The end

(... at least for 1st semester!)

ELA 11 
Your juniors are now only one semester away from their senior year! This semester can be an exciting one, but a little stressful--ACT in March, scheduling for senior year, and thinking about college visits and applications. I've seen students begin to settle in nicely and, for the most part, become more focused on school.

Next semester our focus is literature. After finising the research paper next week, we will begin our first novel, Fahrenheit 451. We will continue working with Learning Logs, but use them as response journals during reading.

On the downside, I have had to speak to my classes about cheating, as I've found vocabulary quiz cheat notes and had duplicated note cards. Other than the standard "cheating is a no-no" talk, I really encourage kids not to tarnish their character and good name for only a few points.

AP Language
Exams are graded and, overall, students did a great job with their first research project! I had some of the best writing so far this year. We will spend a few short weeks on Shakespeare's Henry V, an intense play about power and justice.  The big push for second semester will be the researched argument. It's an involved process, but the unit is manageable if students stay on task. And, of course, the AP Language and Composition test looms large in May.

Yearbook
We will have some staffers leave and some new staffers join the class. With a little bit of reorganization, we'll be renewed and refreshed and ready to finish what is sure to be a great book.