Writings

Students in English IA are working on their third descriptive paragraph.  For the first one, they had to describe a place; for the second they described a person.  I gave them six different options to write about for the third paragraph, and most have chosen to write about their favorite holidays.

Students in English II are finishing up their To Kill a Mockingbird essays.  I let them choose from a variety of topics relating to the novel.  Next week, they'll be starting a second essay on a topic to be revealed later.

Hopefully, I'll survive all of this grading!

Colder Weather

Besides being the title of my favorite recent country song, the phrase "colder weather" has a more obvious meaning.  I know we have a long winter ahead, and I cringe at the thought of snow, ice, and freezing winds.  Already, I miss summer! 

Conferences

Parent-Teacher conferences are available today and Friday.  Today, we'll be here until 7 pm if you want to stop past and check on your student.  Friday, we'll be here from 8-12.  Feel free to come past and say "Hi."

Writing Assignments

I'm sure I'll regret it when it comes time to grade it all, but I've started five of my six classes on writing assignments.  The students in the three sections of English IA are writing descriptive paragraphs; meanwhile, the students in my two sections of English II are writing longer essays based on our recently-finished novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.  I was really impressed with some of the topic choices made by the sophomores and am looking forward to reading their finished essays next week.

Random Thoughts

Stores are displaying Christmas items before Halloween.  That's not right.

We bought a variety of candies for Halloween, but we'll have to buy more.  I've demolished the supply of Almond Joy and KitKat bars.

I took another night ride around town last night on my bike.  The weather was perfect, but the town was hopping!  I encountered a lot of traffic, a few students, and two trains.

Tonight will be busy.  I have a meeting after school, a haircut after that, then a trip to Effingham to watch the Scholar Bowl match.

Leaves

The last couple of weeks have been quite colorful.  On a recent trek to Toledo, the colorful leaves of autumn were really eye-popping.  I've also been watching the leaves on the ash tree in my front yard turn to a beautiful shade of gold; unfortunately, they've nearly all fallen to the ground. The maple tree in my back yard is now turning, and it is quite breath-taking as well.  I suppose I should mow my yard once more before winter to help mulch all the leaves on the ground, but I'm not going to promise that I'll get it done.

Cardinals

Well, they didn't make it all the way, but they made it a lot farther than many people expected.  Now, I guess I'll have to pull for the Tigers and transition into becoming an armchair quarterback for football season!

Cross Country

On Saturday, I made the long drive to watch the Cross Country Regionals at Carlinville.  Neoga students did an excellent job, (many set new personal best times), and they're moving on to Sectionals this Saturday.  Fortunately, it will be a much shorter drive since Sectionals are held at Mid America Motor Sports just north of Effingham.

Fractions

1/16th.   Freshmen, this is how much of your high school education you've completed.

5/16ths.  Sophomores, this is how much of your high school education you've completed.

9/16ths.  Juniors, this is how much of your high school education you've completed.

13/16ths.  Seniors, this is how much of your high school education you've completed.

Various Thoughts . . .

Taylor G. started out as my first self-nominated Student of the Week; now it seems she has retained her lofty position long enough to be Student of the Quarter.

Today is the end of first quarter, and I have a lot to grade in the next few days.

Preston P. is bringing fainting goats to FFA Zoo Day on Friday, and I'm excited to see them.  I found this video of fainting goats on Youtube and thought it was funny. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we9_CdNPuJg

I also found this news report showing the cardboard bicycle in action.  I really want to get one of these bikes for myself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txSboSNQINs

I'm not responsible for any inappropriate content that may appear on Youtube, especially in their ads or user comments.

I Will Buy This . . .

A bicycle made of cardboard!  The cost is projected to be $20.  How could I NOT get one?  Read all about it here  Yahoo News link

Informative Speeches

Seniors in SPE 111, dual credit Intro To Speech, started presenting their informative speeches today.  A variety of topics enlightened me and the students:  NASCAR, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and Walt Disney's biography were just a few topics.  There will be more speeches Tuesday and Wednesday to wrap up the quarter.

Ready for the Weekend

Projected warmer temps for the weekend have me thinking about a lengthy bike ride.  It won't be long until it's too cold to get the bike out, so I need to make the most of this warm weather.  If you see me, honk or wave, but don't run me over!

Fire Drill

If you were in town this morning and heard the sirens and/or saw the fire trucks and ambulance headed to the school, don't worry.  We just had our annual Coordinated Fire Drill where the emergency personnel respond to our fire alarm and clear the building.  The students did a good job staying with their groups, for the most part, and we all enjoyed a little fresh air while the drill was being conducted.

Juice

Mr. Poggendorf had me try a juice concoction this morning.  I'm not sure what all was in it, but I saw apples, celery, and carrots in his room.  While this drink is supposed to be very healthy and high in anti-oxidants, I didn't think it tasted very good, and it looked even worse!  I know that I need to be healthier and make smarter decisions regarding food and drink, but I must say that my "power breakfast" of Dr. Pepper and a Crunch bar was much tastier!

We have a WINNER! (Two actually)

I finally got the opportunity to look at the entries in the BooBoo drawing contest that I held for the freshmen last week as a reward for their good behavior during my many absences this fall.  I spread out the entries all over the room, looked them over, and selected ten favorites.  I then put all the others away for a bit and put the top ten out again.  I looked them over and decided on my winners.  I say winners, plural, because I couldn't decided between first and second place; therefore, we have two winners.  I'll post photos of the winning entries in a later post.  All entries will be displayed around the room.

Is the suspense killing you?  The co-winners are Ethan W. and Zoey E. !!!!!!    Yay!!!!!

Classic Country Friday?

You betcha!  How about some Johnny Cash?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ynSm1Ngfn8

Just a reminder, I'm not responsible for any inappropriate comments or ads that might appear on Youtube.  In class, I use SafeShare TV which eliminates everything but the video, and if there's an ad at the beginning, I skip it.

Is there such a thing as a modern country classic?  Of course, there is.  Zac Brown Band is excellent!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouFE51HcqM

Tom Robinson's Trial

Students in English II just finished reading the trial chapters in To Kill a Mockingbird, so today, we are taking a look at the cinematic portrayal of those chapters in the Academy Award winning film.  Gregory Peck does an excellent job portraying Atticus Finch and handling the unruly Ewells on the stand.  The absurdity of Mayella's testimony really comes to life on the screen as well.

Drawing Contest

As co-sponsor of the Art/Poetry Club, and as a reward for the good behavior of the students in English IA, I'm having a drawing contest in class tomorrow.  I need some good art work to dress up my room a bit!  I'm not going to reveal the subject of the contest, but I will give you a hint.  There's a picture in a recent blog post on here that you might want to check out.

Guilty

How could the jury find Tom Robinson guilty?  Atticus clearly showed that the Ewell's were lying on the stand and that Mayella was almost certainly beaten by her father.  There was no physical evidence that the crime Tom was accused of committing ever happened.  The prosecution's case was based solely on the testimony of Bob and Mayella Ewell, and neither one of them was convincing during Atticus's cross examination.  How could the jury find him guilty????

On Thursday, English II students will watch the courtroom scene from the classic To Kill A Mockingbird movie . . . a true classic.

Resignation Letter

No, I'm not resigning!  The freshmen are doing a writing exercise which requires them to correct a resignation letter.  In the exercise, a young man has suffered through a nightmare babysitting experience, and he has written a resignation letter to the parents of the nightmarish child.  The young man is apparently trying to use his vocabulary as a weapon, and as a result, his letter is very wordy.  The students are to re-write the letter, eliminating much of the wordiness.  I challenged them to make the corrected version entertaining yet classroom appropriate.  Tomorrow, we'll see what they created.