Academic Team COMPETITION - 1/31/10

Finally, the culmination of all our hard work was realized yesterday. Our Academic Team had its debut competition on the WGBH program "High School Quiz Show," which will air sometime in March. We had done an online competition some months ago, which I was unable to participate in. We will have a final competition like that one in April I believe, but the competition yesterday was unique. Our talent was tested on television, really putting the pressure on us to do well. 

I can't publicize the results of out competition against Hingham, but we did very well. I was pleased with our performance, given our relative inexperience. I think I was very well prepared for the geography questions, and I knew all of them that were in that category. It was great to be confident in my answers and I think my confidence in that subject area really helped encourage my team. It was definitely a strength and in the first round I got a lot of questions right and the team was doing well. 

It was very challenging for me to participate in the lightning round. I had to represent the whole team and answer questions by myself for 30 seconds. It was incredibly nerve-wracking, but I was able to keep my composure and I was very proud of my performance. It was a great challenge but I am glad to say that I overcame it and did well. I greatly improved our teams score and knew most of the answers. My greatest struggle was hitting the buzzer in time. 

In our final two rounds, our team didn't do as well. The third round was especially unsuccessful, because we were unfamiliar with all the categories. It was unfortunate but there was nothing we could do, and we managed to answer a few low-scoring questions. In retrospect, we should have prepared in a broader area, seeing as we spent a lot of time on geography and science and the questions were more focused on art, history, and quotes. We did fairly well in the final round, certainly better than the third, but again we suffered because of our relatively small area of expertise.

I am proud of my performance and that of my team overall. We worked hard and prepared fairly well, but it seemed that we were just unlucky in some portions of the quiz, especially the categories that didn't coincide with our specialized knowledge. To improve my performance, I realized that I need to listen carefully and not be overly anxious. Sometimes I would be so excited to answer a question that I wouldn't listen to it in its entirety and get it wrong. Sometimes I was so anxious that even though someone else buzzed in and was about to deliver the answer, I spit it out before they had the opportunity. I need to work on being calmer and less jumpy when I prepare to answer questions. 

Ultimately, I am pleased with our efforts. I'm very happy with myself and with my team. Even though we didn't always work to well together and even though I had some issues with Marliee, we all managed to come together in the end and perform to the best of our abilities. I was clearly very committed to this activity and I'm happy with my perseverance. I hope the Academic Team continues to be successful in the future.

Academic Team Update - 1/28/10

This is a very short update. Today at lunch we had a quick meeting where we did a little bit of practice in which everyone did well. I felt very confident with my answers and I think the team worked cohesively, showing that we are truly prepared for the competition on Saturday.

Today I also found out that I would be representing our team in the lightning round at the competition. This has already made me incredibly nervous. I know I am an asset to my team, but the fact that the whole team will rely solely on my knowledge for one round seriously concerns me. This is certainly a new challenge for me to undertake, seeing as I am used to the questions being asked in a group setting, and for this part of the competition it will be just me, with no help and nothing to fall back on. Despite my anxiety, I will go into this with confidence and I'm sure I'll know the material and do just fine. 

School Culture Committee - 1/27/10

I stayed after school today for the faculty meeting because Mr. Hieser asked me to help present the results of the HSSSE survey that was distributed last year by the School Culture Committee. I was not sure what to expect; I didn't know if I would be speaking or simply listening in on his speech. However, I was thrilled to be given this opportunity because I truly enjoy working collaboratively with the School Culture Committee, and I wanted to show that I was truly committed to the group.

During the meeting, Mr. Hieser and Mr. Andre presented the accumulated data of the survey. I sat down with the faculty and sort of soaked in all of the information. Mr. Hieser and Mr. Andre explained the results as thoroughly as possible so that all of the staff would understand what exactly the point of the survey was and what exactly the results mean. This was a great time to hear the opinions of others and reflect over my own. I also felt incredibly important because I was a part of this group that was trying to define the culture of Sturgis Charter Public School, an issue that is obviously of utmost importance to the faculty. 

It seemed that the staff received the results well, and was very pleased with the responses from students that were accumulated by the survey. They recognize, as well as I and the whole of the School Culture Committee do, that this school is doing something right, which can be hopefully ascertained from these results and following definition of our culture. I was able to share my opinion of the data and how it should be interpreted. It was great to be on the same page as all of my teachers, who see Sturgis as an incredible place and wish to figure out why such a fantastic culture has been established here. I hope that the results of this survey will also be shared with the entire student body, so that the entire population of Sturgis can collaborate in an attempt to define the elusive yet marvelous culture of our school.

Academic Team Update - 1/26/10

Today we had our penultimate meeting of preparation for our competition on Saturday. I must say that I am a bit nervous for the High School Quiz Show. I have no idea what to expect, and I can't ever be sure of what the trivia will be and there for I can't prepare for anything specifically. I have realized at this point that my best plan would be to stick with what I know and have confidence in my answers. I'm not worried about guessing and getting an answer wrong, because if I tried it shows effort on my part. However, I am worried that my knowledge is insufficient, and that I could possibly be dead weight on the team.

At today's meeting I recognized a weakness of mine: not thinking through the question. Sometimes I would be too impulsive when I heard a question and just blurt out whatever the answer seemed to be without doing a mental check in my head to see if my answer was right. Often times I didn't wait for the question to finish, which I should do if I want to make sure I give the correct answer. I don't think it is that I'm not listening well enough, but more like I'm anxious and jumpy and just want to give the answer immediately. It gets confusing, though, because I need to give my answers as quickly as possible, but I also need to make sure I'm giving the correct one and not being too spontaneous.

Marliee has also informed me that I could be the captain of the team or the participant in the head-to-head. This would definitely be a new challenge for me to undertake, but I'm still not sure if either of these duties will be mine. I hope that if I get chosen to fulfill one of these roles, my team will support me and I will not let them down.

Sturgis Curling Club Update - 1/25/10

Today was our final official day of curling. I am not yet closing this activity, however, because I may do more curling on Fridays if the opportunity arises. 

I really had a great day curling and think that today's meeting was a great way for the club to close out its season. By this point, all of us know how to curl fairly well, so we were able to break up into teams and begin a game immediately. My team consisted of Murylo, Miranda, Noah, and myself. In the first end we didn't do too well. I was the vice and Murylo was the skip. No one on our team seemed to be able to get good shots off. My shots were pretty much on target, but the weight of my stones was off and the rocks that I threw did little use for the team. I recognized that I could definitely improve in shooting with correct speed, but that I was doing well in the aspect of location and aim. As a vice, I listened to what Mary Colacchio advised me and I did just fine in directing Murylo's stones.

In the following ends, I decided that it was time for something new. Therefore, I undertook the challenge of being the skip. I'd never done this before, but I was confident that I knew my responsibilities. Being the vice, I'd gotten guidance from Mary Colacchio or the skip, and today I realized that it was time for me to step up. Even though being a skip was something new for me, I think that I did exceptionally well. After our horrible first end, our team really picked up some steam and we were able to prevent any scoring in the next two ends. I did really well in calling the shots, and even if they didn't always end up perfect I recognized that the thrower put in a great effort. I also realized that the job of skip wasn't a unique responsibility, and that it was necessary for me to work collaboratively with all the other members on my team. I had to call the shot for the person throwing the stone, line it up and make sure the aim and curl would be perfect. As the stone was running down the sheet, I had to make sure I could discern the speed and tell the sweepers whether or not to sweep. Our joint effort was very effective and the four of us worked well together under my leadership.

In the final end, all of my team's hard work came together and resulting in some scoring. We gained back the points that we had given up in earlier ends. Again, I was the skip, and I helped direct the first 6 shots together with my team. For the final two shots, I finally managed to get down my accuracy and my speed, and our team achieved points, making the game a tie. I was incredibly proud of the hard work of my team and of my improvements in curling. I think that I have developed into a decent curler and I am proud of my efforts and my success.

School Culture Committee - 1/13/10

I was unable to attend my meeting after school today for the School Culture Committee. I had to attend the meeting for Model United Nations because we are at the most tense point in preparations and I felt it would be detrimental to miss. Therefore, I had to evaluate the ethical implications of my actions and ultimately chose to go to the MUN meeting instead of the meeting for the School Culture Committee. I really hope that this won't set me behind or leave me out of the loop. I recognize the importance of what we do in the committee and I really enjoy being an active participant in the attempt to define the culture of Sturgis. I will talk to Mr. Hieser to catch up on anything I missed, and hopefully this absence will not affect my ability to participate in the meetings. I really hope that I can thoroughly review what I missed and come prepared to the next congregation.

Model UN Update - 1/13/10

Today I had a meeting after school for Model United Nations. Mr. Fetzer needed time today to review the future plans for the MUN team. He begged people to get their position papers and money in. I've turned in my position paper already and my committee is all set, but I still have $20 to get in for money because my father forgot to add it to the check.

Besides this, Mr. Fetzer went over rules and regulations for the hotels and while we are in the UN building. I know that I have to be courteous and respectful during my stay in New York. He also talked about the guidelines for debate and what exactly we should expect when we arrived. Being new to the MUN team, I'm completely unaware of what the trip will be like. I'm very excited for the opportunity to exercise my knowledge of international relations and debate. I will have to read the bylines for how exactly the meetings work and then do research on current issues. I feel very confident in my knowledge of Macedonia's position on odious debt, but I know very little beyond that. I am aware that my dearth of knowledge could be a weakness and that I really should pay more attention to the news and delve a little deeper into the topics that will be brought up at the MUN convention. Anyways, I can't wait for this experience and I think it will be great in shaping my knowledge on international relations and boosting my confidence in how well I know important world issues. I hope that this will be great preparation for what I want to do in college and later on in life!

Spanish Club - 1/13/10

My friend Miranda and I have been planning on founding a Spanish club for some time now. Today we decided to talk to Ms. Kirk to discuss how exactly this could work. She informed us that she would be thrilled to be the adviser for the club but needs Miranda and me to plan most of the activities because of how occupied she is with her classes. Collectively we decided that the first meeting for the club would have to be sometime after midterms, probably the first Wednesday.

I am incredibly excited to begin this activity. I have a passion for foreign language, especially Spanish, and I hope that this club will be great as a catalyst for further learning. I really hope that I can demonstrate my leadership abilities by being in charge of this club. Of course, Ms. Kirk will have ultimate authority, but she has left it up to Miranda and me to plan exactly what we will do each meeting. I think that this will be a great chance for me to explore more narrow interests within the broader topic of Spanish language and culture. I will certainly do a lot of work planning and initiating activities, so I'll have good experience that can be applied in further areas of life. This club will be fantastic for college resumes because they can see that I follow my passions and take the initiative to create something new at my school.

My main goal, however, is definitely to engage the interests of all of the members. I hope a lot of people join the club, and together we will all begin a symbiotic relationship of learning and loving the Spanish language and culture.

Biology Peer Tutoring - 1/12/10

Zach, Marliee and I all met after school today to resume tutoring for biology. We expected a lot of people to stay after for help, considering we have mid-terms next week and extra study time is essential for many. However, only three people stayed after for help. Because there were three tutors, we each decided to tutor individually instead of working all together. We hoped this one-on-one time would increase productivity.

I tutored a freshman girl whose name I cannot remember. She wanted to review the questions at the end of the chapters she needed to know for her mid-term exam. Like last time, I didn't just give her the answers. All of the questions were multiple choice, so I encouraged her to eliminate the ones that were obviously not the answer. She didn't seem to remember too much, so I gave her background information and clues, hoping she would find the right answer. When she didn't know it, I made sure not to just tell her, but instead explain it. I feel like I've been developing new skills in teaching effectively, because these methods seemed to work, and as we progressed she seemed to be understanding more and getting the questions right. 

This has definitely been a new challenge for me but I think that I am doing well. I have developed the new skills that I mentioned above, but I still feel unsure often and I don't know always if I'm getting the point across to her. I make sure that if either she or I is having trouble understanding a question, answer, or concept, we refer back to where it appears in the book. I think that this is working well, and it's great for me because when there are questions that I don't know, I learn the answers as well. So far, this peer tutoring experience has been a successful symbiotic relationship. 

Academic Team Update - 1/12/10

Academic Team today was a bit different from last week. Mr. Scott again was asking us loads of trivial pursuit questions, but today it seemed as if no one had any enthusiasm or wanted to try too hard on the questions. Perhaps it is because our insane amounts of homework in the past few weeks.

Anyways, despite this lack of zeal, the team worked well together to answer the questions. Of course, these could only really be answered individually, but the team was very encouraging this time around. When no one knew the answer, we tried to collaborate to think of something. I think we worked better than our last meeting, and this could possibly be because Marliee and I have partially healed our disagreements. I approached her about how she felt and I said we should put it in the past. Today I made sure that when I got a question right (which happened rarely) I made no facial reaction whatsoever.

This meeting had a very different feel to it due to lack of enthusiasm but I think it was beneficial because I learned that working cohesively will produce the best results in the long run. I also realized that I need to stay focused or I will not perform well. I know that geography is my strength, but I can definitely improve with a quick response, greater enthusiasm, and perhaps some more knowledge in other areas. 

Sturgis Curling Club Update - 1/11/10

Today at curling, only six members of the club actually showed up. The people that took the bus had arrived a little bit late, so I was able to get in some practice time before we began the actual games. I decided to work on my throw, because last time when we played a game I recognized that I hadn't practiced beforehand, so my shots were weak and off-target. So before today's game, I got many practice throws in. I realized that the grips on my shoes were only inhibiting my progress, so I took them off and I felt more balanced in my shot. My shot improved greatly and I felt that I was ready for the game.

During the first end, I threw twice and thought that my shots had definitely improved over last time's. I was on-target for both of them, and I realized that my aim was one of my strengths. However, I definitely need to work on the weight of the throw, because I threw my stones too heavily and the ones that didn't hit any other rocks simply flew out of the target area.

My sweeping improved as well. I think my sweeping was a lot more effective in drawing the weaker shots in closer to the target. I was able to sweep a lot faster than usual today. I think I worked well with my other team members while I was sweeping, because I immediately pounced on the stone as soon as the thrower let it go, and collaborated with the other sweeper to maintain a common speed. We each swept in our specified positions and did well. I think I also worked well collaborating with the skip, because whenever he said to stop sweeping or start up again, I immediately listened.

I don't think we won the first end, but I was still proud of our performance. For the second end, I improved the weight of my shots a bit and kept up my sweeping. However, for the second end, I had to undertake the challenge of being the skip for the two shots that the regular skip had to take. I tried this once before, but I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing and I just kind of stood there without understanding what was going on. This time, however, I decided to try to figure out the shot before Mary or Adam told me definitely where I should direct the rock. I guessed on aim and the curl, and I was pretty accurate most times. It was certainly a new challenge for me to be the director, but I think I did well for the first real time, and I hope for the next meeting that I can continue to improve my curling skills.

Model UN Update - 1/11/10

Unfortunately, I did not finish my position paper for Friday, January 8th, the due date. I was a bit disappointed in myself because I had the goal of achieving all the deadlines and being a strong contributor to MUN. I felt that I had let Fetz and the entire group down. It was just so difficult to get it done when I had so many worries with schoolwork on top of it! Anyways, despite this failure on my part, I persevered and got the paper done by Sunday night. I think this shows that I am truly committed to MUN, because even though I didn't complete the position paper by the due date, I still got it done.

I think that getting this position paper done is a huge step in achieving my goals for MUN. I really want to use this activity as a way to hone my skills in international relations. I think that this group will really help prepare me for what I want to do in life. By finishing my position paper, I felt really confident in myself and I felt that I was more assured in my abilities on the MUN team. Not only is this great for preparing me for the future, but MUN really deals with a lot of issues of global importance. Even though my country - FYR Macedonia - may not be a huge world power, I still understand that MUN, like the UN itself, deals with hugely important world issues. By practicing in solving these issues, I feel like I gain a greater global awareness and I feel more prepared for my future.

Model UN Update - 1/6/10

Lo imposible se vuelve posible! That is how I felt today! After a fruitless vacation of research, the position of FYR Macedonia on odious debt has finally become decipherable. Today I went back to Barnes and Noble to do more research and found loads of information in a history book of the Balkans. My mother got the book The New Macedonian Question from the CCCC Library, which further expanded my comprehension of the subject. I have still not been able to find an expressed position of the FYR Macedonia regarding odious debt, but I have found a lot of information suggesting how they would feel on the topic. I am proud of myself that I persevered and finally obtained some beneficial information. It was quite painful to go through source after source and find nothing useful or even reliable. But I am committed to MUN, and I have found enough to do a position paper!

There was also a meeting today after school. People came and discussed their woes with the position paper. The majority hadn't even started. However, Amy and I have been working together on ours for a while, and with the support of each other we have done really well. We've done a lot of work and I will be disappointed if we don't finish by Friday, but I'll be happy because we've done great work so far. I think my determination in research is definitely one of my strengths, but I'm afraid that I will procrastinate in writing the position paper. This could be a weakness if I don't manage my time correctly, so I have to make sure I stay focused and organized. 

Academic Team Update - 1/5/10

I arrived late at Academic Team today but I was still able to take advantage of this practice session. We only have a few more weeks until the competition in Boston on January 30th! I am very nervous, but also excited. I know that I need preparation but today was a great practice. Dr. Stewart and Mr. Scott alternated asking us questions. Dr. Stewart asked us questions mostly based on pop culture and books. I was of little use in this category, considering I know essentially nothing about pop culture and movies and I have difficulty remembering the authors of books. I hope to do some more trivia in this subjects and improve my knowledge before the competition, because I know that it is currently an area of weakness and something I can do better in.

Mr. Scott asked us questions mostly based on geography. Here, I was able to contribute a lot more to the team. My extensive knowledge of geography certainly helped the team to get a lot of the questions right. I was pleased with my performance and I definitely see this as one of my strengths and my major contribution to the team.

Unfortunately, due to my growing confidence in my geographic knowledge, Marliee seems to be feeling threatened by my success. I fully recognize that we are all part of a team and have to work together to answer all of the questions. We all play an important part in being successful. However, Marliee believes that I think I am better than everyone else and come off as arrogant and having an ego. I reviewed my performance in my head and seriously wondered why I came across like this. I always previously consider the ethical implications of my actions; if I get a question right, I am not going to boast or brag about it and make others feel bad. That is not the point of Academic Team. I approached Marliee and she said that I smirk after I get a question right and make an "I'm-better-than-you" face. I got a bit angry because I am sure that I never do this. However, at next weeks meeting, I will make sure I remain entirely apathetic to my success in an attempt to appease her. 

Model UN Update - 1/5/10

During vacation I began working on my position paper. I am on Legal Committee, my country is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and my topic is the Legal Aspects of Odious Debt, Topic A. I have done extensive research and found plenty of information on odious debt, but I have found very little on Macedonia's views on the issue. It seems they have no position whatsoever! It has been very difficult to find ANYTHING on the topic, even a vague mention of Macedonia or even Yugoslavia. I find this very strange, considering Macedonia itself not only has experienced odious debt acquired from the former state Yugoslavia, but  it has also felt the effects of economic sanctions. 

I will not give up on this position paper. I knew that coming in here I would have to work hard and be committed to MUN. This position paper certainly requires perseverance and will to complete, considering the immense dearth of information. This is a huge challenge to undertake on top of my school work. This position paper requires extensive research and so far, I have found very little! However, I plan on looking further than on-line resources and I am confident that there will be something out there. In fact, I stopped at Barnes and Nobles today and found a good history book of the Balkans that mentions the debt of Yugoslavia and the current economic woes of Macedonia. I asked my mother to look in her library as well. I will not give up!