Dublin School

Fall Comments
Saturday, November 22, 2014
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Student: Taya Kerwin Advisor: Tiye Cort Course: English 9

Exam Grade: A Trimester Grade: A- Effort Grade: Exceeds
Expectations
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The fundamental purpose of English 9 is to provide an opportunity for students to read and write
deeply, inquisitively and effectively, engaging with diverse genre and style. Through daily "free writes"
in their Writers Notebooks, students practiced the craft of writing and learned to express their ideas in
what the author Anne Lamott calls, "down drafts." Frequent grammar and editing lessons allowed us
to target common trouble spots and reinforced the idea that the best writing develops over multiple
drafts. In our study of literature, we began the fall term by delving into the summer reading book,
Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. Through close readings of
sections of the novel as well as supplementary news articles, poetry and short stories, students
practiced annotating texts as they read, and answering the questions: What does it say? What does it
mean? and Why does it matter? Keeping with the coming-of-age theme, we moved on to Harper
Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. By reading the novel alongside poetry by Langston Hughes, short
stories by Alice Walker and speeches from the Great Depression and American Civil Rights
Movement, students explored various modes of expression relating to the common themes of racism,
literacy, maturity, courage and social class. We ended the term by dipping our toes, diving into the
depths and breaking the surface of poetry. After reading poems by such wordsmiths as Collins,
Dickinson, Plath and Frost, we then dabbled with the genre ourselves (with both profound and
comedic results). I am so impressed by the breadth of experience and intellectual curiosity displayed
by the 9th grade class this fall, and I look forward with great anticipation to the winter term.

An inquisitive student with an impressively strong work ethic, Taya constantly pushed herself to read
and think deeply and write effectively in English 9 this fall. In class, Taya did an admirable job of
balancing vocal participation and active listening during group discussions. She seemed to truly enjoy
writing in her Writers Notebook throughout the term; for the expanded and revised essay assignment,
Taya worked with a description of her room at home, which started as a quick write in her notebook.
She took care to edit, expand and polish this piece, adding detail, sensory language and thoughtful
reflection. Her written responses on the final exam reflected a strong understanding of not only the
plot and characters of the novels we read, but more importantly, their underlying themes and
essential questions. During the winter term, I plan to work with Taya to take her writing to the next
level of sophistication and precision. Taya has become a well regarded, positive member of the
Dublin community already, and I look forward to witnessing her continued academic growth this year.

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Alicia Hammond