Monday, March 1, 2010

REMINDERS

1. Registration starts this week for rising seniors; it is online this year. Sophys: Go ahead and look over the curriculum guide on the BHS website and make some pre-selections, as you will be registering online at the end of this month, right before Spring Break. Although we anticipate some glitches, I think this is far better for you and gives you a LOT more control over your schedule.

2. If you are going to Ireland with me this Spring Break, the pre-trip travel meeting is tomorrow night at 7 in my classroom. This is not for people signing up--sorry, that train has sailed. If you can't make it let me know and we will get the info on Euros, weather, travel advisories, and packing directly to you.

FCAT IS NEXT WEEK. On Tuesday and Wednesday, our administration is encouraging seniors who have already passed the FCAT to avail themselves of the opportunity to visit colleges. If you have a note from a parental unit and/or documentation demonstrating a college visit (DBCC, if you know what I mean, ha ha) then it is an EXCUSED ABSENCE.

Now on to curricular things:

Word of the Day: vituperative

Holiday of the Day: Peace Corps Day, Beer Day (not for y'all), National Refired, not Retired Day, Pig Day, and Plan a Solo Vacation Day.

Gifted English II: The Elements of Style, Othello Act III, the final attempt to get Author of the Day off the ground. Goodness. Love to all. . .

APees: Close reading of Jane Eyre suggestions; William Blake.

Gifted English II:

Friday, February 26, 2010

Word of the Day: indefatigable

Today's Holiday: For Pete's Sake Day, Levi Strauss Day, and National Personal Chef's Day.

Gifted English II: The Elements of Style, Rules 1-11 (further review and application); Othello, Act III. Your Act II questions are due today by the end of business. See me if you have any questions. I will be finishing the last of the Julius Caesar papers this weekend and returning them to you Monday; the next paper is Othello-related and is a really intriguing topic. Go team!

APees: Yesterday, I had you construct a timed writing response to a DBQ related to a letter Charlotte Bronte had written to the then-famous poet Robert Southey, and his snarky response to her, and her snarkier response back. (I love the line where she assures him "I try not to think. . .") Today, we are going to look at viable approaches to thesis statements, do a peer review on our writings, and then look at student samples in the guidebook that were scored by College Board as rubrics. This may sound dry, but this is VITAL for success in May. Your reading assignment this weekend for Jane Eyre is through Chapter 5, please. Thanks!

MARY SHELLEY PAPERS ARE DUE BY 3 p.m. I will be in a meeting with Dr. McMillen, so you can either leave it under the door (risky) or drop it at the main office (much more solid option.)

FCAT Announcement

Sophys: On March 9 and March 10, you will be taking the FCAT for at least a long morning session. Some of you qualify for extra time. I will be going over testing destinations and suggestions for preparing over the next week or so.

Seniors: You are being encouraged to visit colleges or go to the college you plan to attend (if it's reasonable) and meet with academic advisement on these two days. THESE ARE EXCUSED ABSENCES IF YOU BRING IN DOCUMENTATION. Share this info with your parents; it's legit.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Be nice to my sub! I have a family ceremony to attend. I might be back, so be good. . .you never know when I will emo into the room expecting greatness.

Word of the Day: filial

Holiday of the Day: National Chili Day!

Gifted English II: Othello; finish the Act II questions. You may then watch Act I and part of Act II on the video, with careful fast-forwarding. I am leaving specific instructions for the sub. (Second period: you have a quiz, remember?)

AP Literature and Composition: Written response to a DBQ; this one is about Charlotte Bronte. AWESOMENESS PERSONIFIED. I love this prompt; love, love, love.

Lupercal

This is the first period entertainment group, completely produced by students for students. No offense was intended by the students and their self-descriptions. Enjoy the video and its epic music.

Again--no animals were harmed in the making of this video. Stephen, however, might have been licked excessively by a dog.

Ancient Roman Entertainment

Thanks to Easah for shooting, editing and adding the soundtrack. No animals were harmed in the making of this film.

This is the second period project for the Lupercal Festival this year.

Congrats to Charles, Jake, Thomas, Easah, and Lee!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Word of the Day: averse

Holiday of the Day: Inconvenience Yourself Day. (Does this mean to avoid 7-11 all day, or take alternate pathways around buildings, or what? I have no idea. Anyone who can shed light on this little mystery will be gratefully acknowledged.)

Gifted English II: The Elements of Style, Rules 1-11. We discussed Webster's definition of grammar yesterday, and today the Real Fun begins. At long last. And then, more Othello-osity. Although some of the choicest lines were uttered yesterday. . .

APees: Now that you have survived Multiple Choice Practice Session Infinity, I'll give you back your scan sheets and you can weep privately. AND we are going to discuss "The Cormorant" by Rosanna Warren (awesome, if sad) and Jane Eyre, chapter one. Nothing like a little old-fashioned explication de texte to get things rolling.

Note: See upcoming post later this evening on registration and FCAT. Importante!!!!

Shelley paper is due by Friday, February 26, oh APees. Although I will take it early and in fact already have a few. . .

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Word of the Day is conciliatory.

Holidays Today: Curling is Cool Day, Iwo Jima Day, IHOP Pancake Day, and Spay Day USA.

Gifted English II: Finish Othello, Act II.

APees: Practice Multiple Choice session. You'll thank me in May. Perhaps. . .

Monday, February 22, 2010

Word of the Day is obstreperous.

Holiday today is a trifecta: 1) George Washington's birthday, 2) Word Thinking Day, and 3) Single-Tasking Day (as opposed to Multi-Tasking Day, methinks.)

Gifted English II: Othello; we need to look at the questions for Act II. First period didn't get them on Friday, and second period only got page 1. Also, we need to review the Act II Content Vocabulary for Wednesday's quiz.

AP Literature and Composition: "When I Have Fears" by Keats, and introduction to Charlotte Bronte. Bring a pencil tomorrow!

School Advisory Council Meeting is tonight from 6-7 p.m. You don't have to worry about that, but at least you'll know where I am if I don't write back to e-mail during that hour!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Word of the Day: chinchilla

Holiday of the Day: Iwo Jima Day and International Mother Language Day.

Gifted English II: The Lupercal Festival is upon us. Each group will present an element of Roman life to the class, from Entertainment to Clothing to Food. Good luck all groups!

APees: Keats, Keats, more Keats. I love this guy.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Today is my half-birthday; not that I celebrate it or anything, but I am keenly aware that in a year and a half I will be forty years old. FORTY. I know people say that forty is the new twenty or whatever, and I know I don't look my age (between the generalized immaturity and the sole benefit of being fat--non-wrinkling, I am perpetually 27 or so) but dang. 40. Makes one think. I need to write that novel like NOW.

::self-pitying rant over::

Let's check out the curriculum!!!

Word of the Day: amalgam

Today's Holiday: Battery Day, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (sounds sexist but is actually encouraging) and Chocolate Mint Day.

Gifted English II: Final Lupercal meeting; Othello again. Awesome!

APees: Shelley focus paper assignment (oh, don't act surprised) and Keats again--this time, "Nightingale." Romanticism creative project is due by March 2, 2010.

Progress Reports Third Quarter

Progress Reports should go out Friday during fourth period. That means that we teacher-types have to submit your interim averages by 7:00 a.m. Friday morning. That also means that you student-types need to make sure that you have all of your make-up work completed in a timely manner so the grade can be reflected on your progress report.

To date, I still have one student needing to take the Frankenstein test and two students needing to take the Julius Caesar. And there are other holes in the gradebook, too. Please check ProgressBook and see if your average seems low; I'll be glad to give you a printout of what might be missing. And I plan to stay after pretty much every day this week for make-up work opportunities.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Word of the Day: emblazoned

Holiday of the Day: Ash Wednesday. For those of you commemorating Lent or the 40-Day-Challenge, what are YOU giving up? I am trying to give up negative thoughts. A few years ago I gave up caffeine and cursing at the same time, and it was an epic fail. This year, I long to be more focused on the positives of our lovely world.

Gifted English II: Othello vocabulary quiz, followed by a deep foray into Act II with related questions. Awesomeness abounds!

APees: Keats, Keats, Keats.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Word of the Day: pedantic

Holiday of the Day: International Pancake Day, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday)

Gifted English II: Post-it note quiz on Othello, Act I, followed by a review of the content vocabulary for Act I for tomorrow's quiz (two in a row!) and a Lupercal group meeting for Friday's project. I will be collecting the Julius Caesar papers until 3 p.m. and need you to upload it to www.turnitin.com. If you can't recall your password, or need your account updated, you can e-mail me your paper as a Word attachment (double spaced) to my e-mail address either here or through the BHS website and I can do it for you. Or find me today and I'll take care of it for you!

APees: For the first half of the period, two scenes from Young Frankenstein (HILARIOUS) and for the second half, Keats. You will never look at a pot the same way again. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" rocks the free world. Happy, happy boughs indeed!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Happy Friday!

Gifted English II: Othello, Act I.

APees: Frankenstein! The 1994 film by Kenneth Branagh--it's a disaster, really, but it's such a nice visual counterpart to the novel (most of you) just read. And the Frankenjournals are due today.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Today's weird holiday is fourfold: National Sports Wives Day (tell Tiger's wife), National Visit a Shut-in Day (tell Tiger), National Be Satisfied Staying Single Day (again with his wife) and National White Shirt Day (no idea who benefits from that one.)

Today's word is avarice, which means greed.

Gifted English II: Review the requirements for the JC focus paper, which I would like submitted by Friday but which I will take by Tuesday. See how nice I can be? And in class--Othello, Othello, Othello, and go over the content vocabulary preparatory to tomorrow's exciting little quizlet.

APees: Finish the TP-CASTT analysis of "West Wind" and take a stickynote quiz on said poem; then begin transition into Keats. I love Keats. Almost as much as Coleridge. And that is saying something.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

APees: If you need to make up the Frankenstein test, I really need to give it to you after school today during the English Department meeting. I will be in 315 for about 14 minutes (if the meeting goes as scheduled--fingers crossed!) and I will have you in the adjacent office/313 testing. Bring a pen or pencil and your brain. The make-up test is challenging.

Gifted English II: Today we need to solidify groups for the Lupercal project, which I think we should move to next Friday to give you time to plan. I'll let you generate a planning session and clarify the expectations for the project. Good times! If we have time after that, I'd like to go over the Julius Caesar focus paper assignment, too, which is due February 12, 2010 AND needs to go on www.turnitin.com. Tomorrow is the last chance to generate an account on this service, so see me if you have problems. Now that the first part of the FCAT is over we can start moving forward more purposefully to AP Language preparation.

APees: "Ode to the West Wind" by Shelley and TP-CASTT analysis. Our next poet is Keats, so you WILL need your lit books pretty much each day from now until further notice. Reminder: Frankenjournals are due Friday, and NEED TO BE TYPED. I am still vacillating on whether or not they need to be uploaded to www.turnitin.com considering the personal nature of the assignment, but this is the assignment last year that yielded the most plagiarism. I am at a moral crossroads and think I will err on the side of caution. Love to all, though; love to all.

Remember: THREE DAY WEEKEND COMING UP!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

TWO MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1. Today is the FCAT Writes! during second period, and will result in an adjusted bell schedule. If you are a sophomore, consult me or the lists posted in the media center/guidance for your testing location. If you are a senior with late arrival, double-check with the main office for the starting time of third period, which will most likely be truncated due to the testing schedule. And if you are a senior: My room is off-limits. I am testing AND providing extended testing time to a small group of learners.

2. Tonight is AP night in the auditorium at 6 p.m., followed by a chance to meet the AP teachers and discuss next year's courses in the cafeteria. The cafeteria session should go from 7-8, so if you are interested in attending or sending a parental unit, let them know. If you are interested in helping out and "selling the AP class" for me or for another AP instructor, please show up around 7 at the cafeteria and prepare to be charming. Community service hours will be awarded.

Lessons for today:

Period One: Allaying of FCAT panic and furtherance of Othelloness.

Period Two: FCAT Writes!

Period Three: Short period; Shelley's "West Wind," or at least a hint of a breeze.

Period Four: Writing Center and ensuing chaos.

Periods Five-Seven: Windiness and falling on the thorns of life, Shelleystyle. And there will be much rejoicing.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Our word of the day is lugubrious, which means sad or lachrymose.

Our holiday today is Boy Scout Awards Day and Laugh and Get Rich Day, whatever that last one means. I wouldn't mind celebrating that one repeatedly!

Gifted English II: I only have one student remaining who needs to take the JC Unit test, but SEVERAL students did not do their memorizations on Friday, and not due to lack of time, either. I am beyond annoyed and late penalties will be assessed--it's not fair to the students who did it on time, and with tremendous skill, too. See me to schedule a time NOT DURING CLASS. In class today, we are going over the testing locations for tomorrow's FCAT Writes and beginning Othello, Act I.

AP Lit and Comp: Frankenstein Unit Test and review of Frankenstein Reading Journals, due FRIDAY. I had said they were due on the tenth, but that's when I thought the tenth was Friday. Serves me right for guessing dates. Please bring your lit book with you to class tomorrow so we can analyze Shelley's "West Wind."

Friday, February 5, 2010

Today is International Nutella Appreciation Day, a day dear to my heart. I love the stuff, although it is probably the single worst thing I could possibly eat.

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar memorizations due today!!!

APees: Frankenstein check-reading test, followed by more "West Wind" madness. If we have time.

Thursday, January 4, 2010

Today is Liberace Appreciation Day! I have no idea how you'd like to celebrate this day of wonder and joy, but I plan to wear glitter.

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar Unit Test (easy!) and Othello Act I, scene i. Warning: It's saucy.

APees: Review for Frankenstein check-reading test tomorrow, complete with related allusions to Milton, Coleridge, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. If we have time, I'd like to start cranking through "Ode to the West Wind". It is all kinds of awesome, except for one weak line.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The FCAT Writes! test will be administered next Tuesday, resulting in an elongated second period session. If you have late arrival, please check with an administrator or check the adjusted bell schedule for your arrival time on that day. I will be administering the test to a small group of learners in my classroom, which means that 313 is strictly off-limits to non-testers. We cannot interfere with the integrity of the test. See me if you have any questions throughout the week.

Sophys: The focus paper for Julius Caesar won't be due until after the FCAT Writes, even though we are already beginning Othello. Also, I can extend the memorization assignment into early next week due to overlapping deadlines with the Lupercalian project, the standardized testing, and scheduling for next year. I will clarify in class tomorrow.

Students in second/third period: The School Board will be paying us a visit tomorrow. Be nice.

Gifted English II: After I distribute the Othello content vocabulary, we will be writing a quick, informal response to a quote from the tragedy for pre-reading purposes. Also, we will be going over the Lupercal festival concept with more detail.

APees: I will give each of you a packet of student-generated essays on the prompt you outlined/addressed yesterday in class. As a group, we are going to read over the student samples and determine the criteria the College Board is seeking for poetic analysis on Hardy's text.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

Gifted English II: Julius Caesar review part II; return graded work; memorizations; organize Lupercal festivities; transition into Othello.

AP Lit: Timed Writing on "Convergence of the Twain" by Thomas Hardy. It's a poem about a boat--a really big boat. Take a good hard look at the boat. :-)

Monday, February 1, 2010

Welcome to February!!!

Gifted English II: The Julius Caesar test has been postponed until Thursday, but we are reviewing in class today regardless. We are also going to begin the focus paper assignment--many of you may opt to revise the timed writing from last week into the final draft. Also, we are going to REMIND YOU about the memorization assignment due later this week.

AP Literature: Analysis of "Rime" and "Kubla Khan" with emphasis on the conflict between Wordsworth and Coleridge. We need to talk about what Wordsworth deemed faulty characterization and overwrought imagery, and then look at the allusions, imagery, and metaphors in both works.