The Writing Assignments Thus Far

1) React to the Obama speech
2) College: Why or Why Not?
3) The perfect high school would be...

All essays should be two pages in your notebooks.

Birthdays and How to Have a Discussion

Today we sat in a circle and ate cookies during Family Group. The topics were chosen by the students. Some students are more likely to dominate the conversation than others. How do we have a civil discussion, where people don't interrupt one-another? Do we need a "talking stick"? Can people be quiet and hear each other? Family Group members may feel reluctant to talk if they think others will shout over them, even if those others don't intend rudeness. How can we be respectful of one-another, while allowing people to be themselves and express their personalities? We need to talk more about this.

We briefly discussed the "cook-off" idea. Alicia suggested that we do it for Thanksgiving, and that way there will be a way to keep things hot.

Someone should be a note-taker for each class session, so we keep the blog updated.

Camilla brought the Family Group pizza for lunch in celebration of the September-October birthdays.

Topics for Family Group

Philosophy of life: Where are you headed? What do you want to do with your life?

College Now: If you're interested, see Jose. If you got a 75 or above on the ELA
Regents you are eligible for the College Now program. That means you take college courses at John Jay, and they are FREE!

Jose is having a trip to the SUNY College Fair at the Javits Center on Thursday, Sept 24. If you are interested, see him. We will leave the school at 3:15 that day, and I plan on being a chaperone. Join us!

NOW is the time for you to begin planning for college. Start your research! What are the entrance requirements to your schools of choice? Do you have to write an essay as part of your application? (If you do, see me.) When are applications due? We will be using the computers to research colleges and courses of study.

Name Game, Sarah from Dr. Oz's Health Initiative, Cooking, Birthday Pizza

1. We played the name game and learned each others' names.

2. Sarah, from Dr. Oz's Health Initiative, visited the Family Group. She said that she is available in her office, which is on the first floor in the same suite of offices as Global Kids. If you have any questions about health, or wish to make a suggestion about health programs you'd like to see here, see Sarah.

3. We discussed cooking. Andre discussed his prowess with spaghetti sauce and baked ziti; Camilla, Matthew and Jose talked about cooking ribs; and Joseph also spoke about making spaghetti. Should we have a Family Group cook-off? How would we keep everything hot? This needs to be explored further.

4. Isamar wants pepperoni pizza in celebration of her birthday this Thursday. If we are going to do that, it would have to be at lunch, so the pizza can be gotten beforehand. I am willing to consider it. It would be in celebration of the September and October birthdays.

Welcome to Family Group, Fall 2009, Cycle 1

Hi, Family Group members. Welcome to Fall 2009 at West Side High School.

This year, each member of our Family Group will be required to keep a journal. Your first assignment is to listen to President Obama's speech welcoming students back to school. You can view the speech here.

Write a two-page written response to his words in your journal.

Assignment, Week Two:
In your journal, respond to the writing prompt: College: Why, or Why Not?

What do you plan to do in your future? Do you plan to go to college? Why or why not? What do you plan to do in your future? Write a two-page response in your journal.