This week, I read an article about a student who won the national spelling bee. This student, Dev Shah, came up just short of gold last year when he took second place at the competition. This year, he made it a point that he would take home the title of the champion. Although he is only 14, his knowledge of words and definitions extends beyond anything you would know. His winning word this year was “psammophile.” A psammophile is a living organism that resides in sandy environments. In my opinion, it is amazing to think that a 14 year old has the ability to push themselves and keep going just to spell words.

Would you ever enter a spelling bee?

Do you think you could win one?

Link to article

I chose to do a timeline for my final project. I read Turtles All the Way Down by John Green.

Timeline

Overall, this book was a very good read and I enjoy how John Green uses his writing style to his advantage. The main character, Aza, struggles with OCD and anxiety  which becomes a real struggle in high school. I definitely recommend this book. For my project, I am planning on doing something creative, most likely a physical project.

In response to a full discussion, I feel that there are several things in society today that can be seen as good. My first thought when reading this question, without a doubt, was the career opportunities rising within schools. Not in relation to teachers, but internship and cooperative education availabilities. This gives students the ability to work and understand how their future field of work may operate. Along with this, we also give this opportunity to students with disabilities. Recently, I have found that our school offers several ways for these students to start working, for example, Spartan Fuel and cooperative education within the school. I feel these experiences can help contribute to the good in society by setting up students for the future.

As a teeneager in today’s society, a look at family dynamic can be much different than an adult or a child. We all understand that our family is so important, and we need them to keep ourselves going, but in this part of our life we want o break free from that idea. We want to become our own people, make our own choices, and have our own freedom. But at some point, we come back to our family, because we know that we love them and need them. We learn to interact with our family a certain way, and this is something sacred, that others will never understand. The relationships tat are formed within a family can never be broken, although sometimes it may feel like it.

For this quarter, I have chosen Turtles All the Way Down by John Green. I have never read anything by John Green and I am excited to understand his style and the way he writes. It is a book about a girl our age, who is living a life that she feels isn’t complete and is living in fear. I am excited to start this book.

In Austin Texas, on Saturday night, a huge prom after-party turned to a tragedy. Deputies believe that the gunshots, that injured 9 teengers in attendance, may be linked to a nearby shooting in a neighboring city. The victims were wounded, but are in a hospital to recover. They are still investigating.

What do you think the motive was?

Why do you think it it linked to another city?

https://apnews.com/article/texas-prom-party-shooting-70e858c92c4a76128ce60d72c5419c09

Looking at this question, I see it in a way that can be explained in different levels. First, I think your background and upbringing can play a roll in this, but you aren’t really able to control that. But as you grow up, you can control who you surround yourself with and the things you do. If you plan on setting yourself up for a brighter future, you make sure that you focus on that mindset when considering who you want to be friends with, what clubs or sports you want to be involved in, and whether or not you decide to work at an early age or start college planning; anything in relation to those things are completely in your control. Although anxiety may come with this, the idea that you have control over your future and the person you want to be can be comforting and relieving in the long run.

For my independent novel project, where I read Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, I created an infographic focusing on the overview, themes, and my personal opinion about the book overall.

The Call of the Wild