November 13

Sophomores: Periods 1 and 8 need to have The Power of One finished for our next class period. We will take an exam, and continue our essay on the lessons, morals, and themes contained within the text. We will also continue our study of This I Believe in preparation for our semester project. Bring The Alchemist to class Friday. Period 7 needs to finish The Power of One for Monday.

Freshmen: We focused on defining the common terms and vocabulary we have used this year when talking about reading and writing. Bring Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay for Friday.

Basketball: We will practice at Judge on Saturday with a parent meeting at 9 after.

November 12

Sophomores: We began an essay on the themes and lessons evident in The Power of One, practicing citing from texts according to MLA format. NVC stuff was due today.

Freshmen: We finished up our documentary and The Elements of Style study; definition essay is due next period. Bring Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay on Friday.

November 8 and 9

Sophomores: We discussed our end of the semester project: This I Believe. Refer to your hand out and visit NPR.org for more info. You might also want to go to www.thisibelieve.com, though you must submit your essay to the NPR website. We also synthesized the info from yesterday's interview, which we'll continue in essay form next week. Period 8 must finish The Power of One for next Wednesday; Period 7 will finish it before 11/19, and Period 1 will finish it by next Thursday.

Freshmen: We finished "Spellbound" and the activities we did with it. Finish The Elements of Style by Monday - you will have a quiz on chapters 3-5. Also for Monday, do the NVC stuff, as well as finish reading and writing a definition essay from Short Takes.

Basketball: We are at St. Vincents on Saturday.

November 6 and 7

Sophomores: We watched an interview between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell titled "The First Storytellers" and took notes on the information and applied it to our first two texts, Life of Pi and The Power of One. NOTE: We have struck a deal, because I am so wonderful, that stipulates we will finish The Power of One by 11/19. NOTE: The NVC modules are due next Monday, not next Friday, due to the football game field trip - good luck football!

Freshmen: We read a definition by Marylin Vos Savant about spelling ability, discussed some strategies to improve our spelling, and watched a documentary titled "Spellbound." We took notes on words, how documentaries are examples of cinematic essays, found examples of narration, definition, and description in the documentary, and reflected on the level of dedication shown in the film.
NOTE: The NVC modules are due next Monday, not next Friday, due to the football game field trip - good luck football!

Basketball: We begin practice today. Saturday we are at St. Vincents.

November 5

Sophomores: We took a quiz on The Power of One, discussed Merlin and the Crystal Cave, and set Wednesday November 14 as the due date to finish the book.

Freshmen: We took a quiz on The Elements of Style and read an essay on color symbolism in the English language. Chapters 3 and 4 from Elements are due Thursday 11/8; the NVC modules are due Friday 11/9. Students should also pick one of the remaining definition essays from Chapter 3 of Short Takes, read it, and do one of the essay options. It should be around 500 words, and is due Monday.

Basketball: Tryouts begin today at Sunnyside.

November 2

Sophomores: The 10% solution essay was due today, and we reflected on the process. We also discussed ideas present in your triple entry journal. Chapter 18 from The Power of One is due Monday.

Freshmen:We started our study of definition essays. We read the intro to the genre from Short Takes (pages 76 and 77) and talked about how words have both connotations and denotations. We also talked about the words others use to define us. We then read "The Handicap of Definition" from Short Takes. Chapter 2 from The Elements of Style is due Monday.

Basketball: Tryouts are Monday, until 5:30, at Sunnyside. Bring your eligibility cards.

November 1

Sophomores: Today we had short periods, so we took some time to read from The Power of One, briefly discussed what to do with the essays and the 10% Solution, and the NVC. Remember, the 10%ed essay is due Friday, Chapter 18 is due Monday, and the NVC modules are due November 9. You must take the NVC quiz sometime this month. BE SURE TO ENTER THE COACH CODE 004 when you register.

Freshmen: We finished our Jeopardy! game, and took a quiz on Chapter 1 of the Elements of Style. Chapter 2 is due on Monday - you may use your 20 minutes of reading homework for this. NVC modules are due November 9. You must take the NVC quiz sometime this month. BE SURE TO ENTER THE COACH CODE 004 when you register. We also discussed the Letter to the Editor assignment - several students have already had something published. This quarter's letter is due December 14 - it should be in a stamped, addressed, unsealed envelope, and meet all of the Tribune's guidelines.

Basketball: Tryouts are Monday and Tuesday, at Sunnyside, until 5:30.