Fear

In English, we are reading the book Lord of the Flies. In our class discussion today, we were talking about what happens to people when they are afraid. Fear changes a person. It makes them revert to a more primitive mindset, and make them act differently than they normally do. They are more aware of things, and get very jumpy. Sometimes, people change their priorities because of their fear.

People can be scared of different things, such as sharks, the dark, or the first day in a new school. Some kids think fear is just insecurity, but I do not agree. Being afraid is not something to be ashamed of. You should not feel inferior because you are afraid of something. I am very scared of thunderstorms, spiders, scary movies and the dark. I used to care about what people thought of me being frightened, but I don’t anymore. You should overcome your fears at your own pace, if you choose to at all. One thing you should definitely not do is let your fears take control of you.

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

Semi ‘08

This past Friday was the Winter Semi Formal. I think everyone had a great time. Before the dance, a lot of people sometimes go to friends’ houses for pictures for a pre-semi party, then go over to the dance together. I had a bunch of my friends over before semi, for pictures and just to hang out. Everyone looked great and it was fun to see the whole school together. The gym was transformed and decorated to fit the theme. The DJ was awesome and kept the energy up. I think everyone who was dancing had sore legs the next day. It was also my best friend Jenna’s 16th birthday. My friends and I all tried to make it as special as we could for her.

:]

Semi Formal.

This Friday is the annual Christmas Semi Formal and we are all very excited! I have a black dress that I decided to wear and I hope to get my hair curled for the dance. I didn’t go last year so I am anxious to go to see what it is like. The committee spends hours decorating our school gym and I heard last year that the gym looked pretty amazing. I can’t dance but thanks to the numerous amounts of sweet 16s I have been too I think I am ready to dance the night away. Speaking of sweet 16’s I have to go to one the next day after semi. This is going to be a busy weekend. I love the month of December. Out of all the months in the year, December is definitely my favorite. I think it just has a very warm feeling and it makes me eager for Christmas. I love ice skating and drinking hot chocolate, and doing all this in December is just a different feeling. I don’t think I can describe it. Wish me luck with dancing, talk to you later.

Basketball Season Begins :]

The Basketball season of 2008-2009 has begun! Over the weekend, basketball tryouts were held for the boys’ team and the girls’ team. Friday and Saturday was for everyone who was interested in playing this season, and Sunday was for callbacks for Varsity. On Friday, I was surprised at how many freshmen were there. They came out and tried their hardest. 3 of them were called back on Sunday to try and make varsity. There were a lot less returning players this year, as opposed to last year. I made JV this year, and am looking forward to it, as I think everyone is, to sharpen their skills and play the game we all love. This is my all-time favorite part of the year, and I plan on trying my hardest to get a starting spot. I think if you love the game, then you should go out for the team. It’s a great chance to spend a lot of time playing the game competitively, and becoming friends with a different group of people.

:)

Honor Roll Breakfast

Last week was the honor roll breakfast. Tuesday was for last names A-K and Wednesday L-Z. We came down to the cafeteria during homeroom and then sat down and waited for the function to begin. We started it off with a prayer and then the guidance counselors announced the names, freshman first honors all the way to seniors’ second honors. When my name was called, of course, the chair makes this big noise and everyone stares at me. I was a little embarrassed but decided to just smile and look for the next person standing. After all the names were called we got to hit a breakfast consisting of crumb cake, donuts, bagels, and lots of juices, oh and hot chocolate (my favorite)!!!

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

A life changing experience

Have you ever heard of CCD? Well it is religion class for Catholics who go to public school. This year for my service hours I thought I would volunteer as a teacher there. What I started became a life changing experience. On my first day the principle assigned me to a teacher who had the worst class, I was her assistant. I ended up knowing some of the kids in the class and got them to calm down a little. I honestly have to say this has to be the best experience of my life. The teacher and I became close; she called me an “angel from heaven” lol. She needed help so badly she was about to quit. I make tests and quizzes and I really connect with each of the students. On Monday though I received news that the women I work with (the teacher) was diagnosed with cancer. I don’t think I can describe how I feel. I came into this as a perky assistant teacher who never thought she would make such a connection with anyone, not even the teacher. I was about to cry when she told me this, she feels like a family member to me. But it’s not the end of the world, she was optimistic and said that she will make it through and we are going to teach together forever. CCD – I only did this for service hours but now I actually look forward to going. The teacher will not be there as much so I will become head teacher. I am a little excited but I wish she would be there with me. I can’t believe all that has happened; this was just for service hours. This was just for an A on a test grade. But I can say that even when I’m finished with my service hours, I will do this for a very long time.
This has changed my life.

Class Changes

This year, I made the transition to mostly accelerated classes from mostly honors classes. Some of the freshmen may be doing this next year, and some of the incoming freshmen could be doing this during the year. Kids from all grades change their class level during the year, and it is a big transition in most cases. This year, I am in all accelerated classes and one honors class. In the beginning of the year, I thought some of the classes were easy. It is around this time that they are really kicking into gear and becoming hard. I like this to a certain extent because I enjoy a challenge.

Making the change into accelerated this year was really big for me. My friends were different, and my schedule conflicted with the schedule of my friends from last year. I was worried about this at first and how I would be able to handle all the work that came with an accelerated class, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep up with them. Some of you may be thinking the same thing, but you should give yourself more credit. If you are put into the accelerated and honors program, you deserve to be there; this is a concept that I could not grasp until a few weeks ago. Some people are born naturally very smart and do not have to try too hard in school to succeed. On the other hand, some people have to work hard to do well in school. If you are one of those people, do not be discouraged. Classes are different for everyone, and you need to find what is the best level for you.

Report Cards

The time most students are so nervous for, report card day! We received our report cards Friday; a lot of kids like to beat their parents to the mailbox. I was nervous though because I've taken harder classes this year with so much more work such as accelerated U.S. History, honor chemistry and English but I keep it simple with regular geometry and Spanish. You can also put in gym and church. I ended up with three B+’s and the rest A’s. I was so happy, hard work really does pay off. It’s funny when I was in elementary school; I could careless about my grades. I did bad on tests (because I blank out) but for some reason it never hit me as being that terrible. But when I reached middle school something hit me, you have to do well in school; I guess it's a maturity thing. Doing well in high school especially, is so crucial. That’s the thing I like about Union Catholic is that being smart and doing your best helps you fit in with everyone. We all fight for valedictorian! A close friend of mine, Colleen is actually our class valedictorian. When I heard her name I was ready to stand up and start clapping, it must be the greatest feeling knowing your number one, but it was an even greater feeling to have a friend be number one. School is important so try hard and you’ll succeed at anything you do.

Union Catholic Volleyball State finals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Vikings!

Science and Plays

On Friday morning, I went into New York City with my mom and sister to go to a science exhibit. It was called Bodies and was in the South Street Seaport. I love biology, and this was such a great experience for me. This exhibit was so successful due to by a bunch of Asian men who donated their bodies to science after they died. The parts of each body were preserved, and how some of them were set up was unbelievable. There was a room for each of the systems of the body, along with the muscles, bones, and certain diseases that could happen to someone. It really was very interesting and anyone who likes bio should definitely go.

This past weekend was filled with drama productions. On Friday night, I went to the fall play, Incorruptible, here at UC. It was a really good performance and the cast did a great job. It was funny and I could tell the audience really enjoyed it.

Then on Saturday, I went into New York City again with my friend Brian to see Young Frankenstein. It was by far the funniest show I have ever seen. The actors were completely hilarious, and had the audience laughing almost every minute. There were times that Brian and I were laughing so hard that we were unable breathe. The music was great, and the energy throughout the room was outstanding. My favorite characters were Igor and Foullooker. I strongly insist that anyone who likes to laugh very hard and enjoys musicals should most definitely go see this show.

Espanol!

No comprende espanol! I have a love/hate relationship with Spanish. My teacher is the best Spanish teacher I have ever had, but I don’t think Spanish and I understand each other. When I leave Union Catholic I hope to get into broadcasting so I’ll have to major in communication; which means I will be taking 4 years of Spanish. I love going to Spanish class but my accent is horrible, I can’t even roll my tongue! The one thing I love about Spanish class is being able to go to a Spanish speaking place and understand some of what the people are saying. Usually if I can get some words, it is common sense for the rest of the sentence. The other night I went for dinner and I had a conversation with the Spanish busboy! I thought it was the funniest thing. A language is so important for later in life, you never know when it may come in handy. So, yo comprendo espanol un copo. =) ( I understand Spanish a little)

Leadership

Hey everyone! There is so much going on at UC lately. Last week, our varsity volleyball team won their conference championship and their counties championship. I was at the county game, and it was so intense. They are now hoping to win states.
Last week at Ramapo College in Mahwah was the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Conference. 20 students were picked by lottery, five from each grade, to attend this conference. I was one of the students chosen from my grade, and I decided to go. After an hour and a half drive, we sat in the gym at the college eating breakfast and watching all the other students coming from their schools. Before we separated and went to our different classes, there were multiple people who spoke to us, including Secretary of State Wells. We were all given name tags, which had our name and the two lectures we would be attending. All of the UC kids were separated, and the point was to meet new people. The lecture topics were of a great variety, but all surrounded around the idea of leadership. My first lecture was about how to become a leader and what makes a good leader; my second lecture was about respect, and how to gain respect for yourself as a leader. I really liked both of these one hour lectures. They were informative and very interactive, between both students and students and students and instructor. It was a really good experience for all involved.
Going to this conference really made me think about being a leader. In the first lecture, the teacher asked who could be a leader and what made them one. I thought someone’s surroundings made them a leader, but also a born ability. Being a leader is very important, and if you are a leader, you know it by now. Certain people are followers, and others are leaders. If you are a leader, you have to be open to other people’s opinions. If you are a leader, don’t take advantage of it. Some leaders know they have the power, and use it in the wrong way. If you have a chance to step up and be a leader, do it. Don’t hesitate. There is always an opportunity for you to be a leader; it is just whether you choose stand up and take it is the hard part.

Elections!

or

I agree with Megan when she says her table at the party was the best, we had such a fun time. Anyway, I don’t know about any of you but I’m pretty excited for the elections! This is real history in the making here, a 71 year old man or an African American man.

This Tuesday we had our own little voting polls and the final results were very close. 51% of the UC community voted Obama making 49% vote for McCain. This just shows how close the elections are going to be. The debating has gotten to be ridiculous. On my face book I put my status as McCain 08 and everyone started debating saying who they wanted to win and reasons why, I must have about 50 comments. No one can tell you who to vote for and I hope no one does. All I know is that Tuesday night is going to be a super nerve racking night.

It was easy getting into the political spirit because in US history we had to do a project on each candidate. Did you know McCain has 7 kids?!?! Or that Obama grew up dirt poor? I’ve definitely benefited from this project! It is nice feeling informed about the candidates! Who will be our next president???

If you could vote, who would you vote for?

Sweet 16's and HSM3!

This year is the year for sweet 16s. It is the party for a girl coming of age, a night when she wears a beautiful dress, dances with her family and friends, and gives out her candles to the most important people in her life. It is a huge night for her.
This past weekend, I attended my first sweet 16 party for my friend Colleen. Everyone looked amazing, especially Colleen. We were assigned seats and my table was the best. She did her candles and we danced all night. She looked so happy, and everyone had a great time. After that night, I was so in the mood for another one. I talked to my mom and decided to have a sweet 16 myself. Although many months in advanced, I started thinking and planning.

Also, this weekend High School Musical 3 came out. I love the series, so I was so ecstatic when this one came out. I went opening night with my friend Michelle, and we knew almost every song. Sitting in a theater filled with kids and parents, we awaited excitedly for the movie to start. We sang loudly, said “aww” at the appropriate times, and cheered when it was over. There are a ton of other kids my own age who like High School Musical to my surprise, so don’t feel like it is too young for you, because it totally isn’t!

We won against woodbridge! And more =)

Oh I forgot to tell you guys, we won against Woodbridge! I was so happy and I scored that game too.

So anyway this Friday my friends and I are going to a corn maze. This maze is huge! It’s supposed to take two to three hours and we are doing it in the dark. If you don’t know what a corn maze is, it is a maze that is made out of corn, they are only found in the fall. I can’t wait! I am so excited, two more days! Sophomore year has proven to be a lot of work and today was a horrible day! Have you ever blanked out during a test? That’s what I did = (. I studied two hours for my accelerated US history test I was so ready and then when I started taking it, I drew a blank. I’ve done that in the past and I am so scared it is going to start happen more often, I hope not. Other than that everything has been going great! Report cards are coming soon and I am not that scared. I hope you all are doing well

Work and Eastern State Penitentiary

On Saturday morning, I had my first day at my new job. I was nervous, but did a pretty well. I now work at Jersey Mike’s Subs and I love it. Having a job is a big responsibility. Along with maintaining the job at this age, you need to keep your grades up and should not get too stressed out.
After my shift at Jersey Mike’s, I went to the Eastern State Penitentiary – Terror Behind the Walls in Philadelphia with my boyfriend and his family at night. It is the number 1 scariest haunted house in the country, and number 7 in the world. I do not handle scary easily, so knowing it was top 10 just made me completely petrified before we even got there.
The drive was 2 hours and there were about 17 of us. We got there around 7:30, and went inside around 8:00. To start off, the outside was huge. There were castle walls surrounding the entire property, which was very intimidating. Walking and creeping around outside were the best actors. They were all dressed up, and would sneak up behind people and scare them. The anticipation was the biggest part of all of it. I screamed 3 times before we even went in.
The Penitentiary is actually haunted, and holds Al Copone’s cell in one of the wings.
Once we went in, I was clinging to my boyfriend and his cousin, as we walked through the whole thing. People jumped out at you and followed those who scream. It took you through the key parts of the jail, and the actors were going insane, as if from a psycho ward. There were 5 different sections, each getting scarier by the next. My favorite part was called the Experiment. The whole thing was 3D, and you couldn’t see the people against the walls until their limbs came at you. During the last part, called night watch, the only light through it was your flash light. Without it, there would be no way that you would be able to get through it. After it was over, I realized I was not as scared as I thought I would be. It was a lot of fun and I really think you should go and experience it for yourself.

Hi guys, sorry it’s been a while but I’ve been so busy with school and sweet 16’s I hardly have time to breath anymore!

For this week’s blog I thought I would focus more on death and how it affects our lives. This week was a very upsetting week at UC, a former sister, a member of our cafeteria staff, and also an 05 graduate had passed away. It’s so sad how your life can be taken away from you just like that. It seems like yesterday the cafeteria staff member was giving me a friendly hello. I remember when my grandfather passed away, I was in 6th grade. It really affected me and I haven’t been the same since. When I was in 6th grade I didn’t think dying was real and I definitely didn’t think it could happen to me, but when I saw it did, I matured big time. Everyone moves on, I have moved on. I still think about him, I always will.
The UC community is crushed by these loses have to move on, no matter how hard it is. And remember you always have friends you can go to, that is what I did.

Workouts

If anyone is interested in tryout out for basketball, there are some ways to get ready for it. Every Sunday until tryouts I think, which are days following Thanksgiving, there are open gyms run by the seniors to start to get everyone into shape and back to playing the game we all miss. We will soon be going to the workout room a few times a week to lift. If you want to start training on your own, there are some exercises that you can do on your own that will help greatly. If you time yourself, for 15 minutes you can do a core workout, consisting of crunches, sit-ups, prone holds, flutter kicks and scissors for 30 seconds each. After that, you can do push-ups for 30 seconds with a minute rest time in between each for a whole of 15 minutes. Then, for a half hour work on dribbling skills, and lastly, shoot around for another half hour. On the weekends, you should run 2 miles to keep up your speed. This may sound hard, but it will definitely help you before tryouts and the season starts. This daily workout will help with a lot of other sports you play, or if you have a lot of time after school.

Old friends...new friends

After school today I have a game against Woodbridge High school and I am so excited. WHS is the public high school that I would have gone to if I didn’t come to UC. I had gone to public school my whole life and left everyone behind to come here. I was thinking about it last night and to be completely honest I started tearing up a little; just thinking back to 8th grade and everything that happened. When I said left everyone behind I meant every single person, I came here not knowing one person. At first it was hard considering a lot of people came together and everyone was friends, it was hard fitting in but by December I knew everyone and I made friends that I know will last me forever. And as time went on I realized I went to preschool with one of the girls (she was my best friend) and another girl was my enemy back in 3rd grade (we are really good friends now and actually lab partners’ haha). It’s so funny how times change. So today when I go to WHS I am going to see at least 50 people I know and play against those girls who have been in fights with me, called me a best friend, made me laugh, bought me a gift, attended my birthday party, and went to the mall with. After the game of course we are all going to have to catch up and talk about the latest gossip (we haven’t talked in 2 years!!!!). When I came to UC I thought all my friends at WHS would be there for me and we would hang out all the time. I had about 15 true friends; I talk to 3 of them now. But really I wouldn’t go back in time and turn down UC because the people I met here I love the so much! I have only known them for a year and a half but I know that they can be considered friends, and today when I see all my old friends we will have fun and laugh about everything but I don’t think I could ever forget about all the amazing friends I made here at UC and the many more I am going to make.

Conflicts and Such

Last Thursday, the open house was held at the school and was a huge success. Throughout the night, there were countless times when people would come up to Erin and I at our stand and ask “what is a blogger? Is it like a club or something?” and this was somewhat a hard question to answer, because they looked at us as if they were lost. On the other hand, people came up to us and told us they read our blogs every week, which was really cool to hear.
So in all the blogs that we write, we talk about everything happening at UC and all the good stuff about our lives at the time. But just because we talk about all this great stuff doesn’t mean that we are like, invincible and nothing bad happens. You have the normal stuff going on like you do everywhere, drama with friends, stress over a huge amount of homework or a big test coming up, arguments with your significant other, school conflicts, or any type of pressure. This past weekend, I got into a pretty big fight with one of my best friends, and we are slowly trying to move past this. Even when something happens that we don’t plan or hope for, not only in school but in our everyday lives, we have to think the positive and try to move past the conflict. You stress yourself out worrying so much about it, and that isn’t good for you at all. Not everything can always go peachy, but there is always a way to make it better. Something you will learn in high school is a way to move past all the bad stuff, and move onto the good stuff.

Welcome Back Dance

Last Friday was the ever so popular welcome back dance! There were so many people and everyone had an amazing time. The dance is fun because it is a mix with the whole school, you go with friends, and you dress casual. Now I'm excited for semi!

I can't believe September is almost over! It feels like school just started, time really does fly by. I'm very excited for Thursday evening when 6th, 7th, and 8th, graders get to meet our bloggers! You guys have read all about us, I think it is time you actually get to meet us.

Yesterday I had a soccer game and we won! I took about 50 shots on net and missed every single one of them. But a game like that was just a lot of fun and almost every girl on the team scored. But now it's time to get serious, our next game is Thursday against Governor Livingston. Wish us luck.

Well that's all that has been going on this week, I will see you all Thursday =)

Welcome Back Dance & Open House

Last Friday was the Welcome Back Dance for all UC students. There were a lot of kids there and it was a lot of fun. The music was loud, and everyone was dancing. I think this year’s freshmen class was more outgoing and danced more than my own grade. I love how everyone is so comfortable with all the other students and how your age nor grade doesn’t influence who you are friends with or who you hang out with.
This Tuesday is the Open House at UC. In the gym, there will be many different stations for parents or kids to come and see what is happening in the school. This year, my fellow sophomore blogger Erin and I will be at a blogger stand. We are making a poster and are very excited. If you are coming to the open house, come say hello! :D

Chemistry

The most fearful class of all sophomores has to be chemistry. I think we all are more easy going about geometry than this horrifying subject. But after being in this class for two weeks, I am really starting to like chemistry. I think the best part is the labs. The other day we got to use fire and watch paper burn. Fire is not my favorite thing; I am actually sort of scared of it. But I lit a match! Experiments not only teach you about chemicals and such but how to work together. My lab partner and I disagree at times but in the end were not going to blow something up in each other’s faces. I am learning so much in chemistry, it’s a hard class but as long as I pay attention and stay interested, hopefully I’ll have no problem.

The other day Megan and I were talking to Mrs. Thornton with an idea about a blogging station at the open house. She liked the idea, so we are going to be their October 2nd at 7:00! I actually have a soccer game that day so I’ll probably go right from soccer to the open house.

Speaking of soccer we lost yesterday = (. I believe we are 2-2. The season just started, our next game is Friday against GL, wish us luck.

Week 3 Begins

Last week, the freshmen received their laptops and attended the laptop training. I think its official: school has most definitely started and is in full swing. It doesn’t seem that the freshmen are scared anymore, which is a very good sign. I hope you all feel the comfort and great atmosphere of the school that I felt a year ago, and that I still feel today.
So I know that it is still early in the year, but sophomore year is not as hard as I expected. I really like my classes and I have some great teachers. I know that if I ever need any help this year, they will be able to help me. I have certain goals set for myself this year that I am striving to achieve, which I hope will be achieved. Setting a goal for each marking period is a good way to keep yourself dedicated and focused.

My Soccer Team

About a month ago the cuts were made and all of the UC soccer girls settled into their teams. The first week we all looked at each other and tried to get to know one another. My soccer team turned into my family. We practice every day after school and spend enough time together. We fight like sisters, screaming and yelling at each other to do better. And when one gets hurt in the game, we all get hurt in the game. When one person scores we all score! When one person gets mad we all try our best to cheer them up. So I may not be on varsity and I may not be the most amazing soccer player, but being on JV is a life changing experience. We all joke around in the hallway and help each other “tuck in” our shirts. We have tons of inside jokes together. But we know once it comes to game time, we get serious. We are always cheering each other on and we always remember we win as a team, we lose as a team and no matter what we will always be a team.

Our record is 2-1. =).

'08-'09 Begins

Hey everyone! Well, school is back and by the looks of it, we are all trying to get back into the swing of things, waking up at 6:00 AM and running to catch the bus. The homework is light, and the freshmen are probably doing activities in class to get to know each other.
So I was thinking the other day about how the sophomores always get the reputation that they think they are so cool because they are not freshmen anymore. I said to myself that I was not going to be like that. So talking to my mom the other day, she said I definaiely had that attitude, and I shouldn't because only 4 months ago, I was a freshman. I thought it was funny, but it is true; just 4 months ago, we were freshmen and it seems like so long ago. A lot has changed, and we are all moving on. This is a new year, a fresh page in our high school careers, open to new things, new possibilities. I have a feeling that this is going to be a good school year.
To all the new freshman, I hope you aren't scared anymore, if you were scared at all. They say some of the best years of your life occur in high school; so make friends, get involved, work hard, and feel free to say hi to me in the hallways. :]

John Mayer Taking Over Summer!

Hey everyone! Hope you're all having an amazing summer, as I am.

Okay so as some of you might not have known, John Mayer was in the tristate area, doing some concerts for his summer tour. My friend Catie won tickets through Z100 to go see him, upclose and personal, at Spotlight Live (or the ZLounge) in New York City last Tuesday and asked me if I wanted to go. Of course I said yes, just because I love him, and it was my birthday. :D I came prepared, with a birthday crown on my head and a sign in my hand. So after 6 hours of waiting, John finally came out on stage. It was one of the greatest moments of my life; my favorite singer, 5 feet away from me. As the show went on, some of the audience, along with my friend Catie, got to ask him questions. He sang 4 songs: Say, Belief, (my favorite song by him :]), Free Fallin', and Waiting on the World to Change. In between songs, he sang "happy bithday" to me, and at the end of his show, reached over the girls in front of me, and gave me his guitar pic; I nearly died. Definately the best birthday present ever. Hahaha.

Then, this week on Tuesday, I went to his concert with 4 of my friends at PNC Bank Art Center for the second time. It was such a great concert. I knew almost every one of his songs and sang them loud and clear. It was such an amazing night. I hope some of you freshman are huge John Mayer fans like I am!! :]

SUMMER & UC SOCCER

Hi everyone, I hope your summer is going well. Summer has been so busy for me. I'm anxious about the upcoming soccer try outs in august. Tryouts are always nerve racking and really put you on the edge of your seat. I heard a lot of freshman are coming and ready to start playing. I'm starting to run and get in the game again. Every Thursday at 6:30 the varsity team has captain practices and invites everyone to join them. Its a great way to start meeting the rest of the team. As an incoming freshman last year I was very scared to meet the other girls, so I never went. But now you have a friend ~ so come. I'm amazed at how quick summers going! Sophomore year here
I come! Freshman year was one of the best years of my life, I know your all going to love it, and I'm excited to see you all in September, or at soccer practice.

July

Hey everyone. Hope you are all enjoying your summer! So far, the weather over all has been great and hot; perfect for the beach!

So just last week, open gyms started for incoming freshman and current students of Union Catholic who plan to try out and play basketball in the winter season. It is a great opportunity to work on your skills and just start to get to know the other players. The next open gym is on July 10th from 6:00-8:00. Future dates will be posted, or you can find them on Coach Matthew's school notes page. (click on parents at top of page; go to academics and click on school notes; go to educator and click on school notes; click on Kathy Matthews)

I hope you all are not being too busy, because there is enough time during the school year for busy. Lay back and relax; there is still much more summer to go!

Summer'08!

Hey everyone! What a great school year it was. I had a great year, and I'm sure everyone else did too.

I just wanna say have a great summer! I'll be putting blogs up over the summer periodically, just to keep you in touch with what is going on.

I want to give an early welcome to all incoming freshman - feel free to say hey to me in the hallways! You're coming to a great school with the best people ... be excited!!!

Have a great summer!

Peace out! :D

Lets go sophomores '11!<3

ONE MORE DAY!

Freshman, sophomores, and juniors are getting their cameras ready to snap photos one last time before summer vacation. I never thought that this year could go fast, it’s like I blinked and I went from freshman to sophomore. Freshman year has been my favorite of all time. You wouldn’t think that coming to a school where you know no one would be a good year. I made so many new friends that will hopefully last me all high school. Academics have been going well too. I got exempt from four finals! I only have to come into school next Monday and Friday. In other news Great adventure was AMAZING! The only complaint was not enough time. I rode el torro, king da ka, nitro, and the twister. El torros drop was crazy and king da ka all you see is concrete when you look down. Nitro was one of my favorite and the twister was alright. I am excited for next year’s trip as well.

As of right now I don’t know how many blogs I will write over the summer. For all the incoming freshman ~ be ready for the best year of your life. Get ready for new friends, school work, and a life changing experience. Just don’t be scared, I promise you, you will be fine. Make sure you do your work. That is the greatest advice anyone can give you. Stay on top of things and take a break if your stressed. High school follows you for the rest of your life. Just make the right decisions.

If you’re coming to UC, come up and say hi to me. Have an amazing summer and good luck next year everyone. =)

Six Flags Great Adventure

Yesterday, the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes attended Great Adventure. It was hot and sunny, a perfect day for this event. This was my second time going to Six Flags, so I was pretty excited about it. I normally don’t go on rides, because I have a weak stomach; this was not the case yesterday. I went on a ton of rides, and had a great time. My favorite ride, Medusa, was closed; I was very disappointed, but this did not last long.

While I was waiting for my friends to get off the new Batman ride, I was looking around and saw one that caught my eye. It was big, fast, and blue and yellow. I watched as the train filled with people started up the lift and began the path of the ride. The ride was called Batman, and I knew instantly I wanted to ride it. Batman was my favorite ride of the day. It was very fast and spun upside-down, and didn’t slow down once until the ride was over. When the day was over, I had been on that ride 3 times. The Ferris wheel was my first time being on one, so it was quite an experience. The wheel stopped when our car reached the top, and it was such a cool sight from up there, although I didn’t move a muscle, afraid I would fall.

A lot of people got fast passes, and were jumping lines for all the big rides, due to tons of people waiting for Kingda Ka, for example. A bunch of my friends were excited for the new Batman ride, but their reactions were not what I was expecting. They said it wasn’t as good as it should have been.

12 1/2 Days of School Left!

12 ½ days of school left! I can’t believe how fast this year has gone. Last week I attended the athletic banquet and the academic awards. Both events were very fun and enjoyable for everyone.

Memorial weekend was fun but too short. I was in my pool for the first time this summer, the water was so cold but it was worth it. With summer coming great adventure is too. Some of you probably think, come on its great adventure, I go there all the time. Well everyone at UC is really excited. We're excited to be able to go with all of our friends! We have one week till the great trip. I think I’m going to do it... I’m going to ride King da ka!

After great adventure comes finals! I know for sure that I am exempt from scripture, which is great! Of course, no one wants to take the finals and it’s terrible that this is how our school year ends, with tests! I’ve never taken a final before, but I’m sure it will be just like mid-terms. I hope I do well.

Wow, in 12 and ½ days I’ll be considered a sophomore, no more little freshman. I love(d) freshman year and I will never forget it! I hope sophomore year is even better. I am taken harder classes next year. Well I’ve written enough enjoy your last weeks of school!

Athletic Banquet && Academic Excellence Ceremony

Last week was a very busy week for the UC students. On Wednesday night, the freshman and sophomores had a ceremoney for the academic excellence; on Thursday night, the Spring Athletic Banquet was held.
I attended both nights, and as a freshman, both were new for me. On Wednesday night, certain freshmen and sophomores were invited to a ceremony in the school auditorium. There were specific awards for individual people and other awards for a large group. I really enjoyed how enthusiastic the kids were for their friends when their names were called. The different awards were for academic excellence, Spanish awards, Math awards, English awards, maintaining a 7.0 GPA, and a few others. I, myself, received 4 awards, 3 for academic excellence, and a medal for maintaining a 7.0 GPA.
On Thursday night was the Spring Athletic Banquet. The night contains a video presentation of each varsity sport, and food. Tennis, Golf, Girls Lacrosse, Baseball, and Track each had their own video. The video showed each player, and pictures or short clips of the sport. After the video, the coach would get up and say a few words about the team, and the players would receive their varsity letters. This year, among other freshman, I received my varsity letter.
Our school year is almost over, with only 16 days left! Everyone is so ready for summer. We are so close to becoming sophomores. :]

FRIENDSHIP

Coming to this school was a tough decision for me. I don’t know if I said this or not but I came from public school. I was never in catholic school so it was a little different coming here. The scariest part was that I knew absolutely no one coming to this school. None of my friends came to this school, I thought I was all alone. Over the summer I got a call and letter from my big sister Caitlyn, she made a difference when I came to UC. I didn’t feel alone anymore and she’s assured me that everything was going to be ok. When I called her with questions we talked for an hour. (Hopefully you will have a big sister like her) This school taught me something about friendship and it is that you find out who your true friends are. I had so many friends in my old school and I only talk to two of them now. Those people who I don’t talk to made me realize that they were never my real friends. I know that the friends I made this year will stick with me. I have met some people who have changed my life forever. One girl who I never thought I would be friends with ended up being one of my closer friends, another girl I met on the bus and we wound up sharing our life stories with each other ~ we became best friends. A lot of the people I’m friends with now, I was never friends with in the beginning. I love my new friends and I know 20 years from now I won’t have to wait for a high school reunion to see them again, because they will always be there for me. ( oh by the way I came from Woodbridge middle school!)

Great Adventure

Today we finished early in math so our teacher talked to us about the great adventure trip. I’m really excited because I haven’t been on a class trip since 5th grade! She explained to us how they just give us our tickets and let us go. We have so much freedom, it feels nice. All my friends and I have started to talk about what rides to go on. I am so scared of roller coasters. Kingda Ka scares me so much. If any of you have ever ridden that coaster, comment me, let me know about it. I have a feeling one of my friends is going to drag me on but I’m going to freak out! The superman ride at great adventure was designed by my great uncle! 16 days left of school. I can’t believe I’m going to be a sophomore next year. Time fly’s by so quick! Enjoy the rest of your school year. =)

<--Kingda Ka (incase you didnt know)

Service Hours

Over the course of the year, all students have to have service hours for their religion classes. For the freshman, you need 6 hours per semester, 12 in all. You can do anything that is helping your community or church. Some people don’t like doing service hours, and others think that it is a good thing to help others. Some examples of service hours would be babysitting, helping a neighbor, coaching or helping out a sports team, etc.

Personally, I like doing service hours. Some of the things I have chosen to do have helped me figure out what kind of job I would like to pursue when I’m older. What I have figured out so far is that I enjoy working with people. Because of this, I have volunteered at the Center for Hope Hospice in Scotch Plains. Center for Hope Hospice is a place where you go when you are very sick and are at the last stage of your life. The point is to die with dignity. Hospice can go into homes, but if the patient has no one to take care of them, they go to a Hopsice house. In Scotch Plains, Peggy’s house, the place the patients stay, can hold 30 patients. The patients have total control over what they would like to do and have a lot of freedom. I have had 4 ½ hours so far and I love it. I have had a training session and last week, officially started my work. There are a lot of different things you can do to help out there. Volunteering at Hospice means more to me than just getting hours; I enjoy helping out people and feeling like I made someone’s day better or easier.

SCHOOL ENERGY

Our schools energy has really risen this past month. The entire freshman class is excited about the great adventure trip. I think it will be a lot of fun to be with all my friends at Great adventure. I’m not a huge fan of rollercoaster’s but my friends are going to drag me on, that’ll be fun. On another note softball has been really great. My name was in the Star Ledger! I couldn’t believe it. It says “Union Catholic has been paced by Katie Zolli, Kate Williamson, Angela Sessa, and Erin Farley. I was amazed. With that being said yesterday I tried on a varsity jacket. It was like that moment every athlete waits for. I couldn’t wait to put it on and when it was on I realized it’s heavy. The jackets feel really weird, but I’m going to have to get use to it. Besides excitement a lot of the students are nervous. Finals are only a few weeks away. I hope to be exempt from a lot of my finals but I know I’m going to have to take at least 3 or 4 of them. I’ve had a lot of school work so I have no time to even think about finals. I have this huge poetry book project due Friday. It’s worth a double test grade! I’m almost done but I want it to be very creative. Wish me luck! =)

Drama

As everyone knows high school is filled with fun times, close friendships, and drama. Everyone has had drama in their lives and like all high schools it happens. As summer is nearing everyone is nervous about becoming a sophomore. All the upperclassmen have warned us that Drama becomes your middle name! Here at UC everyone tries to stay out of it but like all schools you may get pulled in. As far as I'm concerned, the other freshman blogger and I really try to stay out of all the drama. If you have ever seen the movie mean girls, you probably think wow high school is scary. High school is NOTHING like the movies. Drama does happen but if you stay out of it and just stick with the people you trust then you will be fine. Word of advice: When coming to UC make friends, and don't talk about people. Because when you go to high school reunions do you really want to remember the good times or the bad?

And if you may be coming to UC all by yourself and our scared you'll have no friends...dont be! I came here knowing anyone and I have met some friends who have changed my life!

Honor Roll Breakfast

This morning was the honors breakfast for students who made 1st and 2nd honor roll for the 3rd Marking Period. I made 1st honors in the 3rd mp, and 2nd in the first and second marking periods. It definately felt like there were a lot more people who made honor roll this time around then the first two. Good job to everyone!

Today, the bloggers learned how to put videos and pictures onto our blogs, so be expecting a new video coming soon!

FRIENDSHIP

Hey Everyone.

A lot of stuff has happened in the past few weeks. All the sports teams are doing very well. Yesterday, the golf team had a match vs. both Roselle and Oratory Prep. We beat Roselle, which was the first win of the season. We were all very excited.

People have told me on many occasions that you will go through different groups of friends your 4 years of high school. This I have known to be true. I love the friends I hang out with inside and outside of this building. Lately, I have made a few more friends that I never really took it upon myself to say hi to before, only because I never really knew them. In the past few weeks, I have grown a few special friendships that I wouldn’t trade for anything, while not losing the friendships I already had. I have never stayed only one group of friends, being mixed in with so many different groups due to different activities. I never thought I would make such good friendships with kids from my golf team, or people I don’ have any classes with, since I didn’t know any of them to start from. Making friends is hard at first, but you get the hang of it. I can honestly say I was not as open to friends in the beginning of the year as I could have been, due to feeling insecure and not knowing who I wanted to be in high school. I still don’t, but am much more open to people now. Friends make your high school years the best, of that I am sure

Dissecting :(

Today I found out that we are going to start dissecting! I am not excited at all. Our first dissecting is a worm. We will also be dissecting starfish, clams, crayfish and frogs! I have always dreaded this as a little girl and now I’m freaking out haha! So as you can tell I really really really really dread dissecting! But, I guess you have to do what you have to do. I hope I just get a lab partner who is a lot more excited about dissecting than I am! So anyway, our sport teams are doing really well this season! My softball team won our first season game 22-2! I hit a triple, double, and two singles! The game balls went to our amazing pitcher and catcher. That was a great game to start out the season. The weather has not been on our side, so I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow! I really want to play as well as everyone else. Well I think that’s about it, I hope your week is good! Bye =)

End of 3rd MP

Hey everyone. Welcome back to school! Hope everyone’s spring break was good. Well I made the golf team and we had our first match on Wednesday vs. New Providence HS, because our Tuesday match was cancelled. I have to say that I was very excited to make the team. Golf may not be the most exciting sport, but I love it nonetheless.It’s almost the end of the 3rd marking period and I know everyone is getting excited for summer, with only 11 weeks of school left. I’m not rushing the rest of the year away, and don’t think I’m counting down the weeks until summer vacation; but who can’t help but be excited! It’s kind of scary to think that our freshman year is almost over, and we are moving on to be sophomores in the fall. I’m sure some people have changed drastically over the course of 7 months, and some maybe not at all. How fast a year has gone by. I know a lot of friendships have been made, and knowledge has been learned that we will carry on to our following years of high school and the rest of our lives.From what I can tell, all the spring sports are getting ready for their season to begin, if it has not already. This is the first year that we have a varsity and JV girl’s lacrosse team, and I myself am very excited to watch the games. Softball and track teams have had scrimmages already and are looking great. Our varsity baseball team just had their first game, and won 5-0. Good luck to all the teams!

Ah! Fourth Marking Period

Wow! I can’t believe that spring break is over already. My spring break was very busy. With softball every day I really couldn’t do a lot of things. Well after numerous practices we had our first game against Cardinal McCarrick. It was a close game. Going into the last inning the game was tied and bases loaded and I was up. I got up and hit the ball right between the shortstop and 3rd base. I ended up getting the game ball! My friend Kayla Klein also got the game ball; she did an amazing job as our pitcher. We ended up winning 5-4. Our next game was against JFK. Since I came from public school I was excited to play this school, because I knew some people. Our team is mostly freshman and JFK’s team was all sophomore and juniors. Well, we got killed! So I’m not going to talk about this game anymore =/. But these games were just scrimmages so it’s okay. Well, with the 3rd marking period ending everyone is getting excited about summer. But it’s also nerve racking because our freshman year is almost over! Well, I hope you had a fun spring break talk to you later =)

New Freshy Blogger !

Hey everyone. I’m Megan, a freshman, and I am going to be the second blogger for the freshman class. First off, I want to tell you a little about myself. I am in the honors classes here at UC and have played two sports this year, cross country and basketball. Just yesterday, I tried out for the golf so we will see how that goes. I am in the Irish Vikings and S.T.A.N.D. clubs. There are so many great things to do here, and so many different ways to get involved in the Union Catholic Community. If you are an 8th grader reading this and plan to attend Union Catholic next year, I want you to know that there is nothing to be afraid. I am very excited to begin blogging and letting you know what is going on in the mind and daily life of a freshman at UC. :]

WHAT A WEEK!

Wow! I have so much to tell you. Wednesday was the play for the elementary school. There were over 700 kids! We all had a fun time performing for them, and loved when all the girls swarmed Alex (Joseph) afterwards for autographs. Oh, and yesterday the big brothers and big sisters threw the freshman a breakfast. They handed out Bingo cards and we had to fill them out with someone’s name. The questions were like, who made a varsity sport? And who couldn’t open there locker on the first day? I ended up winning! I won a t-shirt. It was a fun day and the entire freshman class really liked eating breakfast. I hope to be a big sister next year. Also I definitely made the JV team for softball. I was so excited to make the team, but some o f my friends didn’t make the team, so it was a little upsetting. Also, Coach Matthews won her 600th win for basketball. The mayor of Scotch Plains made April 11th Kathy Matthews day, we also get off of school that day! Tonight’s the play and only one more day till closing night! =)

FRESHMAN YEAR!

March 2008

Hi, my name is Erin and I am a freshman at UC. I was so excited to be able to write this blog and to tell you about my life at UC! I’ll be writing every week about the activities that are going on. If you’re currently an 8th grader I know you’re probably scared about high school, but don’t be! I’ve been in your place and I’ve made it through. I came from Woodbridge Middle School, so I’ve been in public school my whole life. This is a huge change. At UC I’m in some honor programs. I also play JV soccer, and JV softball (I just found out I made the team today!) I am a member of PAC (performing arts center), UC Angels and the environmental club. Today during homeroom we found out that were getting the 19th off, so everyone sure is excited about spring break. Well, this is getting longer than I wanted so I will keep you updated on softball and PAC and everything else! Bye =)