HALLOWEEN!!!! Wednesday, October 31, 2007

APees: Please don't forget that the Writing Center is open today during both lunch shifts if you need last-minute guidance for your UF application. Today in class: Review Act III and then take the amazingly insightful Act III quiz--six action-packed questions that will change your life, for a total of 18 points.

Gifted English II: Author of the Day today is HP Lovecraft, a genius from Rhode Island. Afterwards, we will discuss the satire of The Simpsons and then review the villains from The Count of Monte Cristo for tomorrow's test.

Note to Sophys: Next Wednesday after school (November 7) I will have popcorn and the 2002 version of The Count of Monte Cristo for anyone who would like to come watch it. Bring a friend!

I will be here after school--no meetings have been scheduled yet to interrupt this--to help anyone with college application essays or Hamlet focus papers.

Monday, October 30, 2007

Ahhhh--the eve of Halloween!!!

A note of caution to everyone, paraphrased from today's lecture in class: BE CAREFUL on Halloween night!!! Some of you are trick-or-treating and enjoying the last shreds of childhood, and others are vaulting right into party territory. Regardless, any excuse for people to get together and act stupidly--like Halloween--can elevate your safety risks, so please be careful, let your parental units know exactly where you are going to be, and allow common sense to be your guide.

APees: Act II and III--we'll read over the sequences and then watch the Zifferelli portrayal via film. Quiz Wednesday! Oh, and as a welcome present to the new grading period, I have a FOCUS PAPER ASSIGNMENT for ye. You have a choice of three topics (the role of women, appearance v. reality, and the roles of duplicity and spying) and must select text evidence from only Acts I, II, or III of the play. See me if you have any questions--and this MUST go through www.turnitin.com or it will not be graded. Hmmmmm.

Gifted English II: Finish The Grail and discuss the elements of satire. Writing assignment: 5-7 sentences discussing satiric elements of the narrative: Identify the scene, discuss what is being satirized, and evaluate/judge the way that satire is conveyed. (20 points.)

Friday, October 26, 2007

No school today for you--but I have to be here!!!!

I will be on campus until around ten a.m., after which I am taking my goddaughter out for coffee and setting up for a Halloween party. If you need to contact me, e-mail is your best bet.

Report cards will go out next Friday, November 2.

Have a safe weekend, Braves!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

APees: Hamlet, Act II quiz. Yes, it's the last day of the quarter, and yes, this is so mean, but guess what? You have a quiz. I love all of you.

Gifted English II: Please bring your satire packet with you today; we are again working with Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. A handful of you still need to submit some make-up work; see me if you have concerns or questions.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

APees: Analysis of soliloquies and character evaluation.

Gifted English II: Introduction of Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. (der Grallen.) Please bring your satire packet.

I supposedly have a meeting after school, but I'm not really inclined to go and I have a ton of tutoring to do. Come to room 313 and hang out and all will be well.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Another unseasonably warm day in October!

APees: Hamlet, Act II--analysis and reflection. If you are resubmitting your Macessays I really need them ASAP, and www.turnitin.com has been updated to reflect the new deadline. All I need is your original essay handed back in and the updated version loaded to the site. If you have technical problems, e-mail the new essay to hilleyj@ocps.net OR hilleyj@gmail.com.

Gifted English II: Vocabulary Mastery Test, followed by a reading of "Top of the Food Chain" by T. Coraghesson Boyle. Reminders:

• 1. CMC is due next Wednesday; the test is Thursday, October 1.
• 2. You will also have an analytical essay assigned to you next week on CMC.
• 3. Your next novel is Candide by Voltaire; I strongly suggest you go ahead and get a copy. Barnes has several available through their Classics division or you can check one out of the public library; you can also access the text for free through http://www.literature.org/authors/voltaire/candide/
• Each chapter is very brief.
• 4. The first Author of the Day presentations will be on Halloween; check with me to confirm your presentation date.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Wow--the last week of the quarter. Grades are due by Friday noon, which is a teacher work day, so see me as soon as possible if you need to make anything up. Resubmissions will need to be in by Thursday morning at the very latest so that I can assess them properly--if you have previously resubmitted through turnitin this quarter, those grades will be updated this afternoon.

APees: Review of Act I; return the Act I quizzes and go over them; Act II introductions. Warning: Act II is the most challenging of the entire play, and everything else hinges on information hidden within it. As you read, I need you to keep the following elements in mind: A) who is trustworthy? B) Hamlet has claimed that he has placed an "antic disposition" on his persona intentionally--what evidence can you find for or against the veracity of this claim? C) is it possible that Hamlet is never really happy unless he is removed from the political sphere, i.e. playing with the actors?

Gifted English II: Finish "Modest Proposal" and answer the related questions; transition into Boyle. Count of Monte Cristo is due next Wednesday!!!!

Friday, October 19

No school today!!!

But in other news--BHS won again in last night's football game! This season's team is unbeatable.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Wednesday proved to be a little chaotic--two lock-downs (one after school), the PSAT and its confusions, and an altered schedule. I saw no sophomores at all on Wednesday, which was both odd and a little unsettling.

Today will ROCK!!!

APees: Review of Act I's brilliance followed by an amazing quiz. And any classes who organized Baked Goods Day--yay for you!

Gifted English II: Jonathan Swift, satirist, and the language of discourse.

Wednesday, Ocrober 17, 2007

TODAY IS THE PSAT AT BOONE HIGH SCHOOL.

I am assuming that the bell schedule will be adjusted, at least during third period, to accomodate testing requirements. I will be teaching both of my morning AP classes but then will be assisting during third.

APees: Hamlet Act I discussion, preparatory to tomorrow's amazing QUIZ.

Gifted English II: Since third period will be taking the PSAT, sixth will be deconstructing the test and reading Swift's "A Modest Proposal," thus moving slightly ahead of their peers due to scheduling issues again. We'll find a way to even the score as the next few days unfold.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

WRITING CENTER T-SHIRT MONEY DUE TO MRS. NICOLL BEFORE FIRST PERIOD TODAY.

APees: Hamlet, Act I, scene ii analysis--allusions, apostrophes, and metaphors in both major speeches (Claudius and Hamlet.) Questions: Why aren't the Danish people that upset about Claudius and Gertrude apparently thumbing their noses at tradition and expectation? Why is Hamlet so glum? Why is he considering the ultimate solution to what might prove to be temporary questions?

Gifted English II: Return graded papers from the past week, including the underwhelming vocabulary quizzes from last week, and review for the Vocab Mastery Test on Thursday. Also, I'm passing the list of test locations to each of you to confirm where you will tomorrow morning for the PSAT. You have each been signed up for this test, and it is evaluating potential. Get a good night's sleep Tuesday evening and eat a nutritionally balanced breakfast--and then go in and take this seriously. We are going to be introducing the satirical literature unit today and going over some of the language and syntax issues that relate to satire.

After school, I am counting votes for Teacher of the Year in room 224, which shouldn't take too long, after which I will be helping some students with grammar and such in my room until around 4. I have another meeting at 4:15 and will be on campus until around five. Just FYI.

Monday, October 15, 2007

The Ides of October are upon us.

Congratulations to the Boone Braves for defeating University, 48-14. Wow!1

And congratulations to two APees for being selected Homecoming King and Queen: Billy B. and Catherine Troy B. Yay--smart IS cool!!!

APees: Hamlet, Act I, scene i--and your homework tonight is to reread scene one and read scene two preparatory to our analysis tomorrow in class. Cross country team members who went to Furman for the three day weekend event may submit Macpapers today; for those of you who FORGOT to submit the paper to www.turnitin.com, I have created a new Late File. And for future reference: The next paper to be so forgotten will be a ZERO. Aaaaaargggh. I have a sneaky suspicion that a handful of you are taking advantage of my sweet and generous nature, so I need to crack down. Yup.

Gifted English II: Monosyllabic writing activity today, and assignment of the Author of the Day presentations for later this month. Tomorrow--satire!!!

Planning Ahead: The next poetry session WILL be from 3-5 on Thursday, October 18 at Dandelion.

Friday, October 12, 2007

ALL CLASSES: The Homecoming Puppet Show is TODAY. Be good, be careful, behave! Come back to me Monday in one piece, please!!! Here is a quote that I messed up a few years ago but seems to have more impact than the corrected version: "Lots of babies born nine months after Homecoming--don't be one of them!"

(You know what I meant.)

APees: Prior to the Puppet Show, a brief but stirring preparatory lecture on Hamlet. Award-winning cartoons and a map of the three families we need to know about prior to reading our tragedy.

Gifted English II: Finish the Media Literacy mini-unit and then--dun dun dun--PUPPETS!

Have a good time at the game and the dance, peeps! Be safe!

When one of us is hurting, we all are.

For those of you Boonies who know Mr. and Mrs. P, I just wanted to say that I spoke to Mr. P this afternoon and that they are both doing better than they expected. "We're just shocked, you know?" he said.

For those of you who don't know, Mr. and Mrs. P lost her dad today to a hit-and-run driver.

The most recent story is here:http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-pedestrian10112007,0,3426447.story?coll=orl_tab01_layoutThey misidentified the deceased as "she" but it's Mrs. P's father.

He was walking on a sidewalk when he was hit by the driver. It just reinforces how fragile life really can be.

I spoke to Mrs. M after school today, too, and she assured me that BHS was going to do all it could to help both Ps and their little girls through this. Check in tomorrow with a math or science teacher or find me in 313 to see what we can do. Coach K has already offered to mow all of their lawns--and for any of you who know Coach K, you know what that symbolizes. So let's help out if we can.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Today is TRANSFORMATION DAY for HOMECOMING WEEK. I look forward to the means by which you creative types transform yourselves. (One senior is going as an emo kid, which I think is hilarious. Wikipedia has some interesting observations on the emo phenomenon, at least for the moment. More on Wikipedia at another date.)

Today is also another FIRE DRILL. It will be during third period this time, instead of second, and teachers are expected to tote a brightly colored poster with them so that their students can find them. Because I am a rebel and I utterly fail to see the point of fire drills every 25 days* I will be carrying a sleek black umbrella in lieu of poster. And due to the necessity of wandering through the soccer field for the fire drill, I will also be violating a thousand fashion laws by wearing Crocs today.

APees: Today, the Orson Welles classic version of Macbeth. It's so bad it's brilliant. Bring your play and your focus paper ideas and let the visual imagery wash over you like red tide.

Gifted English II: We are finishing our mini-unit on Biblical literature today and making a transition into Media Literacy. This is a cool mini-unit that fuses critical thinking, writing skills, and logic into one happy pile, and it's our second-to-last mini-unit before we start launching into Really Big Units. (It will also reduce my dependence on the hyphen.) What a great day! REMINDER: CMC is due Halloween. For some of you, that will be waaay past the date you finished reading it; for others, you will be scrambling. I suggest that the scramblers start cooking now.

*Note regarding fire drills: I am all about safety, and support every endeavor to ensure that you are not injured during your time at BHS. And there were two school fires in recent weeks (Citrus Elementary and Apopka High) that indicated a need for understanding the dangers of flammable things. I'm just frustrated by the persistent set of interruptions to instruction that we've seen in recent months. We have an inclement weather/fire drill every 25 days, by my calculations, and now I'm supposed to wait by my door until the building is empty and THEN find my students and there are all these new rules and regulations. In years past, it was pretty simple--if you smelled smoke, like when that kid tried to set fire to the trash can in the 300 building, you left that building. Simple. No one was ever hurt, and we all got out in a timely fashion. Now, in an era where fire alarms go off ALL THE TIME, we are supposed to practice in goose-stepping style. It reminds me of an episode of The Office, except that it's not funny. We spend a lot of time waiting on the soccer field until we get the all-clear that the danger is over, during which I chant, I am a team player, I am a team player. Actually, I'm not; I am a deeply bad person who wants to be good. So there.

Okay--rant over. And if someone wants to make me a brightly colored poster, then yay.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I am not here today; I'm not often absent, and I assure you that it's for a good cause. I will be on campus from 6 a.m.-7:15 to help seniors tie their togas in room 313, after which I have an appointment I must keep. Be nice to your substitute--she is a nice lady and is here to help you. I will be back tomorrow.

APees: Mactest is today! 86 multiple-choice, true-false, and matching questions. Astoundingly easy. I have extra pencils in the front of the room for your use should you need them; no talking until EVERY test is submitted. If you finish early, I suggest working on your focus paper.

Gifted English II: Third and final state-sponsored reading day for The Count of Monte-Cristo. For the two students who are already finished, a critical analysis of the novel is available for you to check out during class. It might really help shape your thinking for the inevitable assignment that will emerge from our reading. Have a nice day and I will see you tomorrow!

NOTE: Mrs. Buchanan is covering for me in the Writing Center today, and I will cover for her tomorrow. If you need help with a college application essay or are having an existential crisis, e-mail me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Welcome to Day 2 of Homecoming Week--today you have the opportunity to dress like little kids. While I see this as fraught with dangerously negative potential, I hope you exercise good judgment and dress in a fun-filled but APPROPRIATE manner. 'Nuff said.

AP Literature: Continue to review for the Mactest via literary criticism; I've attached a primary source mini-text to the bottom of this blog entry for later review should you need it. Good times, indeed. The focus paper is due Friday by 3 p.m. and I am not backing down from that deadline. I know you have a lot to do; I know it's Homecoming Week. Here's the deal, peeps: I gave you this assignment last week, and we conferred over thesis statements on Friday. If I gave you an additional weekend to write this paper, it would not make one difference since you won't write it until the night before it's due regardless. Out of love, deference, and respect, I'm asking you to submit it in a timely manner--by Friday. Over and out.

Gifted English II: Back to the Media Center for Part II of our amazing exploration of the MC's resources, then back to the classroom for one more short passage in the literature book. Reminder that tomorrow is your THIRD and FINAL state-sponsored reading day for CMC; for the two of you who are already finished (booyah!) I have an amazing reading opportunity for you to supplement your understanding of the novel.

Primary Text Supplement for AP Lit:

AP Literature and Composition
Literary Criticism of the Macplay by A.C. Bradley
(from his series of 17 lectures on the play, presented in 1935)

4. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MACBETH AND LADY MACBETH

. . .From this murky background stand out the two great terrible figures, which dwarf all the remaining characters of the drama. Both are sublime, and both inspire, far more than the other tragic heroes, the feeling of awe. They are never detached in imagination from the atmosphere, which surrounds them and adds to their grandeur and terror. It is, as it were, continued into their souls. For within them is all that we felt without the darkness of night, lit with the flame of tempest and the hues of blood, and haunted by wild and direful shapes, 'murdering ministers,' spirits of remorse, and maddening visions of peace lost and judgment to come. The way to be untrue to Shakespeare here, as always, is to relax the tension of imagination, to conventionalize, to conceive Macbeth, for example, as a half-hearted cowardly criminal, and Lady Macbeth as a whole-hearted fiend.
These two characters are fired by one and the same passion of ambition; and to a considerable
extent they are alike. The disposition of each is high, proud, and commanding. They are born to
rule if not to reign. They are peremptory or contemptuous to their inferiors. They are not children
of light, like Brutus and Hamlet; they are of the world. We observe in them no love of country, and no interest in the welfare of anyone outside their family. Their habitual thoughts and aims are, and, we imagine, long have been, all of station and power. And though in both there is something, and in one much, of what is higher honour, conscience, humanity they do not live consciously in the light of these things or speak their language. Not that they are egoists, like lago; or, if they are egoists, theirs is an egoisme a deux. They have no separate ambitions. They support and love one another. They suffer together. And if, as time goes on, they drift a little apart, they are not vulgar souls, to be alienated and recriminate when they experience the fruitlessness of their ambition. They remain to the end tragic, even grand.

Definition: egoisme a deux: 1. "Selfishness of two" or "double selfishness"; a satirical description of love, variously and dubiously attributed sometimes to the French medieval writer of romances, Antoine de la Sale (circa 1385-circa 1460), to the 18th century philosophe, Antoine de Lassalle, and to the Swiss-French belle-lettrist, Madame de Staël (1766-1817): "L'amour est un égoïsme à deux," which translates as: "Love is a selfishness of two."

2. A situation in which two people are in love with each other but lack brotherly love for others.

Monday, October 8, 2007

HOMECOMING WEEK AT BOONE HIGH SCHOOL!!!!

Let the revelries begin!

Note to seniors: I am available today during A lunch in the Writing Center AND after school for college essay help.

APees: MacScavenger Hunt and lecture/discussion on Blake, Mac-concepts, and that darned spot.

Gifted II: After a rousing quiz, a field trip to the Media Center to conduct our own hunt for knowledge.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Note to self: Your rent is due today.

Note to students: Disregard note to self.

The end of a week, and the cusp of HOMECOMING WEEK!!!!!!!! Next week is going to be so amazing. If anyone felt like decorating my classroom door, that would be most excellent--so see me and we can work something out.

APees: Finish Act V and discuss the roles of various motifs throughout this play, including its political context and the implications it might have for a modern readership.

Gifted English II: AofD is Hawthorne, who we didn't quite get to earlier this week, and then we have a super-duper QUIZ on words 101-120. This list is easy, so relax. Then. . .Bible stuff!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Harrooo! Friendly reminder that TOMORROW is our fantastic Information Society Meeting, immediately after school in room 313. Come on in and be prepared for a super-short meeting at which we will:

*go over the ushering calendar for OST this season;
*brainstorm T-shirt designs for our club;
*take votes on Stuff We Can Do for Boone That's Never Been Done for Boone Before
*play with palindromes.

Back to academia:

APees: Act V!!!!! You are in for such a rollercoaster treat. Mactest coming up. . .

Gifted English II: "Traveling Through the Dark" by William Stafford; "Crowded Tub" by Shel Silverstein; Coleridge as AofD; notes on board for Bible literature. Reminder: Voc quiz TOMORROW.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Short Wednesday! Such fun. I will be staying after school for over an hour for the express purpose of helping seniors with college essays and letters of recommendation. Get in line and bring a snack for yourself.

APees: You have a quiz on Act IV today, complete with bonus question and menacing laughter from your instructor. Mwahahahaha. Afterwards--Macpapering the world!

Advance Notice to APees: If you wish to have your own copy of Hamlet for writing, scribbling, etc., then go ahead and order a copy from www.amazon.com or a local bookstore. You have the play in its entirety in your NINETY-FIVE DOLLAR ANTHOLOGY and I have some paperback copies for use with stickynotes, but if you prefer to write in your own margins, get a copy now so you won't panic in a week or two.

Gifted English II: After yesterday's Timed Writing Fun Seminar, we're diving back into the wreck (so to speak) with Percy Shelley as our AofD and a TP-CASTT analysis of "Ozymandias," which will serve as our thematic bridge between the ancient Greek world and our mini-unit on the literature of the Bible.*


*Clarification point for parents or students reading this: We are studying the literature of the Bible strictly from the perspective of literary analysis and for historicity, not from a theological standpoint. Understanding certain Biblical characters and themes will aid in deconstructing much of British and American literature, and understanding the allusions in classical literature can only help students reach new levels of comprehension and analysis. The College Board strongly recommends some Biblical backgrounds in preparation for both AP Language and Literature, which is why I incorporate such information into a pre-AP/Gifted class.

For full disclosure: I do volunteer for the Diocese of Orlando, through St. James Catholic Cathedral, and I am a religious person. HOWEVER, nothing in my curriculum involves proselytizing one religious viewpoint over another, and I will be sharing selections from various Bibles (New International Version, KJV, etc.) as approved by the State of Florida's benchmark recommendations. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me, but please rest assured that I've been teaching this unit for years and have yet to convert anyone to Catholicism through it. Really. :-)

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Tonight is PTSA Parent Night. Please encourage your parents to attend--or come yourself!

APees: Fourth period needs yesterday's handouts--I forgot to give them out at the end of the period yesterday. One is The Short Handbook of Grammar and Mechanics, as assembled by The Wise One (room 315.) If you still have yours from AP Lang last year, then by all means keep that copy and save a tree or two. The other is a guide to literary allusions that I compiled, particularly for those who might need a brushing-up on some Bibilical or mythological terms.
Fifth needs their focus papers.
All AP classes: Act IV, complete with cartoons. This is the most challenging and mind-bending section of the play, so brace yourselves.

Gifted English II: After going over our AofD Nathaniel Hawthorne, we are doing a timed writing on the Icarus myth that we've been studying for the past few days. The assignment is a comparison/contrast and I will post the prompt on this blog for anyone who isn't in class for the physical timed writing element.

Project X: Many thanks to Mary Claire for organizing and carrying out Project X, in which a gift for our custodian was arranged. The gift has been acquired and we will give it to him after school today. Thanks to everyone for helping, but particular gratitude to MC for coming up with the idea in the first place and executing it with such finesse.