Penultimate Post Time,

Our final week of class will include us finishing the mystery of the Red-Headed League followed by Final review. The final has the exact same format as the Midterm with 85 total questions adding up to 100 points. Look for a study guide posted on the main page as well as a Kahoot we play together on Friday. 

While the sappy comments about the end of the year will be saved for next week my last advice to you as a teacher in my class is to make sure you take the time to study. This final is worth 20% of your Semester 2 grade. Please come to class with any and all questions so I can best help you for Tuesday's test. 

“Give me six hours to cut down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” – Abraham Lincoln

Prepare yourself for success,

   Mr. Rodgers

The week the Seniors walk out the door,

   Just like that we have reached the end of the year. With special schedules, senior goodbyes, and final projects galore we are wrapping up our last unit with our final two short stories. Our third story, "Rules of the Game" will go quickly early in the week before we will begin our final story, "The Red-Headed League" to conclude our last unit. 

   This week will be a week to keep ourselves as focused as possible because the more we get through the more time we will have for final review! 

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

What obvious thing is right in front your face?

   Mr. Rodgers

Short Week Woop Woop! 

We are now in our final Short Story unit and in the middle of "The Most Dangerous Game." This week we will spend our three days reading and finishing that story complete with discussions on suspense, story arcing, and alternate endings. 

Thursday we will have our Roots Celebration! This is a reminder to come to school (regular time) in uniform with your Roots Project. This will be a fun day for us to spend time with the people that helped us get where we are today. To sit, slow down, and talk with family members and introduce your friends to people that matter to you. 

Thursday night is the 3rd annual Mr. OLSH pageant. While, sadly, there are no freshmen competing this year come out and enjoy a very silly show. Yes I am hosting. 

Friday we do not have school, but I encourage you all to try to beat me in dodgeball. 

“This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.” – Oscar Wilde

Are you excited for the end or nervous to see what comes next?

   Mr. Rodgers

It's Gonna Be May.....

Here we go Freshies. We are entering into the last full month of school. We have Monday off because of Prom and we will then move forward with more poetry fun. This week will also include your final Vocab test of the quarter before the final. Your test will be Wednesday on lessons 27+28. 

On the poetic side of things we will be reading a few more poems and exploring the form of the Sonnet from Shakespeare. We will also write a poetic analysis poem as well as a reflective poem about OLSH and our time during Freshmen year together. 

“It’s about how much we have left.” – Tony Stark

How do you want to end your Freshman year?

-Mr. Rodgers

Welcome Back Freshmen,

As we return from Easter and enter into the final week of April and hopefully more beautiful weather we should pause and reflect on the positive things around us. Things that make us happy, thankful, or just things that we are looking forward to and can inspire us. 

In class this week we will be working on poetry, specifically we will be working with sensory poems and thinking about the best ways we can describe how we are feeling. Then we will read two more poems and examine the difference a single word can make in a poem. Essentially we will prove once again, that words matter. 

Our final Vocab Wednesday before the Exam will also be next Wednesday. 

“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” – George Lucas

Focus on something positive, 

 Mr. Rodgers 

All Good Things Must Come to an End,

   As we prepare to celebrate Easter and move deeper into the Spring season we will say goodbye to our fallen heroes, Romeo and Juliet. On Monday we will take the final test. Your test will consist of 50 questions, multiple choice, T/F, and fill in the blank. You will also have 2 bonus questions. Please make sure you STUDY!

    After that we will just barely begin our second poetry unit before giving you all a break for Easter. You will have NO HOMEWORK over Easter Break. 

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.” – William Shakespeare

Get excited for our final stretch!

   Mr. Rodgers

"Parting is such sweet sorrow" 

    And yes I will miss Romeo and Juliet... We will finish the play this week as well as the movie and do a fun in class final project before we take our final test the following week. This means Tuesday will be a movie day, with the last schoology post due that night and then Wednesday we will have our first Vocab Quiz of the 4th quarter. Thursday we will have a guest speaker (still can't know who it is sorry) in class and then Friday we will color and create our WANTED posters as a final wrap up activity for R+J. 

   On a larger scale note, we will have 45 more points in the gradebook after this week and will be preparing for our big R+J test on top of that. This all means we will be looking to shift gears back into poetry with both creative and academic poetic assignments in the weeks leading up to Easter. 

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” – Plato

Embrace your light,

   Mr. Rodgers

Welcome the 4th Quarter!!

Thus we begin our 10 week countdown to summer. This week will be interesting. For starters Freshmen do not have to report on Monday. This is NOT an April Fool's joke. Teachers will be busy with senior presentations that day. 

When you do return we will begin the final act of Romeo and Juliet. This means the Act 3 and 4 Quiz will be Thursday and our final test not far behind. We will also be doing a "Whose Fault is it Anyway?" mini project at the conclusion of the play. 

Perhaps the biggest news of this week is ROOTS PROJECT is due on Tuesday. Please make sure you bring in your completed paper with your rubric! This is worth 155 points and will lay the foundation for your entire 4th quarter grade. You are giving this as an important gift to someone in your family so please make sure you are submitting your best work! 

For each day your ROOTS project is late you will be docked 5% or 7 points from your potential total. This accumulates quickly so best to turn this in on Tuesday! Use the 3 day weekend to your advantage. 

I look forward to enjoying multiple elements of the 4th quarter including finishing drama, revisiting poetry and short stories, and working on at least one more in class essay. Lots of fun still left in store!

“In Winter, I plot and plan. In Spring, I move.” – Henry Rollins

How will you move this Spring?

   Mr. Rodgers

Warmest of welcomes dear reader,

   We have but two weeks left in the 3rd quarter. Hard to believe, but as the first inkling of spring begins to bloom we will continue on our path toward finishing up your Freshmen year! This week we will take our first R+J Quiz (Tuesday) and our last Vocab Quiz of the 3rd quarter (Wed). 

   We are also coming up on the end of our ROOTS papers. This week will mark the final paragraphs and we will begin editing and proofreading with a partner, while also having our papers checked at home. It is very important that you are taking the time to carefully write and craft a meaningful biography for your family member. Please do not let this become "just another assignment" be proud of your work!

   Somewhat separate from our class work I encourage all of you to take a second and be thankful during this Lenten season. Whether it is because of Spring, new sports, or less school, I want you to share that love for a family member, or support for a friend and take time to do something positive. Any small act that you can put out into the world.    

“There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for” – J. R. R. Tolkien

Be the good,

    Mr. Rodgers

Hello young Romeos and Juliets

As we place ourselves into Shakespeare epic about star crossed lovers we will delve deeper into the story this week. We will start by watching the beginning of the 2013 film adaptation. We will then discuss that adaptation along with your text translations and discuss how the views of love and courtship have changed in the past 400 years and how some of them have remained the same. 

Wednesday we will continue on to Lessons 22 + 23. Then we will finish Act 2 by the end of the week. Please continue working on your ROOTS project and I wanted to provide another reminder to make an appointment in the OWL if you have not already. Once we finish Act 2 we will have a R+J quiz as a check in for understanding. 

“Beauty makes fools of the wise” – Wayne Gerald Trotman

What is life without wisdom? Yet what is life without beauty?

   Mr. Rodgers

Good day youthful spirits, 

As we step into our first full week of March we can will Spring forward as we go into the 2nd Act of Romeo and Juliet. This week we will have our first character quiz, potentially read or at least begin the famous "balcony scene" and we will work to translate the romance of Romeo and Juliet into modern text conversation. 

Additionally this week you will have a Vocab Quiz on Lessons 21 + 22. We will also continue monitoring your ROOTS progress. We will finish the entire first section of the paper and look to have our OWL appointments scheduled this week. 

“They say we are too young to understand love, but maybe they are too old to understand us.”

What do you understand about Romeo and Juliet?

   Mr. Rodgers

Hello young Freshmen,

    This week we will (FINALLY) be diving in and focusing on Romeo and Juliet. This means that Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday we will be reading from the textbook and acting out the play. 

     Wednesday will still be our break for Vocab. And I want to remind everyone that you will receive points for reading as either Romeo and Juliet at any point throughout our study of the tragedy. 

      As we read please make sure you are continuing progress on your ROOTS project by completeing your dedication if you have not done so already and the "General Information" paragraphs which include the first section of questions from your interview packet. We will cover any questions about this in class. 

“Did my heart love till now?” – William Shakespeare

We will question the ideas and powers of love in the coming weeks,

    Mr. Rodgers

Welcome back young freshmen!

    I hope that you have all enjoyed your 4 day weekend! This week we will be leaving behind DBQs, working outside of class on our Roots Projects, and beginning the study and reading (performance) of Romeo and Juliet. Also we have our second Vocab test of the quarter for those eager to get more points!

   Heads up for how R+J will go....We will be learning some background on the famous bard (Shakespeare) before we begin and then we will take turns reading and performing the play. Yes, this means I will occassionally ask our readers to get up and act out the scene. 

   Each student will be expected to take on the role of EITHER Romeo or Juliet at least once throughout the play. You will receive participation points for doing so. R+J is a 5 Act play and after each act we will watch the corresponding section of the movie version to compare and contrast and review major plot points. 

“Love me or hate me both are in my favor. If you love me, I will always be in your heart. If you hate me, I will always be on your mind.” – William Shakespeare

This tragedy will have you asking which is more powerful?

    Mr. Rodgers