Monday, October 4, 2010

Ah, autumn--the best season of the year, IMHO. It's just now starting to feel cooler in the mornings and evenings (although it was plenty warm at the BHS rummage sale this morning) and the faintest hint of optimism is curling through the leaves. I love autumn, and think it is no small coincidence that the great poet Percy Bysshe Shelley immortalized it as "the dirge of the dying year" in his "Ode to the West Wind," in which he described the winds of autumn as capable of engendering creativity.

So let's get to it!

Gifted English II: Your HW this weekend was to create one sentence using at least five of the Word of the Day words; we will share them, then finish the last short bit of Antigone (period one) before moving on to Ovid (period two). You will not need your textbook this week. Our Author of the Day today is Nathaniel Hawthorne, and our new word is transmogrify.

Classwork: Transition from ancient Greek drama to Roman poetry with Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Homework: Enrichment opportunity with literary terms, due tomorrow for extra credit (see handout) and Antigone questions due tomorrow by 3 p.m.

APees: We finished Act I last week, so let's take a little quiz on Act I and see how much we recall from this introductory foray into MacStuff. Once we're done, we'll self-score and make the transition into Act II.

Classwork: Quiz, and explication de texte of Macb in class with discussion intertwined.

Homework: Content vocabulary for Act II.

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, January 8, 2010

Mrs. Corbin will be with you today; be nice to her, as she is one of my favorite people. I have to do Medical Testing Part II today but will be back Monday, by hook or by crook. The final chapter is Tuesday afternoon, so Mrs. Corbin will be back with periods 5-7, but then I should be good (God willing and the creek don't rise) for a while. And thank you to all of the sweet children with good thoughts. It's been a rough few weeks.

Gifted English II: Turn in your HW to Mrs. Corbin, and then work for the first part of the period on JC questions related to Act III. (I'll be picking up the Act II questions, which are lengthier, by the end of the period Monday.) At the halfway mark of the period, she is going to turn on the DVD player and let you watch Acts I and II of the play. The version you will be watching is from the early 1970's, featuring Charlton Heston as Mark Antony and Sir John Geilgud as the doomed dictator. Enjoy!

APees: Today you will work on your reading journal with respect to Frankenstein. There are a few extra copies of the novel on the shelf up front if you need one, and there are extra copies of the journal assignment on the podium. Your first entry MUST be from one of the epistolary chapters (or can comment on all of them en masse) so today is NOT a day to be checking Facebook surreptitiously (I know what you are doing back there, you) nor frantically finishing calc homework for Dr. Tachon. Read! Read!

*hope it snows*

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.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Can you believe that it's halfway through September already?

So much to do today, kids. Tragically, a typical Monday for so many of us. I'll be in 313 early in the morning, preparing for the onslaught and entering grades. Progress reports will go home at the end of this week, so if you think you're missing anything, come see me. I will happily print a grade slip for any student who asks nicely. Before class would be ideal--please don't interrupt one of my award-winning, deeply focused lectures to ask for your grade. (Note sarcasm regarding both descriptors of said lectures--I think my train derails as much as Listort's. I'm working on it, people. ADHD doesn't just affect adolescents.)

Announcements: Writing Center is open tomorrow! And sophys get textbooks tomorrow! and the fire drill that might have been scheduled for first period might have been rescheduled for third period in light of the Florida State counselor coming to speak to seniors in the auditorium. (Seniors, you can still get a pass before school from Mrs. Cadman in College and Career--and I highly recommend going if you are even contemplating attending this school. Relationships with college reps are exempt from "familiarity breeds contempt." Let them know who you are, and see your passion for attending their school. Do not show up and declare that "if I don't get in at my dream school, going to School A might not be too horrible". That happened last year, and it wasn't pretty for that kid.)

Sophys: After sharing our HW (grammar errors found in the public sphere; should be entertaining) we will have Amy Tan as our Author of the Day. We will also take notes on genres and review what we learned about irony--and do some more grammar! It will be a great, informative day.

APees: Two academic focii: (Latin scholars--is that the appropriate plural, or should I just say "focual points" and remove any doubt?) A) Glaysher, part II, and B) review for the super-duper ORex test tomorrow.

Word of the Day: picayune: (adjective) something trivial (oddly, there are several newspapers called "The Picayune"--I do not think it means what they think it means.)

Thursday, August 21, 2008

REMINDER: Sophomore assembly during third period in the auditorium today. Report to your third period class first, then await dismissal.

Gifted English II: Collect HW questions for assessment. Check-reading quiz on The Stranger and Death of a Salesman. New students to the course will be reading silently during this time--you will have three weeks to catch up on this particular assignment. Afterwards, I will go over the other ten words on your first vocabulary list. Author of the Day today is Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Rough draft of your paper on The Stranger is due Friday for peer review. The vocabulary quiz will be postponed until next week due to Semi-Hurricane Fay.

APees: After we take our short quizlet on The Awakening, we are going to start our discussion of Flaubert and Chopin's writing styles. Your focus paper is due tomorrow night by midnight on www.turnitin.com. See me if you have further existential crises related to this website--it isn't perfect, but I can troubleshoot problems for you.

Also--remember that I will be hosting office hours tomorrow morning for college application conversations. We are going to see Mrs. Cadman tomorrow in College and Career during class to further shed light on your application process.