The Last Will and Testament of Kyle Rutherford

Let's be honest, there's no way Kyle's gunna graduate... Either this pervasive illness is going to cause my death or I'll be gunned down by some mafia boss who thinks I know too much. Who knows? All I know is that I'm too young to grow up. So here is my last will and testament:

Junior folk- Ayy, don't worry 'bout senior year! You'll be fine so long as you just keep doin what your doin, unless what your doin is not what you should be doin, in which case stop doin what your doin and start doin what you should be doin. Got it. Good. In all seriousness, College next year is going to be really weird without you beautifully gorgeously wonderfully spectacularly cool people there to remind me that even the most annoying idiots can be endearing in some way. I'm kidding! I didn't find ALL of you idiots endearing... just about 99% of you. This is supposed to be positive, so I'll go ahead and say that I had a great time with y'all over the past five and a half million years. Will I cry at graduation? Probably not. Will I miss you? Probably not YOU in particular, but I might miss you... Oh I'll definitely miss YOU, but odds are not you. Do I have any advice? Nah, Devin kinda covered that pretty well, but if I were to echo something that Devin said, I'd echo the fact that our school needs leaders, people who are willing to step up and set an example for the following grades. If you guys don't step up, I'll come back to Fideles and beat all of you individually with a rubber chicken. Except for you, I like your style. Stay cool, stay good, stay happy, stay strong, and convert to Calvinism. I'll see y'all later. Peace! *edit* oh and I'm glad I had AmLit with y'all this year. That was pretty dope.

"Come back, loser! You haven't told us your favorite book yet-" Sorry, me (If you can't tell, I am pretty sick so please excuse all cringe). My libre favorito of this semester would probably be Brave New World Huckleberry Finn because it single handedly dropped my writing and reading skills. It takes a pretty impressively well-written poor-grammar book to do that to a well reader like Kaisle Wruthurfjord.

American Literature

This year in Lit was entertaining because of all the different viewpoints we seemed to have on EVERY subject. It seemed we could never agree on anything and it was fun debating throughout the year. My favorite work of literature we read this year was The Great Gatsby because I could understand it the best and see the flaws in each character very clearly portrayed. I'm excited for Modern Lit my senior year but not quite as excited as getting this school year over with.

My favorite book and my senior advice!!

Hey guys,

I would have to say that my favorite book we read this year was the Great Gatsby, with Huck Finn being a close second favorite!

As a senior, my biggest piece of advice would be to open yourself up to new people and new things. Over the past few years I've learned that you have to embrace wherever you are in your life. I learned that wherever you are-- whether you are exactly where you want to be or in your least favorite place imaginable-- there is a chance for your life to be changed in the greatest of ways. There will always be a chance to make new friends, to have new experiences, and to learn new things; you just have to be open to them.

Remember: God has a perfect plan for you, and He will always take care of you!

I can't believe I'm graduating in 12 days, thank you to everyone reading this for making this year such a great one!

2016: American Lit

Ten Days and we are done. Just more days until Juniors become Seniors and Seniors become Freshmen... again. This American Literature Class was my favorite second semster class because the competitions were fun and I never had to write an essay on either test, and now that the year is wrapping up I have realized the American Lit. was definitely the most eventful class.

Short and Simple

To keep things short, all I'm going to say is that this year was pretty fun. The some of the stories we read were quite questionable, and others were great stories. the projects that we had to do were pretty fun to do, and the competitions were some of the competitions I've ever done in class. To wrap everything up in a nice simple bow, this year was pretty great.

Lit class

I have to say, this has been my absolute-est favorite year of literature ever.
Seniors: Where to begin? Well, I have loved having classes with y'all since sixth grade math class. To have had one last class with all of you was a wonderful gift. Y'all bring so many different (oftentimes crazy) opinions and lively discussions to class--y'all truly are the best!
Juniors: Y'all are all amazing as well! I love our big class because we have so many different personalities, which is definitely showcased in literature debates! Very fun haha!
Mrs. Carnes: I have to say this has been one of my favorite selection of books for a lit class. The crown has to go to the Great Gatsby! The writing, the content, the emotions stripped to the bare bone...I love that book! And I want to thank you for being so passionate about literature and so encouraging! My love for writing has definitely blossomed (or more like exploded) this year!

♥

American Literature has been one of the best classes this whole year! I think the competitions were my favorite part, because they were super intense but lots of fun! The Great Gatsby and Huck Finn were obviously my favorite to read. I am looking forward to watching the movie this week and to senior year! Yay!

~ I love how Mrs. Carnes always finds a way to make reading fun and enjoyable to everyone. You extend your grace and for that I am forever grateful to have you as my teacher! I really have learned so much in your classes and I know you always want the best for all your students :) thank you so much for being our awesome teacher! 

Best yet!

Every year at Fideles supersedes the last in a positive light. Y'all are amazing classmates, friends, and I can't believe we are one year closer to graduation and to closing this chapter of our lives.

Seniors, I will cry at your graduation most probably but that's okay, because y'all are some of the best people I know. Your friendships mean so much, and they are one of many great qualities that surround you all as a class. Y'all are amazing, and you're going to kill it in college. Love you all!

Mrs. Carnes, I truly loved being able to be part of this class. Every year, I am reminded of how much I love reading because your passion for literature shines through and it inspires me. I love it! Thank you for all you do, and putting up with our rambunctious class through our debates and laughs.

And Juniors, we got this. One year left; let's do it. We definitely have grown a lot these past 3 years of high school, but we can finish strong together. Love you all so much and I pray for every one of you to have a fantastic year ahead of you!

Peace Out Suckers!

Quite frankly I am super stoked to be done with school. I hate mandatory things and being told what to do BUT english was never that bad a class. I love to read and I'm okay with writing so ye English was definitely my favourite class. I'm not big on what we read this year.....I preferred world lit. However the Great Gatsby was an awesome book to end the year on. I'm a little bummed I lost the Tom Sawyer competition because this was the first time I've ever lost an English competition. Another nice thing about this year has been knowing who the juniors were. As many of you know, I have no idea who anybody is. I'm really oblivious so unless I actively see and interact with people I won't know who they are. So this year it was really nice knowing who I was going to school with for all these years.

Senior Advice: DON'T TAKE PHYSICS

A Blast of Books

We read so many books this year! I could complain about every single one, but to be honest, it was alright reading them. I learned so much about American writers and philosophy, and all of it was done while surrounded by friendly and familiar faces. I can't wait for whatever literature class I have next year, as long as I get a summer in between.

It was lit

This year has been one of the best years in Literature yet! Even though reading and writing is not my favorite thing to do, Mrs. Carnes always makes it interesting. I loved the competitions throughout my many years of literature, even though this year was the first year my team has won. My favorite books we read this year were Huck Finn and Great Gatsby, of course. I wish we had read Green Eggs and Ham and The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss again.

To the upcoming seniors, don't forget to enjoy your senior year. It really flies by. It may not seem like it in when you're sitting in physics class bored out of your mind waiting for next period, but at the end of the year you will look back and realize how fast it really went. I'll miss being in the same class with most of y'all and wish you the best as you finish this chapter in your life!

Well, that's a wrap

So I'm going to be honest, and this probably won't come as a surprise, but I've never really liked Literature. I have always found it hard, but this year during Huck Finn and Great Gatsby, I actually saw a glimmer of enjoyment. I know it's crazy, but in that time, I liked literature! The competitions were fun even though I never won, and I'm excited for the Great Gatsby viewing! I hope everyone has a lovely next year! See ya around!

Awesome year!

Wow! American Lit has been super fun this year, and I have enjoyed our joined class a lot! I really liked reading Huck Finn and The Great Gatsby, and I had fun with the competitions (though I lost both lol). I look forward to senior year and another great literature class! I would have to say, I wish we could have done a bit more poetry writing in our time focusing on poetry, but that's okay!

Anyways... Seniors, I will miss you all and have been blessed with the opportunity to get to know the incredible people you are! Juniors, I am overjoyed to be a part of this class and look forward to next year! And Mrs. Carnes, thank you for being such an amazing teacher, eager to extend grace and overall just awesome!

Woohoo! We are so close to summer, y'all! Ahhh!!

I will be crying so hard at graduation

This has been one of my favorite classes I've ever taken. Literature is not one of my strong suits and I do not naturally love it or reading. But after several years of having Mrs.Carnes as my teacher I have grown to love it (or at least appreciate it). All of the competitions and projects make the books come to life and make it more fun. I really enjoyed this year and I cannot express how much I'm going to miss the seniors.

TO THE SENIORS: Many of you have been a part of my life since the third grade and I cannot imagine what life is going to be like at Fideles with out y'all. The guys have become like brothers to me (especially Josh). And if you all don't come visit enough I promise I will hunt you down at your college. Seriously I'm not kidding- come visit! I will be praying for all of you and I am going to miss you guys more then you know.

TO THE JUNIORS: Okay guys this is it, Senior year is coming! This is our time to step up and be leaders. I know we have a lot of stress in our future but we should try to be closer as a class and go out strong with our last year in high school!

TO MRS.CARNES: Thanks you so much for everything you do and for being one of my all time favorite teachers! You really make literature fun and it is a class that I look forward to. I never get bored in your classes. I cant believe I only have one year left and I look forward to being in one more class of yours!

I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH! THANKS FOR A GREAT YEAR!!!

Favorite moment

Its been a great year with the seniors and juniors in the same class.  This makes it very fun in class and for our group projects for huck finn.  I really liked making our video for the project.  It was really interesting and fun to make the video.  I could have done with not wearing the dress, but everything was fun.

A Year in Review

Wow. This has been a crazy year. I have enjoyed my high school years at Fideles and am going to miss it. One of my yearly highlights year in and year out has been Literature class. As I assume y'all all know, I despise literature and reading. However, Mrs. Carnes has always done a remarkable job of making class fun and keeping it enjoyable. From group projects and competitions to debates and discussion - it's always fun. I really enjoyed our discussions on Calvinism in the early part of the year. I also enjoyed developing the character of Giles Corey who will no longer die with the Crucible. #MoreWeight.

To the Juniors: I have greatly enjoyed your class the last couple years. To be honest, y'all used to be really annoying. I believe the prize for the worst 8th grade class (previously held by mine) can be confidently awarded to you all. However, there was hope for you all. Throughout high school, y'all have been incredible. I have enjoyed getting to know each of you personally and in different fashions. Basketball, ROC, Math Class, Drama, Accounting, Literature, and League have really brought me closer to most of you. I will miss you all (as I hope you miss us). My words of advice/encouragement to you all is this. You will very quickly get used to us not being there and you will begin to own the fact that you all are seniors. Lead the school well. Step up and pick up where we left off. Be involved. Don't just go to school, lead the school. The experience you gain in high school is amazing. As the valedictorian, I will briefly tell you the secret of how I have gotten good grades throughout high school. It is easily attributed to the following: 50% turning in your homework on time, 25% knowing your teacher and what they want/expect, and 25% intelligence. Yes - you have to work to get through high school, but if yall just turn in every bit of work on time, it'll be hard to not have a decent grade. Anyways - Y'all are amazing and a pleasure to get to know. Stay in touch. Oh - and come to graduation.

Same, Mitchell

I really enjoyed reading Huck Finn. It was my second time reading it, but this time was a lot more fun and made me think a lot more about the different elements in the book. The competition was baller. Everyone worked really hard, and the final projects were amazing. I was on Tessy's team and we came out with the W. It was overall just so lit.

Auld Lang Syne

This year in American Lit has definitely been more entertaining than any other English class I can remember taking. Some of my fondest memories include everyone's attempts at accents over the year (Giles Cory and our stab at Italian being at the top of the list), acting out scenes from The Crucible, and Rigg dancing around in Hannah's prom dress singing "Let it Go" (which I'm sure none of us are going to let him live down). It has been wonderful getting to know all of you this year between different competitions and activities in other classes- I am blessed to know all of you. Good luck and constant prayers to the seniors leaving this year! I've only known most of you for a year and I still think I will get emotional at your graduation. It will be sad to see you go. I am thrilled for Modern Lit next year- we talk about it all the time in AP American Lit. I look forward to a next year, with new activities, competitions and memories, with all of my new friends.

Huck Finn

Huck Finn was by far my favorite book we read this year. It was very interesting and the contests made it a lot of fun. The group projects were all really great. Obviously i thought my group should've won but that's just because i wanted to win. I would have to say Dalton's group project was the most fun (I don't remember their team name). Getting to compete against the rest of the class in that jeopardy game was awesome. Between all the yelling and candy stealing it was a good idea (Grangerfords still should've won). As for what i wish we had written, well nothing makes that list. We should just stop writing papers all together that would be great. I really enjoyed this year with everyone. Looking forward to a great year as Seniors next year.

Sign the American Lit Yearbook

We are winding down our year in American Lit, with only the final and The Great Gatsby viewing ahead of us. Use today's post to comment on what we read that you liked (or didn't like) or what you wish we had read or written. You can also use this post to pass on wisdom (seniors) or encouragement (juniors) or to comment on any memorable moments from the 2015-2016 school year--not just from American Lit!

I have loved teaching both classes together, with their mix of humor, responsibility, competition, strong beliefs, articulateness, thoughtfulness, and passion. The Huck Finn contest was a highlight for me, especially the stellar final projects from each group.

I will miss the seniors tremendously, after spending three years with you in English class. Please be like the graduates who come back to visit and not like the graduates who disappear. And I'm excited to get back to teaching my favorite class--Modern Lit--to the class of 2017!

H.A.G.S., y'all!