Grade 10: Bonus question: for Sunday 1st November

Research the story behind Halloween: when - where - why - how it is celebrated

Pls don't copy and paste fromt the internet - get me the information in a concise nutshell

Grade 10: End of First Quarter Projects: Enjoy

Topic 1:
Compare between the etiquette and traditions of love, courtship and marriage in the Renaissance and modern eras (ages).

Topic 2:
Compare between the etiquette and traditions of love, courtship and marriage in the Western and Eastern cultures.

In each of the above two comparisons, you need to list the customs that are followed starting from the moment they pick a spouse till the
You need to consider the following questions:
Who is considered a good catch, what's the best way to propose

Topic 3:
Compare between the following classic love stories:

Samson & Delilah - Qays & Leila – Penelope & Odessius –
Napoleon & Josephine – Arthur/Lancelot & Guinivere –
Paolo & Francesca - Scarlett O’Hara & Rhett Butler -

You should choose only five from the above and write a concise paragraph about each couple; mentioning whether they are fictional, semi-fictional or non- fictional, what the conflict they were suffering from was and how it ended. You should also mention if there is a love triangle somewhere in the story.

Topic 4:
Compare between different kinds of celebrations of love all over the world: Father's Day – Mother's Day – Earth Day – Valentine's Day –World Friendship Day.
Mention who started the celebration and why , when and how it is celebrated in different parts of the world.

Topic 5
Conduct a survey about only one of the following topics and discuss the findings in a presentation:
Arranged marriages – what are the criteria for a prince charming or a lady of one's dreams – marriage at an early age Vs marriage at an older age.

General Rules:
No copying and pasting from the internet.
All students in the team will participate in the preparation and presentation.
The presentation should not take less than 15 minutes and not more than half an hour.
The more creative your method of presentation is, the higher your grade will be.
Deadline is Sunday 14th November. If you are late, you will lose marks.

P.S. You need to make sure to choose a topic before you come to school tomorrow or else I will assign you a topic myself.

Have a blast. Think well. Choose wisely.

Grade 10: 30th October 2009: Homework

Homework : Grade 10 Blue and Greeen: Write an argumentative essay of not less than 15 lines, discussing your opinion about the following topic: "Arranged marriages is the best way to find a spouse these days."

P.S. Extra Homework for Grade 10 Blue Students Tera and Hazem: articles for the school magazine + the grammar workbook finish pages 1, 4 and 7

Please check the blog again later today for a list of the project topics.

Thank you. Have a fantabulous weekend and a great halloween; go trick or treating and get high on sugar candy.

P.S. that's y the smiley face is nasty evil looking not becasue i'm a monstrous teacher who gives you homework on weekends but becasue my smiley emoticon is wearing a costume.

15.10.09: English: Waiting for comments

15.10.09: Grade 10: English: Contributions by Amr: Excellent choices: Feel free to comment

Waiting For Daddy
© Barbara Bailey

Daddy can you feel me

Do you know I'm near

I wished that I could be with you

To wipe away your tears

I know your hurting daddy

I see it everyday

If only I could help you see

I really am ok

Heaven is so pretty daddy

Me and mommy's there

We're spending time with Jesus

We’ll be waiting for you here

But you have things to do down there

Until your time is done

Oh but when that day comes daddyI

nto your arms I'll run...

Waiting For Daddy by Barbara Bailey Niece Poems

Poem for Dog Lovers

Hello. I've been expecting you for quite some time.

Here, come sit beside us for awhile.

and let me tell you about this old friend of mine.

She might look tattered or maybe old

But I won't say goodbye until you've been told.

She had the brightest eyes I had ever seen,

And wore a beautiful fur coat that would out shine a queen.S

he was never prissy but walked with an aire ......

And oh so polite, you could take her most anywhere.

She could run like the wind and could catch anything she chased

But she protected and sat with me when I had problems to face.

You could not find a friend nearly so dear.

Because no matter the trouble she always stayed near...

She has never asked for much from me;

Just to love and respect her and I think you'll agree.

To give her a good meal plus a nice warm bed is not much to ask;

When she has given me all her love and to her this was no task.

Now I understand you have a schedule to keep.

But I have a small favor before she nods off to sleep.

Please fold your wings around her and let her feel young while in no pain;

Dear Guardian Angel of Pets,please keep her safe and happy until I see her again.

- In Loving Memory of "Maudie," by Ginger Patton

15.10.09: Grade 10: English homework (continued)

SOME BRILLIANT STUDENT SENT ME THIS BUT I "DUNNOW" WHO. "PLS" COME OUT WHOEVER "U R "

& ADD IT TO YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

15.10.09: Grade 10: English

ATTENTION EVERYONE: IN CASE YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO SEE THE POEM 'THE DRUM" IN THE PREVIOUS POST, HERE IT IS AGAIN

THE DRUM
daddy says the world is
a drum tight and hard
and i told him
i’m gonna beat
out my own rhythm
—Nikki Giovanni

Gr 10 English: 15.10.09: You might find this useful

Nikki Giovanni,
Born: June 7, 1943 (age 66) Knoxville, Tennessee
Occupation: writer, poet, activist
Nationality: American
Writing period: 1960s-present

Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to Yolande Cornelia, Sr. and Jones "Gus" Giovanni. She grew up in Lincoln Heights, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1960 began her studies at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, her grandfather's alma mater. She graduated in 1967 with honors, receiving a B.A. in history. Afterwards she went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. In 1969 Giovanni began teaching at Livingston College of Rutgers University.

Gr 10 English: 15.10.09: Homework Instructions

* Read the poem well twice.

* Write a pragraph about each poem separately in which you mention the following:

- What is the main theme of the poem and which type of love does it revolve around

- Do you like the poem? Why/Why not?

-if you notice anything special about the rhyme or figures of speech, mention it

- P.S. Make sure you come to school with a printout of the poems themselves; we'll need them in class

P.S. newcomers if u need any help with the nikki giovanni stuff look in last years posts and u will find more about her. just type her name in the search toolbar in the top right hand corner of my blog's homepage

Gr 10 English: 15.10.09: HOMEWORK POEMS

The Ad-dressing of Cats

From Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

by T. S. Eliot

You've read of several kinds of Cat,

And my opinion now is that

You should need no interpreterto understand their character.

You now have learned enough to see

That Cats are much like you and me

And other people whome we find

Possessed of various types of mind.

For some are sane and some are mad

And some are good and some are bad

And some are better, some are worse -

But all may be described in verse.

You've seen them both at work and games,

And learnt about their proper names,

Their habits and their habitat:

ButHow would you ad-dress a Cat?

So first, your memory

I'll jog,And say: A CAT IS NOT A DOG.

Now Dogs pretend they like to fight;

They often bark, more seldom bite;

But yet a Dog is, on the whole,

What you would call a simple soul.

Of course I'm not including Pekes,

And such fantastic canine freaks.

The usual Dog about the Town

Is much inclined to play the clown,

And far from showing too much pride

Is frequently undignified.

He's very easily taken in -

Just chuck him underneath the chin

Or slap his back or shake his paw,

And he will gambol and guffaw.

He's such an easy-going lout,

He'll answer any hail or shout.

Again I must remind you that

A Dog's a Dog - A CAT'S A CAT.

With Cats, some say, one rule is true:

Don't speak till you are spoken to.

Myself, I do not hold with that -

I say, you should ad-dress a Cat.

But always keep in mind that heResents familiarity.

I bow, and taking off my hat,

Ad-dress him in this form: O CAT!

But if he is the Cat next door,

Whom I have often met before

(He comes to see me in my flat)

I greet him with an OOPSA CAT!

I've heard them call him James Buz-James -

But we've not got so far as names.

Before a Cat will condescend

To treat you as a trusted friend,

Some little token of esteem

Is needed, like a dish of cream;

And you might now and then supply

Some caviare, or Strassburg Pie,

Some potted grouse, or salmon paste -

He's sure to have his personal taste.

(I know a Cat, who makes a habit

Of eating nothing else but rabbit,

And when he's finished, licks his paws

So's not to waste the onion sauce.)

A Cat's entitled to expect

These evidences of respect.

And so in time you reach your aim,

And finally call him by his NAME.

So this is this, and that is that:

And there's how you AD-DRESS A CAT.

POEM
Legacies
by Nikki Giovanni

her grandmother called her from the playground
“yes, ma’am”
“i want chu to learn how to make rolls” said the old
woman proudly
but the little girl didn’t want
to learn how because she knew
even if she couldn’t say it that
that would mean when the old one died she would be less
dependent on her spirit so
she said
“i don’t want to know how to make no rolls”
with her lips poked out
and the old woman wiped her hands on
her apron saying “lord
these children”
and neither of them ever
said what they meant
and i guess nobody ever does

A Poem on the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
by Nikki Giovanni

Trees are never felled . . . in summer . . . Not when the fruit . . .
is yet to be borne . . . Never before the promise . . . is fulfilled . . .
Not when their cooling shade . . . has yet to comfort . . .
Yet there are those . . . unheeding of nature . . . indifferent to
ecology . . . ignorant of need . . . who . . . with ax and sharpened
saw . . . would . . . in boots . . . step forth damaging . . .
Not the tree . . . for it falls . . . But those who would . . . in
summer’s heat . . . or winter’s cold . . . contemplate . . . the
beauty . . .

CHOICES

by Nikki Giovanni

If i can't do what i want to do

then my job is to not do what i don't want to do
It's not the same thing but it's the best i can do
If i can't have what i want . . .

then my job is to want what i've got

and be satisfied that at least there is something more to want

Since i can't go where i need to go . . .

then i must . . . go where the signs point

though always understanding parallel movement isn't lateral

When i can't express what i really feel

i practice feeling what i can express and none of it is equal
I know but that's why mankind alone among the animals learns to cry

Grade 10: English 2009: Quotes contributed by: Heidi

From the novel : A Walk to Remember: by: Nicholas Sparks

Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous.

Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish.

It does not take offense and is not resentful It does not take pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth.

It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to eudure whatever comes.

Grade10: English 2009: Poetry: Contribution by: Mohammad Okasha

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

    -- W.H. Auden

Grade 10: English: 2009: Homework Question

Write a well developed paragraph to compare between the types of friendship mentioned in the two extracts.
Make sure you mention the following:
What type of literature is each text.
What type of love is portrayed in each text. How did each relationship develop and how did it end?
According to your opinion were the relationships in the texts healthy? Why/Why not?

Grade 10: English 2009: Reading Material: Theme: It's all about Love

Doris Lessing, the novelist, describes her feelings for the pet cat she had as a little girl in southern Africa.

I was sick that winter. It was uncomfortable because my big room was being re-painted and I was put in the little room at the back of the house. The house, nearly but not quite, on the top of the hill, always seemed as if it might slide off into the corn fields below. This tiny room had a door, always open and windows, always open, in spite of the windy cold of a July whose skies were an unending light clear blue. The sky, full of sunshine; the fields, sunlit, but cold, very cold. The cat, a bluish grey Persian arrived purring on my bed, and settled down to share my sickness, my food, my pillow, my sleep. When I awoke in the mornings, my face turned to the half frozen sheets, the outside of the fur blanket on the bed was also cold, the smell of fresh paint from next door was cold and clean and the wind whistling just outside my door was cold, but in the curve of my arm was a light purring warmth; the cat, my friend.

At the back of the house, a wooden tub was set into the earth, outside the bathroom, for there were no pipes carrying water to taps on that farm, water was fetched by an ox–drawn cart when it was needed, from the well about two miles away. The cat fell into this tub when it was full of hot water. She screamed, was pulled out into a cold wind and washed, for the tub was filthy and held leaves and dust as well as soapy water. Then, she was dried and put into my bed to warm. But she grew burning hot with fever. She had pneumonia. We gave her what medicine we had in the house, but that was before the invention of antibiotics. For a week she lay in my arm purring in a rough trembling little voice that became weaker, then was silent. She licked my hands, opened huge green eyes when I called her name and begged her to live, closed them and died.

That was it. Never again. And for years, I watched cats in friends’ houses, cats in shops, cats on farms, cats on the street, cats on walls and I remembered that gentle blue – grey puring creature which for me was the “Cat “ never to be replaced.

{B}

The famous Chef, Raymond Blanc talks to Jason Meyers, the reporter at “Spotlight” about his childhood memories.

I thought my whole world was crashing on top of my head. For the first time ever, I lost somebody I loved; he didn’t die, he just went away.

It was a very nice childhood, a teenage most people would wish to have, we were living in a tiny village and were a close family. Our neighbours has a son, Rene, and my wonderful childhood was shared with him; basically, we grew up together, we spent every day together, went to school together, we did all the things that children can do. It was a childhood spent in the woods, discovering the beautiful seasons. There were plenty of creatures that grew in the wild and we went mushrooming and frog hunting together. The adventures that children go through in the making of a friendship, building a tree house and spending a night in the forest and losing our way back home, these things create a fantastic fabric to the friendship. There was the loving element, too, he was very caring. Rene was a tall bloke and very strong, and he would be my defender: if anyone ever teased me, he would be there.

It was the finest friendship anyone could have, a brilliant pure friendship in which you would give your life for your friend. and life was marvellous, it seemed full of sunshine, full of incredible, beautiful things to discover, and I looked forward very much to growing up with Rene.

And then, at the age of fourteen, his parents moved to the south of France, and we were in the east of France, which is seven hundred and fifty kilometres away…to me, the south of France sounded like the end of the world. Well, our parents realised it would be very traumatic, and they did not know how to break the news, so they just announced it the day before. It was a beautiful summer’s day, around five o’clock in the evening, and both parents came and said, ”We are moving away, and obviously Rene will have to come with us.’

I went quiet for the news to sink in; at first it was total disbelief. I couldn’t sleep, and then in the night, I understood that my life would be completely separate from his, and I had to be by myself, alone. And at that time, my world stopped, it was the most incredible pain I have ever experienced, I couldn’t see life without my fiend, my whole system, my life, was based on Rene, our friendship was my life. And although he was only going away, he did not die, it was the worst loss I have ever had in my life, still now and thirty years later I have not received another shock of an equal degree.

I made other friends, but never did I have that kind of closeness as I had with Rene. Nothing was the same, people, the classroom, nature, the country, even butterflies! Maybe because he was more mature and level headed, he understood that life brings people together and separates them and distance is not necessarily the end of a relationship. He accepted that life would separate us, he didn’t see it as a disaster. It was my tragedy to see only the negative side. I felt too sorry for myself.

He is now living a happy life in Provence with a beautiful wife and two lovely daughters, and he is coming here next year, so it is going to be quite great. It is the first time he has ever come to England.

It is a good solid relationship that has been built over so many years, and has overcome all the barriers which life and time can create.