August 29, 2019

SEMINAR 9 / ENGLISH 9
We began the period with fluency writing. If you missed it, you missed it. There will be fluency writes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Students made a list in their journals of things that reminded them of childhood. I gave them the following categories:

1. Food

2. People

3. Places

4. Games/books/movies/TV

5. Smells

6. Activities

We listened to Kelly Normal Ellis' poem "Raised by Women" and annotated a copy (click here to print). Classes also reviewed and annotated the mentor texts with the focus on what could be used for imitation (for ideas, craft, and structure).

For this poem, you will be required to:

1. Start/end the poem and stanzas in the way Ellis does.

2. Include hyphenated adjectives (boogaloo-dancing, for example).

3. Use relevant dialogue

After reviewing the poem and determining what a good imitation of a "raised by" poem would contain, the class began to sort through their lists and determine what they may want to write about. 

We will draft on Tuesday. Period 2 is the grade-level assembly for ninth graders.

SEMINAR 10
If you were absent: 
We began the period with fluency writing. If you missed it, you missed it. There will be fluency writes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Today we began working towards our first writing assignment. We started the period by completing the identity questionnaire linked here (Identity poems and questionnaire). If you can, print it and fill it out OR answer the questions in your notebook. These answers will be shared semi-publically, so do not write something you don't want others to know.

After completing the questions, students partnered and shared their responses. Your partner will be selected for you if you were absent. 

You will be writing an identity poem about your partner using the mentor texts (also linked above) as inspiration. Classes also reviewed and annotated the mentor texts with the focus on what could be used for imitation (for ideas, craft, and structure).

We will begin drafting in class on Tuesday. 

Tomorrow (Friday) is grade-level assemblies (period three for tenth grade).

Welcome Back!

Dear Parents and Families,

It’s the first day. Your student is missing summer, and on top of that, they likely have a half-dozen new teachers. I get it. It may have been longer ago than I’d like to admit, but I remember the feeling, even if I cannot remember all of the particulars.

So your student has my name on his or her schedule, and you might be wondering, “Who is this guy?” Well, let me answer that question.

My name is Joe Ferro and I’m incredibly excited to share this next school year with your student. This is my first year at Point Loma High School, but my thirteenth overall. My background is in Seminar education, and I have high expectations for all. My passion is for the teaching of writing - especially for giving students tools to break from formula (with which, by now, many are comfortable). In addition to my daily role as a teacher, I am also a consultant for the San Diego Area Writing Project, an organization that supports teachers in their teaching of writing. Historically speaking, I was an English and Spanish major at the University of San Diego, where I furthered my studies there for my master’s degree in teaching. That, however, seems like a long time ago now!

In my personal life, I am married to a hairdresser, Louanne, so I haven’t paid for a haircut in a decade, and I have a four-year-old son named Ezra who keeps me on my toes. This means I go from a day spent with teenagers (yours) to evenings but with a toddler (mine). Needless to say I have developed an immense amount of patience. When I’m not in the classroom, I’m a voracious reader, but I also love writing, running, and enjoying this beautiful city in which we live.

Although this introduction is brief, I want it to serve as an open door to you as families of students in my classroom. In order for our team to succeed, it is important that we are on the same page, and that may mean periodic communication. I hope that you were able to easily fill out the Google Form with its link is attached to my syllabus. In doing so, it will give me the opportunity to have your contact information. My goal is to send out bulletins about what is going on in my classes every two weeks.  Of course, we know how the best-laid plans go, but if I tell you now, you can hold me accountable!

High school can be a challenging time, especially for those students in transition between schools. Knowing that it is my goal to make my classroom a safe place in which students can thrive while also being comfortable with discomfort, optimal positioning where we see true growth. 

Let’s have a wonderful year together.
_________________________________________________________________________

Please click here to complete the parent contact form.

Below are class syllabi:

• Seminar 9
• Seminar 10
• English 9