, I went through everyone's grades on a 1-1 basis, so you should know exactly where you are at in the class. Please make sure you are working on any missing or late work that you need to revise! This Friday will be the last day I accept late work! Let me know if I can help with anything!
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Friday, January 8, 2016

Genocide in Rwanda, Day 8 - Class Recap


The sun has set on the Rwanda unit! Hopefully it had a great impact on you. Next week, we will move on to the last (shorter) unit before finals! Photo taken in Washington, 2009.

Dear class,

Today was spent finishing Hotel Rwanda and talking about grades, to see what could be improved in the lead up to finals. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Behavior LT 2: I can self-direct my learning.

Soundtrack: "Million Voices" by Wyclef Jean. Selected for today because it is a powerful song from the Hotel Rwanda soundtrack. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/8/16:
News Brief - Christian L.
Finish Hotel Rwanda
Movie Assignment
Make Up/Late Work

Homework: Read the blog. Work on any late or incomplete work, which will be be due at the end of next week as a final deadline before finals. Next news brief: Christian H.

News Brief: Christian L. had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: CNN.com - U.N. poised to act against North Korea after latest nuclear test. We talked for a while in class about North Korea, whether or not they actually have a hydrogen bomb, geopolitical relationships in the area, and the possibility of North Korea launching a strike against the United States.

Christian H. was selected to do the next news brief.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Next, I passed back the graded Rwanda speeches, being careful to go over how I scored using the rubrics. In essence:

1) If you did not address imperialism in Rwanda at all, you received a score of 1 on that target.
2) The communication target was the score for your actual speech in front of the class, as well as how well your individual paper followed the format we talked about in class. I included my notes as well as everyone else at the table listening, so you can see what I wrote about how you did.
3) The critical thinking/multiple perspectives target was for talking about the United Nations own definition of genocide, and talking about the perspective of the people of Rwanda during the genocide in your written speech.

If you have individual questions, I would be happy to answer them in person. As with any assignment, you can always revise it (or resubmit it, if you haven't turned it in) to demonstrate a higher level of proficiency, if needed.

Finish Hotel Rwanda: We finally were able to completely finish the movie today! Here is the worksheet of questions to answer as we watched:


I hope you enjoyed the film and found it powerful. I've now seen it dozens of times and I am always struck by how good it is - especially about showing the stages of genocide. Thank you for your focus and attention here!

Movie Assignment: After finishing Hotel Rwanda, I gave students most of the rest of class to be working on the notes that went with the movie. I had students turn the assignment in at the .

Make Up/Late Work: We didn't have time in class to check in about grades on a 1-1 basis. I will try to find time to do so next week! Grades have been updated on the back wall and on StudentVUE, as well. Please know what you need to be working on to improve your grade.

Have a great weekend! Next week, we will start a smaller unit on the Holocaust, which ties in with Mr. Puterbaugh's class and your reading of "Night" there.
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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Genocide in Rwanda, Day 7 - Class Recap


The United Nations negotiating table between South and North Korea. We watched Hotel Rwanda in class today, which also has the United Nations involved. Photo taken in January 2014.

Hello everyone,

Welcome back from break and to 2016! We did not get to meet as planned on Monday due to the Snow/Ice Day, so this was our first day of class back together. Here's what happened in class today:

Learning Targets:
Knowledge LT 20: I can identify the critical components of imperialism.
Communication LT 1:  I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing
Behavior LT 3: I can communicate and work effectively within a team or group.

Soundtrack: "Welcome Back" by Ma$e. Selected for today because it was great to welcome everyone back from break! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/6/16:
News Brief - Mr. Fritz
Break
Speech Debrief
Hotel Rwanda

Homework: Read the blog. Work on any late or incomplete work, which will be be due at the end of next week as a final deadline before finals. Next news brief: Christian L.

News Brief: I had the news brief today, due to the break. Here's the story that I chose to talk about: CNN.com - Saudi Arabia-Iran row spreads to other nations. I talked about the recent execution in Saudi Arabia of a leader from the Shia branch of Islam, and how that really upset people in Iran, which is majority Shia. Saudi Arabia and many countries around it are majority Sunni, so this is a conflict within the religion of Islam. We will learn more about this next semester!

Grace was selected to do the next news brief, but will not be here on Friday, so I assigned it to Christian L. at the end of class.

We also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):


Break: After the news brief, I gave students some time to check in with each other about how break was and what they were up to, then provided the opportunity to share out with the class. I talked a bit about my break and my experience with Mexican culture in Puerto Vallarta and going to Texas for the Alamo Bowl this past weekend!

Speech Debrief: Since the last class before break was spent doing the Rwanda speeches, I wanted to again talk about how much I appreciated and enjoyed your work there. If you have not turned in your individual speech yet, please do so to the box, ASAP. Thank you!

Hotel Rwanda: The rest of class was spent watching the movie Hotel Rwanda (2004). I normally do not show entire movies in class, but this one is SO good and relevant to the Rwanda unit. Here is the worksheet of questions to answer as we watched:


We watched until 57 minutes into the movie in class, and will watch the rest next class

It was so great to see everyone again! Have a great day and see you later this week!
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