Mrs. Stubbs's English Blog: Homecoming Week 2015 Has Come and Gone

Well, another Homecoming Week is in the books. It's always hectic, but it's also a lot of fun. This year's freshmen class brought their "A" game and really started to join in on all the activities by mid-week. They looked a little lost at first, but through guidance and help from teachers, peers, and advisors, by the end of the week they were cheering each other on at the pep rallies, their daily costumes were adorable, and they looked genuinely happy. Here are some photos from Friday's pep rally at the end of the school day:

Freshmen getting ready in their place in the stands.

Mr. Pep-Rally himself - he came prepared to make some noise!

Freshmen Representatives

Preparing for the Tug-Of-War vs. the Sohomores

Giving it their all!

Now the hard part is going back to business as usual. Last week we managed to finish off unit 1, so they wrote the final essay during class. We still have just a little bit to go, so on Monday we're going to spend about 15-minutes finishing everything off and turning it in. Then we're done with "St. Lucy's"! (Can you hear the collective sigh of relief?)

On Wednesday they have their Independent Book Projects due. This is mostly to be done at home unless they're done with the final essay, and then they can work on it while they're waiting for everyone else to finish. They'll bring the projects in to share with a small group and leave with me, and then anyone who needs to return a book to the library can do so. In about a week we'll go get another book to start reading for November's book project.

Here's what else we have going on this week:

I'm in-between units for Engage NY, so we're going to spend a week focusing on Edgar Allan Poe. It seems appropriate since we're entering Halloween season, so Monday we're reading a non-fiction article that fits with the Central Idea for the pieces we'll read, and then they'll write a 10% Summary.
On Tuesday, we're going to move past summary and look at how the author of the article developed that central idea.
On Wednesday, we'll turn in our book projects and then turn our attention to fiction and E.A. Poe, focusing on literary terminology.
Thursday, I'll be spending the day with the other 9th grade teachers working on the Romeo and Juliet unit and how Engage NY tackles Shakespeare, but in class my students will read "The Cask of Amontillado" - a psychological thriller!
On Friday, we'll finish talking about "Cask of Amontillado" and turn our attention to "The Raven."

After school Tuesday, I'll be available for Tuesday's with Teachers, and then Wednesday is the advisory day with time available for academic help. If anyone needs anything, we can use these times to easily work one-on-one.

I hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the beautiful October weather and scenery! Ciao!