Just a reminder for your scheduling convenience....

This Thursday, we will be enjoying presentations in the following order:

Lauren & Ashley

Jessica & Victoria

Tara & Nicole

Next Tuesday, our last day of class, we'll be hearing from...

Alicia & Ameena

Da Boyz :)

And then we will celebrate! I will try to have your grades finished by then as well. 

Post ideas for celebratory activities in the comments section, if you like!

Chekhov

Congrats to the two teams! You guys were ferocious! And you did a stellar job of analyzing and thinking deeply about the story. It's a complex novel, but you all navigated it like pros--I was proud of you, and had fun listening to your discussions!

And NOW... it's time to dive into a bit of Russian literature once again! Just a warning: this is a sad story! But Chekov is one of the major modern writers in Russian literature, so his stuff is rich and full of depth. I'm looking forward to getting your thoughts about it on Tuesday!

Also, please bring a tennative outline for your culture report! This will let me make sure you guys are heading in the right direction (and also keep you guys moving and not procrastinating). I've posted a refresher on the details about the assignment in the left bar, just in case you can't remember what to do. :)

ONE MORE THING: if you haven't given me your edited papers on To Kill a Mockingbird, please bring those in as well! 

Judgement Day

The court case was riveting today! Both sides presented their cases very convincingly, and with great insight! It made me even more excited to finish discussions on Thursday. Plus, I'm sure the wonderful grassy goodness of the great outdoors didn't hurt anything either.

So for this Thursday, finish the book, bring your analytical lists, and turn in the final drafts of your To Kill A Mockingbird papers (unless you happen to be Sak or Patty, in which case, I still have your papers--we'll go over them on Thursday?)

Can't wait! See you all then!

Moving right along...

Well, it was quite a small class today: only four students! But we had fun (at least I did!) discussing the characters and what we know of them so far.

For Tuesday, please read to the end of part 1 and turn in those writing assignments. To clarify, they don't need to be in paragraph format. In fact, you can even use this link as a template for the first option.

For the 2nd option, you could use this link to keep track of things relating to faith and things relating to reason.  By the way, if you're really ambitious and want to dig deeper, you can add a third categroy of superstitious religion to the mix. :)

Reminder

To recap...

Please read through chapter 15 by Thursday (aka.. tomorrow).

WRITING ASSIGNMENT (journal entry) due Tuesday:

For the 10th graders: Please keep a list of character details about each of the main characters in the story. What are they like? What are their strengths and weeknesses?

For the 11th & 12th graders: Keep track of details that relate to the major theme of faith vs. reason.  Write down any quotes you think are pertinent.

Your journal entry will be due Tues., March 24th.

Lessons from Moses

I was thinking about Jospeh today and how his plans were thwarted time and again by either his own conduct or the actions of others, but despite poor circumstances, God was sovereign over it all.

This was a comfort to me in light of the last few fumbled classes. At least last Thursday wasn't a waste, but this today... perhaps God just wanted to bless you guys with some extra time. Thinking I had in my backpack the folders containing your papers, I left Hilton Head yesterday only to find this morning that I had left them behind. Consequently Sarah is bringing the folders home when she returns tomorrow. I was very sad that I couldn't meet and go over your papers with you all today!

Plan B? (or C, D, E.. whatever we're on at this point): Hopefully you have all begun reading Till We Have Faces. Please read through chapter 15 by next Thursday so that we can attempt to stay on track. Tuesday appointments will still take place, and if you are in town and want to make up for today, please join the party!

WRITING ASSIGNMENT (journal entry):

For the 10th graders: Please keep a list of character details about each of the main characters in the story. What are they like? What are their strengths and weeknesses?

For the 11th & 12th graders: Keep track of details that relate to the major theme of faith vs. reason.  Write down any quotes you think are pertinent.

Your journal entry will be due Tues., March 24th.

Movie flop... :(

Due to an unexpected work change, I am posting this really late. But first off... I would like to apologize for the failed movie party--a fiasco comparable to the nuclear explosion you see before you. :)  Don't feel bad, Clow boys, this was a result of poor planning on my part. Maybe we'll be able to put it behind us and move forward into. . .

Till We Have Faces!  This is a novel by C.S. Lewis which is actually a re-telling of the greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. The book is full of metaphysical questions and, despite it's poly-theistic roots, biblical themes and symbolism.

On a more practical note, however, try (or as Yoda would say, "do or do not... there is not try.") to read through Chapter 5 by Thursday (ahem... tomorrow). We will also be spending the latter 45 minutes of class on having private teacher-student conferences in which we will discuss your papers on a deeper and more thorough level.

See you all tomorrow!