Informed Argument Essay

For the past four weeks in RLA, we have been writing our informed argument essays (as you can tell by the title). For this essay, we worked on making it based on fact, not personal experience. We spent some time doing research and finding dependable sources. Another thing we spent a lot of time on was the organization and flow of the essay. To do this, we focused on adding in transitions and subordinating conjunctions (AAAWWUBBIS). In addition, we worked on having strong language and voice, to suit the tone we want to have. This also connects to emotional appeal to the essay.
I spent time on my voice, and adding humor to my essay; since I normally try to write a sophisticated essay. I also spent time keeping my essay focused, because my writing normally has things it doesn't need in it.
Here's the essay:

Competitive Sports in Schools

by Kavya N.

We have always thought of sports for children as play time, fresh air, or time for them to have fun. Recently though, youth sports have developed into something much larger. Competitive sports. Now, children have the opportunity to turn play time into so much more. Unquestionably, students obtain more than just athletic skills from playing on a team sport. Determination, collaboration skills, leadership, social skills, exposure. And there isn’t any better place they can get these skills from. They turn what was once their free time into learning so many important lessons. But lately, schools have been questioning the benefits of competitive sports, and have been going against them. As a result, there is a shortfall of these essential capabilities in kids. You see, competitive sports have effects on children that we never knew of. Competitive sports keep them healthy, but more importantly teach them life lessons and teach important skills; that they can apply to many other places. 

First off, competitive sports keep kids healthy- both in the mind, and body. Team sports give kids an overall healthy state of mind and body. Being a part of a school sports team is a great way for this to happen, because they regularly get to play something. Doing this teaches them about lifelong fitness, which sticks with them forever. Exercise and fitness gets more important as you get older, so kids starting young is a great idea. As a matter of fact, the Foundation for Global Sports Development say that “young people generally get less physical activity the older they get, but if they stay involved in sports programs, they’re more likely to reap the physical benefits they otherwise would not receive.” In other words, it’s really important that kids are exposed to sports at a young age. The thing is, when they participate in a sports team, they are easily able to get into the practice of a healthy lifestyle. Although it’s quite obvious that sports keep kids healthy, the difference between regular sports and competitive sports keeping you healthy is that competitive sports require more from the kid, and more than that give them a healthier state of mind. Charles Bush-Joseph, the team physician for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago bulls says, “sports help build a healthy mind, body, and spirit.” As kids learn about teamwork, determination, and other crucial lessons, they build a healthy mind, and spirit. Playing regularly on a team and required solid training easily builds a healthy body. Not only do sports keep children physically healthy, but they impact kids’ lifelong health and wellness, and teach them good health habits. The Datalys Center- Sports Injury Research and Prevention says that kids involved in youth sports are seen to “consume more fruits and vegetables; watch less television; and be more satisfied with their weight” than kids who do not participate in competitive or team sports. Thus, students obtain mental and physical health benefits from playing competitive sports.
These are competitive sports we’re talking about. They obviously teach kids lessons, and give them some hardcore soft skills. It teaches them to be determined, because they push to win. It teaches them about teamwork, which happens simply through playing on a team. As a matter of fact, the National Federation of State High School Activity Associations say that competitive sport promotes “participation and sportsmanship...” Also, it teaches kids to be independent. While many people say that kids get injured easily while playing sports, learning to deal with these injuries enforces independence in the kid. It also teaches them to learn from mistakes, so they don’t get that injury again. In addition to enforcing important skills in the kid, competitive sports teach kids life long lessons, that will stick with them. They teach kids about winning, and more importantly loosing. This is an important lesson to learn, because everyone faces failures throughout their lifetime. All of these happen through experience. Experience that children can’t get in classrooms.  "It offers a beginning to see the world outside his or her community and socio-economic class. With travel, children can see the world, and, in turn, grow and develop," says Bruce Kidd, Dean, Faculty of Physical Education and Health at the University of Toronto.  While students who just play sports for fun will only think about sports as fun, students who play competitive sports get this real experience. Playing with other schools, having your ex-bestie on your team, scoring a goal for your team, working on that one move your coach wants you to get down. These are the experiences that enforce persistence, sportsmanship, and collaboration, only in kids who play competitive sports. It also gives kids great goal-setting skills, when there is a sport-related skill they want to achieve. This also leads to determination– pushing to win, or to achieve a personal goal. On top of these breathtaking skills an athletic child has, team sports can help students with time management. While sports keep young athletes so busy and tired, they must work hard to stay organized with school work and sports. Kirk Mango, author of Becoming a True Champion: Achieving Athletic Excellence from the Inside Out, says, “thrust into circumstances where balancing one’s time becomes a necessity, competitive sports forces athletes into situations where they must acquire solid time-management skills or suffer the consequences.” Once again, playing sports for fun doesn’t have this effect on kids. But when they are part of a competitive sport team, the fixed practices, and the effort students must put in brings in the time management factor. Wow. Stupendous skills and thrilling teachings. All it takes are competitive sports to make you fabulous– and we still have another reason to go.
As a result of learning these lessons, kids can apply what they learn in school sports to so many other places. They learn all-round skills, that they can’t get anywhere else. Of course, they can apply the skills they learn to school. In fact, Lauren Bradley, 16, junior at Assumption High School, in a discussion with school sport officials about having competitive school sports said, “During lacrosse, I never watch TV. My grades are my best when I am playing a sport.” When students are put into environments where will power, collaboration, success, and strategy are in the air, there’s no doubt that they will academic successes as a result. Daniel Gould, from ISYS (Institute for Study of Youth Sports) wrote, “a multi-year study conducted in Michigan has shown that children who participate in sport have increased educational aspirations, closer ties to school and increased occupational aspirations in youth.” As well as helping students academically, competitive sports help students in their social lives. Team sports show kids how to work with others, and participate with them. TrueSport, a “community based movement that champions the positive values and life lessons learned through sport,” says that, “There is a growing body of research focused on the association between school-based physical activity, including physical education, and academic performance among school-aged youth” suggesting that such activity “may have an impact on academic performance through a variety of direct and indirect physiological, cognitive, emotional, and learning mechanisms” According to TrueSport, multiple studies of kids who participate in competitive sports, in comparison to kids who don’t, exhibit “higher grades, expectations, and attainment; stronger peer relationships; and greater family attachment and more frequent interactions with parents.” They can also use these skills in future jobs, as well as adulthood in general. As adults, having a degree isn’t the only thing that will land kids a job. It’s the soft skills they obtain as child athletes. Professors from the Ivy League institution Cornell University did a study about how youth sports affects students through adulthood. The study used students’ biodata to show how men who participated in varsity sports affected them an average of 60 years later. The results? Former student athletes exhibited “higher levels of leadership and enjoyed higher-status careers,” as well as showing more soft skills than non-athletes. It was found that the high school athletes volunteered more frequently, and donated to charity. This not only proves that students can use their skills in adulthood, but also shows that youth sports have a lasting effect. The teamwork and sportsmanship required in competitive sports help them work with other people. Independence and determination are both skills that help children in the real world itself. So really, competitive sports give kids they can use anywhere. What a package!
Now, although we’ve cleared that children benefit hugely through competitive sports, some argue that getting involved in competitive sports at a young age can give them fatal injuries. And for this reason, they oppose having these sports. But, if students are afraid and constrained from playing sports at a young age because of injuries, they may have that fear for the rest of their life. Consequently, they won’t be able to try something new; and more importantly, will live with a fear for their whole life. Imagine that. Never getting to try what you saw other kids do, and being afraid of it. On top of that, missing out on all of the great benefits.
In the past, we didn’t think about competitive sports this way. We didn’t see them as an opportunity for kids to gain lifelong skills. Today, we understand these great outcomes in kids, but schools have began to oppose them. In the near future, it is possible that team sports could get completely wiped out. In simpler terms, so do these skills in children. And just imagine the world of tomorrow– with none of these mind-boggling skills. Where would the children of tomorrow end up then?

Greek Activities Reflection 2015

For the past month or so, we have been having our Greek Activities. We signed up for them, and had them twice a week. I participated in Greek Ball Games. 

Working Co-operatively- Meets

I gave myself a meets expectations for this because in Greek Ball Games, I think I worked with my team members well. I did this by participating with the planning for Greek Warfare. I also contributed to my team.

Critical Thinking- Exemplary

I think I thought out and planned my strategies really well for every ball game. For example, during Pila, I strategized to get back towards the person I am defending. In Greek Warfare, I strategized with my team to send the cavalry over only after multiple people are out. In Trigon, I planned my strategy well, and won for my team. 

Character- Meets

I think I met expectations for character because I was honest about getting out in the games, even if my team was loosing; especially in Greek Warfare. In Expulsum Ludere, I was honest about where the ball landed. 

Communication- Meets

I communicated with my team members in Greek Warfare especially when we were planning. In Episkyros, I communicated with the fellow defenders on when the ball was coming, and who we were defending. 

Responsible Team Member- Exemplary

I honestly and thoroughly did my part for the team. In Greek Warfare, I played the role I was supposed to, and was honest about the roles I have had. I also contributed and participated in our team's planning. 

HF Book Club #1

For the past few weeks, we have been reading historical fiction books in RLA. I read Sophia's War by Avi. Below is a video I made that highlights the book club meetings.



To reflect on these book clubs, I think  I got much better at piggybacking, as well as stammering as much. Over this year, I think I have learned to share the conversation more. I can ask others if they want to speak and share an idea without completely dominating the conversation. I also learned to share a variety of thoughts such as power, character, theme, author craft, etc. What I want to focus on for next time is speaking clearly while expressing my thoughts. I think I talk too fast, which makes me have to pause a lot. All together, I think I improved on a lot of things during this round of book clubs, but still have some things to work on.

The Box of Deceit- Greek Myth

In RLA, we have been writing Greek myths. We learned how to slow down the important moments and 'zap' our verbs. These skills add a lot of detail to the myths. I think I worked really hard on adding different types of detail like sensory detail (see, touch, smell, hear, taste). I also focused on slowing things down by using short sentences and using paragraphing to show suspense. Without further ado, here it is:

The Box of Deceit

A long time ago, there was a brave king named Agapios, ruler of the kingdom Thasos. The people of Thasos highly esteemed Agapios, as he was a brave warrior and a good leader. He was also a fine looking king– with smooth yet brave looks, and a thick brown beard. Agapios had everything he needed: an abundance of riches; love from his people; and admiration from people of other lands. But alas, the one thing King Agapios longed for was his true love Andreanna, who he loved more than life itself. She had been just like Agapios, which is why he adored her so much. She was brave and very adventurous– always seeking one or another quest to go on.

One day Andreanna got word of the demon Hypatos, who had been created by the god of the underworld, Hades. Hypatos guarded a special diamond, worth millions. Andreanna was immediately riveted by the idea of going to get the diamond of Hypatos. For her, it wasn’t about the money, it was about the thrill of the adventure. Even though Hypatos, a notorious demon, had slaughtered many powerful kings, Agapios did not want to go against Andreanna. So, he let her go, reminding her to be careful. But days went by, and Andreanna did not return. Agapios was fearful, but he also felt that Andreanna had to have succeeded, knowing her capabilities. As the people of Thasos began to get anxious about their queen, so did King Agapios. After many days, Agapios decided to go find Andreanna. When he entered the cave of Hypatos, Andreanna’s slewn body lay in front of him. He brought her body back to Thasos, and for three weeks the people mourned her death. But Agapios was infuriated. He wouldn’t enable someone to steal his love and get away. So, he called for all of Greece’s finest warriors to slay the beast, and all were in favor, after hearing about the brave Andreanna’s death. The band of warriors were victorious in their battle, and Agapios put the remains of Hypatos into a large chest, and kept it in a corner of his bedroom. 

But Agapios still yearned to be with Andreanna because there was nothing that could replace her in his life. Everyday, as he observed all the gold and riches he had in the large palace of his, he couldn’t help but remember Andreanna. ‘I must go to Hades,’ Agapios thought at once, ‘to get my dearest back from the dead.’

Agapios thanked Charon, ferryman of the underworld, for taking him across the River Styx, and made his way to Hades’ palace.

Fingers trembling, he stared in awe at the dark, deadly palace. It made him nervous, but he would do anything for Andreanna. Anxious yet fearless, Agapios walked into the palace, and bowed down to the god and asked, “Oh Hades, I have lost my wife, Andreanna, and can not live without her. Please bring her back to me!” 

Hades nodded, keeping a very solemn and calm look on his face. “Yes, Agapios. I will grant you Andreanna, under one condition.”

Agapios was delighted to hear that Hades had complied just like that; it filled him with an immediate excitement. Smile broadening, he speedily asked, “Yes, dear god. What must I do?”

“Open the box of Hypatos’ remains, and leave it open for a day. On the next night, I will give you Andreanna.”

At once, Agapios was thrilled to hear this. The gods’ conditions could be odd, however knowing how uptight the gods could be, he couldn’t believe it, and the condition seemed easy. Agapios skipped back to the palace, and the moment he returned, he unlocked the chest and threw it open. That night, he went to sleep anticipating being with his wife the very next day, but little did he know that would not happen. 

The next day, Agapios behaved in a joyous fashion. He decided to throw a party in the plateia for the return of his wife, and all the people of Thasos were invited. They drank, feasted, and danced. The sound of people singing, and dancing filled the air. But in the early evening, just a few hours before Andreanna was to return, BOOM! An ear-splitting crackle of thunder silenced the celebration. Sea splashing waves onto the festivities, the people cried out in fright.

“BRACE YOURSELVES,” someone shrieked. 

The smell of doom filled the air. The gods Zeus, lord of the skies, with a lightning bolt in his hand, and Poseidon, with a trident, hovered down the party. The sense of their power left everyone with fearful expressions. 

“AGAPIOS,” Zeus roared, as he soared down from the skies. 

Agapios stared blankly at Zeus, wondering what the gods were upset about. 

“DARE YOU DISTURB THE GODS OF OLYMPUS?” Zeus yelled, louder this time. 

“D-disturb the g-gods?” Agapios stuttered back. 

“YES, DISTURB MY BROTHER AND I!” 

“I don’t recall doing anything of the sort,” Agapios replied, utterly confused now.

“YOU CAME TO OLYMPUS, AND BEGAN TO INSULT POSEIDON AND MYSELF, AND BOTHER US, YOU MERE MORTAL,” Zeus explained.

“But, dear god, with all due respect, I couldn’t have been disturbing you, as I was here with my people.”

Zeus chuckled sarcastically, and replied, “We know how cunning you mortals can be.” He continued, “Such an offense deserves none other than a death penalty,” and withdrew his lightning bolt. 

The people of Thasos all gasped in astonishment. Agapios was still confused, but kept a straight and strong face at the god’s words. A sturdy hand at the ready, Zeus, prepared to slash at Agapios, taunted, “Any last words?”

Agapios cleared his throat and announced in a clear, proud voice, “I do not understand what I have done, but if the gods beseech a death penalty, then I am ready. It is almost night and my dear Andreanna has not returned, so if she is dead, I am ready to die to be with her.”

The people of Thasos wept at Agapios’ beautiful words, but Zeus killed him in an instant. 

When Agapios materialized in the underworld, and made his way to Hades’ palace once again, the smell of death in the air filled Agapios’ nostrils and once again. The sound of deadly creatures attacked his ears. 

He then enquired with the god about what had happened to their deal. 

Hades chortled, and in a in a sly tone, said, “Well, now that you’re dead anyway, I might as well explain to you what happened.”

Agapios, surprised, questioned, “What did happen?”

“I created that demon before the making of mankind, which is why no human knows the cause for my creating Hypatos.”

Agapios raised his eyebrows. He was stunned. But then, Hades spoke.  

“When my brothers were distributing the powers, I was given god of the underworld. I created Hypatos to bother my brothers because I was furious at them. The beast was supposed to take the form of the last being it saw when it bothered Zeus and Poseidon. But, when it came to earth, it got attached to that silly diamond, and wouldn’t do what it was created to do.” 

Mentally, time froze for Agapios. He had finally deciphered it all. Hades had tricked him. Opening the box created Hypatos again, and the gods thought that it was him who was provoking them, not the demon. He had done it all for Andreanna. But somewhere–somewhere, he had messed up.

“What about Andreanna?” Agapios questioned, regretting being so hasty with Hades earlier.

Hades stared out for a few seconds and said, “She’ll be departing to earth in a few minutes from now.”

Agapios dashed out of Hades’ palace as fast as he could and saw his beloved, whom he had endeavored so much to get back, standing in front of him. 

Andreanna gave him a smile and called, “Goodbye, my love.”  

Agapios ran towards her, but by the time he got close enough, she was gone. Not dead, but gone. 

RLA Mythology 2.0 Project- Fakebook

In RLA, we have been learning about Greek Myths. We had a Mythology 2.0 Project, where we had to show how characters from a certain Greek myth would use social media. Based on what conversation the characters were having and what myth we chose, we had to choose a social media website. Our choices were Fakebook, FakeTweetBuilder, Google Story Builder, and iPhone Text Messages . I chose Fakebook because I wanted my character to have different posts, and have characters reply to them. The myth I chose was Endymion & Selene, and my main character in the project is Endymion.
RR:
Endymion doesn't have character traits in this story because he is asleep throughout the story, but in this project, I tried to focus on how he would react. I demonstrated this by having Endymion post about what he thinks of Selene. Selene really loves Endymion, so her voice didn't go against Endymion in this project. I also tried to have Selene still wanting Endymion. This is important because the main action in this story (Selene asking Zeus to give Endymion immortal sleep) happened because of Selene's character trait. This relates to 21st century genre because I used more casual language, which is a modern trait, and Fakebook has features of various social media. Also, I drew in characters from related myths by using comments, where anyone can add their thoughts.

I chose this myth because I thought that there was a lot that could be said after the story, like the character's reactions. Also, there were a lot of other myths that had similar parts, so I could involve other characters.
After doing this project, I learned that creativity can take some time, and requires planning. I think this because I had to be really creative with this project, and it took me a long time to think of everything. If I was given this project again, I would spend more time on planning it all out.

If you haven't read the myth, click here for an online summary of the story.

Here is the link to my Fakebook for Endymion: http://www.classtools.net/FB/1807-cDNfae

Don't Think, Just Do

These past few weeks in RLA, we've been working on writing strong personal essays with BLAST off leads; SHAPEly conclusions; and different types of evidence such as personal anecdotes, expert opinion, or other people's anecdotes. So here is my personal essay.

Don't Think, Just Do

Every weekend, I tell myself I’ll do my homework on Saturday, so I don’t have it for Sunday. But it never happens. On Saturdays, I’ll have chats, games, and other interferences open while I slowly inch along with homework. Then on Sunday, I’m working like crazy trying to get homework done before dinner. The reason for that is procrastination. Having something to do, but not wanting to do it. Stalling. People have all sort of solutions for it. But for me, it’s just one philosophy that gets me through that. In fact, that motto helps me in various ways. I believe the motto “just do it” can give me confidence, make me do things I need to, and stop me from worrying.

First, I think saying “just do it” gives me confidence. I remember once I had to give a book talk on Harry Potter, where I was dressed up, and planned to talk in a British accent; no one else had done anything like that. I can still think back to that moment. Rapidly twiddling my fingers, I sighed and thought, I don’t think I can do this. What if it doesn’t turn out the way I want to? What if no one likes it? The rest of the students settled down; that was my cue. I shut my eyes and thought, Ok. I’m just going to do it. Be confident. I didn’t think about why I did not want to do it and just did. In the end, my book talk was a big success. You see, saying “just do it” gave me quick confidence in that situation. All in all, “just do it” stops me from thinking too much and therefore makes me forget my underconfidence.

“Just do it” can make me do things I don’t want to. Procrastination, for example. As a student, I procrastinate all the time. There are times when I have around an hour to do homework, and I know it’s better to start early, but I don’t want to do it. Many websites say that procrastination is human nature. Everyone procrastinates. However, in my opinion, the best solution to it is just to not think about it and just get right in to it. I asked my mom, and she told me that she has a lot of household work that she can procrastinate on; but when she tells herself “just do it,” she thinks about how it just has to be done. For her, “just do it” is also a way to forget why, and just do. Nobody denies that there are some really specific ways to get over procrastination, I think the basis of all of those strategies is just doing it and getting started. In other words, even if you have an idea that can get you around procrastination, you still need to get started. Every time I procrastinate, I hear the words, “just do it” in my head, and that really helps me push the mental obstruction out of my way, and just get straight to what I need to do.

Finally, I think just do it stops me from worrying. I worry about doing things all the time. When I say, “just do it” I don’t think about why I worry, I just go ahead and do. Writing this essay, for example. I didn’t have the right essays to choose from, and I was worried about how it would all work out. I remember that as I walked out of the RLA classroom, I thought, Oh no. What am I going to do tonight? I have to find reasons for that essay, or figure something else out. And I have to do it all by tomorrow. At the end, “just do it” told me not to think so much, and just to get into it. I had prepared some faulty reasons for that current essay; but before long, I found myself drafting this passionate essay. Not only that, but my mom said that she uses “just do it” when she is pondering about something or doubtful if she should do something. She said it makes her not worry as much, and believe that it’s ok. At the end of the day, “just do it” stops me from thinking so much; and equally important, stops me from worrying.

Some people have other solutions to these problems. On one hand, people have all sorts of organizational solutions; but on the other hand, “just do it” is a way to get started. Underconfidence, procrastination, and worries are barriers; and just do it pushes them away. Once I get it into my head I don’t think. The bottom line is, it’s just do it, and that’s it.

Shooting Kabul Boiling Point Reading Response

In Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai, Fadi reaches his boiling point when he realizes it wasn’t his fault that Mariam got lost. Fadi feels guilty throughout the book that it was his fault his little sister Mariam got lost because of him; in this scene he tells his art teacher, Ms. Bethune about it. In the chapter before, Fadi figured out that he didn't win the photo contest (which was his chance to win a trip to India, and attempt to save his sister who is lost in India's neighboring country, Pakistan), and he reacted in a bad way. So, Fadi came to Ms.Bethune to apologize for his bad reaction, and explain why it was so important he won that contest.

Ms.Bethune tells Fadi, “It wasn’t your fault that poor Mariam was lost.” ...

Ms. Bethune says, “Look, honey, bad things happen to good people. And you were in a bad, bad situation. What if you had stopped to put that darn Barbie in your bag and both of you had been left behind.”

“Oh,” said Fadi. I hadn’t thought of it that way.(page 237)

Fadi’s biggest pressure throughout the book is that it was his fault Mariam got lost and here he realizes things could’ve been worse, and it wasn’t all his fault. After this, Fadi starts to feel more positive and doesn’t worry about it being his fault as much. This scene also clearly changes the way Fadi thinks about it, which he wasn’t able to do over the entire book. Fadi also told his family about how he thought it was his fault Mariam got lost, which he had been avoiding the whole book. A theme this leads to is to always have hope because Fadi felt so hopeless and bad about what happened, but he realized that he needed to have hope. Fadi also learned not to blame himself and put so much pressure on himself, even during tough times. At the end of the book, he came clean to his family, and didn’t feel very pressured.

RLA Quarter 1 Reflection

1. I think I have started to read more often in the past quarter. I normally don't read on the weekends, but I have started to read more often on the weekends and finish books faster. I finished Shooting Kabul in five days, when I am normally a pretty slow reader. I have started to comprehend more while I read and pay more attention. Sometimes while you read, your mind isn't really on what your reading. I don't do that as often now. I don't think I have been varying my genres too much because I am reading mostly realistic fiction (which are my character books), but I want to read other books as well as my character books. And even though I am reading more often, I still think I can read more to get done with books faster.
2. One thing I really got better at in Writer's Workshop is adding a "heart" to your story. Before, my writing had almost no heart. I was really proud of my "So What" at the end of my personal narrative, and showing why my story is meaningful to me. I could work on spreading the "heart" throughout my story. I got better at paragraphing. I experimented with paragraphing in different ways to show importance and time change. My story did have some parts that could've been sped up because they were unimportant. I think I did well on adding DAT; which is dialogue, action, and thinking. I think I was able to add in descriptive DAT to my story.
3. My reading responses have gotten more deep and meaningful, and I am able to explain more about them. My claims show more insight and deeper thinking about the text. I can now find evidence across the text, which shows a tracked claim, rather than one piece of evidence. My explanations are longer because I have to explain more about how my claim makes sense, since they are deeper. I think I have gotten better at analyzing characters' feelings and relationships. My first reading response wasn't very specific, but my reading responses now are specific and I am able to explain what my thought is well.

Maybe it Was a Good Thing

For the past few weeks in RLA, we have been working on writing our personal narratives. We learned about having DAT (Dialogue, Action, and Thinking), a clear "So What" that explains why the story is important to us, a good lead, and lots of detail. The area I grew most in while writing these personal narratives was writing a good "So What". Without further ado, here is my personal narrative, Maybe it Was a Good Thing.

I guessed that the double knot in my stomach meant a combination of excitement and nervousness. Mostly nervousness. That could be a good thing, I hoped internally.

The large crowd of people behind me roared. I spun around, grinned, and waved to all the people I knew. Most of them were just acquaintances. I knew my mom was in the back, and my friends were somewhere in the crowd. But I couldn’t see any of my closest friends.

There were butterflies in my stomach and I had no idea how I was going to do any of this.

The gym was just a loud room. The only thing I could hear was people cheering and chatting in the crowd. Kids were making up cheers for their friends, teachers and parents were getting their cameras ready; and here I was, sitting here being as nervous as I could be.

One of the PE teachers walked to the center of the gym, with a microphone in his hand. I turned back around and listened to what he had started to say.

“Welcome to the Basketball Shootout!” blared his voice from the speaker behind him. That rapidly made the crowd hush down.

“Thank you, everyone for being here to cheer on your friends, children, or just fellow students!” he paused. “All of us PE teachers are glad to be here and I’m sure our players are too,” he said, gesturing toward us. “Students will get 60 seconds to shoot today.”

Double the time of the semi-finals, I thought. That should be good, I reassured myself, remembering how well I had done then; making four 3-pointers, exactly according to plan. I hadn’t missed one shot. I was actually impressed with my own performance yesterday in the semi-finals. I hadn’t expected myself to do so well then. I knew I normally didn’t do as well as I wanted to in these types of things; where you have to prepare the whole week, then you have just one shot at it.

“The order for the players will be 3rd grade girls, 3rd grade boys, 4th grade girls, 4th grade boys, and the same with 5th grade,” the PE teacher continued.

Ok, I thought to myself. 2nd to last, not bad. That’ll give me some time to watch others and hopefully get rid of my nerves. I thought my nerves would die down, but I didn’t know how that would happen.   

“But first, let’s congratulate our players for making it to here!” the PE teacher called out. The entire audience burst out into claps and cheers. I liked to be congratulated, but it did put a whole lot of pressure on me. I had to do well, I internally pressured myself. I had to do well.

“Let’s get started,” said the PE teacher, and handed the microphone to another PE teacher.

This PE teacher called out, “First: 3rd grade girls.”

As I watched different kids win, and get 3rd place, the exact opposite of what I hoped to happen happened. Not one bit of my nerves went away. I felt as if the butterflies in my stomach had turned to moths instead. Soon enough, my name was called out and I grabbed a basketball and went to the fraction of the gym I had been assigned to. I dribbled the ball from side to side, and took a practice shot. The ball hit the rim of the hoop and dropped back down.

Focus, I thought. But before I could take another practice shot, the teacher called, “On your marks..”

Oh no, I thought. I was not ready. But I had to be. What was worse was somehow all of my closest friends were at the inside of the barrier right behind me. They were cheering my name loudly: “Let’s go Kavya, let’s go!”

“Get set,” called the PE teacher.

The pressure was on.

“GO!”

The moment the whistle blew, I knew to stick to the strategy I had practiced this whole week: go for the 3-pointers. I ran over to the 3-pointer line and aimed, jumped, and shot. Missed it. I ran over to grab the ball, then returned to the 3-pointer line. I shot. Missed again. I was almost mad at myself, muttering, “Kavya, you practiced for this; focus. You have to do this.”

After missing another shot from the 3-pointer line, the words, Ok. I have to start making some 2-pointers, zipped through my head.

I shot the ball into the hoop from the 2-pointer line. I made it. Making this shot increased my confidence. I took a quick glance at the timer. 20 seconds left. I made another shot from the 2-pointer line. I made it. I knew I was low on time so I took a shot from the 1-pointer line and missed. Then, I made a quick 2-pointer.

I was down to the last 5 seconds.

I took a quick 1-pointer. Score.

Another 1-pointer. Score.

“3!” The audience yelled.

I can do this, I thought.

“2!” they cheered.

Another 1-pointer. Score.

One more…

“1!” I took the quickest shot I could. Missed. I sighed and wiped the sweat off of my forehead.

“9 points,” the PE teacher notified me. I already knew that I had gotten 3rd place, because I had scored 12 points in the semi-finals when I had only 30 seconds. My idea was confirmed when I asked the other girls what score they had gotten.

At this point, I felt a mix of emotions. I felt regret. I somewhat felt I could have done better. I felt mad at myself that I got 3 points less in double the time as the semifinals. I was smiling in the joy of knowing I had made it till here, but my toe was squirming around in my shoe in some sort of regret. I guess you could say that I knew I should be happy for making it till here, but I didn’t really feel that happiness.

I went up to collect my certificate after they called my name. My body language showed that I was happy, and I did feel that way, but the regret still stung me.

But, as the crowd started to disperse, it hit me. Just like that. Within a few seconds, I understood. I had practiced for more than an hour every day of this week. I had played in front of this giant crowd, under so much pressure. I kept going after not scoring in the first 30 seconds. I had put so much effort into this, that it was almost unreasonable for me to regret any of it. And, sure I could’ve done better under the pressure, but that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter than I had gotten 3rd place. That is not going to make any difference in the long run.

One shootout is not going to define the best player. Making it till here is more than amazing for me.

By the time these thoughts were done whizzing through my head, I had friends patting my back, complimenting how I had played, and a big grin on my face.

My mom asked me, “You’re ok, right? Getting third place?” in a sort of awkward way.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I’m alright.”

The one thing I had just learned was that it didn’t matter. It really didn’t matter.

Maybe it was a good thing I had made it till here, I thought to myself, beaming. ‘Maybe it was a good thing.

Photo Credits:
https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&q=basketball&tbs=sur:fmc#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=qsRKGESn1Z9w5M%253A%3BJ8E5qUiPKL5_WM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F1%252F10%252FBasketball_through_hoop.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FBasketball%3B2592%3B2044

Taking Care of Your Laptop

When you are given a $2,000 piece of equipment, it would of course be very important to take care of it. What sort of $2,000 piece of equipment? I am talking about a MacBook Air. This week we were given our MacBook Airs, which we were really excited about, but we had to learn a lot about; specifically how to take care of them.

The first rule that most kids already knew about was keeping laptops away from food and drinks. We learned that the crumbs from food and any liquid is deadly to the laptop’s keys. The laptop could stop working completely if food falls on the keys. 
It is also very important to keep your laptops in your hand at all times. The reason why it’s a bad idea to put your laptop in your backpack is because things like books and pens could put pressure on it and crack the screen. So, for example, if you will be going to play a sport on the field after school, and you know you might throw your bag down, then you should put your laptop in your locker where it will be safe. The rule you want to follow is if your laptop will not be in your hand, it is in your locker. 
Keeping your laptop in your hand relates to not being rough with your laptop. Don’t throw it around or swing it or do anything rough with it. Finally, we have to remember to zip up our laptop in it’s case when we are done using it, and to never take it out of it’s case, even when we are using it. The case keeps the laptop safe and it prevents the laptop from falling out when we are walking in the hallways.

Many people say, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The laptops are like the ‘great power’ and taking care of them is the ‘great responsibility’. Some disagree, but I believe that if we want to use the laptops to do a bunch of really cool stuff, we have to be responsible by taking good care of them.

Image from:
https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&q=student%20holding%20laptop&tbs=sur:fmc#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=a0wHwc7MKoyJzM%253A%3BEbwpL5hsKj6LwM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcarleton.ca%252Fpsychology%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252Flaptop-girl-Copy.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.carleton.ca%252Fpsychology%252Fundergraduate%252Fmaking-the-most-of-your-program%252F%3B435%3B290

Laptop Care Poster

This is a poster I made about one of the important things to do to take care of your laptop: Keep your laptop away from food and drinks.

Using Your Laptop

Digital Citizenship Agreement

As a responsible Digital Citizen at SAS, I, Kavya, promise to respect and protect myself, others, and intellectual property while learning, sharing, and collaborating online.

SAS Maker Day

Today our class went to the SAS Maker Day in the high school. It included very creative inventions made by high school and middle school students. Some examples of the inventions were a flight simulator, unique mazes, life-size toy structures, and small couch-like rooms.

My favorite creation was the Creation Station. It was a triangular cupboard which opened up to be a larger closet with a lot of storage space. The inside part of the cupboard doors had a lego board with 3-D pieces coming out. The shelves had things like pens, books, and papers to show what students might use it for. The back side of the closet had a whiteboard attached and some pictures taped on too.

When I interviewed the inventor of the Creation Station, she said she wanted to build something that kids like herself can use. She also didn't want something that only a certain age group of kids can use, but middle and high school students can use. It had to be compact, and something that is actually useful. It is meant to be used as a storage space for kids, whether they're just having fun or doing homework. The inventor said a challenge in making it was that since it was made out of wood and planks that had been drilled together, everything had to be perfect. The wood had to be measured exactly and drilling had to be done perfectly as well. Although it does appear that the wood and been measured and drilled in quite perfectly, the inventor said she would've wanted to be more precise with this.

It's quite interesting to think that a high school student can invent something like this, and actually do a job like drilling wood and planks. An idea like this seemed like a dream because it felt like something a kid can't do. The inventor said it took her 2-3 months to built it and that she went back to the same store 3-4 times.