Miranda Sosa Public Feed
Element Print - Vanadium
My element is Vanadium, it’s atomic number is 23. Vanadium was discovered a couple times, the first by Andrés Manuel del Rio in 1801 who then sent the element to a french chemisist. The chemisist said it was just a chromium mineral. Later on in 1831 it was discovered at Stockholm by chemisist named Nil Gabriel Selfström. He found it in a piece of Ore(which is another element), then later in 1869 Vanadium is being produced purely. Vanadium is used in jet engines, so I decided to make a jet to represent that. I first drew a rocket ship but I thought I could do better. I put the sketch on a different piece of paper so I could easily print it out. I rolled out the paint then put the paint on my sketch, once my sketch was fully covered in paint I put it face down on a blank piece of paper. Then I rubbed a spoon over both papers so the ink would transfer. After the ink was on the other side I let the papers dry and then cut them out. I would change my sketch so it was a little more interesting and looked better with the ink on it. My favorite part of the project was getting to actually print the sketches out. It was very hands on and very fun to do. What's The Move?
My topic which is bringing together Ben Franklin and Science Leadership Academy, due to the co-location that will be happening in the 2020 school year. My goal is to prevent any conflict between the two very different schools. In my first post I talked a lot about how each school was very different, but also how we can benefit from that. In the second post I interviewed 3 important people who are working towards making this a smooth transition for everyone. I talked with principals from my school and Ben Franklin, and also spoke with the Superintendent of Innovation Network, Christina Grant. In the interview I asked questions about what could be improved on during this move, what challenges they anticipate, and what they think about the situation in general.
Me asking for some feedback on some questions and ideas.
The next step in this project wasn’t finding more resources or more people to interview, it was going out and making a change for this cause. We call it an Agent of Change, some way to spread awareness or help make a difference. I knew right from the start what I wanted to do to make a change. I wanted to start a club between the two schools. Taking in the input I received I found other ways to help, like having a day of team building or a party. A club seemed like the most efficient and long lasting solution to this problem.
That’s what I did, I started a club to bring together Ben Franklin and SLA students. The first meeting was not what I was expecting, only about 5 people came. My teacher sponsor and I talked about ways to get Ben Franklin involved in the club, because as of right now it’s only SLA students. We did some fun icebreakers and also had a discussion about what to call the club during the first meeting. I realized that I needed to think about ways to improve this new club and advertise it better, so that more people will want to join. My plan is to have another meeting next week and hopefully it will be more successful. That being said I have to start somewhere and I think this is a great starting point for me and this club.
Me presenting during my first club meeting
My objective is to keep this club going throughout my whole high school career and even further after I graduate. I believe this club will really make both school environments feel better with each other. I want my club to have 3 main goals, one is problems solving. Which means I want our club to be the place everyone goes to if there is a problem involving both schools, that we can fix. The second goal I want is team building, so that aspect of having a club where we would get to know each other and have fun while doing it. The last goal I want is event planning, I was thinking we could be the group that plans dances and both school wide events.
I did have some setbacks and in the beginning, my plan was to contact Ben Franklin staff. That didn’t really work out due to lack of communication, so I had to work around that challenge. This is why the club right now is only SLA students, we are working towards finding a way to contact Ben Franklin students. Overall this experience was something I won't forget, this project really inspired me. Trying to make an impact and change on something that means a lot to me, makes me feel like I am making a difference. This topic isn’t really an issue yet but if it ever does become one I feel like my club will really help, and lot of people will benefit from it.
This is my annotated bibliography.Negative Space Cut-Out
Negative space is the space around a picture or photo that surrounds it. In this cut out I found negative space by seeing the different areas between my house and the background. For example the fence and the clouds are examples of negative space because it surrounds the house. This is important because it helps an artist to see negative space, it can give you a new perspective and help you understand a piece of art better. Seeing negative space can enhance drawing because it creates a new aspect of the drawing that you haven't seen before. For example in my cutout you see two sides to one picture but it’s created using negative space.
A Funny Story
This is our music video based on the book we read, which was "It's Kind of a Funny Story" By: Ned Vizzini
By: Phoenix, Ashton, and Miranda
...
What did he do to himself?
…
How could he clean himself up?
Craig Gilner….
He checked himself in…
…
Is that where he’s been?
Stuck in a hospital bed,
Thinking ‘bout all his regrets
He still likes to talk but
his friendships are a mess
He’s underage in the place
Not sure he can keep the pace
A lot of stuff happening
That he’s too scared to face
He’s got nowhere to go
And he feels all alone
He’s been stuck for so long and
Now he wants to go home
The highschool put pressure
But he is missing a message
His mind is still messy
He could not understand it
Now we’re changing perspective
Going from Gilner to Nia
If you had told me this story
I bet I wouldn’t believe ya!
Feeling ashamed,
Nia can’t even explain
she made out with him once
But the love didn’t remain
But before she disappeared,
Craig had argued with Aaron.
They did both like Nia
Aaron caught Gilner staring
Craig met one named Noelle
first it was hard to tell
If she had liked him or hated him
He thought she still compelled
It all started with a note
That Craig had saw with no hope
It said “meet me at 7”
He was wondering who wrote
They met in the evening
In a particular place
The girl was checked in for the
Scratches on her face.
They didn’t know each other
So they played 20 questions.
They answered truthfully so
There was really no guessing.
It would’ve been easy to tell
That they have gotten along well
But when Craig asked to kiss
She just said “no”.....
He said “I’m not good at crap.”
He gets signed up for a class.
She said “draw something you love”
He drew what’s called a “brain map”
See these highways and byways?
And all those buildings and streets?
Emphasis on the ‘BRAIN’
that’s his personality!
Craig got out in two weeks
After starting to handle it.
He still talks to Noelle
And he’s no longer damaged.
….
Life is not cured, life is managed!
*fade out*
"The Move"
As you know in my last blog post, I talked about two different schools, Ben Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy. These two schools will be colocating together in the year 2020, my goal is to prevent any conflict that might happen before the move. I have continued to do research on this topic, I interviewed some pretty amazing people including Mr. Lehmann who is the principal of Science Leadership Academy. Dr. Christine Borelli who is the principal of Ben Franklin High School, and Christina Grant who is assistant superintendent of the Innovation Network and Opportunity Network.
Along with these interviews I have done some extra research. This is a new site that just came out about the move. The site talks about a variety of different things that have to do with this particular situation, such as the project overview with a schedule/timeline. This website also shows pictures of both Ben Franklin and SLA students collaborating to generate ideas about renovating Ben Franklin’s building for the move. Along with all of this, I learned some new things. For example, construction starts in June 2018 and goes until July 2019. Also that Stantech is in charge of the architectural side of the project, they are designing and planning for the new building. This website was a great resource to get information about the building and planning of the move.
Timeline of the project
Another site that I found, helped me a little bit in understanding the financials of the move. As of right now it costs about $1 million to rent out SLA’s building, which is very expensive. The school district is putting $20 million into renovating the new building. Something else I learned was that Ben Franklin High School can hold a little over 1000 kids. In the school year 2016-17, they only had 546 students while SLA has about 500. So this move makes a lot of sense because Ben Franklin has the space and it’s cheaper financially.
In my first blog post I talked a lot about each school individually and a lot about how they are both different academically and culturally. When I interviewed people about this move none of them brought up academics, which to me was surprising. Although, it made me realize that that’s not what this move is about. One of the people that I interviewed was Dr. Borelli who is the new Principal of Ben Franklin. Dr. Borelli stated “I really want people to know that BFHS and SLA are very different schools but that doesn't make one school better than the other. This is an opportunity to build one school campus by collaborating and celebrating our diverse cultures, not a competition between two separate schools.” I believe that a lot of people are worried about this move because of how different the schools are, and what Dr. Borelli says really ensures people that us being different schools won’t affect how we act towards one another. Dr. Borelli goes on to say that, ”It is important that BFHS students understand the shifts that will occur during the upcoming year (changing the morning admission location, eliminating access to some stairwells, etc.).” This is something that caught my eye because I hadn’t really thought about how the construction would affect the Ben Franklin community. They are going to have a major change in their learning environment and the SLA community needs to be mindful about what they are giving up for a year.
Dr. Christina Borelli
I also had an interview with the principal of SLA, Chris Lehmann. Mr. Lehmann talked a lot about making sure students, parents, and teachers are taking opportunities given to them during this move. For example Mr. Lehmann said “ When we have these opportunities for students to interact with one another, to come in with an open mind, to come in excited, to come in and share our energy, ideas, and our excitement for the project with Ben Franklin.” This is something everyone should keep in mind because we are co-locating and there will be a lot of chances to get together and talk with each school as a whole. There are so many factors that are going into this move, Mr. Lehmann brought up a good point about Ben Franklin. He said “Recognizing that it’s hard for Ben Franklin to share resources and a facility as much as it for us to now move.” SLA is moving into a new building, not the other way around. We need to be mindful about how Ben Franklin and how SLA are feeling. This is going to be new for everyone, and these two schools will have to adjust to make everything work and go smoothly. Mr. Lehmann concluded the interview by saying “What we share is far greater than what is different about us.” This statement is very true and although this will be a huge adjustment on some people we are all going to be a new family because of the move.
Chris Lehmann (Principal of Science Leadership Academy)
The last interview I am going to tell you about was with Christina Grant, she is superintendent of the Innovation Network and Opportunity Network, which means she supervises 35 different schools in Philadelphia. She has worked a lot in New York with co-located schools for some time of her life. During our interview she gave me some valuable information, like how Ben Franklin has a CTE program and what she hopes to happen with this move. While we were talking she said “ My biggest goal is to make sure you all both walk into a school and you’re like this is our new home and we’re going to figure it out.” This really shows how passionate she is about making this go well. A question I asked was “How do you think this move will impact the two distinct cultures of the two schools?” Her response was “ I think that you guys will both shape the culture of each other schools.” This really got me thinking about how each school is different but we are going to learn from each other in many ways. Christina then went on to say something that really ensured me and got me very excited about the new building, “ I don’t think you all will appreciate how amazing your school is going to look and the privilege it’s going to be to be in that school. I think it’s going to change your life at sla and dramatically change the lives of kids at Ben Franklin.” What she says hopefully makes everyone more excited about moving into a new building and also sharing one. This might be challenging at first but in the end it will be better for both schools.
Me interviewing Christina Grant
In conclusion this move is going to be a great thing for everyone! A lot of my concerns/questions were answered now that I have spoken to some people. I feel like the move will have less conflict then I originally thought, but it will still be challenging for both schools. I still don’t know what exactly is going to happen when the day comes when both schools are in the same building, I can only hope for the best. Now that I have gone deeper into this topic I feel a lot more calm and excited about actually moving and I hope that I made other people feel that way too. When we are finished with this project we are supposed to create and agent of change. This means that we have to take action and start something to help fix our problem. In my case there isn’t a problem yet, but to prevent any from happening I think I want to start a club between the two schools. This will students from both schools an opportunity to get to know each other so that when we move we aren’t complete strangers to one another.
Ben Franklin High School
Unity With The Move
Moving schools is hard, and that us exactly what I am going to have to do. My school Science Leadership Academy (SLA) will be moving into Ben Franklin High Schools campus, due to our lease being up. Their school is very different from mine. So I thought that it would be a good idea to bring up the issue of how we are going to get along. My hopes are very high going into this new situation, everyone has to adjust but I hope it will all go smoothly. That being said, there might be a few bumps along the way because of how different the two schools are. I want to fix any problems that might occur in the future.
Science Leadership Academy is a public high school that holds about 500 students. SLA is project based, which means we are inquiry driven where we learn by doing major projects rather than midterms or finals. It is a different process to get into SLA than other schools, because you have to do an interview. SLA not only wants to see that you can make and present a nice project, they also want to get to know you and what new students can offer to our community. Our community is something that make us special and unlike other schools, because everyone who goes to SLA is quirky and unique. SLA gives a lot of freedom to be who you are and also a lot of privileges. For example, our laptop program, where all students get a laptop to do school work on. With this comes a lot of responsibility, and teachers know that they can trust us. SLA has achieved above average on all of their test scores. Not only are our academics are great, but according to Great Schools, SLAs rating is an 8/10.
This is a picture of Science Leadership Academy
Ben Franklin High School is very different, they are a public school from grades 9-12. This school holds about 700 students, which is a couple hundred more than SLA. They have a very strict dress code, unlike SLA where we have total freedom to wear what we want. Including everything from a logo on the shirt, to making sure you have a belt. Ben Franklin's test scores are 56% below state average. Which is very low compared to SLA’s. Also 100% are low income students.
This is a picture of Ben Franklin High school
Ben Franklin’s mission is to “provide a high quality education that prepares, ensures, and empowers all students to achieve their full intellectual and social potential.” SLA’s mission is to “provide a vigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics, and entrepreneurship.” Ben Franklin's vision is to “become successful and socially responsible individuals” and also go to college. While SLA’s core values are “inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection”. As you can see, these schools are very unique in their own way.
Once my school moves into Ben Franklin's campus, we will have access to many more things. For example like a gym and more learning space. With that being said Ben Franklin High School is making big adjustments, into their curriculum and their campus. Knowing that these two schools are not very alike, all the students and staff are going to have to figure out a way to get along. Not only will the SLA students have to teach Ben Franklin students about how we learn, because they are going from there curriculum to being project based. Both schools will become so much closer to each other because they will share a some of the same spaces. I know that this might be difficult to some, because of how the schools are like opposites. So far my research has showed me that we can really help Ben Franklin improve on things and how much they can benefit from us. I want to bring both schools together and make the situation easier for everyone.
This is my annotated bibliography.
Remix Me Magazine Slide-Miranda Sosa
When I was offered critiques, I learned that making pictures bigger gives the audience something to focus on while also focusing on the big words. By hearing my pictures were too small I made the pictures bigger so the audience can really see them. I changed the positioning of everything, and added a new border around my pictures that was still flowers like my original slide. People said they liked “family” in the middle, so I kept that and put my two cities on the top and bottom of that. The arrows show that family is represented through those two places.
I actually thought that my other slide was good, I put a lot of thought into it, and was very proud of it. Then I realized that some things didn’t make sense, like having the cat and basketball made it look bad. So I took them out and made everything simpler. I also asked my friends and teachers about what they thought and kept asking for advice so that really helped me.
Even though I changed the slide I still have most of the same design elements, like symmetry, texture, color, sizing, contrast, framing, and repetition. These design elements make the slide have more thought and care. Overall I think my slide is more presentable looks simpler but in a good way.
Me Magazine Tech Slide- Miranda Sosa
My slide represent some parts of me. The background is a chalkboard to add texture to the slide. By adding texture it gives you a sense of something real. I used that font, because it makes it look like its actual chalk on the board. I have in the center “Family” because I love my family and they mean a lot to me. It’s in big font, so everyone can see. It’s bigger than the other words because it means the most to me. The 2 cities at the top are places I grew up, smaller because they don’t mean as much as family. But in all caps because they are important to me. The flowers are there to add a pretty appearance, also to show symmetry. The basketball and cat are black to contrast the white lettering. They are also there to create a sense of symmetry just more loose. The basketball and cat are two of my favorite things. Lastly the pictures represent my twin sister because she means the world to me and made me who I am today.
Elements in my slide:
Symmetry in the slide
Chalkboard background to add texture
Color/Font of words
Pictures add color
Black contrasts white
The scaling/ framing like where everything is placed
Elements I researched that are not in my slide:
Repetition (Get one point across)
Transparency(Adds more effect)
Home Network-Miranda Sosa
1)All the devices on my internet connection are, 3 phones, 3 kindles, a desktop computer, and TV.
2) I learned that everything in my house is wireless and that I only need one modem to run my whole house.
3)I would tell other people that having a home network is very useful. You can connect all your devices to one thing and have everything nice and organized. Also some companies like to rip you of, so if you know everything about your network and internet, then you know which provider to choose and stuff like that.
This is a diagram of my home network. I have a verison box that connects to a modem that is then wireless to all my devices. The dotted lines means it's wireless.
