Goodbye

I know that most of you (ok, all of you!) don't read this blog, but on the chance that you do...........

I just want to thank each and every one of you for making my year here AMAZING. I think we learned a lot from each other and I KNOW that we have learned a lot (maybe too much) about each others lives and families. I will miss being a part of your life, but I am sure that I will see some of you at baseball and soccer games..........

Be good, do your best.............and Thank you. I'll miss you all.

May 21

Senior: All seniors who took the Accounting and English final did great. Congratulations on all of your hard work this year........it has been an interesting ride and I think the we are ALL the better for it. I will never forget any of you...................

English 10: All research papers are due on Friday, 5/22 and I will return them to you no later than next week. We will be continuing our study of film genres and social issues. I think that some of my selections will invoke some interesting discussion and writing.

World History: As we wind down the year, we will be focusing on The Great Depression, World War II, the Holocaust and Hitler. You have worked hard all year and it is important to remember that all of this material WILL BE ON THE FINAL, so now is not the time to slow down..........Together we will make these final weeks interesting and insightful. I know you can do it!

English 12 Exam

The following topics will be covered on the final exam. The exam will be short answer and multiple choice.

Macbeth Act Three to the end
My Fair Lady/Pygmalion
Wuthering Heights

You will be required to write one essay. You will be given four choices; one from Macbeth, one from Pygmalion and two from Wuthering Heights.

The best way to review will be to look through your notes or to go online and read a summary of the work to refresh your memory.

There will be not trick questions. Everything will be straightforward.

YOU HAVE WORKED HARD ALL YEAR AND HAVE READ AND WATCHED AND LISTENED............TRUST YOURSELF AND RELAX AND YOU WILL DO GREAT!

SENIORS

I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE AGAIN FOR A GREAT YEAR AT SAINT MARY HIGH SCHOOL. I PROMISE NOT TO CRY AGAIN BUT I LOOKED OUT AT ALL OF YOU YESTERDAY AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LUCKY YOU ARE. YOU HAVE YOUR WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF YOU. HAVE FUN AND DO YOUR BEST AND THINK OF THIS:

'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride'


The following students are exempt from the English final:
Ewelina Bragiel
Dwight Hernandez
Vicky Kovacs
Eunice Lee
Mary Grace Liquori
Kevin Lynyak
Joanna Murray
Jessica Paredes
Nyira Porcher
Joe Tauriello


THIS NEXT LIST: YOU ARE THE LUCKY ONEs WHO GET TO TAKE ONE OF MY TESTS ONE MORE TIME! TOPICS TO STUDY WILL BE POSTED ON THE BLOG AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY 5/14.

Marika Dugan
Dan Iorio
Pamela Martinez
John Sieradzki

May 1st

Accounting: Don't forget: Final projects are due on 5/18. Don't wait until the last minute.........this project will count as 40% of your grade!

English 12: We will continue and hopefully finish Wuthering Heights this week. It's been a long journey but I hope that you have enjoyed it!

English 10: Everyone has done a great job reading Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in class. This week we will be watching the film version.............so I hope that clears up any questions you might have. There will be a test coming soon, so pay attention!

World History: We will be reviewing this week for a test about the late 19th century.........and then on to our next Chapter........thanks to all of you who have been participating and joining in our discussions.

WEEK OF APRIL 20

ACCOUNTING: STUDENTS WILL BE GIVEN INFORMATION THIS WEEK ON THEIR END OF THE YEAR PROJECT, WHICH WILL REQUIRE RESEARCH, BUT MAY BE WORKED ON IN CLASS.

SENIOR ENGLISH: WE WILL BE GOING THROUGH "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" RATHER QUICKLY AND THIS WILL REQUIRE A LOT OF DISCIPLINE AND EFFORT ON YOUR PART. WE WILL ALSO DISCUSS THE RESEARCH PAPER WHICH WILL BE DUE 5/11.

SOPHOMORE ENGLISH: WE WILL CONTINUE OUR READING IN CLASS OF SHAKESPEARE'S "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" AND WE WILL ALSO BE WORKING ON THESIS STATEMENTS THE WEEK WE GET BACK. RESEARCH PAPERS ARE DUE 5/18

WORLD HISTORY: THERE WILL BE A PROJECT GIVEN FOR THIS LAST MARKING PERIOD. BE SURE TO ALWAYS HAVE TEXT BOOKS AND NOTEBOOKS IN CLASS UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED.


MANY THANKS TO MRS. MITCHELL,OUR LIBRARIAN, FOR COMING TO MY ENGLISH CLASSES TO MAKE THE STUDENTS AWARE OF THE MANY RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM IN OUR SCHOOL LIBRARY. HOPEFULLY MRS. MITCHELL WILL BE SEEING A LOT OF YOU OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.

SENIORS AND SOPHOMORES MUST HAVE THEIR PERMISSION SLIPS FOR CULTURAL DAY NO LATER THAN MONDAY, 4/20. SENIORS MUST ALSO HAVE $20.

I HOPE EVERYONE CONTINUES TO GIVE 100% EFFORT AS WE WIND DOWN IN OUR LAST MONTHS OF SCHOOL.

Fourth Marking Period

English 11: Monday will be our last day together! I hope everyone enjoys Hamlet and that you have a great 4th marking period!

English 12: We are enjoying watching the presentations of "Pygmalion" which are being acted out by students in the class. All students should now have a copy of "Wuthering Heights" which will begin on Monday.

English 10: All students should have the NO FEAR edition of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Monday. Students have known about this for at LEAST two weeks.

World History: Make up tests will be given on Monday. Students who failed to hand in the take home test will receive an F for that grade.
Note to parents: Students were given a TAKE HOME TEST to help bring up their 3rd marking period grades. Many students failed to hand them in. Those students were given a SECOND CHANCE to take the test and complete it at home. Many of these same students still did not take a copy and return it to me in the time specified. If your child has an unexpectedly low grade for Marking Period 3, it may be due to a failing grade on this test.

News

English 11: Period A will be working the computer lab this week, completing a WEBQUEST on Hamlet, which will we begin reading next week.
ALL STUDENTS were expected to have their books on Monday.

English 12: Period B will be doing their "Pygmalion/My Fair Lady" presentations on Friday.
Frankenstein papers are due on Monday.
All students should have a copy of WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

English 10: Students are completing TerraNova testing this week. ALL students are expected to have a copy of "A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM" for Monday. Students were given ample warning. Everyone did a great job on the "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" projects.

World History: Students were given a test on Monday. We will be starting a new chapter next week.

NOTE TO ANY PARENT WHO NEEDS TO CONTACT ME: THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY IS THROUGH EMAIL AS I DO NOT ALWAYS HAVE ACCESS TO A TELEPHONE DURING THE DAY.
estanziano@stmaryhs.org





Good luck on the Terranova's to all the Freshmen and Sophmores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week of 3/9

English 11 and 10:

We are in the final stretch of our novels. Students are anxiously awaiting to see what will happen to Wang Lung and to find out the real secret about Boo Radley!

English 12: This week we are working on the final scenes of Pygmalion as well as our group projects. We are also going to delve into something a little................scarey..............Stay posted!

World History: Students this week will learn about the Palace of Versailles, Louis V!X and will be working in groups as we make our way through this next chapter.

Week of March 1

English 11: This week we will continue our reading of "The Good Earth" and we will also be viewing the movie, which we started on Friday. Thanks to Mrs. Mitchell for getting the film for us!

English 12: We will be watching "My Fair Lady" and making comparisons to Shaw's "Pygmalion" which we read last week. Thanks to all the students whose dramatic readings made the play very interesting.

English 10: We are nearing the conclusion of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and we are on the edge of our seats waiting to learn the outcome of Tom Robinson's trial...................................

World History: Students took a test last week on Chapter 21 and some people did an excellent job. This week will be starting a new Chapter and learning about some famous and influential European monarchs.........................

Week of 2/23

English 11:

We will work on our "The Good Earth" projects this week in class. You will be responsible for daily reading and quizzes will also be on the menu for this week.

English 12: We have just begun reading the play "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw. Students handed in Macbeth projects today. Posters can be seen hanging in the hallway outside of the library. Everyone did a great job!

English 10: Everyone did a great job on the "Walking in someone else's Shoes" project. We are continuing our reading of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Chapters will be assigned daily, followed by quizzes based on the reading.

World History: Students will be tested on Tuesday on the information that they learned about in Chapter 20. We will then be starting on Chapter 21 which included many European monarchs. Students will learn about a project on Tuesday that will be due on March 3rd.

Week of 2/16

English 11: We will continue our reading of "The Good Earth". Be ready for daily quizzes!
We will also becoming an upcoming project that will be due as we conclude our reading of this novel.

English 12: This week we will continue discussing "The Rocking Horse Winner" by DH Lawrence and we will end the week with another short story from our text. Look for a test early next week. After that, we will be reading the play "Pygmalion", which is also found in our text. Keep current with your reading of "The Glass Castle".

English 10: Don't forget to bring in your PICTURE OF A SHOE on Tuesday. We will be using this to work on a writing assignment while we continue our reading of "To Kill a Mockingbird". Be ready for daily quizzes on your reading. So far everyone is doing great!

World History: We will continue this week learning about Columbus and his fellow explorers and how the Americas that we live in came to be settled. There will be a test at the end of the week and a project will also be assigned for this marking period.


Enjoy President's Day Weekend!

Week of February 9th

English 11: We will continue our reading of "The Good Earth". Please be ready for daily quizzes..............our librarian Mrs. Mitchell has been kind enough to order a copy of the movie for us to watch at the conclusion of our reading.

English 12: Don't forget: Macbeth projects are due by 2/20. You may hand them in early. Late projects will get one letter grade deducted for each day that they are late. Reading assignments for "The Glass Castle" will be handed out on Monday.

English 10: We are making a lot of progress in "To Kill a Mockingbird". This week we will continue reading, daily quizzes and do some fun activities.

World History: Period H will have a short test on Monday. We will be starting a new chapter on Tuesday and there will be another short test on Thursday. ALL STUDENTS must bring their text books to class EVERY day. If you do not have a book you will not be permitted to take the final exam.


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

February 3, 2009

English 11: Just a reminder that everyone should now have a copy of "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck. There will be a quiz every day following each reading assignment. Don't fall behind!

English 12: We will conclude our reading of Macbeth by the end of the week and then move onto something lighter and more contemporary. Don't forget to stay current with your reading of "The Glass Castle".

English 10: We will be reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" and there will be daily quizzes based on your previous night's reading assignment. Please try to stay current.

World History: We will continue our study of The Crusades and The Inquisition....................

Teacher Appreciation Day

Many thanks to the following students who taught my class on Teacher Appreciation Day so I could have the day off! You all did a great job.

Thanks to

Dan Iorio
Jessica Calabrese
Andrea Saraccino
Megan McCann


It was a fun day!

Mrs. S.

Some preliminary results..............................

Some of the results are in.....................

Just as I predicted...............the students in World History who took notes, paid attention and participated during the review last week did a GREAT JOB. You should be proud of yourselves.

English 12: Everyone passed..........some people did exceptionally well...........there was one surprise.........Great work.........I hope everyone is ready to dive right back into the conclusion of Macbeth.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope everyone is looking forward to an exciting Catholic Schools week.

EXAM WEEK

I HOPE EVERYONE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE LONG WEEKEND TO READ OVER WHAT WE HAVE COVERED DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE YEAR AND TO ORGANIZE AND STUDY YOUR NOTES. GOOD LUCK! SENIORS: THE GLASS CASTLE TO PAGE 120 BY THE 30TH. SOPHOMORES: OBTAIN A COPY OF "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" BY MONDAY.

EXAMS

Parents,

All students were given a very detailed review for their midterm exams. I expect everyone to do an outstanding job.

Mrs. Stanziano


Seniors,

Don't forget............have up to page 120 of "The Glass Castle" read by Friday, January 30th!

Sophomores:

You MUST have "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee by the Monday after exams. If you have a friend or sibling in 9th grade, you can probably borrow a copy from them.

First week of January

English 12: Don't forget to read up to page 50 of "The Glass Castle" by Friday.\


English 10: We will be finishing "Our Town" this week. Please be prepared to discuss this play in detail!

World History: We are learning about Islam and the beginning of the Muslim religion this week. Next week will be spent on review for the midterm.