Another AP World Story

It seems this class is the most fun, and it keeps me entertained...very entertained. A long time ago, my friend said that my teacher (which is also her teacher) never laughed. She also said that all she said that ALL she cares about is geography- of which I strongly disagree (with both). But, she she made a demonstration with her pretending to be at the chalkboard and pointing at something saying "Geography, geography, geography, and geography is why we have... Geography...." I was sitting in class the other day and that came back to me... I started laughing- good thing she didn't notice! Then, today, I was thinking about the INCREDIBLES movie, and noticed how she looked like, well, Edna, then I remembered the "Go fight, WIN!" and at that moment, she smiled. I laughed again. She doesn't actually look like Edna, that's a little harsh, I will draw her and you'll see! Happy Halloween!
~Rayanna~

Aww...maaaannnn....I've been "Boo-ed"

I haven't been the good kind of "boo-ed" like Boo and Sully in Monsters INC. Nooooooo. I have been Blog "Boo-ed." You know, I always STUNK at Tag when I was little... and now.... Actually, last year, we learned how to play Dutch Duck- Duck Goose, when we sit in four rows with the 1st person of each row sitting knee by knee. You say "Con" or some other word and con means go with the tagger, the other word means to run the other way around as the tagger, and the last one to sit is out. It's really fun... especially when you don't listen to the directions and purposly go the other way than what you call.... Anyways...

~Rayanna~

HOUSE!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!

I am extremely excited to report, we are getting PAVED! Yes, we paid our deposit yesterday, and we are getting our road paved by the end of November! Which means... we'll have to move again in like, 4 months!!!!! WOOO HOOO! After almost a year in waiting, we were wondering if we could wait(There have been very many jokes about taking a spoon/shovel and digging out are basement our selves over the last couple of months :D)! WHOO HOO! By the summer, we will be moved in, and settled, and happy, and not in a postage-stamp(apartment) and we will have an awesome PAINTING PARTY!! YAY YAY YAY!!! Whoo HOO!
~Rayanna~

AP Test Anxiety- OVER!

Well, in the days creeping up to my test day, I was freaking out! I even had PANIC ATTACKS!! Well, it was two weeks ago. The panic attacks quickly stopped- especially after I got my test back today! Each of the two sections were worth 50% of this unit exam grade. I got a 42/50 on the multiple choice and I got that part, then I carefully looked through that essay... I got a 6/9, which sounds bad, but the average was a 4.5/9! Together, I got an 80(out of 100)! And the average for the overall test was a 70! I was freaking out!!! I don't really know why I got panic attacks, I really haven't have them before, and I wasn't THAT freaked out! Weird, what your big pink brain can do to you....

Drawing....

Okay, so I am NOT talented in the artistic ability of drawing... well, at least not as talented as I would like to be. And of course, when I decide I want to draw something, I always start with the hardest thing- a person. But I have finally found a way to draw and hide my drawing insecurities! For example, I drew a person, with a pumpkin for a head, and the hands in the pockets of the pants! There is a fellow blogger who's art work I LOVE and I have always wanted to draw like a cartoonist, or a caricaturist. I am one of those people who doesn't believe in the "Take a picture, it'll last longer..." physic. I take the harder, rockier road, and draw it... it gives me a chance to put my personality into it.

~Rayanna~

Yay!

Today was the third day of the school year where I didn't have more than 3 homework questions! Now I am lazy, and I don't want to do those 3 questions! Good thing I have two study halls tomorrow... :~D

"With age, comes responsibility..." and all that JAZZ!

Now that I am getting older, I am learning new things(big surprise right?)! Like the quote above from Spiderman only not quite. More like, Monster's INC. when Randall calls Mike a 'cretant' and Mike says "First of all, it's 'Cretan,' if you're gonna threaten me, do it properly." A Cretan, are the people of the island Crete, which is below Athens. It is because of AP World, that I now fully understand this quote. There are many quotes in Hercules, which I hated when I was younger because I could not understand it, that I can know understand. (YAY!)

~Rayanna~

I have been 'friendship tagged.' Have you?

I can practically hear all of your jealousy. Okay so here are the questions so I can deserve this friendship award.

1. Do you have the same friends since childhood? The only reason I can answer this question is because people change in high school. NO WAY IN BEEEP!! One of my friends has branched out, one of my old friends has adopted questionable behavior, and another is just... well... different. But the good news is... I do have at least one fantastic friend who had stood by me, and one's all I need.

2. What do you value most about your friends? Their opinion and their lack of judgement on me.
3. Are your friends sounding boards? When I need them, most of them are there. I guess it's one of those "It'll come with age..." things!

4. What is your favorite activity to share with friends? Talk, act crazy, go to movies and go to lunch on the lake.

Another October Movie Review

I really haven't noticed how many movies I watch a month, until I started doing these movie reviews, and I don't usually do the movies I see on TV regularly. Anyway here's another one for this month!

This month's (2nd) Movie Review is... Nim's Island!

Originally, I had no interest in seeing this movie. I thought it was going to be a movie that kids 8 and under would love and never stop talking about (Like Finding Nemo which I love), but it actually wasn't, and I give this movie a 3 star rating.
Nim's Island is about a little girl, who lives with her father on a remote island in the middle of the ocean. Her father is a marine bioligist and how they even survive with his pay, I don't know. Nim loves to read books about a heroic, main character, and after something happens to her father, she calls on her favorite character for help. Then she figures out that her hero is just fiction and that the writer of her favorite books is a complete failure. See the movie to find out what happens!
~Rayanna~

Craigslist

Mom LOVES Craigslist! Craigslist is basically Ebay-without taxes. You post things you want to sell, and wait for responses, then you meet up with the person to exchange. It's really cool, we just bought a sectional for really cheap, but as a result, it gets smaller and smaller in this postage stamp we call an apartment. There is everything from jobs, to treadmills listed! The possibilities are endless of stuff you could find there!

Fantastic Friday

Wow, finally Friday! WOOO HOO! Ghost Whisperer is on tonight!

Happy Wednesday!

You know, I should probably be doing my CANNON news article, but I am procrasting. My article is about procrastination.... wow, I just realized the irony of that sentence. Wow. Okay, I have to work on that now!

Happy Columbus day!

I don't get why we even get today off, but we do. I was bored, all day, except when I was doing my homework. Today is also Paddington Bear's 50th birthday. Columbus discovered SOUTH America! Not North America! I like school, so this is torture for me every year, and it throws my whole week out of whack! What they should do, is take Columbus day, which is not a national holiday that is recognized by most companies as a reason to have a day off, and Veterans day, which is not recognized by most companies ethier, and make it one holiday observation day where everyone gets they day off. We could call it Columbus's Veterans day, or Paddington's Veterans day, or ColumVeterbusans day, or something!
~Rayanna~

October Movie Review *Never a spoiler*

This month's Movie Review is on Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I went to go see it today with my girlfriends and we had a great time (see post below). It has been rated #1 Comedy of the year and I would have to agree with top 10, not #1. My favorite movie so far has been Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I give this movie a 3 star rating.
For 10 minutes of the movie, they are in Beverly Hills, where they live, then for the entire rest of the movie, they are in a whole different country! There is a really big star who's dog is her baby, designer clothes, manicures, pedicures, massages, the whole nine yards. Then, the star can't take her baby with her on a far away business trip, so her niece is tricked into watching her, with a schedule full of dog birthday parties, and beauty appointments. Then in the other country, the dog gets lost. It is really pretty good, the music selection is PERFECT for the movie and is in all the right places. It's not a musical, but there is a lot of music. Pretty good movie all in all, not horrible(I don't think I have seen a horrible movie in forever!), not FANTASTIC(Like RV, Enchanted, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, etc.)
~Rayanna~

Birthday Party F.B.F.O.!

Okay, so every birthday, I have a party, a 'Girls' Night Out' if you will. F.B.F.O means For Best Friends Only- and I didn't make it up! Its usually only 3-5 girls who are my best friends. Although, it's never at night, but anyway, we usually go to lunch and movie. From the movie review above, you probably should know what movie! We picked up everyone, and had Wendy's lunch by Canandaigua Lake(one of my favorite places in Canandaigua), we talked, ate and played with the toys from the girls' lunches. We were done early, so we went to PETCO, and looked at the fish, and I picked out a really cute collar for Piper. We went to go see the movie, (see movie review above) and then we dropped them all off at their houses. It was a beautiful day and fun was had by all!
~Rayanna~

School Newspaper Article #1

Okay, so both Buddy and I are in the Newspaper club at our schools. We, at the high school, are apparently cursed at having the looonnngggeeessstt break between issues. To fix this, we are getting new ideas to write as soon as we fix our last story. Well I finished my first story; here it is.

Teacher Contract Negotiations

By Rayanna Chambers

Our teachers work under a contract between the school district and the teachers' union. The teachers' union is the Canandaigua Teachers Association (CTA). The teachers' contract determines many things, like how much a teacher gets paid for a salary, how long they have to work a day, salaries, absences and leaves, and how many classes they have to teach. Many adults from the district administrators, CTA (Canandaigua Teachers Association) negotiators, and sometimes members of the board of education get together with teachers to negotiate the next contract. However, the board of education doesn't get involved until the end when they have to approve everything. To gain some insight into this process, Mrs. Birx, the school's CTA leader helped with an interview.
"This has nothing to do with '10-year," Mrs. Birx said when she began. Negotiations for the year of the expiration date usually begin that Fall. The current contract ends on June 30th 2009. Most of the contracts last for three years, but they have been known to last for one. Since they have to start the process over again at the end of the contract, they negotiate it for as long as possible.
"The Teachers' number of hours of work a week is negotiable, but right now, they have to work 7 ½ hours a day for 186 days," she stated. The contracts remain the same across the board. All teachers get the same salary to start with if they have the same education. This brings up issues when teachers coach or advise clubs, because they get a stipend.
"[The average pay for brand-new teachers] who only have a Bachelor's degree is $37, 300 for a base for negotiation, but for teachers with a Master's degree, the starting price for negotiation is $39,350," she affirmed after looking at a chart.
Teachers have to stay until 2:55 everyday, but they do not have to stay until 3:30 with kids, and they won't get paid extra if they do.
She ended with: "due to our [U.S.A.'s] economic state, it will be difficult to negotiate anything easily."

Kinda boring, I know. Writting for your school newspaper isn't all sunshine, rainbows, and puppies!
~Rayanna~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST PAL!! (/COUSIN!!)

AAAHHH 1...2...3...4...! Haaapppy Happy Birthday from all of us to you... WE LOVE YOU!!!! Happy Birthday!

~Pixie, Pete, and Piper's people/Rayanna~

Another Volleyball Player in the Family

For those of you who weren't aware, Buddy came home from the second day of school and decided that he wanted to go out for the Modified Volleyball team. I have to say that is probably right up there as one of the happiest moments of my life as a father.

The first practice was a little rough, but things have smoothed out since then. Except for a couple boys on the team who think they are better than they really are, Buddy is really enjoying it.

One of the moms is a pretty decent photographer and has been taking pictures of the team. She took a team picture that probably looks better than what Stegall's does. She also took a bunch of pictures of the Modified boys' practice with the varsity team. Buddy is in quite a few of the pictures, including an action shot of him serving. (The pic of him is in the middle of the second row of pictures.)

If anyone local is interested in seeing Buddy play, there are 4 home games left.
Wednesday 10/8 vs. North Rose-Wolcott
Tuesday 10/14 vs. Midlakes
Friday 10/17 vs. Sodus
Wednesday 10/22 vs. Wayne
All home games are in the Middle School gym and start at 4:15.

There are also away games at each of those schools, if anyone is interested. Just give us a call and we will give you details.

When Chinese for dinner and AP World Mix

Well, I was doing my AP World homework and I had been for at least an hour and as you can see from the title, we had Chinese for dinner tonight, and we had fortune cookies. **Note: If you go pick Chinese food, and you are only part of the people eating, make sure you talk about the other people in your eating party so you can ALL get fortune cookies!** Anyway, I always pick the fortune cookie farthest away and to the left, I don't know, maybe it's a little bit of OCD poking out in me..... I bit off a corner, pulled out the paper and ate the rest of it. I flipped over the fortune to check the lucky numbers. Mine was in it! I flipped it back over, and it said: Take some time and really listen to your own inner wisdom. So, I thought My inner wisdom is telling me "You are tired, go to bed." But, I couldn't, I had homework to do. (Boo!) Why are all the children in China starving? Because all the Chinese resturants are here and they give you enough food in one dish to feed a 3rd world country! I did my homework and just finished. Still hungry too! Just a little tid bit of my high school life I thought I'd share with y'all.

~Rayanna~