UPDATE for Monday, September 29, 2014

(Wherein Jeter has his final game, my mortgage finally gets approved, and I end up in the hospital...) 

Well folks, I was hoping my first absence of the year would be due to closing on a house, BUT the universe had other plans for me, which included a trip to the ER this weekend!

I'm fine, but have a  concussion and need to spend another day resting. I'm hoping to be back on Tuesday, but in the mean time, please continue to work on already assigned projects.

ENGLISH 12 STUDENTS: you have your first FINAL COLLEGE ESSAY DUE FRIDAY! ALSO, MANY of you STILL have not responded to LAST WEEK's Read & Respond articles!!! You are LOSING MAJOR POINTS by not completing these assignments! I just published more comments this morning, and will check in later this afternoon to see if anyone else has decided to complete them. Late is better than not-at-all in the case of Weekly R & R!!! I posted the new Week 4 R & R links this morning. I have NO IDEA how football players sustain concussions and then go right back out on the field to play... I can barely stand to look at this computer screen!!!

CREATIVE WRITING STUDENTS: Continue working on your portfolio pieces. We will have at least another 3-5 new pieces due by Friday!

PUBLIC SPEAKING STUDENTS: Complete the packet for your personal speech prewriting and then begin drafting your own personal narrative speech. Start with a free-write of ideas, and then craft an outline of your intended speech.

Have a good Monday, folks. I'm hoping to see you again on Tuesday.

Week 4 Read & Respond Articles

Choose at least TWO of the following articles to read and respond to in the comments section below. All comments are due by Friday morning, before the start of your class period.Remember, your comments are meant to prove that you have read and understood the material while also forming an opinion on the subject matter.

Article 1: With His Words and Deeds, Derek Jeter Never Entered Foul Territory
Focus point: Hero Worship or Earned Respect?

Article 2: The Fault in Our Stars School Ban...
Focus point: To ban, or not to ban...?

Article 3: ...Ban Celebratory Head Slaps
Focus Point: Over-reaction, or proven concern?

SENIOR ESSAYS

ATTENTION SENIORS!
Here are some links and videos to help you with your search for post-high school plans! ALL students are REQUIRED to submit TWO personal essays, regardless of their post-high school plans. You may use the Common Application essay prompts or a specific school's essay prompt. YOUR FIRST FULLY EDITED and FINISHED essay is DUE BY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014. You must email/share/attach your files AND print out a copy.

FIVE FUNDAMENTALS OF A COLLEGE ESSAY 

1. Show, don’t tell. If you want to convince the reader that you never give up,don’t tell the reader, “I never give up.” Instead, describe how you were cut from the basketball team in ninth grade, sat on the bench in tenth grade, and finally made the team as a junior. A skillful writer lets evidence show that a proposition is true; a clumsy one tells, because his writing is not powerful enough to show.
2. Use your own Experiences. The most interesting essay puts you in the starring role and features real life thoughts and feelings. Anecdotes from your world are always more interesting than abstractions. Give the reader a piece of your mind.
3. Use the First Person. The fact that it is a “personal” essay provides a strong hint. Nine out of ten essays should be in the first person, the best vehicle for revealing your thoughts and beliefs.
4. Begin with a Flourish. The most important sentence in any essay is the first one. Polish it like a precious stone. Good writers often try to hook the reader with a first sentence that surprises, piques, or begins an interesting story.
5. Proofread. Applicants are told over and over again, and still they don’t proofread! Arrggh! Nothing is more damaging than an essay full of typos, misspellings, and grammatical mistakes

HELPFUL LINKS:
College SEARCH
Common Application
HEOP
SUNY Application
Lincoln Tech

ESSAYS THAT WORKED!
Two Worlds
While the World Sleeps
A Mother's Influence
What's the Matter With College?

Freeman Hrabowski: 4 Pillars of College Success in Science

Jullien Gordon: How To Graduate College With a Job You Love & Less Debt

Week Three Read & Respond Articles

Choose at least TWO of the following articles/video to read/view and respond to in the comments section below. All comments are due by Friday morning, before the start of your class period. Remember, your comments are meant to prove that you have read and understood the material while also forming an opinion on the subject matter.

ARTICLE 1: Women Don't Have to Boycott the NFL

ARTICLE 2: Adrian Peterson Starts National Dialogue on Discipline and Child Abuse

ARTICLE 3: The Limits of Hashtag Activism

TOPIC 4: Jullien Gordon: How To Graduate College With A Job You Love & Less Debt

CREATIVE WRITING

Hi Creative Writers!
You should be actively writing in your marble notebooks as part of the draft writing process for the Memoir Project. Below you will find a link to the original author of these pieces, but keep in mind that the numbers don't match up with our packet, and I have added pieces to our list of prompts. REMEMBER to number and title drafts according to OUR PACKET and use BLUE or BLACK ink!!!
OUR CLASS PACKET: Assignment Packet
SAMPLE Memoir Pieces
"Where I'm From" Poem (#35)
Abstract Noun List (Helps with #5)

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Hello orators!
Your first MAJOR assignment is ready to go... more details to follow, but here are some links to famous speeches in history. Start researching a topic, orator, or event that warranted a "famous" speech and look for the full text, audio clips, background info, etc...
Famous Speeches by Women
Speeches Link 1
Speeches Link 2
Speeches Link 3
Speeches Link 4

Also, a great speech can be something that falls outside the traditional speech pattern of the above links. Check this one out!

Sarah Kay, "If I Should Have a Daughter"

Start gathering information and BE SURE TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR SOURCES!!!! Copy and paste ANY LINK from which you obtain information!

Happy hunting!

TED TALK TUESDAYS!

Welcome to Ted Talk Tuesdays, folks! View and respond at will!
Erin Gruwell - Freedom Writers

COLLEGE ESSAY FILES and GUIDANCE LINK

Seniors!
Now that guidance has visited us to discuss the college application process, it's time to kick things into high gear and get those personal essays done! Here are some handouts from class, as well as a link to the AMHS Guidance Department. Need a resume? Use the template found on the Guidance site!
AMHS Guidance Department
Brainstorming Worksheet
4 Most Common Tyes of College Essays

I truly believe that your personal essay is one of the most important parts of your college application. It is your "interview on paper" so-to-speak, and it should reflect your personality, your goals, and anything else that you think is important for the college admissions officer to know. BE YOURSELF.

Week Two Read & Respond Articles

DIRECTIONS:
Click on the links below to access this week's Read & Respond articles. Read and respond to AT LEAST TWO of the articles, answering the focus question and commenting on something from your fellow classmates.

ARTICLE 1: A Punch Is Seen, and a Player Is Out
In February, Baltimore Ravens star player Ray Rice was charged with assaulting his wife. An assault is a violent physical attack. Rice received a two-game suspension, and the charges were dropped when his wife refused to testify. On Monday, video footage showing the assault was released by TMZ, and it went viral. The NFL says it never saw the video before Monday. The new footage prompted the NFL to suspend Rice indefinitely, and the Baltimore Ravens cut him from the team. 
FOCUS QUESTION: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that the N.F.L. should be held to a higher standard, but with no legal action against him, was it appropriate for the Ravens to cut Rice from the team? Would things be different if the interior elevator video was never released?

ARTICLE 2: The iPhone 6 Goes Big, as Apple Aims Small With a SmartWatch
Apple announced the new Apple Watch on Tuesday. It won’t be available until 2015, and it’s not the first smartwatch on the market. But Apple has revolutionized the way people use computers in the past with the iPod, iPhone and the iPad, and experts are wondering if they can do the same with the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch will feature a touch screen, and it will bring a lot of the features you see on smartphones to a wearable device. It will include fitness trackers, text notifications and maps. 
FOCUS QUESTION: What are the pros and cons of a “smartwatch?” 

ARTICLE 3: Obama, in Speech on ISIS, Promises Sustained Effort to Rout Militants
President Obama declared ISIS a terrorist threat that needs to be destroyed. He vowed to increase American involvement in the fight against them. But that doesn’t necessarily mean a return to war. ISIS is a militant group that has been violently seizing cities throughout Syria and Iraq over the past few months. They now control a region that is bigger than many countries. In a televised address, Obama compared ISIS to Al Qaeda, the organization Osama Bin Laden founded. Obama said his plan to combat ISIS in Syria and Iraq would involve airstrikes, sending supplies to rebel fighters and working with nearby nations. But he insisted, “We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq.” 
FOCUS QUESTION: Is ISIS is a threat to the United States? How should the US deal with this militant group?

COLLEGE LIT ASSIGNMENT

COLLEGE LIT QUICK COMMENTS (due 9/17/14)
Please comment on the following question based on your interpretation of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour."

How would you describe Mrs. Mallard? Is she a sympathetic character, OR a non-sympathetic character? Explain in the comment section below.

Week One Read & Respond Articles

Click on the link below to access this week's Read & Respond articles. Post your comments on the blog and be sure to reference the articles and at least one other student's view.

Week 1 Read and Respond Articles