Extra Credit Poetry

Any student who names the poet and writes out the entire poem from which these lines are taken (by Friday, November 3 at 1:00 p.m.) will receive extra credit in English class!

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Walden Pond

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature." --Walden, Henry David Thoreau



What a beautiful, peaceful place! Henry David Thoreau chose an inspired location to pen his famous Walden. Autumn is certainly a lovely time to reflect on his words:





"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
To see more about this trip, check out the New England Tour webpage!

Composition Class Visits Local Newspaper

On Friday, October 13, the Sophomore Composition class visited the Hagerstown Herald-Mail newspaper company to learn more about the journalistic process. They toured the press room and sales department and watched the papers run through the press. This culminates a unit on news writing in which the students have produced their own classroom newspaper.

Senior Projects

Ashley Dunbar shows off her diorama of Ancient Troy.

Roberta Plantak and Chelsea Powell present an excerpt from "The Birds," an ancient Greek play by Aristophanes.

Celebrate Autumn!

On Wednesday I took the American Lit and the English IV classes on a miniature picnic while we read autumn poetry and ate apples and caramel to celebrate fall! The leaves were beautiful and fell all around us as we enjoyed poets such as Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. What a beautiful time of year!

England & Scotland Educational Tour Information Meeting

If you are planning to participate in the England & Scotland Educational Tour this Spring Break (March 29-April 9, 2007), please plan to attend an informational meeting for parents and students on Sunday, October 15 at 3:30 in the HVA Library. We will be kicking off our fund raising activities and discussing the planned itinerary. Please contact Jennifer Payne for details.

CUC Writers' Conference

The CUC Writers' Conference is a three-day workshop on November 5-7, 2006 for academy students who are interested in writing! We usually attend a play, spend time in Baltimore, and participate in interesting seminars about poetry, short stories, journalism, theater, and other exciting writing experiences! If you are an HVA student who would like to participate in this experience, please write an essay/poem/short story/play to present to Mrs. Payne explaining why you would like to have this opportunity. You must turn in your response no later than Friday, October 13 to be considered as an attendee. To attend you must not be on the current down grades list.

Autumn

Extra Credit
Poetry and Art

Congratulations to the first 5 students who correctly identified the artist: Winslow Homer, and the poet: Robert Frost. Check back here for future extra credit opportunities!



O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.