Assignment 24-Sara Ueland

Well to put it simply, junior year can only be described with one word—death. This time in particular (AP tests, ACT, and finals) marks our looming, inevitable demise. With so much stress put on tests and grades, it’s only natural to think the world will crumble if you get a bad score on a test. Junior year has been a learning experience for me in the social arena. I do not consider myself a social butterfly and have found a balance between school and social life that suits my personality. While there may be a major imbalance on the social side, I have realized that it doesn’t matter if I go to a party or not because in reality I will never talk to most of these people again.

Overall I haven’t taken that many major risks but I have jumped out of my comfort zone by joining the tennis team.  I might consider that a failure as I have only played one exhibition match but I can truthfully say I am undefeated! Many mistakes and failures have consumed my days. First off I have extremely slacked off on the fitness/sports area of my life. In past years I spent my off days at the gym or training at the Seaton Center, but junior year has experienced a decline in fitness. I hope to return to my old ways and stay in my best shape possible.

In the summer I hope to attend every music festival my microscopic wallet can afford. I also hope to focus in on soccer/tennis and as stated above, get back in shape. My goals for senior year are to get all A’s and get out of my comfort zone and try to meet/reach out to a variety of people. I have not concocted a plan yet because I am the queen of doing it live. (RIP Bill O’Riley)

Assignment 23-Sara Ueland

Being the antisocial pessimist I am, I find it necessary to have a solid anxty teen/moody playlist on deck at all times. Naturally, I named my playlist “phony ppl” to represent my utmost annoyance with the majority of humans that walk this earth. To start out, “Why iii Love the Moon” by Phony people is numero uno on my playlist because it most accurately portrays my thoughts. Not only does this lead male vocalist have the voice of an angel, but also his lyrics perfectly align with my pessimistic ways. He nails the idea that people are unreliable and you can’t depend on anyone but yourself because at some point everyone will leave you. Now yes, family will always be there for you and support you no matter what, but they also will leave you at some point be it willing or unwilling. Second is “Them Changes” by Thundercat. I must admit this song does not fit into this category lyric-wise, but it’s groovy as fudge. The title does connect to the overwhelming changes that occur through out life (especially transitioning into college mode.) “I Would Be Sad” by the Avett Brothers is a slow and feels song that symbolizes the eventual end to almost all young, fetal relationships. To supplement, this song stars a banjo, which is an all-time favorite. “Do I Wanna Know?” by the Arctic Monkeys expresses the wide realm of secrets and unknowns in the teenage world. The idea of not wanting to know some things for the sake of your personal well-being is popular in our teenage years due to the rampant rumors or slander thrown freely through the halls. “West Coast” by Coconut Records appeals to me personally because of my love for California/Colorado and traveling. (Other songs on playlist are just quality and you should totally listen.)

https://play.spotify.com/user/saracath6/playlist/6HtrPf2NYsBiHDnDtFzuoW?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open&post_id=1213363028761286#_=_

Assignment 26 Victor Allison

English has honestly been one of my favorite classes this year. We rarely had homework, and the in-class work was hardly as tedious as other classes I've taken. It's chronological location in the middle of the day also marked the "hump" of the school day, and the period right before lunch. That being said, one source of discomfort was the Socratic seminars, which often became numbingly repetitive, although this was likely partly due to us rather than the curriculum. I also thought that having to grade everyone's essays as a group might have sacrificed time that could have been spent on other exercises. But if I had to choose one single aspect of the class that I would change, it would be that we spent almost no time at all developing a secret school-themed rock band to participate in an annual band competition at the end of the year.

I'm not saying that we haven't learned valuable skills in the class. But I'd just like to point out that we could be a real force to be reckoned with in this year's Battle of the Bands. And are you really going to let those posers who kicked you out of their band go home with the title? And that new guy, Spider or whatever? What a dope.

I do feel very well prepared for the AP test, and I think my writing has probably improved with such ample practice. But still. Real missed opportunity.

Assignment 24 - Kyle Hosey

Wait, is it actually the end of April? I've been measuring time in unit assignments for the last few months, so my internal clock is kind of messed up. That's a pretty good microcosm of junior year for me, and probably for a lot of people - surviving week by week. You can't approach a yearlong work-intensive commitment any other way.

That said, junior year wasn't really the hellish nightmare I had expected coming in. Sure, it was more of a commitment than sophomore year was, but I didn't find myself completely overwhelmed at any point. That in and of itself is a success; I said in my first blog post that I hoped to finish the year with 60% of my original sanity. I'd say I'm currently at about 85%, and with the AP Physics test the only thing I'm not confident about, I think I can meet that goal. Other successes this year are keeping A's in AP French and Physics, which were the two classes I was most concerned about in August. There's nothing really in the failures column either, but that's only because nothing truly important has happened yet. I hope that column stays empty after my 3 AP tests and finals week.

As far as this summer goes, it'll be golf, golf, more golf, and looking at colleges. I'm getting the chance to go to Auburn and Emory next weekend, as well as play golf at a PGA Tour host facility. As for senior year, I'm FINALLY done with high school French. So, I get to take all the courses I never had space for - AP Euro and political science.

Assignment 26: Help! I need somebody. Help!

I wanna be better in all things.  It's easy for teachers to get stuck and comfortable in patterns and activities that are completely legitimate but perhaps have become stale and even ineffective.  Throughout the semester I've asked that you work hard to prepare for the AP Language and Composition test.  I taught to the test.  I'm sorta fine with that.  As I've said, I believe that the skills the test assesses are important and some of the most important skills you will develop in your lifetime - the ability to think, process, synthesize, and argue.

To that end I've tried to develop every assignment to focus on one element of the test and hone those skills required for success.  Now that you've taken the test - multiple tests (ACT, PSAT, AP) what suggestions do you have?

I'm not asking for what you "liked" or what was "fun" but rather what was effective.  I know not everything connected with everyone and with 100+ students I will get a plethora of responses.  Though I am asking for honesty I'm not asking for a tongue-lashing nor do I expect "all sunshines and rainbows." I know I'm flawed but I also know that I am effective.  I want to minimize my flaws and increase my effectiveness.  I need your help to do that.




Minimum of 150 words - due on Sunday, May 14th at 11:59 pm

May 14th is the last day to make up blogs 23-26

Assignment 24 Victor Allison

From the day I stepped into Henry Clay's sweaty, stinky halls to now, the tail end of Junior year and bordering on high school's literal and proverbial fourth quarter, this year has by far been the most eventful. And I consider it to have been a year of learning to adapt. When confronted with a novel situation, one must make certain changes in order to thrive in the, The past year has taught me more about adapting than any other period of my life thus far; in this year I was forced to adapt to surprising moments of joy, and to moments of disappointment. I learned how to react to a close friend's divorce, to a classmate's grudge, to a political upheaval and, more locally, a seismic split in our grade's group dynamics. But adaptation shows itself most clearly in the face of the repercussions of one's own misdeeds. I could write a short novel recounting the mistakes I've made in my life, but only this year did I make one decision that truly hurled me into an abyss of true panic.

I wore Sperry's with socks.

I committed this so-called crime several months ago, but the weeks following I was the victim of countless disgusted looks, rumors, even pity; as a dog does, cowering in fear of a slap after biting his master. Even today, when a friend uses this alleged misdeed as leverage against me in a casual argument, the frame of my very soul is wracked with anger. I committed no crime. I harmed no one. But every time a close friend mentions the thing, even in a friendly way, the word spreads. People I've never met or even heard of whisper to their friends of my insolence. And this is how I learn. Being the target of such accusations has done nothing but teach me. I adapt and learn; never again will my socked feet be cloaked in any shoe that could possibly be deemed unacceptable. And my skin has become thicker than any sole.

Assignment 24 - Daniel Brewer

Successes over my Junior year include the 3 orchestra concerts I’ve performed in so far this year, and getting a A or B in most every class.  Lessons learned include that even though procrastination is fun in the moment, staying up until the early hours of the morning doing APUSH notecards the night before the due date isn’t.  Mistakes made include having repeatedly done the above, then promising myself I would get the work done earlier in the unit. (Surprisingly, it didn’t work.)  Over the summer, I intend to do several things, like getting a job at the local Fazoli’s or some other pizza place, work on my Seminar Mentoring project, and getting to be more effective with time management.  For Senior year I want to be able to take multiple classes and balance the course load between them all.  I plan to reach my goals by trying to stay more organized and less worried about the small things.

Assignment 25 - STRESS!!

This is a Makeup Blog Post.  If you have a score that is less than a 30/30, this will replace that grade


As high school students, you are becoming more and more involved and in control of your school life as well as your "real" life. You face the many challenges of being a high school student in the Liberal Arts Academy as well as the growing responsibility of independence. Many of you are about to experience the dreadful two weeks of multiple high stakes tests as well as your Final for US History. To get through these two weeks and other weeks like these, how do you manage all that stress? What are your stress relieving activities? Are they effective? 

Inspired by Keanu Gomez
Minimum of 150 words.  Due on April 23rd @ 11:59 pm



May 14th is the last day to make up blogs 23-26