ENGLISH 10:  Conjunctions paragraph using three conjunctions (joining independent clauses) due Monday

ENGLISH 12:  SMB chapter 1 due Monday
                         Read The Count of Monte Cristo, chapters 1-4 and do study guide questions.
                          CMC study guide and vocab grids are due Tuesday (block 3) or Wednesday (blocks 1, 5, 6, 8)

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year!  I am looking forward to another great year at CHS!

I hope you all enjoyed your summer vacation and we able to relax and recharge.  My summer was lots of fun but, like yours, seemed to fly by.  Even though it is difficult to get back in the routine of going to bed earlier and waking up much earlier, I know within a short time, we will all be used to our school schedules.

This is my 17th year at Coopersville; I spent my first 8 years teaching in the old junior high (now the South Elementary building) teaching 6th grade reading, language arts, and math (!) as well as 8th grade language arts.  I have taught Young Adult literature, English 9, English 10, English 12, and Creative Writing at the high school.  This year, I am teaching English 10 and English 12.  I am also the Diversity Club advisor and the senior class advisor.  During football and basketball season, you can hear me broadcast games on Michigan Sports Radio on the internet.  I also broadcast some Spring Lake and Grand Haven basketball games on WGHN radio.

I am married to Andy. This October, we will celebrate our 15th anniversary.  We have 2 children:  Elizabeth (Elly) is 9 and Jake ("The Snake") is 13.  We live in Spring Lake only a couple blocks from my childhood home.

Let your parents know that this blog is one way to get information from me.  They can also call and leave a voice mail at 616.997.3551 or email me at kvanderhoek@capsk12.org.

Here's to a great year!

Upcoming due dates

Some dates to be aware of as the marking period comes to a close:

As I have been telling students for about a week now, ALL late work and missing tests/quizzes must be turned in or made up by the end of the day March 20.

The final Macbeth test will be 3/23 for blocks 3, 5, 7, and 8 or 3/26 for blocks 2 and 6.

Vocabulary test 22 will be 3/26 for blocks 3 and 7 or 3/27 for blocks 2, 5, 6, and 8.

The marking period officially ends on 3/23.

Where's Winter?

This week and next in Senior English:


Macbeth Quiz over Acts I and II -- Monday for blocks 3 & 7, Tuesday for blocks 2, 5, 6, & 8.

Vocab Test 20 is 2/22 for blocks 3, 5, 7, & 8 and 2/23 for blocks 2 & 6.

SMB chapter 7, High School the Early Years, is due by the end of the school day February 23.
Remember: There is no school on February 24. =)

ACT Testing Week -- No school for seniors on Tuesday, March 6 (However, tech center students are required to attend tech classes as scheduled.)

Winding down quickly!

Yes, the year IS winding down.... =)

Remember in September when I told you how fast the year would go by...and you didn't believe me? =)

Here is a snapshot of what you can expect from Senior English:

SMB chapter 7 will be assigned soon....
We will also write a college scholarship essay.

Study of Macbeth will continue through the end of February.
After Macbeth, we will read The Count of Monte Cristo (March and April) and then finish the year reading Night.

Second Semester

It's hard to believe we are half way through the school year, but it's true! =) There's much work to do before graduation (May 30!).

We will soon begin Shakepeare's MacBeth. But first, we will get started on Vocabulary 17 (test early next week) and do some research before we begin reading the play. We will also get started on SMB chapter 6 (probably next week).

Hope you all did well on ALL your exams. I was very pleased with the performance in Senior English. Well done!