Help! - Isabel Jenkins

At the beginning of the year, when you said "I'm going to teach to the test," I internally rolled my eyes. I figured that meant the class would become formulaic and dull. But honestly, walking into that AP test, I felt prepared - certainly more than my Physics test (I hardly even know the layout). I was definitely pressed for time on the writing, and I know I'm capable of writing much better, but in my opinion the multiple choice wasn't much different than the ones we did in class. Although I was unenthusiastic about in-class multiple choices and essays, I would prefer that than having to go into the exam without formal preparation.

However, I feel like there are some things that could be done differently. I liked doing the analysis essay first, but reading the prompt on the AP test it was like I hadn't written one in years. I found the "organic approach" effective in most situations, but the passage we had on the test was so long - I felt like my essay was weakened by my attempt to use it. Perhaps you could give students advice on analyzing shorter/longer than typical passages, so they have a clearer line of thinking in those situations.

I liked the TED talks and Socratic Seminars, but in hindsight I felt like they didn't have much relevance. The final exam projects were again interesting - but I felt ill-prepared for them. During first semester, we hadn't covered much about giving/writing speeches, we had only written essays. If we had SS first semester, maybe that could tie in better with speeches since we would have already discussed/debated with classmates? And second semester we mainly prepared for the AP test, as opposed to learning about camera and directing techniques for filming a PSA. You did show us sample PSAs and talk about speeches eventually, but other than the summer assignment I was confused as to how all these things tied in. I did love the idea of Life Lessons with Logsdon, though. If possible it might've been nice to have more time devoted to that.

*edit: YES! ACT review was a bless please continue that

Buckets and Buckets- Ben Grossman

1. Before I finish high school I want to make wind ensemble, which is the top band. I've never been super religious about practicing so I was never prepared for the audition. This year I actually practiced a little bit for the audition and made it. It only took three years and a switch from trombone to tuba to get there, but i finally did it.

2. Before I finish college I want to own my own car. My parents let me use their cars so it hasn't been a problem yet. It will be a problem though if all the cars are in use. To buy my own car i'm gonna have to get a job which will be super fun.

3. Before I die I want to go skydiving. I'm not an adrenaline junkie or anything like that, but i think this would be an incredible experience as long as i remember to a parachute.

Horray for Hollywood- Ben Grossman

Rotten Tomatoes Link- http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/interstellar_2014/#

Stress - Isabel Jenkins

Although I'd like to say I'm pretty laid-back about school, I know that's not always true. I might not pay the most attention during every class, and I might not turn in every assignment exactly on time, but in the end things usually work out. However, this year I was faced with the daunting task of AP Physics. Leading up to this year it hadn't been difficult for me to achieve good grades, but this class was... different than any other class I've had, to say the least. I feel like if you do the homework and focus on the lesson you should at least be able to get a C or B on a test. Yet I found myself with a 0/50 (YES! A 0%!) on an unfortunate three-question exam. Also, for some unknown reason, I'm hyper-sensitive to certain sounds - like I find it nearly impossible to focus even on simple tasks if someone is loudly chewing gum beside me. It's weird, but it's a major source of frustration.

While I know certain things are out of my control, I can't help but feel stressed in these situations. So when I'm aggravated about grades and people and school, I try to take a step back and realize the big picture. Even if do get a poor grade, I'll still get into college and probably still be successful. And I'll always have to deal with difficult people, but in college I'll have tons of new people to interact with. If that doesn't work, I might hang out with friends and gripe to them. It's always surprising how many people relate, or say "YES! I feel the same way!" But if no one's free, I distract myself with other activities I like, such as cooking obnoxious health food, doodling on the violin, attempting to use my mom's camera, listening to music really loud, and binge-watching on netflix.

Help- Will Mathews

Thank you for what has to be probably my Favorite English class ever, I felt very prepared for the AP test, as well as feeling that I learned other things of value this year.

The AP English test is very different from the usual AP tests in that there is little content you can teach for it, you either know how to write and analyze or you don’t. Teaching the academy you have luck in that most of us are able to do those things, however instead of just relying on us to do well on the test based on our natural ability you were able to shape our English talents to the best of their abilities. The  spaced out practice tests and essays we took and wrote allowed us to get feedback on what we were doing right and wrong, without overloading us with hugely unnecessary assignments, that I know many other unfortunate juniors faced.  So as far as the test went, I felt fully prepared to do well, without feeling vastly overworked.

In addition to the test, I think we did a good job learning other important English things by participating in Socratic seminars, learning extensive new vocab, and in ding these blog posts.

 The only thing I would change about your class is that I did feel like there were days, and I’m not complaining here, I’m all for less work, that we could have accomplished more work if we had perhaps watched less YouTube videos or things of that nature.

 

Help!- Andrew Collins

I'd like to say that overall this class was a very nice class to have junior year. I enjoyed that it was fairly relaxed while still remaining very effective, especially during a year that for most of us is the most difficult. I only have a few gripes:

1. When the AP test came I felt grossly unprepared for the analysis piece. I think this one is the easiest to remedy. If it hadn't been almost 4 months since the last time I wrote an analysis essay and had it graded when I walked into Whitehall, I would have felt far more confident. I understand the reasoning behind the time frame in which we write each type of essay, but I think it would be much more effective if it was mixed up a little more.

2. The Socratic Seminars caught me way off my guard. The transition from almost no homework to very large assignments was disorienting, especially when we were also writing lots of things for APUSH (which I didn't expect you to have any control over). I'm not entirely sure how you could remedy this, I just know that it was really weird and awkward.

3. I know you've acknowledged this already, but more preparation for the citation stuff. It would probably be best to go over it pretty close to the AP test since it would slip our minds pretty quickly.

One of my favorite things you did was the ACT review. Having that quick review and gaining that familiarity was crucial to people like me who didn't study for it; I owe my 35 to you a thousand times over, so thanks for that.

The Future- Andrew Collins

Looking back on it, this year was pretty great, especially second semester. In January, I made the All District Jazz and Concert Bands. I was in the lower band for each one, but since alto is extremely competitive for the amount of spots it gets, I did really well. When it was all said and done I was the third best player in the entire district in Concert and in Jazz. And as a player I've greatly improved this semester, thanks mostly to the much more rigorous practice schedule that I recently adopted.

In the area of school, I did fairly well in all my classes, but my most important accomplishment was my ACT score. I couldn't believe it, but I got a 35 (which I didn't expect mainly because I didn't study and the last time I had taken the test was in 7th grade). All of the sudden I realized that I could go to most of the colleges in the country with that ACT score and my GPA.

Finally, I succeeded in one of the most important auditions of my life, and became a Drum major for the 2015 Henry Clay marching band. I now have the opportunity to lead my favorite group of people to results that none of us could ever imagine.

All in all, this year was pretty great.