Welcome!  We're going to have a lot of fun this year while doing tons of great work.  You're going to see things in the materials you read this year that you would never have dreamed were there.  You're going to refine and develop the ways you express yourself to the point where your parents will think you've already got one foot in college!  So strap on your helmet, buckle your seatbelt and get ready for the ride of your lingustic lives!  Welcome to English class!