Today our class said farewell to our awesome student teacher Miss Alishahi. She moves on to Sierra Vista to do more student-teaching at the junior high level.
Miss A has added so much to our classroom with her ready smile, her love of music, and her cute puppy photos. I have absolutely loved having Miss A as my partner in crime for the last six weeks, and I am sad to see her go.
Here are some photos from Miss A's last day. 9th graders enjoyed some PHONE FREE fun time in class today to say good-bye - 11th graders, unfortunately, had to finish their district benchmarks, but gamely posed for a photo!
Friday, March 6, 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Debates
Who is responsible for the death of John Proctor? That was the subject of this week's debate about The Crucible in American Literature!
Arthur Miller's classic drama is full of guilty characters - after all, what would an exploration of Puritanism, theocracy, and adultery be without guilt? The question though was who was most guilty!
The candidates were:
* John Proctor himself, the wayward patriarch who slept with and then fired his teenaged servant
* Elizabeth Proctor, his wife, an upright truth-teller who lies for her husband at a crucial moment
* Abigail Williams, the ex-servant-and-woman-spurned who accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft
* Mary Warren, their wishy-washy servant who continually succumbs to peer pressure
* Reverend Parris, the wanna-be authoritarian preacher who is more concerned with money and reputation than the truth
* Deputy Governor Danforth and his court officials, who decide to admit "spectral" evidence and Bible verses into a court of law
* Puritan society with its repressive norms and religious obsession
* Mass hysteria that had taken Salem by storm
It was a lively debate, but both Periods 2 and 3 ultimately pointed the finger at Mass Hysteria - with Mary Warren making it to the final round in Period 2, and John Proctor himself getting to the final showdown in Period 3.
Parents, you may notice our student teacher, Miss Alishahi in some of the pictures! She's been an amazing addition to our classroom!
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Congratulations to these outstanding writers!
These incredible writers shared their journey essays aloud in class, an act of great vulnerability! They received top scores for their work, and the other students learned so much from not only hearing their work, but from hearing them describe their writing process!
Congratulate these students on a job well done, and click on their names if you'd like to view their work!
From Period 5: Gemma O'Garro, Dana Hong, and Brooklyn Cohen
From Period 6:
Amelia Haydamack, Sydney Thay, Nicholas Kroll and Emily Dibene.
From Period 7:
Alyssa Cheng,Celeste Ruiz, Maya Shankar, and Taylor Suh.
Congratulate these students on a job well done, and click on their names if you'd like to view their work!
From Period 5: Gemma O'Garro, Dana Hong, and Brooklyn Cohen
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
A Word About Grades
As the close of the semester draws near and grades become closer to final, many students and parents start to get concerned about grades.
As a mother of three teenagers myself, I often don't know if my children are truly putting their best effort into their schoolwork. So I would like to draw your attention to the column in the gradebook that is called "Homework and Practice." Your student's "Homework and Practice" grade is a good indication of your child's effort and work ethic in my class. While practice has a very small impact on the final grade (only 10%, as opposed to assessments which measure standards mastery and represent 90% of the grade), it is an important marker of effort and character.
I urge you not to nag your child about his/her grade if he/she has 90-100% in the Homework and Practice column and has turned everything in in the Assessment column. This means they are doing everything they can and should do in order to LEARN and master English Language Arts. However, if your child's Homework and Practice grade is LOW and assignments are missing, please do nag until they get their work turned in!
Parents of Honors English 9 students may especially struggle with this, but as you look at your child's assessment grade and perhaps wonder why he or she isn't getting an A, please remember the following: 1) Honors English is a CHALLENGING course. Not every student will earn an A. However, many colleges will weight your child's GPA accordingly (for some institutions, an Honors B or C is considered better than an A in a regular class). 2) If your child is earning a B or a C, you may be tempted to think he or she should take regular English next semester or year and get an "easy A" - I encourage you NOT to make that call unless it is coming from your child. The interaction your child is having each day with incredibly intelligent students who are earning As in Honors level courses has an effect on them, raising their level of ability and understanding the longer they remain in Honors courses. 3) Your child may be LEARNING more as a B or C student about how to write well, communicate effectively, and be emotionally resilient than they would as an A student in a less challenging course.
Your kids display flashes of brilliance, talent, and kindness each and every day, and I am enjoying working with them. They truly make my job a joy, and I am looking forward to seeing how they will grow next semester!
As a mother of three teenagers myself, I often don't know if my children are truly putting their best effort into their schoolwork. So I would like to draw your attention to the column in the gradebook that is called "Homework and Practice." Your student's "Homework and Practice" grade is a good indication of your child's effort and work ethic in my class. While practice has a very small impact on the final grade (only 10%, as opposed to assessments which measure standards mastery and represent 90% of the grade), it is an important marker of effort and character.
I urge you not to nag your child about his/her grade if he/she has 90-100% in the Homework and Practice column and has turned everything in in the Assessment column. This means they are doing everything they can and should do in order to LEARN and master English Language Arts. However, if your child's Homework and Practice grade is LOW and assignments are missing, please do nag until they get their work turned in!
Parents of Honors English 9 students may especially struggle with this, but as you look at your child's assessment grade and perhaps wonder why he or she isn't getting an A, please remember the following: 1) Honors English is a CHALLENGING course. Not every student will earn an A. However, many colleges will weight your child's GPA accordingly (for some institutions, an Honors B or C is considered better than an A in a regular class). 2) If your child is earning a B or a C, you may be tempted to think he or she should take regular English next semester or year and get an "easy A" - I encourage you NOT to make that call unless it is coming from your child. The interaction your child is having each day with incredibly intelligent students who are earning As in Honors level courses has an effect on them, raising their level of ability and understanding the longer they remain in Honors courses. 3) Your child may be LEARNING more as a B or C student about how to write well, communicate effectively, and be emotionally resilient than they would as an A student in a less challenging course.
Your kids display flashes of brilliance, talent, and kindness each and every day, and I am enjoying working with them. They truly make my job a joy, and I am looking forward to seeing how they will grow next semester!
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