Peter’s Bloggie

Every school year, both students and faculty learn new skills, achieve new accomplishments, and exceed their old self. As a student, I have learned a lot of things as well.

At the beginning of the year, I learned to play the flute. Initially, I did not like the idea of having to learn an instrument for music class. The instrument and the lessons cost a lot, and I did not think that it was worth the money. However, the sense of accomplishment drove me to continue learning. Now, playing the flute has become a primary pastime at school and a valuable skill.

I also learned a copious amount of vocabulary from Mr. Porter and Mr. Murn. I learned vocabulary, grammar, and details of writing skills through a gradual process. The process often bored me, but the pestering adjustments turned out to become fortifications of my unstable writing skills.

Overall, my experiences during this school year have convinced me that annoying things often become important lessons in life. From this moment onward, I will treasure nuisances and squeeze all the lessons out of it.

Peeing in the Public Pool: One in Five People Do It - Rodale

Tinkling in the pool causes disgust and discomfort - CNN

In April of 2009, a poll was conducted in the United States stating that more than 50% of the surveyed people admit to having committed at least one unhygienic activity in the pool. 17% admit to urinating in the pool; 78% believe that people urinate in the pool; 35% enter the pool without showering; 73% believe that other people don’t shower before entering the pool.

Urine, sweat, and sunscreen sometimes contain nitrogen. This nitrogen would eat away the chlorine in the pools. The loss of chlorine means that more harmful things will survive and naturally hurt a swimmer.

Urine and sweat in pools combines with chlorine, the standard chemcial in pools, and produces chloramine. Chloramine releases a strange odor and gives red, stinging eyes and respiratory irritations like coughs to swimmers.

Diarrhea is also a common method in which disease is spread in pools. With a diarrhea-causing parasite called Cryptosporidium, feces become watery and often unnoticable. Swallowing even a little bit of contaminated feces would cause sickness.

Michele Hlavas, epidemiologist in the Division of Parasitic Diseases for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention says that swimmers need to take on the responsibility for maintaining the safety of their pools, “have to get invested in keeping their pool clean and keeping themselves healthy.”

Teachers often busy themselves with schoolwork. After a brief interview with Mr. John Murn, knowledge of the “busiest day of the week” can easily be grasped.

Upon arrival at school, Mr. Murn starts to plan things to do for classes for the day, pointing out that he has classes on every period on Tuesday:

The first two periods were 9th grade English. Mr. Murn started by introducing correct citations for essays, then gave the students class time to work on their final essay projects.

Students then prepared for their final examination in 7th grade English.

During breaks, he makes photocopies or preparation of homework and/or tests for the classes to come, which leaves him no room to rest in between the exhausting classes.

Just when we thought Mr. Murn could get a breath of fresh air at lunch, he continues working on the organization of his bike race - the Bin Lan Hustle. By himself, he put together the entire event that will take place this following weekend.

In the afternoon, the hard labor continues with peer editing in Creative Writing and a lecture on the fall of Rome in World History, ending with an unprepared period of PSAT.