My first reaction to figuring out that we had a freshman retreat and that we would be working all day was not a good one. How were we supposed to bond if we were planting trees and plants the entire day. When I should up to school on Friday it was freezing. At least I was prepared I wore my sweatpants over my nikes and brought a light jacket. To be honest I wasn't extremely thrilled with the fact we would be with our advisories the entire day; since we were going to be stuck with our advisories the next four years of high school anyway. The bus ride to Greenwood Park was not pleasant, there weren't enough seats on the bus so we had to triple. It was a good thing I wasn't on the aisle otherwise I would be halfway on the seat and gripping on tightly so I wouldn't slide off.
When we got to park my advisory joined with other advisories and we got started on making our own nature trail. We had to cut down small trees, trim excess branches, and rake the pathway. It was actually kind of fun, but I think I probably did a lot more talking than work. Surprisingly I wasn't a fan of the activity most people enjoyed...canoeing. Our job in the canoe was to paddle to the banks of the lake and pick up the trash. No one in our canoe was that experience and we really didn't know where we were headed. Well for starters we couldn't see that much trash, but after about 15 minutes I spotted a beer can floating in the lake. The can was stuck behind some big branches and we didn't want to risk getting stuck, so we moved on. While paddling we were headed toward this weird mushroom- like floating plant, and I thought it was a turtle so a screamed stop we're going to run over a turtle. Of course it wasn't a turtle just a piece of floating algae. Then, we realized we should come back to shore with at least on piece of trash so we turned around, but someone had already retrieved our can. So we paddled until I saw another can. As we were paddling to approach the can we ran straight into the tree branches and they flew towards my face. I wanted to lean out of the way, but that risked flipping over, so i resisted. As Alissa reached for the Sprite can with her alligator clippers a flying fish jumped out of the water. Alissa and I totally freaked and screamed. Everyone near us gave us strange looks. One guy was like it is a lake there are going to be fish. The can of Sprite bobbed up and down in the water. Alissa attempted again to retrieve the can but failed as she was lifting it out of the water. The can dropped down and we had lost the can. Annie was like come on guys we're not going to find it; but I said we had to come back with at least one piece of trash. Well we never found the can and once we reached the shore we sprinted to the trash can so no one could tell we didn't have any trash. Long story short, the retreat was definitely not what I expected.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Reading Log and Personal Questions
The Return By Ngugi Wa Thiong'o
10/8- 45 min
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
pp. 73 - 136
10/9- 30 min
10/11- 60 min
10/13- 30 min
Total- 165 min
Personal Questions:
What genres do I enjoy most and why?
What makes me want to read a book?
How do authors create relationships?
What is the difference between love and friendship?
10/8- 45 min
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
pp. 73 - 136
10/9- 30 min
10/11- 60 min
10/13- 30 min
Total- 165 min
Personal Questions:
What genres do I enjoy most and why?
What makes me want to read a book?
How do authors create relationships?
What is the difference between love and friendship?
Monday, October 7, 2013
Reading Log: 9/30 - 10/6
And of Clay We Are Created By Isabel Allende, translated by Margaret Sayers Peden
pp. 1-12
9/30- 40 min
The Girls in Their Summer Dresses By Irwin Shaw
pp. 93- 101
10/1- 45 min
Waltz of The Fat Man By Alberto Alvaro Rios
pp. 85 -91
10/2- 50 min
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
pp. 38-72
10/3- 90 min
Total 225 min
pp. 1-12
9/30- 40 min
The Girls in Their Summer Dresses By Irwin Shaw
pp. 93- 101
10/1- 45 min
Waltz of The Fat Man By Alberto Alvaro Rios
pp. 85 -91
10/2- 50 min
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
pp. 38-72
10/3- 90 min
Total 225 min
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Blog Comments
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Monday, September 30, 2013
Reading Log and Short Story Response
I like how we have been working on short stories in class. Most of the stories are interesting, but some points in the story are hard to comprehend. My favorite short story was "To Da- Duh, in Memoriam", because the author did a good job depicting the characters. I enjoyed how I could imagine the characters physical and emotional pictures, in my head. My least favorite story was "Dry September", because it was about segregation and I didn't like the terminology used.
I thought class discussions on the short stories was very productive. You could compare your annotations with someone else and pick up on details you missed. Also other classmates could have different interpretations of the writing and meaning of the story. Class discussions helped me fully understand the story and answered questions about parts in the story I didn't understand. Annotating with a different literary element focus each night help develop my understanding of the elements. Overall working with short stories has been enjoyable.
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
9/24 45 min
pp. 53-56
Dry September
9/26- 60 min
pp. 21-32
Picture Perfect by D. Anne Love
9/27- 60 min
pp 1-94
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
9/28- 90 min
pp. 3-37
Total- 255 min
Monday, September 23, 2013
Reading Log and Response 9/17- 9/23: Sphinx's Queen
Sphinx's Queen by Esther Frieser is an interesting way of describing the unknown childhood of Queen Nefertiti. Sphinx's Queen is the second book after Sphinx's Princess in the series. I enjoy how Frieser is able to convert a boring historical topic into an action packed historical fiction book. She has a other series that refer to famous women's childhoods like Helen of Sparta in Nobody's Princess. I like how she is able to be creative in expanding on historical life and make the book seem like a fiction novel. Sphinx's Queen is an excellent read for people that like books with little twist, that keep them up all night reading.
Nefertiti is portrayed as brave, very beautiful, and slightly sensitive. Throughout the book Nefertiti challenges and attacks on others in battles that she is unsure she can win. Many people call her pretty, want to marry her for her beauty or are jealous of her beauty. She is sensitive to Thutmose when he tries to starve himself to death; even though he tried to kill her. She also loves to help others in need. Nefertiti is committed to her friends and even sets them free. Nefertiti has a fear of being alone and her aunt tells everyone not to speak with her. Read Sphinx's Queen to take a journey into Egypt and explore Nefertiti's world and surroundings.
Sphinx's Queen
9/17- 120 min., 9/18- 60 min., 9/19- 120 min. 9/20- 30 min.
pp. 1-347
Harrison Bergeron
9/17- 30 min.
pp.124-
Da-duh in Memoriam
9/19- 45 min.
pp.57-65
A&P
9/21- 25 min.
pp.119-123
Total: 430 min.
Nefertiti is portrayed as brave, very beautiful, and slightly sensitive. Throughout the book Nefertiti challenges and attacks on others in battles that she is unsure she can win. Many people call her pretty, want to marry her for her beauty or are jealous of her beauty. She is sensitive to Thutmose when he tries to starve himself to death; even though he tried to kill her. She also loves to help others in need. Nefertiti is committed to her friends and even sets them free. Nefertiti has a fear of being alone and her aunt tells everyone not to speak with her. Read Sphinx's Queen to take a journey into Egypt and explore Nefertiti's world and surroundings.
Sphinx's Queen
9/17- 120 min., 9/18- 60 min., 9/19- 120 min. 9/20- 30 min.
pp. 1-347
Harrison Bergeron
9/17- 30 min.
pp.124-
Da-duh in Memoriam
9/19- 45 min.
pp.57-65
A&P
9/21- 25 min.
pp.119-123
Total: 430 min.
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