Last year I was in Writer's Workshop, which mainly consists of the 6th grade. So why am I in English 8 this year? Well, the technical reason is that English 7 would have been just review for me, and I wouldn't really learn anything new--however, my reason is because I love my teacher, Mrs. Diana Thomas, and didn't want to part with her.

English 8 is enjoyable--it is the same 'set-up,' if you will, as Writer's Workshop. We write essays, PCs (Personal Choices pieces) and the like; the students have partners who give praises and suggestions on their pieces. Our teacher, Mrs. Thomas, conferences the students' D1, or Draft 1; then the student revises, sends it to his/her partner, and once they get their piece back, they make revisions once again. Finally, the piece makes it to the FC, or final copy, to be posted on the class forum. One difference about this process, however, is that the students' pieces are graded. You may get anything from a C to an A. There are due dates, same as in WW, but they are not as lenient. If your piece is late or if you send it in after class, your grade will get marked down for it.

After all this stern grading talk, you might get the impression that the student lives in constant fear of getting marked down--this is not so! The student is given ample time to complete their assignments, and there is no reason why they should turn it in late. Mrs. Thomas sends out 'email lessons' at the end of each week, reminding the students of assignments, due dates, and partner conferencing.

In my section of English 8, we have something that all the other English 8 classes do not have--an intern. Enter Miss Brianna Klecker. Some of you may recognize her, for she is an alumni of TPS and she loves to write! In class, we have 'Class conferences' which is simply where all the students give praises and suggestions on another students piece. Miss Klecker gives specific praises, as well as encouraging and polite suggestions. In the class conferences that I have had, Miss Klecker has helped me a lot with her insightful comments. Three cheers for Miss Klecker!

Mrs. Thomas has helped raise my hopes of someday publishing at least one book! I will write pieces and turn them in, thinking to myself, "This is pretty good!" but then I find out that Mrs. Thomas has many suggestions for me. When the piece finally reaches Final Copy, I wonder to myself, thinking that the D1 was good. When I read the pieces to my mom, she will give me a big hug and say that it's really good. Yes, this praise makes me feel good, but when Mrs. Thomas gets down to the 'nitty-gritty' of the piece, it makes me feel even better than the praise. It sort of helps me to know that there is something that can be fixed in every piece. One of Mrs. Thomas' favorite sayings is: "A piece of writing is never finished." I revise this saying to, "A good author knows that a piece is never finished."