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For my capstone, I created a Model United Nations conference. My project was a lot different from the average MUN club because instead of sending the students to conference with already had a topic and other competitors, I created a competition inside SLA. I chose this project because I felt like it was a good way to combine my love of international relations with my love for teaching others. The end product of my capstone was 15 students that were trained in Model UN. They learned the rules of the competition as well as how to prepare for the competition. In addition, they competed in a competition held at SLA. The competition resulted in the group coming to a finalized resolution which is huge because many time the real UN doesn't even reach a resolution during a meeting. MUN teaches students to be open with their ideas and to feel free to talk in a group. These students joined this club scared to death when I told them there would be a competition at the end of the year, they left asking me if they could participate again next year.



Process Paper:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XIVl1Z_mWa8nMxP-gKAzoIQ9b9_guMkuBt3BZ7Rtslg/edit?usp=sharing

Annotated Sources:

Cortellini, Mattia. "MUN for Dummies." Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
The Powerpoint, MUN for Dummies was created by Mattia Cortellini to help people understand how model UN works. When I started this project in September the powerpoint wa free to access so I copied it and saved it because I know Scribd sometimes makes you pay for Powerpoints. This Powerpoint helped me to get a firm grasp on the way model UN works. I also showed the Powerpoint to the students and it helped them to have a solid source from which to understand the rules of model UN.

Mahendraraj, Yadavan. Delegate Guide. Philadelphia: Upenn ILMUNC Jan 24-27 2013, 2013. Print.
I received this brochure from the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. It went into detail about the rules and regulations of Model UN conferences. This is being used as a learning tool and guide for all the students. For my competition I plan on creating a brochure similar to this one. I might use the rules outlined in the Ivy league brochure making modifications when need be. For the most part the rules will remain the same.

Mahendraraj, Yadavan. Faculty Advisor Guide. Philadelphia: Upenn ILMUNC Jan 24-27 2013, 2013. Print.
The Faculty Advisor Guide was given to me at the Ivy League Model United nations conference and, just as the Delegates guide, goes into detail about the rules of conference. This brochure is being used as a learning tool to advise the students on how to dress at the conference because it has a very detailed list of what the students should and shouldn’t wear to conference. I found in my research that students are more likely to perform better and act appropriately when they are “dressed for success” therefore, this will be implemented in my conference.         

Beckett, Megan, Geoffrey Borman, Jeffrey Capizzano, Danette Parsley, Steven Ross, Allen Schirm, and Jessica Taylor. "Structuring Out-of-School Time to Improve Academic Achievement." Institute of Educational Sciences. N.p., July 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
Structuring Out-of-School Time to Improve Academic Achievement is a PDF document produced by the Institute of Educational Sciences. This document goes into detail about how to structure academically focus programs that are still engaging and keep the students interest. I used this guide to better understand how to keep my students engaged. On page 22 of the guide reward incentives are discussed. For my capstone I use pizza as a reward to keep the students interested because I’ve seen how rewards can lead to a better program outcome.

Ronca, Debra. "After-school Fun: Making the Most of Your Kid's Time." TLC. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
“After-school Fun: Making the Most of Your Kid's Time” is an article written by Debra Ronca for TLC. This article explores how kids should be spending their free time out of school with emphasis on after school activities. At first this article didn’t seem of much interest to me but then I read into the article more and found a lot information of how kids learn. I learned about having a routine and setting a clean plan from the start of the program. I will use these things when conducting my classes.

Sanders, Virginia. "How to Create a Fun After School Program." Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., 13 Aug. 2007. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
The article titled “How to Create a Fun AFter School Program” by Virginia Sanders explains how to create a program that doesn’t stress the student out but still is academically engaging. I found this article interesting because I never thought about how I would make model UN a low stress course. For me MUN is my capstone so it’s apart of my life so it will naturally be stressful at times, but for the students this is an extra course which they can drop at anytime. As a result I want MUN to be as little stress on the students as possible. This source helped me to see that in MUN the students need to be able to relax while still getting work done.
 
"Position Papers." United Nations Association of the USA. Unausa, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
I showed this source on the first day of class because I found it to be a very helpful source for all aspects of model UN. In regards to this page in particular I used it to advise the students on how to create position papers which are essentially just how your nation feels about a particular issue. I think the students found this site helpful because their position papers seemed thoughtful and well organized.

"Resolutions." United Nations Association of the USA. Unausa, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
This is another sources from United Nations Association of the USA but this one is on resolutions. I gave this to the students in the middle of the course after the position papers were written and the topic for conference was discussed. This source helped to explain the actual purpose of conference. In the long run I want the students to form a resolution as the United nations however, to get to that point each nation must have an idea of what resolution would benefit them the most. I used this source to advise the students on how to go about this.

Ryan. "How to Build Your Model UN Program." Best Delegate RSS. N.p., 16 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
Best Delegate is another site like United Nations Association of the USA, which specializes in how to create and host a Model UN program. I used this source to get a better idea of how to create my conference. This site goes as far as to explain why having a smaller conference is better then a large one. The site explains that when running the first conference a smaller group can be used as a learning tool to help future conferences. It helps for the chair members to gain experience and to help figure out the logistics of the conference.

Whittle, Thomas. "Kenya, Slovakia to Seal Nuclear Deal by January 2013." NZweek RSS. Xinhua Publish, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
I used this source as an example of a good article for one of my delegations. The delegation of Kenya was having difficulty finding sources that relate Kenya and nuclear power so, I showed them this source. From this article I was able to work with the delegation to create a position paper and in long term a resolution.

"Nuclear Energy Development in Kenya Faces Many Challenges." - Opinion & Analysis. N.p., 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
This is another source I gave to the delegation of Kenya. I like this source because it clearly outlined the safety protocols that a going to be in place when making the nuclear weapons. My conference is going to focus on how to make safe nuclear powers so, this source was a big help to the delegation of Kenya.

Magin Wong, Amy. "Usable Knowledge: Secrets of Successful after School Programs: What Research Reveals." Usable Knowledge: Secrets of Successful after School Programs: What Research Reveals. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
This source was a study done by Amy Magin Wong at Harvard University. It basically explains how after school programs influence academic performance and lowers drug and violence rates. I used this source to get information on how to make the program better. The source explains that building a strong relationship with the students makes the program better and that tailoring the program to the needs of the students makes the program better.

Moore, LaDonna. "After School Programs by LaDonna Moore: What Makes an After School Program Successful?" After School Programs by LaDonna Moore: What Makes an After School Program Successful? University of Michigan, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013.
This source by LaDonna Moore from University of Michigan explains that after school programs are only successful if the students feel like there is a purpose to the program. For my program I like to start each meeting of explaining what we are going to do and setting a track so that the students feel like there is a purpose for being there.
                  
Laboissonniere, Caitlin, "How to Make After School Programs Work: a Study of Successful After School Programs in Five States" (2009). Honors Projects Overview. Paper 22.
"How to Make After School Programs Work: a Study of Successful After School Programs in Five States" by Caitlin Laboissonniere was a study that surveyed students in 5 states all of whom are in 1 of 8 after school programs. The students in the program were categorized by whether they were successful participants in the after school program or not. I used this source as example of how afterschool programs can work for some students and not for others. The source also explains why some of the students were afterschool failures and I used that information as a learning tool for the future in my program.

American Youth Policy Forum. "Helping Youth Succeed Through Out-Of-School-Time Programs." Wallacefoundation. American Youth Policy Forum, 2006. Web.
“Helping Youth Succeed Through Out-Of-School-Time Programs” by the American Youth Policy Forum explains how to help youth succeed in an afterschool program. I found this source interesting because it explains that students in an afterschool program are more likely to attend school daily and feel more motivated inside the classroom.

​Student Name: Dayona McNeil


Mentor: Anthony Betts 


Topic Summary: For my capstone I decided to write a short novel. My topic for this book is urban fiction. It's about a young teenage girl who's living with her little brother/sister and has to take care of them. Their mom died, and their dad comes around a few times but doesn't care anything for them. The young teenager girl has to provide for her brother & sister by herself and doesn't have a job. In this book, people will read about this young teenager life and what she goes through.


Project Abstract: I decided to write a short novel for my capstone because one of my goals later on in life is to write a book. I read a lot of urban fiction books and the authors have inspired me to write a book. I decided to write this short novel because it is like a start to my new book. I just hope my short novel can relate to a lot of teenagers like those urban fiction books I been reading related to me. 

Project: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2196171/Senior%20Project%202013.pages


Annotated Bibliography 

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/339443.True_to_the_Game

 Woods, Teri. True to the Game. New York: Warner, 2007. Print.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/674495.True_to_the_Game_II

Woods, Teri. True to the Game II. New York: Grand Central Pub., 2007. Print.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2191637.True_to_the_Game_III

Woods, Teri. True to the Game III. New York: Grand Central Pub., 2008. Print.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Spoiled_Rotten.html?id=_IChvVKArHMC

Johnson, Brandi. "Spoiled Rotten." Barnes & Noble. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

http://www.sharongflake.com/books/skin/

Flake, Sharon. The Skin I'm in. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion for Children, 1998. Print.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95685.The_Millionaire_Mistress

Montgomery, Tiphani. The Millionaire Mistress. Brandywine, MD: Life Changing, 2006. Print.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2240077.Still_a_Mistress

Montgomery, Tiphani. Still a Mistress: The Saga Continues. Brandywine, MD: Life Changing, 2007. Print.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6614683-millionaire-mistress-part-3

Montgomery, Tiphani. Millionaire Mistress: Part 3. Brandywine, MD: Life Changing, 2009. Print.

These 8 links are links of my favorite books by my favorite authors. I chose to use these books as some of my sources because these are the books that really inspired me to start writing and where I got a lot of my ideas. These are urban fiction books and I can relate to them as a teenager. 

http://www.weareallprecious.com/

"PRECIOUS - On DVD, Blu-ray & Digital Download, Also On Demand." PRECIOUS - On DVD, Blu-ray & Digital Download, Also On Demand. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

This is a link of a movie. I decided to use this specific movie because this is a like one of those urban fiction books turned into a movie. This movie is called Precious and it has a lot to do with the things that happens in these different types of urban fiction books. I think this is a great source.

 McNeil, Pamela. Personal Interview. 4 February 2013.

McNeil, Donald. Personal Interview. 4 February 2013.

McNeil, Donte. Personal Interview. 9 February 2013.

McNeil, Deemon. Personal Interview 9 February 2013.

McNeil, Donnisha Personal Interview 14 February 2013.

 I chose to use some people in my family as sources because they also helped me a lot. They read over my novel when I needed them too, gave me their opinion and just gave me the motivation that I needed.

Betts, Anthony. Personal Interview 2 May 2013.

For my last source I used my mentor. My mentor has been helping me since I started this novel. I didn’t exactly let him read it but he did help me out with ideas also. I let him read it when I was finish and he told me it was perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who: Matt, Max, Bee, Sabrina, Natalee
Chapters: Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten. 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2243045/Mferry.Stats.Podcast_Three.m4a

Members included in these recordings:
Arlana Brown
Loren Jenkins
Jakobi Howard Martin
Kenisha Hood

Enjoy:D

How To Lie With Statistics 

​Below are Chapters 4 & 5 of How to Lie with Statistics. In these installments, we discussed separately into two pairs, Justin/Aja and Kamilah/Jennifer.

The podcasts are below.

*Note: Does not work on Google Chrome. Please click in place for the podcast to start.

Chapter 4:
(Justin/Aja)

Chapter 4:
(Kamilah/Jennifer)

Chapter 5:
(Justin/Aja)

Chapter 5:
(Kamilah/Jennifer)

English Journal #41 

When was the last time you were forgiven? And is it possible to forgive even if you've suffered from other people?

I think it's possible to forgive even if people suffer from other people. It's not easy, but it is a choice. Forgiveness is necessary to move forward because if you haven't forgiven someone that means you're dwelling on things that are in your past. How can you move forward if you're so busy looking back? All you will do is trip.

English Journal #21

What is your mask?


My mask? I don't know. There is nothing that I'm keeping inside that people should know. It's none of their business anyway. Why must they know? Whatever I'm suffering with stays between God, and I. And, if I choose to tell someone I can trust.
My mask? Does it have to be called a mask? Is it only a mask because I'm not telling people how I feel? They don't need to know. 
So, my mask? I don't have one.


Language Autobiography Link
Poetry Blog Link

WHich is more powerful, violence or nonviolence?

I believe that violence is more powerful even though in most cases it is not appropriate to use. I say this because people get what they want fast and more efficient if the use violence . Violence is also more powerful because you gain a lot of respect from people even though most people would categorize it as fear. 


v
-over power people
-gets to ending
-forces things to change
-leads to destruction 
-large audience 


NV
-Shows control
-leads to changing mind

How do you define Poetry?

Poetry: When someone puts together a group of words that has a deeper meaning than meets the eye. The words being used in a poem may not have the same meaning it does in a dictionary.

class definition: Poetry-  the ay you express yourself using anything poetry is not a specific thing.

-expressing
-emotion
-deeper meaning
-personal
- actions/words
- Rhythm
-language 

May 1, 2013
History journal #39


I think that violence is more powerful because although people may get hurt or killed, their point got heard in a powerful way. If one didn't act out and only spoke, it wouldn't make a difference. People have to take action When a large fight breaks out, more and more people will know about it rather than just giving a speech. Actions always speak louder than words.

       Violence                                                                        Non violence 
- Can over power people                                                    - Shows control and power
- Gets to an ending                                                           - Changes the way one thinks
- Forces things to change                                                   - More persuasion 
- Shows how serious it is                                                    - Initiates action
- Leads to destruction
- Larger audience 

April 1, 2013
English journal #32 


In the next 50 years, the world will have no violence. There will be peace everywhere. The enviornment will be healthy and so will everyone else. There will be nomore wars and no more poor. Everyone will be able to survive. We would find a way to work at home so there can be less buildings and more land for the animals. 

Hello Again. My name is Soledad Alfaro-Allah. If you have been following my blog posts you will know that my focus had been on gun violence and the acts of gun violence in the community, especially in places of education. I looked at many places in which to talk about the issue and interpret it. With such recent accidents such as the sandy hook incident and multiple other school shootings that have happened over the years has left us looking at the responsibility of out culture and obtaining from guns and assault weapons completely. If you are not familiar with the sandy hook incident Click here for more information on that. The main thing that I had noticed throughout this project however is that the people who should have a voice simply to not have one when it comes to issues such as this. The people I am referring to is the students of not just Philadelphia but all across America who are victims of severe gun violence and the after effects that it puts on people. For my Agent of change project I decided to help students in philadelphia who are my age and older find their voices through something that I love doing. Poetry. I am a Philly youth poet involved with an organization called Slam League  which is where high school’s from all over Philadelphia join together to share original poetry. I decided to impact the topic of poetry in Philly by giving my fellow high schooler’s something to write about. Gun violence. I had the privilege of running a PYPM workshop and the topic that I decided to focus on was gun violence in our schools. How it impacts us, and how we respond to it. Many of the kids said well it is something that we cannot help and it is just the way things are. For others they wanted to recognize their voice and help be apart of the solution of gun violence. We talked about what are some of the causes of gun violence in schools. What are some of the things that cause people to act this way? Columbine was a raised topic of conversation. It had been said that the boys who had shot the school and committed an awful act of terrorism were bullied. Bullying was one of the factors that we came up with during this discussion, along with mental problems, because of the man who was responsible for the incident at sandy hook and to my surprise religious beliefs and the topic of the world trade center bombing came up. An event that made many people look at war and violence in a different way. Click here for a poem about one man’s struggle through it.  These different acts of violence affect us in so many different ways as students and citizens of this city. The following question was how did and or do these events affect us now. The way that we go to school to work to places in general what affect do they have on us? We talked about security in schools and how they have become similar to prisons. Where children are now expected to do wrong so they are given metal detectors and sometimes pat downs to go through. Philadelphia schools in many ways go to security extremes to insure some of the “safety” in their schools. The workshop was concluded with a prompt. The prompt that I had given for the kids to write about was how does gun violence affect you? The community that we live in? and our education? Out of this workshop I had been surprised to enter slam league hearing poems about homosexuality and the factor of bullying and how that causes violence in schools. Another poem I heard was called “WAR” by a boy name Jawan. The poem talked about gun violence in schools and how the death of boys and girls is creating a war zone in schools. A poem that I had written called similes of music spoke of the uprising culture and children staying strong passing down memories and love from music. With the outlet of creation and anti incarceration behind it. Click here for the video of that poem.  The workshop I had given created an overwhelming amount of love and appreciation for the voices of young people that we had given ourselves.I hope one day we will be able to break free and take our poetry to those who are not convinced and impact their lives in such a way that they realize how they themselves can make an impact to make the world more beautiful. The love that was given to SLA after we had performed a persona piece about two gay women who were subjected to violence to for being homosexual which we performed at our semifinal. Click here for a link to the poem. In doing this project through an outlet that I am passionate about it showed me that not only violence in schools impacts the way we are taught or adapt to education. In many cases it can make us one side minded and be victims and or offenders of discrimination. Another poem that was written by a girl named Fufu who had addressed the struggle of being muslim and how many people did not trust her or her family because of her religious beliefs and because of the violence committed by others. This project makes me want to continue giving young people a voice through all ways of art to make the world a more beautiful place because without us there would be no future, so America prepare to hear the louder voice of a younger nation!

Click here to subscribe to the sla poetry team youtube channel. 

Click here for my blog 2

Click here for my blog 1 

Click here for my bibliography. 

People create art because everyone is a piece of art. No two individuals are exactly alike, and so being that we are works of art our nature is to expand and multiply. Therefore all living things are a work of art that create new works of art.

True Black 10/11/12

English Journal 

Why do humans often treat each other badly? What thing changes the cycle of negativity. 

The reason human treat each badly is because humans strive to be on top and have every advantage over someone or something. It's human nature to praise those above you, step on those below you, and challenge those on the same level as you.

Me and Mohammed have critiqued 2 more chapters, Chapt. 3 and Chapt.4


Note that during the podcast there was a lot of noise in the background so I believe me and mohammed stopped the podcast and picked it back up but starting with the next chapter.

​Name:
Alysha Ortiz


My link to my work (This provides my essay, cites and many more)

http://aorti4.wix.com/alyshacapstonesenior



Mentor:
        Inside source- Mr.Ames 

        Outside Source- Israel Rodriguez  -  Izzy's Collision ( 267- 444- 3901 )

Capstone summary:
 Basically about stereotypes in gender roles and how it still goes on. Therefore, We see most males in the fields of auto body and collision as for females most are running a secretaries. 

Project Abstract: 
As many know me as an individual that like to state facts and to change perspectives for people to understand something and have a bigger meaning of a certain subject I am targeting. All the times I come across "job" relative subject such as , females usually work as secretaries, maids, cooks and etc as for males they have more labor jobs such as, construction, police, electricians & etc. I have been working with my step father Israel Rodriguez basically throughout the year and from a first started auto body and collusion it is not easy. Being in this type of field I needed to develop how to metal welding, metal finishing and familiarity with paint preparation and refinish materials are a few of the main skills involved in the department of auto body repair. Many people ask me what pursued me to do this as a senior project and to be honest I always been surround with cars and I always had a intrest in the field of repairing , painting and etc. Having the ability to do this is a chance i'm willing to take and to be able to prove that theses statics of females and males are just label to me is a breath of fresh air. The way I would be approaching this project to reflect what I have learn is building a website of my process, what I have gain, The work I develop during the time and many more.

My Process Paper:

Basically my project revolves around gender roles in job related topics. In other words the stereotypes of females working in non hard labor jobs and guys working on more hard labor. Gender roles surround everywhere especially in job related things. During this process it was a bit stressful due to just beginning to work in this field and knowing nothing. I learn how to do something simple as fixing the button on the side door and changing the stereo to even bigger projects such as fixing the whole product, the bumper and many more.

The reason why I choose this is because not only I want to grow as an individual many people question my abilities due to my gender. My project address many things especially SLA core values Such as Inquiry-Evaluate the damage and repair needed, Collaboration- With my mentor & customers, Research-I researched about the car, Reflection my process from day one till now and Presentation would be consider of the work I done on cars. 

Steps that I taken during this process varies on what project I worked on. As for to developing a project I have created I have research a lot about auto body and collision and was able to be first hand on how it works. I have been working every Wednesday straight after school with my mentor Israel Rodriguez.  During this process I have encounter many obstacles such as not using time wisely, not being organize and not doing enough research at first but after getting behind schedule with customers vehicles  I was able to gain knowledge, patience and I was able to learn how to multi task. Due to lack of sources on females in auto body and collisions I ended up tapping into sources of females coming into other jobs known for males. 

In my video I provided I shown data of known jobs for each gender, I shown the blend of mix gender and the percentage and not only that but I show what is the definition of a male and female and what is power so people can have a better understanding on  why females and males should be allow to be in any job they desire with out being judge. 

I am most proud of the process I made and the ability of me being able to actually repair damage vehicles. I learn many things but I learn every job have its own static of hard ship in it therefore, if someone really desires to work in a field like this or any other field they should do a lot of research before hand. If I was able to do this capstone over again I would say take more pictures of me working instead of the product. Another thing I would have done differently is find more data on my topic. 

How is SLA a better place because you were a student here? I believe that being able to become a SLA student I have shown a lot of approvement especially from where I am from. I currently was born and raise in North Philadelphia, Kensington area not many people have the ability to reach the things I have since my years in Science Leadership Academy. That being said I made SLA more creative, more out going , more spoken, my  work came from the heart, I showed dictation , I was able to show what I was able to do with just a few things given, the ability to show leadership and many more incredible things. Also as a student of having a disability of learning ( IEP ) I was able to show that SLA doesn’t judge on background or knowledge I shown the partnership SLA is able to build with each student. I have shown the passion each teacher and staff member in SLA is able to provide. Finally, I was able to make a difference for the new generation by showing no matter where you are from people can label you as whatever they want to label you but never give up and reach for your dreams. 

This Spring, Red and Orange English students had the unique opportunity to take part in The Wilma Theater's Wilmagination artists-in-residency program. Stemming from our creative non-fiction and memoir unit, teaching artists from The Wilma Theater visited our classrooms twice weekly for six weeks. Keeping in line with the 9th Grade Essential Questions surrounding Identity and the Self, we crafted memoir portfolios of our personal writings, focusing on the stories we wanted to show an audience.  Some students collaborated on performance pieces while others opted to go it alone and create powerful individual monologues.  We had our culminating performance onstage at The Wilma last week. The kids performed for each other, parents, friends and theater personnel and also had a chance to debrief and reflect after the experience. This year marks the fourth year of this amazing partnership!