Yesterday the 6th grade class of St.Anthony's School took a learning journey to our school. The class of 2020 includes over 25 students. Mrs. Holady, the 6th grade teacher, was accompanied by the father of one of the children. When the students arrived at nine o'clock, they joined us for music class. After music class they had fun at recess by playing on the tire swing. Once we finished recess, we explained the Hawaiian Star Compass to the 6th graders out in the courtyard. Later we discussed the extraordinary importance of the Hokule'a, an ancient Hawaiian voyaging vessel. It was a great feeling to know that the St.Anthony's 6th graders enjoyed this trip. I am glad we had the opportunity to share our love for the Hokule'a with others.
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On November 7 at 4:40 am, I was awakened by a high-pitched sound coming from my phone. Being half-awake, I was wondering why it had gone off, but then I remembered the learning journey to Oahu that day. Between 4:40 and 4:50 am, I smacked my phone onto snooze mode twice.
The next thing I knew, I was arriving at my classmate's house in a grumpy mood. I wanted to curl up in a ball while snuggling my pillow until I fell back asleep. All I wanted to do was awaken to the sun and not the darkness of the morning. By 5:30 am, the boys had all piled into Mrs. Hill's ruby-red Volvo. At 6:25 we all unloaded from the car and made our way to check-in, then to TSA. We waited an hour in the airport for our flight. When we arrived in Honolulu we were greeted by the sixth-grade teacher of Holy Nativity School. She picked us up in a U-haul van she had rented. The next thing I knew, we were at her lovely school. We presented our curriculum for about three hours before leaving on a tour of her lovely island. We saw many beautiful sights. After sight-seeing, she took us back to the airport. On the flight back, I slept the entire time. Even though we could have presented some of the material over Skype, I am glad I had this experience. Frequently I think about sailing and would look forward to the next lesson, but now I can only look back on sailing instead of looking ahead. So this last Thursday we arrived at the Lahaina Yacht Club ready to have an extraordinary time. Thankfully we were able to hop on in the water and make our way out past the reef. It was only my second time out past the reef, but it was also our teacher's first time on a Laser. She lost her bearing after the current took her bow first into a catamaran. During that time we were racing. Ian was disappointed that I was in last place during two of the races. The comeback was real!! During the last race JP was being sassy so we got him stuck on the boat. After lunch we did anything we wanted to do. Instead of playing with my friends I chose to sail out far with Ian. He gained a lot of ground past me, due to him having a bigger boat and sail. He was showing me how to sit properly to keep the boat flat. After coming closer in we caught some good waves. It was sad to leave the Yacht Club after saying bye and thank you. It was also a great ending to something great.
"Taken By Wonder," designed and built by 28 year old architectural artist, Wes Bruce. "Taken By Wonder," is currently displayed at the Maui Art Cultural Center or M.A.C.C, until its deconstruction scheduled for Nov 2, 2013. Taken By Wonder's name does not truly explain the mystery in architecture behind this mismatched museum exhibit. When I first walked into this exhibit I was expecting to want to leave instantly, but as soon David found a cargo net to climb, this placed turned into an education playground. This exhibit showed me that the traditional way won't always be the same. I am sad to see this exhibit go, but I am glad I had the privilege to experience it.
Last Thursday we had no school due to Parent/Student/Teacher conferences, but fortunately we still had sailing. The wind was always shifting, turning us into floating buoys. After lunch, a fresh zephyr overtook the doldrum-like conditions. I had fun racing with my classmate David, but I would flip whenever I tacked or jibed. I can't wait for the next day of sailing!
Last Thursday our class ventured over to the Lahaina Yaht Club. Due to the absence of wind, we reviewed proper techniques for riging sails, tying knots, and distinguishing the parts of a boat. We finally made our way into the turbulent water after an hour. Conditions were harsh, with low winds and choppy waves. At lunch time we stopped sailing and unriged the boats. From that point on, our class proceded to jump off of the dock as each wave hit. Hopefully next Thursday will show better sailing conditions, so we can work on some real sailing.
This Friday I wasn't able to go with most of my classmates up to Honokowai Valley due to my mother wanting me to stay at school to do work. I ended up staying in the fourth grade classroom until lunch time where I completed my school work for Mrs.Wurst. I didn't spend much time in third grade, because the teacher let me do whatever I wanted to do. She asked me to grade some math papers, that involved basic math skills. Mrs. Wurst made Chanel, Nicole, and I clean the stage to make up for opting out of the community service. Overall, the day was easy going and it made me wish I was in elementary school again.
This weekend our class of 2014 made our way up to O'o farm in Kula. Once we arrived, the group fun, enthusiasm, and exploration began. All of Friday was spent playing and bonding. We went to bed early for a weekend, plus it was a field trip to make it even more unusual. Our class was rudely awakened at 6am for the sun rise. After the wakeup call, loud conversation arose, disturbing me even further. Once breakfast finished we all embarked on planting baby coffee trees. I learned many interesting things about coffee trees, and the journey O'o farm has had with them. O'o farm has over 3000 coffee trees. A full grown one can produce around 6 to 10 pounds of coffee a year. One pound of coffee sells for about twenty four dollars. After perfection planting of our trees we were greeted by the manager of the farm, Richard Clark. He had us survey four different parts of the farm for good and bad insects and signs of insects. Then we said our goodbyes and left the farm planning on going home.
Last Thursday our class made our way over to the Lahaina Yacht Club without our teacher, Ms. Enriquez. Sadly, she could not join us due to an overlapping event where she was speaking along with one of our classmates, JP, about education and the Worldwide Voyage of Hokule'a at the Schools of the Future Conference in Oahu. Our math and science teacher, Mr. Mason, accompanied us in her place. When we arrived at the yacht club we were a little bummed because of the lack of wind, but Dano, one of the instructors, explained that the wind would pick up. We took our time setting up the sails because we wanted to burn time while the wind increased. The first half of the day was slow, but still fun. Ian, one of the instructors, was showing me tactics. The class also raced around marks. Towards the end, my classmate and I got really close, so I turned his boat around by pushing it. At lunch time everybody was eager to sit down and eat, but then there was a disappointment. We were served goulash, which is a mix of mystery meats. Ken, being the amazing chef he is, made us brownies with vanilla ice cream on top. We all felt that the yacht club redeemed themselves, but we weren't there to eat but to sail. After lunch the wind picked up and sent us sailing with a intense speed. While rigging up the boat after lunch I got one of the Bics without a racing sail, so being the way I am, I tricked Brandon out of his. First I rigged my boat extraordinarily fast, then asked Brandon if we could trade. Brandon asked why I would want to trade boats. I told a fib that I sailed the one he was using during the summer. Happily he believed my trick and I was off in a racing Bic. After lunch I mostly only rode the waves with my boat. I asked Ian to take me out to the big boats, but he said, "No." Later, he tried to sneak me out there, but sadly David and Carter followed. I was still happy that I was in deeper waters. It was extremely kind of him to do that. After, we made our way in to de-rig the boats. The day was truly amazing!!!
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AuthorI'm 14. I was born in Pennsylvania. I like to explore outside. Eating is fun too. BROWNIES!!!!! Archives
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