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Quarter 3 history benchmark reflection

Posted by Dennis Mawson in American History - Laufenberg on
Our NHD project


My group chose this topic because we saw the important presence that America had in the world, and we knew that America had been through many events that determined the morals and values the country was founded on, and we decided to explore those more in depth and analyze the events, and their effect on the country.

We chose this form of presentation because it was the most direct way for us to deliver our message. We wanted to show people what the events were about in video format, and also be able to write about them to teach both auditory, and visual learners, and the website seemed to be the most direct, efficient way to do that.

We ran into trouble when it came to doing things like collaborating, and making sure that we were all on the same page about everything. It took some talking to explain to one another what we thought the project should be about, and where we should take it.

Everything in the end, ended up going very well for the project. The videos came out as i expected them to, and the analysis of the events went equally well, and overall this is an educational piece of work that I, and my group, are very proud of.

If we had it to do over, i feel as though we would have found better filming locations, even though space was rather limited, and used a better quality camera and editing system, but we did the best we could with what we had, and regardless i am still very proud of the work my group produced.

I learned a lot about history and some small details that i did not think were important before about events, that fit together in the whole and came out in the end to actually mean a lot. I also learned where the politically correct line is, and got some practice in coming close to that line to push the bounds, but still being responsible enough not to cross the line and cause problems.

SPANISH 1 Ahorita 04/03/11

Posted by Melanie Manuel on
A. ¿Quién es?

  1. El papá de mi mamá es mi...
  2. El abuelito de mi madres es mi...
  3. El hijo único de mi tío es mi...
  4. La esposa de mi tío es mi...
  5. El sobrino de mi mamá es mi...
  6. El hijo de mis padres es mi...

B. Escribe en español
  1. my brother's wife
  2. my niece's mom
  3. my aunt's husband
  4. Señor Sherif's class
  5. my dad's phone
​

Hide and Seek

Posted by Robert Glynn in Storytelling - Chase on
I hide from the world with everything that I am. What you see is just the facade I've put up. I hide in my clothes and I hide in my shoes. I hide above the ceiling looking down on you in the world. I hide from communication and from alarm clocks. I hide behind teeth and dark hazel eyes. Now I sit alone in the corner with my back against the wall and my head in my lap. I'm curled into a ball and you can't see me unless you look closely. 

But will you stop and try to find me?

3/3/11 Rant about ranting

Posted by Andrew Smith in Storytelling - Chase on
I really just felt like ranting, but I don't feel as if I should on this post, or any future posts unless it becomes possible to reply with comments, but I am fairly sure it is not possible, so I'm ranting about how its stupid that there is no like comment system on here. if they are worried about it taking up the whole page then they could just make it like an expandable comment box that wont open unless the post is interesting to you and so you click on it. The reason I don't want to rant on about stuff on here wihtout having a comment system is because rants are opinions and people should be able to comment and disagree.

IncidentZ(for3.1.11) chpt3sec4

Posted by Andrew Smith in Storytelling - Chase on

I knew I was going to die, and 10 minutes ago I would have been ok with this, but the presents of others here made me realize that although I lost so much, and I still had that numb feeling, I still had reason to live, I still had something to protect. So as the man tightened his grip I fought with all my might to break free. At this point Ted had the gunman’s Glock 18 and Jacob was pointing the Glock 19 at the big mans head. “put my brother down” Jacob ordered. The man looked un-phased by this, but he looked back at his friend who was on the ground and took a deep sigh. Then the man released me. I fell to the ground and quickly rolled out of his way and bounced back up to my feet. I was ready to fight. The large man looked at me and then back at his friend. He walked over to his friend and picked him up, checked his pulse and then he sat him up. He looked down at his unconscious friend who was bleeding and drooling out the mouth looked down and shook his head. Then he sat next to his friend and put his hands on his face as though he had a headache. No one said anything. Julia and Ted were hugging each other, and Eve ran up to hug me, dan I could tell wanted to but his male pride stopped him from doing this. He was becoming like Jacob I thought.  Most of the other people were ether staring at me or glaring at the large man. 

            Eventually everyone slowly trickled into other parts of the store, the main door was now closed once again. Everyone kept their distance from the visitors. No one trusted them, a lot of them wanted me to go up to them and talk to them, but I was still feeling down. I was out of my space, and I was eating again, but I wasn’t back to normal, no I was far from it.

            I spent the next few days eating cold soup from cans in the store, people never asked why. We set up an entertainment section and I spent a lot of my time in there, playing violent video games.  It was somewhat ironic how I was the only one who still played the zombie games. No one was even remotely interested in those anymore

            we did not get into the habit of keeping track of dates and time, because none of that really mattered anymore. That’s why I was surprised when I looked at my phones calendar to see that it was almost December.

            Its odd but its also kind of interesting, if it was not for the deaths, this life would have been considered better then our old ones. No school, free access to a warehouse full of goods. It was paradise in hell. 

            “yo smitty” john came up behind me and cut into my thoughts, “that big guy and his friend asked to see our leader, and Im assuming that’s you?” I laughed

            “sure, someone has to do it” john smiled

            “its good to have you back man, me and ted set up a parkour area were we can practice, you should check it out. Remember its good for the soul” I laughed again. Parkour sounded good right now. I got up and started walking to meet the guys then I stopped and looked back.

            “john?”

            “ya?”

            “watch my back when I go to talk to these guys, and if I ever die, then I want you and Chris to take over, don’t let our friends die anymore”

            “don’t talk like that man, things will get better”  I smiled and thought to myself, one would hope.

            When I arrived to meet the visitors they were both standing waiting for me, the guy who I shot down with the marbles was still messed up but he was smiling

            “hey man, nice shooting, im sorry we invaded like this, I supposed we owe you an apology” he put out his hand and I reluctantly took it. “we usually can’t trust anyone in this hell, but I guess surviving in numbers gives us more of a chance, my names gannon, gannon the cannon, my big friend here is fade” the big man waved “we want to offer you an apology, and an early Christmas present. We came expecting to take this place as our own, we have stocks and loads of guns and ammo by the back exit where the trucks back stuff in, your welcome to use it, but id like my glock back, it was my friends gun.” I was so taken back by this I almost fell. Theses guys were actually offering a peace offering? I thought about it

            “I don’t know, like you said its hard to trust it, and you were pointing a gun at my….err my friends sister.”

            “look we understand the conflict that we had, and we understand it will take a while for trust to form, but for now, I mean you guys outnumber us anyway. And im sorry I wont hurt your girl, iv lost mine so I know what its like”

            “she aint my…oh whatever…thanks I guess…ill tell everyone”

A Rather Lackluster Tale About Red Pumps

Posted by Christine Walden in Storytelling - Chase on
This marked the first time he had worn a suit in years. He found it uncomfortable and unflattering, somewhat like his relationship with his father. He found the comparison to be particularly fitting when considering that he was only wearing the "polyester identity repressor" at his father's request.
He walked down the hallway, obvious discomfort marring what otherwise might have been a dapper outfit and handsome face, and tried to enjoy the rather distinct clack of his shoes on the hardwood. (It was a lovely sound that reminded him of enthusiastic lip-syncing, red pumps, and companionable silences.)
He reached the door to his father study, cursed whatever stork misread the address given to him as a babe- a quiet ritual that preceded every entry into this office- and crossed the threshold. His father sat in a leather chair, reading the paper, and smoking a cigar. (Having come from a middle-class family, his father's only understanding of how properly to convey innate pretentiousness came from films- please forgive the cliched choice of snob expression on his part. He has yet to finish watching them all.)
His father chose not look away from the paper and assess the outfit when his son approached, choosing instead to compliment the sound of his entrance.
"Now that is the way a true gentleman sounds as he enters a room. Clear, strong footsteps."
The young disgruntled son smiled at the comment for he sounded just a strong and clear when he wore pumps and a well-trimmed dress. Knowing that vocalizing such an observation would in no way be welcome, he kept his silence. (His father had gotten far enough in his cinematic studies to know cross-dressing was a no-no in terms of acceptable upper class behavior.)
The boy sighed, stared down at the brown dress shoes, willing them to the reds pumps awaiting his return at his closet door.

Lyrics Overheard on my Ipod

Posted by Emma Connell in Storytelling - Chase on
Then comes pancake factor number one.
I listen for your footsteps running up the drive
The food that I'm eating it suddenly tasteless. I know I'm alone now. I know what it taste like.
But nobody cares when it gets in their heads. It gets in their lungs as it floats through the air.
I want to be forgotten and I don't want be reminded.
Birds in the sky you know how I feel. Fish in the sea you know how I feel.
Her she comes. She's gonna break your heart in two.
I lay down my life for you and do you think you deserve your freedom?
You've got her in your pocket. and there's no way out now. Put it in your safe and lock it because it's home sweet home.


​

Coincidence

Posted by Taylor Valentine in Storytelling - Chase on
I received an email today from Martin Weaver, a student at Yale, encouraging me to attend.  It was quite a long email, but this paragraph jumped off the page: 

"I should probably tell you a little bit about myself. When I was saw you in the list I got so excited, I'm also half African-American and half Eastern European, my father is Christian and my mother is Jewish! Needless to say, my childhood was filled with surprises. On top of that, I grew up in Philadelphia, PA too, and went to Quaker school for two years, but I moved to Sicklerville, NJ and attended a public school there."

His identity was so similar to mine that I actually asked my mom if I had an older brother that I didn't know about.

I don't, but nonetheless, it was surprising.  

Morning rush

Posted by Perry Woods in Storytelling - Chase on
​ I looked at the time as I headed out the front door. It was 7:00 am exactly and I had about 14 minutes to walk around the corner and down the street. Just my usual simple 5 minute walk. Though there was sun I didn't feel warm at all. I was regretting that I left my hat and gloves in my bedroom. It was to late to turn back though as on turning onto Emlen Street and walking down. With in no time I was jogging from the corner of Emlen across Carpenter and up the steps to the station. There was only 4 other people on the platform. I assumed that everyone else was inside the little building at the station. Slowing down I walked to the usual spot I stood in the morning. The sound of a wood pecker and a bird chirping kept the area around me from being completely quiet.

 Time seemed to go by slowly as I waited. During this time the platform began to fill with more people. It became packed with some pushing into me. Very few were talking, most just stood watching and waiting. The bird chirping has steadily grew louder. My hands and chin felt numb from the cold. In my mind all I though of was "Where the heck is this train?" Usually the train is maybe 3 minutes late besides the rare occasion of being extremely late or canceled. There were no announcements made over the intercom this morning though. I took out my phone and looked at the time. It was 7:25 now. I decided to stay longer waiting. But I did text my dad to tell him about the train being late so far.
 
 Couple more minutes passed when the intercom made a screeching sound. The familiar computer recorded voice began to speak "Attention all passenger. There are...currently... technical and electrical issues. Please expect delays.." The voice repeated it again before going off the intercom. I sighed with annoyance that this was happening. Especially with my grand parents being out of town. This meant my second option of getting to school was out the picture. Still though I waited.

 Again the intercom came on. This time though there was a actual person. The woman began to speak. "Excuse me everyone. I am sorry for the inconvenience but it has just been announced Chestnut Hill West is currently having electrical problems with all the wires being down. No inbound or out of bound trains will be running till later today. Sorry again" Her voice faded out as I glared at the intercom. Many people began to leave the station, all angry. My phone showed the time was 7:37. In a huff I stormed down the steps and back across the street calling my dad. Sometimes I really hate the morning rush and septa.

daily story- March 3

Posted by Bethany Knibbe in Storytelling - Chase on
today in the car my mom was trying to imitate a "ghetto philadelphian"...

My mom, in a weird low voice, over annunciating every word: "Give me a cigarette some wuuter ice and a jointt. And may I please have one of them there jawns please. No I don't know what a jawn is, I just want one because they seem to be very popular. Everyone always wants one... I don't know why but they must be good."

... i love my mom.

My Rwanda. My Genocide.

Posted by Shakeelah Finney in American History - Laufenberg on
 DropBox: Link 

 

For my project I thought that a web page would be more exciting because I could add any aspect of my topic in any form that I wanted; Pictures, videos, essay’s etc.  Specifically for my project I had chosen to write a few paragraphs giving the background and overall information on the topic of interest. I then created a video that showed some of the pictures and videos that were primary sources of the Rwanda genocide. I put everything together using iweb, so that it be easier to put everything in a C.R.A.P formation.

            For the actual timing of the project was great. I had the project done six days before the actual due date, there fore was able to go over everything multiple times without worrying about the time rather or not there was enough of. This also enable myself to have a few of my peers look over the project and correct any mistakes that I may have been overlooked. The only fault that I ran into was the day I had to turn everything in. I was not in school, but I still managed to get my project in nonetheless.

            The longest part of the project was they making of the video. The pictures weren’t to difficult to find, but trying to get video was almost impossible. I would find different pages with amazing video but I had no way of downloading them. This is partially what made me add the part of my website that had links to other pages. I wanted the viewer to get the entire feel of what had happened in Rwanda and what other way to do that than to have actual footage of the genocide taking place?

            But, overall the project went pretty smoothly. I kept looking and I am satisfied with my final design. If I had to change anything about this project I would probably have interviews with some victims about the entire event. The interview would be to bring the audience closer to allow them to connect and hopefully feel what the victims have felt in Rwanda. 

La Rutina Diaria de Tyler M.

Posted by Tyler Morales in Spanish 2 - Gierke on
What did you learn from doing this project? (skills, life lessons, words etc) 
-I learned how to better use iMovie along with how to use and conjugate verbs in spanish to create Spanish sentences that make sense.
How do you feel about your final product?
-I feel good about it but wish i put more time into it since i didn't use my time very well. I feel like i definitely could have done better with creating the video.
If you could do your project all over again, what would you do differently/the same?
-I would use my time WAY better than i did and try to add more content and video to the movie.
Did you enjoy this project? Why or why not?
-Yes i enjoyed it a lot since i learned more about my schedule daily.

The Sacrifice of a Minion

Posted by Jennifer Albright in Storytelling - Chase on
    Once upon a time in a far away land called Northeast Philly, a young family sat in the basement of their relative's home waiting for a speech to come from their leader, Mom. Mom was a complex creature, an incredibly emotional person and you had to be careful what you said to her and how you reacted to her news. She saw everything and she overreacted to everything. So, the three minions sat in patience waiting for whatever life-changing thing was going to happen this time. The eldest minion had an idea, but refused to believe that it could possibly be the reason they were gathered there. And then, Mom let the bomb drop; a baby was to be born. And Mom watched each of the minions as they rejoiced of the creature to become part of their village. And each of the minions did rejoice, on the outside.
No one's quite sure whether the youngest minions were earnest in their rejoicing or not, but some of us understand that the eldest minion was shaken to her very core about the news. If not for the fact that Mom would surely be exceedingly upset if her favorite minion began to cry, she would have been curled up and sibling against the cold, hard ground. But, every one knows that your leader comes first, always. And if rejoicing meant leaving a smile on Mom's face, then that was what her minions would do.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMBER!!!

Posted by Arthurline Bowen in Storytelling - Chase on

Happy, Happy birthday...from all of us to you...we wish it was our birthday so we could party too...HEY!!!

Today is March 3rd and it’s Amber birthday so we’re going out to Ruby Tuesday to celebrate after school.

Screen shot 2011-03-03 at 1.41.08 PM
Screen shot 2011-03-03 at 1.41.08 PM

Must This Day Go On?

Posted by Katherine Roman in Storytelling - Chase on
Today couldn't go any slower. Seriously this day has dragged on and has drug me down with it. I feel so.. just blah. I really don't feel like going to advisory. I never really understood the purpose of it. Today Mrs. Laughenburg told me I was awesome and that all my work is turned in; and that's when it hit me. I have no work to do, all my work has been turned in on time and done beforehand so I have nothing to preoccupy my mind and I'm just bored.  I think i'll start to read a new book this week.