Friday, December 21

Freshmen: Today we took a vocab exam. Have a great Christmas break.

Sophomores: Today we had our seminar on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Have a great break and work on your end of the semester project.

CNF: We finished Murder on a Sunday Morning. Have a great break.

Basketball: We resume a week from today.

Tuesday, December 18 and Wednesday, December 19

Freshmen: Today we focused on haibun. Your homework is to read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday, and have your Grandparent Project done for Thursday. Vocab is due Friday.

Sophomores: Today we read some of your Letters About Literature and focused on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Vocab is due Thursday and the book should be done for Friday.

CNF: Today we focused on Murder on a Sunday Morning and how crime and the justice system work after a crime has been committed.

Basketball: We're at Sunnyside today until 5:30.

Friday, December 14

Freshmen: Today we continued our focus on haiku. Your homework is to write and type up five of them and bring them to class Monday. Vocab is due next Friday, your Letters About Literature letter is due Tuesday, and your Grandparent Project is due on Thursday.

Sophomores: Continue reading from The Diving  Bell and the Butterfly. Remember to complete your Letters About Literature letter and your end of the semester project. Vocab is due next Thursday.

CNF: We finished our reading.

Basketball: We're at Sunnyside until 5:30; Saturday, we will go short, from 8:45-10:00, with film until 11. The kids can get there as early as 8:30 if they would like.

Thursday, December 13

Freshmen: Today we studied haiku and its master, Basho. Read for 20 minutes tonight, and don't forget that next Tuesday, your Letters About Literature are due, next Thursday your Grandparent Projects are due, and next Friday, we will have a vocab exam on Chapter 7.

Sophomores: We continued with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Check the reading schedule and be sure to keep up. Your Letters About Literature are due next Wednesday.

CNF: We continued studying crime and its drop in the 1990s as we read Gladwell and Freakonomics.

Basketball: We have a shoot around at 3 at Lourdes, followed by study hall and a game at 5:30.

World Literature Extra Credit

Hi. If you would like some extra credit, go to http://www.onbeing.org/program/bodys-grace-matthew-sanfords-story/185 and listen to the podcast "The Body's Grace" about Matthew Sanford. After listening, write a 1-2 page typed, double-spaced reflection, analyzing how Sanford's ideas intersect with those of Bauby's. This is due 1/7/13 and is worth up to 50 points extra credit, depending on how good a job you do.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Reading Schedule 2012-2013

The book is due on 12/21. You should have a page reflection/reaction for the entire book that day for our seminar. Please follow this schedule for chapters due.

12/13 - Prologue, The Wheelchair, Prayer, Bathtime, The Alphabet due.

12/14 - The Empress, Cinecitta, Tourists, The Sausage, Guardian Angel due.

12/17 - The Photo, Yet Another Coincidence, The Dream, Voice Offstage, My Lucky Day due.

12/19 - Our Very Own Madonna, Through a Glass Darkly, Paris, The Vegetable due.

12/20 - Outing, Twenty to One, The Duck Hunt, Sunday, The Ladies of Hong Kong, The Message due.

12/21 - At the Wax Museum, The Mythmaker, "A Day in the Life", Season of Renewal, and reflection due.

Tuesday, December 11 and Wednesday, December 12

Freshmen: Today we focused on the Letters About Literature contest. Your final copy is due on Tuesday, 12/19, along with your entry coupon. Go to the following website to print that entry coupon: http://lettersaboutliterature.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Guidelines_School_Library_2013_gl.247153357.pdf You must have a parent's signature to enter and receive full credit. Read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday, and finish up your Grandparent Project, due 12/20; vocab is due 12/21.

Sophomores: Today we began reading The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The book needs to be finished by Friday, 12/21, and you need to have a 1 page reaction/reflection for that day's seminar. Vocab is due 12/20. Your Letters About Literature assignment is due 12/19.

CNF: Today we concluded Hoop Dreams. If you would like to read more about Arthur, William, and some of the other people featured in the film, I recommend reading the following: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27976-2004Jul4.html or http://www.slamonline.com/online/blogs/the-w/2010/03/hoop-dreams-15-years-later/

We then began studying the question: Why did the rising crime wave of the 1990's suddenly stop and reverse direction?

Basketball: We are at Judge today, done at 5:30.

Monday, December 10

Freshmen: Today we focused more on the idea of using description, illustration, and example. I asked you to come to class tomorrow ready to write about a book that changed how you saw yourself or the world. Read for 20 minutes tonight; we have a vocab exam next week.

Sophomores: Today we had our final seminar on Siddhartha. We will begin The Diving Bell and the Butterfly on Wednesday. Keep working on your semester projects, your Letter About Literature, and remember we have a vocab exam next week.

CNF: We nearly finished Hoop Dreams...

Basketball: We are at Sunnyside until 4 PM, followed by studyhall, with our game at 5:30 tonight.

Thursday, December 6

Freshmen: Today we looked at a great Illustration/Example/Description essay about using short words and wrote one ourselves. Homework is to read 20 minutes and be ready for the vocab exam tomorrow.

Sophomores: Today our focus was on the river as a symbol, both in general and specifically in Siddhartha. We will have a vocab exam tomorrow and finish the book for Monday.

CNF: We continued Hoop Dreams.

Basketball: We are at Sunnyside until 5:30 tonight.

Tuesday, December 4 and Wednesday, December 5

Freshmen: Today we began a study of Illustration, Example, and Description as rhetorical devices. Read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday, and remember that we have a vocab exam on Friday.

Sophomores: Today we focused on the Letters About Literature contest (LAL, lol). You are to think of a book, poem, or story that changed how you view yourself or the world. This essay should take the form of a letter to the writer, who can be living or dead, and explain how the work impacted you. More info can be found at http://lettersaboutliterature.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Guidelines_School_Library_2013_gl.247153357.pdf

The typed essay is due Wednesday, 12/19 and must include the entry coupon that you can download and have your parents sign from the address above. Failure to include the entry coupon will result in earning only up to half credit.

Finish Siddhartha for Monday, complete your reflections, and remember that vocab is due Friday.

CNF: Today we began Hoop Dreams.

Basketball: We are at Sunnyside until 5:30 today.

Freshmen Honors Lord of the Flies Prompt #2

Please respond to the following prompt in a few paragraphs. Please respond to what others have to say about the prompt in your response, and use evidence from the text to support your ideas. Feel free to comment multiple times in order to create an on-line conversation. Please sign your first name and period. This should be completed by Wednesday, December 5

Prompt: How would the plot of Lord of the Flies have changed if, instead of being all boys on the island, all the characters were girls?

Freshmen: Today we read an essay about spelling, and the messages you send your reader about yourself when you make spelling mistakes. Tonight read for 20 minutes, and remember that your essay is due on Tuesday and that vocab Chapter 6 is due on Friday.

Sophomores: Today we read a This I Believe essay and wrote some from Siddhartha's point of view. Finish the book for Monday; Chapter 6 vocab is due on Friday.

CNF: Today we had a seminar on Chapter 3 of Freakonomics.

Basketball: Today we play Murray at Riverview Junior High School, located on 751 West Tripp Lane (5755 South) at 4 PM.