HSPE, an invitation, and a recommendation

Dear Parents,
Hope you're enjoying this beautiful spring day!  I just wanted to touch base with you on a couple of items.

First, the Writing and Reading HSPE exams seemed to go very well.  Your students said that they thought the Reading was really easy, and all seemed very positive about the expository and persuasive essays they wrote.  The scores will be back before the school year ends, and I will share them with the students.  The district will also send them to you.

I also wanted to extend an invitation to read along with us as we read Frankenstein. If you haven't ever read it, or haven't read it in years, I think you'll be surprised by its power, its themes, and its connections to today.  It's in my Top 5 Books of All Time list :-).

You can form your own private book club with your son or daughter and have a great reason for long discussions--I'm sure that he or she will love extended time with Mom or Dad :-).  It's a great excuse to talk and will certainly help your son or daughter to understand and enjoy the book.

Here is the reading schedule:
March 25-28         Letters 1-4
March 29-30         Chapters 1-3
March 31-April 1   Chapters 4-8
April 11-12            Chapters 9-13
April 13-14            Chapters 14-18
April 15-18            Chapters 19-24

We will focusing on analyzing diction as we read it--in other words, what specific word choices did Shelley use to describe a character?  What was she trying to show with that word choice?

Finally, I wanted you to know that I saw "Of Mice and Men" (John Steinbeck) at the Seattle Repertory Theater last night, and you might want to take your son/daughter.  It's a famous part of the American literary canon, and I would guess that you probably read it in high school--I know that I did.  Students in our regular American Expressions classes read it here, but AP Literature students do not.  Many of the Pre-APers have already read it on their own.  Student tickets are only $12 (adults are quite a bit more, but I think it's in the Entertainment book), and it might be an interesting play for you and your son/daughter to attend.  However, I did want to warn you that there is profanity--quite a bit--and it's very, very dark.  I found it hard to watch, even harder than reading it, and my 26-year-old daughter was beside me with tears streaming down her face at the end.  It's very powerful with amazing acting, but it's so bleak that you'll have to use parental discretion as to whether or not your 16-year-old is up to it.  With Japan and Libya and murders on the news, maybe it's too much.  If, however, you think that he/she can handle it, it will definitely stay in your child's memory forever.  It was riveting.

That's all for now.  Again, thanks for sharing your wonderful students--I'm already dreading losing them at the end of the year, as their bright and warm and funny personalities brighten every day.

Brooke Dillon

Next stop, Midwinter Break

Dear Parents & Guardians of Pre-APers,
I'm trying to avoid having each blog open with an apology for the delay in blogging, but it's been unavoidable, I'm afraid.  The National Board process has been very rewarding, but also terribly time-consuming, so I haven't been able to return to this as soon as I had hoped.  Now that I have a planning period back (hooray!!), and with the end of National Boards in sight (my portfolio has to be mailed by March 31), I'm hoping that I can blog more often.

I wanted to say a few words about semester grades before they are forgotten.  After entering all of the assignments, including both extra credit sheets, the overall grades still seemed a little bit low.  Matt Tucker, the other Pre-AP teacher, and I talked, and agreed that we didn't want students penalyzed for their decision to challenge themselves in Pre-AP Lit., so we dropped the grading scale by 1.5 %.  In other words, instead of a 93% for an A, a student needed a 91.5 %. Since we don't weight grades in this state for AP classes, this seemed a fair compensation, given how important grades are in the college and scholarship process.   In reviewing these revised grades, they seemed to fit with what I knew about my students' abilities, efforts, and accomplishments. I hope that you, and they, felt the same.

I also had students complete a semester evaluation of the course.  Based on their feedback, I've changed my website a bit.  I grouped the Documents section bycategories, so it's easier to find items, and also started a Homework section.  I was a bit confused as to why they wanted me not only to go over homework during class (while asking them to record it in their planner); upload all of the slides, including the homework slides; and ALSO copy/paste the homework into the Homework section :-), but it actually doesn't take much time.  There is truly no excuse for them not to know the homework now :-).

A few things changed at semester.  After using homework packets successfully for the last five years, I eliminated them.  For some reason, students this year were losing assignments, not copying the list of assignments correctly, not putting them in order in the packets,trying to submit very late assignments, etc.  So, I've been recording homework directly and just entered 4 or 5 (depends which period) assignments into Skyward.  This should, hopefully, help the disorganized souls among them to be more successful. and make it easier for you to see when homework isn't being submitted.

Outside reading also changed.  800/1200 of their pages for the semester must come from the AP Free Response list (posted on Website in Documents/Information).  This list is from the 3rd essay question on the AP Lit exam, when they ask a general question and ask students to respond using one of the books on the list or another book/play of equal literary merit.  By having Pre-APers read 800 pages from this list, they will build their repertoire of books for next year's exam.

It is incredible that we are within a few days of Midwinter Break.  Once we return to school, it's March, which is the month of College Credit Night, Registration, HSPE, & AP test registration. Here are quick announcements about each:

• College Credit Night is for students/parents in grades 8-11 to learn about AP, UW, Running Start, and, for the first time this year, "How to Get in to a Competitive University."  It runs from 7:00-9:00 on March 1, and draws a big crowd.  Come early for parking.
• Registration is very important, as students are seldom allowed to change their schedules later, as we build our master teaching schedule around their choices.  I'm happy to meet with your student during my AP Coordinator period, period 5, or any other time, for that matter, to help them if needed.  They should be challenged academically, but should also have some balance in their life.  Two to three AP/UW classes is a heavy load for most students.  Registration information will be delivered right after Midwinter Break.
• HSPE Writing & Reading is March 15-16-17.  It runs from 8:15-11:00.  Anyone who is absent must take the test in August, and both test must be passed  in order to graduate in Washington.  Please try not to schedule any appointments or vacations on these days.  The Science test is April 12.
• If your son or daughter is in an AP class, he/she has received test information already.  Please have your son or daughter see me if he/she has any questions.  Financial aid is available for those on free/reduced lunch and in a few other circumstances.  Please feel free to contact me.

That's it for now.  By this time of the year, your children feel like nieces and nephews to me, and I already hate the thought of losing them at the end of the year.  Thank you  so much for sending them to THS.

Have a wonderful Midwinter Break.

Wishing you well,
Brooke Dillon

New Year's Reflections

Dear Pre-AP Lit Parents,
     I hope that your holidays were joyous and filled with family and friends, rejoicing and relaxation, and that 2011 brings even more of the same!

Your sons and daughters were pretty sleepy-eyed coming back to school today…I think they liked those late mornings in bed.  But, we’re back now in the world of outside reading, literary analysis, and Macbeth!

Before I look ahead to the rest of this first semester, I wanted you to know that I felt bad that the last weeks before vacation were pretty hectic.  I had gotten behind on paper-grading and updating Skyward due to a combination of factors, including teaching a class this semester during my planning period (not a choice I’ll make ever again, but the end is in sight! J) and working on my National Board accreditation this year (it requires 200-400 hours between August and March.  Ouch!).   And, then, in addition to the usual demands of the Christmas season, the power outage day, the snow days, and the late arrival day, my mother-in-law passed away in Denver on December 11, and I was gone three days the next week for the funeral. Finally, we had planned over a year ago to go see my son in Germany for Christmas—our first visit there in the winter—and, so I was also gone December 20-22.  I certainly would never have planned to miss six days so close together.  In fact, I think the last time I was gone that many days was when I had newborn babies at home, and my youngest child is now 22!  Anyway, if your son or daughter expressed frustration at my being gone or not getting an assignment back, I am sorry.  I look forward now to a much calmer schedule and, hopefully, a quicker turn-around time on their assignments.

So, what is coming up?  We’re finishing Macbeth, and Pre-APers willl be participating in a graded discussion, taking a test on the play, completing an in-class write, and creating a modernized film version with a small group.  The test should not be as hard for them as the first unit test was--many struggled with that test, and we talked about better ways to prepare in the future.  Since students today take fewer tests than in past years, many don’t really know how to prepare. I expressed to them the frustration I feel when I say, “This is important—it would be a good thing to write down,” and then I look around the room to see about ½ of the students responding.  The rest gaze at me confidently, seeming to feel that they don’t need to write anything down, as they’ll be able to remember all of the material through magic or superior memories J.  Many also seem to feel that just reviewing the material is enough—they don't understand that they will have to apply the information and recall it, not just recognize it. While it was painful for many of them to earn a less-than-desirable grade on a test, I’m glad that some got it out of the way as sophomores, as hopefully it will help them better prepare for future high school and college exams.

The upcoming test on Macbeth will demand that they know and are able to apply the literary terms we’ve reviewed, as well as know basic information about Shakespeare’s style and conventions; know the play’s plot and nuances; be able to paraphrase a passage; and be able to write a thesis statement in response to a prompt, which we’ve been practicing a lot.

On a different note, I also wanted to let you know that the District Reading Core assessment grades are posted on Skyward.  Most of your students did very well.  We’ll be reviewing this assessment closer to the HSPE exams in March, so that they can apply what they did well (and learn from what they didn’t do well) on the state exam.  This assessment is intended to mirror the state exam and help students better prepare for it.  I'll be sending a copy of the score sheet home for you to review. If you have questions or concerns about your son’s or daughter’s score, please feel free to contact me.

Finally, outside reading is due on January 25 (Blue)/January 26 (Gold).  Students need a combined total of 1200 pages of reading for the semester.  Many are already finished—but some haven’t reported on any pages this quarter.  I will post their pages on Skyward in the next day or so, even though the due date isn’t for a few more weeks.  Please encourage them not to procrastinate.

As I look forward to 2011, I am so grateful to be a teacher.  Getting to spend the day with your bright, warm, dedicated, and entertaining students is a gift that few are given,and I am grateful.

Best wishes, stay warm, and please let me know if you have concerns, worries, or suggestions!

Brooke Dillon