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Applications are available for the MMS Summer reading Ambassadors

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Applications are available for the MMS Summer reading Ambassadors

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Online applications are available for the 2021 Summer Reading Ambassadors program, which is open to all students in grade 6 and grade 7. A description of the program can be found at this link, and the applications form is available at this link. If you have questions about the program, please contact Francis Janosco at fjanosco@darienps.org.

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Award-winning and best-selling author Madeline Miller will be conducting a virtual visit with DHS students on Friday, February 26, at 1pm. Students should consult with a DHS English teacher for further details.

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Honors / AP Applications Available with a January 15 Deadline

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Honors / AP Applications Available with a January 15 Deadline

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The DHS Chapter of the National English Honor Society is accepting new applications for the 2020-2021 school year. If your student is in 10th,11th, or 12th grade, is passionate about writing, and enjoys reading and discussing literature, please encourage him or her to apply. Please keep in mind that the primary service project associated with this honor society is helping to staff our peer-to-peer writing center, so your student should keep this in mind as well. Applications are due by Friday, November 13, at 2:30 PM. The applications are online and only accessible through Google Classroom (class code = qjafppq). Please reach out to Ms. McCarthy (emccarthy@darienps.org) with any questions.

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The 2020 edition of CURRENT, the DHS student-produced literary magazine, is ready for readers! This year's edition is entitled "Found in the Fog," and it, as always, features all of the year's best examples of creative written expression produced by DHS students.

Give it a read!

https://issuu.com/hilarygraham/docs/found_in_the_fog__current_2020

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MMS Student Essay Contest: Last Week for Entries!

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MMS Student Essay Contest: Last Week for Entries!

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CONTEST THEME: Ways we are finding positivity within our present circumstances.

CONTEST RULES

Each submission must be typed, double-spaced, and approximately 650 words minimum.

Think of this as a narrative piece; you can use school-appropriate slang and “voice,” seeing that this is about your real life.

When complete, submit to Mr. Jarboe (KJarboe@darienps.org) via email.

CONTEST DEADLINE:

All submissions must be received by the end of the day on May 30th.

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Some prompts to get you started on your draft:

1. Nature – Have you started to appreciate warm weather a bit more (or any type of weather)?

2. Siblings – Have they made this time a bit more fun or interesting?

3. Parents – How have they demonstrated positivity?

4. Simple things – A bike ride, an Ice Cream Sandwich, a good song.  How have they lifted your spirits?

5. Netflix/Youtube – Can you imagine this without them? What if we didn’t have computers?

6. Books – Have you found entertainment/inspiration in the written word?

7. Community – Have you noticed how Darien and MMS have become a stronger community to help us get through this time?

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Tomorrow is the big day for students enrolled in our AP English Literature and Composition course. As these students prepare for writing the essay for the modified version of this very challenging AP exam, all of our teachers wish them the best.

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The NEHS STUDENT WRITING CENTER Returns!

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The NEHS STUDENT WRITING CENTER Returns!

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DHS students looking for useful feedback on their writing should book an appointment at the (Now Digital) Writing Center. Here are the steps:
1. Sign up for the Google Classroom (join code = qeoakni) for useful writing resources, announcements, and updates.
2. Book 30-minute Zoom appointments with our writing tutors using the following link: dhswritingcenter.youcanbook.me.*

* In order to allow our tutors time to organize their schedules, we ask that students book appointments at least two days in advance.

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All DHS students are welcome to participate in an NEHS-sponsored writing contest (details here) about a celebrated contemporary poem (linked here). Submissions should run approximately 650 words in an informal style (see details) and be submitted to the contest Google Classroom (see details).

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Parents of Students in Grades 6 and  7: Please tell your students that the application deadline for the Summer Reading Ambassadors Program has been extended to Thursday, April 9. Please keep in mind that the requirements and responsibilities for those selected to be ambassadors will be modified based upon our ever-changing circumstances. Please submit an application (link here) as an email attached file sent directly to me, Mr. Janosco, the 6-12 English department chair, at fjanosco@darienps.org. If you have questions about any aspect of the program, please email me at the same address.

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It is a highly unusual feeling to be out of our classrooms in the middle of March, but these are unusual times. While it is not the same thing as engaging with students inside a classroom, our 6-12 English teachers -- along with all of the other department's teachers -- have collaborated on some great curriculum-related learning activities that will engage your students at home. We hope you will encourage your students to keep their skills sharp by taking on these learning activities. To access these activities, students should start with our district's eLearning page. MMS students can access the activities from this site directly, while DHS students will encounter a series of web-based resources. (DHS students should access an individual teacher's Google Classroom for activities specific to that course.)

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Here is our NEHS-sponsored essay contest. All DHS students are welcome to submit entries. Click on the document below for more details.

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A Curious Essay Contest (Darien High School)

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Applications for the DHS Chapter of NEHS

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Applications for the DHS Chapter of NEHS

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Forms are available for those DHS students who wish to apply to the National English Honor Society. The yellow forms are available in my DHS office (they are in plain site atop a black cart next to the doorway), and we are promoting the application process through daily morning announcements, updates in the DPN emails to parents, teacher announcements in class, posts on Instagram and Twitter, and flyers in the English wing hallway. THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING STUDENT APPLICATIONS IS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31. (Completed applications must be returned to Ms. McCarthy in the DHS English department office.)

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Over the past week, DHS English teachers have encouraged students in all 300-level non-elective courses to provide feedback on our new 9-12 summer reading program, one that we rolled out last spring. Approximately 80% of these students completed the survey, and, in separate posts below, you can see highlights of this feedback.

Based on these results, we are going to need to communicate out the program requirements earlier in the spring, and we are going to need to explore additional means for getting the message out to students and parents. However, if we can all agree on the importance of having students maintain their reading lives in the summer, then, ultimately, based on these survey results, we can consider this new choice-based 9-12 program to be a positive step forward and a sensible extension of the 6-8 summer reading requirements.

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Summer Reading Survey - Assessment of Book.JPG

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Summer Reading Survey - Read Ordinarily.JPG

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PARENT EVENT: Workshops on Standardized State Assessments

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PARENT EVENT: Workshops on Standardized State Assessments

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On Thursday, March 14, the district will be providing parent workshops on the subject of state standardized testing. The middle school workshop will run from 10:15 to 11:00, while the high school workshop will run from 11:15 to noon. All workshops will be held at the BOE meeting room, and, for those who cannot attend in person, the event will be livestreamed (link).

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Recent Reading: The Story of Ain't (David Skinner, 2012)

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Recent Reading: The Story of Ain't (David Skinner, 2012)

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One of the many fascinating dimensions of David Skinner's The Story of Ain't, an historical account of the development and aftermath of the most controversial American dictionary ever published (the 1961 edition of Merriam-Webster's), is its treatment of grammar and usage. Midway through the book, for example, Skinner guides us through a 1940 NCTE-commissioned study, one based on 3,000 letters written by contemporary native speakers. Ultimately, the study highlights the difference between language strategies that citizens actually used versus the "make-believe correctness [of a] standard English" that had "practically no currency outside the classroom."

That distinction is critical when making decisions about how to address grammar and usage instruction in our contemporary classrooms. This year, the professional development theme for our 6-12 English department is "identifying ways of embedding meaningful grammar and usage concepts" in our lessons. Much of our study and reflection has been concerned with those concepts that are critical for the precise articulation of a student's ideas versus those concepts that are closer to "make-believe" and overly pedantic.

Case in point: The split-infinitive, for decades one of English teachers' most targeted student-writer errors, but one that is reflective of a rule derived from Latin grammar and one that is widely used by respected professional writers. Splitting an infinitive rarely interferes with a reader's comprehension, and, moreover, when strictly adhered to, contributes an awkward, overly formal effect. (Which seems more natural, "The teacher advised us to always revise our essays" or "The teacher advised us always to revise our essays"?)

Anyone interested in the development of American English -- and the tensions behind that development -- will find Skinner's book an indispensable read.

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It is my pleasure to provide this resource to you, the parents and guardians of the fantastic students who populate our classrooms at MMS, DHS, and Fitch Academy.

While some aspects of this site are more complete than others, my hope is that, even now, you will discover new pieces of information about the work we do in our 6-12 English Department.

The old saw "the only thing that is constant is change" continues to be an apt description of our practice, as we are working on a number of department initiatives that will put your students in better position to succeed. As we engage in this good work, I plan to periodically share highlights with you right here, as well as other thoughts pertaining to our discipline.

Thanks for checking in.