Blog Feed

Cristian Fernandez

1/19/17

In the video we described the issue of lead poisoning in Philadelphia, and how it impacts a lot of people. We describe how it mainly affects children developmentally and can also harm adults. We describe the politics that go into how lead is dealt with and how it can be treated properly, but it does take time and money. We make sure that people understand that lead isn’t only in the paint on our walls, but also in the water we drink, older plumbing could have been made with lead. For this project I was the editor of the video, and worked with everyone to put the video together, including being in the video. We all worked on the questions and making the video itself (filming). I feel as though I could have helped more on the script. My group did all of the script and I just edited some of it when we were filming mine and others parts. I think we all did a good time managing the time we were given, it seemed like a lot of groups were not on task the whole time and I feel like we worked with all the time we were given and made a good product as a result of it. I think the most meaningful part of creating the PSA was approaching the display of the points we had to someone who has no knowledge of the topic. This required us to go deeper into depth for our research and develop different ways of understanding it, which makes it more impactful to me,

The video is about four girls, Saphira, Hadja, Yari, and I doing work for a class and they here on the news about oil derailing into the schuylkill river. All of are concerned and ask questions like what is the government going to do to solve this, and how much does it cost to clean the oil spill. After that, we decide that we should do something to raise awareness to the public, so we created a music video. I agreed to do this topic because I was able to relate it to the BP oil spill in 2010. I remember that happened I was 10 years old and scared/scared about what this meant for all the organisms that lived in the ecosystem. Also, with the most recent oil spill from the pipelines in North Dakota it was very frustrating to hear because it was so many things that were wrong about that situation involving the people and the environment.

For this project I worked really hard in everything. I was apart of researching and finding information to put into the video. I also created the skit and wrote the song all by myself. When it came down to the video I edited it and published it onto YouTube. In this project I think that I created the song very well, I’m proud of the how much effort I put into it. What I would differently is record and edit a day earlier so I didn’t have to panic about finishing it. Also, I would change my group because I feel like I worked the hardest and cared the most about it. The most meaningful part was what I learned and how what we do to the Earth will impact it for better or worst. We only have one Earth, so we should take care of it.

​In the following video, we are giving a public service announcement about light pollution. We explain exactly what it is, give examples, and make suggestions on how we can reduce its damage. I chose this topic because I was not sure about what it was. It is one of the least discussed forms of pollution. It was interesting to learn how simple structures, such as street lights, can cause more harm than help.

I was responsible for contributing to the script and finding out what information would be important to put in the PSA. I also helped record certain parts of the video.

I believe we did well with finding useful information. We also tried to make sure that everyone was satisfied with the script and didn't use any misleading information. If I could change anything, I would add in a visual of the examples and make it more entertaining.  

The most meaningful part of the experience was finding the research. We had to become experts on the topic. In addition, we had to retain the information to explain it.

        For our Public Service Announcement (the video) we decided to make a “Breaking News” video because we thought it would grabs people attention, and make people more aware of the situation going on with lead poisoning. In the video it is split up into different “segments” such as the Introduction, an interview, news reporters talking about the information that we thought was the most important to educate people about the problems of lead poisoning. I chose this topic because I was really interested in researching more about the lead problems in Philadelphia, and also I wanted to educate myself more on this topic. I really wanted to do this topic because I feel like more people need to be aware of this problem, and more people need to step up to fix the many issues that are involved in the city of Philadelphia. I didn’t know much about the lead problem in Philadelphia, and doing this project helped me gain more information and more knowledge about this topic, and also made me want to put a stop to this problem. We need to all come together to fix these environmental justice issues, and make Philadelphia a clean, safe place to live.

     Throughout this process I’ve reflected a lot on what I have contributed to the project and the role I’ve played in the group. I contributed a lot for my group since the beginning of this benchmark. I reached out to my group members since the start to figure out if they wanted to be in the group, and which topic we wanted to pick. I contributed to the research part of the project by completing the questions / research I was assigned too, and also adding on to other parts of the research (such as additional research, or helping anyone who needed help for their part.). I contributed in the recording of the PSA too by recording my group members, and also helping them remember their lines, or giving ideas for the video. I also edited the video all on my own with the help of only of two of my group members. I believe my role for this project was to be a helper, and being the person to make sure I’m on top of things and so are my group members. I helped guided them through this project, and did anything they needed me or wanted me to do.

        As I reflect on our benchmark that we were given, I believe that there was a lot of things that I did well for this benchmark, and a few things that  my group members and I could’ve done differently. I believe throughout this whole process I was well at submitting all checkpoints on time, making sure I completed all of my work (my part) that I was assigned, recording my parts, and also communicating with my group members, and also editing. If we had another opportunity to redo this benchmark over again, I’d do differently is to not rush things, and take my time and look over what we have done because I rush a lot of times because I get stressed and feel the need to rush. I believe next time I would slow down, and make sure the work is done right, and that everything we need done, is finished.

The most meaningful part of this experience of creating this PSA would have to be learning more about the lead poisoning in Philadelphia. This experience made me realize a lot about how big of an issue lead poisoning is in the city. It was amazing learning more about it because we read an article earlier in the quarter about lead, and now we get to make people more aware about it, because if we make people more aware, more people will hopefully join in stopping and fighting to get rid of lead all together (or majority.)

Water pollution is what we decided to focus on because it’s a growing concern. It affects the water quality levels as well as surrounding living organisms.

We evenly contributed to this project. All of the checkpoints were divided evenly. We assigned different sections of the issue to the members to research so that we gathered the most information in the most efficient time possible. It helped a lot. Also, we assigned group roles. For example, I was in charge of signing in and out the equipment and time management.  

Something that went well was gathering the information. All the checkpoints were completed on time and done thoroughly. We fell behind when it came to recording. Between finding spaces that were unlocked to record at, putting the equipment together, and knowing what to say, it was a challenge. We could have managed our time and available resources better so that our project wasn’t so rushed.

The most meaningful part of the experience of creating the PSA is to bring knowledge of the situation to others and hopefully make a change.

Tykeiah Martin

Ms. Aziz

Environmental Science

Topic : Oil Spills in the U.S

January 19, 2018

The content of our video, is based on the impact of oil spills in the u.s. I contributed in various way. I bounced around the group editing and organizing the script and collecting different photos for our video. So we'll have a good representation for our classmates. I think i did well by keeping everyone on track maintaining the group and contributing to on task conversation. Something i would do differently is take my time when researching. To pick up all details. I think the most meaningful [art pof our video was acknowledging the fact that were hurting our environment and its important we fix this as a community because this issue has an impact on all of us.

Dear Fellow Students,

I have noticed that teenagers around my age like to drink caffeine in bulk amounts but do not know the consequences. As you may not know, 32 mg to 200mg act as a minor stimulant and anything over 300 mg causes temporary insomnia. Personally, I don't drink caffeine to that extent, if anything I barely drink anything that contains caffeine.

Moving on, I wanted to understand the effects of caffeine so I have done a study where I personally try to drink steady amounts of caffeine over the course of two days.

The way I collected my information for this study went like this:

Every time I would drink a caffeinated drink, I would list it, add how much caffeine is in the drink, and how many hours after 6:00 am from my starting day I drunk the drink.

The first thing I drunk was a Turkey Hill Iced Tea at 8:00 am which consisted of 110 mg. After this, I was very energized and ready to tackle anything. At 12:00 noon, I decided to eat lunch. With my lunch, I also drank a coca cola can which had 34 mg of caffeine. That night I went to bed around 10:00. By the time I went to bed, my caffeine levels had decreased, which allowed me to go to sleep without any issues. The next day, I didn't drink any caffeine in the morning, so around 2:00 pm, I decided to drink an Arizona Iced tea half and half Green Tea Lemonade, which consisted 19 mg of caffeine. Then, two hours after drinking the Arizona half and half, 4:00 pm, I ate a Hershey chocolate bar which consisted of 9 mg. Later that evening, 7:00 pm to be exact, I felt like eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream. The Ben and Jerry's ice cream consisted of 70 mg of caffeine. That night, I was not able to sleep the time I desired because I still had a lot of energy left in me due to all the caffeine I consumed. My graph below shows a piece-wise function that represents my caffeine levels. The reason they decrease is because your caffeine levels decrease 13% after each hour, leaving the 87% behind.

As you can see, my caffeine levels did not go over 120 mg, which was a good thing because anything over 300 mg would have caused me to have temporary insomnia. As you see, the point where the red dot is, that is the time where I went to bed that day. Even though I went to bed, there was still caffeine that was being depleted each hour. The reason that it is (16,24.1) in the graph is because 10:00 pm is 16 hours after my starting point of 6:00 am.

After doing all of my research and collecting my data, I have come to the conclusion that students should not consume any caffeine after 3:00 pm. The reason being is, after 3:00 you become tired and want something that will be a sort of “pick me up”. Most people around my age would go and choose an energy drink and buy them in bulk, so they make sure that they have enough energy for the rest of the day, but they do not understand that their body is not able to get rid off all that caffeine before you go to bed and the fact that more caffeine might be added onto the existing amount does not help the situation.

In summation,  students know how much caffeine you intake! Taking in too much caffeine can cause horrible things like restlessness, irritability, muscle tremors and even temporary insomnia. Also, no caffeine after 3:00 pm! I understand you want a “pick me up” around that time but still, hefty amounts of caffeine should not be consumed at that time. This is only because your body cannot break down the caffeine in time for you to go to bed, causing lack of sleep, which is priceless for us teenagers.

In this quarter we were allowed to choose what type of art project we wanted to work on. I worked on the still life project and in this kind of art we had to draw 2-4 inanimate projects. We had to draw from life and not from the imagination.

I decided to draw flowers in a vase and try to share how pretty nature is to the world. Growing up my mother has always told me we should treat flowers,trees, and etc. with kindness. I only tried to show the true beauty of nature and show that we have to treasure this beauty.

The process of drawing this inanimate object was difficult at first. I tried to start from drawing the petals first and I am glad I did because they are really hard to draw. The vase was also a struggle to draw but I was able to get feedback from Ms.Hertz to make it look more still life. Overall, it got easier the longer I worked on it.

A major tool that I used throughout this process was a charcoal pencil. I was already familiar with charcoal because of my previous benchmark. A learned how to draw soft lines and rough like lines. It was very fun to experience with and I feel like pencil is more of my thing.

One thing I am very proud is the fact that I am still learning how to be a great artist and you can see that based off of my drawings. If I could change one thing then it would be how I drew the vase and that is because I feel like I can make it look more realistic. Overall, this quarter 2 benchmark was interesting because I learned more about myself.

Do you ever just wake up in the morning and have a taste for a large Dunkin Donut medium iced caramel coffee with sugar and whipped cream with a donut on the side? You might have answered yes to this question but do you ever think about how much caffeine is going into your body? Everyday we go to the coffee shop or Dunkin Donuts and get our nice warm coffee that we enjoy the most and we slug down all of those sugars and other added sugars down our throat and into our body. Maybe we need the coffee for a kick start for the day or maybe we stayed up all night doing homework and we don’t want to be tired for our morning class that we might fall asleep in causing us to be sleep through the whole class period. So we drink the coffee for the energy and the pleasant feeling we get from the coffee.

Caffeine, a stimulant that act in ways that can do good and bad to the body. But do we know all the effects that caffeine can do to the body? If a person consumes 32 to 200 mgs of caffeine it acts a minor stimulants that might just speed up your normal ways in getting through the morning. But if a person consumes more than 300 mg of caffeine it produces a temporary insomnia (trouble in falling asleep) and 480 mg consumed will cause panic attacks for patients with a panic disorders. These effects can be life changing in not knowing when you will have a panic attack or realizing that you can’t go to sleep until you’re up all night just looking at your ceiling trying to fall asleep. Studies show that ¨13 percent of caffeine in the body is eliminated each hour.¨

Over the past weeks in Mrs.Sallo Algebra 2 class we have been studying exponential functions; functions including with a starting point and a decaying/increasing factor. The project that was presented to us was the Caffeine Elimination project in studying yourself or someone that drinks anything with caffeine. I studied my grandmother’s caffeine consumption over 3 days in her drinking sodas such Mountain Dew and Pepsi. The Mountain Dew bottle consumed of 4.50 mgs and the Pepsi bottle consumed of 37.2 mgs of caffeine.