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Mark Braam » Greetings from Mr. Braam!

Greetings from Mr. Braam!

Hi, I am Mark Braam.
I am an English teacher at Fairfield High School. During the 2022-23 school year, I am teaching five bells of sophomores in College/Career-Ready English 10 and one bell of a fifth-year Journalism/Media course.
In addition to being an English teacher, I have been a journalist for the better part of a quarter century, working both in Washington, D.C., as a sports and political reporter and editor, and here as a news editor and designer at The Cincinnati Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer. You might see me at many school events with a camera in my hands and journalism students at my side!
I hope to meet you all, in the classroom, at parent-teacher conferences, or via Zoom, phone or email; meanwhile, here is my own webpage on the district website.
I have this page for a number of reasons:
1. So I can send home news (and sometimes share photos!) of what we are doing or will be doing;
2. So I can post reminders and class-specific files
3. So I can post some educational videos that I make from time to time;
4. So I can post some links to some great educational resources;
5. So I can permanently post some files, such as the class syllabus and class policies, and update them as needed; and
6. So parents and students can get an easy notification each time that I post something new.

How does this work? On the right side of this page, there is a "SUBSCRIBE" button. If you click on the subscribe button, and register, you will get an email notification every time that I post something new to the page. Please note that there is a separate page for class files, which is actually where most new things will get posted. That means you need to subscribe to both pages, please!

Now, not everything that I post will be earth-shaking(!!!), but at least you will know when and if I do.

This is a good and fast way to pass on news, get copies of homework assignments, and to permanently post some items (such as the class syllabus).

Take a look and see how it works! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Mr. Braam
P.S. Many things are still different this year due to the COVID-19. THINGS WILL CONTINUE TO CHANGE!!!! That means there will also be many messages that will go back and forth, and sometimes from different platforms. PLEASE ... be patient as we all (teachers, students, parents and administrators) continue to adjust, sometimes on the fly.
 

Posts

PSAT for Sophomores and Juniors

Attention Sophomores and Juniors who are thinking about college: The PSAT will be given at FHS on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 a.m. 
 
From personal experience, I HIGHLY encourage sophomores to take the test as a practice run for their junior year. True, it is not official until you are a junior, but having seen the test as a sophomore will almost assuredly help increase your score. 
 
Students may register now with the bookkeeper. Cost is $20. THERE IS A LIMITED NUMBER OF SEATS AVAILABLE, SO REGISTER EARLY. 
 
The PSAT is highly recommended for college-bound juniors. It is an excellent way to prepare for college as the test provides feedback on academic strengths and weaknesses. Also, taking the PSAT as a junior is required for consideration for National Merit Finalist status. 

Parent Information Sessions For College

On Thursday, Sept. 25, during parent/teacher conferences, the guidance department will present two different parent information sessions. At 5 p.m. there will be a presentation on being “College Ready” and the college selection process. At 6 p.m. there will be a presentation on financial aid. Both will take place in the Community Room at FHS. 

Progress Reports Monday

Progress Reports were filed today and they will be distributed to students in homeroom on Monday. Grades in Progressbook may be slightly different than what is on the Progress Reports, primarily because some additional grades may have been added or late work may have been turned in.

Note: I have requested Parent-Teacher conferences with some students on the Progress Reports. Those can be handled either on conference night on Thursday, Sept. 25, or on another date at a mutually arranged time. (Contact me at [email protected] if you need another time/date than the official conference day.)

HW For Thursday, Sept. 18

During today's ACT testing, my English classes (in fact, all sophomore and senior English classes) had study hall in the arena. They had a HW assignment on semicolons that they received Tuesday that is due at the start of class on Thursday. They could choose to do it during the study hall or as HW.

Upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, from 3:30-7:00 pm by appointment ONLY.  If you would like to set up a time, please call 942-2999, extension 142.

In some cases, I have already requested conferences via the Progress Reports that will be coming home Monday with your students.

More details on ACT testing on Sept 17

  • MORE INFO ON THE ACT TESTING, AND HOW IT AFFECTS SOPHOMORES, JUNIORS AND SENIORS

Juniors

On Wednesday, Sept. 17, all juniors will be taking a “practice” ACT during the school day. Students and teachers will be able to use the scores and data from this assessment to prepare for the “real” school-wide ACT in the spring. All testing will be conducted on the third floor, and the specific testing rooms will be given to students on Friday, Sept. 12. Due to the length of the test, all juniors will be eating 3rd lunch on the day of the assessment. Students are encouraged to bring a snack on the testing day as they will be given a break prior to their lunch time. After lunch, all students will report to their 6th and 7th period.

Sophomores and Seniors

All sophomores and seniors will follow their normal class schedule unless they have a class on the third floor (during periods 1 through 5). During testing, any student that has a class scheduled on the third floor will report to the arena for a study hall. Teachers on the third floor may assign work in advance for students to complete during that time. 

If you have any questions, please contact your child’s counselor or administrator.

NOTE: Mr. Braam's classes -- Bells 1-5 -- will NOT be meeting, as my classes are all on the third floor. The classes will be reporting to the Arena for the study hall. There will be an assignment made, but I also suggest bringing something to read or work for other classes in addition. Bells 6 and 7 will also be assigned the same work, but they will meet in their regular classrooms at the regular time.

ACT Testing for Juniors

An early warning for students:


The first round for ACT testing for juniors -- and juniors only -- will be given on Wednesday, Sept. 17. (The second round will be in the spring.)

Details will follow later this week as they are released by the administration.

NOTE: Originally, sophomores were going to be taking a version of the test. THAT IS NO LONGER THE CASE. Only juniors are taking the test now.

FANBOYS & AAAWWUBBIS

Fill out  the remainder of the FANBOYS and AAAWWUBBIS sentences that were begun in class.

Due Tuesday, Sept. 9, at start of class
Attached is the worksheet, just in case you lost yours or were absent!

Short tests Wednesday

There will be a quiz on Independent and Dependent clauses on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

There will also be a formative quiz on Parts of Speech Wednesday.

Bring a book or HW for another class in case you finish early.

Why We Proofread, Part II


I have made an offer to my students that if they find something in public or in newscasts/media that shows that people do not take time to edit or proofread, then they can earn some extra credit points.
The rules:

1. If they see something with a proofreading mistake in it, they can take a photo with their phone or camera and email it to my school email address. Examples of this include the news trailers that run under the news broadcasts, signs, marquees, and other things that SHOULD be accurate.

2. It must be worthwhile (I am the one and only judge about what is worthwhile)!

3. It must be new and not something yanked off the Internet. That means I must be able to tell that it is current (it has a date, or it is obviously local, or it has recognizable local media types in the picture ... or anything else that I accept). 

4. They must be the first person to send it to me. 

5. Students must check with me to make sure that the photo actually arrived. Please keep the photo file size to a minimum, as I have limited email space through the school.

Note: The above photo was one of the first ones sent to me this year. It came from a third-bell student!

                                   Let the hunt begin!!!

"Night Falls" Editing Exercise

The accompanying file is a small portion of a magazine article that I wrote and had published about my mother-in-law and her ongoing battle with Alzheimer's.
NOTE: It PURPOSEFULLY has words that are spelled incorrectly and has bad grammar or missing words. The students are to edit the story and make corrections using proofreading marks.
The assignment will be checked at the start of class on Thursday, Sept. 4, and then discussed. 

HW reminder for Tuesday

Remember that the Proofreading Marks HW is due at the start of class Tuesday after we come back from Labor Day Weekend. 
I hope you finished it in class, but if you did not, be sure to have it done because I will be checking while we start the class off with a writing assignment.

Copy Editing Symbols HW

This was handed out in class Thursday, and time was given to work on it. If your student has not finished it, it will be due at the start of class Tuesday when we return from Labor Day Weekend.

The object is to use proofreading marks to make the left-hand column look like the right-hand column.