Veterans Day

On Veterans Day, we honor the service and sacrifices made by men and women in the armed forces. Veterans day is always observed on November 11th.

It is quite easy to confuse Veterans Day with Memorial Day because both days honor our military service members.  Memorial Day (which is always the fourth Monday in May) honors American soldiers who died courageously during their military service to protect our freedom. Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans (dead or alive) and is the day when we can gives thanks for their honorable service in order to protect our freedom.

Vocabulary:
Veterans (noun) - A person who has served in the military.

Sacrifice (noun) Giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone.

Armed Forces (plural noun) - The military forces of a nation.

Honor (noun) High respect.

Courageously (adjective) - Brave.

Tribute (noun)- Something that you say, give, or do to show respect or affection for someone.

Vocabulary Exercise:

An Acrostic poem is a poem where you choose a word or name and use each letter in the name or word as the beginning of a word or line that tells you something about the topic did the first one for you.

Write and acrostic poem using the word below:

Veterans fight for us.
E___________________________________________________________________
T___________________________________________________________________
E___________________________________________________________________
R___________________________________________________________________
A___________________________________________________________________
N___________________________________________________________________

Grammar Point:
Parentheses are used to enclose information that clarifies or is used as a side note. There are a few rules to remember when using a parentheses. Those rules are:

• Periods go inside parentheses only if an entire sentence is inside the parentheses. 
• You must punctuate correctly when punctuation is required both inside and outside parentheses.  Example: You are late (aren't you?).Look at the question mark within the parentheses. The period after the parentheses is necessary to bring the entire sentence to a close.
• Parentheses are not part of the subject. Example: Joe (accompanied by his trusty mutt) was always welcome.
• Commas typically follow parentheses rather than  them.
  
  Incorrect: When he got home, (it was already after midnight) he fixed dinner.
  Correct: When he got home (it was already after midnight), he fixed dinner.

Write 5 sentences telling me what you like about Veterans Day and be sure to include a parentheses in each.

Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time seems to cause confusion every year. If you are wondering what Daylight Saving Time is, it is a time cycle that starts in the early spring when you set your clocks ahead one hour. Due to the fact that the sun rises very early in the spring and summer months, setting your clocks ahead by an hour gives you more daylight in the evening. In the fall, the exact opposite happens - we set our clocks back an hour to gain an extra hour of sunlight in the morning, so that we're not heading off to school or work in the dark.

Daylight Saving Time comes to an end on the first Sunday of November, every calendar year.  This year, it ended on November 6th. It is commonly referred to as "falling back" and gives us all one extra hour of sleep that night, and one less hour of sunlight in the evening for the rest of the season. 

Vocabulary:
Confusion (noun) - Not being clear in one's mind.

Cycle (noun) - Events that are repeated in the same order.

Ahead (adverb) Into the future.

Opposite (noun) A person or thing that is the reverse of someone or something else.

Gain (verb) To get something.

Vocabulary Exercise:   Complete the vocabulary word jumble below.  Some of the letters have been filled in for you.

1. hadea            _ _ _ a _

2. ycelc           _ _ _ l _

3. tpospoei      _ _ _ o _  _ t _

4. gnai             _ _ _ n

5. nuonsocif    _ _ _ _ _ s i _ _


Extra practice:
How many words can you make with the letters that were given to you?

Grammar Point:
Daylight Saving Time is always capitalized because it is a proper noun.  A proper noun is more specific than a regular noun. A proper noun gives us the actual name of the person, place, thing, or idea and must always be capitalized.

Make a list of five proper nouns and use each one in a sentence.

My Best Experience

My best experience was interning for a prestigious record company during my last year at St. John's University.  My completion of an internship was instrumental in the commencement and longevity of my career in the music industry because I was taught the following three keys for success: forming strategic alliances/partnerships, multi-tasking, and  accountability.

First, there is an old adage that says "It's all about who you know." I learned early on that the strategic alliances and partnerships formed at private industry events is truly the most dominant, determining factor as to who is hired for the positions that are most vied for. Sadly, I quickly discovered that your degrees and achievements carried very little weight in the entertainment industry. Managing to get hired relies 80% on who is your industry social circle.  Secondly, the ability to multi-task effectively and efficiently is a priceless talent.  As an intern, I was required to provide clerical office support in the promotions department, complete graphics design assignments for the marketing department, an assemble sales reports simultaneously on a daily basis. While it was a daunting task at first, my ability to successfully handle so many responsibilities at once assisted me greatly in being hired as the sales/promotion assistant for six staff members upon completion of my undergraduate coursework. Thirdly, you will be held accountable for everything when things go wrong. Although cronyism dictates the hiring process, you will very rapidly find yourself alone to face any and all consequences when things awry.

In summation, the three aforementioned skills that I acquired afforded me the opportunity to have a very successful career in the music industry. My career spanned a fifteen-year period and included work in the marketing, sales, promotions, administrative and publicity departments. The lessons I learned were priceless tools that have stayed with me throughout my adulthood and helped me to achieve professionally as well as academically in the collegiate environment.


Vocabulary:
Prestigious (adjective) - Respected.

Commencement (noun) - Beginning.

Longevity (noun) - Length of service.

Alliances (noun) Coming together.

Accountability (noun) - Accepting responsibility for your actions

Adage (noun) - A traditional saying.

Vied (verb) - Compete.

Achievement (noun) - Accomplishment.

Simultaneously (adjective) -  Happening at the same time.

Daunting (adjective) -  A scary task

Cronyism (noun) - Giving jobs to friends.

Summation (noun) -  A brief description of the most important information about something.

Aforementioned (adjective) -  Mentioned before.

Acquired (verb) - To gain or get.

Span (noun) - To continue through a period of time.

Collegiate (adjective) -  having to do with a  college or its students.


Vocabulary Exercise: Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.

1. The moon landing was a monumental ___________________.
2. Seven bidders _________ for the rare painting.
3. Jane is so shy she finds it __________ to go to a party.
4. Helen __________ language by practice and habit rather than by study of rules and definitions.
5. Meanwhile the king had formed an ___________ with Henry VII.
6. It was ____________ frightening and annoying.
7. At the ____________ of 1865 this trade was at its, highest point.
8. Baseball players are held to a higher level of _____________ than any other athletes in the world.
Grammar Point:
Conjunction - A word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause (e.g., and, but, if ).

In my passage above, I used the conjunction and several times.  Remember the acronym FANBOYS: For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So and write one sentence per conjunction listed in the acronym.

 

There are two infractions in life that are unforgiveable to me. The two offenses are: betrayal and deceit. With that being said, it is detestable in my opinion when one engages in both and causes irreparable damage to the innocent. Although, I must say that I personally find it perturbing when an immediate family member is the offender. Betrayal that is committed by a family member must be one of the worst kinds of pain that an individual can experience.  The act, in and of itself is heinous in nature.  However, when someone in your own family, whom you have loved and trusted your entire life commits such a grave offense, it goes beyond physical and emotional pain.  Betrayal and deceit leave indelible imprints on our hearts that time cannot erase nor fade away.

 

Vocabulary Words:

1.Infraction - (noun) Breaking a rule.

 

2.Betrayal - (noun) To be disloyal to.

 

3.Deceit - (noun) A twisting of the truth in order to lie.

 

4.Detestable - (adjective) Hateful.

 

5.Irreparable - (adjective) Not capable of being repaired or made good.

 

6.Perturbing - (adjective) Troubling.

 

7.Heinous - (adjective) Wicked. Evil.

 

8. Indelible - (adjective) Making marks that cannot be erased or removed.

 

Vocabulary Exercise:

Write an antonym for each of the vocabulary words. Remember, an antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another (for example hot and cold).

1.Infraction               ________________________________

2. Betrayal                 ________________________________

3. Deceit                    ________________________________

4. Detestable             ________________________________

5. Irreparable            ________________________________

6. Perturbing            _________________________________

7. Heinous               _________________________________

8. Indelible              _________________________________

 

Grammar Point:

Adjectives are words that are used to describe. They can be used to describe size, shape color, number and senses. They may also come after the state of being verbs such as: am, is are, was & were.  Adjectives can also help you compare two nouns by adding er to the end of the word. An example of this is: Nico is taller than Gigi. You can also compare more than two nouns by adding est to the end of the word.  An example of this is: Nico is the tallest boy in the class.

Write a 3 paragraph composition telling me about something that you feel very strongly about and use a minimum of five adjectives in your writing.  Please include one adjective that ends in er and one that ends in est.

 

 

 

 



The Doty Girls

I have one sister.  My sister's name is Denise Valdes-Doty and she is a professor at Onondaga Community College, in Syracuse, New York. My sister has three daughters. I have always referred to them as "The Doty Girls". The eldest  is named Ariana and she just received her Juris Doctor from Syracuse University this past May. The middle child is named Amanda and she recently graduated from Lemoyne College. Amanda is currently residing in Georgia while pursuing a career in Public Relations.  The youngest of my three nieces is named Marina. Marina recently completed her Associate's degree at Onondaga Community College and she just began studying Social Work at SUNY Oswego.  Marina will be the first Doty girl to be married as she is getting married this coming weekend to a wonderful young man named Austin Donaghue. The nuptials will be taking place this weekend, at Green Lakes Start Park.  You may be wondering why the ceremony and reception are taking place at a state park.  The reason is because Austin is an Eagle Scout and loves the outdoors. My son Joseph will be participating in the wedding as a groomsman.  Although Joseph is an only child, he is never lonely because he is very close with his three cousins. Joseph is the youngest of my mother's grandchildren and is catered to because he is the only male.  My mother is the matriarch of our very small, but tight knit family.

Vocabulary:
Eldest - (adj) Of the greatest age. The oldest.
Juris Doctor - (noun) A law degree from a university
Residing - (verb) To dwell permanently or for considerable time
Nuptials - (adj) Relating to marriage or the marriage ceremony
Eagle Scout - (noun) A boy scout who has achieved the highest rank in U.S. scouting
Matriarch - (noun) The female head of a family or tribal line

Vocabulary Exercise:
Unscramble the vocabulary words listed below:

1.	sndgerii
2.	eesltd
3.	nultiaps
4.	hcmrratai
5.	ruisj odtocr
6.	leaeg otscu

"Catered to" - to provide or supply what amuses, is desired, or gives pleasure, comfort.
"Tight knit" - united by strong relationships.
Groomsman - a close male friend of the groom that officially helped him through the wedding planning process.

Grammar point: Usage of the words Have and Has.

The word Have  is used after the pronouns I,  you, we and they.

The word Has  is used after the pronouns he, she and it.

Write a composition about your family.  Be sure to include how many siblings, nieces or nephews you have and if applicable, how many children each sibling/niece/nephew has.






  

Baseball

Baseball is truly one of my favorite childhood activities.  Baseball is a bat and ball game played between two teams of nine players.  Each team takes turns hitting and playing assigned positions in the field.  I can vividly recall rushing outside, after lunch to play baseball with my friends.  As soon as March arrived, I would start oiling my mitt (softening it with oil to make it easier to catch the ball)on a daily basis and begin breaking it in so that it would be ready for use on our first warm, spring day.
Although most girls on my street were excited about being able to go outside to skip rope, I would always be overwrought with anticipation when I was finally able to go to the basement to retrieve my bat and ball for my first day on the field.

Once we had all of our equipment in tow on our bicycle's,  my friends and I would run as fast as we could to our closest baseball field so that we could start to practice.  I had a reputation for always scoring the first run in every game.  My best friend was known for always breaking the bat when she hit a home run, because she would hit the ball with such great force. 

Once little league commenced, we had practiced independently so often that we were ready to compete well before some of our team members. Each game was a brand, new opportunity to show how well prepared we were and we played to win.

Although we were slightly saddened when baseball season was over, the sadness was always very short lived because our beloved football season was next

Vocabulary:
vividly (adjective) - strikingly, clearly.
overwrought (adjective) - extremely excited or agitated
anticipation (noun) - expectation or hope
retrieve (verb) - recover or regain
tow (verb) - to pull or haul by rope, chain or other device
reputation (noun) - the estimation or name of being, having, or having done something specified
commenced (verb) - to begin or start

*Home run - when a player passes around first, second and third base and returns to the starting point, touching the bases in that order,  after first having hit the ball over the fence in fair play.
In tow - having something with you.


Vocabulary Exercise:
Read the sentences.  Complete the sentence with the correct antonym from the word bank.
WORD BANK:
*forfeit, terminate, calm, discredit, vaguely, dread*

1. Maya could __________ remember the ending of the movie.
2. Everyone was surprised by her ________ demeanor upon hearing the good news.
3. Most people ________ going to the doctor.
4. The team did not arrive on time and as a result had to ___________ the game.
5. Your thoughtless actions will bring ________ to your name.
6. Jane had to _________ her relationship with Sam because she found out that he was married.

Grammar Point:
Many words have more than one meaning.  These words are called multiple meaning words.
In the blog entry above, I used the words: play, bat, ball and run.  Each of those words are multiple meaning words.   Write a paragraph where you incorporate four multiple meaning words into your writing.

Cooking

Cooking Is My Hobby

Cooking has become my favorite hobby as an adult. It was something that I learned at an early age from my maternal grandmother.  My grandmother was a magnificent cook who never received any formal training.

When I am cooking, I can completely immerse myself in the process. My cooking process includes but is not limited to; planning my menu, prepping my ingredients and executing each course with precision.

The kitchen is truly my happy place. When I am cooking, I savor each step of the process because it is a place where I can plug in my ear buds, listen to my favorite music and create a melodious symphony of flavors that I know my family will be eager to devour.  

However, my greatest joy occurs when I have set the table and everyone has had their first bite.  It truly warms my heart to watch my family enjoy what I have made for them with so much love and care.

The kitchen is also a place of refuge for me.  When I have had a particularly difficult day, it is therapeutic for me to create an impromptu meal and lose myself in the process.  The attention that I must pay to the tasks required for each course grants me the opportunity to forget about the challenges experienced earlier in my day and release my stress while I prep each course.

What is your favorite hobby? Why?

Vocabulary
immerse (verb) to involve deeply
precision (noun) accuracy
savor (noun) to give oneself to the enjoyment of
melodious (adjective) tuneful or musical
devour (verb) to eat up hungrily
refuge (noun) a place of aid, relief or escape
therapeutic (adjective) curative
impromptu (adjective) done without being planned or prepared for in advance

Vocabulary Exercise: Synonyms
Write one synonym for each of the vocabulary words.

1. Immerse         _________________
2. Precision        _________________
3. Savor              _________________
4. Melodious      _________________
5. Devour           _________________
6. Refuge           _________________
7. Therapeutic   _________________

Grammar Point:
A verb is a word that is used to describe an action.  Please write a composition detailing your favorite hobby and include three verbs in your writing.