Progress

          E-mails are coming in at a rapid pace! Each and every single one has something to do with the teams progress! I just got finished reading all of them and well not a single person is behind! Way to go! Dare to dream is going to set the bar high for next years testers and the next testers! When I was testing for my first degree black-belt I was a little bit behind on my acts of kindness, environmental acts and miles! My personal goal for this test is not to fall behind, but go farther beyond my limits! So if any of you see me fall behind...shake my brains out and yell what are you doing! (  Hopefully it won't come down to that! :)  )  I hope you all do the same for this test! Remember we are a team that dreams! If one person falls behind, we all fall behind.

                                 WE ARE NEARLY DONE WITH PHASE 1! NOW LETS END IT WITH A BOOM, KICK, PUNCH AND OPEN FORMS!

                                                                  -ZOE

Phase 1

tommorow is the test for the end of phase one and me and my mom just got back from the studio. we were practicing our open form and we got it down pretty good. i think we are planning on changing things up after the test on monday. so good luck guys see you tommorow.

Romp to Stomp

Yesterday was the bitter cold Romp to Stomp for some of the BB candidates! We drove up with Paula, Kyle and Christoper and had a GREAT time. Three of us had colds so we elected to do the 3K but we probably could have handled the 5K. Snowshoeing is so much fun - love the energy of the race but I always prefer the quiet of woods by yourself when you are blazing your own trail instead of staying on a marked path. We lost Darius and Family about half way in but I think they were having fun too. So glad we got to do this again this year and hope that next year we get a few more participants from Aim High. They said Aim High over the loudspeaker when we crossed the finish line and that was really cool. Check out the pictures on facebook if you are interested!

CGN Jessica

Romp to Stomp

Ok, so yesterday (Saturday) my family and I did something called Romp to Stomp. Romp to Stomp is a snowshoe hiking event and all of the proceeds (donations, fees to participate, etc.) go to finding the cure for breast cancer. This is the 2^nd year my family has participated. It was super fun. We drove the Hoskins (- Kevin) up the mountain because Kevin has pneumonia and Paula wasn’t confident in driving up the mountain. The only bad thing was that my toes froze and my mom almost had to take me back cuz we thought they’d fall off. It was super funny when josh kept coming back with more free stuff (oh josh, what are we going to do with you… J). Anyway, it was really great. Next year I hope all of the blackbelts can come.

TTFN

CGN Sarah

Stoneworks

last night i did my wow at stoneworks rock climbing gym. so it went pretty well and i know im not that scared of heights anymore. it was hard to climbs some of them but i did it. i wasnt scared when i was looking down because i was thinking about my hand placement and foot place and think about how tired my arms were. it was really fun. i kinda want to do rock climbing now.

chanman

took chandler to do his 'wow' last night...  it was totally awesome seeing him climb up the rock walls and not think about how high he was getting.  i know he'll post about his experience, but i just wanted to say that i'm very PROUD of him..  =) 

btw - rock climbing is hard work. one might think it's all upper body, but its not...it's all lower body.  your leg strength is what keeps your base and propels you upward as you continue to scale the rock wall.  i recommend trying it out... 

Romp to Stomp

Im looking forward to snow shoeing. Ive never really done anything like it before. The closest thing ive ever done to snow shoeing was walking in the snow with boots on.(And i dont think thats anything like snow shoeing.) Im a little excited to go by Mt. Hood. I love the snow, and dont get many chances to see it. I was so happy there was a snow storm this week, because then there would be snow on the mountain. New things are always fun to do. I started martial arts only because dad called it "Tae Kwon Dodo." I thought that was pretty funny, so i came to Aim High. And thats how i ended up here. And im still a goofball.

You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
- Christopher Columbus

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
- Thomas A Edison

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there”
- Will Rogers

Snow!

Well the forcasters were actually telling the truth for once ☺. It felt good to spend some time with the family while there was no school. My mom, brother and I went and saw "Gnomeo and Juliet" at the theatre. We enjoyed being able to laugh at the cheesy jokes and stuff like that. As much as each and every one of us loves to be at Aim High, we have to allow ourselves time to ourselves to spend with our families, so that we have some time to get away from the mat, and just relax with friends. Maybe we should have an Aim High picnic... or something like that to spend time with our Aim High family.

Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Sometimes the most urgent and vital thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.

Ashleigh Brilliant

How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward.

Spanish Proverb

Pushups and situp

Tonight is the end of phase 1 and im at 7600 pushups and situps. they would be completed but this phase started 2 weeks short so if i had another 2 days i could complete them easily. and i might do some extra today to get caught up.

Martial Arts hellps everything.

A week a go I realized that you can use martial arts for anything, even blocking basketballs. Well heres the story I was playing basketball with Hunter and he decided to chuck the ball at me(FOR FUN) but heres the good part I used 6 block to block what do you know they worked!


- You have just read info. from the smooth operator which cannot be copied or sold with out permission. You just got smooth points!

Requirements

Today I finally finished all the requirements wooh!(Except journals oopsy). I know what I'm going to do tomorrow before the test, PRACTICE!I'm going to rep palgae 2 and 6 so much and going through 5 defenses with Hunter Thats going to be fun! I just wanted to wish everyone a good test and GO DARE TO DREAM!


-Your reading info. from the smooth operator and this may not be copied or selled without permission, also you just got smooth points!

Yay

I finished everything! I wrote my profile on Bruce Lee, and I'm really happy with it. I have finished my other requirements, and everything look good. The only thing I am lacking on is amount of class hours. With school, I have been very busy, but I have a plan to do many classes during the summer like I did last year, and KJN liked my plan.

See you all tomorrow! Good luck! I know you will do great!

Intense Burning Desire to Succeed

I know I just wrote a journal entry yesterday, but here I am again. I want to wish everyone a great test tomorrow evening! I'll be sending out an email tomorrow with my progress for everyone to see. I'm going to test on the curriculum next Tuesday evening with KJN.

All of you have been training so hard and chopping away at the enormous tree of requirements. I am proud of everyone for the dedication and hard work you have put into this test...especially the first degree candidates. You all impress me with the way you push through the challenges you face, and the projects you have worked on so far.

I can see in all of you an intense burning desire to succeed. You're on your way to becoming great black belts!

See you all in a few days!

update

whoo hoo! we get our first star tomorrow! it's about time. I want something besides my name on my belt. :)

got most everything done. i don't have 4000 rows but i'll be adding the difference to my next phase. everything else is looking good. just have a few more things to put in order. :)

WOW...I'm Exhausted

...and I'll be here until Friday morning. I've come to the realization that what I'm doing down here in Tennessee is my WOW. I have been thinking about it for weeks...what should I do...what will make people say "wow" about me?

My sister's boyfriend of five years aspirated on some food a week and a half ago. His heart stopped beating for 10 minutes, but his friend was able to do CPR until the ambulance arrived--this saved his life. However, his lungs underwent so much trauma that he was sedated on a ventilator until last night--his lungs were not functioning fully on their own. He is out of the ICU now, but still in the hospital for a couple more days. My sister has spent nearly every night with him, as the hospital is an hour away from where she lives.

When my sister told me what happened last weekend, she asked me to come down to Tennessee and help her with her three boys. It took me a few days to figure things out, and I left on Friday, regardless of the fact that I had a severe cold and felt completely miserable.

That is the background information. Now, here's the WOW...

Three boys are a lot of work...especially when you're sick, and they're sick. It's like a non-stop cooking and cleaning party where most of the work falls on you. Wake up, make breakfast, do the dishes, make sure they get dressed, brush their teeth, and take their medicine. Laundry seems to be never ending and trying to get three boys to do their chores, take showers, and clean their room is exhausting. Then there's lunches, snacks, dinners, and more dishes. My hands are so dry from all the dishes. No dishwasher in this house. If I wasn't organized...I'd be extremely overwhelmed by all this.

I decided to do some Spring Cleaning for my sister to prepare for when they come back from the hospital. Her boyfriend needs a super clean environment for his lungs to heal. My sister is not as organized as me, so it's been A LOT of work. I've honestly been cleaning for three days now, and there's still more to do.

My sister and her family are also poor...as in they live off of about $1800/month. That is not a lot for a family of five. The south is full of hospitality, but there are still a lot of needs that unfortunately go unmet for my nephews. I took them to get much needed haircuts on Saturday and treated them to lunch. I also bought them some fresh fruit and veggies--they normally don't get to eat things like apples and strawberries. Today, I took them to a fun center and let them ride go carts and play video games (they earned it by doing their chores without arguing).

Why is doing all of these things my WOW?

I'm not a mom, and to throw myself into the role of a caregiver to three boys has been quite the task. They are sick and they are worried, and I am sick and I am also trying to keep up on my work while deep cleaning a house that is old and worn out (the toilet only flushes completely if you plunge it while it's flushing). I think that many of us take the people and things we have for granted. Where we live, technology is common and life is honestly easier. Most of you have dishwashers, and many of us can afford unnecessary luxuries such as a pedicure.

One of my life goals since getting my first degree black belt has been to reconnect with my family, especially my sister. I feel that helping her out is one very big step in that direction. That is why I feel this is my WOW.

Long day

Whoa! Where did the day go? Time really flies, but I'm excited that I got so much done today. For the past 2 hours, Noah and I have been working on youtube video for our environmental act of kindness. It should be up by the a.m., please take a look at it! It is very funny =] We also manage to practice our forms and kickboxing, and finish some last minute number things!

See you all tomorrow!

P.s. I hope it snows this week...

Opportunities vs. Deadlines

I've been thinking a lot about all of the elements/requirements for phase 1 of the 2011 BB testing. Do I have everything? Did I do a zip-bang-wow job, or just "eh"? Did I totally miss the boat on anything? What happens if I run out of energy and pass out where I stand during testing? (Please don't call an ambulance, how embarrassing... I'll regain consciousness eventually)

Then I have to stop and think... We made it through so much last year, and started it all even earlier this year (talk about gluttons for punishment... err.. opportunity!)... If we did it before, we can do it again... and we can do it all even better!

I now get funny looks from coworkers as I use my cubicle as a stretching space an push-up haven... I walk the halls practicing forms using my brain & hands (I'm pretty sure the people I pass probably think I'm an interpreter for the deaf).... While last year's empathy training has taught me to listen to my surroundings to know exactly where I am so I can walk & still play solitaire on my iPod without walking into traffic (miscalculating can lead to a very bad day).

The point being, there are very few things in my life that I've worked this hard on and have been this determined to accomplish. We are a team. We will not fail.

Run With It And Don't Look Back

This year, for myself, I believe, is a year of direction. A year of focus. And what I do with the time and resources I have now will dramatically (more so than normal) affect 2012. This is a year of preparation for what's to come in 2012.
I don't know everything that's going to happen next year. In fact, I know very few details. However, there is something in my heart that tells me next year is going to be a big year and this is the year to completely focus on the goals that I have set and to accomplish them.
How does this relate to the Black Belt Test? Earning my BB is going to play a major role. And not just in my life as a martial artist or in teaching or anything that normally comes to mind. Call me crazy or over zealous, but I truly believe that earning my belt will have more affect than what comes to first mind. Again, I don't know exactly how, but this is something that I just know. Call it intuition if you must call it something.
This weekend, I was told, "This is your time. Run with it." And over and over this weekend, I have heard the phrase, "Run with it." When I hear that phrase, it tells me to not look back. Don't stop. Keep to the course and focus on the goal. Stay strong. Believe. It tells me that hard work will be required, but I can do it. Persevere. Live out your dreams. Run with it.
I know this is all vague. I wish I could be more specific. But sometimes you just have to suppress the urge to describe everything exactly as it is and just let it be. Let there be a vagueness, a mystery. It entices me, it draws me in to seek and dig deeper.

today

I had no school today! I took advantage of the time I had to complete my major environmental act of kindness with my brother Noah and my cousins. We picked up trash around my neighberhood. We recorded the whole time, and will be posting to youtube either tonight or tomorrow!

closing time, one last call for....

a perfect day is 8hours of sleep, 8 hours of play, and 8 hours of work. We sleep to have energy to work and play, we work so we can afford play, and we play so we can go back to sleep. Understablably this means that we must make the best out of each and every hour to find the true and real balance. It's hard to find time to take to apply to these three very important areas - working means accomplishing tasks, feeling great about them, and knowing that you did your best and hopefully made a difference.. Playing is important - I feel we are a people of habit, and a people that needs others to feel complete. Playing might be the most difficult of these things. In work you can see the results, sleep you can feel the results, but play requires focus, dedication, and the ability to go all out. Now I'm not talking about playing, like Xbox or something mind numbing like that, not the movies, or TV - no to me, playing meaning getting up, going out, and in a way, meditating on the moment. Like this, Youre snowboarding down a big hill, it's full of jumps, bumps, and trees. you can not afford to relax your body, numb your mind or focus on anything other than the moment. I bet 8hours of focusing on the moment is exhausting, hence the sleep.

Imagine focusing on the moment, as in 'play' - when you are practicing your martial arts. The same idea in martial arts can be applied in everything you do thereby mixing the habits we adopt. Perhaps work and play can then be mixed?

For my 3rd degree test I applied MMA/BJJ as forms of meditation. Focusing on the moment and nothing else, and after a hard, 3hr workout, I would leave feeling more alive and energtic than I did before I got there. sure a bruise here and there, but never-the-less a feeling of achievement and self fullfillment. This feeling I then was able to radiate to those around me.. now that were I was going with the people needing people thing, in the last paragraph.

If we are not balanced we must make up for it, realize it, and the develop a plan to get there.. Perhaps martial arts class, 1 hr assuming, can be a mix of play and work? Work hard to play hard?

I'm in a self struggle to develop a sense of accomplishment in these areas. I know i'm doing damn good at work - I see and feel results. I understand the accomplishments, but today, during practice I realize I'm not 'playing' enough. I do mind numbing stuff to refocus on only work again. Now we all know this no secret that I work way too much, but I need to find that 'play' feel. My sleep is effected by the mis-balance and so is my work. I think this test will challange my 'focus' ability - to develop a true sense of play.

Wow, a lot of random thoughts as I re-read this. welcome to my world! can't wait to see the testers this Weds.!

Aim High!
-sbn

DREAM

I think that I finally have decided on an affirmation. I think I want it to say,

dream

Is the Japanese symbol for dream. See, I was at my cousin’s house and she had gotten this big book of tattoos. She said we could look through the book and pick one or two. I found a page with a few different kanji’s on it. There was one for love, beautiful, happiness, dream, etc. They were all beautiful, but for some reason I fell in love with the one that said dream. I found a cute flower that matched it and put them on my calf. I showed them to my mom when she came to pick me up and she thought it was pretty too. “Oh my gosh!” she said “what if you put that on your belt as your affirmation!” I loved that idea. “Can they put symbols on belts?” I asked. “Of course” she replied. And that was it.

I think dream is a good affirmation for me because I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t dream. I wouldn’t be a black belt, I wouldn’t have sang in front of my whole school, I wouldn’t have made lots of the things I’ve made. I wouldn’t be able to do things that people never thought possible. If you don’t like/like my idea or have some feedback or something feel free to post a comment.

TTFN

CGN Sarah

Phase 1

K, have to admit, phase 1 testing on Wednesday makes me nervous... I know we've all been working hard, but the funny part of being part of the DTD team is that I think being around each other so much drives us to be there more and practice more... I miss a day, and I feel like a slacker. :) I'm finding myself trading in the weekend mornings that I love to sleep in on, for Brandy's butt-kicking training sessions. Or swimming... Or voluntarily running on my own. Yet Wednesday still makes me nervous. I read other team member posts and how excited they are and it makes me more nervous... Can I do this? Will I forget anything? Will I let myself down? Will I let everyone else down? No... and I know I won't. I've worked too hard and too long to not just suck it up and move forward. We all have. And we all will do great.

Great Week!

What a great week! I did 3 things I didn't think I would do a week ago. On Thursday night, I broke 4 boards at once! It was a great accomplishment for me because I have struggled with breaking boards in the past. Of course, with the fast-paced personality I have, I decided to attempt to break a brick on Saturday morning! I did! It was a great adrenaline rush and there aren't words for me to describe the feeling I got to hear all the students I was teaching cheer for me! Then, today in my rec basketball game I hit a three pointer that sealed the game for my team with only second week.

I hope everyone had a good week. I'm looking forward to our test on Wednesday!

Hunter

One Amazing Hour

My body is tired, my ears are still plugged from the flights down here, and my annoying cough is still lingering. However, I just spent an amazing hour in a hay field behind my sister's house with a hunting dog named Grizzly. Despite the physical state of my body, I feel great...content. :o)

The amazing hour of which I speak consists of an attempted jog around the hay field (too many holes, so I decided to walk--Grizzly ran back and forth), taking pictures of the scenery, repping out all the forms in a row...twice, a bunch of lunges and squats, and A LOT of self-reflection.

I realized something about myself: when I get overstressed and nervous about failure, I think about quitting. I don't want to quit, I want to reach my goal, and many of you have shown your support for me to make the right decision for myself. Well, here it is: I'm not quitting.

I am struggling, but struggling to meet a goal and accomplishing it brings even more fulfillment. I think I need a push-up partner if anyone is interested...

There are a few days left before the test, so I'm going to see what I can get done with my push-ups, etc., and I'm going to create a plan for finishing everything else within the first two weeks of the next phase. Off to do some push-ups...

The test is coming

The first phase test is almost here so I would like to say good luck to everyone! I’ve had a great time training with the team and that I think that everybody is going to reach their goal. 1st degre and 2nd degre. WHAT IS THE THEME OF THE TEST?! DARE TO DREAM!

P.S. I broke 2 boards at once today! It was awesome. I did it twice because it was fun. Also got new goal, break three at once.

what week this going to be

I'm so excited for phase 1 testing WOOH! I've met goal for push ups and sit ups and only a couple hundred away for rows. I can't wait till to tomorrow I'm going to do my major environmental act of kindness can't wait. I know what I'm going to do on Monday, practice practice practice. Lets go Dare to Dream!

Glad that's over....

What a crazy week.....The board breaking fundraiser really was a WOW and a huge success. We are going to try it again in the fall. But what a ton of work. Shout out to KJN who gave up time to shop and cut the boards....thanks to everyone who signed up to hold boards and support other students who were doing it for the first time....thanks to the front desk folks who kept it going during crazy times....and thanks to everyone who bought and broke them! We met our goal....$1000 in one week. Just another example of what we can do when we AIM HIGH.

CGN Jessica

PNO

The ice cream pno was canceled last night i dont know why. Plus i really wanted ice cream. but oh well. so what i did last night is play call of duty of course. and today we cleaned the house. oh and i also got my WoW idea and im doing it thursday.

I think we`re all a little out there.....

I broke a board with a straight cross today. I also received a jelly bean pooping reindeer from KJN. He said when he saw it, he thought of me. (Why is this not surprising?) I think we all have to be a little out there to be a martial artist. Why? Because most of the time you go around hitting each other FOR FUN. And when you`re not doing that, you`re breaking bricks or boards. Why do we come back to train at Aim High every day? We come back because for some strange reason, we enjoy it. And we all have a sense of community and family. I just guess we were all dropped on their heads a few times. Well, now to feed my
"Super Dooper Reindeer Pooper" I sure hope the jelly beans are chocolate flavored......

When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup.
Sam Lefkowitz

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.
Dale Carnegie

Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?
Frank Scully

Double Wow

Yesterday on the way home from black belt class, my mom was telling me that she was proud of me for saying something during the board breaking. What happened was that a younger girl had tried and tried over the period of 2 classes and hadn't broken her board yet. I was helping on the side when I decided to go talk to her. I shared my own board breaking story from my candidate belt test on July 25, 2009. I told her the reason my board didn't brake was because I saw as something stopping me. That seemed to comfort her and the next time she got up, she broke the board first try! I didn't realize that was a wow until my mom was telling me she was surprised that I'd actually got up to talk to the girl. That girl did the same thing I did in 2009, (except she broke hers in 1 day) She quite literally broke through her fear and made that obstacle go away.

At my candidate test, I tried about 40 times to make my board break, this was after everyone else on the team had broken their boards. Lots of people were watching on the bleachers. I was crying with frustration at the fact that my board was not snapped yet. I ended up having to go back the following Tuesday, and on that day I didn't just brake through that board, I broke another one too. This is the story I shared with that girl, and don't think she'll have board trouble anymore.

This phase will have 2 wows, this most recent one and the public speaking one I've had planned for a month. My second wow is scheduled for this afternoon.

Bye :)

Today

Today i felt sick leaving school for some reason. my stomach really hurt and it still does. its not becuase im school sick because that will never happen but its just relly weird. but i think im still able to do black belt training.

The 4...

Dang... I don't know why this kickboxing pattern is so hard for me, but it is.  I think it's the flow, it doesn't feel right... so my mind is second guessing it.  Regardless, I'll get it.. maybe not all by the 23rd but I'll get there. 

oh record keeping, if only i were better at it than i acutally am...

okay, so the physical stuff really isn't that big of an issue for me. however, what's killing me is the recording of environmental acts. i mean really, it's so habitual that i don't even think to record anything until i realize i haven't recorded anything in who knows how long. and then stuff that i do every day doesn't register because i do it every day! it doesn't stand out! it's killing me.

Preparation

At last night's training, KJN mentioned that since this phase is about 2 weeks shorter than the rest of them, that if you didn't finish something, have a plan. I won't time to finish my environmental project by the 23rd so I'm going to start it this phase and end it in phase 2. I have my WoW this Thursday and I am really nervous. I have to get telling my self it will go smoothly so I don't worry so much about what could potentially happen. I have prepared my presentation to the girl scouts and tried to keep it simple and direct. As of tomorrow, there is 1 week left to finish before the test and I still have 3000 push-ups and sit-ups to do, not to mention 1800 rows. However, progress is progress and every minute counts. My WoW is also going to be my public performance because I will have to demonstrate the defenses. (In case you haven't read my other blog, for my WoW I'm going to go teach a girl scout troop basic self defense because public speaking is far out of my comfort zone.) Great training last night! See you later :)

:)

yesterday a few of us got together to do our first major enviromental act over at tanasbourne mall. everyone did a fantastic job. it was really good having the chance to talk to everyone and see how everyone is holding up so far. thanks guys for teaming up and being so awesome. :)

Whew!

This was a good weekend... I was afraid that, after last weekend, Brandy's Saturday workout would kill us completely. It was a great workout, but I felt really good afterwards... just tired. Plus, I ran the 3-4 mile stretch and only walked up the hill... I ran the rest of it, thanks to Cgn Girl Sam.

Then today (Sunday), a group of the DTD testers all went out & cleaned up the whole area around a local mall. It amazes me what people will throw away and how irresponsible they can be. Wow. On this round, I felt like we really did improve the area because we picked up a LOT of stuff. Old lighters, cigarettes, broken bottles, drink containers, even a car lock (think the Washington County police might want to patrol that area a little more). Anyhow, it was not only a major act of kindness for the environment, but we all got to talk about how we're feeling about going through the whole testing process and the things we've yet to overcome. In my case, I'm scared to death of doing an open form and have no idea of what to do. I just get up there and feel like I don't know anything. Then we talked about what made us decide we wanted to go for our black belts. Then we decided it was really really raining too much and we were waterlogged. It was time to wash our hands and get coffee!

I love that part of the whole BB process... Thanks everyone for being there for each other. :)

A visit from an old student

Hi Guys,

Friday after school I got a surprise visit from an old student. 4 years ago this student was a crazy 8th grader, and now she's a promising senior at Southridge. This is one of those students that has come back a few times to visit but I haven't seen her in a couple years. Now she's 18, living on her own, been accepted to George Fox and has decided to major in history. we had a great visit and has promised to come back and visit again before the Summer. This is the stuff that keeps me going. It makes me feel very proud to see that these kids can grow up and be productive members in society.

CGN John

The good week

This week I got to rep. some of the new curriculum. I even found out that I was doing something wrong! Good thing that I fixed it. I also did a crazy thing in kicking class. KJN Jermy held up a pad and I sideswiped and hit the pad and I managed to land it! Hooray to me!

WOW

wow

Aloha!

CGN Sarah here

Yesterday I competed in Math counts. Now, you might be thinking this is just some dinky math competition where they ask you things like “10+_= 15” or “what is the square root of 16” but it’s not. Math counts are the biggest math completion in the u.s. At middle schools throughout the U.S. there are math counts teams that meet before/after school on certain days during the week. These teams go to competitions like the one I was in and the top 2 move on. Eventually, there is only a few teams left in all and those teams fly to Washington D.C. for the final competition. There are 3 rounds in each competition that count for points.

1. Sprint round- this is where you get a packet of 30 problems (example- what are the possible areas of an equilateral triangle whose sides are an even integer between 10 and 20) and you only get 40 minutes to complete as many as possible. Calculators are not allowed. I got about 15 right (which is good for a six grader).

2. Target round- you get a paper with 2 problems on it (example- there are 841 dogs and cats participating in the parade. 62 percent of them are dogs. How many cats are participating?) And you get 6 minutes to complete it. You get 4 of these papers. I got about 3 right (most of them were super hard)

3. Team round- you and your team get a packet of 10 questions and 20 minutes to complete it. My team got 7 right.

It was really fun. I sat with the other six graders on my team that were competing (there were 3 of us in all) there was a tray of napkins so I took some and wrote things on them like “go team future” (we call us sixth graders the future) or “watch out the future’s comin”

I had a great time and I would probably do it again.

TTFN!!!! ☺☻

CGN SARAH

Board Break Fundraiser

Hi fellow Black Belts and Testers! John and I are organizing a last minute fundraiser for next Tues- Saturday. We are going to sell boards at the front desk and during regular core classes, the last 10-15 minutes will be dedicated to board breaking. Our goal is to raise $1000 in a week. We will not break boards at specialty classes or on Friday (there is an ice cream social) but we will on Saturday during regular classes.

We need some help....

I am putting together a sign up sheet and will be recruiting volunteers to show up for the last 10-15 minutes of each core class to hold boards. Without helpers, we can't pull this off because it takes too long for an entire class to break boards...we need to have 3 or more students breaking boards at the same time.

A flyer for the fundraiser that will go up Monday - breaking starts Tuesday (after Valentine's Day). I also have a sign up sheet that will up at the front desk on Monday night during training. Please help in any way you can! Sign up to hold boards as often as you like at the front desk or EMAIL ME WHEN YOU ARE FREE and I will sign you up. We really want to have a strong DTD and BB presence during this week but please don't sign up if you are already scheduled to teach class. We need 2 additional supporters for each core class. That means in addition to the regularly scheduled instructors.

Many students are relying on us for scholarship and tuition assistance. Lets pull together and show them what family can do when we work together! Thanks in advance for your help!

CGNi Leitners

Doing my open form in front of 50 strangers

   Long title, but true. I went to a public collage and brought my weapons: the fan(s). And with the permission from my mom and my moms chapter meeting (where 40-80 writers come together to talk about...well... their writing) I got to preform in front of them in the collages main lobby after their meeting. I really do think there was more than 50 people ( NOT including the collage students who walked by and stopped to watch me ). This was so outside the box for me ( or my comfort zone) that when I was preforming my hands were so sweaty that it was painful to hold on to my fans. I even got it all on film with my flip camera and will soon be adding it to youtube...yay. Oh, have you ever had to shield your eyes from the horror as you watch yourself on camera? Well I have now.... but it really was a great experience and will consider this as my WOW. It was great practice for preforming in front of large crowds and I really am sooooooo proud of myself! x) I also had a lady come up to me and complement on my form after wards. I said thank you and she walked away. Then another lady comes up to me and says , " You do know that lady who just complemented you is a professional belly and fan dancer." After hearing that I was so honored and really am so oh so proud of myself!

                                   ALMOST FEBRUARY 23rd !!!       KEEP ON ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN' !!!    

My WOW.

For my WOW of the first part of the test, I performed in a murder mystery on short notice. I got my script on a Sunday, didn`t really look at it, and picked it up the next Saturday to perform. Most of what me and my cast mates were doing was improv. It tuned out to be a great night. This i my WOW because i was able to participate in a community performance. It is a great thing to be part of the community, and participate with your friends. I had a great time.

State Test Week.

3 State tests. One week. Fun. Its hard keeping up with all my numbers with all the stuff thats going on. But I have my math right (I passed that test) and I have to do 265 pushups/situps a day, 215 rows/pullps a day, and 2hrs 30 minutes of carrdio a week. If I had any morre extra-curriculars, I think I would die fom exhaustion. On the bight side, special training was fun this week, we got to run about 3.5 miles and we did some punching bag work and lots of situps. I just worry that Im going to be feeling it in the morning.

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
Thomas Paine


When everything seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top
Author Unknown

What I did Monday at the Rylan Seminar...

Bruised my knee, bruised my shin, and partner somersaulted my way into a face plant courtesy of SBN Dan. Gotta love jits! :-)

PS - i got a little "smeagol" thing going on in that last pic....

This Week

This week has been going by pretty fast for me. I dont even remember what happened monday. I thought today was tuesday. But it turns out its wensday. I dont know what wrong with me. I must have really bad memory loss. Well today Im not going to black belt class, because I have to go to someones birthday. So, bye....

The Bag Effect and Writing

I chose to do my environmental project on the nation's growing issue of plastic waste from plastic grocery bags. I want to try and get 8 families to use less than 2 plastic bags for the next 2 weeks. Any grocery bags used will be given to me to recycle when the challenge is over. I decided to ask non-Aim High families to participate (although you can if you like:) because I think it would involve the rest of the community in this growing issue. The project will start this evening after I have had a chance to tell my friends and neighbors about it. I hope this project raises awareness of the 4-5 trillion plastic bags in landfills nationwide.

When I get stressed out and feel as if I just want to escape into someone else's head for a while, I write. I found my self thinking of an imaginary world of knights and dragons without even realizing it yesterday during lunch at school. Sometimes, I think better after I've started a story because I've put my thoughts out onto paper and then, I can focus. This is what I do when I feel as though I've got too much on my plate. I'm a rather creative person, so sometimes the writing solves my problems and qualms for me. Now wonder I want to be an author!

See you all tonight!

By the way, Thursday morning I get my boot off and can start training again with a brace!