S2: Memorable Moments

I think that it is safe to say that our Online Publishing class has made many memorable moments throughout the school year. One memorable moment that I’m sure we will always remember is casual Fridays. On these days, if we chose to or not, we could bring in different foods for an office party. Luckily, we had Amber who would remember to bring food in for us. And then there was Emily. Let’s just say that she was a bit more forgetful than Amber. Another memorable moment was when Mike was on editor probation. No matter what he did, he was on that list, until April 1. Everyone knows that April 1 is April Fool’s day, jokes are a big thing on this day. Well Mike getting taken off of editor probation was Mr. Currin’s joke to him. Funny, huh? Another memorable moment was from the beginning of the year, between Mr. Currin and Tara. The phone rang, and apparently Mr. MacCowan needed to talk to Tara. When she went to the office, she claims that Mrs. Lorenzi looked at her like she was crazy because Mr. MacCowan wasn’t even in his office. The joke was shared with the class as soon as Tara walked out of the room, so we were all laughing while waiting her to come back, embarrassed. I’ll always remember our April Fool’s article too. I think that our topics were all really fun and interesting. We all made sure we had fun with it. There is one last thing that I am sure every student who has ever taken this class will remember whenever this class is thought of. Whenever Mr. Currin walks into the room and when he gives us the que to start working, what are his two famous lines? BEST CLASS EVER! and I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I’M RUNNING A NEWSPAPER HERE!

S1: To Make Online Publishing A Better Class

In all honesty, I don’t know if there is much to do as to making Online Publishing a better course. I think it is an easy course for any student. You don’t have to be the best writer for this course, which I really like. The deadlines are always really easy to meet. You are given two weeks to write three to five and an article which are all three hundred words. Three hundred words may seem like a lot to write about, especially if it is a blog topic that you aren’t so passionate about. It is so much easier than it may seem. It is extremely easy to go over the word minimum, whether is be by fifty words or a couple extra hundred words. Even with up to 1800 words to be typed every two weeks along with a fifty word item of interest, you are never crunched for time. Personally, I find it easier to do my work for this class on google docs, so I am able to access it wherever I may be. I think that’d be cool to make google docs a requirement so that if a student is absent, they won’t have a problem working on this class from home, especially if a blog or article is already started. I like that this class used Wikispaces to communicate with each other and you as our teacher. It means a lot more to our age group to digitally talk to a teacher rather than talk to them face to face since that is the generation we were raised in. I truly don’t think there is anything to do that would make this class better. I found it a fun class to take while still having a decent amount of work. The only changes that I would make to this class are miniscule changes such as using google docs.

R1: The End Of The Year

I think that the best part about school coming to an end is the nice weather. The weather is also a negative because I know that I would much rather be spending the time outside than inside a scorching hot school. My attention is usually drawn to the windows instead of the paper that is placed in front of me. I like being able to wear shorts and flip flops during this time too. I also love how lenient teachers are towards the end of the school year. Classes become more laid back, especially in the classes that do not have a state regents exam. They are able to talk more freely and bring in outside stories to the topic they are teaching about. When teachers relate current events, I find it more interesting and easier to learn. The best part about this specific school year coming to an end is the fact that I will be graduating. It’s a rather scary thought, but it is also very exciting. These halls have been all I have known for the past four years, but now we are moving on to bigger things. We also With school coming to an end, we no longer have to wake up at crazy hours in the morning to come into school and sit in a class. We can stay up late, until all hours of the night, and then wake up in the afternoon if we prefer. And even better, we get to spend almost every weekend of the summer at a grad party for one of our friends. I think the best part about the school year coming to an end is the anticipation of summer, even though we anticipate a break since the second week of the school year. While it may be the best feeling to anticipate the arrival of summer, it is also the worst part about the end of the school year because we know we are in school when we would rather be outdoors.

R3: Get Real Mr. Currin

Well, it’s safe to say that Mr. Currin really is a big deal. Anyone should be honored to be in his presence, let alone a class of his. Okay, now let’s be serious. I wouldn’t say he is a big deal, but I do know that many students enjoy being around him. Personally, I enjoy having him as a teacher. He is always so lively and greets the class when he walks in. As long as you are getting your work done, he will make the class fun. If all yourk gets done by the given deadline, then he won’t be too strict on you. Around the school, his face appears anywhere you look. His most famous pictures appear in a calendar that is located in the bulletin board near the main office. But don’t get me wrong, the pictures aren’t hanging because he is a big deal. They are only hanging around the school because Mrs. Gramza enjoys making fun of him. The calendar was created by Mr. Currin himself, as a gift to Mrs. Gramza but now it is being used against him. Having her as a teacher makes you realize more and more how little of a deal Mr. Currin is. He likes to think he is such a big deal in the English department but part of Mrs. Gramza’s curriculum is teaching you how he is the exact opposite. He thinks so highly of himself, that’s why the real big deal in this school is Mrs. Gramza, or as she likes to refer to herself as, Queen Gramza. I mean, how can someone who is so afraid of clowns be such a big deal? Clowns are there to make you happy, but Mr. Currin would rather be in the corner doing the exact opposite, crying. Get real, there is no way Mr. Currin is a big deal!

R2: What I Love Writing About

There isn’t really anything that I particularly love writing about. I really enjoyed this class because I was able to write about nearly anything. Some topics are more difficult to write about than others, it all just depends on how passionate you are about a topic. One thing that I find rather easy to write about is sports. I know a lot about different sports like football and baseball but the number one sport that I know I am capable of writing the most about is hockey, especially the Sabres. For a girl, I know the sport as much as I know the back of my own hand. I am well aware of the terms that come along with it also. It’s easy for me to write about things that I know a lot about. I am very into current events so it is easy for me to talk or write about it. I also enjoy being creative and writing fiction pieces. I think it is difficult to start writing one but once you get going, so many ideas start to flow and it is hard to keep up with the ideas your brain is giving you and the movement of your pen on the paper. When it came to writing for the Bulldog, I tried to pick topics for myself that were easy to write about, like prom and graduation. But with it being easy to write about, I had to be sure to draw the interest of the reader into my article and keep their attention so they wouldn’t get bored. It was easy for me to write about these topics because I can easily relate to them or get information about them for the readers. For prom, I was there, along with other members of the class, so I was able to get different viewpoints on what they thought of prom.

S3: I Am Very...

I am very happy that I chose to take online publishing this year. It wasn’t put into my schedule into school actually started and I took the last spot in the class. To anyone who is sceptical about taking this class, I definitely tell them to take it even if you aren’t the best writer. I really like that every two weeks, we were able to express ourselves through blogs and be able to reach out the district as a whole with the articles we write. The blogs have a wide range of topics, so there is a blog that will strike everyone’s interest. And then when it comes to the articles, you are able to write about nearly anything, as long as it relates to Alden in some way, shape or form. I wasn’t in this class until the first day of school when I dropped pre-calc to be in it. I’m very thankful for the switch because even though you are given a decent amount of work in this class, you can get it done anywhere. Even if you are sick, you are able to access all the class work through WikiSpaces. And I like the amount of work that we are given. It is easy to get in all done within the time limit we are given. The amount of work that we have every two weeks is very doable. In all honestly, I think everyone should have a class with Mr. Currin as the teacher. He is very fun and enjoyable. He is a laid back teacher but only when you get your work done by the given deadline. I’m going to miss this class once college starts because I know that no matter what classes I’m in, they will not be as relaxed and fun as this one has been.

Q5: High School's End

I’m starting to fear the end of my senior year. The end is closing in faster than I imagined it would. It’s scary to think that in just a few short days, I will be taking my last seat in the classrooms and my last walk through the hallways of Alden High School. As stressful as it may be in the school, especially with all the drama that occurs, it’s easy to see the school as a safety zone because we are with the same people we have been going to school with since primary school. Once we all walk on to our college campus for the first day, we will be seeing nearly a hundred new faces that day. It’s also scary to think that in high school, we have the teachers here to “hold our hands” and make sure we get in our work on time. They guide us down the path that is best for us. Once we walk out the doors for the last time with a diploma in our hands, we are students of the college or university that we will be attending in the fall. The professors that honestly don’t care if we miss class or any work because it means nothing to them. We can choose to be lazy if we want, which I know is going to be tempting, but we are more independent at this time. Our future career will now be in our hands and it is up to us if we make it a reality or not. But as my time as another student comes to an end, I am realizing I just need to take deep breath and prepare myself for the real world outside of high school. I know that my talents will go far beyond the walls of this school, which is what everyone needs to realize as they leave this school for the last time.