Monday, January 4, 2010

Welcome to the new year, if not the new semester--we still have until January 25 or so to finish this quarter. I've been reading online about the debate between pronouncing this year "two thousand ten" vs. "twenty-ten" and I have to say that I am partial to the brevity and power of the latter. Regardless of what you call it, though, we have entered a new decade, and I truly hope that each of you finds great fortune, knowledge, and understanding in your future endeavors.

Announcements:

1. For those of you who still need service hours for NHS, I have an opportunity for you--I could really use some help this week cleaning 313 in preparation for district and state level visitors from the Advanced Studies Department. The first item on the rubric they are using states "A clutter-free classroom is evident," and man am I in trouble. Right-brained over here; need some help.

2. If you are on the Project X-Mas committee, thank-you note season is upon us! Many, many people helped us reach our goal this fall, and we need to thank them appropriately. I've already sent e-mails to the entire faculty indicating our gratitude, but see Mary Claire for individualized thank-you note plans. Service hours, as always, are given for your work on this committee.

3. Sophys: You will need to acquire a personal copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White before the end of January. It will be our primary grammar guide for the spring term.

4. Seniors: You will need to acquire a personal copy of Jane Eyre IF you wish to annotate as you read. Our first reading in the Romantic unit will be Frankenstein, available in the BHS library, but JE lends itself more to marginalia. If you are so inclined, it's a worthwhile investment--and you can take it with you to college next year for literary magic 8-ball purposes!

Today's Lessons:

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar--review key concepts from December, review Act I main points, and distribute thought questions for Act II. We will also be going over the memorization assignment, which is due by the end of this month as well. Two of you are already finished. Bravo! I will have a finished calendar for you by the end of the week with all of the registration dates for next year's classes, as well, and can start meeting with you one-on-one to help make decisions about your schedule.

AP Lit and Comp: I asked each of you to annotate "Preludes" by T.S. Eliot; today in class, we are going to analyze the heck out of this lyric poem. Come prepared to TP-CASTT and beyond, and to massage a lot of diction. Mere months to go until the national exam, my peeps. Months to go.