President Rap

ADA Carnival

Hosting a carnival for two years in a row is an eye-opening experience. The sheer chaos of the first time made the planning of the second festival much more in-depth and thought out.  From the first spark of an idea to the finishing touches of decoration, scheming a community fundraiser is more than meets the eye. It's important to make sure there is nothing overlooked, not even the smallest detail. Failing to fill a small crack in the master plan could be the thing that's makes all of the work crumble. Last year, for instance, a few things could have been better.

The excitement could be felt by everyone in the room when Kati announced the proposal. We were all ecstatic by the end of that day, but as the weeks went on, closer and closer to the carnival, the reality of it all really settled in among us. People began to doubt, slack-off, and give up. They simply did not care to give the effort for something they thought no one would show up to. Even I began doubting if my work was really worth it. The reality came crashing down on us all the week of the carnival. It's safe to say Kati had very high stress levels during that time.

Thankfully, the advisors of the academy helped lend a hand or a gentle push where needed. Maybe they had doubts, too, but no one showed it. The students, on the other hand, had begun bringing in game supplies and mountains of prizes. I could forget about getting any work done, with all of us focused solely on the questionable day. The room was an utter mess the day of the carnival.

This year though, there was a much better plan. It felt much different approaching the carnival this time because of what we already knew decided to divide and conquered, each of the 7 heads taking leadership in one of the groups. These groups dealt with specific factors of the carnival, all equally important, though, in the success. I was the head of the donations and sponsorship group, in charge of getting item donations from companies and money sponsorships for money where it was needed. Personally, I think my group did a good job at the tasks I assigned and the system overall really took the weight off of leaders' shoulders and spread it equally on everyone.

This time, as the carnival grew nearer, we all stayed calm. Maybe we stayed too calm because, taking it slow as we were, the date crept up on us. By the time February came around, we had all but forgotten our carnival tasks. Not nearly ready enough, we made the decision to postpone. This had a massive effect on our confidence. It made the rest of the planning a drag. But, we continued planning, having meetings and assigning tasks, down to the last minute when the day finally came.

It was full of excitement and anticipation. We had really prepared, but thought as though we had missed something. Come night, though, the carnival flowed with ease. We were running the games and having a great time doing it. Personally, running the dunk tank, I saw a truly good time happening with all of the  people. Tickets were flying in faster than I could take them and there was never a slow moment. I was relieved by the success  of the night, but also a bit nervous, because then came the tell-tale moment.

Our goal was to raise 2,000 dollars for the ADA. Sadly, we did not reach that goal. The carnival raised about 1,500 dollars, around the same as last year. We were glad, though, about the success of the overall carnival. We gained lots of real-world skills, both that night and for planning it , and had raised quite a large amount of money, even if it wasn't as much as we wanted. Most importantly, we felt like we gave the community a fun time, and that's what a carnival is about.

Brazil Website

Copy and paste this link to your url to learn about the 5 themes of geography of Brazil on my Weebly:

http://5themesofbrazil.weebly.com/

There are lots of cool pictures so please check it out and leave comments here!

Safe and Sound

Author's note: This was inspired by E.E. Cummings' r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-g-r  poem (which I saw on Mai's blog), but I am using the words from the song "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift off the Hunger Games soundtrack. I did use Cummings' style a little more modestly though, this just being a fun piece. These aren't my original words, so I can't really call this my own, but I had fun using this style, so tell me what you think!

~

I

Remember

Tears

Streaming

Down

Your

Face

{When I said I'll never let you go}

When  all those shadows almost killed your light

I remember you said

Don't leave me here 

¦Alone¦

      But all that's

dead and gone  and past>>>>>>>>tonight.

Just close your eyes.

The sun is going down.

You'll be alright.

    O         N          C     N            U     T         O          N     W

N         O     E           A           H      R         Y     U          O

Come morning light,

     yOU and i'LL

         be

|safe and sound|

             ~

Don't you dare look out your  win        dow,

         Darlin', everything's on *fire*

Th-e  w-ar  outsi-de  ou-r  d-oor  ke-eps  ragin-g  o-n

Hold      on

To       this

 Lullaby

            

                          >music's<

                        ^            ^

                      ^                 ^

               Even when the^                      ^gone.

Gone.

Just close your eyes.

The      sun                      

          is     going            

                                                D

                                                  O

                                                    W

                                                       N

                  You'll be alright.

           No 0ne can h√r+ you noш.

       Come morning light,

          «You and I'll» be

         Safe• and •Sound

    ~

    ~

    ~

Just [close] your eyes.

жYou'll ^be ^alright.ж

COMorlightningME

       You and I'll be

   Safe…and…Sound

     

~

Egg Drop

Problem- What kind of device do we need to make in order to drop an egg without breaking it?

Hypothesis- We believe that our contraption will prevent the egg from breaking because it has air resistance, elements that absorb some of the energy from the impact, and a slower falling rate because of our "leash".

Experiment-

Materials

1 big plastic cup

1 small cup

1 little plastic doohickey

3 rubber bands

1 string

10 paper clips

4 note cards

1 string

Variables

N/A

Constant: eggs, materials,judges

Independent: construction of device

Dependant: fate of the egg

Procedure-

 Our contraption is cushioned by ten tissues which will absorb some of the impact. The tissues are inside a plastic capsule, which will also absorb some impact energy. We added flaps in order to create some air resistance, creating a slower fall. Also, using the paper clips and length of string provided, we created a "leash" that we will hold onto when we first drop it, then when it has reached the end of the string we will release it. This will give the contraption less time to gain momentum, creating a lesser impact with the ground.

We will drop the contraption off the balcony of the stairwell, after securing the egg.

Observations-

Drop 1- Egg inside of device is dropped by Ashton from 12th step. Egg does not break.

Drop 2- Egg inside of device is dropped by unknown person. Egg Breaks.

Conclusion-Most of our success came from the lessened drop of the "leash" and the padding we added to absorb some of the impact. The air resisting wings did not help much. Because I did not witness the second drop in which the egg broke, I can not say much about why it did not work the second time. All in all our contraption worked to an extent, depending on how it was dropped and the height.

Ballet Reflection

 Author's note: I am responding to our David's Heartbeat field trip with a poem because it was a really creative performance that inspired me.My poem is closed form, and each stanza responds to different elements of the production, from the dancing to the music to the story.

Leaping,

Twirling,

Dancing.

Moving without a care

Artsy,

Thrilling,

Beautiful.

Colors everywhere

Pleasing,

Emotions,

Elegant.

Music filling through the air

Life-changing,

Intriguing,

Poetic.

A story for all that ballet can share

House Project Write-up

 Author's note: This is a write up about doing my house project with Abbie. My first piece for this project was more explaining what I learned, while this is about what the process was like, and what emotions came up. My word choice isn't too great here. I am just focusing on fluency.

The whole idea behind Academy 21 is for kids to learn their own way, to do new projects that not only teach academics, but real-world skills, too. You are encouraged to do things that aren't conventionally done in traditional classes, so what better way to learn about the real world than simulating the purchase of a house?

When I first got the suggestion from my mom, I thought she was kidding. It seemed like buying a home would be to advanced to learn in middle school. But beneath the doubt, I was actually curious about the process. I talked my close friend in the class, Abbie, the next day, because I wanted to share this experience with someone -- both for support and a different point of view.  She seemed really exited about this too, so we made it official that this would be a project.

To be honest, we didn't know where in the world to start. We had a talk with Mr. Johnson who clarified it a little, and at least gave us a starting point. There are mainly two people that play a role in your home buying: a banker and realtor. With that in mind, we first set up a meeting with a banker. I was  unsure about this meeting at first, because I was afraid he would treat us like kids, bankers being so stereotypically professional, but Mr. Boldt treated us like he would have probably treated any normal citizen, and was very patient with all of our questions.

We came out of the meeting feeling really accomplished, with a number that we would be able to purchase a house at. Next we would have to talk to a realtor, Jan Farber, for the next steps. It took us a while to schedule the meeting, which frustrated us a little, but eventually happened. When it did happen, it did not go as smoothly as the first. She was nice, but had an extremely difficult time with our laptops and made what probably would have been a half hour meeting into an hour. Also, seemed to treat us like kids in some respects, such as saying we weren't allowed to go to open houses. This dampened our mood towards the project very much because going to open houses was admittedly what we were looking forward to in the project the most, but with that meeting over, our project was close to done.

As I'm sure it is in real life, there was a major sigh of relief when we picked the house and simulated filling out the forms. Abbie and I posted our final piece on our blogs and I think I speak for both of us when I say we were proud to have finished a project like this. We learned a lot about many different things, and dealing with problems that come up in the real world. After our tiring, long term process of home buying was over, we were ready to kick back and relax in our new "home".

Free Will Poem

Author's note: This was originally on my Life of Pi page as a response, but I wanted to get a little more feedback. This poem is mimicking the style of Jonathan Reed's "A Lost Generation". It's supposed to tell a story reading it normally, then the opposite story reading it backwards, line by line.

Jonathan Reed's "A Lost Generation"

I am part of a lost generation

and I refuse to believe that

I can change the world

I realize this may be a shock but

“Happiness comes from within.”

is a lie, and

“Money will make me happy.”

So in 30 years I will tell my children

they are not the most important thing in my life

My employer will know that

I have my priorities straight because

work

is more important than

family

I tell you this

Once upon a time

Families stayed together

but this will not be true in my era

This is a quick fix society

Experts tell me

30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce

I do not concede that

I will live in a country of my own making

In the future

Environmental destruction will be the norm

No longer can it be said that

My peers and I care about this earth

It will be evident that

My generation is apathetic and lethargic

It is foolish to presume that

There is hope.

Now read this poem backwards, line by line.

My Poem

We have no free will.

I will never agree that

we can do what we want.

I say

There will forever be limitations.

They say

The world is free to express itself.

It is not true.

We must follow guidelines for an orderly  environment.

This is a lie;

We can make our own decisions, right or wrong.

I know that.

People control themselves.

Wrong.

We are controlled by the government and its rules and laws.

Some tell me

We can do whatever we so choose.

Unbelievable.

They claim

Not a person but yourself can make you do anything.

No.

"Can anyone truly make us do anything"?

I will continue to question

If

We have a choice

But we don't.

They say we have to be a certain way.

Not true:

We make the call.

I think

We don't decide.

This much is false:

Our minds can never be commanded by anyone other than ourselves.

Really,

We are controlled.

I will never believe that

Free will exists.

Now read this backwards, line by line.

Buying a House

Author's note: This is a write-up about Abbie and my project about the process of buying a house. It was a little easier than expected at times, but at different times a lot harder. I think write ups are written in essay form, so that's what I did. I feel like from the beginning to the end, the voice changes somehow. Please give feedback about that. Thanks to our banker Stephen Boldt, our realtor Jan Farber, and my mom for giving me the project idea.

There are a few things that school doesn't teach you. Many of them are unimportant and easily self-learned, but one of the most nerve-racking and significant things you do in your lifetime is buy a house. It will be one of the most important purchases you make -- it's no sweater -- you can't buy it, try it, then return it with a simple receipt. You are buying a place to retreat, relax, work, sleep, play: a place to live -- a home.

When Abbie and I decided to simulate a young couple buying a house for the first time, we thought it would be completely out of grasp and difficult, but I think we both later realized that, with a little professional insight and guidance, you can grasp a few elementary terms and get the overall gist of it. It might be a little stressful, tedious, and stretched out, but can be done.

If I were to put the process into my own steps, I would separate the entire process into two general areas -- the loan and the house. Before going to any real estate agent, you'll first need to know your general budget, so contact a loan officer at a local bank. Before we went to our first meeting about loans, we had no idea what it would be like.When meeting with Stephen Boldt, our banker for the project, he divided up the process into four steps: prequalification, preapproval, underwriting, and approval.

The prequalification is the consideration stage. Banks don't just give money to anyone. Factors of qualifying for a large loan include your sources and amount of income, credit score, and debt to service ratio. For all of our scores and incomes, Abbie and I just used the numbers for the average American; our yearly income combined after tax was approximately 83,000 dollars, and we were assuming to have saved 30,000 of that for a few years.   Once it is determined that you are permitted a loan, it's time to figure out how much.

Step two is preapproval. Before asking for the money, you'll need an amount. Nowadays, there are easy tools to figure out how much you can get. We, along with the guidance of Stephen Boldt, used the "How Much Can I Borrow?" tool on the Wells Fargo site. While filling it out, Abbie and I came across some more elements that are considered by the bank when loaning money. Monthly payments towards anything else that needs to be paid off are an important factor. The bank needs to make sure you will be able to pay them back. To be realistic, we determined that our monthly payments included $650 of auto payments, $175 of student loans, and $110 of other payments (our example: a snow mobile). We also estimated $600 dollars for credit cards each month. Abbie and I also needed to chose a term for how long we wanted to extend our payments for -- we chose 30 years at a 4 percent interest rate. Lastly, for precautionary measures, we added a yearly 800 dollars for property insurance.

We submitted the numbers and came upon the budget of around 230,00. Since the next step of getting a loan would come after choosing a house, we moved on and met with realtor Jan Farber. Normally, the first thing someone would do is browse houses, looking for listings and open houses to go to, and so on, but we were not able to actually go to open houses, according to Jan Farber for reasons unknown. Either way, we simply browsed a real estate website that listed all lots for sale in Wisconsin. Abbie and I decided to stay in the Pewaukee area, so we put it into the search, which was simple enough for us, but I must say, there was a little difficulty for Jan attempting to use our laptops. Past that, though, we found a house that fit our budget and taste. It ended up being a Colonial style house on Foxwood Lane for the haggling price of $230,000.

Finalizing your loan should be next on your agenda. Mr. Boldt didn't explain much of this part to us in great detail, but it sounded like all you can do is submit the files you filled out earlier and hope that the bank grants you your wish. If they do approve, all that is left is to sign a few papers. After finding a home that you would like and confirming the loan, the next step is to, along with hiring an inspector for $350 to make sure your house is really what you thought it was, there is a fairly long form  to fill out. There's not actually much to the forms, just a few names here, a few phone numbers there. It asks the price of the purchase, also which of the appliances are included, the  terms of your loan and a little more. After completion the forms should be given to your realtor for them to pass them on to the realtor of the house for sale. That realtor will either accept or counteroffer, trying to haggle the price higher. Abbie and I just assumed that our offer was accepted.

In a nutshell, this is what I learned about purchasing a house. I'm sure that in real life it will be a lot more stress-inducing and difficult considering it will be my hard earned money that I will be investing, but I did gain a lot from this project considering I knew nothing about the subject to begin with. When first suggested this project, I was unsure. Now, though, I'm glad my mom gave me this idea because I feel like just knowing this much now will help me in the future.