Monday, March 10, 2008

Very important note: This is FCAT week, which for many of you means that you will be engaging in standardized testing. We could argue about the validity of such tests, but that is no doubt a topic for a more suitable forum, and let's face facts--the FCAT is here to stay, and the American public as a group demands some form of accountability. What are you learning? How well can you disseminate the knowledge you have so carefully gained? These are questions that the FCAT ostensibly answers.

Juniors will be taking FCAT Science on Tuesday; 9th and 10th graders will be testing almost all week. The testing schedules will be posted on the Guidance windows and at the Media Center; also, I will be circulating a testing list today to all of my sophys so they know where to go.

I will be teaching as if it were a normal day on Monday and Friday in room 313.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the schedule is altered, as is my location. Please read the following carefully.

TUESDAY: All seniors who have previously passed FCAT will report to their first period class and plan to stay there. Bring something to drink and a snack; fortunately for us, we have a student bathroom right across the hall from our relocation room and no one is testing in our building. You will be locked down with me experiencing a modified AP Lit schedule until the testing is complete; expect to be in room 10-209 with me from three to four hours. If this sounds unpalatable to you and you'd prefer to attend my fifth period class, you may sign in to Attendance with a parent note. I plan to mark all students as present unless directed otherwise. Again--I will be in room 10-209, Mrs. Fisher's French I room. At this point, I plan to give you the first hour for reading Jane Eyre/focused study hall; then teach a lesson for about an hour; then give you a break; then review AP testing strategies; then give you a break; and so on. I will NOT be lecturing for three hours on the virtues of John Keats, although I could. I just think that's cruel.

WEDNESDAY: Repeat as above, but with second period only. If you do not have a scheduled second period, or have a VCC class, I'd sign in with a parental note around 10:45 and go to fourth, fifth, and sixth periods. Today's testing should not be as lengthy or onerous as yesterday's due to mitigated testing circumstances.

THURSDAY: Repeat as above, but with third period only. Same rules apply.

SUMMARY: I will be in room 10-209 for three consecutive days, three periods each day. I need to see my morning APees at some point in there so they don't fall behind. I do not have a scheduled third period class but I can harbor fugitives who have no other place to go, so long as you understand that we are LOCKED DOWN and I cannot let you leave (except for a bathroom break if things become dire.) Thus, the schedule for seniors will be Tuesday: 1,4,5,6; Wednesday: 2,4,5,6; and Thursday: 3,4,5,6. I wish it were easier but this is the best solution we could come up with considering the significance of testing.

TODAY'S LESSONS

APees: "When I Have Fears" by John Keats; review of "Urn" and review requirements for creative project. Assign due date for creative project (March 26).

Gifted English II: Final review push for FCAT and finish memoir discussion of "Lake." Go over memoir assignment for you.