Off To a Good Start, a Long Weekend, and Narrative Projects

Greetings ELA students.  Thanks to everyone for making the first two weeks of English II quite enjoyable.  For the most part, all of you have been diligent about coming to class prepared, paying attention, and contributing in class.  Please remind yourself that we do not have very many grades in the book as of yet, but starting this week with the quiz coming up on "Eleven" and poetry/narrative terms and your project being due next week grades will start to pick up and become very important.  Don't dig yourself a hole you can't get out of.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable long weekend and also got re-energized for the rest of the six weeks.  One thing that I think is so important to success in school is getting enough sleep.  I know that I struggle to get in bed early enough often and I really pay the price the next day.  It is amazing how much more focused and productive you are with a good night's sleep, so do what you can to get enough sleep, especially this early in the year.

A couple of reminders for this week:
1 - Don't forget your quiz the next class period over "Eleven."  The poetry and narrative terms will also be on there along with the prefix/suffixes that were on the handout.  Remember, if you don't have these resources, they can be pulled up on this website under resources.
2 - Your narrative projects should be taking shape and getting ready for presentation.  Please don't forget to follow your outline and also ensure you are hitting all of the objectives of the rubric to make a good grade.  Your presentation may have all the fancy "bells and whistles," in it, but if it fails to hit the areas required in the project assignment and rubric, your grade may not be what you had hoped.  Remember, this is your first Major Grade and cannot be made up with a retest.
3 - You should all have your FISD Google accounts set up by now.  I would like all of you to take the time to go into this web/blog and become a follower.  You can do that now, because you have a Google account.  Remember, when dealing with school work, always use your school Google account and remember that the school district owns this account and can access it at anytime, so be mindful of what you send and use the account for - use it for school use only.

This week we will be in the lab both days after we do some some other business first, such as the quiz and journals.  Please don't goof around in the lab - use your time wisely and make sure you are ready to present next week.  You only have the two days this week of class time to work on the projects.  So far, everyone has been very productive and on tasks in the lab - keep it up.  I look forward to seeing your creativity on display when you present next week.  Let's have a great week Redhawks!

And We Are Off . . .

The bad news is that your Summer Vacation is officially over.  The good news is your no longer Freshman!! So take the good with the bad and welcome back to High School and specifically, to Mr. Miller's English II class.  I hope all of you have been able to have a fun and relaxing summer despite the unbearable heat wave and now feel rejuvenated and optimistic about this school year.  Teachers, for the most part, are like students in that they dread getting back into the swing and routine that school demands.  We too, really enjoy our summer break and find it somewhat difficult to "getting our game face on" for our classes.  However, that usually goes away quickly and after our first days with new students, and we are fired up and ready to get on with the business of learning.  This first of many posts is intended to introduce you to myself, this class, and also some of my expectations as we journey through English II.  So, with no further ado, let us begin . . .

Many of you may know me as "Coach" Miller because I have spent the last 13 years as a coach and  teacher.  In fact, I opened Liberty High School in 2006 and have served as the Head Basketball Coach up until this year.  I made a very the tough decision after our banner season last year, to "hang up my whistle" and only teach, so that I could concentrate more of my time and efforts to my family, my classroom teaching, and other ventures in my life.  I am a big "bucket list" guy and coaching took up so much time, I realized that so many of life's adventures I had hoped to do were not realistic if I continued coaching.  My time coaching was wonderful and I will miss many aspects of it very much, but I am really looking forward to the next chapter in my life.  I have been extremely blessed with a wonderful family that consist of my gorgeous wife Stacy, of 19 years, my daughter Claire (11) and son Myles (9).  As you can tell from the picture below, I ""out-kicked my coverage" marrying Stacy, and luckily, our kids get their looks from their mom.  I have included some more tidbits of information about me in the page titled - "Meet the Teach."

Meet the Millers

Now, let's talk some English II.  This year's class is divided into 4 Units of Study comprised over Six 6-Weeks Grading Periods.  We will be kicking off Unit 1 this week where we will explore the elements of Narrative Fiction.  We will be reading different forms of the narrative such as short story and poetry, and also have a project that gives students the opportunity to create their own narratives in a unique form.  Towards the end of the first 6-Weeks, we will start the reading of our first novel - The Pearl by John Steinbeck.  So, for those of you out there who like to get a jump on things, you may want to start reading soon.    

This is the first year I have attempted to have a classroom website and I am excited and also nervous about it.  I know that having this website available and updated will prove to be a great resource for both students and their parents.  Please take time to look at all the different pages links on the website, as you should find anything and everything you need regarding our on-going studies in English II.  It is imperative that you check this website frequently, as I will be updating it at least once a week.    

I am excited to get to know each of you.  One of the best things about being a teacher is developing lasting and rewarding relationships people.  Each year, I get the opportunity to start building a new set of relationships, and before long, we will all know each other very well.  Please try to stay focused and ahead of your studies and get a good start to this year academically, and make sure you see me if you have any questions or concerns about English II.  As we like to say around LHS - Work Hard, Be Nice!!

Go Redhawks!!  

Warning about excuses:  I have heard and probably used them all.