English II 2025-2026

For Friday 11/7:
Send D#1 of your essay to the following editors for an email edit by Sunday.
D#2 due on Thursday 11/13 :

Ari >>> Winston
Winston >>> Georgia
Georgia >>> Scout
Scout >>> Everett
Everett >>> Ari

For Tuesday 11/11:
DUE: d#1 peer interview paragraph(s)
Read Zinsser, chapter 12 The Interview AND chapter 21 Enjoyment, Fear, and Confidence
Read Interview handouts
Discuss EOS, Part V (pp.66-85)

New words: ephemeral, itinerant, philistine, profligate, tenet, charisma, chimera, agnostic, static, panacea, parochial, taciturn, unctuous, vitriolic, hypothetical, emulate, bane, ambivalent, solicitous, soporific, colloquial, blank verse, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter

Reverie 
by Ari Nevala

Silence, louder than thunder,  
rumbles as I sit, bored, at home. 
Silence controls me; tells me to “GOLF!” every time. 
Clubs glow, inviting me into the garage, a present  
wrapped in gold. I might make millions  
on tour, or may golf with friends. 
I dream daily: striding to the tee box before  
thousands of people, nervous and excited. 
Dreams exist to become reality. 

Mexico
by Georgia Spilotros

Walking into the airport, I see the security check line at the door. I begin taking off my shoes and putting luggage on the conveyor belt. I slip through the scanner and retrieve my luggage. While my mother waits for her bag, I buy some food, then we walk to our gate. I meet my brother who had been fetching water. While we walk back together, we laugh at the fashion magazine my mom had asked him to buy.

On the plane, my mom and I watch a movie together and I fall asleep on her shoulder. I wake up to her shaking me and the flight attendant saying, “Welcome to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.” Stepping onto the tarmac feels like a different world. Suddenly, it’s blistering hot and I’m very tired.

Through the bus window, I notice mountains blending into bright sun until we reach the hotel. The next morning, I wake up around ten a.m. to a knock on my door. My mom rushes me to dress while she wakes my brother. Then my parents hurry us into the car. On the way to a surprise destination, trees and shrubs seem to disappear. All that is left is the beach and sand. Arriving to camels and saddles, we instantly know the day's activity will be an adventure. 

We stroll to the check-in table and select our helmets. Once we had filled out several forms, we walk over to the stable. A tour guide greets us and takes us to a camel to take pictures. We were finally ready to ride the camels. Sea breeze blew through my hair while my camel kicked sand into the wind behind me. I felt bittersweet on the ride back, realizing, this is all just a memory now. The desert sand resolved into trees and stores as we reached Cabo. My brother and I thanked our mom profusely for the once-in-a-lifetime experience we were so privileged to have.

The Gymnast
by Scout Weiseth

A solid cedar branch
hovers over dying, yellow-green autumn grass.
Hard wind blows: an athlete’s breath 
mid-race.
Forceful gusts, built to break
strong, durable branches. Still,
this evergreen stretches, bends:
flexible, an agile gymnast
relaxing, surviving each devastating gust.

Golf  
by Ari Nevala

I started golfing at twelve years, using cheap clubs that I had bought from a retail store on sale. I was trying to hit balls at the range as much as I could, but no matter how many times I went, I was not seeing any progress. I would play golf occasionally, but never score very well, and I would always end up losing balls. After around a month with the clubs from the retail store, Callaway was having a deal. I bought the most game-improving irons. They helped a little bit, but not enough to bring my scores up a drastic amount. Right before summer came to an end, I bought a new driver and a three wood, but I did not have much time to hit at the range.  

I am fourteen now, and no longer on the mountain bike team, I still lift weights, and I dedicated most of my summer to golf. A week after summer started, my dad bought new irons so I now use his old ones. One day, I entered the pro shop at Jug Mountain Ranch and asked them about taking lessons. They helped me get started, and the next week I was on the range receiving lessons from a professional golfer named Dathan Ova. My goal was to break 100 by the end of the year, but even after my first lesson, I noticed so many improvements. By my fifth lesson, I hit all my clubs straighter and way further. I was progressing and going to the range, so one day I asked them if there were any cards that would grant me as many balls as I wanted before the end of the year. They said they had a “range card” which cost $500 but included $5,000 for balls at the range on it.  

After buying the range card, I went to the range every day to practice what I was learning in my lessons. The first time playing, my score dropped dramatically from the previous time. About halfway through summer, I was in Boise and bought a fitting for irons at the PGA Superstore. I ended up buying the TaylorMade P790’s even though they wouldn’t arrive for four weeks. One day, I came home from the range, and my clubs had arrived one week before the shipping date! I was so happy, that I went to the range that day and stayed until ten at night.  

Now, I am golfing with my new irons. For about a month and a half, I have been taking lessons. I go to the range daily, and will try to play high school golf this year. My friend, who is taking school online this year, is getting a simulator for his house. I am going to be there most of the winter after school. I have noticed so much improvement and progress in my golf career, and hope to keep progressing, so one day I could play in college and maybe even after. 

Autumn
by Georgia Spilotros

Maple leaves fall from bare branches:
feet dangle off a lakeside bench.
Summer's last sunset departs.
I zip my coat. Whirling wind whips around me.
Walking home, jumping in puddles,
nostalgia reminds me of my childhood.
In the kitchen, I brew a cup of tea,
and lie on the couch with my dog. Thinking of bitter cold
while chamomile brews, I sink into fluffy cushions.
Out arched windows, maple leaves fall 
lifelessly from black branches.

CTY
by Scout Weiseth

In July of 2025, I had the opportunity to learn Principles of Engineering Design at the University of California Santa Cruz. The three-week long camp was hosted by the Center for Talented Youth (CTY), which grew my knowledge in a field I enjoy and have great interest in. During the camp, students created lots of fun projects, participated in exciting activities, and met cool people.

Throughout the day, we designed several interesting projects, like a mouse trap car, which is a spring-propelled car using the mechanism of a mouse trap. My car cruised down the hallway like someone skateboarding on a sidewalk. We made marble rollercoasters out of paper and tape. My team of three students built a coaster that lasted for almost thirty seconds. The coaster included two vortices and a loop-de-loop. Our marble was as slow as a tortoise in some sections. This project was a personal success because I enjoyed knowing my coaster exceeded expectations. We also made hydraulic-powered fighting robots. My partner and I used syringes to move water, so our robot could shift under the other team's robot and knock it down. We were unsuccessful in most of our battles, because our syringes would not work.

During the week, we had activities after midday classes, such as reading, sports, and dance preparation. The weekday activities made us stay exercised and social. Fun weekend activities included movie night, game night, a carnival, and a talent show. During the carnival, we had fun games, like throwing a hula-hoop over a counselor's head. I threw two hoops over their heads successfully. These activities helped me bond with friends and try new things. Friday dances had different themes, like Wild West and Under the Sea. The activities were endless and I had a great time participating. 

Some of my classmates were from Seoul, South Korea, London, England, and Vancouver, Canada. It was so interesting hearing about people's lives and what they do at home. During the weekends and free time, my friends and I played card games, like Exploding Kittens, and hung out in each other's dorm rooms. Almost all of us are still staying in touch today through a group chat. I am so happy I met such interesting people. 

CTY was an amazing experience that I hope to have again. It was the best program I have ever participated in because of all the things I was able to do and learn. I had the opportunity to meet incredible people, participate in fun activities, and learn in an awesome class. 

US History I Zoom code: 842 7571 1368 passcode: 927076
English I/II Zoom code: 828 5560 7845 passcode: 226526
US History II Zoom code: 828 3636 0462 passcode: 217607

Vocabulary >>> Part IV Elements of Style: Words and Expressions Commonly Misused learn ALL WORDS/ERRORS +

sanguine, sardonic, insidious, euphemism, cogent, paradigm, august, vortex, quixotic, arable, hectare, potable, anthropogenic, salinization, reticent/reticence, rhetoric, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, consonance, simile, metaphor, homophone, hyperbole, anaphora, enjambment. caesura, antecedent, chiasmus, abstract (noun), utopia, renaissance, explicit, incessant, assimilate, precipitous, lucid, rudimentary, anachronism, fecund, temerity, furtive, ephemeral, itinerant, philistine, profligate, tenet, charisma, chimera, agnostic, static, panacea, ephemeral, itinerant, philistine, profligate, tenet, charisma, chimera, agnostic, static, panacea, parochial, taciturn, unctuous, vitriolic, hypothetical, emulate, bane, ambivalent, solicitous, soporific, colloquial, blank verse, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter

Grammar, key terminology, and vocabulary items that we have discussed in class are on the AP Language & Composition Vocabulary Archive. While most of you will not take the AP Language exam until next year, it always helps to become familiar with these terms now (rather than cramming next year). The sooner you get started, the sooner (comparative degree) you will know all your terms.

Find Honors World Literature vocabulary HERE OR play to study on Quizlet!

Student Resources: English II

Check every piece for THESE SKILLS before turning anything in for an edit.
Check ALL CITATIONS (quotes) with these formatting rules before turning anything in for an edit.

Click HERE for directions for email editing

Summer reading list for High School students

Access English II class writing archives to see what our readings and assignments are for this year, and to read sample pieces written by previous English II students.

QUARTER GRADING:

Participation = 30% (purely subjective, based on my perceptions of your initiative, interest, self-motivation, & tenacity)

Assignments = Revisions (20%)
Edits (20%)

Vocab/Multiple Choice tests= 15%
Timed essay grades= 15%

SEMESTER GRADING

Participation = 30% (purely subjective, based on my perceptions of your initiative, interest, self-motivation, & tenacity)
Assignments = Revisions & edits (20%)
Vocab/Multiple Choice tests = 15%
Timed essay grades = 10%
Exam = 25%

“The great skill of a teacher is to get and keep the attention of his scholar... To attain this, he should make the child comprehend...the usefulness of what he teaches him and let him see, by what he has learned, that he can do something which gives him some power and real advantage over others who are ignorant of it.”

— John Locke (1632-1704), on Education

Unfinished Pieces: Semester 1
(updated 11/6/25)

Everett
Revisions = 38/72
Edits = 6/12

Opinion piece: No Banned Books
Catcher essay: Dreams
peer interview: Georgia

Blue Poetry: Ballad, Narrative
published piece OR 3 rejection letters

Winston
Revisions = 39/72
Edits = 6/12

new free verse poem
peer interview: Everett
Catcher essay: Symbols
Opinion piece: Plastics in the Oceans

Blue Poetry: Ballad, Narrative
published piece OR 3 rejection letters

Ari
Revisions = 40/72
Edits = 5/12

peer interview: Scout
Catcher essay: Symbols
Opinion piece: AI in Schools

Pink Poetry: Pictures w/words: free verse poem; General to Specific; The Right Words
published piece OR 3 rejection letters

Georgia
Revisions = 43/72
Edits = 6/12

peer interview: Ari
Catcher essay: Inner Child
Opinion piece: What Teachers Teach

Pink Poetry: General to Specific; The Right Words
published piece OR 3 rejection letters

Scout
Revisions = 38/72
Edits = 6/12

peer interview: Winston
Catcher essay: Dreams
Opinion piece: School Start Times Ignore Student Needs

Pink Poetry: Pictures w/words; Poem of Feeling; General to Specific
published piece OR 3 rejection letters

Injured
by Everett Lingle

This summer I was injured for the first time in my life. I was playing soccer with the high school team at the MDHS alumni fundraiser game, as I was soon to be finishing middle school. Playing with seniors and alumni, I was doing great for being the youngest at the event. As striker, the player at the front of the attack, I had already scored a goal. It was three/two in our favor, and the game was in full swing. 

Near the beginning of the second half, a defender raced towards the ball around the edge of the goal box and sent a wild pass in the air right in front of me. I fearlessly sprinted towards the goal as the ball sailed above. Landing twenty feet in front of me, the ball was still rolling as I chased. Right away the goalie recognized the situation, and he also sprinted towards the ball. We met at the ball: neither of us feared anything, both in full sprint. I knew I was going to get it. I had been in this situation thousands of times before. I stuck my leg out, hoping to take the ball right before we collided. The goalie continued to charge straight through my leg.

Right away I knew something wasn’t right. I fell down and attempted to stand up, only to then realize my pain. I dropped to the ground and sat there in silence as I took in what had just happened. Some of the parents of other players who were at the game rushed me off the field to urgent care. My leg was screaming with pain. It felt like I had a needle stuck in my kneecap poking at me from all sides. I was hoping for just a sprain, but almost my whole summer was going to be spent in crutches. 

Surgery was imminent, as I had fractured my tibia. My family and I were horrified. I did not know what to think: this was my only serious injury ever. I could not play soccer for a while, and since it was my first year in high school soccer, I was severely disappointed. My family and I went to Boise a week later for my surgery. Staying at home during my injury was very boring because I love to be moving and with friends. I could not do either with a fractured tibia.