Nature--Teacher, Soother, Healer (journal # 1--second 1/4)

The Romantic artists of the 19th century viewed nature differently from their neoclassic predecessors. To the Romantics, Nature wasn't just an orderly scientific force to be studied and predicted. The Romantics worshiped the beauty, the strangeness, the evolution, and the wildness of Nature. They looked to Nature as a teacher (To a Waterfowl), as a soother (I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud), and as a healer (Thanatopsis).

So I ask you, neither a neoclassic nor a romantic, to tell me what has been your experience with Mother Nature? Choose to write about one of these four topics. As always, the required length is 25 blog lines or 200 words on the blog; a page to page and a half double-spaced typed if NOT posted on the blog.

1. I learned a lesson from this incident with nature
2. This "communion with nature" solaced me
3. This "communion with nature" exhilarated me
4. I have no such natural story. I prefer the indoors, and I'll tell you why

Need some brainstorming help??? Think about your experience with animals, maybe your pets. The animals around your house. Your vacations at the beach, camping in the mountains, or just hiking through the woods. Nothing is too insignificant to write about. Remember, Wordsworth wrote about viewing a field a daffodils (see link) how can still dance with the daffodils.

Good luck.

Red vocabulary sentences unit 3

Using the vocabulary word that you have been assigned, write a single, GOOD sentence using the word in context. Give a context clue to the meaning of word within the sentence. Your test will be comprised of the GOOD sentences that appear in your class's blog comments. Here is an example of a GOOD sentence:

e.g. We were surprised to see our friend John, who is normally down-to-earth, act in such a pretentious manner when he attended the formal dinner (don't worry about italicizing your word).

Yellow vocabulary sentence unit 3

Using the vocabulary word that you have been assigned, write a single, GOOD sentence using the word in context. Give a context clue to the meaning of word within the sentence. Your test will be comprised of the GOOD sentences that appear in your class's blog comments. Here is an example of a GOOD sentence:

e.g. We were surprised to see our friend John, who is normally down-to-earth, act in such a pretentious manner when he attended the formal dinner (don't worry about italicizing your word).

Blue vocabulary sentences unit 3

Using the vocabulary word that you have been assigned, write a single, GOOD sentence using the word in context. Give a context clue to the meaning of word within the sentence. Your test will be comprised of the GOOD sentences that appear in your class's blog comments. Here is an example of a GOOD sentence:

e.g. We were surprised to see our friend John, who is normally down-to-earth, act in such a pretentious manner when he attended the formal dinner (don't worry about italicizing your word).

Jim Valvano--Laugh, Cry, & Think Each Day

Here's the video of the speech that you saw in English class on Tuesday. Jim Valvano coached the North Carolina State Wolfpack to an upset victory in the 1983 NCAA men's basketball championship game. Valvano parlayed this victory with his gift of public speaking to become one of the most likable and recognizable coaches in the land. I had the pleasure of listening to Valvano speak to a group of Delaware high school basketball coaches and All Stars. Leaving the Dover banquet hall that night, I thought to myself, "This guy is going to be a world shaker." Or something like that.

His North Carolina State teams would never come close to matching the success of the 1983 season. Then came the news that Valvano had developed cancer.

Only ten years after his national championship, his body ravaged with cancerous tumors, Valvano was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY's (ESPN's annual BESTS). Valvano, an inspirational coach, was probably even a better public speaker. This speech will make you laugh, cry, & think, three things, that according to Valvano, you should do every day.

The Jimmy V Foundation was founded in his honor. It's still active and important today, raising millions of dollars to fight cancer. Dick Vitale, once a close friend of Valvano, is a main P.T. Player in the battle against the insidious disease.

Listen to the speech again, and tell me what you can learn from the words of this brave man.

clipped from www.americanrhetoric.com

The Pursuit of Happyness

No need to comment on the misspelled word in the title. If Chris Gardner wants to spell it this way, he gets a pass from us at Schoolsville. In 1981 Gardner lost his wife and lots of money when he invested the family nest egg in a invention bound for failure. Gardner, however, did not give up so easily. He worked his way up from the lowest rung of the social ladder by outworking his stock broker colleagues at Dean Witter and becoming a millionaire. His story was portrayed in a movie called, The Pursuit of Happyness. Will Smith played Gardner.

Investigate, if you like, Gardner's amazing story at his Web site. Check out what Will Smith thinks of Gardner in this YouTube video. Smith says that Gardner "personified the American Dream."

This is a true story of the American Dream made a reality.

Spartan Trivia

Great job on the Spirit Day trivia contest! The yellow class gets 3 bonus points. The other classes will get a chance to earn extra credit by answering Spartan Trivia on the upcoming Colonial Lit test. The questions will be taken from the October 11 post. The correct answers can be found in the comments.

The Journal--Let Me Make Myself Perfectly Clear

On OCTOBER 26 (a change from the 25th), I will collect your "writing journal." In a folder, I want you to include PRINTED COPIES of all the journal writings assigned. You must still turn in PRINTED COPIES of your writings, even if you've already posted some of them on the blog. You might want to indicate journal responses that were formerly posted on the blog, since blog responses (200 words/25 lines) might NOT be 1 to 1 1/2 pages in length (the recommended length for a non-blog journal writing). You will NOT lose credit if you indicate that your "short" response was originally a blog post. If this is all too confusing, then make sure all of your responses constitute at least a page of double-spaced writing.

Here are the journal assignments:

1. Favorite work of art (just print out what you posted on the blog, NOT your final essay)
2. Conceit
3. Falwell-Robertson summary and response
4. Be Like Ben response

Then complete any TWO of the following three:
5. Spirit Week response
6. Be Careful Where You Show Your Face
7. The American Dream

You should hand in a total of six writings, one to 1 1/2 pages long, double spaced typed. Place in a folder on which you mark your name and section color.

You will be graded MOSTLY on content, but poor writing that interferes with my understanding of your ideas will lower your grade.

The American Dream

Your final journal assignment for the first quarter is an appropriate one. You've studied the early colonists and then the early Americans. Both groups of people had visions of the greatness of America. The Puritans saw a religious "city upon a hill." The founding fathers constituted a democratic republic that would encourage other governments throughout the world to also engage in a social contract with its citizens, ensuring a protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was to be a model of government for the rest of the world.

A Frenchman, Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur, emigrated to the colonies in 1755. He married a American-born women, raised a family, and farmed in Orange County, NY. Life was going well until the Revolutionary War broke out. Unwilling to choose between the revolutionary and the Tory cause, de Crevecoeur fled to England, leaving his wife and children. When the are ended, he published a book in 1782, Letters From an American Farmer, adapting the pseudonym of an American farmer, James, and writing back in epistles to his brethren in England. The book told of the promise of the good life in America; it is one of the first written statements of the American Dream.

The notion of the American Dream (even today) represents a romanticized ideal of the hope and promise of America. For de Crevecoeur, the American Dream promised these new and exciting gifts to all who dared to call themselves, Americans:

1. America is an asylum, a refuge for Europe's poor and downtrodden
2. The American society is a melting pot of people from all over Europe
3. The American economy rewards the hard worker with a chance to get ahead.
4. The American is free to worship as he pleases, and religion demands little of him.
5. Americans are the western pilgrims, bringing the best of Europe to this new land, and making it better. Americans are looked upon as leaders of the world.

Throughout America's history, there is no doubt that the American Dream has been realized by millions of successful people. There is also little doubt that reality of America did not always live up to the Dream. Undoubtedly, millions of people experienced failures, too--nightmares, not dreams.

Look over the five aspects of deCrevecouer's Dream listed above. Write about how one of those ideas either rewarded OR failed an individual. Ideally, I'd like you to relate a personal story about a relative or someone you closely know. However, if you absolutely cannot think of someone, you are free to write about someone else. In that case, provide your information source at the end of your writing.

Be Careful Where You Show Your Face

Read, summarize, and respond to this article (click on link) that deals with the dangers of hanging out in on line cyberhoods like MySpace and facebook. In addition to the issues that the article raises, you should pay attention to these on line Fiorelli rules: Do NOT post an image, a comment, a song, an e-mail, an IM, a profile fact, etc. anything on line which you would not want attributed to your good name. Not even as a joke. Unless you're really computer savy, all of your on line activity can be traced back to you. So be yourself, without trying too hard to let everyone know how cool you are.

Hey, you can be sensible, courteous, and computer cool at the same time, as evidenced by this ultra-hip blog site of mine. See, you're chuckling at my ironic, but equally lame, attempt at humor. That's how we roll at Schoolsville.

St. Mark's Trivia

OK, yellow class. Here's your chance to earn 3 bonus points for all of your classmates. If you correctly answer (as a class) at least 20 of these trivia questions, you will all earn 3 extra credit points.

Feel free to use the Internet to search for many of these answers.

Post CORRECT answers only (no WILD guesses). Check the comments to see what questions need to be answered.

1. What bishop began the building of St. Mark's?

2. Why did Bishop Thomas Mardaga choose St. Mark as our school's patron saint?

3. Name at least six current teachers whom Mr. Fiorelli taught at St. Mark's.

4. Name the only two faculty and staff members who have been here since Day 1.

5. What St. Mark club has won the Columbia University Award for prose and poetry?

6. Name at least four married couples who teach/work at St. Mark's.

7. What are the first four lines of the alma mater?

8. Johnny Neel helped to co-write the alma mater. What famous rock band did he later play with?

9. Who was the first principal of St. Mark's?

10. Who is the library named after?

11. Since St. Mark's was not completed when classes began, at what school did students first attend classes?

12. What alumni teacher scored the first goal in the history of St. Mark's soccer?

13. Who was the first baseball coach at St. Mark's? (He's still working here)

14. Name the three assistant principals at St. Mark's.

15. Name at least one St. Mark grad who played pro football.

16. Name at least one St. Mark grad who played on Broadway.

17. Name at least one St. Mark grad who played pro baseball.

18. What were the three final choices for the St. Mark's mascot?

19. Name at least one faculty/staff member who graduated from the Class of 73, the first graduating class?

20. What does the Latin phrase, "alma mater," mean?

21. What St. Mark's teacher is training for the next Olympic Games?

22. What St. Mark's grad is the Lieutenant Governor of the state of Delaware?

23. What St. Mark's teacher was State Basketball Player of the Year twice?

24. Name at least three St. Mark's teachers who are Sallies, graduates.

25. What club at St. Mark's works with the Delaware Foundation Reaching Citizens with Cognitive Disabilities?

26. The date December 18, 2007, marks the anniversary of what important St. Mark's event?

Spirit Week--I Don't Get It

NOTE: Many of these ideas have been posted before in Schoolsville after the Spirit Weeks in 2005 and 2006. I have edited the entry to reflect some slight changes in my opinion that resulted from some excellent student responses to my blog last year. Here goes the 2007 edition:

I have to admit that I don't understand St. Mark's Spirit Week. I'm don't understand how dressing up like Sesame Street characters or Bourbon Street revelers translates into school spirit. I'm likewise confused about some of the other Spirit Week traditions into which students pour lots of time, effort, and money during the week. Before I write another line, I will also be first to admit that I represent the vast minority opinion. Probably 98% of the student body (the other 2% populate the top part of the gym bleachers during school assemblies) would disagree with me. So would most teachers. Ones who have spirit, anyway. I know that I'm one of the few who doesn't get it, even though I also know that with 28 years of experience at St. Mark's, I have lots of Spartan pride.

Ducking behind by my admission of ignorance, I will again post my rhetorical rant that will go no further than this blog. Not that I could change anything anyway. This Week is way bigger than I or anyone else, for that matter. The genie is out of the bottle (that's a metaphor, you see).

My first point is this. Why does Spirit Week need a special theme other than rooting for good ol' St. Mark's? How's this for a theme that we could use EVERY year? It's called St.Mark's School Spirit. I know how creative and talented our students are. Even with so "limited" a theme, I'm completely confident that our students would outdo themselves coming up with novel ideas year after year, all in celebration of St. Mark's. I'd like to see Spirit Week spent in the education, honoring, and cheering of St. Mark's history, tradition, and ongoing commitment to excellence.

Instead of singing silly class songs, how about conducting some school sing-alongs? Couldn't each class make up its own St. Mark's Spirit Song? In addition, couldn't we sing two school songs that many schools (schools with SCHOOL spirit) traditionally rally around. Those songs would be our alma mater and a real St. Mark's Fight Song.

That's right, a real St. Mark's Fight Song. Students should WANT one. College and professional athletic fight songs are immensely popular these days. Fly, Eagles, Fly. Hail to the Victors (Michigan). Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame. Our Pep Rally could begin with a rousing Spartan Fight Song, with the St. Mark's band cranking it up, the cheerleaders leading the singing, the dance team in step on the floor. If I were a St. Mark's student with an ounce of musical talent, I'd be composing a fight song.

Could you ever envision ending our Pep Rally with a proud, dignified, rendition of the St. Mark's Alma Mater ? Go to a college football game. Watch 100,000 rabid Penn State fans or 25,000 Delaware fans grow serious as the first strains of their alma mater are heard. They're proud to stand together to sing their alma mater. Before you students graduate, my hope is that all of you will realize the special significance of attending St. Mark's when you sing words like, "Winds of time whisper on, now the foundation's laid strong" and "Friendships remain as a sign that we are linked to St. Mark's through time."

Hopefully this spirit will encourage more of you to attend the homecoming football game. Imagine a spirited football game day. The bleachers at St. Mark's packed with cheering STUDENTS, who, surprisingly, are not at home resting up for the dance. With every Spartan point scored, the band, cheerleaders, and fans could launch into the fight song. Think about it. What a great unifying, SCHOOL tradition. You see, it's not just about supporting the football team. Athletic competition gives us is a chance to cheer on and cheer with our band, our cheerleaders, our friends, and our schoolmates. Homecoming Day should be a celebration of being a Spartan.

So do we throw out all of the traditions of Spirit Week? No, not necessarily. Let's keep some dress-down days (but what's with Pajama Day, and carrying around stuffed animals? What's that have to do with spirit?) I'd like to see St. Mark's Color Days, every day, with the wearing the Green and Gold throughout the week and to the all of the athletic events. Wear your Green and Gold team uniform, club shirt, band hoodie, whatever. As long as it's Green and Gold.

As the Beach Boys would say, let's "be true to your SCHOOL" this year at the Pep Rally. Every year I'm told how the Spirit Week and the Pep Rally bring the classes together. This may be true. However, I often see just as much evidence of the SCHOOL spirit being torn apart. Last year 11th graders destroyed many senior signs. Negative cheering has been so prevalent in the past that rules against booing other classes had to be instituted during the pep rally. Still, students devise ways to mock those in other classes in support of their own grade.

I told you that this would be a rant. I also admitted to being in the small minority of those who don't enjoy the entire week of fun and games. To respond, take a clear position, and then back up your opinion with some logical reasons. You can agree with me (not the popular side, of course) or dispute my position.

Whatever side you take, I want to see you applauding, not jeering, the class that wins the Spirit Stick on Thursday. I want to see you at the football game on Saturday, cheering, not criticizing, those competing and performing on the field.

Extra credit if you post before next Wednesday. However, EVERYONE must respond to this for their writing journal.

Blue Class Vocabulary Sentences

Using the vocabulary word that you have been assigned, write a single, GOOD sentence using the word in context. Give a context clue to the meaning of word within the sentence. Your test will be comprised of the GOOD sentences that appear in your class's blog comments. Here is an example of a GOOD sentence:

e.g. We were surprised to see our friend John, who is normally down-to-earth, act in such a pretentious manner when he attended the formal dinner (don't worry about italicizing your word).

Yellow Class Vocabulary Sentences

Using the vocabulary word that you have been assigned, write a single, GOOD sentence using the word in context. Give a context clue to the meaning of word within the sentence. Your test will be comprised of the GOOD sentences that appear in your class's blog comments. Here is an example of a GOOD sentence:

e.g. We were surprised to see our friend John, who is normally down-to-earth, act in such a pretentious manner when he attended the formal dinner (don't worry about italicizing your word).

Red Class Vocabulary Sentences

Using the vocabulary word that you have been assigned, write a single, GOOD sentence using the word in context. Give a context clue to the meaning of word within the sentence. Your test will be comprised of the GOOD sentences that appear in your class's blog comments. Here is an example of a GOOD sentence:

e.g. We were surprised to see our friend John, who is normally down-to-earth, act in such a pretentious manner when he attended the formal dinner (don't worry about italicizing your word).