Today in Honors English 9 we held our final "Battle Royale" debate to see which god or goddess from The Odyssey would make the best school mascot! In periods 5 and 7, the winner was Hermes, whereas Calypso took top honors in period 6! Our student FATES did a great job of timing, judging, giving feedback and generally presiding over the debate!
Welcome to the fall semester at VHS! It's going to be a great year! I can't wait to get to know you all, to hear your ideas, and to dive with you into both timeless literature and contemporary classics! Teaching English is so much fun because it really is the study of humanity and how it responds to adversity, to change, and to the divine.
I always love to kick off my year by having students view and discuss this video from young adult novelist John Green:
Everyone who watches will have his/her own tidbits to take away, but my favorite are these three:
1. Reading critically helps you to understand and to be understood
2. Reading is a conversation between the reader and the author
3. Reading is always an act of empathy
The importance of studying English is to communicate ideas to the world, and I think this is nicely expressed by Green's video!
Again, I am so excited about this school year and I want to make it the best year yet!
If you need to take (or retake) your R4 Assessment, you may come in:
Friday 9/14 at 7:00 am
Monday the 17th between 2-3:30
Tuesday the 18th at lunch
Wednesday the 19th during Per 1 (late start: 8:55-9:35)
Thursday the 20th during lunch
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Welcome to a new school year! I am excited to see familiar faces and welcome new students. Please check out the links on the right to view a list of classroom resources.
