Blogging

This will probably be my last post blogging.  I thought that this blogging project that Mrs. Elliott assigned to us in the beginning of the year was going to be a drag and another annoying weekly assignment.  It felt time consuming and useless as I didn't think that whatever I posted mattered.  The first blogs were difficult for me to create a post that seemed appropiate or relatable to other students.  However, as we continued our blogging, I began to enjoy posting and coming up with ideas to blog about.  Although my posts may not relate to our class assignments accurately, I had fun blogging.  When I posted "School Loop- The Death of Students?" and I recieved many comments-both agreeing and disagreeing, I saw that others do read my posts and have opinions. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to blog and share my opinions and see that others do relate.  I may even start blogging on a regular basis in the future!

Thank you Mrs. Elliott, for giving us an assignment that lets us speak our opinions and be open minded!

-Amy L

An Open Book

These past four years, we have been lucky enough to be stranded with Piggy on an island in Lord of the Flies, partied with Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, and fell in love with Romeo and Juliet.  However, little did we know, we were living in our personal book of life. 

We opened a new blank book when we walked through those front gates of Los Osos High School on August 27, 2007.  We were the entering freshmen or “fresh meat” as some would call us. Some of us were timid, scared, nervous, while others were excited and cheerful that we were finally in high school, a rite of passage as a teenagers, some may have even been a mix of both nervous and excited. 

There was so much for us to learn and fill our books with as freshmen, not only academics, but the little quirks as a Grizzly at LOHS. To always know that once the bell rings for lunch to end, you must run out of the way before the pigeons swarm you to get to your leftovers; or our school is very into school pride-We are proud to be Grizzlies!; or that high school is nothing like the movies depicted it to be; scary, bullies and trashcans, or that we break out in song during class.  In fact, high school is a fun experience if you make it and want it to be.  We made our best memories during these four years of our lives.  

As we climbed the ladder to become Upperclassmen and soon after Seniors, we’ve learned a great deal of material to help us survive in a situation where we would need to use Calculus and integrate an equation, or find ourselves needing to balance a chemical equation; but most of all, we learned to survive life itself.  We learned to become ourselves, express our true feelings, and be confident.  Although the title of “Senior” gave us encouragement to be more confident with ourselves and to “rule the school”, “Senior”, was just a word.  We had it in ourselves the entire time and that is what the faculty at LOHS and even the students at LOHS instilled in us.

We wrote in this book about high school, but mainly the friends we made. We found new friends, lost some friends, and reconnected with some old friends, but with that there were life lessons.  With the new friends we made, we might have learned to be brave and be ourselves; people will like us for who we truly are.  The ones we lost, we learned that life goes on, friends come and go, but not worry, and there will always be someone there to support you.  And the ones we reconnected, these are the friends that you will always have, in some form another.

These four years have been a roller coaster; yes a cliché, but you know it’s true.  We had an exhilarating ride with a black out during our freshmen year, a hydrogen bomb during our sophomore year, a tornado and hurricane warning during our junior year, and this year, as Seniors, we are lucky to not have any mishaps.  Although these events sound terrifying and bizarre, they were life experiences.  We were able to encounter many different events that were just plain unforgettable; such as our Water Polo Team’s Halloween stunts, Ghostbusters and riding through the school on bikes posing as Mormons.  It is what makes high school the memories that will last forever.  

High school, some believe, is the worst thing that has ever happened and that they cannot wait to leave it and move on with their lives.  However, I believe it will be one the easiest times of our lives. I know we will miss it; admit it, we’ve had great memories, from football, to soccer, to basketball and other sports, to band and marching band, to choir and theater, and to the many different clubs this school offers.  We’ve dedicated four of our prime years to high school; there is some part of it that we all will miss.

Remember these moments, it’s a part of our lives, enjoy them, live in them, and the mistakes that we’ve made, learn from them, and move on.  Tonight, as we graduate as the Class of 2011, write our endings to our book.  It is time to move on to a new open book in our lives. To start fresh and anew, with a clean open book; but never forget the moments we’ve endured these past four years. Congratulations Class of 2011! We made it through!

-Amy Lie

Hi Mrs. Elliott

Hi Mrs. Elliott!
First off, thanks for all you have done for me this year. You are amazing, as I am sure you already know, but you made a huge impact on me that I will never forget. You have spent this past year, like all your years, working for the kids. But now, I was wondering if there was anything I could do for you. I know, you will probably say "Finish strong!" or any other motivational thing teachers say. But if you ever need Starbucks or food or money or whatever, comment on The High Ceilings blog. I would be happy to help you for all you have done this year for me (i.e. GETTING ME INTO COLLEGE)!

Thanks Again
-Cameron

The aftermath.

"I've just settled into the glass half-empty, made myself at home."- Vienna Teng

I forget what life was like before senior year.  Not that that's a bad thing.  It's not like senior year was bad - it's definitely not that.  I'm glad it happened, and I would be significantly more upset if I did not have a senior year.  Last week, I read a letter that I wrote freshman year, addressed from me to me. 

I read about all of the jokes and music and television shows I used to like.  I don't like the same things anymore.  Life goes on, TV shows get canceled, and new albums are released.  I've grown up. 

I found out how cute and innocent I was.  Something I wanted to do in the next four years: to go to a dance with a girl.  What I wanted to be when I grew up: I don't know.  What I wanted to major in: everything.  

I read about all of the goals I had.  My academic goals, my extracurricular goals... I wrote as if I were aiming low, but as it turns out, I failed almost every single one of them.  I was wildly ambitious, too much for my own good.  But, as a result, I was happy because I was hopeful of what could happen and the life I could have.

I used to be so optimistic.  I was so happy and playful and wonderfully innocent and blindly ambitious.  Life wasn't nearly as good as it is now, but I was happier because I was hopeful.  It's a striking difference to how am now.  It turns out, meritocracy only goes so far. I thought that I would be entering college like I would enter high school, but I failed to consider how unknowing of the world I used to be.

Senior Memoir

Not another project, I thought as Mrs.Elliott assigned.  I then realized this isn't just any project this is the last assignment in English and a scrapbook I will keep with me forever. The assignment sheet had so many options I knew I was going to end up doing more than eight, and adding in extras that made my book special. The last time I made a scrapbook was in eighth grade and it was sort of the same as this one, but now being eighteen years old, I believe my writing skills are way better than when I was thirteen, so these letters and papers shall sound pretty goood. Buying all the decorations and paper made me feel like a little kid I got so excited buying this stuff, yea its pretty sad that I got excited about buying scrap booking materials, oh well my book is gonna look amazing! I hope everyone makes the best of their memoirs, because this isn't just any assignment this is something you will have to look at for the rest of your life! Just a reminder for those who are just as excited as me five more real school days left till we can officially say we are done with high school :)

-Tamera A

Research Projects

There were many approaches to the research projects we did. Some students wrote essays, some had prezis, some presented video clips, and others lectured, but all with the general goal to score a high grade from Mrs. Elliott. However, to me, the grade was not the most important part of this project. I wanted to learn as much as I could about each novel studied by the other students and myself. Each books' messages and motives could impact everyone of us in some way. Therefore, if anyone has any questions about my novel, Schindler's Ark, or if I want to ask some questions about other students', please enlighten me with some intellectual conversation. Yay! :D

Cameron T

aaah!

The title, that is all that is running through my mind right now. Honestly, I am rushing this blog because a lot is going on and there is so little time in the day. One of the magnificent perks of being a senior in high school, but I guess it is better than sitting around doing nothing and having no purpose. Anyways, onto the topic I wanted to blog about. 


One thing that has stressed me out more than I had ever imagined: The research novel/play we need to choose. I am so focused on picking an interesting and thrilling novel or play that I am slowly weeding out all the ones I immediately dislike. But, it is taking far longer than I hoped for to choose one. I want it to be perfect, but are any of them really perfect? I mean, none of the books can be that bad if they are all from lists of Award Winners, so why is it so hard to choose?


P.S - any suggestions on a book would be awesome ;) i will pay you much in gold
Cameron T

School Loop - The Death of Students?

When the news of School Loop was announced, I'm sure that in most students heads, they were screaming- petrified. "What if my parent's find out how much I've been slacking?" and "How will I be able to hide my grades anymore?" probably ran across the students' minds at one point or another.  Most teachers love this new site because they can update and post everything they need on one site; they do not need to use different sites and programs to show homework, assignments, and grades.  The new system emails updates on EVERYTHING, EVERY DAY; grades, homework due dates, missing assignments.  As a student, it gets rather annoying because of the constant emails and reminders.  We understand that we need to keep up with homework and grades, but is a daily email necessary?  School Loop also sends email updates to parents- which is considered as the death of all students.  Personally, I already get nagged on by my parents everyday with "Do your homework! Did you take any tests lately? When are grades coming out?" and so on.  With School Loop, I think they will be asking more questions and be more on my case about school.  That responsibility of maintaining homework and grades on our own are taken away because most parents will continue to question and interfere with that responsibility.

However, trying to see it as a teacher or parent, I too, would feel that it is the parent's right to be able to access grades and homework assignments that are due or missing.  If a student is that afraid of having their parents find out about their grades, they probably need to raise those grades for their own benefit.  In fact, the entire site of School Loop is beneficial.  Although it may seem like a nuisance to have a constant reminder, the site allows you to access homework assignments when you, as a student, are absent, test dates so you can study ahead of time, and other important school updates.  This site should act as a negative reinforcment to push students to avoid that discomfort of "slacking".

Although there are beneficial aspects to School Loop, I still feel that it is a nuisance to have a constant reminder and email updates of grades and homework. Give me a break! (:

SMH at People These Days

I just thought I should warn you before you read this post that you might be offended.  However, I should also warn you that I really do not care if you are. 
Reading "Native Son" has brought to light many of the annoyances that I have with certain kinds of white and black people in America.  Some of these annoyances were personified through the characters of Jan and Mary.  These characters present the very kind of White Americans that irritate my soul.  People like Jan and Mary always feel like they need to "relate" to black culture whenever they meet a black person.  All of sudden they start trying to act like their "down", so they start talking in slang and feel the need to add "yo" to their vocabulary and start referring to you as their "sister", "brother", or "homie" if you are black.  You may be thinking "What's wrong with that Rebekah?" Well, I'll tell you what is wrong with that.  What is wrong is that these people want to act "black" because it seems cool and popular. However, they just want the "perks" that come with being black, but they don't actually want to get stuck with the color.  They want to use the "N" word because it seems cool to them.  They want to sag their pants, throw up gang signs, bump Tupac and Notorious B.I.G, and talk in slang because all of these aspects of "black" culture seem hip and cool, and so different from their boring, suburban lives.  These are the kind of people that Jan and Mary are and, sadly, there are people like them all over Los Osos and the US.  Quite frankly these people make me sick, because they are the type of people whose fascination with black culture stems from how dangerous and cool black people seem to them, rather than how rich black culture really is.  Needless to say, not all white people are like this, but the ones that do behave in this nonsensical manner are the ones that I have a problem with because, frankly, I think that they are pathetic. And that is really all I have to say on that matter.

Now, before I began this blog I told you that what I had to say might offend you and I also said that I did not care.  Here is why: If this blog offended you then that means that you are the kind of person that I was referring to, in which case I thought you should know that you irritate me.  However, if this blog has nothing to do with the kind of person you are, then you should not be offended because I have already said that some, not all, white people act like Jan and Mary.  Secondly, you may have noticed in the beginning that I said: "Reading 'Native Son' has brought to light many of the annoyances that I have with certain kinds of white and black people in America.  Yes, I do have annoyances with black people in America that were brought to light while reading "Native Son."  However, since this blog is already pretty long, I think I will just wait until next time to post exactly what they are.
-Rebekah Adeyemo

Senior Year

Todays class discusion about "senioritis", got me thinking a lot about how I have come to handle my school work since the start of second semester.  As we have all finally made to the end of the first chapter of our lives, we are all extremely excited! School has become a pain to come to but it hit me today that I have been doing this for twelve years of my life and not giving my all towards the end doesn't reflect on how I have handled the rest of my high school career. Having only four classes this year I should not be complaining about the work load I recieve, although it does seem like teachers are decideing to give more work now than ever. Many of us seniors need to overcome this laziness we all seem to have and work through this semester just like we have with our past school years.  The upside is this is our LAST semester of high school ever!  We can all finish the year off on a good note if we just give it our best. Only 111 days left until graduation!

-Tamera A

Chapter 3 of Jane Eyre reveals the background of Jane Eyre, the protagonist and title character of the novel.  We learn of her social background and that of her parents, and how she was born.  Her father was a poor clergyman who married a richer woman in a higher social class.  This theme has been explored in various works of both classic and contemporary literature and art, and provides ma delightful and pleasant background to the main story.  It gives a witty nod to other works of the time that explored the higher-social-class woman and lower-social-class man romantic pairing.  This pairing reminds me of many other works:

• Amy Tan's The Kitchen God's Wife puts Winnie, a girl with a rich father, with the greedy Wen Fu, who was poorer than Winnie's family.  It ends up a disaster.
• In the film What Happens in Vegas, starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz, the high-class woman is stuck with the lazy, poor, low-class man.  It brings this theme to the modern United States of America, where there are more subtle classes.
• In WALL-E, the main character, an old, ugly, garbage compressor named WALL-E, is romantically involved with a sleek, high-tech robot named Eve.
• The Japanese anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion explores this in a side story.  Ohgi meets Viletta while Viletta has selective amnesia and cannot remember her past.  It would have been fine, but Ohgi was a Number (an extremely low social class) while Viletta was a Baroness (an extremely high social class).  When Viletta regains her memory and realizes that she had engaged herself in a relationship with a Number, she is disgusted and abhors the relationship.  (spoiler alert!) However, she is still secretly in love, and eventually comes to accept love for what it is, marrying Ohgi in the epilogue.
• In Vergil's epic poem, the Aeneid, the main character, Aeneas, is the offspring of a mortal man and Venus, a goddess.
• In Harry Potter, Fleur Delacour is the offspring of an ordinary man and a mythological being, a Veela.

This pattern is prevalent in real life, and literature has explored this to reveal much about this type of relationship.  The opposite is also especially true.

-David M.

Jane Eyre vs. Tess

My first thoughts about choosing between these two novels were much less than ecstatic. Truthfully, as a guy, I was not to thrilled about picking between two books with female protagonists. I felt it would be hard to relate to either girl: how is it I can focus on a 400+ page novel that I am not really interested in what transformations the main character has. This bias/sextist view has been diminshed in my mind now that I have given it more clear thought and started reading the book "Jane Eyre". I have a newfound curiousity towards the book, for I realized that it is important to understand all parts of a lifestyle. Much like understanding both Democrats and Republicans, or multiple religions, I understand it is vital to know how someone who is totally different from me would deal with a certain situation. As I continue divulging into "Jane Eyre", I will read and study how she attacks and deals with her struggles and conflicts. It will only enhance my knowledge, learning about something totally new to me; therefore, making me a more complete individual.

Cameron Tagge