Wednesday September 24th- A Day

A1- Adv. HAVPA- We filled out a Dance Viewing Guide to Michael Jackson's "Thriller", which is all kinds of AWESOME!!!! We then began going over the terms for Theatre. The big test is next Friday.

A3- Sports Writing- We continued to work on the Coach Howell story. We have written a lead and the first body paragraph.

A4- HAVPA- Same as A1, but the big test for them is split in two, Wednesday and Friday.

Tuesday September 23- B Day

B1- AP Senior English- We discussed "Paul's Case", its author, and Pittsburgh. This class REALLY needs to participate more. HW: "Hills Like White Elephants", paragraph explaining the story, and binders will be taken up on Thursday.

B3- AP Senior English- "Paul's Case" and "The Lesson" were discussed. Same homework.

Monday September 22- A Day

I am falling behind, so here are a couple of quick updates.

A1-Adv. HAVPA- We finished watching the Dance Sense video, answered all the questions, and completed a worksheet about identifying dance terms in everyday life. For instance, a marching band shows rythym and a traffic cop makes shapes with his arms. Or a snake moves at a low level while a giraffe moves at a high level.

A3- Sports Writing-Soccer test and then we began writing our feature article on Coach Howell.

A4- HAVPA- These students left for a Josten's meeting but also finished the dance terms in everyday life worksheet.

Thursday September 18th- A Day

Today was a CATS testing day. It would have been cooler if it was LASER CATS testing day. In fact, it would have been super cool. Anyway, there was no first or second block, just A3 and A4. So here is how it happened:

A3- Sports Writing- We did our discussion/article review over the UL v. Kansas State football game. I guess we can't talk about UK football every day. However, I guess a UL win just makes UK's demolishing of them look even better. We also reviewed for the soccer quiz next week.

A4- HAVPA- We finished watching the Dance Sense video and answered all of the questions. After that we went to the hallway and tried to demonstrate a few of the dance terms. It was quite comical. A lot of the kids were worn out from the practice ACT they took earlier in the day.

Perhaps next year I can convince the administration to call the test LASER CATS instead of just CATS. Until then....

Wednesday September 17th- B Day

We took care of a lot of portfolio business in class today and I am pretty confident in this group to do as well as the AP classes last year. I must admit, I am curious to read Stuart's Batman paper.

B1- AP Senior English- I passed out portfolios and discussed the requirements and due dates. We really didn't get a lot of time to talk about "The Lesson". They also took a quick quiz over literary terms.

B3- AP Senior English- A little more time was spent on "The Lesson". The reactions to the story were pretty varied. Elliot did NOT like it and had an interesting theory on "indigestion".

HW for both classes is "Once Upon a Time" with a story card.

Monday September 15th B Day

Can you believe that I cannot find a picture of Andy Samberg from the "Space Olympics" video. In case you didn't see it, go to hulu.com. It was pretty funny and has been the running joke in numerous text messages between my friends this evening.

B1- AP Senior- We had a short class today because of CATS testing info. We had a nice discussion of "How Far She Went" and I did admit that while I didn't cry when I read it, it did become quite dusty in the room I was reading and maybe that made it look like I teared up. But I didn't. Anyway, I guess the other highlight was the AWESOME iSafe videos.

B3- AP Senior- Another good discussion. I also got rid of some of the writing portfolios.

HW for both classes: Read Ch. 4 on Theme, "The Lesson" with story card and vocab when needed.

Friday Sept. 12- A Day

A busy, yet fun day. On the plus side, I got to listen to a lot of good music. On the downside, I listened to the Backstreet Boys too many times and now I have their song stuck in my head!

A1- Adv. HAVPA- The students shared the songs they brought in and did a good job of connecting those songs to the music terms they learned. We filled out a music listening guide to "I Want it That Way" by BSB. Did you know that song is 10 years old?!?!? Next week.....DANCE!

A3- Sports Writing- Busy day. We did an article review over the careers of Vince Young and Matt Leinart. We picked fantasy football teams as the Thundercats look to overtake the Georgia Crew. The students had a quiz over Ch. 1-3 of the Sports Writing book and Caitlin introduced our next sport, soccer. Next week is more soccer and we begin on the feature story.

A4- HAVPA- More songs and more fun. The song they chose for the listening guide was "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain featuring Lil Wayne. Ms. Gaines showed us a website where people sign the lyrics to songs such as "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer and "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilaria. Pretty cool.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and Go Cats!!

Thursday, September 11, B Day

In case you didn't hear, fellow PLD teacher Mr. Timoney had his baby his last week. To be more specific, his wife had the baby. Although I don't have a picture, I imagine the little guy looks a lot like the drawing to the left. Anyway, on to the roundup!

B1 and B3- AP Senior English- They both did the same thing today. A brief discussion of the reading, (Writing about Literature) followed by an in class essay over "The Child by Tiger" or "The Destructors". I have only looked at a few of the essays, but I am expecting them to be a lot better. HW: Read Ch.3 "Characterization" and Mary Hood's "How Far She Went". I have strong feelings about this story, so I cannot wait to discuss it!!

AAAHHHH!!!! My fear has come to life! September 8-10

When I started this, my biggest fear is that I would forget one day and that day would become another and so on and so on. I am not the most organized person in the world, so it was probably a little foolish to think this would NEVER happen. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. I am going to try and put Monday-Wednesday, September 8-10, in this post.

Monday Sept.8, A Day:

A1- Adv. HAVPA- They took their test over Art and Architecture. I thought we would have time to start the music unit, but I was wrong. Although the test was difficult in place, especially the beginning architecture terms, the art stuff was fun as the students busted on the colored pencils and markers.

A3- Sports Writing- They took their football quiz and worked on recognizing different ways to gather information.

A4- HAVPA- Also took the test. Also took the whole block. Also enjoyed using the colored pencils and markers.

Tuesday Sept. 9, B Day:

B1- AP Senior English- This is the class that I thought needed to step up to the plate. And, to no one's surprise, they did. A great discussion of "Interpreter of Maladies" that even included some extra pics that Parvathy sent me and I put in the PowerPoint. In class essay on Thursday!!

B3- AP Senior English- This class was having good discussion before and that did not change. Lots of participation. They also have an in class essay on Thursday!!

Wednesday Sept. 10 A Day:

A1- Adv. HAVPA- We began the day by looking at PLD's CATS scores in the online Lexington Herald-Leader. Do you know the only area that PLD was over 100? That's right, Arts and Humanities. I explained to them why we do what we do. Short answer: It works! We began taking notes on the music terms and even played a couple of selections from my iPod. Can you believe only one person had ever heard "Summertime" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince?!?!? I am getting so old. They are supposed to bring in music examples on Friday.

A3- Sports Writing- After reading about UK football for the 100th time so far this school year (probably an exaggeration) we worked on identifying errors using the PLD Style Sheet and reviewed for the Ch. 1-3 quiz which will be on Friday.

A4- HAVPA- We also discussed the CATS scores and I hoped that served as motivation for some students in A1 and A4. A few more of them had heard "Summertime", so I don't feel quite so old as I did earlier. We finished the music notes and they are supposed to bring in music examples on Friday as well.

I hope I don't have to do any of these giant posts again. Too much time. I need to add a Post-It note to my computer reminding me to take five minutes at the end of the day or something.

Anyway, I should be back this afternoon with a post for today.

Wednesday September 3rd- B Day

B1- AP Senior English- We first broke into small groups to discuss the Harold Bloom handout. While some students provided some insight, I had hoped for more participation from the class. The annotated bib is due on Friday before midnight.

B3- AP Senior English- This class had a lot more to say about the Bloom handout. Perhaps there is just more energy in the afternoon. Annotated bib is also due Friday.

All Summer Work will be returned on Friday and we will discuss writing AP Essays.

Tuesday September 2nd- A Day

Go Cats!!! What a great way to spend a Labor Day Weekend!

A1- Adv. HAVPA- We finished up the work with the Visual Art Viewing Guide and moved on to the Architecture terms. On Thursday we will take a short tour of our school and fill out an Architectural Viewing Guide. The test over Art and Architecture terms will be on September 8th.

A3- Sports Writing- After a discussion of the UK v. UL game and watching a video clip of Pryor's touchdown we brainstormed some questions for PLD's new football coach. We will take his answers and use them to develop our first major writing piece.

A4- HAVPA- The same as A1. Hopefully our tour of PLD will go off without a hitch. There seems to be a lot of random students roaming the halls during fourth block.

Thursday August 28th- A Day

It's not every day you put in a solid 12 hours, but I guess today is a special day. I must admit, I enjoy talking to parents. It is nice to connect the parent with the student because I feel like I learn a lot.

A1- Adv. HAVPA- What a great group! We went on what could only be described as a kinda lame scavenger hunt (we didn't leave the room. or our seats), but then we took a little field trip to the glass highway (which is what I accidentally said instead of hallways). As we observed the painting and attempted to fill out our first Visual Art Viewing Guide I was impressed with how well behaved every one was. Seriously. Great group!!

A3- Sports Writing- Today we did our article summary on the UK/UL running game and even the most die hard football fans learned a thing or two. We then went through the UK schedule game by game to make our analysis, reviewed the football work, and completed the Chapter 2 worksheet. A busy day!!

A4- HAVPA- The kids were great for the scavenger hunt (probably still a little lame), but everyone seemed to run out of gas when we went upstairs to fill out the Art Viewing Guide. A large number of kids (not mine) were wandering the halls during A4 and this only served as a distraction. We will probably need to spend some time going over the guide next class. All in all, however, still a good day.

I am waiting for the final two sections of open house and then it is on to watch some football, Obama, and grade some papers!

Wednesday August 27th- B Day

I realize I haven't used a picture in for a couple of posts, so here you go. UK kicks off the season on Sunday against UL. I will be watching that game, even though I should be grading AP English papers.

B1 AP English- A little late on the start because of the senior group picture. And I kind of forgot to remind them to read the Plot and Structure section. We did talk about "The Destructors" and tried to figure out who exactly was the protagonist and antagonist. It was a little bit harder than it sounds. HW: Read the essays and give an Above 5 or Below 5 score to the circled essays.

B3 AP English- More of "The Destructors"!! I like this story. How can you not love a scrappy bunch of kids who come together to achieve their goal? Apparently, it's quite easy based on our discussion. Homework is the same as B1.

Tuesday August 26th- A day

I am getting bad at keeping up with this stuff. Last night, I was preparing for yet another fantasy football draft. What can I say?

A1- Adv. HAVPA- We had a nice fun review over the visual art terms we learned last time and we slowly, but surely, finished the PowerPoint. Not that we have the visual art terms, and the illustrated examples, we need to learn how to use them.

A3- Sports Writing- My bet with Beau was changed from TO v. Chad Johnson to TO v. Braylon Edwards. That makes me a little more nervous. We learned about football positions today and read an article about Bud Mackey and his prison sentence. We also watched a couple of clips from ukathletics.com.

A4- HAVPA- We also finished the PowerPoint. It took us a little longer, but hey, what are you going to do? We did have a fire drill last week during this block.

I will see this crew again on Thursday, which is also Open House!!

Monday August 25th B Day

I am pooped. I had my first night of grad school for this semester at EKU and I did not get home until 9:45. Considering I left my house at 7:30 this morning it has been a long day. Quick shout out to fellow Bulldog Stacy Clark who was my carpool buddy for the night. And thanks for also getting the parking pass. On to the summary!!

B1- Wow. The coffee had not kicked in this morning so it took me awhile to get going. However, my computer works better now so thanks Alyssa. We discussed "The Most Dangerous Game" and "The Child by Tiger". Lots of good points and lots of great discussion, although no one volunteered to sing "The Lamb", unlike B3. The highlight of the day belongs to Maggard and we will just leave it at that! HW- Read "The Destructors" as well as the introduction to the section and complete a story card.

B3- This class is a lot more eager to volunteer to read and to sing! Anna got the ball rolling and Jorie busted out a little opera. Pretty crazy! Another great discussion and they have the same homework.

Well, I thought I would get to bed early without the Olympics, but I am watching Michelle Obama deliver a pretty good speech, so it could be another sleepy morning.

See you next time!

Thursday August 21st- B Day

Another day, and another day behind. As Kurt Cobain ( or Kirk O'Bain if you read About A Boy) might say, All Apologies.

A1- Adv. HAVPA- Some good discussion over the journal entry about art and artistic intentions. We have a lot of people who are not big fans of modern or interpretive art. That should be fun this spirng. Chris gets the prize for best contributions, but Ebony was good as well. We began taking notes on Visual Art.

A3- Sports Writing- We read a couple of great stories in the newspaper and did our article review on one that was less than three hours old. UK football received a commitment from Morgan Newton and the UK fans in the class (yours truly included) were excited. We also discussed football, fantasy football, and Beau and I made a bet. More TDs on the year: T.O. or Ocho Cinco. I took T.O. and I will win. Sorry Beau.

A4- HAVPA- We had a fire drill to start off the block and the students were OUTSTANDING!! They left in an orderly fashion, stayed off the concrete, and came straight back in the building. Very impressive. They also had some good discussion about the journal entry with Jerrell leading the way. We took some notes on Visual Art and will finish that up next week.

Well, it's a three day weekend that has already started. I celebrated by coming to PLD and doing work, but I did squeeze in the USA v. Argentina basketball game. Although the zone used by Argentina caused the US trouble, they ended up winning by 20. Go USA!!

Wednesday August 20- B Day

Whoa!! I fell behind a little bit and we haven't even had a full week. This is what happens when you get buried in AP Summer Reading Assignments!!

B1 and B3- AP Senior English- The students finished their tests. Well, some of them did. Well, some of them finished some of it. Hopefully, this will all be finished very, very soon because I am SO READY to get into some discussion. We had a little taste of it today as we discussed the difference between Commerical and Literary Fiction. I don't think my opinions on what texts go where were that popular with everyone, but hey! What are you gonna do?

I would like to give a shout out to two former students who came by today to say hi. Cynthia Lu and Nan Hu are on their way to MIT and Princeton. Two extremely bright and awesome students!!! I will miss them and I hope they stay in touch.

Tuesday August 19th- A Day

I felt a picture of Sherlock Holmes was appropriate for today, because in both HAVPA classes we talked about clues. No big news for today. I had a really good run with my friend Tyler out on the PLD track, so I am a little beat, but you guys probably don't care about that so on to the summary.

A1- Adv. HAVPA- Finally a full block! We did a nice journal entry and then proceeded to listen to each kid present "Art You Know". It was fun and I felt like I learned a lot about the students. We then discussed context clues and how we use them in life and in art. No homework and next time we start taking notes on the Elements and Principles of Visual Art.

A3- Sports Writing- We did our article review over the USA v. China baseball game that featured a couple of bean balls. Pretty interesting story and I am a little surprised they chose it. We talked about the Olympics for awhile and then began to read and work on Chapter 1 in the Sports Writing text book.

A4- HAVPA- Ms. Gaines led them through the journal entry and we discussed that. The number of students who completed the "Art You Know" assignment was a little lower than I would have liked. We ended up allowing them to work on it some in class. The context clues notes and discussion went really well. They were able to be "Art Police" and take the evidence in the different painting and reach some very logical conclusions.

All in all a good day. I did have one teacher tell me that a kid in my Sports Writing class said his class was CRAZY!! I'm not so sure about that, but I guess I'll keep my eyes out. Now, I have to get back to grading some AP Summer Work. Is it fun? A clue.....no.

Monday August 18th- B Day

The students don't like to hear this, but it's true. Days when they have a test are really difficult.....for me. Seriously, I get bored walking around and making sure people are working hard. I would much rather have a discussion over anything than watch people take tests. Anyway, we all got through it. On to the rundown!

B1 and B3- AP Senior English- Took the summer reading test. Received their copy of Perrine's. You will receive some extra time in class on Wednesday. Also, if you arrive early on Wednesday or want to stay later, you can use that time. About the test, just a word of caution. Don't stress too hard. You all know who you are. Yes, it is your first grade, but it is only 10% of your overall grade and the assignment counts for TONS more. You should stress over whether UK will be able to move the ball on offense. That's what I'm stressing about.

See everyone on Wednesday!!

Kevin Faris

August 15th- A Day

I know the first week of school is not really a week, but these past three days have felt like six. I think teachers and students are slowly adjusting to the schedule. Having to stay up late to watch the Olympics has not helped.

A1- Advanced HAVPA- The discussion, which dominated most of the class, centered around one question, "What is art?" This was actually a really good discussion. I have a feeling this class is going to be a very good one. Plus, they laugh at my jokes, which I always like. HW- Art You Know. They will bring/describe something from home and write up a paragraph about it.

A3- Sports Writing- We did our first Article Review with the assistance of student aide Caitlin Bryson working the computer. The kids chose an article about the USA v. Greece basketball game. We watched some highlights from the Olympics, the boys really like the gymnasts, and wrote a paragraph about an early sports memory.

A4- HAVPA- Ms. Gaines gave the students their first journal entry, the same as A1 "What is art?" The discussion was pretty good, Henry in particular added a lot. The students were a little tired so we took a short walk around the school looking for "art". Their homework is the same as A1.

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend. I have already watched the USA/Spain basketball game and then Liverpool v. Sunderland in the EPL. My soccer team, the Tottenham Hotspurs unfortunately lost. On the bright side, I bought a new UK t-shirt, so it wasn't totally wasted.

August 14th- B Day

I took a break from the Olympics last night and saw "Step Brothers" starring Will Ferrel and John C. Reilly. I had high expectations and I was not disappointed. Great movie, funny, and deserving of the R rating. I am also contemplating calling my Fantasy Football team "Prestige Worldwide". Anyway, here is the rundown of Thursday at the PLD.

B1- AP Senior English- Today is my "AP Day" and it kind of stunk that this class was cut short because of homeroom. I would have loved to get to talk to the students more. We discussed the syllabus and what would be on the summer test. They will take their test on Monday and will turn in all of their summer work at that time.

B3- AP Senior English- This was the full 90 minutes, so I didn't feel rushed. I even had time to discuss Harry Potter for a little bit, which I enjoy. Contrary to what some people think, I really enjoy the HP novels. I just don't believe they are high level literature. On a different topic, I found someone else who has read "A Separate Peace". Their test and assignments are also on Monday.

B4- AP Study Hall- All the students are working hard. That is the best thing I can say about this class. I have high hopes that all the students here will benefit from the in school time to finish their work. And I hope I don't get a lot of difficult math and/or science questions.

Well, I think Michael Phelps is going for a gold medal tonight. The US Basketball team got revenge on Greece today. I love the Olympics! I better enjoy them now, because starting next week I have a ton of stuff to grade.

August 13th- A Day

The first day of school is officially over, and not a moment too soon. I am a little tired and am glad it is only a 3 day week. So, let's get to what we did:

A1- Adv. Humanities- A great group of kids, featuring a few I know, but not the Pleasants Liz Bryant wanted in class. Oh well. We passed out the syllabus, I took some questions, and the kids filled out an "Arts Survey". We learned we have a lot of athletes and a few musicians. And we learned if the guys from the freecreditreport.com commercial had an album I would buy it. Students need to return their parental permission slips as soon as possible.

A3- Sports Writing- A whole bunch of guys (and a few girls) ready to talk about sports!! Tons of fun. We passed out the syllabus, went over rules/procedures, and reviewed bathroom safety. No homework for these guys, although I cannot believe there were some arguing that Kevin Garnett was better than Tim Duncan!!!! Unbelievable.

A4- Humanities w/Ms. Gaines- Finally, a sidekick! Actually, Ms. Gaines is a great teacher to collaborate with and I am looking forward to working with her. We did a lot of the same things as the A1 class and they also have to return their parental permission slips as soon as possible. We did learn that Ms. Gaines loves Karaoke and that Lil' Wayne is the most popular rapper, even if Greg can name at least four other guys who are better!!

All in all, a good first day. Hopefully I will have time to squeeze in a nap before the Olympics.

See you tomorrow!!

First Day of School!!

OK, I will have to admit that I am a little tired. I blame the person seen in the pic to the left, Olympic Champion Michael Phelps. Instead of going to bed early and getting a good night's sleep, I stayed up and watched the Olympics. Phelps is DOMINATING and it has been a lot of fun.

My wife was excited for the gymnastics, but alas the US Women fell short of the gold medal. But hey, silver's not too bad.

Anyway, I am a little tired, but making it through the day. A little later I will post some info on what we covered/talked about during classes.

Until then...........