Belly Dancing Reflection

From my experience I believe a fusion is a mix of two objects. In this case, it is a mix of two dances that have aspects that work well together. In this case we did a fusion of Hip Hop and Belly Dancing which included facets from both dances. I really liked this dance because it required a lot of hip movement and it was a lot of fun to do. I think because we did the hip movements it did create an Arabic feel to it. I didn't like how there was no hand movements that we practiced. I think if the teacher would have included more of the Mediterranean hand movements it would have made it much better. It would overall look more polished. The part of the song that I didn't like that much was the towards the end when you go down and then put your hands up. I don't think that made it look better at all and I believe there were other things that could've been included there. I really liked the part of the dance where we would turn and immediately put our elbows to our heads because I think that looked very good. It had both a belly dancing and hip hop feel to it and I would love to use it in my own choreography. I found many differences in this dance that were different in our other dances. For example, when we did our Hip Hop unit I think it was a little more depending on the exact steps. In the Belly/Hip fusion it was more dependant on the movement you did with your body rather than just in your feet. Another difference that I found was that in this dance your hands were constantly moving when in the other units (ie. English Ballroom Dancing) where our hands were kept on our sides. Another change that I noticed was the fact that our dance could be portrayed with only one person, when in other dances that we have done, for example the Wizard of Oz, our group dances, were all with multiple people that worked together to create a dance.  Overall, I really liked this fusion of dance and how it worked together and I think it was much different from all of the other dances we have done.

Lyric Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3rgqNBz0M4&feature=share&list=PLyYEYDZM6caILdaH3zvijHoiLInU5m_2b&index=3

For my Stepping up to the Stage class we had to pick a song that we like and preform it. The only catch was that we couldn't sing it, but instead we had to preform it like a poem or monologue. We also had to use our body to portray most of the words sang in the lyrics. Furthermore, we had to change our tone at least three times in the song. Another thing that also made it difficult was the fact that we had to say it in a perspective different than the actual song.

I think my speech went fairly well. I did all the movements I wanted to and more. For example there were some parts that I just decided to add a movement. I also changed my voice three times which I thought was very good since I thought I would struggle with that. Also we were required to have a prop or use something in the room and  I completed this task. I pointed to the windows which I thought was a good idea. One thing that I would like to change was the fact that sometimes I read the lyrics in the same rhythm, therefore making it boring. I would really like to break that habit because it doesn't sound proffesional and it makes it seem like I'm nervous.

Overall, I think I did a good job of completing what was asked of me but I can still work on my rhythm.

Portuguese Artifact

             Portuguese Corrections

We have recently done a test in Portuguese. This test was about how to compare phrases using irregular and regular verbs. When we had first learned this lesson, I didn't know anything about it. I thought I wouldn't do well in the test, so I went after school to see if Ms. Rebello could teach me some easier ways to understand how to make these sentences. I stayed after school, and I think thats what helped me achieve the grade that I got. I received a 100% and I was very proud of myself. I think I really did a good job with this test. I think the core values that I achieved in this class were responsibility because I felt that I was very responsible when I went after school to see the teacher. I was very happy with my grade and I hope to achieve more grades like this. In the future, I will began this habit of going to see my teachers after school because it has really helped me in the past.

Core Values

I believe this year the core value that I excelled in was responsibility because of multiple things. For example, once I get an assignment I would do it that day, so that I would have time for the next day to do homework. I would never do that last year, and I would always leave things for the next day. I also think I also am doing better in responsibility because I have been studying a lot more for tests and spending my time more on academic things. On the other hand, I believe that this year I really need to improve on critical thinking because I always have trouble with that. I think its because I always memorize the facts but I never think ahead of those facts. Especially in science I need to work in it because on every test there is critical thinking needed in order to receive an A. Also this skill is required for High School, and if I acquire this skill now it will benefit me later. Overall, this year I think I improved on my responsibility, but I still need to work on my critical thinking.

Dance Video Reflections

1. I really liked this dance. It was very unique and very well thought out. I really liked how they would dance to the beat of the song. Once the song got faster, they would dance faster, and once the song slowed down they would dance slower. I really liked the outfits as well. I believe they really matched with the song that played. It was very appealing to see and I didn't want it to end. Also I liked how they were in sync the whole time of the dance. There wasn't one part where they missed a step. I believe we could use this in our dance class. We should learn how to tell a story with our dances.

After watching the video about the dance, I think I understood the story of the dance more. It was about a boy who was helping his sick mother through life. I really liked the dance a whole lot more that I know that there was a personal story behind it. It gave me goosebumps of how the boy was propping his mother up and always has her back.

2. This dance was a bit too creepy for my taste. I didn't really like the style of dance, and I didn't quite like the song either. Though, as the song went on, I liked the dance moves more and more. They were doing a lot of stunts that were in place, and I thought those were cool. There were some parts where they were in separate places all over the stage, and I also thought that was a way we could start using the stage. Also there the some parts that they were something together and in sync. Though it was a little strange, I still liked some of the stunts that they did.

The video before the dance didn't really change my impression, though it made me understand what was going on more. Now that I know that the guy was the bird and the girl was the flower, I now understand what was going on. I didn't like it anymore, though I understand what is going on more.

3. I really liked this dance. It had story to it which I really liked. It was about a women who really loved her husband, but her husband keeps on working. It was very cute and I really liked it. I thought it was very clever because it really went to the beat of the song and it worked well. When it got to the drums only, they followed the drums' beats. Also I really liked how it really showed how the girl loved this man so much, even through dance. It was very slow and romantic, yet it made me want to dance at the same time. I wish the dance could've gone on longer because I really liked it.

The video before the dance, didn't change my impressions. I already understood what was going on in the dance without needing to hear the video before. I still think it was very very good and I really liked it. It was very emotional, yet it had a sense that made you want to dance.

Overall, I think  liked the last one the most. It just gave me goosebumps becuse of the story it told. It had  a lot of passion in it, and I thought that was very good. I also liked how it was very in sync. I think I would like to do more dances with stories like this one because I really liked doing it with my inspiration dance as well. I really liked the whole genre of hip hope ebcause I used to do that type of dance when I was little. I think I would choose the second one as my second favorite because I also really liked the story of the sick mother and the son helping her through life. I also liked how it told a story and it was in fact a personal story. I think my least favorite was the second one. I didn't like it at all because I didn't really like the style of dance because it was dark. I would rather have something that was more passionate and showed a real personal story.

Pe and Soccer

Soccer is a hobby that I always love doing, ever since I was 3 years old. I have always done soccer, and it makes me very happy. Everytime I do soccer, all the stress goes away, and it just makes my day alot better. When I came to Brazil, I just knew that I would play soccer but not this much. It had been such a fun experience playing soccer in Brazil. I'm so glad that I have an opportunity to play this amazing sports among others.

For example, in PE class we are learning many new sports that I would have never thought of doing. I am doing sports such as tennis or handball and it has been such a great experience. For example I really like doing tennis but if I had not moved to Brazil then I would've never learned to love tennis this much.

This year I think I improved on with running and speed. I have found myself doing better in accelerating. For example when we did the unit of running I found that I could run a lot faster than I could in sixth grade. In fact,  I managed to be  in the high ability band of the rubric. I think that because I am/was doing more sports (Varsity soccer/ softball) I have learned to work harder and therefore run faster. Since I was little I was able to run for hours and hours, but never fast. I would never consider myself a fast runner, yet I could run for a long period of time. And since the eighth grade, I have really improved with my running abilities.

Math Reflection

This year we worked with a system called Acceleration Math. Acceleration Math helped us with our math skills online, at our own pace. If you didn't understand something accelerated math would provide methods and videos that help you. You would complete enough problems to show you understand the objectives and then they are put on a test. You can only print out a test if you have 5 objectives. The test is on paper and you cannot use anything on the internet to complete the tests. You can ask Mr. Swartz for help but you cannot ask the internet. Once you finish the test you scan it and see how much objectives you mastered. The maximum you can get is 5 objectives mastered, but sometimes you only get four.

As you can see I reached the goal of 35 objectives this semester. I am really proud because I finished these objectives in a span of two weeks. Usually its over the span of six, so I was far ahead everyone else. Because I finished acceleration math I understood some lessons before others did as well. I could also work on other subjects without thinking about accelerated math. I actually enjoyed accelerated math because it helped me understand math in a new level. It was also at my pace so it really helped if I wanted a challenge or if I didn't understand something. I actually prefer Acceleration Math over the traditional way because it suits your needs. If you are a better student then the others in class, you can learn more challenging subject, and if you are struggling with some lessons, it will go at the pace you want it.