Fr. Roderick and the Wii Part III

At last! Fr. Roderick has posted the rest of his review of the Nintendo Wii:

The Last Chapter of The Princess Bride

Today's schedule: Religion: SLE: Show by responsible actions and decisions that they are developing a morality based on Catholic values by living as Jesus did The Rhythm of Life Human personhood begins at conception, continued Reading: SLE: Are becoming lifelong learners and manifest a positive attitude toward learning Finish The Princess Bride English: SLE: Are organized and practice good study skills The Rhythm of Life Works Cited: the Mt. Ararat Stylesheet

Stations of the Cross Download

Greg and Jennifer Willits of the Rosary Army have created an mp3 file of the Stations of the Cross. This is a deep, moving way to pray during Lent. I encourage you to download the file, listen to it, meditate on the events they describe, and then sit in silent prayer. Download the Stations of the Cross here. Today we began writing out the schoolwide learning expectations so that you better understand what's expected of you and why we do what we do at All Saints. Remember that every lesson and every experience you have at All Saints is meant to help you reach those expectations. Today's Schedule: Religion: Prayer/Attendance The Rhythm of Life Healing the Culture audio program by Fr. Spitzer, president of Gonzaga University Reading: The Princess Bride Coached Reading: A chapter from I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris Homework: Keep working on the checklist; due Thursday, March 1 English: The Rhythm of Life I-Search question/answer forum

Welcome to Lent

I hope you you all had a great day today. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be with you for Ash Wednesday. I was at St. Aloysius School today as part of a visiting accreditation team. Accreditation is a process that schools go through to recognize the great job they are doing and to look for areas in which to grow. We met the teachers, had a tour of the school, ate lunch, and celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass with the whole school at St. Aloysius Church. The team and I will be coming back to St. Aloysius in March to help them finish the accreditation process. All Saints is going through the accreditation process too; we will have a team visit us next year, after all of you have graduated. It takes more than a year to write our self-study and to prepare for the visiting team. You did not have school on Tuesday because we were busy working on accreditation. I'll be glad to see you all tomorrow. In the meantime, here's another video from Fr. Roderick:

I-Search Links

Here are links to some of the resources we talked about in class today: The Spokane Public Library Magazine Research Center (once there, click on "Proquest Discovery") Google Books Amazon.com And, for your viewing pleasure, here is a fascinating video about the way text and information is changing:

Raven Interpretation Tomorrow

Today's Schedule Reading: The Princess Bride Socratic Seminar: What would Erich Fromm think of "love at first sight"? Homework: Write what you think the raven represents English: Impromptu speeches Work on section one Homework: Search plan due tomorrow

Moses and the Exodus

Be sure to read chapters 1-14 of the book of Exodus for religion, where you will read about this scene: Today's schedule: Religion: The Rhythm of Life Collect family tree of Israel Look at biblical geography Homework: Read chapters 1-14 of Exodus Reading: The Princess Bride Continued paraphrasing of "The Raven" Homework: For Tuesday: Be ready for a Socratic seminar on "The Art of Loving" For Wednesday: Be ready to answer the question, "What does the raven represent?" English: The Rhythm of Life I-Search Section overview I-Search plan How to journal Impromptu speeches Homework: For Tuesday: be ready for more impromptu speeches For Wednesday: have your search plan ready to turn in (be sure to make a copy of it before you turn it in)

Jeremy Pargo Dunk Video

Here is video of Jeremy Pargo's amazing dunk at the end of the St. Mary's game tonight: It's such a great dunk, it almost makes me forget about the Josh Heytvelt/Theo Davis debacle.

The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe

Here is a dramatic reading of "The Raven" by actor John Astin. He is reciting a later version of the poem than the one we read in class. Send me an email to let me know what you think of it. Enjoy! Here's what we did in class today: Religion: The Rhythm of Life A Trip through the Bible: The Age of Patriarchs, Part II Younger sons in the Old Testament Jacob and Esau Jacob become Israel Jacob's twelve sons Joseph and Jesus The end of an age Homework: Make a family tree that begins with Adam and ends with the twelve sons of Jacob (Note: this will be due on Monday, not on Friday as originally assigned) Reading: The Princess Bride Applying the poem "Sympathy" to our lives Initial reading of "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe Beginning to paraphrase "The Raven" Homework: The explication for the Group I text is due tomorrow; "The Art of Loving" is due Tuesday, February 13 English: The Rhythm of Life I-Search Q and A Developing guiding questions for your topic Homework: List three potential topics and write out guiding questions for each of them

Classroom Documents Now Online

If you look to the right column of this page you will see a new section called "Classroom Documents." Thanks to the new Google Docs service, I am now able to post handouts online in case you lose yours or forget them at school. As time goes by I will be posting some earlier handouts, but for now you can find the I-Search documents online. And don't forget Matthew Kelly on Thurday night. Today's Schedule: Reading: The Princess Bride Coached Reading Homework: Group I explication and checklist due Thursday. "The Art of Loving" explication and checklist due Tuesday, February 13. English: The Rhythm of Life The secret keys to a successful I-Search Overview of I-Search checkpoints How to choose a topic

The I-Search Begins!

Today we began working on the I-Search. Please be sure to give your parents their I-Search letter. Don't forget that Matthew Kelly will be at St. Aloysius Church this Thursday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m. Today's Schedule: Religion: A Trip Through the Bible: The Age of Patriarchs God's covenant with Abraham Melchizedek and Isaac Homework: Reread Genesis 24-50 for Wednesday Reading: The Princess Bride Introduction to Poetry "Sympathy" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar Homework: What can the poem "Sympathy" say to you personally? English: The Rhythm of Life Introduction to the I-Search Background and Samples Project Overview Parent Letter