Poetry Projects

Both my regular English I and English I Pre-AP classes recently completed our annual poetry projects over a famous poet of the students' choice. The projects consisted of an informative PowerPoint presentation, poetry readings, poetry analyses/explications, and creation of original poetry that mimics the selected poet's style. I must say that I was extremely impressed with the work that our Robert E. Lee freshmen produced, and I am proud of the effort that they put forth. For those students who have neglected to turn in a finished product, I strongly encourage that you come to tutorials so that I can assist you in coming up with a solution for the project. As stated in the project guidelines posted to my websites, the poetry project counts as a mandatory assessment grade, so failure to turn a product in will severely hurt your class average. Once again, let me say that I am very impressed with the presentations that I have seen thus far, and I look forward to the work that my students will produce in the coming weeks as we move into novel studies and expository writing! Remember to check both my Google Site and Fusion webpages regularly for assignment due dates, class announcements, and copies of class notes and handouts!

Back in Action: The First Week of School

The first week of school flew by so quickly! I know that a lot of freshmen are experiencing information overload as they transition into the high school setting and become used to attending school at Robert E. Lee. I am so excited to get down to business with all my new, talented students! Each of you has shown me special and unique qualities that you will bring to the class this year. I would like to remind students and parents of a few things, however. First of all, please pay attention to due dates! If an assignment is given a specific due date, then you must turn it in on time. There will be no exceptions unless you have notified me beforehand, you were sick, or you were on a school function. If you must miss for an extracurricular reason, then you need to come speak with me before you leave so that you can get your work ahead of time. Also, please get to class on time! Many of you already have multiple tardies documented for my class. These will come back to haunt you very quickly, so make the wise decision to get to class early. We will usually have a warm-up on the board when you come in; therefore, you need to arrive to class on time with all of your supplies so that you can complete the warm-up. Lastly, class conduct has much room for improvement. I encourage students and parents to revisit my syllabus and pay close attention to my class rules and procedures. If you cannot abide by my rules and procedures, you will be corrected in class or asked to leave. When you do not follow the rules, you create an unnecessary distraction for the students who truly want to learn. With all that being said, the first week was very successful, and I look forward to seeing all my students and parents at our Open House event on September 15th!

UIL Ready Writing

I am so excited to get the first week of school at Robert E. Lee underway! For those of you who are interested in joining our UIL Academics Team and who love to write, then UIL Ready Writing is the contest for you. Please come and see me in A116 at any time if you are interested. We will have a tentatively scheduled interest meeting on Wednesday, September 3rd at 4:15 PMs. Located below is a video describing the Ready Writing contest and skill.

New Year, New Opportunity

Freshmen,

Welcome to Mr. Cook's personal blog! I will use this blog to communicate classroom information, provide interesting sources for thought, and to offer students the chance to provide constructive feedback. I am so excited to have each of you in my class, and I am looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you throughout the year. We are going to work hard and have a blast on our journey to excellence!

The first thing that I always tell freshmen at the beginning of the year is that this is your fresh start... your clean slate... your blank canvas. High school can be a wonderful place if you will commit yourself to working as hard as you can and recognizing your own potential. You will meet trials and tribulations along the way, but trust in your teachers and your own resiliency to guide you through. Although you might not agree right now, learning is AWESOME, and taking risks for the sake of learning is even more invigorating. So, commit to putting forth the effort necessary to accomplish feats you never imagined possible for yourself. Believe me... you CAN if you simply WILL. What does that mean? Simply put, it means "there's nothing to it but to do it." I look forward to starting class with all of you and recognizing your expansive writing potential!

Here's one of my favorite videos. Enjoy!