9/4/2014

1

Brought to you each day by Mr. Kelly

I hope you all had a great Summer vacation, relaxed, had

fun with your friends and family, as well as likely

completed an ice bucket challenge…

Now, some specifics…

Matt Kelly a.k.a Mr. Kelly a.k.a “Kelly”

From Tracadie Cross, now residing in Stratford

Graduated UPEI in 08’ with a BA, and then in 2010 with

a B.Ed (actually did some student teaching at Montague)

Spent the last four years at Morell High, with extensive

experience in English 300-421-521-621, Writing 421-521,

Global Issues 621, History 421-621

Likes:

Reading, playing sports, fishing, movies, The Big Bang Theory,

McDonald’s coffee

Dislikes:

Tardiness, disorganization, disrespect, bullying, talking while

I’m talking, texting in class, turnips

9/4/2014

2

Start time is 1:55pm, dismissal at 3:10.

However, on a flip day, we start at 12:30 – dismissal at 1:45

Please be on time. Being late, you will find yourself being locked

out of the classroom.

Upon dismissal, make sure all desks are neatly put back in place.

Also, please take all your books/pencils/cell phones with you

when leaving – or they will be carefully placed in the trash.

Arrive on time, every day.

Sit in your assigned seat.

No food allowed. Drinks are okay.

Bring all materials needed (book/pen/pencil/scribbler). Ideally, you would have a binder full of loose leaf, strictly for this class.

Bring a novel each day. We will start each class with 15-20 minutes of SSR (sacred silent reading). This is part of the READING & VIEWING section of the curriculum. During SSR, we read. Silently.

Please don’t talk when I talk. I really hate that…

Please refrain from using your cell phone in class. I also really hate that, am very good at catching those using their cell phones,

and I will take your phone if I see it out.

Respect: Myself, yourself, your peers, and our school.

Bathrooms: Please sign in and out on the sheet on the clipboard at the back of the room.

Get a USB Stick (jump drive)

Deadlines: Please meet them. I accept any assignment until

11:59pm of the due date. You may submit them digitally via

email to mkelly@edu.pe.ca before 11:59pm on the due date,

however you will be expected to provide a paper-copy for the

next class.

Please see me if you ever need:

Extra help or clarification

To bring a concern to my attention (in-class, out-of-class)

If you have an extra large coffee: double milk – one sugar

9/4/2014

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I keep a very detailed blog, called The Cave, which is located at

www.kellyblog9.wordpress.com

On here you will find:

Daily course updates of what happened in class that particular day

All power point slideshows

All assignments and assessment rubrics

Google Calendar of all important dates and upcoming assignments

Online discussion forum

MLA formatting guides and research guides

If you ever miss a day, your first stop to get caught up on missed

material should be The Cave!

You can follow Mr. Kelly on Twitter @KellyMRHS

My blog automatically sends a tweet when it is updated each

day.

Also, it is a handy way for me to spread the word on last

minute lesson changes (example: moving a test or an

assignment date - I’ll send out a tweet)

The curriculum for English 421 has been modified at bit this year, and there are TEN main outcomes for us to meet.

In order to meet those outcomes, some of the things we will be

doing in this class are:

Novel Studies/Book Clubs

Independent Reading Activities

30-Second Speeches

Write Traits/Grammar/Weekly spelling tests

Shakespeare (likely Julius Caesar)

Various writing assignments

Research

Poetry

Most assignments should be submitted in a well-typed word processing document in proper MLA Format.

You will see on the English 421 Page on my blog for complete details on how to properly format your document.

If you wish to have a copy of Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Power Point for home use, please see me – I can hook you

up!

There will be computer lab time given from time to time, which is a privilege – so don’t abuse it!

9/4/2014

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Throughout this semester, you will be doing lots of reading. During the semester, you are expected to read at least TWO titles

from the following list:

Divergent

Don’t Turn Around

Speak

Tuesdays With Morrie

A Long Way Gone

Book Thief

No and Me

The Absolute True Story of a Part Time Indian

The House of the Scorpion

The Secret Life of Bees

We also have just received our very own classroom library.

It is composed of many novels that you may see in book club

collections in Grade Eleven and Grade Twelve.

In a moment I will hand out student surveys. These serve as

a way for me to get to know you a bit better, and give you the

opportunity to let me know of anything I can do to teach you

better (what types of assignments you like, preferential

seating, etc…).

I actually do value these surveys, so take your time and

complete them to the best of your ability.

On the back of the survey, I would like to collect a writing sample from you. So, please provide a quick-write (150-200 words) on any of the following writing prompts:

My summer vacation (the highlights, the lowlights)

What I think I’m going to like the most (and/or the least) about

Montague High.

What I hope to accomplish by the end of Grade Ten (or

Graduation in 2017)

OR Freewrite