Counting Strides poem- Josie Embleton

Hooves hit the ground in steady rhythm
1,2,3,4, now
Soaring through the air
Land. 1,2,3,4....
Find the next jump
1,2,3,4....
Find a focal point
1,2,3,4....
Use more leg
1,2,3,4....
Push hands forward
1,2,3,4, now
Flying over the jump
Land. 1,2,3,4
Turn to the next jump
1,2,3,4....
Breath with your horses rhythm
1,2,3,4....
Collect the stride
1,2,3,4....
Let go of the horses head
1,2,3,4....
Look to the next jump
1,2,3,4, now
Begin your turn in the air
Land. 1,2,3,4
Continue to turn
1,2,3,4...,
Keep your pace
1,2,3,4, now
Grab mane
Land. 1,2,3,4
Settle your horse
1,2,3,4....
Bring your horse to a walk
1,2,3,4....
Exit the ring.

My Opinions on Student Led Discussions by Natalie Earl

Before starting this I would like to say that in my opinion student led discussions are important to teach the students. I would also like to voice my opinion on how it is difficult for some students to create a strong voice in this situation called a student led discussion. I am one of the students that have some questions to provide the group and some facts that I found interesting on the certain topic being discussed but I just am unable to speak out. I would like to offer some suggestions to help the students that have trouble getting their time in this discussion.
An idea that I thought would help and wouldn't be difficult to do would be having smaller groups when there is discussions so there is a chance for people to speak more. The teacher would have trouble coming around to each group most likely but I thought it would be a good idea to just record each discussion so that everything can be heard by the teacher. Another helpful part to this idea is that the people that are uncomfortable to talk in big groups will be able to pick there group so this makes them feel more comfortable with speaking in front of their group.
I have seen in the student led discussions how the people who finally get a chance to speak are soft spoken so another student might have a louder voice so they speak over them. The process is difficult to discuss a topic without the teacher helping by choosing who gets a turn to speak each time. Student led discussions are helpful for the students to learn how to communicate their ideas but it would be easier on the people that cannot get a chance to speak to have a smaller group. I have also realized that due to the way the students arrange themselves around the room makes it challenging to get a chance to speak. Most of the people that do not speak out are on the outside of the classroom so the conversation will stay in the center in a smaller group. I agree that student led discussions are important but I would like to change how it is organized because I know it should be challenging but it makes me and other students that are soft spoken to fell uncomfortable.

The Early Life of Basketball🏀- Brianna Falco

Since I'm in basketball season now, I was inspired to learn more about how the game originated. Basketball usually circulates through my mind everyday. Often times, I find myself thinking about the next game I have coming up, or what practice will be like this afternoon, more importantly what afternoon snack I'll be having. The game of Basketball as we know it today was created by Dr. James Naismith in December of 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He wanted the young athletes to be conditioned during the winter months. The game consisted of peach baskets and a ball looking like a cross between a soccer ball and a football. Naismith divided his class of eighteen students into two teams of nine. He created an outline, 13 rules the players needed to follow. The objective of the game was to get this soccer-football into the fruit baskets nailed to the lower railing of the gym balcony. I found it very amusing because every time a point was scored the janitor needed a ladder to get the ball down to resume play. After a while, the bottom of the basket was removed to allow the ball the fall through the basket. The first public basketball game was held in Springfield, Massachusetts March 11, 1892.


 The soccer style ball with laces similar to a football.

The Soldier's Melody- a Picture Prompt by Stephanie Downes

         The wind was rustling through the bare trees on the evening that I saw her. Two years, hundreds of lonely nights, and thousands of gunshots it had been since I had last seen my love. On this particular night, I ventured out into the desolate woods to clear my mind. Suddenly something caught my eye. An object of beauty in the darkness and emptiness of the woods. I approached the ethereal instrument, examining the light that shone on it through the branches of the trees. I ran my fingers along the worn out ivory and black keys. Where did this come from? How long has it been sitting here, abandoned, lonely? Almost as an instinct, my fingers began to press down on the keys. I heard a beautiful melody that had not grazed my ears in so long.  It was the melody that my wife and I used to play together. I closed my eyes and let my senses enjoy the moment of nostalgia and beauty. It was only when the last chord was played and the melody was over that I opened my eyes and saw her; my love. She was standing in front of me, like a figment of my imagination- yet I knew she was real. She just had to be. I hesitantly moved towards her. She still looked as beautiful as ever. I heard distant yelling and crunching footsteps approaching rapidly. I began to run. The yelling got louder and the footsteps closer. I reached out my arms, longing to hold her...

*BANG*

Emptiness. 

She appeared once more. This time, she was the one reaching for me. I was enveloped into her warmth, and we flew up into the clouds together. I was safe, and the melody began to play once again.

Would the Head Transplant Work? (William Theilacker)

Recently we discussed the idea of a head transplant that would be performed by Dr. Sergio Canavero. But putting ethics aside for now, would a head transplant really work? Dr. Canavero doesn't really provide any research to support his claim that it's possible. He predicted that the head transplant has a 90% success rate, yet there's only two prior experiments that could support this claim, and neither was a complete success. One of these is experiment was repairing the partially injured spinal cord on a dog, however it was never said how badly the dogs spinal cord was damaged so the evidence of it being fixed and the dog regaining movement is still supportive of Dr. Canavero but it doesn't really prove that a fully severed spinal cord could be repaired. The other experiment a monkey received a head transplant and it was partially successful. The monkeys blood vessels were successfully connected to those in the body that the head was attached to, however the spinal cord was never reattached or repaired in the monkey so it isn't really supportive of a head transplant being successful. And scientifically there is no evidence supporting that a head transplant could ever be done. I asked a biology teacher in the school, Kenneth Scognamiglio, what he thought about the head transplant. Mr. Scognamiglio said that he didn't think it was possible because we haven't even gotten to repairing partially damaged spinal cords in human so that they regain a full range of motion again. Many people who are paralyzed may never move that part of their body again or have very limited movement. There is also the idea of how the brain would respond to an entire body that isn't recognized as self. For just one organ, the recipient has to be on immuno-suppressants for life. We don't know how severely the brain would react to an entire body. Overall there isn't enough experiments or scientific evidence to show that we're anywhere close to performing a head transplant.

Hamilton An American Musical

Hamilton

By: Sophie Venus

As an American it's important to me to know our history and how our government was formed. Something that has triggered my interest in this subject is the Broadway play Hamilton.
If you ask anyone who knows me they will tell you that i'm obsessed. Hamilton is a Broadway play following the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton. The play was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda who also played the leading role as Hamilton. The first song was performed in 2009 at the White House Poetry Jam, everyone laughed when Lin-Manuel said he was writing music about Hamilton using rap. Little did they know 5 years later it would win 11 tony’s, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the Grammy for the best musical theater album.
Although I have never seen the play, as the tickets are extremely expensive, I've listened to the music many times. I have never heard anything like it on Broadway because the music is mostly rap. It has helped me become more interested in history because it is facts surrounding the revolution. I suggest that everyone should at least listen to one song it might change your life.

Here is a link to the first song "Alexander Hamilton": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIl1OIGzuDg

The Ethics of Frankenstein

After working relentlessly for two years on his project, Victor Frankenstein achieved his goal. He created the monster that Mary Shelley depicts in her classic Frankenstein. Victor Frankenstein was an inventor and a visionary. He said, "what glory would attend the discovery if I could banish disease from the human frame and render man invulnerable" (Shelley 26). Like many other men and women in history, Victor Frankenstein had an idea. He had an idea that he though would positively influence the world. However, after creating the monster and turning his vision into reality, he regrets it.

There is a plethora of inventors today who have come to deeply regret their creations.

Albert Einstein worked on the creation of the atomic bombs. Two bombs Einstein helped develop were dropped on populated cities in Japan during the second world war. After hearing the first atomic bomb was dropped, Einstein said, "woe is me". It is estimated 226,000 people were killed by the first two bombs.

Mikhail Kalashnikov was a soldier in the Russian army. He listened to his fellow soldiers complain about how their weapons would jam in combat. He sought out to develop a more reliable rifle for the Soviet army. His rifle, known as the AK-47, is now the most popular and circulated firearm in the world. It accounts for over 25% of the world's firearms and over 75 million are in circulation today.

John Sylvan developed the K-cup and Keurig coffee brewer. He developed the Keurig to waste less coffee by only brewing the amount people needed. As a result, his design has produced tons of waste. Sylvan calls his design "a cigarette for coffee, a single serve delivery mechanism for an addictive substance". The amount of k-cups in landfills today could be wrapped around the earth ten and a half times.

Despite the terrible affects of the above creations, they really don't compare in horror to Victor Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein gave an inanimate object a mind of it's own. He created a monster that we can't control. Einstein created the bomb, but it is up to humanity how it is used. Kalashnikov developed a rifle, but it is up to humanity whether it is fired or not. Sylvan created the K-cup, and it is up to us whether we brew that cup of coffee or not. However, Frankenstein's monster was on it's own, with it's own actions and intentions. That is why the story is so disturbing.

Thanks for reading
Billy Stoddard