Sportmanship

Sportsmanship is a characteristic that all sportsmen should have. From congratulating the other team, to simply biting your tongue are all parts of proper sportsmanship. It is a set of “unwritten” rules that keeps games fun, but also competitive.

A “good sport” is often what we call someone who abides by this set of “unwritten” rules. There two components that make-up being a “good sport". One is being a “good winner”, when you win you need to still respect others and not boast about your victory. The other component to being a “good sport” is being a “good loser”. I have noticed that in many of my soccer games, if the losing team does not have a chance of coming back to win, the losing team changes their goal to trying to hurt opposing players for the remainder of the match. I too have thought f doing this many times, but never have I actually brought myself to actually hurting someone else on purpose. This has transferred to off the soccer field, where I still have not actually hurt someone on purpose.

Many concepts make up the greater word of sportsmanship. They’re fair play, character, and spirit. Fair play is the ability for each team to equally pursue success. A good sportsman would continue playing in a dignified manner even in the event that other participants are not. Character is the qualities of honesty, courage, and integrity. Honesty is important because if you cheat, you are cheating yourself in the process. Courage is used ability to rise against challenges, the bully at school, or the cheater in a game. Integrity is having these moral and ethical principles. Spirit is inspiring to us and pushes us towards our goals.

Poor sportsmanship not only makes the poor sport look bad, but it also makes feel bad. A situation where being a poor sport could lead to injury is if a soccer is saying obscenities to an opposing player, he makes himself a target. The opposing player could become very angry and hurt the poor sport in anyway, while also making a poor sport of himself too. In soccer many times the losing team tries to blame the loss on something other than themselves. They first blame it on each other which makes the entire team angry, and then someone brings up, “Oh it’s the referees fault, and he was terrible!” Which in most cases it was our failure to work together that made us lose. In American football, a team can get a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, which in other sports like soccer, saying obscenities is a yellow card, which is a warning, and if you receive to yellow cards you get a red card and are forced to sit out for the remainder of the game and the next.

All of the stated above s what I feel sportsmanship is all about. No matter what you do in life, it will require you to play and act with good sportsmanship.

Word Count: 499

Winter Term Finals: AP Physics, AP US, AP Calc

AP Physics B. This final was truly a mark of achievement. All year I have been earning B's and C's on Mr. Jensen's tests. This obviously has made my grade suffer. Even though it is an AP class and I get the GPA boost, it still has been the class that has been tanking my GPA the most. Without AP Physics, my GPA would without a doubt be much better.


Despite my misfortunes regarding my test grades in AP Physics, I must say, I dominated that final today. I earned an A- (30/33) and I am ecstatic. It is the highest grade I have received on A AP Physics test all year, definitely something to celebrate. I was even considering the idea of dropping the class due to the fact that it was hurting GPA so much.


On to AP US. This test I was worried about all term. Mr. B had warned us after the fall term final that he would be so easy on us for the final for winter term. Needless to say he was bluffing. He gave us an old AP test and had us working on it in groups. As if this was good enough, we were then allowed to take the test home that night and work on it! This obviously removed all the stress associated with this final, and everyone in my group received 100% on the final.

AP Calc is the only class I am extremely worried about. I had a few low test scores during the term that are really hurting my grade. I have utilized every extra credit opportunity there has been in order to counteract this. As far as the final, I don't think I got over a 70%... It is not looking good. I couldn't even do about 10 out of the 40 questions, so just that is 75%, and then I doubt I got all the others right as well, therefore I'm probably looking at a repeat of  fall term with some form of a D on the final. This is pretty depressing considering how hard I have worked in  AP Calc, just for some reason I struggle on the tests and quizzes

Other than AP Calc, I must say it was a very successful day of finals!

Word Count: 381

Winter Term Finals: Spanish

Whew! Finished my first day of finals for winter term! I have four tests today...ugh, but it feels good to be done! Tomorrow I only have one final (AP Lang), and it does not count for a grade so I am not stressing about it. Today was the day I had to worry about, and in general I did very well so far!

First, I had my multiple choice and listening portion of my Spanish 3 final. We took the oral and written final earlier in the week, which dramatically reduced the work load for the final. Compared to the fall term final exam, this terms was a cake walk. The fall term final exam was much more broad and covered a large range of topics, making it very difficult to study for. This term's final was mostly focused on one main subject, the subjunctive. Last night I had my sister quiz me over the entire vocabulary list for the entire unit in which the final was focused on. This proved to be very useful because there was not one word that I did not understand while taking that final. Finally, the hard evidence about the final being a success, I received an A- (59/65). I was extremely happy with this score for two main reasons.

1) My grade did not go down, which I really need to keep my A
2) In a comparison to my fall term final, I did much better. I received a B on my fall term final, after the curve, where as I received a A- on this terms final without a curve at all.

The only thing I can still hope for is that Sra. Perkins will bump me up to an A+, which I would be pretty surprised if she did, but it would still be very nice. I am not going to ask her about it though because I don't wish to anger her.

Word Count 323

Evil Doctor Candle 3

After years of defeating Evil Doctor Candle he is now trying to make a lab like he did once before but this time as big as Utah! To do this he would have to rob the biggest bank in the world. This bank was called Evan’s Bank. It has 3,457,568,679 US dollars! This was enough money to build 2 labs as big as Alaska!

After a couple days, Evil Doctor Candle truck at Evan’s Bank and stole a total of $2,213,657,980! He made things to hold back the team while he built the lab.

After months of building he was done with the lab. Right then the team crashed through one of the walls. The team eventually found Evil Doctor Candle in his own private movie theater watching Barney and Friends. Suddenly the team started laughing so hard it kept them laughing for an hour. During that hour they did not notice that Evil Doctor Candle had escaped.

Once they were done laughing they noticed that Evil Doctor Candle had escaped. They searched miles throughout the lab. They eventually found a door that said PURPLE PONY HOUSE/EVIL DOCTOR CANDLE’S BEDROOM. They opened the door and found purple ponies all over with a holographic rainbow in the sky. And on one of the ponies was Evil Doctor Candle. The team then got on some ponies and ran towards Evil Doctor Candle. When Evil Doctor Candle noticed them he went to high speed and ran towards the team. He ran past the team, opened the door with the electronic door opener, and ran to a different room.

The team was getting tired chasing after Evil Doctor Candle but at least they had ponies to ride on. They went out to find Evil Doctor Candle. Surprisingly they found him in only five minutes but Evil Doctor Candle was prepared and teleported to a different room.

The team was so angry that they started to break down the building. After half of the building was destroyed they took a rest for an hour. Once their rest was over they were off again destroying the building. They only had a sixth of the building left to destroy but for now they decided to go home for the night.

The next morning they set off to finish the building. Once they were done they saw Evil Doctor Candle one hundred feet away in a big robot. Then they combined into a big robot like Evil Doctor Candle’s. They easily hit him with hypnotize beam to make him get out of his robot and go in to jail.

After Evil Doctor Candle was behind bars the team had a fundraiser and all the money they made they donated it to Evan’s Bank.

Word Count: 456

Evil Doctor Candle 2

Bed and the gang were at a secret hero meeting with other heroes like Batman, Robin, and Superman. At the meeting they were trying to decide about who should be the new team leader and a name of the team.

But in the middle of the meeting Evil Doctor Candle discovered where the meeting was being held. Afterward he broke into the meeting and tried to capture Pen and Potion but Back jumped for Doctor Candle and caught him and locked his zipper shut. Back then brought Doctor Candle to the police and then they returned to the meeting.

There they made the decision to make Bed the leader. Then after hours of brainstorming ideas they came up with the name Little Waggers.

Once the meeting was over the Little Waggers went outside to look for danger. After long hours of looking for danger they discovered atomic toilets that were flooding 5th avenue. None of the Little Waggers could swim so they rented a boat. They drove the boat over to one of the atomic toilets and tried to grab it but it was too slippery. At that time all the toilets swam to the jail and released Evil Doctor Candle. After that they swam so fast to the Doctor Candle’s lab that the Little Waggers could not keep up so they lost track of them. There they made a super robot.

Once they were done they headed for town. There they destroyed Evan’s Bank and took 100,000 dollars that flew into the air after they smashed it.

They then went in the direction of their lab and set up a force field. Then the Little Waggers could not get to Evil Doctor Candle’s because of the force field. While the force field was up Doctor Candle built a new lab and after a year of long construction process Doctor Candle was done.

A month later after building the lab the villains took down the force field down. Then all the atomic toilets came out and screamed, “It was my idea,” and then the argued whose idea it was to walk out of the building.

Once they saw the army of atomic toilets they ran to Joe Bob Joe’s Toiletries, Toilet Paper Galore, and Perfect Store If You’re Fighting Evil Atomic Toilets. Then they bought tons of toilet paper and then the put life into them buy saying, “1 2 what do you say life life and life all the way yeah!”


Word Count: 412

Evil Doctor Candle

Once upon a time there was an Evil Doctor Candle. He loved destroying property. But there was the Goofy Team on the side of good. They always stopped Evil Doctor Candle. They saved a box from turning into a flower. They were shaving when the red alert siren went off. Evil Doctor Candle robbed a store. The Goofy Team sprang into action. Bed used take down on Evil Doctor Candle. Evil Doctor Candle ran to his secret lab. He created zords. There are 5 zords and the zords can combine into a mega zord.

Evil Doctor Candle almost hurt half of the goofy team. Then they combined to get her so they made a mega thing so it was one on one. Evil Doctor Candle used kunka. The Goofy Team used bag, but Evil Doctor Candle escaped. Bed said, “We’ll put you on fire.”

Evil Doctor Candle responded, “I’m 1 million percent fire proof.”

The Goofy Team burst out with laughter and then they lit Evil Doctor Candle on fire.

Evil Doctor Candle started screaming, “I’m on fire! I’m on fire! I’m on fire!”

Yo-yo said, “We’ll leave you to your business.

Then they went to the order room. They ordered a candle and 100 pizzas. They put them into a machine that splats pizza at other things. They put the candle girl by the machine so Evil Doctor Candle would be attracted to her and then they’ll fire off a pizza.

The thing that was carrying the machine said to Back, “Can I join you?”

Back responded, “Ask Bed.”

Bed said, “Yes.” And they went off to find Evil Doctor Candle.

They found Evil Doctor Candle in front of a pizza shop. Evil Doctor Candle started coming towards the girl candle and they fired a pizza. They hit Evil Doctor Candle one time out of one hundred so they missed ninety nine pizzas.

Slink, who was aiming them said, “Why you lookin’ at me? I only missed ninety nine out of one hundred.”

91 people said “Can we join the Goofy team?”

Bed said yes to all of them. They now had one hundred people on their team! They all got stuck together by glue and did a mega body slam. A police car came and Evil Doctor Candle went to jail.

Three days later they were having a party for their accomplishments. When they got there, there was rock and roll music like this, “I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world. I’m so fantastic, I’m made out of plastic, and other songs’ After that they got their medals the president sang the Star Spangled Banner (p.s. everyone covered their ears).

“Oh say can you see, this land is your land of thee I see of amber waves of grain from the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee” Everybody was glad that he was done.

Bed went up and sang “Bon voyage, heave ho!” and “bingle bongle by” and “no ordinary sandwich, a sandwich filled with jelly fish jelly!”


Th-Th-Th-That’s all folks

Word Count: 506

Holy Cow people. I'm sorry if you just read that. I didn't realize how bad that was, but hey, I wrote it in 2nd grade so I didn't expect it to be great.

Apollo 13 Part 3

Miraculously, they reached the Earth under their limited power and oxygen. This is where the next big and vital step was taken. They needed to renter the command module, which had been powered down during the previous days in order to conserve the remaining power to this exact moment. They need to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere with pinpoint accuracy, otherwise they would land far off course. Another concern of the crew and NASA was whether or not the heat shield was damaged during the explosion. At this point there was really no way to find out, they just needed to keep going.

They reentered the atmosphere perfectly but there was still the three minute communication blackout that NASA had to go through before they would know whether or not the heat shield was damaged. Had it been damaged, then there would have been no chance of survival on reentry. They would have burnt up in the atmosphere much like the Columbia disaster did in 2003 when its heat shield was damaged on takeoff.

This three minute communication blackout almost left NASA crushed. The usual three minute blackout last for almost thirty seconds longer than normal, making mission control think that they had possibly burned up in the atmosphere. Fortunately seconds later, communication was reestablished between the module and mission control, allowing them to breathe a temporary sigh of relief, but the job was still not over. They still needed to be rescued from wherever they would land in the ocean. There were many ships spread out across the South Pacific Ocean. They splashed down near the primary recovery ship the USS Iwo Jima. They were on board and safe in a remarkable forty five minutes. One ship nearby even got video of the module splashing down.

The Apollo 13 mission did not achieve its original mission, and thus was essentially a failure in that respect. From a different perspective, this mission was an astounding success. It demonstrated the incredible innovativeness of NASA engineers and the Apollo 13 crew. In eighth grade, I was lucky enough to travel to Huntsville, Alabama to the US Space and Rocket Center. There I purchased a coin collection of all the Apollo Series missions, including Apollo 13.

Word Count: 372

Apollo 13 Part 2

Because the Lunar module had a different system to operate on, it had its own set of oxygen and power supply. The problem they were facing was that the lunar module was only designed to carry a maximum of two passengers, with enough oxygen and power to two days. This is NASA was forced to go into an innovative mode of thinking. At this point they knew that landing on the moon was an impossible feat for the mission in its current state, so that was officially canceled. The main focus of the mission now was to return the three astronauts in tow to earth.

NASA needed to devise a plan and quickly. They were the one who instructed the astronauts to temporarily abandon the command module to stay in the cramped quarters of the lunar module. Again this was only designed to accommodate two astronauts with an oxygen and power supply capacity for two days. At this crucial point in time, they were a frightening four days out from earth. After careful calculations, NASA scientist formulated an ingenious strategy for return to the earth. Instead of forcing the module to turn around, using much of the remaining power supply, they came up with the idea to keep heading for the moon and instead orbit the moon and use its gravitational pull to slingshot the module back towards earth. This plan saved crucial time on the return trip to earth.

At this point, the astronauts needed to conserve every bit of power they could. They had as main gauges turned off as the realistically could, they turned all the lights off, and the only time they used a large sum of power was when they powered up the lunar module rockets for a four and a half minute burn-off, cutting 24 critical hours off the return time.

Word Count: 307

Apollo 13

The following is a response that I wrote after watching a riveting documentary done by the history channel on the Apollo 13 mission where and explosion on board the command module drastically alters the focus of the mission.

Despite the mission being a failure, the Apollo 13 flight was one of the greatest successes of American space exploration. The mission was originally schedule to include a moon landing but a sudden explosion drastically changed the focus of the mission.

Apollo 13 was the seventh manned space mission in the Apollo missions. It was the third scheduled to conduct a moon landing. The mission was commanded by James A. Lovell with John L. "Jack" Swigert as Command Module pilot and Fred W. Haiseas Lunar Module pilot. They had undergone 24 months of intensive training in order to prepare for this mission. The mission objective was to explore the Fra Mauro region of the moon. This region was home to the 80-kilometer Fra Mauro crater.

The frightening mission began on April 11, 1970. From the start it was a picture perfect start to the mission. Everything seemed to be going as planned. The astronauts filled their time will experiments, photography, radio, and Television broadcasts. After two days of a picture perfect mission, 15 seconds after a fan was turned on to mix up the hydrogen and oxygen tanks to ensure equal pressure, the crew experienced a fierce jolt and heard an explosion from the side of the command module.

After a quick assessment of the damage, the gauges read that one oxygen tank had been completely lost. They then noticed that they were spewing something out of another tank into space. They realized that they were steadily losing pressure in the other oxygen tank. They had also damaged two other fuel cells, resulting in an unbelievable and inconceivable loss of four major systems.

Word Count: 311

AP Calculus Extra Credit

For winter term of AP Calc, we were allowed to make an extra credit music video. I will try to post the video on here when we officially release it. The video is a parody of LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem. Here are the lyrics to our video:

AP Calc is where the party's at

Everbody's just learning that math

Oh yeah you're gonna love this class

Everybody's just learning that math

AP Calc is where the party's at

Everbody's just learning that math

Oh yeah you're gonna love this class

We just wanna see ya, take that

In the class, AP Calc. Looking for some fun? Here it's at

On top ya you know we hot, graphing that curve like we own the plot

What's the slope? I gots to know, dx/dt cause that's how it flows

Tangents, limits, integrals, got the slope, now ya know

Yo, Ms. Hrubes teach this class like Plato

She got that high d(ho) know, and she'll show, watch her go

We learning Calc, yeah, that's the teach who I'm reppin'

She's the best of the best without any question

AP Calc is where the party's at

Everbody's just learning that math

Oh yeah you're gonna love this class

Everybody's just learning that math

AP Calc is where the party's at

Everbody's just learning that math

Oh yeah you're gonna love this class

We just wanna see ya, take that

Calc is where the party's at

Calculus, Calculus

Take the test, and earn yourself some college cred

You'll save money, you'll be glad oh, yeah, math is rad

AP Calculus, It's very cool

Concave down or up? Don't be a fool

Derive the function twice, and then you'll see

If you are precise, the concavity

Sign up, take Calc, pass and earn some college cred

Sign up, take Calc, pass and earn some college cred

Sign up, take Calc, pass and earn some college cred

Pass and earn some college cred, pass and earn some college cred

Take Calc, Take Calc, Take Calc, Take Calc,

Take Calc, Take Calc, Take Calc, Take Calc,

Take Calc, pass and earn some college cred

College cred, pass and earn some, pass and earn some, pass and earn some, pass and earn some

AP Calc is where the party's at

(Pass and earn some)

Everybody's just learning that math

(Pass and earn some)

Oh yeah you're gonna love this class

(Pass and earn some)

Everybody's just learning that, that, that math

Pass and earn some

Pass and earn some

Pass and earn some

Take that, Calc is where the party's at 

Word Count: 435

Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is on our list of favorite movies of all time. It is an amazing account of Private Ryan and his journey from D-Day to his discharge. The realism is unspeakable and the excruciating intensity keeps you on the ends of your seat.


World War 2 was a dark time for the entire world. Millions of lives were lost all because some countries sought to better themselves via ruthless imperialism. Saving Private Ryan is known for graphic realism, which betters the movie by far. The first 20 minutes of this film, when they are landing at Normandy, critics say that it is as accurate as Hollywood could have made it. Nothing was sugar coated throughout the entire movie. Everything was shown, even the scene when the German slowly slips a knife into the America soldier while a cowardly American soldier whimpers downstairs, even though he could have come upstairs and saved the Americans life.


It is true that Saving Private Ryan is and incredibly emotional movie, but it is covered and hardened by war. Tom Hanks does a resounding job acting as Captain John Miller. Acting much the same as a courageous captain would have acted during the real war. It is this that puts Saving Private Ryan over the top for me. I do not enjoy movies that simply fake and sugar coat sensitive topics.

Spielberg has done an incredible job in preserving the historical accuracy of Saving Private Ryan. It is the only Hollywood movie that even comes close what conditions were actually like on Omaha beach. Saving Private Ryan is based upon Edward Niland and the sole-survivor policy, which is if a family has multiple relatives die in a conflict; the last survivor will be discharged from the army. We agree with the policy because no family should have to lose children to war, and definitely shouldn’t lose all.       


Word Count: 314

Kylie's Krap

Kylie Hanscheman. A very interesting person whos is very involved here at Kennedy High School. Kylie is one of those kids that is involved in everything relating to theater. She literally is in every possible group, show, or event involving theather. Over these high schools years Kylie and I become great friends, but not without our differences.

Kylie is a quick and demanding person. I have observed her acting in this way in our AP Language and Composition class. She is swift with her talking and very argumentative, always wanting things done her way. When I see her get into an argument with Ms. A I always cringe, wanting her to be quiet and just let Ms. A teach, but I don't. This is where my side comes in. I am usually quiet, especially with people I don't know. I am usually not one to argue a point relentlessly and I am more open to other  people's opinions. I know when to admit when I am wrong, but that still doesn't mean I like to.

Enough about me and back to Kylie. Kylie and I first met in Chanteurs in 9th grade. After getting to know her, I now know that she was also involved in show choir at Taft Middle School. Their group's name was the very original "Kids From Taft". We continued being in show choir agian our sophomore year in Protege. But now in our junior year, Kylie has moved on into Happiness and I have remained in Protege.

Recently Kylie has flourished in the theather department. At the end of her sophomore year she was involved in the musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". This show was hilarious and I loved every bit of it. Earlier this year Kylie was also involved in the show "Seussical the Musical". I did not have to chance to see this, but I'm sure it was great as I heard fantastic reviews about it. Most recently she was involved in the play "Harvey" which once again was fabulous and something I enjoyed a lot.

Word Count: 349

Academic Assembly Play By Play Part 3

Happiness just finished their opener and have moved onto their second number, Jet Set. Marie Treangan has the solo at the beginning of the show and she is truly amazing. Jet Set is the only song done by Happiness hat hasn't fully grown on me yet. It isn't because they don't do a bad job is is mainly because I don't like jazzy songs very much. Hey just finished Jet Set, and I love Chase Prouty's little solo at the end.

They just began their ballad. Amanda Paulsen is simply stunning. Her voice is perfect for this solo and I love it. She definitely deserved the best female soloist award she received at Davenport Big Dance. Happiness's ballad this year is also very good, an I am much in love with it, it just doesn't bring down the house like Hallelujah did last year. The ballad this year is just simply beautiful and when Bailey Textor has he solo at the end, it puts the icing on the cake.

There novelty has begun! Shane's little spiel at the beginning is equally as hilarious as his improv performance. The song goes through how to put on a competition and is surprisingly accurate and very funny. Maddy's "ballad" solo adds I the excitement and is also very good. Trevor Brammers solo is equally as funny.

Novelty is over, closer has started! Josh Payne is an amazing soloist in Ye song! The quartet that joins him and support him very well. In he background are the featured dances who all are great dancers and really add to the Party Rock effect. The entire closer is probably the favorite closer I have ever seen, even better than last years.

Their show just ended and it was as good as ever!

We now are moving onto he rest of the assembly. We have begun talking about National Merit Scholars, something I wish I had gotten, but unfortunately fell short. To be selected a National Merit Scholar is one of the most impressive awards you can receive at Kennedy High School. You can get a full-ride scholarship to many schools just because you are a National Merit Finalist.

We just recognized National Merit Scholar Scholarship awards.

Dr. W just said my name!!!! Oh Em Gee So exciting! I was recognized for being a representative of Kennedy at the Youth Leadership for Five Seasons.

The assembly is about to end as soon as Happiness sings the Alma Mater.

They just finished and they did a great job. Everyone is now leaving the gym while I am still sitting in my hair finishing this blog post. Thanks for reading my incredibly dumb play by play of the academic assembly at Kennedy High School Feb. 27, 2012

Word Count: 469

Academic Assembly Play By Play Part 2

After that phenomenal improve performance, we have continued the boring process of reading off people's names.

We start off with electric car which has apparently won the Iowa State competition 8 out of the last 10 years. I am surprised that they don't get more recognition.

We have now recognized tech crew, Torch editorial board, pod cast, torch web page, Profile Editorial Board and Section Editors, Plain Brown Wrapper Senior Staff Members, Quill and Scroll, web page managers, and finally, State and National Journalism Honorees.

Check out the picture I have attached to this blog post and you will see Ms. A. has taken the stage! What an Honor!

That recognition portion has ended and now Dr. W is bragging about how good the Kennedy Torch. I have talked to people from other schools, and though they maybe a little bias, they believe that our website has a pretty poor layout.

This just in! Happiness members were just notified to start preparing to perform.

We are now recognizing the National Honor Society Officers something I hope to be next year. Now we are into the National Science Honor Society Officers, also something I aspire to be in next year. Now we are talking about the Student Government Officers, also something else I aspire to be in next year.

Happiness is about to perform!!! Dr. W just went on a rant about how people have been making fun of the kids in show choir after they perform at assemblies such as this, which in reality is all true, but easily tolerable. Happiness inc. is something I aspire to be in next year.

Happiness has taken the stage!! Thy are so good it is ridiculous. I love Bailey Stinke's solo at the beginning of the show! Oo the photographer just took the empty seat next to me.... Argggg. At first I didn't really enjoy Happiness's opener but it has definitely grown on me and I love it!!!

Word Count: 335

Academic Assembly Play By Play

In this blog post I will be giving all of you loyal fans of my log a play by play of this exciting academic assembly.

The day started off by heading down to the west gym to get our picture taken for my academic activity: Science Bowl. It involved Ms. Heredity yelling through a microphone calling people up via their respective academic activity.

Now we are anxiously awaiting in the hallway outside of the gym for the assembly to start

We are in the gym! We are lined up and I'm about to go on stage. Ahhhhhhhhhh I'm so excited. Blogging live from the stage now!!!! Ahhhhhh so cool.

Whew! What an experience. That was super exciting. And now I get a front row seat for the rest of the assembly. How lucky am I?!?

We are now going through the very long list of speech members being recognized. In my opinion the should not be recognized in a academic assembly considering that speech team has absolutely nothing to do with academics, contrary to popular belief.

Ahh and now Moonlight has taken the stage. Probably one of the only actual exciting things about this assembly. They are all really good! Awwww Drew Vitale's microphone wasn't turned up very much and we couldn't hear his solo, shucks.

Also I forgot to report earlier, the state champion speech team consisting of Shane Neilson, Andrew Hanzelka, and Jonah Hejki have gone offstage to get ready for an improve performance.

Did I mention? Moonlight is AMAZING, they are all so good.

Oh Em Gee. Improv team is going up. Their topic is day in the live of a Kennedy student. They are so funny! Shane is definitely the most funny. They made fun of Mr. Johnson and Dr. W. It is easy to see why they won the Improve Banner two years in a row.

Ps. Dr. W's voice just cracked

Word Count: 331

More Procrastination

Everyone knows the dangers of procrastination in school. If your school worked is left unattended for long it can be a problem. It works by instead of doing the work you should be doing now, you do later.

This system actually works during the middle of the trimester because everything is procrastinated to later, basically just an altered schedule for your homework. Where you get into trouble is when you don't have a "later" time to procrastinate to. I am currently in this root, it is the end of the trimester and I no longer have a later time to procrastinate to. It is now crunch time to get all of my work done. At this present moment I have 14 more blogs to post by tomorrow... I know... crap.

Despite this overwhelming workload due tomorrow, believe it or not I have improved on my procrastination. First term it was even worse. First term not only did I procrastinate my blogs, I also procrastinated my reading and annotated bibliographies. So in retrospect, I have it good his term. ALL I have to do is write 14 blogs in on night... no big deal.

At least I am using my time wisely today. I have completed all other homework due tomorrow except the blogs, this way I can put my full focus on them. Even more, because I am done with all other homework, the only other way I can work is by working on my iPhone. I have written this entire blog so far on my iPhone and I'll be honest, it hasn't been fun, but at least I am using my time wisely now. And shhhh, don't tell Dr. W, I will be blogging all assembly today.

Procrastination is poor time management early and excellent time management in the end.

Word Count: 306

Japanese War Crimes

The Japanese war crimes are some of the most alarming things I have ever heard of. They were a series of crimes committed by Japan during their periods of imperialism, primarily World War Two. Traditionally these extreme acts of violence were committed by army personnel.

Many have referred to this event as the Asian Holocaust because it closely resembles the European Holocaust, taking place at the exact same time, but on the other side of the world. Instead of the Jews being targeted, in this case it was most heavily impacting the lives of the Chinese. Like Hitler in Europe, Emperor Hirohito is ultimately responsible for the events transpiring.

The video I watched about the Japanese War Crimes by the History Channel series World War II in HD was definitely not sugar coated. It showed the bloody gruesome reality of the Japanese war crimes, the way it should be. I’m glad it showed us the brutal reality instead of making it seem “not so bad”. I was appalled at the things I saw, and that was just through a television screen. I cannot imagine what it would be like in real life. I can fully understand how horrible the conditions were for the survivors and I admire their courage, fight and tenacity.

The single most horrendous part of the entire video was the Bataan Death March. Prisoners of war from the Philippines were marched 80 miles by the Imperial Japanese Army. Initially there were 76,000 POWs that began the march and thousands did not make it to the destination. The fact that POWs were being assaulted with weapons such as golf clubs just speaks out about how the Japanese were beating the POWs out of enjoyment, and no real reason.

All of these War Crimes were used back in America as tools for Propaganda. The Japanese soldiers were referred to as “Murdering Jap”. This is an appropriate title as some of the crimes committed were executions on the surrenders. It wasn’t until the 1950’s when former Japanese Army officers started to release public apologies for the incidents that happened. But no number of public apologies can undo the ruthless war crimes committed by the Japanese.


Word Count: 365

Evil Doctor Candle Introduction

Elementary writing. I remember writing stories, much of which do not make sense to me today, once made perfect sense. In second grade I wrote a story called Evil Doctor Candle, it was long for the second grade, at least two notebook pages. I remember I was more concentrated on writing a funny story than an overall good story. It was an interesting account following my statement above. I’ll be honest, the storyline was TERRIBLE, and it hardly makes sense when I read it today. This Evil Doctor Candle story continued throughout elementary and I have produced two sequels, in third and fourth grade respectively. But as with movies, the sequels are never as good as the original and I never enjoyed them quite as much as the first.


When we had a chance to share our story with everyone else in the class, everyone was practically bouncing off the walls laughing. It was a sort of stupid humor; hilarious but at the same time was completely ridiculous. It was about an evil candle seeking to take over the world by bizarre ways. The good guys were a bunch of school supplies led by a walking, talking bed. In addition there was a mix of Power Rangers, Pokémon, SpongeBob, Music, and Looney Tunes throughout the story.


To go along with the wacky story, I had made illustrations on every page. I remember these the most. They were what really made it a funny story. They filled gaps in the writing making it have somewhat of a “basic” storyline that only an elementary student can comprehend. The series of Evil Doctor Candle stories was one of my favorite memories from elementary school. I remember all of this because it was truly my first story I had ever written, and although it wasn’t a great story it was still a very fun and positive experience.

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Leadership: A Definition

What is a leader? A leader is a person that has the ability to motivate others, strong beliefs, and good communication skills.

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” These words are attributed to the famous philosopher, physician & humanitarian, Albert Schweitzer. I believe one of the most important qualities of a leader is the ability to motivate others. As indicated by Schweitzer, a Nobel Peace Prizewinner, it is essential to lead by example. I have been diligently been working on my homework every night. People notice my work ethic and consequently, people in my class will ask me to help them for what they don’t understand.

Leaders should have strong beliefs. Throughout the years, religion has played a large part of my life. For the past three summers, I have attended Riverside Bible Camp. This experience has helped me to treat people fairly and respect differences. During the last two and one half years, I have helped at worship at church. The acolyting I have done has involved being in front of the congregation with the pastors and aiding them during communion, offertory, and at the beginning and closing of the service. Over the years, I have volunteered and visited people in nursing homes & helped serve food for the homeless. My strong beliefs have helped me when I have worked with my peers and teachers at school. I try to listen to all before making decisions.

Lastly, communication is the key to leadership. A leader needs to communicate what needs to be accomplished and then communicate the results of their labor. "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” This is a famous quote by General George Patton, who was a great leader in World War II. One needs to communicate what needs to be accomplished but not necessarily exactly how to proceed.

A leader is a person that has the ability to motivate others, strong beliefs, and good communication skills. I believe these are key components to a good leader.

Word Count: 352

Police Ride-Along Part 4

The rest of my ride along experience was not quite as gripping as the events layed out in Police Ride-Along Part 3. Despite this, the night was far from over, and there is still some excitement to come.

Following my most recent adventure, we got a call reporting a car theft at Mckineley Middle School. We had to head over there quickly and upon our arrival the victim was waiting outside. He was there for a basketball practice for his daughter and had gone out to his car to get the teams' new jerseys to show them. He had left his car running with it unlocked while he brought the jerseys inside for five minutes and when he came back out, his car was gone. Luckily for us, there were cameras all around the building and the athletic directer from Taft MS just happened to be there too so we went to the main office and started looking through the tapes. It is nice that they have the cameras and all, but they don't know how to work them very well. After about 15 minutes of squirreling around on with the cameras trying to get the right angle, we decided to give up and wait until morning when someone who actually knows how to use the cameras was there. So unfortunately for the victim there was a whole lot we could do immediately besides file a report and send out a notice for people to look out for the specific car.

The final event of the night included what the police refer to ass a "hot run". This is where you put on your lights and sirens and disregard all traffic signals/signs. Immediately after leaving McKinley, we got a call to Mercy Hospital because there was a guy there threatening to beat people up. After an exhilarating ride, we arrived just as about five other police cars. I was instructed to stay in the car while they all ran into the hospital. In the end it wasn't that exciting, it was simply a drunk guy yelling at the hospital staff. All that happened was that the man was apprehended and sent to jail.

Everyone talks about how the police are unfair, and how they are "out to get'cha". I don't think that any of these people can fully appreciate what the Cedar Rapids Police Department does for this city. They make it safe to live here, they make it an attractive place for business, they make it so we can go outside and have peace of mind.

This ends my four-part series about my Police Ride-Along. I have to say, it was one of the most fun things I have ever done in the city of Cedar Rapids. I would recommend to every sophomore to apply for the Five Seasons Leadership Program so that they can experience some of the same, awesome experiences as I.

Word Count: 485

Semi-Automatic Firearms: A Persuasion

The FBI estimates there are over 200 million privately owned semi-automatic firearms in the United States. Now if semi-auto guns were banned over 200 million firearms would have to be taken away. This is unquestionably not possible. If by some way the government found away to collect the firearms, what would be done with them? I whole-heartedly believe semi-automatic weapons should not be, and in reality cannot be effectively banned.

Many people that have semi-auto firearms compete in competitions. My dad is a participant in these competitions as well. With every sport there are professionals in that sport. This means that if the firearms are taken away, you are also taking away livelihoods. Suppose your job is a shopkeeper a local gun store, how would you feel knowing much of your stock would be taken away because of a semi-auto gun ban? Now I think I speak for everyone when I say that I would be furious at the fact that my business is virtually being taken away.

A large reason my opposition wants semi-auto weapons to be banned is because they are commonly used in crimes. Now many “bad guys” get their weapons illegally anyway and have undocumented firearms. The United States would have no way of collecting these undocumented firearms, effectively disarming the responsible users of said firearms. This leaves innocent people defenseless against any “bad guy.” Not only are guns used defensively against other armed humans.

Because many people already have semi-auto weapons, it is not practical to remove 200 million firearms from the American people. It is a sport, so, this ban would ruin many people lives. Since a large amount “bad guys” get the guns illegally anyway, it is virtually making the public defenseless. Therefore, I do not, and will not ever support the banning of semi-automatic firearms for public use.

Word Count: 306

Protégé Show Choir: A Definition

Protégé is group of singers and dancers at Kennedy High School. It is the prep show choir under Happiness Inc. Many people think it is a joke and it is easy to do, but trust me, its not. Its unbelievable how many minute details are put into each move. As far as it being a sports waiver, I can definitely tell why it should count as a sports waiver because of how hard you have to work during rehearsals. At the end of some rehearsals your shirt will be nearly drenched with sweat.

            Here is how a year in show choir goes; it starts out the spring the school year before when you have to audition. The audition process consists of both a singing and dancing audition. There are other small factors like grades and do you work well in a group, but those are not big factors. About a month later the list is released and hopefully you made the group. Now you have to wait until August for Protégé to actually begin. At the beginning of August we have Choreography camps. These are all day camps where we learn two of our songs. We then begin regular Tuesday night rehearsals until about October when we also start rehearsing on Thursday nights also. In the time from after the original camps and October we have had other camps learn the rest of our songs. We then continue this rehearsal schedule for the rest of the year. When January finally comes we start our competition season! This is the part we worked all fall for and is definitely the most fun. From watching other groups to performing ourselves it is a great experience. You also get to meet a lot of new people while hanging out around the hosting school. It all ends then at the Going out Concert which for many people is very emotional, especially for seniors in Happiness.

           

As for the rules of the group they are basically the standard rules with all other activities. Don’t talk when the director talking. Clap and show support for other groups. Don’t talk bad about any other group. Respect everyone and everything. Have Fun! As long as everyone everyone plays the same role, sing and dance. The goal is for everyone to be on the same page doing the same thing at the same time. We believe in having fun while also working hard. We believe in ourselves and each other to do the best we can do.

Protégé changes a ton throughout the year. As they progress we get better and better. I wish it would change by everyone being a little more equal in talent so then there wasn’t so much competition within the choir for better spots in both dancing and singing.

One becomes a member by auditioning in the spring of every year. One must complete a singing and dancing audition in order to be admitted into Protégé Show Choir. All in all it is a lot and fun and you get to work with a great group of people.

Word Count: 514