Blogging

     So after last week I would have to say I am now in full support of ODMs. At first I wast sure if it was a good idea but it actually turned out to be really fun:) an entire week of no homework had to be the best part and the fact that we got to take more interesting classes. Even though we still went to school each day, it felt like a week off of school and I am anxiously looking forward to the next one right before Christmas break:D

     Overall last week was very educational. I took early childhood education, SAT prep, book club and creative writing. Early childhood education was a great class to have in the morning. We got to prepare our own lesson plans to teach a class which was fun. We ended up teaching the pre-k students about the seasons, more specifically fall and everything that happens in fall. Block 2 I had SAT prep which I really wish I had taken a week earlier... I took the SAT the weekend before O term. After taking SAT prep I can definitely tell you I didn't do that well on the SAT...oh well. Block 3 I had book club. We ended up reading this book called 'By Searching'... It was basically the testimony of a missionary and her journey, I didn't enjoy it as much but there were a lot of good lessons in it. Block 4 I  had creative writing which I would have to say was the most enjoyable class. Everyday we started by reciting a tongue twister and seeing who could say it fastest. We also teamed up and had some one wear a blindfold and describe how an unknown object in their hands felt. And on the last day we did an activity where you would write a sentence and pass the paper and the next person would write a sentence, we ended up with some pretty crazy scenarios!

     Some challenges faced this past would first of all include teaching a pre-k class, that was definitely challenging. The children were very well behaved but I think we thought they knew more than they actually did. Probably should have made it simpler somehow but overall I think it went well. Another challenge was running for an hour in the cold this past weekend. Naturally I waited till the last minute to do my cross country workout this weekend and it was freezing out side. Surprisingly I survived an hour running in freezing wind but I'm pretty sure I caught a cold. The last challenge faced was finishing my outside reading book for English. It took awhile but I finally finished it

     Successes of the last week would include teaching pre k which was very successful despite a few snags. Another success was ODMs as a whole for the school. I don't think anyone was too sure how they would turn out but it proved to be a huge success. The last success this week was getting my college pics and hyperlinks and stuff together and putting one of those pictures in index...it's a working progress but I have the individual sites for each college with pictures and text so I was working on something all class period.

     My plans for the upcoming week are to complete and survive the several projects and multiple tests that are all scheduled for the next three days. I'm also planing on senior pictures this weekend and a cross country meet on Saturday so it's gonna be a busy week

Katie's First Blog Post

     Welcome to my blogggg.....where you will not only hear a summarized version of my week but my failures, successes and plans for the upcoming week as well! So to begin, my week last week was quite ordinary. In CS2 we worked on the college project. My top three choices are Liberty, UNCW and the University of the Faroe Islands. Out of them all I'd have to say the most realistic is Liberty and my favorite college is University of the Faroe Islands. Unlike the rest of you out there, I want a different college experience than the average MACA kid who seems to have no other choice than Liberty, Cadarville or Pensacola. I'm aiming higher and hopefully one day when were all gathered at class reunion, I'll be the crazy one everyone says is currently traipsing around Iceland and couldn't make it. 

     Another memorable part of last week was running Bull Run this past weekend with the MACA cross country team. I think I may have developed several permanent injuries but have otherwise survived. Overall it was a very rewarding experience after hearing years of grief about a course I had never run, I'm relieved to finally say I've conquered the great Bull Run. The hill and dip everyone complains about is pretty unbearable but obviously not impossible. However the Chinese restaurant we went to afterwards was questionable....😝 Anyways my weekend was very interesting overall.

     Challenges.... Well as I mentioned before Bull Run was definitely a 'challenge'....thank goodness I never have to run it again:)))) Another challenge was the physics test which I bombed but still survived! And the last challenge was chapel last Thursday. The praise team was fully unprepared and a wreck on Thrusday morning last week, luckily we were able to pull it together and face that challenge with the help of Mr.Buisch stepping in. Overall I think my challenges this week were all well met.

     Successes.... Well I ran Bull Run, survived and got an ok time on the course. Also successfully turned in my monthly project on time;) Another success was narrowing down my college choices which I hadn't done up until now. Successfully wrote an in class essay for the Griff. And lastly I successfully ran five miles and touched the bridge on Twin Arch Road during cross country practice:D

     My plans for the upcoming week are to continue coding in computer class. I've also been researching exchange students in the Faroe Islands and what it would take to get there, tuition, immigration and stuff. I'm planning to continue researching to see if its even possible for me to stay and study at their college since Denmark has so many restrictions concerning foreigners. They only let you go there if you have a residence permit and the only place that explains those is a site written in all Danish...Lastly I'm planning to go to the beach this weekend. Hopefully get a chance to relax and chill my only free weekend from cross country meets.🏄

Tell us about yourself...

     1. How long have you been going to MACA?

I have been going to MACA since kindergarten;) Yep I'm one of those staff kids as well.

     

     2. What extra-curricular activities/sports are you (or will you be) involved in at MACA?

This year I am doing Cross Country in the fall for MACA. 

     3. What was your favorite event of the last school year?

Overall my favorite school event of the past year was the junior hike! It was a lot of fun and a great end to junior year:)

     

     4. List/describe 2-3 hobbies/activities that you enjoy outside of school.

Outside of school I enjoy playing guitar, skiing, and longboarding. I started playing guitar last year at the beginning of the school year and then turned it into my 20 time project. Im actually playing for the worship team now so:) As for skiing, my parents started teaching me to ski when I was four years old. Both of them were ski instructors and worked at the ski resort so naturally me, my brother and my sister learned to skii when we were four. It's definitely my favorite thing to do during the winter. Lastly my brother taught me how to longboard and its definitely my favorite thing to do outside of school. 

 

     5. Tell us about the most memorable thing you did this past summer?

The most memorable thing I did this summer was going on vacation with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins to the Bahamas to watch my cousin Lexey compete in the Miss Teen USA Pageant! It was a crazy week but ultimately my favorite out of the whole year. The water was beautiful and the beach was perfect. And the waterpark was huge! Plus Lexey made top 15 at the pageant so we were all very happy with how things ended. Overall it was the best vacation we could have hoped for

     6. What are you looking forward to most this school year? 

Id have to say that overall I am looking forward to the Costa Rica the most this year. I'm really excited to see how Gods going to work through our class to make a difference in the lives of people down there. Cant wait!

Beginnings

Final Blog Post

     Well its been real CS1A. I'm really gonna miss 3rd period computer with you guys;) Overall I feel like this year went extremely well. It's definitely been the hardest for me as far as work and responsibilities but I made it! I definitely learned a lot this year, first of all through the retreat. It was nice coming together as a class again, I can't imagine what it's gonna be like senior year... I also learned a lot through 20 time this year. Majorly though I learned how to play the guitar! Which is something I've been wanting to do for ages. Another thing I learned was how to plan a gala! Man it was a crazzzzy year majoritively because of all the stress from the gala. Overall my class has become a lot closer this year, I'm looking forward to the junior hike and coming together even more. 

     There were many challenges this year starting out with doing three sports this year. It was my first time doing three and honestly I almost died under the workload of practice and homework so definitely not doing that again. It was definitely a challenge though. Cross country was tough since I hadn't really been in running shape in like 3 years. Plus the meets were stressful but I met alot of nice people. The equestrian team was a completely new experience for everyone who did it. It was a first for MACA and for me. The practice schedule was a little less stressful since it was only once a week on Saturdays but that still meant I need to ride Turvey on the weekdays to keep him in shape for practice. In the end because of all the snow we got this year...we only made it to one show where I got 6th place which isn't too bad. Overall that was a great experience for all of us. The last sport was soccer, I am now currently in my third year of HS soccer and we have finally made it to the championships! The pressure is on since HS soccer is the only team that doesn't have a banner in the gym yet so if we win the game on Monday we will have finally achieved that! It was definitely a challenging season for me. We had a lot of games get canceled, more than I can count, and on the days we did have games I found myself no getting home till 9 or 10 and then being to tired to do hw but the last game is Monday so it's finally over. The other challenge this year, as I mentioned before was the gala. I personally believe that there has never been a more stressed out junior class. We basically had no help from any of the parents since no one wanted to step up and take responsibility. They were all afraid that if they stepped up it would all fall on them so the planning and everything was left to us with almost no adult help. Basically for two months straight me, kalleigh, Kara, Alethea, Ashley and Megan found ourselves in Mrs.Becker's room, furiously stewing over decorations, the buses, dress codes, seating arrangements,  venu, tickets..... It was a lot to handle and I believe most of the credit is due to Kara and Megan. But we succeeded and I think the gala turned out quite well.

     Successes of this year would be first of all learning how to play the guitar. I started the beginning of September and progressively got better... I'm just happy that I finally learned since its been something I've been wanting to do for awhile. Another success was the gala. After months of planning and preparation we were able to successfully set up and execute the 2014 senior junior gala. Personally I think it went very well. Good luck to the juniors who have to plan our gala;) another success was getting into the National Honor Society. I didn't really think I would be accepted, I applied just for the sake of applying but I'm really glad I got in! 5 people out of 25 applicants is pretty slim so I would definitely consider it a success. Another success was MACA's first equestrian team. It was a bit of an experiment at first and we weren't really sure how it would turn out but we did quite well. We could definitely use a few more people so if anyone's interested and has horse experience you should check it out. The last success of this year was growing closer as a class. We have alot further to go but since we're MACAs smallest class (probably ever) than I don't think we're going to have too much trouble next year. 

     My plans for next year are to decide on my career and college. I'm going to have to apply somewhere and I'm thinking I probably won't have decided by September even. I'm also planning to enjoy everything. It's sad to think that it's all going to come to an end for us next year so I'm going to try to enjoy just being with my friends:) another thing I'm planning to do is be an example and a leader. I think those are two most important things in leaving behind our legacy for MACA. 

     My 20 time projects this year were the favorite projects I did overall out of any of my classes. My first project was on learning to play coral reefs. I have recently gotten in to aquariums and had started one my self so I wanted to learn more about that. I'm particularly interested in sea life and corals reefs 

/marine biology as a career so I wanted to learn about that. I definitely enjoyed the PLN since I was talking to evolutionists who believed global warming was a viable threat. Overall however I learned alot about reefs, how they start, and how God has organized everything perfectly so everything has a purpose and works together to create a healthy fully functioning Eco system for the fish and all the inhabitants in the sea. My second 20 time project was learning to play guitar. I has already started learning to play guitar in September so when I need a new project topic I thought it would be interesting to do it on something I'm already learning. The project turned out very well and I learned alot about guitars that I didn't know before. I also made a video log of my progress which was extremely. The guitar project was definitely the one I enjoyed the most. The last 20 time project I did was on the bahamas. I decided to do this project because I am going there in August because my cousin is competing in the miss teen USA pageant and my entire family is going to support her. I wanted to learn more about the island so that I when I got there I would know where the best tourist attractions and food places are;)

2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

20 Time Final Reflection

Describe the overall experience of doing your 20time project.

     Overall I feel like my 20 time project this quarter was very interesting. I loved doing some pre-planning for my trip there and also getting a project done so it was a nice combination. I learned a lot about the country as a whole and the specific island my family is going to so I feel like I learned a lot of useful information. In the end I feel like I have benefited a lot from doing these 20 time projects.

What could you have done better? (consider all aspects covered in the #20time - Guidelines document, and the 20time rubric)

     The only thing I feel like you could have done better on was the 20 time statuses....personally I feel like a google doc would be much more reasonable since we would just go in there and fill it in on the chart instead of uploading an updated version of the chart every week. Otherwise it was good.

What could I have done to better help you?

     The only thing I would say would be help with PLN. For some people their topic doesn't really leave much room for PLN and others have plenty of people more than ready for PLN. 

Are you someone who feels comfortable doing "self-directed" activities? (and I'm not talking about situations like math, where you need to be taught formulas/processes before you are able to effectively apply them... I'm talking about activities where effort/initiative are the only pre-requisites, and the learning is part of the process you go through to complete the activity). Whether yes or no, please provide insights that will help me better design future projects.

     Yes I am very comfortable in self directed activities. I'm all for being self taught and learning stuff in your own, I would be homeschooled if I could. The 20 time projects are a great way to let us explore our own personal interests outside of the boring old stuff like math, history, English.....It also helps with our future since these areas of personal interest can also be possible careers.

Looking back, how could you have tweaked your project plans to make it easier to find PLN contacts? If you never had PLN success, what could you have done to increase your chances? (other than just trying to contact more people)

    I feel like I could have had more PLN success possibly. My topic was difficult to find people for but maybe if I spent more time researching an looking. I have had success with PLN on my other projects however and I believe success solely relies on your topic since some are more popular than others.

Now that you have been through this process 3 times, describe a few ways that you would change your approach if you were to do another one.

     Given another chance I would change my approach in the way of PLN and my topic choice. I think that if I was going to do another project I would make sure there's plenty of people out there that are easy to contact. 

Talk about the iste.nets-s skills that you utilized, gained, and strengthened (in detail).

     This year I have utilized my computer skills through using explain everything and PowerPoint to make my projects. I have also utilized my computer skills by contacting PLN. I gained through my 20 time project alot of information that I otherwise wouldn't have learned. 20 time has helped me learn more about topics that interest me. I strengthened my skills by learning how to correctly use explain everything and PowerPoint. I strengthened my skills by learning how to use music in my presentations and upload them to YouTube.