One of our writing activities asked graduating seniors to share something helpful for new students entering Evangel. This was what Siting Li from China thought students should know.
1. Have respect for authority
2. Don’t be a victim of fads
3. Do not draw negative attention
4. Do well in academics
5. Create a set of goals
6. Learn to take responsibility
7. See things in other people’s perspective
8. Plan for after high school
Ms. Hampton
The students also wrote poems for national “Poem in Your Pocket Day.” For many, their work included family, their experiences at Evangel and plans for the future. They read the poems “If” by Rudyard Kipling and “ Hold Fast the Dream” by Langston Hughes.
My Family by Xinyao Liu 10th grade
We talk
We laugh
We cry
But we are family
And we do it all together
For as a family
We do it all as one
You hurt one
You hurt all
And as a family unity
We will all stand tall
For we are family
A family full of strength
A family full of love
Mom by Angelina Tang 11th Grade
Mom, my beautiful Mom
Mom, my great Mom
Mom, my virtuous Mom
I Love you Mom
Mom is like sunshine coming into my heart
Mom is like a light making my road right
Mom is like a book teaching me to be a good girl
I Love you Mom
You are Special!
High School Intermediate Literature allows students to challenge and stretch their personal and global critical thinking. Within the classroom students explore a variety of genres, working through units on research, American folklore, and literature studies. This year students were able to successfully accomplish extensive and multi-layered research components, which included conversing with native English speakers during Academic Fair night. As well, high school students enhanced their formal writing by compiling character analysis essays after reading American classic novels. It has been clear that the international students at Evangel Christian School strive to reach for greater levels of academic success.
Ms. Hampton
This year 11 and 12th grade English class focused on American Literature and British Literature. Both grades were reading novels in different eras, but one of values that I wanted to instill in both grade levels was the importance of writing. I had students keep a reading journal which allowed them to respond to the different literature we were reading. I assigned several tasks to the students in these journals that allowed them to explore the different types of writing styles that can be used to respond to literature like essays, creative writing and answering analytical questions. It was a pleasure to see students not only become better writers, but grow as critical thinkers and be able to apply the skills they learned in my class to their other classes as well.
Miss Diaz
Forensics Science is a very hands on class. Some of the focus areas of this course are: crime scene investigation, the nature of evidence, patterns and impressions, forensics biology, forensics chemistry and legal aspects of forensic science. The highlights in class this year for the students were learning to lift and dust fingerprints and solve a mock crime using the information collected from the prints. As well as learning to recreate possible crime scenes based on different blood spatter patterns.
Miss Kemp
Shark Tank Meets High School Entrepreneurs
High School students created their own businesses. Our young entrepreneurs opened up a variety of creative businesses. From barber shops to book stores, from coffee shops to restaurants and more! It was interesting to see students take a hobby, interest, or something they were truly passionate about and turn it into a dream career. Once they had a carefully thought out business plan they designed a PowerPoint Presentation where they were able to approach the “sharks” (their classmates) in order to propose an investment from them.
Mr. Torres
Fun With The Classics
In English class this year, 11th grade students read, discussed and wrote essays on 3 major works of literature: Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Hamlet, and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, as well as many poems and short stories. A highlight was their creative end-of-year projects in which students produced and performed modernized and condensed versions of each act of Hamlet.
Christy Mitchell
It’s over?
The school year is over? Wow, how quickly it has come to an end. It’s been an interesting year teaching a bright group of international students from China and Korea. HS Intermediate English was our focus. Reading short stories, folk tales, anecdotes, how to read non-fiction, fiction, what reading strategies to use to understand the text, were some of the genres and concepts covered. I enjoyed this. What was most exciting for me were the many moments when the students reached the place were they were able to convey their opinions, and ideas in English. When they made connections with the text, their culture, their families, etc. and gained the confidence to express it was wonderful to experience. It was a great year discovering how very much alike we are. I remember a story on the life of Bruce Lee. Each text is introduced before reading, so when asked if they were familiar with this person, or if they had ever heard of him, I got some nods and a Yes or two. When we were finished reading the introduction, I added that he was my cousin. When this tid-bit of information was met with their laugther, I knew that they understood. Mrs. Hernandez
Next Stop: College
This year the students learned how to do personal statements using MS Word. From setting up margins to making headers and foot notes, the students were exposed to what college students experience regarding technology.
Mr. B
American Literature
The juniors have a difficult task of moving through a chronological study of American literature. This means jumping right into the 17th century language of the Pilgrims – and understanding their perspective. This, in turn, means looking further back into the history of England, from whence the literary traditions came. What, then, is American literature? The students’ background in the historicity behind the words made the works relevant. They saw, through literature, the transition from a God-centered mindset to the more materialistic and individualistic – quite relevant, as they are trends that are still going strong today.
Miss Kleinschuster
Dream Job
The last quarter has been a whirlwind of work winding down to when summer releases students back to their countries of origin.
Nonfiction in 11th grade was wrapped around the idea of what dream job/future profession each student aspired toward. First they took a survey on How Creative Are You and discovered what skills and personality traits are needed for different jobs. Worksheets that went with the unit helped them expand their language skills to use descriptive words like innovative as well as idioms like tried and true. Their work and research culminated in writing their personal statements for college and then projecting 5 years in the future to write a resume for a position at their dream job.
For the summer, students are encouraged to continue reading English Literature, continue developing vocabulary journals, and continue relationships with American friends by correspondence and responsible social networking. All in all it has been a productive and good year in ESL. I will miss the students but look forward to hearing of their summer adventures when they return.
Mrs. Kemp