Hello Students,
I am writing for a couple of reasons, first to let you know that you have an extension for your final projects. Seniors I would like for you to email yours to me by senior checkout day, everyone else you have until the Friday of finals week to get yours emailed to me. My email address is amber_smith@dpsk12.org. You can also use this email to ask me any questions you may have.
Now that that is out of the way, here is the full story. On Sunday April 30, 2007 I fell down the stairs and broke my right foot in three places and severely sprained both ankles. I am in a wheelchair right now, because I am not allowed to really walk. My doctor has ordered that I stay home and heal. I didn't want you all to think that I had abandon you or that you did anything to make me leave. I will still be contacting many of you this summer just to check in with you. Seniors I will be following up with you for a year so please make sure that I have all of your correct contact information. If you need anything from me that I can provide, just let me know. Thank you all for this semester, I have learned so much and I am hoping that in the fall we will be able to do more activities outside of the school. I am going to make sure that we focus on that and that you all are getting the skills that you will need in order to implement these things. I definitely miss your stories and I hopefully I will be in a walking cast in about a month. Again email me if you need anything.
Sincerely,
Ms. Smith
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Prom
School plans 1st non-segregated prom
After decades of separate functions, students hope to unite behind dance
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:11 a.m. MT April 10, 2007
ASHBURN, Ga. - Breaking from tradition, high school students in this small town are getting together for this year’s prom.
Prom night at Turner County High has long been an evening of de facto segregation: white students organized their own unofficial prom, while black students did the same.
This year’s group of seniors didn’t want that legacy. When the four senior class officers — two whites and two blacks — met with Principal Chad Stone at the start of the school year, they had more on their minds than changes to the school’s dress code.
They wanted an all-school prom. They wanted everyone invited.
On April 21, they’ll have their wish. The town’s auditorium will be transformed into a tropical scene, and for the first time, every junior and senior, regardless of race, will be invited.
The prom’s theme: Breakaway.
“Everybody says that’s just how it’s always been. It’s just the way of this very small town,” said James Hall, a 17-year-old black student who is the senior class president.
“But it’s time for a change.”
There are excited announcements of the upcoming dance plastered all over the school, where about 55 percent of students are black and most of the rest are white.
A makeshift countdown to the prom is displayed as a cardboard cutout on a main hallway. Student council members canvass the hallways, asking students to buy a $25 ticket and be a part of history. In the cafeteria, images of palm trees and waterfalls brighten up the sterile walls. “The First Ever!” a poster exclaims. “Got your haircut?”
Difficult taskStudents say the self-segregation that splits social circles in school mirrors the attitude of this town of 4,000 people. So getting every student to break from the past could be a difficult task.
With prom night about two weeks away, only half of the 160 upper-class students have bought tickets. And there’s talk around the school that some white students might throw a competing party at a nearby lake.
“Everyone is saying they’re not going to the school prom,” said Steven Tuller, a 17-year-old white junior who doesn’t plan to attend either event because he wants to wait until he’s a senior. “They’re saying it’s tradition.”
Yet Turner County High already has defied tradition this year. The school abandoned its practice of naming separate white and black homecoming queens. Instead, a mixed-race student was named the county’s first solo homecoming queen.
'Life's got to move on'Some alumni welcome change at Turner County High.
“People still think of how life was 20, 30 years ago,” said Keith Massey, a 1990 graduate who now runs the popular Keith-A-Que restaurant in town, about 75 miles south of Macon. “And life’s got to move on.”
Massey recalls an attempt to integrate one of the prom parties when he was in school, but few whites showed up. Attempts to organize a school-wide prom in recent years failed because of a lack of student support.
Stone, serving his first year as the school’s principal, has been enthusiastic about an integrated prom. He’s funneling $5,000 of his meager discretionary fund to hire a DJ and buy decorations, and he’s persuaded a photographer to set up shop at the civic center to snap photos of the couples before the dance.
“This senior class is a close-knit group from top to bottom, and they want to do what’s right,” said Stone, who is white. “They wanted a full school prom. And I told them if they would do it, I’d do them right.”
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
How do you feel about this article?
What would you do if you were the students in years past?
What would you do if you were the current students?
How is this different from your high school experience?
How is this similar to your high school experience?
Do you feel that there is segregation at your school? If so, how?
What are your feelings on segregation in general?
Is there ever a time when segregation is beneficial?
After decades of separate functions, students hope to unite behind dance
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:11 a.m. MT April 10, 2007
ASHBURN, Ga. - Breaking from tradition, high school students in this small town are getting together for this year’s prom.
Prom night at Turner County High has long been an evening of de facto segregation: white students organized their own unofficial prom, while black students did the same.
This year’s group of seniors didn’t want that legacy. When the four senior class officers — two whites and two blacks — met with Principal Chad Stone at the start of the school year, they had more on their minds than changes to the school’s dress code.
They wanted an all-school prom. They wanted everyone invited.
On April 21, they’ll have their wish. The town’s auditorium will be transformed into a tropical scene, and for the first time, every junior and senior, regardless of race, will be invited.
The prom’s theme: Breakaway.
“Everybody says that’s just how it’s always been. It’s just the way of this very small town,” said James Hall, a 17-year-old black student who is the senior class president.
“But it’s time for a change.”
There are excited announcements of the upcoming dance plastered all over the school, where about 55 percent of students are black and most of the rest are white.
A makeshift countdown to the prom is displayed as a cardboard cutout on a main hallway. Student council members canvass the hallways, asking students to buy a $25 ticket and be a part of history. In the cafeteria, images of palm trees and waterfalls brighten up the sterile walls. “The First Ever!” a poster exclaims. “Got your haircut?”
Difficult taskStudents say the self-segregation that splits social circles in school mirrors the attitude of this town of 4,000 people. So getting every student to break from the past could be a difficult task.
With prom night about two weeks away, only half of the 160 upper-class students have bought tickets. And there’s talk around the school that some white students might throw a competing party at a nearby lake.
“Everyone is saying they’re not going to the school prom,” said Steven Tuller, a 17-year-old white junior who doesn’t plan to attend either event because he wants to wait until he’s a senior. “They’re saying it’s tradition.”
Yet Turner County High already has defied tradition this year. The school abandoned its practice of naming separate white and black homecoming queens. Instead, a mixed-race student was named the county’s first solo homecoming queen.
'Life's got to move on'Some alumni welcome change at Turner County High.
“People still think of how life was 20, 30 years ago,” said Keith Massey, a 1990 graduate who now runs the popular Keith-A-Que restaurant in town, about 75 miles south of Macon. “And life’s got to move on.”
Massey recalls an attempt to integrate one of the prom parties when he was in school, but few whites showed up. Attempts to organize a school-wide prom in recent years failed because of a lack of student support.
Stone, serving his first year as the school’s principal, has been enthusiastic about an integrated prom. He’s funneling $5,000 of his meager discretionary fund to hire a DJ and buy decorations, and he’s persuaded a photographer to set up shop at the civic center to snap photos of the couples before the dance.
“This senior class is a close-knit group from top to bottom, and they want to do what’s right,” said Stone, who is white. “They wanted a full school prom. And I told them if they would do it, I’d do them right.”
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
How do you feel about this article?
What would you do if you were the students in years past?
What would you do if you were the current students?
How is this different from your high school experience?
How is this similar to your high school experience?
Do you feel that there is segregation at your school? If so, how?
What are your feelings on segregation in general?
Is there ever a time when segregation is beneficial?
Monday, April 9, 2007
Cold Call
Period 3 read the following scenerio and answers the questions at the bottom in complete sentences on your blog.
Caller: Hey, How you doing? I am calling about the job in the paper. I am just the
guy you are looking for!
Respondent: Which job are you calling about sir?
Caller: You know, the one in the paper. I don't know what it's called, but I can do
the job.
Respondent: I see. What type of work experience do you have related to this job?
Caller: Lots.
Respondent: Can you be a little more specific?
Caller: Well not at this point. I worked a couple of weeks at Bubba's Bar B-Q, but I
didn't like old man Jordan. He wanted me to work weekends!
Respondent: I see Mr._____ I didn't get your last name. We will contact you if we
would like to invite you for an interview. Don't call us we'll call you.
Questions:
Would you invite the caller for an interview? Why or why not?
What are some things that the caller did well?
What could the caller have done to improve their cold call?
Should the respondent have helped the caller more than they did?
If you were the respondent how would you have handled the situation? Why?
Would you behave like either the caller or the respondent on a cold call? Why?
Caller: Hey, How you doing? I am calling about the job in the paper. I am just the
guy you are looking for!
Respondent: Which job are you calling about sir?
Caller: You know, the one in the paper. I don't know what it's called, but I can do
the job.
Respondent: I see. What type of work experience do you have related to this job?
Caller: Lots.
Respondent: Can you be a little more specific?
Caller: Well not at this point. I worked a couple of weeks at Bubba's Bar B-Q, but I
didn't like old man Jordan. He wanted me to work weekends!
Respondent: I see Mr._____ I didn't get your last name. We will contact you if we
would like to invite you for an interview. Don't call us we'll call you.
Questions:
Would you invite the caller for an interview? Why or why not?
What are some things that the caller did well?
What could the caller have done to improve their cold call?
Should the respondent have helped the caller more than they did?
If you were the respondent how would you have handled the situation? Why?
Would you behave like either the caller or the respondent on a cold call? Why?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Blog #3- Who I Would Like To Meet
I would like to meet Senator Barack Obama. (Picture: Presidential Hopeful Barack Obama and Superman, http://obama.senate.gov )
Students,
Answer the following questions in 2-5 paragraphs (approximately 5 sentences per paragraph), and post it on your blog. You may write more if you so choose. I will be checking for spelling and grammar in this post, so write as though you are writing a paper to be turned in for your English class. If you are not sure how to spell a word, look the word up using the dictionary reference site. Make sure to read the definition so that you are sure that is what you want to say.
Who would you most like to meet, they can be living or dead? Why would you like to meet them? What questions would you ask them and Why? How do you think they might respond?(You are more than welcome to look them up to, in order to get an idea of how they would respond, there is a resource section at the bottom of this blog to help you.) What do you think the impact of this conversation would be on you?
If you have any questions for me please feel free to ask, and you may also comment by clicking the comments tab at the bottom of this posting.
Resources:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/ (for citing sources)
Grading Expectations:
50-49: The blog was written in complete sentences and paragraphs. Spelling and grammar were correct. Any refrences used were properly cited at the end of the blog.
40-39- The blog was written with a few sentence errors and full paragraphs. Spelling and grammar were mainly correct. All references used were properly cited at the end of the blog.
30-29- The blog was written with some sentence errors, paragraphs were not 3-5 sentences long. There were errors in spelling and grammar. All references used were properly cited at the end of the blog.
20-19- The blog was written with many sentence errors, paragraphs were short. There were errors in spelling and grammar. Not all references were properly cited at the end of the blog.
10 & below - The blog was not well written, there were sentence errors and paragraphs were extremely short. There were major errors in spelling and grammar. References used were not cited properly or at all at the end of the blog.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Blog #2- How I Learn
(Victorian Lady By Alix Beaujour) Students,
Please click on the link below. Then find the section that says, "Learning Styles." Answer the questions. Once you have been told your learning style, create a new blog post and tell me your learning style and if you think that is an accurate account of how you learn. Give examples of why this may or may not be true. If you have questions please ask.
Ms. Smith
Monday, February 5, 2007
Blog # 1- Who Are You?
(Sankofa symbol from Adinkra symbols in West Africa)Students,
Please read and answer the following questions in a new post on your blog entitled "Who Are You?" (Hint: You may copy and paste these questions and answers to your blog and just change the answers to suit you.) I have answered these questions in regards to myself so that you are able to get a little more insight into who I am and some of the people and things that inspire me. I hope to be able to do the same thing for you, so please take this seriously. No one else will read your answers unless you allow them to do so. Please respect each other and do not lean over and read your neighbors work. Have fun.
Sincerely,
Ms. Smith
1.) How many siblings do you have? I do not have any siblings. I am an only child.
2.) Where do you live? I live in South East Denver.
3.)Who is your favorite singer?I have a few favorite singers; Dianne Reeves, Anita Baker, Beyonce, Luther Vandross and Maxwell.
4.)Who is your favorite actor? And Why?My favorite male actor is Gary Oldman because he brings a newness and creativity to every performance. My favorite female actor is Dorothy Dandridge because she endured so many things in terms of predjudice and discrimination in her life, so that younger generations would not have to. She was also the first African-American woman to be nominated for an Oscar in the catergory of best actress.
5.)Who is the most influential person in your life? And Why? The most influential person in my life is my Dad. He gives me great advice and is very supportive of any decision that I make.
6.)What do you care about most? And Why?I care most about maintaining my faith and spirituality, because it is what keeps me grounded and focused on my goals.
7.)Who do you care about most? And why? I care most about my entire family, because they are a huge support for me and I really enjoy having a close family.
8.)What do you want to be when you are done with school?Once I have completed my Master's Degree I would like to continue on with school and obtain a doctorate. Then open a Children's Theatre Literacy Program.
9.)Where would you like to go to college? And why? For my doctorate I would like to go to Georgia State University for Public Policy or Brown University for Theatre Arts.
10.) Where do you want to be in the next 10 years?In the next ten years I would like to be running my own business.
Ms. Smith
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