Year Book

Spent 6 hours building an igloo, and stayed in it for 30 minutes. I consider this to be a pretty successful Horizons week. :)

Tag with a twist.

The regular game of tag is really quite simple; you avoid getting tagged by the person who is 'it'. However, in my game of tag there would be an additional challenge. A balloon would be thrown into the air and the people who were not 'it' would have to keep it in the air. If the balloon fell to the group then the person who was closest would then freeze until one of his fellow tea mates unfroze him. The game would be almost the same as freeze tags, but with balloons.

Materials: Balloon, and students.

Reducing Screen Time

We set some goals for the things we would do before we sat down to rack up our hours of screen time. My goals were:

Before sitting down to watch a TV show I will go outside and jump on my trampoline.

Instead of sitting on my computer and talking to friends I will do homework, or go for a walk, and text them.

I won't just watch television for the sake of watching television.

Try doing 10 minutes of physical activity before sitting down with my computer.

I will try to avoid the unnecessary screen time.

Honestly, no I have not done one of these every time before I went to go watch television. The first day I was very successful and only had 30 minutes of screen time that day. But I didn't always remember to do something. Going for a walk, or doing some jumping jacks really wasn't going to work for me. What did work for me what jumping on my trampoline. I found that if I jumped on the trampoline instead of going for a walk that I was actually enjoying myself. I have been trying my best to avoid unnecessary screen time. This week so far I have not sat down on my computer to Skype, or have an unnecessary Facebook chat. I feel although I have been successful, and I will do my best to continue on with my goals.

Advantages of Different 'Friendships'

"Texting Friend"

People may think a friend is someone who they text all the time. The advantage of a text or Facebook message friend is that you have lots of time to think about what you want to say. If there is something that you are unsure about you can always take the time to look it up. Also texting friends don't know everything that is going on in your life and this can be helpful if you need space. Texting can also be a great place for kids who aren't that social. They may be awkward in person, but over text they are funny and great to talk to.
As many advantages as there are to a 'texting' friend, there are more disadvantages. One that really stands out to me, is that you can never be fully sure who it is exactly you are texting. Someone could have taken the phone and could be texting you pretending to be your 'friend'. This can cause people a lot of harm. They could reveal or secret to the person that isn't who they think it is. Also, if you ever meet a texting buddy in person it could be very awkward, for you might not actually have anything in common. Texting can also be a hazard, if the person you are texting doesn't respond right away you might think that what you said was wrong, or that that it made you sounds stupid, when in reality they may just be busy.


"Face/Phone Friend"


A face friend could also be known as a 'real friend'. This is a friend who really wants to talk to you. This friend is taking time out of their day to talk to you or hang out with you. The advantages of having a face friend are uncountable. A face friend wants to be with you, and they aren't just texting you because they are bored. Face to face communication helps you express feelings and connect in a way that you can't get over the internet. A phone friend is also good because you are truly talking to them, and you know that they will hang up when they have to go. When you talk to someone you know if they are using a different tone of voice, like if they are being sarcastic or if they are upset. But in texting, their is no 'sarcastic' font that you can put on your keyboard.

I think that a face to face friend is the best way to go. I would be hypercritical if I said I didn't have texting friends because I do. But I make my best effort to see them as often as possible. And if I can't see them I at least try to call them or maybe even Skype. The world has developed so much that now we don't have to see a friend for us to consider them a friend. I think in the end though, the one with the most advantage is the one that you like the most.

Screen Time

Everyday I am either on my computer, watching television or just texting. This week I am going to try and cut down on my screen time. Except for useful screen time, such as blogging, homework and the phone calls/texts that go to my parents, I will be cutting down on the use of my phone, laptop and TV.

Some things that I will do to cut down and my screen are:

1. Before sitting down to watch a TV show I will go outside and jump on my trampoline.
2. Instead of sitting on my computer and talking to friends I will do homework, or go for a walk, and text them.
3. I won't just watch television for the sake of watching television.
4. Try doing 10 minutes of physical activity before sitting down with my computer.
5. I will try to avoid the unnecessary screen time. \

Although this is going to be quite difficult for me, I think it is a good step to take. If I gradually get to a healthy amount of screen time a day then I can stay with that and never go back to the excessive amount. 

Healthiest Month Ever

Sit-ups: 100
Push-ups: 40
Sugar Free Drink Days: 5
Screen Free Days: 1
Km Run: 10

My Role Model

There are many people in my life who have shaped me to be the person I am today. Some people have done more than others in my life, my parents have been one of the largest impacts. But I must say the person who I look up to the most has been my brother.
My brother is three and half years older than me, but we are closer than most people are with there siblings. I remember in grade two I had a friend who always fought with her sister, and I then realized how good my brother truly was to me. My brother pushes me to do the best in everything. He is never afraid to tell me if I am not doing something wrong. I think that is why it is so great to have an older brother. They will go to any extent to protect you, but they don't ming teasing you a bit themselves.
I have always loved playing soccer, but my brother was the one started to play up in higher divisions. And she nI saw him playing in select soccer, than I wanted to try it. He helped me bring my skill level up.  I look to my brother, and I think he is one of my biggest role models.

Dinner for a Week

Sunday: Curry Chicken & Rice Casserole
Using brown rice will give us about four times more fibre and magnesium than white rice, and also about two times more iron. If this dish were to be survey with a side salad it could essentially meet all of the foods in the nutrition guide.


Monday: Pasta & Chicken Salad
Lemon juice and fresh basil add plenty of flavour with adding extra fat. And of course, this dish would be made with whole-wheat pasta of vegetable pasta.


Tuesday: Fried Rice with Tofu & Vegetables
Tofu is a complete protein and a great alternative for meat. Soy can lower cholesterol (known problem in my family) and risk of heart disease. 


Wednesday: Greek Salad Pita Wraps
Fresh tomatoes and peppers offer a burst of vitamin C and A, and for extra protein we could throw in some grilled chicken; also the feta cheese would offer our basic need of calcium.


Thursday: Frittata Florentine
This dish served with a small whole-grain bun and a green salad would really be healthy way to end the day.


Friday: Maple Baked Salmon Almonds
Salmon is loaded with omega-3s and almonds contain vitamin E. Served with steamed vegetables, and you have got your self meal!


Saturday: Chicken Burger with Fruit Salsa
Top this burger with romaine lettuce over iceberg. Romaine has almost 12 times more beta-carotene and 9 times more calcium. 

Eating healthy shouldn't be a burden! It should be something that we can enjoy. Who says you can't have a chicken burger once in a while? Knowing the right things, and it is still healthy. 

Improving my Family's Lifestly

How can I help my family to become healthier?

Just last month, my brother and I pushed our family to get a gym membership to the 'Y'. My mom was hesitant at first, but then we told her that this is the best reason to go work out. Now that we have the membership, my family goes to the 'Y' much more often than we used to.
Another way I helped my family was by asking for healthier lunches. Instead of the usual sandwich, I asked my dad to buy the makings for a salad.
It isn't up to one person in the family to make the change, it is up to the whole family to make the choice to become healthier.

Worst Lifestyle Habit

I must admit that one of my most unhealthy lifestyle habits is my addiction to social media. I am not using social media every second of every day, but I do find it very difficult to resist the temptation of texting a friend or updating my status. This is affecting my healthy lifestyle because it keeps me from doing things that could be way better for my body.
One way of fixing this problem would be to get rid of my Facebook account, and cancel my texting plan. In reality this is not an option for me. I can however cut down on the amount of time I use social media. For the healthiest month ever I have been trying to cut down on my screen time, and I have actually cut time out of my day sat sitting in front of a screen, and gone for a walk, or did homework to get ahead. Social media will probably never be cut out of my life completely, if I take the right steps, I can use my time more wisely to do things more forward thinking for my health.

Healthiest Month

This month is the healthiest month ever. Every day we were supposed to have five servings of fruits and vegetables, get below two hours of screen time, do a physical activity for one hour a day and have no sugary drinks. For the past few weeks I have tried to keep up to all these tasks. Having five servings of fruit was easier than I expected, I found that if I packed more vegetables and fruit in my lunch then they were more likely to get eaten than just sitting in my fridge. Screen time is the challenge I struggled with the most. I cut down on the time I sat on my computer and played games quite a lot. But what I really had a hard time with, was texting. I noticed that everyday I found myself texting from when I got out of school to when I went to bed that night. I made an effort to space out the texts, and try to do on and off days, but I still struggled. One hour of physical activity was easy for me to complete. I have soccer three times a week, track and field once twice a week, physical education three times a week and then on some other days I go work out at the gym. I did cut down on my sugary drinks. Every morning instead of having my usual orange juice I had milk instead, and instead of having pop I would have a glass of vitamin water.

Do I feel different?
After partaking in this program for a few I weeks I feel a little bit different. If notice one thing, it is that I have a lot more energy and I actually want to go for a run and play sports. Before this month, I would go play soccer but I found that I was getting tired quickly. It isn't a large different now, but I do notice the change.

Popular Sports in the Future

In the future, I think that soccer will continuer to be a very popular sport. Soccer has been very popular in many countries because you don't need very much equipment. Games like hockey and baseball require more components to be functional. Soccer is very popular around poor and developing countries. It will continue to be popular because all you need to play soccer is a ball and some space. Soccer is also very special because the Fifa World Cup only happens once every four years, which makes it even more exciting to watch.

In the end, the most popular sport in 20 years will depend on how we develop as a world. If the world for some strange reason freezes over, than the best bet would be that hockey would take over. Only time will be able to show what sport we will still be playing in 20 years.

Challenges that Teenagers Face

Peer Pressure: social pressure by members of one's peer group to adopt certain values, or take a certain action.


Peer pressure really does rule the way teenagers live their everyday life. It isn't just dressing a certain way, or listening to the 'popular' music. Peer pressure can also affect one's lifestyle. Let's say you're out with a group of your peers, and they offer you a smoke, you can easily say no because of the way adults inform us of the health dangers in smoking. But, if you were to go to the mall with your friends and decided to grab a bite to eat, if you noticed that they were all going to McDonalds to get a big mac. You would likely join them so you wouldn't have to leave them. 


Peer pressure can also affect the kinds of activities we participate in. If you hung out with a group of friends who didn't play sports and considered 'drinking' their sport, they might drag you down. This might seem close to impossible, but I have happened to me. One of my friends considered 'drinking' to be there sport. They asked me to go to parties with them, but I knew that's not what I wanted. And I had friends who were with me, and wanted to play soccer instead of dragging our lives down and drinking. 


Peer pressure can ruin the lives of teens. But if you have the right friends who want to help you achieve your healthy goals, then you can succeed. 

Health Issues in My Society

High Blood Pressure is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke kidney failure and other health issues. Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage the body in many ways. One of the main ways to prevent hight blood pressure is to eat healthy.

Eating healthy can help you lower your blood pressure and help you lose excess weight. Eating healthy doesn't just keep you fit and thin, it helps prevent life threatening diseases. When you eat healthy an exercise you are bound to live a happier healthier life. The rate of child obesity is growing. And if as kids, we don't eat healthy and exercise right it will be much harder to do so as an adult. Starting on the right found now will make it easier in the future to continue on the same path.

Healthy Lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle to me is not just about eating healthy and staying fit, but it is also about making healthy choices in your life. People are trying to quit smoking will often say, 'This is my last one.' But if you don't have that last cigarette then you will be healthier. This goes the same for staying fit. It shouldn't be a new years resolution. Why wait until then? The quicker you start eating right, the healthier you will be. It shouldn't have to be a challenge to be healthy, if you surround yourself with the right kind of foods and are around people that want to help you stay fit it should never be a challenge. Being healthier in life wouldn't be so hard if they didn't have the temptations of unhealthy foods; but that is the challenge you must face to achieve your end goal of living a longer, happier life.

Personal Goals

My main goal for the rest of this school year is to end off my exams on a high note. I would like to achieve above 86% on each of my exams. This goal will not be achieved as easily as I might like. To complete this goal I will have to dedicate much of my time to studying and completing all my tasks. 

Another goal that I have set for this year is to learn to play a different position in soccer. For the past four years I have only been playing forward, and I would like to learn how to play defence, instead of only limiting myself to the front of the field.