Courtesy of web.csustan.edu

“Words -- so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne

We begin this 2007-2008 school year with speech.  We will watch professional speeches and use what we learn from them to critique our own, as well as our classmates', speeches.  Giving a speech can be a scary and anxious experience. We will try to overcome the anxiety surrounding

Courtesy of www.kepplerspeakers.com

speech giving while being supportive of each other.

From now until the end of the year we will be studying mythology from many different cultures.  Currently we are reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

"A speech is poetry: cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep!  A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make dance the dullest beanbag of a heart." - Peggy Noonan

Semester 1 Final Exams for periods 5, 7 and 8 are Thursday January 24th.  See attached study guide if you need to.