I knew exactly what the topic of my capstone would be by the time that I entered high school. I have had an interest in animals ever since my first pet dog named Rex. However, it did not stop with him. I was fascinated in animals of all sorts. I remember that my family would buy my books about animals. In particular, I would enjoy reading about reptiles. My interest in reptiles came about when I went on a kindergarten class trip to the Philadelphia Zoo, a place that would eventually become the headquarters of my capstone project.

After entering the Reptile and Amphibian House that first time, I noticed that it contained a variety of animals that were like nothing that I had ever seen before. All of its inhabitants were scaly. Some were legless, and others had shells. I had always seen pictures of reptiles, but finally being able to see how unique that they were in person gave me a lifelong curiosity. After leaving the zoo that first time, I was eager to go back and observe things that I was not able to notice the first time, given my young age. As such, when high school gave me the chance to volunteer at the zoo, I eagerly accepted it. This happened when I chose the zoo for my tenth grade Individualized Learning Plan (ILP). Being able to finally wear the zoo uniform to the zoo took my already present excitement about my internship over the top, as the animals would now look to me not as a visitor, but as a keeper.

After I had finished my internship, I felt emptiness in my body. I knew that for my life to once again be complete, I had to find a way that I could incorporate the zoo into my life. I quickly realized that the perfect idea was to have my capstone project have something to do with the zoo. Although I wanted to use it to learn more about what the zoo does behind the scenes, I knew that I could make a more productive use of my time with the zoo. Instead of being selfish, I thought that it would be a good idea to work with the zoo to make the already amazing experience that each zoo visitor has even better. While I was thinking about how to achieve this, I remembered what I did when I volunteered at the zoo in the tenth grade. Then, the idea came to me to improve the zoo’s already valuable education program in any way that I could. This one thought helped to shape how I was going to do my project.

I knew that although the zoo did educate its zoo visitors about the animals in its care, it did not really get the chance to take notes about how each zoo visitor responded to the information that was being presented to them. I knew at that point that it was my obligation to take observations on the engagement level of each zoo visitor that I came into contact with in locations throughout the zoo. This led my project to a halt, as I had to decide what my definition of engaged should be. However, after collaborating with the zoo, we decided that the best way to accurately judge the engagement level of a zoo visitor was by counting the number of questions that they asked. If they asked more than two questions, I would assume that they were engaged. If not, then I would assume vice-versa. To go with this, I would also record the expression on zoo visitors’ faces, the amount of time that they spent with a zoo presenter, and some of the questions that they asked. Taking the data was the activity that took the most of my time to do, as the zoo required for me to volunteer for at least eighty hours.

After I had taken data for months, I compiled it all together to come to a conclusion. I had originally planned to educate zoo visitors myself, but I ran out of time. However, I was pleased with the findings that I was able to gain. I concluded that the best way to present information to zoo visitors was by way of a visual presentation, as more questions were being asked under these conditions. I shared this information with the zoo in hopes that it would help them in any way possible.

Looking back, I am happy to have had the chance to work with my favorite place twice in my life to do something that I enjoy doing. Although doing a capstone may have seemed like work to some of my peers, for me it brought sheer enjoyment. This experience is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, proudly bringing it up when I feel the need to do so. It is my hope that next year’s seniors will have an experience as wonderful as mine.

El propósito de este proyecto es a muestran que el mundo es injusto en algunos lugares. En particular, los Estados Unidos necesitan de ayuda. Se dice que la problema no existe. Al contrario, la problema sorprendentemente todavía existe. Esto es muestra en la película, cuando los trabajadores eran tratados como cerdos. Fue difícil para ellos encontrar apoyo, pero al final, lo hicieron.

Esta película es acerca de un personaje llamado María en la clase obrera. Ella comenzó a trabajar para una empresa llamada Ángel Cleaning Company, ubicada en Los Angeles. Como lo veo yo, ellos no tratan sus trabajadores muy bien y hablaron mal a ellos. Ellos no tienen los derechos que merecen. Entonces, comenzaron la manifestación por un cambio. No hay más remedio. Todo esto tuvo lugar en la década de 2000.

Artículos 4, 5, y 9 se rompieron en la escena donde Pérez manda los trabajadores a volver al trabajo sin descanso:

Artículo 4 dice que la esclavitud está prohibida y inutil. En la película, los obreros son tratados como esclavos en muchos aspectos. Uno es que no se les da un descanso. Históricamente, los esclavos eran obligados a trabajar sin parar. Por lo tanto, esto puede ser considerado una forma de esclavitud.

Artículo 5 dice que nadie debe ser tratado de una manera cruel. No dar a los trabajadores tiempo para relajarse es una cosa muy cruel hacer. Además, la forma que Pérez habló con ellos en el clip era muy antipático. Hablaba como si fueran perros, no las personas. Hay podría lograr de una manera mejor sin duda.

Artículo 9 dice que si alguien está en el exilio, debe tener una razón legítima. En este escenario, tacaño Pérez manda todo para volver a trabajar. No sólo envió las personas que asistieron a la reunión. Decidió que todo el mundo era culpable. Esto es injusto para las personas que no tenían nada hacer con la reunión.

En esta película, he aprendido que los derechos humanos son violados todos los días sin que se note. Estoy preocupado por los que tienen que sufrir en esto. Me parece que nos centramos en el trato injusto en todos partes pero los Estados Unidos. Debemos escoger a fijar nuestros propios problemas antes ayudar otros. Entonces, estoy feliz que visto esta película. Me enseñó sobre algo que no creo que normalmente sobre. Ahora que he completado esta unidad, sueño con el mundo finalmente ser perfecto. Sin embargo, dudo que va a pasar. Mientras las personas apoyar a las empresas que traten mal sus trabajadores, el ciclo continuará.

Soy el papá de Silvana, una niña maravilloso. Somos de Santiago, Chile en las setentas. Para mi, vida es un experiencia muy importante. Es un presente gran de Dios. En mi vida, yo aprendido ser más agradecido de lo que tengo. Esto todo sucedió después de la guerra fría. Fue una época muy deprimente para mí. Yo era obligado ser parte de este tiempo horrible y luchar para igualdad. Nunca pensé que porque yo era pobre, no era lo suficientemente bueno para interactuar con personas ricas. Porque de esto, no me gustan ellos. No soy menos un hombre que ellos son. Debemos escoger a somos iguales.

Así lo veo. En la pintura, veo a una mujer. Ella se ve como si estuviera mirando profundamente a los ojos. Lo más importante es ella tiene una sonrisa extraño, así que creo que ella es feliz con mis sentimientos interiores. Aunque, esto no tiene sentido porque ella está vestida de negro, así que quizás había perdido a un ser querido. Su cabello es negro lacio y largo. Como yo lo entiendo, ella está sentada en el medio de la nada, así que ella tiene como naturaleza. Sus manos son doblan, así que debe estar relajado. Hay montañas verdes en el fondo. Por debajo de las montañas es un campo de flores rojos. Hay un calle amarillo que lleva a las montañas. El cielo es turbia, lo que hace que la imagen un más extraño tono.

Entonces, los acontecimientos en la patria hicieron mi mundo se caía a pedazos ante mis ojos. Que estaba siendo juzgado por lo que tenía en lugar de quién era yo. Era de la clase media y la amistad no era posible entre los dos clases. Recuerdo cómo fueron asesinadas las personas y que fueron ignoradas por ser un cierto tipo de persona, no de la clase alta. El peor recuerdo fue cuando sucedió esto a mi hija maravillosa. Recuerdo estridente ¡Déjame hablar!, pero ellos no escucharon.  Ese mal hombre la mató por intentar protegerme. Nunca me perdoné por permitir que esto suceda a ella. Sin embargo, no había nada que yo pudiera hacer. Tan pronto como le oí disparar la bala, mi corazón se detuvo. Yo sabía que mi vida nunca sería la misma. Am obsesionado por la imagen de su cadáver tendido sangrando. Esto me hizo querer rendirse y suicidarse. Pero, recuerdo también pidiendo el cura y Dios para que el mundo entre en razón. Esto también me hizo venir a mis sentidos. No podía dejar que lo que le pasó a mi hija le suceda a una persona más. Algunas piezas de arte representan la idea de que a pesar de que las cosas pueden parecer malo, usted tiene la opción de ser fuerte. Me veo en la pintura de Mona Lisa. Aunque la Mona Lisa estaba vestido de negro en el foto, ella tenía una sonrisa en su rostro. Esto me demostró que a pesar de que algo malo puede pasarle a ella, ella esperaba. Estoy feliz que ella es una mujer fuerte, tal y como soy un hombre fuerte.

Elegí esta pintura porque demostró fuerza para mí. Desde mi punto de vista, fui capturado por primera vez por extraña sonrisa de Mona Lisa. Cuando miré a los ojos, al instante me conecté con ella. Por lo tanto, creo que este fue el mejor trabajo de Leonardo da Vinci, ya que muestra la cantidad correcta de la verdad y desconocidos.

Ubicado en: Calle Spring Garden y Calle Broad

• Niños son muy importantes en la comunidad.
• La comunidad es muy histórico.
• Hay un montón de escuelas de todo.
  
  
• Una mujer que habla
• Un hombre que sostiene un paño
  
  
• Este mural significa que usted puede hacer cualquier cosa que desee.

Ingredients (for two servings):
1 Onion
1 Green pepper
1 Tomato
2 African hot peppers
5 Maggi cubes
1 Package Chicken tray
⅕ cup of vegetable oil 

Instructions:
1.) Pour 5 oz. of dehydrated attieke into a large pot.
2.) Heat 5 oz. of water until warm. Pour the water in the pot with the attieke while stirring gently. Allow the attieke to soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
3.) Place the pot on the stove and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir the attieke continuously. Use a fork to prevent the grains from sticking together.
4.) Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove.                             
5.) Place the attieke in a large bowl and wait for it to cool down.
6.) For the second part of the dish, place the chicken in a large Ziploc bag. Then, place the 3 maggi cubes in the Ziploc bag with the chicken. Keep the chicken in there for 30-60 minutes. 
7.) Take the Ziploc bag with the chicken and put it in a refrigerator. You can refrigerate the chicken for up to four hour. The chicken will absorb the flavors.
8.) Take the chicken out of the fridge. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature before grilling it.
9.) Grill the chicken in a grill pan till both sides of the chicken turn brown and crispy.
10.) Place the grilled chicken in a plate and put the attieke next to it.
11.) Cut up the onion, tomato, African hot pepper, and green pepper and put them in a Ziploc bag. Put one maggi cube and ⅕ of vegetable oil in the Ziploc bag. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
12.) Put the mixture that is in the Ziploc bag on top of the grilled chicken and the attieke.

Analysis:

Our meal consists entirely of processed foods. The total amount of calories in our meal is 851.4. Since there are so many calories in our dish, if eaten often, the human body would gain weight and grow to be less healthy. The amount of fat in our dish is 18.1 grams. Since our dish is fairly low in fat, the human body is more likely to work more proficiently. It is also less prone to get diseases associated with a fatty diet. These include diabetes, heart disease, and cancer of the lower digestive system. However, if you ate this meal everyday, since it is low in fat, it can lead to problems like overeating, depression, and hormonal imbalances.

All of our ingredients were harvested in the United States. However, some of them are native to West Africa (African hot pepper, etc.). On average, our ingredients travelled 600 miles to get to Philadelphia. According to research, the manufactures of the ingredients to not harvest it organically.

The chemicals used can have a negative impact on the planet in many ways. One of these is pollution. As the chemicals get washed away, they end up in rivers. This ultimately decreases the quality of the affected river. Given each ingredient, the meal cost five ten dollars to make. This is about the same cost as a fast food meal. 

One ingredient of particular interest to us was the African hot pepper. To grow it, a seed was placed in the ground. It was watered once everyday and sprayed with pesticides. After growing, it was picked, packaged, and sent to the store to be sold. After being purchased, it ended up in our dish.

Personal Reflections:

Ronald: One of the main problems with America’s food system is that people are lazy. In this unit, we have learned that people simply do what is most convenient when it comes to obtaining food. For instance, I remember one of the graphs that we looked at showed how far away the average person is from a supermarket. I realized that this distance often determines whether or not a person has access to healthy organic foods, as if unhealthy foods are closer, that is probably what the consumer will choose.

If I could make changes to my food choices, I would I would eat more vegetables. The reason is because I sometimes go days without eating them. I feel that if I ate more vegetables, I would become a healthier person. One impact that eating more vegetables would have is that I would have more lasting energy. Although eating foods that are high in sugar gives me energy, it burns out quickly. As a sprinter, this can lead to me tiring out in the middle of a race. 

After realizing that I need to eat more vegetables, I am prepared to make a change. Now, I make sure that I eat vegetables at least once a day. I plan to increase my intake even further.

Mabintu: I have learned a lot about foods this unit; food that is good for you and food that is bad for you. We also learned about why some foods are the way they are and what the government has to do with the kind of food we eat. When we looked at the health/food maps we came to an understanding that most of the overweight/Obese people are in the poor areas of Philadelphia. We talked about how food companies be lying about in the food and the labels. We talked about organic food and how it is more expensive and you have less of a variety to choose from. That is why people spend most of their money on presses food because they cause less. I do not need to change anything about my diet because I usually eat homemade food. When I eat outside I do not eat health because it’s they only time I can eat something that I think is good. I do not eat unhealthy most of the time I eat unhealthy like twice a week or so. I guess I need to make a little change to my diet, as to what times I eat. Right now I eat any time I hungry and sometimes I eat even when I’m not hungry. That will have to change.

For this project, I wanted to create something that was out of the ordinary. I figured that the obvious choice would have been to make something like a Keynote, but I wanted to challenge myself to be more creative. So, the idea came to make something that people could actually touch. At first, I was unsure of how to go about this. I considered making something out of clay but realized that this would be too time consuming. Finally, after watching a commercial, I came up with the idea to make a voodoo doll. I knew that this would well represent a theme from the novel and movie involving pain.

            After I figured out that I wanted to make a doll, I had to figure out what specific themes I wanted it to represent. The best choice seemed to be sin and punishment, which occurred through much of The Scarlet Letter and Juno. The toothpicks that I wanted to put in the doll could be labeled, each with a different type of sin present in the two works that we studied in class. When all of the sin-representing toothpicks were put together, it would show how more sin equals more pain. This then led me to another theme shown in both the movie and book, self-condition. I realized that the toothpicks on the doll could also represent how the aftermath of added sins can take its toll on a person, as the doll seemed more uncomfortable as more toothpicks were added. This was much like the characters in the book and movie getting increasingly uncomfortable as they committed more sin in the eyes of the elite.

At this point, it was time to start making the creative piece. Since I knew it would be impossible to find a real voodoo doll, I decided to make one myself. After seeing a sock monkey online, I instantly thought about making a sock doll, which I could easily stick toothpicks into. To do this, I gathered up the materials, followed an online reference, and carefully constructed the doll. Even though the process went smoothly, I was not pleased with the final appearance of the first two dolls that I created. I felt that the limbs were not proportionate to the head in the way that I had hoped. As a result, I created more dolls and selected my favorite. After this, I labeled a set of toothpicks (each with a different sin) and randomly stuck them in the doll, finally completing my goal.

Now looking back, I am most happy that the final doll came out the way it did. It is one of the most unique products that I have ever created. I was shocked to see that it actually did look like a voodoo doll when completed. In fact, I was so pleased with it that I actually preferred making the doll, as opposed to buying one. The reason is because since I made it, I could make every aspect of it (its size, colors…) the way that I wanted it to be. On the other hand, my least favorite part of this project was the fact that I did not get to utilize my class time as well as I could have. The reason is because I would keep my supplies at home for fear that I would leave them in school. It is my guess that if I had brought my materials to school, I could have taken advantage of school resources, like specialized paint. As such, I will do this the next time I have a creative project.

Por: Ronaldo Jackson

¡Hola! Me llamo Ronaldo. Soy de Filadelfia y vivo en Filadelfia. Ahora, asisto a la Ciencia Leadership Academy. En el futuro, voy a ir a la universidad para ser un veterinario. Quiero ser veterinario porque yo atraigo animales. Para mi, importa mucho salir con las citas. Sin embargo, tengo el sentimiento de estar solo. Por lo tanto, en el futuro, quisiera ir a las citas ciegas. Me molesta mucho cuando llego tarde a la escuela. No creo en llegar tarde.

          Soy un niño alto y delgado. Mis ojos son marrones. Según dice, ellos son profundos y brillantes. Mis pelo es completo y negro. También, es muy rizado y corto. En mi cada, tengo realmente cejas bonitas y labios esponjosos. Es dos de mi mejores características. Es por eso que yo soy un buen besador según las mujeres. Se dice que mi piel es marrón y suave, pero con pelos en las piernas. Aunque es peludo, es suave al tacto. Mis dientes son bastante bonitos. Ellos son tan blancos como papel nuevo. Personas le encanta mirarlas. No soy muy musculoso, pero soy un corredor. Tengo un seís pack, pero no es muy visible. Sólo es visible cuando hago ejercicio. Sin embargo, puedo usar mi mente más que mi cuerpo. Es porque ir un veterinario, yo necesito ser más inteligente que atlético. Ser inteligente también atrae mujeres. Sin duda, me siento muy afortunado.

          Por dentro, soy muy maduro. Por la general, soy una persona simpática. Si alguien me molesta, entonces soy antipático. Pero, no me gusta. Yo siempre trato de hacer amistad con otras personas. Por otro lado, no soy la persona más sociable. Es porque siempre he sido tímido. Si lo hiciera mi personalidad, tendría más amigos. Honestamente, tengo tres verdaderos amigos, y sólo uno va a mi escuela.

          Mi afición es aviones, trenes, y animales. ¡Ellos son muy interesantes! Me gustan porque hay diferentes motivos. Me gustan los aviones y trenes porque ellos son bastante complicados y vehículos únicos. Trenes son muy únicos desde ellos utilizan los vías de trenes. Ellos son los vehículos solos que correr en un especial “calle” sólo para ellos. Al contrario, aviones son únicos porque ellos volan muy alto. Para mi, es muy interesante por un vehículo pesado volar. ¡No parece normal! Pero, existe. Sin embargo, mi favorita de estos es animales. Por la tanto, quiero ser un veterinario. Tengo que trabajar con los animales en el futuro ser feliz. Desde que era joven, he amado los animales. Recuerdo mi primer mascota. Era un perro llamado Rex. Desde al principio, yo era cariñoso con él. No estaba inseguro con él porque él era sorprendentemente siempre amistoso con mi. Nosotros éramos mejores amigos. Él ayudaba mi para encontrar mi amor por animales, y no sólo perros, pero gatos, lagartos, pez, y mucho más. Desde entonces, he tenido mascotas.

          Mi vida de citas es muy secas. No tengo a novia. Es porque soy muy huraño. Es muy triste. Mi novia pasado era en grado dos. Creí que nosotros erámos uña y carne. Solíamos comer almuerzo y jugamos juntos. Todos nuestros amigos dirían que vamos a casar en el futuro. Entonces, tuvimos una lucha un día en escuela. Ella robó mi lápiz favorito y estaba muy disgustado. Hoy, me cuenta que la lucha no era necesaria, pero es pero es muy tarde. Que era el final de nuestra relación. Esta experiencia me hizo nervioso de relaciones nuevas. Sin embargo, sueño con una novia perfecta por la noche. Me imagino que la personalidad de ella es tan bonita como ella es. Aunque, realmente no me importa cómo se ve. Pero, tengo miedo de no encontrarla. Me siento triste cuando pienso en esto. ¡No es divertido! Sin embargo, creo que la mujer perfecta es por ahí. Solamente tengo que encontrar la.

Pre-Conversation

• The five questions that I plan to ask are:

1. Why do you want to learn English?
2. What are sports like in (the country)?
3. Do you play any sports?
4. Do they play American football?
5. What do you think is a funny sport to watch?

• I expect my partner to find the questions that I am going to ask interesting. I plan to make the chat as friendly as possible, so that my partner will not feel uncomfortable.
• I am looking forward to learning about another person's culture. The reason is because I enjoy learning about foreign cultures. It is interesting to compare my culture with theirs'.
• I am nervous that my partner will not be friendly. I hope that they do not say anything rude to me.

Post-Conversation

• I spoke with Cindy because I thought that her name sounded friendly. She was also the only person that actually accepted my chat request.
• I learned that they don't like sports and that they think learning English is difficult. I learned that the main sports played in Colombia differ from the main sports played in the United States. American sports like baseball aren't as common in Colombia.
• This interaction helped me to move towards my goal of becoming more fluent in Spanish by forcing me to speak with a native Spanish speaker. Talking to my partner provided me with a lot of practice writing in Spanish.
• I did well keeping the conversation with my partner going. I thought that the chat would be quite dry, but we actually had a good conversation.
• I need to improve on using correct grammar in Spanish. I would start sentences with lowercase letters and occasionally forget to end sentences with punctuation marks. If I were to do it again, I would have wrote more properly.

• I chose this type of presentation because it looks the most attractive and meaningful, given the concepts utilized. It seems that when data is expressed to an audience, the fewer the amount of words used, the better. Thus, a single slide was ideal.

• Individual change is when you set your mind to something. Systemic change is when a group of people set their minds to a universal idea.

• What is "business" like in other countries?
  

• ​Mi Grupo y yo hicimos la ONU PSA Sobre la contaminacion en Filadelfia.
• Por crear el PSA, la cosa más importante que aprendi fue la que el mundo está en muy malas condiciones.
• Me gusta el PSA de mi grupo es diferente porque. Se utilizó una parte del videojuego del proyecto. Me pareció que era muy singular.
• Si pudiera hacer EL proyecto otra vez, yo cambiaria el hecho de que el maestro perdido tantos días. Me sentí como si realmente no tienen la oportunidad de hacer muchas preguntas.

The Truly Lonely

The sun was brighter than it had been in a while in Houston. But, this didn’t mean anything to Charlie. He knew that his routine would still be the same. His arm throbbed as he massaged the swelling. Nothing could make him happy about waking up in the morning. At about 9am, he left for the school. As he walked into the classroom, the terror began. His students were starting at him with a grin on his face. An array of chuckles swept across the room.

“Hey Dumbo, I see you’re hear late today,” said his students.

Everyone in the room laughed and threw a piece of paper at him. He turned his face to dodge it, but was so tired that he couldn’t succeed. After the paper fell to the ground, he reached to pick it up, but was to exhausted to do so. Then, he said something in a faint voice.

“If only they knew my circumstance, if only they knew how much I loved them and longed for a child of my own,” whispered Charlie. “Turn your books to page 50.”

“Yeah, right,” said a majority of students. All but one member of the class rose up and left the classroom. Tears appeared on Charlie’s face.

“Are you okay sir,” said the remaining student, Lisa.

“I will be,” said Charlie.

Later that day, Charlie entered the hospital.

“Mr. Reed, the doctor will see you now for your Testicular disease.”

Charlie entered the examining room.

“Hello buddy, let me check you out,” said the doctor.

The doctor stuck the needle in Charlie’s arm. His face grew pale as the blood was collected. He let out a gasp. As a result, Charlie looked down at the needle. He was shocked to see blue blood, as this had never been an effect of his disease. The doctor ran in fear. Suddenly, Charlie face turned red. His hair fell out and he grew weak. The doctor returned with a protective face-mask on.

“Get this man to a chemical vat,” screamed the doctor.

A group of nurses came in and grabbed Charlie. They threw him onto the gurney and wheeled him away. A few hours later, Charlie was released from the hospital. He was given a ride home by one of the nurses. After arriving, he found himself being greeted by his student Lisa.

“Lisa, what are you doing outside of my front door,” said Charlie.

“I just wanted to check on you sir,” said Lisa. “My friends were very awful to you. They put gasoline on those pieces of paper that they threw at you.”

“What,” screamed a still tired Charlie. “Why didn’t you say that sooner?”

“I didn’t have the chance to.”

Charlie became more coherent with reality as he remembered his condition. Not only did he have an unknown disease that interfered with his ability to have children, but he also had always been allergic to gasoline. He remembered that if he were to have a reaction to it once more, combined with the effects of the reproductive disease, he would explode in two days. Thus, he had only one day left to live.

“Lisa, I can’t talk right now.”

He slammed the door in her face and walked up to his bedroom. He looked in the mirror and touched his reflection before getting into bed. He lay in bed with his eyes open.

“What will I do,” he whispered. “I have no choice.”

His tear duct felt like it needed to cry, but that was far too strenuous, given his condition. So, he just lay there gazing at the darkness. The next morning, a knock was at the door. It was Lisa. She broke the door open and searched for Charlie.

“Mr. Reed, where are you?”

She ran up to the bedroom and found nothing but a stain of blood on his sheets.

“Daddy, where are you,” she cried. “Now you will never know the truth.”

She dropped to the ground before his bloody bed and cried until the floor was soaked with her tears.

• At the very beginning of the project, we collaborated and took a poll about what the project would be about. After that, we chose mail in voting and worked accordingly.
  
• As an individual, we can state our ideas to others. This can influence them to also do the right thing.
  
• At the beginning of this project, I didn't think that a solution to getting more people to vote could occur. However, after digging deeper into the options, I noticed that America still has hope. However, it seems unlikely that citizens will actually perform these options.
  
• We decided to make the campaign simple, but not powerful and stern. This will allow the reviewer to feel comfortable, but be very focused on the topic at the same time.
  

• The project tells of my love of the Philadelphia Zoo, the place that feels like home to me. It also tells of my "extended family", the inhabitants of the zoo.
• I learned that writing a song is indeed fun, but also challenging. When it must be writing in a foreign language, the difficulty increases.
• I am especially proud of the vocabulary that I used in the song. I felt as though it was somewhat creative.
• If I could redo the project, I would have spent more time at home working on it. This is because I feel that although we had plenty of class time to work on the song, the more time, the better.

La zoo es muy imporatante a la mi

Que es dónde viven mi mascotas

Sí, nunca puede sentirse solo

Porque estan conmigo

Soy de Filadelfia
La zoo de Filadelfia
Es mi zoo favorito
¡Sí, es mi vida!

• ​The fact that there were so many non-European immigrants at this time surprised me. This is because I expected the only non-European "immigrants" to be slaves. However, I was not surprised that the number of immigrants decreased when there was a depression. I wouldn't expect people of foreign lands to travel to America during such a sad time.
• For the next two decades, I expect that the immigration trend will plummet once more. This is because America is currently going through a rough time. This results in the condition of America being less that ideal for an immigrant.
• I decided that something out of the ordinary would be the best way to present the information. I originally wanted to make a map of a theme park with checkpoints along the way. However, as time progressed and errors occurred, this became more extensive than I had originally envisioned.
• I had trouble with collaborating with my group simply because my laptop is in the shop getting fixed. So, this made it necessary for me to share a computer with a group member in class, making the amount of individual working time in class to complete the project increase.
• If I had to do this project over, I would have done more work on the project at home. This would have allowed the amount of time that I needed to use another group member's computer to minimize.
  

• Act #1- Scene 1:

Voice in Sweetna’s head as she writes

Sweetna

Jon

Voice in Sweetna’s head as she writes

• Act #1- Scene 2:

Jon

“I still feel warm and happy. I can’t wait until tonight to go even faster. I like to hear her scream. Yes, I “love” my wife. That’s funny. To be honest, this “toy” is doing a fine job of pleasing me.”

Earl

Jon

Earl

Jon

• Act #1- Scene 3:

Bintu

Lucy

Bintu

Lucy

Bintu

Lucy

Bintu

Lucy

Bintu

• Act #1- Scene 4:

Voice in Chan’s head as he writes

Chan

Voice in Chan’s head as he writes

Chan

Voice in Chan’s head as he writes

• Act #1- Scene 5:

Voice in Sweena’s Head as she writes

Sweetna

Jon

Earl

Sweetna

Earl

A vulnerable species is an organism that is on the brink of being extinct. When they go extinct, they stay that way. However, we humans ignore this fact. We focus on the temporary positive effects of killing animals for their desirables. Yet, we are blind to the long-term consequences of this practice. The time has come to dig deeper into this major issue.

            This tradition began in the early days of human occupancy on Earth. Animals were required for food and clothing. Yet, the difference is that at that time we only took what we needed. We killed living creatures only when it was required. This was because we lacked the technology to simply pull a trigger to kill a specimen. Each slaughter at that time meant sharpening spears, gaining momentum, grouping together, and a higher risk of failing. This very fail could in fact be fatal. Thus, we avoided these risks as often as possible.

            Today, humans take the necessary amount and more. Many would think that there isn’t really a problem because the main source is from an abundant species. One of the most widely used animal products is leather. It is believed by some that leather comes exclusively from cows: an animal that is thought of as being less by a large population. But, this is misleading. Some leather is also made from the threatened zebra, among others. It is clear that the zebra is what one would call a “favorite animal”. Yet, the companies that produce them don’t express this. Their one priority is to make more money.

            As horrid as that may seem to the already threatened animal species, it get’s much worse. There are consequences to those that manufacture the goods. Although leather makers often claim that their products are “eco-friendly”, the process of tanning it stabilizes the protein fibers. This results in the biodegrading process actually stopping. Along with this, today animal skin is turned into leather with a combination of dangerous substances. This included formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, and different types of oils. To make the bad even worse, the resulting waste usually contains chromium. The Environmental Protection Agency claims that all wastes containing this substance are hazardous.

            But, it doesn’t end here. There is more harm done to the environment. In order to make the pastures that contain the animals being bred for their skins, trees must be cut down. That means less oxygen for we humans. In fact, the dairy itself is harmful to the environment. A recent study found that a single cow released nineteen pounds of volatile organic compounds a year, surpassing the amount of smog made by cars and trucks.

            At this point, one must realize that a change is required. We humans must sacrifice a temporary pleasure for a lasting one. One possible solution to this conflict is using an alternative. Instead of leather, one can use cotton, linen, or rubber. Although these efforts do indeed increase the chance of a species survival, only time will tell if even this option is too little, too late.

• ​I learned that my daily routine consists of more steps than I originally thought.

• I feel that I did well on my final project. I believe that my audience will easily understand my product.

• If I were to re-do my project, I would have went to the teacher more often for help. This would have resulted in me having less unanswered questions. However, I would have left everything else the same.
  

• Yes, I enjoyed the project.It helped me to realize that there are several steps to my day; some of them go unnoticed.