Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Today is the deadline to request an absentee ballot from the Supervisor of Elections Office. Earlier today, Governor Charlie Crist announced that election hours would be extended from 10-5 in most locations to 7-7 through Sunday, the deadline for early voting. If you are old enough to vote in this election, or have a friend who is old enough to do so, please consider voting early--November 4 is going to be a mess in this highly-publicized election year. Vote absentee, vote early--just do it! It is one of your most valuable and awesome civic responsibilities, and you get a free sticker!

I do plan to be there tomorrow, barring any further complications. I will have to leave immediately after seventh period, though, so if you need to make something up please see me before class (I will be there by 8:30 at the latest, depending on how long the line at a certain coffee establishment is, ha ha) or during A lunch.

Sophys: "Pit and the Pendulum" and Author of the Day.

APees: Each class is on a different time table right now, but all need to vote. . .on T-shirts! Fourth is ready to analyze the soliloquy, as is sixth--fifth and seventh still need to discuss few things before moving on. And there might be a quiz. Perhaps.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The weather is finally becoming autumnal here in Central Florida, and you might even need to bundle up a bit tomorrow--it's supposed to be as low as 48 degrees tomorrow morning.

I know this fun fact, along with others (Daylight Savings Time ends next Saturday night, various news stories, the future of the Rays, and other bits of popular-culture-trivia) since I spent all day today at Florida Hospital South in various waiting rooms watching a lot of television in between doctor updates. I hated having to be out today, but family first, and I needed more to be with my dad than with all of you. The medical news on the dad front isn't great, but he's holding steady for now and I can only hope for the best. I also hope you had a great day, and I hope that the senior assembly was rewarding and meaningful!

I do plan to be there tomorrow, barring any other emergencies, and we have a great day planned:

Sophys: More Poe, more vocabulary, and a smooth transition from one unit to the next. Some of those terms are tricky (auto-da-fe) but all can enhance your already considerable diction. And I have a cool, ready-to-be-colored biography of Mr. Poe drawn by a terrific cartoonist.

APees: Act II, demystified--what is an antic disposition, and why should we care? And should we be, or not-be? Existential woe at its most poetic, courtesy of our friend Billy Shakespeare.

Monday, October 27, 2008

My family's medical emergency continues; my father is having a surgical procedure tomorrow morning at ten so I will be out again. Hopefully this will go well. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Announcements: The pre-trip meeting for Prague/Vienna is still tonight in room 313 at 7 p.m., but my tour guide will be accompanied by my teacher-friend in my stead. I just can't leave the hospital and I hope ya'll understand.

ALSO: All seniors have a mandatory senior assembly during fifth period today. Check in with my substitute, get the handout regarding Act II, then scoot over to the auditorium.

Sophys: Please bring your textbook with you today. If you forget, no worries--the story you need is also in the yellow textbook we keep in the classroom. There will be 20 content vocabulary words on the board to define using the story you are reading; you might find it helpful to write the words down and keep it with you as you read. I tried to place them in order when possible. Many are words you already know, but Mr. Poe is famous for his upper-level diction, so see how you can expand your own lexicographical skills!

APees: Now that you have read Act II, you need to assess the soliloquy (handout on front table.) First, though, watch more of the Hamlet video--it's already in the VCR. Please don't go beyond Act II. I'm counting on you to help the substitute cue the film and stop at the appropriate time.

to all and sundry

This is going to sound a whole lot more emo and whiney than even I'm accustomed to being, but here it is: My father was rushed to the emergency room last night at 8:45 p.m., and just now (2:58 a.m.) got into a room in the Progressive Care Unit at Florida Altamonte. He liked the ambulance ride, but he didn't like the congestive heart failure that gave it to him. Needless to say, I'm with my family and won't be at school Friday, October 24 and possibly the following Monday as well.

I am sorry you don't get a puppet show today, which I had long looked forward to presenting. And I'm sorry that I can't see you all hyped up for Homecoming, but sometimes life gets in the way. I really hope you understand and I will find another time to do it for you.

Here is the lesson plan I'm leaving for the sub:

Gifted English II: Begin the writing assignment on the last page of your Icarus packet. We will be segueing into satire next week.

AP Lit: Please continue working on the Hamlet Act II questions; you may collaborate. I will lecture and explain when I return.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. My dad is very sick and I need to be with him.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Please accept my belated birthday greetings to all October babies. And September and August ones, too, if we want to be technical about all of the birthdays I've forgotten of late. Here. have a cupcake, produced by an official manufacturer and wrapped/sealed carefully with Scotch tape. (You can't see the Scotch tape, since it's invisible, but it's there and is mightily protecting you from germs.)

Why, that's big enough for a whole class, isn't it? But no--you can't share! That would violate policy. Be safe, be sane, be careful of Rogue Cupcakes, people. Safety first!

Please don't forget that today is Around the World Day for Homecoming Week, a day in which you can celebrate by finding awesome clothing that reflects the social mores of other cultures.

Sophys: Icarus, grammar, Authors of the Day, and the return of various graded papers to file in your notebook. We will also feature a Title Parade of the Count of Monte Cristo essays and a friendly reminder to acquire the novel Candide. (Several of my seniors are donating their old copies, so if you need one, see me ASAP.) Also, regarding your English notebook: I realize that for some of you, the English notebook is actually a pile of decrepit and squished papers at the bottom of your backpack, while for some of you it is a proud collection of laminated, cross-referenced, and color-coded documents. Each of you learns differently. However, please allow me to state this: DO NOT THROW YOUR STUFF OUT NEXT WEEK MERELY BECAUSE IT IS A NEW QUARTER. What is coming up in December? Why, the end of the semester--and you need that information for the semester exam. If you'd like to "download" your data and file it at home for a while, then that's fine--but don't throw it away. I cannot generate new handouts for you to help you prepare for the upcoming exam.

APees: More explorations of Hamlet, and a segue to Act II. Oh, and please see the above rant about your English notes: throw out nothing. File it away, yes, but you WILL need this information, not only for the semester test (which is a lulu) but for the national exam in May (which is a super-lulu.) Don't stress out, though--consider this a rite of passage into adulthood. Welcome to the pressures of high expectation. It will not improve with age.

Much love to all; I can't wait to see your costumes tomorrow!

Mel Gibson as Hamlet - Hamlet meets his father's ghost

A snippet of the greatness that you were supposed to read for homework. The amazing Paul Scofield, stage actor, portrays Hamlet the Elder.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Seniors: Don't forget your TOGAS today!!! Loads of awesomeness await. I have safety pins if you run out.

Also, fifth period had expressed interest in acquiring a class pet. I decided to go ahead and get one:

I love fishes 'cuz they're so delishes. . .

Sophys: More Icarian fun with the Icarus packet and Author of the Day presentations. Our next novel will be Candide by Voltaire, so please add that to your shopping list this weekend if at all possible.

APees: Hamlet, Act I Quiz; if time permits, a screening of Act I via Mel and Friends. See the next post for a sample!

Kansas - "Carry on Wayward Son"

Be profoundly grateful that you live in the 21st century, with hair gel. But you have to admit, these guys rock out! And check out the guy with the masses of red curls--that takes guts. The seventies were never so awesome as they were with Kansas around.

"Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high. . ."

Hamlet Act 1 Scene 2 Soliloquy (1996)

This is from the 1996 version of Hamlet, as envisioned by the brilliant actor/director Kenneth Branagh. This particular production is not set in the 1400's at all--check out the costume--but the acting speaks for itself. Nothing against Mel, but Ken, oh Ken. . .

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Hello! I hope everyone had a good day yesterday.

Today is Senior Citizens Day for Homecoming Week, and I am looking forward to your costumes. Please be gentle to those of us who are chronologically enhanced, or, at least, those of us who are angstily hurtling towards forty. Just wait--it will happen to you, too.

Sophys: Today is Classic Rock Day in Giftedland. We are going to read some amazing poems inspired by the Icarian myth we read yesterday and then listen to a 1970's tune likewise inspired by that same myth: "Carry On, Wayward Son" by Kansas. Please bring your air guitar.

APees: I asked you yesterday in class to read Act I, scene iii, and today we're going to start our discussion by looking at the kinds of advice Polonius offers his son, and the value therein. Hopefully, we can finish Act I today so we can proceed to the Act I Quiz and related activities tomorrow.

Monday, October 20, 2008

I have to leave today immediately after seventh period (possibly ten minutes before the end of the period, if I can get someone to cover my class) so I won't be able to give make-up work after school. I will be available tomorrow until around 5:15 p.m. for anyone who needs to finish any assignments.

APees: Hamlet, Act I, scene ii soliloquy and the rest of Act I.

Gifted English II: The beginning of the mini-unit on the Icarus unit. Also--the next text we are going to be reading outside of class is Voltaire's Candide. I'll be mentioning a few things about this satirical novel over the next few days.

Reminder to sophys: Count of Monte Cristo paper is due on www.turnitin.com by Wednesday night at midnight, with the hard copy turned in the next day for comments.

Something for the Sophys! The Trailer for CMC. . .

This is from the EXCELLENT (although eight-hour-long) French miniseries Le Comte du Monte Cristo. Enjoy. Rent it, if you can--it's amazing.

Animaniacs on Hamlet

Just for fun, peeps--this is from Act V, but it shouldn't cause any plot spoilers since it's the Animaniacs. Enjoy!

Some Notes on Hamlet, the Melancholy Dane

Hamlet has been referred to as the most puzzling and challenging play of all time; some critics have gone farther and described it as the best example of Western literature, like, totally, ever. T.S. Eliot is one the one voice of dissent in the fawning marketplace; he called the tragedy "an artistic failure" due to the title character's incessant delaying. The College Board loves this play and expects ALL seniors to not only have read it, but "gotten" it. So there.

Here are some cool introductory factoids to help you understand the roots of the play, which on one level is merely a story of three sons mourning three dead fathers.

Primary Setting: Denmark (Elsinore Castle)

Additional Settings: England, a boat on the ocean

Type of Play: Tragedy--but not a pure Aristotilean "fall from a great height". Hamlet, it can be argued, is a decent man beset by a corrupt universe, not merely a flawed man whose flaws lead him to ruin.

Central themes/motifs: appearance vs. reality; the role of family (specifically father/mother separation anxieties); indecision; decision; revenge; love; greed and its repercussions; the “rotten state of Denmark”; loyalty; intellect vs. action; garden imagery; sexual imagery; gender anxieties

Story: Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, has been summoned home from his university studies in Wittenberg to face the death of his father. When he arrives, roughly two months after his father’s demise (travel was notoriously slow in the Middle Ages), he discovers much to his surprise and consternation that his mother has remarried his uncle, who is now king due to some odd switch to the law of primogeniture. Hamlet’s melancholy becomes more bitter when he finds out from his father’s ghost that the dastardly uncle, Claudius, actually killed the old king. Now, the choice is there—Hamlet must decide how to enact his revenge for his father’s foul murder, if he can work up the nerve to do so at all. Throw in a romance gone badly, spying, deception, and sexual intrigue, and you have the makings of the best Shakespearean tragedy ever made!

This is not an entirely original play; Shakespeare most likely was aware of a contemporary work (sometimes called the ur-Hamlet) about a Danish prince seeking revenge. Also, Shakespeare no doubt had read the historical accounts of Saxo Grammaticus, and drew heavily on the real Prince of Denmark and his dilemma.

I have a LOT of content vocabulary for you to help you understand this play; I'll try to figure out to imbed it in this blog as a PDF so I don't have to give each of you a gi-normous packet of words that only ten of you will actually read.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Ah, Fay; we had temporarily forgotten about you. But today, the day we should be home contemplating our navels or sunning ourselves on the beaches of Florida, here we are slogging our way to school. Thank you, Fay. Without your stormy goodness we'd have a day off, and who needs that?

Since we're here, though, let's make the best of it and acquire Higher Levels of Meaning!

Sophys: Author of the Day presentation, followed by Count of Monte Cristo peer edit. If we have time, we're going to read an awesome poem by Ovid. Change your life, this will.

APees: Hamlet, review of Act I, i (your homework). Analysis of the first major soliloquy in Act I, scene ii--Hamlet's emo-ness reveals itself for the first black-stocking-clad, beret-wearing, latte-sipping time. But the allusions are so cool!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Yes, it looks like we've missed a day here, but honestly, what would be the point of listing assignments for a day in which all of my beloved sophys spent the whole morning taking PSAT, and then my equally-beloved APees had 20-minute long class sessions? At least I got to read my pop-up book of Coleridge to the seniors. That was fun.

On to Thursday!

Sophys: Brief deconstruction of the PSAT experience, followed by Author of the Day presentations from Josh, Morgan, and the regularly scheduled peeps for today. We need to finish reviewing Antigone and deciding what to do about the Antigone test--today or tomorrow? It's super-short (33 little questions) but we need to do it. Reminder of CMC peer edit experience tomorrow.

HOMEWORK FOR TENTH GRADE: Count of Monte Cristo Rough Draft. NOTE TO TENTH GRADE: I still need to schedule some make-up work for a handful of you. See me ASAP, please. Kthnxbye. (See? I can speak AOL.)

APees: Cartoon Day, in one view; Introduction to Hamlet Day, in another. There will be some bad art, some Lion King analogies, and a lot of lecture. Please come prepared to NOT interrupt me for once. I love you guys--especially some of you gregarious types--but please lay off the espresso. For serious. Notes on Hamlet to follow in an upcoming post.



HOMEWORK FOR APees: Act I, scene i--read, understood, analyzed. It's short so make it so. NOTE TO APees: Several of you are missing work due to absences. Please see me ASAP to schedule the love. Grades are due next Friday for this quarter, people, after which NO work will be accepted nor resubmissions evaluated.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008: The Ides of October

Every sophomore and junior will be taking this test this morning, as will the AVID and Gifted freshmen. In other words, 1700 kids will be taking a standardized test and the entire campus will be disrupted. On the plus side, I believe passionately that this test is the most valid marker we have to ascertain a child's preparedness for more rigorous course work; I think it's far more valid (both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced) than many other tests to which we subject our young people. On the minus side, though, I'm not a fan of classroom disruption, and I'm not too wild about being relocated to the math building while freshmen are relocated to my bizarre yet happy classroom environment.

Hopefully, the PSAT will be a positive experience for everyone, and my afternoon AP classes will not be impacted in any significant way.

Sophys: Go to bed early the night before the PSAT, and eat a well-balanced breakfast beyond your usual Pop Tart and Coke combo that some of you favor. I will miss you terribly and will see you on Thursday!

APees: We'll have to see how much time is left, but I do want to go over some final thoughts on Macstuff and prepare for the transition to all things emo and Danish. In other words--Hamlet is coming, and some of you will develop a celebrity crush on him a la Mr. Darcy and others of you will find him insufferable. Hakuna matata, peeps.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Another great day on the Res!

Here's some semi-random clip art to share:







Cookie Monster!

Now on to the World of Academics:

Sophys: Author of the Day presentations, followed by shared Awesome Homework Assignments. I want to go over some PSAT tips and let you know where you are testing tomorrow. Good luck to all; it looks like I will be proctoring the test for juniors from Ca-Cu.

APees: 4th and 5th will take multiple choice practice test #2 from the CLIFF book; 6th and 7th will be going over the Frost poem and then reviewing both the sonnet and the prose passage from Dickens. I will also be going over the relocation list for tomorrow's PSAT.

Monday, October 13, 2008

22 days until the National Election!

1 week until Homecoming Festivities begin!

2 days until the PSAT!

Sophys: Distribute the Count of Monte Cristo focus paper assignment and discuss; review PSAT vocabulary; distribute HW for this evening and go over (monosyllabic critical thinking fun times!)

APees: Analysis of Frost poem in relation to Macstuff; multiple choice practice. I know you can't wait!

If you need to take the make-up version of the Mactest, see me after class today to schedule some time tomorrow or Wednesday. I cannot give a makeup test today due to other commitments.

AP Lit Homework

For those of you who gleefully celebrated Senior Skip Day despite the written drubbing I offered the experience in an earlier post (or those few who were legitimately ill or on Coach K's northern odyssey) here is the AP Lit homework that we will be discussing extensively on Monday.

I can't imbed pdf files from home, and since I still can't log into the blog from school due to Rules and Regulations That Have Not Been Rethunk, here it is in all of its cut-and-pasted glory:

AP Literature

Macbeth Unit

Read the following poem and relate it to the brief speech in Act V, scene v from which Frost took the title in a brief essay of 150-200 words. Treat this as an articulated journal entry; how does the content of THIS piece relate to the existential dilemma discussed in the play? How does Macbeth’s view of the world compare or contrast to Frost’s?

(Yes, this may be difficult; writing about poetry often is. However, the AP Literature exam is one-third to one-half poetic analysis, so let’s get going!)

"Out, Out—"
by Robert Frost
The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood, Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it. And from there those that lifted eyes could count Five mountain ranges one behind the other Under the sunset far into Vermont. And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled, As it ran light, or had to bear a load. And nothing happened: day was all but done. Call it a day, I wish they might have said To please the boy by giving him the half hour That a boy counts so much when saved from work. His sister stood beside them in her apron To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw, As if to prove saws knew what supper meant, Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap— He must have given the hand. However it was, Neither refused the meeting. But the hand! The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh, As he swung toward them holding up the hand Half in appeal, but half as if to keep The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all— Since he was old enough to know, big boy Doing a man's work, though a child at heart— He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off— The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!" So. But the hand was gone already. The doctor put him in the dark of ether. He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath. And then—the watcher at his pulse took fright. No one believed. They listened at his heart. Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it. No more to build on there. And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Please excuse us for a brief word from our sponsors on the subject of Senior Skip Day.

Some of you have gleefully (or grudgingly) shared with me that tomorrow, 10/10 (ten-ten) is some kind of Senior Skip Experience. Ahem. So. . .all of you are going to go to a central location and revel in being seniors? Or is this merely an excuse to go to the beach?

I am not opposed to revelry; revelry rocks. And several of you have had SEVERAL absences thus far this year, for everything from Justified Medical Woes to Existential Crises. And I was out Tuesday, too, although I would have rather been floating around 313 than where I was being X-rayed and whatnot. BUT. . .and here is the kicker. . .this supposed holiday makes no sense. Mathematically, it should have been September 9 for class of 2009. Or the 9th day of a month, or nine days before graduation, or, preferably, nine days AFTER graduation. No one ever asks me. If you're out, I won't make fun of you too much, but I want you to consider a couple of things:

1. You have a major test tomorrow, and the make-up version is truly heinous. I cannot lie--I might enjoy its heinousness a bit more than would be polite.
2. Due to the new seven period day, we are losing 30 days of instruction per year, per course. Do the math--we went from 61 minute periods last year to 49 minute periods this year. That kind of attrition adds up. We're already behind.
3. I do not teach AP Hang Out With Miscreants at the Beach. There are plenty of opportunities to beach it out--heck, with the new bell schedule, you could get up, enjoy sunrise at Daytona, catch a few waves, and be back in time for first period.
4. Skipping is not cool! If you need a mental health day, discuss it with your parental units and arrange an excused absence.

So. . .final analysis: I will give you a make-up test if necessary, but I would just ask that you think about it. Particularly if you are taking multiple hard classes--if you think I'm humorless on the subject, see how an American Government instructor, or AP Physics teacher, or AP calc doctor perceives it.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Sophys: Part II of The Count of Monte Cristo test.

APees: Mactest!!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

A thousand apologies for not getting this entry up sooner; I'm really not feeling that well.

Underclass: If you are interested in Picture Retake day, pick up a form from the table in the front of the room. Picture retakes will be 10/14, all day.

Sophys: Count of Monte-Cristo Check-Reading test, part I.

APees: Three goals for our learning today: 1. To discuss the AC Bradley piece from yesterday; 2. To go over the focus points listed below; 3. To review for the Mactest tomorrow. If we have time left over, a short scene from the terrible-yet-brilliant Orson Welles classic version of Macbeth, starring very few people from Scotland and filmed nowhere near Scotland. (And featuring a very festive hat that looks for all the world like a cooking funnel with fur hot-glued around its base. One must do what one must do with a limited budget.)

Focus points:

Ambition, both denotation and connotation
How does this play react to/related to The Gunpowder Plot (Remember, remember the fifth of November. . .) and what does it suggest about monarchical rights, governance, and the rights of a responsible citizenry?
What implications might this play have for a modern readership?

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

I've just been informed that I have a meeting before first period and another meeting immediately after seventh--both mandatory, my favorite word--so I won't be able to conference with anyone about college essays unless you can give up A lunch. Yay for meetings!

Sophys: Review PSAT vocabulary; review CMC for tomorrow's fun test, review Antigone for the take-home essay test, review PSAT strategies (hey--are you seeing a theme here? Lots of REVIEW.)

APees: MacFinalization in preparation for an eventual Mactest. I'm thinking Friday.

Apropos of Nothing: Project Runway Finale, part I is tonight! Just saying.

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.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I'm not here today--so be nice to your substitute, Coach K's wife! And if you're not nice to her, you'll have to run laps. I'm having an X-ray done and I guarantee I'll be cranky when I return, so I don't want to return to a bad sub report. BEHAVE.

Comments have been disabled until further notice on this blog due to song lyrics, bizarre political comments, and grammatical errors being posted here. Not that I disapprove entirely, and I want ya'll to be creative (yes, that was a ya'll) but this blog serves more of a professional purpose. Assignments, updates, and information, oh my.

You can still e-mail me the inner workings of your mind at jennifer.hilley@ocps.net if you must.

Today:

Sophys:

1. PSAT Vocabulary List, with definitions!
2. An awesome brain puzzle to get your thinking in high gear!
3. A quick Antigone quiz!
4. A grammar assignment!!!

APees:

1. Macbeth Scavenger Hunt
2. Finish the Macpacket
3. If time--proofreading activity using Macbeth for content

I do see the discrepancy; why don't the seniors get exclamation points? here: Go, Class of 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, October 6, 2008

We have no game this week; I know some of you are relieved. Football season is a lot of fun, but it's a tremendous responsibility for all involved, and giving up each Friday night can be tiring (especially if you have the SAT or ACT the next morning!)

The Writing Center will be open on Tuesday and Thursday this week, both lunch shifts. I will tallying the first round of service hours at the end of this month, so be sure to sign in each shift if you are a consultant.

Sophys: Return Lit Mastery Test scantrons and finish Antigone today (ideally.) Bring your question packet with you. Friendly reminder: Count of Monte Cristo is due Thursday. Some of you are already finished--others are close. Read, people. READ.

APees: Focus paper is due Tuesday, midnight. See me today if you have questions; ther is a teeny chance that I won't be on campus tomorrow. You need to bring a hard copy AND your peer review sheet Wednesday in addition to uploading it to www.turnitin.com. Today is class: Act V, content vocabulary, and further analysis of all things Scottish.

Word of the Day: perturbation: (Noun) a disturbance of motion, course, arrangement, or state of equilibrium; taken from the astronomic terminology but often applied to one's mental state.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Today is Orange and White Day as we prepare to take on West Orange. Good luck, Braves and Bravettes, Chiefs and Chieftesses!

Today is also Friday!

Thus. . .

Sophys: Literary Terms Mastery Test (bring a pencil) and Antigone, the Conclusion.

APees: Peer review for MacFocus Paper (bring a pen) and a teeny quiz on Act IV (use the same pen.) Your homework this weekend is to read Act V and prepare to ACT. We hav swords and soundtracks and some tinfoil for "armor," so. . .

(Note regarding Act V: It's almost entirely denouement. This play has been one gigantic build-up to an inevitable conclusion, but you might be surprised by how everything neatly works out. As I mentioned in class, the parallelism in this play amazes me--symbols are repeated, paradoxical predictions have neat solutions, and apparitions take on more than merely hallucinatory imagery. Shakespeare's best puzzle!)