Week Twelve

This week we made maps of East Asia and had a map test over the maps. Tomorrow and Friday we are watching a movie about the One- Child Policy in China that is supposed to control the population growth in China. We are also reading articles about the One- Child Policy but instead of doing a Socratic Seminar we are just talking about our opinions about the subject online. We have also been doing worksheets called "Guided Readings" over the new chapter because we are having a test next week and we also got the new review for the next test.
My plans for summer vacation are I am teaching a yoga camp for toddlers which I am so excited and I am also attending a yoga camp for me. In July I am going to New York City (the first picture) and Connecticut with my mom's side of the family which we do every year and then later in July I am going to San Francisco (the second picture) with my dad and brother and one of my best friends Merrill is going with us. I might also go to Cozumel, Mexico with one of my friends Olivia.

Week Eleven

This week in World Geography we are starting a new chapter on East China (we're studying Taiwan!). Right now we are only learning what the maps look like and the new vocabulary. We ended the previous chapter on Monday when we took the unit test. We also had to a project due on Wednesday about different meals and we had to research the places the ingredients are grown throughout the Asia region and the world. Tomorrow people who want extra credit are bringing one of the dishes they researched so I am excited to try foreign foods!
I would really like to visit India if I could. I want to visit there because I really love their culture and I think that it is really interesting and would like to learn more about it. I also really like the Buddhist religion and I would like to go to countries that border India that have Buddhism as their major religion, like Bhutan. I also like the Hindu religion, which is the major religion of India, because most of them are vegetarians and I'm a vegetarian and I think their beliefs are interesting. I would go to the Taj Mahal and the holy temples on the Ganges River. I would also like to go to countries bordering Sudan and work and help in refugee camps for the Darfur Genocide.

Week Ten

This week in class we're pretty much just reviewing for our test on Monday. We're doing textbook work and a review for the test. On Wednesday we went on a field trip for our Biology class. We went to many places around Austin and surrounding cities of Austin. We went to Comal Springs, the Natural Bridge Caverns, Aquarena Springs and Barton Springs, which I have pictures of in a previous blog. On Monday we had a religion seminar for geography where people from five religions came and spoke about their religions and answered questions based on their views of their religion. I thought that is was very interesting to have people from all over the world come and talk about their religions that they feel very strongly about.
I'm not really sure what I want to be when I grow up. I would love to work with art and learn more about art history but I also like some fields of medicine, like surgical fields. I don't want to think about what I want to be right now in high school because I want to do everything I enjoy right now and focus more on my career in my junior and senior year of high school, college and after college.

Week Nine

This week in school we aren't learning that much in any of our classes because our school is taking the TAKS test. The TAKS test is a standardized test (it stands for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) that everyone in Texas has to take to make sure that they are learning everything at the same rate, so everyone is still getting the same education. This Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning we are taking the TAKS test or a practice test for the TAKS test and then in the afternoon we are only having some of our classes and we aren't doing much in any of the classes.
This week we have to talk about our childhood memories. My favorites are my memories from when I was in preschool. I loved my preschool because it was very laid back and each kid moved at their own pace. We even grew our own vegetables in a garden in the back and we ate the vegetables for snacks each day. Also, I went to Zilker Park a lot when I was a kid. I have pictures up on a previous blog so you can see where I spent a lot of afternoons. The picture above is a picture of me when I was in kindergarten.

Week Eight

This week we learned about arranged marriages in India. We also started researching and learning about Mt. Everest, the world's tallest peak in the Himalayas. We read about the different rest or camps spots along the route to the top of the peak. We also read about what it takes to get up to the top and what dangers the climbers and the Sherpas, the guides, experience on the way up the mountain. In class we also got assigned our last project of the year and we are looking up recipes from Asia and researching the origin and the main place the ingredients are grown.
This week I am working downtown at UT at the UIL state meet for theatre. UT is the University of Texas in Austin and the UIL state meet is that competition of theatre and other fine arts. This level of the competition is where the best plays from across Texas come and compete with each other. Nine kids from my school and I are working backstage of the competition and helping the casts and crews of the plays get ready.

Week Seven

This week in class we are learning about different cultures in Southwest Asia. We are mainly focusing on the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. My group is researching Judaism and we learned that one of their holy places, the Western Wall, was once the Jew's Second Temple, but was destroyed by the Romans. Also, Judaism is the influence of other major religions, like Christianity. We also had a map test over Southwest Asia, where we have to study the maps of the Middle East and then have a test over their physical features and the countries and cities.
Tomorrow I have going to Zilker Park and Barton Springs, again. It is supposed to be really nice weather so I have excited to spend the day outside. I'll try and take more pictures to put up.

Week Six

This week in class we are beginning our unit on Southwest Asia. We turned in our political and physical maps. Our physical was colored due to the elevation of the countries and our political map was based on the major religions of the region. Yesterday, Wednesday, we watched a movie about "bloody sports". The series of the video is called Taboo and it teaches the listeners about other cultures and practices of other countries that the Americans may think would be inappropriate. Today we are starting a small project about the three major religion groups of the region (Kurds, Shiite, Sunni). We divided into six groups so two groups are researching the same religion. Because there is conflict among the religious groups, at the end of the researching period, we are going to get together as a class and see if there is a compromise to the conflicting.
This week in my life the play and all the performances are over with so there hasn't been much going on. I have actually been able to come home after school and do homework instead of coming home four or five hours after school is over. In theater class, we are having to memorize and perform a Shakespeare monologue. It's pretty hard to memorize because the way they spoke back in the 16th century is so different from how we speak today.

Week Five

The first picture was taken at a restaurant on South Congress. Congress is the street the capitol is on and you can kind of see the capitol if you look down the road in the picture. You can also see many other buildings in downtown Austin.
The second picture is a train in Zilker Park, which many young kids, around 4, go to alot. I went there everyday when I was little because there is a playground really close to the train also. The train takes people all through Zilker Park.
The third picture above is of Barton Springs, which is a natural aquifer in downtown Austin in Zilker Park which is a very well known park in Austin.



This week we are just starting a new chapter about Southwest Asia. We are drawing maps based on Southwest Asia's physical geography and the major religious groups across Southwest Asia. We also finished the Darfur movie that we started last week because we are finishing the Africa Unit. Tomorrow, or Thursday, we are presenting our project for the six weeks. Our project was making a traditional African mask that they might have used when practicing a ceremony in some country in Africa. We had to base our masks on the beliefs of animism which is the belief that everything has a spirit, for instance a tree or river. We are presenting our projects on Thursday and on Friday and that will be the week for our class.
This week in my life the cast and crew of The Learned Ladies are still working on perfecting our play because we advanced in the first stage of the competition between the high schools in Austin. We are now going to District, which means we are competing against four other schools that also advanced in the first of the competition.

Week Four

This week we really didn't learn anything new. On Monday and Tuesday we reviewed for our test that was one Wednesday. We reviewed by getting into groups and were asked questions that were going to be on our test. It really helped me review because it refreshed my memory over what I had already read. On Wednesday we took the test over Africa. The test was over subjects in our textbook as well as an essay part over our two Socratic Seminar.
I my own life this week, I was staying after school for many our hours for the play, The Learned Ladies, because we competed with other school on Thursday. The cast and crew of the play did well so we advanced to another level of the competition so we are competing this next Thursday again, against other schools that did well in their bracket. I took pictures of a street downtown, South Congress, where the capitol of Austin is located. On Friday, we didn't have school because of Good Friday, and I went downtown again and went to a park called Zilker Park which is a popular park in Austin. I also went to Barton Springs which is a natural pool.

Week Three

This week we are still learning about Africa, especially their recent genocides and conflicts. This Monday we did a Socratic Seminar, which is when our class sits in a circle and discusses what we think about the topics of genocide. I learned a lot during this and I learned what the views of people in my class are. This Wednesday we had to take the TAKS test, which is a standardized test that students in Texas have to take to see if they are learning what the state wants them to learn. This Friday, we are doing another Socratic Seminar on the current Darfur genocide, while the one on Monday was about the Rwandan genocide in the 1990's.

I am still continuing rehearsing while the cast and crew of The Learned Ladies and we are starting to learn more about the playwright, Moliere. Much of his plays are based on his real life experiences and what happened in his life. I am still attending Yoga, and I may be teaching a Yoga class this next week, which is Spring Break, to toddlers.

I am really excited for Spring Break, which is a week long, even though I am not going out of town like most people in the United States do during Spring Break. Most of my friends are either going to the beach or skiing during their break. My mother and my sister are going to the Northern part of the country to look at colleges for my sister because she will be going to college in about two years.

Week Two

This week we are really focusing on the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990's. We are viewing a film called the "Ghosts of Rwanda" that is really interesting because there are so many people in the film that were directly involved with the violence and were in Kigali and other parts of Rwanda. The film is really enlightening to me because I did know about the genocide but I did not know the full details and this film gives them. Our class is also getting ready to have a discussion next week about the genocide and we are discussing if it was alright that many countries did not step in when many people were getting murdered and just let it happen.

In my own life I'm still working very hard on our play called the Learned Ladies and we're getting ready for the competition we are competing in at the end of March. I will have pictures up soon of the costumes and set of the play! This weekend I will be working on a science fair project that is assigned to us for the year. I will also go to my weekly yoga class were we practice Hatha Yoga and then I will go out to lunch on a place called The Drag which is a street downtown that is close to the University of Texas. The place where I will have lunch is called Veggie Heaven and I like it because I'm a vegetarian and is one of the many restaurants in Austin that is completely vegetarian.

Week February 11

This week we are reviewing for our Russia and the Republics test which is next Monday. We have to study major landforms and the countries and their capitals but also we have to know about the culture of each region, like Trancaucasia, as well as what kind of crops are grown there etc. We are reviewing by answering questions about the two chapters our test is over and we are also playing vocabulary games. On Thursday the 14th, we're having a party in geography class because it is Valentines Day, which is celebrated around the country. This week in my own life, I've been having to attend rehersals for the school play, The Learned Ladies by Moliere, who is an extremely famous playwrite from France. I'm understudy for two main characters so I've been having to attend many rehersals and working on the play. My grandparents are also coming into town Wednesday for their annual trip to come see us. They are my mom's parents from Guilford, Connecticut.