???? :)'s Blog

The AFI Top 100 Films

:) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:58:23 +0000

http://connect.afi.com/site/DocServer/100Movies.pdf?docID=301

Here is a list of the movies I have seen off the AFI top 100 list of movies in the past 100 years…

The Godfather
Schindler’s List
The Wizard of Oz
Star Wars
E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial
The Godfather Part II
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The Sound of Music
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
West Side Story
Jaws
Rocky
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Saving Private Ryan
Forrest Gump
Titanic
12 Angry Men
The Sixth Sense
Toy Story

The Wizard of Oz:

I believe The Wizard of Oz definitely deserves to be on this list of Top 100 Films. It’s been one of my favorites since I was a kid. It is a classic which has been seen by most everyone I know. Not only is the Wizard of Oz an amazing film, but it has also been transformed into modern Broadway productions.

My Favorite Films

:) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:18:23 +0000

One of my favorite movies of all time is Remember the Titans. It is a very well reviewed movie, and won Seven major awards in 2001 (nominated for many other numerous awards). Remember the Titans is obviously a very well-known, well-liked film. It is inspirational, compelling, humerous, and serious. All characteristics of a great movie. The amazing amount of acting talent found throughout the movie also helps enforce the strong message being sent. Joshua Tyler’s review of Remember the Titans goes along with my same beliefs:

“Denzel Washington is spectacular. Rarely have I ever seen an actor that so consistently turns in a good performance. But surprisingly it is Will Patton, who plays Washington’s white assistant coach Atley Jackson who really steals the film…”

(Full Review found at http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Remember-the-Titans-61.html)

Lifetime movies are also my favorite. They don’t get reviewed as much as movies such as Remember the Titans, nor do they hardly ever go into theatres. However, Lifetime movies keep me interested in the overly dramatic (sometimes funny) plots, which happen to be revealed completely in the titles. The dramatic movies are full of interesting twists and are fun to watch.

Response to – “More school: Obama would curtail summer vacation”

:) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:18:24 +0000

In response to: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_on_re_us/us_more_school

I believe most students hearing the words “More School” will immediately begin to get angry or upset. I don’t believe the students really think about how helpful it could be in the future.

The fact that Americans do go to school about 25% or 30% less than kids in other countries isn’t something to be so proud of. There are many up-sides and down-sides to adding more time to school days. Three more hours to the school day is a lot. Also, some kids who aren’t fortunate with wealthy families have to get jobs in order to make their own money for college.

I do agree, however, that adding a little more time to the school day could also be beneficial. If more time is added to school days, less homework should be given out though. That would be logical since adding more school time would be cutting time to work outside of school.

I believe strongly that schools should be open to diligent students during a window of time on the weekends when people who want to can come in for help on homework or projects (i.e. study halls, office hours).

Year round school, or shorter summers I think is unnecessary. Kids need a break to live outside of school. However, continuing study halls, office hours, and/or optional classes on weekends throughout the summer would be nice. (key word: optional)

Response to Justice Cunningham

:) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:31:11 +0000

I strongly disagree with most of the information presented in this article: (http://www.kentucky.com/589/story/930668.html). I do believe high schools mostly emphasize college prep because that is what children should be aiming for. Of course, people have different interests, but I think it’s a good thing schools emphasize college prep. The writer of this article says:

“”There will come a day when someone who can work with his hands will make more money than anybody else.”

I disagree. Knowledge is what gets people money. Jobs that others are not capable of doing are what makes salaries higher. Someone without a college degree could not perform a surgery, and performing surgeries are more important than, for example, being able to deliver the mail.

I agree that college is not for everyone, and I don’t look down upon people who decide not to continue their education or people who have jobs requiring less of an education, I am thankful for them. I just don’t believe they will ever have a higher salary than knowledge filled careers.

Children will have the choice of what they want do pursue, but high schools emphasizing and encouraging further education is a wonderful thing in my opinion because it does lead to a more comfortable (money-wise) lifestyle.

Goals For This Week

:) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:09:46 +0000

Sept. 14-18:

To get all of the information I need for personal websites from the faculty & staff members I am assigned – Send info. on to the Department Managers. (I only need to get two more people’s information)
Delete old pictures, or make a list of old pictures to delete from the School’s homepage.
Make a list of new pictures for the School’s homepage.
Possibly, go out and take pictures for the homepage.

Weekly Accomplishments

:) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:54:53 +0000

Sept. 18 – I recieved one more teacher’s information and sent it on to the About Us editors to publish on the website. I made a list of pictures, but still do not have access to delete or add them on our homepage. I spent most of my time this week making new pictures for the shortcuts on the left side of the DHS Homepage to make the page more attractive. Here is the link: http://www.danvilleschools.net/dhs/site/default.asp.

Sept. 11 - I have been given access to last year’s yearbook photos, therefore I may be drafting some of those pictures to post on our DHS website. I haven’t gained access to altering, deleting, or adding pictures onto the site yet, so I have been brainstorming and making a list of photos that would look nice on our homepage. I’ve also made a list of the old photos on our homepage that don’t have good quality, are unnecessary, or are of students who have graduated.

Also, I have only received two emails back from staff and faculty members whose web pages are assigned to me for updating. I’m still awaiting two more emails.

Response to SALON.COM

:) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:13:34 +0000

Teenagers spend an average of 16.7 hours a week on the internet. I don’t believe anyone should be praising the internet for “making us a writer and a thinker”. Sure, some teens write blogs and make websites and share points of views over IM, facebook walls, and chat rooms, but that can’t be given credit for making us thinkers or writers. I believe the Internet is a very helpful tool, but you need the foundation which to me is found in written documents, books from libraries, and education in schools.

Two Websites to Consider

:) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:12:31 +0000

After evaluating my own high school’s website, I decided to research a high school in KY that has a pretty good website that Danville could possibly use as a template. I found two that I like, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and Sayre School. Dunbar has a lot of the neccessary information needed for a good school website, but not the most appealing colors and format. The link to their home page is: http://www.pld.fayette.k12.ky.us/. Sayre School on the other hand has a really appealing home page but not a specific page for their high school that includes all of the sports and extra curricular activites. The link to their home page is: http://www.sayreschool.org/page.cfm?p=1

I also researched a school that’s not located in KY. I found Northview High School which is located in Johns Creek, GA. Their website is very nicely organized and appealing. I really like how they have a poll students, parents, staff, and people in the community can take. I would guess they have a club for working on their school website. The link to their homepage is: http://www.northviewhigh.com/index.php

My Thoughts on the DHS Website As Is

:) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:27:06 +0000

After reading J. Demery’s article “12 Tips to Create an Effective School Website” I pulled up DHS’ own website to see how efficient it is.

———————————————————————————————

The first tip given is to have an appropriate Format. This includes font, font size, font color, background color, and consistency. In my opinion, the background of DHS’ website may be a bit too bright, and some of the descriptions of events and people may be a bit too small. But overall everything is readable.

The second tip given is to have an available Homework Board. The DHS website doesn’t have a link under curriculum to see homework, which is where I would look if I were a parent and didn’t get specific instructions to go through infinite campus. On infinite campus our teachers are supposed to upload dates of papers due, but hardly any keep up with it.

The third tip given is to post a School Supply List on the website. The tip given says not only to have a supply list but to also categorize the supplies into where you will use them, whether at home, access to them in your locker, or everyday in class. I believe our website should have this information on it for each class because it would be very helpful and there would be no excuse as to not having the supplies you need.

The fourth tip given is to have a Student Project Showcase. I think students would like a project showcase. It could give them more motivation to do a good job on their projects in order to get it displayed on the website.

The fifth tip given is to have Parent Resources. This tip is said to help bring the education from the classroom home. I agree that communicating directly to parents and families will help this problem, so I recommend we put parent resources on our home page.

The sixth tip given is to have a Master Calendar. This we have on DHS’ website, but not much is actually put on to the calendar. I think updating it will be very helpful and I know I would use it when I was at home to help plan out my weeks.

The seventh tip is to have access to Contact Information. Contact information would include lists of teachers, administration, and faculty essentials such as email addresses and phone numbers. Parents, students, and other faculty members would most likely find this a great help when trying to get a hold of someone in the school system. DHS’ website has very few teachers with contact information, and I have found some of them to be incorrect, so this should be updated as soon as possible.

The eighth tip is to have an Alumni Section to show the success of graduates. The alumni section could also serve as a way for older classes to communicate or show support for school activities and fundraisers.

The ninth tip is having Pictures. I believe the pictures on the DHS website are a nice touch. The pictures fade and change and add the personal feel. Parents, students, alumni, and faculty will all enjoy pictures.

The tenth tip is to have Online Registration. The point of this tip is to offer convenient online access to register for school plays, dances, events, tests (such as ACT, SAT, etc.) and other programs. I think this would be a good thing to have for larger schools, but where Danville wouldn’t be considered the largest school I know, I don’t think it would be necessary and could possibly make things more confusing. As of now, we have a link for online registration but it doesn’t work.

The eleventh tip is to have an Online Store. DHS does not have an online store. I think it would be a great idea to open an online store and have a club in the school system run it. It would be good business experience and technology experience. Also, it would be very convenient and I think many students and families would enjoy and support it.

Lastly, the twelfth tip is to have Fundraising Tools available, such as online donation options for parents, community members, and alumni. I honestly don’t think many people would use this feature, but some may. If it’s an opportunity for the school to raise money, I highly recommend we take it. It couldn’t hurt.