"Animal Farm" Creates a Junior High Zoo!

Junior High Seminar spent all last week using iMovie to create trailers for the book Animal Farm.  The classroom was abuzz with excitement as 21 seventh and eighth grade students put together seven unique movie trailers that put their own individual spin on the book.

Using anything from fabulous animal acting to stuffed toys or puppets, the students used their computers to film scenes and put together the trailers using templates provided in iMovie.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the work, Animal Farm is a novella about a group of animals who take over the farm from their oppressive farmers.  One can read it as a simple story of animals taking over the farm, but it also serves as an allegory of the Russian Revolution and a commentary on on Communism.  To say the least, the Junior High got to put their thinking caps on for this book.

Creating movie trailers served as a fun way for students to wrap up their time with the book and to put their own spin on it for others to see.  Check out the finished projects below, along with the photos of their work time antics.  Check out the poll on the left to vote for your favorite trailer!

 Trailer 1:

Trailer 2:

















Trailer 3:

Trailer 4:

Trailer 5:

Trailer 6:

Trailer 7:

"No Show" this year for drama!

A peek into drama rehearsal on September 17.

"No Show," in fact, is the name of the show that drama is performing this year.  Written by Alan Haehnel, this play depicts a drama class that finds themselves in front of an audience with no play to perform.  Hilarity and hijinks ensue as these students attempt to put together a passable performance on the fly.

The cast and crew of the show have already been working very hard to put together this performance.  These students come in early in the morning and stay late into the evening to get in as many rehearsals as possible between all their sports practices, games, and other activities.  So far, their hard work is paying off, as this show is shaping up to be their best show yet.

Prepare yourself for impromptu love scenes, intense geometry monologues, and all the other insanity that comes with a bunch of panicked procrastinators trying to cover their tracks.  The drama team will be taking their show on the road November 25 for the SPVA Play Production competition in Imperial.

This Year's Cast and crew for drama includes:

Cast:

Panic ensues as the students see their audience 

Sierra Halcott
Cassie Medina
Rebekka Ralston
Dani McNeel
Marley Sandberg
Malinda Foster
Caitlin Hasenauer
Allison Stewart
Josie Burke
Daisha Marquardt
Halie Fleecs
Madison Hoatson
Katelyn Hecht
Nathan Fleecs
Bobby Muench

First practice on the stage!

Ryan Romero
Nathaniel Foster
Tonja Hahn
Kiersten Nicholson
Amanda Hahn
Landan Fear

Crew:
Jocey Nelson
Florence Quick
Alexis Hiatt
David Quick
Preston Blake
Breanne Hecht
Joey Frailey

This week in English

This week high school English classes hit the ground running, not only with blogs, but also with various units in literature.

The freshmen and sophomores are both working on short stories.  By exploring different short stories, students are building their knowledge of various literary terms and vocabulary words.  The freshmen will be refreshing themselves on the basics that they learned in middle school and begin to dig deeper into their texts, while the sophomores will expand the repertoire that they built as freshmen and continue learning how to explore and relate to their reading.

The juniors have begun discussing early American literature, starting with Native American origin myths.  This week they will be reading several different stories that originated in Native American oral tradition, which will start them on their journey to discover how literature can give us insight to how America came to be what it is today.

The seniors are also reading a work originating in oral tradition, only this work dates back to the earliest reaches of the English language.  Beowulf is the first known work to be written in the English language.  Students will be following Beowulf on his quest to defeat enemies and gain fame so that he may achieve immortality in the stories of generations to come.

The year has only just begun, and there are many new things in store for the entire high school!

Creating Your Blog

The video below is a recording of me talking you through setting up a blog-- the bare basics.  I probably move fast at times, so be sure to pause, rewind, and play as needed.  Any questions you have outside of this video, feel free to ask me!

Welcome!

As much as we enjoy summer, each new school year brings the excitement of a fresh start and the promise of new experiences.  This fall, all my English classes are beginning a new journey into the world of blogging.

Student blogging is a unique opportunity to take interactions that would previously have been mainly between the student and teacher, and sometimes other classmates, and open them up to the rest of the world.  Blogs give students a voice beyond the classroom.

Students will have the opportunity to use this blog to reflect on their work in the classroom, as well as share their interests with other students and the rest of the world.  With the opportunity to post about whatever interests them, we should see student posts on an infinite number of topics such as: Science, sports, fashion, video games, history, current events.

by Kristina B

Once the blogs are created, you will find links to all of them on the right.  In addition, you can check back to this blog for updates on English, Speech, and Play Production.  I hope that with this new endeavor, students will find a way to creatively express themselves, as well as find more meaning in their work through a wider audience.

As we begin a new journey and a new school year, I wish students the best of luck!