Mrs. Oxton was the director of the Cantabile girls Choir when I first met her. I was in Choristers, a younger kids’ version of Cantabile, and the choir had come to my school. I was excited because my friend’s sister was in Cantabile. Then when they started singing, it got really quiet, and we actually listened.
Mrs. Oxton started Cantabile fourteen years ago. She directed the choir for thirteen years before retiring last year. In 2008, Mrs. Oxton was asked to bring Cantabile to Europe for the world premiere of To be Certain of the Dawn, a holocaust oratorio.
Mrs. Oxton is an extremely hard working woman, and as I said before, she started and ran the choir for thirteen years. She is wise, thinking of new ways to teach people, about singing, culture, and history. She is also very kind, I never remember her yelling or raising her voice at anyone, and she loved bringing her grandchild to practices to show off her hula-hooping skills.
I am so glad that I met Mrs. Oxton, and I ‘m sorry that she doesn’t direct Cantabile anymore. She inspired me to be hardworking, caring, and to want to try to start something that would impact other people as much as she and cantabile impacted me.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Spelling Bee :D
Spelling Bee
North Junior High held its annual spelling bee on Tuesday, January 12 th . Eighteen seventh and eighth grade participants competed for the top five positions. These five finalists will compete at the district spelling bee at South Junior High on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 at 5:00. Participants included Marie Julstrom, Nora Haltrom, Tessa Erickson-Thoemke, Cory Jarred, Megan Brannan, Jacob Hanson, Ryan Mercurio, Colin Jaede, Fardowsa Mohamed, Haley Rangel, Jacob Sop, Nate Pierskalla, Anthony Wells, Nick Williams, Jim Hasselbrink, Katie Schleper, Kaity O'Hara, Leah Neff and Julia Schlough. Clinching first place was eighth grader Jacob Sop. Second place was Leah Neff. Katie Schleper came in third. And fourth and fifth place was given to Julia Schlough and Nick Williams respectively. Good Luck at South! The Junior High District Spelling Bee was held at South on Monday Feburary 1st. North's Julia Schlough took 1st place that day. Great job Julia and the rest of North's contestants!
North Junior High held its annual spelling bee on Tuesday, January 12 th . Eighteen seventh and eighth grade participants competed for the top five positions. These five finalists will compete at the district spelling bee at South Junior High on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 at 5:00. Participants included Marie Julstrom, Nora Haltrom, Tessa Erickson-Thoemke, Cory Jarred, Megan Brannan, Jacob Hanson, Ryan Mercurio, Colin Jaede, Fardowsa Mohamed, Haley Rangel, Jacob Sop, Nate Pierskalla, Anthony Wells, Nick Williams, Jim Hasselbrink, Katie Schleper, Kaity O'Hara, Leah Neff and Julia Schlough. Clinching first place was eighth grader Jacob Sop. Second place was Leah Neff. Katie Schleper came in third. And fourth and fifth place was given to Julia Schlough and Nick Williams respectively. Good Luck at South! The Junior High District Spelling Bee was held at South on Monday Feburary 1st. North's Julia Schlough took 1st place that day. Great job Julia and the rest of North's contestants!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The House on the Gulf II
After Brit meets Mrs. Stuldy, the Marquis’ neighbor, she thinks that it’s weird that Bran lugged stuff outside. Mrs. Stuldy had said that the heat and humidity would rot it through by the end of the summer. Moreover, Bran had lied about going to work the previous Saturday. He had been lugging boxes out to the storage shed.
Brit starts wondering why Bran hid the boxes a week ago. Why didn’t he tell their mom what he was doing? Was Mrs. Stuldy suspicious, despite being so kind? What if she decided to call the police after all? Moreover, why was Bran so defensive about the boxes in the shed?
Bran moves the boxes into his room, and Brit plans to look at them, but Bran put in a new doorknob that locks. Brit noticed that Bran had been hiding the mail, so when she gets the mail one day, it’s addressed to John Marcus, not Marquis. Brit confronts her mom, who says she’s being paranoid. Brit ignores her and goes to do the wash, where she finds Bran’s keys.
When she finally looks in the boxes, she discovers not valuables, but sentimental. She finds old Afghans and monopoly boars, but remembers the new sorry games on the shelves and stiff new sheets she slept on. She also found a photo album reading Marcus Family Memories, Not Marquis like the name Bran had carefully spelled out, but Marcus.
After finding all of this, Brit has her confirmation that Bran lied. She discovers that Bran thinks that the Marcuses are her mother’s parents, the ones that disowned her. The Marcuses don’t know that bran is staying at their house, and their mother finally realizes that when Mr. Marcus, not their grandpa, bursts through the door.
I think that Bran should’ve checked to make sure that the Marcuses were the ones he thought they were. I also think that even if the Marcuses had been Brit and Bran’s grandparents, he shouldn’t have done what he did. Bran probably thought that he was just getting fair for his mom’s pain, but he didn’t do it legally or morally.
Brit starts wondering why Bran hid the boxes a week ago. Why didn’t he tell their mom what he was doing? Was Mrs. Stuldy suspicious, despite being so kind? What if she decided to call the police after all? Moreover, why was Bran so defensive about the boxes in the shed?
Bran moves the boxes into his room, and Brit plans to look at them, but Bran put in a new doorknob that locks. Brit noticed that Bran had been hiding the mail, so when she gets the mail one day, it’s addressed to John Marcus, not Marquis. Brit confronts her mom, who says she’s being paranoid. Brit ignores her and goes to do the wash, where she finds Bran’s keys.
When she finally looks in the boxes, she discovers not valuables, but sentimental. She finds old Afghans and monopoly boars, but remembers the new sorry games on the shelves and stiff new sheets she slept on. She also found a photo album reading Marcus Family Memories, Not Marquis like the name Bran had carefully spelled out, but Marcus.
After finding all of this, Brit has her confirmation that Bran lied. She discovers that Bran thinks that the Marcuses are her mother’s parents, the ones that disowned her. The Marcuses don’t know that bran is staying at their house, and their mother finally realizes that when Mr. Marcus, not their grandpa, bursts through the door.
I think that Bran should’ve checked to make sure that the Marcuses were the ones he thought they were. I also think that even if the Marcuses had been Brit and Bran’s grandparents, he shouldn’t have done what he did. Bran probably thought that he was just getting fair for his mom’s pain, but he didn’t do it legally or morally.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Book Report One
I read The House on the Gulf by Margaret Peterson Haddix. It’s about this boy, Brandon (a.k.a. Bran), who lives on Florida. He lives with his mom and sister, Brittany (a.k.a. Brit). They live in an awful part of town where no one leaves their doors unlocked. Brian gets a job mowing lawns for the Marquises. When the (elderly) couple decides to go north for the summer, they offer Bran a job house-sitting. Brian and his family get to move into the couple’s house for the summer, and Brian gets paid for mowing and keeping the house from getting robbed.
When Brit meets Mr. Marquis she realizes that Brian is acting weird. He makes Brit go wait in the front yard while he talks to Mr. Marquis about the details for the summer. Bran’s mom is thrilled that Bran got this opportunity, because then she can finally get the credits she needs to be a doctor. She had been trying to get her degree for over thirteen years, but only had enough credits to be a sophomore.
After they move into the Marquises’, Bran immediately starts taking any “breakables” including pictures, porcelain cats, PLASTIC dishes, quilts, and silverware. Bran also refuses to let them touch the thermostat. Brit thinks that something’s wrong, but she doesn’t know what. Whenever she complains, her mom shushes her and tells her to be grateful for the opportunity that Bran provided.
When Brit meets Mr. Marquis she realizes that Brian is acting weird. He makes Brit go wait in the front yard while he talks to Mr. Marquis about the details for the summer. Bran’s mom is thrilled that Bran got this opportunity, because then she can finally get the credits she needs to be a doctor. She had been trying to get her degree for over thirteen years, but only had enough credits to be a sophomore.
After they move into the Marquises’, Bran immediately starts taking any “breakables” including pictures, porcelain cats, PLASTIC dishes, quilts, and silverware. Bran also refuses to let them touch the thermostat. Brit thinks that something’s wrong, but she doesn’t know what. Whenever she complains, her mom shushes her and tells her to be grateful for the opportunity that Bran provided.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Memoir
This summer I went to the Minnesota State Fair to see Kelly Clarkson with my friends Jordan and Sara. We went on Sunday, August 30th in the morning. Chloe and my dad went too. My dad drove us down to the cities, where we found a park-and-ride. We rode a bus to the fairgrounds and started meandering around. Soon we ran into Kara, one of Jordan’s and my friends. Kara is hard to miss, since she towers over just about everyone else.
After we saw Kara, we continued wandering around. We walked into the Grandstand and looked at all the fishing rods, faucets, cabinets, and quilts. We stopped by the Schmitt Music “stand” and played the pianos, staying out of actual customers’ ways and making sure not to spill our lemonade and donuts on them. As we left, the pianos stared back longingly, wishing for a home.
We floated around for a while before stopping at a shop that was selling carved gems and stones. Jordan bought a worry stone, and I bought a mini amethyst bear and spinner necklace. We kept on walking, munching on our donuts, and hopped on a trolley.
We passed radio stations, dog shows, and spinning monkeys before seeing the Giant Slide. We bought tickets and rushed to the top, finding spots next to each other so that we could race down. With me in the middle, Jordan on my right and Sara on my left, we swooshed down and slid to a stop. Jordan had finished first, but said she only did so because of the amazingly hard push that she got from the slide starter-people.
After Jordan’s near-whiplashing, we wandered around before seeing the sky-ride. Sara ran to the end of the line, with Jordan and me at her tail. We were behind some weird wanna-be something teenagers, and waited. As we slowly crept up the hill, we called Aria and laughed when she hung up the first time we called. We called her back and talked until we got to the front of the line. Jordan slinked into the sky ride first, then me, then Sara. We waited until the door closed, then watched as the fair passed below our feet.
I was the first to see the electronic sign on the Grandstand proclaiming that Kelly Clarkson was sick. Sara and Jordan immediately thought I was lying (which I WASN’T!) and waited for the tree blocking our view to get out of the way. “No way. This can NOT be happening” grumbled Jordan. The sky ride made the loop and rounded back to our stop, and we jumped off and ran to tell my dad and Chloe, who were waiting nearby.
After we told them, we found out that Eric Hutchinson would still be performing for ticket holders (for free), so we decided to kill the hours that we had left. Sara suggested that we go to the horse barn and look at all the show horses. As we walked past, we stared at the show horses, occasionally coming to one that was social enough to let us pet them. Sara took dozens of photos of them, including the horses that tried to bite us.
The horses only kept us occupied for so long, so we decided to go to the barns with all the cute little animals. As we walked up to the door, we narrowly avoided getting run over by cows, tractors, trucks, and trailers and safely stepped on the sidewalk. Apparently not getting run over by an angry cow wasn’t enough for one guy, because he decided to go stick a dollar in the cow’s poop to see if anyone picked it up (someone did). We looked at all the calves, miniature horses, pigs, and sheep before washing our hands and getting milkshakes.
After the barn we still had about an hour until Eric Hutchinson performed, so we ate and walked around some more. Some random lady walking by dropped some of her tickets for the Midway, but we couldn’t get them back to her so we decided, eh… why not?, and used the tickets. We went on the Scrambler a couple of times, and decided that we were the favorites of the guy operating the ride.
We finally got to the concert and saw Eric Hutchinson perform. He was a little dorkier looking than we thought he would be, but he was awesome. We had seats up in the back, and even with the giant screens, had a little trouble seeing him. It all turned out fine; because apparently not all Kelly Clarkson fans are Eric Hutchinson fans. Half of the stadium was empty, and we were invited to come down. The three of us ended up with seats in the fifth row and started screaming our heads off. We didn’t start screaming necessarily because we knew the songs (because we didn’t) but because we were trying to lose our voices (which we didn’t).
It was so much fun and I hope I can go again next year!
After we saw Kara, we continued wandering around. We walked into the Grandstand and looked at all the fishing rods, faucets, cabinets, and quilts. We stopped by the Schmitt Music “stand” and played the pianos, staying out of actual customers’ ways and making sure not to spill our lemonade and donuts on them. As we left, the pianos stared back longingly, wishing for a home.
We floated around for a while before stopping at a shop that was selling carved gems and stones. Jordan bought a worry stone, and I bought a mini amethyst bear and spinner necklace. We kept on walking, munching on our donuts, and hopped on a trolley.
We passed radio stations, dog shows, and spinning monkeys before seeing the Giant Slide. We bought tickets and rushed to the top, finding spots next to each other so that we could race down. With me in the middle, Jordan on my right and Sara on my left, we swooshed down and slid to a stop. Jordan had finished first, but said she only did so because of the amazingly hard push that she got from the slide starter-people.
After Jordan’s near-whiplashing, we wandered around before seeing the sky-ride. Sara ran to the end of the line, with Jordan and me at her tail. We were behind some weird wanna-be something teenagers, and waited. As we slowly crept up the hill, we called Aria and laughed when she hung up the first time we called. We called her back and talked until we got to the front of the line. Jordan slinked into the sky ride first, then me, then Sara. We waited until the door closed, then watched as the fair passed below our feet.
I was the first to see the electronic sign on the Grandstand proclaiming that Kelly Clarkson was sick. Sara and Jordan immediately thought I was lying (which I WASN’T!) and waited for the tree blocking our view to get out of the way. “No way. This can NOT be happening” grumbled Jordan. The sky ride made the loop and rounded back to our stop, and we jumped off and ran to tell my dad and Chloe, who were waiting nearby.
After we told them, we found out that Eric Hutchinson would still be performing for ticket holders (for free), so we decided to kill the hours that we had left. Sara suggested that we go to the horse barn and look at all the show horses. As we walked past, we stared at the show horses, occasionally coming to one that was social enough to let us pet them. Sara took dozens of photos of them, including the horses that tried to bite us.
The horses only kept us occupied for so long, so we decided to go to the barns with all the cute little animals. As we walked up to the door, we narrowly avoided getting run over by cows, tractors, trucks, and trailers and safely stepped on the sidewalk. Apparently not getting run over by an angry cow wasn’t enough for one guy, because he decided to go stick a dollar in the cow’s poop to see if anyone picked it up (someone did). We looked at all the calves, miniature horses, pigs, and sheep before washing our hands and getting milkshakes.
After the barn we still had about an hour until Eric Hutchinson performed, so we ate and walked around some more. Some random lady walking by dropped some of her tickets for the Midway, but we couldn’t get them back to her so we decided, eh… why not?, and used the tickets. We went on the Scrambler a couple of times, and decided that we were the favorites of the guy operating the ride.
We finally got to the concert and saw Eric Hutchinson perform. He was a little dorkier looking than we thought he would be, but he was awesome. We had seats up in the back, and even with the giant screens, had a little trouble seeing him. It all turned out fine; because apparently not all Kelly Clarkson fans are Eric Hutchinson fans. Half of the stadium was empty, and we were invited to come down. The three of us ended up with seats in the fifth row and started screaming our heads off. We didn’t start screaming necessarily because we knew the songs (because we didn’t) but because we were trying to lose our voices (which we didn’t).
It was so much fun and I hope I can go again next year!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
So B. It
I’m reading So B. It, by Sarah Weeks. The main character’s name is Heidi and she lives with her mother and Bernadette. Bernadette is Heidi’s neighbor, technically, but Bernadette takes care of Heidi because her mother is unable to. Heidi’s mom is So B. It. She has this name because when Bernadette (or Bernie or Dette) asked her what her name was, she just kept saying, “So be it.”, and so Bernie changed it into a real name.
I think that I am like Heidi because we both have a lucky streak, though mine is not nearly as good as hers is. She uses hers for slots because her mother cannot work and Bernie only has so much money. Bernie also has agoraphobia*, so she couldn’t do the slots instead of Heidi. We both are mistaken as older than we are quite frequently. Heidi and I are also both kind of thickheaded with what we want, but I would not go to the lengths that she did such as when she wanted to know what the mysterious soof is that her mother occasionally mentions. Heidi buys a bus ticket to Liberty, New York, which is a place where she saw a picture of her mother and possibly her grandmother.
I think that everyone has a Bernadette in their life. Dette is an awesome person who does everything she can to help people. She is patient, kind, and a great role model. Dette has some humorous sayings that may not make sense to people, but you get the general idea, and it’s always supportive. Dette also is a bit of a cat person, but I think that there’s a little bit of one in all of us. ;)
* In Bernie’s case of agoraphobia, she is afraid to go outside at all. Period. End of story. Agoraphobia is defined as the fear of being somewhere that help might not be available. For many people with agoraphobia places like bridges, large crowds, and/or of being outside alone may scare them.
I think that I am like Heidi because we both have a lucky streak, though mine is not nearly as good as hers is. She uses hers for slots because her mother cannot work and Bernie only has so much money. Bernie also has agoraphobia*, so she couldn’t do the slots instead of Heidi. We both are mistaken as older than we are quite frequently. Heidi and I are also both kind of thickheaded with what we want, but I would not go to the lengths that she did such as when she wanted to know what the mysterious soof is that her mother occasionally mentions. Heidi buys a bus ticket to Liberty, New York, which is a place where she saw a picture of her mother and possibly her grandmother.
I think that everyone has a Bernadette in their life. Dette is an awesome person who does everything she can to help people. She is patient, kind, and a great role model. Dette has some humorous sayings that may not make sense to people, but you get the general idea, and it’s always supportive. Dette also is a bit of a cat person, but I think that there’s a little bit of one in all of us. ;)
* In Bernie’s case of agoraphobia, she is afraid to go outside at all. Period. End of story. Agoraphobia is defined as the fear of being somewhere that help might not be available. For many people with agoraphobia places like bridges, large crowds, and/or of being outside alone may scare them.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
About ME!
Hello people. This is my FIRST entry!!! Some info about me:
Hi! I'm Julia I am on the Apollo Swim & Dive team. My favorite events are the 200 medley relay, the 50 free ( I wish there was a 25, but that race is nonexistent) 500 free and the 200 free relay. Most people think that I'm crazy for liking the 500, but if I do a 500 it means that I don't have to do a 100 free. (Haha!)
My favorite color is purple, and my second favorite color is green!! I love Snickers Blizzards and those green and blue Envy drinks that you can get at the cafeteria. I can play viola, piano, ukelele, and recorder.
I intensely dislike brussel sprouts and think that they should be outlawed. If you've ever eaten them, I'm so very sorry. I also dislike running, which is unfortunate because we have to run the mile test in P.E. tomorrow. Ew.
I love chocolate, swimming, reading, and listening to music (not necessarily in that order). My favorite kind of chocolate is when it's covering Snickers and is frozen. I usually freeze Snickers so that my mom doesn't steal them (because I'm nice like that). So.... That's about it for my "introduction". And I also love Life Savers, except for that time I choked on one....
Hi! I'm Julia I am on the Apollo Swim & Dive team. My favorite events are the 200 medley relay, the 50 free ( I wish there was a 25, but that race is nonexistent) 500 free and the 200 free relay. Most people think that I'm crazy for liking the 500, but if I do a 500 it means that I don't have to do a 100 free. (Haha!)
My favorite color is purple, and my second favorite color is green!! I love Snickers Blizzards and those green and blue Envy drinks that you can get at the cafeteria. I can play viola, piano, ukelele, and recorder.
I intensely dislike brussel sprouts and think that they should be outlawed. If you've ever eaten them, I'm so very sorry. I also dislike running, which is unfortunate because we have to run the mile test in P.E. tomorrow. Ew.
I love chocolate, swimming, reading, and listening to music (not necessarily in that order). My favorite kind of chocolate is when it's covering Snickers and is frozen. I usually freeze Snickers so that my mom doesn't steal them (because I'm nice like that). So.... That's about it for my "introduction". And I also love Life Savers, except for that time I choked on one....
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