Mr. Rott's Classroom: Mr. Rott's Room Blog for the week of February 7

Howdy Partners!

Well cowpokes, ye all did a rootin tootin bang up job on that old State Math Test. It was a rough and tumble time.. Just like steer wrestilin! I know that some of you felt you should have scored higher but remeber its just like ridin the bull, there is always next time! I’m thinking around April or first of May we will be taking the test again and by then you will have improved and I am sure all of you will do better!

OLD WEST FACT: Black Cowboys

In honor of Black History Month, I thought we would look at the impact of Black Cowboys on the old west! Black cowboys have been part of Texas history since the early nineteenth century, when they first worked on ranches throughout the state. A good many of the first black cowboys were born into slavery but later found a better life on the open range, where they experienced less open discrimination than in the city. After the Civil War many were employed as horsebreakers and for other tasks, but few of them became ranch foremen or managers. Some black cowboys took up careers as rodeo performers or were hired as federal peace officers in Indian Territory. Others ultimately owned their own farms and ranches, while a few who followed the lure of the Wild West became gunfighters and outlaws. Significant numbers of African Americans went on the great cattle drives originating in the Southwest in the late 1800s. Black cowboys predominated in ranching sections of the Coastal Plain between the Sabine and Guadalupe rivers.

Of the estimated 35,000 cowboys that worked the ranches and rode the trails, between five and nine thousand, (lets say there were 7,000 Black Cowboys) or more was said to have been Black. They participated in almost all of the drives northward, and was assigned to every job except that of trail boss. One historian noted that there had been a few cattle drives where the entire crews were black except for the trail boss.

Bill Pickett was born in 1870 (he died in 1932) to poor Black Cherokees. He left school after the fifth grade to live outdoors and pursue his love of animals. He grew up to be five-foot-seven and weighed only 145 pounds, but his muscles were strong and he glided through the air with incredible finesse. He perfected his riding and roping skills, but Bill Pickett is most famous for his invention of Bulldogging. Bill Pickett, after observing a bulldog take down a steer by biting onto its lip, perfected his technique, which involved jumping from a horse onto a steer and wrestling it down to the ground by biting down the beast’s lip. The bulldogging event became one of the most popular at Rodeo shows. In 1907, Pickett took a contract with the famous 101 Ranch. He worked with Will Rogers and Tom Mix and performed in Rodeo shows all over the world.

1st Period: This week we will take a quick refresher with another look at fractions. We also will be taking our district problem solving test most likely on Thursday. Then Thursday we will be having a Chinese New Years Celebration to start the Chinese New Year and also celebrate finishing the State and District Math tests!

1st Period Blog questions: #1) Please read over the Old West Fact for the week. #2) How many estimated (guessing) number of cowboys were working the ranches and riding the trails________? #3) Of those how many did I say were Black Cowboys________? #4) Then of the 35,000 cowboys how many were black__________? #5) Bill Picket was born in 1870 if he was given $5.00 a year for every year he had been alive how much money would he have collected during his life time_____?

4th and 6th Period: This week we will have a quick refresher on fractions and decimals and then head right back into converting fractions to decimals - decimals to fractions and then heading towards percent! We also will be taking our district problem solving test most likely on Thursday. Then Thursday we will be having a Chinese New Years Celebration to start the Chinese New Year and also celebrate finishing the State and District Math tests!

4th & 6th Period Blog questions: #1) Please read over the Old West Fact for the week. #2) How many estimated (guessing) number of cowboys were working the ranches and riding the trails________? #3) Of those how many did I say were Black Cowboys________? #4) Then of the 35,000 cowboys how many were black__________? #5) Bill Picket was born in 1870 if he was given $5.00 a year for every year he had been alive how much money would he have collected during his life time_____? #6) What would the fraction look like for the number of black cowboys out of the total number of cowboys who rode the range and worked the ranches______? #7) If the average steer weighs 525 pounds and the average Steer Wrestler weighs 265 pounds - what’s the difference between the weight of the steer and the wrestler____? #8) During Steer Wrestling if you leave the chute early you earn a 10 second penalty. If Roy Rogers had a total time of 3:55 for his first attempt, and 2:45 for his second and left the chute to early for both attempts what was his TOTAL time for both attempts_______?

GONZAGA MENS BASKETBALL
FEEL THE SPIRIT!!!
Well... we had Memphis beat... the boys just could NOT make their shots go in! I have to tell you that Stockton kid, he may look small and lacking muscle but NO one on the team energizes the floor like he does. On top of that he is an excellent passer, id say very close to Matt Bouldin... wait till he is a senior wow... will Stockton be all that or what!
SCHEDULE:
11/5 vs. Southern Oregon W 90-58
11/12 vs. Southern W 117-72
11/16 vs. San Diego State L 79-76
11/22 Kansas State 6:30 pm L 81 - 64 (OUCH!)
11/23 Marquette 4:57 pm W 66-63
11/30 vs. Eastern Washington W 86-57
12/4 vs. Illinois 2:15 pm L 73-61
12/8 at Washington State L 81 - 59
12/11 at Notre Dame L 83-79
12/16 vs. Lewis-Clark State W 103 - 61
12/18 vs. #9 Baylor W 68- 64
12/22 vs. Xavier W 64- 54
12/29 vs. Lafayette W 83-55
12/31 vs. Oklahoma State W 73 - 63
1-2 vs Wake forest W 73 - 63
1-8 University of Portland W 74 - 61
1-13 vs. Perperdine W 92 - 75
1-15 vs. Loyola Marymount W 79 - 59
1-20 Santa Clara L 75-81
1-22 San Francisco L 91-96
1-27 vs St. Marys L 73- 71
1-29 vs San Diego W 86 - 53
2-3 U of Portland W 67 - 64
2-5 #22 vs Memphis L 62-58
2-10 Loyola Marymount
2-12 Pepperdine
2-17 vs Santa Clara
2-19 vs San Francisco
2-24 St. Marys
2-26 San Diego
2-28 vs Cal State Bakersfield