9.5.08

This weather made it feel like the August we never had. You do not know how lucky you are to go to a school with central air. I can't believe that many of you complained that it was too cold!

For me, there was nothing worse than teaching in a 90 degree classroom in shirt and tie. Today, it felt so great to dress comfortably, and "chill" in room 3115.

Brit Lit: I am still working to see if I can show you clips of the 2008 version of Beowulf. If it does not work out, please consider watching it at home. You may still be able to find it on pay-per-view, and def. at your local video store.

Soph Lit:

I corrected your vocab quizzes. In general, lots of B's and A's. I will pass them back on Monday. Good to see that most of you studied the words. Make sure you take your Dream Catching words and do not look at them until next Friday. If you did not have any luck getting some dreams, I will have an alternative assignment for you- so fear not.

Both classes- You have the weekend off HW wise. Do something fun. The Summer winds are passing fast, and before you know it, we will smell fresh fires burning at night, and wearing heavy clothing. (Brit Lit: Note the well place alliteration.....)

Summer Reading assessment will take place Sept. 12th- so consider reading. If you read it early in the Summer, you may want to look it over to refresh your reading. I am going to the Boston College football game with my Dad and daughter. Hanna looks to bring the tropics to MA for the day, so it should be fun. I don't mind sitting in the rain- as long as it is not cold November rain.

9.04.08

Brit Lit:

Block A- please read the section on Medieval history. Some good stuff- Knights of the round table, etc...

Block B- You have the night off.

Friday- I try to plan for something fun and different on Friday. Tomorrow, we will be listening to some "phat beats" and laying down some rap all over some classic ballads in your Anthology. Pdiddy has nothing on this stuff :-)

Soph Lit: You have a vocab quiz on Friday. Please also continue to work on your Holden papers. I am sorry about the computer lab mess up today. I have us scheduled in the lab next Tuesday and Wed., which should be suffice to get all of your work done. We will then be looking at your papers, and injecting some Holdenisms. Imitating tone and style is one of the hardest things to do- this assignment will let you do this, and have some fun while you are at it.

On Friday, we will be writing from your sleepy "creative" side of your brain. Get ready to catch some dreams......

9.3.08

Brit Lit:

I asked you to read the next 2 seg. of Beowulf.  Apparently, there are 2 diff. versions of your textbook.  Please wait and I will clarify the assignment in class Thursday.  I apologize for the confusion....

I have graded your epic poems- some real, real, good stuff.  Most of you understand how to use a kenning, and demonstrated understanding of the Hero's Journey.   For those of you who are interested, please google: The power of Myth.  You can also search this on you tube if you want to see highlights from the PBS documentary that I talked about in class.  Blogger will not allow me to paste a direct link for some reason. 

I will have the papers that were passed in back on Thursday.  If you asked to finish it at home, please do not forget to pass it in.

Soph Lit.:  Continue tonight to look at your world as "Holden."  We will be in the computer lab Thursday, so please make sure you have enough of your first draft done to utilize this time.  HW:  Please read Ch 4-5.  Most of you read Ch 4 last night-  Please expect a quiz.

Also, please remember that your vocab def. are due Thursday.  I will be checking this in class.

Many of you have been using the word of the week in your writing assignments.  You are rewarded with extra credit when you do so.  If you used the word, and I missed it, please make sure that you bring this to my attention.  Remember- words and education, make us stronger.  A strong vocabulary is a strong compliment to your arsenal.  Knowledge = POWER.

9.2.08

Brit Lit: Please make sure that you read the Battle with Grendel. Per your request, the music score will return. Please also review your notes that I gave you on the Hero's Journey. In class on Wed., we will be making our own mini - epic poems (talk about a contradiction of terms.) Remember to try and use the word of the week as much as you can. Words can only make us stronger!

Soph Lit: Please make sure that you read 1-4 in Catcher. Please expect a quiz Wed. It will be 10 questions on Chapters 1-3. Reminder: Vocab def are due Thursday. Quiz on your words (matching) Fri.
And you may want to pay attention to the random facts on the side of this page- I find many of my bonus questions right here.

Word O' the week

This week, the word of the week is: Abnormous- mis-shapen. It is a word that sounds made up, and not a real word. Try and use it as often as you can this week in class.

Xbox Live

When I am not being a Dad, or correcting piles of papers, I love to escape and play video games.  If any of you would like to take on your new teacher, add: The Q to your friends list.  I don't get on as much as I would like, but if you see me on, I will try to play.

8.30.08

I hope everyone is enjoying the great weather.  Moving to a new school after 13 years was a hard move for me to make, but I couldn't be happier about teaching at Tantasqua.  

One of the things that you will hear me talk about, is a student TV show that I did at Shepherd Hill.  If you are curious (and real bored), you can check out all 183 episodes at: www.youtube.com/user/seancusick

I would love to hear what you guys think, as well as if you think that I should bring a TV show to Tantasqua.

Enjoy the weekend, and I will see you Tuesday. :-)