wiki 5 20/20 This IS a very interesting speech... just so you know.. it was at "college day" which is not really the same as the graduation... it's sort of like an entertainment speaker they invite to congratulate the grads and their families on the day before they graduate. Something unique that Harvard does.

10-05-09

     In 2003 Harvard was priveleged with Will Farrell as the Graduation speaker for that class. Will Farrell did an outstanding job giving his speech to the Harvard graduation class, and to the audience. When Mr. Farrell was first welcomed on stage, he came out with a sailor outfield and was dancing to the song "Celebration". He came up on stage and told many funny jokes about how he applied to Harvard but never got accepted. Over all, he gave an amazing speech, he was clearly prepared for the important event with many notes. He gave plenty of eye contact, he spoke very clearly and loudly. He did an outstanding job of knowing who the audience was, he tried to center his jokes aroundthe time of life the graduates were at. Will Farrell did seem a bit nervous, his voice was a little shaky and you could tell his hands were even trembling a little bit at the beginning of the speech, but that has to be expected when talking to such a large audience including the graduates of the number one college in the U.S.. Will Farrell's speech was one of the funniest speeches I have heard, and I believe that he did an outstanding job.

wiki 4  - 20/20 good posting - this was a particularly interesting chapel, I thought. It really applied to everyone well!

10-28-09

     On Friday October 23, Pastor Clausing lead a great chapel. His topic for the days chapel was one of my all time favorites, "why do bad things happen to good people." This is a question that is asked on a daily basis by people including myself. He gave a great explanation that I needed to hear, since we are all sinners, we are technically all bad people, so some of the bad actions that we experience are our justly deserved actions. Not only did he give a great sermon, he also did it in a way that was very well done, in a public speaking view. You could tell that he really plans out his chapels and knows exactly what he is about to talk about. He speaks very clearly and always uses eye contact with the whole audience. Also, he always incorporates some kind of joke in his speech, which we learned today that it is very difficult but a very important thing to do to keep your audience entertained in your speech. Overall I believe Paster Clausing did an excellent job leading chapel, just as he always does.

wiki 3 - 10/23  - 20/20 - good post. Believe it or not, I think making speeches makes him quite nervous, so he did do a pretty good job, all things considered. He ALWAYS has notes.. and sometimes he gets confused anyway.

10-23-09

     On Friday after chapel Pastor Clausing introduced Mr. Marty. Mr. Marty gave a short speech on three different announcements. Overall I think M. Marty did an okay job. Although I do have some critiques, such as, when he gave his speech, he read the entire thing from a piece of paper, so he didn't look up at the audience very much. Also, it sounded like he read the speech almost word for word, it didn't sound like it was his own words being spoken. He also leaned over the podium, so he wasn't straight up with good posture. He did do some good things though like when he was talking about how we all have done a good job abiding to the no cell phones rule, he said, "now don't be texting inside your hoodies while I'm talking to you." So he did do a good job connecting to the audience and bringing all of his points across that he wanted to. So overall, I think Mr. Marty did an okay job but their still could have been some improvement.

wiki 2 - 10/16  - 20/20 good entry... lots of observations

10-15-09

     On Thursday during chapel the senior football players lead chapel and Mr. Kuhlmann lead the message portion of chapel. I think Mr. Kuhlmann did an excellent job. He was a very confident speaker, he walked around the gym and interacted with the audience instead of just standing still behind the podium. He gave a very strong message and he spoke in such a way that showed he really cared and believed in the things he was saying. He spoke loudly and clearly and he spoke in such a way that was very easy to get into and follow. He showed that he was very organized and never stumbled on his own words. Mr. Kuhlmann used his hands to emphasize or stress a particular word. He got his audience into it by giving a demonstration with the football players by having them draw a special talent on a ceramic tile that was unique to them and then they smashed the tiles to show that nothing of ours has any significance if we don't our Lord. I personally think Mr. Kuhlmann is one of the best chapel leaders because he keeps my attention and always has a way of making chapel a fun experience. Mr. Kuhlmann did an excellent job leading chapel.

wiki 1 - 20/20- good entry! I like how you saw both the negatives and Positives of his presentation.  

10/09/09

     On Monday morning Pastor Arle lead the chapel service. I believe he did an overall well job, I could tell he had done many church services and he knew what he was talking about. He gave plenty of eye contact to the audience, and he didn't seem at all nervous unlike I would have been. He was wearing a suit and tie and he looked appropriately dressed for the occasion. He had a way of using words that hepled relate to us high school students. Throughout his speech he seemed very organized and never froze in the middle of a sentence.

     Pastor Arle also had some downfalls in his service. He spoke very softly and sometimes it was hard to hear him. He also didn't move around very much and he didn't gesture at all. Sometimes he emphasized the wrong letter in words so I thought he said it completely wrong. He did do a good job but the quality of his was sometimes boring and I felt myself falling away from the service. In the beginning and end of his service he dropped the microphone from his hip and it got me off focus of the fact that it was chapel. Although he didn't do everything perfectly, I still believe he did a good job overall.

Turbulence

It was 2:41 on that Friday afternoon, there was only nineteen minutes left. Only nineteen minutes until his dad picked him up from school. The eighth grader was practically dancing in his seat; he could hardly control his excitement. He was waiting for this day for weeks, the opening day of Pheasant season. Just he and his dad spending all weekend together.

At 3 o’clock the bell rang and he went to meet his father in the office. “Hey Jack,” his dad Sean yelled. “How was school?” “So long,” Jack responded. “All I could think about all day was how much fun we’re going to have this weekend.”

Jack ran to the car after leaving the office, his father was close behind him. When Jack opened the car door he was met with three sloppy kisses from their bird dog, Gunner. “Hey bud,” Jack said, “are you ready for the trip?”

As Jack, his father, and Gunner left the school parking lot; they headed to the small local airport where Sean’s airplane was kept. “How long is the flight going to take again dad,” Jack asked. “Oh it’s about an hour and a half flight to the airport in Iowa, but we’re going to have to book it because the weatherman said a strong storm is supposed to hit there in about two and a half hours.” “Oh great,” Jack said, you know how much I hate bumpy flights.”

When they arrived at the hangar Jack and his dad popped out of the car and began to lift the hangar door. Jack started wiping the small plane down and got Gunner’s crate locked into the back of the compartment area. His father went through the check ride and made sure the plane was ready for the flight. After about twenty minutes of preparation they began to taxi to the runway and Jack secured himself for takeoff. He knew how great of a pilot his father was but he was still nervous for the ride. Jack had always been scared of flying so he just wanted to get the flight over with. “All right bud, are you ready?” His dad asked. Jack nodded with a very nervous look on his face.

As Sean took the plane off the runway and into the air, they soared to an altitude of nine thousand feet. When the plane leveled off, he put it on autopilot so he and Jack could have a good talk. They talked about the plans to get up early and go hunting and then at night they would set up the tent, have a bonfire, and cook the game they were hoping to get. They always had a bet on which person would get the most birds, but his dad always won. As they continued their discussion, Jack’s dad could start to see his son relax and enjoy the flight. He was looking all around and didn’t look a bit nervous. All was going well until more than halfway through the flight; Sean saw a pitch-black cloud ahead. “Uh oh,” he said, “I think the storm is moving faster than the meteorologists predicted, I believe it’s already here.” Jack whimpered in fear as his dad told him that they were going to have to fly through the storm because there was no time to turn around. They had to make it to Iowa before sunset because there was not enough fuel to make it all the way back home to Tennessee.

So as Sean took the aircraft off autopilot, he flew directly into the menacing storm. A few minutes before entering the clouds, there were some small bumps and shakes, but soon those small bumps turned into giant downbursts. Jack was terrified and Gunner was whimpering in fear. Jack could see his dad was in complete concentration and wasn’t even hearing his cry of terror. There was lightning everywhere and it became so dark and foggy that they couldn’t even see the tips of the wings. “We need to turn back,” Jack yelled. But his dad knew the dangers of turning in such turbulent weather could be deadly. All of a sudden, the airplane was hit by an enormous downdraft and they dropped two hundred feet in a matter of seconds. Jack could feel his stomach push up into his chest. He was so terrified that he couldn’t even make a sound. Their luggage and camping supplies flew all across the cockpit, hitting both Sean and Jack in the process.

Sean had no idea what their altitude was or which direction they were heading but he did know that they were in serious trouble. The winds must have gusted over one hundred miles per hour, and rain was hitting the windshield like hail. In a desperate attempt to gain control of the situation, he lifted the nose up and prayed for a miracle. Because he had no idea how high they had gotten, the temperatures began to plummet and the rain on the aircraft suddenly began to freeze. The rough icing over the wings caused the plane to loose it’s lift and it slowly began to descend. After almost sixty seconds of descent and no control, Sean saw a ray of hope. He saw blue sky and no clouds. Once the airplane got to a low enough altitude, the air warmed and the wings started to thaw. He finally regained control of the airplane.

When Sean began to breath again he looked over to see if his son was okay. He had never seen Jack’s face look that joyful. He was so pleased to see that they were alive. “That was terrifying,” Sean said. “I cant believe it got that bad that fast.”

After flying in complete silence for another ten minutes Sean spotted the airport. He dropped the landing gear and made a smooth and cautious landing. Both Jack and his father jumped out of the plane and hugged each other for the longest time. They fished their luggage and exhausted dog out of the plane, and rejoiced in the fact that they were safe and sound.

After the weekend had passed, Jack and his father looked back to see how lucky they were to be alive. They would remember that trip not as an ordinary hunting trip but as the most terrifying but greatest adventure either of them had ever had.

wiki 5 - loved your comments  - esp. about New Kid!

9-16-2009

Would YOU want to live in a family that kept "secrets" from one another the way the Hawley family did?

     I would not want to live in a family that kept secrets from one another like the Hawley family. I would want to know if I were dieing. If one of my parents were dieing I think it would only be right to let them know, it would be so hard for me to act normally around them. It would not be fair to hide such a terrible thing from somebody, they need to know so they can live there life to the fullest so they dont have any regrets. If they didnt know then you couldnt say goodbye to them or tell them how much they really mean to you. I would not want to live in a family that kept secrets from one another like the Hawley family did.

9-16-09

     This week in class we read The New Kid, and I can totally relate to what Marty has gone through. In my my life I have moved seven times and I have had to change schools many times. I have been to three elementary schools, two middle schools, and I came to Lutheran High from a public school so I didnt know anyone here. I have been the new kid in many occasions, I have had to make new friends many times as well. It was very difficult to make new friends right away. It was also difficult to leave my past friends from the other schools. So I know how Marty feels on being the new kid.

9-11-09

     This week on Tuesday you read the speech of Obama's. I wish we could have watched it in school but I am glad that you read it aloud. I am very pleased with president Obama's speech, and I'm glad he did it. I think the student's in America should know how important education is. They need to know that its not just there parents that make them go to school, but its our entire government, they need to know they will have a much easier and probably successful life if they go to school.

9-11-09

     This week I recieved my essay back that I did last week. I recieved a C,and I thought I did really well, in the future I would like to have you proof read it because  I was expecting an A.  I lost all of my points on grammar and punctuation. I messed up the way a dialogue is written. Before I turn in the next essay on Thursday I am going to give it to you to make sure the way I write it is correct. I am really trying to get a good grade in this class, so I just want to make sure you know that I am trying my hardest.

I would be happy to help you edit your next essay. (And I appreciate that you are giving the class your best efforts!)

Great job on wiki 3! glad you're enjoying the class.

9/03/09

     This week was the first essay we've done for English Symposium. Out of every literature class I have had in high school, this was the easiest and most enjoyable essay prompt I have had to do. i loved how we were given five essay prompts to choose from. For my essay, chose essay four, the sequel. I absolutely dread answering essay prompts about a story so I was happy I got to write a story of my own that concluded another story. I really enjoy coming up with ideas for stories, and getting to choose the outcome of an event. I really hope we will always have this many essay prompts to choose from. 

9-04-09

     Out of every story we have read this far in English Symposium, Sniper was my favorite. I like when there are surprise endings in stories, and Sniper had the all time surprise ending. Out of the entire story, I never expected the sniper's enemy to be his own brother. When I read the ending it took me completely by surprise. I was kind of suspicious when the sniper went across the street dodging enemy bullets just to see his enemy's face. I didnt know where the author was going to go, but I definately didnt expect the outcome that did happen. Sniper was a great story.

8/27/09

Good work on wiki 2!

     My favorite story we read this week was Sixteen. I thought it was interesting how the girls and guys had different perspectives on whether or not they were on a date. In my opinion I think it was rude that he never called her, but on the other hand I don't think he really needed to since they weren't on a for sure "date". I wish there was a sequel because I want to know the reason for why he never called back. If I were to write the sequel I would have made the guy come up with a really bad but funny excuse. I hope the rest of the stories in this book are as interesting as Sixteen.

There are several coming up that I think you'll enjoy!

8/27/09

     I thought the story Charles was very interesting. I never expected that Laurie was actually Charles, that caught me completely off guard. I don't understand why Laurie told his parents about all the things that he actually did. I suppose it was Laurie's way off confessing what he did without getting punished. I can't believe that Laurie had been that bad of a troublemaker for that long and the teacher never contacted his parent's about it. If I had been the teacher it would have only taken three days of trouble for me to have contacted them. Sixteen was such a great story because of the surprise ending.

08/21/09

     Mrs. Staude, so far I really enjoy English Symposium. This class is not like the other english classes i have taken before, usually all we do is read a story or book and then do a worksheet that tests us on if we read or not. I like how we get to act certain story events out. Doing hands on activities like that really helps me understand the story's meaning. I really enjoy these stories as well, they are pretty easy to understand, and their not boring non-fiction stories that i am used to. I think I will enjoy this class and i will work hard to try to do the best I can do.

08/21/09

Was Sammy a "winner" or a "loser" for making the choice he made in the story?

     I think Sammy was a loser for quitting his job just to look good in front of a girl. When his boss came up and told the girl that she had to get shoes on, Sammy did not have to act like a hero and stand up for the girl and quit his job. He probably wont ever see the girl again and now he has no job. Not only will he have to look for a new job but he has to confront his parents and explain his dumb actions. If I were Sammy I never would have stood up for the girl because its not like they are dating, she probably didn't even notice that his act of courage was even for her. I believe Sammy is a loser for making the choice he made in the story.

Good work on wk. 1 - Glad to hear your ideas about the stories and am glad you're finding the class interesting. Hopefully, it will continue to live up to your first impressions... I'll sure try! :-)