By: Harry Staley

5/2/11

Growing up can be a painful process to prepare you for real life and independence that includes: school work; friendship; and parents. School work is like running on a treadmill.  It is endless, tiring, and at some times insipid. Every night I go through the same routine of checking the plan book, beginning with English, and then writing essays, memorizing poems, and read.  Then it’s on to trying to understand math homework by reviewing my notes and looking back at the lesson in the book. Homework usually wraps up with either history or science, depending on the night, and Spanish. The hard work with friendship almost always happens when you are finished with your homework and have time to focus on your social life. When you are 14 and have friends, you have drama. Unfortunately, drama brings a level of discomfort to your life that completely changes the way you think about going to school. To balance the drama, you find yourself spending more time with your parents and siblings. Spending time with family is always a great way to get away from everything, because even though family can be painfully honest with you, no one protects you and looks out for you more than the ones who love you most.  If you can deal with these parts of life, it can really prepare you for real life trials and independence.

Ingredients to growing up:

1.       Two table spoons of courage.

2.       Three table spoons of integrity.

3.       One table spoon of common sense.

4.       Three cups of truth.

5.       Two and a half cups of humor.

6.       One table spoon of wealth.

7.       One table spoon of self-esteem.

8.       One to two hands full of relaxation.

9.       One pound of intelligence.

10.   A dash of athleticism.

11.   A sprig of kindness.

12.   A handful of love.

13.   A few cups of soundness.

14.   Three gallons of being artistic.

The extra time consuming sauce:

1.       One cup of muscle.

2.       Two table spoons of laziness.

3.       One sprig of attitude.

4.       If you have any, put in two tea spoons of spunk.

5.       One tea spoon of anger.

6.       Three tea spoons of love.

7.       For the final ingredient you should add two to three sprigs of hate.

This concludes my recipe for growing up.

Please eat responsibly.

Interview, between Juliette, and Scout

Scout:

Good afternoon Juliette.

Juliette:

Good afternoon.

Scout:

Rumor has it that you have had some problems with growing up?

Juliette:

Yes, I certainly doth have such problems.

Scout:

Do you want to talk about them?

Juliette:

Yes, I feel like I can’t do anything, because I am always under the supervision of another. It really upsets me, because I would like to have more freedom.

Scout:

I am sorry to hear that Juliette. Back in Maycomb, Atticus lets me do almost anything I want, because there isn’t much there that can hurt me.

Juliette:

You are a very lucky girl.  Ever since I was a child my family has had a ferocious grudge against the Montague’s.

Scout:

That must be so exciting!

Juliette:

Not at all.  For my love is a Montague and I fear that if I tell my father he will kick me out of my house.

Scout:

That sounds pretty serious. How are you dealing with it?

Juliette:

It is serious.  I just wish I could grow up and become a woman so I could marry him.

Scout:

I wish I could be on my own, too. Then I could act and dress the way I want.  Right now Atticus makes me dress up in fancy clothing and I hate that.  I want to wear jeans and a tee shirt.

Juliette:

I understand.  The more we grow up, the less we have to stay with our parents and live by their rules.

Scout:

As nice as growing up sounds, I would be kind of lost without my brother and father at my side helping me deal with the mistakes I make.

Juliette:

I know what you mean, my family is not as involved as yours, but I do have a nurse, so the amount of work I have to do around the house is minimal. I like that.

Scout:

You must be rich.

Juliette:

I guess so. It just seems normal to me, though.

Scout:

Well, I need to go.  My brother, Jem, has football tryout and I don’t want to miss it.

Juliette:

It was very nice talking with you, Scout.   I feel a lot better now that I got that out.

Scout:

I like talking with you too, Juliette.  Any time you want to chat, feel free to write or stop by.

WANTED!

Billy Reety

Height: 5, 2

Eye color: Brown

Weight: 125

Reward: $25

Billy has run away from the Mature Police (M.P.) because he does not want to face the fact that it is his time to grow up. Billy ran away last night at approximately 8:07. The Mature Police were notified immediately and have been told that all he took was his blanket (blankie) that he has had since he was born. When the M.P. finds Billy, the first thing they will do is put him through speed growth; the act of faster maturing. Billy’s parents are extremely worried about him and will actually turn him in if he returns home before the M.P. finds him.

By: Harry Staley

5/2/11

Growing up can be a painful process which includes hard work with school, friendship, and parents, that prepares you for real life and independence. School work is like running on a treadmill it’s endless, tiring, and at some times insipid. Every night I perform the same acts of checking the plan book, beginning with English, which usually consists of writing essays, poems, and anything else to do with writing, then trying to understand the math homework while looking at my notes, and then looking back at the lesson in the book, and either history or science homework, depending on the night. The hard work with friendship almost always happens when you are finished with your homework. When you have completed your homework, you will find yourself doing things that have something to do with your social life. This is when you begin to make friends, and with friends comes drama. Unfortunately, drama brings discomfort to your life, which completely changes the way you think about going to school. When this drama comes into your life you will find yourself spending more time with your parents. Spending time with family is always a great way to get away from everything, because trust me, nobody will mess with you under the protection of the ones who love you, until they begin to embarrass you, by talking for you and making it look like you cannot defend yourself. As you can see, this process looks like it can really prepare you for the trials of real life and independence.

Ingredients to growing up:

1.       Two table spoons of courage.

2.       Three table spoons of integrity.

3.       One table spoon of common sense.

4.       Three cups of truth.

5.       Two and a half cups of humor.

6.       One table spoon of wealth.

7.       One table spoon of self-esteem.

8.       One to two hands full of relaxation.

9.       One pound of intelligence.

10.   A dash of athleticism.

11.   A sprig of kindness.

12.   A handful of love.

13.   A few cups of soundness.

14.   Three gallons of being artistic.

The extra time consuming sauce:

1.       On cup of muscle.

2.       Two table spoons of laziness.

3.       One sprig of attitude.

4.       If you have any, put in two tea spoons of spunk.

5.       One tea spoon of anger.

6.       Three tea spoons of love.

7.       For the final ingredient you should add two to three sprigs of hate.

This concludes my recipe for growing up.

Please eat responsibly.

Interview, between Juliette, and Scout

Scout:

Good afternoon Juliette.

Juliette:

Good afternoon.

Scout:

Now rumor has it you have had some problems with growing up?

Juliette:

Yes.

Scout:

Do you want to talk about them?

Juliette:

Yes, I feel like I can’t do anything, because I am always under the supervision of somebody. It really upsets me, because I would like to have more freedom.

Scout:

I am sorry to hear that Juliette. Back in Maycomb, Atticus lets me do almost anything I want, because there isn’t much that could hurt you.

Juliette:

You are a very lucky girl, because ever since I was younger my family has had a ferocious grudge against the Montague’s.

Scout:

That must be so exciting!

Juliette:

Not at all, my love is a Montague, and I fear if I tell my father he will kick me out, if he knew.

Scout:

That sounds pretty serious.

Juliette:

It is I just wish I could grow up and become a woman so I could marry him.

Scout:

Me to, I wish I could be on my own. I really wish I could act the way I want to act, because Atticus makes me dress up in fancy clothing, and I hate fancy clothing, I want to wear jeans and a tee shirt.

Juliette:

The more we grow up, the less we have to stay with our parents.

Scout:

As nice as growing up sound, I would be kind of lost without my brother and father at my side covering up for any mistakes I might make.

Juliette:

I know what you mean, but since I have a nurse I have minimal work.

Scout:

You must be pretty rich.

Juliette:

I guess so.

Scout:

Well I need to go, my brother, Jem, has football tryouts, and I don’t want to miss it.

Juliette:

It was very nice talking with you Scout, I feel a lot better now that I got that out.

Scout:

Any time.

Final project

Draft one

By: Harry Staley

5/2/11

Growing up can be a painful process which includes hard work with school, friendship, and parents, that prepares you for real life and independence. School work is like running on a treadmill it’s endless, tiring, and at some times insipid. Every night I perform the same acts of checking the plan book, beginning with English, which usually consists of writing essays, poems, and anything else to do with writing, then trying to understand the math homework while looking at my notes, and then looking back at the lesson in the book, and either history or science homework, depending on the night. The hard work with friendship almost always happens when you are finished with your homework. When you have completed your homework, you will find yourself doing things that have something to do with your social life. This is when you begin to make friends, and with friends comes drama. Unfortunately, drama brings discomfort to your life, which completely changes the way you think about going to school. When this drama comes into your life you will find yourself spending more time with your parents. Spending time with family is always a great way to get away from everything, because trust me, nobody will mess with you under the protection of the ones who love you, until they begin to embarrass you, by talking for you and making it look like you cannot defend yourself. As you can see, this process looks like it can really prepare you for the trials of real life and independence.

Ingredients to growing up:

1.       Two table spoons of courage.

2.       Three table spoons of integrity.

3.       One table spoon of common sense.

4.       Three cups of truth.

5.       Two and a half cups of humor.

6.       One table spoon of wealth.

7.       One table spoon of self-esteem.

8.       One to two hands full of relaxation.

9.       One pound of intelligence.

10.   A dash of athleticism.

11.   A sprig of kindness.

12.   A handful of love.

13.   A few cups of soundness.

14.   Three gallons of being artistic.

The extra time consuming sauce:

1.       On cup of muscle.

2.       Two table spoons of laziness.

3.       One sprig of attitude.

4.       If you have any, put in two tea spoons of spunk.

5.       One tea spoon of anger.

6.       Three tea spoons of love.

7.       For the final ingredient you should add two to three sprigs of hate.

This concludes my recipe for growing up.

Please eat responsibly.

Final project

Draft one

By: Harry Staley

5/2/11

Growing up can be a painful process which includes hard work with school, friendship, and parents, that prepares you for real life and independence. School work is like running on a treadmill it’s endless, tiring, and at some times insipid. Every night I perform the same acts of checking the plan book, beginning with English, which usually consists of writing essays, poems, and anything else to do with writing, then trying to understand the math homework while looking at my notes, and then looking back at the lesson in the book, and either history or science homework, depending on the night. The hard work with friendship almost always happens when you are finished with your homework. When you have completed your homework, you will find yourself doing things that have something to do with your social life. This is when you begin to make friends, and with friends comes drama. Unfortunately, drama brings discomfort to your life, which completely changes the way you think about going to school. When this drama comes into your life you will find yourself spending more time with your parents. Spending time with family is always a great way to get away from everything, because trust me, nobody will mess with you under the protection of the ones who love you, until they begin to embarrass you, by talking for you and making it look like you can’t defend yourself. As you can see, this process looks like it can really prepare you for the trials of real life and independence.

Final project

Draft one

By: Harry Staley

5/2/11

Growing up can be a painful process which includes hard work with school, friendship, and parents, that prepares you for real life and independence. School work is like running on a treadmill it’s endless, tiring, and at some times insipid. Every night I perform the same acts of checking the plan book, beginning with English, which usually consists of, writing essays, poems, and anything else to do with writing, then trying to understand the math homework while looking at my notes, and then looking back at the lesson in the book, and either history or science homework, depending on the night. The hard work with friendship, almost always happens when you are finished with your homework. When you have completed your homework, you will find yourself doing things that have something to do with your social life. This is when you begin to make friends, and with friends comes drama. Unfortunately, drama brings discomfort to your life, which completely changes the way you think about going to school. When this drama comes into your life you will find yourself spending more time with your parents. Spending time with family is always a great way to get away from everything, because trust me, nobody will mess with you under the protection of the ones who love you, until they begin to embarrass you, by talking for you and making it look like you can’t defend yourself. As you can see, this process looks like it can really prepare you for the trials of real life and independence.

Final project

Draft one

By: Harry Staley

5/2/11

Growing up can be a painful process which includes hard work with school, friendship, and parents, that prepares you for real life and independence. School work like running on a treadmill it’s endless, tiring, and at some times insipid. Every night I perform the same acts of checking the plan book, English, which usually consists of, writing essays, poems, and anything else to do with writing, trying to understand the math homework while looking at my notes, and the looking back at the lesson in the book, and either history or science homework, depending on the night. The hard work with friendship, almost always happens when you are finished with your homework. When you have completed your homework, you will find yourself doing things that have something to do with your social life. This is when you begin to make friends, and with friends comes drama. Unfortunately drama is the one of the most annoying things out there, and it only brings discomfort to your life. When this drama comes into your life you will find your self-spending time with your parents. Spending time with family is always a great way to get away from everything, because trust me, nobody will mess with you under the protection of the ones who love you. In my opinion, the ones who love you will almost always be your Mom, Dad, and at sometimes your sibling.

15 minute freestyle writing

Harry Staley

4/28/11

Right now I am in the car and I am on my way to get my allergy shot. The weather is terrible, and there is thunder and lightning, and I have never seen it rain so hard. My mom just got very mad, because I got mad at her for putting dog hair on my pants that I just got. It was not the nicest thing to do, but the best part is she puts all of the dog hair on the floor of the car. The rain just let up a little bit, and I am at the four corners intersection in East Lyme.  Whenever it rains at my mom’s house like this we usually get flooded, not fun. I am just getting on the highway now and I will be going to mystic where I will finally get my shot. Hopefully, they will be open. Whenever I need to go they always seem to be closed or they can’t give me the injection, which is never good. It is very hard to see out of the car right now because of all of the water that the other cars are kicking up. I am so fond of the rain, but I love the lightning and thunder, it comforts me. I just past the weigh station in Waterford, and I will shortly be going on the New London Bridge. The bridge is always safer when its slippery out. The car is hydroplaning left and right, and it is the coolest feeling to watch the rain rush to your windshield, until finally squishing its contents all around the windshield.

First body paragraph about love

By: Harry Staley

Have you ever thought about what your love life might be like in ten years or so? In about ten years from now most of the kids in our English class might have found their true loves. It could be an old friend or maybe someone that was more than a friend when you were a teenager. It is even possible that children in our class could meet again and fall in love with another and get married. I believe romance is one of those things that will just come to me. I believe that one day off in the future I will have an encounter with an old friend, maybe someone from this school, and ask them out on a date. After a few dates, I might begin to date this girl, even if it is somebody that I am not very fond of today. I believe that love will slowly but surely make its way to me.

By: Harry Staley

Friendship the most important thing of life

Without friendship you are simply lost,

Friends are there in these terrible times of strife.

One must have decent friends at any cost

Never be afraid to make a good friend

The best decision a person could make

A good friend is with you until the end,

Choose carefully, to make sure there not fake.

The Metaphor for Friendship

The Connection of Weather and Friendships

An Essay by Harry Staley

8^th Grade English

Pine Point School

April 17, 2011

Have you ever compared a friendship you have had to the weather outside? I have and I have concluded that those miserable gloomy days can be related to friendships that weren’t the greatest. When the weather is sunny and beautiful, those relationships can be great. In this essay I will tell you about friendships I have had and how it relates to the weather.

Friendships are like the weather in many different ways. I think they are like the weather because the weather can be nice and warm or it can be cold and horrific. I know I don’t like those times when my friendships are cold and horrific because that means there is tension building up which usually leads to a fight - a not so exciting time for people in the predicament. Andrew is one of my best friends and I know that there has only been a few times where we have had our differences. Whenever Andrew and I hang out, we always have the best time. Whether we are playing lacrosse or playing Call of Duty, we never get sick of each other. I have a feeling that Andrew and I will be friends forever because we have grown such a strong bond over the years that seems like it would be almost impossible to break. Tony is another one of my pals that I could not see myself without. Whenever Tony and I are together, we are always in the happiest mood and it seems like we almost always have something to do. Over the course of this year, I have really spent a lot of time with Tony and our friendship has grown from that of an acquaintance to being the best of friends.  Tony and Andrew are the two best buddies I could ask for and whenever I’m with them my weather is sunny and 80 degrees not cloudy and cold.

After reading this essay on friendships I hope you have connected some of your friendships to the weather. When I was first asked to relate my friendships using a metaphor or an idiom, I really had to think about it and I came up with the thought of connecting my friends to the weather. It is quite obvious that when a friendship is like a stormy day, it is bad and can make me feel sad and when it is like a nice sunny day it is a good and makes me happy and cheerful. I am very thankful to have friends like Andrew and Tony and they will always be one of the best parts of my Pine Point experience.

1. One writing issue I am continuing to work on: One issue I am continuing to work on is thinking about what I am going to write before I write it.

2. One strong point I see in this piece of writing: One strong point I see in this writing is that it is all my writing and I am very proud of it.

3. One possible weak point I see: One weak point I see in this writing is that sometimes it seems like my writing mumbles on.

4) The grade I would give myself. B

By: Harry Staley

Friendships are like the weather in many different ways. I think they are like the weather because, the weather can be nice and warm or it can be cold and horrific. I know I don’t like those times when my friendships are cold and horrific, because that means that there is tension building up which usually leads to a fight, a not so exciting time for people in the predicament. Andrew is one of my best friends and I know that there has only been a few times where we have had our differences. Whenever Andrew and I hang out we always have the best time, whether we are playing lacrosse or playing Call of Duty we never get sick of each other. I have a feeling that Andrew and I will be friends forever because we have grown such a strong bond over the years that seems like it would be almost impossible to break. Tony is another one of my pals that I could not see myself without. Whenever tony and I are together we are always in the happiest mood and it seems like we almost always have something to do. Over the course of this year I have really spent a lot of time with tony and I have grown an acquaintance that would usually take years to build. Tony and Andrew are the two best friends I could ask for and whenever I’m with them my whether is sunny and 80 degrees, not cloudy and cold.

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) Friendships are like the weather

Bell word Friendships

SD I think friendships are like weather, because they have many different moods

Echo word to be used: friendships

CM Friends can have stormy thought about you, and those are probably not the best times.

CM I know I do not like it when I have a friend over and we begin to fight.

SD Andrew is one of my best friends and there has only been a few times when we have had our differences

Echo word to be used: Friends

CM Whenever Andrew and I hang out we always have the best time, whether we are playing lacrosse or playing cod we never get sick of each other.

CM I know Andrew and I will stay close for a while because we have grown a bond that seems almost impossible to break.

SD Tony and I are the best pals ever

Echo word to be used Pals

CM We are always is a happy mood when we are together and for the most part we have something to do.

CM Over the last few years tony and I have grown an acquaintance that would normally take years to build.

CS Tony and Andrew are the two best friends I could ask for and whenever I’m with them my whether is sunny and 80 degrees, not cloudy and cold.

Nature and To Kill a Mockingbird

An Essay on the Nature Center and To Kill a Mockingbird

And Essay by Harry Staley

Pine Point School

March 1, 2011

For my service learning project I worked at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature center, because it was a place that I have had many fond memories as a child. The Nature center is located in mystic Connecticut and they own a lot of land, which is all dedicated to animals, and proven by my research, in Connecticut there are not many places an animal can be and a human cant. In To Kill a Mockingbird It seems like they have plenty of room for animals, because they are always in wooded areas. I truly enjoyed working at my sight, and the memories of working there will live on in my mind forever.

I chose my service sight because it was a place that I spent hours on end in summer camps and I went there hundreds of times with my family. When I was younger I remember going to summer camps at the nature center for about six hours every day and I remember how excited I was to get there and how mad I was to leave. My Mom told me that I was one of the few kids that were actually excited to be in the camp, and I was actually in the activities before I was even signed. I also chose my sight because transportation could have been an issue. When I first went to the nature center I had to schedule my visits so that they would be directly after school, doing that made my visits go a lot smoother.  It was also a great spot to work because I live approximately five minutes away from the nature center. I enjoy working at the nature center, and my mind is slowly bringing back the great memories I had there as a young boy.

When I first started volunteering, at the Nature Center, I had a few very important problems like, communication, rules, and familiarity; these three things were so hard to work with. While I was first in the hunt for an assessment site, I looked at a whole bunch of different places but I really wanted to work at the Nature Center. I emailed them and called them but I never got a response, so I finally brewed up the courage to go to the Nature center and directly ask them if I could volunteer for them. That was a success they still didn’t know the exact dates I would be going but they set up my first visit. When I was about two visits into my assessment project I was told that I was going to be starting animal care, a part of the nature center where you feed the animals. I was okay with idea, but I had no clue where any of the things would be, so I got a tour of the animal cages and I was told where everything would be. The tour helped me a lot, but I was positive that I was not ready to do this on my own, so I worked with a partner named Laura; Laura is one of the head animal care instructors. One problem I have encountered lately was one of the rules, and the rules are very strict when it comes to feeding at the Nature Center. One rule was that I cannot feed a bird of prey without an adult or someone who is over the age of eighteen, because the animals are too dangerous and unpredictable. That was a big problem because that meant when I started to work alone I would need a parent to be with me, and it would be hard to teach them what to do, if I can barely do it myself. I think working in the big animal cages is a scary experience, but it is something that I will never forget about.

Animals are just great things that are hard to understand if you do not have the opportunity to be around them. I have been given the opportunity to work with them and the more time I spend at the nature center the more I understand why animals go there. Most of the animals that are put into the Nature Center are put there because they just can’t live out in the wild, and if they did live in the wild they would not be able to survive. Most of the animals are there because they have had accidents and they could never be released, unless they begin to fly in their cages, in that case there would be a gathering and they would make a decision on whether or not they would try to release the animal. All of the workers and volunteers who are at the Nature Center constantly become attached to the animals and they become crushed when an animal passes on, I was there once and I discovered that a corn snake named Maize died and almost everyone who was there was feeling very sad because Maize was there since before I was born. In the time I spent there I became slightly attached to some of the animals, like Gem, a terrapin. Although the animals don’t know me very well yet they always know who good people are, and who bad people are. When Maize, the corn snake, died everyone was so sad because it was a snake that has been there for ages, and it was healthy but it was just Maize’s time to pass on. When I first saw Maize when she was dead I thought she was sleeping, but then I looked closely and noticed that there was the tail of a mouse coming out of her mouth, which was not pleasant. Everyone was so sad that Maize died but it, “opened up so much more space for animal care”, (Denison) which is a room designated to the animals. The more time I spend at the Nature Center the more I become attached to the animals and at some times the kids.

Over the course of my assessment project I have seen many crazy animals, like Tim Johnson, who was a dog that is from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Tim Johnson was a very crazy dog, and Atticus killed him because he needed to be killed, because he was sick and needed to be put out so he wouldn’t hurt anyone. At the Nature Center they would never kill an animal; they would try to nurse it back to health no matter what condition they are in. I once had a Blue Herron come in that was so sick and there was no hope for it, and the Nature Center did everything they could to nurse it back to help but it just couldn’t make it. At the Nature I have seen Bob and Wanda many times and they always try to fly at me, at sometimes I almost kicked them, because the talons on them could really hurt me. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird if you kill an animal you are considered a hunter, at the Nature Center if you kill an animal you are considered a criminal. The Nature Center believes that killing live animals is extremely harsh, but in the book killing an animal is something to be proud of. I believe that living animals are things that should be there to look at, in To Kill a Mockingbird living animals are just opportunities to kill. Over the course of working at the Nature Center I have realized that most animals don’t have it so great to begin with and it doesn’t make it any better when there are people like Jem and Scout who just want to kill them.

Now that I have completed my visits at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center I feel that I brought a lot of good things there, like humor and courage. When I first started coming to the Nature center I noticed that it seemed most of the people did not have a sense of humor, and when working with dead mice you sure do need it. When I first handled the dead mice, I thought it was the most disgusting thing ever, and it made me feel better when I would crack a joke about the mice, like, “yummy these mice sure do look scrumptious today.” After I cracked a joke like that then my partner would crack a joke, and then after that the job became more satisfying, and not as serious. At the Nature Center I was very courageous, because I always did what I was told to do, which could mean get in a cage with a bird with a wingspan that is three feet taller than me. Some of the things that I was asked to do were not always the most fun thing to do, but I had to do it and if I did it wrong the first time then I would just have to do it again. Most of the things I was asked to do was, feed snakes, birds, turtles, and much more. The second time I went to the Nature Center for my service learning project, my dad and I were taught how to feed every animal at the sight. I had to listen very closely so that when I was there doing it alone I would know exactly what to do. The listening sure did pay off, because in my visits I did not kill or injure an animal. Over the course of my visits I brought a lot of good to my sight, and I will continue to bring the good.

If I were to do this assessment project over again, I think I would have worked at a different sight, because I do not want to repeat something that I have already done, and I would definitely get annoyed with the sight because I want to try new things. If I were to do this Project over again I would choose a different place to volunteer at. I would chose a different place because I do not like working at a place for too long, because I need to keep trying new things, and If I only work at one place I would be repeating things over and over again. Whenever I do things repeatedly I get bored and that is when I get into trouble, and I do not want that to happen. If I stayed at the sight I would get very annoyed, because I need to try new things. I am very bad at doing things over and over again, because I get bored with it and start getting side tracked and then I will screw up, because I won’t be paying attention to what I am doing. If I stayed at the Nature Center I would get aggravated, because every time I go I do the Nature Center I end up doing the same thing forever, and if I ask to do something different they will give me some newspaper and tell me to clean the windows, which is not exactly what I want to do. If I stayed at the Nature Center I would definitely want to work with kids, because the kids actually do things that could be exciting. The first visit I made was with kids and that was the most fun visit I made because I did activities, and there was always something fun planned. I would also want to work with kids because unlike animals, they can talk, and that is always helpful when they want to eat or they get hurt. I love working at the Nature Center but if I were to do it again I would do so many things differently.

This assessment project changed me dramatically in many different ways, because I now understand animals more, I look at them differently, and I developed a liking for working with kids. Working with animals, at the Nature center has really helped me look at animals differently. Whenever I am walking now I always feel like there is something that I could hurt underneath me, which is a very weird feeling but it always makes me aware of my surroundings. I also noticed that if I see an animal that is in danger or could be in danger I want to do what I can to help it. I look at animals differently because I now know how to care for them and I know that there is a place where they can go. Whenever I see an animal, like on TV, I feel like I can help them get better, because I have been around them so much. In all of the time spent at the Nature Center I have witnessed some animals that are quite ill, and I always do what I am asked to do to help the animal get better. Over the course of working at my site I have developed a liking for working with kids. On the first visit I made at the Nature Center I worked with kids and that was my favorite visit I made. I wish that I worked with kids more at the Nature Center, because it was something that I really enjoyed. I have loved working at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and they changed me dramatically in the few short visits that I have made.

Working at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature center has been an experience that I will never forget about. It is an experience that not everyone has the opportunity to do and I consider myself lucky to be a part of it. I think that over the course of working at my site I have become stronger and I also think that I am able to do more than I could before, like cleaning up after myself. The Nature Center truly was a spectacular place for my work site.

Outline#6

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) I would do a lot of things different at work site

Bell word-different

SD If I were to do assessment again I would choose other place

Echo word to be used-other

CM I don’t like working somewhere to long

CM would get bored with it, because it would be a repeated thing over and over again

SD If stayed I would get annoyed with the site, because I want to do new things

CM I can’t do one thing over and over again

CM It gets aggravating because can’t do it right if I do it forever

SD If I did it again I would want to work in different section, like working with kids instead of animals

CM The first visit i made, worked with kids and liked it

CM Working with kids= better because they do stuff

CS I love working at the nature center but If I were to do it again I would do it a lot different.

outline #7

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) This experience at Nature center changed me dramatically.

Bell word-changed

SD Working with animals changed me dramatically, because I understand animals more

Echo word to be used-different

CM I now try not to hurt them

CM I want to help if in need

SD I now look at animals differently, because I now know a lot about them and how to help them

CM If an Animal is hurt; feel I need to help, because of how much I’ve been around them

CM after my time at the nature center I learned wut to do if an animal is hurt and now, feel I can help an injured animal

SD I also developed a liking for working with kids

CM on my first visit I worked with kids and I really liked it

CM I want to work with kids more often

CS I love the nature center and I have learned a lot from it

Outline for 11- or 8-sentence Paragraph

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) I can relate Nature Center to, To Kill A Mockingbird

Bell word-relate

SD Nature Center deals with Hurt animals- Tim Johnson

Echo word to be used-associate

CM Tim Was killed, because he was sick, but, at Nature Center They would nurse him back to help.

CM Like the blue heron that was brought in, because it was sick

SD At Nature Center, must be honest, because if you aren’t you might lose some privileges

CM If you lie on the feed sheet, a sheet that informs you on what an animal gets on that specific day, you could hurt the animals

CM If you aren’t honest, they might ask to take time off from volunteering

SD in to Kill a Mockingbird, if you kill a bird you are considered a hunter, if you do at the nature center you are considered a criminal

CM Killing living things is bad, but in book it is a good thing

CM  Nature and living things is there to look at, not there to shoot

CS Over the course of volunteering at Nature center I see similarities between book and sight

Outline for 11- or 8-sentence Paragraph

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) Nature center helped me understand animals more because I have been around them

SD more time I spend at nature center more I understand why animals go there

Echo word to be used- understand

 CM Some are hurt

CM Some just can’t live in the wild

SD Most of people who work there become attached to animals

CM in the time spent there I am attached to some animals because I spend time feeding them and it is a cool feeling

CM Most animal know who are good and bad people

SD snake died

CM  was shocked because its been there since I was born

CM everyone was sad

CS The more I work at Nature Center the more I learn about what they do

Visit#5

By: Harry Staley

In this visit I encountered a lot of problems but it was also one of my best visits. I first got there with Alan and Tony and we were already to do some work. I started off by getting dishes from the animals to Tony for washing. Thin I prepared the food for Crow. I had to change out all of the newspaper for crow and then I could give him his food. Then I fed some of the other animals, like Gem, a terrapin. To feed Gem I needed to get a clear container and fill it about two inches with water. Before I put Gem into the container, I needed to put in little chunks of squid. After the squid was in the tank, I put Gem into the tank and left to feed another animal. A few minutes later Tony and I started to look at the snakes. When we got to the last snake, a corn snake, we noticed that it wasn’t moving. We examined it further and noticed that wood was coming out of its mouth. I told my partner and she immediately felt sad. That snake has been there for twenty years. She was very sad, but then she got over it and we resumed our work. After I finished feeding the animals inside, we had to feed the animals outside. All of the animals outside are a bird of prey, which means they eat other live things. My partner brought Kolton and I out to the big cages where we would begin feeding. Kolton and I had to give each bird the correct number of mice which was indicated on the feed sheet. We first walked into the cage and a big owl swooped down at Kolton and I. Immediately Kolton’s response was this is crazy, which it was. In one of the cages we went into Kolton and I had to pick up rats that were the size of my forearm. I thought that the feeding was really gross, but I also thought it was cool to go into those cages and feed those big birds. I love the experience and I can’t wait to go again.

utline for 11- or 8-sentence Paragraph

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis)At my service sight I think I did some good with all of the thing I do there.

Bell word-

SD At Nature Center always do what I was told

Echo word to be used- well

 CM, always do what I was told so I don’t get in trouble

CM Good practice for when I do it alone

SD always listen so I do it right

CM can’t mess up or the animals could get hurt or sick

CM Got to listen or else you get in trouble

SD bring humor to my sight

CM Without humor it get kind of boring, because all they do is work

CM Without the humor it would be so boring

CS bring a whole bunch of stuff from my everyday life to my sight every visit

Outline for 11- or 8-sentence Paragraph

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) three difficulties at nature center communication, rules, and familiarity, and location of materials

Bell word-Difficulties

SD had hard time emailing with them

Echo word to be used- problems

 CM, had to go to the place

CM had to make a special visit

SD Even with tour, didn’t know where anything was

CM animal feeding is hard, because couldn’t find food

CM Buddy system helped

SD Have to have parent

CM parent is an inconvenience- without parent can’t feed

CM “to dangerous” animals are unpredictable

CS the more I go the more I learn, but still an inconvenience because parent has to stay the whole time

Outline for 11- or 8-sentence Paragraph

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) Place has difficulties

Bell word-Difficulties

SD Over course of visits had problems

Echo word to be used- problems

 CM, couldn’t communicate

CM emails were hard

SD Learning ways were hard

CM animal feeding is hard

CM very confusing

SD Have to have parent

CM without parent can’t feed

CM “to dangerous”

CS I have problems at Nature Center

Outline for 11- or 8-sentence Paragraph

TS (Main Idea, Topic, or Thesis) I chose my assessment place because it was close.

Bell word-close

SD While I was in the hunt for my assessment assignment I look everywhere to find a good place to work.

Echo word to be used-Nearby

CM For all of the places I looked I looked for places that were nearby.

CM Since I have two homes being close would be kind of an issue.

SD Being close to my home is what I really wanted so that if I had things to do after my assessment I wouldn’t have to take a long car ride to be there.

Echo word to be used-Area

CM In the area that we live in there are plenty of places that could use some volunteers.

CM Before I chose the nature center I looked at a whole bunch of other places.

SD Before I chose the nature center I looked at a couple of other places.

CM I looked at the Stonington Harbor Yacht club but that was something that I had already done so I chose a place that I used to go to all the time as a kid.

CM When I was a kid some of my best memories were at the nature center.

CS I love the nature center and I thought it was a great choice for me.