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