2008 Technology Applications Class

My Technology Applications Class at Peoria Notre Dame was very enjoyable. I will surely miss this class during the next semester while I am sitting in Speech class. We learned very much about how to use Macintosh computers and many of its applications. This very well might help me in future careers that may involve computers. These applications were also very interesting. They efficiently helped you display a song, movie, information, etc. very easily. Although the applications were complicated to use at times, things ran pretty smoothly as soon as you acquired some assistance from Mrs. Brown. It was probably only difficult because we are all accustomed to the regular Window's PCs. This class has given me more than one choice of a computer. In the future, I may decide whether I want to be a PC user or a Mactintosh user. Both of these systems have their excelled areas and poor areas.

My Creation!

Winter Scene

Winter

I do enjoy this time of year. Although I don't always disagree with the temperature around here in Central Illinois, it is pretty cool to see some snow around here. We all eventually get sick of it entering February, but that's why Christmas is found in December. Christmas is also one of the biggest reasons I like winter. All the gifts are very nice but it is also nice to see much of your family gathered around too. Winter is very nice, but I would rather prefer seeing a warm sunny spring day over a cold and wet winter one.

Newscast Project

This project was quite interesting. Although I feel that I was excluded at many times from my group, I still get the blame of "not contributing at all to the project." When I do attempt to help things out, all I obtain is "I've got it covered." Sebastian tries to take over the whole project and then I get blamed for "not doing anything." If I had my way, I probably would have created my own newscast. This was a very unsatisfactory project that I regret taking a part of.

I'm Thankful For...

The thing that I am most thankful for are my friends. They play an extremely important part throughout my everyday life and I do not know what I would do without them. Although sometimes they may seem a slight goofy, they are still pretty good friends. A small number of them mean very much to me. Some people say that friends are God's way of apologizing for family. Although this is not always true, it may seem like it at other times.

Obama Bush Political Cartoon

This is one of my favorite political cartoons. Many people disagree with Barack Obama becoming president, but can he really do a worse job than George W. Bush? Over the past eight years, Bush has become a joke and the target for many political cartoons, as displayed above. Let's all hope that Barack Obama does his best and prove to be a better president than his predecessor.

I commented on Kate Carroll's Invention post.

My Invention

My invention would have to be a transporter. I have no idea how I would achieve this. I also don't believe this will ever be possible. However, the idea of such a useful device is extremely satisfying. The days of asking for rides from your parents would no longer exist. However, you would also have no excuse for being late. It is still quite useful to be able to use a transporter to go anywhere to meet with friends or whatnot. One downside of this device would be that there would no longer be any practice of patience. Another downside would be that people might become sick of you if you have the freedom to go to be with them at all times. There would have to be an "allowing" feature to this transporter on the other side.

Inspirational Journey

This image is very inspirational to me. It displays a man that looks to his "journey of a thousand miles." He knows he cannot accomplish this unless he takes his first step. He realizes this will be a very difficult journey and that he must start if he wants to get anywhere. This image depicts dedication, perspiration, and refusing to give up. This can be applied to many people's lives. I, too, wish that I can accomplish something as magnificent as this man some day.

I commented on Kate Carroll's inspirational post.

Scary Movie Podcast

My scary movie podcast was based on the film, Pan's Labyrinth. Whereas most of the students chose to write about their favorite scary movie, I decided to write about my worst scary movie. I failed to think of a really good scary movie that I have seen completely throughout. I have recently watched Pan's Labyrinth early this Fall and decided to write about that. It was a horrible movie and does not deserve to be watched by anyone.
During the podcast that I made, I played a thunderstorm and rain sound effect in the background. The podcast's sound quality was not that good though. I was not able to be at a computer in a corner covered by the walls. Therefore, many students' conversations could be heard throughout my podcast. However, I still finished.

Pan's Labyrinth Trailer

Here it is, the worst horror movie that I have ever seen:



I commented on Evan Bryant's Braces blog post.

Valuable Lesson

An event that taught me a valuable lesson in my life is when I entered the doors of Peoria Notre Dame High School. Ever since that day, I have made numerous new friends.
I have learned that I must adapt to the ways of this particular high school environment. I have never experienced anything like it, due to having only a grade school education. Thanks to this new experience, I have learned that I must continually adapt to life as it continues. I am only experiencing my young years. The responsibility and difficulty will continue as I progress with age.

My 2008-2009 First Quarter Report Card

I feel fairly confident about my report card for the first quarter of my sophomore year here at Peoria Notre Dame High School. I believe that I have all A's except for Spanish II. This is extremely absurd, since I am getting better grades in three honor's classes. I truly believe that Spanish, taught by Mrs. Zidrich, is far too hard for the average student. It is evidential through the amount of students that switch out of the class every year. If only I had chosen a different language freshman year, I would no doubt be included in the top ten students at Peoria Notre Dame. I have come to hate Spanish. My report card will be ruined with a single B+ from Spanish. Thank you Mrs. Zidrich.

List of Things to Do before I Die

List of things to do before I die:

1. Travel the world with Kate
2. Master tennis & ping pong
3. Get abs, no more flabs!
4. Run 15 miles straight
5. Attend a FIFA World Cup championship between Brazil and etc.
6. Visit Australia and steal a joey
7. Go on the world's scariest roller coaster
8. Become wealthy
9. Play soccer with a burning soccer ball
10. Make something explode..."accidentally"
11. Start a family
12. Watch movies, possibly panda-ish for a whole weekend with my best friend
13. Make top ten in high school
14. Graduate college with a respectable degree
15. Attend the Super Bowl and not know who is playing
16. Build a huge sand castle at a public beach
17. Create an award-worthy video game
18. Contribute to search for new energy source
19. Go to a historical sight willingly
20. Go on a Zorb ride with my best friend

Peoria Logo

Since when has Peoria has a logo?! This is quite surprising to me as it never seemed Peoria was important enough to have its own logo. However, I do suppose it would be appropriate for the city to have a logo whilst many schools in it already have one. Although I do not know what the old logo looks like, I am glad that I may vote on Peoria's New Logo. I chose logo #8. Its simplicity appealed to me. Its bright colors also added to its overall appeal. My second choice was logo #2. It has a sun shine over the city by the river, which was quite artistic.

I commented on Kate Carroll's Halloween Costume blog

My Favorite Halloween Costume

I have not worn a Halloween costume since October of 2005. Of the many costumes that I have worn, several of them included Mikey from Monsters Inc., a robot, a ninja, and a grim reaper. My favorite costume would have to have been the grim reaper. This costume seems so fitting for halloween, being one of the best emblems of death. The mask also seemed quite scary, with a sick twist throughout its face. It's creepy smile would send chills down your spine.

Weekend 8/4-8/5

I had quite an enjoyable time this past weekend. Some of the activities I have experienced included a birthday party and a movie with a few of my close friends.



On Saturday, there was a birthday party for one of my Holy Family friends of whom the majority I spent nine years knowing at that school. The party included some games and a large campfire. One such "lap tag" game left many of the participants sore for at least two days. The girl who hosted the party was just about to turn sixteen and called for a "Holy Family Reunion." This party was one of the few times I have spent with many Holy Family alumni in quite a long time.




On Sunday, I watched a movie with three of my friends. We watched Eagle Eye. The action movie was quite a good pick and kept us interested throughout the whole plot. We decided that the "solution" to all the problems in the movie, being as easy to resolve as easy as it was to stick a machine, was quite ridiculous. However, the rest of the movie was quite enjoyable. I also truly enjoy the company of the friends who sat with me.

iPhoto Assignment

This week in our Technology Applications class, we have received an assignment that has instructed us to create a slide using the letters in our full name and additional slides displaying some things that we like or describe us. My whole name altogether comes to 15 characters and I have five additional slides of the things that I like. These are random photos that I found online while searching on Google. The fifteen characters for my slide are J-O-H-N-N-Y T-A-Y-(-)-D-U-Y H-O. Some of the additional slides are a soccer ball crashing a building, Guitar Hero, and Kung Fu Panda. I have enjoyed this assignment as it gave me a chance to display my creativity im a unique way. I only have to look for a song at this point and then I will be ready to present it.

Homecoming Newsletter Thoughts Part II

I have finally finished my article on the Homecoming Dance '08. I started on Monday and finished on Wednesday. The dance itself was not that bad. In my article, I talked about the types of songs played at the dance and the new rule regarding the dance styles. There was to be no grinding at the dance. However, many students neglected this rule and continued with their normal ways. In my article, I had a two pictures with many sophomores that attended the Homecoming Dance '08. I really enjoyed this dance and made many great memories that evening. It was quite easy to lay my thoughts out on an article to contribute to a Homecoming newsletter.

Physical Development

The Peoria Notre Dame High School mission statements says:
"Peoria Notre Dame High School, a Roman Catholic High School under the Bishop of Peoria, provides a Catholic Secondary education for the young men and women of the Peoria area.The purpose of Peoria Notre Dame High School is to nurture the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical development of our students by:
Teaching the Catholic faith and leading students to be Disciples of Christ
Teaching the arts and sciences in a climate of academic inquiry"

Peoria Notre Dame High School offers many different ways to nurture our physical development. Gym class, which is offered only to freshmans and sophomores, keeps us in shape. The sports available here are responsible for much of the physical development, too. There are many sports for any student to choose. These include soccer, football, basketball, baseball, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, golf, cross country, and track. Personally, I run track during the Spring seasons.

Homecoming Newsletter Thoughts

The Peoria Notre Dame High School Homecoming is only two days away. In our Technology Applications class, we have decided to have a project dedicated to the carnival-themed 2008 Homecoming. The students have all paired up with two others to create a newsletter. Each will construct his or her own article of no less than 100 words. For the title page, all three of the students will collaborate to create an interesting front. My two partners are Sebastian Von Zerneck and Dominick Leali. We have decided on the format for the title page already. Sebastian and Dominick will finish their articles sometime this week. I will wait until Monday to write mine in our class because my article will be about the Homecoming Dance. I have also heard that the best newsletter will be used in the next issue of Acclaim so I will do my best and hope that my group will be selected for this honor.

Intellectual Development

The Peoria Notre Dame High School mission statements says:
"Peoria Notre Dame High School, a Roman Catholic High School under the Bishop of Peoria, provides a Catholic Secondary education for the young men and women of the Peoria area.The purpose of Peoria Notre Dame High School is to nurture the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical development of our students by:
Teaching the Catholic faith and leading students to be Disciples of Christ Teaching the arts and sciences in a climate of academic inquiry"

Peoria Notre Dame High School has many things to offer to the student. One of those offers includes nurturing our intellectual development. This is especially effective through the teachers at Peoria Notre Dame. There are a wide variety of teachers at this school, but they each contribute to the students' intellectual devlopment by instructing in the area they teach.

Saint Powerpoint

I have chosen Saint Stephen for my assignment. I chose him because the fact that he was the first Christian martyr appealed to me. This activity has helped me learn more about Saint Stephen by researching for this assignment. I have put together six informational slides that include several interesting facts. I will present my findings on Friday.

Emotional Development

The Peoria Notre Dame High School mission statements says:

"Peoria Notre Dame High School, a Roman Catholic High School under the Bishop of Peoria, provides a Catholic Secondary education for the young men and women of the Peoria area.The purpose of Peoria Notre Dame High School is to nurture the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical development of our students by:
Teaching the Catholic faith and leading students to be Disciples of Christ Teaching the arts and sciences in a climate of academic inquiry"

I believe that through the advantages that Peoria Notre Dame High School offers, I will be able to grow emotionally. I will mature at a faster rate and handle my daily situations with a better attitude. By reacting to those around me, I will understand how to develop emotionally.

Storyboard

The storyboard is quite an interesting assignment. The fact that you get to choose a song just enhances the enjoyment of the assignment. I initially chose "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World, but one of my fellow classmates suddenly suggested that I make my storyboard with the song "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas. I thought that this would be a great and humorous song. So far, I believe it will be quite worth watching. I cannot wait until we get to animate them. That will be very fun.

Notre Dame Mission Statement

The Peoria Notre Dame High School mission statements says:

"Peoria Notre Dame High School, a Roman Catholic High School under the Bishop of Peoria, provides a Catholic Secondary education for the young men and women of the Peoria area.
The purpose of Peoria Notre Dame High School is to nurture the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical development of our students by:
Teaching the Catholic faith and leading students to be Disciples of
Christ
Teaching the arts and sciences in a climate of academic inquiry"

I am overjoyed that I have the privilege of attending a Catholic high school. Few people across the world have this privilege. I am learning the academic studies while also continuing in my path as a Disciple of Christ. With the knowledge and faith that the faculty at Peoria Notre Dame High School offers and nourishes, I believe that I will be a respectable human and servant to God within my community.

PND's new Introduction to Technology Class

This class is quite interesting. The new technology used by the school is pretty cool. I've never used a modern Macintosh computer machine. It seems to address many of the problems that Windows has and fixes it. It also has plenty of interesting applications not found in Windows. The assignments also seem simple enough with the right amount of challenge.
It is quite fun to be the guinea pigs of this class.