Sammie

Sammie

Sammie is a junior boarding student from New York.

8:00 a.m. Free Period

Today I had a free first period. Frees are times during the day when I don’t have a class. During this time you can do homework, work out at the gym, hang out with friends or even nap. When I have a free I usually do homework. Because my free today was first period, I woke up late and stayed in the dining hall for breakfast until 8:15. After eating breakfast with a couple of friends, I went up to my room to finish homework and take some extra time to get ready for the day.

8:55 a.m. Morning Reports

Morning reports is a block of time from 8:55 until 9:05 where the school meets in Kiggins Hall to talk about upcoming events for the week or weekend, hear announcements from clubs, see performances by different groups, or get some inspiration from an inspirational speaker. During February, Morning Reports features Emma Idol, which is the EWS version of American Idol. Girls can show their singing, dancing or poetry skills. It’s a time to share the vast amount of talent Emma girls' possess.

9:10 a.m. English III

Today in English class we discussed poems by Emily Dickinson. Poetry is one of the many different types of literature we read in English III. Right now we are focusing on tone and what different things contribute to it. Instead of just talking about the tone, today we split up into groups and were told to create an oral explication in which we describe how each line in the poem contributes to the tone. My group discussed "After Great Pain, a Formal Feeling Comes." We decided that the tone shifted from sad in the beginning of the poem, to acceptance by the end. By talking in small groups and then sharing with the whole class, one can delve deep into the purpose of the author and the situation of the speaker.

10:30 a.m. Advanced Math

I am in Advanced Math this year which is a pre-calculus course. Although math is not my favorite subject, the opportunities that are available for me to get help keep me focused. Today we worked on statistics. I actually enjoy statistics in this class because we use real-life problems which make them easier to understand. We put problems from the homework on the board and share them with the class. When any problems come up either with the solutions or the problem itself, the students explain how to do it or my teacher Ms. Richard shows us her solution and helps us. Because this is an advanced class the speed of the class is faster than others, which is a challenge, but the right attitude and the help of the Math Learning Center makes it easier.

11:25 a.m. Lunch and JSG (Junior Singing Group)

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I head over to Lyon-Remington Hall for my weekly JSG practice. Comprised entirely of juniors, it has two student leaders who hold the auditions, arrange, and teach the songs. We sing for different events throughout the year or for morning reports. This year we have sung songs like “Stereo Hearts”, some Justin Timberlake, “Paradise” by Coldplay, and more.

12:15 p.m. Spanish III

I really like Spanish this year because it consists of remembering the things we learned in Spanish II and making them harder. Because I don’t remember all of the conjugations and rules of speech that I leaned in Spanish II, going back over the basics is very helpful. This week in class we have been going over using the subjunctive in adjective clauses. The first couple of days in this unit consisted of us going over the basics of subjunctive and subordinate clauses, which was helpful to jog my memory. I had learned these things last year, and learning them for the second time made me understand them faster and better. Today we created sentences with subordinate clauses in English and translated them into Spanish.

1:10 p.m. Biology

This week in Biology we are working on a lab. We usually do labs in each unit that we study. This unit we are studying DNA so we are working on copying our DNA. We are using taq polymerase to copy the DNA in a high temperature. Each lab that we do helps us to better understand what we are learning about, and gives us a basis from which to study. When we are studying for our test on the duplication of DNA we can refer back to this lab.

2:30 p.m. U.S. History

In U.S. History today we continued learning about the Native Americans living in western America when people from the East began to settle in the West. Learning about American history is interesting because some things that we learn describe why our society today believes certain things.

3:45 p.m. Basketball

Today I have basketball practice. This is my second year being on the varsity basketball team and before that I was on junior varsity. Sports at Emma are really fun! Whether you want to be more competitive with other teams, learn a new sport for the first time, or you just want to have fun, there is something for you to do here at Emma. I have basketball practice every day during the week unless we have a game. We usually have about two games a week that could be either home or away.

5:10 p.m. Choir

Today after basketball practice I had choir. I am part of 3 different choirs all directed by the lovely Dr. Spiro-Allen: regular choir, inner choir, and semiquavers. All three of these groups feature songs in different languages like French, Latin, Spanish and English. Choir welcomes anyone that wants to sing. Inner choir is a group of girls that love to sing and want to sing more challenging songs than the ones sung in choir. Semiquavers is a small a cappella group of girls chosen by Dr. Spiro-Allen.

6:50 p.m. HIPnotic

After dinner I am off to HIPnotic! This is the name of the wonderful step team that I am in. We are a group of 10 girls from all different places who come together to learn the beats thought up by the wonderful Resident Faculty Stacey Serrette. We perform during morning reports, Apollo and the annual Black History Month celebration.

7:30 p.m. Study Hall

Sunday through Thursday nights boarding students have study hall from 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. As a Peer Educator, I check the girls on my hall in for study hall one or two nights a week. Study hall is a great block of time set aside for quiet study to finish homework and prepare for coming assignments.

Emma Willard School

Life at Emma

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