Outside Reading Card; The Wizard of Oz

The PYMWYMI Letter Project

Dear AAFES Exchange,

For many years, my family and I been shopping at your store. We are very satisfied that your store has reasonable prices for your wide variety of merchandise and has excellent customer service.

Every year my family goes to your store on Black Friday because of your good cheap deals. The week before Black Friday, we received your AD for your sales. We noticed that you were selling the HP Desktop Bundle for only $349 when the original price was about $600 or $700. On November 26, 2010, the after Thanksgiving Sale, we stood in line for the HP Desktop Bundle. We all woke up at about 3 in the morning and managed to be the 6th people in line. While waiting for your store to open, one of your workers came out handing out vouchers for the computer. However, the worker only passed out 5 and we were the 6th people in line, so we did not get one. After waiting for about 3-4 hours in line, we came out empty handed and filled with disappointment. For something like this, you guys should at least carry about 10-20 of that specific item on sale. Not three or five. Maybe even sell a different brand with the same price. That way people wouldn't need to waste their time standing line for nothing.

This hasn't happened only once, it happen a few other times also. The same thing happened to us last year, when buying a bed. You guys advertised it in your AD and when we got to your store, you ran out because you only had two in stock. Because of this, my family is reconsidering at shopping at your store on Black Friday. We're thinking that it would be just a waste of time standing in line because you seem to have a very low amount of the things that are on sale. We won't recommend your store for Black Friday to others because of this. In the future, I think you should at least carry about 10-20 of that item or offer to sell a different brand for the same price.

Sincerely,

Kevin Caguillo

HP Desktop Bundle w/ 2GB, 320GB, 20" LCD Monitor

Pro/Con

Being a teen in today's society is already hard. We tend to be stressed out from school, home or from friends. For some teens today, they are experiencing being abused. There are different forms of abuse which are physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Some say that abuse should be kept to themselves because its something really personal. Maybe the person who is being abused is scared to tell people because they're afraid that no one would understand them. Teens being abused should go through counseling.

The best way I think they should deal with it is to tell someone. The person being abused and the abuser should go through counseling so they can open up and talk about their problems. In addition, it is up to the abuser to change their ways while going through counseling. If they don't change their ways, then i guess the only right thing to do is to punish them by sending them to prison if it gets to that point. However, if it's a family issue, maybe from going to counseling the counselor can recommend to the parents to give their child up for adoption. Parents are suppose to love, care and provide food for their child. If the parent can't do that, then maybe another family can.

Kids and teens deserve to be loved and respected. If they are being abused they shouldn't be afraid to tell someone. There will always be someone there for them who will understand what they are going through. Same goes for the abuser, if they are going to express their anger they shouldn't express it through abusing, they should express it in counseling by talking about their problems. If they keep it to themselves the problem may get worst. To me, i think the only way to deal with this situation is to go through counseling.

Outside Reading Card; Banner in the Sky.

College Essay (critique ready) ; Kevin in Wonderland.

TOPIC: Tell us how a particular book, play, film, piece of music, dance performance, scientific theory or experiment or work of art has influenced you. If you choose a novel, film or play, assume we know the plot.

Kevin in Wonderland

In today’s society we all find ourselves caught up in the popular media. Whether it may be novels, films, music, actors/actresses, we tend to have our own personal opinions and influences from them. Things that can catch our eye the most and can make us interested are what influence us.

“Attention all 3^rd to 8^th graders of St. Joseph School! Auditions for this years school play, Alice in Wonderland, are today in the cafeteria after school. See you there!” said the loud intercom. Considering I was a 5^th grader that year, I said to myself in confidence “maybe I’ll get a better role than last year!” Every person in my class was thinking about auditioning. From class to class, we all sit anxiously in our seats waiting for the end of the day just to audition. “R-i-i-i-i-n-g!” goes the final bell of the day. We all rush out of the classroom, making our way to the cafeteria

When my whole class arrived at the cafeteria, it was filled with students trying to audition. It was like the whole 3^rd to 8^th grade class wanted a part in the play that year. At last, the auditions began. “All of you must sing a song from the play in groups” said Mrs. Kaiser, the St. Joseph School’s drama teacher. I picked my best friends to sing with me for the audition. As we got called up to audition, we prayed that we would get good parts, hugged each other for good luck, and finally walked to the front of the room. We picked The Walrus and the Carpenter to sing. And so we began, “The Walrus and the Carpenter

Were walking close at hand…” After we were done singing people clapped for us, shouted “good job you guys!” and cheered loudly. After every went to audition, we got our roles for the play. Sadly, I got a small part, the Red Queen’s knights.

On the day of the first show, everyone began to become nervous and started panicking. As the curtains swung open the first, second and third scene began. The scenes were about Alice not paying attention to her sister and following a white rabbit down the hole, and finding herself in Wonderland. While waiting for my part to come on, I waited on the side with my friends, watching the play. For a second, I thought to myself “Alice is kind of like me. I don’t pay attention when the teacher is talking and I am very curious.” From a small part in the play, it influenced me to pay more attention in class.

After the story started to unfold, the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th scenes began. They were about Alice getting advice from the caterpillar and how Alice met the Mad Hatter and Hare. Again, I thought to myself “maybe I should start listening to advice that my friends and family are giving me.” As the 6^th scene was ending, I began to get ready for my part. The 7^th and 8^th scenes were mostly about who stole the Red Queen’s tarts. After my part was over, the nerves started going away. I started to zone out again, I thought, “maybe I should do what I am told to and tell the truth because if I don’t, I’ll have to pay the price by punishment

Even though it’s been years since I was in this play, I really learned a lot from this experience. Alice sets goals and accomplishes them in the story so she could go home. Ever since I was in this play, I started setting goals for myself. I slowly began improving on my grades, listening and paying attention in class. Alice in Wonderland really open my eyes to do better in school. It influenced me to do better in school.

Coming of Age Poster; DRAFT

Coming of Age DRAFT

"Kevin! It's traffic, hurry up!" were the first words I heard from my mom, as I woke up on a Tuesday morning. As a got up slowly, yawning, I walked to my closet to get ready. After putting on my clothes and my shoes, I look at myself for the last time in my closet mirror. I thought to myself, "something’s going to change today."

Making my way downstairs, I rushed to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Pouring milk and Corn Pops into a bowl, my mom yells at me saying, “Hmm, you better hurry up. It’s traffic!” I quickly ate my breakfast, grabbed my driver’s manual and made my way to the car. It took us about 15 minuets to get to St. Joseph School in Waipahu. My mom parked in the front of the school to pick up three of my friends. We were going to the mall after I was done taking my permit test. After we picked them up, we were headed to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Sitting anxiously in the car, I asked my friends “Help me study, I feel like I’m going to fail!” They asked me questions from the manual. The first question went something like this “you are going into a curve too quickly, you should?” I answer the question quickly, “ ease off the gas, and speed up when you regain traction.” The whole conversation from St. Joseph to the DMV were all driving questions. We were nearly 5 minuets away from the DMV and I began to panic, thinking that I was going to fail.

As we made our way into the DMV, I saw a lot of people who were my age. I took a registration card, filled it out and nervously brought to the front desk. The lady looks at me with a genuine smile and says “Hello, are you here to take your permit test?” I smile back and nod my head yes. She asked both of my parents to sign a card and gave me it after. She then told me to bring the card to the cashier to pay two dollars for the written test. I stood in line for the cashier for about 3 minuets. Standing in line for that long made my nerves go away, but made me feel impatient. After I paid, the lady then told me to stand in line by the blue tape. I quietly thought to myself, “ this is such a really long process just to take a permit test.” At last, this was the last line I stood in before I took my permit test. I gave the lady the receipt to prove that I paid for the test. She smiled and gave me a pencil, answer sheet, and a test. My nerves suddenly came back as a walked to my seat.

I sat down, took a deep breath and began my test. I carefully read the first question and in an instant I circled my answer. I did the same thing for every question. By question five I began to wonder, “ why did I think this test was so hard? It’s EASY!” Before I knew it, I finished my test. I happily walked to the front desk to turn in my test, when I accidently overheard the guy talking to the lady at the front desk saying he failed. Hearing that conversation made me feel paranoid. I began to doubt all my answers on my paper and went back to my seat to check. After carefully checking my answers, I confidently turned in my test to the lady. She then pulled out her grading card, and marked my paper a lot of times. Once she was finished correcting my paper, she looks at me with a nice sweet smile and says “You Passed with only two wrong!” My reaction made people around me stare, because I was screaming and jumping. After I calmed myself down, I walked to the camera station to take my picture for my new permit.

From when that camera flashed to take my picture, I felt like a new person. Driving is something that only grown ups can do and that's exactly what it did, it made me feel like a grown up. I was no longer child; I was becoming a young adult. Receiving my permit made me realize that I have new sets of responsibilities to follow as a person and as a driver.

Pro-Con Formative Assessment ;

Topic "Homeless"

Link to Article:

http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Hawaii-legislators-seek-feedback-from-the-homeless/Qh1bvUtPy0ixlc3mRxTqdA.cspx

Summary: State representatives want to help the growing homeless population out, who live across the street from Aala Park. They are trying to come up with solutions and are hoping that the homeless themselves can come up with solutions also. The homeless who live there feel mistreated by other people. A solution that came up was to create "safe zones" where homeless can stay without being harassed. In addition, they are trying to make one of the 100 unit buildings in Chinatown, a housing area for those with drug problems and mental illnesses.

Proposition: I agree with the representatives that we should have safe zones for the homeless because they are away from where tourists may be and it would make the place look a little bit cleaner. In addition, they would also have a place to live without being harassed by people passing by. Besides safe zones, the housing idea in Chinatown sounds like a great way to help those with mental illnesses and drug problems.

Coming of Age; Finding Myself.

Thinking about the past and all the things I have gone through, I can see that I have indeed "come of age." Coming of age to me means to take responsibility of your own actions, feel more independent and to have more confidence in yourself.

For me, my "coming of age" experience began when I started high school. Coming from a private school, I knew public school would be a challenge for me. I was used to a small campus, with only 46 students in each grade. In private school, no matter what grade you were, we would get along. I could name everyone from kindergarten to eighth grade, I was that close with everyone. As the first day of high school began, I could see everybody chatting and laughing with their friends. I felt almost like a loner. I was so used to everybody knowing me. I had to gain confidence in myself and make new friends. I had to change my personality from shy to affable and vivacious. Doing this, made me make new friends. As freshman year flew by, other things started changing about me besides my personality. I started to dress and talk different. I went from slippers to shoes, jeans to shorts and short hair to long hair. I even went from shirts with awful kiddy designs on them to ones with nice designs that match my age. In addition I even started listening to more hip-hop and alternative music rather than r&b music.

As the beginning of sophomore year began, I yet to come across another “coming of age” experience. Couple days before school began, I went to the DMV to take my permit test. I finished the test in exactly 10 minuets. As I turned in my test, the lady slowly corrects the test in front of me. Once she was finished she looks at me with a nice sweet smile and says “ You passed! “ I was so happy, from there I felt like a new person. It made me feel like a grown up and that I have new responsibilities to follow. I knew from there, I was not a kid anymore, I was starting to become a young adult.

Coming of age can happen at anytime. We all mature at our own pace. I still have many challenging years ahead of me, and many new things to learn and accomplish. My ambition in life is to see me for who I truly am, I cannot do that until I fully “come of age.”

Parent Comment

1. What I like best about your portfolio is that I could navigate through each page easily and thoroughly. You explained each GLO with examples that present it well. I would like for you to improve on making your font size bigger because its to small and hard to read.

2. The third GLO, be involved with complex thinking and problem solving, I thought was the most value . You are good at doing problem solving especially in math. You do good in math and you used it as one of your examples.

3. I would like to see you focus more on GLO 1 because you do the work but you tend to turn it in late. The work you do is great but you should turn it in on time to be more responsible.

Parent Portfolio Post

Hello ! (:
This is my last website to make for my freshman year. It is my General Learner Outcome Website. Freshman year came by really fast and was full of fun memories.


Here is my GLO website : CLICK HERE

Please answer the following questions:

• What did you like best about my Portfolio and portfolio conference? What would you like to see me improve on in my portfolio?
• From your point of view, which of my attainments of the 6 general learner outcomes is important and what about my documentation of it impresses you.
• Which of the GLOs would you like me to focus on in the coming year(s)?

What makes a good Sci-fi?; Draft

When watching movies like Wall-E, I am legend, Start Trek, Avatar etc., they all have one thing in common, they are all sci-fi or in other words science fiction. The key element in science fiction are technology and science. A good sci-fi movie doesn't only have scientific breakthroughs, but has the positive and negative consequences of those scientific breakthroughs that makes us think and determine what will come out of technology over time. Science Fiction Movies are often opposed to known reality but the characters are usually provided with scientific explanations. Sci-fi attracts the audience's attention by it's storyline, graphic effects, and all the surprises it brings. Based on all the breakthroughs happening now, Sci-fi shows us a little insight on what the possible outcome could be for the future.

Science Fiction movies makes us have the feeling of amazement and excitement, while showing us the negative and positive consequences of the scientific breakthroughs. Some sci-fi movies tells us stories about different ways of thinking or ways of living. In the movie, Wall-e, the scientific breakthroughs mostly revolve around advanced technology. From cleaning robots to automated pilots, they both have one thing in common in this movie and that is making the people lazy. Although the positive outcome of the cleaning robots, such as Wall-e, made it easier for the humans, it made the humans lazy to clean the earth themselves and forced them to move into space so that the robots could clean the earth instead. While the humans were away, the robots broke down and the earth become a giant wasteland. In addition, the automated pilot made the captain lazy to control the space ship himself. Avatar also has a variety of scientific breakthroughs. Scientists combined the genes of a human and the genes of a Na'vi, creating what is called an Avatar. The scientist then mentally linked a human to become one the avatars. For movies like Avatar and Wall-e, it shows us something that could possibly happen in the future.

In order to make a good sci-fi, you need an exciting storyline that attracts the audience's attention, combining of what they know about sci-fi and what they don't know about it. You need to have a plot and conflict that also includes explaining the positive and negative effects of the scientific breakthrough. Those are some key elements that are needed to make a good sci-fi. Science fiction movies makes us wonder what could possibly happen in the future. The purpose of science fiction movies is to get us to think outside the box. Whether it's books, movies, or magazines, Sci-fi is everywhere.

Journal #32

Verbs:

Screaming, shouting, yelling, laughing, cheering, running

Sensory Details

Hear: kids and adults laughing and screaming as they ride,

people cheering before the rides start.

Feel: a rush of wind hitting you against your face as you ride the roller coasters

Smell: the sweet aroma of cotton candy and the buttery popcorn.

See: Families taking memorable pictures, the rushing crowd of people running to each ride.

Poetry website invitation

Come to my website. see what kind of poetry i like. In my website you will see my 5 step process of the poems i picked. I like these poems because they really men something to me. 

Come check out my Website (:

http://www2.k12.hi.us/~kcaguillo/Poetry/poetry.html

Self-Metaphor Poem

I can confuse and frustrate many,

but to some I can entertain them.

There are many pieces that make me up.

When life brings me hard challenges,

and makes my world crumble.

I have friends and family,

to put me back together.

Friends and Family who I carry memories with,

memories that complete me.

When you put all my pieces together,

you can see me for who i truly am.

I am a puzzle.

Metaphor; Journal #27

I think i want to compare myself to a puzzle. A puzzle has many different pieces and needs someone to put them together. For me, my friends and family are the people who put me together and made me who i am today. Also, puzzles have to be put together, but at some point they have to be broken down. Those people who break me down are my enemies. In addition, puzzles are very hard to figure out and very colorful once it's put together, sort of like me. I'm hard to figure out because one day i might be happy, but the next day i may be mad. When the puzzle is put together it's very colorful, so when people put my pieces together, they'll see me for who i truly am.

Journal #25 "vocabulary"

- My weak points in the trait of word choice are that I don't have a strong vocabulary, I mostly just use small words. Even though I use small words in my writing, it makes it easier for the reader to understand what I am trying to say. When i use big words in my writing, i usually get them from the thesaurus.


- Well, in 7th and 8th grade, we usually and vocabulary tests. Now, i just use the thesaurus or dictionary.


- I use the thesaurus online, when i am writing my essays.
EXAMPLE:
i type in happy on teh search bar on the thesaurus website, words come up like blissfull, excited etc.

- For me, my goal is too learn as much new words i can. Maybe about 20 new words every semester. I can show that i "own them" by using them when i speak to people or when i am writing essays or homework.

Journal #20 Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010.

It is 7:00 AM in Las Vegas, my family is rushing to get everything into our suitcases. We all say our final goodbyes to all of our a relatives. As we rushed our way to the car, thinking we would miss our 10:00 flight back to Hawaii, we all realized that it's only 7:30 AM. Finally, we arrived at the crowded airport. The line to check-in was just ridiculously long. Making our way to the security check, I take off my shoes, belt, and backpack and placed it in the bin to be checked. After we grabbed all of our belongings, we went to our gate waiting patiently for our flight. It is now 9:40 and the flight attendant says "Now boarding for Hawaiian Airlines flight number 7". I gave my boarding pass to the flight attendant and my way to my chair. It is now 10:20 and the plane has taken off. To kill time, my brother and I watched 4 movies straight. Before we knew it, we were in Hawaii. We went straight to the baggage claim, grabbed all our bags and headed straight to my cousin's car. He dropped us off to our house. From there, we all split up. My parents went inside and started unpacking, my brother went to his girlfriend's house, and i went with my cousin to buy fireworks. After I went to the store, I went to my cousin's house too pop some fireworks. Aerials making noise and exploding in the sky, ground blooming flowers spinning colorfully and fountains shooting out colors. I asked my cousin what one of the fireworks do, he lit it and showed me what it does. It turned out that it was one of those fireworks that sound similar to a bomb. It set of about 2 car alarms. A lot of smoke, filled the air, making the adults wear surgical masks so they don't inhale as much smoke. Hours has passed, and it is now 11:50 PM. All of the neighbors were setting up their grand finales and so were we. Before we lit our finale, we all counted down. "5,4,3,2,1 HAPPY NEW YEARS!". Our family and all the neighbors lit their finales. "BANG,POP,BOOM!". While watching our last firework explode, i thought about all the memories i had in 2009. Even though 2009 was one of my best years, I am hoping that 2010 is even better. I said quietly to myself " Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010. "