Leaving SMS

image by Fredrik Wanergard

          I have been at my school, SMS, since preschool, and even before then my two older sisters attended here. St. Mary's is a place where everyone is friends and knows each other super well, because most of us have been together since we were five. Last year, in seventh grade I was really excited to leave and go to the high school. Now I realize that is not the case, because I've realized what a big role SMS has played in my life. St. Mary's has taught me that no matter what others think, I should stick to my faith and do the right thing. Our class might not have the best reputation, but I think over this last year we have really grown closer together. It will be so different at high school; I will miss walking down the hall and having me and Luke wink at each other (hahaha) and not seeing Kristen pulling her Pencil Pass down the hallway. An end will come to the times Ms. Grose asks how many cold lunches we have, even though we've had five in our class all year. There will be no more One Direction chats with Emma and Mya all day, or giving Brady thumbs up and a cheesy smile. I can't even count how many times this year me and Mrs. Slotsve have told each other "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and had people ask "Wait you both have your birthday today?". How many times I have had to explain that no, it isn't either of our birthdays'. When is the next time that Alex or Noah will come up to talk to me at the high school. It's going to be so sad, but I always knew that this day to move on would come. Every since preschool I had looked forward to ELC, the 8th grade slideshow, our last SMS concert and May Crowning, leading my own track and field team, and finally Graduation. Now, there is only two more things to look forward to, because our days at St. Mary's are nearing their end. It's hard to think about going to school at a different place, talking to different people, and having teachers who we've possibly never even heard of. Because St. Mary's has never been strange or "new" to me. I feel like SMS is my home, and my classmates and teachers are all just my family. I'm so proud of grade, because it was like we were all dragging around our reputation like a shadow, but over the years it has cleared up. Even though we still have those moments here and there, we all have learned how to deal with it.It will be a challenge to start at a new school, but I think we are ready to move on and accept that challenge.

My Image Story-A Picnic!

 

image by Biggie*

image by aliceinmaryland

image by f355x3

image by ryanmcginnisphoto

image by Paul and Christa

Borrowing Moola(:

    image by 401K

     
           In my 21st century class today, we watched two videos about loans and borrowing money. The first video was telling us that there are different plans we can use to help pay off any loans we might have. There is something called APR (annual percentage rate) which is like the interest you have to pay the bank for borrowing you money. There is multiple plans that have to do with how long it will take you to pay your loan off and your APR. Something that works for your friend, may not work for you. The 2nd video was a cartoon about a college boy who spends lots of money on things like an iPad and a TV. He goes way into debt, but realizes that he can get out if he comes up with a plan. In the end he does, and this helps him to buy a house. Planning ahead can also help us out!

Purple is my favorite color.

ELC

 The girls in group B on a hike!

      Last week, my class took a trip to ELC , an environmental learning center. It was the best-est thing EVER. We left on Monday morning at 5a.m.! My dad actually was one of our chaperones, so it was cool to have him there with me! Throughout the week we participated in many activities: every day we had 3 classes. My favorite was probably rock climbing. We did this on Friday. There was a huge rock wall, with 6 areas to climb. The hardest one had a goat at the top; the instructor told us to kiss it if we made it up there.(: This was different then any other rock climbing I've done, because it was actually legit and didn't have made handles for you to grab on to. First, we had to learn how to belay for someone else and pass the belaying test. After that our instructor gave us tips on how to climb. We started climbing, but the time went by really quickly....I only had the chance to try 3 of the areas on the wall, but I made it to the top on all of them! Some of my other favorite activities were the ropes course, participating in my class' polar plunge (BRRRRR.), stream study (I caught a tiny crayfish and named it Liam! :D), and FIRST games (team building activities!). I'm really sad to be back, because I really feel like it was an awesome opportunity and experience for my grade. I also think that we all bonded a lot over the week, and it was cool to really recognize how many friends I really can trust in my class! I wish I could go again.(:

What is Work?

     image by Daehyun Park

     When it comes to thinking ahead about what I want to do after college, I haven't really thought about it too much. I feel like I still have a lot to learn before I can really decide that. Although, right now I really like music, but I don't really know what I could do with that. I guess if I really think out of the box my dream job would be something big, like a singer or actress, but I'm not really counting on either of those happening.(: When I think of work, I don't always think of something that's enjoyable or fun. People don't always do work that they enjoy to do; they just work, because they need the extra money. People also do not have to be paid for the work they are doing. Think of volunteers; they work very hard to help out the community, but they don't get paid at all. I think that work inside of school, is different from the work we will do outside of school. Our school work is to prepare us for the work we will do later in life. Also, the work we do in school is just given to us, on a worksheet or from a book. When we have a real job, things won't be like that. Here's my last point. In school we learn the basics like Math, Science, English, and History, but if you really explore different careers, there is thousands of things that don't always apply to these subjects. Therefore there's way more options.

Sharing Images!

image by Horia Varlan

In my 21st century class, we watched a video about using other people's pictures. Most of what it said was common knowledge to me, but I guess it is always nice to review those rules. It talked about how to properly put your own images onto the Internet. You first need to have a Creative Commons license, which was news to me. There is a bare use law, which gives your pictures full copyright. No one can sell or use your work without you first giving permission. When someone chooses to use your work, they must give you attribution, or credit, for your images. This is the basics of what I learned about sharing work on the Internet.