Journalism - Photo Contest

Attention Students!

This week you will receive information regarding a photo contest we will have to encourage you to continue developing your skills as photographers. You will each be required (for a grade) to take new photos, and you will enter your three best photos into different categories for the contest. You will only be graded on three photos, but you will have to take many photos to get three that are submission worthy.

The categories are the following (taken from the "Big Photo Ideas" guide from Jostens):

1. Get an angle: Great yearbook photos should take the reader to someplace they can not go to themselves. Shooting from a different angle helps do just that.

2. Have to have emotion: We have always believed that the best pictures in the yearbook have one of two things - either great emotion or action.

3. Action is a must: Your photo has no emotion? Then it has to have action. Stop that action anyway you can. It turly grabs the reader.

4. Get close: No matter what you are taking a picture of, your pictures will attract the reader's eye that much better if you get closer to your subject.

5. Show the eyes: the poets say that "the eyes are the windows to the soul." Take this to heart when you shoot or choose photos.

The photos will be due Monday, May 10th.

Comics in Journalism

For those of you who are going to attempt to draw/write/create comics, I thought I would post a link to the frequently anthologized book Understanding Comics. It also happens to be written in comic form. Enjoy!

Journalism - Christian Interpretation of Article

Due March 31, 2010 - 3/4 page typed, double spaced Must include 1 scriptural reference
I would like all of you to find an article and write an interpretation of the article through the lens of scripture. Key questions to guide your reaction to the article could be:
1. How does God's word influence my understanding of the content of this article?
2. What particular scriptures connect thematically to the concent of the article?
3. How might a Christian and a non-Christian read this article differently?
I am hoping that this assignment will be useful to you both on a personal level but also as a possible entry for your Bible portfolio.
UPDATE: 03/11/10 - Please also include a copy of the article with your typed response so that I can also read it. Thanks!

HS and MS Drama - Researching "The Music Man"

In small groups, research your assigned topic from the list below. Be prepared to hand in answers to the questions or a summary of your group's discussion about the questions. Be ready to present your findings to the class.

1. The time period. The Music Man was produced during the 1950s, but it takes place during the turn of the century (early 1900s). Research the terms "old time" and "old timey." What do they mean? Why do you think it is important to understand that The Music Man was written forty or fifty years after the time period it portrays?

2. Fashion. How did people dress during the turn of the century? What were the current fashion trends? Based on what you find, how could a student at VCHS create a somewhat authentic looking turn of the century ensemble for their costume?

3. The setting of The Music Man is River City, Iowa, a fictional place based on the author's hometown of Mason City, Iowa. Why do you think Meridith Wilson chose this setting? What does the midwest represent in American culture?

4. The plot - What is the story of The Music Man? Who are the main characters and what are they trying to get? Why is this story still relevent today?

5. The author - Who was Meredith Wilson? Why is he an important figure in American drama? What are his major accomplishments? He is most famous for The Music Man - what other work did he compose?

Journalism - Yearbook Previews

We will dedicate three class days to preview the HS yearbook (02/17, 02/18, 02/19) and three days to preview the elementary and MS yearbook (03/01, 03/02, 03/03). To get the most out of these sessions, please prepare your pages as much as possible. Your classmates and I will provide feedback about the layout of the pages, photo selections, font, background and other design features. The more you have done, the more productive these sessions will be!

Now THAT'S a yearbook-worthy basketball team photo.

New Calendar! - All Classes

I just created a google calendar for your viewing pleasure! As of today, all of the information from the classroom whiteboard calendar will be available on the google calendar. All rehearsal dates for drama are also posted.

MS Drama - Selecting a Monologue

Greetings, Students! I hope you're all having a nice weekend. As promised, here are some helpful links for preparing to audition and selecting a monologue. I was glad to see that several of you were able to select a monologue during class time on Thursday.

This site has some great tips for preparing to auditions and lists some resources you can use for selecting monologues.

This site has many monologues for kids. You can only read excerpts, but they should give you a pretty good idea of what types of themes you can incorporate into a monologue and might inspire you to write your own. You'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the monologues that are more appropriate for preteens and young teens. Yes, I know that the first batch are more suitable for the little kids. :)

Horton's Free Monologues has some public domain monologues available. At the bottom of the main page, select "teenager" and then either "man" or "woman" to find monologues appropriate to your age.

A few of you recommended this site in class.

Journalism - Article Deadlines

Today I met with over half of you to set deadlines for the articles for our March newspaper. Those of you who have not met with me or were absent need to hand in your article action plan and schedule a conference with me.

Remember, it typically is best to avoid scheduling your due date the last week of the month since this puts a lot of strain on our student editor. Choosing February 19th works well for your teacher because it gives her the whole weekend to revise your work. :)

Journalism - Upcoming Due Dates

Just a friendly reminder about some of our impending due dates.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, February 9th) is the last day to turn in your advertising attempt paperwork. You needed to contact a minimum of four area businesses and record their responses regarding their interest in advertising with us. Rate sheets and contracts have been available by the printer for the past week.

Wednesday (February 10th) is the last day to get your article action plan approved by me. Some of you have already taken care of this, but those of you that have not need to have that form filled out when you arrive in class that day.

Friday (February 12th) is the last day to get your grades for overdue unfinished yearbook pages raised. I will be giving partial credit for the portion of the elementary and middle school yearbook work that was not done by the deadline. Even if you cannot get your pages done by this date, you still need to get them done ASAP as our deadlines with Jostens are quickly approaching. Remember, your work is a reflection of our school and will be saved for DECADES. Don't take the responsibility of creating the yearbook lightly.

Congratulations, MS Drama!

If you didn't make it to a performance of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" this weekend, you missed a great show! The middle school drama students did a phenomenal job bringing Charlie, Sally, Lucy, Snoopy, Lionus, Shroeder and the Peanuts gang to life! Congratulations on a job well done!

Allow me to introduce myself!

Greetings, students and parents!

I am so happy to be teaching at Oshkosh Christian School/Valley Christian High School this semester! I look forward to working in a Christian setting and know that I will cherish the time spent teaching here for the rest of my career.

Since I am new, I wanted to introduce myself and explain the vision I have for this blog.

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh with a degree in secondary education. I have lived in the Oshkosh area for about 10 years. My faith is the most important aspect of my life, so I am grateful for the opportunity to work in an environment that harmonizes with my values. When I'm not teaching or studying God's word, you can find me volunteering for the local shelter. My husband and I both share a passion for animal welfare, and we also foster adoptable animals in our home.

I would like to use this blog as a vehicle for communication between myself and the students regarding the courses I teach, but also as a way to foster communication between parents and students about their courses. I will be updating the blog a minimum of once a week with extra resources that students may find useful, copies of documents, helpful links, and important dates. I hope that it proves to be a useful educational tool this semester.

I am very much looking forward to getting to know my students and becoming a member of the Oshkosh Christian School family. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns as the semester progresses!