Good morning!

I’m writing to you from my hotel room on the 11th floor of the Hotel Kabuki, located in San Francisco’s Japantown. Last night, given our current reading of Murakami’s novel, I was curious to see if the hotel had a room 208. So, just for fun I went to the second floor and looked for the room. You can’t believe what I discovered! I’m not making this up. There was a room 207 and a room 209, but no room 208, and where there should have been a room 208, instead there was a baseball bat leaning against the wall. Crazy! I can tell you more about my experience when I return tomorrow.

By the way, please be sure to thank Chief Coyne for all of his support (I’m assuming he was your substitute teacher, but if it was someone else, please let that person know you appreciate him or her)

Writing a Conclusion: For the purpose of this literary essay about an author’s choices, I recommend the following approach:

1. Related to your essay topic, what did Murakami do in his novel?

2. Related to your essay topic, how was this conveyed? Through imagery, motif, setting, historical context, symbolism, flashback, diction, tone, and so on.

3. Related to your essay topic, why did Murakami make these choices? Was it to convey an idea, knowledge, raise questions, express feelings? And to what extent was this successful, and do you appreciate his choices? (this is an evaluation)

Conclusion: the length of the conclusion will vary, but it will probably be 4-5 sentences.

Proofreading:

1. Read your essay aloud! This must be done.

2. Have a trusted friend or parent read your essay and comment.

3. Ensure you have avoided dead words: stuff, a lot, very, many, different, things, good, bad

4. Look for strongly worded active voice present tense verbs: see our list of “verbs for literary essays”

5. Use transitions effectively to show relationships between ideas: For example, In addition, Furthermore, Moreover, However, On the other hand, In contrast, Similarly, and so on

Final Thoughts: I will see you tomorrow, Thursday. I’m looking forward to having the Interactive Oral Research Team lead a final discussion. Simply remind us of your topics, clarify any ideas, and facilitate a discussion about where we have seen these ideas since our last interactive oral.

Thank you for all your hard work! You are all awesome!

Mr. Coey

Welcome to the first Magical Realism and Surrealism Convention! February 24-25

In our two day convention, teams of gamers will be competing to design the most clever games meant to illuminate, interest, and confound willing participants. The rules are simple:

1. Develop a game using characters, settings, motifs, symbols, images, and other aspects of Murakami’s world of The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.
2. Design a unique game with a unique objective or design a game based on an already popular game format, e.g. “Pokemon,” “Monopoly,” “Clue,” “Texas Hold ‘Em” and so on.
3. Practice your game within your gaming team and make modifications to your game when this occurs (sometimes referred to as “special exceptions” to the rules).
4. Emphasize details of the novel so that (from a teacher’s point-of-view) I know that you are reviewing the book and the classmates who play your game will have insights into the novel’s themes or stylistic qualities.

Grading: For the purpose of using an assessment we are already familiar with, let’s use a modified IOP rubric:

A: Knowledge and Understanding– How much knowledge and understanding of the work does the gaming team demonstrate? (10 points)

B: Presentation–How much thought has been given to the creative presentation, the game’s objective, the rules of the game, the game board, game cards, and game pieces. (10 points)

C: Murakami–How much of the author’s thoughts, feelings, and choices (language, structure, style, and technique) are explored through the game play? (10 points)

Teams: For the sake of expediting this process, we will begin with our traditional “small group” of 4 students or “Lily Pads” as we sometimes call them. Once those groups are formed, you may swap out one group member for another if both individuals mutually consent. For example, let’s say a group is designing a Murakami game based on Pokemon and I am something of an expert, I should request to join that team. Use your best judgement and be inclusive!

Due: Wednesday, February 24: Game design and initial practice

Thursday, February 25: Game play and guest invitations to rival teams

Greetings seniors!

Starting tomorrow you will have an opportunity to reflect on your formative years by making a “high school playlist.” These are the four songs that best represent your friendships, accomplishments, challenges, and successes. Or, if you prefer, include a song that captures your feelings about these last four years.

You may upload your songs to this shared folder.

Or, you can simply reply in the comment section of this post with the song title and artist. I’ll do what I can to find your song. Be warned, however, that YouTube has been restricting unofficial music videos, and the school district has censored some material. If you can, it would be best to upload a music file to our shared folder.

I’m looking forward to hearing your high school playlist!

Kind Regards,

Mr. Coey

We’re pleased to announce that the 2015 PSR/Sacramento Scholarship Essay Contest is now open to high school seniors in Sacramento and surrounding counties (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, San Joaquin, Solano, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba). A total of $15,000 in scholarship money will be awarded to 12 students. The prompt for this year’s contest, chosen by a vote of our members, is a quotation from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who stated, “The world is over-armed, and peace is under-funded.”

To enter the contest, high school seniors must submit an original essay of 500 words or fewer describing their thoughts about Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s words. The deadline for essay submission is midnight on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

The finalists will present their essays orally at a dinner beginning at 6 PM on the evening of Sunday, April 26, at the Dante Club, 2330 Fair Oaks Boulevard, in Sacramento, and a distinguished panel of judges from the community will select the first, second, and third place winners. First place will win a $3,000 scholarship, second place a $2,500 scholarship, and third place a $2,000 scholarship. The other seven finalists will all receive $1,000 each, and the two alternates will both receive $250. (We’ll send you another email in the near future with details regarding making reservations for the dinner. For now, just save the date!)

Detailed contest instructions and an entry form are available on the PSR/Sacramento website and are also attached in PDF format, along with a contest flyer. If you have other questions about the contest or would like additional information, please send an email toessaycontest@sacpsr.org or call (916) 955-6333.

We’d appreciate your help in bringing the contest to the attention of any high school seniors you know. We would also welcome your help in reading the essays and in selecting the 10 finalists and two alternates. Send us an email if you’d be willing to be an essay reader and participate in the finalist selection process.

Over the past 10 years, PSR/Sacramento has given out over $100,000 in scholarship awards. It’s through the generosity of supporters like you that we can continue to offer the scholarship essay contest every year. Tax-deductible contributions toward the scholarship fund can be made online via the donations page of the PSR/Sacramento website or sent by regular mail to PSR/Sacramento, 10 Dumfries Court, Sacramento, Ca., 95831. One hundred per cent of contributions made to the scholarship fund go directly to the students.

Thanks for your help in bringing the 2015 PSR/Sacramento Scholarship Essay Contest to the attention of this year’s class of high school seniors. And remember to save the date of Sunday, April 26, to attend the essay contest finals dinner.

Sincerely,

Bill Durston, M.D.

President, Sacramento Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility

2015 essay contest announcement w sig form

2015 Essay Contest Flyer

Dear students,

Bring your phone or music player today. Headphones might be helpful too.

Thanks,

Mr. Coey

EAP (Early Assessment Program)
http://www.calstate.edu/eap/
https://www.ets.org/csu/about
English: Practice for the EPT (English Placement Test)
http://www.csuenglishsuccess.org/ept_practice_tests
http://www.ets.org/csu/about/ept/ept_sample_questions

Math: Practice for the ELM (Entry-level Mathematics Test)
http://www.csumathsuccess.org/exam_prep
http://www.ets.org/csu/about/elm/elm_sample_questions

War is hell. Or so the maxim goes. However, our governments and soldiers often find creative linguistic euphemisms for making war seem less like hell and more like a football game. Did you know that during WWII we had a branch of government called the “War Department”? That same department is now called “The Department of Defense.”

Euphemisms make terrible ideas sound tolerable or even pleasant.

Check out this link to learn more about the euphemisms of war.

For more about the language of the Vietnam War, click this link.

Which euphemisms are most striking?

Which terms related to the Vietnam War have you seen in O’Brien’s The Things They Carried?

Tim O’Brien grew up in small-town Minnesota and describes himself as a
dreamer, not big enough to compete in sports, who made good grades and
loved magic tricks. In 1968, he was drafted into the Army’s 46th Infantry
and sent to Vietnam. Though politically he was against the war, O’Brien
served as a foot soldier in the Quang Ngai province from 1969 until 1970,
when he was hit by shrapnel from a hand grenade, earning the Purple
Heart and a ticket home.

Examining an author’s life can inform and expand the reader’s
understanding of a work of fiction. Biographical criticism is the practice of
analyzing a literary work through the lens of an author’s experience.

1. Read each of the following essays:

The Things They Carried Introduction

The Things They Carried About the Writer

Major Characters

2. Post a comment in which you identify the most important ideas a reader should be aware of while reading The Things They Carried, and explain which character you are most likely to follow closely as you read the entire novel.

3. Comments are due this Friday, November 15th

Dear students,

This is another great opportunity. Don’t miss it!

http://www.scusd.edu/e-connections-post/top-10-reasons-attend-scusd-college-fair

Coey