Welcome!  My name is Sonia Jolliffe, and I am excited to work with you this semester in Literary Perspectives.  This year I am also teaching ninth grade Humanities.  I majored in English Literature and minored in French at DePauw University, and I did some early graduate work in California before my children were born.  I began my teaching career in 1999 (yikes!) teaching eighth grade English in Santa Clarita, California.  This was followed by two years teaching ninth grade French and English in the same district in California before taking time off to stay at home with my first two children, Emerson and Siri, after my family relocated to Wheeling, West Virginia.  During my years at home, I maintained a parenting blog and taught Freshman Composition three days a week at Wheeling Jesuit University.  Our family moved to Vermont in 2008, so that my husband and I could teach at St. Johnsbury Academy.  The next year, our third child, Henry, was born.  I was able to stay home with Henry for a year, and then began teaching fifth and sixth grade Humanities at the Catholic school that our daughters attended.  Three years ago, I realized that I missed teaching high school (and that I was tired of settling playground disputes!).  I made the return to the high school world, and have been extremely happy in my role as teacher, gymnastics coach and advisor at the Academy.  

I have always loved literature and creative writing.  I enjoy taking stories and novels apart to examine the ways in which author’s craft a text to achieve their purposes.  While I was obsessed with the poetry of writers like John Donne and John Keats in high school, my preferences over the years have shifted to more concrete works by poets like Oliver de la Paz.  I value the art of writing, and one of my favorite indulgences is taking time to work on short stories and poems.  Putting together a well-turned phrase gives me an endorphin rush!  Confession: spelling is my weakness!  Spell check is one of my best friends.

In my spare time, I run and hike with my family, indulge in writing projects and spend a great deal of time transporting one daughter to the barn where she rides and the other to the gym!

In 250-500 words, tell me a bit about yourself.  What are your interests and hobbies?  Where are you from?  Are there things that will present a challenge to you this semester with your schedule (sports, a job, etc.)?  What sort of things do you enjoy reading about and discussing?  How comfortable are you with technology?  With writing?  With public speaking?  How do you learn best?  And most importantly, what are your goals for the future and what skills do you hope this class will help you build in order to meet those goals?  Please add anything else that you would like to share.

I'm looking forward to working with you this semester!

~ Mrs. Jolliffe

Directions for Blogging and Standards

Welcome to Literary Perspectives!

This is our class blog.  I will use this blog to post the weekly writing prompt for your required reflective blog post.  This blog will also provide an easy place to find the links to your classmates' blogs, and a list of your "commenting triads."

Your blog post will be graded on how well it attends to the prompt that you have been given.  You should strive for a thoughtful, well-written post of 300-500 words.

Yes, spelling, grammar and punctuation matter.

Yes, you should refer to the stories, novels or articles we have read.

Yes, your references to the text should be specific and well-chosen.

Yes, these can be opinion-based.

Yes, you may write in first person.

Yes, there is a weekly due date/time - your post must be up on your blog by Friday at midnight.  As you receive the prompt on Wednesday, this gives you plenty of time to craft a thoughtful post.  Do NOT wait until 11:45 Friday night.

Your "commenting triad" is the group of three students to which you have been assigned.  Each weekend you will read the posts of the two other people in your group and leave a thoughtful comment for each of them.  Comments should be thoughtful, respectful, and at least two sentences in length.  Your comments are due to your peers by Sunday at midnight.

You will be graded on the quality of your responses and your personal blog post.  The blog post is worth up to 20 points.  Your responses to your peers are worth a combined 5 points.  This gives you 25 points a week related to your blogging activities.

I am excited for the opportunity that this format will give us to think about the works we read and communicate our thoughts in writing.  Additionally, these blogs will provide you with the opportunity to read each other's ideas and learn from one another.

Looking forward to reading what you have to say,

~ Mrs. Jolliffe