Academic Reports
English, Level 1, Term 1
During my Term 1 of Freshman Year, I decided to take all Level 1 classes. My favorite, however, was Mrs. Burgmyer's Level 1 Englsih Class. We accomplished a lot in the two to almost three month span that our class spent together. We have learned all of our Rhetorical Devices, we have read the book "Night" by Elie Wiesel, we have written reports and critical thinking analytical essays, and we have read personal choice books while writing about the characters, plot, theme, and use of vocabulary. We did all of this while still having a lot of laughs. My favorite aspect of the class was the writing portion. I have always loved reading an article and thinking past the lines on the page. When I was younger, I had always been inspired and intrigued by my local Priest, who could read the Bible and tell hundred of lessons out of just a few pages! He did it all naturally. I had always wished to be as wise as he was, to read a passage from any book and think deeper than the words on the page. This English class has given me the opportunity to not only read and reflect about the meaning of the passage, but to write about my thoughts. I have always been a heavy writer, the teacher would assign a paragraph and I would write a page. During this class, we were encouraged to do such a thing. I always wrote more than I had to, not because I wanted a few extra points, but because I was genuinely intrigued by the theme and the application to these fiction and sometimes nonfiction pieces to the real world. With all that said, I competed the first term with an A and I am very proud of the hard work and drive used in this class.
*One of my personal favorite stories that we have analyzed, "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin. It is a story that is meant to make the reader self reflect on their errors and their natural tendency to believe that humans are perfect and that all flaws are not ours.
Musical Performances
Term 1
Musictown Pops Night - October 13, 2016
Musictown Pops Night was a night of misc for all ages. The Somerset Berkeley Regional High School Music program which consisted of the the Concert Band, who played "Arikara", by James Meredith and "Fate of the Gods" by Steven Reineke, the Jazz Band's set listed consisted of "Forget You", recorded by Cee Lo Green, "Uptown Funk", by Bruno Mars, "Africa", by Toto, and "Smooth Criminal" by Micheal Jackson. Finally, the Show Choirs Electrify and Amplified, sang "Good Girls Gone Popular", by Cabra Starship, "Who Will Love Me as I Am", by Side Show, "First Date", by Blink 182, "When I Fall in Love", by Victor Young, "The One", by First Date, and finally, "Say Something", by A Great Big World. However, I played in Concert Band and Jazz Band. My personal performance was quite good in my opinion. When it came to Concert Band, I stayed in times during the accelerando during Fate of the Gods, and I stayed within my pitch during Arikara which had been a previous issue for me. During the Jazz Band Performance, I felt very comfortable. I played the correct chord rhythms with ease while playing full chord tones with their respective "add-ons". My favorite part of the night however was my guitar solo in "Smooth Criminal". Every solo I play I always improvise, however I always find a source of inspiration. My inspiration this times came from Eddie Van Halon's solo during the song "Beat It" by Micheal Jackson and the slow yet grabbing Bends of Stevie Ray Vaughn during his rendition of "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix. Blending these two sources, I created a strange blend of blues and hard rock that I personally really enjoyed. My solo came out to my standards, and after re watching the solo a few number ties, I came to conclusion that the solo came out very smooth and natural. I had lots of fun during my times and I cant wait until our next set list to be given so I can play even better. On a different note the Show Choirs both did great. They all stayed in tune and their rhythms and sense of timing was great and was far beyond my expectations. I believe that this years Musictown Pops Night went extremely well. Their were smooth transitions and no technical difficulties. I am extremely proud to be part of such a wonderful music program.
*Taken during the Concert Band's performance.
VESPERS Concert
Term 2 December 11,2016
This past VESPERS concsert was an extremely positive success. The bands that I took oart in were the Concert and Sympohinic Band. Also, I played a solo with the orchestra kids because their guitarist couldn't make it. The Symphonic Band played two songs, "Christmas Festival" by Leory Adnerson, and "Adventum" by Jared Barnes. We did extremely well during these performances. We played with accuracy, dynamics, and most of all passion. The passion to play. After, the Concert Band played. We played the songs "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by John Moss, "Heaven and Nature Ring!" by Patrick Roszell. These went just as well. The troubled sections fixed their parts and managed to pull their weight through out the song. There weren't many huge errors in the pieces. People did their job and practiced until they couldn't play it wrong. Also I played a Tran Siberian Orchestra inspired solo over "Dreams of Fireflies" by Paul O'Neil. This went beautifully well. I was given 3 days to learn this whole piece and I pulled it off. Because I always know my part. The Orchestra Conductor was very happy with my performance, and I was happy I could help. The Grand Finale was "Hallelujah Chorus" G.F Handell. Orchestra, Chorus, Symphonic, and Concert Band performed. It was beautiful. The crowd was ecstatic and it got every body in the Christmas Cheer.
Our extremely skilled conductor, Mr Marshall.
Academics: Physics
Usually when you say the word Physics in a public you get two reactions. One, "You must be crazy! Physics? Did you just say Physics?" or "You must be so incredible smart. I could never handle Physics." Personally I love Physics. This term we learned a lot about thinking through Newtons's Laws, Kinematics, and 2D Kinematics. To me that is incredibly fun. The process of looking at an everyday situation and applying it to an actual science, while truly breaking down the "whats" and "whys" ha always been fun for me. I have a solid A in the class currently and doing our labs and classwork is quite interesting to me. My teacher, Mr Medeirous is a fantastic teacher. He explains fully the key concepts throughout our lessons and answers all questions when asked. Our labs are always fun and interactive. They happen every C Day during our Double Periods. The Labs put our understanding to the test with a real situation that we need to solve with basic instructions. You can work with a group which you choose and this leads you to an A. I truly enjoy Physics and the lessons we learn. The class is never un eventful.
A picture of some of our most used equations.
Pops Night: April 4, 2017
Term 3
During the Pops Night Concert, all after school activities performed. These bands consisted of the Show Choir Pit Band, Winter Percussion, and Jazz Band. I performed in all three! Mr. Marshall allowed a lot of musical creativity for me to experiment with. For example I got four solos in Jazz Band alone and three solos in Show Choir Pit Band. These solos consisted of styles such as the 12 bar blues to Modern Pop tunes. I really enjoy playing guitar in all of the bands that I play in. I learn everything from Jazz Standards to Show Music. Tonight's performance was a culmination of hours, hours, and hours of practicing and rehearsing. For example, we go four hour sessions in Winter Percussion alone in just one rehearsal! The hard work was displayed in my playing tonight becuase I incorporated the Dorian, Minor, and Pentatonic scales through the performances. The rest of the band played with as much passion and work driven performance as I did which called for a fun and memorable night.
The Director of Bands, Mr Marshal to the right,
Physics Class
Term Three
In this term of Physics, we heavily focused on Conservation of Mass, Energy, and Heat. We learned formulas that could solve the transfer in heat all the way to seeing the temperature of a certain object at a pinpoint time. We also focused on more conceptual discussions and asking ourselves the "What ifs". This was a really fun experience because I find myself as more of a thinker and a person that solves problems with logic, rather than a number guy. This is fantastic because this past term, we often got tests and quizzes just on Conceptual Theories which I did very well on. Mr. Medeirous makes learning incredibly enjoyable with his endless demonstrations that range from creating a "Wush Bottle" to burning peanuts. The classes is fantastic and it has quickly become one of my favorite classes to partake in.
One of the most recent formulas that we have learned that helps find the amount if heat energy in a substance.
Paintball
Term 4
This term, I would like to write about Paintball. I found Paintball about a year and a half ago when I was invited to a friend's birthday party which was at an indoor paintball field. I wanted to just go for fun first so I went to another local field called P&L Paintball. I'm not gonna lie, the first game I played, I was really intimidated. Their were casuals and beginners such as myself, to competitive teams, to cops and retired military who wanted to go out for a day. The first day was rough, so was the next, and the next. But, by the fourth day I caught on, and flanked the enemy team to take out their fresh spawns. I eventually got tagged, but after tagging eleven of their own team. Eventually, the season came to an end. However with the season kicking back up in about a week or so, I'm gearing up for another run. Recreational games consist of games like Team Death Match, to King of the Hill, to D-Day, and even Capture the Flag. However the tournaments and competitive side of paintball is what I'm really looking forward to. The rules to comp are pretty simple, you win the game by either tagging the other teams siren, or eliminating all other players. It's a 4-6 man team on depending what event you play. I hope to participate in at least a couple of local tournaments this year and I can't wait to get started.
This bis what a standard Competitive field would like inn a tournament.
Physics
Term 4
Physics has been my most favorite subject this year, I owe this greatly, to my teacher, Mr Madeiras. He has always been a great teacher, and has never left a student behind. He often asks students if they have questions, and if that question can't be answered in a classroom, he'll arrange an after school tutoring session wherever he's available. I see Physics as a common sense subject. If X rule or situation, Y will change. For example, in the summer, the wooden doors in my house expand in the door usually get jammed. When I learned the actual science of the expansion of the doors, I laughed because I previously, my reason for the expansion of wood was, "Heat just makes wood expand." But now it's "The Molecules expand and accelerate in speed..." etc. He doesn't just give us equations, but he gives real world examples. So it makes more sense than math in my head and I can rely on past experiences with certain things to help me understand a concept. In Physics, it feels like we've never stopped learning and said "This doesn't make sense." Everyone in the class understand what's going on which makes it easier for someone to ask anyone a certain question. Physics at the beginning of the year was my favorite subject, and still is. I plan on taking advanced Physics when I'm a senior.
This was the transfer of energy example that was shown to us.