P.O.L

P.O.L Introduction:


Greetings! Thank you for coming to listen to my Presentation of Learning! My name is Sarah McMurtry,and I am going to present all that I have learned this first semester. Thanks to Jennie and Wes, my knowledge has improved a lot! Now, I am going to show you all that I have learned and what want to learn next semester. Enjoy!




Field Trip:
Sea World San Diego

On October 18, 2012 our class went on a field trip to Sea World San Diego to visit some of our ocean friends. We saw dolphins, orcas, beluga whales, polar bears, starfish, bat rays, sea lions, turtles, sharks, fish, and MUCH more!!! I actually planned the Sea World field trip myself. I called sea world San Diego and booked our class for October 18th. Our class arrived at Sea World at around 9:30. We checked in, and then headed toward a private sea lion training session that was included in our field trip. There were a few other school groups in sea lion and otter stadium other than ourselves. Our class was one of the last school groups to arrive, so when we got in, the session immediately started. A sea lion trainer came out with one of Sea Worlds Sea lions and she explained how they train marine mammals such as Dolphins, Killer whales, Beluga whales, and of course Sea lions. When the show ended, we made our way to dolphin point where we got to interact with some friendly bottlenose dolphins. Dolphin Point was my favorite exhibit at Sea World. I spent as long as I possibly could at Dolphin Point. There were quite a few educational signs explaining dolphin echolocation, dolphin training, and other interesting topics related to dolphins. The class then broke into several small groups and explored Sea World San Diego some more. From this field trip, I learned that dolphins can hold their breathe for up to 12 minutes and can dive up to 1,200 feet deep!

Life Of Pi

In Jennie's Humanities class, we read a fascinating book called Life of Pi. This book was about a boy who shipwrecks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and ends up on a lifeboat with an adult male Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. He somehow beats the odds and washes up on a remote village in Mexico and survives. Pi encounters many obstacles along the way, including Richard Parker(of course), a carnivorous island, sharks, storms, and the two biggest of them all, hunger and thirst. From Life of Pi, I learned that if you believe you can survive, you will. If you don’t believe you can survive, you won’t.

A skill that I am good at: Fishing

This may sound strange but, I LOVE TO FISH! I may not be the best fisherman in the world, but I have still caught plenty of small and big fish over my life. When I was little, I didn't like to fish because I didn't have patience and I couldn't sit still and wait for the fish to bite. Now that I am older, I realized that you don't catch a fish in 2 minutes, it takes a while! I usually fish in freshwater lakes such as Lake Poway. My favorite lake to fish in is Lake Mary, Mammoth. I usually only catch small rainbow trout there. Although, every once in a while I will catch a big one! I have only caught a few fish in the ocean. I really want to do a overnight marlin and tuna fishing trip out at sea sometime. It sounds adventurous and is a rare opportunity that most people don't get to experience. The biggest freshwater fish I ever caught was when I was in Alaska, and I caught a 45 pound Salmon in the Kenai River. It took almost 30 minutes to reel it in!

Class Job: Vacuum

My class job is to vacuum. I wanted to take care of the aquarium or be the white board cleaner but someone already took that job. Therefore, I decided to vacuum. Surprisingly, vacuuming is fun! At first I thought I would hate being the vacuumer, but I learned that even if you think something is boring or lame at first, you may end up having fun if you give it a chance.

Learning outside of school: Sea World

I go to Sea World about 3 or 4 days a week and I learn something new every time. I spend every second I can at dolphin point where guests can interact with friendly bottlenose dolphins. I have been going to Sea World for about 4 or 5 years now, and it has been so much fun! I know all of the dolphins names and personalities. I even know the names of the different dolphin pools! My two favorite dolphins are named Cocoa and Cortez. They are both 4 years old and lots of fun to play with. Sadly, Cortez is leaving to a completely different adventure park called Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. Cortez only has about a month left living in Dolphin Point. Luckily, Cocoa isn't going anywhere. Sea World is a very educational place, therefore, my knowledge of the oceans and the animals that live there have skyrocketed since I have been going to Sea World. There are plenty of signs around dolphin point that explain different characteristics about dolphins. There are also models of different species of dolphins. There is even a model of a killer whale jaw! You can also press a certain button and listen to the dolphins vocalize in the main pool. Lately, the dolphin trainers have been playing the dolphins vocalizations on the speakers around dolphin point so everyone can hear. The sounds the dolphins make are soothing and interesting. I love sitting by the glass and watching the dolphins swim by, while listening to their vocalizations.

Zero Waste Project:

 

For the Zero Waste Project, I created a power point presentation explaining how trash from Innovations Academy gets to the ocean. Trash is first dropped on the ground. Then the trash makes its way into our local watershed and storm drains. Afterwards, it goes through canyons, then into the Los Penasquitos Lagoon, and eventually dumps into Torrey Pines Beach. You may think that if you drop trash inland, it won’t affect the ocean. You are wrong. Sooner or later, the trash will make its way into the ocean or another body of water.  

Explorations:

On Wednesday we have explorations which include technology and P.E instead of our usual afternoon classes. In technology we are learning how to use photo shop and other computer programs. I didn't know how to use photo shop in the beginning of the year, but now I am slowly getting it. In P.E, we are learning how to play basketball and other sports. Our P.E teacher usually makes different stations for playing basketball and we rotate from station to station to play basketball differently.

Math:

In math we are currently learning about exponents and PEMDAS. We had several lessons and quizzes based on these topics. We also learned how to solve equations with exponents while using the PEMDAS technique. Here is a page from my math notebook that shows work I have done. PEMDAS means parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Exponents stand for repeated multiplication of the same thing by itself. In the next semester, I hope to improve a lot on percents and fractions. I struggled on percents and fractions the most out of any of the math lessons we did this first semester. I hope I can improve the most in these areas of math. 

Social Studies:

In Social Studies, Jennie taught us about different religions, geography, India, and the Medieval Times. We learned all about India’s culture, landscape, monsoons, and history. India’s main religion is Hinduism, which is the oldest religion ever. We also drew a map of the world, and labeled the different continents, oceans, mountain ranges, and other important geographical features. We are now just starting to learn about the Medieval Times, also know as the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages are famous for plagues, torture, economic crisis, religion, and viking invasions. No wonder they called the Medieval Times the Dark Ages!

        Where I'm From Poem Link
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JJMuSCnHoRpxfRUhwJ9Q7bVe6zsHWG0t8tOhkEJ0m6s/edit

Writing:

In writing, the whole class wrote a "Where I'm From" poem. We wrote this poem in the beginning of the year so that we could learn more about each other. We included pictures to enhance the poems structure. The poem didn’t really make sense because each line had a different theme. We could either find pictures online or get them from home. I chose this as my example for writing because, in my opinion, The Where I'm From Poem was the most fun writing project for me so far. In writing, I learned how to make a great piece of writing by including interesting facts, detail, creativity, and even humor! Next Semester, I hope to improve on my creativity in themes for essays and other writing projects. Writing is definitely not my favorite subject, but it is sometimes fun to use my imagination and be able to create my own story and be responsible for the story's events and ending. 

Thank you for listening to my Presentation of Learning and have a great day!!!

Zero Waste Project Reflection

Zero Waste Reflection

By: Sarah McMurtry

   
    The Zero Waste Project came about because of the amount of trash that was being put into our trash bins and being dropped on the floor. We decided to do something about it, and make a plan about how to reduce the amount of trash on our campus. The Zero Waste Project is how we can measure and reduce the amount of trash in our school. My question for the Zero Waste Project is, “How does trash get from Innovations Academy to the ocean?” The components of a Zero Waste Project may include coming up with a plan to reduce the lunch waste on campus, hold a zero waste assembly, or convince the school to participate in Zero Waste Week.

    From this project I learned how trash from Innovations Academy gets to the ocean. When we drop trash on the ground it goes into our storm drains and watershed. Then the storm drains take the trash to the local canyons, the Los Penasquitos Lagoon, and then ends up at Torrey Pines Beach. I called the San Diego Coast keeper to find out what watershed we are in and what beach Innovations Academy affects the most. I also looked up a lot of information on Google. My final product included a three dimensional map of where our trash goes to after being dropped on the ground and a printed power point presentation describing the process of how our trash ends up in the ocean. The power point also included extra information about the Los Penasquitos Watershed and what animals are affected the most by our waste. I didn’t use much math in my project but there was quite a bit of science. I showed how trash interacts with the ocean and the animals that live there.

    The final product of my Zero Waste Project looked really nice, but I had to go through a lot of editing to make it look good. I made a 1st draft of the power point, which I edited myself. Then Wes revised the power point after me and found a few more mistakes. After the writing part of the power point looked perfect, I started editing the pictures.  My partner, Zuri, worked on a three dimensional map of how  trash gets to the ocean. The three dimensional map didn’t turn out the best because Zuri focused on getting it done rather than putting effort into make it look good and professional. If I had to give Zuri a score from 1-4 I would give her a 1 because she barely put any effort in the project. Instead she looked up Furbies. If I had to give myself a score from 1-4, I would give myself a 3. I would give myself a 3 because I worked hard to make my power point look good but I do feel I could have put a little more effort into the power point.

    During this project I learned that even if you drop a piece of trash in your school, it will eventually end up in the ocean. This project has reduced the amount of trash I use daily. It made me realize that even just one piece of trash makes a drastic impact on our oceans. Innocent animals are dying due to our carelessness.

Is it so hard to recycle?

MT. Woodson Field Trip

This Thursday my class is going on a field trip to Mt. Woodson . When I go hiking there, I would like to see a coyote. I think they are a beautiful creature and it would be awesome to see one. I used to see them a lot but I haven't seen one in about 2 years. Coyotes are smart and adaptive, so they roam over much of North America. Coyotes are heard often in Native American folklore. Coyotes used to live in many of the North America's deserts, but right now they are making their home in many forests and even in popular cities such as Los Angeles. Coyote populations are higher than they have ever been before. Coyotes will eat just about everything. They will hunt rabbits, rodents, fish, frogs, and even deer. They also will eat insects, snakes, fruit, grass, and carrion. Because they sometimes kill lambs, calves, or other livestock, as well as pets, many ranchers and farmers will think of them as pests.Coyotes have strong vision and sense of smell. They can also run up to 40 miles an hour! In the fall and winter they will form packs so that they can hunt more effectively. In the Spring females will give birth from 3 to 12 pups. Coyotes are smaller than wolves and are sometimes called prairie wolves or brush wolves. Coyotes are mammals and omnivores. They can live for about 14 years. Coyotes weigh about 20 to 50 pounds. Coyotes are incredible creatures and I really hope I see one on our MT. Woodson field trip!

 

Plastics in the Ocean:

 Nets such as this one, will wrap around dolphins and other

marine animals. Nets and plastic substances can cause death and injuries to animals 

because they may mistake it for food and then choke on the plastics. 

Source of photo: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Nets+wrapped+around+dolphins

3 facts about plastic pollution in the ocean:

1- Marine debris, particularly debris that is composed of lost or abandoned fishing gear, is recognized as a serious threat to marine life, vessels, and coral reefs.

2-  Fishing gear is a hazard to fish, marine mammals, turtles, sea birds, coral reefs, and even human activities.

3-  During aerial surveys, we observed over 1800 individual pieces of debris, including 122 derelict fishing nets.

source: http://www.5gyres.org

About Me

               My name is Sarah McMurtry. I was born on October 10, 2000. One of my favorite things to do is playing with the dolphins at dolphin point in Sea World San Diego. I made a very strong connection with some of the dolphins there. My favorite dolphin is Cocoa. She is almost four years old and loves to splash!!! I have learned that the hard way! I have known Cocoa ever since she arrived at dolphin point. We are best friends. When she see's me she gets all excited and starts making all of these vocalizations. Cocoa will follow me around the whole pool. She wont leave my side. I met Zuri at the dolphin pool too. Zuri also has a strong bond with the dolphins and orcas. Zuri has a bond with Corky the orca and Monte the dolphin. When I am not at sea world, I am usually at my Karate class, or spending time with my family. I love to swim. I can swim really deep and can hold my breathe for a long time. I also like to go boogie boarding at Torry Pines beach. My dream is to open a dolphin rescue center with my friend Zuri. Thats Me!!!

Where my Mom is From:

             My mom is from Israel. She was born there and moved to the US when she was around ten years old. My mom was born in the city of Afula, which is in the northern part of Israel. However, she lived in Jerusalem most of the time when she was in Israel. She has two brothers, one younger and one older. The schools in Israel are much different then the schools here. In Israel, kids go to school six days a week, from Sunday to Friday. When my mother was in fourth grade, she had 21 subjects! Israel is a Jewish country, but there are also Christians and Muslims living there. Israel is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and my mom spent many summers swimming in the warm waters. However she had to watch out for the jellyfish!!! Even though my mom lived in America for many years, she still feels that Israel is her true home.