Mystery Class Update: April 18, 2003
Today's Report Includes:
- Everyone Loves a Mystery
- Teachers: Don't Throw it All Away!
- Now Playing: Winning Isn't Everything
- Another Stellar Performance! Special Thanks
- A World of Top Secret Thanks
- FINAL Sunrise/Sunset Times
- FINAL CLUES From Your Mystery Friends
- Important Rules For Preparing Your Answer
- Checklist: How to Submit
- Clues Calendar: What's Ahead for Mystery Class
Everyone Loves a Mystery
Have you unlocked the mystery of
where in the world the ten Mystery Classes are hiding? Well, here's a little
help. In this Update, we're providing the FINAL sunrise/sunset data and
FINAL clues to help you further narrow your search. The countdown has begun,
good luck in your quest!
Teachers:
Don't Throw it All Away!
We know you and your students have worked very hard on this Activity over
the past several months. So don't throw it away by not following the rules
and instructions. The complete Instructions and Rules on how to prepare
and submit your class' answer are provided below. Be sure to follow these
Instructions carefully! And remember, your answer must be received no
later than Friday April 25! Don't be tardy--late entries will not be eligible
for the contest portion of Mystery Class.
Students sometimes focus heavily on "winning" the Mystery Class Activity, so please be sure to remind them that the contest portion is only a small part of Mystery Class. First and foremost, Mystery Class is about student learning.
Take a look at this inspirational video clip of Mystery Class Veteran Teacher and Journey North Advisory Board member, Cathie Plaehn, reminding her students how far they have all come since the beginning of the Activity:
| |
 Look How Far You've Come Video Clip Tips |
 |
Another Stellar Performance! Special Thanks
Before we go any further, we want to send a special thanks to some of the people who have worked "in the shadows" to make the Mystery Class Activity run so smoothly.
Thank you to Rod Nerdahl, astronomy expert and former Program Coordinator at the Minneapolis Planetarium. Rod has been a very important contributor behind the scenes for several years now! He has helped to keep our weekly sunrise and sunset listings "on time" by researching and providing standard sunrise/sunset and latitude/longitude data. Rod is truly a "Mystery Class Star." Ad astra (To the stars), Rod!
A World of Top Secret Thanks
We'd also like to thank the ten secret Mystery Sites which are located in... oops! We almost let your secret out. Sorry we can't say where you are--YET! Since you're still top secret, we'll save our full thanks to you for a few more weeks. Then, we'll tell the world all about you. You've all worked so hard, and we can't wait for everyone to finally meet you. Thank you!
FINAL Sunrise/Sunset Times
Remember, the secret Mystery sites recorded their times last Monday, the same day you collected your own local sunrise/sunset data.
Journey North Mystery Class
Sunrise/Sunset Data
Data For: Monday, April 14, 2003
| MYSTERY CLASS |
SUNRISE |
SUNSET |
| #1 |
06:06 |
19:32 |
| #2 |
06:13 |
18:50 |
| #3 |
06:00 |
17:41 |
| #4 |
05:34 |
18:06 |
| #5 |
06:38 |
20:31 |
| #6 |
06:55 |
19:20 |
| #7 |
00:00* |
00:00* |
| #8 |
06:19 |
18:26 |
| #9 |
06:59 |
20:41 |
| #10 |
05:25 |
17:43 |
* Journey North
Mystery Class #7 reported 00:00 for their times and said "No
light, we're in for a LONG night."
(Note: Military time is usually expressed without any punctuation.
We have used a ":" between the hours and minutes for clarity.)
FINAL CLUES From Your Mystery Friends
| Mystery Class | Clues | |||
| #1: | "We
have a small but acclaimed opera house and library that is truly
international--the building literally straddles an international
border. About 5 miles west of our city, there is a large lake, which
also straddles the international border. The name of the lake means
'beautiful waters' in the language of the native people." |
|||
| #2: | "In
our city, the Sheriff Center has no jail." |
|||
| #3: |
"We live in the capital city, and the name translates to 'La Ville Des Mille' in French. Visitors and others just refer to the city by using four letters from its longer official name. Here is a photo of a government building (left) and a hotel (right) in our city." |
|||
| #4: |
"In
a park in the center of our city, there is a famous statue near
the Presidential Palace. The statue shows an escaped slave using
a conch shell to call others to battle." |
|||
| #5: |
|
|||
| #6: | "Our
city is on an island that lies at the mouth of a river. It is the
capital city of our country, and is one of the smallest capital
cities on our continent." |
|||
| #7: |
"The
first people to set foot here did so in December, 1911. Today
the population rises to about 220 residents in the summer season,
speaking many different languages. Here's a photo of people arriving
at our location, and a few photos of the dome and the new station
here." |
|||
| #8: |
|
|||
| #9: | "Our city name is synonymous with 'tapestry', because in the 14th and 15th centuries this city was one of the major tapestry producing centers in the world. Our town had strategic importance in WWI. A second 'village' was built in the caves under our town during WWI, and many soldiers hid there during the war. There are many war graves and memorials in this area, and our town has several war memorials itself, including ones honoring missing or unknown soldiers." |
|||
| #10: | "Our location is not actually a city, but instead is a National Park situated on a peninsula in our country. We're quite 'intense' biologically speaking." |
Important Rules for Preparing Your Answer
When you submit your students' answer on April 25, it is essential that you follow the instructions and rules.
As teachers who give directions and instructions yourself, you understand the importance of carefully reading and following directions. Now it's your turn! Please read and follow all directions below carefully SO THAT YOU SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS PROPERLY.
The full checklist of instructions is below, but here is quick Summary of Salient Rules:
1. NO ATTACHMENTS PLEASE! Send your answer IN THE BODY of an E-mail (don't send attachments!)
2. INCLUDE YOUR GRADE IN THE SUBJECT LINE of your E-mail (If you don't, your answer will be judged with the Grade 12 entries.)
3. DEADLINE: ANSWERS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN APRIL 25, 2003
(To be fair to everyone, any answers sent after that date will not be accepted.)4. WARNING: DO NOT SEND MORE THAN ONE VERSION OF YOUR ANSWER: Once you've submitted your answer, you may not change it or try to send it in again. Only one answer from each class will be accepted.
5. BE CAREFUL! DOUBLE CHECK YOUR ANSWER CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SEND IT IN! Make sure you have your answers the way you want them. Once your answer is received, we cannot change or correct your mistakes (even simple ones like transposed locations). So be sure to double check your answer before submitting!
How to Submit Your Answer: Instructions and Checklist
To submit your answer, you will be following the same steps as when you answer a Challenge Question, plus a few additional steps.
Use this list of Instructions as a Checklist, and check it twice before sending in your answer. Good Luck!
| Checklist:
YOU MUST COMPLETE STEPS 1-10 |
| ___1. | Send
your answer in the body of an E-mail (NO Attachments)
to: jn-challenge-mclass@learner.org |
| ___2. | In the Subject line write: Challenge Question #6 |
| ___3. | In
the Subject line you MUST also
tell us your GRADE LEVEL.
|
| ___4. | In the body of the message, tell us who you are (teacher name, school name, etc) and then answer this question:
|
| ___5. | Give your answer for all 10 secret Mystery locations in ONE E-Mail message. |
| ___6. | Doublecheck your answer before sending! After you've submitted your answer, you may not change your answer and send it in again. |
| ___7. | Teachers with several separate classes participating should submit a separate E-mail answer for each of their separate classes. Be sure to identify which specific class the answer is from (i.e. "Ms. Johnson's 1st hour class", or "Ms. Johnson's 4th hour class", etc) |
| ___8. | Don't forget: Because we judge the contest by Grade Level, you MUST tell us YOUR GRADE LEVEL. If you do not include your grade, we will judge your answer with the 12th grade level answers. (Note: Classes with multiple Grades will be judged at the higher Grade level.) |
| ___9. | DEADLINE APRIL 25: To be fair to everyone, any answers sent after that date will not be eligible for the contest. |
| ___10. | Congratulate yourself and your students on a job well done! You have worked very hard and come such a long way from the beginning of this Activity. We welcome your comments! When you send in your answer, please include your "quotable quotes" about how you liked Mystery Class! |
Clues Calendar: What's Ahead for Mystery Class
Here's the 2003 Mystery Class Schedule so you know what to expect from Journey North. Please be sure to plan ahead.
Mystery
Class Calendar 2003 |
| April 18 | We'll give instructions on how and when to send in your answers for the April 25 deadline. |
| April 25: Deadline for Your Answers! | No late entries will be accepted (out of fairness to all participants, no exceptions.) |
| May 2: | Mystery Sites Revealed! |
| May 9: | Meet Your Mystery Friends! |
The Next Mystery Class Update Will Be Posted on April 25, 2003
Copyright 2003 Journey
North. All Rights Reserved.
Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
