Friday, March 18, 2011
Home Stretch and Slide . . .
The final movie/slideshow at the assembly today was made at Animoto. The song that was used in the slide show is called "Good Life", by OneRepublic. We are not able to use a copyrighted song for the public blog, so we chose to use one of the songs from Animoto. The song used for the slideshow below is called "Faith, Hope, Love" by Beckah Shae. RUaDN learned that teamwork is key. If you are focused while working with a partner, you will be able to accomplish anything. Enjoy this final look at Winterim 2011!
The "So What?" of Winterim
fun
eye-opening
unique
different
experiential
new
interesting
bonding
cool
rewarding
While Winterim is coming to an end we hope that this will continue in the LA community. We are so happy that it was a success.
Statistics: The Final Countdown
This year, the RUaDgtalNativ group performed significantly better than last year in terms of blog popularity and posts. In the two weeks of Winterim 2011, as shown by the graph, the blog got 8296 page views. During last year's Winterim, the blog was viewed only 7496 times. In addition, after lots of hard work, our group produced 101 blog posts, which is ten more posts than last year's 91 posts. Most of our traffic came from the Lawrence Academy website. We also had a lot of traffic from our Facebook page, Google, and the individual RUaDgtalNativ blog. The two most popular blog posts on the Winterim 2011 blog were, respectively, "Winterim, Sharp Freedom", "What will the masterpiece be?", and "Making Best Friends Out West." Overall, the blog stats have projected increased success and more interest from last year. :)Regarding the statistics of our other accounts, we've made good progress in those areas as well. Our Youtube account had 15 videos this year, the most popular of which being the Hit Single Machine Discussion Video, with 125 views. We tweeted 122 times this year and got 16 followers on Twitter. On the LAWinterim Picasa Web Albums account, we have uploaded 378 photos in total this year.
"Summa Summarum."
On the last day of Winterim, here is a summary of the many accomplishments of the individual groups:
All Creatures Great and Small - students communed with Mother Nature by studying the daily lives of our nearest neighbors: animals.
Andes and Amazon Adventure - students learned about a variety of unique ecosystems and conquered the heights of the Andes.
ARC Volunteers - students helped mentally and physically disabled people, bringing joy into their lives.
Baking Basics - students learned many techniques of baking and sold their baked goods to raise money for the rescue efforts in Japan.
Byways and Waterways of Costa Rica - students experienced the magic of the natural world in Costa Rica and learned about its ecology.
Chess - students learned the tricks of the renowned masters of this old game and challenged opponents from LA to Harvard Square in Cambridge.
Clay and Kiln - students covered a lot of different pottery-making techniques and are now capable of making a primitive pot for everyone in LA.
Digital Photography - students studied the importance of the transposing of light and now understand the idea of how to best capture reality digitally.
Dominican Service Project - students helped with the process of renovation of a school and worked with the local kids and community.
Fashion Statement - this group tried their hand in the hard field of design and created one-of-a-kind accessories such as handbags, vest etc.
Florida Camp and Kayak - students relaxed in the sunny waters of Florida and enjoyed the peacefulness of lagoons around them and they also fished and snorkeled. They can't take the beaches and warm water with them, but their memories are forever.
HeadStart - the group joined the important national organization - Head Start - they helped children in poverty and assisted a teaching team in the schools of local low-income areas.
Hit Single Machine - the students of this Winterim tried to succeed at one of the hardest trades - creating and selling music. Now students know the priceless knowledge about music making, recording and mixing. All money earned will be donated to LA.
Iron Forging - students experienced the daily life of a blacksmith and succeeded in understanding the techniques of the craftsman's work and learned the long history of iron forging.
Kayaking in the Caribbean - students learned kayak paddling strokes and enhanced their navigation skills. Student may now consider themselves native Garifunas.
Martial Arts - students will test today for a belt level and perform for the school. Moreover, these students are now the strongest and most mentally-stable students at LA - they are the followers of the secrets of Karate.
Mask Making - students created a full face character mask and learned the techniques of mask making and the art of character performance.
Mountain Biking in Arizona - students explored the trails of the Sonoran Desert and built biking skills as they increased their daily goals from moderate shake down rides to an excursion of 20 miles.
Objection Your Honor - students learned about the American legal system and worked on a mock trial which they acted out Friday mornday at the Ayer District Court House.
Quilting - students learned basic sewing and design skills and completed a final quilt which will be displayed.
RUaDgtalNativ - students wrote articles,took and collected photos, and videos about all other Winterims and maintained several social media sites to keep the LA community informed.
Sports Journalism - students traveled to many sporting events in and around New England and they wrote blog posts and game writeups.
Stained Glass - students learned the techniques of stained glass and then completed an individual project.
The Horror! The Horror! - students worked very hard to terrify us with their silent horror movie. This masterful piece of art will be presented to the LA community.
The System - students learned about the Judicial System, how it works, and problems facing lawyers, lawmakers, judges, and politicians in administering our system of law and justice.
Total Mountain Experience - these students learned all of the skills of managing a recreational ski mountain, including how to rescue those in trouble.
Turn Baby Turn - students were taught the art of woodworking and studied ancient techniques.
Underwater Discovery - students completed a three part training course in scuba diving and then explored the coral reefs of Belize.
Watermedia - students created art using watercolor and other mixtures of water-soluble media.
Yoga - students developed a full understanding of yoga culture, the physical benefits, and better discipline.
To Every End There is a New Beginning
Love,
RUaDN
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Our Last Day with Best Friends :(
Today we woke up to a sad thought. I (Sarah) said, "Oh no we are leaving tomorrow!" Ali said, "I'm literally gunna start crying." We took Richard, the cat that we took for a sleepover, back to CalMar. We listened to a pitbull talk - these dogs are not evil, that's a stereotype. Before having our last vegetarian lunch, we got to socialize with the dogs one more time. The last part of our day consisted of being scared of biting birds, although we made them toys and cleaned their rooms. I (Ali) even got the greeting bird, King O, to sing "I aint' nothin' but a birdy." Check out the King on Youtube - he's up to 112,000 hits.
After saying goodbye to the animals, we wrote our final thoughts on this Winterim - our thoughts were more like essays than a couple of words.
One time when we were working with the dogs, I (Sarah) walked a dog named Jingles. She is so adorable and is such a good girl. I said good bye to her today in her run when she was laying down on her bed. She loves to smile and is great with people. So come to Utah and adopt her!
Hope you all had a good Winterim!
Love,
Ali and Sarah
After saying goodbye to the animals, we wrote our final thoughts on this Winterim - our thoughts were more like essays than a couple of words.
One time when we were working with the dogs, I (Sarah) walked a dog named Jingles. She is so adorable and is such a good girl. I said good bye to her today in her run when she was laying down on her bed. She loves to smile and is great with people. So come to Utah and adopt her!
Hope you all had a good Winterim!
Love,
Ali and Sarah
One vs. All
Yesterday the chess group played as a group against the leader (Lou Mcurry) simultaneously, and Lou beat them all! The Winterim leader Mr. Dawson lasted the longest out of the whole group. The group is in Harvard Square today playing chess on the public chess boards. The students will come off this HUGE loss from yesterday and hopefully redeem themselves with some victories against strangers in Cambridge today.
Second Week of Underwater Discovery
The second week of Underwater Discovery was the most interesting for the students of this group. It was not the week of practice but that of real work and investigation of the Caribbean Sea. On Monday students took a trip to a Whale Shoals. They also tried snorkeling and research at night for the first time. Tuesday was free diving day. On Wednesday they finished their marine project and summarized the data and materials. Today students of Underwater Discovery will pack up and have a big party to celebrate a great trip and an excellent time.
photo taken from here
Forever Young
Not Fire Resistant
Since the last update, Iron Forging has had an exciting and dangerous week. This week the group finished off winterim strong making some really cool and interesting designs. The group also had a bit of an accident this week as a group member set his clothes on fire. Luckily the student is fine, he only burnt a hole into his shirt.
Almost There!
We did a lot today here at the RUaDN Winterim. Earlier in the morning, Sean Collins and I went down to the Clay and Kiln Winterim to see what they were doing. We were in for a treat when we got there. They had set up three different kind of kilns and they were firing their painted products. It was a very interesting thing to watch. After that, our group chose a song for our final slide show. It came down to Sarah, Jordan, Sabina, and my song choices. Sarah's ended up winning, so we are going to use hers for the final slideshow tomorrow at the assembly. Tomorrow is the last day for Winterim, then spring break!!!
Three-Dimensional Stained Glass Pieces... Now We're Going Insane!
Stained Glass is still working hard to mass produce their amazingly gorgeous pieces, even in the last few days of Winterim. At this point, everyone has long finished their main circular pieces that I described in the last update. The students are basically trying to make as many pieces as possible of whatever they could possibly want. But Stained Glass has started to try some new things this week. For example, some students have begun to make three-dimensional pieces! I've seen stained glass boxes with ornate covers and beautifully colored sides. There are also a fair amount of people making stained glass prisms, which reflect off the light and look amazing.
3-D! Holla!
I'm going to miss writing about Stained Glass. I just loved going there and watching people work. There was something about the atmosphere, the serenity and placidity of it all, that made the Schoolhouse Chemistry Lab an enjoyable place to be. The focus of the students is at the same level as it was on the first day, if not higher. Due to their never-ending concentration and hard work, their creations are outstanding -- definitely something to be proud of and celebrated. Kudos to the Stained Glass Winterim!
Still working...
Living the Dream... for Two Weeks
The last full day of Winterim means the most work and the most pressure to completely finish everything. The Hit Single Machine, having several loose ends to tie up, has been working hard doing multiple things all day. Today consists of shooting the music video, drawing cover art for the song, and seeing if the song sells on iTunes. So, this means that recording has been finished, and the group is within moments of their reward.Although I really didn't have much of a chance to visit Hit Single as much as I would have liked to during these two weeks, I could tell that every person in the
group had a passion for what they were doing. I could see it in their faces as I talked to them: the excitement of their voices, the light in their eyes. It was as clear as day to see how much these kids loved the project and really had the experience of making and selling music, a business that I'm sure some of them want to make a profession out of. This really was those eight students living their dream, which is what Winterim's all about.
Wooden Toys= Time + Hard Work + Wood
Today, it is March 17th (the second to last day of Winterim). Most of the students of woodworking have already finished their projects, which they've stored in this box:
Mr. Brescia is working on smoothing his piece. Andrew, Ben, and Mr. Brescia all showed me their pieces:
Thanks to anybody out there who's been following "Turn, Baby, Turn!" on this blog. This is my last update for this group, but I appreciate the support you've shown by reading my articles and commenting on my articles!!!
Dorothy Gale Trial Begins Today
Today the Objection Your Honor Mock Trial Workshop will be holding their final trial. The trial will see Dorothy Gale vs. The State of Oz, as she is being tried for Murder in the 1st and 2nd degree, breaking and entering, and theft. I went up to their classroom and was able to LiveStream the trial. If you have not seen it yet, below is the recording of the first part of the trial.
ObjectionYourHonor on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free
Clay and Kiln
Earlier today I went back down to the Clay and Kiln group to see what they have been up to, and to see how much they have progressed since the last time I went down there. They are currently using three different methods for firing their pottery. One way is using the electric kiln inside of the art room. The second way involves using a metal trash can full of hay and wood to smoke the pottery at a temperature of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The last type of kiln that they have is a hand made kiln. They made this kiln by stacking a bunch of special type of heat bricks in a circle. They then placed on top of the bricks a concrete top with a little hole in the top of it for some of the heat to escape. Finally they placed a flame thrower in the bottom of the kiln with a propane tank attached.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Meet King Richard
The kitty in the picture above is Richard! He is one of the many adorable cats available for adoption here at Best Friends. However, he has been diagnosed with feline leukemia, and is often passed over for a forever home because he can infect any other healthy cats he would be living with. But as you can see, he is incredibly playful and a complete cuddle bug... and would make a great companion for anyone considering adopting their first cat! (Hint hint...)
On our second to last day at the sanctuary, we started off cleaning out the pig pens. We also returned our sleepover pig, Cherry, who was a very good girl... except for her waking Kelsey and Ali up at 5:00. After working with the potbellies all morning (who are actually really clean and friendly animals), we went back to the rabbit cages in the afternoon for some poop-scooping. We are looking forward to our last volunteering day, and everyone would like to thank Mrs. Hutchinson for the treats in Kelsey's care package (including Richard!)
See you all on Saturday!
RUaDgtalNativ?
Today the group went into Boston for the day. We started the day in the Digital Lounge at Tech Superpowers on Newbury Street, we stayed there for the morning and wrote four articles about social media, which are posted on this blog under today's date.
We then headed out into the pouring rain to Fire and Ice for lunch. At lunch, Mike had just finished his meal which had the spiciest sauce offered and then he was dared by Sean to eat a spoon full of hot sauce. Everyone thought that was funny but Mike didn't think so, he said that it was like eating a fire. We also enjoyed the ice cream bar.
After that we went to the Boston Public Library, were we lost David, we found him 15 mins. later with a bloody nose in the bathroom. Don't worry he was fine. We continued to work on the LAWinterim blog and began to choose photos for the final slide show.
We headed back out into the rain and wet day to the Prudential Center. We got to go to the top of the Prudential building, the Skywalk Observatory. We were able to be on our own for dinner and shopping and then headed to Sheer Madness where we met up with other LA students.
It was a wet and long day in Boston, but we got work done away from the classroom.
We then headed out into the pouring rain to Fire and Ice for lunch. At lunch, Mike had just finished his meal which had the spiciest sauce offered and then he was dared by Sean to eat a spoon full of hot sauce. Everyone thought that was funny but Mike didn't think so, he said that it was like eating a fire. We also enjoyed the ice cream bar.
After that we went to the Boston Public Library, were we lost David, we found him 15 mins. later with a bloody nose in the bathroom. Don't worry he was fine. We continued to work on the LAWinterim blog and began to choose photos for the final slide show.
We headed back out into the rain and wet day to the Prudential Center. We got to go to the top of the Prudential building, the Skywalk Observatory. We were able to be on our own for dinner and shopping and then headed to Sheer Madness where we met up with other LA students.
It was a wet and long day in Boston, but we got work done away from the classroom.
Pizza Love!
I went to the Groton Congregational church during lunch time last week, where the group was starting to eat the pizzas they had made that morning for lunch. They seemed to be enjoying their pizzas, and were ready to continue baking after lunch. I came back later in the week during the morning to watch the group start from scratch with their baking. That particular day, the group was baking muffins. There was a box of butter that had over twenty pound blocks of butter. the process to making muffins seems pretty easy to me, but the directions have to be followed precisely.
Other things they have baked over the Winterim were cookies, puffed patries, biscuits, cakes and sweet pies. I wonder if they will "show off" what they have learned at assembly by bringing us baked goods!
Other things they have baked over the Winterim were cookies, puffed patries, biscuits, cakes and sweet pies. I wonder if they will "show off" what they have learned at assembly by bringing us baked goods!
Great Trip Eh?
Yesterday Sports Journalism Winterim went on their first trip of the week after arriving back at school from New York City and the Big East Tourney. The group got in a bus and drove 2 hours over to Springfield to see the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
When the group arrived though, they found out the hall of fame was unfortunately closed. The group got back on the bus and drove the 2 hours back capping off an unexpected journey. Check out their blog.
When the group arrived though, they found out the hall of fame was unfortunately closed. The group got back on the bus and drove the 2 hours back capping off an unexpected journey. Check out their blog.
On The Edge.
The students of Mask Making are nervous and worried about the performance which is coming on Friday, the18th. They practiced a lot and got to know their characters. They all have created awesome characters with unique individuality and rare facial features. The performance tomorrow will be a real trial - defend their acting talent and entertain guests. We wish them good luck and patience. Check the latest photos in the video below or on the LAWinterim YouTube Channel.
Everyone has a Strength!
The System
Photos by Sean on his eighth grade field trip.
A Tropical Paddling Home
Today, students of "Kayaking in the Caribbean" slept over at the Billy Hawk Cay Guest lodge.
(Photo from a travel website )
Today is the last day that students stay on the island. As we speak, the students of this group are most likely involved in the following activities: fishing, snorkeling around coral reefs, kayaking, sailing, and preparing local food for the group. In the evening, the students and faculty will sing, dance, and eat. The whole crew will leave the island tomorrow and return to the mainland of Belize tomorrow morning after breakfast.
Costa Rica: The Last Splash
Dominican Service: All Work and Some Play
The Damajagua waterfalls consist of twenty-seven cascades located in the Rio Bajabonico. They flow by rural mountain scenery, and fall into a series of large, clear pools at the base of the cascades. It seems that the Dominican Service group is going to take a hike in the tunnels and caves of these spectacular waterfalls. This hike is supposed to be increasingly difficult, and consists of going through not only tunnels, but the jungle and rock formations, too. In addition, there might be some swimming and jumping involved. One would have to be very athletic to make this immense climb. There are several trails along the waterfalls, all of them challenging and very long. The longest one takes about three hours to complete.
The Damajagua hike will be the last activity on the Dominican Service Project's itinerary. The Dominican Service group, after all of their amazing and worthwhile experiences, will be traveling home on Friday.
Youtube is a completely free video-sharing website where users can upload, share, and favorite videos. Three former PayPal employees founded it in 2005, and since then its popularity has become immense, streaming over 100 million videos per day. The website streams all kinds of videos, from music to news to television. YouTube is considered to be a very effective promotion tool on the Internet. Big companies, such as Vevo or BBC, can spread their music or news in order to increase their popularity.
With its simple interface, YouTube made it possible for anyone with an account to post a video to a worldwide audience. The wide range of topics covered by YouTube has turned video sharing into one of the most important parts of Internet culture. People upload their videos on one computer, almost instantly; other people can watch the same video on their own computers. This makes Youtube social media, because it is used for people to express themselves through video and share it with the world.
As we already mentioned - Youtube is the best way to promote video. Therefore, Youtube is very useful because it was the first website who created the idea of free posting of videos on the Internet. Also, Youtube is a great source of Information - news companies upload their videos as well. Students can use Youtube for educational purposes. There is such a wide variety of topics on this website that people can virtually find multiple videos on anything. In classrooms, teachers might show students videos of science demonstrations or how to do a certain math problem. Some websites, such as BrainPop, that are directed towards education will make Youtube channels so they can get more hits. While there is media for students to watch on Youtube, students can also post videos of their own experiments and activities from the classroom to further educate other people.
Youtube is directed towards all ages, so anyone can use it. It's been very helpful during this blogging Winterim. It's a more interesting and effective piece of media than pictures. Youtube is a great source of entertainment, and most people deem it to be a big part of social culture.
(Posted by Sabina and Mike)
Twitter Gone Wild
Twitter is an internet social networking site that keeps people updated on everything that is going on in the news or peoples' lives. Twitter can be used to see what friends are doing, see how your favorite sport teams are doing, and check on the latest news developments. Since Twitter's creation in 2006, the company has seen an influx in membership. There are currently over 190 million users of Twitter in the world. What makes Twitter so great is that it's nice and simple, it's not identical to Facebook, which contains profiles with walls, pictures, and a lot of personal stuff. All Twitter is, is just a quick 140 character maximum status update. To get updates on someone or something you're interested in, all you do is follow the person.
With the recent earthquake in Japan, Twitter can come in handy giving people and news networks the ability to update on what's going without having to write a long article on CNN or Fox or the like. With Twitter growing and becoming more and more socially acceptable, it has found its way into schools, colleges, and universities. High Schools, like our own school and many other prep schools, along with colleges and universities use Twitter to give updates on team scores, Heads' Holidays, news on students and faculty, and news to keep everyone updated. As of late Twitter has also found its self being used in the classroom. At Purdue University, a professor is now using Twitter during his lectures, the article can be found here. The students are using Twitter to ask questions, vote for what questions they would like to be asked, answer questions, and reply to answers. Even though Twitter is useful and I have gotten into it, I feel as though using it in the classroom might be bad, you're on the internet and it's really easy to get distracted and I feel as though that would be happening a lot. Twitter is fine when it comes to the news, but bringing it into the classroom seems like a bad idea. (Posted by Sean and Paul)
Uses and Benefits of Blogging!
A blog is a website containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often has images and links to other websites. Using a blog is very easy and simple.
Photo from Blogger
First, you click "new post" located on the home screen. Then a text box should pop up on your screen. After that happens, you can just write in the text box whatever you'd like to share with the world, or what you think the people should know. You click "save now" to have other people edit your post, or just "publish post" if you're ready for the world to read it.
Photo from WordPress
A blog is a kind of social media. Social media allows you to share anything about yourself with world through the web. When you blog, you share your thoughts and ideas with the world. There are many different blogs for such as other private school like New Hampton as well as communities or ones that people make up for fun.
Photo from Iblog
A blog is useful in an educational setting because it can serve as a learning resource. Blogs can be used for one sole topic, or a bunch of different topics. It is useful for educational purposes for many reasons. For example, instead of sending out 16 emails you can post one blog and have people check it. Also it can be used to discuss what happens for a day in class or if teachers from different schools want to talk about what they are teaching and give people ideas. A blog is the best way to communicate with many people on one site about a specific idea.
The Book
Facebook is a social networking site that has been extremely popular since 2006. Each member of the site can create a personal profile page, add other users as friends, exchange messages, and receive automatic notifications when they update their profile or others comments on their profile. Members of Facebook can customize their own profile page with personal photos, interests, contact info and other information. They can join groups for common persona interests with others, such as work, school, or just activities they enjoy.Facebook allows students to interact through Facebook chat (a one on one instant messaging feature), by posting on other people's pages which others are able to see and comment on, or by sending a private message (like an email). They can also post status updates, which are like blog posts that again anyone can comment on. So if someone didn’t know the math homework they could post on their own personal page “what is the math homework?” in hopes that any classmate that saw the post could help them. Instead of sending and waiting on one message, students have their whole school at their fingertips to contact just by posting something once. Lawrence Academy has their own Facebook page for the school as well as the Winterim page.In just 3 years Facebook has become one of the most popular websites in the world. People log onto Facebook from all over the globe. In places like China the government blocks the American-based site, but still people are able to downloaded illegal programs that allows them to use Facebook. Every day, people are checking Facebook to see what's going on.
*Posted by Sarah and Cheng
*Posted by Sarah and Cheng
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Digital Photography: The Real Deal
On Monday, Digital Photography embarked on a long, flash-filled day trip to the one big city in Massachusetts: Boston. It’s a pretty huge deal, since this is the group’s main day trip where they get the most and the best photos of the two weeks. On Tuesday, Digital Photography students are uploading their photos and picking out their best ones. From what I gather, members of this Winterim all felt as if the trip to Boston was a productive and fun one (see what I did there? Huh? Huh? :D).
Today I decided to find out what the real deal with Digital Photography is. Is there more to this Winterim besides going to random places and taking amazing pictures? What are their plans for the rest of the week? Unfortunately, most of the students were too engrossed in their work for me to talk to them. I did, however, have a chance to interview Mr. Rooney about what the program is going to do for the rest of the week. He said, “Yesterday was a good day, got lots of good pictures. Boston was really our main trip. We might try to squeeze in one more trip tomorrow, maybe Salem. It all depends on the weather. Soon, we’re going to do some still life and studio portraits, and then we’re finished.”
I also asked Mr. Rooney if he had any sort of specific things for his students to look for and take photos of. “There isn’t really anything specific. Mainly, in the past weeks I’ve been trying to get them to differentiate between what makes a good photo and what doesn’t. That’s what these day trips are about, really. We see cityscapes, portraits. We’ve seen lots of the works of other photographers. We call them ‘masters of photography’. Later on they’re going to write a report on a photographer that they choose, so we’ll be discussing that more to”
Check out the slideshow above which showcases some of the best photos taken by this group! Enjoy their work; it's outstanding. :)
New Best Friends: Richard the Cat and Cherry the Pig
Today was a very nice and relaxing day. We started out by cleaning the cat rooms in CalMar, a house for cats with Feline Leukemia. It is similar to AIDS for humans because it is a virus that attacks their immune system and in their bones, but it's for cats, and other shelters euthanize the cats that they have with Feline Leukemia. Contrary to what other shelters think, cats can live many years with this disease, so Best Friends doesn't euthanize them and gives them a chance to live a longer, happier life. After cleaning the rooms, we played with the cats. One of our all-time favorite cats was Richard who was very playful and loved to give "hugs", where he would stand on his hind legs and put his front two legs on you. After working with cats we had a very nice lunch and tanned outside for a while to relax even more. We proceeded to the doggie headquarters and learned how to clicker train dogs. It was a new experience for some of us and a normal practice for others. The trainer that taught us was very knowledgeable about all things dog and was able to answer all of our questions, including Kristina's question as to how to get her dog to stop barking for attention, a very difficult thing to cure apparently, but manageable. Once we all got the hang of the clicker training and all the questions were answered, we went to trail repairing. We went along "The Garden Loop" and cleared the trail so it was void of anything but sand, got rid of all visible dog poop, and made the edges of the trail clear so no one would get confused of where to go. It was a very relaxing day compared to other days of shoveling, raking, and other such tasks. Looking to the near future, tonight is going to be very exciting for all of us because we have a very adorable pig by the name of Cherry, spending the night with us. Everyone can come in and visit, but Ali, Julia, Sarah, and I (Kelsey) have the privilege of having her in our room for the night. Opposite to what most people think, pigs are very clean, very cute, and very well behaved. Attached is a picture of the "CherBear" as we like to call her. We are all having a blast here, but we also can't wait to be home soon! 
Ridin' Dirty in AZ
We've received an email late last night from Emily, a member of the Mountain Biking in Arizona group. The email gave us a detailed description of what the group has done since departing, until the end of their day yesterday. If you would like to read the full text of their journal, check it out at Google Docs. This write up is only a quick look at their experience with a few photos we found from websites.
Day 1: Hooked up trailer, and headed up to the Sonoran Desert. first ride was at McDowell Mountain Regional Park
Day 2:
Travel Day:
They arrived at their KOA Campground in Apache Junction, AZ on Monday, 3/7/11. After grabbing some subs (Jake ate 2 foot long subs!) and moving into their cabins they drove 45 minutes to pick up the bikes.
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| Photo from campground KOA web site. |
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| Photo from a travel website. |
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| Link to photo in Picasa |
Brought the bikes up to Usery Mountain Regional Park. Alvaro got two flat tires.
Day 3: Biked at a more scenic route at McDowell Mountain regional park. Alvaro flipped off of his bike, and cut his elbow and knee.
Day 4:
Drove an hour and a half to the Tonto national monument. Hiked up the side of the mountain.
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| Photo Link at Google Images |
Day 5: Brought bikes to South Mountain Park. Went from flat, to extreme up and down hill terrains.
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| Photo found at travel site. |
Day 6: Visited an Arboretum to learn abou the different kinds of cacti.
Day 7: At at a waffle house and then went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. There were lots of desert animals there.
Remember to read the entire journal entry of this group visit Google Docs.
Brushing it Off
Watermedia has worked on a few different projects. They've each done a porch, a painting of their choice, and most are either finishing a boat or have already finished. Above is Morgan Bakstran's finished painting of Drake, and Melanie Bosselait's finished painting of a boat. The group has been to museums and watched movies on painting to further their learning about watermedia.
Discovery of Hidden Depths
The students in Belize, who participate in Underwater Discovery Winterim are now having great fun on a yellow beach of South Water Caye. On the first day, they had orientation and learned about the marine ecology of the Caribbean sea. Also students had the chance to snorkel a bit and explore a nearby city. They practiced their water skills and made a great preparation for the depths of the mighty ocean. They had several important swimming tests and passed a final exam. On Saturday they started their project and visited the Smithsonian. On Sunday they were at Bird Caye and had a fish quiz.
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