Senior of the Month: Rachel Steinbach

This month's senior of the month is Rachel Steinbach. Rachel likes to read, sleep, tan, and go to the gym. She has taken AP Literature and AP Language, and she is proficient in tutoring all grade levels. Come see her huddled up under all of her jackets here at the Writing Center during 6th period!

Rachel in her usual attire for the writing center.

Tutors Respond: Nail Polish Colors

Our tutors were asked to come up with a creative nail polish color names. Here are some of our favorites.

Carrot-tine

-Sydney Dolan

You Make Me Blush

-Rachel Steinbach

James Blonde

-Stephanie Chang

Sweet Child of Lime

-Katie Kowalski

Grape To Meet You

-Delaney Madden

Beef Jerkin' It On The Dance Floor

-Sydney Hammrick

Gray's Anatomy

-Metaxia Mysteros

My MAWCA Experience

The MAWCA conference this past weekend was so much fun!!  There were so many different perspectives and techniques to listen to, and everyone was so open with their ideas.  Even the professors and adults wanted to share their knowledge with me instead of enforcing an age barrier.  It was also a great bonding experience with the WWC tutors and the directors.  The campus was also very pretty; it was a nice break from the transience of Northern Virginia.
-Alison

My experience at MAWCA this past weekend was AMAZING! I learned new things from adults, and got the experience of sharing my ideas with other people. Not only did I learn ways to improve the writing center but also there was an amazing keynote speaker. I learned new things from her. 

The food was also amazing. My favorite part of dinner was when Metaxia ate a ball of butter thinking it was cheese. 

I love JMU DUUUUKES

-Sara

My MAWCA Experience

I can say without a doubt that the MAWCA conference was an incredible experience, and something that I definitely want to attend again. The presentations at the conference itself were outstanding and rewarding to participate in. I was especially pleased with the ideas we could exchange with other high schools and universities. (10/10 would do again)

My MAWCA Experience

              This weekend, the writing center went to JMU for the MAWCA conference, and it was so much fun! We got to ride the bus down with a bunch of schools from our area and when we got there the weather was just perfect. JMU has such a beautiful campus, and it was nice and warm. Shortly after we got there, I went to a presentation on accommodating tutees with disabilities and got to talk and share ideas with a group of tutors from West Springfield. It was interesting to see how some writing centers are so similar to ours! A lot are pretty different, though. On Saturday, for example, we went to Katie Kowalski and Sydney Dolan’s presentation on tutor collaboration(which ROCKED) and talked to some college­age tutors. Their writing center has a lot of differences from ours (like the fact that they get paid), so that was cool to hear about. Many of the presentations at the conference were geared more toward college writing centers, but I think we could easily adjust some ideas to fit at our school. One of the panels I went to was explaining a program at UConn where the university teams up with middle and high schools around them to create writing centers. I thought it was a really unique idea, and it might be interesting to try to do something similar with our school. Maybe we could work with the writing center at George Mason!

Sydney Hamrick and I actually presented at the conference, too. We did a workshop about working with ESOL students, and we had about 14 people show up from all different writing centers. It went really well ­­ everyone was engaged in the discussions and seemed to learn a lot from our session! We were both really nervous beforehand, but afterwards we were so happy. That was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip, because a lot of people told us they were really impressed and that we did a great job. I wish there had been more sessions, because I think there’s even more I could have learned, but it really was an enjoyable and interesting trip! (Also, one of the best moments was when Metaxia put an entire ball of butter in her mouth at lunch. Yum!!!!)

Mrs. Hughes, Sydney, and I after our presentation!

MAWCA

Last weekend, our writing center tutors went to the Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association Conference, held at JMU. Some of our tutors even had the opportunity to present workshops and host discussions! Over the next few weeks, each of our tutors will be describing their time at MAWCA, what they learned, and what liked the most. Here are some pictures from the conference!

 

April Book Recommendation of The Month

This month's book recommendation is one of Mrs. Miller's favorites, The Knife of Never Letting Go. The book follows Todd Hewit, the youngest boy in a town of men.  Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him -- something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is. (Summary from Amazon.com)

ESOL Party

               

   Before Spring Break, the Writing Center had a party with our ESOL buddies. We made decorative Easter Eggs to celebrate. It was fun to hear about how everyone celebrated Easter. Here are some pictures from the party!

April Horoscopes

• Aries (March 21- April 19)It takes two to tango. Three to jump rope. Four to play doubles tennis. Five to make a basketball team. You have none of these Aries. Go get some friends.                        
• Taurus (April 20- May 20)Recently you have been letting the sleeping dogs lie. However, this is not a smart decision, as lying is a sin. Hold your dog accountable for its actions next time, Taurus.
• Gemini (May 21- June 20)Actions speak louder than words, especially actions that involve a microphone or a megaphone. Consider that next time you try to quietly enter a room, Gemini.             
• Cancer (June 21- July 22)                                                                                              A house divided against itself cannot stand. Your apartment is about to collapse in on itself. Does the phrase "load-bearing beam" mean anything to you? Watch more HGTV before any more renovations, Cancer.
• Leo (July 23- August 22)You have taken the saying "a penny saved is a penny earned" too seriously Leo. You're house is overflowing with pennies. It amounts to about ten dollars. Try the stock market next time.
• Virgo (August 23- September 22) For the first time in your life, you finally can see eye-to-eye with the people around you. That pair of high-heeled shoes was a very wise investment.                                 
• Libra (September 23- October 22)You are known to often pull the wool over other people's eyes. The stars advise against this action this poor fashion trend. Stop trying to make it happen. It's not going to happen.
• Scorpio (October 23- November 22)                                                                           Your recent romantic interests have caused you to have butterflies in your stomach. The stars understand having your mouth open when seeing someone attractive, but swallowing butterflies? Get a hold of yourself.
• Sagittarius (November 22- December 21)Your suspicions of those near and dear to you are incorrect Sagittarius. No matter what you think, hearing things through the grapevine is not a reliable source. Also consider a new pair of glasses, then you won't listen to grapes.
• Capricorn (December 22- January 19)This month you need the advice and support of your friends Capricorn. There are many things that have been weighing you down lately, and there is stuff you need to get off your chest. Mainly the bench press.
• Aquarius (January 20- February 18)The next time someone tells that they are all ears, do not take them too seriously. As a plastic surgeon, those lawsuits can get very expensive.
• Pisces (February 19- March 20)                                                                                 Due to recent changes in your lifestyle, you are a fish out of water Pisces. But you shouldn't let these obstacles stop you. Those obstacles certainly didn't stop evolution.  

* Horoscope Image credit goes to The Onion.