Comments Q4 W5

Gautam-Hits and Misses
Charles-Anticipating our new book

Hits and Misses

       We have written a few essays this year for English, all of which had their challenges and their accomplishments. My favorite paper this year was the research paper. This was a very stressful paper due to all of the other projects at the same time, but it was the easiest. It required a lot of research and preparation, but the teachers helped us a lot and guided us through the process. This made putting the paper together very simple.

       The hardest paper for me though was the personal narrative. It was so hard for me to pick a certain event that was short. I could not decide on a memory that I remembered very well and thought that I could write about. When I finally decided on a memory to write about, my problem was making it very detailed. I could not make it detailed enough as to make it feel like the reader was there experiencing it for themselves. I felt like I could have done a better job on this paper.

Anticipating Our New Book

2. If you are in a position of power, you are happy.

6. Sometimes you have to do things other people consider wrong to get ahead.

     The first statement above is something that I disagree with. Just because someone has power does not mean that they are always going to be happy. Someone could have a lot of authority, but this does not make them incapable of feeling sad or angry. Being in a position of power can cause a lot of stress. It is not easy to rule over a bunch of stuff. And even if someone is not stressed with the job, sad things will happen. 

     The second statement above is something that I somewhat agree on though. To get ahead of others you have to take risks. Sometimes these things mean doing what others might not agree on. I am not saying to go kill someone or rob a bank to get ahead of others. I'm saying that sometimes risks have to be taken. To get ahead of people you have to do something different to make yourself unique. Every once in a while this involves doing something other people might not like.

Comments Q4 W4

Sa'veon-Reading Strategies
Alex-Purple Hibiscus strategies

Reading

     Purple Hibiscus is a very challenging book to read. When we first started this book, it was hard for me. I am a really slow reader so it took me longer than it probably should. This was very challenging especially when I decided to do annotations. This would take me forever. One strategy that I found is to break up the reading. I would read a few pages, then do some other homework or eat dinner. This would help me read faster.
     There are many challenges that I have faced in this book. I am a slow reader doing annotations, so it takes me a long time. Some days when we have track meets, it is very challenging. After running in a track meet, I am very exhausted, and I get home late. It is hard when trying to read 20-30 pages when I am falling asleep. I have been very close to sleeping in the middle of a reading assignment. Because of this, I would have to read a lot in the morning and before class.
   

Prompts

403. Would you like to live in another country?

     I came across this question in the list of prompts, and I remembered talking about this with someone the other day. This is a very intriguing question for me to answer. There are many times when I do not want leave the USA, but there are some times when I do want to. The USA is a great country to live in. I love my country, and I plan on serving for it one day. The USA has its negatives though. It is a target, but most important, it is not as safe as many other places. 

     Two years ago I visited Europe with my aunt and cousin. I was only 13 at the time, and my cousin was only 14. In the USA, we can not walk around a town because it is not that safe. In Europe, we could walk where ever by ourselves. Europe would be a great place to live because of the safety. There it is safe to do what you want, and you do not have to worry about violence as much. Here we can not live like that. So for the question, "Would you like to live in another country?" the answer is no, but I would like to live in a safer USA.

Comments Q4 W2

Casey-Political Response

Sutter-News Article (Note: Sutter deleted blog, but I did read and comment) 

Political News Story

Trump blames Democrats for GOP health care bill failure, says ObamaCare is 'imploding':

     Ever since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama, Republicans have wanted it repealed. Last week the Republicans tried to get rid of and replace ObamaCare. Originally, Congress was scheduled to vote on Thursday on the ObamaCare replacement, but this vote was postponed until Friday. On Friday, Republicans pulled the bill because they knew they didn't have enough votes to pass. President Trump blamed the Democrats because not one Democratic Congressman would have voted to pass the bill. This article provides more information regarding the postponed vote, but this is an overview of the article.

      I believe that it is not fair for the Democrats to be solely blamed for this, but I also do not believe that it is right for none of the Democrats to vote on the bill simply because it was passed by President Obama. It would be helpful to understand more about the Affordable Care Act, and its pros and cons, to better understand the rationale by both parties.  I chose this article to highlight one of the many disagreements between the two political parties. Because I wanted to focus on a newer report with current news. I found several articles about this topic, but I preferred this Fox News article over the other sources that I found.

Comments Q4 W1

Sutter-Free Post
Wyatt-Free Post

Free Post

Track and Field this year has been a different experience, but it is still really fun. In middle school, I did not have a track to practice on, so it is weird to go to school every day and practice on our own track. Usually, I would only run on tracks when it was race time, but running on one almost ever day changed that. Track this year is harder than before. We work more, and we have a lot of competition especially in distance races.

Having a track at school has also taught me way more than I thought. On Friday we had a meet at school. Because of this, I had to help out with raking the sand pits. I never knew anything about long jump or triple jump. After helping, I knew more, and I understood what was actually going on. Also, on Sunday there will be a middle school meet at Episcopal. I will help out at this, and I hope to learn more than I knew before.

Learning Reflection

Through this year so far I have learned a lot about myself as a student. I have learned that I can procrastinate a lot. Sometimes I do well though at getting my homework done early, so I do not have to worry about it later. I am most productive when I have peace and quiet to do my work. I usually learn very well when I write stuff down. One other thing that I have learned this year is time management.

Using this information, I will try to do my best work in the last quarter. I will study for tests and exams in places that I do best in. I will also write things down so that I can learn it better. The biggest concern for me that I need to work on is my procrastination. I need to do my work earlier so that I am not always so stressed out. Finally, I can use time management to make sure that I can get everything done from homework to running without getting stressed out.

Comments Q3 W7

Gautam-Free Post
Charles-Free Post 3/6

Song Analysis

Rhianna uses a few poetic devices in her song, Umbrella. Rhianna uses metaphor and tone to give a deeper meaning to the lyrics. She uses a metaphor when talking about an umbrella. The word umbrella is used to show a way of shielding people from the storms of life. Rhianna talks about standing under her umbrella to stay out of the rain. The deeper meaning is that she will walk with and support whoever her audience is through the tough times.

Throughout the song, Rhianna has a gentle and relaxed tone. This gives her audience a feeling of rain. This deeper meaning of rain throughout the song makes the reader feel comfortable as if the sound of rain was being heard. This sense of rain helps to give emphasis on her umbrella which has the meaning of support and help.

Free Post

Over Mardi Gras break, I had a lot to do. It all started on the Saturday right after we got out of school. My step-brother came in with his cousin, and we all went down to New Orleans. We walked up and down St. Charles Avenue to visit friends while watching Iris and Tucks parades. We stayed for a few hours, then we came home to prepare for our next trip. On Sunday we met my father in Alexandria and from there we went to our camp on Lake D'arbonne in Farmerville, LA. We stayed one night then went to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We stayed with some family, and one day, they brought us to play golf. I did not play, but I drove the cart and I hit the ball every once in a while.

We eventually went back to our camp in Farmerville. My dad's cousin, who lives 45 minutes north of the camp, came down with us. Recently, he took one of our old boats and fixed it up. He finally brought it down and we got to ride all around the lake with it. We did have some problems though especially when the propeller broke and I had to bring the boat back with everybody in it. I had to bring them back by pulling them in a kayak. It was hard and miserable. For the rest of the week we shot guns, fished, and burned a lot of wood. Overall, it was a fun and memorable week, and I am kinda sad that it went by so fast.

Comments Q3 W6

Jack-Vocab.com Post
Gautam-Poem

Poem

It was a late summer's eve,

and there was a nice gentle breeze.

I had to drive for a while,

for it was way more than a mile.

It did not seem that far.

Well, I was in a car.

The night was as dark as a cold-blooded heart,

and my trees were like a work of art.

The leaves danced to the wind

as if there were no end.

It seemed as if there was nowhere to go,

except for the fires deep down below.

I used end rhyme, simile, and personification.

Vocab Words

It was a hot summer day, and the two boys were wandering in the woods. They had no plans on where they were going. Their only idea was to explore. They spent hours outside. They knew most of the woods like the back of their hand. There was just this one place that they had never been. It was not their territory. It was the neighbors'. These neighbors were very scary and were never seen. No one dared to bother them or go near their house.

The boys decided that they would take that risk because they wanted to explore further. They knew something was weird. It was as if the neighbors were hiding something. The two boys eventually made it to the property and there it was. There was a huge pit filled with the unknown. All they could see in it was total darkness. They had no idea why it was here or where the owners were. The decided to see how deep it was. They did not jump, but instead, they dropped a coin. They waited to hear the click at the bottom, but they never heard it. What was this hole for and why was it there? They never knew, and they never told.

Comments Q3 W4

Laura-ATDPTI
Gautam-Research

Research

I have learned a few skills from doing this research project. One important skill that I learned so far is how to cite sources. This includes in-text citations and citations in general. Another important skill that I have learned so far is how to take notes and how to find sources that are reliable and useful. This project was hard at first, but as it went on, I got used to it. Hopefully, this gets better.
One thing that we have worked on so far that I don't feel so comfortable with is embedding. It has been hard for me to embed my citations instead of just putting the parenthetical citations at the end of each paragraph. One thing that I think could improve is making transitions in my paper. Hopefully, I can make this better before I turn in my final draft.

Reading Response

So far, I am enjoying this book. It is cool to see this Indian boy taking a stand in his life. He is not giving up, and he wants to make a difference. I do not think that Indians should be treated differently or put down because of their skin color or their history. I believe that all the Indians should be able to fit into Reardan without being bullied.

It is an interesting plot so far to see how it starts with a boy who is bullied and does not fit in. Then he all of a sudden decided to go to a school full of white people who do not really like Indians. Now he is fitting in and making new friends. This is showing how one person no matter size or status can make a big difference. Hopefully, Arnold can make an even greater difference between the white and the Indians.

Comments Q3 W3

Casey-Free Post
Gautam-Social Media

Free Post

Track and Field just started, and we had our first meet on January 21. This first Track meet was very exciting and cool to watch. Although I did not run, I liked seeing the Indoor Track and having that feeling of being a part of this amazing team. Back to the start of the season. I was really nervous for Track season because I have been told that it is really hard. I also got really scared when I saw the Team practicing last year. When we started the season, it was hard, but as it went on, it got easier. Practice is still hard, but I have gotten more used to it than before. 

The hard part for me in Track right now is when we do workouts on the Track with pace times. A group would be too fast for me, but B group would be to slow for me. Because of this, I had to run on my own. Sometimes Thomas and Greyson would be there, and we would run as a small pack, but it is still challenging to do a hard workout in a small group or by oneself. Hopefully, as the season goes on pace workouts get better, and I have a group to do this with.

Reading Response

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a very interesting book so far. It has a fun plot, but the style is weird. This reminds me of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but it is a little bit more adult. I like the style. It gives humor but also a sense of maturity. This book is cool to show the point of view of an Indian boy who does not even fit in on his reservation. It gives this different kind of feeling and perspective on life.

We always think that our lives are good, and we never truly think about how bad someone else's life can be. I feel like this book will show us what life can be like. This kid is stuck on this reservation where no one accepts him. He is bullied and beaten up. Now that he has decided not to give up on life and to move to a better school, he is showing that he wants to be better. He is making a difference in his community. This will be interesting to see the impact he has on the reservation after this daring move.

Comments Q3 W2

Sutter-My Research Topic
Casey-Research Topic

Research Topic

My research topic was the French Resistance, but then I tweaked it a little bit. I changed it to Resistance in World War 2. I am focusing mostly on the French Resistance, and some on the Polish Resistance. My new question is, "How were resistance movements in occupied zones effective against the Germans in World War 2?" This is an important topic because resistance movements affected the Germans and the outcome of the war. Without resistance, the end of World War 2 might have been different.
The French Resistance was just a secret group of men and women who fought against the Nazi-Germans in World War 2. They started after the fall of France in 1940. The Resistance took shelter in the south of France when the north was occupied. The Resistance sabotaged German supply lines, aided the Allied Forces, provided intelligence, and even helped by participating in the ground fighting. The Polish Resistance is very similar to the French because they also provided intelligence, sabotaged German efforts and they fought on the ground, but a big difference is that the Polish tried to help the Jews a lot more than the French did.

Last Semester

Last semester I learned how stressful it was when putting stuff off to the last minute. I do this all the time. I always say I am going to get my homework done, but then I end up doing it days later. I need to work on my time management. I learned it takes some time to get everything done. I have to spread assignments out and set goals for myself. Otherwise, I get too packed with my homework and my extracurricular activities.

This has taught me a lesson for this semester and for the rest of high school. I learned that school is not super easy anymore. It takes time and patience to get good grades. I have to motivate myself and be dedicated to getting work done, so I don't stress myself out. This will be hard for me, but I believe this will make me less stressed and a better student.

Comments Q3 W1

Gautam-2017
Casey-Free Post

Free Post-Winter Break

This Winter Break, I traveled a lot. I started off in Baton Rouge, then on the 23, I went up to Hattiesburg with my step family. We stayed there for Christmas. It was really fun. We went to the movies, played cards, and watched slideshows of pictures from the family. We spent Christmas there, and then we left the next morning. From there we went to Bastrop with my mom's family. Bastrop was so much fun. We  ate so much, and we hung out with friends and family.

After my brother and I stayed in Bastrop for a few days, we were picked up by our dad. For my 15th birthday, my dad decided to take me duck hunting in Stuggart, Arkansas. We ended up going on the 29th. Unfortunately, we picked one of the worse days to go. We only killed about 3 birds while hunting for about 5-7 hours. It was still really fun though and I was glad we went. After that we went to El Dorado. We spent the night with our cousin, then we went to our lake camp. At the camp, we celebrated my birthday and New Years. We had to eventually head home on January 2nd, but that break was one of the best breaks, I have had in a while.

Research Update

My research topic is the French Resistance in World War 2. This was a secret group of people fighting Germans and helping the Allied Forces. Because they were so secret, there were not many records. This makes it hard when I am trying to find sources. I have found a few sources that supply useful information, but then the rest aren't as good. It has been hard finding lots of information from multiple sources. 

The hardest pat for me so far has been finding sources particularly primary. For all of my primary, I have pictures. The easiest thing so far has been the annotated bibliographies. I got must of them done early so I could relax close to the deadline. That helped a lot. I think the hardest thing will be the notecards because I have trouble finding lots of information from my sources. I think this will make it hard when I make the notecards especially with all of the different categories.