Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am excited to have your child in my class this semester for Communication and Literacy. On the docket for this term is an array of narrative writing, some new lenses for literature, public speaking, and personal growth through teamwork and independent projects. This class includes many long term projects, some fun texts and hopefully a few laughs. Already we had the chance to stretch our minds through riddles, work in teams to create common understandings and get to know one another a little bit. We will begin the term with a personal narrative unit. We will study storytellers and become storytellers, ourselves. Then, we will study mythology, graphic novels, archetypes, heroes, and villians. There is a full semester independent project, which students will be planning and executing on their own, and a final public speaking unit. One of the first lessons on communication for the semester will be about how to send professional and appropriate emails. It is important to me that students take the lead on their learning and reach out to me for help. Part of the goal of this class is to challenge students to become their own advocate. Simultaneously, my primary partners in student growth are the people who know them best. Therefore, I ask that you fill out a quick (I promise, it’s actually quick!) survey about the best form of communication between yourself and teachers. I try to be as accessible as parents to students and parents, and use all of the methods in the survey, but if you have any pressing questions, the quickest way to reach me is via email at [email protected]. To keep up to date about assignments and homework, please join our google classroom as a guardian, and feel free to check iParent as assignments are graded and posted. Please take a couple of minutes to fill out the survey, which can be found here (https://goo.gl/forms/ctQos1c2uQ2lgzPE2). I can’t wait for a successful semester of learning and growing. All the best, Mr. Diamond
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Dear Parents and Guardians,
After getting through the transition into high school in term one, term two was all about getting down to business. The students made major strides in their reading and writing and presenting this term, including tackling many daunting tasks with poise and gusto. In English 9 we faced some of our hardest texts in the curriculum, most notably, Romeo and Juliet. Although the language seemed foreign, at first, by acting out the scenes and making our way through the text slowly, we unpacked some important messages and themes. Students wrote about symbols in the famous “balcony scene”, presented their own pitch for an updated version of the play, and even filmed their own scenes! In Communication and Literacy, students started focusing more heavily on their 20 Time projects this term, especially as their TED talks loomed. By the end of the semester, each student wrote and presented a speech about their experiences with their independent project, including reflective looks at the major ups and downs of the long term project. The speeches almost eclipsed our introduction to Graphic Novels and our look at Superman. Students became experts in identifying and analyzing motifs and allusions, especially when they connected to archetypes. They took that knowledge and set off to create their own superheros, each one with the power to address a major social issue of our time. With that, the semester of Communication and Literacy is over. I am so proud of the hard work and creative thinking that happened in those classes. It was a pleasure to have these students and I look forward to seeing all that they accomplish. In English, we have another semester to look forward to, where we will be studying memoirs, role models, and social activism through our next two texts, Night, by Elie Wiesel, and To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I am looking forward to another excellent term! All the best, Mr. Diamond |