Here at Titusville High School, junior and senior students are offered the chance to join a dual enrollment program when they are scheduling for the next year. However, during the Spring semester many students were given the opportunity as well. This program enables students to take a college-level course at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, thus gaining a college credit before graduation. Prior to embarking on this four-month adventure, I was nervous as to what would be required (money, books, etc.) when signing up. Contrary to my worries, the entire process was “so easy a caveman could do it.”

Among the classes to choose from were: English Composition, Sociology, Anthropology, History of Jazz, Psychology, and Algebra. Upon choosing English Composition with Tyler Brown and Bridget Jenkins, I learned that we were to be paying for our own textbooks. As the initial “sticker shock” wore its way through my system, I was able to find cheaper prices online – not to mention I would later discover that we were going to be reimbursed for the costs. Having saved around $700 just taking the class through the school – then getting money back – meant this was the steal of a lifetime.

With textbooks purchased and enrollment taken care of, the next step was taking the final leap into the unknown: The class itself. Our first day was terrifying. The three of us walked into the classroom five minutes before the bell rang and the room was full. We took only a few steps into the doorway, and with everyone watching us, we found our seats. The teacher called roll and eventually told us we would be writing around two or three papers a week. Luckily, they were going to be only one to two pages each. This short requirement enabled us to balance U.P.T. work and “normal” schoolwork with ease.

Now we are in the final turn of the Spring class. The usefulness of both high school and Pitt is quickly revealing itself. Previous schooling has given us the fundamentals to survive such an environment and work load, and our Composition class has allowed us to expand on our writing ability in ways that high school has yet to do. Implying absolutely no disrespect, high school focuses mainly on formal writing, whereas our U.P.T. class allows us to get informal and focus on content rather than technicalities, yet we incorporate MLA citation into our writing. Respectively, coming up on our final paper – a research paper – Tyler, Bridget, and I will have a head above the rest because thankfully enough, we have the advantage of writing research papers prior to the college-level course. In fact, our Honors English is currently writing its research paper at the same time. Although it might be stressful at times, this lets us experience both atmospheres at once.

After our awkward first day, the learning environment has greatly improved. Our class has a relaxed climate that makes learning much easier. I’ve found that being put into this situation now rather than later allows us to absorb more, and gives us an opportunity to apply the knowledge before we finish high school. Because of this, I hope that more students will be able to take part in the program for years to come. Of course, there will be those who complain about doing so much at one time – this goes for any dual enrollment class – but in the long run they will be thankful for the opportunity.

 

Tags: college | blogging

Never fear, we're still alive and well!  On behalf of the rest of the Rocket Bloggers, I sincerely apologize for the amount of neglect the blog has been exposed to over the past four (five?) months.  We never meant to just abandon the site like this, but homework has been piled high for quite some time.  With three members currently taking a class at Pitt and others in extra-curricular activities, it's been difficult to get much done. However, we are currently reading George Orwell’s Animal Farm in English – it’s a pretty easy read – so look forward to a review on that in the future. We’ll be up and running again, I promise!

Tags: blogging

Jack and Jill was written by James Patterson, now one of my favorite authors. Jack and Jill is a story of a guy and a girl who had both wanted to kill the president. Another main character is Alex Cross the detective on the two cases in the book. He started on just a case of children being murdered, then the White House wanted him to work for them. He was part of the secret service. That is mostly what the book is about and it is a wonderful book.

It has real emotion, detailed very well, and has a mystery. I rate this book probably a eight and a half. I would definitely be reading it agian sometime. Some of the faults the book has was it was way longer, than it needed to be. It had some difficult terms, other than that it was mostly an easy, interesting book to read though.

Tags: reviews | books

I recently finished reading The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger.  I had never read it before, and found it to be one of the most annoying books I have ever read. It is apparenlty said to be "the epitome of teenage rebellion," when it was just about a whiny sixteen year old boy who couldn't handle the world around him.  Through his pessimism, Holden Caulfield managed to bring out the negativity in every aspect of the human race.  According to him, everyone was a bunch of "phonies."

Holden spent three days occupying himself in New York City before going home to hear his parents reaction to the expulsion from his sixth private school.  I understand that anyone who has been booted from six private schools wouldn't be very happy, but I think this was a bit much.  The only person he seemed to have any true liking for was his little sister, because she was the only one around him who hadn't grown up and to see the big, bad world.  Although, as soon as she showed some backbone, Holden said, "I really hate her right now."

I think it is far from the perfect example of teenage rebellion, because there is no sane teenager out there who would think the same things this main character does. Coincidentally enough, at the end of the book, the main character checks into a mental-health facility.  The entire time I found myself thinking, "Okay, when will something interesting happen?" and nothing ever did.

In my opinion, the book didn't live up to its reputation.  However, the overall analogy of "the catcher in the rye," was pretty good.  The concept of wanting to save children from reaching adulthood is very warming to think about.  We're all in such a hurry to grow up, but perhaps we should just take our time and enjoy the simple things.  I know I could enjoy my mother tucking me into bed at night for just a few more years...

If anything, I'm glad that I read The Catcher because I can finally understand references to it that other books have made. This book has been identified as one of the best novels ever written in the English language by Time Magazine from 1923 to 2005. It just so happens that I strongly disagree.

Tags: books | reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is written by J.K. Rowling.  This book is the seventh in the Harry Potter series.  There are seven books all written by Rowling.  Almost everyone has either read the series or has watched the movies.  Personally the books are way better than the movies.

The main characters in this book are Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Voldemort (A.K.A Tom Marvolo Riddle).  Voldemort is taking control of the Wizarding World and its up to the trio to defeat him.  They go all around the wizarding world to destroy Voldemort's Horcrux's that keep him alive.

The only part I didn't like were when some of my favorite characters died in the book. It was sad and made me cry.  I would suggest to everyone to read this series. Out of this series it is my favorite book. I would rate this book a perfect 10! It was full of adventure and sorrow. It plays with you emotions in a good way. I hope everyone enjoys this series.

Tags: books | reviews

I suppose it’s only fitting that The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer should be reviewed.   Like most teenagers, I am a major fan of this series.  Whether you’re anticipating the next juicy moment between vampire Edward Cullen and human Bella Swan, or crying when werewolf Jacob Black  is shot down by Bella, or even grinding your teeth when the evil vampire royality, the Volturi, step in to ruin the long-waited happy ending, this series always has you on the edge of your seat. 

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn were the first books to really open my mind to reading, and I am extremely thankful to have read them.  After enjoying the series, I’ve noticed that other books lack the character makeup that Meyer brings to her novels.  She really becomes the characters she writes about, and lets us learn who every person is along the way.  Her character depth certainly adds to helping the reader visualize what’s going on.  Although the series is a bit cliche when the romance becomes involved, the plot is intriguing and manages to grab even the most illiterate person’s attention.

Stephenie Meyer once mentioned that her books are “science-fiction for normal people” and this is definitely true.  If you’re not a fantasy or sci-fi reader, you could still grab her books for a decent romance-read.  The same deal goes for her other book, The Host.

Kudos to you, Stephanie, for grabbing the attention of nearly every teenager on the planet and starting the vampire frenzy.  We salute you.

Tags: books | reviews

Welcome to the Rocket Blog!  This blog is comprised of a few students who enjoy online blogging and sharing their opinions.  Throughout the blog we will be reviewing movies, books, and television in the hopes of broadening the minds of our fellow students.   We we also be reporting on events throughout our school/community.  Think of us as an online newspaper :]

Interested in being a part of the Rocket Blog?  In that case, click the Student Bloggers Wanted! link and download the permission slip.  Be sure to read the rules and regulations, and realize that we want people who can make our school proud.  But of course, we’ll be having tons of fun along the way.

Tags: technology | blogging | Hello

Hey. I’m Lindsey. For those of you that know me, you know I love to be in theatre and act. I love to play soccer and I’m very opinionated. I love to read and watch movies and have a lot of friends. I am so excited to blog all about the different things I do. I will be reviewing different books, movies and Soccer, plus any other sports i happen to go see. I hope you decide to blog with us and enjoy it
~linds~

Tags: Hello | blogging | technology

A few weeks ago one of the students here at Titusville High School told me that she had been blogging on her own since she was in elementary school, and she wished she were able to do something like that here.  A couple of her peers who overheard what she said seconded it, and said they would love it if blogging were made into an activity that all students could particpate in.  As both an English teacher and a technology coach, I couldn't help but see the potential benefits of something like that.

After discussing it with Mrs. Keebler here at the high school and Mrs. Jez and Mr. Kerr at central office, I was given the go ahead to initiate a student centered blog on the GoRockets website.  Here is where students will be given the freedom to express themselves on a variety topics.   This will not only give students an outlet and audience for their thoughts, but also help improve their writing skills while doing something they enjoy.

I hope you check back here often and see what the students of Titusville have to say.

 

Mr. Lane

Tags: blogging | technology