The 30th Annual Christmas in Washington

    The 30th Annual Christmas in Washington Program was on T.V Friday. I had never heard of it before but when I turned on the T.V TNT was showing it. They had amazing artists including Victoria Justice, Justin Bieber, and The Band Perry. They also had a wonderful host, Conan. At the end of the program The President came on stage with his family to give the annual presidential speech. It was a great speech but right behind him was his daughter Malia. To my surprise, during a serious moment in the speech, She makes her eyes get real big and then she starts to smile trying to keep herself from laughing. When she finally calms herself down she makes a funny face that makes her look like a monkey. The camera is immediately turned to keep from looking at her. I thought this was funny enough that you should know about it. All in all it was a marvelous program with a view laughs and a lot of surprises.

Against All Odds

     I am not a fan of football. It is confusing to me unlike baseball which is easy to understand. You are more likely to get hurt in football than you would in baseball or any other sport. This year is different. I got into the vicious game of football as our Palmetto High School Tigers went against all odds. This year I have paid attention to the close calls, the fumbles, and the interceptions. Football is more interesting when it is a close tie or an important game. This next game is very important. It is our last game before State. We play Norland Miami on Friday. If we beat them we get to go to State. Everyone is scared because they are undefeated, very strong, and fast. There are a few people who have hope for Palmetto and I am one of them. I believe that they know how difficult it is and will work harder than ever so they can make it to State. State would be an amazing game. If we make it to State we will most likely get out of school so that we can all go. It would make this year an awesome year and a year against all odds.

Twirling to Your Football Games

     Palmetto High School varsity football games are full of different styles of entertainment. The styles range from the dancing Dazzlers and the cheery cheerleaders to the Palmetto High School Marching Band and the color guard-flag team.

     The Marching Band has new stand tunes this year. Stand tunes are the songs played by the band in the stands during the game. This year they are from famous artists like the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga. The band also has a new show this year based on countries around the world. They perform “Kung Fu Fighting,” “New York New York” and “Brazil” as if they were in China, New York, and Rio.

     The color guard has more than doubled in size. They gained four new members including the girl that has caught the attention of fans and bands in Manatee County, baton twirler Samantha Grutzner.

     Nathaniel Miller, sophomore from PHS says, “The baton twirler is a strong addition to the half time show. She adds an extra flare. The color guard is fun to watch, but they are all doing the same thing. The baton twirler is by herself performing amazing tricks.”

     Samantha is a senior at Palmetto High. She was at Manatee School for the Arts, but she switched schools because she wanted opportunities that she did not have at MSA.

     “It was tough moving schools in my senior year,” says Samantha. “I wanted to get involved in PHS activities that I did not have before.”

     She has been going to Bradenton Twirling Academy for 10 years. The academy participates in local, state and national events. Many competition twirlers and some competition teams travel out of state to compete in Drum Majorettes of America National Finals. The twirlers win trophies and medals in these competitions.

     Samantha says, “I started baton when I was seven. I started because I went to my neighbor’s baton rehearsal and thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

     Samantha has participated in many competitions including individual and team competitions. She has won many competitions including the National Strut Competition which she won for seven years in a row. Strut is one of the three individual routines in baton twirling. Samantha is also Majorette Princess of America for 2011. The thing that has pushed her to succeed is the feeling of accomplishment.

     Samantha says, “I enjoy the challenge and pride in accomplishing things. It feels good to catch the simplest thing. I’m like ‘Look what I caught.’ My biggest achievement was getting over the fear of hitting myself in the face.”

     Samantha changed many things for PHS this year. She worked with flaming batons which created a fun atmosphere for the football games. Also in the MPA’s, Music Performance Assessment, she helped the Color Guard come home with an “excellent” compared to the “good” they were given last year.

     This baton twirler has changed the way fans watch and enjoy the varsity football games. She enjoys what she does and appreciates your support.

http://www.bradenton.com/2011/11/14/3648591/journalism-next-palmetto-high.html

The Wicked Stage

     What is happening with the children in this society. They are completely different from how I was raised. The television is changing how they picture things. At Palmetto Charter School a first grade class was creating glue mats. These glue mats would be the thing they would see everyday as they glue their peculiar but parent loving art. They got to color their mats however they wanted to. When the mats were handed in the teacher saw the beautiful flowers the wonderful family pictures and then two strange pictures. One kid drew a helicopter with a guy firing down on the people below which were all dead. What has he been watching. In first grade I didn't know guns existed. All I knew was that girls are cooler than guys and it is fun to sing songs. Another kid drew a scene in an alley where they were having a gangster fight. What has he been learning I understand that maybe the other kid's dad might have been in the war but why gangsters. Some parents do not even care about what their kids watch. They turn on their favorite show and do not realize their kids know what is happening. If you look back on your own past you don't remember the time your whole family loved each other you remember the drama and the anger. You need to make sure you keep your kids safe. Keep them from the drama and bloody things that scar some kids lives. I know people that are scared of clowns because in their childhood a clown scared them. Kids minds are fragile. Tread carefully.

The Dash

According to Shane’s World 151,650 people die a day.  How do you remember them? On a tomb stone they always have the name of the one that died, the inscription the family leaves behind like Beloved Son and Husband, the date of birth and the date of death, but between the dates there is a dash.  I think the dash is the most important part of the grave stone. The dash stands for all the years between birth and death. What will people think of when they see the dash on your grave? Will they think you were too obnoxious or will they remember you at all? The choices you make each and every day determine the outcome of the rest of your life.  Your choices determine how people see you and how they will remember you. I live by the term your choices determine your destiny.  It tells me to think before I act.  If everyone in the world thought before they acted we would have less suicides and criminals plus the world would be upside down. You would think more about the long term effects rather than what makes you feel best at the moment. Each choice determines the rest of your life.  Will you be known as the one who’s always drunk the one who’s never trustworthy or as the best friend and one that always makes you smile? It’s hard to live your life everyday trying to be perfect so don’t.

My favorite quote is from Stephen Manes in her book Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days it says, “Congratulations!  You're not perfect!  It's ridiculous to want to be perfect anyway.  But then, everybody's ridiculous sometimes, except perfect people.  You know what perfect is?  Perfect is not eating or drinking or talking or moving a muscle or making even the teensiest mistake.  Perfect is never doing anything wrong - which means never doing anything at all.  Perfect is boring!  So you're not perfect!  Wonderful!  Have fun!  Eat things that give you bad breath!  Trip over your own shoelaces!  Laugh!  Let somebody else laugh at you!  Perfect people never do any of those things.  All they do is sit around and sip weak tea and think about how perfect they are.  But they're really not one-hundred-percent perfect anyway.  You should see them when they get the hiccups!  Phooey!  Who needs 'em?  You can drink pickle juice and imitate gorillas and do silly dances and sing stupid songs and wear funny hats and be as imperfect as you please and still be a good person.  Good people are hard to find nowadays.  And they're a lot more fun than perfect people any day of the week.”

It may be impossible to be perfect, but when you think your choices determine your destiny you tend to be not just a good person, but a great person. How will you be remembered? What will your dash say about you?

A Catalyst For Rowing

     The Rowing team at Palmetto High was the guinea pig last year for Manatee County School District.  They were the only Manatee County School that had a rowing team.  This year Southeast has joined in on the mission to spread rowing throughout the county.  On Sunday Palmetto will be competing in the Sarasota 5000 rowing regatta in Osprey.  Southeast is unable to attend because they are waiting for their boats to come in.  Manatee and Lakewood Ranch High Schools want to start a rowing team but with the economy being as bad as it is, it is impossible to buy boats and equipment.
      Manatee High School principal, Bob Gagnon said he is hopeful that his students who are interested in rowing could participate this year with a program at Palmetto or Southeast.
     I think it is amazing that Palmetto was able to start this trend.  It is definitely going to help encourage Palmetto by competing against friends that might go to a different school in the district.  It is crazy that little Palmetto was able to start a catalyst for other schools to join in. I am excited to see Southeast and other programs grow because of Palmetto.

 

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Chocolate!

     Each year people eat chocolate. You never think someone is counting how much you spend on it.  There was a survey on USA Today about the top 5 chocolatiers of the world compared to USA in 2011.  The results may shock you.

     Freia is Norway's leading chocolate manufacturer.  Freia has been offering delicious chocolate treats since 1889.  By the 1900's Freia was the named the leading Norwegian brand in sweets. Freia is one reason that Norwegian chocolate leads the chocolate industry.  In Norway each person spends 209 dollars a year on chocolate.

     One of Ireland's most loved chocolatiers is Lily O'Brien.  Lily O'Brien is named after the founder’s daughter. Mary O'Brien discovered her love for chocolate after recovering from a severe illness. 

     Mary O'Brien made it her motto that "Each and every chocolate has been created from the passion and pleasure we all share - we hope you enjoy tasting them as much as we enjoy making them for you!" Annually, each person in Ireland pays 182 dollars for chocolate. 

     Auer chocolate is widely known in Switzerland.  They started their business in 1939. Their chocolate has continued on for 5 generations.  They are striving to better themselves each year.  Switzerland is said to be the major chocolatier of the world but in the count down they come in third.  Only 172 dollars is spent on chocolate by each person in Switzerland a year.

     Green and Black's are considered one of the UK's best chocolatiers. In 1944 they launched the world's first Fair-trade Mark product.  This chocolate is an organic chocolate. People in UK each buy 150 dollars worth of chocolate a year.

     Zotter Chocolate is the Austria's best chocolate brand.  Daily Telegraph says, "It has amazing flavors, with light and creamy fillings that include balsamic caramel or lime and honey." Josef Zotter the maker of Zotter chocolates says, "We are not just part "ORGANIC" but totally, we follow the "FAIR TRADE" principles not just in part but with full conviction, and we don't just pretend to produce chocolate but have the entire production process - from "BEAN-TO-BAR" - all under one roof."  In Austria each person spends an annual amount of 112 dollars on chocolate a year.

     Hershey is the USA's most popular brand.  Hershey started in 1894 after Milton Hershey decided to add a chocolate coating to his caramels.  In 1900 the first Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar was enjoyed by Americans.  USA is still lacking the chocolate lovers that Norway, Ireland, UK, and Austria have.  Sadly, Americans only eat 58 dollars worth of chocolate a year.  This is confusing since I always thought we were unhealthy people.  Perhaps we eat more candy than other countries around the world.