History journal

May 1, 2013
History journal #39


I think that violence is more powerful because although people may get hurt or killed, their point got heard in a powerful way. If one didn't act out and only spoke, it wouldn't make a difference. People have to take action When a large fight breaks out, more and more people will know about it rather than just giving a speech. Actions always speak louder than words.

       Violence                                                                        Non violence 
- Can over power people                                                    - Shows control and power
- Gets to an ending                                                           - Changes the way one thinks
- Forces things to change                                                   - More persuasion 
- Shows how serious it is                                                    - Initiates action
- Leads to destruction
- Larger audience 

Ashley Spells portfolio

English #41 
5/6/12
Question --> Is it hard to forgive if your people suffer horrors at the hands of others?


Answer: I still believe it is possible to forgive if your people suffer horrors at the hands of others because it's just the right thing to do. You can't keep holding a grudge against someone that happened 50 years ago i mean thats not healthy. Of course it's going to be hard but you have to forgive to move forward you can't move forward with a grudge on your shoulder. Forgive but of course you will never forget.



English Journal

April 1, 2013
English journal #32 


In the next 50 years, the world will have no violence. There will be peace everywhere. The enviornment will be healthy and so will everyone else. There will be nomore wars and no more poor. Everyone will be able to survive. We would find a way to work at home so there can be less buildings and more land for the animals. 

History Journal #1 & 16


#1
Why is the world such an unequal place?

I believe that the reason why the world is such an unequal place, is because of the economies. There are different kinds of money that are worth way more than others.
The best way to adress global inequality, is to first fix the economy, because many countries' economies crashed. and left many people unemployed and homeless. Racism can also be reduced in order to make global inequality more equal. 

#16
Does art cause people to think certain ways or does art show people how to think?

I believe that art does cause people to think certain ways, because art changes you to think in a whole new perceptive. You must change your expectations and go deeper into the art to fully understand it. Books like "Their Eyes Were Watching God" are great examples of literature art that changes the way you read, and think about the art.                That's why I believe that art does cause people to think certain ways.


YATW Blog post 3 Soledad Alfaro-Allah

Hello Again. My name is Soledad Alfaro-Allah. If you have been following my blog posts you will know that my focus had been on gun violence and the acts of gun violence in the community, especially in places of education. I looked at many places in which to talk about the issue and interpret it. With such recent accidents such as the sandy hook incident and multiple other school shootings that have happened over the years has left us looking at the responsibility of out culture and obtaining from guns and assault weapons completely. If you are not familiar with the sandy hook incident Click here for more information on that. The main thing that I had noticed throughout this project however is that the people who should have a voice simply to not have one when it comes to issues such as this. The people I am referring to is the students of not just Philadelphia but all across America who are victims of severe gun violence and the after effects that it puts on people. For my Agent of change project I decided to help students in philadelphia who are my age and older find their voices through something that I love doing. Poetry. I am a Philly youth poet involved with an organization called Slam League  which is where high school’s from all over Philadelphia join together to share original poetry. I decided to impact the topic of poetry in Philly by giving my fellow high schooler’s something to write about. Gun violence. I had the privilege of running a PYPM workshop and the topic that I decided to focus on was gun violence in our schools. How it impacts us, and how we respond to it. Many of the kids said well it is something that we cannot help and it is just the way things are. For others they wanted to recognize their voice and help be apart of the solution of gun violence. We talked about what are some of the causes of gun violence in schools. What are some of the things that cause people to act this way? Columbine was a raised topic of conversation. It had been said that the boys who had shot the school and committed an awful act of terrorism were bullied. Bullying was one of the factors that we came up with during this discussion, along with mental problems, because of the man who was responsible for the incident at sandy hook and to my surprise religious beliefs and the topic of the world trade center bombing came up. An event that made many people look at war and violence in a different way. Click here for a poem about one man’s struggle through it.  These different acts of violence affect us in so many different ways as students and citizens of this city. The following question was how did and or do these events affect us now. The way that we go to school to work to places in general what affect do they have on us? We talked about security in schools and how they have become similar to prisons. Where children are now expected to do wrong so they are given metal detectors and sometimes pat downs to go through. Philadelphia schools in many ways go to security extremes to insure some of the “safety” in their schools. The workshop was concluded with a prompt. The prompt that I had given for the kids to write about was how does gun violence affect you? The community that we live in? and our education? Out of this workshop I had been surprised to enter slam league hearing poems about homosexuality and the factor of bullying and how that causes violence in schools. Another poem I heard was called “WAR” by a boy name Jawan. The poem talked about gun violence in schools and how the death of boys and girls is creating a war zone in schools. A poem that I had written called similes of music spoke of the uprising culture and children staying strong passing down memories and love from music. With the outlet of creation and anti incarceration behind it. Click here for the video of that poem.  The workshop I had given created an overwhelming amount of love and appreciation for the voices of young people that we had given ourselves.I hope one day we will be able to break free and take our poetry to those who are not convinced and impact their lives in such a way that they realize how they themselves can make an impact to make the world more beautiful. The love that was given to SLA after we had performed a persona piece about two gay women who were subjected to violence to for being homosexual which we performed at our semifinal. Click here for a link to the poem. In doing this project through an outlet that I am passionate about it showed me that not only violence in schools impacts the way we are taught or adapt to education. In many cases it can make us one side minded and be victims and or offenders of discrimination. Another poem that was written by a girl named Fufu who had addressed the struggle of being muslim and how many people did not trust her or her family because of her religious beliefs and because of the violence committed by others. This project makes me want to continue giving young people a voice through all ways of art to make the world a more beautiful place because without us there would be no future, so America prepare to hear the louder voice of a younger nation!


Click here to subscribe to the sla poetry team youtube channel. 

Click here for my blog 2

Click here for my blog 1 

Click here for my bibliography. 

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English Journal 47

People create art because everyone is a piece of art. No two individuals are exactly alike, and so being that we are works of art our nature is to expand and multiply. Therefore all living things are a work of art that create new works of art.

English Journal

True Black 10/11/12

English Journal 


Why do humans often treat each other badly? What thing changes the cycle of negativity. 


The reason human treat each badly is because humans strive to be on top and have every advantage over someone or something. It's human nature to praise those above you, step on those below you, and challenge those on the same level as you.

Alysha's Capstone

​Name:
Alysha Ortiz


My link to my work (This provides my essay, cites and many more)

http://aorti4.wix.com/alyshacapstonesenior



Mentor:
        Inside source- Mr.Ames 

        Outside Source- Israel Rodriguez  -  Izzy's Collision ( 267- 444- 3901 )

Capstone summary:
 Basically about stereotypes in gender roles and how it still goes on. Therefore, We see most males in the fields of auto body and collision as for females most are running a secretaries

Project Abstract: 
As many know me as an individual that like to state facts and to change perspectives for people to understand something and have a bigger meaning of a certain subject I am targeting. All the times I come across "job" relative subject such as , females usually work as secretaries, maids, cooks and etc as for males they have more labor jobs such as, construction, police, electricians & etc. I have been working with my step father Israel Rodriguez basically throughout the year and from a first started auto body and collusion it is not easy. Being in this type of field I needed to develop how to metal welding, metal finishing and familiarity with paint preparation and refinish materials are a few of the main skills involved in the department of auto body repair. Many people ask me what pursued me to do this as a senior project and to be honest I always been surround with cars and I always had a intrest in the field of repairing , painting and etc. Having the ability to do this is a chance i'm willing to take and to be able to prove that theses statics of females and males are just label to me is a breath of fresh air. The way I would be approaching this project to reflect what I have learn is building a website of my process, what I have gain, The work I develop during the time and many more.

My Process Paper:


Basically my project revolves around gender roles in job related topics. In other words the stereotypes of females working in non hard labor jobs and guys working on more hard labor. Gender roles surround everywhere especially in job related things. During this process it was a bit stressful due to just beginning to work in this field and knowing nothing. I learn how to do something simple as fixing the button on the side door and changing the stereo to even bigger projects such as fixing the whole product, the bumper and many more.

The reason why I choose this is because not only I want to grow as an individual many people question my abilities due to my gender. My project address many things especially SLA core values Such as Inquiry-Evaluate the damage and repair needed, Collaboration- With my mentor & customers, Research-I researched about the car, Reflection my process from day one till now and Presentation would be consider of the work I done on cars. 

Steps that I taken during this process varies on what project I worked on. As for to developing a project I have created I have research a lot about auto body and collision and was able to be first hand on how it works. I have been working every Wednesday straight after school with my mentor Israel Rodriguez.  During this process I have encounter many obstacles such as not using time wisely, not being organize and not doing enough research at first but after getting behind schedule with customers vehicles  I was able to gain knowledge, patience and I was able to learn how to multi task. Due to lack of sources on females in auto body and collisions I ended up tapping into sources of females coming into other jobs known for males. 

In my video I provided I shown data of known jobs for each gender, I shown the blend of mix gender and the percentage and not only that but I show what is the definition of a male and female and what is power so people can have a better understanding on  why females and males should be allow to be in any job they desire with out being judge. 

I am most proud of the process I made and the ability of me being able to actually repair damage vehicles. I learn many things but I learn every job have its own static of hard ship in it therefore, if someone really desires to work in a field like this or any other field they should do a lot of research before hand. If I was able to do this capstone over again I would say take more pictures of me working instead of the product. Another thing I would have done differently is find more data on my topic. 


How is SLA a better place because you were a student here? I believe that being able to become a SLA student I have shown a lot of approvement especially from where I am from. I currently was born and raise in North Philadelphia, Kensington area not many people have the ability to reach the things I have since my years in Science Leadership Academy. That being said I made SLA more creative, more out going , more spoken, my  work came from the heart, I showed dictation , I was able to show what I was able to do with just a few things given, the ability to show leadership and many more incredible things. Also as a student of having a disability of learning ( IEP ) I was able to show that SLA doesn’t judge on background or knowledge I shown the partnership SLA is able to build with each student. I have shown the passion each teacher and staff member in SLA is able to provide. Finally, I was able to make a difference for the new generation by showing no matter where you are from people can label you as whatever they want to label you but never give up and reach for your dreams. 


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9th Grade English Completes Wilma Theater Residency!

This Spring, Red and Orange English students had the unique opportunity to take part in The Wilma Theater's Wilmagination artists-in-residency program. Stemming from our creative non-fiction and memoir unit, teaching artists from The Wilma Theater visited our classrooms twice weekly for six weeks. Keeping in line with the 9th Grade Essential Questions surrounding Identity and the Self, we crafted memoir portfolios of our personal writings, focusing on the stories we wanted to show an audience.  Some students collaborated on performance pieces while others opted to go it alone and create powerful individual monologues.  We had our culminating performance onstage at The Wilma last week. The kids performed for each other, parents, friends and theater personnel and also had a chance to debrief and reflect after the experience. This year marks the fourth year of this amazing partnership! 
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Sasha Sapp Capstone

​Abstract: 

For my capstone, I created the SLA Book Club, and and explored reading and analytical skills, community togetherness and leadership exemplification during the process. It started during a summer meeting with my mentor, Ms. Rami. We asked ourselves what our goals were, and how would set out to meet them. We ultimately came to the decision to hold monthly meetings, including snacks and drinks every time. When the school year arrived, I decided to form the book club committee which was a group of about 8 seniors who helped me with my decisions on book choices and meeting structures. I ended up starting the club in mid-October and had my very first meeting in the end of November. I skipped December (because of winter break) and carried on for January, February, and May. Each meeting was held in the cafe, and lasted about an hour. Every member either contributed a snack or a drink, giving everyone a role of some sort. The turnout for each meeting varied, and so did each discussion. We explored gender and identity, sexuality, humanity, growth, uncertainty and many other themes throughout. Thorough out this process, not only did I do something that I loved, but I tried to create another space for the readers of our schools, and bring us together. I learned what it meant to organize groups and events, and ultimately lead them. I’ve learned what it means to create a community.

Final Capstone
​Bibliography:

Primary Sources:


Slezak, Ellen. The Book Group Book. 3rd Edition. Chicago: Chicago Press Review, 2000. Print.

(Slezak )

What I like about this sources is that it kind of reinforces the idea that book clubs are meant to bring people, and that’s what I want to accomplish. This source features the various accounts of everyday people and the books clubs that they manage or are a part of. It also includes many chapters of tips. One particular chapter that helped me out was a chapter about setting goals, and  letting those goals serve as guidelines. For example, setting a goal for any meeting determines the way that the meeting is structured and the way that book is looked into. Depending on what one wants their meeting to project, setting goals that relate to message of the book is important.



2.


Secondary Sources:

1. Loevy, Diana. The Book Club Companion. New York: Penguin Group, 2006. Print.

(Loevy )


While a good part of this book is spent giving suggestions on specifics books, it includes several helpful sections in which it discusses group discussion basics. Here, I recieved helpful tips such as the following: 1. not expect to have all the answers, 2. establish a roundtable format that forces everyone to share their ideas at one point or another, 3. try to include some visuals of the book at the meetings, and 4. try to leave the group with a parting thought. I found that these tips are very useful for engaging all the members. It also tries to make things interesting. For the 3rd tip, I find that images definitely hold people’s attention really well.



3.

John, Lauren Zina. Running Book Discussion Groups. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2006. Print.

(John )

As the title suggests, this sources focuses heavily on all of the components that establish a good discussion, and one of which, includes breaking the ice. While I had given this plenty of thought beforehand, this book really gave me some great ideas for ways to ease our way into the discussion. Some of the tips included the obvious quick summary of the book, and others were more interesting. One idea was to ask all of the members to rate the book and justify their ratings. Another idea was to read reviews of the books and compare those reviews to our opinions and questioning whether or not book lived up to the reviews that it received. Overall, the importance of a successful meeting opening can help to set the course of the rest of the meeting.


4.. "1. TIPS FOR LEADING DISCUSSIONS."http://www.hrea.org/. Human Rights Education Associates. Web. 31 Jan 2013. <http://www.hrea.org/pubs/tips-discussion.html>.

("http://www.hrea.org/")

What I like about this sources is that it really gives me a feeling of leadership and ownership over my position as leader. Not only does it give tips like  being prepared and ready, but it asks me to be sympathetic and understanding of each of the members. It also offers tips on things not to do, like being overbearing, and trying to swing the conversation in the way that I want it to. The club is supposed to open, meaning that it develops of their own accord. I know that I will be an open leader and still maintain a level of control over the talk.




5. "Book Club Discussion Questions and Topics."www.book-clubs-resource.com. N.p.. Web. 31 Jan 2013.

("www.book-clubs-resource.com")

Like my other sources, this sources offers insight on questions and topics to highlight at a meeting. i like particularly the topsi that they offer. It states that some of the topics should book-relevant, but it also gives topics that are universal and applicable to any conversation. I think that I enjoy those topics more because they sort of highlight, on a larger scheme  of things, exactly what I am trying to achieve at each meeting.  I want to have broad topics to open with anyway, to ease the members into the conversation- I feel like it would give me the more thorough conversation.


6.. "Tips For Successful Group Discussion."www.managementstudyguide.com. N.p.. Web. 31 Jan 2013.

("www.managementstudyguide.com")

This source offers more, great ideas to ensuring that one has a great discussion. One of things that it focuses on is preparedness. It constantly reminds that not only one member or the jus the leader has to be prepared, but so does everyone. I feel like this is very relevant to my club at the moment, because sometimes i feel like I am the only one who is ready to discuss the book, and I am the only with notes to share. However, I know that is not the case. I see that others in the club don’t do things things they way that I do, and they contribute in their own way.


7.Harper, Henry H. The Functions of the Book Club. Cambridge: The University Press, 1908. PDF.

Even though this is a much older book, I found that it was particularly helpful with just backing up what I want to do. The book describes what the heart of a book club is, and I agree completely. It describes that a book club is there to form a circle of people who like to explore and exchange ideas and intellect. It also says that book cubs build connections and circles amongst people of common interest. I find that this is completely applicable to what I am doing with my book and I like that this source says that same thing.



  1. Litlovers. "Games and Icebreakers." Www.litlovers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/games-a-icebreakers>.

This source definitely helps with one of the harder parts of running a book club, that being actually starting the meeting. This source offered me great and creative ideas to starting each meeting, and easing ourselves into the discussion of the book. One of the creative tips that I liked was called: “Whose line is it anyway?” and in this game, the idea was to read several quotes from the book, and members would try to guess who said them. Another ice breaker was called “Extreme Make-Over” and in this game, every member would have the opportunity to redesign a character.



  1. "Monthly Book Club Tips." Www.readinggroupguides.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.readinggroupguides.com/roundtable/tips.asp>.

What I like about this source is that it is creative but very functional.  It offers tips for every month and it makes each meeting different and more interesting. It offered ideas for each month: some months, a different person should be leader and others, one person should lead for a given period of time. It gave certain themes for each month; so if a month had certain holidays, then the book for that month should relate to significance of that month. I like that these tips are diverse and offer something different to the table, and it could make each member excited to show up.


  1. Watkin, Jeremy. "Book Club: Top Customer Service Articles 1/11/2012." Web log post.Www.communaticatebetter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://communicatebetterblog.com/category/book-club/>.

What I like about this source is that it offers creative example of an activity made by an actual book club. One of the ideas was to have each member find an article or example of good customer service. I feel like this mirrors the book that they read. I also feel like it has shown a fun and creatives way to engage the community even outside of the meetings. I hope to be able to assign outside assignments to my members, and keep them engaged even outside of the meetings. I feel like that is an important way to keep the conversation going.


  1. "Book Club Questions." Www.book-club-queen.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.book-club-queen.com/book-club-questions.html>.

I feel like this is one of the things that I can struggle in the most and this was very helpful. It offered a variety of questions that are good really get to heart of the book and really draw out god thinking. Some of the questions that it posed were surrounding how eel the reader could relate to the book, or whether or not they characters were realistic or not. Other questions were regarding the emotions- if any- that arose when one read the book, or whether or not it was the bore of their lives. I like that the questions are simple, yet they can sort draw out a conversation.



  1. "Tips on Handling Difficult Situations." Www.bookbrowse.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.bookbrowse.com/bookclubs/advice/index.cfm/fuseaction/difficult_meetings>.

This has been a great source to really getting around those tight corners that can be found when in book clubs. One of the situations thats it was posed was the scenario in which one member of the group doesn’t speak as much as others. The way around that is to gently ask them directly what they think about a question. The difficulty is that perhaps the person is just very shy and has a hard time sharing their ideas. However, if a safe and open environment is created for them, then hopefully he or she would be more confident in sharing their ideas.



  1. "The "Basic" Plots in Literature." Www.ipl.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/plotFARQ.html>.

While this source isn’t particularly about book clubs, it does offer information about the basic plot lines shown in books. I felt that this source would be helpful because it can help one almost predict what they are in for, if they can identify their book with one of these categories. Some of the more obvious categories were stories that ended happily and stories that ended unhappily. There were also categories that involved (wo)man versus externals forces like nature, religion, God, and other topics. I found that this source forced me to really look at my book choices and see what I was aiming for.



  1. Cohen, Hsin-Yi. "10 Tips For a Successful Book Club." The Reading Club. N.p., 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.thereadingclub.co.uk/tentipssuccessfulbookclub.html>.

This sources encompassed a lot of steps that could make a book club more successful. It included things from setting book goals and thinking critically about the books that were read (during a lull in the conversation). What I like about the idea of setting a goal for the book is that it makes me want to draw something specific from the book. I see that in the long run, to would really add to the conversation. It could also be a measure of success. Thinking critically about the book would offer insight and a bit of closer to the book. I feel like this is one of the things that should be done in any meeting to get the most out of the book.


  1. Admin. "Top 10 Dos and Don’ts of a Successful Book Club." Www.21cwoman.com. N.p., 20 June 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.21cwoman.com/top-10-dos-and-donts-of-a-successful-book-club/>.

What I liked about this source is that it offered helpful tips, and it also has things to avoid. One of things was to not stick to one genre. I found that to be helpful because as the leader, I want to satisfy as many needs and tastes as possible. So far, I’ve had a realistic read, a fantasy read, and a quirky realistic read. I will definitely open the doors to having more genres and maybe even more types of stories. Another good tip that this site offered was to not pick a long book. This longest book that I’ve chosen so far has been a bit over 500 pages, and I don’t think I’ll go too far over that.





Process Paper:

Literacy is one of the great accomplishments of man kind. The ability to transmit ideas, beliefs, messages, thoughts, through the use of words and pure imagination is something to be celebrated. Here at SLA, we celebrate learning, thinking, and growth. We celebrate science, music, ideas, math, engineering through clubs and events. Yet we’ve yet to dedicate a space for stories. We’ve yet to have a create an environment celebrating stories and dedicated to reading. That’s where I step in. I’ve decided to create the SLA Book Club to unify our avid readers and writers across the SLA community.

The idea began towards the end of my Junior year with my English teacher, Ms. Rami, and avid reader a book lover among us. She discussed her ideas on bringing together a community of readers and writers, and that is where is I stepped into the picture. Together, we met over the summer to discuss matters regarding our goals for club, and the plan to see it through. Beyond the influence of Ms. Rami, I decided that I wanted to do something that I normally wouldn’t, start something. I wasn’t one to step up and create an event, but I’d rather be behind the scenes giving my support to someone who, on the hand, would. I took my capstone as the opportunity to change that, and step outside of my comfort zone. I decided to use my book club not only for the community, but for my own leverage; I wanted to truly become a leader.

I’ve been able to incorporate the SLA Core Values into my capstone quite effectively:

Inquiry- I aimed to satisfy certain questions such as, How can I give back to SLA? How can I bring meaningful discussion to the table? What is the strength in book clubs? What good can they do for a community? What are the things that I intend to get out the of club? What are good ways to run a club? and time with the club has answered these questioned. I sought to not only analyze books and search for answers within them, but I questioned the effectiveness of the club. 

Research- My biggest thing to research was how to run a book club in the first place. I ended up consulting numerous books from which sprang some key points that I included in my meetings. These include tactics to good discussion like having preparedness, and asking engaging questions, and sharing the spotlight. Other tactics that I learned from my researched included sharing the power. While I ultimately made the decision that I saw fit, I always engaged the members and included their input and opinions. I employed these during every meeting to demonstrate and apply my learning from my research.

Collaboration- The collaboration was on the whole was between myself, my mentor, my committee and the club itself. I combined the input of these people into my executive decisions, such as club dates, book choice, and food purchases. As previously stated, one thing that I had intended was for everyone to contribute not only their voice, but also food. Through this, everyone would have another responsibility in the club.

Presentation- Presentation was simple: the meetings themselves. Here the magic happened in which everyone came together to share their thoughts,feelings and connections made with the book. I took extensive notes and gave my own insights of course.

Reflection- I can say that this is definitely evident in the meetings themselves, and through my very frequent emails to my club members. In these two areas, I was able to get review and opinions from members and take their ideas for incorporation and betterment of the next meeting. 

The initial steps to starting this capstones were always meetings. During the summer before senior years, I had meeting with my mentor, Ms. Rami. We asked ourselves what our goals were, and how would set out to meet them. We ultimately came to the decision to hold monthly meetings, including snacks and drinks every time. On the first day back to school I created an Interest Sheet, instead of a sign-up sheet because it seemed like a bigger commitment, and advertised my club during our school’s mini-club convention. After getting an estimate of my numbers, I proceeded to make an email list and send an introductory email to all of those of who showed interest. I then went to form my committee, SLA Book Club Committee, which was a group of 8 seniors whom I met with on occasion to help with logistics and coordination of meetings, and the all important book choice. After getting my first book settled, I held a introductory meeting- on October 23rd, during both lunches- to club, to see who was really interested- the turnout was about 20. I gave each a copy of the my letter giving club details, goals, and books to be read. After that, I used October to work more closely with the committee. During that month we assigned two books to choose from, set the first meeting date for November 27th. I took pictures and even made video of this meeting. I skipped a December (because of winter break) and carried on for January, February, and May. Each meeting was held in the cafe, and lasted about an hour.

Some of the biggest challenges that I faced were really within communication for the most part. As stated about, March and April were skipped- even though books were still assigned- but I ended up having a mid-May meeting to discuss those books, and even had to push my May meeting into June. The reason was simple: I feel behind in my own work. I can say that it was from not only the workload of being a senior, but also the workload of life. Regarding communication, my means was through email, which had great advantages disadvantages. People didn’t always respond as quickly as I would’ve liked, and sometimes they wouldn’t respond at all. On the other had, sending an email was definitely far easier than holding tons of mini-meetings. Aside form my personal challenges, I was able to overcome my sometimes poor reception by simple things: like approaching people directly. Another challenge that I faced revolved turnout. Like most clubs, interest can sometimes fade, and so do the numbers. I saw my numbers had not been as high as my first two meetings, but I was far from discouraged. Instead, i was touched my the consistency of those who kept coming back, and those who were always engaged. That kept my enthusiasm high. As far as making it happen, most of the money came out of my pocket, but my groups member bought snacks and drinks, contributed money for pizza. I also made use of SLA cameras and equipment for documentation of my first meeting.

While there are literally hundred of things that I could have done for my capstone, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Not only am I proud of myself for taking on such a risky position as a leader, and really putting myself out there, I’m proud of the meetings. I’m proud of the great depth that was explored in each book, and I’m proud of connections that were made. I’m proud of the ridiculous comments, and all the laughs. I’ve learned that’s its not easy to be in charge of something, and hope that people continue to show you their support- I’ve seen some members come twice, once and not at all. However, I’ve learned that taking risks can yield great rewards. I’ve seen that in the group that stuck through with me the whole way. Though, I would do some structural things differently. I would definitely employ the use of some other form of communication, rather than just email, so that everyone and myself would be on the same page. One thing that was recommended to me was to create a reading guide- though I never did it. Perhaps next time, I will give that a try. I would probably expand my range of genre even wider as well.

Overall, I believe that I’ve made a worthy attempt to better SLA, even if it were on a smaller level. To me, the success came because of those who consistently came, and consistently read, and consistently shared their ideas. That is something that makes me more proud than anything else in this entire process. So yes, I attained my goal; I’ve given some students some great books to read thorough the year, and I brought us together over food. While my mark can't necessarily be seen, it can never be taken away.


Voces Incosentes

​El proposito de mi projecto es para dicirte que los soldado violaron los derechos humanos. Voces Inocentes es una pelicula en Salvador y hay un a guerra grande y cuando un nino a los 12 anos los soldados lo elleba para sir soldados tambien pero los ninos no quieren ir, entonces se esconden arriba de su casa. todos estaban alli ahoras hasta ellos estaban seguros.

Charles Norman Capstone

 
Student Name:
Charles Norman

In School Mentor's Name: 
Mr. Kay 


Topic Summary:
The goal of this project was to bring awareness to player safety in little league football. There has been a lot of controversy in the football world, about player safety lately, so I wanted to dig into it. There are certain techniques in football that prevent players from getting hurt.

Project Abstract:
I chose football safety for this project because it is really important to me. Teaching players how to play football properly is very important. I played football for a long time, and I've seen many people get injured. None of those injuries were as bad as the injury that I saw in my last year playing football. One of my teammates who I knew for over five years suffered a fatal injury in practice. His name was Quadaar White. He passed away a week after his injury, and I'm still to this day shocked that he suffered an injury that caused his death.
1.
   YouTube. Dir. Sean Hopson. Perf. Sean Hopson. Football Practice Drills & Tips : How to Tackle Correctly in Football. YouTube, 08 Feb. 2008. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

In this video former Kentucky football coach Sean Hopson is teaching his linebackers how to properly tackle. When you tackle properly the risk of injury is very low. THe coach in this feed shows how to plant your feet, and deliver a blow with your head up.

2.     YouTube. Dir. Mike Doyle. Perf. Mike Doyle. Football Offensive Line Drills Pass Blocking Run Blocking. YouTube, 06 Feb. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

Mike Doyle shows the proper blocking techniques in this video. Blocking is a very important part of football. If you don’t block properly your team will not be able to win. He teaches the three main types of blocking, Run Blocking, Pass Blocking, and Zone Blocking.

3.     YouTube. Dir. Ohio State. Perf. Ohio State D Line. Spring Practice 2011: Defensive Line Drills. YouTube, 05 Apr. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

This video shows Ohio State’s D line coach teaching his d-line how to get past the o-line to cause things to happen in the back field. He taught them how to bull rush, swim past the oline, and spin past the oline. All of these moves are us to cause pressure on the QB get a sack or make other big plays.

4.     YouTube. Dir. Football Coaches. Perf. Youth Football Coaches. QB Drills and Skills for Youth Football. YouTube, 24 July 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

This is a video showing youth football coaches teaching QBs the basics of the position. The QB may be the most important position on the field. The QB is the leader of the offense. These drills are made to work on the QB’s footwork, and their accuracy. If a QB is accurate and has good footwork he will be good ro go.

5.      YouTube. Dir. Clay Matthews. Perf. Green Bay Packers. Packers Linebacker Drills. YouTube, 01 Aug. 2010. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

This is a video of Green Bay Packers linebackers doing footwork drills. The specific drill that they are doing is the net drill. They have to run across a net that is laying on the floor without touch the the net.

6. Today, USA. "Concussion Policies by League." USA Today. Gannett, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

This is an article on the NFL’s new concussion policy. It talks about what team doctors have to do immediately on the sidelines after a player is taken out of the game from a head injury. The team doctors have to test players on the sideline. If they don’t pass the baseline concussion test there are 5 stages of test that they have to go through in order to play again. This is only done to reduce the after effects of the head injuries in later life.

7. Carasik, Scott. "NFL Defensive Schemes: The Basics of the 4-3, 3-4 and Ryan Defenses." Bleacher Report. Bleacher Report, 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

This article talks about the Defensive schemes. There are many different types of defensive schemes, but this one talks about the 4-3, 3-4, and the 4-6 defense. All three of these defenses are really successful in all levels of the sports. This articles explains the basics of them.

8. Adkins, Ronnie. "Hogs Haven, a Washington Redskins Community." Hogs Haven. SB Nation, 6 June 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

This is an article about the west coast offense. Bill Walsh is the creator of this offense. It used by many teams today. This offense has won more Super Bowls than any other type of offense in the history of the NFL.

9. Peterson, Adrian. "Adrian Peterson RB Tips." YouTube. YouTube, 07 Sept. 2009. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

The NFL MVP Adrian Peterson is showing running backs effective ways to run the ball in this video. He had a fumbling problem at the beginning of his career. In this video he shows the proper way to carry the ball, this technique has made Adrian Peterson the best running back in the NFL.

10. D-Backs, Alabama. "Bama Defensive Back Drills." YouTube. YouTube, 07 Jan. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2013.

This video shows the National Champion Alabama football team running defensive backs drills. The coaches are teaching them how to pursuit the ball. The players are also learning how to run zone and man coverage. The drills will prepare them for certain in game situations. Since the NCAA and the NFL both have become pass happy leagues the defensive backs are a very important part of the defense.

11. Ghee, Theron. Personal Interview. 17 May 2013.

I did this interview with three of my coaches. I asked all of them nine questions about the game, and injuries. I wanted to dig down deep into the minds of these coaches to see how they handle gametime injuries. The coach is the leaders of the team so he has to set the tone when a serious injury happens. I wanted to know what they do to prevent those injuries. I also wanted to find out how they teach their players proper football technique.

12. Allen Stephen. Personal Interview. 20 May 2013.

I did this interview with three of my coaches. I asked all of them nine questions about the game, and injuries. I wanted to dig down deep into the minds of these coaches to see how they handle gametime injuries. The coach is the leaders of the team so he has to set the tone when a serious injury happens. I wanted to know what they do to prevent those injuries. I also wanted to find out how they teach their players proper football technique.

13. Oliver Shawn. Personal Interview. 24 May 2013.

I did this interview with three of my coaches. I asked all of them nine questions about the game, and injuries. I wanted to dig down deep into the minds of these coaches to see how they handle gametime injuries. The coach is the leaders of the team so he has to set the tone when a serious injury happens. I wanted to know what they do to prevent those injuries. I also wanted to find out how they teach their players proper football technique.

15. Goodell Roger. “Player Safety in The NFL” Youtube. Youtube, 08 Mar. 2012. Web. 24. May 2013.

Roger Goodell is the Commissioner of the NFL. Lately he’s become more aware of the need to make rules so the players will be able to play safe football. In this press conference he talks about the future of the NFL, and what rules changes he will make to keep the players safe. The NFL has been sued a couple of times by former players because of injuries that they suffered were not taken seriously. The NFL is now changing.
Project Link:
https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/presentation/d/1YYkzn_gvR4EQWrlBXJiu3FQ4YPxQG4nmNXYxuo8jd5Q/edit#slide=id.p

Negative Space Reflection

 What is negative space?
- It is the space or environment around the object or image your drawing. 

Explain how you found negative space in 1. your cut out?, 2. in your still life drawing?
- By looking at the images in a different perspective and looking at them as bubbles and then shaded around them. 


Why does it help an artist to see in negative space?

It helps them find certain details of an object that one does notice at first. 

 Does seeing in negative space enhance drawings, why or why not?
- It can in a way enhance drawing because it makes you look at them at a perspective. Also the outlines and shading will be more noticeable. 
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My Incredibly Late Digital Story

Memo_1
Sophia Henninger

Audio of poem is above.

Text is below.

Drawing is located below text of poem.

For the digital story project, I wanted to take the opportunity to write something that I’ve been meaning to for a long time. In grade school we had an assignment to write a poem. What I ended up writing was dark and strange, much unlike what my other classmates had written. Though most of the details of the piece have been lost in the past few years, I can still remember being extremely proud of what I had written. So for this project, I’m going to try and recreate the poem from the few details I do remember. 



The One Beneath the Window

I hear you outside,

You outside my window,

Silly thing.

I hear you shuffle your feet,

Back and forth under my pane.

I hear your words,

Trying to slip between the cracks

And pry open the window.

Your are words calm

And steady.

You have much patience,

But you’ve been here before,

Every morn leaving,

Weary and hollow.

Your words grow louder

With my every denial.

Your pleading flattery falters a little more

With every nay from my mouth.

The veil of kindness

Is dissolved from your mind

By the acidic rage now overcoming it.

Once words so sweet

With only a hint of desire,

Used to trickle through

The faults of my pane.

Now they bombard the window

Giving up

On lulling the lock

Into submission

And gunning straight for me.

You thought it best to change my mind once,

But your patience has worn away, 

Your manners out of commission.

An animal hunger envelopes

Any humanity left in your bones.

The window still stands

Between you and I.

It’s once minor splits,

Now canyons, turning the world

Behind it into a reflection

In a muddled lake. 

One wisp of a breeze

And I will no longer have a choice.

Canyons will erupt and

You will devour me.

I only have one choice left,

Blow a kiss

And welcome you in.

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Brianna Perrin Capstone

My name is Brianna Perrin and I am a senior at Science Leadership Academy. For my capstone I decided to create a PSA and documentary about teenage issues. Topics that I went over were depression, self-harm, suicide, homosexuality, sexual harassment, etc. How my capstone addresses the SLA core values is by learning how to test them in different areas to see the outcome. Of course the outcome wasn't always positive but I was able to understand people's views and opinions by using them. Another thing that I did for my capstone was have mini projects throughout the year. Some mini projects were the NOH8 Photo shoot, Teens For Jeans Drive, Blood Drive, etc. Having these mini projects helped address SLA core values while also having the school be involved in different things and be more aware of topics that are heavily discussed in the world.


​Memoir of an Imperfect Angel

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​Blood Drive, NOH8 Photo Shoot, Teens for Jeans Drive
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NOH8 Mural In Progress

2:37. Dir. Murali K. Thalluri. Perf. Teresa Palmer and Frank Sweet. 2006. DVD.


This film has multiple features - lighting, acting, film angles, etc. that I find helpful for my project. This is another teen movie but it still allows myself and other people to see what it is like for a teenager put into situations and how they deal with them.


ABC Family. Dir. Charles Binamé. Perf. Emily Osment and Kay Panabaker. ABC Family. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.


This is another film has helped with different film aspects that I might want to use. Also this movie can give ideas and more insight to how I want to portray my movie.


Crook, Marion. Please, Listen to Me!: Your Guide to Understanding Teenagers & Suicide. North Vancouver, B.C.: Self-Counsel, 1992. Print.


This book is helpful because it allows me to get from personal teenagers how they got help from someone from either telling them or someone found them. Having this aspect will allow me to get across in my movie that getting help is hard for teenagers especially if people don’t see the red flags from the beginning.


"Cutting - From the Teenager's Perspective _____________________________________________________*." Cutting - From the Teenager's Perspective _____________________________________________________*. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.


This book is helpful because it again allows me to get insight from different teenagers about what cutting is, what it does to them and how it started. Having more stories to be able to tell helps it be more relatable instead of just using my story.


Danquah, Meri Nana-Ama. Shaking the Tree: A Collection of New Fiction and Memoir by Black Women. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Print.


This book is helpful because it is a book of monologues by African American women who have gone through depression and other areas. The monologues talk about their problems, how they get help, having someone try to give them an intervention, etc. This helps with writing my own monologues for when I talk about myself.


Hayman, James. The Cutting. New York: Minotaur, 2009. Print.


This source is useful because it is focused on different characters dealing with different things in their lives. This focuses on a few characters that deal with cutting which is a form of self mutilation/self harm.


Levenkron, Steven. Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-mutilation. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. Print.


This source I found useful because it is giving people a further insight into what self-mutilation it and how to overcome it. This is helpful to people who are actually self-mutilating but I found it also useful for people who found out that someone they care about self-mutilates. It helps them understand what it is, why someone might do it and resources that they can use or get to help that person.


Marcovitz, Hal. Teens and Suicide. Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2004. Print.


This source is useful because it talks about teens and suicide rates that continue to rise. It has statistics, stories and more resources to further understand and learn why the rates are increasing.


Marone, Nicky. How to Mother a Successful Daughter: A Practical Guide to Empowering Girls from Birth to Eighteen. New York: Harmony, 1998. Print.


I chose this source because I found self help books interesting but particularly this one. A majority of teenagers get depressed because of the high standards and the pressure that they feel their parents put on them. Have this as a source gives me insight to how a mother wants to raise their daughter and the expectations they have for them.


Martin, Michael. Teen Depression. Detroit: Thomson/Gale, 2005. Print.


This source is basically self explanatory. This goes more into the topic of teenage depression and still having good statistics. It also explains the different stages of depression and how if the teenager does not get help for their depression how it can further to worse stuff. This includes an eating disorder, suicidal thoughts and self mutilation.


"National Self Harm Network - Home." National Self Harm Network - Home. National Self Harm Network, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.


This source is good because this is a national website that many people might turn to for multiple things. They can help people in how to get to help to clinics to how to help someone who does self harm themselves. It is also a great source for statistics.


"Replace The Blade." Webs. Connie, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.


This source is important because it goes into different support systems for people who self-harm. It is not specified for a specific age group but just overall talking and explaining the cons of self-harming and why it is better to get help and put the blade down.


Roleff, Tamara L. Teen Suicide. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2000. Print.


This source is important because it is a book focused on teen suicide. It also does into depth about the different ways teens commit suicide and the objectives that might lead them to consider or commit suicide.


Sheahan, Gwenneth, and Soren Dayton. "Secret Shame (self-injury Information and Support)."

Secret Shame (self-injury Information and Support). N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.


This source is helpful because it goes more into depth about different types of self-injury and how people resort to the different types. It also gives insight to the support that each of the different types has.


"To Write Love on Her Arms Vision." To Write Love on Her Arms Vision. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.


I used this source because it is one of the organizations that I feel is represented most in my project because of the mission that this organization holds.

Kaitlin, Andrew, Heather, and Michael

1. Group members present: Kaitlin, Mike, Heather, Andrew
2. Our club discussed chapter 4, 5, and 6.
3. We discussed it by passing chapters back and forth, then commenting on each chapter independently.
4. There were no points of conflict, however, Michael was confused on the actual ranges of IQs that are realistic.
5. Our questions: Why didn't they combine chapters 5+6? 
Stats Benchmark 2

Voces Inocente

Amanda Millatt

23/05/13

Español 4

Vi una película Voces Inocente. Voces Inocentes se trata un niño, Chava, quien vive en El Salvador en el 1980’s. Durante el tiempo en El Salvado tenía guerra civil. El gobierno de El Salvado necesitó mucho solados por la guerra. Entonces el gobierno

How to Lie With Statistics: Podcast #1

Group: The Math People (Ronald, Mabintu, and Rugei)
Covered: Chapters 1-4

In this podcast, we discussed our opinions about scenarios and ideas present in chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4. For each chapter, we spent a brief amount of time bringing up a point in the book that we found to be controversial or important pertaining to statistics in the real world. Each member of the group would then respond to the point that was brought up, telling whether we agreed or disagreed with the authenticity of it, and why we felt that way. We kept our debates as professional as possible, respecting everyone's ideas. After we exhausted each scenario, we moved on to the next one.
podcast 1 stat