The first meeting of Spanish Club was held recently. The Spanish Club seeks to go beyond studies from Spanish class through exploring the culture and current events of Spanish-speaking countries. The club will support humanitarian efforts for Spanish-speaking countries, host movie-viewings in Spanish, and practice new vocabulary.
The Spanish Club will continue to meet every other Friday in room 102. All students are welcome, even those who do not take Spanish at Sturgis. The next meeting will be held this Friday, February 9. See Jerry or Caroline Curran with questions. Ms. Whipple, a new teacher at Sturgis East and advisor of the Spanish Club, is excited to share her ideas and perspective for the club!
Two of a Kind: MIT students visit Sturgis East!
On January 25, two MIT graduate students who work with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Beckett Colson & Victoria Preston, presented their research on microplastics, artificial intelligence, and underwater robotics to a group of curious students at Sturgis East! This event gave Sturgis students the opportunity to ask their most burning questions about marine technology to rising experts in the field. While the presentation was full of scientific inquiries regarding their research, Beckett and Victoria also fielded questions about how their work involves collaborating with people from a variety of jobs and backgrounds all over the world!
Beckett Colson has worked with lasers which are used to analyze samples he collects underwater without having to bring them up to the surface. This is useful because samples may behave differently based on a change in pressure if they were to be taken out of the water. In addition, he studies microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic that get into the ocean from the breakdown of consumer products. Microplastics can be very dangerous to wildlife and also have negative effects on humans. This is a dire problem which scientists like Beckett are working to address.
Similarly, Victoria Preston has developed robots that can go on the surface of the water and collect samples without any humans by their side. Victoria explained that these robots are much more efficient than methods scientists have used in the past. Researchers used to have to ride kayaks to collect small samples in the water and then return them to land one by one. Now, Victoria’s robots are able to record more data at various points in the water in a single trip. This is a significant improvement for researchers at WHOI.
Victoria and Beckett emphasized that their jobs regularly involve communicating with people of different professions who do not necessarily research the same types of science as they do. It is important for them to be able to clearly express their ideas to different groups of individuals.They collaborate with archeologists, meteorologists, and others involved in Estuarine Science, Public Policy, Defense and Trade.
The future is bright for Beckett Colson and Victoria Preston as they continue their research with MIT and WHOI! Sturgis East would like to thank the two for visiting our school and sharing their work with us! In addition, thanks to Ms. Stacey Strong for bringing in Beckett and Victoria to speak at our school! Their advice and knowledge was well-received by the students, and we all will apply what we learned at Sturgis and beyond!
The Sturgis East Mock Trial Team Puts up a Great Effort while Displaying High Hopes for the Future!
As a member of the Sturgis East Mock Trial team, I can say that, though we lost our cases, we gained a lot more experience and knowledge in the end. Mock Trial is a simulation of what a real court case would be like. Students take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses. Roles in the cases remain gender-neutral so that ultimately, any member in Mock Trial can take on any role involved in the trial. The case itself is fairly arguable for the plaintiff and the defense which makes it so that there is no side that has a greater chance of winning. To win a trial, participants must demonstrate knowledge of the case itself and remain confident as they speak in front of a real judge, their opposing counsel, and their own team members.
What most people don’t know about Mock Trial is that team members do not get assigned their roles on the spot. Instead, preparing for a trial takes practice on memorizing affidavits and understanding how a court system functions.
As stressful as it is to provide statements in front of an actual attorney or judge, it is also a great learning experience. In my first year in Mock Trial, I was shy and less outgoing because I was afraid to speak up. Once I took part in the club, I felt more comfortable to take risks and try new things.
Although the Sturgis East team has lost its first two trials of the season, the trials have been a good opportunity for the newcomers to experience how Mock Trial works on the big stage.
Consisting of myself, Sahaj Rijal, Andrew Juan, Emily Fox, Sophie Eldredge, and Olivia McSoley, I am sure we can all say that the team worked amazingly well together and kept our hopes up. As our season is not technically over and we will face DY soon, I hope that anyone who is interested in joining Mock Trial will try it out! It has been a tremendous experience for me to grow as a public speaker and develop social skills while learning about trials!
The Conclusion of Midterms
During the review days, I made sure to pay careful attention to everything that my teachers said and worked my hardest on the assignments. A little word of advice to my fellow students, take advantage of your review days! They’re given to you as a gift to help you better prepare for your exams. Ask questions if you’re confused, it really helps! I also stayed for extra help after school and during lunches of the review days, just to better prepare and have my questions answered before my exams. Your teachers want to help you succeed! Don’t be afraid to ask! I also took advantage of the three day weekend to do some extra studying. I was able to get a lot of reviewing and studying done then. Another helpful tip, if you need to memorize anything for your exams, make flash cards. It’s one of the oldest study tricks ever but one of the best! If you don’t have any flashcards, there are also dozens of flashcard apps available such as Quizlet.
Finally, my exams began. When I went into the exams, I didn’t stress, and I tried to complete every problem given to me. When I reached a problem that I didn’t understand, I just breathed and tried my best to complete my exams. Time management is also an important part of test taking as well. If you notice you’re taking a while on a problem or section, go back to it later, work on other sections that you know better and are easier for you, then go back to the confusing problems. That way, you will at least have gotten other problems done instead of focusing only on that problem. My exams began to fly by, but each night after an exam, I wasn’t just relaxing. Instead, I was studying for the next day. However, it’s still important to get a good night sleep, so I didn’t dedicate too much time to memorizing everything. Another tip, make sure to eat a nutritious breakfast before each exam so you’ll be even more focused during it.
Finally, my exams came to a close. All in all, I think I did pretty well on all of my exams. I didn’t stress too much about each test or the individual problems, I only cared about my tests as a whole. In conclusion, while these exams are important, don’t think that not getting an A+ is the end of the world. Just do your best on each exam and do your best to prepare. To all students, good luck on your future exams! I encourage other students to reflect on their week of midterms as well to see how they can improve for the future!
What I Know Now from Sturgis Midterms 2018
As I begin to receive my midterm grades, I also begin to reflect on them. Although I felt confident with most aspects of my preparation, there are certain elements I would change. I often procrastinate and will find any reason in the book to avoid work in any form. I don’t pride myself on that, but it definitely played a major role in the overall quality of my study sessions. When it came to studying, I tried my hardest to stay on track with loads of flash cards, help from friends, and perusing the internet to help me fill in any gaps I had. As well as those tactics may have worked to help retain the knowledge needed, time management is definitely where I fell flat. In hindsight, the time I spent using my laptop for Netflix watching or scrolling through social media would have been put to use in a more productive way if I had traded it for studying. All in all, I left midterms with grades I am proud of but also the knowledge of which elements I need to improve on to receive higher grades in future midterms and tests to come.