Grade 11
Narrative Essay
Downhill Destination
Shards of wood were strewn about the rocks, branches lay in an unorganized mess, and an oak tree’s entrails spread across the ground. My entrails, surprisingly enough, were still intact. Crumpled on a bed of granite, I lay as motionless as the heaping pile of metal beside me. Whether good or bad, my limbs were frozen numb. The smell of exhaust filled the air; burnt gasoline, outstanding as I was in the otherwise undisturbed natural area around me. Goodbye, ATV; you served me well. You were gone too soon, though I hadn’t expected to lose you on such a fine day. In fact, despite the warning signs, I hadn’t expected this to happen at all.
The thing is, there’s more to all of this than a simple accident. There were factors, causes, and reasons. But first, let me set the scene.
We were up at a cabin in the northern town of Toulamine. It belonged to our family friends, the Koci’s, who had made the trip up with us. It was nice up there, in terms of scenery and weather. A large lake bordered half the town, causing light winds to brush anyone on the beach. The sky was a painted azure, and I could count on my fingers the number of clouds I could see. It was always warm, even in the dead of the night, yet never hot enough to cause discomfort. Sounds beautiful, right?
See, that’s where this paradise ended and the disenchanting reality came about. If a dangerous crash wasn’t reason enough, the crappiness of this town ensured I would never want to come back. This place was next to nothing. Less than one hundred permanent residents made Toulamine their home; it was mainly a town of rental cabins. It was, to put it bluntly, a dull place. Yet, despite this recipe for boredom, this vacation soon enough become a pain-cation.
It all began the morning of the third day. The sun was glowing, the birds were singing, and Logan was unaware of what was to come. I woke up at the early nine o’clock as my parents had made me done every day we were there. Yawning and groaning, I prepared myself for the day before taking part in the unremarkably bland breakfast that greeted me every morning.
Then, I received some interesting news at the table. News that, while unexpected, was actually quite uplifting.
“We’re going to head to the creek today,” the parents joyfully announced.
I grinned. Despite my disliking of the majority of the area, I enjoyed hiking or sitting at the side of the creek, my hands stabilizing myself on the rocks as my feet danced with the current. It was relaxing, and I’m always one for relaxation.
“Later today, we’ll pack lunch and drive down to the creek,” my mom explained.
At that point, I had already tuned her out. I was calmly ecstatic already, and no other information was needed to convince me to go. Now, all I needed to do was kill two and a half hours. Unfortunately for me, I’d later on be wishing to have those two hours take an eternity. I had no idea what I was in for.
Twelve o’clock, I was out the door. The van was loaded, everyone was ready, and I was excited. That’s when the realization hit us. Two of the Koci’s had already agreed to dirt bike and quad their way to the creek. However, there was one too many people for the van.
My dad turned to me and asked “Are you fine with taking a quad?”
It was a simple question, really, but I had no idea of the consequences that would ensue later on. Of course, I knew how to drive a quad; I did it all the time! Why would this time be any different?
So, I sealed my doom and got my helmet on as the others drove away in that big, metal box of safety. And that’s when I learned about my dilemma. Peter Koci, the father, turned towards me and told me the quad was a manual. A stick-shift quad, on rough, dirt trails and winding side roads. A stick-shift quad, something I had never driven before. Things had just gotten interesting.
Much to my surprise, the first half of the trip went quite smoothly. The dusty gravel road proved no challenge to my driving skills, and the winding dirt trail wasn’t an obstacle either. However, that wasn’t the part I was worried about.
We arrived at the top of a steep decline, where our van had been parked. The others had already made their way down to the creek, and now it was our turn. Looking back, I should’ve stopped right there. Instead, I agreed to drive further down that ninety-degree hill, all the while not knowing the difference between first and fifth gear.
Yet, Peter claimed he had a “solution”. I could keep the quad in first gear and slowly coast down the hill, but only if I went first. Foolishly, I accepted that as a smart plan.
And so with that, young Logan glided down the hill, unaware of what was about to occur.
Uneventfully, I hit the bottom of the hill at a small landing area. However, I knew we were supposed to do one more turn off to park the quads. Unfortunately, the only turn I spotted was an incredibly wrong one. I marched the quad forward at a confident pace, and proceeded to move down this path I had found. It took about three seconds to realize I had royally screwed up.
The quad hit unsteady rocks, bouncing around, revving beyond my control. I tried to stop, but there was no ground to stop on. I tried to jump off, but my body was just as carelessly tossed around as the vehicle beneath me, giving me no opportunity to propel myself to safety.
This is it, I thought as I barrelled downhill to the creek and what I presumed was my demise. But sure as I am writing this, I made it out alive- unscathed, not so much.
My ATV never quite made the trip down to the creek, as a friendly oak tree managed to stop my descent. At full force, accentuated by gravity, I slammed into the tree, my body flying forward like the ammunition of a catapult. If it weren’t for the shock and numbness, that would’ve hurt like hell.
I crumpled against the tree and sunk to the ground, where I lay still as I heard the dying engine beside me revving its last rev.
Shards of wood were strewn about the rocks, an oak tree’s entrails spread across the ground. My entrails, surprisingly enough, were still intact. Crumpled on the bed of granite below me, I lay as motionless as the heaping pile of metal beside me. My limbs were frozen numb. The smell of exhaust filled the air; burnt gasoline, outstanding as I was in the otherwise undisturbed natural area around me. Goodbye, ATV; you served me well. You were gone too soon, though luckily I was not.
Reflection:
I feel I did well portraying my own voice in my essay and painting the true pain of the crash.
I need to improve on tying everything into the story and pacing the action better.
Opinion Piece
Brutal Branding: Problem or Not?
In the various sports leagues of North America, several teams have used variations of Native people as their logos, team names, and mascots. Teams such as the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Braves, and Edmonton Eskimos formulate their whole team identity around stereotypical First Nations ideas or people.
To those who are fans of these teams, it may be hard to see such a beloved and traditional name have to go. They likely grew up celebrating that team, and to give it a whole new identity and face that much change can be a hard thing to do. Beyond that, teams will have to spend lots of money, millions upon millions of dollars, in order to rebrand their teams. However, this is a cost that must be paid in order to satisfy offended people and make amends in the name of reconciliation.
The First Nations people have a mixed opinion surrounding these team names, with some stating their clear opposition, others supporting it, and some simply being apathetic. A Washington Redskins ad shows Natives being okay with the name, but a similar video displays the opposite. Not to mention, poet Winona Linn has a slam poem focusing on the topic of Native stereotypes, and she directly mentions the Indians logo “Chief Wahoo”, proving that those logos and team names are prominent in the minds of Natives, and shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.
If you’re not really a sports fan and don’t pay attention to that team or league, then it should be less impactful. “Out of sight, out of mind” as they say. Yet, even many non-Native people recognize the offensiveness of these team names and logos, most notably the Redskins name or Cleveland Indians logo. Some teams attempt to justify their branding, like the Redskins with saying it honours and respects the Natives, and the Indians with using their logos less. Not to mention, some broadcasters only refer to these teams as their home city now. However, people aren’t buying it. They want proper justice.
At the end of the day, it’s much easier to change the team identity than to have to face so much controversy and hate from rightfully offended people. In fact, despite the high costs and possible fan-base disappointment, changing the teams now is a smart move, as they would no longer have people leaving or avoiding being fans or supporters of that team. All in all, if the leagues were to pitch in some money to help change the branding of these teams, and fans realized they could be the first fans of a new era for their team, then everyone could be happy and be quiet about these pointless sports teams. It’s a smart choice for everyone.
Notte, Jason. “Cleveland Indians Keep Racist Mascot Because of Money.” MarketWatch, 29 Oct. 2016, www.marketwatch.com/story/cleveland-indians-keep-racist-mascot-because-of-money-2016-10-28.
Bogart, Nicole. “Should the Cleveland Indians Change Their Name? A History of Protest over Chief Wahoo.” Global News, 12 Oct. 2016, globalnews.ca/news/2998193/should-the-cleveland-indians-change-their-name-a-history-of-protest-over-chief-wahoo/
PoetrySlamVancouver. “Winona Linn – Knock-Off Native.” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Jan. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_zFOsd_pqA.
watchcut. “Redskin | Native Americans | One Word.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Nov. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8r8cQNpWt4.
Complexmagazine. “90% of Native Americans Not Offended by Redskins’ Team Name.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlDhp82RY34.
Precalc 11 – Week 15
This week in Precalc 11 I learned about adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing rational expressions.
For all of these, the main point is to find a common denominator, which can be found by either multiplying the denominators together or finding their lowest common factor.
For multiplication, it’s the most straight forward. You just multiply the terms in the numerator normally.
When it comes to division, you’ll need to flip the second fraction so it can be multiplied instead, and continue like you would with multiplication.
With addition, after finding a common denominator, you add up the numerator as you normally would with common terms.
Finally, with subtraction, once you’ve gotten your common denominator you subtract the common terms like normal.
For any of these, simplify when possible.
Precalc 11 – Week 14
This week in Precalc 11 we learned about rational expressions and reducing them. A rational expressions is a fraction of integers, and is the main focus of this unit.
However, they can often include factors or larger terms, and it can be a lot of math to do. In order to avoid this, we have to reduce these fractions to the simplest terms. Yet, it’s not the same as a typical fraction. With normal fractions, we divide the numbers by the same number until they’re as low as possible.
With rational expressions that have large polynomials or factors, we have to start by factoring it if it isn’t. Then, you simply remove pairs of factors if they match, one from the numerator and one from the denominator. Whatever you can’t remove that way is in simplest terms.
Precalc 11 – Week 13
This week in Precalc 11 I learned about absolute value functions. Essentially, they start the same as a normal function, however, they cannot have a negative at all.
To start, this means that all negative intercepts are going to be flipped up to be positive, so -7 becomes 7.
Then comes the important part, as the line or parabola will likely hit the x-axis. If this is the case, the line or parabola will have a bounce point, causing it to start heading upwards again. This bounce point can also be found as the x-intercept. It’s always important to keep in mind, as under no circumstances will an absolute value function have negative values.
Additionally, after the bounce point the line or parabola continues normally, simply in the other direction.
“Dead Poets’ Society” Reflection and Connection
- The meaning of the movie is all about taking control of your life and living in the moment. You can’t sit idly by, you need to follow your heart and do what you want. You have to carpe diem, or seize the day. This can be connected to “Tomorrow” as they convey opposite meanings. The movie is all about following your dream and keeping hope, while “Tomorrow” is about the hopelessness and meaninglessness of life, that you should just give up as nothing matters.
- I’ve seen this movie many times and think it’s a great movie. It’s got interesting and complex characters with lots of development, a powerful message, and a beautiful story all woven together.
Precalc 11-Week 12
This week in Precalc 11 I learned about graphing linear and quadratic inequalities.
First, linear and quadratic inequalities keep the same shape as equations, as they still include the base and $y=x^2$ however, the way to indicate them is different.
If the inequality has or
, the line of the inequality will be solid, but if it’s only
or
, then it must be a dotted line.
Additionally, you shade in the side of the line or parabola that has the solutions. An easy way to figure out which side works is to use the test point . The reason this is usable is because 0,0 is not only a simple point to find, but by plugging it in to the equation, you can figure out if the side that includes 0,0 satisfies it or not. If the equation makes sense when using the point 0,0, then the side you shade is the one with 0,0. If not, then you shade the other side.
For example, if you have the inequality , then putting
in will make it
, which satisfies the equation, meaning you shade that side.
The same goes for a parabola, if you were to have the inequality , you’ll be able to test it with zero as well.
Using these rules and tricks for graphing, you can put any inequality on to a graph.
Core Competencies
Precalc 11 – Week 11
This week in Precalc 11 about solving inequalities with number lines and factors.
If you have an inequality, such as , you start by factoring it, in this case getting
.
Then, you find the zeros, which for this inequality are and
. You then place those zeroes on a number line.
Afterwards, you match each factor up to a number line, and find out whether each of the three segments on the line created by the zeroes are positive or negative.
Next, you combine each of those number lines by figuring out the positives and negatives on the overall number line. For example, if the middle segment on the first line is positive and negative on the second one, you’ll end up with a negative in the middle segment of the overall number line, as a positive and negative equal a negative when multiplied.
Then, you figure out whether your answer needs to be positive or negative and select a number within whatever segment needed.
With that, you have your answer. In this case, it’s and
.