Brittany Atkinson — Science Leadership Academy @ Center City

Lie Detection MINI PROJECT

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Science And Society - Best - E on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 12:05 am

Lie detection is already a sketchy subject when it comes to the law. It is often seen as unreliable considering it only measures heartbeat and how badly someone is sweating, but what if there was a type of lie detection that could test the witness’s brain activity while they are being asked a question? Well, have you ever heard of an fMRI brain scan? An fMRI is a brain scan that detects changes in the brain by following the blood flow unlike an MRI where radio waves and magnetic fields create images of the organs. An fMRI unlike other lie detection methods, tracks the brain's activity instead of the signs of anxiety. This scan could allow cases to have a different set of evidence, but is it too good to be true? Dr. Nita Farahany, a professor at Duke University, participated in an experiment to help give an example of how an fMRI can work and how effective it could be in a courtroom. In the experiment, Dr. Farahany went into an fMRI after seeing a series of faces. For the first scan, she was tested on her ability to recognize any of the faces she had seen earlier. After seeing if Dr. Farahany recognized the faces the first time around, they task her with trying to conceal her memories of the faces from the fMRI. The results ended with a 50/50 chance of the fMRI picking up if Dr. Farahany was “lying” or being truthful. This can prove that the fMRI scans can be just as unreliable as other lie detection methods. This is not the only problem with fMRI lie detection. Say you are an innocent suspect, there is no possible way you committed a crime but are still strictly interrogated as if you had. Would you feel as anxious as someone who was guilty? If there was to be a brain scan of your interrogation then you might be wrongly accused just based on that, especially by a jury. Bringing fMRI lie detection results into a courtroom without any other evidence can cause the jury to name you guilty. This causes judges to be more careful about viewing these results and if you have to be so careful about them, then why even view them? This also counts when it comes to pleading the fifth, your brain can not plead the fifth just because your mouth tells it too. You could possibly self incriminate yourself. For example there was a case in Tennessee where lawyers brought in fMRI lie detection and it was unfit for the courtroom because of it’s unpredictable results. This only means that the fMRI is not ready for courtroom, it will take time for neuroscientist to get it exactly right. Will it end up being an unreliable and unused tactic or become something that is used in all courtrooms if it improves its accuracy? Right now, it is leaning towards unused because of it's many issues, but it might also be able to turn around with many more studies on the ability to pick out concealment. We'll soon find out.

Brittany Atkinson Capstone

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Capstone - Bey - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 9:46 am

For my capstone, I wanted to add to the SLA art community but I didn't want to be the only one to put my name on a wall or ceiling for that matter. I thought it would be a great idea to properly welcome our freshman in a way that will make them feel like they are finally accepted, so my partner, Sydne Hopkins-Baker, and I started a two semester mini course with The Franklin Institute. During this mini course, students were able to express their ideas of what they want to see in our school based on all of the art work they have seen so far. After 1-2 weeks of collaboration and brainstorming, we started the art piece of their choosing and learned new techniques that dealt with texture, shadowing, and just creating something large with 14 other people. The product of the first course was a beautiful ceiling tile mural of Philadelphia's skyline in space. It showed that the people in our class really enjoyed being in SLA and even named the piece, "Our Second Home." During the second class, the students were more interested in doing a wall art piece, which expresses how far SLA students can go in and out of this world and showing that to every visitor that comes in our school. Photos can be seen below.

Bibliography Here.

Science Of Laughter

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Science And Society - Best - E on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 1:56 am

For my 5 minutes of science, I decided to focus on laughter. Laughter is commonly associated with the frontal lobe and other unspecified regions of the brain that control emotional, cognitive, and motor responses. Laughter unlike talking or breathing, causes the body to lose air instead of bringing it in at timed intervals, hence the praise, "Dying of Laughter." There are not a lot of studies done on laughter. It is known to be something that is common in most mammals such as primates, rats, and famously hyenas, and is thought of as primitive and mating call-like. In the social aspect of laughter, you are more likely to laugh in a group of friends than you are by yourself. This doesn't mean it is all good laughter. There are two kinds of laughter known as Posed and Real laughter. Posed laughter is known more in social situations as a sign of understanding and engagement, while real laughter, also known as "helpless" laughter, is commonly associated with the response from tickling. This brings us to the stress relief part of laughter. Tickling is one of the most stressful physical acts that can be exerted on the body by another person; laughter is the only way to cause the body to not go into complete panic mode. Robert Levenson did a study at Berkeley College that involved couples being asked stressful questions. It was found that couples who laughed more during the experiment controlled their stress levels more than the couples that did not.

The reason I chose this topic is because I am someone who laughs way more than I should and I wanted to know why. I found that I do to tend to laugh more when I'm trying to rid myself of a stressful situation. Also as a kid I would have long fits of erratic laughter where I couldn't stop, and didn't know what I was particularly laughing at. Maybe I was a very stressed 7 year old or maybe my frontal lobe was very active, either way it would being a satisfying solution.

Quarter 3 Portfolio

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Senior Art - Hull - D on Monday, April 18, 2016 at 1:23 am

Starting off this quarter seemed harder than most. The projects seemed like they were getting out of my comfort zone but I like it. My favorite piece of artwork from this quarter would have to be my skull watercolor. Watercolor is usually used for bright and seemingly joyous art and I felt good switching it around. It was interesting to see how the colors blended to create this piece using the blowing technique. My second favorite would have to be the rocketship paper clip (that rhymed!). I was really stumped about what to make for my wire sculpture until one day I was in my Econ 21 class and we were given the assignment to make a creative paper clip out of wire. I took the opportunity to start making something cool out of wire and this was the result. As a senior it's good to remember that you are leaving in only a few months and have something that reminds you that you will always be a part of your school. At the end all these projects represented me in one way or the other. The abstract watercolor brings out my chaotic yet serene life. The Coat of Arms which took the longest shows how my family and I like to spread our wings and be adventurous. The metamorphosis, a beautiful representation of how humans think that they support the earth while it supports everything else. It all comes together for me especially as someone just trying to get out of school and make it through the year to take a step back and express myself.

Senior Art Quarter 2 by Brittany Atkinson

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Senior Art - Hull - D on Saturday, January 30, 2016 at 5:44 am

This quarter in our senior art class was built on balance and nature. I choose to take that as add my own twist with social media and how it plays art in our every day lives. The golden ratio collage is something I had hardly ever heard before this class. When I was was assigned to make something out of it I couldn't decide what. After a while I made the decision to make the swirl of the ratio the "likes" of instagram going into the brain. The next project which is the block print, I kept my theme and did snapchat. Snapchat can be used to show the world temporary moments and flowers don't live forever. I wanted to express that and am proud of the final product. My favorite out of the all the projects would be the fern. The fern took a long time to create. From getting the shape right, adding the leaves, texture, and then inking it, it took about 4-5 hours to do and it came out beautifully. Overall this was a short quarter but it was short and sweet and well appreciated.

McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 199

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Being Human - Giknis - C on Thursday, January 28, 2016 at 9:22 pm

The boy and the man have just witnessed an infant left to cook over a fire, the boy goes off on his own.

The man put the boy down as they got closer to the road. The boy started walking quietly in front leaving the man to pull the cart. He came upon the river again. He heard the man calling to him and turned around. The man was falling far behind. He kneeled next to the river while he waited and stared into the darkening water. Tears started to run down his face and he sat down by the bank. The boy pulled the mask from his face. He cupped it in his hands and splashed himself with water. It was cold and tasted of ash. The boys tears flowed harder at the feeling of it. He closed his eyes.

Humming came from the cleanroom when he woke up. The boy stood and let it guide him through the darkness. She kneeled over the onceadayer washing her face and turned to look at him.

What are you singing?

Nothing.

Thats not nothing.

Its a song I use to sing to you when you were a baby.

Why?

To make you happy.

Okay.

The boy sat next to her.

You dont sing.

I know.

She wet her face once more.

Whyd you do it again?

Im just tired. Needed to tell myself to wake up.

Why?

Because you need to do that sometimes when you feel bad.

Does papa do it?

I dont know.

Okay.

Go back to sleep. She hugged him to her heart and kissed his head. He went back to bed as she turned and wet her face once more.

In this scene the boy’s point of view is put into perspective, something that only occurs once the man is gone. After the boy and the man see the nearly eaten infant, the boy has a moment to himself (McCarthy 198). The boy starts to lead, almost leaving the man completely behind causing foreshadowing of later events. He stops at the river and waits for the man to catch up. Water’s role in The Road has represented cleanliness and purification. With this the boy washes his face with it, only to find it tainted with the world around him. Face washing is commonly associated with times of hardship to wash off the toxins and impurities. As he does, a memory of his mother comes into view.

The boy has a rare scene with his mother. She and the boy have never had any type of interaction throughout the book, setting this as a good moment for her to unknowingly teach him something. She is in the “cleanroom” (the bathroom), but there is no reason to go in there other than to use the “onceadayer”, the bathtub filled with clean water. This was decided due to the fact that water is precious and should be preserved for when it is needed. She is humming a song that she sung to him as a baby. She explains that she sung for the happiness of the boy, posing the question of the worth of survival without happiness and the ability to cleanse your mind of doubt. Referring back to infant scene, it is apparent that people in the new world do not care for their children, deeming them a burden and deciding to use them for food. This memory allows him to see a glimpse of the world he never knew through his mother's mild affection. Not only does he learn of his mother's affection and the old world, but he learns of her unhappiness. She tells him that she washes her face to wake up as though the clean water will cure her weariness. The water also brings her joy, represented by her singing. The boy says, “You dont sing.” showing that this is not something she finds the strength and happiness to do often, confirmed by her mentioning that she sung only when he was younger. The saying, “Wash away your sorrows,” comes into play often when rereading this scene. The boy learns of a way to cope with the world around him from his mother, though he leaves her behind to completely wash away her sorrows knowing to give her space to regain her happiness in this fleeting world.

Week 10 Slideshow

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Senior Art - Hull - D on Friday, November 13, 2015 at 11:18 pm

For this course, my class was tasked with creating 5 core pieces of artwork. The themes of these assignments were a ceiling tile, charcoal still life, jack-o-lantern, self portrait, and painting or drawing of your choosing. Going through this project I wanted to express my emotions a little bit more and show how i feel when I'm not a around everyone else. My focus for most of these projects was to carry a message through every art piece I created. As a result of this I was able to find myself in the things I decided to create.

My favorite pieces in this collection would have to be Sleeping socialite and my Hello! X - RAY. These, though they might not seem like it, were inspired by what I actually find interesting about the world. I find it amazing how social media can enhance and discard beauty. It is a vessel that disconnects you from your surrounding but connects you to the world. In Sleeping Socialite, the girl is sleeping or closing her eyes to the world around her, pressing the dislike button on it so that she explore the world inside the internet. For Hello! X - RAY is more a piece that shows that we are all the same on the inside. Hello Kitty is an icon and seen as more important than the other characters in her line, just like how celebrities are seen as superior. I believe that no matter how different someone is, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, or social status, we are all the same.

This project as a whole as given me a different outlook on my artwork. I know that I can create whatever I want and I can be confident that I will be proud my work.

In This Lifetime by Anonymous

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Being Human - Giknis - C on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at 12:49 am

When you enter this page, you will fill a weight lifted off your shoulders. You go through and see a reflection of yourself once in your lifetime. On this web page you will see be introduced to a new book called “In This Lifetime”. In this book you will be on a journey about a girl named Lilo. She wants to pursue her dream of traveling the world. But it will take courage and determination to overcome the hardships she will face in life. Through this web page you will learn about the different similarities of movies and books that relates to the book.

Start your Journey Here

Impossible

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in English 3 - Rami - D on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at 11:50 pm

Books about teen angst and paranormal situations never fail to be interesting and heart wrenching to the readers that endure their words. The reason for this? The characters, the set up, the unimaginable twists that the author puts into every situation to make the reader never want to even have the thought of parting with their book. The authors that express all the elements of a story that are needed to make the reader feel emotion towards the characters, to be connected to them in unthinkable ways, are astounding. Nancy Werlin is one of those authors. Werlin expresses all of those remarkable talents in Impossible, a book about a teenage girl named Lucy Scarborough, cursed to repeat the same fate as her mother and ancestors were faced with unless she breaks the curse by completing 3 impossible tasks before she gives birth to her child and loses her mind.

This book takes place in the modern day life of teenager Lucinda Scarborough, or Lucy for short. She struggles with everyday issues that can help relate to a lot teenagers giving it a automatic connection to the audience. She grows up well, but only because of the people who took her in as her mother sub came to the age old curse of the Scarborough girls. Lucy’s normal life is interrupted when tragedy strikes during her junior prom that causes her to become pregnant and the father of the child to die. This leaves Lucy distraught until she finds out about the curse put on her family then decides that she will be the one to break it and defeat the Elfin Knight. Lucy, is a very strong character and that is established within the first couple of chapters. She shows determination and stays true to her beliefs through the entire book and is a very likable character. She along with other main characters all have their sections but Nancy Werlin does this in way that the book is not chopped up. Since this book is written in third person there can be a focus on more of the emotions of the other characters in a certain instead of being just one giving the audience a different viewpoint to the situation at hand.

Starting off this book gets right to the point in dropping hints on what the main plot is, but does not thrust you into someones life and the climax. There is a steady build up that gives the reader a good sense of the characters. Every character is thought out to the full extent giving the idea that the reader knows them, giving them a connection to everyone in the book no matter how small their part may be in the very end. The character development is a key part of this book because without such well done characters this book would not have the pull that it does. Also the story is well executed without having parts seemingly forced on the reader.

Werlin did very well on this book considering it is a young adult novel. Most young adult novels have a pull but this one has a net that anchors you in until you can’t get away. Impossible is also a paranormal story that also seems like it could happen to anyone. There is nothing over the top about the paranormal aspects leaving it very subtle and pleasing. In most books, in this genre the center of the story is the love story of the main character. This book although does have a love interest, it does not center itself just around that. It centers around the problem at hand and all the people involved in it which is an unusual yet can be enjoyable to the reader.

Werlin uses all types of language and writing styles in this book, from basing the story on the ballad “Scarborough Fair” to using diary entries to help explain another character's point of view in the story. She uses these to help explain the story a lot more and it works. The ballad is a recurring theme in this book and is done so very well. The author of the book use the song as a guideline, making sure to pay attention to it. It does not pop up where it is not needed and when it does come up it is to give some insight into the next section on the book. In the beginning the song is placed before the prologue. There is a choice being give on whether or not the reader wants to read it or ignore it. The best option is to read it and keep going back to it as the story progresses. Werlin also uses diary entries in this book, to give the point of view of someone who otherwise would be no help at all in their current state. They help the story move along very well paced and there is even a chapter devoted to these pages which Werlin did a good job of executing.

Overall this book is amazingly written. It keeps the theme going and never strays from it’s main purpose and main storyline. Nancy Werlin out did herself and after reading this book it is advised to check out the prequel called Unthinkable, telling the story behind the curse. It is an unimaginable to think that this book ended so quickly but the ending was well justified and not unpleasing. It is recommend to young adults or anyone with a sense of adventure, love, humor, and is not afraid to fall in love with its characters.

“I’ve been trying and trying to tell you. Pay attention to the song. Now it’s your turn. You’ve been warned. I’m supposed to warn you. You’re allowed to try to escape. You have to try, in fact. None of us have ever managed it, though. Will you be any different?” - Miranda Scarborough

Impossible, Nancy Werlin, Dial Books, 2008, 376 p

Explanation:

This depicts the main character Lucy, pregnant and holding a sword in determination to win against the Elfin Knight and to save her mother and set free all the women of her family that once were trapped by the curse. The boy is Zach Greenfield, the love interest who is shielding Lucy with his love for her and the is shown because he is looking down at her instead of at the evil being in front of him. At the very bottom you see that Lucy is standing on a book, her biological mother’s diary, which is being held up by two figures that represent her loving foster parents that will love and support her no matter what decision she makes. Her foster dad has the lyrics of of the Scarborough fair and he is singing the curse. This is because he is the one who first introduced the song to Lucy as a way to have a connection to her birth mother.

Best Project This Year

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Bio-Chem 10 - Sherif - D on Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 10:22 am

This year we completed a lot of projects. My favorite project would have to be my favorite is the Evolution benchmark. The evolution benchmark expressed the core value on inquiry. We asked questions about certain turtles and their common traits. My group worked well on finding out about the different turtles. We asked around about different turtles that we could use and them used them in our presentation. Each person in the group did equal parts of the presentation. All of us knew the work and answer all questions we had. Link to presentation.

Final Portfolio

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in World History - Block - B on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 4:01 pm

World history is a very broad and expansive subject. Throughout the year we have not only studied things from the worlds past but subjects that are making history now. From sweatshops to Revolutions, even the Keystone XL pipeline. One conclusion that I have came to throughout the year is that beliefs can be used as a way to oppress many people and also that no opinion is wrong. Using collaboration this year has been full of unlikely discoveries pertaining to equality. One day at during this class we started off writing in our journals. The journals always make us think about issues that are usually ignored or not thought about as much in everyday. Mr. Block does not stop at us just writing our ideas in the journals but makes us share them with the class or our small table group. This gives us different ideas that we did not think about from other people. What you say someone else might of never heard so it brings another sense of learning into class. Also in the class when we could go around the class and have everyone share an idea or discussion question which leads into a new units.

In my journal that was required for the year I wrote multiple opinions on different topics that involved the current part of history we studied. “There should be no reason for them to apologize for something that they did not do or cause.”(Journal #19) This journal we were talking about how the people shouldn’t feel guilty for the things that happened in their history hundreds of years ago. An example is the British being sorry and apologizing to the native americans for Columbus coming to America and taking their land. There should be no reason for the British to apologize for the acts that their ancestor committed. Apologizing for someone else makes it less important, and less meaningful.

I found a lot of my journal entries had very interesting subjects when I went through it. “People are not concerned with what is just in the world.” (Journal #37) This quote is from a later journal entry that involves a cartoon of a fish cartoon (See cartoon here). The cartoon shows how the world looks from different social standings. I said people are not concerned mainly because the people that need justice are the ones that are barely heard or looked at. This gave me an idea of how the world actually works. The world is not full a piece but full of fake justice that is meant to make you forget about the real errors in the systems of the world. This relates back to the Sweatshops trial that my class did. The trial explained why sweatshops are a problem but people do not notice the actual effects of it. In trial, workers, system, multinational corporations, poor country elites and US consumers were tried (Notes from Trial). The point was to find out the true group responsible for sweatshops.

In the last quarter the class read a book about an Igbo tribe in Africa, called Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In a journal I wrote. “I believe he wrote this book so people will not make assumptions about this culture. He wrote it to show the importance understanding something in depth rather than just guessing and/or assuming.” (Journal #45) This was important because it does bring out people assume about different cultures rather actually learning about them. This gave me some perspective on opening my mind to different poeple around the world rather than just ignoring them as just another part of the world.

One thing that we did that is really going to stick with me involve the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeling is a pipeline thattransports oil from tar sands in Canada throught the United States. This pipeline could result inthe loss of lives, jobs, many other things. We wrote muliple monologues about the pipeline that explain poples views. From calling to the people who will be most affected from the ones who did not even know about the pipeline. It shows that everyone should know about something that be such a drastic change in the country. “Talk’n bout jobs.. ya’ll ever thought about who’s jobs you’ll be taken, did ya? 7 million bucks, for what? Some frick’n oil and this country can’t even give people a damn job at a grocery store. If ya would just give them what they want, they’d shut their snouts and people like me get some damn rest. Ain’t nobody asking for some 1,179 mile metal tube through the damn country. Now let me go, cans aint gonna collect themselves.” (Keystone Pipeline Monologue)

Something we did in the beginning of the year an assignment involving Hijab life and story behind why women of Muslim culture wear them. This was really the starting point in seeing that world is not as it seems. No one should really judge a women who wears a hijab before they learn the the meaning of the hijab. The hijab is not because the women are oppressed by the men. No the hijab is used to show a different way of looking at the world. It is apart of a culture we do not fully understad and show learn mroe about. “The authors perspective is that a woman's hijab a sign of morals. Hijab allows men to chase women due to their personalities and not their bodies. Also that they guard their modesty.” (Women and the Hijab)

In conclusion you can see there was a lot to be learned this year but I found it most interesting that everything we studied lead back to unequality and oppression. It gave me a new outlook on the world. That makes me feel grateful for everything I have and also will forever teach me not to just believe everything that I have heard. It taught me to research, and that ignorance is not bliss.

Revolution Guidebook Project

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in World History - Block - B on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 12:03 am

In this unit of our World History class we studied various revolutions in history and in present day. First we studied the Arab Spring. The Arab spring is a more modern revolution that takes place in Egypt. We learned how modern technology such as the internet can help gather a nation. After the Arab Spring we studied the French Revolution and even did a role playing activity speaking as people from the time. This consisted of speaking parts and long class discussions about our characters view on issues like, the Declaration of Rights, Womens’ Right, King Louis XIV exception and public safety in France and Haiti at the time.

For this project we were given the task to make a digital story with a topic of our choosing that involves 2 or more revolutions old or modern. For mine I picked how the internet and social media has affected a lot of different revolutions. I also compared this to older revolutions that did not have the internet.

Social Media Involvement in Revolutions - Brittany A from brittany Atkinson on Vimeo.

Keystone XL Monologue

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in World History - Block - B on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 7:37 pm

Our Unit

In this unit we learned about the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a pipeline that is planned to run through out America from the tar sands in Canada and is going to cost $7 billion. The pipeline is run by TransCanada and the decision was left the United States to decide if they want to go through with the idea or not. It is said to create 20,000 job opportunities in the U.S, benefiting the economy. However, there are many people who do not want the pipeline to be built because of the environmental affects it will cause throughout the country.

Facts

830,00 barrels of oil per day. (Link)

Starting in Hardisty, Alta.. (Link)

Creates 58.6 billion in taxes.

In the event that the pipeline leaks it could take 1.5 million lives.

Will stretch the length 1,179 miles and 36 inches in diameter. (Link)

Leave Me Be
(It opens to a police questioning room, he is sitting at the hard metal table as the officer walks in) God, why am I here? You interrupt me from my sleep for nothing, huh? I ain’t never do nothin’! All you do is arrest people for no reason? I want my lawyer, everyone has the right to a lawya! What?.. Who are you to ask me to my name? You should know that ya damn baboon. All right, all right, all right. My name is Hugh Callous, ya happy?...No? Ha that makes two of us.
You know I don’t have time for this. I have sleep to get, and the soup kitchen isn’t gonna be open forever. You’re men shouldn’t be worried so much about me, with all them damn people in front of the white house how the hell am I supposed to get any sleep? All I hear is “Pipeline, Pipeline, Pipeline!” Tell ‘em damned people to shut the hell up. I should I have to care about a pipeline? What? Why would I be involved in that? You think me of all people would be slumping it at a protest for some hippies. No...I do not know the frickn’ leader of the hippy hounds. Can I leave now? A mans gotta eat, and you police gotta eat your donuts.
I don’t care why ‘em people are out there. I don’t think I should have to, I just want some sleep. SLEEP! Yeah I get it, they don’t want you to build your dumb pipeline thats only gonna make people sick and I know a thing or two about being sick. Ya’ll just want some more money and don’t care about where it lands people. Jobs..? You wanna talk to me about jobs? Do I look like I have a job? I haven’t worked in 20 years because of this crap economy, my boy is in foster home because’a you people. Talk’n bout jobs.. ya’ll ever thought about who’s jobs you’ll be taken, did ya? 7 million bucks, for what? Some frick’n oil and this country can’t even give people a damn job at a grocery store. If ya would just give them what they want, they’d shut their snouts and people like me get some damn rest. Ain’t nobody asking for some 1,179 mile metal tube through the damn country. Now let me go, cans aint gonna collect themselves.
(The police officer turns to leave) Where in the hella ya goin’? I want my phone call fool. Aye, dontcha touch me I can walk my damn self. Wheres this phone of yours? ....Well, thank you I appreciate it, damn idiot..
(He picks up the phone and dials a number) Ahem...Hello.. May I speak to Raine? Who am I? I’m his daddy, now put him on the phone... Hey bud, how’s it goin’? Is everything all right? That’s good. Listen..Dad’s gone and got himself arrest for being at the wrong place at the wrong time...Why? Well theres a big protest against this big ugly pipelin--you know about it? Is that right? No I don’t think its right but you know how America is, son.. I’ll get to you soon, I promise..Happy 10th birthday Raine..I love ya too..I’ll see ya real soon and I’ll give ya your present. Bye bud..

Papa Come Back
(It opens to a farm house and a little girl is standing in the kitchen with her book bag.) Mommy! Mommy where are you? Are you home yet? Mommy! Mama you didn’t pick me up from school!
(She goes on to the living room.)
Pa wake up!.... Why are you yelling at me? Am I in trouble? No..but pa where were you all day..where’s mama? What’s a protest..? Daddy why is mama protesting your job. Don’t you need that? But..Why would she think its bad if its good for us?.. Environment? Daddy I wanna talks to mama.
(She takes the phone as it rings.) Mama! Come home! What’s the environment?...A pipeline? So the pipeline is bad for the pigs and people..the piggies will get hurt...NO! Mama I wanna help you! Mommy! Don’t hang up! Mama, please I wanna help! Pa why you takin’ the phone from me? But, what if the piggies die! Mama said that if they do the pipeline thingy that our water will be oily and the piggies and people will get sick. Pa please I wanna talk to Mama. (She sobs uncontrollably) What if you get sick, Pa! Stop yelling at me! You's a people aintcha Pa!? I’m a people right? I wanna go with mama! I don’t wanna get sick, Pa, I don’t want our family to die daddy... I gotta help ma, and you keep yelling at me!... It’s your job? But why you wanna work there, Pa?..Where are you goin’?
(Her father leaves and she goes to her room.) God, help me? Why is Pa so mean? Why does his job make him mean? I wish he was nice ‘gain, like he use be to me when he worked on the farm with us and Grandma...Now he’s just rude..He’s mean to Mama too and Grandma and even the piggies.. Mama says that he is just over worked and the chemicals are gettin’ to him..those oils and junk...Mama says a lot of people are workin’ on that big ugly black thang...Pa says we need money for nice things, but I don’t want nice things..I want my Pa back..he don’t even call me Tami no more..He calls me Tamila or girl now..please help me God.. He’ll end up sick if that oil spills. Let Pa find a different job..Mama said he wasn’t gon’ have it long, please get him another one thats happy and that makes Pa..Pa..

God Help Me
(He paces through his living room frustrated.) Oh lord, what have I done? I’ve hurt my baby. My wife is gonna hate me when she gets back. Oh Tami darlin’ don’t be upset with me. Why is my family bein’ so damn difficult? I need a job and everyone’s yellin’ at me, sayin’ that I need to quit. What am I gon’ do if I quit, lord?
The farm...the farms done.. We can barely keep our live stock up never mind them crops. What am I to do if we can’t pay this damn morage? We need some money. If this job is only short term, who cares...atleast we got some food on the table.
Michelle says that we don’t need no more oil in this country but I think it’ll be good for us. Nobody gotta worry ‘bout nothin’. Not worried about nobodies oil but our own. She sayin’ I’m losing it but I think I’m fine. I got a job and that’s all I need, don’t matter if I have a few drinks on the way ha. They ain’t got no right. Michelle is protestin’ against the line today and I don’t understand why. Its just a lil money that the countries gotta spend for somethin’ that’ll help us all. That woman always ‘bout the enviroment… now she’s digging ditches into our daughter’s head.
Everybody knows that oil can’t get in our water. I mean Nebraska can fix it with all the new taxes we gon’ get, right? $58.1 billion tax dollars they can fix a lil bit of water. I mean we’re gon’ be alright aren’t we, lord? Michelle is starting to say how I need to choose between the family and the job. How in the hell does she expect me to do that. I got one of the 20,000 jobs.. they should be proud of me.
Maybe...maybe it isn’t even worth it..my baby girls face when I yelled...it-it broke my heart.. I should listen to my family. I wouldn’t be nowhere without em, no matter how annoyin’ they can get. I’m gonna quit for my my family...for my baby.. for my wife.. f-for this damn farm even..it’s not worth given up. God you're always so helpful...

La Casa de Señora Thompson

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Wednesday, June 5, 2013 at 11:41 pm

Casa de Thompson
by Brittany A, Bella B

Señora Thompson es muy fantastica y buena profesora. Cuanto vente ocho años. Ella es professora de matimaticas. Ella le gusta ejercicio mucho. Ella vive con el esposo. Ella es muy interesta en corre y ciclismos mucho. Tambien hace snowboarding mas o menos. Le encanta cocina y lee en la casa. Ella quiere los dos ninos, así necesito muy grande casa. Le gusta colores azul y verde.

Su casa está en Cuidad de Atlantis. Está en la ciudad. Está cerca del parque y las escuelas. Esta casa es moderno y nueva con tiene colores vibrantes. Está lejos el campo. Un cuarto de bicis porque, Señora Thompson su encanta anda es bicicleta. Tambien hombre de las cavernas para su esposo.

La Cocina
- es muy grande la nevera
- una la estufa
- el lavaplatos
- el fregadero
- cinco la ventanas

Hombre de las Cavernas / El Sotano
- Esta hombre de las cavernas es in el sotano
- Esta muy grande y mas actividad
- Grande tele y el cine chiquito

La Sala/ la Biblioteca

- Pequeña biblioteca en la sala
- La sala tener los dos sofás y las sillas.
- Ventanas muy grande en la sala.

El Baño
- El baño es muy guapo
- Grande la ducha
- Pequeño el espejo
- Grande el lavamanos

Negative Space Reflection

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Art - Freshman - Hull on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 8:15 pm

Negative space is the when the space around an object that is shaded to show the outline of an object.

I found negative space in my cut out by having the outline one color so it outlines the bird on both sides out the picture.

I found negative space in my still life drawing my shading around the area of the object until I started to see the object in real life.

It helps an artist to see negative space because it easier to not think about the details of an object. Also it helps them draw what they see.

Seeing negative space does enhance drawings by making you see the surrounding space of object and still see the object itself.

Final Perspective Drawing

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Art - Freshman - Hull on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 12:51 pm

One thing I learned that I didn't know before is that all elements of a drawing are connected by orthogonals and the vanishing point. They keep the drawing in balance and keeps everything in proportion. Learning this made my drawing acceptable. Without these two techniques I would be out of luck trying to draw this art room. My room would look unprofessional and it would all be guess work.
If I had to draw this room over again I'd definitely pay more attention to the details the things in the room. Things in the room like the number of tables there are in the room or the texture of the tables and stools. I would not spend so much time doing everything to exactness. For example, the floor tiles took me an entire class period because i wanted to have the exact number of tiles on the floor (24).
My advise to someone who has never done one-point perspective is to take their time on a drawing like that. You will make a lot of mistakes and will have to erase all the time. It's good to be patient and not try to rush the drawing. If you're stuck on one thing, go back to it later. The resources that helped me the most was the olejarz website and Mrs. Hull's example. They gave the most direct examples and showed the simplest way of drawing certain elements.

Nuestras actividades

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 8:26 am

Mi nombre es Brittany Atkinson. Tengo 14 años. Soy bastante extraña. Es por eso que siempre acto loca. Por lo tanta, despusés de clases, como. Me encanta dibujo y escucho música. Soy bailo extraña a veces.
Su nombre Amelia. Tiene 14 años. Su es muy bastante activa. Ella es increíblemente sociable y cómica. Por lo tanta, después

E1 U4 Video

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Friday, February 15, 2013 at 12:04 pm

Brittany Atkinson, Wilson Biggs, Tamira Bell
10/2/13
Guión

Intro: ¡Bienvenidos nuestro la escuela de Science Leadership Academy! La escuela está en centro ciudad Filadelfia, en veintidós y Arch. SLA es una escuela increíblemente inteligente y extraño. Está es el principal, Señor Lehmann. Él es muy bobo pero inteligente.

Señor Kay: Aquí tenemos la clase de Inglés. El Señor Kay enseña está la clase. Enseña muy bien. Tenemos que leemos y escribimos ensayos. Necesitamos muy unas libros y una pluma.

Señor Sanchez: Está es la clase de historia afroamericana. El Señor Sanchez enseña está la clase. Él también enseña Español tres. Enseña increíblemente bien. Tenemos platicas.

End: Cuando tienes tiempo libre, visitar SLA una día. SLA es un bastante inteligente la escuela, muy divertido, increíblemente creativo y un poquito extraño.

Video.

E1 U4 Mi Ensayo :)

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Friday, February 8, 2013 at 11:13 am

Me llama Brittany Atkinson pero mis amigos me llaman Britt. Tengo catorce años. Soy estudiante de Science Leadership Academy. Está en el centro de la cuidad de Filadelphia, Pennsylvania. Está cerca de Arch Gourmet y The Franklin Institute. Es divertida, creativa, y pequeña. Hay quinientos estudiantes, vienticinco profesores y cuatro pisos. Tenemos desportes como fútbol y baloncesto. Tambíen muchos clubs como robótica. Tenemos béisbol es mi favorito club/deportes. Mi participo en béisbol porque es divertido y un gra
n deporte.
Mis clases son inglés, arte, bioquímica, historia afroameriocana, español, y matemáticas. Mi favorito es inglés pero mi professor es muy comico. Arte es también mi favorito pero me gusta dibujar. En clase de inglés leemos muchos los libros. Y clases de arte nosotros cómo dibujamos muchas cosas y creativmos . No me gusta mucho matemáticas porque es aburrido y muy fácil. En arte tenemos que bloc de dibujo y la lapiz. En matematicas y espanol tenemos que la carpeta y lápiz. En clases de ingles y historia afroameriocana tenemos que unos libros y el diccionario. Para tener exito en todas las clases hay que seguir las reglas SLA.
El Sr. Kay enseño inglés. El es muy cómico y increíblemente bobo. Se gusta libros y poetry. La Srta. Jonas enseña historia afroamericana. Ella es simpática y buen professora. También ella es latina. La Srta. Hull enseña tecnología y arte. La clasés es divertida pero mas o menos aburrida. Ella es muy inteligente y duro, también gran artista . La Srta. Dunda enseña bioquímica. Ella es divertida profressora a veces, a veces ella es duro.
SLA es muy fanstatico escuela. Me gusta mucho mi escuela porque es divertido y le premite mi libre. Lo que más me gusta de SLA es de todos amistoso. No me gusta teniendo consultivo al final de la día porque me hace cansado. SLA es incrediblemnte extraña pero serio también.

Los Seres Queridos en Mi Vida

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Monday, January 14, 2013 at 7:13 pm

Yo - Soy Brittany. Tengo cuartce años. Soy extraña y boba. Me gusta leer y escuchar musíca casi siempre. No me gusta escribir pero me fascina dibujar.

Ella - Se llama Bella. Ella es algo deportista y increíblemente artística. Le encanta My Chemical Romance. Tiene el pelo cafe y los ojos cafés.

Ellos - Se llama Cameron y Micah. Jugar videojuegos con amigos. Ellos es muy altos y cómicos. Tienen el pelo carta y negro. Mis mejores amigos del individuo

Ellas - Hikma y Adowa. Ellas son muy inteligente. Chicas son cómicas y boba. También súper simpática.

Nosotros - Amelia es muy simpactica y mas o menos loca.Tiene un perro y dos gatos. Un familia pequeña. Una de mis mejores amigas.

Adivina (Guess!)

Posted by Brittany Atkinson on Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 8:50 am

Zooey Deschanel
Katy Perry
Bella Mezz

Ella es simpática. Ella es el pelo café y los ojos verdes. Ella es muy famosa y cómica. :)

E1 U2 Carta

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Monday, December 10, 2012 at 5:20 pm

Querido....,

¡Saludos desde Filadelfia! ¡Hola! Mi nombre es Brittany. ¿Qué tal? Estoy estrancquila y increiblemente cansada. ¿Cuanto años tienes tú? Tengo catorce años. Cuando es tú cumpleaños? Mi cumpleaños diez de Julio. ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy...? Depende dal dia es hace bastante frio en Filadelphia. Me fasina mucho cosas! Yo escuchar música casi siempre. Voy a escuchar cualquier género. Me gusta mucho comer y dibujar. Me encanta cocinar con mi mama y loco familia. Uf, no me gusta nada ayudar en casa para nada. ¿Y tú, qué te gusta hacer? Soy muy extraña y boba sin embargo mi seria a veces. Soy un poquito perezos pero bien habladora con mi amigos. Soy ni alta tampoco baja. Bueno, me voy porque tengo que hacer mi tarea. Responde cuando puedas.

Con cariño,
Brittany Atkinson:)

Media Fluency

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Technology- Freshmen - Hull on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 10:29 am

I wrote an incredibly simple slide about the oh so wonderful me.

For my slide about myself I chose to use to variety of things to make mine personal. Bleeding was used for all pictures and the title for a sense of mystery, also to catch the viewers attention. Few words are written to keep the readers attention and not draw their attention away from the speaker/presenter.

Here are the sources I used to help me on this assignment.
Presentation Zen Link

Slide Design Link

Reflection.
I learned that you can't overpower the slide with too many words and a lot of pictures. Also that you have to keep it simple and coordinate colors in the slide with everything else.
.

Mis Favoritos

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 7:27 am

Shaggy!!!

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Sunday, November 25, 2012 at 9:59 am

Se le Shaggy. Él es tiene dieciocho años. Es de Crystal Cove pero vive en Mystery Machine. Él es alto, delgado, y rubio. Es bastante bobo, cómico, y muy perezoso pero increíblemente deportista a veces. Le gusta comer mucho, pasar un rato con amigos también resolver misterios. No le gusta nada siendo perseguido por los monstruos!

A,B,C....

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Friday, October 26, 2012 at 12:57 pm

The alphabet or alfabeto is simple to learn in Spanish
There are just something things you need to know.

There are two different n's. One is your normal n and the other is ñ. Another thing is that none of the letters are pronounced the same, matter-of-fact most of them are vastly different.
Here is a little something to explain.
Whats in the parentheses help you pronounce the letters.

I hope that helped you at least a little bit

Video
Here is video of a real life situation where two girls say the spanish alphabet

The Weather in Spanish???

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 8:29 am

What is the weather? or ¿Qué tiempo hace?

Explanation:
The weather is super simple to tell in español. First you need to know the seasons.
El invierno (winter)
El primavera (spring)
El verano (summer)
El otoño (fall)

Then you need to know how to say what the weather. Here's a chart to help you understand better.

Tip: Está and Hace are what you say before you say what the weather is.

To say the weather is nice you would say : Hace buen tiempo.
To say the weather is bad you would say : Hace muy tiempo.

Video INTRO

Here is a video of a real life situation in which knowing how to ask/say the weather in spanish here an american is in a spanish speaking country and doesn't know how to ask the weather

Spanish weather by Sp3ars on GoAnimate

Animation Software - Powered by GoAnimate.

Atkinson, Brittany, LucidChart, Homework

Posted by Brittany Atkinson in Technology- Freshmen - Hull on Friday, October 19, 2012 at 10:53 am

An LNA (Local Netwrok Server) is an ethernet where you can connect all of your devices. On mine I have 3 iPhones, a laptop, a wii, 2kindles, a desktop, iPad, and a PS3. My O.M.G moment is when I realized how many devices you can put on your LNA and also how unsafe it is if your wifi is not protected. I advice anyone who has Wifi to protect it with a password.