End of year reflection

This semester in the Pathways program has gone by very quickly. I have grown a lot since the beginning of the year and Pathways has helped me figure out what I would like to do in my life, taking different college classes and testing the waters of what different career paths have to offer. I have an idea of what I'd like to do and I'm excited to start my journey of further education. I plan to study ecology and dance, learning about the environment and how to preserve natural resources. Pathways is a great program for anyone who wants to get a head start on college with help from the high school. I'm glad I entered this program because it helped me get ready for college. At the end of the day it's a very helpful program and I'm glad I am graduating.

Week 32

This week was finals week. In modern dance we performed our combination one last time. The class split in half and each half performed it twice. In American Sign Language we had our receptive test where we write down sentences she signs. Then we go one by one to the back of the class, sign colors and numbers we remember, then sign a childrens story of our choice. My story was Brown Bear. Our grades will come out soon.

Week 31

This week was the ABC Bubblegum final test. We sign the page long story about a boy and his bubblegum. I got a B. I was feeling nervous, but I did better than I thought I would. On Thursday we had our end of the semester party in which everyone brought food. Next Thursday is our final from 2-5. In modern dance we have to present the choreography to our teacher which we have been working on for weeks.

Week 30

This week, in modern dance we practiced new steps and continued our combination. In ASL we went through a whole class with our ear plugs in, practicing watching the different signs. It was easier then I thought and I could understand a lot more then I thought I would be able to. I'm surprised at the amount of vocabulary I have picked up. We are starting a new combination in modern next week, which I am excited about.

Week 29

This week we watched a movie called "See What I Mean." It was about the cultural differences between the hearing and deaf communities. We had to write a paper on it which is due next week. We also have to e-mail a short summary of what we learned on the internet about deaf culture and send it to our teacher. We also have to study "Bubblegum" which we have to sign to her for our final. In modern we did our morning stretches and warm ups and added to our combination.

Week 28

This week in American Sign Language we practiced our numbers and currency signs. We are having a game where we need to bring in a prize and people have to guess the exact price of the prize without knowing what's inside the bag. I've developed a deeper understanding and knowledge of what it's like to be a deaf person in a hearing world. When I went to the deaf coffee chat, I knew what they felt like being hearing and having no idea what others around me are signing.
 In modern dance we are learning a new combination. It's the funnest one in my opinion because I like the music it goes to and it all weaves together nicely. 

Week 27 4/5/13

This week in ASL we studied new chapters in the textbook learning verbs and nouns and the proper way to sign words. We are starting to use earplugs to fully understand being deaf with the use of sign language. We got assigned a new story we need to learn called "Bubblegum." It's harder than "Timber", but if I study enough it will be easy as it was for "Timber." In modern we learned a new combination that we will continue to work on for the next few weeks.

Week 26 3/29/13

This week, I went to Modern dance and finished the combination we have been working on for three weeks. It was a fun piece to dance to but I'm glad we are going to start a new one next week. On Tuesday I had work and then went to American Sign Language. That was a fun class because there weren't many people so we just had a chill day where we got an introduction to our new story called "Bubblegum." On Thursday I had ASL again and we had a receptive test which means our teacher signs a paragraph and we have to write what she says. Then we watched a movie about deaf artists such as comedians, musicians, and actors and how they struggle in life. Next week we have a vocabulary quiz, then it is spring break.

Week 25 3/22/13

This week I got my midterm grade for my American Sign Language class which is an A+. I was very happy about it, I'm also happy that I'm beginning to understand the material now and get into the groove of this language. It's a useful language and I'm happy I'm learning it. The class is two hours, but it seems to go by very fast because it's fun. Modern dance is getting more challenging and funner. At the beginning it was just the basics becuase a lot of the students had no dance background, but now everything's a lot more fluid because we are venturing out to different movements and sequences.

week 24 3/16/13

This week was midterms. On Tuesday in sign language, we watched  a good movie called Hammer. It was about this profoundly deaf boy who wants to become a professional wrestler. It showed his struggles growing up away from other deaf kids, in a world full of hearing people. He grew up as a wrestler. He went to RIT college and was the national champion for three years in a row, and went on to become a professional wrestler. It was very informative on how deaf culture is and how they grow up into a hearing world. I am grateful I have my hearing and sight. On Thursday we had a vocabulary test, then we finished the movie and went home early. I am getting a better idea about deaf culture and what it means to be deaf or hard of hearing.
            In dance, we practiced balances and running across the floor with various movement flows. We havn't learned any new moves; we have been continuing to improve on the ones our teacher has taught us.

Week 23 3/6/13

This week, I went to modern dance and ballet on Monday. On Tuesday I had work, then ASL. We had a vocabulary quiz and I got 70 % :(. I aced my visual test; the teacher signs a story and we have to write down what she said. I think I  did better on the visual test because everything she signed was within the context of the story however, the vocabulary quiz was random signs and I didn't remember all of them. Wednesday, I had modern and ballet again. We practiced going across the floor using different movements the teacher wants us to practice. Thursday I had work and an ASL test that was a big part of our midterm. We had to sign a complete story called "Timber." The teacher told me I got an A. After, we had to go to the media center and watch a DVD on ASL vocabulary.It was very 90's and funny to watch, but I learned new vocabulary such as day, wake up, and brush teeth.

Week 22 2/28/13

2/28/13
These past two weeks, a lot has gone on. I got a job at a cafe in San Rafael. I am a cashier, I make different kinds of coffee and various drinks, wash dishes and man the floor. So far, it's going really well, and I'm very happy with it. In American Sign Language, I had a visual test, which means my teacher, Pat, signs a paragraph, we have to watch her and write down what she says. I got an A, 92%. I missed two words and I forgot to capitalize her name. I went to a deaf coffee chat; at first it was intimidating, but when more people showed up, everyone was talking to each other. The people in the deaf community are so nice and welcoming to everyone. They are some of the happiest people that I have met. I had to write a paper on a movie we saw called "Through Deaf Eyes." Today we have a vocabulary quiz.

week 20 2/8/13

This week I was really busy. I had Swan Lake rehearsal on Saturday, then on Monday I had my modern dance class in the morning and in the evening I had Ballet class. On Tuesday I went to my sign language class and then had to bus it over to Stapleton for another Swan Lake rehearsal. I then went back to COM to go to my hip hop class, but I have to drop it becuase it doesn't work with my rehearsal schedule. On Wednesday, I had modern again and then went to Angelica's and sewed my pointe shoes for class. After class we went over to the Sausalito Woman's Club to choreograph some of Candace's play. After three hours, we went home. On Thursday I got to sleep in, but then I had ASL. Today I am at school writing this blog, then I'm off to Ballet, with rehearsal again tomorrow.

1/31/13 week 19

This week I was out sick. We have our final assignment in ASL which is acting out a play called "Timbur." Another assignment was to make a board about ourselves with only pictures explaining who we are and what we like, then we have to sign what it means to the teacher. We have to watch an episode of "Switched at Birth" because there are some scenes where signing goes on. We have to write a paragraph of what we think of the show and how we feel about it. In modern dance, we do warm up exercises and go across the floor doing random moves. In hip hop we are there for three hours so we do warm up excersises, work out, and learn basic moves of isolation and movement. We also do a chain of movement that we add on every week.

1/18/13 Week 17

This week was the first week back at COM. I am taking modern dance, hip hop, and American Sign Language. I've been really busy and tired because I have 6 dance classes a week, which puts a toll on my ability of bodily movement. Modern is fun because its a lot like ballet, but not as restricted movement. It's more flowy and creative. In my hip hop class, i'm happy because my friends are in there with me. It's a lot of fun, we got to dance to songs by Fergie and other R&B artists. We  did a warm up stretch and learned basic hip hop moves. It's very different from ballet. I'm sad because my teacher Kristi told me I can't do hip hop because I have a sprained ankle and banging it on the ground is not going to help it heal. In ASL we have to learn the alphabet. We had to go up to people and ask them their name which they signed to us, and we had to sign it back. I'm excited for this semester because im going to broaden my dance horizon.