User blog:RedPandaPotter/Stuffs

Hey, guys.

Readers.

I'm excited! And nervous! Very, super, totally, mega-ly, extremely nervous. Want to know why?

Four reasons, three of which are academic.

First. I'm getting ready to submit my application to the Woodstock Advanced Astronaut Training camp. Of all the applicators, only twelve are selected, and that's it. Of all of those who submit. It costs $225 if you're admitted, which I'm not sure how to...perceive. My sister says that's not much in the scheme of things, but I dunno. Just saying. You have to be in pretty advanced math and science, and you have to submit some stuff proving your skill level - you have to be in the 99th percentile in math or science (and prove it), have a recommendation, have a specific type of score on an Explorer test or on an SB5 or WISC IQ (I don't even know what those are) and stuff. I hope I get in, but...I don't know. My mom dug out my MAP test scores (I qualified in math - we don't even take a science MAP), and my math and science teacher wrote me a recommendation. I don't even know how many people apply, so I don't know what my chances are. But it's pretty cool. We get to learn about engineering, the math, science, and technology involved in it, and, as a culminating activity, participate in a simulated "Rendezvous with a Comet", and construct live-sized rovers to complete in team bot-competitions. Pretty awesome, right?

Second, next Saturday (the 28th) I have to go to the Math Invitational in my district, which I'm super nervous for! It's a team of five people competing in CML-type quizzes against other groups. We were chosen from my math class on who had the highest culminating scores on the CML and Math Olympiad tests. You know, how there are five (or six, in the CML) questions, and they're ish-hard, some of them are crazy-difficult the others are crazy-simple, and there are some that are just...meh? We take one of those every month, so we've had...eight this year? Anyway, my teacher keeps track of the number you get right on each test, and then when this event comes along, she looks at her records and sees who has the most right in all of the tests. So, as an example, if I miss one on every test, and there are eight tests, each with five questions, that's forty questions and thirty-two total correct (That's probably too-high, but...). I was one of the five with the highest. And, I might add, the only female to be going to this Math Invitational.

Thirdly, the last of the academic-related events happening in my life, I have been selected to go to the Illinois State Young Author's Conference on May 18th. This is because our school held a competition honoring one of our teachers (we named it after her, but I think the whole nation...I dunno...maybe just our state does it), and since the theme this year in our school is determination, we had to write short stories, dramas, poems, and so on, about determination. I chose to write a short story, won from my class, and went to the school celebratory luncheon, where they disclosed the names of those going to the state competition, of which there are two: a girl in the same grade as me, and me. So, on May 18th, we're going to the State University. And that's that.

And, finally, I'm trying to get into Extended Art.

And that is all, my friends.

I am  Spinifex - The Porcupine Grass  because Zaffie said so!  20:57, April 21, 2012 (UTC)