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CdM FBLA Southern Section Conference

On Saturday, the CdM Future Business Leaders of America chapter competed at the Southern Section Conference. One hundred eleven students represented the chapter in over 30 events in five different competition types: objective (multiple-choice tests), production, speaking, interview, and role play. 

Later during the day, a motivational speaker named Wes Rowlands inspired the chapter to follow their passions and give it their all. He explained his own story where he was raised by a single mother, and they were evicted from several homes. However, he is a rag-to-riches man as he now works on Wall Street.

CdM also competed in a Shark Tank-like event. Those who wanted to compete must devise a plan to deal with e-waste. E-waste is electronic products, such as cellphones and computers, that have reached the end of their life and are no longer useable. Teams must submit a creative idea, and the top 15 will get chosen to pitch their one-minute idea. Two teams represented CdM, and both had wild plans on how to deal with e-waste. One of the teams called Kip & Co. had the more practical idea of the two, and their plan was to insert a SIM card. The other CdM team called Project 'Murica planned to reuse e-waste as weapons to target terrorist groups such as ISIS. Despite their enthusiastic approaches to recycle e-waste, both CdM teams did not win the grand prize of a $25 gift card.

Finally, the awards were ready to be given out. CdM finished 5th place overall in the Southern Section with more than 25 individual medals in 18 events. The chapter won three 1st place medals in the following events: Introduction to Financial Math, Public Speaking 1, and Sports and Entertainment Management. Those who medaled were in the top 5 in their events and are eligible to compete in the state conference.

Business Law competitor and FBLA member Katie Gilliam defines FBLA as an important high school moment. "Before I joined, I was a naïve individual that had no idea how the world worked. Joining FBLA, I've learned about how to dress and behave for job interviews and how to basically succeed in life," she explained. 

FBLA is certainly an organization that everyone should join to learn how to run businesses and learn about that area. Becoming a part of the chapter will grant you the chance to learn how to professional at young age. Most importantly, winning these events look terrific on college applications, and joining the chapter satisfies the Academy of Global Studies requirement to participate on an academic team! Congratulations again FBLA for an incredible conference!

The Trebuchet Project

Over the past couple weeks, students in Peter Selby's Physics class were constructing a catapult-like object - the trebuchet. In groups of three, students concocted a plan to maximize the trebuchet's performance such as having a sturdy base, so the whole thing doesn't fall over during the launch. Also, they had to measure and puncture holes appropriately into the throwing arm to get the farthest throw. On one end of the arm are heavy washers that act as counterweights to make the smaller washer on the other end fly high and far. In order to get the full mark, students must have the small washer hit 20 ft with four counterweight washers. This was no problem as many trebuchets could throw as much as 10 ft more than that with four washers. 


An extra credit opportunity was also presented to the students and their trebuchets. Called "Project: Storm the Castle," students would have to guesstimate how far they would be able to hit a castle with 4.5 washers. The closer you were to your prediction, the more likely you would earn the extra credit. The top three students in each period would earn extra credit and a spot on "Ye Old Hall of Fame" on the whiteboard.

Junior Molly Morrison, a student in Selby's Physics class and extra credit earner, enjoyed the project because, "I like to build, and I thought it was fun to see how far it could." After doing the project, students will have a better understanding of how machines work. In addition to that, their engineering skills will improve and apply to constructing in real life. 

School projects can be fun, especially when it helps you learn and remember key concepts. Some day, you may have to you those concepts. Just keep an open mind, and you will absorb all the knowledge and fun.

The World Love Organization Club Writes Letters to Kids in Swaziland

In November, the World Love Organization Club met on Thursday in Dave Rinehart’s room, 331, to write letters to kids in Swaziland. They had a selection to write to Sinethemba, a 9-year old girl, or Lungelo, a 13-year old boy. Sinethemba is a shy girl who loves to play basketball and wishes to become a nurse when she grows up. Her favorite school subject is English. Lungelo enjoys playing soccer, hoping to be an international player, and also would like to be lawyer when he grows up. His favorite school subject is also English.

Here are the some of the responses for why members chose their kid:

“I chose [Sinethemba] because I could relate to her more, since I’m also a girl.” –Secretary Brenna Roberts

“I felt I could connect with [Lungelo], since we both love English literature.” –Treasurer Katie Gilliam.

“I can relate more to girls because I have three sisters and no brothers.” - Vice President Emma Place, who chose Sinethemba.

“I chose [Lungelo] because he likes the same subjects as I do and he seems interesting to get to know.”- Member Amanda Saari

“I chose [Sinethemba] since she wanted to be a nurse when she grows up, which I can relate to since my dad is also a doctor.” – Member Amanda Milliken 
​
Though the club has a mere nine members, Lungelo and Sinethemba will get lots of love sealed in envelopes. In a few weeks, the members will receive responses from their kids. This is a pen pal relationship starting to blossom.

Humans of CdM - Molly Morrison

Mankind has only explored 5% of the ocean; the rest is a mystery. Strange creatures thrive on the ocean floor. Marine biologists have worked constantly to find those creatures as well as study life in bodies of water. Junior Molly Morrison wants to be one of those people.


Not only does Morrison find peace with the ocean, she also loves learning about it. When she was in elementary school, Morrison did marine biology camp. She also took Marine Biology when she was a sophomore.


“One thing I remember was trying out the blubber (which keeps animals warm) against ice, and then, I put my hand in the ice, and we saw how long we lasted,” recalled Morrison.


“I learned especially about the universe, and how it affects the oceans,” she said. Marine Biology was a fun class for her. Not only did she make new friends, the class also deepened her passion for the ocean further.
For her senior project, Morrison plans to intern at Sea World and be an orca trainer. “They are intelligent animals, and they are simply breathtaking. There is just something about them that grabs my attention,” Morrison explained. She also jokingly shared that she wanted to kidnap an orca in Florida and bring it home to Puget Sound. So if you swing by Sea World next year, you might find her training Shamu to do flips for the next show.


Her dream school is Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as it has a great marine biology program. When she goes to college, Morrison plans to major in the research field, calling herself a “marine researcher.”
This career path is interesting yet adventurous. Exploring and learning about new animals that we didn’t even know that they existed is like finding a long lost treasure chest. Morrison, for sure, will experience exciting opportunities to study the oceans, researching through the 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Cross Country Banquet

On Wednesday night, December 2nd, the CdM cross country team concluded their season with a banquet at Oasis Senior Center. After everyone was served their dinner, head coach Bill Sumner acknowledged everyone who has helped the team achieve a terrific season, from the coaches to friends and family. Each of the coaches called up the teams they coached to go the front of the room and receive their certificate of participation and a paperweight. The coaches delivered tributes to the athletes and gave special awards such as “Most Valuable Player” to standouts. For varsity girls, junior Raquel Powers received the MVP award for her commitment. For frosh-soph boys, sophomore Jake Tsubota received the MVP award, who also received it last year as well. After all the teams were presented their awards, the seniors gave their hilarious yet inspiring speeches to end the night. Great job Cross Country on a terrific season!

Teaching English in Taiwan

There are around 7,000 different languages currently used in the world with English being the most internationally popular, according to the Linguistic Society of America. It will be an exciting adventure if one volunteers to go to a non-native country to teach kids English in remote areas. Not only is it an incredible opportunity to encourage kids to learn English, but it is also a culture-enriching experience. Before going to a foreign country, it is best to study the local customs, weather, and food. Also, knowing some basic dialogue of the local language will make it easier to warm up and communicate with the students.

I have accompanied my family to a number of orphanages for charity in five different countries since I was little, and took part in several entertainment activities. I played games with the children and did arts and crafts while my sisters and other adults were busy with their charity work. Fortunately, in last summer, I had the chance to go with two college students to teach English at the Christian Mountain Children’s Home in Southern Taiwan. Before we taught, we prepared 20 songs of music accompanied by a flute, 200 simple everyday conversations about greetings and favorites, and 100 pictures of fruits, automobiles, sports and daily goods. Because they are teenage students and already have learned basic English, it wasn’t difficult for us to teach them. The most interesting part of teaching was doing interactive word games such as hangman, as it was easier and more fun for students to learn from playing. Everyone enjoyed it.

Christian Mountain Children’s Home is located in the mountains of Southern Taiwan. Every morning when I wake up in the quiet surrounding of woods, I could hear the insects chirping and birds singing. There were geckos climbing up the walls, insects on the floor and flying around the room. I have to suffer from constantly scratching fresh mosquito bites from the previous night. However, the pain eventually subsided as I got used to it.

The heads of the orphanage were a couple, gracious and with warm hospitality. They helped prepare meals for us with vegetables grown in their back garden. These exotic-looking vegetables are actually nutritious, and certified by the local Forestry Research Institute. We crowded around a tiny round table with a lazy Susan – a turntable in the middle seen at many Chinese restaurants. One volunteer sitting next to me was left-handed, so it was a bit inconvenient as our chopsticks kept clashing. The atmosphere was cordial and heart-warming, as we all felt we were doing something good and meaningful.

A Lazy Susan (center) is used to distribute food easily among the table sitters by spinning it. Photo courtesy of George Louis

Before this volunteer trip, I rarely think too much about the meaning of life or soul-searching, but when I returned, I realized even though I’m young and not knowing much, I could do simple things to help with others such as teaching English. In addition, having been raised in both the western and eastern cultures helps me appreciate different cultures and customs more easily and communicate with others. Most importantly, I realize that when you are finding ways to contribute to the society, it also changes you in the process.