A New Week...

I'm actually excited to read Johnny Got His Gun. Mrs. Glerum told me that it was a very good book. I like that it is divided in two books so that we have a nice break for quizes.

I'm afraid that my group is going to put off our controversial issue project until the last minute...let's get working on it, guys! Casey and I are planning to work on it sometime on Wednesday betweek 4 and 6.

Also, I'm shaking in my boots about the 1984 test. :/
I haven't been doing as well on the quizzes as I had hoped, and that is making me nervous for the final test.

A quick question: what is involved in our Exam Project? Is it going to be involving the novels? If so, would it be alright if I kept my copy of 1984 until the end of the trimester?

Good Job

Good Job friday to nora becca and alex.  I thought you guys did a good job taking up the whole hour.

procrastination has caught up with me

Unlike how I wanted to execute my 7 life skills assignment, I waited until today to finish it. Immediately after church this morning I sat at the computer and channeled all my creativity and vocabulary into those paragraphs!! It only took me about an hour or two to get them all done, but it still ate up a bunch o time out of my weekend, which I didn't like. I kinda wish I would have gotten them done sooner, but oh well :]. I should give myself some credit though, I still managed to have an awesome weekend around this little project! Hopefully this coming week will go just as smoothly and I'll be able to keep on top of all the assignments coming up!

Another Post

Well, there wasnt very many controversy over the controversial issue. It could've been pretty interesting but not alot of people were into it that much. Oh well. I'm thinking the 1984 test is going to be TOUGH. Not looking foward to that. Weekends are too short....

Weekend, you were just too short...

Although I had a pretty good weekend, it was also very busy. Malcolm and the others came home from Honduras around 3 in the morning on Saturday and later came to my house to practice with my sister, Kaylee, and I for the talent show. That was the first time we rehearsed since before he left for Honduras. Afterwards, we left for Grand Rapids to some friends of his families and then went to Calvin College to watch the play "The Wednesday Wars" written by Gary D. Schmidt. The play was directed by Kirsten Kelly. I really enjoyed the play and I hope to eventually read the book. Well, that was my weekend up until today...

Today was crazy because, after returning from Grand Rapids at around 12:00 noon, I had less than two hours to practice, get all three of my outfits around, take care of my clothes from my overnight stay, and get ready for dress rehearsal. It didn't go too well because I was stressing about getting all of my life skills done for tomorrow. Also just because nothing really turned out as planned. I finally got home after 3 hours of being at rehearsal where I continued working on my life skills. I'm doing pretty good now and only have two left to do. I took a break so I could post, since I had only commented so far, and still needed to do so.

Well, thats pretty much it. Just getting ready for another busy week and a lot of work I'm going to going to have to put in towards my essay.

Last Moment

Well i waited till the last moment to write my post. So now i will try and say something that is good, so that i get all 10 points for this. The issue friday seemed to me to be one sided there was few arguments against it if any. I think Noble may have been the only one to speak up against the issue. Nora's group tried to make a boring issue interest but when there isnt much that can be said in the end it was still boring. Im not saying anything against the group they did a nice professional job, not much they could of done.

YAY! Senior Portfolio

I really need to go and purchase supplies for my senior portfolio!

I have everything planned out and am moving along quickly with the project.

I am very excited to put everything together and see how it all works out!

This is such a fun project, to express individuality to everyone!

Hope everyone else is enjoying it as much as I am! :)

Interesting Event

Coming home from church today, I took the scenic route out by Crystal Lake. It was really pretty! But going around one of the corners, my tires lost 100% of their traction with the road. My car slid back and forth down the road for about 100 feet. I kept my foot on the gas the entire time, until I realized that I was sliding directly into the ditch. At this time, I decided it would be best to not accelerate into a snowbank, so I hit the brakes. This did nothing because I had no traction. Ending up a few feet away from a 2-foot diameter tree, I'm really REALLY happy it's winter because the snowbank definitely saved me, even though it hurt poor Lumpadema.

I'm thinking about my life skills paragraphs and there is no inspiration falling from the sky.

Where did the weekend go??

So I'm at my computer getting ready to start on my paragraphs thinking that I still have another day left of the weekend and then realized that it was Sunday. Whoopsies!!! I totally meant to start these Friday!! Grr on busy weekends!! Anway, though the weekend has been really busy its been fun! A group of the band kids went down to Cadillac yesterday for solo and ensemble and I think it went really well for most of us! I'm excited to meet with Ms. K about my op-ed essay. It will be helpful to be able to talk about it and then fix it from there!! Well, I guess those essay arent going to write themselves! Time to get to work!!

Fridays discussion

so Friday's controversial issue was very disappointing. It didn't go very well, considering most of the class didn't participate in the discussion. I feel like our group though tried its best with coming up with controversial questions that got everybody thinking, and we had a lot of informative information. I'm not sure if it wasn't arguable a lot because a lot of people really didn't know much about marijuana legalization or they just didn't care. Hopefully after class though everybody had a lot more information that we supplied you with and you will have an opinion on it now. A big thanks though to everybody who did participate!

Worst day...ever?

Just about.   Yesterday, I had the worst stomach ache.  Luckily, I was able to go to the restroom before I threw up!  Then I went home, knowing that all I needed was some rest, then everything would be just fine.
Oh how I was wrong.  I threw up four more times, each more dastardly and painful then the last.  I could barely move!  My legs fell asleep, and my head was dizzy...I nealy passed out.  Then after a few hours of pain and vomit, I slept on my living room floor for roughly 3 hours.  I swear, I have NEVER been that sick before.  I wouldn't even wish this upon my worst eneimies!  This is what it felt like.

http://thedailydairy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/alien_1.jpg


Well, now that I've slept most of the day away, I'm going to work on my life skills and homework from yesterday.  See you tomorrow(?).

Senior Portfolio

I'm kinda excited about making our senior portfolios... I love making things like this, a chance to be creative and show a different side of yourself. Whether its serious, creative or maybe both. I cant wait for it to be put together and all set to go. :)

UUUUHHH....

Well, here I am just sitting in the computer lab. Don't have alot to do, so i figured I might as well make a post and maybe get some extra credit. Got some solid work done on our Controversial Issue. And now I'm just waiting to have the little conference with Ms. K. Considering the time, I dont think that'll happen today.

FYI

It's my 18th b-day tomorrow! :)

Stuff

Siting in the the computer lab is pretty boring, my paper is going good i just have to find some more info and polish it up a bit. I want to say good luck to the group presenting this week.

Life Skills

Has anyone started working on their life skills for their portfolio? They are do Monday!! Hopefully it won't be to bad!

Improving..

So I totally did my rough draft last minute (though I thought it was decent), and now I'm actually taking my time with it and I think that in the end it will turn out really good. I've been spending this class time rewriting and my paper seems really different. I basically took out most of my information and filled it with new information that I've been researching.

Op-Ed

At first the essay confused me a lot. I wasnt really sure waht I was supposed to be doing especially with the poems. I think that most people were confused about this assignment also. I like that fact that we can turn rough drafts in and get feedback because that helps alot. A lot of us have discussed the essay and I think we all understand it better now. I still dont quite understand footnotes but people have helped me so im starting to understand it better. Life skills are due monday...so far I have two done. I am having fun with the Portfolio project!

Blogging, eh?

So I'm sitting in the computer lab waiting for my confrence with Ms. K. I'd be fixing my essay but it was done on Word 2007, and sadly our computer lab has Word 2003. So I'm spending my time getting other homework done; like for my Criminology and Political Science courses (they aren't as boring as they sound).

I'm pretty nervouse about my essay since I've never written a paper like that before, nor do I plan on doing it again for fun ;)

Well I'm going to get back to my Law and reading mylifeisaverage :)

Animal Testing

Sydney, Kristen, and I have Animal Testing for our controversial issue....hoping that everything is going to turn out ok!
Our issue isn't as big of an issue as gay rights or abortion so we're hoping that it stirs up some conversation and debate....
Hope it all goes well!! :D
and good luck to everyone else yet to present!

Controversial Issue

I am very nervous about our groups controversial issue over the legalization of marijuana. I feel like there is so much information that everyone could learn but don't know what exactly is the most important. I think our group has everything figured out but again, there is so much information on this one topic. Ialso kind of found it hard to do a project on this issue because of the fact that I didn't know any information prior to this project. Hopefully it all goes good and hopefully everyone expresses their opinions about the legalization of marijuana.

Op-Ed

I was pretty scared about this Op-Ed essay at first. But, after talking to others in the class, and Ms. K I feel much better about it. I like the oppurtunity we have of turning in rough drafts, that way we can make our essays, the best! I think that the conferences we are going to have with Ms. K about our essays will also help us. (:

Op-ed

I am very discouraged about my op-ed essay. Its a lot harder then I thought it would be! I have a lot of ideas about how to support my side, but it is hard to find a balance between having lots of supportive facts, and keeping my paper organized. I hope this essay turns out better then I think it will!

The Op-Ed

I'm really glad we got to turn in a rough draft for our op-eds. My rough draft is a REALLY rough draft.. meaning that it is pretty bad. At least we have until next week to turn in so there's plenty of time for improvement. And to add to that my group gets to present friday!!!

SERVICE NATION and and WANNA BE SPS TEACHERS

OK so for those of you who already know me.... still read this and if you don't know me there's something you should now about me... I'm a Service Learning Fanatic!!! :) Just this past weekend i attended a retreat for the 2011 LEAGUE Michigan student committee, and i had a Blast with my 10 other Fanatics. Anyways even though i was having an amazingly fun time..... I was very upset, the whole weekend I was hearing about teachers and students that work together to make a change in their community's. Like I talked to teachers who do service in their class room as part of the curriculum, I understand that that doing curriculum work is hard but I thought teachers became teachers to help students realize their potential. Potential is something LEAGUE has helped me realize more than any "TEACHER" ever has. The fact that the Teachers from Sault Area HS, Pickney Middle School, Romulus HS, MS, and E and not to mention the close to 400 other schools across Michigan who Volunteer to go to a training similar in Grand Rapids for a weekend during their summer vacation to create a curriculum (that still meets State Standards by the way) that helps inspire students that a math problem can be used to help people in poverty, and that's when it really hit me.... i want every teacher in Shelby School District to haft to have their curriculum totally remastered, by LEAGUE MICHIGAN. I hope our Teachers at Shelby Public Schools read this Post and weep. B/C I thought SHELBY was SUPPOSED to be one of the Best Educations Around. but obviously our Teachers, Administrators and other Staff, are far to worried about about their union income and benefits before what benefits the students.... so i leave you with this.... A teacher should not teach an opinion on how the world is, but how to change the world.

A Sad, Sad Day

Yesterday, I fell terribly ill--near death, probably. I slept from 10pm Monday night until 6am this morning. I only woke up to throw up, and to totally destroy Christopher at Battleship. I haven't eaten anything since dinner on Monday--not good--because my body won't let me eat. In the past 36 hours, I have taken in about a half a glass of water and a half a bottle of Powerade and that's it. It's hard to walk because my body feels so weak. I should have stayed home from school today, but I don't want to use any more sick days.

The sad part is that I was more worried about missing the 1984 discussion in class yesterday than I was worried about getting better! I'm disappointed that I wasn't there, so hopefully I didn't miss much.

Nothing 2 Do...

Right now I am in College English. Ms. K is right behind me!!! I do not have my op-ed essay with me because I didn't know I was supposed to bring it on a flash drive to class. I would have known, except I was gone at A.Y.F. yesterday, so now I don't have anything to do. I think I'll just rewrite it right now. This is my blog for the week!.... Feels good to have this done with!

Endless thoughts...

I'm sitting in my living room on our davenport watching Top Gear with my father. It's almost midnight, and I can't sleep to save my life. I have so many thoughts running through my head right now. A lot of it is about my future:

We had an amazing talk at youth group tonight. We talked about service and forwarding God's Kingdom with what we are given. We then started talking about what our dreams were. I know what mine is. I want to attend Calvin College until I get my Bachelor's Degree. Then, I want to attend whichever Med School will accept me where I will get my M.D. Eventually I will end up in some city learning to become an Anesthesiologist.

After practicing for long enough to pay off my student loans, I'm going to leave all of it behind. I'm going to make enough money and achieve as much support from family and friends and churches as possible to assist me in starting a free medical clinic in South America. My passion in this world is to help the people, both physically and spiritually, in places that have been forgotten about. This idea came from one exceptional experience at an orphanage in Mexico. I helped a little boy with cerebral palsy who could barely walk and I taught him how to bounce a ball on the floor and catch it as it came back up. At the time, I had no idea that he had NEVER caught a ball before in his life (he was 8 years old).

After that, I knew I needed to help the forgotten people in this world and I feel led to do so.

There probably is only one or two people from Shelby High School that will ever hear from me after we graduate. I'm going to disappear from this area of the world and make my presence known elsewhere. I'm going to change the lives of people that will also change mine.

I'm going to make a HUGE difference in this world, one tiny step at a time.

WOO HOO!!!!

YEEAAAH!!! THE PACKERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!! ITS SO AWESOME!!!! I'M FRICKIN PUMPED! AND THERE PLAYING THE STEELERS!!!! ITS GOING TO BE INTENSE, LIKE CAMPING!!!! Get it? Oh and the controversial issure Friday was very interesting. Nice job guys! Cant wait for the next one!

...

I hope that my op-ed essay went well. I was confused at first on how to do it but got some advice from others in class. I tried to get to my point so that I wouldn't have a problem with writing too much. I keep thinking about what I said and hope that my point came across strong. :)

Sydney

Op-Ed Essay

When I first heard about the Op-Ed essay in class I was very confused. Talking to other people in class definetly helped me out. When I started writing the essay I was thinking about the MLA format. I was having trouble with my in-text citations, and I didn't know how to do the footnotes. Luckily we went over that in class. I really found it hard to stay at the limit of 750 words. I had way over that and tried to delete alot of things I didn't need. Hopefully I did good on this paper.

Controversial issue

Tyler, Jake and Luke did a great job. I didnt know much about that issue but they made it very interesting. I thought that the powerpoint was put together really well and everything looked great. I like fridays even more now that we get to do this. Its been really interesting! Cant wait to see what next week is like.

YAY!!

So this week ROCKED!! For starters I only had three days of school and on Friday I took off for my dream college (Spring Arbor University) to audition for their music program. It went really well!! I got into the program and got a scholarship!! But anyway on to college english stuff... 1984 was really interesting. The end confused me a little at first but after a second time reading it, it really clicked and I thought it was really cool! The op-ed essay was really fun for me to write. I had a great time looking through other works and trying to find the connections. Overall it was a pretty awsome week in college english and other aspects of my life!!

Crazy Ending

I just got done reading the last chapter... what a crazy ending. I like how Orwell ended the book showing that the Party had complete control all along. A very good way to finish it. Oh, by the way good job Luke, Jake, and Tyler friday you guys did great.

Debate

Way to go Luke, Jake, N Tyler you guys made a boring topic not so boring you did a nice job and had some very interesting facts

1984 Ending

I just finished the book and i can say that the ending was enjoyable. Although it was rather depressing, orwell shows how the party was always in control of Winston, and how he is no longer the same man.

1984..The End

After reading all of 1984 I was really kind of disappointed in the ending. I was expecting to be left hanging or I figured the author would have had one last twist as the book came to a close, which in a way there was but it just seemed disappointing. I would have liked a more exciting and vibrant ending to 1984. Overall though i ended up liking the book a lot more then I thought i would have or a lot more then in the beginning. My favorite part was the chapter right before book 3 when Winston and Julia get caught. The section was the most exciting in my mind. I'm glad this book is done though and I am ready for the next novel we read.

Good Discussion

I thought friday went very well.  Thank you for all who participated.

A new frontier...

...the Op-Ed essay. I went from not knowing what the heck it was, to writing a rough draft in the matter of a week or so. I'm kinda glad I'm a fast learner. :] It was interesting to see the connections between the different works that we had to include. The amount of similarities in the themes was really astounding when you really thought about them. This made incorporating them into my essay a ton easier too! However, reading actual op-ed's in newspapers didn't really help me all that much. It might have been due to the fact they were mostly very informal and from community members, not pros. I have survived it non the less! (I hope ;])
*plus, good job on your presentation, Jake, Luke and Tyler!*

A weight has been lifted!!!

Today was great getting the controversial issue over with! I thought it went well, and I'm glad that I dont have to worry about it anymore! I was also really happy that everyone talked, so thanks guys! :D

Today

I am so happy to have our power point presentation over with! It wasn't bad but now I don't have to worry about it anymore. I think it went well and i appreciate everyone talking and participating. (and using up the time) But im glad to have it over with. good luck for the groups that still have to go

Word

Friday: End To A Looong Week!

So, I'm sitting here in my College Class defiantly not doing anything but blogging and listening to marching music (I'm obsessed with music what can I say!) I have no idea what to blog about, but I want to make sure I get my points! :)

The discussions for our controversial projects are going good, getting a little heated I thought.

I finished "1984" after writing my long Op-Ed essay! Not really my type of book! And I'm all 'essay-ed' out *cough cough hint hint* :)

Now on to the weekend! Come out and support the Cheer Team at our only home invite this Saturday (the 22nd)!!!

What a great week!

Well... This week has been...GREAT!
1984 is getting better and better.  I've been informed by secret sources that the ending suckes eggs... but I'm enjoying it.
The whole op-ed essay is becoming more of an annoyance than a pleasure.  I stopped typing to find out that I had 800 words, and had only used one reference!!  I feel the word limit is holding me back, but then again, trimming the fat in an opinion based paper is for the best.  I'm glad this class is as difficult as it is!  It's getting me ready for the real world.
In completly unrelated news, I wrote a letter to "Playstation: The Official Magazine,"  AND IT GOT PUBLISHED!  That kind of thing NEVER happens to people you know, and I'm enthralled that my letter got chosen, (even if it was a nerdy letter at best.)
And then, in the fake stocks that we are forced to invest in, (staring at one million $, and growing,)  I've made a 13% profit!!  It's crazy awesome!  I only wish I had invested some of my real money.
Lets not forget that we had a snow day this week too!

This week has kicked some serious asteriods!
I hope the Friday presentation goes well!  : )

Catching up, but still behind...

I've caught up on my reading for 1984, but I'm not real far along with my Op-Ed rough draft. I'm not really struggling, its just that I didn't really start it until yesterday evening during our snow day. I just wanted to know if its okay that we don't have all 750 words when we send in our draft by Friday since we are obviously going to be editing and revising it for the final draft. When that happens, there will be some information added and other parts deleted. If anyone has any ideas about the rule of the "length" for our rough draft, please comment. :) Thanks.

Almost Done!! :D

600 words down....150 to go!! Almost done with the rough draft of the op-ed essay! :)
Definently not to its perfection state yet but it sure does feel good to have it almost done!
Looking forward to fridays issue! :)

Presenting?

So the other English classes (Senior Composition and English 12) simply did their senior portfolios and handed them in. They did not present. And tons of people in our class are thinking about how they are going to present, but I am confused because I thought we were just handing them in.
So can someone explain exactly what we are doing with our portfolios?

1984~Getting so much better in book 3!

After a very boring section in book 2, (when Winston is reading the book forever,) things are finally starting to move again! I don't want to spoil what happens in book 3, so I won't, but I am going to say it is super good, and you will not be able to stop reading!!

Quiz...

I'm really worried about the quiz. I didn't do as well as I wanted to last time and being a day after the quiz was supposed to be this time, I'm afraid that I'm going to forget something important. I have a hard time remembering important things that happen in books, even though I have almost every page annoteded in my copy with sticky notes.

I liked this quiz alot better than the previous one. I liked the reformatted questions alot better too, I felt that I actually knew what it was asking and could find the textual evidence in the book.

Book 2 Quiz.

On todays quiz I felt like I improved alot since the last quiz. I felt I was able to answer the question in plenty of time and with plenty of detail! hope I did well!! :/

Senior Portfolio Anyone?

I'm posting my blog for this website right? And then BAM! The website says "Error". Well lets try post number two! I'm sitting in Mrs. Felt's computer lab, it's really noisy with an entire class of freshmen in here. I'm thinking about what to do for my portfolio, it'd be alot easier to present it in a powerpoint but i'm not quite sure how to put the information I've typed out onto a powerpoint format. I really want to get ahead on this project now.

The quiz today was alot easier than last weeks I thought, but it still fried my brain. I definatly thought it was ironic that the old man in 1984 (Mr. Charrington) was a member of the thought police! No one ever suspected him. Well I should probably get going to do my resume! happy reading! :)

The clock is ticking and I feel more stressed about my groups controversial issue. I wanted to say good job to the boys over their Immigration issue. I also am very stressed because I was looking over the due dates for our other papers and I feel like I won't have enough time to finish everything but only if I wait and procrastinate. Getting started early if definetly the way to go.

....

Well, I bought stuff for my senior portfolio this weekend and its getting me really excited to get into it more. Thinking of things to back me up for my op-ed essay. Oh joy. :)

My Post

Alrighty, so heres my post for the week. I'm not looking foward to the quiz tomorrow. Pretty sure I'm gonna fail it. Maybe we'll be able to have retakes....? :) Probably not though. Oh well, I'm going to do my best. I'm not going to lie, the controversial discussion wasn't the most interesting controversial subject ever, but hey those guys made it pretty interesting. Well I think this is a long enough post, so I'll see ya around.

BY the way (posty post 2)

special thanks to Ms. K for comming to the games on friday! It was a nice touch!

Posty Post

So what up world? well i had an Amazing weekend till today.... i don't really feel well. Any who, lets cut to the chase. i think im gunna pretty much fail this class mostly because I seem to be gone so much. So much i thought we were supost to finish the book.... now i can barely remember anything from book two.... except that it was super borring ( Sorry Ms. K but it was... lol). I hope everyone dose well on the test tomorrow! have a nice night!

Another Quiz!!!

Well we have ourselves another quiz tomorrow I'm afraid. I'm not as worried about this one though now that we've had the first one. I think I'll do much better than last time on it. Oh and good job Henry, Ross, and Eric (even though you weren't there during tag) you guys did great.

AHH!!!

I keep forgetting about these blog post thingys!!! Anywho, I really enjoyed the presentation on Friday. It was really interesting for me. Learning about the process immigrants have to go through to get into our country was fantastic because its not something you hear about often. Usually you hear about how many immigrants are coming illegaly and not about the struggles and tests they have to pass to get in legally. On a different note it's going to be another HUGE week! I'm so glad that I had to create a resume for my summer job because I have the strangest feeling that between 1984 and the Op-Ed essay it migh have been a struggle to get it done!!

Another Post

Well the second argument thing went down, i missed it. But what i say in tag class it was pretty good. Ross and company you did pretty well.

Last minute posting

I woke up today to discover that i had forgotten to do my blog posting this week. So now im sitting at a McDonalalds using their wi-fi to blog, wasting a perfectly good sunday

Immigration

Fridays controversial issue was kind of surprising to me. I didn't think that people were going to have such strong opinions about immigration. I wasn't sure how I would feel about sharing my opinion with the class when we started doing these issues, but its been a lot of fun and really interesting. I cant wait to see what next week will be like!

I thought class Friday wasn't going to be as controversial as last Fridays discussion, but as class got going it really turned into a heated discussion. I think everybody had a lot of valid points and the group presenting did a good job keeping things moving along. I'm excited to see what next Friday's issue has to bring.

Senior Portfolio!

Am I the only one that is having tons of fun with their Senior Portfolio?
I am doing a scrapbook and I've been buying so much stuff, but don't worry Mrs. Stariha, I'm also using recycled things. And tomorrow I'm going to Jo-Ann's because their backgrounds for scrapbooking are 6 for 96 cents. And they are normally 59 or 69 cents, so it's a pretty good deal. And if anyone wants to go the sale starts tomorrow and goes through the 22nd!

My Life as of Today and for the Weekend...

I am currently sitting in my cousin Dan's apartment with my family and his friends. We left right after school (well, as soon as we could) to arrive in Ann Arbor by 7:00 when the Michigan Wrestling meet began. I enjoyed it a lot and got to watch my cousin, Dan Yates, his friends, Justin and Brandon Zeerip, and other teemates wrestle at the meet. Michigan ended up defeating the other team, Purdue, with a final score of 28-14. It was a great experience to be able to watch a college meet and was especially enjoyable being able to watch my cousin wrestle once again since I haven't been able to do so since his senior year in high school in 2009. My family and I are spending the night at his apartment tonight and will go tomorrow to my sisters apartment at Grand Valley State University. We won't be home until Sunday, which worries me somewhat and means it will be harder for me to get my homework and studying done for the weekend.

Since we have our 1984 (book 2) quiz Monday, our Portfolio Resumes due Tuesday and our Op-Ed Essay rough drafts due Friday, I have a feeling it will be another busy week for me. I will definitely have to start working on these projects/assignments as soon as I can so I won't fall behind. I know it will all work out. I just have to make sure I use my time wisely and try my hardest no matter how stressful it all may be. It makes me feel better, however, after seeing the grade I received on my Argument Essay Final Draft. I worked really hard on that paper and know if I continue to put my time into future assignments, my grades and writing abilities will continue to show for all the effort I put into my work.

Immigration

Were 2 for 2 I thought today was a good discussion in class. Henry Ross and Eric did a good job today. I thought your presentation was interesting and I learned some new things about the immigration process. Class is about over, but good job today class

Today was good

Good job to Ross, Henry and Eric on your presentation! I think it went well and you guys had a non-biased opinion. Everyone participated for the most part and I think everyone got to express their view points. Mrs. Stariha missed out by not coming today, but its ok because she can make it up by coming next we when my group presents! (do it. ... no seriously, do it) Im in class now so i have to go but kudos to the college english class.

~true story~

English Fridays

Well the discussion today went well. Everyone was putting out good arguments. Now we have to go back f0r TAG. I like the talks because they're a relaxing change from the regular work. They also make class go by since they're interesting. My group goes next week and we're talking about welfare! So I hope everyone talks ALOT!!!

Not much time to post...

Class begins in 6 minutes, so I'm going to hurry!

1984 is a great read, and has a nice "FLOW."  (ha ha ha)
Secondly, I feel that my group's presentation will be just.... just fine.  I'm not expecting the best, but Eric, Henry and I put a lot of effort into it, so I guess we'll get what we deserve.

Last saturday, I saw my great uncle in GameStop.  I tried to avoid him (long talks and what not) but talking to him was destined to happen.  We socialized for 15 minuites, and I enjoyed myself.  I felt glad for talking to him, since it made him so happy.  Then on Sunday at around 9:30, he had a heart attack.  And at 10 PM, he was pronounced dead at Shelby Hospital.  This has lightened up my soul, and is making me appreciate my life more and more as I mature in to a man.
THE BELL JUST RANG!! $#^$#^$#$&

1984- hmmmmmm interesting!

I was really into the book until the long boring part (you all know what part I am talking about) started, the part with Winston reading the brotherhood book. But, after suffering through that part, the book is really starting to liven up again! I found Ross's comment in class really interesting when he questioned weather the brotherhood was a real group, or if it was made up by the Party to catch people for thought crimes. I did not think about this while I was reading before today, but now as I read on, I realize that maybe this is a possibility! I have to admit though, in the end of the book, if we find out that the brotherhood is controlled by the Party, I will be very upset! The brotherhood was Winston's only hope! I'm still hoping that the book will have a happy ending, but I doubt that this will be the case!

Ahhh...the weekly blog....

I'm a lover of mysteries. I've read multiple Sherlock Holmes books and they just facinate me. So, obviously, in those kind of books there are clues and foreshadows that are put together like a puzzle. This is what I immediately thought of when I started to put details and happenings together in 1984.
Part of the reason I love the quote circles we do as a class is the amount of connections (theres that word again) that are made from just one quote or question! It seems to me that the deeper we go into conversation about one topic the more it branches out and becomes a complicated string of clues, all springing from one source.
When looked at from an un-annalytical view point, small things may not seem of importance, that they're just adding to the plot and realistic value of a story line. For me, in 1984, its almost as if nothing can be overlooked and just regarded as an extra detail. From the way the first two books have gone, I hope the third gatheres everything we've learned about Oceania, Winston, Julia, and the Party and weaves it all together into an amazing puzzle of an ending!

All these things we have to do. Its a good thing the op-ed essay isn't due till next week friday. But its definetly challenging and thats why I took the class.

Op-Ed Essay

Here are the examples of Op-Ed articles we read today in class.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Orwell-s-1984-becoming-a-by-michael-payne-100429-640.html


http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/06/24/the_return_of_1984/

plus one more we didn't get to...

http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/oped/ci_3337465

Hard at Work

Class is starting to role, with many projects going on. I am glad to have the argument essay out of the way but now just in anticipation to see how I did??!!! I am excited to start my senior portfolio and the controversial issues are beginning too! Along with the reading of 1984, which I am acutally finding somewhat enjoyable. :) I know that all his hardwork will soon pay off!

Ég þarf hjálp vinsamlegast

Google translate says that means "I need help, please," in Icelandic.

Anyways, I'm finishing up my intro letter right now and I was wondering if this is going to be for the final grade or if this is more of a rough draft type grade. In other words, is what we turn in tomorrow going for the grade on the final rubric or is the whole project going to be graded altogether at the end when we turn them in while what we turn in tomorrow is just to make sure we get it done on time?

Another question:
Do we have to have our pictures and our visual with us when we turn it in? Or does that just go with our final portfolio?

I would appreciate helpful comments :)

Intro letter

Are we suppose to send in our letters via e-mail or is it something that we print out and talk about it in class?

Controversial Project!

Thanks everyone for the comments about our project! It was a lot of fun to be in front of class and hearing everyone's point of view. Especially about a mature topic like Gay Rights. It's not your normal, PG rated topic like we've been given throughout high school. Now hopefully Mrs. Stariha and Mrs. Krelick liked it as much as you guys did. Now it's time for the Senior Portfolios and I'm nervous again! This class defiantly keeps me on my toes! But now I'm on my fourth day being sick, I think all this work is causing my immune system to fail!! *cough cough* A break would be nice sooner or later! :D

I'm off to chug DayQuil and not leave my bed until the morning. :)

(3/3) awesome.

Now, I'm off to write my introduction letter. (:

(2/3) mentioned but never really thought of. So for us as a class to have a discussion about it and learn many facts that i had never heard of was

(1/3) Okay, first of all congratulations to Sarah, Sarah, and Ben for doing an awesome job presenting. The topic of the discussion is one that is commonly

Controversial Issue Projects

Well I think that the first group did a good job on their project considering we all came back for tag. It was a good issue and I think everyone participated well. I hope that our project goes over as well. I've been working on it and the portfolio. This class is work!

~Word~

Controversial Issue....

So, I missed the first controversial issue presentation. :( I wish I could have seen how it was set up and get some ideas from it. Good thing I will get a chance to see a few more before our group has to go. Our issue is on Animal Testing and I'm getting concerned. I'm worried that we wont have very much information or be able to back up the positives of the issue. I'm just waiting for that interesting question or statement thats going to spice up the whole thing.

Discussion

I thought that the presentation went very good, i don't know how our group is going to be able to follow that but good job sarah p, sarah s, and ben

wowza....

What a huge week!! Between work for college english and other classes I was buried! Thank you all for your posts about the Controversial Issues project!! Im so glad you enjoyed it! I know I enjoyed doing the research for it learning more about a subject I close to no information on. I'm really excited to watch the other presentations and learn more about other issues in our society!

Title

This post is about how the argument thing went today. Well i though it went alrite, alot of good points and alot of people talking. I think that Sarah's group really set the pace for us. SO DOMANIC AND BRIAN we have to do BETTER!!!!!! I also though it was awesome only got yelled at once!!!!!!

Hmmmmmm

So the Issue today was a great presentation over all! congrats Sarah x2 and Benny J! I think the conversation was over powered by just a few people. but everybody game an opinion in sum way, shape or form i guess. The group did great on the visual presentation..... even though it did creep me out allot of times. laugh out loud (LOL)

Gay Rights

I thought the issue of today's discussion of gay rights was really interesting. There where a lot of view points about the issue that had never crossed my mind before and it really got me thinking. It was great how the whole class got involved and really contributed to the discussion with their different view points and opinions. Also the group speaking covered a lot of information about gay right that was eye opening, that I had never thought of before.

Controversial Issue

Today I had a chance to view our first controversial issue. I really enjoyed Sarah S, Sarah P, and Ben's controversial issue about Gay Rights. I'm glad that we are going to be able to see the rest of it later on during TAG. I'm actually very nervous about my group's issue because I feel like our group won't have enough information or that people will not be interested. So far it is going good and we are learning new things but I kind of feel like I would have gone with an issue that I am some what familar with. I hope that my groups controversial issue runs smoothly and is interesting to the class. Good Job Sarah S, Sarah P, and Ben, I thought you all did a great job!! :)

Oh Boy! Oh Boy!

Well today we get to see the first contreversial issue debate. I'm really excited to see how they do. I'm glad our team is fourth that way we can get a better look at how the debates are suppose to go. Our group is doing good and we have a lot of interesting things to bring to the table in our discussion. I hope that everybody else will get into ours so it drags on for a while.
Henry.... we're counting on you!

Excited..

I am very excited to see the very first controversial issues presentation in our class. I have no doubt that the first group worked extremely hard, and I'm sure they will have great debate questions. Also, once the first group presents I think that all the other groups will have a feel for how everything flows, which will then make them want to work harder because they'll be excited to present!
Good luck everyone!

Whew!

I...Am...SO TIRED right now, and I'm not sure why...
But as long as I'm typing, I mine as well post a blog.
1984 is getting better.  Actually, a lot better.  I really love the way Orwell wrote it.  He makes it seem all the more believable with the words he uses.  Even if his predictions were off by more than 25 years.

I'm a tad anxious on my debate team.  We have to go second, and I'm not quite sure we can pull off a great performance...  I guess this is just a sign that I need to try harder!

So much 2do

Well this is my blog for the week! I've been trying to keep up with everything that has to be done: reading, writing essays, and researching for our class debate. I'm doing good, I just don't want to fall behind. My group has two more weeks to finish our group assignment, I just hope that it's good. After seeing the group go tomorrow, I'll probably have a better idea of how to set everything up. The book has gotten better the more we've read. I don't know how I did, but I hope I did well on the quiz yesterday!!!

It's Just Amazing...

I'm quite surprised that this week I have actually had time to sit and think a little bit to myself. With all the projects and assignments to keep track of, it really is amazing!! The topic of my brief ponder: the political love discussion we had during class earlier this week.
The government in 1984 seems kinda extreme and unusual for us and the relationship between citizens and officials seems anything but loving. However, our government in our country isn't that friendly either. All the political ads, slamming other politicians, and ANNOYING phone calls (that conveniently come during dinner) are our governments form of propaganda. Trying to convince citizens that their views are the right ones, their ideas are the best ones, and it goes on.
Not only getting their views pressed upon us, but we have to deal with the arguments between the political parties. I think it's quite silly to not vote for a perfectly fine (maybe even beneficial) piece of legislature just because it was put together by the other party. Democrat or Republican, if it's good for your country, state, or town, it should be no problem to vote for it.
Both governments are vastly different, but I can still see some ties to each other. When I find the time, it's really an interesting scenario to think about.

Now that we are a little farther in the book, it has been getting better. Tomorrows controversial issue should be fun, I like getting a good debate going within class. Maybe see you tomorrow Mrs. Stariha.

I am not really sure why, but I have been having a really hard time getting on here. This is really frustrating. I guess I am finally on now though so thats good.

I felt pretty good about the quiz which i wasn't to sure about at all. I was really nervous about it. I've just been stressing a lot about this class but my time management skills are getting much better so its getting a little bit easier. I know that its preparing me for college so in the end it will be a good thing.

I guess I will just post something...

So, I got on tonight real quick to post about our blog for our homework assignment, but I'm not sure what we are supposed to do. I guess I will just say that I am very nervous about our first quiz over book one of 1984 tomorrow and I hope I will understand everything the quiz asks me or tells me to write about. I like the book so far and I feel like I understand it, I just hope I can answer questions and write with great detail and use correct examples from the reading so far. I have been tabbing my book since we started reading and I just added a few more tonight, so I am hoping they will help me a lot. Good luck tomorrow everyone! I think we are all going to need it!

I have decided...

I have decided that I can NOT let the stress I'm feeling with this class get to me! It seems like there is so much that needs to be done. You're right, Ms. Stariha: the workload in this class is more than I am used to. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who thinks this. I'm kind of frustrated with the miscommunications we have had recently, but that is probably due to being on break and things like that. Hopefully, this will improve.

I'm really nervous about the 1984 quiz tomorrow. I can't imagine what it is going to be like and I think that is the main reason why I am nervous. Also, I'm not very good with essays if they have anything to do with any sort of reading material. I remember the major points in a novel or short story, but the specifics that usually get talked about in essay questions slip my mind. I'm too distracted by turning the book into a movie in my head to focus on the little things. Even though I rarelly see the faces of the characters, I imagine what their voices sound like and that is usually the most interesting part of reading for me. I come up with numerous different styles of voices in my head and that is the only way I can decyfer one character from the next. Every once in a great while, I'll invision a silhouette or two, but other than that, it's scenery and voices.

I'm really hoping that this won't have a HUGE effect on my quiz grades, but I'm terrified that it will...

1984 quiz tomarrow! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I am so nervous for the quiz tomorrow! I hope that an essay quiz is not as difficult as it sounds!!! Many of my classmates know that I stress out over silly things, but this is really stressing me out! What if I don't understand what the quote means? What if I can't find the quote in the book? What if a ginormous gust of wind blows by me in the hallway and all of my sticky notes fall out of my book and I can't use it on the test?! I will not stress..... I will not stress....... I will not stress....... Nope that definitely didn't work!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our First Week Back!

It's the first week of the new year and I already feel overstressed and exhausted! Anyone feel this way too? We have the 1984 Quiz, Argument Essay, and my group's Comparative Issue Project is due Friday. I so regret asking to go first :/

Well I don't know what else to blog; oh! I did watch the movie "1984" last night! It was so creepy! It defiantly wasn't one of my favorite '80s movies!!!! The music scared me the most, I blame being in band! If anyone else has a chance to watch, take it! It's worth it!

BOLD!!!!

In our argument essays, should our title at the top be in bold or not? In the example that was given in class the title is not bold, but on a example from the Internet it is. What did other people do?

WTB? (What the blog?)

SSSOooooooooooooooo....
I'm not sure what to blog...
Hope this helps.

1984 is a good book!  Lots of connections!

email

I just got a school email address! It's kreip@shelby.k12.mi.us
Or you can use the address I gave today during class it's: patriciakreilick@gmail.com

CQD

So, I'm really confused about the schedule. Is our 1984 quiz tomorrow or Tuesday? The calendar says Tuesday, but I remember Ms. Stariha saying something about Monday?? Help, please?

About my Argument Essay

Ms. Stariha,

I've found it hard to stay within the 3-5 page range for this paper since my topic is so broad. I was wondering if it can be longer than 5 pages. I know this may be a stupid question, but I don't know if there is anything for me to cut out to make it shorter if need be. It will probably be about 5 and a half pages (not including my Works Cited page) after I have finished editing it. Also, are we emailing the paper to you or just printing it and bringing it to class. Or both?