Tuesday, October 20 – Today in Karate class we started doing our stretches a little bit differently. Instead of doing them alone we broke up into partners and did partner stretches where we had to work together to stretch each other out. This included exercises such as putting your feet together and locking arms to stretch out your back and legs. These stretches require that each person put a particular amount of force on the other to do the stretch right and therefore it requires the full participation of each person and team work. After we finished these stretches we stayed with our partners and got some pads to work on different blocks. We did high and low blocks for punches and kicks and then we tried blocking other varieties of more complicated attacks such as jumping kicks and spinning attacks. By doing this we learned that there is a variety of ways a person can attack you and it is important that you are prepared and ready for any of those situations by knowing how to block each attack. We were told that this was one of the most important lessons to learn when it comes to fighting.
Saturday, October 24 – I could not make it to Karate today because I at an interview at Smith College.
Tuesday, October 27 – Today in class we did our stretches wit partners again and worked together to prepare for class. Then we worked on timing by lining up in multiple rows and doing a series of kicks and punches with some blocks thrown in as instructed by the teacher and we all tried to do them simultaneously. At first it was very difficult for us to stay together as one group but the more we practiced at it the better we became at synchronizing our attacks and retreats. By the end of the exercise we were able to move as one unit and we found that this improved us as individuals in our focus and precision in all of our movements. After this we broke off into partners and worked on our one steps and our wrist grabs which I felt I was becoming increasingly good at. Then we ended the class with stretches as a sort of warming down to relax us after the work we had done.
Saturday, October 30 – Today is Halloween so in Karate class we celebrated with some candy before we began stretching. Then we stretched and broke off into partners to work on wrist grabs as a warm up. After we finished we were told that in the next Karate class we would be examined by the instructor and other black belts to see if we were ready to take a belt test and move up to the next level above our current rank. I had not taken a test since before the summer and I was eager to do this next one and move up to the next belt color because I felt I was more than ready. To prepare for this examination, we individually worked on our forms so that we would have them down perfectly for the testing. We were encouraged to ask for assistance on any of the moves we were having trouble with. I tried my best to take full advantage of this opportunity so I could improve my form enough to be considered for the next belt test.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Greek Club
Thursday, October 22 – Today in Greek I received a request from one of my Greek students for me to teach them some vocabulary. I decided that because I had been unable to attend the club last week this would be a good day to start on vocabulary because I would like to be able to teach my students the things they want to learn. I decided I would give them a list of words to write down with their definitions but only from the first declension for now and only nouns. I will give them other lists in the future including other declensions and verbs. I wrote the words on the board and had my students copy them. Then I asked the students to pronounce the word and I asked them to guess what the meaning of the word might be. If they could not guess it I would tell them and then I would do my best to make a connection between the word and an English or Latin word. We added 20 words in all to the list.
Thursday, October 29 – I was unable to attend the Greek Club today because I needed the time to work on my Extended Essay.
Thursday, October 29 – I was unable to attend the Greek Club today because I needed the time to work on my Extended Essay.
Creative Writting
Thursday, October 22 – Today in Creative Writing we read another students work. It was a short story this student had written with a friend a few years ago and before they began editing it they wanted our group to criticize it so that they would know what to look for. We each read through the story silently and made some notes about what we though could be improved. Then we went around and shared our thoughts with the rest of the group. I said that I really enjoyed the story itself and that I thought it was a unique and interesting idea but that I felt some of the grammar the student ad used in the story needed some serious revision and that it really takes away from a story when you cannot get past bad grammar, and it interrupts the flow of the piece. Giving advice about this other student’s grammar caused me to realize a few ways in which I could improve my own grammar in my own writing and I was eager to look at my different works and apply this advice.
Thursday, October 29 – I was unable to attend Creative Writing today because I needed the time to work on my Extended Essay.
Thursday, October 29 – I was unable to attend Creative Writing today because I needed the time to work on my Extended Essay.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Creative Writting Club
Thursday, September 24 – Today was the first meeting of the Creative Writing Club for this school year. This year the club is under new management as Mr. Arcenas will now be leading the group. Many more people have joined this year than last year and we are eager to start reading people’s work. I am now the oldest Creative Writing Club member and therefore I have been asked to help Mr. Arcenas with the club this year. During the meeting today we went around and introduced ourselves and talked about what kind of works we like to write. I talked about the poems and short suspense stories I had done in the previous years and how much I enjoyed writing. Then we discussed what the focus of the club would be this year and we decided that each of us should bring in a work we have done and we would have the other members of the club read it and make critical comments about it, good or bad. We would do one work every week, per meeting.
Thursday, October 1 – Today was the first day of actual work in the Creative Writing Club. Because this was first time it was decided that Mr. Arcenas would provide the first submission of literature so that we could have some practice before we did one from a student. He gave us an interesting work about a commander’s experiences in a war in Bosnia and how it affected and scared him. The piece was very confused and very potent but after reading it through a few times I felt I had a good understanding of it. We went around the room to each member of the club and made comments about what we thought of the story. For our first meeting I thought we did very well and I felt that everyone had very intelligent comments to make about the story.
Thursday, October 8 – Today in the Creative Writing Club Mr. Arcenas again provided us with something to read because no one in club remembered to submit any work for the week. He gave us a selection of different phrases from different authors and asked us to consider what the authors were trying to say. The most interesting one he gave us was by Ernest Hemingway which read, “Baby shoes for sale: Never worn.” We went around the room to each person and considered what this phrase meant. Many members said it had a lot of importance and was an extremely intelligent work and maybe even the best work he had ever written. I said that I felt people were reading into it too much and that while it was certainly very clever it was not really a masterpiece but rather it was a representation of the power of words in literature and how so little can say so much.
Thursday, October 15 – Today in the Creative Writing Club we read one of my own works that I had been working on for a few years now. The name of the piece is “Company” and it is a short suspense story that I was hoping to submit to the Literary Journal this year. I had submitted this piece before in Creative Writing in the past year but I wanted feedback from a different group of people this time. Everyone read my piece and discussed it among themselves. They said that they all really enjoyed the story and thought it was very clever and appreciated some of the literary aspects I used within the piece. They then told me that perhaps I should consider changing my wording in some places where it did not flow as well as the rest of the poem and where some of the words used did not seem to fit with the style writing I had in the rest of the story. They also mentioned that I should consider finding something else to replace my use of onamonapea because it is always very tricky to make that literary feature work in a story because it is so awkward. I felt I learned a lot from having them read and comment on my story and I knew that I would be able to apply their advice to my work and greatly improve my writing skills.
Thursday, October 1 – Today was the first day of actual work in the Creative Writing Club. Because this was first time it was decided that Mr. Arcenas would provide the first submission of literature so that we could have some practice before we did one from a student. He gave us an interesting work about a commander’s experiences in a war in Bosnia and how it affected and scared him. The piece was very confused and very potent but after reading it through a few times I felt I had a good understanding of it. We went around the room to each member of the club and made comments about what we thought of the story. For our first meeting I thought we did very well and I felt that everyone had very intelligent comments to make about the story.
Thursday, October 8 – Today in the Creative Writing Club Mr. Arcenas again provided us with something to read because no one in club remembered to submit any work for the week. He gave us a selection of different phrases from different authors and asked us to consider what the authors were trying to say. The most interesting one he gave us was by Ernest Hemingway which read, “Baby shoes for sale: Never worn.” We went around the room to each person and considered what this phrase meant. Many members said it had a lot of importance and was an extremely intelligent work and maybe even the best work he had ever written. I said that I felt people were reading into it too much and that while it was certainly very clever it was not really a masterpiece but rather it was a representation of the power of words in literature and how so little can say so much.
Thursday, October 15 – Today in the Creative Writing Club we read one of my own works that I had been working on for a few years now. The name of the piece is “Company” and it is a short suspense story that I was hoping to submit to the Literary Journal this year. I had submitted this piece before in Creative Writing in the past year but I wanted feedback from a different group of people this time. Everyone read my piece and discussed it among themselves. They said that they all really enjoyed the story and thought it was very clever and appreciated some of the literary aspects I used within the piece. They then told me that perhaps I should consider changing my wording in some places where it did not flow as well as the rest of the poem and where some of the words used did not seem to fit with the style writing I had in the rest of the story. They also mentioned that I should consider finding something else to replace my use of onamonapea because it is always very tricky to make that literary feature work in a story because it is so awkward. I felt I learned a lot from having them read and comment on my story and I knew that I would be able to apply their advice to my work and greatly improve my writing skills.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Karate
Saturday, October 10 – I could not make it to Karate today because I had SAT tests.
Tuesday, October 13 – I could not make it to Karate today because I was ill.
Saturday, October 17 – There is no Karate today due to belt testing.
Tuesday, October 13 – I could not make it to Karate today because I was ill.
Saturday, October 17 – There is no Karate today due to belt testing.
Greek
Thursday, September 17 – Today was the first day of the new Greek Club for this school year. This year I will be the only teacher in the Greek Club and while I will have some assistance from Mr. Arcenas who has much knowledge of the ancient Greek language and culture, for the most part I will running the club by myself. This will definitely be a challenge this year in terms of being organized and being able to come up with activities each week for the club. At the first Greek meeting today I was pleased to see that not only had the majority of Greek students from the previous year returned, but there were many new additions to the Greek Club from a variety of different grades. We did not do any Greek today but rather I stood at the front of the class and explained the Greek Club in terms of our goals and the different areas of the Greek language we would be studying.
Thursday, September 24 – Today was the first real learning day of the new Greek Club. I decided that eventually I would break the students up into older Greek students and newer Greek students so they could each work at their own levels. However for the first few classes I decided to do a review of the material we had covered from the beginning so that the older students could remember what they were doing while the newer students were learning. So we began by looking over the Greek alphabet and I went through and talked about each of the letters and explained their importance and their frequency in the Greek language and how to properly pronounce them. I told my students to take the alphabet home and practice and that next week we would try pronunciation next week with different words.
Thursday, October 1 – Today in Greek we spent the class working on pronunciation of Greek words. I started by allowing everyone to use their alphabets with the pronunciation tips. With the tips the students did very well. Though they would always struggle at first when I gave them a word, in the end they could pronounce the words very well. As we went through each word I explained the meaning of the word and made connections to the word in English and Latin. I then told the students to put their keys away and try pronouncing from memory of what the letters sounded like. They had a lot of trouble in the beginning but by the end of the class they were doing very well pronouncing from memory. At the end of class I awarded my Student of the Month Prize to my youngest student who was the only one to go out and buy a copy of the Athenaze Greek book we use in class. I bought her a drink and a snack as her prize.
Thursday, October 8 – Today we had a new member join the Greek Club and se is our first Freshman which I am very happy about because I feel that one of my responsibilities as leader of the club is to make sure it does not die after I leave next year and the more young students I can get to join the more likely it is the club will live on after me. So I started this class by beginning to teach the other students about the first declension in Greek how closely it connected to the first declension in Latin. The students did very well and learned the declension in no time so I had them work together to practice writing it out with different words while I took the new student aside and taught her about the Greek alphabet and all the things she had missed.
Thursday, October 15 – I could not come to Greek today because I had an interview at Smith College and I had to leave Mr. Arcenas in charge. However , I did not leave him with nothing. I gave Mr. Arcenas a passage from the Athenaze book to give to the students to translate and I told him to tell them to work together on the passage and help each other out. I also gave him explicit instructions on teaching the new Greek student the first declension and giving her some words to work with to practice her pronunciation.
Thursday, September 24 – Today was the first real learning day of the new Greek Club. I decided that eventually I would break the students up into older Greek students and newer Greek students so they could each work at their own levels. However for the first few classes I decided to do a review of the material we had covered from the beginning so that the older students could remember what they were doing while the newer students were learning. So we began by looking over the Greek alphabet and I went through and talked about each of the letters and explained their importance and their frequency in the Greek language and how to properly pronounce them. I told my students to take the alphabet home and practice and that next week we would try pronunciation next week with different words.
Thursday, October 1 – Today in Greek we spent the class working on pronunciation of Greek words. I started by allowing everyone to use their alphabets with the pronunciation tips. With the tips the students did very well. Though they would always struggle at first when I gave them a word, in the end they could pronounce the words very well. As we went through each word I explained the meaning of the word and made connections to the word in English and Latin. I then told the students to put their keys away and try pronouncing from memory of what the letters sounded like. They had a lot of trouble in the beginning but by the end of the class they were doing very well pronouncing from memory. At the end of class I awarded my Student of the Month Prize to my youngest student who was the only one to go out and buy a copy of the Athenaze Greek book we use in class. I bought her a drink and a snack as her prize.
Thursday, October 8 – Today we had a new member join the Greek Club and se is our first Freshman which I am very happy about because I feel that one of my responsibilities as leader of the club is to make sure it does not die after I leave next year and the more young students I can get to join the more likely it is the club will live on after me. So I started this class by beginning to teach the other students about the first declension in Greek how closely it connected to the first declension in Latin. The students did very well and learned the declension in no time so I had them work together to practice writing it out with different words while I took the new student aside and taught her about the Greek alphabet and all the things she had missed.
Thursday, October 15 – I could not come to Greek today because I had an interview at Smith College and I had to leave Mr. Arcenas in charge. However , I did not leave him with nothing. I gave Mr. Arcenas a passage from the Athenaze book to give to the students to translate and I told him to tell them to work together on the passage and help each other out. I also gave him explicit instructions on teaching the new Greek student the first declension and giving her some words to work with to practice her pronunciation.
Karate
Saturday, September 19 – Today in class we started by stretching. We stretched for an extra long time because the instructor wanted to give the new people and the people just getting back into Karate a chance to really prepare themselves so it would be easier to perform the Karate. Then we broke up into partners and worked on our one steps. I was really glad to learn to work with a partner again because it had been such a long time. I was also glad to realize I remembered all my one steps and I was able to perform them all accurately.
Tuesday, September 22 – Today in class we were told that it was time to move onto reviewing our forms and remembering the one we have to use in our next belt testing. We broke up into ranks and the black belts were each assigned to one of us lower ranks to help us with our form. Then each of the black belts was rotated through the lower ranks and I was able to work with many different people which was great because they all had different but very helpful advice for me about my form. I found that I had a lot of trouble remembering my form at first but then I after one review I was confident that I could do it again.
Saturday, September 26 – Today in class we began by stretching again and I found that it was becoming increasingly easier to stretch myself out because I was doing Karate much more frequently. Te instructor then told us that today’s focus would be on flying sidekicks because that was one of the focuses for this entire year of Karate. A flying sidekick is when you run and jump up and do a sidekick in the air before you land. We started by practicing regular standing sidekicks on the ground to get the feel for the kick and make sure we knew how to form it. Then we all lined up by rank and the instructor got a large body pad for us to run and jump into. Some people had a little trouble getting off the ground to perform the kick and I became a little nervous that I would be unable to it as well. However when it was my turn I did it rather easily and I was complimented on how well I performed the kick.
Tuesday, September 29 – Today in class the instructor told us that we would be focusing on our stretching and breathing to make sure we were properly preparing for performing Karate. Throughout the class we tried various stretches and talked about different ways of controlling our breathing. We were told that the best thing to do is keep a steady pulse to our breathing and remember to breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth. Then the instructor talked to us about the importance of stretching and how it prepared you not only physically for Karate by stretching your muscles and making you more flexible but also mentally by calming you and therefore making you more focused and concentrated on the Karate and how to perform it.
Saturday, October 3 – Today in class the instructor informed us that our focus for the day was intimidation. The goal of the class was to teach us to make ourselves seem larger and more confident to our opponents so that we may intimidate them into not fighting us because it always better to avoid violence whenever possible. We started the class by stretching as usual and even had a few new stretches added to our routine. Then we geared up, or put our sparing pads on, and found a partner. We switched partners many times throughout the class and this allowed us to try and intimidate many different types of people. I ended up facing one of the biggest guys in the class and I was proud that I was able to hold my ground by keeping my shoulders down, moving slowly, and working my way behind my opponent like the instructor had told us to do.
Tuesday, October 6 – Today in class we began by stretching out and relaxing our minds. Then we broke up into partners and worked a little bit on one steps to try and improve our performance. I felt I was doing very well with my one steps and I did not seem to make any mistakes with them and I remembered them all. After one steps the instructor separated the black belts to work on their forms together and told my rank and higher to find a new white belt to work with on wrist grabs. I found one and began helping them work through the basic wrist grabs they needed to know. I thought it was nice tat in this class we can go from being the student to the teacher depending on our needs and abilities.
Tuesday, September 22 – Today in class we were told that it was time to move onto reviewing our forms and remembering the one we have to use in our next belt testing. We broke up into ranks and the black belts were each assigned to one of us lower ranks to help us with our form. Then each of the black belts was rotated through the lower ranks and I was able to work with many different people which was great because they all had different but very helpful advice for me about my form. I found that I had a lot of trouble remembering my form at first but then I after one review I was confident that I could do it again.
Saturday, September 26 – Today in class we began by stretching again and I found that it was becoming increasingly easier to stretch myself out because I was doing Karate much more frequently. Te instructor then told us that today’s focus would be on flying sidekicks because that was one of the focuses for this entire year of Karate. A flying sidekick is when you run and jump up and do a sidekick in the air before you land. We started by practicing regular standing sidekicks on the ground to get the feel for the kick and make sure we knew how to form it. Then we all lined up by rank and the instructor got a large body pad for us to run and jump into. Some people had a little trouble getting off the ground to perform the kick and I became a little nervous that I would be unable to it as well. However when it was my turn I did it rather easily and I was complimented on how well I performed the kick.
Tuesday, September 29 – Today in class the instructor told us that we would be focusing on our stretching and breathing to make sure we were properly preparing for performing Karate. Throughout the class we tried various stretches and talked about different ways of controlling our breathing. We were told that the best thing to do is keep a steady pulse to our breathing and remember to breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth. Then the instructor talked to us about the importance of stretching and how it prepared you not only physically for Karate by stretching your muscles and making you more flexible but also mentally by calming you and therefore making you more focused and concentrated on the Karate and how to perform it.
Saturday, October 3 – Today in class the instructor informed us that our focus for the day was intimidation. The goal of the class was to teach us to make ourselves seem larger and more confident to our opponents so that we may intimidate them into not fighting us because it always better to avoid violence whenever possible. We started the class by stretching as usual and even had a few new stretches added to our routine. Then we geared up, or put our sparing pads on, and found a partner. We switched partners many times throughout the class and this allowed us to try and intimidate many different types of people. I ended up facing one of the biggest guys in the class and I was proud that I was able to hold my ground by keeping my shoulders down, moving slowly, and working my way behind my opponent like the instructor had told us to do.
Tuesday, October 6 – Today in class we began by stretching out and relaxing our minds. Then we broke up into partners and worked a little bit on one steps to try and improve our performance. I felt I was doing very well with my one steps and I did not seem to make any mistakes with them and I remembered them all. After one steps the instructor separated the black belts to work on their forms together and told my rank and higher to find a new white belt to work with on wrist grabs. I found one and began helping them work through the basic wrist grabs they needed to know. I thought it was nice tat in this class we can go from being the student to the teacher depending on our needs and abilities.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Karate Class
Tuesday, September 15 – Today was the first day of the new Karate session. I went back to the YMCA to find that it had been completely remodeled over the summer and that we now had a brand new Karate room. After I got settled into the class and greeted everyone who I had not seen in a long time we began with the basic stretches to get warmed up. Then the instructor of the class talked to us about what to expect in the new session for this month. He talked about working on our forms and mentioned some of the belt tests that would be coming up soon. Then I spent the rest of the class working with a partner, trying to remember all the wrist grabs I had forgotten over the summer. I was pleased to find that I remembered all except one correctly. Then at the end of class the instructor told us that we would move onto one steps in the next class and continue refreshing out memories.
Junior Parent Night - Wednesday, September 16
For this meeting of the Junior parents of Sturgis I was asked by Mr. Steedman to come in and say a few words about my own experiences as a Junior in the school last year and give advice to them about what to expect from their own children as they begin their Junior year. I was very enthusiastic about giving this talk because I knew it would be a challenge for me to speak in front of a lot of people because I would become anxious and I hoped it would help me learn better public speaking skills. To prepare for the talk I wrote down a few key points I wanted to make about the IB Program during Junior year and thought for a while about what kind of advice I would give the parents. I looked over the list before I left to go to the talk and I was able to remember all the points I was going to make. During the talk there was one other Senior who spoke about their Junior year experience as well which helped take some of the anxiety away. I was able to touch upon the all points I had thought of and I gave advice which the parents seemed to really appreciate. I also believed I did very well with answering all their questions after I talked to them. All in all I felt I did a very good job, but I was still not sure if was as good as it seemed and I was skeptical that I may have made some mistakes. However the next morning at school when I asked Mr. Steedman how the rest of the meeting went all my anxieties relaxed when he said that the other Senior and I did a fantastic job just as he would have liked and that he appreciated our enthusiasm in giving the talk. This reassurance really showed me that I had reached my goals of overcoming the affect of my anxieties and developing new and better public speaking skills. I was very pleased.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Greek Club
Thursday, February 19 - Today in Greek Club I continued working on translations with my sutdents. However, this time, before we began translating, I went over a few of the basics to how to attack a translation so that they would have an easier time with it. I talked about how it was important to first locate the basic parts that make up a sentence which are the verb, subject, and direct object. Then I told them that next it was important to look at the other parts of the sentence like adjectives and adverbs, to see how they fit in with the sentence. After I had gone over these essentials for translating, we did a small passage and my students did very well on it.
Thursday, February 26 - Today not enough students showed up to the Greek Club meeting and we decided to cancell it for the day. This was not for any particular reason, everyone just seemed to have things to do at the same time.
Thursday, March 5 - Today in Greek Club my students requested that I go over declensions with them because they had forgatten them and it was making it difficult for them to translate without this basic knowledge. I reviewed the declensions with them and then I had them go to the white board and practice declining words by themselves. I also made them pronounce the words and guess what they meant to get some vocabulary and pronunciation practice into the lesson. I also made them conjugate some verbs because I assumed that if they had forgotten the nounsthey probably forgot some verbs as well. I was right.
Thursday, March 12 - Today was the last real day of Greek Club for me for this year. This because I am begining softball and I will have practices on Thursdays and cannot make it to Greek Club. In honor of my last day I gave my students a test in ancient Greek grammar to see what they had really learned from my teaching this year. I gave the older students a more difficult test and the newer students an easier one. Somewhat to my suprise, they did very well on the tests and I was very pleased to see that my teaching was working. After they finished I told them what they should work on for the rest of the year when I would not be there. I mostly gave them translations from the Greek books to work on. It was nice to able to plan activities for them even thuogh I would not be there to initiate them. I was confident they could do them themselves.
Thursday, May 21 - Today I called a Greek Club meeting so that I would be able to tell my students the plan for next year and say goodbye to them for the summer. It was to be the very last meeting of the school year and I made cookies to celebrate. We had the cookies and I told all my students that if they wanted to do Greek Club again next year that I would be organizing the schedual for it and I told them to twell me what days would be good for them at the begining of the next school year. I was very pleased with the way Greek Club turned out this year and I was very proud of myself for taking on the responsibility of teaching. I felt that I was successful in planning and initiating activities for the club even thuogh it was a difficult new challenge for me. I thuoght I did very well.
Thursday, February 26 - Today not enough students showed up to the Greek Club meeting and we decided to cancell it for the day. This was not for any particular reason, everyone just seemed to have things to do at the same time.
Thursday, March 5 - Today in Greek Club my students requested that I go over declensions with them because they had forgatten them and it was making it difficult for them to translate without this basic knowledge. I reviewed the declensions with them and then I had them go to the white board and practice declining words by themselves. I also made them pronounce the words and guess what they meant to get some vocabulary and pronunciation practice into the lesson. I also made them conjugate some verbs because I assumed that if they had forgotten the nounsthey probably forgot some verbs as well. I was right.
Thursday, March 12 - Today was the last real day of Greek Club for me for this year. This because I am begining softball and I will have practices on Thursdays and cannot make it to Greek Club. In honor of my last day I gave my students a test in ancient Greek grammar to see what they had really learned from my teaching this year. I gave the older students a more difficult test and the newer students an easier one. Somewhat to my suprise, they did very well on the tests and I was very pleased to see that my teaching was working. After they finished I told them what they should work on for the rest of the year when I would not be there. I mostly gave them translations from the Greek books to work on. It was nice to able to plan activities for them even thuogh I would not be there to initiate them. I was confident they could do them themselves.
Thursday, May 21 - Today I called a Greek Club meeting so that I would be able to tell my students the plan for next year and say goodbye to them for the summer. It was to be the very last meeting of the school year and I made cookies to celebrate. We had the cookies and I told all my students that if they wanted to do Greek Club again next year that I would be organizing the schedual for it and I told them to twell me what days would be good for them at the begining of the next school year. I was very pleased with the way Greek Club turned out this year and I was very proud of myself for taking on the responsibility of teaching. I felt that I was successful in planning and initiating activities for the club even thuogh it was a difficult new challenge for me. I thuoght I did very well.
Greek Club
Thursday, February 12 - Being the leader of the Greek Club means you need to know how to assert your authority. Here is an example of me asserting the importance of recognizing verb forms.
Greek Club
Thursday, January 29 – Today I could not make it to Greek Club because I had a dermatologist appointment but I planned an activity for my students anyway and gave it to the other Greek teacher to give to them to de even though I would not be there. The activity was a translation of a passage I found in one of my Socrates books about politics and I thought my students would find it interesting. This way I would be able to initiate an activity for them to do even though I could not make it to class.
Thursday, February 5 – Today in Greek Club I we went over the translation my students had done at the last meeting. We went through it line by line and I corrected them on the mistakes they made and explained what was wrong. I thought they did very well with the translation and I was glad they were able to get it all done.
Greek Club
Thursday, January 22 - Greek leader, John Basile, and Greek alumni Laura Cottinauk discuss the geometry of Greece and how it has been affected by different historical events throughout time. This was a day for learning the history of ancient Greece to provide a context for the language.
Greek Club
Thursday, January 8 – We have not had Greek Club for the past few weeks due to the winter break. Today in Greek Club I planned a review for my students to do so that they could get back into the flow of doing Greek after the vacation. I gave them some exercises with verbs and nouns for them to conjugate and decline. I planned the activity so they would have about fifteen minutes to do the verbs and then fifteen more to do the nouns. Afterward we went over a review of the basics of grammar like sentence structure and word arrangement. Planning and initiating these activities has definitely been a challenge for me in Greek Club this year, but I am having fun doing it.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Softball
Monday, April 6 – Today I could not make it to softball practice because I had a piano lesson.
Tuesday, April 7 – Today we had our second game of the season and it went very well. Everyone showed improvement since the last time we had played and everyone did very well working together to get the ball to where it needed to go. We did not win the game but we did not lose by much either and all in all I would say it was pretty successful.
Wednesday, April 8 – Today we started practice with some stretching and then a jog. Then we threw the ball around and took the field for some game practice. We focused again on the mistakes we had made in the previous game and we worked to improve our skills for the next game.
Thursday, April 9 – Today we had out next game. We faced some difficulties this game we had not yet faced and it took a lot of effort to play it. we made a lot of mistakes and we were very frustrated. We did however win the game and that was good but it took us every last effort.
Friday, April 10 – there was no softball practice today because there was no school today.
Monday, April 13 – Today I could not make it to softball practice because I had a piano lesson.
Tuesday, April 14 – Today we started practice with stretches, a jog, and some catch. Then we broke the team up into infield and outfield and did some specific group work. I was put into the outfield because that was technically my other position on the team and they did not need a catcher for infield practice. We, the outfielders, practiced catching pop-up balls for the entire practice and we became very good at getting them.
Wednesday, April 15 – Today we started practice as usual with stretching, jogging, and catching. Then we prepared for the game we were going to have the next day by working in the filed for game practice and by making sure everyone got a chance t practice their batting. We took some time to think about the mistakes of the last game we had played and we were told to keep them in mind for the next game.
Thursday, April 16 – Today was another game. We played fairly well in this one although we were not excellent and we did not win the game. It was a bitter sweet experience because we lost but also because we played very well and everyone really put a lot of effort into the game.
Friday, April 17 – Today I could not make it to practice because I was leaving to go to Europe over the vacation. There will be no softball practice over this vacation.
Tuesday, April 28 – Today we started practice as usual by stretching, jogging around the field, and catching. Then we spent the rest of the practice preparing for the game we were going to play the next day. Some players worked in groups like infield and outfield and others worked on separate, specific things like the pitchers and I who worked on pitching and catching and discussed the use of hand signals during the game to indicate the nature of the following pitch.
Wednesday, April 29 – Today was another of our games. We did alright in this game. We made a few mistakes here and there but overall we worked well together and our skills were clearly improving. We did not win the game but it went fairly well.
Thursday, April 30 – Today we began practice with stretches and a jog and some catching. We then spent most of the practice working on diving and sliding. In diving we worked on landing on our bellies to get to the ball if it was a grounder that we thought might go past us. We learned how to properly dive without our knees getting in the way and it was very fun. We also worked on sliding on the bases. This was something everyone was having a little trouble with but by the end of the practice we had improved significantly at sliding for a base.
Friday, May 1 – Today we had another game. Once again we did not win but we did play well and we made significantly less mistakes than in previous games. Overall it was a decent game.
Monday, May 4 - Today I could not make it to softball practice because I had a piano lesson.
Tuesday, May 5 – Today we had yet another game and I did not do so well because I could not make it to the last practice. My playing was not horrible and I don’t think it coast us the game but needed to be improvised and I hoped the next practice would help me do that.
Wednesday, May 6 – Today we began practice as usual with stretches, jogging, and catching. Ten we did a little game practice. Then the coach pulled me aside and worked with me individually for the rest of the practice on how to better catch the ball. I worked on putting my knees down and jumping for the ball and I worked on some pop-ups. This individual practice was very helpful and I was very thankful to have it.
Thursday, May 7 – Today we had a game and I did much better than in the previous game. My catching was greatly improving and I felt more confident in my ability to play. The rest of team also did very well and we were able to win the game without too much difficulty.
Friday, May 8 – Softball practice was cancelled today do to rain.
Monday, May 11 – Today was another game for our softball team. We did alright in this game but we were clearly all very off in out playing. We made a few mistakes which cost us the game but we still put in a lot of effort.
Tuesday, May 12 – Today we had another game and although it was rough having two games in a row we actually did much better in this game than in out last one. We ended up winning the game and we were all very proud of ourselves for pulling it off.
Wednesday, May 13 - Today I could not make it to softball practice because I had a piano lesson.
Thursday, May 14 – Today we started practice with the usual stretches, jogging, and catching. Then we had a fairly normal practice of just working in the field on game practice and preparing for our next game which were to play the next day.
Friday, May 15 – Today we had another softball game and we played alright. We did not win the game but everyone showed commitment and effort for the game and we were glad for that. I felt satisfied that I had been very committed to the game and that I had given it all my energy and effort even though we did not win.
Monday, May 18 – Today we had another game and it will be our penultimate game of the season. The game went well but it was very clear that everyone on the team at this point was tired and worn out by the season and was looking foreword to the last game. We did not win but we played well and we did especially well in working together as a team to handle the ball correctly. It was a good game overall.
Tuesday, May 19 – Today was our last practice of the season and we enjoyed it as much as we could. We started with the normal routine of stretching, jogging, and catching. Then we did some game practice in the field and prepared for our final game. Afterwards we took some time to do some fun softball activities and competitions. Then we took some time to reminisce about the softball season and we all said what we felt we had achieved in it. I told the team that I felt we had all improved in working together and that I felt I had greatly improved in being a catcher and in being truly dedicated to the game. It was our most enjoyable practice.
Wednesday, May 20 – Today was our last game of the season and although we did not win it was not a bad end to the season. Despite our many mistakes in the game I felt at least for myself that this was the best game I had played all season and the coaches both said the same to me at the end of the game. I was very into the game and very dedicated and I gave it all I could. I also felt that even though we made many mistakes in the game the entire team worked well collaboratively and stuck it out till the end.
Tuesday, April 7 – Today we had our second game of the season and it went very well. Everyone showed improvement since the last time we had played and everyone did very well working together to get the ball to where it needed to go. We did not win the game but we did not lose by much either and all in all I would say it was pretty successful.
Wednesday, April 8 – Today we started practice with some stretching and then a jog. Then we threw the ball around and took the field for some game practice. We focused again on the mistakes we had made in the previous game and we worked to improve our skills for the next game.
Thursday, April 9 – Today we had out next game. We faced some difficulties this game we had not yet faced and it took a lot of effort to play it. we made a lot of mistakes and we were very frustrated. We did however win the game and that was good but it took us every last effort.
Friday, April 10 – there was no softball practice today because there was no school today.
Monday, April 13 – Today I could not make it to softball practice because I had a piano lesson.
Tuesday, April 14 – Today we started practice with stretches, a jog, and some catch. Then we broke the team up into infield and outfield and did some specific group work. I was put into the outfield because that was technically my other position on the team and they did not need a catcher for infield practice. We, the outfielders, practiced catching pop-up balls for the entire practice and we became very good at getting them.
Wednesday, April 15 – Today we started practice as usual with stretching, jogging, and catching. Then we prepared for the game we were going to have the next day by working in the filed for game practice and by making sure everyone got a chance t practice their batting. We took some time to think about the mistakes of the last game we had played and we were told to keep them in mind for the next game.
Thursday, April 16 – Today was another game. We played fairly well in this one although we were not excellent and we did not win the game. It was a bitter sweet experience because we lost but also because we played very well and everyone really put a lot of effort into the game.
Friday, April 17 – Today I could not make it to practice because I was leaving to go to Europe over the vacation. There will be no softball practice over this vacation.
Tuesday, April 28 – Today we started practice as usual by stretching, jogging around the field, and catching. Then we spent the rest of the practice preparing for the game we were going to play the next day. Some players worked in groups like infield and outfield and others worked on separate, specific things like the pitchers and I who worked on pitching and catching and discussed the use of hand signals during the game to indicate the nature of the following pitch.
Wednesday, April 29 – Today was another of our games. We did alright in this game. We made a few mistakes here and there but overall we worked well together and our skills were clearly improving. We did not win the game but it went fairly well.
Thursday, April 30 – Today we began practice with stretches and a jog and some catching. We then spent most of the practice working on diving and sliding. In diving we worked on landing on our bellies to get to the ball if it was a grounder that we thought might go past us. We learned how to properly dive without our knees getting in the way and it was very fun. We also worked on sliding on the bases. This was something everyone was having a little trouble with but by the end of the practice we had improved significantly at sliding for a base.
Friday, May 1 – Today we had another game. Once again we did not win but we did play well and we made significantly less mistakes than in previous games. Overall it was a decent game.
Monday, May 4 - Today I could not make it to softball practice because I had a piano lesson.
Tuesday, May 5 – Today we had yet another game and I did not do so well because I could not make it to the last practice. My playing was not horrible and I don’t think it coast us the game but needed to be improvised and I hoped the next practice would help me do that.
Wednesday, May 6 – Today we began practice as usual with stretches, jogging, and catching. Ten we did a little game practice. Then the coach pulled me aside and worked with me individually for the rest of the practice on how to better catch the ball. I worked on putting my knees down and jumping for the ball and I worked on some pop-ups. This individual practice was very helpful and I was very thankful to have it.
Thursday, May 7 – Today we had a game and I did much better than in the previous game. My catching was greatly improving and I felt more confident in my ability to play. The rest of team also did very well and we were able to win the game without too much difficulty.
Friday, May 8 – Softball practice was cancelled today do to rain.
Monday, May 11 – Today was another game for our softball team. We did alright in this game but we were clearly all very off in out playing. We made a few mistakes which cost us the game but we still put in a lot of effort.
Tuesday, May 12 – Today we had another game and although it was rough having two games in a row we actually did much better in this game than in out last one. We ended up winning the game and we were all very proud of ourselves for pulling it off.
Wednesday, May 13 - Today I could not make it to softball practice because I had a piano lesson.
Thursday, May 14 – Today we started practice with the usual stretches, jogging, and catching. Then we had a fairly normal practice of just working in the field on game practice and preparing for our next game which were to play the next day.
Friday, May 15 – Today we had another softball game and we played alright. We did not win the game but everyone showed commitment and effort for the game and we were glad for that. I felt satisfied that I had been very committed to the game and that I had given it all my energy and effort even though we did not win.
Monday, May 18 – Today we had another game and it will be our penultimate game of the season. The game went well but it was very clear that everyone on the team at this point was tired and worn out by the season and was looking foreword to the last game. We did not win but we played well and we did especially well in working together as a team to handle the ball correctly. It was a good game overall.
Tuesday, May 19 – Today was our last practice of the season and we enjoyed it as much as we could. We started with the normal routine of stretching, jogging, and catching. Then we did some game practice in the field and prepared for our final game. Afterwards we took some time to do some fun softball activities and competitions. Then we took some time to reminisce about the softball season and we all said what we felt we had achieved in it. I told the team that I felt we had all improved in working together and that I felt I had greatly improved in being a catcher and in being truly dedicated to the game. It was our most enjoyable practice.
Wednesday, May 20 – Today was our last game of the season and although we did not win it was not a bad end to the season. Despite our many mistakes in the game I felt at least for myself that this was the best game I had played all season and the coaches both said the same to me at the end of the game. I was very into the game and very dedicated and I gave it all I could. I also felt that even though we made many mistakes in the game the entire team worked well collaboratively and stuck it out till the end.
Piano
Sunday, March 29 – Today the school action was held and I played Moonlight Sonata for the entertainment section. I felt I did very well and that it showed of the new skills I had learned in playing and how much my playing had improved.
Monday, April 6 – Today we started the piano lesson by practicing some scales and one of the exercises from the Hannon book. Then my teacher had me work on some arpeggios to help me stretch my fingers out. I found that I was really beginning to develop new skills as a piano player because I was able to play something like arpeggios with hardly any difficulty at all. After I was warmed up my teacher had me play the Baroque piece that she had given me previously. I did alright on it but it still needed a lot of work and we decided I should continue improving it. I then played through Moonlight Sonata and it was clear that I was becoming better at it.
Monday, April 13 – Today we began the lesson with the usual scales and exercises from Hannon. My teacher said I should move on to doing a different scale and a new Hannon exercise and so I moved to the B flat minor scale. Then I played the Baroque piece I had been assigned and I did very well with it. This was because I had dedicated myself to the piece in the last week and I had really committed myself to finishing it. I did finish and my teacher gave me a new piece by Bach to practice. We then moved on to the Charley Brown song and I played it fairly well although my teacher said I still needed to do some work on it. Then we ended the lesson with Moonlight Sonata which I played through fully with few mistakes. I will not make it to the next few piano lessons because I am leaving to go to Europe over the upcoming vacation.
Monday, May 4 - Today we started piano with the scale I had worked on before I had left for Europe. My teacher said the scale was fine and we moved on to the E flat minor scale. Then I played some arpeggios and did an exercise from the Hannon book. Afterward I played some of the Charley Brown song I had been working on and my teacher said it still needed to improve. My teacher showed me specifically what it was I was doing wrong by playing the rhythm of the piece correctly and showing how I had played it differently. Then we worked more on Moonlight sonata and my teacher said it was still improving.
Wednesday, May 13 - Today I began my lesson with the scale I had previously been assigned and my teacher said to keep it for the next lesson because it still needed some work. Afterward my teacher had me run through the two pieces I had been working on so that she could get to assigning me a new piece to work on. First I played the Charley Brown piece and it sounded pretty good. Then I played Moonlight Sonata all the way through and I was able to do it without difficulty. Then my teacher assigned me a new piece which was another Bach song. We worked on sight reading the piece for the rest of the lesson and then I took it home to work on. I will not have another piano lesson for about two weeks because my teacher is going away on a trip.
Thursday, May 28 – Today my piano lesson began as usual; by playing the scale I had previously been assigned and then by playing an exercise from the Hannon book. My teacher told me to go ahead and perfect the scale and the exercise for our next lesson because it would be our last lesson before summer break. I then played the three songs I had been working on. First was the Bach song I had recently been assigned, then the Charley Brown song was next, and then Moonlight Sonata. My teacher pointed out some mistakes I had made in the rhythm and then told me to continue with the pieces as usual.
Wednesday, June 3 – Today was my last piano lesson before the summer break. For this lesson I played through everything I had been working on starting with my scale and Hannon piece. I successfully played both these things and I was glad I had acquired the skills to be able to do so without difficulty. Then I played thruogh the three pieces I had. I first played the Bach piece and my teacher said it was perfect and that I had defiantly mastered it. Then I played through the Charlie Brown piece and Moonlight Sonata and although neither were perfect my teacher said I could easily complete them on my own. I was glad that my commitment to my playing had really paid off in helping me complete the pieces I wanted to play.
Monday, April 6 – Today we started the piano lesson by practicing some scales and one of the exercises from the Hannon book. Then my teacher had me work on some arpeggios to help me stretch my fingers out. I found that I was really beginning to develop new skills as a piano player because I was able to play something like arpeggios with hardly any difficulty at all. After I was warmed up my teacher had me play the Baroque piece that she had given me previously. I did alright on it but it still needed a lot of work and we decided I should continue improving it. I then played through Moonlight Sonata and it was clear that I was becoming better at it.
Monday, April 13 – Today we began the lesson with the usual scales and exercises from Hannon. My teacher said I should move on to doing a different scale and a new Hannon exercise and so I moved to the B flat minor scale. Then I played the Baroque piece I had been assigned and I did very well with it. This was because I had dedicated myself to the piece in the last week and I had really committed myself to finishing it. I did finish and my teacher gave me a new piece by Bach to practice. We then moved on to the Charley Brown song and I played it fairly well although my teacher said I still needed to do some work on it. Then we ended the lesson with Moonlight Sonata which I played through fully with few mistakes. I will not make it to the next few piano lessons because I am leaving to go to Europe over the upcoming vacation.
Monday, May 4 - Today we started piano with the scale I had worked on before I had left for Europe. My teacher said the scale was fine and we moved on to the E flat minor scale. Then I played some arpeggios and did an exercise from the Hannon book. Afterward I played some of the Charley Brown song I had been working on and my teacher said it still needed to improve. My teacher showed me specifically what it was I was doing wrong by playing the rhythm of the piece correctly and showing how I had played it differently. Then we worked more on Moonlight sonata and my teacher said it was still improving.
Wednesday, May 13 - Today I began my lesson with the scale I had previously been assigned and my teacher said to keep it for the next lesson because it still needed some work. Afterward my teacher had me run through the two pieces I had been working on so that she could get to assigning me a new piece to work on. First I played the Charley Brown piece and it sounded pretty good. Then I played Moonlight Sonata all the way through and I was able to do it without difficulty. Then my teacher assigned me a new piece which was another Bach song. We worked on sight reading the piece for the rest of the lesson and then I took it home to work on. I will not have another piano lesson for about two weeks because my teacher is going away on a trip.
Thursday, May 28 – Today my piano lesson began as usual; by playing the scale I had previously been assigned and then by playing an exercise from the Hannon book. My teacher told me to go ahead and perfect the scale and the exercise for our next lesson because it would be our last lesson before summer break. I then played the three songs I had been working on. First was the Bach song I had recently been assigned, then the Charley Brown song was next, and then Moonlight Sonata. My teacher pointed out some mistakes I had made in the rhythm and then told me to continue with the pieces as usual.
Wednesday, June 3 – Today was my last piano lesson before the summer break. For this lesson I played through everything I had been working on starting with my scale and Hannon piece. I successfully played both these things and I was glad I had acquired the skills to be able to do so without difficulty. Then I played thruogh the three pieces I had. I first played the Bach piece and my teacher said it was perfect and that I had defiantly mastered it. Then I played through the Charlie Brown piece and Moonlight Sonata and although neither were perfect my teacher said I could easily complete them on my own. I was glad that my commitment to my playing had really paid off in helping me complete the pieces I wanted to play.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Softball
Monday, March 16 – Today was the first practice of the softball season. We didn’t do a lot of practicing because it was really a day for the players to get to know each other. We all introduced ourselves although most of us already knew each other and the coaches introduced themselves. We talked about our plans for the season and what our goals would be. The coaches also discussed what the rules and expectations were for everyone on the team. They said that we were expected to be devoted to the game and come to every practice unless we had something more important to do. I felt I was prepared to accept these responsibilities and I was eager to get started with the season.
Tuesday, March 17 – Today in softball we decided who was going to play what position for the season. I was chosen to be the catcher because the original catcher was now playing third base and pitching and I was the only other player with any catching experience. I was very nervous though because I had never really played the position on such an intense team before and I knew it was going to be a real challenge for me. We spent the day mostly practicing throwing and catching with each other.
Wednesday, March 18 – Today in softball we set up a schedule of how our practices would most likely go. It started with stretching and then a jog around the field. Then we warmed our arms up by throwing to each other. After that we took the field and did some game practice. It was decided that that would be out regular routine for practices.
Thursday, March 19 – Today we went through the routine we had previously agreed on for practice. The coaches made critical comments on how our throws were and talked about the basics of playing softball and the skills it required.
Friday, March 20 – I could not make it to softball practice today because I had a piano lesson.
Monday, March 23 – I could not make it to softball practice today because I had a piano lesson.
Tuesday, March 24 – Today at practice we began by stretching and taking a jog around the field. Then we warmed our arms up by throwing to each other. Afterword we did some game practice and we talked about specific game situations and what we would have to do on the field if they happened. We tried playing out the different situations and we did very well with them.
Wednesday, March 25 – Today at practice we began with stretches, a jog, and warming up our arms by throwing to each other. Then we did a little game practice on the field. Afterward we worked specifically on base running and we were timed to see how fast we could get to first base. I had the second fastest time on the team and I was very happy about that.
Thursday, March 26 – Today we started practice by stretching and jogging around the field. Then we threw to each other to warm up and we practiced on the field. We again went over certain game situations and played them out on the field to see how well we could work together to get the ball to where it needed to go. We did very well and I thought we worked collaboratively together.
Friday, March 27 – I could not make it to softball today because I went to visit Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a college tour.
Monday, 30 – Today we started by practice with stretching and jogging round the field. Then we warmed our arms up and took the field. We practiced specific game situations for a while and then we sent some people in for batting practice while others remained in the field. I stayed in the field because I was the only catcher.
Tuesday, 31 – Today we could not go to the filed because it was raining too hard and the filed was flooded. So instead we stayed inside the school and went over game situations. We did this by drawing the situations out on the board and discussing what we would have to do during them. We were also given time to ask specific questions we had about the game or the season. I asked what my responsibilities were as a catcher and the coaches told me it was my job to know what was going on at all times in the game so that I could direct the other players.
Wednesday, April 1 – Today we started practice with stretches and a jog around the field. Then we warmed up our arms with catching. Then we took the field for some routine game practice. We were informed that we would be plating our first game the next day and that because of that we were going to spend all of practice talking about specific gamer situations and playing them out.
Thursday, April 2 – Today was our first game. It was a home game and I was glad because I wanted to play on a filed I was familiar with. I was a little worried about how I was going to do in the game but I ended up playing very well and we won the game. The coaches said I was doing fine as a catcher.
Friday, April 3 – Today we began practice by stretching and jogging. Then we warmed our arms up and took the field. The whole practice was spent working out any issues we had had in the game the day before. We improved greatly at getting to the ball faster and working together to get it in to where it needed to go. Overall I thought we did very well.
Tuesday, March 17 – Today in softball we decided who was going to play what position for the season. I was chosen to be the catcher because the original catcher was now playing third base and pitching and I was the only other player with any catching experience. I was very nervous though because I had never really played the position on such an intense team before and I knew it was going to be a real challenge for me. We spent the day mostly practicing throwing and catching with each other.
Wednesday, March 18 – Today in softball we set up a schedule of how our practices would most likely go. It started with stretching and then a jog around the field. Then we warmed our arms up by throwing to each other. After that we took the field and did some game practice. It was decided that that would be out regular routine for practices.
Thursday, March 19 – Today we went through the routine we had previously agreed on for practice. The coaches made critical comments on how our throws were and talked about the basics of playing softball and the skills it required.
Friday, March 20 – I could not make it to softball practice today because I had a piano lesson.
Monday, March 23 – I could not make it to softball practice today because I had a piano lesson.
Tuesday, March 24 – Today at practice we began by stretching and taking a jog around the field. Then we warmed our arms up by throwing to each other. Afterword we did some game practice and we talked about specific game situations and what we would have to do on the field if they happened. We tried playing out the different situations and we did very well with them.
Wednesday, March 25 – Today at practice we began with stretches, a jog, and warming up our arms by throwing to each other. Then we did a little game practice on the field. Afterward we worked specifically on base running and we were timed to see how fast we could get to first base. I had the second fastest time on the team and I was very happy about that.
Thursday, March 26 – Today we started practice by stretching and jogging around the field. Then we threw to each other to warm up and we practiced on the field. We again went over certain game situations and played them out on the field to see how well we could work together to get the ball to where it needed to go. We did very well and I thought we worked collaboratively together.
Friday, March 27 – I could not make it to softball today because I went to visit Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a college tour.
Monday, 30 – Today we started by practice with stretching and jogging round the field. Then we warmed our arms up and took the field. We practiced specific game situations for a while and then we sent some people in for batting practice while others remained in the field. I stayed in the field because I was the only catcher.
Tuesday, 31 – Today we could not go to the filed because it was raining too hard and the filed was flooded. So instead we stayed inside the school and went over game situations. We did this by drawing the situations out on the board and discussing what we would have to do during them. We were also given time to ask specific questions we had about the game or the season. I asked what my responsibilities were as a catcher and the coaches told me it was my job to know what was going on at all times in the game so that I could direct the other players.
Wednesday, April 1 – Today we started practice with stretches and a jog around the field. Then we warmed up our arms with catching. Then we took the field for some routine game practice. We were informed that we would be plating our first game the next day and that because of that we were going to spend all of practice talking about specific gamer situations and playing them out.
Thursday, April 2 – Today was our first game. It was a home game and I was glad because I wanted to play on a filed I was familiar with. I was a little worried about how I was going to do in the game but I ended up playing very well and we won the game. The coaches said I was doing fine as a catcher.
Friday, April 3 – Today we began practice by stretching and jogging. Then we warmed our arms up and took the field. The whole practice was spent working out any issues we had had in the game the day before. We improved greatly at getting to the ball faster and working together to get it in to where it needed to go. Overall I thought we did very well.
Karate
Saturday, March 28 – Today in class we followed the usual schedule of stretches, then one steps, then wrist grabs, and finally working individually on our forms. However at the end of class we did something a little bit different than usual. We took a few minutes at the end to have a group discussion about what our goals and motivations are in doing karate. Everyone in the group got a chance to talk and most of them said they were doing karate in order to get in shape or at least keep themselves active. When it was my turn I admitted that I did karate for these reasons too but that the more important reason I did karate was because it taught me self control and self respect and because I believed it helped me to consider my actions more thoroughly before I pursue them in terms of how ethical they are. I really enjoyed the conversation and I thought it was very relevant to the goals of CAS and what I am trying to achieve in the program.
Tuesday, March 31 – Today at the beginning of karate class we tried some new, more difficult stretches. They stretched some muscles we had never really paid attention to before and the instructor stressed to us how important it was to consider all the muscles in your body to achieve greater flexibility. Throughout the rest of the class everyone found it easier to perform the karate moves we were working on because of how we had stretched at the beginning. It was especially easier to do our forms because we paid particular attention to out legs and they were flexible enough to kick and block without any strain.
Saturday, April 4 – Today at the beginning of class we celebrated the instructor’s birthday with some cake and a card that everyone signed. The instructor was very surprised and we were all very happy that his birthday was going so well. Then we resumed the regular schedule for class although everyone was having a little trouble keeping to the schedule because we were all full from the cake and doing the physical activities made us feel a little queasy.
Tuesday, April 7 – Today was a regular karate class. We began by stretching out and we used some of the new stretches we had recently learned. Then we broke up by rank and did our forms. Then we did wrist grabs and one steps. However, at the end of class we got a chance to spare with each other. Sparing is my favorite activity to do in karate class because it is the most thrilling and enjoyable thing we do, and I had a lot of fun doing it.
Saturday, April 11 – Today was my last day of karate class until the beginning of the next school year because I am starting softball soon and it would interfere with karate if I continued with it, and by the time I finish softball it will be summer and I do not do karate in the summer. It was a normal class and we followed the normal schedule of stretching, forms, wrist grabs, and one steps. I will miss attending karate and I cant wait to come back next year.
Tuesday, March 31 – Today at the beginning of karate class we tried some new, more difficult stretches. They stretched some muscles we had never really paid attention to before and the instructor stressed to us how important it was to consider all the muscles in your body to achieve greater flexibility. Throughout the rest of the class everyone found it easier to perform the karate moves we were working on because of how we had stretched at the beginning. It was especially easier to do our forms because we paid particular attention to out legs and they were flexible enough to kick and block without any strain.
Saturday, April 4 – Today at the beginning of class we celebrated the instructor’s birthday with some cake and a card that everyone signed. The instructor was very surprised and we were all very happy that his birthday was going so well. Then we resumed the regular schedule for class although everyone was having a little trouble keeping to the schedule because we were all full from the cake and doing the physical activities made us feel a little queasy.
Tuesday, April 7 – Today was a regular karate class. We began by stretching out and we used some of the new stretches we had recently learned. Then we broke up by rank and did our forms. Then we did wrist grabs and one steps. However, at the end of class we got a chance to spare with each other. Sparing is my favorite activity to do in karate class because it is the most thrilling and enjoyable thing we do, and I had a lot of fun doing it.
Saturday, April 11 – Today was my last day of karate class until the beginning of the next school year because I am starting softball soon and it would interfere with karate if I continued with it, and by the time I finish softball it will be summer and I do not do karate in the summer. It was a normal class and we followed the normal schedule of stretching, forms, wrist grabs, and one steps. I will miss attending karate and I cant wait to come back next year.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Creative Writting Club
Thursday, April 2 – Creative Writing is being continued after the short break we had do to the ending of the quarter. Again not many people have shown up for the meeting so we again read a short poem and made some comments on it. We focused mainly on the use of symbolism in the poem and how it affects the construction of the poem. This was very interesting to me because I had never really thought about how the mechanics of a poem or a story could affect the way it is structured and the style in which it is presented. It was a new way for me to look at writing and it was a new skill that I could consider using in my own writing.
Thursday, April 9 – Today in the Creative Writing meeting people finally began to show up and we almost had everyone there. We took the club picture for the year book and then a few people had to leave for other things. The remaining people in the meeting discussed what our plans would be for the few meetings we had left for the rest of the school year. We threw some ideas out like continuing with what we had been doing, stopping early, or trying something new like reading poems from outside the club. We decided to make the final decision after the upcoming break and we were reminded that we would not be meeting for the next to weeks because of it.
Thursday, April 30 – We are resuming Creative Writing club after the break we just had and we are going to decide what to do with the remaining time we have to meet for this school year. Today we discussed the possibility of a spring edition of the literary journal. We said that it could only be possible if enough people submitted work to be published in the book and if they were willing to revise their work a few times before handing in the final draft. I volunteered to try and get my short story in the journal because it did not make it in last time. Writing that story had caused me to become aware of the strengths I possessed as a writer and also the weaknesses and I was very willing to try and improve both of those.
Thursday, May 7 – Today we are beginning the preparations for trying to create the spring edition of the literary journal. We will start by recruiting writers for the journal and then we will see if we have enough material for the journal. We created an announcement to put in the announcements at school so that everyone will know they can submit their work if they want to. Next week we will decide if we have enough material to create the literary journal.
Thursday, May 14 – Today we are going to decide if we have enough material to create a second edition of the literary journal for the spring. We reviewed the material we had and we realized that there really wasn’t enough for us to put something together. Not enough people had submitted work so we decided that we try again next year and make a winter edition of the literary journal like we had done previously. We were disappointed that we could not do the journal but we did not let it get us down because there was always next year. We were then told that a professional poet was coming to the school next week to do a presentation on poetry and instead of meeting on Thursday we would meet on Friday of next week to see the presentation together and we were also told that it would be our last Creative Writing club meeting of the year.
Friday, May 22 – Today for Creative Writing the members of the club went to see the presentation on poetry by the professional poet who was visiting the school. The poet’s name was Greg Hischak and his presentation consisted of some of his own works which he read to us and some poetry exercises which were suppose to help stimulate our creative minds. I really enjoyed his poetry and I felt lucky to be able to hear him read them in the way he thought they should be read. His style of writing was really unique and not like the stereotypical poet which is why I think I really liked it. I also enjoyed the exercises he had us do because I felt like I learned a lot I didn’t know about writing poetry from them. They helped to show me that almost anything can sound like poetry and that it is not that hard to write but what’s hard is putting meaning behind the words you write and making them come to life. I felt like I learned a lot about writing from Greg’s presentation and it helped me realize some of my own strengths and weaknesses as a writer. One of the most important things I learned from his visit however was how to remain calm when reading or writing poetry because no poem and no one is perfect and as long as you are trying your best that is all that matters.
Thursday, April 9 – Today in the Creative Writing meeting people finally began to show up and we almost had everyone there. We took the club picture for the year book and then a few people had to leave for other things. The remaining people in the meeting discussed what our plans would be for the few meetings we had left for the rest of the school year. We threw some ideas out like continuing with what we had been doing, stopping early, or trying something new like reading poems from outside the club. We decided to make the final decision after the upcoming break and we were reminded that we would not be meeting for the next to weeks because of it.
Thursday, April 30 – We are resuming Creative Writing club after the break we just had and we are going to decide what to do with the remaining time we have to meet for this school year. Today we discussed the possibility of a spring edition of the literary journal. We said that it could only be possible if enough people submitted work to be published in the book and if they were willing to revise their work a few times before handing in the final draft. I volunteered to try and get my short story in the journal because it did not make it in last time. Writing that story had caused me to become aware of the strengths I possessed as a writer and also the weaknesses and I was very willing to try and improve both of those.
Thursday, May 7 – Today we are beginning the preparations for trying to create the spring edition of the literary journal. We will start by recruiting writers for the journal and then we will see if we have enough material for the journal. We created an announcement to put in the announcements at school so that everyone will know they can submit their work if they want to. Next week we will decide if we have enough material to create the literary journal.
Thursday, May 14 – Today we are going to decide if we have enough material to create a second edition of the literary journal for the spring. We reviewed the material we had and we realized that there really wasn’t enough for us to put something together. Not enough people had submitted work so we decided that we try again next year and make a winter edition of the literary journal like we had done previously. We were disappointed that we could not do the journal but we did not let it get us down because there was always next year. We were then told that a professional poet was coming to the school next week to do a presentation on poetry and instead of meeting on Thursday we would meet on Friday of next week to see the presentation together and we were also told that it would be our last Creative Writing club meeting of the year.
Friday, May 22 – Today for Creative Writing the members of the club went to see the presentation on poetry by the professional poet who was visiting the school. The poet’s name was Greg Hischak and his presentation consisted of some of his own works which he read to us and some poetry exercises which were suppose to help stimulate our creative minds. I really enjoyed his poetry and I felt lucky to be able to hear him read them in the way he thought they should be read. His style of writing was really unique and not like the stereotypical poet which is why I think I really liked it. I also enjoyed the exercises he had us do because I felt like I learned a lot I didn’t know about writing poetry from them. They helped to show me that almost anything can sound like poetry and that it is not that hard to write but what’s hard is putting meaning behind the words you write and making them come to life. I felt like I learned a lot about writing from Greg’s presentation and it helped me realize some of my own strengths and weaknesses as a writer. One of the most important things I learned from his visit however was how to remain calm when reading or writing poetry because no poem and no one is perfect and as long as you are trying your best that is all that matters.
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