HOMEWORK

LANGUAGE: Finish handout for Wednesday Wars
MATH: Data Management Test on Monday.
SCIENCE: Test on Monday.


Reminders
- Confession on Tuesday.
- Learn the act of contrition



My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His Name.
My God have mercy.

CONGRATULATIONS

To our excellent volleyball girl team for winning  The CITY CHAMPION FINALS!!!

I'm so proud of you!!

Homework

Math: Complete math booklet. Data Management test on Monday.
Language: Complete handout
Science: Test on Monday

Reminders
Me to We team practice tomorrow morning at 8

For those of us who like to rock out to their science:

HOMEWORK

MATH: Get quiz signed. Chapter 3 Math test on Friday. Math Booklet due on Friday.

SCIENCE: Test on Monday. Duotang check on Monday. Reread pages 36-39 #1-6. Due on Friday. Watch science video

LANGUAGE: Connotation and Denotation handout tomorrow.

RELIGION: Watch videos on confession on blog

Reminders
- Mass at St. Joseph's Church at 9:00am. YOU HAVE TO BE AT CHURCH FOR 8:45 A.M

CONNOTATION

Today we discussed Denotation and Connotation 

A word’s denotation is its dictionary definition.
 A word can also make people feel or think a certain way. These feelings and ideas are the connotations of a word. Words with the same meaning can have different “shades of meaning”—that is, they can be understood differently.

 Positive connotation: Being on the track team has made Alan slender and lean . (attractively thin)
 Neutral connotation: Being on the track team has made Alan thin .
Negative connotation: Being on the track team has made Alan skinny and scrawny . (unattractively thin).

CONFESSION

We are celebrating the holy season Advent. Advent is a time when we prepare ourselves for Christ's coming at Christmas. Father Michael is coming to hear our confessions at school next week.
-----------------------------------------------

A GUIDE TO CONFESSION


How to go to Confession
1. You always have the option to go to confession anonymously, that is, behind a screen or face to face, if you so desire.

2. After the priest greets you in the name of Christ, make the sign of the cross. He may choose to recite a reading from Scripture, after which you say: "Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been (state how long) since my last confession. These are my sins."

3. Tell your sins simply and honestly to the priest. You might even want to discuss the circumstances and the root causes of your sins and ask the priest for advice or direction.

4. Listen to the advice the priest gives you and accept the penance from him. Then make an Act of Contrition for your sins.

5. The priest will then dismiss you with the words of praise: "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. You respond: "For His mercy endures forever." The priest will then conclude with: "The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace." And you respond by saying: "Thanks be to God."

6. Spend some time with Our Lord thanking and praising Him for the gift of His mercy. Try to perform your penance as soon as possible.

HOMEWORK

MATH: 
-Do corrections on Mean, Median and Mode.
-Complete class work page 120-121 #1-7
-Math Test o Friday
-Math booklet dueFriday


SCIENCE
-Pure Substances and Mixtures Page 24-26. Make notes and answer #2-5.
-Complete handout


FRENCH
- project due on Friday the 29th

Reminders
-Leger hoodie still available. Bring in money tomorrow.
-Crazy Hair day tomorrow. Bring in toonie.
- Advent Mass Thursday morning. Meet us at the church for 8:45 a.m

                               

 A lot of kids didn't enjoy Teen Ranch I personally loved the experience.  The chance to be with your friends, pulling all nighters and be a little more independent from your parents the whole experience was amazing for me.  The chance to see your teachers outside the classroom, to see them let lose and have fun was great.

When we first arrived at Teen ranch we were allowed to go to our cabins and put our stuff away.  My friends and I choose the bed we wanted then we proceeded to goof around.  We jumped on the beds a little, we  hit each other with the pillow  it was great fun.  I must say one thing about sharing a cabin with other kids is the bathroom experience, it seemed that every time I needed the bathroom someone was always in there but you get used to it quickly.  The other thing that threw me off was that it sounded like their were rockets about to take off at night, but it was only Adrian snoring.

I think my favourite part of the whole four days was the horse back hiding.  I haven't ever been on a horse before and I really loved it.  My horses name was Clide and he was the best, at first he looked very scary but I quickly got used to him.  It was precious to see the look of intimidation on my friends faces as we rode the horses, everyone looked so scared it was funny.  On my was back from a ride one time I almost stepped in horse dodo, the instructors had a really good laugh, I guess it was pretty funny.

Skating was fun and embarrassing all at the same time, I can't believe what a bad skater I am.  The only thing that made it better was that my friends were not that great either.  We had a lot of fun trying to make Mr.  Stamcoff fall, but he's a great skater so that didn't happen.  When we came off the ice, Mr.  Stamcoff  made me help everyone with their laces on their skates that was quite the experience, I think It would have take 4 body builders to get Jared's skates off.  

So this was my Teen Ranch experience.   Three things to remember always pick the tall horses just because the horse is tall doesn't make it any scarier trust me, the short ones aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.  Always bring your own skates, skating on Teen Ranches skates is like standing barefoot on planks of wood for days.  The last and most important thing is to know who you are rooming with, you don't want to be the kid who's best friend ends up snoring all night, trust me I made that mistake. If you follow these steps I'm sure you'll have the best time at teen ranch

Name: Prestine

Teacher: Ms.Babb

Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2013.

Adventures At Teen Ranch

    Have you ever wondered about all the cool and excited things that happened at Teen Ranch? Well the whole entire grade sevens got to go on a week-long trip to Teen Ranch. Teen Ranch is a trip for grade sevens to learn to be more independent. It is also a place to have a good time with your friends and teachers. At Teen Ranch there are many activities to do. Like horse-back riding, rock climbing, skating, and free time. But since it was winter we weren't able to play with the water activities. Teen Ranch was mostly grass because were in farmland far away from traffic and buildings. They have lots of horses, cats, alpacas, and dogs. I've never heard of a single person that said that they didn't like Teen Ranch. It's such a fun place to be!

    On Thursday afternoon we played a game called predator vs. prey. Some people played herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, diseases, and humans. My character was to play a raccoon which is an omnivore. The game playing area was in the forest. The forest was big so there would be a lot of hiding spots but harder to find food and water points to keep us alive. Herbivores tried to get 30 points, omnivores tried to get 20, and carnivores tried to get 10 points. The diseases got points by tagging the person and getting the card by the disease that caught them. The game was hard and complicated. The game got even harder when it started to hail and when the mud got damper which made it hard to run. But finding food and water points were also hard because they could be hiding on anything. And what made it even worse was when I fell on a metal fence and got bruises and scratches on my legs. The teachers played humans and whenever they say you they could give you another life point or kill you. Yeah, it doesn't sound much fun when your own teacher would want to kill you.

    My cabin and everyone else had to stay in the Coach House. The Coach House was the biggest building at Teen Ranch. It was clean inside too. Well except for the entrance part where everyone just threw their muddy boots on the ground. But besides that the couches and everything was comfy.  Jhazel, Praveena, Makayla, Asia-Marie, Dianne, Dakari, Azia, and I slept in the Dunn Room. It was bigger than the other cabins. Then there was a separate room with one bunk but no one slept in it because the weird door thingy scared us at night. My favourite part was when every time before we would go to sleep we would tell stories about each other. We wouldn't fall asleep until 11:30pm .  Probably the funniest thing that happened is that during the night Asia-Marie would breathe hard in her sleep because she was running her dream and the cops were chasing her because they thought she was mental. I'll miss those days.

    One of my favourite activities that we did was horse-back riding. It's one of my favourites because I've never been on a horse before and we got to choose the horse we wanted to ride. The horse I chose was Sanka. Sanka was dark brown, black, and had some white spots on her body. When I first went on to Sanka's back I got a little nervous. I'm pretty sure all mostly everyone was too. But Sanka was a good horse. She listened to me and didn't argue. I thought it was fascinating that we could be up close to a real horse and get to ride on a trail by myself. My horse didn't like stepping in mud so my face would always hit the branches like a 1000 times. But besides the face hitting on the branches, I had a really great time going on the trail.

    When I came back from Teen Ranch I felt like something was missing. I felt that our bond would go away and we would go back into our little groups. But that wasn't true. Teen Ranch has also taught me to be more responsible and independent. It taught me to do set up and clean up after all three meals. I liked the concept of sitting with new people every meal because that's when you get to know the person a little better and see them from a different point of view. The part that I'll miss the most is when the teacher would give us free time after dinner because that's when everyone would huddle like penguins and tell scary stories and stay warm. I will probably never have the chance to go on such an amazing trip again!

Asia-Marie

 Ms. Babb

Wednesday November 13^th 2013

                                      The Best Week Every

          Deep down in Orangeville there's a place called Teen Ranch is an extraordinary place that everyone loves. Why wouldn't everyone not love Teen Ranch? It has the best cabins, food, and board games.

          At Teen Ranch I as in the Dunn Cabin. The girls in my cabin were Jhazel, Dakari, Prestine, Dianne, Makayla, Praveena, Azia and I. In my cabin we were all talking about who we liked and other personal things. One by one we all fell asleep after we stopped talking. Our shower schedule was Jhazel, Azia, and Praveena showered in the night and Dianne, Prestine, Dakari, Makaya, and I showered in the morning. When you walked in the door you see 4 bunk beds and a closet on your left hand side. Across the closet there is a door that leads to the bathroom. When you go into the bathroom when u look your right you will see two showers and two stalls. If u look to your left there is extra room filled with a bunk bed and a closet. Still looking to your left there is two sinks and that's what you will see in the Dunn Cabin. Before we go to bed we hug and say goodnight to each other. After we said a prayer and Dakari and I said a bedtime prayer that we learned and then Azia will say something and then the Our Father we all say.

          Every day at Teen Ranch we ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the dining room. On the first day we got there and I was on clean up and set up. I loved being on clean up and set up because it's like you're in charge of your table. We ate some very good food. My favourite meal was the chicken pot pie with curly fries. Every meal we sat with different people each time. When we sat at different tables we got to bond so much and that brought us closer to everybody. You could never say that the food wasn't great because it was always very delicious.     

         

          On Tuesday night we went down stairs and played games. There were lots of games to play like twister, ping pong, air hockey, and shuffle. My favourite game was ping pong because I didn't really play good but it was so bad it was hilarious so I was too busy laughing and having so much fun that I forgot how bad I was. When I first played a match it was Jhazel and I against Christian and Cherokee. The second time I played it was Kevin and I against John and Jhazel. After that I played twister with Jhazel, Vanessa, Dakari, Prestine and I. During twister all of us were eating chips while we were playing. Then I moved on to air hockey I played against Jade, Christian, and Kyle. Air hockey was fun but I really liked all the games. Board game night was fun because u got to bond with everyone there and play games all night.

          Teen Ranch was so much fun you wouldn't believe!! If you were there you would want to do board game night, sleep over night with your friends in the best cabin ever, and eat the best food ever. Ya I know you would. Teen Ranch is the best and everyone should go to this awesome place in Orangeville.   

                                                 Teen ranch

 By: Dakari                                                 November, 14, 2013.

Mrs. Babb's class

                 

 Teen ranch was amazing! On November 4^th Cardinal Leger's grade 7 Students went on a class trip to teen ranch for a week. On Monday morning we all arrived at school with our sleepover bags. We got on the two school busses and Drove to Orangeville. When we got there I saw more trees then in my whole neighborhood, more animals then at a vet and more open space than 10 soccer  fields! I was ready to get my week started. 

      

    During teen ranch every child there would have something exiting to do.  The activities we did throughout the week include, horseback riding, skating, rock climbing and free time. One of my favorite activities to do was the horseback riding. To begin all the members of the green group would meet underneath the dining hall. Our helper, Agatha told us how to control the horse and how to hold the reins. After the explaining we walked to the barn to get geared up. We all lined up to get our helmet and then we got to pick our horse to ride. I picked a horse named Cujo. He is the most beautiful horse with his dark brown fur and black main. The green group headed off into the thick green, fall colored forest for a trail ride. Some days we walked 5 minutes to the skating rink with the yellow, green and red group. We would all skate together for an hour. The most challenging activity for me was the rock climbing. This was challenging for me because I kept slipping off of the rocks. After breakfast the green group headed off to the back of the barn. Everybody got all their belts on, and then two people would climb at time. The walls were tall, with big rocks poking out of them. The wall was hard to climb, but when you finally got to the top you felt like you were hanging off of a building and it felt good. My favorite time of day to relax and do whatever you want was free time. During free time you could go see the animals, play volley ball, play basketball, or you could go bounce on the trampoline. Free time was usually 30 minutes to an hour and was before and after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner. The days of teen ranch were fun, long, exiting, and challenging.

                    During the day wasn't the only time we did activities. We also did activities at night. At night during the week we had a movie night, a dance, a campfire, and had free time. The free time after dinner was the most fun of them all because it was full of energy and excitement. I liked having free time after dinner because after dinner it was dark outside and you're on a field in the middle of a forest why wouldn't that be exiting? One of the nights we walked through the forest to get the campfire. The yellow, red and green group all gathered around the warm fire, roasting marshmallows and cooking hot dogs.  The campfire pasted and just after we had a dance. We all met at the coach house living room were the dance was being held. Everyone there was dressed to impress and dance all night. During the dance we had a cabin dance off, just girls, and just boys dance too. One more relaxing night was movie night. We gathered in front of the living room TV and watched "The Hunger Games." the movie is violent, emotional, and funny. After each long day after our night activities we were all ready to hit our bed and fall asleep right away.

            The one thing that was truly amazing was the food. Every day we had something new for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the mornings for breakfast we would have a choice of oatmeal, yogurt or cereal. After the light starter we would get our main meal like eggs, pancakes, sausage or French toast. At lunch you would get the main meal then the dessert. At dinner you would get the main meal and then dessert. There was a set up and clean up groups. The groups were one girl and one boy cabin. The cabins had to get to the dining hall 15 minutes before and stay until the cleanup is done. The people that had to set up are called a helper. Two helpers had to sit at each table. The two helpers would clean up all the plates, cups, cutlery and other things like butter, sauces, spreads, and condiments. At  every meal everyone had to sit with someone different so you can get closer to the other people your with. I liked that we all had to help out at some point, and this made me more responsible.

           Since this was a sleepover camp we all had cabins with 5, 8 or 10 people in it. We all got to pick the people in our cabin. I had Dianne, Praviena, Prestine, Azia, Asia- Marie , Jahzel and I. we were all in  the Dunn cabin. As soon as we got to teen ranch we ran toward the coach house and into our room.  The rooms  are so nice they had 4 bunks just perfect for 8 people. The room had a bathroom with two sinks, two stalls, two showers and a separate room with one extra bunk. I enjoyed my cabin because I'm with all the people I can trust and is comfortable with. Being in a cabin with all these people is like a sleepover for a week! I enjoyed the cabins because it was very cool to be with all my close friends after 3:30 and for the night. I cannot complain about my cabin at all.

           The week at teen ranch was full of thrills, excitement, new activities and challenges. I would really enjoy going back to teen ranch because being outside all the time makes you feel like there is no technology and that you can only play outdoors. Well I was there I loved the feeling of always being with your friends and getting to know them better each day. Teen ranch gave me a chance to relax, try new things, and to love the outdoors.

               

HOMEWORK

MATH: Get quiz signed.
SCIENCE: Get quiz signed.
LANGUAGE: Post Teen Ranch essay to blog. Comment on 5 different essays.
HISTORY: Project due on December 6th, 2013. Complete Handout page44-49
FRENCH: Project due on Nov 29th, 2013


Reminders
- Super Hero Day on Monday

Name: Victoria

Teacher: Ms. Babb

Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2013.

                                 My Teen Ranch Experience

            Have you ever heard some of the older kids talk about how amazing Teen Ranch is and wondered what's so amazing about it? That's what I use to wonder when I heard my brothers and the intermediates talking about it. But when you finally get there and you finally step off that bus, all it takes is one look around to think "I'm going to like it here." As you lug all your heavy bags back to your cabin, you'll begin to get more and more excited. Just like I did, except I was excited since last summer! Not that I'm saying you can't be excited any sooner. It is pretty exciting. When Agatha came to visit and tell us more about Teen Ranch, I got even more excited. The second Ms. Babb told us our activities, three of them caught my attention and I knew they would be my favourite. Horseback riding, the bonfire and the cabins. I thought all these things would definitely be what made Teen Ranch special and fun. But little did I know how much fun it really was.

My favourite day time activity at Teen Ranch was horseback riding. Before we got on the horses, a lot of people were scared and nervous to get on, but I wasn't. Well that changed completely when I got on. I felt like I was sitting on top of the CN Tower, bound to fall to my death in a heartbeat. Now that may sound like a huge exaggeration, but believe me, you are a lot higher up than you may think. When the horse started to walk and there was no long anyone in control but me, it was a million times scarier. All I was thinking was "I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I am going to die!" But as we started to make our way into forest, I started to relax. I learned that my horse's name was Daisy. She was dark brown with an almost black tail. She was a great horse and she always stayed in line. Except for when another horse bit her that is… But I can't blame her for getting out of line then. I grew up as the only girl of three. I've been bitten enough times to know that it is not pleasant. So after Daisy got back into line, we started trotting. It wasn't the most fun for me. As everyone else was enjoying themselves, perfectly seated, as the horse did all the work, my heart was beating a thousand beats per second. I must have been doing something wrong because I was bouncing up so high, I felt like I was going to fall off and die. I don't think I'll be doing anything faster than a slow walk on a horse ever again.

Then there was the night of the bonfire. It was definitely the most… eventful nights at Teen Ranch to say the least. There was absolutely no dull moments. To start, there was a terrifying walk through to get to the bonfire location. Walking through the pitch black woods, with only the dim  light of a flashlight to keep you from smashing into a tree, while the wind twirls around you like you're trapped in the middle of a tornado was like being in a bad dream. You never know what's going to happen next. It felt like we had been walking for hours, when we finally made it to the clearing of the bonfire. We all sat down on the benches, a few of us sighing in relief, while Mr. Leitmann started the fire. That would be when I totally regretted telling him about Slenderman in the woods. He turned to look at the trees behind us, only to say "Hey, is that Slenderman?" This of course caused all the girls to scream, including me. When we all calmed down and we could breathe again, we started roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. Believe me when I say that you must always turn your face the other way when you see the smoke being blown towards you. The searing pain that fills your eyes and nose as just a small gust of smoke hits you is horrible. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it hurt!

            Getting the chance to lie down and go to sleep at night was like getting to open a present early on Christmas Eve. The second my head hit the pillow, I was out. Not that it was any different from going to bed at home any other time. I like to sleep! It's normal! But when you want to sleep and you wake up at 6 AM to the ear piercing sound of an out of tune ukulele being played in your face like a shrieking child, it's extremely annoying. I was about to rip the chords out of it. No joke… To add to Cherokee and her shrieking instrument, the cabin above mine kept walking around like a herd of elephants. The constant thumping of their feet made me want to rip my hair out. I need my sleep! Although the walls and ceilings were thin, the cabins were so clean, it felt like I was staying in a college dorm. I really thought it would be like a camp kind of cabin, where you're outside and your cabin is old and dusty, all made of wood. But the cabins were much better. My brother was even jealous (even though he wouldn't admit it) because he got to stay in Porky's Pit, which was like what I thought we'd be staying in.

            After hearing about all these things, anyone would most likely be excited. I mean it's Teen Ranch! Who wouldn't be excited to go there? Almost falling off a horse, having the life scared out of me and barely getting any sleep all week sounds inviting, right? Okay maybe not so much, but I did also talk about the many good things about Teen Ranch. Sure, it has a few cons, but doesn't everything? Anyway, I wonder what next year's grade sevens will think about Slenderma- I mean Teen Ranch!

Azia                                                                                                                               Ms.Babb

Thursday, November 13th 2013

Just A Place in Orangeville

            I've been waiting for a year for this whole opportunity, and this was the day I've been waiting for. As the countdown begins, I dream about gossip moments with my best friends, and wonder what activities and games the teachers and counselors have plan for our stay there.   Four weeks to go...I am excited and anticipating on having a blast at Teen Ranch.  As I start to pack my pajamas, jogging pants, t-shirts and planned outfits of the day into my suitcase, I am excited to know that I have a week off without my parents and siblings...The time has come, this exact moment that I have been waiting!

            If I was to change anything about my cabin it would be absolutely nothing. Nothing, because the seven girls taught me over this week that I can be comfortable with them.  As Dakari slowly opened the door knob into our cabin, the very first thing that I saw was that tremendous room with "first-class" bunks.  We started jumping up and down for joy, screaming and realizing that were finally at Teen Ranch. The girls and I kept hugging each other, thrilled  with all the activities planned for us.  I looked at my cabin friends and saw we all have different personalities; Asia-Marie is the talkative one, shocking isn't it? But she taught me that you don't need to be shy around her. Dakari, Jhazel, Dianne, Praveena, and Prestine can talk for hours! Except I know if you need to talk, any one of them will be around and Makayla is the slightly quiet, but reliable.

            Horseback riding, check!  Cross that one off my bucket list.  It is one of the activities at Teen Ranch.  This is the first time that I have ever been close to the animal and the experience was extraordinary.  Sammy is three years old and is the youngest of them all.  He was also the tiniest horse but yet swift like no other.   He had hair the colour of chestnut and so soft, like a baby's bum.  Riding Sammy made my bum a little sore but the feeling was spectacular.  I was enjoying the trail ride until our little mishap.  By accident, Sammy went out of the trail and into the hills, and here I was sitting on the horse, my heart beating out of control...like Sammy.  As he went up into the hills, the tree branches was scratching my face and I looked down and saw that my group was getting smaller and we were getting farther away from them.  I didn't know what to do, and if help was on the way.  I did the only thing I could think of, I jumped off, held onto Sammy's rein and he stopped.  Thank God!

            Guess what!  That experience with Sammy made me hungry just a little.  Luckily it  was dinner time and I could eat a horse.  Why does delicious food plus entertaining company equal an interesting meal?  Well, coming to think about it, the interesting part is sitting with different people at each meal.  During dinnertime, I had many conversations with the other grade sevens, ones that I don't typically talk to at school.  I have realized that I had made new friends with people that I have known for eight years.   The best part of eating was the desserts.  What do they put in their brownies? It must be cannabis or drugs because I'm addicted to the them.

            My overall experience of Teen Ranch was definitely enjoyable! I'm so happy to be a part of the event.  When we returned from Teen Ranch, I learned that respecting your best friends is the best gift you can give. After falling off the horse it made me more prepared for the unexpected, were not perfect.  In the dining room, sitting with many other grade sevens made me realized building relationships with the other grade sevens is important as keeping friendships.

Teen Ranch Essay

Name: Suzanne                                  Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Teacher: Miss Babb

When Grade Sevens Go to Teen Ranch

What do the grade sevens do when they go to Teen Ranch? When grade sevens go to Teen Ranch they do lots of fun and exciting activities that bring everyone closer together. They do things such as morning activities, free time, and board game night. Morning activities include skating, horseback riding, rock climbing, and map orienteering. During free time students can trampoline, visit the horses, or go on Team Hammock. On board game night, students bring board games, play them with their friends, and eat snacks. Why not join the fun? Teen Ranch is an awesome place to be.

When grade sevens go to Teen Ranch, they do morning activities. These include skating, horseback riding, rock climbing, and map orienteering. Skating was one of my favourite things to do at Teen Ranch. I used to take figure skating lessons for several years, but I had to quit a few years ago. I'd only gone skating a few times since then. I still enjoy skating which is why I really loved being on the ice at Teen Ranch. I was very glad when I did a spin on Thursday. Since I hadn't gone skating in a while, I forgot how to do a sin, but I can do one again! I loved horseback riding at Teen Ranch. It was really exciting, and I felt so tall! I rode a horse named Cola. She was an excellent horse. She hardly needed any instruction, although she tried to eat grass. I thought it was really cute that Cola would look back at me every time we stopped. When we went trotting, I was bumping so much; I think I was at least two inches off the saddle! Unfortunately, it was raining, so my pants, my coat, and Cola all got soaked! Rock climbing was awesome! It may be a little scary, but it's fun. I made it to the top of the easier wall and tried the hard wall. I couldn't make it to the top of the hard wall though. There was too much swinging around and the rocks on the hard wall were really bumpy; like granite. Despite these difficulties, Rhea made it to the top. The bouldering wall looked really scary, there were no harnesses only mats, but I was excited to try. I did a few easy courses, but didn't try any hard ones. I would've been almost upside-down! The bouldering wall is like the inside of a roof. It starts like a regular wall, but as it goes up, it starts to lean in. Map orienteering was tiring! Rhea and I ran all over Teen Ranch looking for letters on yellow plates stuck on trees and buildings. We had a map of where all of them were, and on the map beside each location, there was a number. On the piece of paper, we marked the letters found next to the corresponding numbers. We found all of them except two. We looked where it said on the map, but we still could not find them. There was also a different map for horse breeds. There were different maps for each pair and more signs then there were on one map, so we kept on finding signs that weren't meant for our map. I was very confusing. We found nine or ten that were ours.

            When grade sevens go to Teen Ranch they have free time. Free time includes, going on the trampolines, visiting the horses, and hanging out on Team Hammock. On the trampoline I can almost do a flip. I land on my back instead of my feet. Zack S. could do a flip and land on his feet. Kyle, Manny and Kevin were bouncing on their back, knees, bellies, knees, and stood again; all in sync! They were good! I can also bounce on my back, and bounce back on my feet again! It feels like I'm flying! Sometimes I visit the horses during free time. I love picking of the grass and feeding Denim. Denim is a baby horse who is a light brown, like hazelnut. Timbit is a small, small, small, small, small horse. I'd say Timbit is about three feet tall. The thing is Timbit will never grow any bigger! It's because of the breed that Timbit is. Timbit is mocha brown and Timbit's mane covers her face most of the time. Timbit is usually far away from the fence, but Denim is right there, getting all the attention and food. He is so spoiled! Miraculously, one morning, Timbit came close to the fence. My friends and I were there and some of my friends were feeding Timbit apples. Denim saw us with Timbit and came over. Denim chased Timbit back to where Timbit usually was; away from the fence, then Denim came back to us. Denim either did this because he was jealous because he was used to getting all the attention, or Denim was trying to protect Timbit from us because he thought we were going to harm Timbit. I think Denim was jealous because we were trying to throw apples near Timbit for her to eat, and Timbit was eating it, but Denim pushed Timbit out of the way and started eating that apple. Most of the time during free time, I laid down on Team Hammock. Team Hammock is great for relaxing, talking with friends, or even reading a book. Team Hammock is a trampoline frame without the bouncy part or the net. Instead, there's a web of nets in the middle.

            When grade sevens go to Teen Ranch they have board game night. On board game night, the board games brought to Teen Ranch get played in the basement of the dining hall. I had brought Scrabble Slam, playing cards, Q-bitz, and the game my mom made, Encore. Ginelle had brought Monopoly. Victoria, Ginelle, Joanne, Rhea, Abigail, a few other people, and I played, but it was Monopoly City and it was more confusing than regular Monopoly. We decided we would just play regular Monopoly on the Monopoly City board. Later on, (this was not very far into the game) we got bored and played my game, Q-bitz. A game where there are small trays with cubes with different patterns on each side, but all of the cubes are the same. There are also cards, and players are supposed to make the design on the card on their tray using the cubes. The first player to do so should call "Q-bitz!" and that player wins. Vanessa wanted me to complete a design in 20-30 seconds. I did it two times, but the other times were close. When we got bored of that, we played the game my mom had made, called Encore. The group is divided into two teams. That has the first team rolls the die and picks a card. The cards have six words on them, numbered 1-6. Whatever number is rolled, that team must think of a song that has the word that is numbered the same number that has been rolled. The team must think of the song, and sing the part of it with the word in it within the time limit of the hourglass. If they can, they gain a point. If they cannot think of a song, the other team may steal it for a point. When we played, we did not take account of the points. Daniela, Cherokee, Jordan, Rhea and I all played until board game night ended. Part of what made board game night great were the chips. They served sweet chilli heat Doritos. They are a little bit spicy, but it still tastes really good. Board game night was totally amazing.

            Teen Ranch is a really great place.  My experience at Teen Ranch was super fun and was educational. I got to practice my tricks on ice again, I learned how to ride a horse, I made it to the top of the climbing wall, my map reading skills increased, I went on a trampoline for the first time, I fed a horse, I played fun games with my friends, and had a fantastic time. I`m really hoping to go to Teen Ranch again one day.

Teen Ranch Essay

Name: Emmanuel

Teacher: Ms.Babb

Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Teen Ranch (I wish I could live there)

Have you ever been gourmet camping? Well if you have then Teen Ranch is like that but better! Teen Ranch has the beat food, cabins, trampolines, horses, utilities, tire swing, steel barrel, tennis court, basketball court, skating rink, and most importantly friendly supervisors. What I'm trying to say is go to Teen Ranch at least once!

The things at Teen Ranch to do during free time were amazing!

          At Teen Ranch there where many, many things to do during free time, but I'm only going to tell you about my top four. First up are the trampolines. Man were they the greatest! You'd see back flips, front flips, swirly things, and patterns. Second is the tire swing. It was so, so, so great because it was my first time going on one and it was awesome! Third I think would be tennis. I had Adam on my team, so basically we ruled the court. It went like this: they serve, we score, and it went like that over and over again. Until they gave up that is. Last but not least the steel barrel. I've never sat or ridden on a steel barrel before, so it was an interesting experience. But it was sure fun! Four people would grab ropes attached to the barrel, and shake them. Doesn't that sound fun!

Being with your friends with nobody to tell you what to do is the best.

          Also at Teen Ranch they had cabins. Our cabin name was Henderson (best cabin I think). So you would figure out your group that you would share a room with, and then you get assigned your room and you're done. So when the day was done you would go back to your cabin for bed. When we were in our beds we would usually talk about stuff. Now before we got in our beds (occasionally) we would have pillow fights or just knock each other around. If we had time and we were all prepared for bed we would play hangman (Kyle's game). We would play until the teachers came and told us it was time for bed. In the morning now I'd usually wake up first and then wake everybody else up as well. If they didn't wake up I'd tell Julian and he'd put Vaseline on them as punishment. So it was pretty fun.

Horseback riding was so good, but I did get a bit scared.

My horse was good most of the time. And it barley ate (because I didn't let it). My horses name was Java, and every time you said flick it would flick its tail up and hit the horse behind him. On the second day of horseback riding I scared because on the first day there was this horse which looked like it had rabies and didn't like me. Another thing I didn't like about horseback riding was the poop and smell. I mean come on! Every ten steps another pile of poop, and the smell oh my gosh! Off of the poop, and on to the best part of horseback riding. Trotting was an awesome part of horseback riding. It was like a very bumpy rollercoaster that went faster and faster every time!

See why you should go to Teen Ranch at least once in your life. Also I only talked about my top three things I liked about Teen Ranch. So if that was good enough for you, I think you should definitely go! 

teen ranch essay

Daniela                         Wednesday, November 13^th, 2013

Ms.Babb

Teen Ranch Camp

Have you ever been to Teen Ranch? I DID! We drove to Teen Ranch which is in Orangeville. Teen Ranch is an amazing camp, when you eat at Teen Ranch; you set and clean the dining room. I would say Teen Ranch is a camp to make you more mature and responsible. When I went to Teen Ranch 2013, the most fun and coolest things we did were horseback riding, skating, and cabins and activities.                       

         Have you ever ridden a horse? Agatha asked us if we ever did and quite a few of us did. Riding a horse isn't that difficult but, you have to control your horse. If you treat your horse friendly you'd get a fantastic ride. I had a lovely horse named Jenny. Jenny loves when you pet her and are friendly to her then, she'll give you a ride you will love. The horses follow the leader, if one horse rides down one trail, the horse behind that horse follows and so on. The first trail is located in the forest. The forest of course is filled with trees and bushes. The leaves and branches get in your face so you can't control the horse properly. The second horse trail was in a meadow and we followed the leader. Jenny my horse, was eating twigs from bushes so I had to really pull her back to the trail, and behind the other horses. The horses den is big enough for all the horses. The horses can do their business where ever they want, so there's business everywhere. The horses are tied with a leash to the fence and the staff brushes their tail, hair, and puts the saddle and stirrup on. The horses jogged for a little bit and the jog was really fun. You were literally off your saddle and standing. When you are on your horse and your horse sneezes, you get scared, and the horse might scare you but nothing will really happen. The horses eat a lot, but if you're on your horse, and she or he eats, pull your right or left reign (depending where the trial faces) and face your horses head towards the other horses or trail. Horseback riding was really fun.        

             I suck at skating. At Teen Ranch, we skated for an hour for three days. On the first day, I was holding on to the wall. Maybe because I asked a grade 7 student to tie my skates, so of course the skates were loose and I was falling every five seconds. On day two, my skates were not loose but, I was really bad at skating and the rink was slippery from the Zamboni. A lot of students were really friendly. They skated backwards while I was holding there hands. Rememeber when  I kept falling? Well those friendly students helped me up. My skates got loose after a while, but it was already time to get ready and head out. On the third day of skating I was a little scared. I haven't been really falling on the second day of skating. I kept close to the wall and my friends but, the people who stayed close to the wall actually stayed in one place so, I had to move around them without holding the wall, holding on to nothing. I got way better at skating. Getting skates on is pretty hard but, if you just relax and put them on, you will get them on properly. You have to tighten skates ALWAYS, the skates will come loose, make your feet hurt, and you will most likely fall if you don't tighten your skates. Going to the skating rink is a little long but, by the time you reach there you'll be to excited you made it. Going to the skating rink is a good time to start a conversation with a friend. Once you have finished skating, you have to go back to our Teen Ranch diner and cabin area. Going back is as far as coming but since you have been skating your feet hurt. Skating at Teen Ranch was really fun.                                                                                                                            When I went to Teen Ranch, I was in the Baylis cabin. My cabin students were Ginelle, Mina, Suzanne, Jordan, Alyssa, Rhea, Joanne, and Carly but she didn't come. My cabin students were all my good friends! We had it all organized with a shower schedule and we brought flashlights, alarm clocks, phones, and cameras. Our nights were fun. We watched the hunger games at movie night, we had board game night and I played monopoly, twister and a game Suzanne's mom made. We had bonfire night and some people roasted hotdogs and marsh mellows, some people roasted hotdogs only and some people roasted marsh mellows only. We rock climbed in Teen Ranch, rock climbing was really fun but scary and hard. I got really nervous when I reached at the top of the wall and I lost my balance because I was scared so my legs came off the wall and quickly back on the wall. We made T-shirts. My T-shirt is filled with words, I drew a picture of Jenny. It was a pretty good picture for a drawn horse made from fabric paint. My horse was supposed to have a picture of a horse in the middle but, I didn't underline the horse that good and I just decided to draw my own horse. We played a game called map orienteering and we use a map of Teen Ranch and a compass to find letters and notes of horses breeds and we had to mark wherever we found it on

Name: Chadd                         Date: Wednesday November 13

Teacher: Ms. Babb

My exhilarating Teen Ranch trip

Have you been to Teen ranch? If you have how was your experience? My experience at teen ranch was excellent! We did very exciting activities. Like predator vs. prey, rock climbing, a bonfire, and horseback riding. They also provided food, drinks, and shelter. Being at teen ranch was definitely better than being at home or being on the internet. Teen ranch will always be one of the most memorable moments to me.

 Cabin life was very exciting, my first impression when I saw the cabin was "This is great!" because it would be a chance to be more independent. There were also some rambunctious moments, Laughing were contagious.   When one person laughs that make someone else laugh, then someone else, and eventually the whole cabin were laughing. Especially at night, It' was hard to avoid laughing so sometimes you'd just explode with laughter. I actually enjoyed waking up; waking up by myself meant that I'm becoming more independent.   Sometimes it was hard to wake up because I couldn't get a good night's sleep that was because of the noise from the snorers, the snorers always happen to fall asleep.   I can't cope with snoring, but I had to do my best to ignore the snoring that sounded like a 90 foot monster on a rampage and try and sleep because I had a busy morning.  Other than the snoring cabin life was fantastic.

 The horseback riding was the highlight of teen ranch! It was exceptional.   When I went to choose a horse I didn't know which one to pick, when I walked past Sammy he said "Naaaay!" like he wanted me to choose him.  So I did, Sammy was a young welsh pony, about 3 years old.   When I rode Sammy he was very

Name: Vanessa                  Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Teacher: Ms. Babb

 An Over Night Trip in Orangeville, ON

            In Orangeville, ON, there is a place full of fun and adventures.  That place is called Teen Ranch!  Teen Ranch is a ranch of education and Christianity.  Every year Cardinal Leger gets to go to Teen Ranch every year because we have a good reputation.  In this essay, I will tell how much fun horseback riding was, what food they gave us, and how hard rock climbing was.

One the activities I enjoyed most at Teen Ranch were horseback riding.  Before we were able to ride the horses, my group had to sit for an hour and learn how to get on a get off a horse, how to make it go and stop, and how to turn it right and left.  It was worth the hour.  Later, our group walked down to the barn to choose our horses.  At the side of the barn there was a red door.  My group entered the door which leads to hall with pictures which leads to a room with helmets.  I got my helmet and I went out to the barn to choose a horse.  In the area there were many horses.  My horse was Rosie.  Rosie was a caramel coloured horse with a white stripe down her face.  Rosie was tall and looked like she weighed 1000lbs.  She was a very gentle and calm.  I standed on the left side of her and waited for assistance to get on.  Once I was on Rosie, I realized the saddle was very uncomfortable.  It was hard as a rock.  After everyone was on their horse, we left the barn and entered a forest.  It was nice scenery.  There were times where Rosie struggled and almost fell.  When we got back to the barn, I got off Rosie and headed back to the helmet room.  As I walk out, I was happy that I actually rode a horse, and if I didn't I would regret it.  

            At Teen Ranch the food was excellent.  I really enjoyed it a lot.  For breakfast, we would have the usual cereal and milk.  Then for the next course we would have eggs and bacon, or pancakes and sausages, or French toast.  No desert!  At twelve o'clock (lunch), we would have a salad with fries or pasta.  For desert, we would have cookies with cinnamon or coconut.  For dinner, I think is the best meal time of the day.  We would have rice and chicken, or mashed potatoes with meatballs, or fish and potato wedges, or ham with peas, and corn.  And for desert, we have banana rolled in cinnamon with vanilla ice cream, cookies, or cake.  They are very delicious.  The food was healthy except for the deserts.  The food at Teen Ranch deserves five stars.

            From my point of view of rock climbing, I suck at it.  I can't even make it two metres up the wall. The two helpers for rock climbing were Alyssa and Josh.  I was in a group of eight people.  We were all sitting on a bench waiting for a turn.  Once it was my turn, I walked to Alyssa's side.  Her wall was the medium difficulty wall.  I pull on my belay and Alyssa tightens it.  Then I ask two questions, "Is my belay on?" and, "May I climb?"  As I climb the wall, I was slipping and falling.  At least I past the black line.  After I got off, I decided to climb the easy wall.  Once again I pulled the belay on and Alyssa tightened it.  Then I asked the two questions again and started to climb.  This time I noticed it was easier.  I had a better grip of the rock and I didn't really slip.  There were times when I wanted to give up, but couldn't.  And there was that moment, I reached the top!  I pushed myself past my limits and I reached the top!

            In this essay, talked about how horseback writing was fun, what food they gave us, and how hard horseback riding was.  Teen Ranch is one of my favourite overnight trips ever.  I really want to go again.  There is another chance.  I'll try to do better in art and hoping to get selected for the Bob Wilson Art Camp, so I can go back.

Roystons Teen Ranch Essay

    Name: Royston                                                          Date; Wednesday, November 13^th 2013

    Teacher: Ms. Babb                                       

                                         The Phenomenal Teen Ranch

         November 3^rd, my dad said "Before you leave, stay safe and be independent" I knew even before I got there, it was going to be tough, but fun at the same time. It was going to be a "Life changing experience." And we reached there Teen Ranch, Orangeville Toronto, November 4^th, 2013 and there were the horses and activities and there was the coach house, we were in our cabin 10:30pm, lights out said Mr. Stamcoff, we went to sleep. Next Day we woke up, BOOM! There was all the delicious food.

Another special thing about this year's Teen Ranch was the food, especially the breakfast because we got to choose any cereal we wanted such as: Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes and also oatmeal. And also after that they gave us things like Cupcakes, muffins, pancakes and also waffles. But all the lunches were great as well, but not as good as I thought it would be such as: steak, ribs and all that good stuff. But it was really good, not the vegetables part though. And on top of that dinner at 5:00pm was even better, we had burgers and fries and other junk food that we can probably eat at home. And of course "Best for last" the deserts! All of the deserts were amazing we had everything any child would ask for! Like ice crème, yogurt, brownies, and also hot chocolate! None the less all the food was amazing and would love to go back there and stay for another week at Teen Ranch.

Another good part about Teen Ranch was the cabins; our cabin consists of Chris, Adrian, Christian, and Chadd, Me. We were possibly the loudest cabin out of all the 8 of them. I could not sleep because Chadd and Christian were farting, Adrian was snoring, Chris was just talking, I don't know what I did because I was asleep. But the cabins were great either way.

The Activities were amazing, there were 3 groups divided in half and there was a red group, Yellow, Green, I was in the red group with some of my friends and the first activity we did was horseback riding and every other group had to do horseback riding twice in the week, we went Tuesday and Thursday. The first horse I picked was Rascal; I did not like him because he did not listen to me and kept on farting! And the second time I picked Daisy and I picked her because she was fast and he listened to me. But she was mean, she kept on pushing other horses. Rock climbing was not to fun because the rocks were so small and I couldn't grab on to them. On Thursday, we played a game called Predator vs Prey, It was really fun because I was a fox and the only thing I could not get was a wolf and the diseases. I was also hiding and under logs and I was sneaking up on people and getting them, I was unsuccessful against Ms. Babb because she snuck up on me and got me with a ball. We also went Skating every day of the week except for Wednesday. Other than that all the activities were really good.  

Teen Ranch was an amazing experience and I would love to go there some other time. I realized I became a lot more independent at home and at school. The event changed my whole life! I thank the whole Cardinal Leger for giving us the opportunity to only pay $75 for a week, other than last year when they paid $250. Thanks for changing my life.

Teen Ranch

Jhazel                             Wednesday, November 13, 2013

 Ms.Babb

                   Teen Ranch, the Highlight of My Year

                "We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere." This is the quote I think about when I think of Teen Ranch or anywhere just in general. Where ever I go, I make myself feel comfortable no matter what.  All my experiences with horseback riding, cabin life, and the bonfire, I made myself feel comfortable. It's easy to get comfortable at Teen Ranch. Teen Ranch was definitely the highlight of my Grade 7 school year.

The first thing that I want to talk about is our cabin. Our cabin was the Dunn Room which had Prestine, Azia, Asia-Marie, Dakari, Dianne, Makayla, Praveena, and me in it. Out of all of us, I was the loudest and I'm not ashamed because I'd rather be loud than be quiet, like Makayla. She was the quietest probably because we were acting differently than she's used to. I mean we weren't acting badly or anything but she wasn't used to what we did. Throughout the week though, she got more comfortable and started talking more.  We also made her feel comfortable around us by talking, looking around the Coach House, taking pictures altogether (obviously before the teachers took our phones), and by telling stories and laughing at them. We all talked a lot at night which made us wake up a bit late in the morning. 6 of us got ready quick and on time while 2 others got ready slowly and a ended up bit tardy. While we got ready, we talked about the dreams we had and my favourite one out of them all was Asia-Marie's. Apparently she was running away from the police because they thought she was mental and she had to keep running faster because the police was catching up to her which caused her to breathe/ pant really loud or heavily not only in her dream, but in real life (which woke me up)!

The second thing that I want to talk about is the bonfire, which was probably my third favourite activity out of the other two. On the way to the bonfire, it was really dark and scary so the guys decided to hide behind the trees and jump out and scare us. Mr.Leitmann did, too. He pretended that he was Slenderman and hid behind trees and scared us. I actually didn't see him scare the other people because I was on the other side of where he was but by the sounds of the screams, I'm guessing it was pretty scary. When we finally reached the bonfire area, we sat down and waited until Mr.Leitmann started the fire. Once the fire was ready to roast food with, almost everyone got hotdogs and roasted the hotdogs by the fire. Eventually, the fire went out because of how close people were putting the hotdogs to the fire, but after a while we stopped putting the hotdogs too close and the fire never went out. I didn't roast any hotdogs so when the teachers said "Time to roast marshmallows!" I literally ran into the line. Mr.Leitmann gave me two marshmallows and I went straight to the fire to roast them. My marshmallow got burnt but it still tasted good. The smoke was the worst part of it because it kept getting into my eyes which made me tear really badly but I got a treat in the end either way!

The last thing I want to talk about is horseback riding! My horses name was Rosie and she was so adorable and sweet! She had brown hair and a blonde tail. She was really tall, which was okay with me because I like tall horses.  Agatha taught us how to ride horses which is another reason why I didn't fall off Rosie. It was pretty easy to control/guide the horses, but I really don't like when they stop for grass, water or apples. Especially when we were in the fields! Although Rosie didn't really go down to eat, she did stop whenever she had to pee or poo which is disgusting because the poo smells really bad and it's really gross when you watch them poo. When I was riding Rosie, nothing bad really happened to me, but I did get scared when we went trotting. I'm lucky nothing happened to me, but Azia on the other hand… her horse sort of went crazy and ran up the hill where there were bare naked branches! I was really worried for her but she told us that she was fine. Other than that, horseback riding was such a thrill for me.

Teen Ranch, probably out of most trips, is my favourite trip of the school year. Although Teen Ranch was the only trip I've went on so far, I feel like it will be my favourite trip for the whole school year, my lifetime maybe! Horseback riding will always be my favourite part of Teen Ranch because of how nice the horses were to me and how Rosie was really sweet. The bonfire is something I will probably remember annually because it's the first bonfire I've ever had with the students in my grade, and I'll NEVER forget when Asia-Marie was breathing so hard in her dream, that it woke all us up! "One travels more usefully when alone, because one reflects more."