Mr. Hall's English Class - Announcements

Week 37 (May 25 – May 29)

5/20/2020

Welcome to Week 37.
This is the last full week of school. Yahoo!
Our librarian, Ms. Friel, will be hosting a book club this summer. The club will meet on Wednesdays from 11-11:45AM. The club will read books that you can read for free with your San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) card on Hoopla. The book club will start on Wednesday June 3rd. Please email Ms. Friel if you would like to join the book club.

Bad News about Blogs

Unfortunately, it turns out that you cannot keep your blog after all. Quia has informed me that they are no longer providing the service of transferring student accounts to standard accounts.
All student blogs will be deleted on August 1.
If you want to keep your blog (beyond August 1), you will have to sign up for your own personal Weebly account, and then re-assemble your blog, piece by piece.
Adam, in my 3rd period class, has provided this useful piece of advice:

There is actually a solution to remember your work (that you may know about) without losing all of it. Obviously, copy and paste will still be needed but if students wanted to hold on to the posts they wrote before the site is deleted.

Go to Settings at the top of the editor, then scroll down until you find Archive. Type in a personal email address and click Email Archive. This will email you (to a non SFUSD account) a folder to download that includes the content (title, text, comments, and some images) of every blog post and page on your website. The folder will also show up on the Settings page. I know this isn't perfect but it might help people like me who wanted to at least save their work in some way.

Final Grades

As most of you already know, the district has decided that all grades for the 3rd trimester will be Credit/No Credit. (You will not see a letter grade on your report card).
In my classes, everyone got "Credit." In fact, I have already submitted your grades.
If you want to know your final percentage, send me an email.
Moving forward, I will not be updating grades on Synergy anymore.

Finishing Up the Year

Our next class (this Thursday or Friday) is optional.
Our final class (next Monday or Tuesday) is also optional (for my class, anyway).
That means that today is effectively our last class of the year.
Before you leave, I'd like you to complete this survey.
I'd also like you to share some farewell thoughts with the class. You can do so by commenting on this post.
And that's it! You're done!
If you do come to any of our remaining classes, I'll just put you in a chat room with your friends. (Or you can always chat with me).

Have a great Summer!

Week 36 (May 18 – May 22)

5/17/2020

Welcome to Week 36.
There are only two more (full) weeks of school (including this week). Hang in there!
Next Monday is Memorial Day; no school!
However, next Wednesday you will have classes.
Please make a note of next week's schedule.

Next Week's Schedule:

I have updated your grades on Synergy.
I am NOT planning to update the awards page this week. If you're doing well, you know who you are. Give yourself a pat on the back.
The big announcement for today is this:
Blogs are over and done with!
What does this mean?
First, it means that you need to make a decision: Do you want to keep your blog or not?
If you DO NOT want to keep your blog, delete it. Do it today!
If you DO want to keep your blog, I can transfer your blog from my account (that I control) to your account (that you control).
However, before I transfer your account:
Make sure you know your password! Because once I transfer your account, if you lose your password, I will no longer be able to retrieve it for you.
Also, it means that you need a personal email address. (Your SFUSD gmail account is not really adequate, because it's not controlled by you, and eventually you're going to grow out of it).
Why do you need your own email address? Well, If you lose your password, or if want to upgrade your account, you will need to contact Weebly directly. And Weebly will need your email address.
If you don't have a personal email address, talk to your parents.
After the transfer has been made, go to your account settings and fill in your email address.
After the transfer, your account remains free; however, a small advertisement for Weebly will show up at the bottom of your web-pages.
If you want to get rid of that advertisement (or if you want to get rid of the Weebly domain name), you are going to have to upgrade your account. Again, talk to your parents.
Are there any questions about Weebly or anything else?
Okay, class dismissed!

Week 35 (May 11 – May 15)

5/10/2020

Welcome to week 35.
Only four more weeks of school! Hang in there!
I have updated your grades on Synergy.
I have updated the awards page.
Breakout rooms: Share one thing that you've learned during quarantine.
Does anybody have any questions?

Week 34 (May 4 – May 8)

5/4/2020

Welcome to week 34!
I would like to remind everyone to please come through the orange door. If you don't sign in at the orange door, you are probably being marked absent.
I have updated your grades on Synergy. Many of you are doing excellent work!
I have updated the awards page.
In some of my classes, the number of D's and F's has increased dramatically. If you have a D or an F, please email me and tell me what's going on.
It has now been seven weeks since school closed (including Spring Break). At first, we had only a vague idea of what "distance learning" might look like. Now, we're starting to get used to it.
Teachers get stuck in their own little boxes, but you all have become the "experts" in distance learning, because you have classes with six different teachers, so you have a much better idea of what works well and what doesn't. Please share your knowledge!
What suggestions do you have in order to make "distance learning" a better experience in Mr. Hall's English class, and what suggestions do you have overall?
Please complete this survey. Names are optional.
When you have finished the survey, you can leave the meeting or you can stick around to ask questions and chat with your friends.
Any questions?

Week 33 (April 27 – May 1)

4/27/2020

Welcome to Week 33!
I have updated your grades on Synergy.
This week I did not have a chance to update the Awards page. Sorry!
Some of you are doing very good work; others have stopped doing any work at all. What's going on?
Don't give up! The year isn't over yet.
For those of you who are working ahead, I have posted your work through Week 36.
I don't plan to post any work for the last two weeks of class (at least not any "required" work).
That means that you now have all your work for the rest of the year.
The last two weeks (Weeks 37 and 38) will basically be "catch up" weeks, although I may post a few optional grammar lesson and a few optional "experimental" lessons.
End the year strong!
Email me if you have any questions!
Email me if you have submitted a Writing Project or if you want me to look at your blog.
Ms. Dunbar has asked me to remind everyone to check into your Zoom classes on time. Check the schedule for start times and don't be late!
Email me if you want me to put you in touch with our librarian, Ms. Friel. Ms. Friel says that there are ways that you can still check books out from the public library.
Hang in there! The quarantine won't last forever.
Any questions or comments?

Week 32 (April 20 – 24)

4/18/2020

Thank you to everyone for hanging in there during this difficult time. Give yourself a pat on the back!
Always connect to our Zoom meetings by coming through the orange door. It's the way I take attendance. If you don't come through the orange door, you risk being marked absent.
I have stopped updating grades for Typing Club and Blogs. If you think that your grade in these categories is incorrect, please email me as soon as possible.
If you complete an extra-credit Writing Project, please email me. (Don't assume that I'm going to check Google Classroom).
Our English classes meet twice per week. The first class is mandatory; the second class is optional. The second class will be like a book club: It's a chance for you to talk to your classmates about books (and other things).
Please email me if you need a Chromebook. (If all you have is an iPhone or iPad, you're going to need a Chromebook).
Please email me if you or your family are in distress. (For example, if you're not getting enough to eat). I can connect you to resources offered by the district.
After I have dismissed the class, please stay in the Zoom meeting if you have any questions, or if you want to chat with your classmates.
Finally, let's recognize students who are doing fantastic work! Here is the new Awards Page.

Week 31 (April 13 – 17)

4/4/2020

Welcome back to English!
In my class, we are going to pick up where we left off.
In other words, before school closed, we did quizzes 001–033, so this week, please start with lesson/quiz 034.
All you have to worry about is Quia. (No more blogs. No more Typing Club).
The Writing Project is now an optional, extra-credit assignment.
If you finish this week's work, you can work ahead.
We will have Zoom meetings twice per week. See the Schedule to see what time our class meets. For my English classes, the classes on Thursday and Friday are optional.
If you have any questions, please email me.