Video!

Note: I commented of Mary Huether's blog.

Important Lesson

Throughout my life, I have experienced so many events, which taught me different lessons in life. A couple years ago, my grandma was at her house, and she fell. She was ninety-two years old at the time, and she lived alone. I don't remember how my mom figured out that my grandma was in trouble, but she went to my grandma's house to help her. She then started experiencing many different troubles with her arm. She could not move her arm at all because it hurt too much. She couldn't walk very well, but she was still able to. Then, the next year, my grandmother moved in with us, and each of the children in my family had to care for her and get her everything she needed.

With many prayers, my grandma is back at her home, using a walker to walk. She is able to walk so much better and is doing a lot better. She has taught me so much about perseverance and strength. She has been such an inspiration, and has taught me many lessons in life.

Report Card

I have been doing pretty well with my grades this first quarter. The hardest subject for me this year would be geometry. I was so used to algebra from last year, and it's a weird change from algebra to geometry. They always say you are either an algebra person or geometry person, and I'm definitely an algebra person. However, I was able to keep my grade in that class up to an A. I know this because of the blackbaud system on the PND website. It allows us to see our grades and check them every so often. We can also see if we have any missing assignments to turn in. This is a very useful network because we can easily tell how our grades are doing, and our parents can check them as well. With the play going on, it is sometimes hard to find time to finish all my homework, but I have been doing a pretty good job with it fortunately. I have had two shows going on during my first quarter, so once the second show is over with, it will be easier to keep my grades up. I did well on my report card for the first quarter, and hopefully I can keep my grades up during the second, third, and fourth quarters.


Note: I commented on Maggie Clark's blog.

Thirty Things Before I Die

There are thirty really cool things I would like to do before I die. These include:
1. Perform on Broadway
2. Travel the world with Johnny Ho
3. Go to Ireland
4. Sing with Josh Groban
5. Learn to speak French fluently
6. Move to Paris, France
7. Go skydiving
8. Learn to ballroom dance - learn the tango!
9. Go to a ball dressed as a princess
10. Ride on a hippo
11. Ride in a hot air balloon
12. Climb Mount Everest (that would be so cool!)
13. Bungee jump 300 feet!!
14. Wish upon a shooting star
15. Teach a college class
16. Sing in an opera (haha)
17. Go to New York!
18. Send a message in a bottle that someone would find 100 years later
19. Figure out how to go back in time
20. Sing "Some Things Are Meant to Be" with my little sister for a million dollars and win!
21. Go to a music festival in another country
22. Ride on a dolphin with Annie, taking pictures at the same time
23. Go to Neverland with Peter Pan
24. Learn to fly
25. Ride my bike down Mount Everest
26. Find hidden treasure
27. Spend the night in a haunted house by myself
28. Sleep under the stars (without bugs)
29. Kiss the Blarney Stone upside down!
30. Ride in a zorb thing with HO!

Peoria Logo

Personally, I did not even know Peoria had a logo until we had to do this post. We had to go to http://www.logopeoria.com// and choose which logo we thought was the best. It is hard to decide between all these, but if I had to choose, I would choose Logo Number Seven (right). I have always liked old-fashioned pictures and places, and this picture is the perfect example of how Peoria came to be what it is today. It has its establishment, as well as a nice old building.

My second favorite logo would have to be logo number four (left). I like this one because it looks a lot like a ship and water. I like the colors and format of it, and I also think this would be a good logo that tells everyone we are Peoria.

Note: I commented on Seb's blog.

Halloween Costume

As unoriginal as this may be, my favorite halloween costume would have to be a witch. I know a lot of other people are usually witches for halloween, but that is the costume I have enjoyed using over and over again. One year, I had a black hat with green hair coming out of it. I put black lipstick on and made myself look creepy. About two years ago, I put on a witch hat, black lipstick, black nailpolish, and lots of eyeliner. I got my broom out and was ready to go trick-or-treating with my family and get all the candy I could possibly get!

Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of me in my witch costume. However, I have a picture of my whole family getting ready to go out and scare the little kids.

From left: John (as some creepy guy), Thomas (neighbor; burglar), Me (Bye Bye Birdie costume), Tommy (skeleton), and in the middle is Annie (mummy).

IPhoto Project

This week, we had to create an album on IPhoto. We each had to find objects or buildings that was in the shape of a letter and spell out our names. I thought this was a really fun project to do because it required a lot of creativity and thinking skills. We also had to put a few slides about us and what we liked to do. I had pictures of a flower, Winnie the Pooh, sheet music, music notes, and a piano, because I enjoy all those things. The only part I didn't like about this assignment was that the projects couldn't save, so you didn't know if your pictures would still be there or not. If they weren't there, you had to go back and do the whole thing over again. We ended up just saving all the pictures in our documents.

My project is now finished, and I already presented it to the class. It was a very fun project to work on, and I can't wait to see how everyone else did on theirs!

Note: I commented on Johnny Ho's blog.

Homecoming Newsletter Process

Well, I finished my newsletter! As stated in an earlier post, I wrote about homecoming week and all of its special days in which the students dress up differently. Mr. Erwin will have many amazing newsletters to choose from, and it would be really cool if he chose my group's. We have an awesome title page with a lot of pictures full of Irish spirit on it. We each chose very unique and creative topics that are worth being chosen. Now that we will be done with our newsletter, I can't wait to see what else is in store for us!

Physical Development

In addition to my intellectual and emotional goals, I also plan to improve physically. Notre Dame offers the chance to fulfill that. For the first two years of high school we have a physical education class, in which we do different activities. We warm up before each class by doing different physical exercises. We then play a game on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays are physical fitness days. Some days, we will be running a mile to build up our endurance and strength. I will be taking the class in the second quarter of this school year. At Notre Dame, we are also given the chance to partake in many different sports; I plan on doing track in the spring. I think it is cool that improving your physical development will also help with your intellectual and emotional development.

Intellectual and Emotional Goals

My intellectual goal for this school year is to get straight A's. I am a very hard-working student, and I want to show that through my schoolwork at Notre Dame. I would definitely like to get a high GPA and become one of the top ten in my class. I will work very hard to achieve this goal, and I think it's very important to keep your grades up.

My emotional goal for this school year is to become a better person. I want to keep a positive personality throughout the school year, and keep all the friendships I made in the past year. My friends are extremely important to me, and I know that some of the friendships I make in high school will last forever.

Newsletter

The next computer assignment is creating a newsletter for homecoming with a group of three. I have the best group, and I know we will do a great job. I will be writing about each of the days of homecoming week and how they relate to the Irish. After we finish this project, Mr. Erwin will be reading all of them and choosing the best ones for the Acclaim! newsletter. It would be very cool if Mr. Erwin chose one of our group's, and I look forward to writing an interesting paper!

Some of the things I will be discussing in my paper would be all the different days of homecoming week, such as twin day, class color day, grade school/college day, etc. All of these days help pep up the class to attend the homecoming game on Saturday to cheer on our Irish!

Note: I will be commenting on Lexi's blog.

Saint Project

For computer class this week, we each had to choose a different saint and create a powerpoint about them. I chose my favorite saint, Saint Catherine of Siena. I chose her because she, first of all, has the same name as me, and second of all, she was my Confirmation name two years ago. I really enjoy working on this project because it is always good to learn more about your patron saint, and using a powerpoint is a fun and creative way to learn more about them. I think this is a great assignment that everyone can have a fun time doing.

Notre Dame Mission Statement

As a sophomore of Notre Dame, I plan on further developing my faith. Peoria Notre Dame's mission statement states that the purpose of the high school is to "nurture the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical development" of their students. They plan on doing this by teaching the Catholic faith and help lead students to become disciples of Christ.

Notre Dame is such an amazing school, and I feel so blessed to be able to attend it. The teachers at Notre Dame always want us to do our best, and they teach us in the best possible way they can. Not only do they teach us about academics, but they also teach us about morality and how to live fully as a disciple of Christ. I am so proud to be a student of Notre Dame, and I am so thankful that I am able to attend the fantastic school.

Powerpoint 9-08-08

I really enjoy posting on this blog. I have finished my other homework assignments for that class, except for the powerpoint. On my computer at home, I would be able to make the powerpoint easier, but this computer at school makes it more difficult because you aren't used to the links. The powerpoint assignment will be difficult because it is hard to figure out how to animate them the way Mrs. Rodolfi did. Finding the pictures for the slideshow will also be difficult. However, once it's finished, it's going to look very nice!

About Micro Apps

This blog was a great idea! My computer class is amazing. The only problem with that class is the computers. I enjoy getting to use them and work with them, but it is very hard to deal with when trying to figure out how to work it. It is so different from our original computers, and everyone is having a bit of a hard time getting used to them. The new computers are really fun though. This is the most interesting class I have ever taken!

Blog's Ready

Well, finally my blog is ready! I am making this blog for my computer class, and I think that is such a cool class. It's very awesome to be able to create your own blog, and I know that a ton of people are having a great time with it. I have to post new comments weekly on my new blog, and I am really excited to begin this and have people comment. This Microsoft Applications class teaches you a lot about how to create different things such as blogs and excel sheets. This may seem easy to some of you, but we are using new computers, and we are having quite a time getting used to them.