Monday, August 24, 2009

Chapter One:

Hello, and welcome to Creative Writing! I'm Mrs. Case, and as an avid reader and writer, I am excited and honored to be teaching this class this year. This is going to be a busy year, full of writing, but also reading. We will cover just about everything, from fiction and poetry to creative nonfiction and drama. During each unit, we will be creating our own work, but also taking a tip or two from the pros -- in other words, in addition to reading and discussing our own writing, we will read work from well-known and talented authors, poets, and dramatists. I am confident that whether you are new to creative writing or an aspiring Nobel laureate, you will gain valuable techniques, skills, and feedback this year.

Over the course of the year, I hope that this blog serves as a useful resource by allowing you to:
  • keep updated on daily assignments and important upcoming class deadlines
  • link to extra, interesting articles, stories, and images related to the units we study
  • post comments, ask questions, or share your thoughts
  • get in touch with me (in addition to email, phone, or drop-in communication)
  • easily link to the school Home Access Center (i.e. student grades and more)
As you may have noticed, comments to this page will be moderated (by me) to keep things (reasonably) friendly and civilized, but unless you say something that is highly insensitive or inexcusably offensive, you can feel pretty confident that your comments will be posted. I will not edit comments that have been approved; whatever is posted can and very well may be read by everyone with access to this blog (which, really, is literally everyone with internet access).

That said, please take a moment to comment to this post by briefly summarizing what you hope to get out of this class this year (personally, academically, technically, creatively, intellectually, etc.). Thanks, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Get Ready, Set, Go!

Hello, and welcome to all of my English 9 students and their parents! I am Mrs. Case, and I am very excited about this year together, and I hope that over the following months this blog proves to be a useful tool for you to:
  • access class resources
  • keep updated on class assignments, vocabulary lists, and important deadlines
  • link to school pages and up-to-date grades
  • post comments to get in touch with me, share opinions, or ask questions
  • find interesting supplementary texts, articles, or art that go with our units
Though I know this is also discussed in the syllabus and parent letter, I want to reiterate that I welcome comments or questions anytime they arise. While my school email is best (I check it constantly), I also invite you to give me a call during the school day (ext. 4193) or schedule a time to drop by (Room #36) before or after school or during Personal Assistance Time (PAT, 3rd hour).

Freshman year can be a challenging one -- more classes, more buildings, a new daily schedule, less one-on-one time with teachers, so many new people to meet, and much more. I promise that I will do everything I can to help each of my students be successful -- however, the best way for me to know that you need additional help is for you to tell me as soon as the confusion arises. :)

Best wishes for a challenging, fun, and successful freshman year!