It was truly an honor and a privilege to facilitate such an exceptional and interesting group of students this year. In the "before times" I often joked about "the four-hour version of the class" and my (ambitious? quixotic? bloated?) lesson plans are a reflection of how much I enjoyed your reading and writing, and especially your discussions. Even though the quarantine limited class time and personal interaction at the end, I am grateful for the valuable discussions and debates we were able to engage in before mid-March.
I've learned so much during our time this year and I hope you find that your reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills are better than they were a year ago. As you move forward into senior year and beyond, my advice -- for what it's worth -- is to continue to be fully engaged, keep up with current events, read while SOAPSing, participate in civic life, and travel and have as many adventures and experiences as you can. Also, visit me next year or drop me a line and keep me posted about what's going on in your life.
Here's what this entry will cover: 1. the agenda and final assignment info, 2. summer reading, and 3. a message from the College and Career Center.
TUESDAY: Last class session, live on Zoom. Go through the final checklist for college essay drafts: push for details, remove cliches, fix any diction/syntax issues. Introduce free choice summer reading, college and career center updates. Time for me to say "thank you" to all the students, and congratulate you on a wild, but wonderful year!
Due: by noon on Tuesday, June 9: full rough draft, in the ballpark of the required word count (within 200-250 words) to Turnitin.com.
SUMMER READING
Click here for the summer reading information; this year, it's free choice*!
*There's always a catch, isn't there? There are guidelines: 150 pages, at grade level, dialectical journal.
FROM THE COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER
There are a few links of exceptional importance before we break for summer... the first is the YouTube Junior JumpStart presentations that the counselors put together to provide detailed guidance and a timeline of what the junior class could be/should be thinking about and working on this summer to prepare for the likelihood of college applications in the fall: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URlkSPcKUU8
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Palos Verdes High School, Palos Verdes Estates, California.
www.youtube.com
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Besides the video
presentation, there is the second link to the corresponding powerpoint
that follows the video, but has exceptionally good hyperlinks to
additional information and resources: https://4.files.edl.io/a76c/05/28/20/164024-f7d4959c-f5c0-407b-86c4-888d182d259b.pdf
I've
also included a link to another opportunity for our students/parents to
sit in on and participate in panel discussions next week with colleges
ranging from West Point, to the Culinary Institute of America! Topics
iclude: Engineering Your College Essay: A STEM Perspective on College Essays / Admission to The U.S. Military Academy at West Point
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Marist
College is a highly selective comprehensive liberal arts institution
noted for its leadership in the use of technology in and out of the
classroom.
www.marist.edu
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Considering
the fact that we will not have "business as usual" college visits next
year, together with the fact that the vast majority of colleges have
gone test optional, there's just a lot of pro-active and individual
research our juniors have to begin doing... there's also a lot they need
to know about how to approach their applications in the fall.
Which brings me to the last link which is to info/registration for a Common App Crash Course
that the CCC will offer on June 16th. It's a 4hr intensive on June
16th that I would have loved to have done differently, but under the
circumstances I believe it will provide some much needed direction,
insight and information. This is the first time the CCC will ask for a
donation because of impending budget restraints, but it is a donation
and all juniors are welcome. For juniors, whether at PV or a different high school,
please just send an email to me at lewisja@pvpusd.net with an email address so I can send the Zoom link:
https://pvboosterclub.com/product/class-of-2021-common-app-crash-course/
