Dress A Live Doll

Monday, November 16, 2009

Today I spoke to Ms. Carman. A google document was set up, so that teachers and faculty wishing to participate in this program this year can add their name to the list and specify whether they would like a child or teen, and if possible the gender. It's been up since last Wednesday, and Ms. Carman announced at her staff meeting, that anyone whose advisory wished to participate would have to do so through the google document. After school, I drove over to the Salvation Army and picked up the names of all the kids and teens who had been assigned to our school. After that, I drove back to school and stayed after, for two hours, assigning "dolls" to each advisory. This, as I knew from last year would be difficult, because I needed to do my best to match up each advisory with what they requested, as well as make sure that no child that I had been given was neglected. However difficult it was, I think I successfully paired each advisory/faculty member with the child or teen closest to the what the advisory wanted, or if there was no specifics, who I thought they would most enjoy shopping for. The best example of this was for the Sturgis Prom Committee, who had requested to be involved in the project. The only specifics that were given were that they receive a teen. When I looked through the teens I had been given, I found that there was a girl of 14 who was very girly, liked make-up, and cheerleading. I believe that this was a very good match for the Prom committee, because the committee is made up mostly of girls, several of whom are cheerleaders, and I thought they would particularly enjoy shopping for this girl. This way not only would the group enjoy making an underprivileged girl's holiday season a bit brighter, they would also make the best decisions to get her what she likes.
In order to make sure that the faculty received their assignments and were able to plan for shopping and wrapping adequately, I tried to get the names out as quickly and as efficiently as possible. In this way, I achieved my first goal. I actually got the names out to everyone at the start of the week, so that they could discuss them in their advisories at the beginning of the week. To make sure that everyone had their assignments and would not lose the information, not only did I enter every piece of information that was given on the "Doll" Tags, I also attached the tags to the general letter from the Salvation Army, along with the note that gifts would be due on Dec. 1. This, I felt was the best possible due date, because if some advisories did not have their gifts in on that Tuesday, I would still be able to take them down to the Salvation Army before the final due date, set by the Salvation Army, for Dec. 5th, by 2:00pm. I also made a note of this on the letters so that the faculty would not be too worried if they felt as if their kids were not going to be able to bring the gifts in.
Tomorrow, we will discuss, in my advisory, what we are going to do for our "doll."

Soccer Update-Game 10.09.09

Today we had a game at Chatham. We lost 4-1.

The weather was pretty wet today. It was misting when we got there, and we were so early that we had to hang out in the rain until the other team got out of class. It was sort of fun, especially because I went into one of the goals and tried to stop shots some of the girls were taking. I didn't go all out, and I didn't wear my gloves, in case Rachel needed them, if her gloves got too wet. I sort of forgot how much I like being in goal, even though I didn't save that many shots. After about 45 minutes of hanging out, sort of messing about with the balls while we waited for the other team, they finally came out and we started warming up. At one point when we were doing our stretching warm up, I fell. I'm not quite sure if I tripped, slipped, or if my ankle gave out, but it made me nervous, and I'm pretty sure Coach saw. At any rate, I didn't get to play in the game, and although I was sort of disappointed, I was also glad, because the field wasn't exactly smooth (there were a lot of little dents), and it was wet, and I had still only been to two practices.

Our biggest fault today was our lack of passion. Watching the game, it seemed like we were dragging our feet, and not coming to the ball as much as we have in other games. Another fault we have, and this isn't just from today, but something that's been going on every game, and that is playing the ball out of the air. It seems like we fell the need to play the ball with our feet only, and as Coach keeps pointing out, you lose approx. 80% of your game if you only play with your feet, including trapping the ball. I love headers, but I can't always get them to go where I want and I also need to work on trapping the ball with my chest and thighs.

Something positive I noticed about this game was that very few, if any balls were played straight to the goalie. We're really improving on playing balls to the outside, so that the forwards can take them at an angle, but we still need to work on looking for passes, and making them accurate.

I think that our game at P-town next Friday will go pretty well, and I think that I'll get to play. We have a full week of practice, and we've beaten P-town twice, by a large amount (5-0) both times. This is also really good for my schoolwork load because our Group 4 project has to be presented on the day of the P-town game, so I'll have time to work on that with my group, and not have to leave early for games. Strangely enough, the Group 4 project has helped with team bonding, because Kate and I are in the same group, and I feel like working together on the science project has helped us work better together in practice, and will in the upcoming games.

Soccer Update-Game 10.07.09

We had a game against Cape Cod Academy today, at our home field.

We lost 4-0.

I thought that we did really well in the first half, where they only scored 1 goal, and just got tired in the second half. The game was really interesting to watch. CCA has really excellent offense, especially one player. Coach Austin has had Kendra, the really good player, on his summer league team, so he had Heather, a sophomore, who is usually our awesome defensive mid-fielder, mark Kendra, just like we did when we played when we were little. This means that Heather basically had to follow Kendra all over the field, constantly defending her, and keeping her from getting shots on goal. Heather did an awesome job in the first half, but it seemed sort of like she got tired in the second half, because Kendra was able to get three shots on goal, two of which went in. But I still think the Heather did a really good job, especially because Kendra is such a great player, and she moves quickly and around a lot. It would be a lot of work to mark her, especially because she has good footwork, and can stop the ball and turn really quickly, and her teammates are really good at finding a way to pass to her. I think the whole team really expressed our gratitude for Heather, and told her what a good job she did, which really gave her a sense of pride and made her like a rallying point for the team.

Even though we lost, I think that our team worked really well together, but we really need to focus our passes, contain the ball more, and kick the ball into space, instead of trying to kick it past people, especially when those people are the opposing team, who have excellent footwork.

I think that this game however, has prepared us for our game at Chatham, because although they are a good team, they aren't as good as CCA, and if we play with passion, we should be able to beat them. Also I think that I will be able to play in the game on Friday, probably later in the game, because I will have been to a couple of practices, and my ankle should be stronger I certainly don't expect to play much, but if it goes well, I think I'll get a few minutes of playing time.

Soccer Update-Game 10.05.09

Today we had our first game against New Testament, because even though we were supposed to play them on September 30th, they postponed. We won 4-1.

I didn't play today. I passed a bit with one of the freshman, which was good bonding, because I hadn't warmed up with her before. I was able to pass a bit with my right foot, but I was only wearing an ace bandage on my ankle, so that hurt sometimes. Most of the time I worked on passing with my left foot, which has always been a big weakness for me. I found that the more I focused on aiming at Sara (my partner), by pointing my right foot where I wanted the ball to go, the more accurate my left-footed passes became. After a while, I didn't have to concentrate as much at aiming, because it was becoming a habit, and so I was able to pass more comfortably with my left foot. I'll consider this a new skill acquired! Especially because previously, my left-footed passes were all over the place so often that I never wanted to practice them, for fear of making my partner run all over the place, and believing I couldn't get any better.

The only downside to passing before the game is that it made my ankle pretty sore. It wasn't too bad, until we had to do our stretching warm-up, and it hurt to do high-knees and butt-kicks, because the landing was hard. So I didn't end up playing in the game, but it still felt really good to get my foot on the ball again, as I had been feeling pretty restless at practices and games because I couldn't get involved.

I think the team played pretty well. We're kicking almost no long balls to the goalie, and doing a spectacular job at passing back, especially the defenders passing back to Rachel, our goalie. Passing back is really helpful because it allows us to make more accurate passes, and generally control the ball better, and keep possession, because we can pass the ball back to someone facing forward, who can send the ball pretty far forward. I think the most important thing the team needs to work on is staying pushed up, so that not only can we get more off-side calls in our favor, but so that we put more pressure on the opposing team to play in less space, and they are therefore more likely to make mistakes. Coach discussed this with us a little bit on Friday after the game, and already I can see the team working on it, although sometimes, when the play gets going, some team members seem to forget this and drop too far back.

At this point, I know I won't be playing in the game on Wednesday, because I will have only participated in one practice in three weeks, and Cape Cod Academy is a tough team. I think I'll pass at the before the CCA game, but not try to warm up again, so that I don't hurt my ankle by accident, and so that I don't stretch my muscles out, just to not use them, and accidentlly pull something.

Soccer Update-Game 10.02.09

Friday October 2nd, 2009:

Today we had our first away game at Provincetown. We played pretty well, and won 5-0. I'm off the crutches, but yesterday was my first day off them, and as I haven't practiced in two weeks, I understand why Coach didn't play me.

I watched the game, and I noticed that we're kicking long shots, straight to the goalie, a LOT less. This is a big improvement, and helps the team gain more control and be on the offense a lot more than at the beginning of the season. However, we're still not looking and making passes as accurately as we should be; we're still just kicking the ball away, and hoping that someone on our team comes to receive it. This is something that I know I do, even in scrimmages at practice, so when we do things at practice involving passes, especially long passes, or in scrimmages, I'm going to focus on making the most accurate and best passes I can. I probably won't play in the game on Monday, against New Testament, for the same reasons I didn't play today. Hopefully though, I can play in our game at Chatham, next Friday, because I probably won't play in the game against Cape Cod Academy on Wednesday, because my skills are still not as advanced as a fair amount of my teammates, and we need to do well against CCA, because we're trying to win or tie as many games as possible so that we can go to the state tournament. Also, my lack of practice obviously hasn't really improved my skills, and I think it would almost foolish for Coach to play me after only one practice back from an injury, unless, we are winning by a lot of goals, or we are losing by a lot of goals.

Regarding the weight goal, my body percentage has leveled out to what it was before I sprained my ankle, and my weight has stayed the same. I think that using the crutches has built up some upper body strength, and that's why I still have a lower body percentage than I did at the beginning of the season.

I hope that on Monday, I'll at least be able to warm up at the beginning of the game, passing the ball and such, and maybe play, or at least, start working my ankle again.

Student Council Update

I created a ballot after todays student council meeting. Ms. Yalden will distribute the ballot in teacher mailboxes on Tuesday morning. The ballot look like this:
Themes for Spirit Week Days: Please Pick only 4:
- Things that end in “-er”
o Example: teacher, toaster
- Harry Potter
o Each class will be one of the four houses
- Favorite movie/book
o Pick a character
- Decade Day
o Each class will dress up from one decade
- Twin Day
o You and a partner will dress up as twin
- Formal Dress-up Day
o Formal wear
- Super hero
o Dress up as your favorite superhero, or make up your own!
- Pajama Day
o Roll out of bed, and wear your PJs to school!
- Mismatch Day
o Example: Polka-dots and stripes in one outfit
- Costume/Halloween Day
o Wear your Halloween costume to school!
- Zombie Invasion
o ‘Nuff said.
- Musician/Rock Band day
o Dress up as your favorite musician or group with other people, for a band.
- Sports Day
o Show support for your favorite sports team, or wear your own sports uniform!
Please Circle the 4 you like best!
Brought to you by your Sturgis Student Council.
www.scpssc0910.blogspot.com

Soccer Update

I weighed myself yesterday.

I weigh 174 lbs. This means that I'm continuing to lose weight, and I think it is because of soccer. However, my body fat percentage went up about 1%. I believe this happened because I haven't been able to play soccer in a week, so I haven't really been getting any exercise. So while I'm continuing to lose weight, I may have burned some muscle this week along with some fat, because of the lack of exercise.

Our game against New Testament was postponed, at their request today, so the team will practice. Coach has been having the girls practice shooting on the goal, and the goalies practice saving the goals, as well as spacing between our players and playing into traffic (aka if there are a lot of players, from both teams playing in the same general area).

Student Council Update

Ms. Yalden told me today that I am officially the 2009-2010 Student Coucil Secretary! That's one goal achieved. I'm happy that I am, but I'm also sort of disappointed. It doesn't really feel like I had to fight to get the position, but I suppose that it really isn't a bad thing, that I won, especially because Ms. Yalden seems relieved (see Picture A).

Now, I need to talk to Ms. Yalden about who will be the back-up secretary. If someone else had run, and I still won, they could have done the job if I had to miss. I won't be able to go to this Friday's meeting because all the seniors will be at Town Neck Beach, in Sandwich, MA, for our group

4 project. Therefore, whomever Ms. Yalden (and I, possibly) decide, will have to be a junior or underclass

men, and I will have to make sure that their notes get posted on the blog.

On another note, I promised Ms. Yalden, and those present at last Friday's (9.24.09) meeting that I will create a poster for the stairwell that has all the running candidates names, and what position they are running for. I did that tonight (

See Pictures B, C, D). I decided to leave Ted Jameson's name off the poster, as well as the blog.

Ted is an alleged freshman, but as almost everyone in the school, accepting some freshmen, Ted Jameson is a fictional character, made up by a senior, who graduated last year. Mr. Andre

does not seem to find the idea of Ted funny, even though it does not seem that there is any malicious intent. I was friends with the graduated senior, and Mr. Andre told me that "Ted graduated," and believes that

I know who is behind Ted this year.

I do not wish to get in any trouble, or jeopardize my position of secretary, so I asked Ms. Yalden, in an email, if I should add Ted Jameson's name to the poster. I left room to add it, but I'm not sure we should, even though at the last Student Council meeting, those present decided that he should be allowed to run. However, I'm not sure that this decision rests in the hands of the students anymore.

I will ask Ms. Yalden about this again, tomorrow or by Thursday, in person, when we discuss the aforement

ioned issues.

Picture A:

Pictures B, C, D:

Soccer Update

I know one of my goals for this activity, was to lose approximately a pound a week, in hopes of being 166lbs, by the time the season is over. I haven't been documenting my weight progress each week, but it has been pretty consistent. Last week I weighed 175lbs. This would mean that I'm behind my schedule. What I have noticed though is that my Body Fat Index percentage is decreasing, at a rate of about 0.5% per week. What this means is that, while I'm not really losing much weight, I'm gaining muscle. So if I see a slight increase in my weight, it isn't necessarily a bad thing, because muscle weighs more than fat. I will post a weight/Body Fat percentage update on Wednesdays, from now on.

Student Council Updates 9.26.09

www.scpssc0910.blogspot.com

I created a blog for students and teachers at Sturgis to see. Each entry on that blog will be part of my CAS journal because that blog contains the notes from each meeting.

Student Council (STUCO) meeting have generally been productive, but almost with a competitive atmosphere. With each meeting we've had, the size of attendance grows, by a few people, which is a good sign. I hope that after the elections are over, people will still attend, even if they weren't elected.

This year, there is race for every position, except Secretary. I don't know if that is because no one is really interested in the job or if people seem to think I'm the right person for the job. Either way, this is good news for me, because I'm currently the only candidate running for Secretary, and if no one else runs, then I am automatically the Secretary.

When votes have been taken by those present at STUCO meeting, it has been really interesting the way each issue is described before the vote. Ms. Yalden announces what those present at the meeting are voting ons, and then a few people make statements in favor of the two sides of the vote. Usually what they say is very true, and often, what has been said is something about the issue I hadn't thought about before, which helps me feel like I'm making a more informed decision. I hope that after elections, these kinds of discussions can continue.

Soccer Update-Game 9.25.09

I sprained my ankle, on Monday, September 21st, 2009, and I am not allowed to play soccer for ten days. However, I still have been going to each practice, to understand what we're doing.

We had a game yesterday, against South Shore Christian Academy (SSCA). We lost 0-4. It was a tough team to play against. Last year we tied them 1-1, to go on and play in the State Tournament.

Coach had the team play a very defensive position. We only played with one forward, 5 mid-field players, and 4 defenders.

Early on in the game, we played very strongly, often playing the ball into their half of the field.

Unfortunately we ended up giving up 3 goals in the first half. On of them way really tough for Rachel, our goalie, to get, because it rebounded on one of the posts, in the top corner, and even Rachel isn't that tall. Angela, who normally plays on the wings, as a forward, played the far right wing midfielder in the first half, and stepped up and headed a high ball. It was a really awesome moment, because our team seems to have a tendency to shy away from heading and chest-trapping the balls.

In the second half, we changed up our playing positions, using three forwards, three mid-fielders, and the same four defenders. This worked well for the most part, although they did manage to score one goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

I thought our team played pretty strongly against SSCA, but one of are biggest weaknesses, it seems, is that we just kick the ball deep into their side of the field, but it ends up going straight to the goalie, or it's so far back that the goalie can just come out of the net to pick it up. It happened a lot in the game, so I bet that on Monday or Tuesday in practice, we'll spend some more time practicing shooting.

STAGE Update-9.21.09

There was a meeting on Friday for anyone who wanted to do technical work on the play "Dino." I originally wanted to audition for Dino, but because soccer practice is every day, I would not be able to make the rehearsals. I had a student council meeting at lunch on Friday and was unable to attend the tech meeting for STAGE. However, I talked to Mrs. Botsford today, and told her that I wanted to be involved with the production, as soon as soccer is over. She agreed, and asked me what I wanted to do. I offered to be a sound person again, so as improve my skill in that backstage area. If it's not possible for me to do sound, though, I will be happy to improve any other backstage area.

Soccer Update-Game 9.18.09

On Friday, September 18, the Sturgis Girls' Soccer team had a game against Provincetown. It was in Yarmouth, at Old Townhouse field, "Under the Lights," which just means it was a night game that we played with the stadium lights on, because the game started at 7pm.

It was a really good game. We beat P-town, 5-0, with four of the five goals coming in the second half. I didn't get to play until later in the second half, which tells me that my skills are improving because I got to play for a longer portion of the game, but it also tells me that my skills haven't improved enough, to be one of the better players on the team. However, I think that the portion of the game I played in went really well, because 3 of the five goals were scored while I played. I also know that my skills are improving because I was able to contain an offensive P-town player and keep her from advancing farther down the field.

However, not everything went perfectly during the game. Because I don't wear my glasses when I play, my depth perception is a bit messed up. I went to head an incoming ball, and it ended up at my feet, and so passed through my legs because I went forward and the ball went in the other direction. I'm going to try to judge the ball better in practice, without my glasses on so I can win the ball better in the games.

I'm really excited again, because we have two upcoming JV games, on Monday, and Tuesday. Coach posted a list of those who would be going to those two JV games, and I'm not on the list. I'm really happy about this because not only does it mean that I'm a core member of the Varsity team, it means that on Monday and Tuesday we'll have a more condensed practice and I think that Coach will talk to us and have us work on more individualized skills.

Soccer Update-Scrimmage 9.14.09

Today we had a scrimmage against Falmouth Academy. We lost 6-2, but like the Nantucket game, it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Falmouth Academy is a better team than Nantucket is, and we actually managed to score two goals against them. We were doing really well in the first half, which I got to play in. By halftime, the score was 2-1, Falmouth Academy. We did manage to score another goal early in the second half, but then, FA was able to score two more goals.

I played in both the first and second half, which shows me that my skill is improving, because Coach let me play earlier, and for longer than he did in the Nantucket game. I know that this was just a scrimmage, but it still felt really good to play against a tough team. I headed the ball several times, and I hope that I was able to set an example for some of my teammates who are not quite as enthusiastic about heading the ball as I am. Hopefully, Coach will put me into the game a bit sooner than he did for the Nantucket game, for our game on Friday.

Soccer Update-Game 9.10.09

Today we had our first game against Nantucket, at our home field in Yarmouth, Sandy Pond Recreational Park. We lost 0-3, but that's a vast improvement over past years scores, which have included a 0-6 loss. We were better at containing and defending then we were in the scrimmage against PJP2. The first two goals were throwaway goals that our goalie should have gotten--I'm not sure what went wrong. Those first two goals came in the first 25 minutes, and if we could have those first 25 minutes back, we might have only lost 0-1, or even had a better chance at scoring a goal or two. The last goal was over our goalie's head, and there was virtually no way she could have saved it.

I didn't get to play much in this game, although I did for the very end of the second half. This tells me that Coach didn't want to put me in the game earlier because I'm not good enough at this point in the season to contribute as much to the team. Although I'm not particularly happy about this, I understand it. This first game was a tough one, and I haven't improved enough to be a strong player in a game against a tough team. I hope that by the next time we play Nantucket, I will have improved enough, maybe not to start, but to play a bit more in the game.

Soccer Update-Sports Meeting 9.8.09

So today we had the annual fall sports meeting. Coach announced to the seniors before practice, that Nikki and Kate would be our Captains. Like I said in my last entry, I wasn't really expecting to be a Captain, but I was still a little sad that I wasn't picked. Just because I wasn't picked, doesn't mean that I won't continue to be a team leader. Coach has always talked to us about showing Senior leadership, and I will continue to be a leader for the younger players, by helping them improve their skills with suggestions, and to continuing work on and improve my own skills.

On the brightside, I made the varsity team! I'm really excited about this because I wasn't sure if I had improved enough to make Varsity. We will have some JV games, and I don't yet know if Coach will have me play in those, but for right now, I'm just really glad to have improved enough to get to have a Varsity uniform.

Soccer Update-Scrimmage 9.3.09

On Thursday, September 9, 2009, we had a scrimmage against Pope John Paul II. They only had 10 players, so we played with the normal 11, at first, and then quickly subbed in players, and only played with 10. I played in both halves, but I didn't start, which tells me that although I have improved from last year, I'm still not one of the best players on the team, although I'm hoping to have improved enough to start at least one game by the end of the season. We haven't gotten our uniforms yet, and Coach hasn't announced who is on Varsity yet, or even who our Captains are.

Even though I'm a senior, there are seven seniors this year, and I am definitely not the most skilled player on the team, so I don't think I'll get to be a captain. I'm still sort of hoping that I might get to be one, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

The scrimmage was really one-sided. I'm not sure what the final score was, but I don't think that PJP2 got much beyond the mid-field line at any point in the game. It was interesting watching our team play the scrimmage, because it seemed like most of the players weren't doing anything, like containing the ball instead of just running at the opposing player, that we had been doing in practice.

As the scrimmage went on though we seemed to get better, and Coach got every player present in the game for some length of time. I thought that the scrimmage was a really good way to have the team play against someone other than our own players. We have our first game next Thursday, and it's against Nantucket, which is a pretty skilled team. I think that Coach will have us work on our technical skill in the next week, in preparation for a tough first game.

AMP-Coming up with the Name

When Carol first contacted me, there was no name for this event. We brainstormed several ideas, eventually concluding that an acronym would be best.

Our most prominent idea was PJAM:

Pizza

Judging

Authors 

Music

However, Carol talked to a few of the people at Eight Cousins and they thought it might be a bit silly. We then brainstormed some more, trying to find some way to incorporate our three ideas into a catchy logo. We wanted it to be short and sweet, something to attract teenagers.

There was a sudden flash of brilliance:

AMP!

This acronym is perfect. Not only does it incorporate our three ideas, it actually means something, and is the perfect leeway for some sort of artistic logo as well.

AMP stands for:

Authors

Music

Pizza

I really think that this logo will attract a  lot of teenagers and will express how much fun this event is going to be. The best part is, it was realtively easy to come up with, so it didn't take away any time from my school work.