After completing our Ulysses projects, we watched the movie based on the book. It sadly left out some of the stories, which took, surprisingly, a lot away from the story. I thought that it was going to be a cartoon movie, but the acting represented the story well. The actors that played Ulysses and his men were perfect, exactly as I thought that they would be like. I would have liked to see the scenes that were left out though. I would definitely recommend this movie.
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As you may have seen on the class schedule, Ms. Enriquez, Mrs. Hendricks, my father and I were in Alaska for the last five days for a conference at which my teacher and I presented. You may learn more about the conference here - http://www.aste.org Day 1 - We embarked on our ambitious journey to our fellow noncontiguous state across the Pacific. When we landed after a non-eventful flight in the snowy Anchorage Airport, by snowy I mean that it was all over the runway and the dividers. It was absolutely beautiful, even at 10:30 at night. Day 2 - We awoke to an amazing view of the mountains to the west (above). During Saturday we ventured out of the warmth of the hotel into the brisk 20° weather outside. Most of the day we rested. Day 3 - This was the reason for the whole trip, it was time for our presentations. In the morning our 45 minute talk went very well with an amazing response from the audience. With some of the educators in the room so into what we are doing, that they took the opportunity to get our info, so that they may work with our class and school. Our second presentation was a three in one, Miki Tomita, Ms. Enriquez and I, and an Alaskan Native, Barbra Blake. I would like to congratulate Barbra for the fact that she, and five other Alaska Natives, have been chosen for the New Zealand leg of the World Wide Voyage. In my opinion, the second talk went better than the first. I'm not really sure why, maybe it was the feedback from the audience, but it went 10x as well as I expected it to. Then at 4:30 Nainoa Thompson gave a Keynote presentation about the relation between Hawaii and alaska through the abundant forests that are spread around the state of Alaska. After his informational presentation, we had a small reception while looking out to a remarkable sunset (below). It was needless to say a packed, fun and exciting day. Day 4 - My dad and I had some free time, so we took the opportunity to explore a few blocks from our hotel. We had a pretty uneventful day until we went to the Alaska Native Heritage Museam. It was a snow covered lake side that showed the multiple types of houses that the natives lived in. Inside they had a intriguing array of ancient style kayaks. Day 5 - The day that we left was pretty calm, excluding me losing my phone for about an hour, Mrs. Hendricks having to reschedule her ticket, and oh ya I almost forgot, Ms. Enriquez had a knife that I purchased as a memento in her bag and made it though TSA unscathed. As funny as it was to see her face when she had realized when we sat down to wait for our flight. This really makes me question the security at the airport, since I got my arm patted down for having a plastic watch on. Like seriously? Aside from that, the trip was a 100% success. I can't wait to see what awaits the class of '14 in the future. Special thanks to... Mark Standley - the reason I even went to the conference. He was at Schools of the Future when we gave a very similar presentation, and invited us to present at A.S.T.E. In Eighth grade, one of the biggest things that teachers try to do world wide, is prepare their students for high school. This is going to be one of the biggest transitions in a persons' life. I'm very excited to see what this will bring. We have visited two high schools so far as a class, Lahainaluna and Seabury Hall. At this point I am leaning towards going to Lahaina Luna. My favorite part was the elective of Auto-tech, which is where the student gets to learn his/her way around a car engine, repair it, and modify it. This is my biggest interest, along with computing and chemistry science. I was thinking that I was going to be afraid of high school, but it actually doesn't seem that bad. Now Seabury was just as exciting, but instead of traveling with a fellow classmate and a Shadow, which is a current Freshman at Seabury. This was a more personal experience. At Lahianinaluna we got a very broad picture. My shadow was also very honest about his opinion of the school, which I liked. he gave us info on how the homework was, and far as difficulty and quantity. I can't wait to see where I get accepted to.
Last Friday we surprised our teacher, Ms. Enriquez, with a birthdyay party at one of her favorite places on the island of Maui, O'o Farm. Once she arrived, streamers, balloons and other various decorations had been hung up. Makana was ecstatic to get out of her seat in the car, and run in the damp soil. It was joyful, making s'mores, pizzas, and playing around with glow sticks. The next morning was brisk as usual. We began by cleaning up the mess we left the night before. Mrs. Macedo assisted in preparing our breakfast of bacon, eggs, and bread slices. I enjoyed this trip to Kula very much, and am very thankful to Louis Coulombe for allowing us to spend time at his Farm. I can't wait to see what the rest of this year will bring!
When I go to church I expect the priest to be looking at the congregation and telling fascinating stories about Jesus. A Latin mass is the complete opposite. We all look at Jesus on the cross, instead of the priest facing us. An analogy made by Canon Moreau that was something along the lines of does a shepard walk his herd backwards, no, this is why we all face Jesus. I enjoyed the mass very much. I wonder what it was like when it was altered in 1962 to the priest facing the congregation?
Today we were visited by a very special individual. As a teenager in high school, or even in middle school, you might have read the book The Hiding Place. In the 1970's, after the production of the book, a movie was made replicating the book. Mr. Bill Brown was the producer to this movie. With a budget of over $2,000,000 , the movie was nearly 86ed because the Billy Graham Orginization couldn't afford it. After a last plea to the public, Mr. Brown was able to get the funding needed. He raised a total of 2..12 million, enough for the production of the movie. Now he is 86, and thriving. He was able to deliver vivid memories of being with Ms. Corrie ten Boom, whom the movie protrays her story through the hardships of the Holocaust in World War Two. Mr. Brown and Corrie became close friends. It was intriguing to hear his vivid recollections of their time spent together. His expressions while talking were as if he was his soul and body were back in the very moment he was describing, and so vivid I felt as if I were with him.
One year ago I would not have thought that we would be doing something so influential, that we would be taken to Oahu, and have students from such a high caliber school such as Saint Anthony visit us. I am also very apperciative of their enthusiasm. It's interesting seeing another school that is/wants to be so involved with the Hokulea. I wonder what this all looks like from their perspective? It was a funny coincidence that their 6th grade class was the same size as our 6th grade.
Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms. Donor
I would like to thank you for your generous donation. The $90 per-person will be just the push needed in order for Sacred Hearts School to win the bank account competition. Although I don't know who you are, I am still thankful. Sincerely, J.P. Hill 8th Grade Sacred Hearts School On Saturday this past weekend, Erin Tsue, Isabella Lallo (7th Grade), Mrs. Enriquez, our principal, Mrs. Hendricks, my father and I went to Oahu for the day and attended "Astronaut Lacy Veach Day 2013". Not only did we get to here executive director of the Polynesian Voyaging Society Nainoa Thompson speak, but we also were engaged in a couple of exciting science oriented activities. First we built bottle rockets, comprised of one two liter bottle, and one soda bottle. They flew across the football field! Next we learned about what happens to our food after we eat it, and about the different types of fat. Some of it looked like apple sauce. I hope to attend next year's event.
Last week Thursday, my class went on a "Learning Journey" to Holy Nativity School on Oahu. While we were there we explained our role in the Hokulea and its World Wide Voyage. The 5th and 6th grade classes were ecstatic to see our website and are jumping to make one of their own. It was cool to see another class as ecstatic to be involved as our teacher was on the day we learned about the Hokulea. I can't wait to see them again in January.
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AuthorI'm J.P. I like to go outside, but I also like to play video games. I love music, it keeps me happy, gets me excited, and calms me down, all at once. Archives
March 2014
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