Thursday, January 5th

Welcome back to a new year at Hillcrest!!  I'm sure the break seemed short, but I'm excited to get things rolling!!

This blog is meant to be used by both students and parents to keep up with the classwork and homework in Pre-AP English and the AHSGE Reading Review class taught by Justin Ray.  If you have questions about anything in the course, please let me know by emailing me at jlray@tcss.net

Pre-AP
To start out the year, we did the normal introductory stuff.  You know, personal introductions, syllabus review, etc., etc.  The main thing you need to look at for today is the homework, found below:

Homework: There are several things that you need to do to start your year off right!  They are:

-- Re-read through the class syllabus and have your parent or legal guardian fill out the information sheet that accompanies the syllabus.  THESE ARE DUE ON MONDAY, JANUARY 9th and will be your first grade in the class!

-- Begin writing a five-paragraph, typed essay on the role that prejudice plays in The Hunger Games.  THIS IS ALSO DUE ON MONDAY, JANUARY 9TH!!

-- Order or buy Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes.  A great and cheap place to buy it is www.half.com .  You will need a copy of this book by Wednesday, January 18th.

-- Begin reading Romeo and Juliet Act I.  We will have a quiz on it (and The Secret Life of Bees) on Wednesday, January 11th.

AHSGE Reading Review
In today's class, we introduced ourselves and covered the class syllabus.  We also began watching a documentary from 20/20 about education on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the challenges that teenagers there must overcome in order to receive an education.  The point of this activity is to prove that no matter a student's background, he or she can accomplish anything he or she sets his or her mind to.  We need to make sure to start this year off right by preparing our minds to pass the graduation exam in March.