How long is your school day? WHen do you start?

A typical school day begins at 7am-5:30pm.We begin our lessons at 8am-4pm with an expection of Monday where it ends at 3:20p.m A  lesson takes a duratiopn of forty minutes,we do have break intervals within the periods.The 1st interval is a tea break from 9:20-9:40am,the 2nd break is frm 11-11:10am,then we have a lunch break from 1:10-1:45pm.We break our lessons at 4pm wherre we go for our co-curricular activities.Finally we do our cleaning from 5-5:30pm.On Saturday we usually have no lessons and we break from school at 12:30 p.m after our general  cleaning from 11-12:30 pm.What about you school?

hi this is godfrey once again n this is my favourite sport rugby for life.i enjoy playing it and  its a lively game that only your passsion and commitment is required.

Minnesota Facts

Map of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, called The Twin Cities.  St. Paul is the capital of the state of Minnesota.  The Mississippi River starts in northern Minnesota flows through this area then flows south to the Gulf of Mexico.  It is the largest river in the U.S.

Minnesota Facts:

1.  Some Minnesota professional sports teams are basketball football and baseball.  We have two basketball teams, one from the NBA (National Basketball Association)  They are called the Timberwolves.  The WNBA (Womens' National Basketball Association) team is called the Lynx.  The baseball team is called the Minnesota Twins and the football team is called the Vikings.

2.  The Somali population in Minnesota is 32,000 and the Hmong is around 60,000.  The Hmong immigrated here in the years and decades after the Vietnam War.  The Somali population has immigrated here during the past decade.

3. Minnesota has the 3rd highest high school graduation rate in the country. 

4. Minnesota's  population is 5, 379,139

5. The population of Minneapolis is 388,000

6. St. Paul's  population is 288,448.

6a.  The entire urban area population of the greater Twin Cities area is 2.5 million people.

7. Average rainfall in Minnesota is 26 inches per year.

8. Average snowfall is 36 to 70 inches per year.

9.  Famous musicians: Prince, Bob Dylan

10.Major US corporations: Target, Best Buy, 3M

11.  Highest temperature recored in Minnesota 114 degress (F) in 1936 , lowest temperature recored in Minnesota was  -60 degrees (F) in 1996.

12. Ethnic make up of Minnesota is 86.9% white, 5.4% Black, 1.3% Native American, 4.2 % Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino.

Jamila Yang

Hi there students,
I am Jamila Yang. I'm in 12th grade right now going to graduate this summer. I like to read on my free time and cook. I like to hang out with friends and play sports. I am from Milwaukee but I moved to Minnesota just last year. I am right now learning how to drive and looking for a job. When I graduate I will go to college and major in the medical field.

my name is victor bofenkamp. I'm in 11th grade. i go to gordon parks high school. I'm 17 years old. i grew up in the general twin cities area. my favorite food is sushi. i like skate boarding and bmx biking. i have a large family mom, step dad and half brother. dad, step mom, step sister, 2 half brothers and half sister.

First three photos are in front of Gordon Parks High School
Photo #4 is Kong.
Photo #5 is our classroom.
Photo #6 Vanessa.  Porchia is in the background.

Questions for you

Hello St. Aloysius students!  This is Tom Davies.  I am a Geography and US History teacher here at Gordon Parks High School. (More about me later in a separate post.)  Several of the Gordon Parks High School students have posted some questions on your specific blog entries.  They have also created a list of questions they are curious about.  If you are able to respond to the questions we would be grateful.  Also, please ask us questions.

1.  What is the population of Nairobi?  What is the city like?
2.  What are some of the typical foods you eat?
3.  What is your lifestyle like in your community?
4. What is the most interesting thing about your living environment?
5.  What is your first language?  When do you start studying English if it is your second language?
6.  How long is your school day?  WHen do you start?
7.  How many days a week are you in school?  How many months during the year?
8.  Do you work?
9.  What do you do for fun?
10.  What are some of your cultural traditions?

Thanks for your responses.  We are posting pictures as well.  Yes, we have snow here!  Lots of it.

student introdution

Hi my name is Kong Yang. Im an Asian-American, I'm a Hmong. I am from St. Paul, MN. I lived where there is four season like spring, summer, fall, and winter. I have a big family with five sisters and four brothers. I'm a senior at Gordon Parks High School.  My favorite food is spaghetti with meatballs.  I love the outdoor. My favorite thing to do  outdoors is fishing. Football is my favorite sport, not soccer. Instead of just using your legs, you use hands and feet. The thing I do not like is homework, ahaa!  

hello, I'm Porchia Crawford and this is my last year at Gordon Parks High School.  I am 19 years old.   I have a four year old daughter named Arianna who a keeps a smile on my face.   My favorite color is sky blue and hot pink.  I love seafood, and chicken and other stuff too.  I love playing volleyball, and sometimes I watch football (The Bears and the Vikings ) and basketball (Lakers and Boston).  I love shopping but I hate minnesota weather, it gets really cold out here.

Hi,I am Fiona and I am 16yrs and an 11th grader.I am the second born in a 

family of six.I am not a fan of sports but what I like most is going out with 

friend and listening to music(although I prioritize my books). A normal day for 

me starts at 4.00am and ends at 8.00pm.I spend most of my time at school.

am jacob mostly known as jack,a student at st. aloysius.am aged 18 and in the third grade and i aspire to be a pilot

Hi! my name is Sylvia Akinyi I am  the  last born in a family of three girls and 2boys.I stay with my
sister at Kibera .I am 18year old and I am in form four.I love singing and I would love to be a musician.

Hello i am David ouma from nairobi kenya am 18 years of age from a family of 5 siblings am the fourth born in our family and am currently on my fourth year in high school and  i'll be completing my studies this year.i study at St Aloysius gonzaga secondary school

HI, am godfrey better known as gody.am a student at St.Aloysius Gonzaga.am 17 yrs old and am a pre-candiadate.i love playing rugby,dancing,listening to music and sleeping.i love st aloysius its a great school.i live in  Nairobi Kenya.my favourite subject is maths and physics. i am a jovial boy never sad.

My name is lawrence.I am 17yrs and  come from a humble background in a family of six kids five boys and one girl.I am in form 3 and study 8 subjects in st.Aloysius Gonzaga sec sch located in Nairobi  Kenya.I like playing football and reading story books.

introduction

Hey, am  keraa  from St. Aloysius Gonzaga high school  Nairobi kenya .am 17 years old and am fourth year student.

Hi,my name is patricia,I am 17 years and a student at St. Aloysuis Gonzaga.I live in Nairobi,Kenya.my family consists of three members i.e my dad,younger sibling and I.am a candidate  in our school where I take eight subjects my favourite subject is english and biology.I would like to become a journalist in future.my hobbies are dancing,listening to music and reading novels.its great to be in st Aloysius.

Student introduction

My name is Viviana.   I am 18 years old and I live in a small city in Minnesota with my mom, dad and an older brother.  My family is from a small city in Mexico.  I was born in Minneapolis Minnesota.  I am the youngest in my family.  I have two brothers and one sister.  Two of my brothers are married and have kids.  One of my other brothers still lives with us.  My grandparents live in Mexico and I go visit them every summer.  I am very close to my grandparents.  I like to go visit them every time I can.

I am a 12^th grader in a public high school.  I am very close to my family.  My favorite sport is softball.  When I was younger I used to play but when I started high school and I stopped playing.  I like to read romantic novels and go to baseball games.  I also go to the movies almost every weekend.  My favorite author is Nicholas Sparks and my favorite book is The Notebook.  I work at McDonalds; I only work weekends.  My favorite subjects in school are social studies and English.  I like to learn about other cultures and would like to learn how to speak French fluently.  I know how to speak English and Spanish fluently.  When I graduate from high school I want to go to college and study international business and get a good job related to that.

Student introductions

My name is Vanessa.  I am 19 years old.  I am Mexican and Native American.  I come from a medium size family.  I have one sister, two brothers and a half brother.  I also have two sons.  I like reading, researching and baking.  I work for a agency called Abbey Care where I work as a PCA (Personal Care Assistant).  I am a senior here at Gordon Parks High School.  A normal day for me is waking up at 7:00 am and getting my kids up.  I dress and feed them, then I get ready and leave for work.  When I am done working I get picked up and go straight to school from 1pm to 5 pm.  I drive home, make supper for my family, play with my sons and then get them ready for bed at 8:00 pm.  I then work on my online classes.  I do that for a couple hours then go to bed. 

Student introduction

My name is Sarely.   I am Mexican and I am 18 years old.

I come from a big family and I am the youngest.

I like hanging out with my friends and love going shopping. I go to Gordon Parks High School and live in

St. Paul, Minnesota.  I came here to the United States when I was five years old and I have been here almost all my life. 

Hi, my name is Jasmine.  I am sixteen years old and I am from St. Paul, Minnesota.  I am African-American and I am in the 10^th grade.  I like to dance and play basketball.  I have one brother and one sister, both older then me.  My favorite color is blue and I am a model.   And before I came to Gordon Parks High School I went to a performing arts school.  I went there for dance and then I switched to vocal.  It was a fun to experience a new technique and be exposed to new music.

Student introduction

Hi, my name is Alexis. I am eighteen years old.  I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota and I was also born and raised there.  (I also lived in suburban areas here as well to).  My nationality is mixed, white, black and Native American.  I come from a large family. I go to Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul and I am in 12^th grade. My hobbies are rollerblading, sewing and scrapbooking.  The activities that interest me are swimming, coloring and hanging out with friends.

Gordon Parks High School student introduction

My name is Heileen, pronounced as Hey-lean.  I was born in Mexico and immigrated to Minnesota when I was three years old.  The English language was complicated when I first got here.  It was a struggle but I soon began to get comfortable.  I have traveled to Dallas, Texas twice and visited my hometown (Mexico Guadalajara, Jalisco) once in 2009.  I love school but I’m not really good when it comes to math.  I’m more concentrated on my school stuff because I’m trying to get out of here!

I’m great when it comes to English, reading and writing.  I don’t really have any hobbies or activities. My life is kind of boring.  All I do is wake up, get ready, and take two buses to school.  I have a really long day. Everyday I wake up at 7 am I start school at from 10 am and end at 5 pm and get home at 6 pm.  Then I eat, do my homework, watch a movie, take a shower and get ready for bed.

I’m not a spontaneous person at the moment but I can be a fun sweet girl.  I have 33 credits remaining and this is my Senior Year.  I might not graduate on time with my class but I will graduate this year in 2013 and that works just fine with me.

When I get out of here I’m joining the military.   I’m still kind of confused about which branch I will choose but I do know it’s between the Marines or the Army.  I’m going in because I like to help people and that’s one thing I can do once I get there.  I’m also joining the military because I’m trying to get my teeth fixed and its also going to pay for my college.  I want to be a police officer and then study to become a detective.  I’m not sure exactly what I want to go in for but I’m into special victims work or drug trafficking.  I hope to be stationed in Miami ,Florida; Houston Texas, or Los Angeles, California. Other than that I like to meet cool, chill people with a mentality that expands and who like to explore new and different things. I’m a very calm and chill person and I like to keep to myself a lot.  But I’m also a very passionate person with fire in my eyes.