Hello! Today I will be talking about the summer camp I go to in the summer. A big part of camp is the packing. I bring a big trunk and a duffle bag to camp. Packing takes a lot of effort, and a long time. I am currently packing for camp right now!

After school gets out, I drive five hours to where my camp is. I spend the night before camp at a hotel. In the morning, once we arrive to camp in the morning, I unpack my trunk, and make my bed. (I keep my sheets/blankets in my duffle) Then, I say goodbye to my parents for three weeks. On the first day, we have a picnic and get to know our cabinmates. We then sign up for activities. This year, I’m going to sign up for horseback riding, lacrosse, weaving, canoeing, tennis, and photography. We have so much fun doing these activities for three weeks. Sometimes, I change my activity if I don’t like it, which is rare.

Now, I’ll give you a short day in the life of a camper at my camp. At 8:00 am, we wake up and make our beds/do our chores. At 8:30, we eat breakfast. At 9:20 we all meet for morning announcements. At 9:40 we have our first activity. At 10:40 we have our second activity. At 11:40 we have our third activity. At 11:40 we have lunch. At 12:30 we have rest hour (this is when you have an hour to sleep, draw, whisper, paint, write letters, ect. At 1:30 we have our fourth activity. At 2:30 we have our fifth activity. At 3:30 we have our sixth activity. At 4:30 we have evening program. This is when we all meet together and do a fun, active activity. At 5:30 we have some rest time when you can do whatever you want. At 6:30 we have dinner. At 7:20 we have another free time to shower, or just hang out. And finally, at 9:00, we have our cabin lights off, but you can still use a flashlight to read.

Here are some photos from camp last year! (Taken by me)

In LA, we have been working very hard on our “Ideal World Book.” These books were based off of the book we read, The Last Cuentista. This book was about a girl named Petra. She was forced to leave Earth without her grandmother. She traveled to a far away planet called Sagan. The books we wrote were based on Sagan. We sketched out a planet that we would all want to live on called our “Ideal World.” After we did that, we all had to bring leaves to school. We printed the leaves onto paper. They all turned out very pretty! We then started to construct our books. Now it was time for my favorite part! We started to cut out the paper into shapes that describe our ideal world. We glued the paper onto our books to make it look magical! We then designed the cover! After our books were finished, we started writing a story that involves our planet based off of The Last Cuentista. My planet was called Vita Nova, which means “a new life” in Latin, which has to do with my story. My story was about a girl named Ivene who had to move to another planet due to population. The planet she travels to is Vita Nova. That is why I named it Vita Nova, because it was a new life for Ivene and all who came with her. In the end, Ivene loves Vita Nova and so does everyone else. I had so much fun writing, and designing my book.

These are some photos of my book! (All photos were taken by me)

My ideal world was like Earth before anything was there. It has seven moons that all have a theme, clear lakes, no global warming, and many more amazing features. My book shows mountains, lakes, rivers, flowers, rain, and clouds. I had so much fun with this project! I loved to walk around and see everyones creative books!

This blog is by Reese and Louisa. This year, we had a special guest visit us in Horton Hall, Adam Gidwitz. He came to talk to us and some of Duke School about his books. He talked about all of his books and gave us previews of some of his books. He told us about the series, A Tale Dark and Grimm, the book Max in the House of Spies and a lot of other books that sounded amazing! He told us about what it is like to be an author. He also talked about his journey of becoming an author. His story was inspiring and we had a lot of fun and we hope to have him back soon! Here are some photos of his visit!

We are excited to read some of his books!

Here are some photos of his awesome books!

This blog was written by Louisa and Reese. In April, the 6th grade went to the Morehead Planetarium. Once we all got to school, we loaded up onto the buses. On the bus ride there, we talked with friends and got excited for the planetarium. Then, when we got there, we walked around the UNC campus and learned about some things at UNC. Then, we sat down and ate lunch. After we ate lunch, we were free to explore the Planetarium. We had so much fun exploring the planetarium, and checking out all the cool activities. After we explored the planetarium, the two groups split up. One of the groups went to watch an interesting movie about the Mars Expedition. The screen went all the way around the sphere like room, so it looked like we were looking up into space. We learned so much about space and the future expedition to Mars. We learned that the people who will be going to Mars and working on that project are in school right now so it could be any of us. We learned how people go to space, what they pack, some missions they have to do in space, problems and concerns in space, and all the roles you can be in to work with NASA! After we got some questions answered, the next group came in to watch the same thing as the first group. Once the second group came in to watch the Mars movie, the first group went into another room. In this room, there were so many cool props sitting on the tables. We watched as a scientist used all of these props in experiments and told us about them.We learned about mass, electricity, force, and so much more by watching these experiments. After we finished, we loaded back onto the buses. This was such a fun field trip and we learned so much! This is a photo from the planetarium visit!

This blog was written by Reese and I. A couple of weeks ago the 6th grade class got to go to a development of houses and there was a patch of grass. Our mission was to plant the tree’s so by the time that the people move into the houses there will be beautiful trees to look at from their windows. There were two groups for the field trip. The first group went to the lot and planted the tree’s first, then went back to school and watched a movie about tree’s. Louisa and I were in the first group, so when we got to the lot, it was really muddy because it rained that night. But we watched the instructors and they planted a tree. So after they were done, it was our turn, finally. Louisa and I planted trees together. The first step was to get your shovel and dig a hole about 1 foot deep. Next, we pulled the roots from the trees. Then, we put the tree in the middle of the hole and put the dirt back in. We learned so much about trees, the importance of them, and how to plant them. We had so much fun learning about the trees. Here are some photos of this fun trip.

My goal and dream for four years has been to go to Pony Finals. Pony Finals is a place located in Lexington, Kentucky, that usually contains at least 600 ponies!! About 300 in each section!! . At Pony Finals,  you need to qualify by June to be able to compete. Pony Finals is in August. There is a live stream on T.V where you can watch all the amazing ponies show! You qualify by earning enough points at a regular show, meaning you need to win first our second over all the weekend out of at least three ponies. (most of the time more) In my horse show blog, I mentioned that I compete in the small ponies meaning that I compete in a section the all the ponies. You may tell from the name, that my section contains the smallest ponies out of the medium and large pony groups. There is also a green section, but this time, not sticking up to the name. This section is still divided by size, but there is normally less ponies in this group and this is the ponies (doesn’t have to be the riders) first time at Pony Finals is they qualify. If they don’t qualify, then they have to move to the regulars next year. Green ponies are usually less trained and thats why they have their own section. Since I lease (rent for the year) my pony, Squeak, he has been to pony finals once before but I have not. Like I said, going to Pony Finals has been my main dream for four years, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the best luck. Like in 2021, my first Pony Finals in progress pony was named Heidi. Heidi was unfortunately uncomfortable jumping and would regularly refuse and try to dump me onto the jumps. We sold her to a farm that would do smaller jumps on her. After that, I got Annie and she was perfect for Pony Finals! Well, until she broke her leg two days before a show. But she is okay and now is a brood mare in Ohio! Well, now that I have qualified, lets talk about this dream of a weekend. On Friday after school, we drove 5 hours to Aiken SC. There, we quickly rode Squeak, then cared for him. The next day was Saturday. We got there around 5:00 am so I could ride before I showed! I showed at 6:30 am. The first day went excellent getting all firsts and seconds. The show was looking good! The next day also went amazing! I won the hack, which is a class judged on how fancy your pony is, and moves. I got mostly seconds after that. I was so happy when the judge said I was second place over the whole weekend! Now, I was qualified and I couldn’t be more happy! Remember to never give up on your dreams. Here are some photos of the show.

Photos taken by me or my mom

In Science class lately, we’ve all been doing research about a planet or a space object and putting it into a slide. I’ve been learning about Saturn and have learned so much! For example, did you know that in 2025 (next year!!) Saturn’s rings will temporarily disappear because every 15 Saturn years, (450 earth years) its rings are pointed EXACTLY towards the sun so both the northern and southern hemispheres of Saturn get the same amount of heat, (not much) so it’s like if spring or any season was the same temperature everywhere!!!!! That’s so cool?! Right?! Well I can’t WAIT to see my classes projects and present mine! I would love to hear about yours!

 

 

For a while now in LA, we have been working on illustrating and writing comics based on wisdom tale stories we read earlier this school year. I wrote a comic about The Old Dog And The Coyote. This tale is about an old dog who started to loose his hearing. His job on the farm was to keep prediters away from the chickens. When a wolf starts chasing the chickens and the old dog doesn’t notice, the farmer kicks him off the farm and instructs him to go live on his own. While looking for food, he runs into a coyote trying to jump over a cactus. The coyote fails and gets thorns stuck all over its body. The old dog plucks each and every thorn out of the coyote and saves it. In return, the coyote prete NB ds to chase the chickens while the dog pretends to scare it off. This convinces the farmer to let him come back. The important lesson this story teaches is if you do good, it will come back around. I chose this amazing story because I thought the lesson was incredible and the way the author teaches it is amazing. This has been one of my all time favorite LA projects!! I can not WAIT to look at yours!

(Photo taken by me)

 

My favourite thing to do is compete in horse shows. On this blog, I will be sharing my usual show routine and things I enjoy from the show. My favriote show to compete at is Tryon, TIEC. (Tryon Internatinal Equestrian Center) I love competing there because there are fun activities, the arenas are big and buetiful, and the food is amazing! Heres a little sneak peak of what it looks like.

(These photos are not of me and are from the Tryon website)

I also enjoy showing at other shows such as Triangle Farms, (in Raliegh, NC) and Segfield at The Park, (in Pinehurst, NC) but mostly Tryon. (in Tryon, NC) here is my schedule over the busy but amazing weekend showing at Tryon. 5:00 am is our early start to the day! I wake up, get on some of my show clothes such as my show shirt, breeches, belt, and boots. This is what it looks like laid out. (photo taken by me in my room)

Then we hit the road from the rental house we usually stay in. We arrive at the show before the sun does along my trainers, my showing buddies/people from my farm, and amazing pony, Squeak, are already there. My mom drops me off to walk Squeak, which lets him stretch his legs, while she grabs my breakfast. I will eat this after I show since my class is the first class to go, I have to get ready, and I have to get ready quick! My mom braids my hair into two braids. In the style I show in, hunters, you are required to either have your hair braided into two braids, or in a hair net. Since my class only has children and ponies, the judges like to see cute little braids and cute little ponies. Well, the second one is already a check for me! Right Squeak? Haha! After my braids are done, I put in some bows. Many people like me have lucky bows. When you where your lucky bows, you get good luck! Here are mine: (photo taken by me in my room)

Then I put on my gloves, jacket, garders, and gloves. Im all set, but what about Squeak? Well, first I groom him, or clean him with brushes. next, we tack him up. A saddle pad, saddle, and bridle. I hop on and warm up! I learn my course off of a piece of paper which says which jumps I need to jump in order. Once I have memorized that, I put my show face on and walk into the arena. The announcer will announce that I am about to do my round like this, “Next in the arena is number___ Louisa (my last name) and Arnaby Mighty Mouse.” (Arnaby Mighty Mouse is squeaks show name, or the name he is called at shows. I know it sounds weird but most horses have them!) Usually, I do a warm up course which allows Squeak to get his fear of anything in the ring out before I do my judged courses. I learn one course after another and do my best to impress the judge. My class competes over 2 feet and 3 inch jumps. after everyone in my class finishes their over fences, we will under saddle. This means we all spread out into the arena and show off how fancy out ponies can be. This class is judged on who’s pony stretches out the most, and how they move. After we finish that, the judge will announce who won that award. Then we will hear how the judge placed us in our over fences. The over fences, or jumping classes, are judged on who has the smoothest, easiest going round. Since I am the first class to go, I am able to just hang out around the show the rest of the day. Sunday goes the same except this time, we may add two classes! I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes on Sunday, I have to wake up even earlier! You may wonder why, how, and have so many questions, so Ill explain it! (Yay! even more confusing, long explanations!) This special class is called a derby. Derbys are confusing, weird courses that I wont hurt you brain with. We’ll just say they’re longer, and can have weird twist to them, like a jump you trot, or a jump you have to roll back to. Derby’s are judged on how handy, or how tight your horse can turn, and smoothness. Usually there is a big neck ribbon that looks like this: (This photo was taken by a photographer at the State Fair show in Raleigh. Its on the website KristenHannahPhotography)

This was in a derby at the State Fair, Raleigh, NC. Most of the time the derbys are called Pony Derbys. these are only for ponies competing to qualify for Pony Finals. Pony Finals is what it sounds like. All of the top ponies come together in August at Lexington, Kentucky and compete. Other than a derby, Sunday also adds a confirmation. this class is when you take off your pony’s saddle, hold them in the middle of the ring, and show how nice your pony can stand, how muscular they are, and believe it or not, how pretty they are. After all the classes I have mentioned are scored from a scale of 0/100, (you get a zero if you fall off or get three refusals, and an 100 if you are perfect which isn’t possible) the top two overall champion and reserve champion are announced. If you get one of these in the small, medium, or large pony division, you have access to go to Pony Finals. Pony Finals is my goal currently unachieved, but hopefully not for long! My most recent show was at Triangle farms, Raleigh. Squeak was great! My next show is in Aiken in two weeks. Here are some photos of my last show!

(Photo from the horse show photos website)

(Photo taken by my mom)

If you are interested, confused, or just want to talk more about horse showing, I will always be happy to at school!

 

I live skiing. I’ve been skiing for seven years now and love it so much!! My family and I go skiing every year for spring break. This year, were going to Colorado I have been here before. We usually either go to Colorado or Montana. I love both of these places with my whole heart! They are both beautiful and wonderful to ski in. Last year, we went to Utah. That was also a magical place to go! Last year was my first time going there. I love skiing with my dad. We both love the double black powder days! Next year, he is going to take me to Wyoming. We are going to hike up a big mountain, and then ski down it. Im supper excited! I will give a little recap on my ski trip last year. Last year, we went skiing in Sundance, Utah. We were meant to go to Calafornia, but the weather was awful! There were floods and hurricanes so we went to Utah instead. We stayed in this super cool house that had a bedroom in a little corner with a LADDER leading up to it! It was basically a bunk bed but with a ladder to the room instead of the bed! We skied for about three days in ski school, had a fun family ski day at the trick parck and down some slopes, and then since the snow was looking extra powdery and activily snowy, my dad and I went together on a father daughter run! It was so much fun! The powder snow was frech and went up to my knees! I had a great trip last year and hope to have another one this year in Aspen, Colorado. I would love to know if ski or snowboard and if so, so much about it! Also, part of the reason I LOVE skiing is this view. so pretty.

(Taken by me)

These are some photos me skiing through the years taken by me or a family member! Bye!