Stress! - Josh Strange

Usually when it comes down to crunch time, I am already prepared in most of my classes, and I simply need to touch up on a couple topics before I take a test or a final.  If I find myself unprepared, I will usually use a study guide or previous notes to study for an upcoming test- only for an hour or so.  If I have too much work or have too much to study for, I usually just procrastinate a night and don't worry about it.  This isn't very effective, but this is usually what I end up doing even if I know it's ineffective. Majority of my grades are in check so I usually am  able to rely on previous knowledge if I ever find myself completely unprepared.  If  I need to relax I will usually go for a run, shoot basketball, or sit inside and play video games.  Occasionally I try to find some time with friends so it becomes easier to be distracted, but usually I try to find some alone time so I can focus on the topics I need to focus on.

Help! - Joshua Strange

This year I believe that my reading and writing skills have really improved. Some of the things that have led to my improvement were the critical analysis completed by the class.  By completing the criticisms and reading those in and out of class, I was able to see what my strengths were and what my weaknesses were as a writer.  Not only was I able to figure out what they were but I was also able to figure out how to fix my mistakes, and because of that I think that I did well on the AP exam.  Reading and analysis wasn't my biggest strength this year, and I wish that we would've worked more on that part of the English exam.  But I think learning how to write essays really improved my score on the AP exam and I realize that part of the test had more weight on it than did the multiple choice.  The Socratic Seminars I found a little ineffective, but I did enjoy the discussions we had and realized the depth on analysis that was needed for an effective piece of writing. Overall I think that a large majority of what we did in class was effective and that there is not much change needed.

Help!-Maya Creamer

       Overall, I have enjoyed your class this year, and I feel that I was well prepared for the AP test; however, I do have a few suggestions for the future.
       First, although I appreciate that we focused on how to write each type of essay individually, I would have liked if we had written at least one more example of each type closer to test day. The rhetorical analysis essay, which is arguably the most difficult, was the first type we went over, which meant that we really didn't write one within two or three months of the test. This left me feeling a little nervous about this essay in particular when it came time to take the AP test.
       Second, I do not think grading the essays in small groups was as effective as grading them as a whole class. When we graded in small groups, we often ended up just writing down our scores as quickly as possible and chit-chating rather than really discussing why we gave an essay a particular score. The large group discussions of the essays were very helpful, and allowed us to come to a consensus as to what constitutes a 2, 4, 7, etc. So, although it does take more time, I think if at all possible you should grade all the essays as a class in the future.
       Finally, since junior year is the year when most of us take the ACT and SAT seriously, I think that you should definitely go over practice multiple choice questions for both tests, as well as strategies for writing the SAT essay in only 20(?) minutes. Although these tests are a sort of necessary evil and not nearly as difficult or rigorous as the AP test, I think you should spend a little more time on them, since what we score does affect our admission to colleges.
       I hope you have a good summer!

Help! - Sam Flomenhoft

Overall the class was extremely well geared towards helping prepare us for the AP exam. One thing I saw as a little too time consuming was the essay grading we did in class. I do think it was good for us to see other writing and understand other ways to go about the topic, but I think the small groups of five worked best for that. It took less time, and kept me more engaged because I was expected to contribute within a small group where someone else couldn't speak instead of me. I think you need to grade the full-class way on one or two of the essays, but the group work would be the best way to go on the rest. In addition I think there could be a little more of a focus on public speaking in class. The speech was a great way to learn about that but one or two more days specifically talking about just public speaking in general in class would've been nice. Also, just take a day maybe to discuss footnotes at the end of articles and bibliographical annotation because that's the one small part of the AP test I felt uncomfortable on. In the end the improvements you can make are small, and I felt extremely well prepared for the AP test and had a lot of fun, especially during Socratic Seminars. Thank you for a great year.

The Future - Sam Flomenhoft

Junior year is the infamous grade of school, known for its overload of work, and plethora of standardized tests. And I've got to say, this year, it lived up to "the hype." It was every bit as hard as it was supposed to be and more. Yes, times existed throughout the year when we experienced a lull in work and it didn't seem so bad; it seemed easy in fact. But then BAM!, three different teachers would hit you with a paper, a lab report, and a project all due within three days of each other and at those times, it seemed impossible. I made it through though, we made it through, with our GPAs mostly intact, and our hopes higher than ever, our brains eagerly anticipating the relief expected to be brought by senior year. Looking back on it, the school year was good for me. It pushed me at times, challenging my weak time management skills and helping improve them all the while. At others it forced me to adapt to new ways, such as changing from a rigid structured rhetorical analysis to a new, organic writing style approach. The failures were many: plummeting test scores, missed assignments, unsatisfactory performance on standardized exams; but the successes were greater: decent test scores, good time management, and surprising results on the ACT; and helped keep me afloat. In the end I appreciate junior year, I enjoy all of my teachers, and am grateful for the lessons in responsibility it has taught me. As I look forward to senior year and college applications, I know I will be more on top of deadlines, in part due to the experience gained at this grade level. Yes, junior year was difficult and stressful, but it was my favorite year of school yet.

Help Eliza Jane Schaeffer

I liked how we went over the essays in front of everybody so people could see what mistakes they should avoid. I thought we should have done more grading at home and less at school so everything could go faster. I also wish that we had done more review over rhetorical devices and fallacy. It would have been fun to do more (smaller) projects like the speech and the public service announcement. I wish we had done a little more practice with the analysis essay- not writing it, but analyzing the pieces like we did right before the AP test. I liked how relaxed the class was and how we had no busy work. And I appreciate that you are asking for our feedback. 

Help! Madye Moore

Overall, I have found this class to be very effective as well as engaging at most points. You kept the topics we went over relevant, and I felt that the activities we were given enforced the topics well. However, I did find some of the activities we did over the course of the year repetitive, which caused them to lose their effectiveness to a point. One of these activities is grading the essays. Sure, it was nice to have other essays to compare ours to as well as for us to see what a higher or lower grade looks like, but I felt that reading 20+ essays out loud began to lose their effectiveness after 5 or so essays. Once we read a couple out loud, you could sense that many people began to lose interest in what we were reading, which then influences the grade that was given to the essays, and once we had done that once or twice I feel like a bunch of students dreaded the whole grading process we went through. On the other hand, I did find the smaller group grading to be effective, simply because it was a smaller group which not only gave people that tend to be more reserved when speaking in front of the class, like myself, a chance to actually voice their opinion, but it also reduced the amount of class time spent grading the essays, which was beneficial as well. All in all, I enjoyed the class this year and I found the work we did over the course of the year very beneficial when it came to taking the AP test!

Brandon Castillo- Help!

I thought that the majority of the things that we did in class were beneficial and effective, but I also think they could be improved upon and made more efficient. For example, I thought writing all the essay was worth our time and should happen. The grading of the essay was miserable though. Reading more than twenty essay every two weeks was awful and I thought that more of the group discussions would have been more helpful because you get to talk more and you can see the range of essays without having to see the bulk of the whole packet. When we were in group discussions, most people, including myself, would somewhat zone out of the conversations and just go through the motions, which didn't really help us as much as it could have. The Socratic seminars were good but there needs to be a better system for answering questions, the kids that spoke up the most would dominate the conversation and I couldn't get a talk in after three or four attempts each day. I think to help remedy this, you could raise hands and when someone has something to say they put their hand down and then the person that put there hand up next can talk, you don't have to call on them but just have their hand up when talking or wanting to talk in order to get everyone in. Overall, I enjoyed the class.

Hooray for Hollywood - Gates Sweeney

After seeing the incredible reviews for this movie, I decided to give it a shot.

First of all, this is now my favorite movie of all time. This movie is astonishingly good. Each scene is woven perfectly together and there is no unneeded information. There also isn't a score, or soundtrack. Being a tense movie with action, not having any sound effects or music makes the movie feel natural and even more intense. In a movie with a score, you are able to tell when some good or bad is about to happen, the music builds to it. Without a score, you are unable to tell what is coming next, allowing the viewer to be surprised with a rush of fear or whatever emotion the Coen brothers intended you to feel.

The actors in this movie are really, really good. Javier, who plays the psychotic serial killer, does an impeccable job acting as if he is psycho. Each scene that involves him is very serious and takes a lot of composure to act. There are no slight movements or jerky eye looks with Chigurh (the psycho). He stays very smooth and calm through each scene as if he was actually psychotic and didn't care about all of the people he just killed.

Overall, this movie deserves 5 stars for its incredible acting and its ability to play with your heart rate.

I'm not sure how to link my actual review but here's a link to the movie on Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/no_country_for_old_men/

The Perfect Playlist - Gates Sweeney

My perfect playlist comes from a much larger Spotify playlist of mine titled "Stuff Our Parents Listened To." Inside you will find almost all of the great classics of my parents' and my peer's parents' generation. Here's that playlist: https://goo.gl/BhKnhv

The following are the 5 songs that I chose:

This song is one of those songs that you never pick to listen to, but when it comes on shuffle it's quite the blessing. It is relaxing yet upbeat song that is a narrative. He sings about how he doesn't need much to be pleased, but he will provide her with the best there is.



This song was the first song I ever heard on vinyl. I immediately fell in love with vinyl and I am now addicted to it and it has made me pretty fiscally irresponsible. Down on the Corner is a song that you can't help but rock and tap your foot to.



Mary Jane's Last Dance plays at around the same tempo as the other two, but the guitar riff, the "woo's," and the harmonica make the song very appealing.



Good ol' Brown Eyed Girl. This song can get anyone to sing and/or move to. It's a classic we all know.



I struggled with this last song, but it is actually impossible to not sing this song, so I think this deserves to be on the list.

This playlist is designed for your average middle aged adult or classic rock music lover. Each song will get you to sing, move, and remember all the fun from the second half of the 1900s.

Help- Tapan Darji

The class is great, but you do need to change several things. I feel that you shouldn't give the PSA as the final. You should give the PSA as a project in during the beginning of second semester, a few weeks before we get schedules. More students will take your class if you show them how fun video making is before they have to turn in schedules. This way they will be more likely take your class because they are looking for a class to finish off their schedule and they know how fun your class will be next year. For the final you could give us the reflection piece to write.

Another thing is the Socratic Seminars. I find no purpose in doing them. I didn't feel that they helped me in any way.

I feel that we needed to do more multiple choice practice. 

You need to give one of the second essays like two weeks before the AP exam, so people will be refreshed on that type of essay. It helps to review it.

I like how the class is geared towards the test and I like that we practice on old exam questions.

Help!! - Emily Salamanca

    I understand that you, as a teacher, probably are a little set in your ways - and I understand that. Generally, I have found you to be quite a wonderful teacher, partially because this was the first class where we just wrote and developed on our own. That being said, I do think there are few suggestions I might advise you to look over.
    I understand that it is boring, but we need to go over the multiple choice more stringently. I don't feel as ready for the multiple choice tomorrow as I perhaps should be and I don't understand how to study to get better. Thus, I do believe we should spend more class time doing that (because let's be honest, none of us are willing to do it at home...)
    Next, I think it would be cool if you could class us up personally with you, at some point in the year, to go over our writing. That way, you wouldn't have to write so many comments on our essays and we could get a more personal touch from you. For example, you could call some of us up during a period where we would relax in class to go over some of our essays and get a few personalized tips.
    Other than those small suggestions, I think the class has been effective. Thank you so much and I hope you have a good summer!!

The Future-Silvia Todorova

Junior year, with out a doubt, has defiantly been the hardest year yet. It has been at times very overwhelming and stressful. I've had a lot of successes, but I've also taken quite a bit of risks, some of which I should have done. I won't go into details but I have definitely learned a lot important life lessons this year.  I believe I've really grown as a person and I've discovered a few things about myself along the way. I've realized that everyone makes mistakes but life goes one and you can't live with regret. Despite everything this has been one exciting unforgettable year, so many happy memories that I will never forget. As far as academics go I have really tried to study more and procrastinate less, I really worked on procrastination this year and it's improved my grades. This summer apart for studying for the act and think about colleges, I'll be visiting my family in Bulgaria for a few weeks and then traveling around Europe with my parents. I'm also planning on working with an orphanage down in Bulgaria as well as be a summer mentor at common good here in Lexington. I'm super excited about summer and the future but I'm also not ready for this year to end.

STRESS!!- Silvia Todorova

I'm typically not a very stressed person. I'm usually more laid back and just take things as they come, but these couple of months have been very different for me. With junior year coming to and all the AP tests I find my self worrying a lot about the future. I have a friend who is constantly stressed, over school and her personal life. She has too many things going on and is always overwhelmed. I usually try to help her by taking her mind off it and reminded her that her grades aren't everything and as long as she tries her best everything work out. So when I'm stressed I try to take the same advice I give to her. I just take some time to myself and relax for a little. That may be taking a nap, going for coffee, or hanging out with my friends. If it's really bad and I'm really stressed I'll usually call my best friend and talk to her or go to her house. She always knows what to say and how to calm me down. We talk to each other about our problems and it's really nice to know someone's in the same situation that you're in. That usually helps me and then I go back to whatever I was doing, but this time, stress free.

Assignment 25: Help! I need somebody. Help!

I wanna be better in all things.  It's easy for teachers to get stuck and comfortable in patterns and activities that are completely legitimate but perhaps have become stale and even ineffective.  Throughout the semester I've asked that you work hard to prepare for the AP Language and Composition test.  I taught to the test.  I'm sorta fine with that.  As I've said, I believe that the skills the test assesses are important and some of the most important skills you will develop in your lifetime - the ability to think, process, synthesize, and argue.

To that end I've tried to develop every assignment to focus on one element of the test and hone those skills required for success.  Now that you've taken the test - multiple tests (ACT, PSAT, AP) what suggestions do you have?

I'm not asking for what you "liked" or what was "fun" but rather what was effective.  I know not everything connected with everyone and with 97 students I will get a plethora of responses.  Though I am asking for honesty I'm not asking for a tongue-lashing nor do I expect "all sunshines and rainbows." I know I'm flawed but I also know that I am effective.  I want to minimize my flaws and increase my effectiveness.  I need your help to do that.

 


Minimum of 150 words - due on Sunday, May 25th at 11:59 pm

(Last day to turn in make up assignments 24-25)

STRESS!! Madye Moore

I can say that, without a doubt, junior year has been the most stressful year of high school so far. Now, whether senior year will exceed the stress level present this year, I'm not sure, but I surely hope not! From trying to keep up with school work to trying to improve your ACT score to trying to visit as many colleges as you can, junior year has taken my stress level to the max. And I guess you could say that I've attempted multiple things to help relieve my stress level this past year. I have to admit, there is that occasional day where I just have so much to do and not enough time to do any of it to my full potential, so I just push everything aside for the night and watch Netflix (which does tend to work pretty well, until the next day when I have to rush to get everything finished before school). I do have some other methods though! Another stress-relieving activity of mine is to just go for a drive. I don't care where i drive to, I normally just need a little while to clear my head and take a break away from everyone else. Usually after about 30 minutes, I come back to whatever I was working on and get it done a lot faster than I would have if I were to have just sat there, so that definitely proves to be an effective strategy of mine! A third strategy of mine is just to sit and listen to music while I'm working. Sure, it may be a little distracting to some people, but for me it's just a strategy to help me calm down and focus better.  

Stress!!- Isabelle Rinker

Stress is a common theme among Academy students-- especially around A.P. exams. Like many of my peers, I have a tendency to procrastinate studying and try to cram a year's worth of information in the few weeks leading up to A.P. exams. This year, I have been taking four A.P. classes and trying my best to juggle the workload from those classes with the rest of my responsibilities. This has been extremely difficult, and I am more than ecstatic that junior year is coming to a close. To decrease stress during times like these, I like to work out. I am a fitness geek: it all started in middle school when I ran on the Morton track team, and ever since, I have tried my best to either run or hit the gym on a daily basis. It is a major stress reliever for me, and keeps me in shape!

Stress!!- James Jones

          Well the week of AP tests is finally upon us, nothing to say now, we can't shrug it off and say oh we have a couple weeks left, or oh they don't start until next week, nope. They start tomorrow, well Wednesday for me considering that's when my first test actually is. In order to avoid imploding from too much stress in times like this I just sit and think, meh, I've been here before, can't be that bad to be here again. When it comes down to it, AP tests aren't as scary as they feel, at least that's what I tell myself so I don't get stressed out. But in reality, when you spend the whole year learning the material, and a fair amount of time studying in the weeks/days leading up to the tests it'll be okay, you just have to breath and try to relax. In times like these I go to sleep early every day so I'm not exhausted by the time my tests happen, and I study to reassure myself that I'll be prepared. I usually don't freak out when I have a lot of tests so my tactics have been fairly successful. Overall if you tell yourself everything will be okay and make sure you prepare yourself for what's coming it's all good.

The future- James Jones

          Junior year has definitely been my favorite year of high school, it's been better in just about every way. I've branched out and made friends from different groups, I've kept a pretty good GPA even with all of the stress and AP's. Although the course work has been harder it's just been an easier year to enjoy, except when I realize next year is senior year, then I get a little worried. But all in all I've done well this year and had a good time doing so. My biggest failure has been not fixing my procrastination problem, I'll just fix it later... (Get it, I'm procrastinating about fixing my procrastination.) I think I'll try to do as little as possible over the summer, probably prepare myself for college applications and maybe work on my car, maybe do an auto to manual conversion because driving an automatic is boring. Next year I do want to be better about procrastination, and get my applications done without stressing out too much. I don't really know what I want to do besides that next year, I'll just to my best to enjoy the final year of high-school, without freaking out about it being the final year of high-school.

Stress- Tapan Darji

Stress takes a lot to manage. I try not to worry about things, but that doesn't work for tests. I have a busy weekend as I have to ref. about seven soccer games this weekend and I need to study for Physics and write an essay for Latin class. I am stressed out about all this. I usually kick my soccer ball around for a several minutes to relieve my stress. It gets my mind off the tasks at hand. After I kick my ball around, I am calmed down and ready to face the task ahead. This strategy works most of the time. I manage my stress by trying to get everything done early when I know I have big things coming up. I know that next week is AP testing so I tried to do most of my homework on one day and take a break on another day this week so I don't get tired and stressed. I try not to stress out too much because I believe what is going to happen will happen.