The new school year is upon us, and I'm certain it will be a great one! The first few days will consist of going over the syllabus (policies, assignments and schedule), and the summer reading assignments. Just to refresh your memory, the books you will be writing about in the first week are as follows: Juniors -- Great Expectations (Dickens) Seniors -- 1984 (Orwell) or Bayou Farewell (Tidwell) Expect to quote from the book in your essay. This means that Sparknotes and the like are not sufficient preparation. If you have not read the book in its entirety, then I highly recommend that you get busy! Your first essay will be written IN CLASS, and you will be able to use your book and notes only. We will discuss topics and strategies in the first couple of days, and then write the essay on Monday, August 23rd. DUE ON FRIDAY (Aug 20th): Your second assignment was to read another book of your own choosing (or two if you're in Honors/AP) and to compose a short report on each usi...