Hey Parents!

January 5th

2010-01-05T13:52:00.001-08:00

Happy new year and thanks for checking in for the latest Hey Parents! update. The beginning of the year always makes for kind of a crazy time here at the high school--vacation's over, things feel like they should be starting anew, but really, the semester is just about to end. It can be a stressful time for students--finals, projects, grades, etc. To help everyone manage these next few weeks, I thought I'd give an update as to where we are at and what you can expect to see your student working on.

Sophomore students are at an interesting spot--we finished A Separate Peace right before break, read an outside reading novel (click here for details) over vacation, wrote a quick in-class essay, and are just about to start tackling Sophocle's Oedipus Rex and Antigone, two classic Greek plays that deal with tragedy, murder, a little mystery, and well...a few other things (if you know Oedipus, you probably get what I am getting it). The plays are a pretty quick read (the majority of which will be done in class) and students will get a chance to wrap their heads around these classic pieces of literature. It makes for a nice, quick unit that should probably take us about 2.5 weeks. From there, it will be on to another novel--most likely Their Eyes Were Watching God...but more about that in the next update.

In addition, you should also be seeing your student regularly studying his/her vocab and lit terms. As explained in an earlier update, this is a cumulative program--with about 20+ words/terms being added each week. So, there should be lots of flash cards and regular reviewing for each weekly quiz (Fridays). These quizzes and terms can definitely be tricky, so the more help reviewing you can offer, the better. We are about 200+ words into it already (click here for the list) and most students are doing great and boosting their vocabulary and familiarity with some pretty complicated literary terms. So, get involved and see if your student can tell you the difference between synecdoche and metonymy.

In Creative Writing, now is the time where--if one's not careful--things can start to get a bit frenzied. While the course is winding down, the end of the semester demands a lot in the last few weeks. There's still 2 major pieces to be written; an issue of the class anthology, Floodplain, to be put together; a handful of smaller assignments; an outside reading book to finish; and a final reading to do in front of the class. Be on the lookout for regular Creative Writing homework and for your student to be plugging away at an outside reading book while at home. Although I say it every update, the work being produced by these students is phenomenal, if you have yet to get a chance to read anything they've written, be sure to do so...you'll definitely be impressed.

Thanks for checking in. Expect the online grades to be constantly changing over the next few weeks--there's quite a bit of work to turn in and even more to plug into the system.

Thanks for staying involved,

Eric Goldhammer
LA Teacher &
Department Chair
Mount Si High School

November 13

2009-11-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Just a quick reminder that parent conferences start next Friday and run through the following week. Hope to see everyone there.

Below is the official information/schedule from the district:

PARENT INFORMATION:

The following schedule provides an opportunity for parents to meet with teachers and to review first quarter progress of their student. Additionally, parents will be given instructions for accessing on-line teacher grading for those instructors using this system.

Teachers will be available in the Mount Si High School Commons and Library areas. Parents will have the following dates and times to visit with teachers according to the last name of your student.

FRIDAY, November 20 LAST NAMES: O-U 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM

MONDAY, November 23 LAST NAMES: V-Z 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM

TUESDAY, November 24 LAST NAMES: H-N 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM

TUESDAY, November 24 LAST NAMES: A-G 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Parents may show up at any time according to last names at the above noted conferences. Please Note: If you are unable to attend the assigned section above, you may attend an alternate session. However, we are hoping to keep these changes to a minimum. Thank you.

STUDENT INFORMATION:
Students will have early releases and classes on the following schedule:

Friday, November 20 Periods 0,1,2,3 Release Time 10:48 AM
Monday, November 23 Periods 7,4,5,6 Release Time 10:48 AM
Tuesday, November 24 Periods 0,1,2,3 Release Time 10:48 AM
Wednesday, November 25 Periods 7,4,5,6 Release Time 10:48 AM

Students are reminded not to be on campus during the parent conferences unless under the supervision of a staff member. Teachers need to be available for the parent conferences.

October 13

2009-10-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well, with about 1.5 months down, I figured it was definitely time for a Hey Parents! update. As most of you know, this section of the website is dedicated to helping those folks at home stay a bit more connected with what's going on in class and with your particular student. So let's get to it:

In LA 10 Honors, you've probably noticed that your student is feeling a bit more relieved having just turned in his/her final essay on our 1st novel, All Quiet on the Western Front. This assignment marks the first, official "big" writing assignment for the year and from what I've seen thus far, most students are off to a great start. The structured writing program the high school has adopted continues to prove it's worth and this year's students show a commanding knowledge of the basics they need in order to tackle the formal, literary analysis style essays we'll be working on this year. If you have yet to sit down with your student and ask him/her what this whole "structured writing thing" is all about, be sure to do so. My guess is that you've heard them refer to Concrete Details, Commentary, and Chunks over the course of the last year and having them explain the basics of some of this language and terminology could be really useful in helping to engage them in discussions about what's going on in all of their classes.

As for what's next, today marked a big transition away from All Quiet and all of its relevant thematic discussions about war, human nature, and how we-- as engaged citizens--fit into that dialogue to something a bit older but by no means less demanding--Shakespeare. That's right, starting this week, your student will be plunging into the language of The Bard himself as we start tackling The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Expect to see your student at home, working with the play itself, memorizing lines, and diving into all of the various thee's and thou's of Shakespeare's pen as we work through the play and explore the role of power, corruption, and loyalty not only in ancient Rome--but also as it applies to more modern times and themes. Students tend to respond very well to Caesar...especially after listening to those two whiners Romeo and Juliet complain about heartbreak for nearly an entire semester last year. While the bulk of the reading of Caesar will be done in class, students should be busy at home the next few weeks responding to the play and drawing on the text itself to support their interpretations.

Oh! and if you haven't noticed a stack of flash cards and regular, weekly studying for vocabulary and literary terms quizzes...be sure to ask 'em about that.

Now, for Creative Writing. Students in my Creative Writing class have also just gone through a transition of sorts as we have recently finished our first unit on setting and place and are just beginning to work on character. Over the past few weeks, your student has been hard at work observing the world around them, looking for the small details, and capturing it all in his/her writing. You may have noticed them working on a wide variety of assignments--writing about place, inventing fictional settings, and certainly working on a little assignment called the Fruitjournal (if you don't know about this one, be sure to ask 'em about it...for those who do, don't worry...it's almost over). Many parents are surprised to discover that their student is writing creatively virtually every day and sharing his/her work in front of the class on a daily basis...if you have yet to see anything your student has come up with, be sure to ask if you can take a peek--there's some incredible talent in this class and I guarantee you'll be blown away at what your student has come up with.

And with that, I think we'll wrap up this little update. Stay tuned (about once a month) for the latest news and as always, don't hesitate to be in touch if any questions or issues come up. Thanks for being involved!

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher &
Department Chair
Mount Si High School

Welcome! 2009-2010

2009-08-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Hey Parents! and the first, official newsletter of the year. My guess is that if you've found this part of the website, you've probably had a little chat with your student about the first few days of school and his/her homework--which is to get you to review the syllabus (click here), check out the website, sign a little form saying you've done just that, and hopefully get you talking a bit about the class and what he/she should be expecting this year.

So, let's talk about the website...by now you've most likely had a chance to poke around a bit and explore some of the tools that are available to help you better stay up-to-date with what's happening in the classroom and with your student. Essentially, that's exactly why penguinsandtoast.com exists--there's daily updates, links to assignments, useful handouts, etc. that are all designed to make life a bit easier, organized, and manageable for both you and your student. I'm a firm believer that parent/guardian involvement is directly tied with student achievement and I am working to make that as streamlined as possible for you...in short, the more you know about your student's Language Arts experience, the more accountable he/she will have to be. The website's designed to help everyone out with exactly that.

In addition to checking The Daily Post section of the website as often as you need, be sure to check back here at the Hey Parents! section of the website semi-regularly (I typically try to write an update at least once a month) as I usually use this forum as a way to keep everyone informed regarding major assignments, upcoming events, what to be looking for at home, ways to get involved, as well as specifics regarding each of the courses I teach.

If any questions come up, be sure to let me know. I am definitely looking forward to a great year!

Thanks for being involved,

Eric Goldhammer

LA Teacher &

Department Chair

Mount Si High School

Reminder: Spring Conferences

2009-03-31T13:59:00.001-07:00

It's definitely a bit late...but here's a quick reminder about this week's upcoming Spring conferences. I hope to see a lot of you there. Here's the official info:

Spring Parent Teacher Conferences

Mount Si High School will be conducting spring parent teacher conferences on Tuesday, March 31, 2009. The conference schedule will run from;
3 PM to 7 PM

The conference procedure will be similar to that of our Fall Conference format. The priority for this 4 hour session will be the following;

Senior Progress;
Students in New Semester Courses; and
Struggling Students

Mark your calendars for this special opportunity.

February 6

2009-02-06T08:53:00.001-08:00

Hey Parents!

Well, 1st semester is over and the final half of the year is about a week underway. 1st semester grades should be up and posted this weekend. Each class has about 1 large assignment left to posted, but other than that, grades are up to date. If you've got any questions or are looking for ways for 2nd semester to be a bit more "productive" or "smooth" for your student, be sure to drop me a line or arrange for a chat. 2nd semester is a great opportunity for students--the slate is wiped clean and there's a chance to turn some things around. For others (most!), it's just the next step in continuing to keep up the strong effort. All classes have some fantastic material to cover 2nd semester...it's definitely my favorite part of the year. So, let's get to some of it.

Right now, Sophomores are pounding their way through Zora Neale Hurston's beautiful novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. It's poetic, moving, and thought provoking. Love, romance, self discovery, the horrors of racism, soul, folklore, struggle, music, adventure...this book has it all. It even has a character named Tea Cake...and really, how can you not love something like that? In order to make up for some lost time, we've been moving through the novel at a pretty quick clip. In fact, they should be finishing it up this weekend. Next week we'll be starting an essay and there's a number of creative/fun projects that go along. Be on the look out for your student to be pretty dang busy right up until mid-winter break.

As for Creative Writing, since it's a semester class, this is most likely the first time many of you have checked out the website. Welcome! Hopefully you've had a chance to poke around the site a bit...there's a lot to check out. Besides this page however, the number one feature that parents tend to use is The Daily Post. Creative Writing--while fun--is a pretty demanding class. I've seen many a senior get a bit too excited about graduation and neglect their assignments. The Daily Post enables you to see exactly what was covered in class + any homework that was assigned + any upcoming due dates every single day. It's a great resource for both you and your student...check it often, ask them what they are working on, and make sure they are on top of it all.

Speaking of what they are working on...we are actually just about to dive in headfirst. The first week is relatively simple (course outline, syllabus, etc). But next week, we should be starting to wrap our brains around descriptive writing and begining to really break out the pencils. It should be fun...definitely a promising group. Even just after 5 days of knowing most of them, I can already tell we've got some unique voices in the class.

Finally, the Freshmen. After finishing up Animal Farm (which got way too stretched out due snow and flooding and winter break), we've finally begun our work on The Odyssey. This is definitely a fun unit. Advenure, heros, cyclops, sirens, gods and goddesses, some epic battles, some mushy love stuff...the Odyssey is great. Students will definitely begin to see some connections to other books/films/etc. that they are already familiar with. The Odyssey is essentially where the modern adventure tale began and a good portion of our work with this archetypal story is about really digging into each elemet and figuring out why we see such similar patterns and plot devices in everything from classic novels to modern films. We also tackle quite a bit on the epic tradition and how it all fits into Greek culture. Your student will defintiely finish up the story with the ability to make some pretty sophisticated connections. Be on the look out for a fairly intense creative project sometime after break (in fact, many will try to get a head start during their time off).

So, I think that about covers it. Second semester is always fun, always a busy, and always quick. Be sure to let me know if you're student could use some help or guidance juggling it all. As always, thanks for checking in and staying involved.

Eric Goldhammer
LA Teacher
Mount Si High School

January 11

2009-01-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hey Parents!

For this month's update, I thought I'd keep it relatively simple and let everyone know what to expect in the final weeks of the semester. Since December and January have turned out to be a bit of an adventure in the weather department, things are a bit skewed in each class. Also difficult is that I missed a number of days due to my father's recent passing. That means for each class, we've got a bit of catching up to do before the 30th (the newly decided end of the term). So, here's what to be looking for from your student:

Honors 10ers are definitely in a tight spot. At this time last year, we were a full unit ahead. The good news though is that over winter break, we were able to take advantage of the time off and check-off an outside reading book (click here for the choices they had). Every student selected a book, read it, did a quick assignment when they got back, and did a practice AP-style essay connecting their choice to an earlier novel from their 9th/10th grade careers. This was our first time ever doing this assignment and I am pleased to see that it turned out to be a pretty big success--everyone (well, almost everyone) read and the essays are looking pretty good. We've got some pretty insightful readers in these classes...be sure to have a chat with your student and see what they thought of their novel. All of the titles on the list are works that are starting to show up more regularly on the AP Language and Literature exams. The fact that your student now has an additional "modern classic" under their belt at the 10th grade puts them in a pretty good spot for the next couple of years.

In addition to the outside reading, Sophs are just about to jump into John Knowles' A Separate Peace. It's a fantastic novel--one of my favorites when I was in high school--about the complicated relationship between 2 prep-school roommates. There is an absolute ton to dive into this book--historical references, Biblical allusions, social commentary...it's pretty loaded and definitely makes for some great class discussions. Be on the look out for your student moving pretty quickly through this novel. Our aim is to have the entire thing wrapped up (including an essay) in about 2 weeks.

Now, for Creative Writing. This class is probably the most impacted by the days off and the irregular schedule of the past few months. Right now, these folks are juggling a couple of assignments. There is an outside reading book of their choice (be sure to ask 'em about their customized booklist) and a new character piece. The students have produced an impressive amount of work and in the final weeks of the semester, we'll be finishing off a few pieces and starting to decide what they are going to select for their final reading of the semester. If you have yet to get a chance to look at any of the pieces your student has come up with, do so--I promise you'll be impressed. This is definitely one of my most enthusiastic classes and everyone is churning out some great stuff. Our last issue of the class anthology, Floodplain has been distributed (your student has one...ask to see it) and we've only got a few weeks to put together the next...the rest of the month will certainly be busy.

Finally, Freshmen. These guys have managed to deal with the disruptions pretty well. Right before break, they finished off a big formal essay on the short story, The Scarlet Ibis (grades should be posted shortly) and now we are right in the middle of digging into George Orwell's Animal Farm. While the book is an easy read, it is by no means simple. It's message is extremely complex and it's allegorical connections to the Russian Revolution take a while to get through. It's difficult, but the good news is that your student will finish up this unit with a pretty firm understanding of some important topics--communism, socialism, totalitarianism, corruption, propaganda, etc. I love teaching this novel because we get to branch out into a bit of Social Studies and students get a better grasp on how history often connects with literature. Also interesting this year, is that because of of the snow/flooding, we are in line with some of the social studies teachers. That means while your student is studying a lot of this material in their history classes, they are seeing it all play out as they read the novel...pretty cool. Expect your student to be reading much of this short novel at home--we are about halfway through.

So, I think I'll stop there. There's a lot to tackle by the end of the month and your student will definitely be busy. If there's any questions, let me know. Hopefully the rest of the year goes uninterrupted.

Thanks for reading,

Eric Goldhammer

Language Arts Teacher

Mount Si High School

Conferences!

2008-11-19T15:13:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd remind everyone that conferences are coming this Friday and early next week. It should be a great opportunity to sit down for a chat, go over a few things, and check out your student's current standing and progress. Here's the official schedule/info from the district:

PARENT INFORMATION:
The following schedule provides an opportunity for parents to meet with teachers and to review first quarter progress of their student. Additionally, parents will be given instructions for accessing on-line teacher grading for those instructors using this system. Teachers will be available in the Mount Si High School Commons and Library areas.

Parents will have the following dates and times to visit with teachers according to the last name of your student.

FRIDAY, November 21 LAST NAMES: V - Z 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM
MONDAY, November 24 LAST NAMES: H - N 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM
TUESDAY, November 25 LAST NAMES: A- G 11:45 AM - 2:45 PM
TUESDAY, November 25 LAST NAMES: O - U 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Parents may show up at any time according to last names at the above noted conferences.
Please Note: If you are unable to attend the assigned section above, you may attend an alternate session. However, we are hoping to keep these changes to a minimum.

Hope to see everyone there!

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

October 12

2008-10-12T17:17:00.000-07:00

A quick note:

I just wanted to let everyone know that except for a few huge assignments that just came in, online grades are up to date. Sophomores just turned in their essays on All Quiet, Freshmen turned in their final work on Of Mice and Men, and the folks in Creative Writing are about to turn in their first official, final draft later this week. What this means for parents and anxious students is that while online grades are essentially up to date, they may change quite a bit over the next week or so. Here's why:

For all of my classes, grades are broken down into a number of categories. This allows me to be accurate in weighing certain assignments and making sure student achievement is not skewed in regard to one specific area. For each (LA 9, LA 10h, and Creative Writing), there is essentially a "big stuff/final drafts/essays" category that makes up 40-50% of a student's overall grade (click here for an online copy of each class' syllabus). At the beginning of the year, this can make a student's grades look a bit funky. This is because during the first quarter or so, there are simply not that many assignments in these "big" categories. That means (until more "big" assignments get plugged in) one or two assignments may end up determining 40-50% of a student's grade. While this can be a bit uncomfortable for a few weeks, the good news is that once more and more assignments get turned in and graded, the overall grade will balance out just fine. It's just the unavoidable nature of breaking classes down into categories.

I know there a few concerned students out there who are wondering how they are going to explain this all to their parents. So, here it is right from the source: I promise everything will balance out just as soon the next batch of "big assignments" get entered. One assignment at the beginning of the year will barely make a dent by the time we get to the end of the semester. Look for updates over the next few weeks and be sure to let me know if any questions come up.

Thanks,

Eric Goldhammer

LA Teacher

Mount Si High School

September 17

2008-09-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Hey Parents! and the first, official newsletter of the year. My guess is that if you've found this part of the website, you've had a chance to poke around a bit and explore some of the tools that are available to help you better stay up-to-date with what's happening in the classroom with your student. Essentially, that's exactly why penguinsandtoast.com exists--there's daily updates, links to assignments, useful handouts, etc. that are all designed to make life a bit easier, organized, and manageable. I'm a firm believer that parent/guardian involvement is directly tied with student achievement. In short, the more you know about your student's Language Arts experience, the more accountable he/she will have to be. The website's designed to help everyone out with exactly that.

So, let's talk about parent/guardian involvement. The big news is that Open House is quickly approaching. In fact, it's next week...Tuesday to be exact. All the fun starts around 6pm (although the "official start" is at 7). I'm looking forward to it and sincerely hope I get to meet most of you. Be sure to swing by room 303 to say hello.

Now, let's get into the specifics of what your lovely little scholars have been working on. For those students in LA 10 Honors, life right now is all about WWI and Erich Maria Remarque's classic novel, All Quiet in the Western Front. It's beautiful, intense, and definitely one of the more sophisticated works that they've dealt with thus far. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it...it's an extremely moving work, told from the rare perspective of a German soldier. Poetic, gruesome, engaging...it's got it all.

In addition to reading the novel, these students are also focusing a lot of their time and effort on writing. The first few weeks of this course always deal with getting each of them exactly up to speed with the writing demands Honors 10. You've probably (hopefully) seen your student at home, hard at work on writing "chunks" and reworking the phrasing of their "concrete details" and "commentary." If this all seems a bit foreign, be sure to ask them about it. While you're at it, be sure to check in and see how they are doing with their literary terms...there's about 120 of 'em.

Students in Creative Writing are also hard at work. Currently, these folks are focusing most of their efforts on descriptive writing. Right now, expect to see your student dealing with the close details of things--writing about the small, unnoticed subtleties of the world around them. There's a number of big assignments coming their way including: The Place Assignment and The Fruit Journal (both of which will be assigned next week). Already, these students have been churning out some amazing stuff...there's definitely some talented voices that are eager to be heard. If you have yet to see any of the work he/she has done thus far, be sure to ask him/her if you can take a look. I promise you'll be wow'd.

Finally, let's talk about Freshmen. The first few weeks of LA 9 are all about getting students familiar with the requirements of high school and finding out exactly what we can draw on from years past. Currently, your LA 9er is about halfway through John Steinbeck's classic, Of Mice and Men, and is beginning to fine-tune his/her writing skills to meet the demands of the high school's writing program. Most of them are off to a fine start...there's definitely some work to be done getting everyone up to par, but the good news is that much of the first quarter is devoted to exactly that. Over the next few weeks, expect your student to be dilligently working on "Blowing Chunks" (ask them to explain), vocab, as well as some at-home reading. They'll definitely be busy.

So, there it is: the first update of the year. Be sure to check back often for updates (my plan is about once a month) as well as breaking news. If you ever have any questions or concerns, be sure to let me know. Thanks for staying involved!

'til next time,

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

April 28

2008-04-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, 3rd quarter is behind us and there's only a 2 months to go until summer. I thought I'd write a quick note and let everyone know what's currently happening in class. Here's where we are at:

After surviving Mary Shelly's epic Frankenstein and the last round of the WASL, Sophomores have spent the last week working on something a bit lighter and have just finished up Oscar Wilde's hillarious "The Importance of Being Earnest." Currently, they are working on analyzing the play's greater themes and it's biting social commentary. From there (after a quick in-class essay), we'll dive into some classic Greek drama with "Oedipus" and "Antigone" and then most likely finish up the year with The Catcher in the Rye. Although the year is winding to a close, expect your student to be busy. We've still got a number of papers and projects to take care of before the year comes to an end.

Creative Writing is currently in the middle of multi-week focus on character development. In fact, right now, these students have a number of projects they are juggling. In addition to a number of smaller assignments we've been working on in class, all Creative Writing students are in the middle of an outside reading project (ask your student what he/she is reading!) and an ongoing experiment in descriptive writing--the fruit journal. Rest assured, the fruit journal is wrapping up and your student should be able to finally get rid of his/her "subject" within the next week or two. All students have been producing some fabulous work. If you have yet to read any of your student's work, be sure to ask them. I garuantee you'll be surprised. Be on the lookout for the class' forthcoming anthology, Floodplain. Issue #7 should be out within a week or so and in it, your student will have an original published work.

For Freshmen, life right now is all about Shakespeare and "Romeo and Juliet." Currently, we are about halfway through the play and should have it wrapped up in a week or so. Although we are reading the play in class, students are responsible for understanding and analyzing every line of the play--and, they are doing extremely well. With each act (there are 5 total), there is a quiz and most students are stepping up to the challenge. Expect to be hearing some Elizabethan English at home and to see some group work in the weeks to come...once we finish with the play and an essay, your student will definitely be on his/her feet doing some acting with some classmates

Thanks for checking in!...as always, be sure to let me know if any questions come up.

'til next time,

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

March 9

2008-03-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give everyone a quick reminder that the WASL is coming up this week!

For sophomore parents, this means your student will have 4 straight days of stressful testing. While they are definitely prepared, be aware that this week is especially demanding. Be on the look-out to make sure your student is getting plenty of rest, eating a solid breakfast, and finding some time to relax during this intense, high-stakes week. Pack em' a snack, sneak a note of encouragement into their pockets, buy them a lucky pencil...anything you can do to let them know you're thinking of them and that you know they'll do just fine.

For freshmen, WASL week is a bit complicated. While juniors and seniors get to sleep in for a few days, all freshmen students are still to required to be at school at the normal start time. Throughout the week, they'll be taking practice WASLs and having some info sessions with the counselors about choosing classes for next year...while not quite as stressful as the sophomore experience, they will definitely be busy.

Stay tuned for:

-Sophomore updates regarding our next book--Frankenstein

-Creative Writing's progress on their recent "setting" work

-and the LA 9ers upcoming dive into Shakespeare.

...it should be interesting.

Thanks for checking in!

Eric Goldhammer

Language Arts Teacher

Mount Si High School

February 24

2008-02-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while, but the Hey Parents! Newsletter is back up and running smoothly. Unfortunately, I ran into some computer issues right after conferences...and, as I'm sure many of you discovered, this portion of the site was down right when you yourself were trying to log on and stay up to date. The good news though, is that after switching webservers, losing a hard drive, and basically having to rebuild the innards of the website from scratch, I think everything is finally stable and ready for regular updating. Let's get to it...

Sophomores have definitely been busy. The past few weeks have

been spent analyzing novels and developing writing skills. After working for a number of weeks on A Separate Peace and Their Eyes were Watching God, we've just finished up Lord of the Flies. We've spent quite a bit of time tearing this book apart and really digging beneath its surface. There have been some great class discussions and I think I can honestly say that nearly every student is a big fan of this novel. Currently, you've probably seen your student working hard on a creative project of sorts that seeks to demonstrate a masterful understanding of symbolism in the novel. It's due later this week and should be nice opportunity for him/her to take a quick break from essay writing and produce an insightful and thought-provoking project.

...However, that is not to say that this is an extended hiatus from formal essays. Over the next few weeks, all of the LA 10ers will be diving into a WASL boot-camp that has been designed to get everyone familiar and comfortable with the upcoming reading and writing WASL next month. While the test itself should not pose too much of an obstacle for the vast majority of honors students, it is always a good idea to get some practice with high-stakes testing. From the WASL and the SATs to potential AP tests next year, this style of testing is something that your student will definitely be dealing with over the next few years. The next two weeks will be all about strategies, techniques, and practice to get them prepared for what's to come.

Next, let's move on to Creative Writing. For many of the parents and guardians from this bunch, this is most likely your first time logging on to the newsletter. Let me start by saying welcome! Since open house and conferences do very little for 2nd semester-only classes, I'll use this post as a quick introduction to the course. In a nutshell, Creative Writing is all about giving students the opportunity to branch out from the formal essay writing they are so used to and to provide students with a chance to come up with written works that are personal, expressive, and wholly unique. What I love about this class, is that for many of them, creative writing has been absent from their curriculum since middle school. While it sometimes takes a few weeks for some of them to warm up to the idea, it's absolutely fantastic to watch these students find their voice and start writing beyond the boundaries of a 5-paragraph essay.

Currently, we've been spending some time working on descriptive writing (be sure to ask your student what The Fruit Journal is all about) and are slowly making our way on to dealing with setting and place. Although it may be tough to believe, your student is writing creatively every day and sharing his/her works with the entire class...make sure you ask to see some of the pieces they've come up with--I'm blown away every day by the complexity and brilliance of what these juniors/seniors have to say.

As for Freshmen, after finishing up Animal Farm and also The Odyssey, your student has been hard at work on his/her writing as well as his/her ability to decipher, analyze, and interpret difficult texts. Our work with Animal Farm lead the class to all sorts of interesting conversations about government and human nature, and The Odyssey got everyone thinking about epic adventure and how the genre has evolved into what we see in modern films and literature. Your student is definitely an expert on the classic Greek tale and has even spent some time picking out allusions and references in modern works (namely, the Coen brothers' O' Brother Where Art Thou?...which we watched in class for its direct ties to The Odyssey).

Next, we will take about a week or two break from any specific piece of literature and jump into a new persuasive writing unit that should help strengthen everyone's writing and help your student prepare for the WASL. Although much of our class time will be spent working with this specific form of writing, I do think I should stop and mention that your student should be hard at work on 2 specific things:

-rewriting his/her Animal Farm essay (due Tuesday 2/26)

-and, working on their final Odyssey project (due Tuesday 3/4)

Both are assignments that they've had for a few weeks and are hopefully not saving until the last minute. The Odyssey project in particular is a big one and they've hopefully had a chance to get started...be sure to ask your student what his/her plans are for pulling it all together--the due date is surely bound to sneak up on a few.

As always, if there are any questions or concerns about any class, be sure to contact me directly so we can chat. Be sure to check back often (every 2 weeks or so) and thanks for reading!

Til' next time,

Eric Goldhammer

February 1

2008-02-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

Parents! Guardians!

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Hey Parents! newsletter is not dead! I've had some major issues with the program I used to build the site and have had essentially had to rebuild a few things from scratch...this section particularly, has given me quite the runaround. It's taken tons of work (especially since I don't really know too much about webdesign) to get it back and running. The good news though is that am I just now getting to the point where I can start posting under this section again. I know at conferences I promised all sorts of regular updates and info; rest assured, it will definitely be here...a little late, but it's on its way. Stay tuned in the weeks to come for 2nd semester updates and all sorts of exiting stuff. If you need to get in touch, please feel free to call or email. Again, sorry for the delay and thanks for hanging in there!

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

November 25

2007-11-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give a big thanks to all of the parents and guardians who made it to conferences last week. Out of my 150ish students, just about half had an adult (I think I met with 72 of you) who came in to chat and show support for your student. If you weren't able to make it in, not to worry...I am always available to chat by phone or email and would be more than happy to even schedule a time to meet one-on-one.

As for what to look for in the upcoming weeks, not much has changed since the last update. So, I'll be brief:

For Sophomores, expect to be hearing your student walking around the house reciting Shakespeare. All of them are required to memorize a monologue/soliloquy from Julius Caesar and only a handful of them have already taken care of it. We are about 1 week away from finishing up the play and the next few weeks should be busy. Expect another essay and some pretty entertaining theatrical work to be headed their way.

Students in Creative Writing are pretty busy. At conferences, I spoke to a number of parents about the importance of this class for seniors and how many of them sometimes "forget" that it is just as demanding as any other language arts class they have ever taken. With that said, your student has quite a bit on his or her plate this week. All of them are in the process of finishing up a major assignment (their first adventure into character work) and all of them are required to submit an original piece to the class anthology, Floodplain. This year's first issue (No. 5) should be out early next week--be sure to be on the lookout for it. So far, it's turning out to be quite nice.

Freshmen have just turned in a final draft of their first big, huge, formal, and official essay. I am in the process of reading these and writing about a bizillion comments on them. As soon as I mange to get through them all, they'll be handed back for a rewrite before a final score is entered into the gradebook. Be on the lookout for your students tweaking their essays, and meticulously going over the details in the days to come...there might even be an editing assignment that requires some parent/guardian participation.

Thanks for reading and staying involved!

'Til next time,

Eric Goldhammer

Language Arts Teacher

Mount Si High School

November 15

2007-11-15T21:32:00.000-08:00

A big thanks for tuning in once again and checking up on what's been happening in the classroom! As I'll be seeing many parents over the next few days during conferences, I'll do my best to keep things relatively brief (some of you may have noticed that brevity can often be a bit tricky for me). For those who may have missed the announcement or info put out by the school for conferences, click here for all of the details. If your "designated day" (which is set-up by last name) doesn't work out for you, do keep in mind that nobody is checking IDs at the door. Whatever works for you, works for me. It will be great to be able to sit down have a chat about how things are going with your student...I'm definitely looking forward to it.

As for some specifics about the classroom, I know it's been a few weeks since my last update. Here's what's been going on:

Freshmen are in the middle of a pretty intense essay process. After spending much of the first quarter working on honing some writing basics, students are now demonstrating their ability to put all together in their first, big, formal and official essay of the year. They are writing on James Hearst's The Scarlet Ibis (see picture of the big, red, bird on right and click here for a copy of the story) and each and every one of them is coming up with some fairly sophisticated arguments and interpretations. The process we've been going through is detailed and linear--each step leads to the another and completion is essential before moving on to the next. For most students, this works great. It means lots of points in the gradebook and not just a big looming mega-assignment with a distant due date. The trick is to spread out the work, get everyone to slow down and really think about the specifics of their writing, and gradually put together a completed piece. The results thus far have been great. At home, look for your student to be busy at the computer, drafting their essay and editing diligently. His/her first typed and printed draft is due on Monday the 19th and he or she will be turning in a revised version on the 21st. After the Thanksgiving weekend, there will be more revising before an official and final version is turned in for a grade.

Creative Writing right now is all about character development. After spending the first chunk of the quarter working on descriptive writing (I'm sure many of you are thankful that The Fruit Journal is finally over), we've shifted gears and are now working on creating original, believable, and multi-layered characters. Currently, the class is in the middle of a complex assignment where their main subject is actually another classmate--be sure to ask your student about it and get them to share what they've come up with. The more I read their work, the more I realize there are some absolutely incredible voices in this class--your student is probably one of them, make sure you get a chance to take a look at what they can do.

"Friends, Parents, Countrymen! Lend me your ears"....As you might of guessed, in LA 10 Honors, life continues to revolve around the backstabbing, betrayal, and brilliance that is Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. As of yesterday we were just a bit over halfway through and I must say that these students are really getting it. Shakespeare's language can be difficult, but the comprehension everyone has been demonstrating is impressive. In addition to reading and analyzing the play in class, expect soon to hear about your student also up in front of the class performing. Skits, some memorization, and acting are all a part of the weeks to come. If you have not yet heard your student discussing any of this, be sure to ask them how the memorization of their monologue/soliloquy is going...Be warned, this could definitely keep you entertained for a while...many parents tell me that they themselves, often have it memorized when all is said and done. When helping your student out with his or her memorization, be sure to ask them to explain the meaning of it all--you should be blown away by just how much they can tell you.

See everyone at conferences!

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

October 28

2007-10-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

Another week has gone by and students continue to be hard at work developing their skills as writers and readers. Here's what you should be looking for at home:

For Sophomores, we are just breaking ground with Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. We've spent a few days working on some background information for Shakespeare himself as well as the history of Rome and all the key events leading up to Caesar's death. In fact, the past week has felt more like a history class than a Language Arts class. Students are clearly ready to jump into the play and this week we will dive in. At home, expect students to be working on questions for each act, vocab (your student should now be studying about 80+ words a week), and the occasional assignment pertaining to the play. For the most part, the majority of the play itself will be read in class.

In Creative Writing, things are about to change course as we shift the emphasis away from setting and into character development. This section of the course is always where students really get the opportunity to start creating and inventing original works. For some, it's a bit intimidating...for others, it's what they've been waiting for since the beginning of the year. Expect to see some original pieces being finalized at home and meticulously being tweaked.

In other Creative Writing news, the quarter is nearly up (just about 2 weeks away) and that means another edition of the class anthology, Floodplain, is about to get put together. Each student is required to submit one perfected piece for publication. Be sure to ask your student what they are planning on sharing with the world.

Finally, I am expecting the parents and guardians of many Freshmen to be looking at this newsletter for the first time. That's because your student just brought home a formal practice WASL report that requires your signature and I just happened to plug the website in my letter home. Thanks so much for going over your student's scores and logging on to the site. If this is your first chance checking on penguinsandtoast, welcome. There's quite a bit to peruse and everything has been designed as a resource for parents and students to be able to stay up-to-date on what's going on in class, from home.

This week, Freshmen remain focused on writing. Currently we are in the midst of finishing up a quick run at some short stories and perfecting the process of writing well-developed and sophisticated literary paragraphs. In the next few days, expect your student to be at home typing and agonizing over how to make 1 paragraph absolutely perfect. By the end of the week they will be assigned a paragraph that truly tests their ability to meet all of the expectations we've been discussing in class. It will be their chance to prove that they are ready to jump into big, formal essays (which we will be tackling in the next few weeks).

In addition to all of this work with writing and short stories, Freshmen have also officially begun working on vocab. The way it works is like this: if an unknown, interesting, or pertinent word comes up in class, we discuss its meaning, usage, and relevance. Students add this word, its definition, and its part of speech to their vocab lists. Once we get 10-15 words, we take a quiz. The only trick is that the vocab list is cumulative. That means students need to be responsible for every word we cover this semester. Right now we've got about 15, by the end of the semester, there may be upwards of 80-100+. Each time their is a quiz, there is a chance that any word from that cumulative list may show up. So...flashcards are definitely a good idea.

Thanks for staying involved,

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

October 22

2007-10-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like Mount Si and the Snoqualmie Valley School District just can't get enough media attention these days. With students at home today because of the bus incident, I figured I'd take advantage of an empty classroom and cover some updates the local news has surely missed.

For LA 9, the next few weeks continue to be heavily focused on writing. Having just finished up Of Mice and Men (where we really worked closely on some high school writing essentials), we have now moved into some short stories and are expanding our written work to fully-developed paragraphs and, eventually, essays. One thing to keep in mind is that the writing we are working on this year is truly a large progression from where students were in middle school. Our focus now goes beyond organization and the basics and encourages sophisticated thought and and well-developed insight. So far, students are stepping up to the challenge. In fact, a few weeks ago, your student took a practice Writing WASL in class. The results are in, students did fairly well, and you should be getting a printed report (that requires a parent/guardian signature) in the days to come.

Students in Creative Writing just spent the last week working in peer groups, sharing their writing and offering guidance and commentary on their fellow classmate's drafts and original works. Believe it or not, your student is reading their creative pieces out-loud in front of their friends and colleagues. Although many were hesitant to jump into the process, all have participated and seem to be getting some solid constructive feedback on their writing.

Also, and in case you are getting a bit concerned with the moldy bag of nastiness your student is claiming to be a project for creative writing...don't worry! The Fruit Journal is going strong and nearing it's end stages. 2-3 weeks and you will finally be able to get rid of the toxic waste that you keep trying to throw out.

LA 10 Honors is gradually making the transition from one book about war to another book about war. In the next few days, expect your student to be in full Shakespearian mode as we jump into Julius Caesar, complete with betrayals, assassinations, and full-fledge battles. We should be able to make some good and sophisticated connections between the reasons for fighting in All Quiet on the Western Front and the reasons laid out in Caesar.

In addition to getting ready for Shakespeare, LA 10 students also just finished up a practice Writing WASL. They took two of these last year and the idea is simply to get them as familiar with the test as possible before the dive into the real thing later this Spring. Expect results from last week's assessment to make their way home in the weeks to come.

'Till next time,

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

October 12

2007-10-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

The response that I've been recieving on the Hey Parents! newsletter has been fantastic. From all the emails I've recieved (and they keep rolling in everyday), it's been remarkably clear that parents/guardians like it and want more. I'll do my best to post an update every other week or so. Here's a quick one:

The big news for all classes has to do with writing. In all three--LA 10 Honors, Creative Writing, and LA 9--every student has just turned in (or is about to turn in) a major writing assignment. The LA10ers just finished their All Quiet essays, Creative Writing is in the process of finalizing their Place Assignments (due Monday 10/15!), and Freshmen did some great work on Of Mice and Men. If you haven't asked your student about their writing, do so! Make them read something to you, help out as an editor, or simply encourage them to share their main ideas...the more they talk/think/reflect on their writing, the better it becomes.

Stay tuned for all sorts of new and exciting things, all three classes are moving into new units next week. LA 9 will be diving into some great short stories (eventually leading up to their first, formal essay of the year), Creative Writing will begin some work on character developement, and LA 10 is headed to ancient Rome with Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. It should be fun...

'Til next time,

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

October 7

2007-10-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the great feedback regarding the Hey Parents! newsletter. It's nice to see so many people using the website and staying involved! Here's a quick little update on what you should be looking for with your student:

For LA 9, there's a couple things to focus on. The first is the practice writing WASL your student just finished last week. Mount Si's Language Arts department is now in it's 4th (maybe 5th) year of giving students the unique opportunity to go through a practice WASL experience. The idea is simple: the more practice they get with the test, the better they will most likely do when they get to the real thing. To make it work, a formal test environment is created for about 3 days (the WASL writing test takes about 3 hours), students are given an actual WASL prompt from a past year's test, and students are required to go through the entire process exactly as they would for the real thing (brainstorming, drafting, editing, etc). When it's all over, the LA department scores the essays, computes the results, and distributes to each student an extremely useful breakdown of their scores, how they did in each graded category, and an estimate on whether or not their essay is up to WASL standards. Before they actually take the test in the Spring of their Sophomore year, they will have gone through 3 of these practice WASLs. Since the department has begun this practice, our writing WASL scores have continued to rise (last year we hit about a 92% pass rate on the actual test). Be on the lookout for your student's printed report...we should have them out (w/ a required parent signature) in a few weeks.

The other big freshman news also has to do with writing. All freshmen are just about to turn in a big ol' packet of work. It's called the Of Mice and Men Final Chunks Portfolio and can be considered the culminating project for everything we've been doing since the start of school. The assignment is to pick 10 (out of a possible 15) thought-provoking questions from Of Mice and Men and respond to them in the formal 'chunk' format we've been working on the past few weeks. The portfolio consists of 10 completed organizers (which guide students through the process of forming a solid chunk) and a final-draft, typed version of their completed work. It's pretty large assignment, hopefully you've seen them hard at work. After a day of editing in class, the finals will be due on Tuesday. If your student has not explained to you what chunks are all about, you should get them to...they work great for formal writing and will be a part of their writing experience for the next 4 years of high school.

In Creative Writing, things continue to move steadily forward. After spending a few weeks focusing on detailed writing and how authors often use vivid details to get readers to read between the lines, we've jumped into a few assignments. Already, your student has turned in an Open Letter (an ongoing, monthly assignment) and have started two others: The Fruit Journal and The Place Assignment. From what I've seen so far, the Fruit Journals are off to an impressive start. A good chunk of the class had entirely way too much fun picking out their fruits and the writing they have shown me is impressive and detailed. And yes, in case you were wondering, the picture on the left is one of our student's chosen subjects. I think it's called a Buddha's Hand...and yes, I agree that it's pretty disturbing.

As for The Place Assignment, it should be interesting to see how these end up. The assignment is relatively simple (click here to see the actual guidelines): students are supposed to pick a place (any place they know intimately will do) and capture the essence of it in 2-3 pages. We've been reading a number of examples of authors essentially doing this same thing and from the work I've seen so far, students are definitely on the right track to pulling this off in their own writing. Be sure to ask them where they are headed with it. If anyone is interested in digging into some of these descriptive works, I highly recommend Tim Egan's The Good Rain or Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire--both are great books and we've been looking at excerpts from both for inspiration.

And finally, there's the Sophomores. I'll keep the notes for them relatively short. All LA 10ers are in the middle of their first official, formal essay. It's on All Quiet on the Western Front and the goal of it is to allow them the opportunity to demonstrate their sophisticated understanding of the novel in a written form. I'll be honest, the prompt is a tough one that deals with symbolism and theme and the author uses one to help the reader better understand the other (click here for the actual prompt). Students are just about to the rough draft stage and should be typing these up and printing them off at the beginning of this upcoming week. Feel free to ask them if you can take a look at it...as long as the ideas and writing remain theirs (that means parents/guardians/older siblings/etc. can't write it for them!), I'm all for them having as many editors as possible. Even better, have them read it out loud to you...I always tell them it's the best way to edit a paper. Their final draft will be due on Thursday 10/11.

I think that does it for now...

Til next time,

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School

October 1

2007-09-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first official Hey Parents! newsletter and the latest update to the penguinsandtoast.com experience. I'm sure this newsletter will continue to evolve as the year progresses, but for now, I've mainly included some simple updates as to what's being covered in each class (LA 10 Honors, Creative Writing, and LA 9) and some ideas to help get your student talking about what he/she is learning. Be sure to let me know if there's anything you'd like to see included or any simple additions I may have overlooked. Here's to round one...

First off, a big 'thanks!' to everyone for coming out last Tuesday and making open house such a big success. Out of my 5 classes, over 65 parents and guardians were able to attend and find out a bit more about what their students experience every day. All the studies show that the more students have adults involved and invested in their education, the better they do. Coming to open house, reading this letter, showing interest in your student's education are all simple steps with a huge pay off--your student's success!

As promised, the Hey Parents! newsletter has been designed for you to get even more involved. Try diving into some of these conversation starters at the dinner table and see what happens:

For LA 10 Honors, students have just finished their first novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, and are just about ready to dive into their first official essay of the year. The novel is both beautiful and horrific in its description of the 1st world war and its impact on the soldiers involved. Students have spent a lot of time thinking about war, why nations fight, and the human bonds that truly bring people together. Since the novel is told from the German perspective, a lot of thought has been given to "the other side" of things. Yet, and since our focus has mainly been on the text itself, the class has yet to dive into the current political scene or climate that define the age we are living through. It'd be interesting to see if students are finding any of the book's messages applicable to today's issues. There's a discussion in there somewhere...see where you end up.

In addition to reading, LA 10 students have already been doing quite a bit of writing--mainly short answer--in a format they began working with last year. All of the written work they've done thus far is prep for their upcoming essay on the novel which they should get assigned later in the week. Be on the lookout for students hard at work drafting thesis statements and convincing arguments as the week wears on.

I thought I'd also mention that students have vocab every week. The vocab program we use is cumulative--that is, the words from last week will continue to show up on the next week's quiz. By the end of the semester your student will have mastered and absorbed around 300 new SAT/college-prep words into their working vocabulary. If you haven't seen any yet, flashcards are definitely a good thing.

Creative Writing is about as far away from war and violence as we can get. Our past few days have been spent contemplating the role of 'Setting' in written works and spending a lot of time closely observing the world around us. Students are about to jump into an assignment that's dedicated solely to looking closely at an object and going for the small details--its name is "The Fruit Journal" and hopefully they've warned you about what's coming. If not, talk to them...it'd definitely be good for you to be keyed into what it involves. Don't worry, the only thing that may get hurt is some tupperware and the general aroma of your home.

Also, students are coming up with all sorts of original thoughts and pieces of writing every day. For some, it's the first time they've really had the opportunity to write creatively since elementary school. It'd be great if you could get them to open up and share something they've written with you.

Freshmen students have officially dived headfirst into the high school Language Arts experience. We are about 3/4 of the way through our first novel, Of Mice and Men, and are steadily trudging along at learning a completely new approach to writing. The book brings up tons of great topics for conversation (friendship, sacrifice, how society treats those individuals who are disabled or 'different', isolation/loneliness, etc.). So far, it's hard to pick out a student who isn't liking the novel. It's a great, short book that's perfect for the start of a high school career. It works extremely well to help remind students exactly what we are looking for while we read. Already, we've had some great discussions about symbolism, theme, and the deliberate choices the author makes. I highly recommend picking up a copy and reading along with your student. In fact, a number of students have already told me that they are having to wrestle their books away from their parents just so they can get their homework done. It's that good.

As for the LA9ers and writing, the program we are using (officially referred to as the Jane Schaffer Writing Program) is both structured and free enough for students to really make some significant progress with their writing skills. This year marks Mount Si’s 4th year of an all-school effort to focus on writing throughout the building and the results from this program have been incredible. Our WASL writing scores are up past 90% for the second year, and teachers in every department are using a common language when discussing writing in their classrooms. And, that’s exactly what we have been focusing on these past few weeks—the language and terminology students will be using with their writing for the next 4 years…in every class. Ask your students what concrete details, commentary, and chunks are. If they say they don’t know, they are lying. Every student has jumped on board and is already showing great progress communicating their thoughts in writing.

Speaking of writing...later this week, every freshman in the building will undergo a practice WASL writing test for 3 days in their LA classes. The goal is to create an environment that is as close to the real test as possible. Their essays will be professionally scored (at a scoring conference attended by all of the LA teachers in the building) and their results will come back to them in a printed report which highlights their essay’s strengths as well as areas that may need a bit more focus. Stay tuned for those results in the next few weeks.

And that, I think, will do it for this week's update. Be in touch!

Til next time,

Eric Goldhammer
Language Arts Teacher
Mount Si High School