As students have been preparing for the New York State English Comprehensive Regents, I decided to change up the school year a bit and spent an entire quarter on short stories. We dissected several works of literature while covering the elements of a short story. Some fun stories we read were: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor, The Cask of Amontillato by Edgar Allan Poe and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. This was a fun way to cover literary elements, characterization and critical thinking skills.
During the spring semester of 2008, Miss Stahler and her middle school class began to learn how to take a good photograph. First, we studied a slide show to find the most common mistakes photographers make (i.e. over and under exposure, blurry action pictures, etc.) Second, we learned 6 main categories to think about when taking a picture. They are:
7. Composition – use of lines, focus, zoon, rule of two-thirds.
8. Light – light source, temperature, flash, time of day.
9. Color – use of color, light, emotion, black and white.
10. Landscape – composition, framing, zoom, perspective, foreground, proportions.
11. People – light, lens, portrait, children, flash.
12. Being ready – motor drive, vantage point, shutter lag, preparation.
Each week the students would bring in their digital camera and we would learn a new part of the outline and then practice taking a picture using the topic of the day. Here are some pictures from our end of the year slide show. Enjoy.
During the spring semester of 2008, Miss Stahler and her high school class began to learn how to take a good photograph. First, we studied a slide show to find the most common mistakes photographers make (i.e. over and under exposure, blurry action pictures, etc.) Second, we learned 6 main categories to think about when taking a picture. They are:
1. Composition – use of lines, focus, zoon, rule of two-thirds.
2. Light – light source, temperature, flash, time of day.
3. Color – use of color, light, emotion, black and white.
4. Landscape – composition, framing, zoom, perspective, foreground, proportions.
5. People – light, lens, portrait, children, flash.
6. Being ready – motor drive, vantage point, shutter lag, preparation.
Each week the students would bring in their digital camera and we would learn a new part of the outline and then practice taking a picture using the topic of the day. Here are some pictures from our end of the year slide show. Enjoy.
During the fall semester of 2007, Miss Stahler and a group of high school students set off on a baking journey, They learned baking and cooking vocabulary. They made frozen drinks, apple pie, Jello slices and more. The students were at the edge of their seat each week waiting to find out what they would bake next. Our elective was most popular during lunch time when the other HS students helped taste test and grade our desserts.
This year’s senior class was constantly changing in size. I need to recognize the few brave souls who stuck it out the whole year to earn an additional math class credit or an additional regent for their advance regent diploma. I am so proud of them for their effort and continued hard work throughout their last year of HS working up until the day before their regent in order to be prepared. Thank you!
On Wednesday, May 28, 2008, the junior class enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at Great Adventure. We left early in the morning and arrived just as the park was opening. Here are several rides we enjoyed the most – Scream Machine, three times in a row!; El Toro – long line, but short waiting time!; the Congo Rapids, never knew who would get soaked next!; and Batman the Ride – short enough line to get one last ride in before leaving the park. A few students were even able to see the Safari animals. Watch out for sleeping lions, I mean rocks that look like sleeping lions. Finally, we ended our time at McDonalds where we enjoyed the dollar menu with the pocket change we will had remaining from the expensive park souvenirs.
This year we continued our studies of Algebra, most students looking to earn the advanced regent diploma or the advanced regent diploma with distinction. This two year course will be continued in their senior year when they learn trigonometry and statistics in order to pass the Math B regent in June 2009.
This year we studied weather and climate in the fall semester where we learned about global climate changes and US regions and how weather affects defferent parts of our country. In the spring semester we learned about magnets and electricity and how the combination of the two brings power into our homes on a daily basis.
This year over 81% of the class took and passed the Math A regent in January! Most will retake it again in June 2008 in order to gain high ranking scores for their advance regent diploma or regent diploma with distinction. I am very proud of all of their hard work in error finding, formula memorizing and vocabulary review.
This year was the first year the 9th grade math classes were expected by NYS to take a math regent at the end of their freshman year of HS. Miss Stahler’s class worked very hand all year long to understand new topics while retaining and reviewing past math knowledge. Ms. Stahler