• Welcome to Ms. McGuirk's page! 

  • Welcome to High School and College English.

    I am actually out of the building due to illness this marking period.  Mrs. Winchester and Ms. Boucher have kindly agreed to switch up their schedules to cover my classes. You will enjoy working with them.  Keep watch; I will update the website closer to my return!  

    hand holding boook

    I usually teach English 11, 12, college English 101 and 108 and English 8 Lab. Should you plan to take the college classes--Welcome, and be warned! Please plan to read and follow the college syllabi carefully for these classes require a slightly different format than the high school classes. Still, the more things change, the more they remain the same. I still continue to play with technology and essays are still the favored assignment for English.  The college course is a Distance Learning course and students in all classes will be using Google Apps in Education, specifically Classroom, for their written work.  We should be fairly "green" across the board.

    That said, all essays in all my classes must be typed, double-spaced, in either MLA or APA format.
    Students will be taught the proper format at the start of the school year.  Hand-written, full-length essays, however neatly written, cannot be accepted.  

    In an emergency, I will accept work on flash drives, emailed to me as attachments, or downloaded through the Homework Drop Box located here on the right-hand navigation bar, but submitting homework to me via Classroom is the preferred method.  Please do not attempt to copy/paste your essay into the body of an email as this destroys the MLA formatting.

    All essays are due on the date given unless the student has spoken with me well in advance of the deadline. Yes, emergencies sometimes occur; however, printer/ink/computer problems do not qualify as emergencies. Nor do sporting events.  

      To access Classroom, students must sign in to their HCS Google accounts.  These use the same logins and passwords that students use for school. On Classroom, students will have access to assignments, due dates, announcements, and electronic versions of handouts provided in class.  Google Calendar is my backup for all class assignment deadlines.  Google Calendar may be printed or downloaded.  If students are having trouble viewing the calendars embedded here on my website, they should sign in to their HCS Google accounts and try again.

  • Educational Goals and Objectives

    Our curriculum is firmly entrenched in the New York State Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards.  For information on these updated standards, please click here.

    English 11

    We have two foci in English 11:  American Literature and the NYS English Regents. We will be using the 11th grade version of the Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt textbook, Collections, supported by a very nice on-line component.  While Collections will be the main text, I will occasionally supplement the readings and activities with short stories, essays, memoirs, and/or poems.  I dearly love poetry!  As with all my classes, Google Classroom will be the students' main portal for assignments, homework, and deadlines.  Although I do hand out a hardcopy of my assignments, I strongly suggest students download the appropriate apps to their phones as backup should due dates fluctuate (snowdays, etc.) or handouts inexplicably disappear (Do dogs/rabbits/goats still eat homework?).  See above for information concerning essays.

    English 12

    Seniors also have a double foci: British Literature and the life-long learner. We will be using the the 12th grade version of the Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt textbook, Collections, supported by a very nice on-line component.  While Collections will be the main text, I will occasionally supplement the readings and activities with short stories, essays, memoirs, and/or poems.  Yes, I do love poetry!  As with all my classes, Google Classroom will be the students' main portal for assignments, homework, and deadlines.  Although I hand out a hardcopy of my assignments, I strongly suggest students download the appropriate apps to their phones as backup should due dates fluctuate (snowdays, etc.) or handouts inexplicably disappear.  I no longer appreciate the lack of responsibility inherent in the excuse of having left the work in someone else's car, truck, barn, or locker.

     

    English 101--Intro to College Writing

    Instruction and practice in the process of writing, including revision, careful analysis, and the sharing of each other's writing. Assignments may include reflecting on one's experience, exposition, and interpretation of a text. Information literacy, in the form of research and documentation, will be presented. 

    This ACC course runs the first college semester, is held in a Distance Learning Lab, and usually consists of students from two or more schools.  Hardcopy textbooks will be provided, but Google Classroom will be the official conduit for handouts, assignments, and homework. A required field trip to the library on ACC campus for instruction on college level research techniques is usually scheduled for mid-October.

    English 108--Writing in and about Literature

    A writing workshop in which students read from a diverse selection of short stories, poetry, essays, and drama. Writing explores students' responses to critical questions raised by the readings and may include a reference paper examining the life and work of an author.

    This ACC course runs the second college semester.  Like the previous course, this class, too, is held in a Distance Learning Lab and usually consists of students from two or more schools.  Hardcopy textbooks will be provided, but Google Classroom will be the official conduit for handouts, assignments, and homework. ENG101 is a prerequisite to ENG108.

     

    English 8 Lab

    This is an intensive, hands-on workshop focusing on those skills necessary to achieve success in the English classroom.  There will be no homework.  The only requirements are pen, paper, and a desire to communicate.

    All courses are subject to change.

  • Supplies

    • lined paper
    • three-ring binder
    • divider pages w/folders
    • pen-blue/black
    • highlighter
    • post-its  (small for marking sections in books)
    • flashdrive (strongly recommended if not submitting work to Google Classroom)

  •  

    Classroom Activities

     

    REMIND is suspended for the rest of this year. 
    Next year, however, it will be reinstated.  For next year, please prepare once again to follow us using REMIND.  Parents, you should receive the Remind code for your child's class by the Fall Open House, but in case you do not and would like it, please email me.  The forms are sent home early 1st quarter or may be picked up during Open House.  

    English 11 is working on strengthening student responses to literature in preparation for the Common Core Regents exam in June. 

    English 12 is working on personal and creative literary responses to literature.

    ACC ENG 101 is now complete.

    ENG 108 is now complete.

    English 8 Skills Lab is working extensively on writing:  spelling, vocabulary, grammar, usage, punctuation, MLA research, and coherent organization of essays.

  • Grading Policies

    With the exception of final deadlines for extended projects, there will be one day of makeup time for each day of excused absence.

    • Final Essays
           Essays count double.

    1 day late= 5 pts. off
    2 days late = 10 pts. off
    3 days late = 15 pts. off
    3+ = see me!

    • Tests/Quizzes
           Count equally as single grades.
    • Extended Projects
           Usually count as Unit Tests or 1/3 -1/4 of the quarter grade.
    • Mini deadlines = quiz/test grades.
    • Final Deadline = FINAL
           NO late day acceptances!
           NO extensions for any reason.

    Should you be absent for any reason, the project must be received by me at or before the deadline. Submit to Classroom!  If that is not possible, an e-mail attachment or the dropbox listed on the left is also acceptable.