Instructions: How to make a stress ball?

I figured that since it is indeed the holidays for you all, it might be nice to get crafty every once in a while. I have come across the instructions on how to make stress balls as a completely random idea which will be great for examination periods and a fun activity to do when you have the time.

Need:
- Balloons (not water balloons)
- Flour/Sand/Rice/Corn starch
- Funnel
- Crafty things to decorate it with
Instructions:
1. Get your small round balloon and blow it up until it is about 4-5 inches around but do not tie it.
2. Pinch the top of the balloon shut whilst slowly placing a funnel into the tip.
3. Fill the top of the funnel with either flour/sand/rice/corn starch and slowly let go of the balloon so the filing is able to slide in.
4. Continue adding until you are happy with the amount and the firmness of the filled balloon.
5. Pull up the top of the balloon tightly and allow any excess air to be released.
6. Tie the balloon as closely to the tip as possible.
7. Decorate with permanent markers or whatever you wish.

Enjoy!

Study help: Wordle

Forget mindmaps and brainstorms, Wordle is the new way to go when it comes to writing your own notes in order to memorise particular key words to assist with your studies and revision. The site states that: 'Wordle is a toy for generating "word clouds" from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts and colour schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like." Check out www.wordle.net for more information. Enjoy!

Feedback reports.

Feedback reports will be handed out during the week to class and private students. These will include an outline of your achievements and any areas of study which you need to improve on. Please use the comments wisely as they will definitely assist you in your studies.

Study Splurge: The Filofax.

Add it to your Christmas (or birthday) wishlist if you must but the Filofax will have to be the ultimate luxe way to study and stay organised for the rest of the year and everyday after that. You might all know that I have the Finchley A5 in 'Vintage Rose' (yes that chunk of a diary is indeed a Filofax) and it's definitely had it's perks in keeping my life organised. Available in a huge variety of colours, fabrics and sizes, along with your choice in what goes onto the pages, it is the quality of organisation which money can actually buy even if you need to save every penny along the way, it's totally worth saving over. Otherwise, get it for your birthday like I did. It's the best.(Above) Finchley leather Filofax in 'Vintage Rose': $399.95, visit www.filofax.com.au for info.

Literary Terminology.

Until you can recite the definitions and effects of the following literary terms, I can tell you now that you are in for a long ride. Lucky for you, these words have hyperlinks leading to their definitions but I can tell you that perhaps you won't be so lucky next time...

Allegory
Alliteration
Allusion
Amplification
Anagram
Analogy
Anaphora
Anastrophe
Anthropomorphism
Antithesis
Aphorism
Apostrophe
Authorial Intrusion
Archetype
Assonance
Asyndeton
Bibliomancy
Bildungsroman
Cacophony
Caesura
Characterization
Chiasmus
Circumlocution
Conflict
Connotation
Consonance
Denotation
Deus ex MachinaDiction
Doppelganger
Ekphrastic
Emulation
Epilogue
Epithet
Euphemism
Euphony
Faulty
Parallelism
Flashback
Foil
Foreshadowing
Hyperbation
Hyperbole
Imagery
Internal Rhyme
Inversion
Irony
Juxtaposition
Kennings
Malapropism
Metaphor
Metonymy
Motif
Mood
Negative Capability
Nemesis
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Paradox
Pathetic Fallacy
Periphrasis
Periodic Structure
Personification
Point of View
Plot
Polysyndeton
Portmanteau
Prologue
Puns
Rhyme Scheme
Rhythm & Rhyme
Satire
Setting
Simile
Spoonerism
Stanza
Stream of Consciousness
Syllepsis
Symbol
Synecdoche
Synesthesia
Syntax
Theme
Tone
Tragedy
Understatement
Verisimilitude
Verse

By the way, this is just to name a few.

High School Certificate Trials.

Good luck with your English Higher School Certificate Trials! I am positive that you will all do perfectly. Feel free to email me any essays and creative writing pieces which you have written so that I can provide feedback and critical comments to assist your preparation with the 2009 High School Certificate Exams. My new email is analyse_english@gmail.com Remember to balance study with relaxation and spend your time wisely for a second wasted is a second you will never get back! I look forward to seeing you all soon.