Jahanavi Gaur is the Student of the Quarter

photo credit: Sigita Mitchell

I'm proud to announce that  Jahanavi Gaur (Class of '16) is the English Department's Student of the Quarter. She was selected by her AP Language and Composition teacher, Gina Chandler. When Mrs. Chandler introduced Jahanavi at the Student of the Quarter Breakfast this morning, she spoke about a fantastic online educational tool that Jahanvai created.

When she was a freshman, in response to a English class assignment, Jahanavi began a blog called the “Dream to Write” project, in which she partnered with schools in India to guide them through an exploration of different forms of writing. Her goal is to provide enrichment for students in India who require advanced writing challenges but who lack the requisite resources in their current schools.   Jahanavi created a curriculum with instruction and assignments on her blog and provides feedback to students through the blog. It is truly inspirational, an exceptional example of dedication to the craft of writing.

Interested in checking out the blog?  Find it here!  Congratulations to Jahanavi! It's students like Jahanavi that truly make Hinsdale Central a special place.

Cool assignment - frosh and senior collaboration

 

The more I hear about the innovative and creative stuff that English teachers do, the more excited I get.   I often feel that I don’t do a good enough job of sharing the good ideas.  I just heard of this cool collaborative project that Mike P and Kim W worked on together  and wanted to share the idea.  Kim’s E1H kids worked with Mike’s Brit Lit 2 kids for two hours this morning for an in-school field trip.  Mike’s kids taught Kim’s kids the 3-step process they use in his BL2 class from going from page to stage.  From the descriptions I got from Mike and Kim,  it sounded like it went really well and was good – for different reasons – for both groups of students.  Both would be happy (I think!) to talk to you about this idea.

 

 

 

Ecology Club receives award -- and grant -- for their video

from left: Stephanie Jamilla, senior; Josh Feldman, senior; Gardeneer Founder Adam Zmick; Claire Hultquist, senior; Wendy Li, sophomore

Congratulations to the Ecology Club for their award-winning video!  The Hinsdale Central Ecology students received recognition and a grant that they plan to use for the courtyard garden.  

The club was also able to chose an organization for a matching grant.  They chose the Gardeneers because the founders work with Chicago schools and assist them in developing school gardens.

Watch the award-winning video here.

Read about the winners in other age brackets at the Green Community Connections website here.

Devils' Advocate online is a Pacemaker Finalist!

photo credit: http://studentpressblogs.org/nspa

I just received notification that Devils’ Advocate Online has been awarded a Pacemaker Finalist Award.  Wow!  

According to the award's website, The NSPA (National Scholastic Press Association) Online Pacemaker competition "recognizes the top student-directed online news publications in 2015. The 30 finalists were selected from 172 entries. A team of three judges worked over the course of several weeks to select the finalists based on content and coverage, writing and editing, design, rich media and interactivity."

Coincidentally, I just wrote a post about an incredibly cool interactive feature about HC poets.  Check out that feature here.

Advocate Online Interactive Feature

I was blown away by the beauty and functionality of this recent interactive Devils' Advocate Online story about Hinsdale Central Poetry Club competing at a recent Louder Than a Bomb bout.  The story is by Paige Pialet.  The video and design is by Matt Stockmal. Advocate Sponsor and HC English teacher Cherise Lopez told me that the advanced features in the multi-media package can't be supported by the regular DA website.  So, you can go to this interactive feature by clicking here, or by scrolling down and clicking the "interactive story" link toward the bottom of the DA Online website here.

Fiddler on the Roof - To Life!

Just a quick congratulations to cast and crew (and director and retired English teacher Chris Hicks and English teacher Susie Jaffe and Auditorium director Charlie Cooper and Music Director Jeff Wirtz and English teacher Julia Kapelnikova) (and English Erin Lundin!) for a great Fiddler on the Roof!

What a delightful, funny, entertaining extravaganza!  Go see it tonight or tomorrow at 7:00!  

The picture is from the famous song: “Sunrise, Sunset.”

"Fiddler on the Roof" article in the Hinsdalean

photo credit: Jon Langham, Pioneer Press

Check out a recent Hinsdalean article by Kim Fornek about upcoming "Fiddler on the Roof" preformances here.  Great detail about how the great dance numbers in the production!

Hinsdale Central Poets Excel!

Congratulations to the HC Louder than a Bomb team!  This was this second LTAB bout, and they finished in second place!

There are two competitions at LTAB -- the "individual poem" -- the indy and the group poem.  The line-up for the Group Poem included Jackie Vinkler, Anika Arvanitis, Elisa Jennings, and Victoria Peralta.  And Matt Stockmal, Aly Claycomb, Jackie Vinkler, and Victoria Peralta preformed "indies."  They'll find out soon if they'll move on to the next round.

Louder Than a Bomb is sponsored by HC English teacher Kim Williams with help from HC English teacher Robyn Corelitz.

HC's LTAB team after their 2nd place finish. 
photo credit: Kim Williams