ANOTHER long weekend for you!

 We are missing another Friday!  I hope you get a chance to spend some time outside enjoying the crisp fall weather and thinking about the images in "To Autumn" by the great poet, John Keats.  Find out about him.  It is a sad story -- he didn't think his work would live on, but of course, it has.  The first day of autumn never comes around without me thinking of the "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness".

English 8:

Make sure you answer the questions about the story of the Trojan War that you picked up as you left class.  Read Parts 4 and 5 of the section on the Trojan War in Mythic Voices.  You should also be thinking about your upcoming oral book report.  If you think you won't be able to finish a book in the next two weeks, you need to start reading more at home.  I find it pleasant to read right before I fall asleep.

If you are interested in the Trojan War, there are some good novels about it -- this summer I read two by Pat Barker -- The Silence of the Girls (which sees events through the eyes of Briseis, the girl/woman given to Achilles as a reward for the destruction of her city and family) and The Women of Troy (after the war is over and the Greeks want to leave Troy and go home -- with their captives, the women of Troy, including Hecuba, Cassandra, Andromache and Briseis). 

Drama 8:

You will be reciting the Shakespeare passage on Monday, so be prepared.  If you are not sure of the words, you need to practice OUT LOUD!  You will not learn it if you just think the words.  Remember, we will likely do a journal on Thursday of next week, since we are missing so many Fridays.

Senior Drama:

Be prepared to perform your "review" play on Monday.  You need a tableau at the beginning and the end, a mime that is specific in the middle, a choral speaking of the line "Have you got to go?" and music.  You need a script so the theatre production people know what to do.  It is not enough to let them "wing it".

Practice Antony's speech.  We will be reciting soon.

Drama Club:

We have added Tuesday at lunch for auditions, so if you want to act in the play make sure you take the handout outside the theatre and memorize the speech.  Try to understand what you're talking about and make it exciting to watch.