Semester Exam Study Session - Dec 16 @ 7:20

While we will be spending several class periods reviewing for the English I semester exam, I will also be offering an optional, early morning study session for students who want another chance to review.

The session is scheduled for Monday, December 16, at 7:20 AM in room A-63. I hope to see your student there!

Semester Exam Schedule

Click the link for the Fall 2013 Semester Exam Schedule!

Wrapping Up

This week, students will be wrapping up their reading of To Kill a Mockingbird. To conclude our study, students will be examining the social hierarchy of the novel and identifying the factors that contribute to each character's position in society.  They will then write an essay that explains these factors and discusses whether or not your student believes that those factors still impact a person's position in society.  The essay is the final assignment for the quarter.  We will spend the next week reviewing and preparing for your student's first go at semester exams!

Comma Rules

Students are finishing up their study of the first six comma rules.  We've been reviewing and practicing for the comma unit test on Tuesday, November 26. Students can list the rules, identify where commas are needed & label with the rules, and write their own sentences that use these rules correctly. When we return in December, we will transition into studying the first half of the 10 Common Compositional Errors. The students have done well with their comma study and they are becoming skilled at using commas correctly in their own writing. Now that we have mastered those rules, the expectation is that the students will be held accountable for these rules in both daily and long-term writing assignments. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

Students are now approximately halfway through the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. We've spent some time examining Jim Crow laws in the South and the impact that these laws had on the way of life for many individuals. We will also be taking a closer look at the Scottsboro trial and its connection to TKAM. When we return from Thanksgiving Break, we will also be examining the social hierarchy of characters from within the novel and investigating what influences this caste system.  Students will also be writing about this hierarchy as the topic of the final essay of the semester.  There will not be a unit test over the novel, although it will be covered in-depth in the semester exam.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

As a reminder, Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled on Thursday, October 24th and Tuesday, October 29th this year. If you would like to schedule a conference, you can call Mrs. Hill in the WLHS office to make your appointment. While I would love to see as many of you in person as possible for conferences, I do understand that these times may not work for your schedule. If you have questions about your student's progress but aren't able to make it in, please feel free to send me an email at allenm@wl.k12.il.us or give me a call at 672.3034 whenever you have questions or concerns.  Email is undoubtedly the fastest way to reach me, and I can usually have a reply back to you that same day.  

In general, I have been quite pleased with the transition that this group of students has made to high school students. Most students are reporting that they feel comfortable with my expectations, and they seem to have a relatively good understanding of the expectations that we have for this year. Thank you for your support and assistance in ensuring your student had the best possible start to high school! 

Short Stories Unit

After finishing our novel unit over The Lord of the Flies, we will spend the next few weeks focused on short stories. As we read, students will continue to develop their ability to infer, particularly as they look toward context clues to help them make these successful inferences. It is important that students are able to read "between the lines" and use the information that they do know to help them make accurate predictions.  We will also be looking at characterization in these short stories and examining how the character themselves use the details from the text to form inferences - both correct and incorrect.

We are also taking a closer look at conflict and working to identify the types of conflict that are present. Students have learned about the external conflict - Man vs. Man; Man vs. Nature; Man vs. Society - as well as internal conflict - Man vs. Self.  The students have spent time developing 4 square conflict charts to illustrate these types of conflict while also learning that most stories will have multiple conflicts occurring and that those conflicts will change as the story progresses.  In addition, we are continuing to develop our vocabulary and writing skills. Students will be working with specific vocabulary terms from the stories to help broaden their own language usage.

One of our primary writing goals this year is to help students find their voice as writers while also understanding the importance of supporting their own ideas with examples from the text (and later on, from their own research).  Students are beginning a writing assignment this week based on "The Most Dangerous Game" where they will be expected to support their thoughts on the double meaning of the story's title with specific quotes from the story.  This skill will continue to be developed throughout the year in a wide variety of writing assignments of varying lengths.

WLHS Yearbook

In addition to my teaching duties here at WLHS, I also advise the publications staff of the Cardinal yearbook. I have had several parents ask about how one goes about purchasing a yearbook.

Yearbooks are available for purchase online at www.jostensyearbook.com. Once there, you will enter the school name and you will be directed to the WLHS page. When you order, you can choose the basic all-color yearbook or a variety of packages with extra goodies (personalization, cover protectors, signature sheets, etc).  Jostens also offers a FREE payment plan program where you can split your payment over 3 months if that works better for your budget.

Please note that we will not be collecting orders or payment here at school. All yearbook orders must go through the jostensyearbook.com site.  If you have any questions, please let me know!

The Cardinal staff has also been out in the community selling advertising space in the 2014 yearbook. Do you have a business or organization that would like to show its support to the WLHS community and purchase an ad space? If so, we would love to talk to you! Feel free to email me or contact us via our Cardinal Yearbook Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/WLHSyearbook). Thanks for your support.

Celebrate My Drive

FYI - WLHS is participating in the national Celebrate My Drive campaign. You can help show your support by visiting www.celebratemydrive.com. 

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Celebrate My Drive

Our school is committed to keeping teens safe on the road, and that's why we're participating in Celebrate My Drive®, a program that's all about celebrating the fun of getting your driver's license while helping you drive safely so you arrive safely. What's really great about participating in this program is you can also help our school win a $100,000 grant….and possibly a concert by Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson right here in our own town! It's simple:

• Log onto celebratemydrive.com (you must be at least 14)
• Indicate you want to support Warrensburg-Latham High School
• Commit to drive safely

Make a safe driving commitment once a day, every day, between October 18 and 26. The more safe driving commitments we make, the better chance we have to win $100,000 and host the Kelly Clarkson concert. Tell your friends and family who are age 14 and older to get involved too! Thanks for your support of Warrensburg-Latham High School and our teen drivers. Remember, 2N2: 2 eyes on the road, 2 hands on the wheel.

District Newsletter

Are you receiving the district newsletter in your inbox? If not, visit the district website at http://wl.k12.il.us/ and complete the Digital Newsletter Sign Up on the right side of the page. It's an easy way to ensure you stay up-to-date on the important happenings here at school.

End of 1st Quarter

Reminder: This Friday is the end of the first quarter. Time is certainly flying! All first quarter grades will be finalized by early next week.

Looking Ahead

Next week in English I, we will continue reading Lord of the Flies. Students will be finishing chapters 4 and 5, examining the author's use of characterization in the novel, discussing mood and tone, and reviewing the impact of author's choice. We'll also be working on our vocabulary terms from the novel. I'm looking forward to another great week!

Lord of the Flies

This week in English I, students have started their study of William Golding's Lord of the Flies novel.  This classic text focuses on a group of young teen boys who find themselves stranded on an island and forced to fend for themselves. Most of our reading will occur in class, using a class set of novels. On occasion, your student might be assigned to complete a short amount of independent reading for homework. Because the novels are going to remain in the classroom, students have two options. If your student has internet access at home, he or she can log into Edmodo and access a full-text version of the novel. Students may also stop into my room from 7:30 on (or as soon as their bus arrives) and use the early morning and activity period time to complete their reading.

Note: Ms. Bianca Gerardi is a student teacher from ISU who is currently teaching English I to the students in 2nd Hour. She is doing a fantastic job thus far. If your student is in 2nd hour, you may notice a few slight differences in assignments or other expectations posted here. If you have any questions about whether a particular assignment applies to your student, please be sure to let me know!

Common Core Informational Meeting

WLHS will be hosting a informational meeting for parents to discuss the district's implementation of Common Core on Thursday, September 12, at 7:00 in the Cafetorium. I will be presenting the language arts portion of program, and I would love to have the chance to talk to you about our curriculum and the new standards. Hope to see you there!

Click here to read more from Supt. Kendrick about the event.

Parent Survey

FYI - The following message is posted on the district website. The District Improvement Team is looking for your input on important issues that pertain to your student. Please consider taking the survey at the link below:

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The District Improvement Team would like to know the perceptions that stakeholders have of our schools. Your thoughts regarding the education provided by Warrensburg-Latham CUSD #11 are important to us. 

Please answer the following questions in order to give us some necessary feedback on our programs. This survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for your time and your participation. Click here to take the survey: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RT7TZY2

Teens & Social Media

We began our year discussing the way that social media has influenced your student's generation in terms of communication styles. The students had some fantastic discussions about the role of social media, its best uses, and its impact on their lives. One of the documents that we examined was a 2013 Pew Report focused on Teens, Social Media and Privacy. It is a fascinating look at how today's teens are using social media. I highly encourage you to take a look at the report and use it as a starting point for discussion with your student. Interestingly, during our class discussions most students shared that they thought that it was important for parents to be aware of what their teens were posting online.  Click here to see the full report.

Summer Reading

Thanks again for encouraging your student to complete his or her summer reading project! The last of the project grades will be entered today. I was really impressed with the passion that so many students had for their book and the delightful conversations we had about their reading. The projects themselves were extremely creative and very well done.

Welcome!

Welcome! With two weeks under our belt, I am very excited to have the chance to be working with an energetic and enthusiastic group of students. I feel fortunate that I have had the chance to teach many of the English I students when they were in middle school, and it's been nice to catch up and see how their lives have changed in the last few years. 

I hope that you find this blog helpful as your student begins to navigate his or her high school career. I will be posting every few weeks with updated information about topics that we are covering, upcoming tests or projects, and other pertinent school news that needs to be shared.  If at any point you have questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me. I can be reached via email at allenm@wl.k12.il.us. Thanks again for your support!