Mrs. Estrada's English Class

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Greetings, freshman and sophomore scholars, and welcome to this site!  Please refer to your class web page throughout the year. There, you'll find our weekly schedule, class announcements, helpful links, and class materials you can view or download and print at home. I've designed this site for you (and your parents) to help you stay as organized and on-track as possible.  It should be especially useful in the event that you are absent from school and want to know what we did in class and what your homework assignment is.
 
I am available almost everyday after school until about 3 pm for extra help or writing conferences. Don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have questions or concerns about a homework assignment or make-up work. My e-mail address is meghan.estrada@wilmington.k12.ma.us.

 

 

 
 
HELPFUL SITES

If you would like to review a grammatical concept, please check out the web sites below. These links could be very helpful for you before language quizzes or tests, or if you are struggling with a grammatical issue in your writing.

 
For biographical information on poets we'll be studying, consult the following sites:
 
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES
   
ATTENTION ALL WRITERS: Submit your work to Teen Ink and earn 10 extra credit points towards your term average.  Please give me a copy of your entry and forward the "thank you" message you'll receive from Teen Ink as proof of your submission.
 
 
Respond to an article of your choice featured on The New York Times Learning Network.  E-mail a copy of the blog you submit, or bring me a hard copy of your writing for 10 extra credit points.  This is an excellent opportunity to put your ideas, opinions and real-world writing out in the public domain!
 
 
UPCOMING POETRY AND WRITING CONTESTS:
 
Creative Communications Poetry Contest:
The purpose of our poetry and essay contest is to bring recognition to student writers. Winners share thousands in cash and prizes. In addition to the winning entries, other entries of high merit are accepted to be published in our hard-bound anthology. With the publication being regionally based, students are competing against their peers in both age and location. Within the guidelines of accepting less than 50% of the poems and essays that are entered in each contest, the contest is selective so that it is an honor to be accepted, yet not so exclusive that it is discouraging to enter. Unlike many other organizations who sponsor writing contests, there is no entry fee and no required purchase in order to become published. We take pride in the fact that our staff is comprised of teachers, professors and writers.

Who can enter?
Students in grades K-12 in the United States and Canada

Why should a student enter?
Thousands in cash and prizes awarded to students and teachers in each contest.

Student awards
Top Ten winners in each grade division (K-3; 4-6; 7-9; 10-12 for poetry, 3-6; 7-9; 10-12 for essay) will receive a $25 check, special recognition in the book, and a free copy of the anthology that is created from the contest.

Teacher awards
Teachers with 5 or more students who returned proofsheets for publication will receive a free copy of the anthology that includes their student writers.

We have three poetry contests a year with the following deadlines.

Spring contest: entries must be postmarked by April 12, 2012.
Summer contest: entries must be postmarked by August 16, 2012.
Fall contest: entries must be postmarked by December 6, 2012.

Poetry rules: 
1. Poems must be the original work of the student
2.  Poems can be on any appropriate topic (no pro-violence, drugs, etc)
3.  Poems must be in English
4.  Poems must not be over 21 lines of text

 
WILMINGTON MEMORIAL PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST
Click this link to enter the contest:

This year's theme: Animals

Ideas
Searching for a new pet
Farm animals
Wild animals
Fear of animals
Prehistoric animals

Contest Rules
Poems may be humorous or serious but not exceed 20 lines in length. Poems should deal with the above theme. Deadline for submission of poems to the Wilmington Memorial Library is Saturday, March 31.

Winners
A panel of judges will select winners in the following six categories: adult, high school, middle school, elementary school grades 4 and 5, grades 2 and 3, and K to grade 1.

Winners and honorable mentions will be invited to Poetry Night on Tuesday, April 24. Winners will receive a book of poetry from the Friends of the Library and honorable mentions will receive a gift certificate to the Book Store Next Door. The winning poems will be published in the local newspaper and on the library’s website.

 
 

Wilmington 6-12 English Department

    Beliefs and Direction Statement

                Adopted by Wilmington Middle School and Wilmington High School English teachers on May 28, 2008

 

Our English department believes the following:

 

The Wilmington 6-12 English department believes we can stimulate our students by providing them with the opportunities to read and analyze diverse literature and to use language creatively and powerfully when writing and speaking. With an emphasis on helping students develop strengths as critical thinkers and effective communicators and on providing a strong foundation of reading and writing skills, the 6-12 English curriculums will prepare students to meet their next level of challenges.

 

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