for what it is one is saying.”...

Quarter 2 2012-2013

“Writing and rewriting are a constant search

for what it is one is saying.” — John Updike

quarterly

Capital Christian School

Capital Christian School Sacramento, CA English Department

Department Chair Scott M. Foran, M.A. Kitta McMahon English 6 Diana Nance English 7 Brenda Yttrup English 8 Advanced English 8 Donna Erie English 9 Advanced English 9 Beth Segal English 10 Advanced English 10 Peggy Bush English 11 Scott Foran AP Composition English 12 AP Literature Brenda Moore Speech This free publication is intended for educational purposes and is created by the English depart-ment of Capital Chris-tian School. If you would like more infor-mation about CCS, please visit our website: www.ccscougars.org. If you have questions re-garding this publication or the English depart-ment, please email the d epa r tmen t ch a i r : [email protected].

© 2012 CCS Editor/Designer: Scott M. Foran

Storyteller Visits CCHS by Morgan Powell Editor’s Note: Morgan Powell is a junior at

CCHS and plans to pursue journalism when

she goes to college. She interviewed

professional storyteller, Darrell Haskins, after

his reading on October 1.

So how exactly does one get into the business

of storytelling? For Darrell Haskins, there was

no far off dream of one day becoming a story-

teller in schools around California, though he

had always had a love of books, literature, and

music. Haskins’ first step was studying for the

ministry and becoming a

church planter. Accompa-

nied by his young family,

Haskins planted a church in

the Sacramento area, and

all was going well until his

five-year-old son was diag-

nosed with brain cancer.

Planting a church is serious

business, and Haskins ex-

plained how it took a lot of

his time and all of his en-

ergy. He had to choose be-

tween the new church and

his son. Haskins chose to

spend his time with his son

and family. The medical

bills began to pile up, and

Darrel Haskins took several

jobs, including work at

Starbucks and, eventually,

storytelling.

On a positive note,

Haskins’ son recovered and is doing well, and

Haskins, himself, is going back to school,

Fuller Theological Seminary, and working on a

Masters of Divinity.

Darrell Haskins’ storytelling career really

started with the love Haskins had for books and

his desire to share them with his sons. Just like

some of us, the Haskins boys grew up listening

to their daddy read them stories every night

before bedtime. As the boys grew older and

started their adventures in preschool and ele-

mentary school, Haskins visited their class-

rooms as the special guest for story time. From

there, his storytelling snowballed, and, through

English word-of-mouth, Haskins gradually gained other

schools as clients. In addition to his storytel-

ling, Haskins incorporated music and singing

into his presentations. Story time would evolve

into music time, and the kids just loved it. Peo-

ple began hearing about how much Haskins

enjoyed reading and playing instruments for his

sons’ classes, and he soon found himself a per-

fect match for lots of schools.

Haskins’ favorite things to read out loud in-

clude works of fiction, books he is familiar

with, especially those with fun voices. One of

his favorites is the Skippy

John Jones series; kids just

love his unique and silly

voices.

On October 1, Haskins

read to Capital Christian

students throughout the day.

He chose to begin with a

selection from Upton Sin-

clair’s The Jungle, then he

shared Lewis Carroll’s “The

Jabberwocky” and finished

with portions of C.S. Lewis’

The Screwtape Letters.

Haskins chose these par-

ticular pieces because they

were all familiar to him,

meaning he could glance up

more often and manipulate

his voice while reading.

“The Jungle is really vivid,”

he said, and that is precisely

why he chose it. The im-

agery is just amazing. “The Jabberwocky,” on

the other hand, is silly and lighthearted. Fi-

nally, The Screwtape Letters provides an eye-

opening and unique experience as it depicts a

“backdoor” approach to understanding the

workings of the Devil.

Personally, Haskins enjoys reading books that

are mainly spiritually-based (e.g. The Divine

Conspiracy), but he also has some general fa-

vorites, like Cancer Ward, Les Miserables, and,

yes, even The Hunger Games.

Books can take you so many places, teach

you incredible amounts, and dazzle you with

their beauty. Grab a book and enjoy! �

Fig. 1. Darrell Haskins

duced to making One Line Summaries and Accordion Para-

graphs. Imagine summarizing a whole book or even a movie

in one good sentence! Creating accordion paragraphs re-

quires lots of paper folding and color coding,

so, students, do not forget to bring your yel-

low, pink, and green highlighters to class

each day.

Sixth graders will continue to be quizzed

and tested on the various parts of speech this

quarter. Daily Oral Language, DOL, is a

quick way we review various grammar rules

and word usage each day in class.

Accelerated Reader, AR, will be up and

running beginning in the second quarter.

Each student will be required to have current

reading levels determined through a com-

puter test. When the level is determined, I

will help each student set a personal goal for

the next 8-9 weeks.

The second quarter is placed within a busy

time of year: weather changes, science camp,

football games, conferences, Veteran’s Day,

Thanksgiving and preparing for Christmas.

Let us all do our best to stay focused and

ready to learn! �

__________________________________

Sources:

Cover of The Magician’s Nephew. 2012. Amazon. Web. 10

October 2012.

Scarecrow. 2011. Black Lamb. Web. 10 October 2012.

CCS English Quarterly Quarter 2 2012-2013

Wow! I can’t believe how quickly the first quarter went

by. There is so much to learn and so little time.

I was very impressed with the first quarter Booksellers’

Day presentations. Everyone did a fantastic

job, and I heard many students asking pre-

senters if they could read the book just

shared (that’s always exciting to me). The

visual aids created for the presentations are

in my classroom, C-13, if anyone wants to

come by and take a look. The next presen-

tations will be based on classic novels. Just

about everyone has chosen a book, and sev-

eral students have already picked a visual

aid instruction page to go with their book.

Remember, you don’t have to have finished

the book before you choose a visual. You

can even start working on the visual before

you finish your book.

We will be moving right ahead through

The Magician’s Nephew when we return

from Mount Hermon. While reading, we’ll

be practicing the reading strategy of Making

Connections. We will connect what we are

reading to ourselves, other books we have

read, or the world. This strategy is a great

way for the reader to reflect and draw per-

sonal connections with the story and charac-

ters.

The two-column notes we created in quarter one will be

taken to the next level in quarter two. Students will be intro-

Fig. 2. Cover of The Magician’s Nephew

“Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying.” — John Updike

English 6 by Kitta McMahon

Match the following authors and book titles:

J.M. Barrie Pinocchio

L. Frank Baum The Wind in the Willows

Carlo Collodi Peter Pan

Lewis Carroll The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Kenneth Grahame Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

*Answers on page 10 Fig. 3. The Scarecrow

- 2 -


English 8 and Advanced

English 8 by Brenda Yttrup The eighth grade students are working diligently and seem

to be making exceptional progress in their grammar, vocabu-

lary, and writing skills. Additionally, I am also pleased to

report that most students are using their planners daily and

filing those loose papers I’ve returned to them appropriately

in binders. Weekly reading logs are being signed by parents

and turned in promptly on Monday. Keep up the good work,

eighth graders!

This last quarter, students read an amazing short story

about Harriet Tubman and her tireless efforts in freeing

slaves through the Underground Railroad. Not only did they

learn about her early life in slavery, but also about the many

slaves she helped to escape at the expense of her own free-

dom. With that said, students are currently in the process of

writing a five paragraph essay on her exceptional character

and how she could be considered a true American hero.

In quarter two, students will be continuing to focus on five

paragraph essay writing and thesis statement development.

Students will be encouraged to always remember their audi-

ence and to give their reader

information that will keep

them reading…and not put

them to sleep! The first Writ-

ing Proficiency Test will be

given in November and more

information will follow.

The play, The Diary of

Anne Frank, and Four Per-

fect Pebbles are scheduled to

be read by students this quar-

ter. Four Perfect Pebbles is a

first-hand account of a Holo-

caust survivor who lived a

life similar to Anne Frank –

but survived. She shares her

story in a way that is tasteful

and appropriate for eighth

graders. Several projects and

writing assignments related to the Holocaust will be given,

with an emphasis on the importance of personal responsibil-

ity from a Christian perspective.

Lastly, I look forward to speaking with you further at Par-

ent/Teacher conferences. It is truly a wonderful opportunity

to not only connect with your child’s teacher, but to partner

together to ensure a successful eighth grade year. �

______________________________________

Sources:

Cover of Four Perfect Pebbles. 2012. Amazon. Web. 10

October 2012.


English 7 by Diana Nance

The first quarter of this year has flown by, and we are

ready to dive into quarter two! This quarter, we will be read-

ing the novel, A Wrinkle in Time, written by Madeleine

L’Engle. This exciting story has elements of science fiction,

fantasy, and action. It explores common human struggles,

such as the difficulties young people face growing up and

growing into themselves. As we read this novel, we will

catch a glimpse of the

cosmic battle between

good and evil. This

battle will be the basis

for many class discus-

sions as we explore

biblical truth. Because

we will be exploring

biblical truth and will

be looking up Scrip-

ture, students will need

to bring their Bibles to

class every day. We

will begin the novel

Monday, October 8.

Throughout our read-

ing of the novel, we

will use techniques to

improve reading com-

prehension. Students

will also explore ele-

ments of the novel,

such as setting, plot, point of view, and character develop-

ment.

In addition to reading assignments, the novel will be a

springboard for our writing assignments. Students will con-

tinue to write informative essays, but will move to persuasive

compositions by the end of the quarter. Students will be

expected to write a traditional five paragraph essay; it is also

expected that students will type their essays using the proper

MLA format which was taught in class.

Students will continue to learn about verbs and verb tenses,

as well as a variety of sentence structures. We will begin a

unit on nouns. All grammar work will be applied to our

writing.

Much of our spelling and vocabulary will also be tied to

the novel. Students will learn new words through the use of

context clues. By the end of the quarter, students will have

learned many new prefixes and suffixes and will be able to

apply this knowledge to their spelling and vocabulary words. �

______________________________________

Sources:

Cover of A Wrinkle in Time. 2012. Amazon. Web. 10

October 2012.

Fig. 4. Cover of A Wrinkle in Time

Fig. 5. Cover of Four Perfect Pebbles

- 3 -


English 9 by Donna Erie We are continuing our literary focus on mythology with

Ch. 2—The Two Great Gods of the Earth (Mythology:

Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton). We

will conclude this introduction to mythology by reading

“Perseus” from the Prentice Hall (PH) literature text. Stu-

dents will apply this information as they complete a com-

puter project on the Greek gods. Next, we will cover two

more selections from the PH text entitled, “The Golden Kite,

The Silver Wind” and “Caucasian Mummies Mystify Chi-

nese.” These two PH selections are very different, but both

are important to the leaning process. The first one is a short

story and requires examining literary elements that provide

the purpose of the story, while the latter is non-fiction and

requires students to be able to extract the most important

information in the text and then learn to distinguish facts

from opinions.

This quarter, the grammar emphasis is verbs and verb parts

and prepositions. Along with grammar, there will be more

informal in-class essays and one formal essay. This is a vital

part of the English program, so the writing assignments will

increase this quarter. Students will learn to develop fluency

while writing comparison and argumentative essays. They

will learn how to incorporate concrete evidence and docu-

ment it within the essay.

In addition to grammar and writing, students will continue

to identify Greek and Latin roots and affixes in their vocabu-

lary words. This quarter, they will take ownership of these

words by using them in sentences structured with context

clues. Students will also be required to write creative stories

using their vocabulary words, and they will be encouraged to

use these words in their essays.

All of these components are a preparation for the required

term paper that will begin third quarter. Be sure to purchase

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by December.

We will begin reading it the first week after we return from

Christmas break. �

Advanced English 9 by Donna Erie We will finalize the first phase of studying Greek mythol-

ogy with reading Ch. 2—The Two Great Gods of the Earth

(Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith

Hamilton). Students will complete a PowerPoint presentation

on the Greek gods they have learned about. To reinforce our

exposure to Greek mythology, we are attending the Greek

play, Sophocles’ Elektra, presented by the American Conser-

vatory Theatre. We will see the performance in San Fran-

cisco on Thursday, November 8th.

Then, at the beginning of next month, November 1st, we

will start reading The Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Golding is a twentieth century British writer. In 1983 he re-

ceived a Nobel Prize for Literature. This book questions the

innate nature of mankind—is man basically evil, or is he

innately good and just tainted by evil societal structures. We

will analyze the novel’s allegorical elements in conjunction

with the underlying philosophies of that time period. One of

our formal essays will use an argumentative approach to ex-

plore this dichotomy.

Along with writing formal essays, students will write nu-

merous in-class informal essays to improve their ability to

critically think and to organize their thoughts in a timely

manner. Weaknesses in students’ essays will be addressed

through teacher rubrics and peer editing. And to strengthen

students’ writing, the emphasis on grammar skills will con-

tinue with reviewing verbs, verb parts, and prepositions.

Also, to promote better writing practices, we are now requir-

ing students to submit all formal papers to the program Tur-

nitin (see p. 11), as well as handing in hard copies to the

teacher.

In addition to these components, students will continue the

application of Greek and Latin roots and affixes to their vo-

cabulary word lists. Creating analogies with words, writing

vocabulary sentences using context clues, and memorizing

Greek and Latin root lists (etymology) are part of the on-

going vocabulary component, as well. These words will be

used in students’ writing assignments so that ownership of

new words will take place.

All of these components are terrific preparation for the 9th

grade research paper that will begin the third quarter. Also,

we hope to enrich student learning with more theatrical ex-

periences in the New Year. �


Speech is a one-semester class that teaches students how to

prepare and deliver speeches to an audience. It is a required

class for all high school students. So far, we have completed

Introduction speeches, Personal Opinion speeches, Personal

Experience speeches, Demonstration speeches and daily Im-

promptus. For the second quarter, we will focus on Informa-

tive speeches, Declamation Presentations, Persuasive

speeches, Specialty speeches, Debates, and Devotions.

In the Spring, students will have an opportunity to partici-

pate in the Association of Christian Schools International

Speech Meet. Look for more information in the next newslet-

ter! �

Speech by Brenda Moore

- 4 -


Advanced English 10 by Beth Segal

During the second quarter of 10th grade Advanced

English, we will be focusing on literature. We will read sev-

eral chapters from Edith Hamilton’s Mythology which per-

tain to the Trojan War and Homer’s Odyssey. Then we will

be delving into The Odyssey as our last reading in the study

of mythology and ancient literature. It is an academically

challenging epic about a heroic journey in a mythological

and historical context. Students will evaluate themes about

coming of age, overcoming temptation through shrewdness

and character, revenge, hospitality and faithfulness. Then to

finish this unit of the ancient Greek world, we will go to San

Francisco to see the American Conservatory Theatre’s

(ACT) rendition of Sophocles’ Elektra.

We will be continuing the vocabulary and grammar from

the workbook. This practice is to establish a strong founda-

tion which will improve test scores and reading and writing

skills. The work in these areas is not as advanced as the lit-

erature, but is a building block that makes the very difficult

literature selections more accessible. The grammar and vo-

cabulary will not be nearly as time consuming as the litera-

ture this quarter.

We will continue the in-class essays and do one formal

essay this quarter. The research paper will come during the

third quarter, when the literature will be easier and require

less time to read. �


English 10 by Beth Segal

The beginning of the second quarter of 10th grade English

will be devoted to finishing our unit on ancient literature by

writing an essay on Sophocles’ Antigone. Students will be

given a great deal of in-class instruction, as it is the first pa-

per of the year. As a class, we will plan the paper together,

then students will independently

practice formal third person writing

while using critical thinking and

language skills as they write their

two page essays from their plans.

New students who do not have

Turnitin accounts will set them up

while returning students will be

moving their accounts to the 10th

grade English class. Students will

both submit their papers to Turnitin

(see p. 11) and turn in hard copies

of their essay plans, first drafts and

corrected final drafts.

Immediately following this short

essay, we will begin the work on

the 10th grade research paper which will relate to the second

quarter literary study of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius

Caesar. This is a riveting drama combining a historical plot

of politics, conspiracy and betrayal with themes of honor,

patriotism, corruption and the power of rhetoric, to name a

few. The play will be read and listened to in class, while

homework reading will involve reading for research. Stu-

dents will be writing on a historical thesis about Julius Cae-

sar or a contemporary thesis on rhetoric in politics. Stages of

this paper will be started in class, during our in-class essay

time on block periods, and then finished at home.

Additionally, we will continue our study of vocabulary by

doing five more lessons from the Vocabulary Workshop

Workbook and thirty-five new etymology words. Students

will be given ten extra credit points before the second quarter

ends if they have all 100 vocabulary words from the first 10

lessons on note cards. I recommend students do not wait to

start nightly review of vocabulary words. Ten minutes of

study a night, starting now, will enable students to be ready

for the vocabulary section of the final at the end of this quar-

ter.

We will also continue our study on grammar. Students will

finish their foundational work on grammar by memorizing

helping verbs, prepositions, and pronoun forms and under-

standing how all seven parts of speech are correctly used in

sentences. �

_________________________

Sources:

Antigone. 2012. Museum Syndicate. Web. 10 October

2012.

Elektra. 2012. American Conservatory Theatre . Web. 10

October 2012.

The Revitalized Classic

Translated and adapted by

Timberlake Wertenbaker

Original music by

David Lang

Directed by

Carey Perloff

An exquisite new

translation of the timeless

Greek tragedy—featuring

Academy Award winner

Olympia Dukakis

On November 8, the

Advanced 9 and Ad-

vanced 10 English classes

will be going to San Fran-

cisco to see the American

Conservatory Theatre’s

production of Elektra.

Fig. 7. Elektra - 5 -

Fig. 6. Antigone


English 11 by Peggy Bush The focus for American Literature during the second quar-

ter is reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar. Students

will continue reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The novel will be

supplemented with focused questions and class discussions

to increase understanding of the novel’s essential elements.

Student collaboration and class discussions for each segment

of the curriculum are an important part of our classroom en-

vironment.

This quarter we began “The Birth of a Nation” section of

the literature book. The historical

backdrop of the 18th century is

emphasized, as well as reading

assignments from notable authors,

such as Benjamin Franklin, Tho-

mas Jefferson, George Washing-

ton and Thomas Paine. The writ-

ings of these founding fathers pro-

vide examples of literary genres,

such as sermons, letters and auto-

biographies. Students will analyze

these and create similar writings.

Organizational skills for differ-

ent forms of writing will be mod-

eled and practiced. Several times

each week, students engage in

informal writing practices. Jour-

nal topics dealing with student

concerns, reflections on literature, short stories, personal

experiences, and current events are samples of these assign-

ments.

Persuasive writing will be part of the second quarter’s for-

mal assignments. Examples of persuasion, such as “Sinners

in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and

The Declaration of Independence, signed by Thomas Jeffer-

son and others, demonstrate the use of persuasion to influ-

ence people and unify a nation. The persuasive writing as-

signment includes topic selection, thesis, paragraph creation,

support from references and documentation.

The English Department is emphasizing reading as a vital

part of improving vocabulary use, understanding the world in

general and improving writing skills. Reading is crucial for

students’ development as effective learners. Personal read-

ing creates curiosity in the reader about places, people and

ideas. It also enhances the ability to express oneself and to

understand the world. Reading is encouraged and supported

by our department because it increases students’ abilities to

succeed in high school and college. I will be providing a

book list to encourage you and your student to take time for

personal reading. �

______________________________________

Sources:

Cover of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. 2012. Amazon. Web. 10

October 2012.

AP Composition by Scott Foran During this quarter, we will continue preparing for the AP

English Language and Composition Exam. We will criti-

cally examine argumentative essays for their rhetorical

strategies and devices. The major focus for this second half

of the semester will be tropes (figures of speech) and

schemes (patterns and strategies). Students will practice

identifying these in the essays we read and discuss, and they

will also have opportunities to create their own in both infor-

mal and formal writing assignments.

Reading comprehension will be a secondary focus for the

quarter. Students will be reading complex non-fiction texts

from a wide variety of authors and time periods. This will be

good practice for the exam, which will feature similar text

selections, and it will also help students be better prepared

for college.

During this quarter, students will continue to work on

weekly in-class essays that explore various aspects of the

essays we are reading, and they will complete their second

formal paper for the year, which will center on the topic of

education. Students will have three options to choose from:

1) Do you agree or disagree with Jiddu Krishnamurti’s

essay, “Education and the Significance of Life”?

2) How has access to technology affected the quality of

education? Review the essays in chapter four of your

text and consider the following interview with Mark

Bauerlein concerning his book, The Dumbest Genera-

tion: http://www.dumbestgeneration.com/media.html).

You should also look at some of the articles provided on

his website (http://www.dumbestgeneration.com/

articles.html).

3) Write an analysis of Jacob Neusner’s “The Speech the

Graduates Didn’t Hear.” Examine the speech for rhe-

torical devices and discuss its effectiveness as an argu-

ment. You may also include your own reaction to the

speech—do you agree with Neusner?

These writing assignments are designed to introduce stu-

dents to the types of papers they must write at the college

level and, therefore, serve as part of their preparation for

higher education. To support the writing assignments, we

will keep practicing various aspects of grammar, mechanics,

and punctuation, as well as review MLA format usage and

essay strategies. It is important for students to move beyond

their reliance on the five-paragraph essay format; they need

to become familiar with a variety of organizational strategies

and learn to be comfortable using them when they write.

The more students practice their writing skills, the better off

they will be at college. �


Fig. 8. Cover of Uncle

Tom’s Cabin

- 6 -


English 12 by Scott Foran Our survey of important British literary texts continues

with the Medieval poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green

Knight.” This poem tells the tale of King Arthur’s nephew,

Gawain, and the test of his virtue as he faces the challenge of

the Green Knight and is caught in the magical web of a mys-

terious castle. After “Sir Gawain,” we will be reading a se-

lection from the allegorical Medieval romance, The Faerie

Queene, by Edmund Spenser. This fantastic work carries on

the chivalric tradition of a knight courageously launching out

on a quest that will test him physically, as well as spiritually.

On his way to battle an evil dragon, the hero, the Knight of

Holinesse, loses his way in the Wandering Wood and must

face a terrifying monster, Errour. We will finish the quarter

by reading Wil-

liam Shake-

speare’s Mac-

beth, the chill-

ing tale of a

power hungry

husband and

wife who mur-

der the rightful

king and ma-

nipulate cir-

cumstances in

order to take the

throne. In this

tragedy, Shakespeare explores the effects of greed and arro-

gance and, most importantly, guilt on the human soul as

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth struggle to maintain sanity and

enjoy the spoils of their ill-gotten kingdom.



literature we are reading, and they will complete their second

formal paper for the year, a critical analysis of Shakespeare’s

Macbeth. These writing assignments are designed to intro-

duce students to the types of papers they must write at the

college level and, therefore, serve as part of their preparation

for higher education. To support the writing assignments,

we will keep practicing various aspects of grammar, mechan-

ics, and punctuation, as well as review MLA format usage

and essay strategies. It is important for students to move

beyond their reliance on the five-paragraph essay format;

they need to become familiar with a variety of organizational

strategies and learn to be comfortable using them when they

write. The more students practice their writing skills, the

better off they will be at college. �

______________________________________

Sources:

Holinesse Battles Errour. n.d.. Rare Books Department,

Monash University Library. Web. 10 October 2012.

AP Literature by Scott Foran Our focus for the second quarter will still be fiction; how-

ever, we will shift our attention from the novel to the short

story. We will begin with two author studies, exploring the

lives and works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery

O’Connor. We will read and analyze Hawthorne’s “Young

Goodman Brown,” “The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “The

Birthmark,” then O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to

Find,” “Good Country People,” and “Revelation.”

Although these two authors lived and wrote in different

centuries, there are some

striking parallels between

their works. Both authors

created regional fiction,

Hawthorne’s centered in

the New England area and

O’Connor’s in the Ameri-

can South. Even more

interesting, though, is

their allegorical and sym-

bolic explorations of spiri-

tual realities. For exam-

ple, Hawthorne draws

from Puritan traditions to

bring us the temptation of Young Goodman Brown and his

wife, Faith, as they struggle to resist the wiles of the devil, a

spiritual journey that culminates in a frightening ceremony in

the middle of the darkened forest. O’Connor, who is greatly

influenced by Hawthorne, brings to life the Evangelical

South to reveal the spiritual crises of a grandmother, an athe-

istic philosophy student (surprisingly named Joy), and a mid-

dle-class farmer’s wife. Each of these women must come

face-to-face with her own hypocrisy as she is forced to con-

sider her need for personal redemption.



literature we are reading, and they will complete their second

formal paper for the year, a critical analysis of one or more

of the short stories we read. These writing assignments are

designed to introduce students to the types of papers they

must write at the college level and, therefore, serve as part of

their preparation for higher education. To support the writ-

ing assignments, we will keep practicing various aspects of

grammar, mechanics, and punctuation, as well as review

MLA format usage and essay strategies. It is important for

students to move beyond their reliance on the five-paragraph

essay format; they need to become familiar with a variety of

organizational strategies and learn to be comfortable using

them when they write. The more students practice their writ-

ing skills, the better off they will be at college. �

_____________________________________

Sources:

Caricature of Flannery O’Connor. Distracted Person’s

Reading Guide. 2012. Derek Punsalan. Web. 14 Octo-

ber 2012.


Fig. 9. Holinesse Battles Errour

- 7 -

Fig. 10. Caricature of Flannery O’Connor



Editor’s Note: Rebecca Wolfe is a senior at CCHS and wrote

this essay for her AP Literature course.

Voltaire’s Eldorado is a picture of a social ideal. It is a

utopia. It is a place of Deistic practice, where all are priests

and each day is one of praise, where the king embraces his

subjects instead of having them bow down to him, where the

people are cheerful, content, and lack for naught. Room and

board at the inn is free, and attempts to pay for it are laughed

at, for all the people of Eldorado

give freely and so does the land

itself. The people go about main-

taining the perfection and thus gain

purpose and are not a stagnant soci-

ety. In all aspects, Eldorado is per-

fect and perfectly unattainable in

Candide’s world. It is an absolute

antithesis to Pangloss’ mantra

about Westphalia, “that this is the

b e s t o f a l l p o s s i b l e

worlds” (Voltaire 20). And, yet,

Candide leaves this grand and per-

fect place, crossing over the moun-

tains back into his deeply flawed

Europe. Many might say that he did

so for the sake of love, to find his

beautiful Cunégonde, and that is

true to a point. What seems to be

the reality of the situation, how-

ever, is that Candide “fails to ap-

preciate the genuine happiness of

life in Eldorado and leaves it of his

own accord because he thinks he

can buy his way to happiness in this

world” (Bottiglia 345). So it seems

that the utopic land of Eldorado

does not, in itself, display Vol-

taire’s opinion on human nature,

but that Candide, in leaving it for

the sake of wealth in Europe, does.

Greed is an ever-present element of humanity and history.

Each person longs to have, and to be, more than others. Ac-

cording to Voltaire, this greed extends so far as to cause us to

surrender paradise for superiority. Candide himself states

this ambition in so many words when speaking to his com-

panion, Cacambo, “If we abide here we shall be no different

than anybody else; but if we go back to the old world with a

mere twelve sheep laden with Eldorado stones, we shall be

richer than all the kings of Europe put together” (Voltaire

82).

It should also be noted that Candide’s decision to depart

from Eldorado is met with sound, logical deterrence from the

Working in the Garden by Rebecca Wolfe king and causes a rather large inconvenience for the people

of Eldorado. It speaks even more to his greed, having his

way in spite of how it may affect others, such as the three

thousand engineers the king sets to work to building the pair

an aircraft to get over the mountain. This aircraft cost twenty

million sterling in the currency of Eldorado, which, in any

economy, especially one of the mid-sixteenth century, is a

fantastically large sum.

Another narrative element that speaks to Voltaire’s opinion

on human nature is the contrast to Eldorado that he brings in

at the end of the novel, Candide’s

garden. The garden is the ending

point of the story and aims to one

day be a small reflection of Eldo-

rado in the flawed world outside of

the mountains. It is the best that is

possible in Europe, or anywhere

outside of Eldorado. Candide is in-

spired to begin this work by a Turk-

ish man who tells him that work

banishes three great evils: boredom,

vice, and poverty (Voltaire 142).

Work is a rather present theme

throughout the episode of Eldorado

and the entire novel. Looking back

at the attitudes of the kingdom of

Eldorado, it is evident that the peo-

ple are not lazy, nor are they stag-

nant. Though the inner-workings of

the governmental or economic sys-

tems are never shown, it is obvious,

through many passing examples,

that all have jobs and do them well.

There are proper schools, inns, and

government. There are thousands of

artists, engineers, musicians, scien-

tists, courtesans, advisers, and other

professionals present and working

in the kingdom, as well as ordinary

people building, buying, and driving

in the land. Eldorado is as much a model of a good work

ethic as it is the unattainable ideal to which Candide and his

companions to aspire.

The last line of Voltaire’s novel consists of Candide telling

his companions that they should put themselves to use culti-

vating their garden. It also brings in this theme of cultivation

as Candide and Cacambo enter Eldorado, with Candide re-

marking that Eldorado is a “cultivated” place. It is by this

statement that Candide’s garden is given a description hope-

ful of Utopia. The last line of the entire novel seems to sum

up the labor aspect of Voltaire’s opinion on human nature,

(continued on p. 9)

Fig. 11. Candide Leaving Eldorado

- 8 -

Jane Austen Great Expectations

Albert Camus Sense and Sensibility

Miguel de Cervantes Gulliver’s Travels

Charles Dickens The Scarlet Letter

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Anna Karenina

William Faulkner Crime and Punishment

Nathaniel Hawthorne For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway The Stranger

Jonathan Swift The Sound and the Fury

Leo Tolstoy Don Quixote *Answers on page 10



(continued from p. 8)

when Candide says, “We must go and work in the gar-

den” (Voltaire 144). In just one line, Candide is put in his

place. Voltaire leaves the insatiably greedy Candide resigned

and determined to go to work with hopes of achieving some-

thing, so opposite to the handouts he received in Eldorado.

Throughout the examination of Candide’s time in Eldo-

rado, one can see that Voltaire’s opinion on human nature is

not a very positive one. He views humanity as greedy and

lazy and the place that he lived as deeply flawed. Yet Vol-

taire does not fail to allow humanity a chance at betterment.

At the end of his novel, he offers a hopeful solution: go to

work. It is made clear that it is not a particularly easy or

flawless solution and that the utopia of Eldorado will not

ever truly be attained. It is also made clear, however, that

working towards a utopian ideal makes a difference in soci-

ety and in the lives of the workers. Voltaire believes that

greedy men can change if, and only if, they are willing to

work for it. �

Works Cited Bottiglia, William F. “The Eldorado Episode in Candide.”

PMLA 73.4 (Sept., 1958), 339-347. Sacramento

State University Library. Web. 4 September 2012.

Candide Leaving Eldorado. 2012. ListVerse. Web. 10 Oc-

tober 2012.

Voltaire. Candide. Trans. John Butt. London: Penguin Books

Ltd., 1947. Print.

Match these famous literary

“monsters” with their creators

(authors):

Dracula Washington Irving

Frankenstein’s Monster H.G. Wells

Dorian Gray Edgar Allan Poe

Invisible Man Robert Louis Stevenson

Grendel Mary Shelley

Mr. Hyde Herman Melville

Raven Charles Perrault

Bluebeard Unknown Poet

Headless Horseman Oscar Wilde

White Whale Bram Stoker

*Answers on page 10

In celebration of National Book Month (October), we

have planned a number of reading-related activities that

will take place in the high school library.

Oct. 1: Professional Storyteller, Darrell Haskins

Oct. 16: Book Swap

Oct. 22-26: Library Scavenger Hunt

Oct. 29: Lunchtime Reading Lockdown

Nov. 1: Dress Up as a Favorite Book Character

We will also be making bookmarks (date TBA), and the

students participating in the Library Committee will be

helping Mrs. Silva purchase new books with money do-

nated to our library fund. Please encourage your stu-

dents to visit the library—we are open daily, from 8 am

to 4 pm.

Greetings from the

Library NookLibrary NookLibrary NookLibrary Nook!

Support the High

School Library

We are trying to increase the number of books in the

high school library so that students will have more

access to reading and research materials. If you have

new or gently used books you would like to donate, or

if you would like to make a financial contribution for

the purchase of new books, please contact Rachel

Silva ([email protected]) or Scott Foran

([email protected]).

Match the following

authors and titles:

- 9 -

Kitta McMahon: A Young Woman After God's Own Heart by . . . . Elizabeth George

Diana Nance: Mustard Seeds: Thoughts on the Nature of God and Faith by Lynn Coulter

Brenda Yttrup: Night by Elie Wiesel

Donna Erie: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Beth Segal: The Kneeling Christian by Anonymous

Peggy Bush: Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie

Scott Foran: Dogs of God: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the Defeat of the Moors by James Reston, Jr.

What are teachers reading?



Authors and Titles (Quiz on p. 2)

J.M. Barrie Pinocchio

L. Frank Baum The Wind in the Willows

Carlo Collodi Peter Pan

Lewis Carroll The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Kenneth Grahame Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Authors and Titles (Quiz on p. 9)

Jane Austen Great Expectations

Albert Camus Sense and Sensibility

Miguel de Cervantes Gulliver’s Travels

Charles Dickens The Scarlet Letter

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Anna Karenina

William Faulkner Crime and Punishment

Nathaniel Hawthorne For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway The Stranger

Jonathan Swift The Sound and the Fury

Leo Tolstoy Don Quijote

“Monsters” and Creators (Quiz on p. 9)

Dracula Washington Irving

Frankenstein’s Monster H.G. Wells

Dorian Gray Edgar Allan Poe

Invisible Man Robert Louis Stevenson

Grendel Mary Shelley

Mr. Hyde Herman Melville

Raven Charles Perrault

Bluebeard Unknown Poet

Headless Horseman Oscar Wilde

White Whale Bram Stoker

- 10 -

The Creative

Writing Club

meets every

Tuesday after

school. Meetings

are held in the

library. Students

interested in

participating

should see Erin

Donoho or

Justine Reyes for

details.

Fig. 12. Boy Writing with Quill ______________________________________

Sources:

Boy Writing with Quill. 2012. Mumbai. Web. 10

October 2012.



- 11 -

CCHS and Turnitin by Scott Foran A couple of years ago, Capital Christian High School

started using a unique service called Turnitin. Those of you

who are already familiar with this service will know that it is

a tool used by schools to prevent plagiarism. We decided to

use it at Capital, not because we suddenly had an

overwhelming number of plagiaristic papers, but because we

wanted to familiarize students with something they will

likely encounter at the college level. In recent years, most

colleges and universities have started requiring that students

submit their papers to be analyzed for originality, and some

have even expanded this requirement to include application

essays. As a school, we want our students to be as college-

ready as possible—hence, our use of Turnitin.

Many parents have been asking questions about Turnitin,

so I thought it would be useful to provide you with some

basic information about the service. The following comes

directly from the Turnitin website (www.turnitin.com) and

will, I trust, answer these questions.

What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is the global leader in evaluating and im-

proving student writing. The company’s cloud-

based service for originality checking, online grad-

ing and peer review saves instructors time and pro-

vides rich feedback to students. One of the most

widely distributed educational applications in the

world, Turnitin is used by more than 10,000 insti-

tutions in 126 countries to manage the submission,

tracking and evaluation of student papers online.

How does Turnitin work? Institutions license Turnitin on an annual ba-

sis….An instructor sets up a class and an assign-

ment in the Turnitin service. Students...then submit

papers to Turnitin via file upload or cut-and-paste.

Turnitin….compares the paper's text to a vast data-

base of 20+ billion pages of digital content

(including archived Internet content that is no

longer available), over 220 million papers in the

student archive, and 120,000+ professional, aca-

demic and commercial journals and publications.

The software is regularly updated with new con-

tent acquired through new partnerships.

How many people use Turnitin?

Turnitin is the #1 most popular, most effective and

most trusted solution for originality checking,

online grading and peer review by any measure:

number of faculty users (more than 1 million),

number of students under license (more than 20

million), number of student papers historically

processed (more than 220 million), number of in-

stitutional licensees (more than10,000), and number of coun-

tries where Turnitin is used (126).

CCHS pays for this service, so it is made available to our

students at no extra cost. It is fairly easy to use and only

requires a computer and Internet access. If a student does

not have a computer or Internet service, he or she may use

the computers that are available in the library (library hours:

8 am to 4 pm on weekdays). If you have more questions

about Turnitin, feel free to contact the department chair,

Scott Foran, who is also the on-site administrator for the

service. �

______________________________________

Sources:

Turnitin. 2012. iParadigms. Web. 10 October 2012.

for what it is one is saying.”...

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