Tickets to the Orchestra

With the Christmas season drawing nearer, I had a chance to attend the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show this week at the Nassau coliseum. Luckily my friend Paul had an extra ticket, so he invited me to share in the holiday celebrations. Before we got in the building, we could tell something special was going to happen. A plethora of people filled the parking lot before the show to ensure they were there early enough to get in for a short rehearsal. Unfortunately we were late, and were unable to see this rehearsal. Despite this, Paul and I quickly found the way to our seats, stumbling over peoples legs in the audience. When the show started we were instantly transported to a winter wonderland. The show was incredible; the acoustics traveled well in the Coliseum. The climax of the show was a grand crescendo that ended with a brief snowfall on the audience. It was a splendid time!

Orchestra- A large band consisting of many instruments and players

Plethora- An over abundance

Stumbling- To trip over

Acoustics- Sound waves

Climax- The most exciting moment

*GRAMMAR POINT: Be sure you need a comma before you use one. Comma splicing will make your writing choppy and unable to read fluidly.

Exercise:  Matching Definitions

1.       Orchestra                            A. The sounds given off by instruments.

2.       Climax                                   B. To lose your footing.

3.       Acoustics                             C. To have more than enough of something.

4.       Plethora                               D. A large band.

5.       Stumbling                            E. The most exciting part.

A Presidential Holiday

Hello Students, its Mr. B again. Just here to update you about what I have been up to.  Today, a brisk but sunny day, I took a drive with some chums up to Sagamore Hill to celebrate Christmas with the Roosevelts with our knowledgeable friend who happens to be a park ranger; Yes, he is a park ranger.  When we arrived to the historic home of Teddy Roosevelt, I cannot describe the sights that I saw in upper Oyster Bay.  There were people dressed in late 19^th/early 20^th century garb, combined with the multitude of people scattered about the park that made it seem a lot more excited than the place looks.  As we were strolling up to the house to see out buddy, all of a sudden a man wearing hanging eyeglasses, a top hat, and sporting a thick mustache.  Unmistakably, Teddy Roosevelt was in our company instructing the trio of us on spending Christmas with our families, and then began inquiring about what strange clothing we were wearing. Teddy Roosevelt had given us a very interesting Christmas experience.

Knowledgeable- To be able to recall many pieces of useful information

Garb- Clothing of a certain time period

Strolling- Walking around leisurely

Scattered- Spaced out sparsely

Inquiring- to ask questions

*GRAMMAR POINT:  When showing possession remember to add the apostrophe between the last letter and the possessive ‘s’. exeception: The word ‘is’.

Exercise: Matching Synonyms

1.       Scattered                            A. Intellegent

2.       Garb                                      B. Meander

3.       Inquiring                              C. Spread out

4.       Knowledgeable                                D. Questioning

5.       Strolling                                E. Costume

Greetings from Paris!

Hello students. This week I’m checking in with you guys from the city of love. I am currently sitting in a quaint café in the heart of Paris. It is the third day of my week long trip. I have visited many of the popular sites in Paris. The top of the Eiffel tower is quite possibly my favorite part of the trip thus far. The famous cathedral of Notre Dame was also an impressive sight. But I am partial to the delicious wine that comes hand in hand with nearly every meal. Tonight I look forward to a boat tour along the Seine River. I will get to see the spectacular light show that takes place at the Eiffel tower. It has to this point been a wonderful trip and I look forward to many more experiences such as the Louve and Orsay museum. I only hope that each of you may one day visit this wonderful city as well. But for now I bid thee adeui!

Quaint- Homely

Popular- Something liked by most

Cathedral- A large church

Partial- To favor

Spectacular- Wonderfully entertaining

*GRAMMAR POINT: When a word begins with a vowel, the article used is ‘an’. When a word begins with a consonant, the article used is ‘a’.

Exercise: Synonym Matching

1.       Quaint                  A. In favor

2.       Popular                                B. Awesome

3.       Cathedral            C. Warming

4.       Spectacular         D. Church

5.       Partial                   E. Favorite

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Students! This week we will be celebrating the American holiday of Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving happened in 1621 when the Plymouth Bay colony in Massachusetts celebrated the autumn harvest with their Native American brethren. Every year, on the second to last Thursday in November, Americans celebrate this day of thanks with family and friends. Although during the first Thanksgiving, lobsters were probably the food of choice, as they were abundant in the area, the traditional meal for Thanksgiving dinner is turkey. People also get creative when cooking Thanksgiving dinner though. A “tur-duck-in” is a chicken that is cooked inside a duck, that is cooked inside a turkey, and eaten all together. For my holiday, I traveled to my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. She always makes the most delicious dessert for me, chocolate pudding pie. I also enjoy spending quality time with my family and telling funny stories from holidays past.

Celebrated- to show joy over something

Abundant- to have more than enough of

Traditional- Something that stays the same

Delicious- Great tasting

Quality- things of good substance

*GRAMMAR POINT:  All holidays and countries should be capitalized as they are proper nouns.

Exercise: Write a paragraph post on a Traditional holiday of your culture. Be sure to tell us how you celebrate!

Mas Y Mas Amigos

HOLA STUDENTS!  Once again it’s Mr. B signing on once again.  As you can see I have been practicing my bilingual skills.  As the days go by I find that my skills have been increasingly progressing.  A buddy of mine, Teddy, has spoken to me about how he is trying to enhance his skills in speaking Spanish as well.  Teddy works at a deli and happens to work with a number of Spanish-speaking people.  One co-worker in particular has been trying to work with him every day and teach him at least one new term or phrase in Spanish.  He now has a daily routine where he is able to say hello and ask how someone is by speaking Spanish.  With my help and the help of his fellow co-workers, Teddy will undoubtedly be able to speak fluent Spanish in no time.  Hearing about Teddy’s co-worker teaching him Spanish makes me believe, as I always have, that everyone is a teacher and everyone is also a student as well.

Progressing- to continue to improve

Enhance- to make better

Co-worker- a person who works with you

Routine- Something that is done everyday

Undoubtedly- something that will happen

*GRAMMAR POINT: When using more than one adjective, be sure to separate them with commas.

Exercise: Matching Antonyms. Match the word that means the OPPOSITE.

1.       Progressing                       A. Sporadic

2.       Undoubtedly                     B. Costumer

3.       Routine                             C. Worsen

4.       Enhance                            D. Regressing

5.       Co-Worker                         E. Questionable

A Little Bit of Rugby Glory

Hello Students! As you may all by now I am a rugby player. I would like to share with you my most memorable moment playing this rough sport. This past weekend we took the field against our rivals SUNY Maritime. In past matches Maritime has been victorious but this time around my mates and I were focused on bringing home a victory. We played inspired rugby for a good amount of the match going blow for blow with our opponent. Late in the game we held what we thought would be a commanding lead. But Maritime was motivated to maintain their edge on us and mounted a comeback that saw them take the lead with nearly no time left in the match. With seconds left in the match my coach called upon me to take a penalty kick that would give us the win. I had struggled with my kicking all game but was convinced to not allow Maritime to have their day. I lined the kick up and struck it right through the posts, knowing my kick was true I never had to watch it through but turned around to embrace my teammates in celebration. It was my proudest moment in rugby to date and a memory I will cherish. For this reason I share this memory with you all that it may inspire you to achieve against all odds.

Victorious- To win

Rivals- Enemies

Commanding- To be superior

Motivated- Inspired to do something.

Cherish- to hold dear.

*GRAMMAR POINT: Be sure to CAPITALIZE all the first words in your sentences

Exercise: Matching Synonyms

1.       Rivals                                     A. Value

2.       Cherish                                 B. Enemies

3.       Motivated                           C. Winners

4.       Victorious                            D.  Enthused

5.       Commanding                     E. Impressive

Mi Amigo

Hello Students. Mr. B checking in again. This week I would like to tell you about my dear friend Paco. Paco is a fellow teammate of mine whose parents are both from Argentina. Paco grew up speaking Spanish at home. It wasn’t until early on in elementary school that he started to learn English. Today, if you spoke to Paco you would never imagine that English is his second language. I myself practice my Spanish speaking skills with Paco.  Sometimes we use it to communicate back and forth when we like to be sneaky and not have those around us know what we are talking about. Over the years Paco has commended me on the improvement of my skills in Spanish but I am still nowhere near the fluency he has. I hope to continue to improve however and one day have the courage to go on a trip to Argentina on my own and visit  all the places Paco has told me that are near and dear to his heart.

Imagine- To envision mentally

Sneaky- To stay undiscovered

Commended- To congratulate

Improve-  To make better

Courage- Inner strength

*GRAMMAR POINTS: Singular nouns take singular verbs; Plural nouns take plural verbs.

Exercise: Write a three sentence post about something you need courage to improve. I hope I will be commending you for making that change!