Mr. Harris' Short Story Test Essay Topics

For the Short Story Unit test half of your test will be made up of an essay question. In order to make sure that you write accurate, specific, and relevant responses to the question asked, I am giving you the 3 questions in advanced. You are expected to be able to answer all 3 questions, but you will only be asked 1. The essay must be between 3 to 5 paragraphs. Good luck!

• In “Gaston” and “The Lady, or the Tiger?”, the main characters are torn between two decisions. Choose one of these short stories and explain how their decision helps to demonstrate the theme of that story.

• In “The Necklace” and “Harrison Bergeron”, some of the characters change. Others do not. Choose one of these short stories and explain how the change (or lack there of) is used by the author to help express the theme.

• In “The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Cask of Amontillado”, characters are killed in one form or another. Choose one of these short stories and explain how the author uses the violent conflict between the major characters to illustrate his theme.

Feel free to discuss any of the topics in the comments section linked to this post. The more discussion generated, the better answers you may have.

Discipline Policy

As a team, the teachers of the Quadrivium SLC (Ms. Broughton, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Harris and Ms. Madden) have created a three strike policy in regards to discipline. Our purpose in doing so is for students to be 100% clear on our approach to discipline and class behavior.

Discipline will be handled using a 3 strike policy.

1^st Strike - Detention

2^nd Strike - 2 Detentions

3^rd Strike - 2 Detentions and removed from class

A student has 5 school days to serve the detentions. For students who earn a 2^nd strike or higher, they must also serve both detentions within the 5 school days. Detentions can be served Monday through Thursday with the Quadrivium teacher whose day it is to stay after for extra help. However, students serving a detention must first complete their detention before they are eligible to receive extra-help on they’re academic subjects.

The schedule for after-school assistance/detention will be:

Mr. Harris - Monday

Mr. Coleman - Tuesday

Ms. Broughton - Wednesday

Ms. Madden - Thursday

The following is a list of offenses that will earn a student a strike.

§ Swearing, in any context.

§ Being late to class.

§ Having a cell phone out.

§ Being rude or disrespectful.

§ Being unprepared for class.

Strikes accumulate throughout the quarter; however, they will reset at the beginning of each quarter, providing students with the opportunity to begin each new quarter with a clean slate.

In addition to the 3 strike policy, if a student swears at another student or attacks another student, either verbally or physically, they will be immediately removed from class and earn 2 detentions.

Be aware that a student who earns a 3^rd strike or is otherwise removed from class, will be subject to any consequence handed out by their dean, in addition to the detentions owed to their teachers.

Welcome

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to the 9^th grade at PVMHS! At the 9^th grade level, students are placed in Small Learning Communities (SLCs). In addition to helping ease the students’ transition into high school, the SLC’s purpose is to increase student success and teacher collaboration. Our SLC is referred to as Quadrivium and we are excited about the opportunity to get to know you, and are looking forward to a happy and productive school year.

The following are a list of dates that you should be aware of at the beginning of this school year.

Parent Orientation September 17^th from 6 to 8 pm.

End of Quarter 1 November 6^th

End of Quarter 2 January 22^nd

Midterms January 19^th to January 22^nd

End of Quarter 3 March 26^th

End of Quarter 4 June 16^th to 23^rd (depending on snow days)

Finals The last four days of school

Parent/Teacher Conferences November 19^th and March 11^th from 6 to 8 pm.

The Biology MCAS June 1^st and 2^nd.

*Progress Reports are given at the midpoints of each quarter.

There absence policy at the school this year contains two provisions. This sets the limit for total absences in a year-long course at 16 and allows teachers to subtract 2 points from a student’s average for any absence. This means that students will automatically fail a class in which they have 17 absences. The 2 points can be earned back by the student by making up the work they missed after school to the teacher’s satisfaction. Any missed work must be made up within ten school days to receive credit and earn back the 2 points.

This year we have instituted a three-strike, behavior policy in our classrooms. The goal of this policy is to reduce the number of minor, in-class disruptions, leading to fewer distractions during lessons. Major infractions will continue to be dealt with by the deans. We will have the policy posted online for further information.

If you have any questions or concerns or if you would like to schedule a conference, you can contact us at quadrivium.pvmhs@gmail.com, or through the main office, (978) 536-4500. Please feel free to leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We will also be maintaining a web-log (blog), as a means of making some of the general information easily available. You can find us at http://www.quadrivium-pvmhs.blogspot.com/.

Once again, welcome to the 9^th grade. Let’s work together to make this a great year!

Sincerely,

David Coleman - Science
Daniel Harris - Englih
Taryn Broughton - Math
Jessica Madden - History