Spring is Here

Hello everyone,

Wow. The year is flying by! It feels like just yesterday that I was getting my locker, buying new pencils, and meeting my teachers in September, but we're already past Easter! I always use Easter as a milestone in the school year. It marks the beginning of the end, a time for reflection and celebration. It's like the final few miles of a marathon. All of this work is pushing you forward. It's not a time to take a break, but a time to finish the school year off strong.

Even though many have their sights set on June and the beginning of Summer, St. Mary's is continuing exciting activities. Many students are going to be counselors at Outdoor School, running for class officers or All Student Body representatives, or pushing themselves on the sports courts. A few weeks ago, I travelled to Bend with the tennis team to compete in a large tournament. We got fourth place in the tournament and had a great time spending the weekend in sunny Bend, Oregon. The only thing that I would have changed is putting on more sunscreen...especially on my scalp!

Another activity that I was involved in was Poverty Awareness Day committee. This is a day dedicated to educating SMA students on different set topics. This year's theme was medical and health issues throughout Portland and the world. My group focused on the Philippines. We lead groups in making cards to send to the children and sold bracelets made by the victims of typhoon Haiyan. During the day, students went from group to group and learned about various issues and organizations. We also watched a documentary on female health issues in Africa and held a bake sale. The entire day was a huge success!

I'm so excited for these last two months together and am looking forward to an amazing summer, Emma Rosenthal

Spring Break Fun

Hello followers of my blog,

Welcome back from spring break. I hope you all went on intriguing adventures, ate exotic food, and rested from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. Personally, I slept in everyday and binge watched Netflix movies. But I also went on my list of things that I have been wanting to do for a while. I finally read The Great Gatsby and saw the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. I can't say I was disappointed because I liked the movie, but it was nothing like how I imagined the book. Especially with the way characters were depicted. For example, I thought Tom would be younger and more attractive because I didn't sense that there was a large age gap between Daisy and Tom. The party scenes at Gatsby's house were super impressive. Afterwards, I looked up that they had a budget of $105 million. That's insane. I love film making, so hopefully, I'll be able to make a movie with a fraction of that budget. 

I am not the only one crossing things off of my bucket list. A few days ago, my brother finished the fourth Harry Potter book. The fourth is easily one of my favorites, so we decided to celebrate in various forms. First, we bought a large amount of celebratory food. We bought cherry Coke, popcorn, peanut butter pretzels, and the new Peanut Butter Fudge Core Ice Cream. It was absolutely delicious, but something was missing. I remembered that a few years ago, I went to a candy shop in Multnomah Village, called Sweets Etc., that had Harry Potter Candy, such as Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans and Chocolate Frogs. It was a great night and it brought me back to my childhood, when we had to wait for the books and movie to come out. Now they have them at their disposal! 

Before spring break, I went on Sophomore Retreat with my fellow classmates. I can't say too much about it because it is supposed to be a surprise for the freshman and other incoming students, but I had a great time. The food was great, the venue was fun, and our entire class bonded through different activities that the leadership classes planned. I hope everyone can experience the amazing retreats that SMA has to offer and am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of such an exceptional group of students.

I hope you all had a wonderful spring break!

Emma Rosenthal