Comments Quarter 3 Week 3

Laura- Free Post

Sydney- Wednesday

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Response 1

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book written in what seems to be written in first person in the point of view of a teenage Indian boy. This book takes place in modern day Reardan, Washington. I like this book because it is somewhat relatable to my life. I also like how the illustrator depicts Junior's life using comics and how Sherman Alexie explains Junior's feeling with vivid imagery and descriptive words.

I also like this book because it is causing me to learn about a culture that I din't otherwise know that much about. Although the depiction of Indian culture in this book might not be spot-on, I feel that there might be some truth to it. I also like how Alexie depicts Junior as an average awkward teenager. Something else that I like about the moral of the story so far is Junior's determination to perform to the best of his ability by going to a better academically but possibly less diverse school of Reardon. Despite all of Juniors challenges, he manages to make the best of everything and that's what really makes the book entertaining.

The Chilean Exchange Students

I'm going to be honest in saying that whenever exchange students come to Episcopal, I don't seek out a friendship with them. This is because I don't want to become friends with someone that is only gong to leave weeks later. I don't want become friends with someone that I will never see again, but the Chilean exchange students, who are probably leaving the airport as I write this, were so friendly that I couldn't help but make many friendships over the past two weeks. I never really saw the exchange students around school, so it wasn't hard not to develop any friendships with them. One day three of the exchange students, Omar, Seba, and Jorge, decided to come to my English class and sit at my table. We began to talk and I realized that they were very funny and friendly.

After that day in English, I talked to them overtime I saw them and spent time when them whenever I saw them at school. One day after school I was in the library and I met yet anther exchange student, Andrea, who I ended up having the best friendship with. When I knew that there trip was coming to an end, I began to truly cherish the moments that I had with these people. I knew that the last opportunity I would have to see them would be at the soccer game at Episcopal last night. When I finally said my goodbyes after the soccer game, I realized that although I am going to miss these people, I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn about another culture.

Comments Quarter 3 Week 2

Sarah- Last Semester

Sydney- Research Topic

The Irish Potato Famine

My research project is about the cause and effects of the Irish Potato Famine. The Irish Potato Famine occurred in mid nineteenth century Ireland and caused nearly one million to die and nearly two million to emigrate. This event in history is significant because it had an impact on the whole world because of the immigration that was caused by the Potato Famine. Many of the Irish emigrants were discriminated against for their religious beliefs and the possibility that they might bring diseases over from Ireland. My thesis states that The Irish Potato Famine was caused by Potato Blight, also known as Phytophthora Infestans, which had many harmful effects of the Irish population including greater health risks, being evicted from their homes, and many of the Irishmen emigrating to foreign countries to escape the tragedy of the Irish Potato Famine.

This topic is interesting because it was one of the most devastating famines in the world. One of the reasons for this famine's vast devastation was because nearly half of Ireland's population was dependent upon the Potato, which was an ideal crop for Ireland's damp and cool climate. So when Potato Blight destroyed half of the potato harvest in 1845, many of the Irish died due to starvation. Another cause of death during the famine was disease. The Irish became more susceptible to disease because they were weakened by starvation. Ireland and the rest of the world will forever remember the impact of the Irish Potato Famine.

1st Semester Reflection

High school is very different from middle school. One of the main differences is that there are more freedoms in high school such as what classes you have the opportunity to be in, where to go during tutorial, and high schoolers are overall given the opportunity to be more independent. In Middle School, we were on a more strict schedule and we had less freedom as to what classes that we could take. Another thing that sets high school apart from middle is athletics. In middle school, there was only a couple of sports practices a week, but in high school, we have to attend five to six practices a week. The quantity of sports practice is more rewarding because you are able to earn more in a longer period of time.

The main thing about high that sets it apart from middle school is the amount of school work and the amount of stress. In middle school, we only had small homework assignments and you didn't really need to study or prepare for anything days in advance. In high school, for some of my tests, I have to study a week in advance for a test or work on a project over the course of two weeks. Even on a day to day basis, the high school work load is larger. Although high school has its pros and cons, I am accepting my responsibilities and maturing as my school year progresses.

Comments Quarter 3 Week 1

Maia- Bengal Spice & Spotify

Ellen- Someone

Winter Break

My winter break was filled with stress. Mainly because I was waiting for my exam grades by checking Whipple Hill several times a day. As I waited for my exam grades to be revealed, I tried to remind myself that it wasn't the end of the world if I got less than the grade I expected on an exam. I also tried to remind myself that I had performed to the best of my ability and that that there was nothing that I could do to alter my exam grades now. This was definitely the most stressful part of my holiday break that could have been avoided if I had known my exam grades, which weren't revealed until the day we returned to school.

Other than the stress hanging over my head the entire break, I still managed to have fun. I spent a lot of time with my family and I got to see one of my closest friends, Jamison, who had recently moved away to California. She was in town because her family lives in Baton Rouge. I hadn't really talked to her on the phone much since her move, so we had a really good time catching up. I really enjoyed my break because I got to spend tie with my friends and family.

Research Project Update

There are more steps to completing this research paper than I had originally thought. I have made progress on the preparations for my research paper. First I acquired eleven different source and wrote annotated bibliographies for seven of the my sources before submitting them on Thursday. Now we are working on notecards in World History and English that are due on Wednesday. Although finding ten sources and annotating six of them was difficult, I am in the midst of working on my notecards.

When we finish writing at least 35 notecards, we will begin gathering all of the information that we have been working on for the past few weeks into an outline. Before the end of this quarter, this project will be completed, which is difficult to believe. When it comes to my research question and stance, I'm still not quite sure as to what exactly they will be. I think that my research question might need to be somewhat refined. Overall, I think that the research paper writing process is going smoothly.