8/28/08

Brit Lit:

I hope that the sound effects and mood music added to our reading of Beowulf. Block A is starting to feel like my soundcheck class- with me trying new things to see if they will work. I will try and be much more polished in the next few weeks. I just looked over your drawings and creature descriptions. Not bad.... But nothing near to the real Grendel that we will meet next week! Play in the sunshine....

Soph Lit:

It surprised me that you all like Holden in chapter 1. Kudos to Michelle for being brave enough to tell the teacher that she did not like the character in her teachers fav book. :-)

Next Friday, you will have your 1st vocab quiz on the ten words that I gave you. If you have time and want to get ahead, please define each of them. Other than that.... think about the diff. levels of mental illness. We will begin to examine Holden and talk about some of bad choices that he is starting to make.

General Note:

I would like to thank all of you for making my 1st few days at Tantasqua memorable. It is true what everyone told me: there are great kids at Tantasqua. Thank you for the warm and kind welcome!

August 27, 2008

Brit Lit:

For tonight please read the intro history on pgs 1-10 in most of your anthologies. Please expect a real short quiz on your reading.

Your "skits" today, made my day. I know that it is early in the year, but it was nice to see some of you having fun while you were learning. Both classes proved that the oral tradition of storytelling still does not preserve a story....

Thursday we will begin Beowulf, and start class by taking some intro notes, and examining what it means to be a hero. Get ready for some bloody good monster reading.... and some sound effects to set the mood as we plunge into fear.

We will also be trying to create our own original monsters, and talk about what triggers our fear of the unknown, and how fear played a large part in early British Literature. Grendel is coming....... and he is hungry.... and mad........

Sophmore Lit.:

Tonight you will meet Holden. What are your first impressions? Remember to ask those around you for their experiences. Were they allowed to read it?

We will begin talking about vocab this year, and you will be given your first set of words. Remember, new words give us great power.....

Cover your book- you know who you are....

4 days where we can pretend that it is still Summer, and be grateful that we will get out almost a week before those who go back to school next Tuesday. Enjoy the great weather- but don't forget your Summer reading. If you have not read yet, there is still plenty of time- it is an easy read- so find a good tree and read!

First Day

It was nice meeting all of you today. Just a reminder to cover your books. Block C: please finish you "what if...." questions, as we will be talking about them Wed.

Blocks A & B Please think about:

What makes a hero?

Block C:

Should books ever be banned? Please share with those around you that you are reading Catcher, and report back to class their reactions. :-)

I am real excited about this year, and working with you. Get ready to do some fun things......

Quote of the week:

"There can be no rtrue learning without some element of fun." Emerson

Welcome!

Welcome to my English Class blog!

I am super excited about my new position, and can't wait for the year to begin. As a new teacher at Tantasqua, I thought that it might be a good idea to introduce myself. So here is a bit about me, and what to expect this year in my class:

I am a graduate of Boston College, and have been teaching for 13 years. Most of those years was right next door at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley. As a teacher in a nearby district, I have always heard great things about your school and communities. At Shepherd Hill, I always tried hard to make my classroom a place where students look forward to attending. I hope to continue this at Tantasqua.

When I was in high school, I was bored most of the time, very rarely challenged, and had many teachers who in my estimation at the time, disliked teenagers.

The year I graduated high school, I saw the film Dead Poets Society in the theaters. I began to wonder what it would be like to go into education from the background of a student who hated school. I saw the character that Robin Williams played, and thought to myself: How would have HS been different if I had a teacher like him?

So I changed and broadened my English major to include education classes. During my Jr. year in college, I had the opportunity to teach in Ireland for the year. I am sure I will end up telling stories from time to time in class :-) Remind me to tell my Irish Ghost story on Halloween....

At SH, I wore many different hats. I co-directed plays with your own Ms. St. Jean for 5 years. (Did I mention how excited I am to be working with her again?) We did some great stuff together. I was thinking of twisting her arm and doing it again here, but who knows.... In addition to English, I have a passion for technology. I love tinkering with computers and seeing how stuff works. This interest led me to creating a video studio at Shepherd Hill, and producing a student run TV show, called Shepherd Hill AM- or SHAM for short. If you are curious, you can watch old episodes at: http://www.youtube.com/user/seancusick

Most recently, I taught a creative writing class, where my students wrote and published their own origional novels. You can read about it here: http://www.southbridgeeveningnews.com/pdf/WEB.2008.05.30.pdf

So what can you expect from me as your teacher- lots! I have extremely high expectations for both myself and you in my classroom. I will be using this blog to communicate with you outside of class. This includes class notes, weekly discussion questions, a new vocab word of the week to be used in class and daily assignments for those of you who might miss class or need clarification. I look forward to doing great things together this year! See you in a few.....