  I was certainly happy to hear absolutely no strange Skyview news on Monday morning. After a big weekend like prom, I always wonder...will we be having an emergency faculty meeting?
Thankfully the answer was no. I'm glad last week's presentations and class discussions made an impact on you. Let the message stick. I have been so pleased to see how well you've all supported each other through AP testing. You have worked hard and applied yourselves, and through that process, you've been united by a shared goal.
Hang onto this; let your mutual respect for each other be the prevalent theme of your senior year. The worst part of high school is living with the horrid restrictions that come from cliques; if you can see past those imagined lines, you won't need to live your life with a countdown. I encourage you to come to school each day with the intent to build relationships so that by the time your ten or twenty year reunion rolls around, you'll genuinely want to go and can show up in a non-inebriated state.
Thanks, everyone, for your honest evaluations of class. The consensus of the group was that it would have been helpful to have seen practice exams earlier in the year in order to have some context for our topics of study. I also realized--far too late--that I could have made our SOAPS/Tone analysis more relevant for you by asking you to write essays that incorporated it. I made the assumption that this was something you already knew, but Natalya's posting made it clear that this was something she (and probably most) had to discover.
My guess is, though, that many people haven't made this connection. So...I know what I can do to improve. This brings up an interesting observation in response to Thomas' posting about teachers and students. Teachers think they're invaluable...students think they can independently learn everything they need...I believe that neither is true. Bad teachers limit good students...A teacher can only be as good as students allow her to be. The best classrooms exist where everyone realizes that mutual responsibility is necessary.
So, as always, thanks for coming in with curiosity and a good work ethic. As for you, Thomas...IF you have time to read and think about Catcher in the Rye, here's what you need to know. Sydney Clos, Mina O'Brien, Matt Goosen, Mitch Amort, Chris Tamura and Tyson Cecka have signed up to read the book. I assume you have Tyson's e-mail. If so, find out what his group has decided upon for their reading schedule. Wednesday and Friday will be discussion days. On Friday, students will be turning in their book notes, which can be written in journals.
(Obviousely, you can turn in your work late. We'll talk when you return to school. ) The directions are on the syllabus. Do you still have it? If not, let me know and I'll get the directions to you. We're thinking of you with pride every day! The air circulation system has turned off and I'm starving. Time to go. See you all tomorrow! Mrs. V-A 
