Summer readin', had me a blast

Greetings, rising seniors.  As promised, this blog now rolls over to you, the Class of '13.  As you work through your essay anthology, this is the place for you to write your observations.  Remember that each of you in the AP course is expected to complete one post by 11:59 p.m. on July 1, and a second post by 11:59 p.m. on August 1. 

The assignment is deliberately open-ended.  For your first entry, choose one of the essays in the anthology I distributed to you.  Comment on the author's tone, the argument of the piece, words or phrases with which you felt a connection, memories the piece sparked, ask questions (and attempt to answer them).  If you feel stuck, each essay does have questions that follow it, and you may use those as a jumping-off point, but it is not required.  In short, there is no "wrong" way to respond, except not to respond at all.

Enter your analysis/comments/observations/questions in the comment area below this post to receive full credit.  Bonus points to the brave soul who goes first.

YES Class of '08 Graduates College

I have a soft spot for the Class of '08.  They were my third class of seventh-graders back in the 2002-03 school year.  Now, about 30 of them have graduated from colleges and universities around the country.  I've been copying graduation pictures from Facebook and have included them below.  Congratulations to each of you.  The entire YES family is hugely proud of you.

Aaqilah (right), Barnard '12

Cecilia, Weslayan'12

Fareedon, Creighton '12

Flavio, Franklin and Marshall '12

Alonso, University of Tulsa '12

Jenny, Alba, and Nora, St. Mary's University '12

Keara (2nd from left), Harvard '12

Nicole, Syracuse University '12

Carlos, Columbia '12

Spring Semester Round-up

And now that school is out, we reach the time where I email myself all the photos on my phone that I've been taking all year. Here's hoping I'm better at keeping up with this in the 2012-13 school year. Let's start with pics from the Second Annual Author Night, March 8, 2012:

Alexia's presentation on Kazuo Ishiguro



Samantha and Ana's presentations


Joselyn's presentation on Lisa See


Juan poses with his Michael Crichton project


Jessica's lovely Kingsolver display


Paty and her gorgeous display about Willa Cather. Now I need to read some Willa Cather.

Fast forward a month, when I received the most beautiful birthday card ever, a la Elsih and her amazing art skills.


And Alexia put kiwi on my birthday cake! Genius.

We love our new pavilion, we love dueling each other, and we love the bodies hitting the floor in Hamlet!




We celebrate college acceptances at the Toyota Center.



Perhaps my favorite text of the year



Mind-mapping the day before the exam



Brenda and I twinning it up at the Astros game.  Someone else just had to get in on the pic.  Photobomber!

Now I know that I posed with about 40 of you, sweat and all, so put them on FB when you have a chance.