Dance Day

This year i am participating for the third time around in dance day. For the past two years that i have danced in dance day, i received an excursion card to get out of all my classes. Everyone of my teachers signed the card, which excuses me from their class. This year i am only in one dance. My teacher said that the periods that we are not preforming, we have to go back to class. This is different from the years before because we were excused for the whole day and we able to watch all of the dances. I liked that rule better than the rule this year. My dance teacher told me that i have to go back to my classes when i am not dancing. But if i don't have a test or a quiz in a class, shouldn't we be allowed to stay and watch the other dances.

What do you think about making the students go back to their classes when they go an excursion card for the whole day?

The girl with the BREAK in her SHIN

The first of the year in gymnastics was a scary one. Every year, our whole team looks forward to the first meet of the year because it is the time to show everyone your new skills and a time to have fun! The start of our 2008 gymnastics season was a rough one. We were competing again GBN and we were all excited. We started out on bars and our team didn't do great because people were falling on their butts for their dismounts. This wasn't the best start, but we always had three more events to finish. We went to vault and did pretty well and were on our way to compete floor. After a few people did their routine on the floor, we heard a gasp in the audience. A girl from GBN had dismounted off of the beam and landed with one foot on an 8 inch mat, and her other foot on the ground mat. Everyone heard a crack and then there was silence. This girl's shin was split in half almost coming out of the skin at her shin, and he foot was dangling there on the side. We had a girl competing on floor at the time and it was hard to watch her because everyone was looking at the girl on the ground. The ambulance came and took her onto a stretcher and put a big boot on her leg. It was a horrible scene to see and our whole team was shaken up. the judges talked and the meet was canceled. But here is the question: when the meet is rescheduled, should the meet be restarted, or should we keep the scores from out first two events and start the last two over again?

College... College... College...

Is anybody else worried about college as much as i am? I know that i may be stressing a little bit too hard, but college has been on my mind day and night. 

It is junior year now and it is time to be visiting colleges and thinking about what you want to do when you grow up. This is all so much for me to think about. Teachers are giving us a lot of homework keeping us up to midnight every night and stressing us out about grades. 

College has been on my mind and it has taken over my thoughts. Every time i do a homework assignment in a class, i am scared to turn it in because i am scared that i will get a bad grade on it, and then do bad on the test, and then not get into a good college. This stresses me out and it is always so hard for me to be confident in the work that i do. 

I know that i may be stressing about this a little bit too much, but it just wont leave my mind. We are doing this perilous times essay in English, and i am very scared that i will get a bad grade on it and not be able to write essays in college and this just adds more stress to me. I know that teachers are trying to get us ready for college, but i feel like teachers are making things so stressful for students by giving a lot of homework and grading pretty hard too. 

Does anyone else feel stressed about college? Or do you think that teachers are just trying to get us ready?

Testing our Knowledge

We had a test in physics this Friday and i was kind of worried about it. My teacher was telling me not to worry because the test was one of the easier ones and that i would ace it. So i felt good when he said that. But then the period came. I went into the classroom and opened the test and knew what all the answers were for the multiple choice and i felt good. Then i went on to the short answer problems and they were pretty easy except for maybe one of them that i skipped. 

I moved onto the math part of the test and it was the hardest thing on earth! i thought that i had a lot of time left in the period to finish all of the problems, but i was wrong because our teacher announced that we had 10 minutes left and i was worrying. The math part of the test was nothing like what we did on the review sheet and i was so mad. I had studied my notes and the review sheets and the math part of the test was so different from all of what i studied. I was pretty mad. 

Then the bell rang and i wasn't even done with two of the math problems! I had to turn in my test unfinished. Don't you think that teachers should like do something to like test how long it would take an average student to take the test so that they would have enough time to finish it? I think that teachers should make their tests shorter so that the students can actually finish the tests and get a good grade on it too. When i left the classroom there was still like half of the class there trying to finish the test. 

Do teachers make tests too long?

Welcome or Not Welcome?

This weekend was Freshman initiation for gymnastics. We weren't really supposed to call it "initiation" so we called it "welcoming". We all met up at our captains house at midnight and played games 'till around like 3:00am. Then we got all of out toilet paper and forks together and got into three cars. We drove around the area to each of the freshman's houses and put toilet paper all over the trees and forked their yards. This was fun, but cold. After we finished doing that to every freshman's yard, we went back around and went into the freshman's house and turned on the light in their room and yelled at them to get up. We blindfolded each freshman and put them into the cars. We were yelling at them in the cars to sing to the music that was playing and bossing them around. (This is what they do every year.) Then we made them dress up in funny clothes without seeing what they were and take pictures with them blindfolded. 

The only thing was that someone said that we couldn't post the pictures on facebook or some other blog like that because it is considered hazing. I wasn't that surprised when they said that it could look like hazing, but it was really just a fun thing to do and there was no harm in any of it. We made sure to talk to all the parents before just in case they didn't like the idea or didn't want us to fork their yards. Would this be considered hazing if we didn't hurt the freshman and asked their parents for permission to wake them up early in the morning? I didn't know what to think when they said that we cant post the pictures because it is considered hazing. 

What do you think about doing "Freshman Welcoming" for a sport?

The Day the World Turned 'Round

"The 44Th president of the United States is Barack Obama." I'm sure that when i grow up, there will be people asking me, "Where were you when they announced the first black president?" I could tell them that i was in my bedroom watching TV.

 

When i was watching this, i got the weirdest feeling throughout my body. It was something that i couldn't really explain but I'm going to try. They announced that Barack Obama was president and it felt like my stomach dropped as if i was on a roller coaster. This was one of the biggest elections ever, and my heart was racing to find out who won. As soon as they announced the winner, i didn't know what to do. my heart felt like it stopped and it was the weirdest feeling. it kind of felt like the earth stopped its rotation and spun the other way, like the whole world was

 going to start new. i know it may sound crazy, but it was the weirdest feeling. its hard to explain and hard to understand, but i felt like the world turned around and we are going to be in good hands now. I felt like before they announced this, that everyone had a 100 pound weight on their shoulders and as soon as they announced the winner, the weight was just taken off. It was the weirdest feeling and i didn't know what to think or how to explain it.

Did any of you have this kind of feeling when they announced that Barack Obama was now our 44Th president?

Check Marks

the Spot

Today is election day and everyone is talking about who they want to vote for. I was talking to my mom this morning about the candidates and she was telling me that she was undecided with who she wanted to vote for. I don't know much about politics and everything, but if a lot of people are undecided with who they want to vote for, then what if other people in the states are undecided too. This could end up with a result that the people didn't really want.


What if half of the people in the United States had an undecided vote? Then this would mean that when these people go to the election booths, they might just mark either Obama or McCain without really knowing who exactly they want.

This could cause trouble in the United States because if someone else becomes president, and this is the person that they didn't want but voted for, there is nothing that they can do about it now because the elections would be over and done with.


What do you think about people just checking the box that they don't know if they want or don't want because they have an undecided opinion?

Where Is Our Future?

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

• In five minutes, 694,000 songs are downloaded illegally.
• China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world
• The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist is 2004
• For students starting a 4 year technical degree... half of what they lean in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.
• By 2013 a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain.

When you read this, what do you think? Parents and teachers are always pressuring us to get good grades and get into college. But we don't really know about any of the future because it is changing day by day. When i watched the video above, i was astonished with the things that it said. My parents would always tell me to study and get good grades. Yes that is important, but if something that i learn freshman year in college, is outdated by my Junior year of college, then what is the point of remembering it? Yes it is important to learn things in school, but if they are going to become outdated, then why remember these things? As you watched the video above, it said that China was going to become the number one English speaking country. Is this believable? We live here in America where are first language is English, where as in China, their first language is Chinese. How can they become the number one English speaking country?

This all astonished me and i didn't know what to think. I also know that many of my friends get their music off Limewire or some other programs, but in only 5 minutes 694,000 songs are downloaded illegally! Can you believe this? I think that these things are all true, but confusing at the same time.

Do you believe in the things that are said in this video presentation? Or can it be someone with a lot of spare time trying to write something interesting for the public to read?

iPhone or Blackberry?

 

Do you think that young kids should be carrying around big expensive cell phones?

Have you ever seen the young kids carrying around an iPhone, a Blackberry, and the Sidekick? Well i think that this is getting to be a lot. I mean i see little kids at the mall and they are carrying around these big expensive phones and texting on them. The only reason for a little kid to have a phone is to use it in case of an emergency. Do kids really need to be starting to text at the age of like 8? I think it's a bit ridiculous. 

My first phone was at the beginning of my 8th grade year and it was some small cheap phone that i could just have to contact y parents if i was out alone with them. But now when i walk around the mall, i see kids with iPhones and Blackberry's. These phones are really expensive and kids at the age of 8 do not need to have a phone like these because they are for the people that use the email and the calendar and the other applications that are on them. But these kids that get them just get the phone to look cool and be able to say that they have an iPhone. 

Do you think that parents should buy their young kids these expensive phones? And do you really think that kids younger than high school need to have big expensive phones? 

A Whole New World

(Politics Style)

I've never really been the person to be into politics. I mean, i am only 16 years old and sometimes i don't think that it is that important for me to know about everything that's going on because i cant even vote yet. When we sit in class and i hear everyone talk about the debates on TV or what happened the other night between the two people, i can never make a comment because i don't stay in tune with what is happening. I did watch the debate the other day with McCain and Obama, and i did think that some of it was interesting. The other thing is, i feel like i have other stuff to do than worry about politics if i cant even vote yet. What do you think about everyone getting so involved in politics.
I mean if you were older and allowed to vote, then i would say, "yes, you should watch the debates." But being 16 years old with sports and homework to do, i don't see any reason to pay attention to all of the debates. Yes it is nice to know who the candidates are and what side they are on, and maybe even some of their views, but to pay attention so much to everything is just so much for a 16 year old girl. 

When we talk about these debates, i feel awkward in class because i can never make a comment because i don't watch the debates and then i don't get participation points for the day. I felt good when i watched the debate and knew what my class was talking about. But to talk about it for one whole period when some of the class doesn't follow the debates is kind of confusing because we cant contribute to the class. 

Do you think that a 16 year old should be worrying about every little detail in the politics world?

Lion King = Secret Messages?

I am guessing that all of you have watched The Lion King. When I was little, I loved to watch The Lion King and I would always watch it with my brothers. Have you ever watched The Lion King at your age now? 

I haven't watched The Lion King in a while, but a friend and I typed in subliminal messages on You Tube and got a video of parts of The Lion King. They highlighted some sexual messages throughout the video such as the grass spelling out the work SEX, and some lines in the sky that also spelled SEX. 

Do you believe that the directors, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, wanted to put these subliminal messages into the film, or do you think that someone with a lot of free time went looking in the movie and found some things that looked like they could spell the word SEX?

When I thought about this, I really don't believe that the directors meant to put these messages into a children's movie. I think that someone who wanted to make a stance, watched The Lion King several times and found things that he could say looked like the word SEX.

What do you believe about these subliminal messages?

Watch the video below and tell me what you think?

A or B? Or is it C or D? Which Answer to Choose?

Why are final exams so important? Every year, every student at New Trier gets stressed about the final exams. Why do teacher count final exams for so much of your grade? These are question that i wonder about every day. Final exams happen twice a year and are a good way for teacher to know how you are understanding their class. I understand that teachers make these tests to help us and see what we have learned, but what if the student is not a good test taker? I don't think that his/her grade should be brought down by the final exam because he/she is not a good test taker.
I know that tests are hard for some people and they are really hard for me. I have never been a good test taker, so when the final exams come up, i always study really hard for them, and then i end up doing really bad on them because of my test taking skills. I think that teachers should re-think what they are doing when they either make the tests too hard, or count the final exam for too many points. I think that for the kids that are bad test takers, there should be some kind of project involved to show your teacher that you have been listening and working hard.
What do you think about the final exams and how they affect your grade at the end of a semester?

Can It Be Called "Gym-nice-tics"?

During our gymnastics season in the winter, our gymnastics team competes against many different schools. At the m

eets, each team from each school is split up into three different sub-teams. There is a Fre

shman group, a JV group, and a Varsity

 group. Each gymnast on their school team is out into one of these 3 groups and competes in that group during seaso

n. The thing that is unfair is that some of the schools that we compete against have different leotards for the different groups. This means that the Varsity group competes in a different leotard than the Freshman and JV group. I think that it is unfair to make the groups have different leotards because then it makes the gymnasts on the lower groups, JV or Freshman, feel like they are bad or not good enough for the Varsity leotard.

On our team, everyone has the same leotard when we compete. I like this better because then no one feels left out or "little" compared to the Varsity girls. On a team that we competed against last year, the Varsity girls wore different leotards than the Freshman and JV girls. I thought that this was very unfair because if i was on that team, and i didn't make Varsity, I would feel left out because I had a different leotard. 

What do you think about the gymnasts having different leotards to compete in is some are better and some are not?

Knocked Down to Silver Medal

Nastia Liukin, the all-around American gymnast, had even finals on the uneven bars. She performed a flawless routine and had only one noticeable mistake during her routine. On the other hand, her competitor, He Kexim, won the bronze all-around gymnastics medal. She was up on bars competing against Nastia. He performed her routine and there were some obvious errors throughout that I noticed. When judging came around, He and Nastia received the same score for the uneven bars in event finals. The new rules for the Olympics said that there can be no ties for medals. So the judges had to pick a winner for gold and a winner for silver. The judges approved He for the gold medal and silver for Nastia. This seemed like an unfair judgement.
I know a lot about gymnastics and love the sport. When I was watching these olympic event finals, I thought that Nastia performed a better and cleaner routine compared to He Kexim. Nastia performed a beautiful routine and stuck her landing, which means that she did not stumble at all. She had a great routine and the only mistake that i saw was her legs splitting. When I watched He's routine, she had a lot more obvious errors such as not having her toes pointed the whole time and separating her legs several times. Also, on He's dismount, she stumbled a bit and still awarded the same score as Nastia.
I think that the judges made a mistake of giving the gold to He because Nastia obviously had a better routine. Since the Chinese were in their home country, many people think that He won the gold because of favor and not skill. I agree with this. Since the Chinese were in their home country, i think that there was a little favor towards her so that she could show her home country that she won a gold medal. This was very unfair to Nastia and i think that she should have won the uneven bars event finals.

Do you think that Nastia deserved the silver?

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Tumble and Roll: The Real Deal





This year in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese Olympic girls were said to be underage for the Olympics. Look at the picture above. Do these girls look like they are 16 years old? I don't think so. Many people are saying that these girls are too young to compete in the Olympics. The Chinese officials gave the New York Times the girl's passports to show their real age, and on the passports, the ages of the girls said 16. The thing that is unfair to the other competitors is that younger gymnasts are lighter and smaller and have an easier time doing some of the hard skills. They say that younger girls are more fearless and not as afraid to preform in front of a big audience. Two online records were found from the people of the New York Times saying that one of the Chinese girls, He Kexin, was born on January 1, 1994, which would make her 14 years old and too young to compete in the Olympics! I think that it is very unfair to the other olympians because if these girls are younger than they are supposed to be, they have less fear, so they are willing to do harder tricks. As i was talking to someone about this, they said that the Chinese girls that competed in Worlds, were listed to be 12 or 13 years old. I understant that these girls really wanted to compete in the Olympics and obviously their coaches wanted them to, but they shouldnt compete unless they are old enough. This is a hard thing to deal with because the Olympics have already finished and the medals were already given out. And for the All Around medals, the bronze medal was given to a Chinese gymnast who is shown to be 14 years old. I agree with the New York times saying that these girls are too young to compete in the Olympics. The real olympic age is 16 years old, and it is unfair to the other girls competing if they are all 16 years or older because they had to wait until they were 16 to compete, even if they were ready before that. There is really nothing to do about it now because everything is over and done with, but for the Chinese people to change these girls' ages on their passports is very unjust to all the other Olympic gymnasts.




Information: New York Times


How old does this gymnast look?