Pre-High School Descriptive Essay Writing Sample

Student: Abby
Assignment Description: Descriptive Essay that includes specifics learned in history class about the daily lives of cowboys on a cattle drives.

Date: July 7th, 2015 (End of 8th Grade)

              "What's on the menu tonight, Cookie?" James, the wrangler asked, stepping up to the chuck wagon with his tin plate.

              "Ya'll better be hungry tonight! I've got my specialty on the menu!" Cookie grinned, dipping his ladle into a pot.

              There was a collaborative groan from all the drivers.

              "Ya'll need to shut yer mouths! My specialty is plenty healthy and de-licious!" Cookie pulled out a large glob of a thick stew.

              James cringed seeing it put on his plate. Cookie's specialty was a stew made of cow parts. And lard. Lots and lots of lard. "Gee...Thanks...Cookie..." James coughed awkwardly before grabbing a biscuit and moving to his place beside the fire.

              "If ya'll finish that off, come get some more! This stuff lasts for days! It will keep, and keep, and keep, so it will be your's to eat, and eat, and eat." He grinned, showing off his few holes from missing teeth.

              "How did he become the cook?" Will, a cattle driver, sat down beside James and staring at the goo on his plate.

              "He was the only one available." James replied, dipping a spoon into the stew and staring at it.

              "Cookie, this food is ridiculous. We need foods that aren't entirely coated in lard." Dicky, the head driver stepped up to the chuck wagon and crossed his arms. "Perhaps some items from the other food groups."

              "Eh? Other food groups!" Cookie dropped his ladle into his pot, pointing a finger at Dicky. "Listen here, I've got your food groups right here! Beans, bacon, whiskey, and lard!" He counted them out on his fingers. "All the things growing boys need to be strong! Ain't that right, James?" Cookie leaned over and put an arm around him, causing James to spill the food on his plate.

              "Oh no, looks like I've got nothing to eat tonight, such a shame!" James shrugged Cookie off and started to stand.

              "Don't be silly! I told ya'll, come back and get more if ya finished it off!" Cookie grabbed his pot, spooning another healthy glob onto James's plate.

              James stared at the goo jiggling on his plate. "Oh...Joy..."

              Will snickered, pushing at his own stew with his spoon.

              James kicked him in the leg, causing another plate of food to go down. "Oh, Cookiieeee! Will needs more! And lots of it!"

              "I can tell ya'll like my cooking, but there needs to be enough to go around!" Cookie's ladle dropped a massive glob onto Will's plate. "But, here ya go! Gotta keep up that strength, ya hear?"

              "Thank you...Cookie..." Will grumbled, staring at the stew starting to slowly run over the sides.

              "Don't mention it!" Cookie lumbered back to his chuck wagon. "Tomorrow night, I've got a new dish planned! Ya'll gonna love it!"

              There was another collaborative groan from the drivers.

Pre-High School Expository Writing Sample

Student: Abby
Assignment Description: Five-paragraph Expository Essay with Research Required
Date: May 25th, 2015 (End of 8th Grade)

               "Look out, I'm coming through! You better move!" is a phrase that no one really likes to hear. Yet, for some horses, that is exactly what they want to say. Left-Brained Extroverts in particular love to say that phrase. If a Left-Brained Extrovert horse, meaning he's dominant, pushy, loves to move his feet, smart, and mouthy, isn't told "No! Don't run through me!"  he'll decide to follow his own rules, make his own games, and ignore his handler because he thinks "I'm stronger, smarter, more fun, and I can push this person around!". So how exactly is a horse told and taught "Don't run through me!"?  Pat Parelli, a well recognized horse expert, has some very interesting views on how to start the process of teaching a Left-Brained Extrovert his manners and creating a great partner.

                Pat Parelli always says "It's not about the work, it's about the relationship". A firm relationship is the first step to making the horse trust and respect his handler. In order to work properly and establish a relationship with a Left-Brained Extrovert, we need a few tools. --a carrot stick, a rope halter, a 22-Foot lead rope, a round pen or arena, and of course, the horse himself. Let's start on the relationship. A few ways to build trust and a relationship with a Left-Brained Extrovert include, playing with toys with him, giving him food, just hanging out and giving him rough rubs, and finding ways to help him think and use his mind. A way to hang out with a Left-Brained Extrovert is by using the carrot stick. Rubbing it on his body and gently swinging the savvy string around his neck, back, and legs are a few ways to make yourself and the carrot stick friendly and fun.  Left-Brained Extroverts need trust and love, but too much of it can be dangerous. Left-Brained Extroverts, or LBEs for short, get bored quite quickly. So too much time loving them can result in them getting bored and disrespecting their handler. Let's cover the leadership part next to balance out our love.

                LBEs require three things; language, love, and leadership. They tend to have a large and strong love and language department, but leadership tends to be quite small and weak. LBEs will take advantage of a person who gives out too much love and not enough leadership. I know from experience with my LBE American Quarter Horse, Nevada. LBEs need a strong and calm leader who will listen to their ideas and let them move their feet. But if some LBEs don't get that, they can become very pushy and dangerous. Nevada got like that. She thought I was boring since I was giving her too much love, and as a result decided to come up with her own games. The rearing game was one of her favorites. She would rear, try to bite, and generally walk away and ignore me. We had a Parelli Instructor come in who showed us how to establish leadership with a LBE. Now, this is a little tricky and perhaps a bit nerve wracking, but it is necessary in order to have a safe horse. The first thing to do is make sure the horse is on a 22-Foot lead rope. It allows you to let the horse move and stay at a safe distance. Then make sure you and the horse are in a place the horse can run and not run into anything like a secure round pen or arena. What you're trying to do here is see if the horse is deciding to do the wrong thing, like bucking, rearing, eating grass, ignoring you, ect. If he does, what you're going to do is make the wrong thing hard, and the right thing easy. You'll start by sending the horse out to circle. You want him walking or trotting at a nice pace. If he rears, bucks, changes direction, or canters, you're going to make him run faster. With LBEs, you make them do what they want then add four ounces. You're trying to make running or changing direction uncomfortable. You make the horse be pushed to a gallop for three laps, and then you wait and see if he slows. If he starts slowing, moves to a trot or walk, or stops and looks at you, you should stop and bring them in. Then do friendly with your carrot stick. If they do not slow, push them again for three laps! Repeat these steps until the horse stops or slows. Eventually the horse will say to himself "Why am I running so fast? I don't like running this fast! I'm going to slow down and see what happens." Once the horse realizes this, he's starting to respect you more and you can move onto the next step, building a foundation to continue to build on.

                Once the horse respects and trusts you, you can start working towards  a goal. Yet, this goal needs a solid foundation to start with. In order to achieve his goals, Parelli relies heavily on the horse yielding to pressure. Parelli developed something he calls "the Seven Games". Friendly, Porcupine, Driving, Yoyo, Sideways, Circling, and Squeeze--as a way to teach the horse yield or give into pressure. Porcupine and Driving are the two initial games. Porcupine is the horse yielding to constant pressure. Say I put a finger on your cheek and pushed with pressure gradually increasing. Wouldn't you want to move away from that pressure rather than have it continue to increase? That's usually what the horse wants. That's the main idea of the Porcupine game. Driving is similar with increasing pressure, but it uses rhythmic pressure rather than constant pressure. We shy away from punches, right? Think of it like that. A punch, or repeated punches tend to make us want to move away from the multiple hits. That's what Driving is. If we can teach the horse these two basic ideas, you can build on them with more games, more options, more fun and more jobs for an LBE! Driving is an easier game to teach the horse, so you can start there. Take the horse into an open area, and then start moving the carrot stick in a circle towards the horse's rear end. You want to slowly get closer and closer. If the horse doesn't move, eventually he'll get a small tap right on his rear! If he doesn't move, increase the force of the tap until he eventually moves. Make sure to reward the smallest little bit of try when starting out, even if the horse just moves a foot to move away from the pressure. Do friendly, meaning rub and love on the horse in a professional manner, as soon as he releases so that the carrot stick isn't seen as a mean thing. Porcupine is a similar idea, but you're going to push on the horse rather then drive him. Gently rest the tip of the carrot stick on his side, and start pressing harder and harder. If he doesn't move, gently tug on his head and continue pressing. Reward the smallest bit of try. Once the horse knows these two basics and that he should yield to pressure otherwise it will get very uncomfortable, you have a foundation to build on. Working with an LBE can be very difficult, but with a lot of work, time, and care, an LBE can become a very rewarding partner.

                LBEs aren't bad horses. They just need some special work on their handler's part. If given the right training and care, they can become very playful, fun, energetic, enthusiastic partners who love to have a job to do. LBEs just need a strong leader, a little bit of love, and clear language with their handler. This is just how to start off with an LBE. Remember that all horses are different. Some might be more responsive to pressure or some might be less responsive. Some may be fearful of the carrot stick, while others think it is an amazing toy and try to eat it and play with it! It's up to the handler to be able to read and change according to the horse that shows up that day. Whatever you do, remember that the most important thing is the relationship between the horse and the handler.

Volunteer Service Documentation: Assistant Sunday School Teacher

Position: Assistant Sunday School Teacher
Organization: SBF
Job Description: To promote the spiritual growth and transformation of children by engaging in a teaching ministry that emphasizes fun, religious identity, community, and learning. Responsibilities include planning Sunday morning sessions in cooperation with other members of the teaching team, assisting in leading Sunday morning sessions with that week's lead teacher, pursuing personal spiritual growth by attending worship services when not teaching, and helping to fulfill the children's ministry's overall goals and objectives.
Dates of Service: 2012-current

Physical Education: Intermediate Equitation

Intermediate Equitation (1 credit)
Grade Percentages: 20% Class Participation, 30% Homework, 50% Audition
Description: This mounted course is designed to use the Western discipline of equestrian sports to further the development and maintenance of an active and healthy lifestyle. Intermediate natural horsemanship techniques and theories in equitation will be taught to increase performance and skill level at all 3 gaits. Topics include refining riding cues, improving seat and posture, increasing balance in the saddle, developing a further understanding of feel and timing, riding patterns, and negotiating obstacles including barrels, cones, cavalettis and more.  The class will culminate with the submission of an audition for Parelli Level 2 Online and Freestyle certifications to demonstrate the students overall savvy, skills, and relationship with her horse.
Materials: Parelli Natural Horsemanship Program by Pat Parelli
Instructor: MFNH
Year: 2015-2016
Grade: TBD

Driver's Education

Driver's Education (.5 credits)
Grade Percentages: 20% Quizzes, 30% Practical Demonstration of Skills, 50% Final Exam
Description: The 2-phased, term-length course develops traffic citizens who will use our roads and highway transportation system in a competent, safe, and responsible manner. Topics covered include the rules and procedures for operating a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle laws and the rules of the road for the state of North Carolina, the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances, distractions while driving, driving defensively, and aggressive drivers. By the end of the class, students will demonstrate behind-the-wheel proficiency in residential, rural, and city/freeway settings.
Materials: Drive Right by Pearson Education
Instructor: JDS
Year: 2015-16
Grade: A

Art Production: 3D Video Game Graphics

Art Production: 3D Video Game Graphics (.25 credits)
Grade Percentages: 50% Classwork, 50% Final Presentation
Description: This class serves as an introduction to the various aspects of 3D video game art production. Students will engage in the process of creating 3D graphics for video games with 3D Studio Max and Photoshop. Participants will follow the production pipeline from drawing a concept, to creating a 3D model, to building a scene in a game engine. The class will culminate in individual presentations of the student's work.
Materials: 3D Studio Max (software) by Autodesk; Photoshop (software) by Adobe
Instructor: WTCC
Year: 2015-16
Grade: A