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

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

LA students at both Head Start locations continue to play and learn with the kids. Their final days on the playground will be spent in the classroom where they've been working for the last two weeks. This week the LA students say they've become closer with the kids in their class and learned more about them. The kids at Head Start didn't have school Wednesday, so LA students took a trip to the Museum of Science in Boston. Having become so close with the kids at Head Start it will be sad to leave them but it was an amazing experience LA students won't forget.

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.