Featured Senior of the Month: Brooks Anderson

This is Brook's first year at the Wildcat Writing Center!! Brooks is a smart and sarcastic, and you can count on him for help on any essay. When he's not busy studying or tutoring, Brooks enjoys hanging out with his friend Prabh, and watching movies on Netflix. See Brooks Anderson in the Writing Center!!

An action photo of Brooks tutoring.

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Stephen's Love Advice: Getting A Significant Other

Dear Stephen,

How can I ask the girl I like out? Girls have rejected me in the past, and I feel that if I can come up with a creative way to ask a girl out, she won't reject me.

Sincerely,All-American Reject

Stephen’s Love Advice on Getting a Significant Other:

If you really want to impress the apple of your eye, show them good qualities like determination and drive by coming to the writing center and augmenting your literary skill.

If you’re trying to score a fresh honey, make sure to send your transcript, resume, and teacher recommendations to her parents. Need help organizing and constructing these? Come to the writing center!

Want a girl/boy to go on a date with you? Persuasive essays are effective approximately 90% of the time. The writing center is effective in helping with these 110% of the time.

Just go to the writing center if you want to impress a doll.

December Book Recommendation

Check out some more of our tutor's recommendations on the board next to our room. We are room 202!!
The Green Glass Sea

By: Ellen Klages

(synopsis from http://www.amazon.com/)

It's 1943, and eleven-year-old Dewey Kerrigan is en route to New Mexico to live with her mathematician father. Soon she arrives at a town that, officially, doesn't exist. It is called Los Alamos, and it is abuzz with activity, as scientists and mathematicians from all over America and Europe work on the biggest secret of all--"the gadget." None of them--not J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project; not the mathematicians and scientists; and least of all, Dewey--know how much "the gadget" is about to change their lives.

Writing Center Stats

First Quarter Writing Center Statistics

A total of 87 Students came to the Writing Center during the last two weeks of the quarter (10/20-11/1). Freshmen were the largest demographic that came to the Writing Center, with 84 out of the total 87 students. This is positive news because it shows that we are reaching younger students, so that they can utilize the Writing Center as a resource throughout their time at Centreville. A graph of the number of students coming per day shows that the B-day Writing Center class tends to have more people coming in then the A-day Writing Center class. Both classes show an increasing trend of more students coming to be tutored towards the end of the quarter.

Grade	Number of Students Tutored
9	84
10	1
11	1
12	1

Date	Number of Tutoring Sessions
20-Oct	1
21-Oct	2
22-Oct	17
27-Oct	27
28-Oct	6
29-Oct	34

Total Tutoring Sessions: A day v. B day*
A day	B day
24	63

*Allow small margin of error for afterschool tutoring sessions and before school tutoring sessions. However it is clear that more students came to the Writing Center on a B-day.

Satirical Winner from 5th Period

All of our tutors were challenged to write a satirical generic version of some form of writing that is commonplace. Here is essay from the winner in 5th period, Amber Sok!

Life Lessons: The Universal Lessons of Pop Songs

Performed by: Exotically Dressed Possibly Half Naked Woman Who Can Dance Alright

Written by Amber Sok

Building the scene with bornig first verse

Mostly spoken, but that's okay because the beat is good

Proclamation of either love, lust, or hate

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Questionable rhyme scheme hidden musician's muffled singing

Oh my gosh and you look pretty hot

Love is also good

I love you, I hate you

World peace and booty, booty, booty

Dancing and clubs, drugs and love, love

My heart is broken so

Let's be young and wild

More booty, and also love, love

Second verse begins with completely irrelevant lyrics

Because the artist knows that no one is paying atention by now

The beat has taken over and artist's voice is unnecessary

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Rhyme sheme abandoned

Oh my gosh and you look fine

Heartbreak so I go clubbing

I love you, I hate you

World peace and booty, booty, booty

Dancing and clubs, drugs and love, love

My heart is broken so

Let's be young and wild

More booty, and also love, love

I love you, I hate you

World peace and booty, booty, booty

Dancing and clubs, drugs and love, love

My heart is broken so

Let's be young and wild

More booty, and also love, love

Everyone is tired of the chorus by now

But the artist decides to give it one more go

Right after this bridge

I love you, I hate you

World peace and booty, booty, booty

Dancing and clubs, drugs and love, love

My heart is broken so

Let's be young and wild

More booty, and also love, love

Last verse finally arrives after thirty seconds of instrumental/rap

Wait, what was this song about? Oh, yeah

Ties back into the importance of alcohol

And of course big butts

But we can't forget world peace and love

End last lyric on a single chord strum to evoke that

Dramatic, poignant response from audience

Congratulations Amber!

Satire Selection Piece

All of our tutors were challenged to write a satirical generic version of some form of writing that is commonplace. Here is essay from the winner in 6th period, Stephanie Chang!

Teen Book Summary

She looks very ordinary, but in fact is different, much like anyone else who has ever been born. Long list of adjectives describing how exactly she is different from other girls, appealing to the mass by including characteristics that are actually quite commonplace and normal, while defining her as more intelligent and “mature” than her contemporaries. Vaguely misogynistic statement asserting that “other girls” are vapid and boring based on brief and generalized observations of their attire, attitude, and interests. Hypocritical statement then bemoaning the different girl’s low social status because of how she is perceived by others because of her attire, attitude, and interests. In particular, hateful and scathing demonization of the different girl’s arch-enemy, the cruel, wealthy, and beautiful “Popular Girl”. Glaring, gaudy foreshadowing regarding a rather plain, overdramatized romance between a sweet, somewhat unrealistic, popular male student and the unpopular, different girl.

This author has also written the New York Times Bestseller, The Nerdy Guy Who Never Gets Any Until Meeting His Soul Mate, a Girl Who Is Different, and Nerdy Guy 2; The Rise of the Weeaboo.

Congrats Stephanie!

Book Recommendation of November

Unbroken

By: Laura Hillenbrand

(synopsis from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/)

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane's bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant's name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will. Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

Tweets from Tutors: Second Edition

Some Tweets from our Writing Center Tutors

Tweets from our Tutors

Featured Senior of the Month: Stephen Norod

This is Stephen's first year at the Wildcat Writing Center, but don't let that discourage you, Stephen is a smart tutor who is adept at brainstorming papers. Stephen has taken a wide variety of AP classes including AP BC Calculus, Multivariable Calculus, AP Language, AP Literature, and AP Physics. When he's not busy studying or tutoring, Stephen enjoys hanging out with his friends, and turning up watching Netflix. Check out Stephen Norod in the Writing Center!!

Diligent as always, Stephen reading a book he's not even looking at.

Need Advice?

                             Need Advice??

Are you having a problem or desperately need advice that you can't seem to get? We are now accepting advice emails at the Writing Center!
Send advice emails to cvhswritingcenter@gmail.com and we will answer right here on the blog anonymously!

Writing Center Opening Party

Come celebrate the opening of the writing center with us!

When: October 21 during ALL LUNCHES

Who: All students are welcome

Where: The Writing Center (aka Room 202)

What: Come enjoy food and games during your lunch! The pizza will be here, will you?

Writing Center is Back!

The Wildcat Writing Center is back and running on October 20! 

Give us a visit when in need of tutoring for any writing assignment!

Where: Room 202

When: Lunch Monday-Wednesday, Wednesday Mornings, and after school Mondays and Wednesdays!

Summer is Coming!

Hope you all did well on your AP exams and will continue to do well your finals in the upcoming weeks!

SATurday: Undulate

Undulate

(v.) To move like a wave or in waves.

Ex. Jeremy likes to undulate with his friends at the football game.

Submission Winner #3

Winner: Stephanie Rathjen

Hurry! Run to the easiest hidden eggs! This way you can make sure you have eggs before you start searching for others. When searching for the harder hidden eggs, walk around and watch the face of the person who hit them to see if they give away the hiding place with their expression. This strategy only doesn't work if the "hider" has a great poker face! The chances that is pretty low, ao you will mosty likely be able to tell where the egg is.

Submission Winner #2

Winner: Becca Weinert

The most effective way to complete an Easter Egg Hunt is to team up with a partner and run swiftly around. This will enable you to cover more area in a shorter amount of time. Ince you have collected a substantial amount of eggs, you should recoveign with your partner and proceed to steel the eggs that they collected, claiming their prizes as your own.

Submission Winner #1

Winner: Alyssa Vaccarello

I open my eyes with darkness surrounding me. I feel the curved shaped walls closing in on me, and then it hits me. I'm trapped inside a giant easter egg! I forgot I had followed Peter Cotton Tail into his rabbit hole. He must have gotten angry because he stuck me in this contraption. Little does he know I have the anti-stuck-in-easter-egg potion in my back pocket! I pulled out the potion and gulped it down my throat. Moments later, I ended up in my warm bed.

SATurday: Sabbatical

Sabbatical

(n.) Any extended period of leave from one's customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training.

Ex. Valerie decided to take a sabbatical between university and graduate school so that she could travel Europe.

We Brought Spring!

Don't know what we're talking about?
Well, if you were at the Wildcat Writing Center's Bring Spring party last week, you would!
Students and tutors alike played fun games, like Taboo and Apples to Apples while they enjoyed delicious snacks. Although the weather was still pretty cold, everyone sure brought warmth to room #202.

We also allowed students to draw a random prompt, write a paragraph, and submit it into a raffle for a chance to win prizes. The winners of the raffle will have their paragraphs posted on the blog in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

SATurday: Panegyric

Panegyric 

(n.) A formal and elaborate eulogy, written or spoken, of a person or of an act. 

Ex. Garret wrote a touching panegyric for his uncle's funeral.

SATurday: Genteel

Genteel

(adj.) Well-bred or refined

Ex. The Kowalskis just got a new genteel puppy.

Attention All Students!

THE WILDCAT WRITING CENTER IS HOSTING A BRING SPRING PARTY!

When? THURSDAY, APRIL 3RD DURING ALL LUNCHES
Where? ROOM 202
What? A SPRING-THEMED PARTY WITH GAMES, A RAFFLE, AND LOST OF FOOD!

See you there!

Coming Up...

On April 10th, we will be having a *Bring Spring* party!
There will be food, games, and lots of fun so STAY TUNED for more announcements!


By the way, PUN OF THE DAY!
The winter was difficult on the trees but in the spring they will be reLEAFed

SATurday: Harbinger

Harbinger

(n.) something that preceded and indicates the approach of something or someone

Ex. The Bluebird's morning calls are a harbinger of spring.

Happy Spring Equinox!

Would You Rather...

Last week, we asked our tutors whether they would rather live for 1000 years or live ten 100 year lives.

Here are some of the (rather hilarious) reasons our tutors decided what they did:

1000 Years

"I would rather have a lifetime of 1000 years if I could live those years in a youthful form, so a 783 year old in a 21 year old body..." -Michelle Nguyen, pd.6

"Imagine someone from 1114 still alive today! He would have seen the discovery of America, industrialization, the World Wars, and globalism during his life! To be able to experience the remarkable advancements in mankind would be an amazing thing!" - Katie Kowalski, pd.5

"Stop and consider for a moment the possibilities of becoming undying for 1000 years. A resourceful man could change the world, reshape it in his own image. With careful planning and a bit of ingenuity the world could become my oyster...whether it might want to or not." -Joshua Ewalt, pd.6

Ten 100 Years

"One life, you could be a monk in the mountains of Tibet and in another, you can be a rich heiress in Beverly Hills, AND THEN ANOTHER, you can be an aboriginal in Australia. That's super rad." -Jemma Stratton, pd.6

"You'd be able to experience life events for the first time. You'd get I watch your favorite movie or read your favorite book for the first time." -Anna Lacsamana, pd.5

"For example, there are cliche surprises like falling in love with your archnemisis, or the more "normal" ones like getting an 'A' on a mind-boggling math test. And to be able to experience surprises repeatedly or to age and die normally with my loved ones is enough for me to say that I would rather live ten 100 year lives as opposed to one 1,000 year life." -Shruthi Prabhakar, pd.5



By the way, PUN OF THE DAY!
There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.  No pun in ten did.

SATurday: Verdant

Verdant

(adj.) Vibrant green shade; green grass with vegetation.

Ex. Jacqueline watched the mischievous leprechaun run down the verdant hill.

Have a good St. Patrick's Day on Monday!