Reflection of 8th grade and Parker

I learned everything I know from Parker. My experiences from Parker have made me who I am today. One of the most memorable moments was when my class was in Philadelphia and I played the boys at tennis and beat them. When it was time to go back to the hostel, Anna was tired so I offered to give her a piggyback and I did and I bet her a penny that I could carry her all the way from the tennis courts to the bunk beds at the hostel. I did :).

I learned many academic things this year as well. I am confident that I will be able to use my knowledge throughout my education and in my life. For example, I will be a better writer because of all the things I learned from Seth in LA, and I will be able to calculate sale prices in stores and tips in restaurants.

I am happy with my accomplishments and experiences at Parker and I am excited to gain new knowledge and experiences at Emma.

15 questions

 1. What five words do you think best describe you?

Creative, funny, smart.

2. What do you love doing that makes you feel happiest?

Being with the people I love the most.

3. What do you know how to do that you can teach others?

I know how to write creatively, and i can teach other people how.

4. What is the most wonderful/worst thing that ever happened to you?

?

5. What did you learn from the best/worst thing that’s happened to you?

?

6. Of all the things you are learning, what do you think will be the most useful when you are an adult?

I think that writing will be the most useful thing because it is a skill that will be with me always, and I can teach it, and it is fun.

7. If you could travel back in time three years and visit your younger self, what advice would you give yourself?

Have fun and don’t stress about little things. Focus on what is important.

8. What are you most grateful for?

My family (which includes my friends).

9. What do you think your friend felt when she got kicked out of school?

Probably pretty pissed like she didn’t deserve it. (for the record, she did)

10. What do you think your life will be like in the future?

I don’t know, I don’t want to know and I am happy not knowing. That is the only thing that i am OK waiting to know.

11. Which of your friends do you think I’d like the most? Why?

Megan A. because your personalities are similar with small differences.

12. If you could grow up to be famous, what would you want to be famous for?

I don’t want to be famous because one way or another lots of people hate you.

13. How would you change the world if you could?

I would give all the people in the world nourishment.

14. How can you help someone today?

I can donate my share money to a shelter.

15. If you could make one rule that everyone in the world had to follow, what rule would you make? Why?

Rules are meant to be broken and people will always break rules. There is no point.

summer science project 2014: ecological footprint

eco footprint

biome footprint

 

 

(in global acres) Footprint Country Average
Carbon Footprint 60.40 91.43
Food Footprint 29.72 65.74
Housing Footprint 18.08 31.58
Goods and Services Footprint 36.63 57.66
My total footprint 144.83 246.41

 

(in global acres) Footprint Country Average
Cropland footprint 18.31 29.61
Pastureland footprint 39.44 68.02
Marine fisheries footprint 28.96 49.33
Forestland footprint 58.12 99.45
My total footprint 144.83 246.41

 

Number of Earths 3.73 6.35

Ecological Footprint Quiz by Redefining Progress
Reduce your footprint

Synchronized Swimming: Coach and Swimmer

keep calm and synchro on
By Isabella
Originally posted 4/28/14

Tracy Neitzel, a synchronized swimming coach for Sculpins Synchro, is a synchro mom for life. Neitzel has been coaching ever since her daughter started synchro, and she enjoys it very much. She coaches 3, sometimes 4 times per week, for the boys and girls on the team.

Neitzel coaches the only two boys on the Sculpins. When asked about differing coaching habits with the boys and girls, Neitzel says she does coach the boys differently than the girls. “Boys learn very differently than girls do and all of the ways that we coach and teach synchro were developed for girls and they don’t work very well for the boys,” says Neitzel.

Neitzel has mixed feelings about men and boys in the sport. She loves to coach boys, but it is sometimes difficult. “The biggest challenge in coaching synchro is that there aren’t many immediate rewards for the swimmers—it takes an incredibly long time and a lot of work to become an elite swimmer. Young swimmers often become frustrated by how long it takes for them to even begin to master a skill and it’s important to make sure that they at least get verbal rewards from their coaches.”

Neitzel says that the biggest difference in coaching style is, “I try to change up things more often for the boys. I find that if I work on anything for more than 10  minutes I lose what little focus and concentration they have.” Neitzel is sad that synchronized swimming is such an orphaned sport. “I often wonder if the sport would gain more universal acceptance if men were a part of it too.” At the same time, Neitzel is glad that it is one of the only sports where men do not overshadow women. Neitzel says that it is annoying that men and boys get more attention for being in this sport than women do.

Eight year old Steven Colandrea is one of the two boys on the Sculpins. He got started in synchro because his sister had been a swimmer for five years previously and he wanted to try it out. Colandrea swims one day per week, and his coach is Tracy Neitzel. The Sculpins are the only team in this area, so Colandrea knew that he would have to swim with them if he wanted to swim at all.

Part of what Colandrea likes about synchronized swimming is being in the water all year long. Colandrea also likes that he and Benjamin Brady are the only two boys on the team. “We get to do different things than the girls.” Says Colandrea, “You have to work hard to stay on top of the water.” The boys do things a little bit different than the girls, to help them figure out what works for them. The boys, and all of the girls on the Sculpins will be attending a big meet, titled Associations. At the meet the boys hope to get awards for “figures,” positions that synchronized swimmers get scores on, and awards for their duet. They are doing a routine to music from the movie, “Kung Fu Panda.”

Barcelona

http://parkervisitbarcelona.wordpress.com

http://parkerperspectives.blogspot.com/2014/02/exchange-trip-to-barcelona.html

http://www.stpeters.es/blog/parker-comes-st-peters/
The most interesting moment would be trying to figure out what the hosts were saying when they some Spanish to each other.

The most challenging moment would be trying to learn French and German in 45/hour.

The most exciting moment would be stepping off the plane and realizing that we ha actually flown to Europe.

The most important thing I gained from the experience would be how to put myself in positions where I was the center of attention and late about myself and my country.

Parker comes to St. Peter’s from St. Peter’s School on Vimeo.