Abstruse

Furtive

Impeccable

Esoteric

Quiescent

Epitome

Prodigal

Guile

Insularity

Inundate

Spurious

Assuage

Surreptitious

Precocious

Didactic

Taciturn

Pacifist

Precarious

Period 2 Word of the Week: Prestidigitation

This week, period 2 chose prestidigitation as our word of the week.  Prestidigitation means "slight of hand," or being skilled with the hands and fingers, as is a magician who plays tricks.

The sentence we wrote to demonstrate our understanding of this word is: "The magician was horrible at prestidigitation; his card tricks were terrible."

Periods 3 & 7 Word of the Week: Usufruct

Periods 3 and 7 selected usufruct as the word of the week.  According to www.dictionary.com, usufruct means:

"The right of enjoying all the advantages from the use of something that belongs to another, as far as is compatible with the substance of the thing not being destroyed or injured."

To demonstrate our tenuous understanding of this old legal term, we wrote sentences:

1. Devin enjoyed the wifi usufruct at McDonald's.
2. Lexi's baby cousin uses her cell phone usufruct to play games.

Period 4 Word of the Week: Antidisestablishmentarianism

Period 4 selected antidisestablishmentarianism as our word of the week. Forgive me for not wanting to type it repeatedly, as it is very long!  The word means:

"Opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church."

Our sentence to demonstrate our understanding was:

In NSL we learned about antidisestablishmentarianism, which is being against taking away government money from churches.

Periods 2 & 3 Word of the Week: adumbrate

This week periods 2 and 3 selected adumbrate as our word of the week.  Adumbrate means:

1. to produce a faint image or resemblance - to outline or sketch;
2. to foreshadow or prefigure;
3. to darken or conceal partially, to overshadow.

We wrote some sentences to demonstrate our understanding of the word:

1. Jamie went to a fortune teller so she could adumbrate his future.
2. The girl adumbrated her blemishes with concealer.

Obdurate

Nullify

Abasement

Knotty

Engender

Bilk

Abrasive

Placid

Bigot

Abhor

Periods 4 & 7 Word of the Week: apopletic

Periods 4 and 7 selected apopletic as this week's word for learning.  An apopletic is "a person having or predisposed to apoplexy."  We also looked up apoplexy, and we discovered that it means having strokes.

Our sentences demonstrating understanding of the word apopletic are:

1. Kelvin's story is inspirational because despite his apopletic history, he is still a great sprinter.
2. Gertrude is an apopletic; she has a stroke every three to four minutes.

Periods 2, 4, & 7 Word of the Week: callipygian

Welcome to the second semester!  For our first word of the week, three of Ms. B's four new classes selected callipygian.

We used www.dictionary.com to look up the word, and we found out that it means "having well-shaped buttocks."  The origin of the word is Greek, as it was originally used to describe a statue of the goddess Aphrodite.

Our classes constructed some sentences to demonstrate our understanding of the word callipygian:

1. Shorty is so fine, her rear is callipygian.
2. Those pants make her rear end look callipygian.
3. Kim Kardashian had surgery because she wanted to have a callipygian booty.

Period 3 Word of the Week: cacophony

For the very first Word of the Week of our new school semester, period 3 selected cacophony.  A cacophony is a "harsh discordance of sound, dissonance, or a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds."

We wrote two sentences to demonstrate our understanding of the word:

1. Dubstep is a cacophony.
2. The construction noise is cacophonous.

Subdue

Ferny

Tandem

Grandeur

Maimed

abjure

stirred

Entity

Monotonous

Destitute

remunerate

Periods 4 & 8 Word of the Week - scleroderma

This week, both period 4 and period 8 voted for scleroderma to be our word of the week.  This medical term means, "a group of rare diseases involving the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissue."

Our sentences to show our understanding of the word scleroderma are:
1. Susy has scleroderma in her hand, which hinders her ability to write.
2. Miley had scleroderma, so, thankfully, she could not twerk.

Period 6 Word of the Week - sonorous

This week, period 6 selected sonorous as our word of the week.  We were able to guess that the word sonorous has something to do with sound because of the root word "sono."  We looked up the dictionary definition, and here is what we found:

Sonorous means, "giving out a deep, resonant sound; loud, deep, or resonant in sound; or rich and full in sound."

Our sentence for this week was: Matthew does not want to sing and share his sonorous voice with the class.

Period 3 Word of the Week - hilarity

Period 3's word of the week is hilarity.  Most students understood that this word has something to do with humor, or, as one student said, "hilariousness."  We decided that enough students know the word that we did not need to look up the dictionary definition.  We said that the definition of this word is "the humor or humorousness" of a joke or situation.  We clarified hilarity is a noun, as opposed to the more common form of the word, hilarious, which is an adjective.

Our sentence to demonstrate our understanding of the word is: The hilarity of Lorenzo's fall made the whole class laugh.

Tenacious

Periods 4, 6, and 8 Word of the Week: botched

Periods 4, 6, and 8 voted for botched to be our word of the week.  The word botch, of which botched is the past tense, has several meanings:

1. to do or say in a bungling manner
2. to spoil by poor work
3. to mend or patch in a clumsy manner

Here are some of the sentences we created to demonstrate our understanding of botched:

1. Billy Cundiff botched the field goal to eliminate the Ravens from the playoffs.
2. Kriss distracted Lexi from her art project with all his compliments, so she botched it.
3. I botched the test; I got a 0.

Period 3 Word of the Week: caryatid

This week, period 3 selected caryatid as our word of the week.  A caryatid is a sculptured female figure used as a column (i.e. a column shaped like a lady).  We made up the following sentence to demonstrate our understanding of the word:

I went to Greece and saw a caryatid that resembled my mother.

Translucent

The Glass Castle Map

Follow this link to explore the many locations in the southwestern U.S. where Jeannette Walls and her family lived before moving to Welch, West Virginia.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212487313279371181520.0004b6eb3dd4b103f53f7&msa=0

All Classes - Word of the Week: exacerbate

This week, all of Ms. Bourque's English classes selected exacerbate as the word of the week.  Exacerbate means, "to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of, to aggravate" or, "to embitter the feelings of, irritate, exasperate."  Here are some of the sentences we created to demonstrate our understanding of the word:

1. My mom knew the truth about me skipping class, so my lie only exacerbated the situation.
2. Jerome was in an argument with the police when he exacerbated the situation by pulling a gun.
3. Mayowa had a bad sunburn, and Sam exacerbated the pain when she smacked him.

Period 6 Word of the Week - facade

This week, period 6 selected facade as our word of the week.  Facade means:

1. the front of a building, especially an imposing or decorative one;
2. a superficial appearance or illusion of something.

We wrote the following sentence to demonstrate our understanding of the word facade:

Bob put up a facade of happiness, but he was actually depressed.

Period 3 Word of the Week - enigma

This week period 3 chose enigma as our word of the week.  An enigma is:

1. a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation;
2. a person of puzzling or contradictory character;
3. a saying, question, or picture containing a hidden meaning; a riddle.

Our sentence that correctly uses the word enigma is:

All the windows in the house suddenly opened; it was a frightening enigma!

Periods 4 & 8 Word of the Week - pulchritudinous

This week, periods 4 and 8 voted, and pulchritudinous was the winner of our "word of the week" contest!  We looked up the word and discovered that it means "physically beautiful."

Each class created a sentence or two to reflect our understanding of the word:

1. All the ladies in this class are pulchritudinous.
2. The celebrity was pulchritudinous, but her inner beauty left much to be desired.
3. He felt his girlfriend was very pulchritudinous.

Honorificabilitudinitatibus

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Zygomatic

Euphemism

Periods 3 & 4 Word of the Week - subordinate

This week, periods 3 and 4 selected subordinate as our word of the week.  Subordinate means:

1. placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank;
2. of less importance, secondary;
3. subject to or under the authority of a superior;
4. subservient or inferior;
5. subject; dependent.

The sentences we created to demonstrate our understanding of the word subordinate were:

1. The subordinate clause, in English, is a dependent clause.
2. GHS may be subordinate to QO in rank, but tonight we will show QO how subordinate they are.

Periods 6 & 8 Word of the Week - infusion

This week, periods 6 and 8 selected infusion as our word of the week.  In order to understand the definition of infusion, we had to look it up, and, in addition, we had to look up its root word: infuse.  Here are the definitions we found:

infusion:
1. the act or process of infusing;
2. something infused.

infuse:
1. to introduce as if by pouring;
2. to imbue or inspire

The sentences we created to show our understanding of infusion were:

1. Each year a class of new freshmen is infused into GHS.
2. The gunshot victim lost too much blood and needed an infusion of new blood.

repugnant

revengeance

All Classes - Word of the Week: myopic

This week, all four of Ms. B's English classes selected myopic as our word of the week.  Myopic has several meanings:

1.  Opthmalogically, it means nearsighted (only able to see things that are close by);
2.  Figuratively, it means unable or unwilling to act prudently;
3.  Figuratively, it also means narrow-minded.

The sentences we created to demonstrate our understanding of the word myopic are:

1. Infants are myopic when they are very young.  (definition 1)
2. My parents were myopic; they did not see the good points in that out-of-state college. (definition 3)
3. The government acted myopically when tapping our phones. (definition 2)
4. I am myopic without my contacts. (definition 1)
5. His myopic personality will be his downfall because he will never make a plan and stick to it. (definition 2)
6. The racist man was myopic to the pain he inflicted on others. (definitions 2/3)

Periods 4 & 8 Word of the Week: modicum

Period 4 and period 8 both chose modicum as our word of the week.  We looked up modicum and discovered that it means "a moderate or small amount."

Here are the sentences that we made up to show our understanding of the word:

1. I can't buy new shoes with the modicum of money that I have.
2. I only have a modicum of money, so I cannot buy what I want.
3. The bags of chips in the vending machine only give you a modicum of chips.

Period 6 Word of the Week: smite

This week, period 6 selected smite as our word of the week.  Dictionary.com tells us that smite has a number of meanings.  The two most common are:

1. To strike or hit hard, as with a hand, stick, or other weapon;
2. To strike down, injure, or slay.

We created the following sentence to demonstrate our understanding of the word smite:

If you don't leave me alone I will smite you!

Period 3 Word of the Week: moot

This week, period 3 selected moot as our word of the week.  When we looked up the word, we discovered that moot has a number of definitions.  The most commonly-used meanings are:

1. Open to discussion or debate
2. Of little or no value

We created the following sentences using definition #2:

1. Crayons are moot in high school.
2. Eight-track tapes are now moot to music listeners.

Period 8 Word of the Week: syzygy

This week, period 8 selected syzygy as their word of the week. We learned that a syzygy is an alignment of three celestial bodies (for example, the earth, moon, and sun), or, it can be an alignment of two related things, either alike or different, but that have something in common.

Coincidentally, syzygy was the first word spelled in last year's school musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

The sentence we created for syzygy was:

The twin sisters are in syzygy.

Period 3 Word of the Week: tub-thumper

Period three selected tub-thumper as its word of the week this week.  A tub-thumper is "a vociferous supporter or promoter (of a cause)."

The sentence we wrote to illustrate our understanding of the word was, "I am tired of the tub-thumpers handing out flyers during election week."

Periods 4 and 6 Word of the Week: gallimaufry

This week, both period 4 and period 6 chose gallimaufry as their word of the week.  A gallimaufry is a hodgepodge or mixture of unrelated items.  It is also a type of stew or hash sometimes made in France.

The sentences we wrote for gallimaufry included:

1. This school is a gallimaufry of races, ethnic groups, and personalities; there is a mixture of many different kinds of students.

2. My bookbag contains a gallimaufry of items by the end of the year: pens, pencils, headphones, old papers, snacks, and many other odds and ends.

Period 4 Word of the Week: mulatto

This week, period 4 selected mulatto as its word of the week.  Many students knew the meaning already, but we looked up the word to make sure we had a clear definition.  Mulatto means "the offspring of one white parent and one black parent."  It was a term used during and after slavery to describe the skin tone of people of African descent and to segregate people into groups. 

Our class came up with a sentence illustrating the definition of mulatto:  In A Lesson Before Dying, Grant's girlfriend, Vivian, is a mulatto; she has one black parent and one white parent."

Periods 3, 6, & 8 Word of the Week: bumbershoot

This week, periods 3, 6, and 8 selected bumbershoot as their word of the week.  When we looked up the word, we found that it is another name for an umbrella.  We theorized that perhaps it is a slang word from another country, perhaps England, since none of us had heard the word before outside of movies set in Britain.

Each class wrote a sentence using the word bumbershoot:

1. Yes, it was a fine day for a bumbershoot because it was raining cats and dogs.
2. I didn't have my bumbershoot today, so I got wet.
3. My mum told me to bring a bumbershoot because it was raining.

Pervade

Corrugated

Moot

Penitentiary

Modicum

Periods 3, 4, & 6 Word of the Week: hemopneumothorax

On September 6, Periods 3, 4, and 6 selected hemopneumothorax as their word of the week.  When we looked up hemopneumothorax, we discovered that it means, "the accumulation of air and blood in the pleural cavity."

We decided that we also needed to look up the definition of the "pleural cavity" to make sure we understood our word of the week correctly.  The pleural cavity is the chest cavity containing the lungs.  

Once we understood hemopneumothorax, we made up the following sentences to illustrate our understanding:

1. My dad had a bad cough; he was diagnosed with hemopneumothorax.
2. My grandfather had difficulty breathing; he suffered from hemopneumothorax.
3. The patient appears to suffer from hemopneumothorax; he has blood running from his nose and he is struggling to breathe.

Period 8 Word of the Week: Cajun

On September 6, period 8 chose Cajun as our word of the week.

We used Wikipedia to find our definition of Cajun because it is a word that is commonly understood, and the dictionary might not have as much information as an encyclopedic website.

We discovered that Cajuns are "an ethnic group living mainly in Louisiana, descended from French and African immigrants to the U.S."

We then wrote a sentence about Cajuns:

The Cajuns are most dominant in Louisiana.

Auspacious

Auspacious

jimsonweeds

jimsonweeds

Sequestration

amalgamate

misogynistic

xenograft

encephalitis

chauvinist

orthostasis

vertiginous

enema

duodectomy

chordotomy

Heinus

Meander

Welcome, class of 2015!

We are so excited to explore our new building and learn along with all of you by starting to use our vocabulary blog this school year.

As you read, watch TV, listen to music, travel, work, and use the internet, we hope you will keep track of unfamiliar words and post them here on our blog.  Each week our class will vote on a "word of the week" that we will study and practice.  That will help us all incorporate the new word into our vocabulary.

Periodically, you will be quizzed on the words we've studied in class to see how well you're paying attention.  Our quizzes will help you figure out how many new words you've learned.  You might just impress yourself...
 
Oh, and by the way, GO TROJANS!

Baby Bourque has arrived!

My dear, wonderful English 11 students:

I miss you all very much, and I'm proud to see you moving on to be GHS seniors.  I'm looking forward to attending the class of 2014 graduation next spring and seeing you in the fall.

Here's the announcement some of you have been waiting for:

Aurora Amélie Bourque (a.k.a. Rory) was born on Monday, June 17 at 1:14 p.m.

She weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces at birth and was 19.5 inches long (tall).

We returned from the hospital yesterday and now we're figuring out our new routine at home.

Hope you all have a wonderful summer and come back refreshed and ready for another school year.

Solace