One Cycle Down!

Today officially concludes the end of the first cycle of the school year.  The past two weeks have been filled with the usual back-to-school organizational tasks, course overviews, and introductions, but they've also been full of surprises and revelations. Though we've only been in school for a single cycle, the incredible talents and colorful personalities of the Class of 2013 have already begun to emerge.  

One of our first projects of the year involved composing a "six-word memoir," inspired by the compilation we viewed together in class.  Here is a glimpse at a few of the memoirs submitted by seniors:

Students can access the full compilation through their Google Apps accounts. 
 
This cycle we have also been hard at work on the first of many essays to come. Over the summer, the students read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and they are currently working in collaborative groups to explore modern-day connections to the book.  It's quite a rush to circulate during a typical class period and hear students discussing topics such as the impact of technology on society and the self, the influence of the media on intellectual and moral development, and the quest for a meaningful life in an era characterized by instant gratification.  

This brings us to the quote of the week, overheard in one of the groups today as they discussed the pursuit of knowledge in the digital age: 

"Instead of asking God for the answers, we're asking Google!"  

All in all, we're off to an excellent start this year.