Spirit Week 10/26-10/30

Spirit Week was an interesting week for me because I had to do jobs and was required to do other things I have never done before. For the main part of the week (Mon-Thus) I had the job, as Junior Rep, to excite my class and get them to participate and have some spirit. Working with the junior class in this manner was certainly a new challenge for me. I had to talk to people I don't normally talk to and I had to be especially loud that week in order to arouse some excitement in my peers. However it was extremely frustrating and difficult. I have to say that it was particularly difficult for me, I believe, more than for the other representatives, because the junior class has a tough time getting into spirit. The majority of our class doesn't like to participate in any school related events and many refused to dress up on the themed days. On Friday however most of the class showed up in green, although some students still did not, leaving me apprehensive for next year. I was really glad that in the end our physcial stength and athletic competiviness brought our class to second place on the field day.

Working with student council was also an interesting new challenge. We had to come up with several activities and we had to create the entire point system and all the other rules on our own. There were definetely some strengths and some weaknesses but I believe that by next year we will have an even stronger Spirit Week. I also have to say that it was a little bit hard working with the rest of the Student Council because I had to defend my class and demand what was fair to us even though people tended to disagree with me. I felt that at times it was somewhat unfair but I realized that I couldn't fight it and I didn't think that was right. I hope that in our future activities our planning will be more efficient so that there can't be any ambiguity in the rules which happened on several occasions.

Sturgis Strings Rehearsal 10/27, 11/3, 11/10, 11/17, 12/1

Over the past few weeks I believe that I have been getting closer to achieving my goal of being 100% at the performance concert in December. I've been practicing and on one of the songs I am almost 100% on because although most of the time I never messed up on it, there were a few times where I did. On the other song however, I am not as close to 100% but I am getting there. There are only a few places for confusion but I believe that by the time the concert comes around I will be ready.

I also believe that we as an ensemble are working very well together. In several sections our pieces there are parts where I have to play the same melody with the violion or play the harmony with the viola and even though our playing isn't perfect, playing together has not given us any trouble this year and we have even received praise from our teacher thaat we are playing well in sync. This is the first time where we are doing really well in regards to playing simultaniously in the certain parts of the song that require us to do so.

Final Reflection on Sturgis Volleyball

For Sturgis Volleyball, I served as one of the captains and played the left back position on the court. In the end we won one of your matches but won several sets in the others macthes.

I sincerely enjoyed being on the team. I felt like our team was really close and there was not a lot of problems between the players. When we lost, we knew we lost together, and when we won we always won together. I especially liked how no one on our team blamed one person in specific but should anything have gone wrong it was the whole team that did something wrong.

It was interesting to get to know some of the freshmen and the sophomores and have them become my friends. Volleyball was agreat bonding activity for all of us. I tried to interact and talk to as many people was possible. I warmed up with somebody different everytime and I ran with somebody different. I talked to everybody from the team outside the gym and they did the same to me. I gained a lot of friends from this and it was especially nice because I never wanted to take part of this activity for the friendship but for the sport.

This activity was extremely valuable to me because I really enjoy this sport and since boy's volleyball is not commonly found in any school I was granted the opportunity to play even though it was with girls thereby limiting what I could do on the court. Nonetheless if it wasn't for Sturgis Volleyball then there would be no hope of me playing volleyball in college. Volleyball is also important for health reasons. I can excersize and play and do something physically, something I would not be doing during the fall season if it wasn't for this activity. More importantly this activity was very valuable for social reasons. I was able to meet new people from different grades and I was able to strengthen my friendship with those in the class above me and even those in my class who I don't see often. I gained more friends and am able to talk to some people that I would otherwise not even realise they existed.

In regards to my goals I feel that I almost met them but not as much as I would have liked. First, one of the goals that I set was I wanted to be able to serve floaters (a specfic type of serve). I practiced it over and over again and halfway through the season I had accomplished it. I served them perfectly during practice but the real test was being able to do it during the game. In the end my serves were flawless and I got them all in. My second goal was beng able to hit backrow well and consistently. I worked hard during practice but it proved to be more difficult than I imagined. Many of my hits were not well and they especially weren't consistent. Every now and then I hit backrow during a game. About 50% of them went in. Although I greatly improved in hitting backrow I didn't get to a point that I wanted to and I now know it's going to take even extra practices in order to get it. I will definitely set this as a goal again next year and I believe that I will reach it because I will go in already knowing so much from what I learned this year. I think my goals were set just right because I met one of them and although I didn't meet the second one completely it was undoubtely attainable because I came very close, I just needed to practice a little harder.

I am 100% certain that I met both of my learning outcomes to the fullest extent. I selected L.O. 4 and L.O. 8 for this activity. For Learning Outcome 4 (Working Collaboratively With Others) I believe I met it because volleyball is a team sport that requires team collaboration and there is no way to win without working together. As both a passer and a de facto attacker I had to work with my teammates to coordinate passes, sets and attacks. I had to trust them to go for the ball and make sure they did their best to pass it or get it over the net and vice versa. I made sure to pass the ball to the setter instead of just passing it back to the other side. And I made sure that if anybody called "mine" to back off and let the other person get it. I tried my best not to hog the ball and pass it to them. For Learning Outcome 8 (Develop New Skills) I feel that I certainly met this. I extended my knowledge and skill level in this sport by learning some specific techniques. I learned how to hit a floater serve and I learned how to better attack. I also unofficially taught myself how to jump serve, although it needs more practicing. But overall I certainly developed new skills in an area I was already familiar with.

I found there were some personal difficulties during the course of this activity. Because of MIAA rules, as a boy playing on a girl's team, I am not allowed to play in the front row. I really enjoy playing middle front and it would be a great advantage to the team if I did because I am tall and I can hit and block. It was a personal difficulty for me because I really would have liked to play front row but I was limited and I had to do my best with what I was restricted to.

I learned many new skills from this activity but what I really learned that I can carry with me for a long time and apply to any sitiutaion is the knowing when to sacrifice my personal goals to the goals of the team. During the games I had been given many opportunites to hit backrow but because I didn't feel ready and I knew I would probably not get it in, I played safe and won points that way even though my personal goal was to hit backrow. I had to sacrifice something I wanted to do for the sake of the team. I had to make split second decisions on whether to hit or play safely and in the end I decided to play safely. I feel like I made the right decision because I made many points from playing safe. I learned that sometimes the team comes before the individual and I can certainly apply this in many areas other than volleyball.

Away Game vs. Nauset 10/23

On Friday 10/23 we had a game against Nauset High School. We ended up losing 1-3 but we managed to win one set. This game was so much different than the last because we played together and everybody ran for the ball. I tried my best to pass the ball to the setter and rescue any ball that was shanked. But this game everybody pulled together and even though we lost, we played more as a team in this game than any before. On a more personal note, I feel like I am getting closer to the other part of my goal. First I wanted to be able to do a floater serve which I already achieved. The second part of my goal was to be able to consistently hit back row. In previous games I always pushed or shot the ball over the next because I didn't feel ready to hit backrow. This game pushed me one step towards my goal. Although I still pushed and shot most of my balls to the other side, this is the first time where I actually attempted to hit the ball. I made split second decisions to do something risky. Surpisingly all of my hits made it over to the other side. I see now that my practicing paid off and although I don't think I achieved my goal yet I feel like I'm so much closer and for the next game I'm going to try harder to approach my goal.

Student Council - Prep for Spirit Week and Dance

For the last week Student Council has been preparing for Spirit Week and the Dance. This was a new challenge for me because I have never planned a dance or spirit week before. However when planning for the Spirit Week I did it with the other elected officials and other members of the council. It was certainly a challenge for us since it was new to all of us including Mrs. Yalden but we managed to work it out. But for the dance, even though we talked about it as a group, I was the one who ended up doing most of the work. I had to initiate the activity by looking for venues and finally having to decide on the Federated Church. I had to ask around for DJs and advertise the dance to the school. This activity became an even greater challenge since I only had less than two weeks to figure everything out. I am not 100% with the upcoming dance because there was not enough time to plan, which was a hige difficulty. I managed to overcome that difficulty by simplifying the dance. I feel that this experience will help me and Student Council better organize the next dance.

Sturgis Strings Rehearsal 10/13, 10/20

On 10/13 and 10/20 the Sturgis Strings had rehearsal. I feel like I, nor the rest of the group, practiced enough to know the notes and the rhythm. I know I haven't practiced enough because of my busy schedule. I know that in order to accomplish my goal of my 100% at the performance date I am going to have to work really hard and practice, practice, practice. Many people have quit the ensemble because they weren't willing to put in the effort to learn the music for the performance. I don't want that to happen to me because I enjoy playing the cello. But since this is a group others are going to have to do their part too. As long as I do mine and make sure that I practice and learn what I have to learn I'll come out with a clear conscience knowing that I put in my best work and my best effort.

Prom Committee Visits Cape Codder

This week the prom committee went to visit the Cape Codder, the location of this year's prom. I really liked the location, everything there was really nice and well decorated. I think the room we are in is going to be perfect for our prom. I can feel that the committee is going to have to work really hard together in order to decorate the room because our theme is black and white but the room is gold and emerald. But I think if we put our heads together it will come out really nice.

Sturgis Volleyball Game vs. UCT 10/7

Last week we had a match against Upper Cape Tech where we won 3-1. It was a really touch match because we won each set by only a little and we had to work really hard together as a team in order to accomplish that. For the first time I feel like we worked together as a team and I worked with the team and not as the team meaning I tried my best to pass the ball and make sure I backed off when I heard somebody call "Mine!" as opposed to getting every single ball. The game forced me to put more trust into the team and everybody also put more trust in each other to make sure that the ball never drops. This match was really important to me because I feel like I accomplished one of my goals. Originally I wanted to be able to consistently hit floater serves (a specific type of serve) and this match was the first match where I felt comfortable to hit floater serves after practicing them a lot. I felt like it was a success because I only served floater serves and of the many many times I served I only messed up once. Unfortunately I made no progress towards my other goal of wanting to be able to consistently hit backrow. I felt like I progressed backwards. Instead of taking risks and hitting the ball I pushed the ball onto the other court. My actions, though, were justified because I felt like my hitting was not as solid as my serving and the game was really important to everybody and I wanted to play safe. Fortunately most of my pushes were extremely successful and got the team a lot of points. The experience made me realize that sometimes the team's goals comes before my goals. I didn't want to lose a lot of points just so I can hit backrow and so I had to sacrifice something I really want to do in order to make sure that we win. I think that I made the right decision and I know what I need to work on and practice even harder.

Sturgis Strings Rehearsal 10/6

Today we had our third Sturgis Strings rehearsal and although it was just the beginning I know how much and what I need to practice. I have to practice where to play the flats and the naturals and knowing some of the rhythm for a part of one of the songs.

Prom Committee - Search for Gift Certificates for the Raffle

This week I volunteered to try to get gift certificate donations from businesses so they can be raffled off at Open House. Initially I only volunteered to get a gift certificate from Brazilian Grill but I also went to the 99 Restaurant, Cape Cod Chocolatier and Le Paris Nail Salon. The fact that I went to more businesses than usual surprised me. Usually I don't like to fundraise and participate in activities to raise money especially school related. It's not a habit that I have had over the years. What I did surprised me because it made me aware of my dedication to Prom Committee and to trying to help make a good prom. I went beyond what I usually do and stepped out of my comfort zone because I don't like asking others for donations. This made me realize that when I'm dedicated I can do things I've never done before. Even in prior activities where I have been extremely committed, I usually stay within my comfort zone and do everything to stay in it, but this time it changed. It actually gives me a lot of encouragement for the future because now I know that asking others for donations wasn't as terrifying as I originally thought it would be and should in the future I need to do it again or do something else I'll be more confident in doing it.