Monday, March 22, 2010

Gifted English II: We're registering for next year's classes today; meet in 313 and we will proceed to the Media Center together as a happy learning family. If we finish early, we can move on to the next exciting activity in Giftedland. Bring a pencil tomorrow, btw.

APees: Syntactical analysis of a passage from Jane Eyre; the current reading assignment is Chapters 21-26. We're also going to take a close look at one multiple-choice passage and related strategies. Tomorrow: Two Renaissance-themed sonnets, TP-CASTT style.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Today is Registration Day for the sophomores. Meet in the Guidance lobby. Second period--this means you will be watching BBC in the lobby. I think this is a good day for a subsequent BBC quiz. . .

Note to all students: 8 seniors and 11 sophomores still have not posted their essays to www.turnitin.com OR e-mailed me a copy so I could do it for them. I WILL NOT RECORD YOUR GRADES UNTIL IT GOES THROUGH THIS PORTAL. Progress reports go home Friday; do you want a zero sitting there? You have two very simple options for fulfilling this requirement and if it is not done by Wednesday afternoon the zero goes in.

APees: Since we haev been discussing the autobiographical elements of Jane Eyre, I think it would be interesting for us to look at a bit of Bronte's correspondence. She sought advice from the then-famous "Lake Poet" Robert Southey, and reading their letters to each other offers a great deal of insight into both of their personalities. Not to mention that these letters lead to a terrific AP prompt. . .

Friday, February 6, 2009

Seriously--how many of us feel this way? We can't wait to leave work or school and rush home to. . .work on a computer. Granted, my job doesn't require that I stare tediously into the LCD glow of a computer monitor, but it does require a significant amount of computing. Then I rush home, heady with the haze of temporary freedom, and log on. So sad. There is such thing as too much technology. Right?

Reminders Aplenty!

Sophys: REGISTRATION FOR NEW CLASSES BEGINS NEXT THURSDAY. I will go to training next Wednesday and bring you all of the relevant information, but if I haven't met with you yet--and that's still about a quarter of you--let's make plans to do so on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. No worries! Signature dates (when your current teachers sign the recommendations for next year's classes) will be on February 17th and 18th, and then I will go with you to Guidance on the 20th to meet with your individual counselors. This calendar will most likely be on the BHS website also (you can access that at www.boonebraves.ocps.net) and in the weekly Reservation Report to which your parents might subscribe. Advice: Please involve your parental units in your decision making process! Your junior year is your MOST important year of high school! And you can believe me, because I DON'T TEACH JUNIORS! So this isn't false advertising for my own brand of pedagogical magic or anything.

APees: Your moral homework tonight was to Name Your House, like in Jane Eyre. Since I rent, I don't really have naming rights for my abode, nor have I named my car. I do, however, have a cactus named Copernicus, and I have over 200 handbags awaiting naming. Suggestions are welcome. Name your home! You'll be glad you did! Just don't name it Kindling or anything similarly ominous. Your real homework, however, is to read chapters 1-4 of Jane Eyre for a spectacular quiz tomorrow.

Now time for some confessions!

Confession #1: I won't be there tomorrow. I knew it today, pretty much, and I arranged to have the awesome Mr. Bailey has my sub, but I feared that too many of you might absent yourselves on your own recognizance if you knew in advance of my absence on a Friday--particularly those of you in the later afternoon classes. Be good! I have a checkup; all will be well.

Confession #2, The Big One: So it turns out I did order copies of Jane Eyre, and there are two boxes near my desk (in front of the empty bookcase) chock-full of brand new copies. If you would like one, just let Mr. Bailey know and he will give you one. I am sorry! I forgot I ordered them two years ago, and then forgot I placed them in Mrs. Covert's room, then forget subsequently that I removed them from Mrs. Covert's room and returned them to my room, then forgot I used those boxes as makeshift tables. I am sorry! Help yourselves! The novels were purchased with funds from The College Board--we WANT you to read them!

Lessons for Today:

Sophys: I have questions for you that focus on Act II; since you are responsible for reading Act II independently, these questions will help you in your pursuit of academic excellence. And they are in the order of the play's narrative! Reminder: Lupercal is Monday, and FCAT Writes! is Tuesday!

APees: Jane Eyre quiz, which will take some of you more time than others due to scrupulosity of test-taking. Afterwards, please read "The Cormorant" in the 6th edition beige workbook (pp. 16-17) and answer the 11 questions that correspond. IF you have time still, Mr. Bailey will have four extensive thought questions for the novel.

If you were curious, this is what a cormorant looks like:



Have a great weekend, and we will schedule an Outside Reading Day next week, so that you can experience Romanticism in the gentle embrace of nature, or at least, the gentle embrace of BHS's concrete superstructure.

Registration, Tax Season, and FCAT Writes!

General Announcements:

1. Registration for upcoming classes will begin soon; the curriculum leaders will receive a calendar next Wednesday, and I'll post the relevant dates for rising juniors (current sophys) as soon as I steal--I mean gather-- the relevant data for you. I have been meeting with sophomores for the past couple of days to help generate ideas for their future schedules; please see me before or after school or in the Writing Center if you feel that you need more than a few minutes to go over your schedule ideas before Guidance meets with you.

2. Tax Season is here! If you are employed and need to file, you can file for free online with any number of services (I use TurboTax, but I am not endorsing them over anyone else. Find a service that is efficient and free, unless you file with your parents.) Some of you don't need to file, but if you qualify for a refund I would take the time to do it. Also, our Academy of Finance students have done tax work in the past--see Mr. Daniel in the Magnet Suite over the gym to find out when/where you can receive tax assistance.

3. FCAT Writes! is on February 10. All sophomores will be excused from their morning classes (typically first and second period only) to participate in this writing test. Unfortunately, this year the FCAT Writes! falls on the same date as the AMC for some of you--see me ASAP so I can add your name to the list of students who need alternative testing arrangements for FCAT Writes! I also want to take this opportunity to clarify: FCAT Writes! will not impact your status at graduation, but the score DOES go on your final transcript and might be a qualifying factor when determining placement in VCC or AP classes. Please, please--especially you sarcatic types--take this test seriously, and write competently, clearly, and well. The topic will probably not be that fabulous, but use it as an opportunity to show off your command of diction and syntax. YOU CAN DO IT.