Dear Students and Families,

Good Day!  I hope everyone is safe and healthy.  I know that this situation makes us all anxious with doubt and uncertainty.  Me too!

I want to assure everyone that the most important issue at hand is the safety and wellness of students, teachers, families, and the community.  There is no need to be concerned about grades right now.  No need to become overly worried about workloads and deadlines.

My plan is to get Canvas up and running as soon as possible.  Monday, March 23 is the official beginning of the online instruction period.  On that date, students can access announcements, assignments, submission inboxes, discussion boards, and other features in Canvas.

Here is the link to the Honors English 10 Canvas page: https://gcs.instructure.com/courses/127819

And for the AP Language page: https://gcs.instructure.com/courses/130124

NOTE: If you need a copy of any current text, you may drop by the school any day this week (3/17-3/20). Someone in the front office can retrieve one from the book room.

Honors English 10: The Count of Monte Christo or Les Miserables

AP Language: The Catcher in the Rye

ALSO: If anyone needs to borrow computer technology from the school, please come to the school and speak with the front office.

FINALLY: If any student has trouble accessing Canvas through their Power School login, please contact me because I can reset your password.

My goal is to keep things simple and NOT flood Canvas with resources, links, and content.  Eventually, there will be new content for both Honors 10 and AP 11 students.  However, by that time, students will have had opportunities to use the tools within Canvas that will be most relevant to this course.

Here is what to expect, in the short term, for each grade level:

Honors 10

We will be putting aside the Argument/Research essay process.   I will grade the papers and we can pick that back up after we return to in-person meetings. We will also be putting aside Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  We will focus on your Novel Study for The Count of Monte Christo or Les Miserables.  The first assignment that will need to be submitted through Canvas will be the final Reading Journal for the final 1/3 of your novel.  This will be listed under “Assignments” with specific directions for how to submit the work.  I have not set a due date for that yet, but you can expect me to push the date back from the original 2/23 date.  It is likely that I will require students to participate in an online discussion board created for each class period of Honors 10.  There will likely be a Constructed Response assignment to end our Novel Study.

After we finish with the novel study, we will likely focus on Don Quixote and Cyrano de Bergerac.  After that Kafka’s Metamorphosis.  All these titles are in the public domain, so it will be easy for me to provide links and online documents.

I do not know the status of End of Course testing. At this time, I think we should assume that there will be some form of End of Course testing for English 10.

AP 11

Don’t worry about the Research Paper Presentations.  If there is time to do those when we return to in-person meetings, I will let you know.  Otherwise, focus on reading The Catcher in the Rye. The first assignment will likely be an online discussion followed by a Constructed Response.  I don’t have any solid due dates laid out at this time, but the assignments will clearly state the timing and procedure for any online participation or submission. After that, students will have a choice of the following (Note: dates and assignments have not yet been solidified):

Life of Pi by Yann Martel (You may only choose this if you have not previously read it)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

I will also likely continue to assign the Unit Progress Checks in AP Classroom.  Be on the lookout for expectations regarding participation.  I will also likely begin to assign teacher-made assessments in AP Classroom that can be used for a grade.  Any tasks that involve AP Classroom will be listed as an “Assignment” in Canvas.

I do not know the status of AP Exams at this time.  Until we hear otherwise, I will proceed under the assumption that they will still occur.  I advise you to do the same.

All Classes

Please check my teacher Canvas pages starting March 23.  I promise that I will make this process as simple and straightforward as possible. As always, if you have any questions about either Honors 10 or AP 11, don’t hesitate to contact me at walkerj3@gcsnc.com.

Thank you so much and know that I care deeply about all of you. Please make your health and safety the number one priority in all your decision making.

Be well!

Scott Walker

NWHS English Dept.