Pohick

Friday, May 23, 2008

Mayor's Award for Scholastic Excellence

Scribbles also achieved straight A's this year. In honor of her achievement she was awarded the Mayor's award for Scholastic Excellence. Sarah was quick to point out that her award was from the President while Scribble's award was only from the Mayor.

President's Award for Educational Excellence

Sarah did a great job in school this year. She achieved straight A's. In honor of her achievement, she was awarded the President's Award for Educational Excellence. The President's Education Awards Program, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education, in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, was developed to help principals recognize and honor those students who have achieved high academic goals by their hard work and dedication to learning. Students are eligible for one of two honors: the President's Award for Educational Excellence or the President's Award for Educational Achievement. For each award students receive certificates signed by the President, the U.S. Secretary of Education and you. A congratulatory letter from the President is included with the awards.

Government Link: US Department of Education - Purpose, Eligibility, FAQ, Applicant Info, Awards, Laws, Guidance and Contact Information.

Organization Link: National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) - Explanation of the award program, criteria to receive award and form to request awards.

Lacrosse

Molly and Sarah took advantage of the good weather to play a little lacrosse in the yard. Lacrosse is a full contact team sport played using a small solid rubber ball and stick comprised of a plastic head and a metal or wood shaft. The head has a loose net strung into it that allows the player to hold the ball. Offensively the object of the game is to use the stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by ultimately throwing the ball into an opponent's goal.

Studying

As the end of the school year approached, the girls were studying for their final exams. This proved very hard to do though as weather turned nice.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Tonight, our chef in training Sarah prepared an old family favorite. We call it Dad's Mac and Cheese. Jake swears that the recipe is a secret. What that really means is that he has been too lazy to write his recipe down and just throws whatever he wants into a pot without measuring. Sarah though actually went to the trouble to write down the ingredients as she was preparing this easy but tasty dish.

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Milk
3 Tbl Butter
1 handful of flour
1 pinch of garlic salt
1 small onion chopped (Optional)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb dry elbow macaroni pasta

Directions:

Cook Pasta
In a sauce pan, melt butter
Reduce onion
Add flour
Add Milk
Add Cheese
Slowly melt cheese stirring often.
Combine Pasta and Cheese Mixture
Enjoy!

Recipe Credit: Jake Pohick

Novo Lenio Alabama All State Band 2008

Novo Lenio as performed by the Alabama All State Band on 19 April 2008. This piece was conducted by Carla Gallahan and composed by Samuel Hazo.

Overture For Winds Alabama All State Band 2008

Overture For Winds as performed by the Alabama All State Band on 19 April 2008. This piece was conducted by Carla Gallahan and composed by Charles Carter.

Nettleton Alabama All State Band 2008

This piece called Nettleton. It is performed by the Alabama All State Band. It was arranged by Johnnie Vinson and was conducted by Carla Gallahan.

Dillon's Flight Alabama All State Band 2008

Dillon's Flight as performed by the Alabama All State Band on 19 April 2008. This piece was conducted by Carla Gallahan and composed by Ralph Ford.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Auburn Symphonic Band

After a long day of rehearsing, the participants of the Alabama All State Band Festival were treated to a performance by the Auburn Symphonic Band. The Symphonic Band, conducted by Dr. Rick Good, is the premier performing ensemble of the Auburn University Bands. A select group of 70 players, the Symphonic Band performs a broad and diverse repertoire of standard and contemporary band literature along with occasional transcriptions. In recent years, this group has performed numerous times for Alabama Bandmasters Association and Alabama Music Educators Association events, and has undertaken tours within the state each spring. The performance by the Symphonic Band was awesome and left each of the All State Participants with a goal to work towards.

Friday, April 18, 2008

All State Band Rehearsal Day

Today was rehearsal day for the Alabama All State Band Festival. Each of the bands had rehearsals from 8:00 till 11:30 and then again from 1:30 till 5:00. The students were pretty worn out after 7 hours of rehearsals.

Jake was pretty worn out too. He had to entertain himself for 7 hours. It is never a good idea to leave Jake alone with that much time on his hands. To amuse himself, Jake dressed up in college-student-like attire complete with back pack and shades and tried to blend into the crowd with the college kids. He thought he was doing pretty well, but apparently the slang has changed somewhat since he was last in college. One of the kids asked Jake if he was a NARC.

Since his cover was blown, Jake returned to the rehearsal facility and walked around and spoke with the various college recruiters who were set up in the exhibit hall. Surprisingly, the University of Alabama and Auburn University recruiters were set up right next to each other. This seemed to be a pretty bold and gutsy move given the alleged rivalry between the two schools. Jake attempted to start a bidding war between the two recruiters to see which one would give Scribbles the larger scholarship. Though they were mildly amused at his tactic, they did not however make any firm offers.

All State Band Audition Results

The results are in! At 5:30 PM, Scribbles and 650 of her closest friends crowded around the seating list to find out how they fared during the Alabama All State Band Festival Auditions. She was selected as number 9 out of 31 for her instrument. Not too shabby considering she was competing against the best musicians in the entire state. During the audition, she was handed a piece of music she had never seen before. She had one minute to study the music, and then she had to perform for the grader.

Next up in the process is three hours of rehearsal from 6:30 PM till 9:30 PM.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Alabama All State Band Auburn University

Scribbles was selected to represent her school as part of the Alabama All State Band festival. She was one of the two students selected for this honor. The festival is being conducted this year at Auburn University. Today, Jake and Scribbles drove to Auburn from Northern Alabama which is about a four hour drive. Auburn University has approximately 24,000 students and it appeared to Jake and Scribbles that every one of them was out on the streets today. It took forever to find the music building and then a place to park.
The first event after arriving in Auburn was to audition for seating in the band. In all, there are approximately 650 students participating in the festival which is broken down into four separate bands. All 650 were preparing for their auditions at the same time in the wooded grove outside of the music hall. The cacophony (jarring, discordant sound) was just a little overwhelming. The Scribbles spent approximately 40 minutes preparing for her audition which lasted all of 5 minutes. We will find out tonight at 5:30 PM how she did. Then she will begin a three hour rehearsal with her band from 6:30 - 9:30 PM. That's it for now. I will post another note later letting you know how everything is going.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Pikes Peak Colorado Springs

Jake was in Colorado Springs this week. When he left Alabama, it was 80 degrees. When he arrived in Colorado, it was 25 degrees and there was a blizzard taking place.

In this photo, you can see Pikes Peak in the background. Pikes Peak is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles (16 km) west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. It is named for Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. The first European to climb the peak came 14 years after Pike in the summer of 1820. Edwin James, a young student who had just graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont, signed on as the relief botanist for the Long Expedition after the first botanist had died. The expedition explored the South Platte River up as far as present-day Denver, then turned south and passed close to what James called "Pike's highest peak." James and two other men left the expedition camped on the plains and climbed the peak in two days, encountering little difficulty.

There is a visitor center with a gift shop and restaurant on the summit of Pikes Peak, and there are several ways to ascend the mountain. The Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway is a cog railroad operating from Manitou Springs to the summit year-round, conditions permitting. Automobiles can be driven to the summit via the Pikes Peak Highway, a 19 mile (31 kilometer) road which starts a few miles up Ute Pass at Cascade. The road has a series of switchbacks, treacherous at high speed, called "The W's" for their shape on the side of the mountain. The road is maintained by the city of Colorado Springs as a toll road.

Check out Pike's Peak on this map of places we've been.

Other Colorado Springs Destinations

Mount Manitou Scenic Incline Railway (Colorado Springs)
Garden Of The Gods (Colorado Springs)
Manitou Springs (Manitou Springs)
Mount Cutler Hiking Trail (Colorado Springs)
Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs)
Ghost Town Museum (Colorado Springs)
Helen Hunt Falls (Colorado Springs)
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs)

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Rosetta Stone Software Learn Spanish

Hola amigos. (Hello friends) Jake's boss has decided that everyone in the office must learn a foreign language. He feels so strongly about this that he provided Rosetta Stone software to each of the employees. The software seems to be very effective and easy to use. Each employee was also given the option to choose which language they would like to learn. The problem is that Jake really doesn't want to learn any language. Oh, the thought of learning another language is cool, but in practice, it is very time consuming. And like many people, Jake really doesn't like doing things that are "Mandatory". Each month, Jake has to complete his mandatory lessons and turn in proof that he has completed them in order to achieve success on his performance metrics. After four months, Jake has managed to successfully complete his requisite lessons, but there have been a few last minute scrambles to get the work done.

So is Jake actually starting to understand Spanish? un poco. (A little) In fact today, Jake was at the store and overheard two people conversing in Spanish. To his surprise, he could actually make out what they were saying. He was so overcome with this new linguistic revelation, that he kept drifting closer and closer to the speakers until he has practically standing on top of them. They immediately stopped talking and looked at Jake as if he might be insane. (Which of course is a distinct possibility.) Jake muttered a feeble Perdón (Pardon me) and slunk away.

So that's Jake's story. Have you had any success or failure learning a new language as an adult?

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

US Space and Rocket Center 2007 Annual Report

The US Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) located in Huntsville, AL has released their 2007 Annual Report. Here are a few interesting highlights from the report:

10,755 attended a weeklong program which is an 8% increase from FY06; 877 were teachers
22,479 attended a 2-night/3-day program
71,647 attended a museum daily/field trip program
104,881 total attended a program at the US Space and Rocket Center during 2007
50 states had campers attend
57 countries had campers attend

Already known as the largest museum in the world devoted exclusively to space artifacts, the USSRC took a gigantic leap forward with the addition of the Saturn V and Federal Transit Administration complex that totals 68,200 square feet. The building called the "Davidson Center" houses the new ticketing area for the museum complex, a 360-seat auditorium equipped with 3-D projection equipment, and more than 42,000 of exhibit space in the gallery where the Saturn V is displayed 10 feet above the floor.

Financially, the USSRC had a good year. They took in $37.19M in revenues while managing to hold expenses to $26.43M. This is great news as it should allow the USSRC to reinvest the surplus and make even more improvements to the facilities and collections at the center.

Related Articles:

Mar 15, 2008 - Space Camp

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Cheesy Baked Ziti Recipe

Today, our chef in training Sarah prepared a lovely Baked Ziti for us. She was apparently assisted by her friend Alayna who was monkeying around in the kitchen.

Cheesy Baked Ziti Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 pound dried ziti
16 ounces of ricotta cheese (part skim)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups of spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil
Add ziti to boiling water
Cook until tender (about 8 minutes)
Drain pasta
Place ziti in large bowl
Mix ziti with ricotta and half of the mozzarella
Spread half of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Add the ziti mixture
Cover with the remaining sauce
Sprinkle with Parmesan and the remaining mozzarella
Bake uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes until the casserole bubbles on the edges
Enjoy!

Credit: This recipe is from FamilyFun.com.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Google Turns Out The Lights (Earth Hour)

The Google search page is black today in support of a conservation effort called Earth Hour. On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.

Will this effort make a difference? Probably not a big difference, but every little step towards energy conservation helps and hopefully this will raise awareness.

You may ask why Google is supporting this effort. Google has a charitable arm called Google.org. Two of the major initiatives of Google.org are related to the better usage of energy. These initiatives are:

Develop Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal (RE
Accelerate the Commercialization of Plug-In Vehicles (RechargeIT) :seed innovation, demonstrate technology, inform the debate, and stimulate market demand to foster mass commercialization of plug-in vehicles.

There has been a lot of talk around the world for years about reducing energy usage, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and development of cleaner forms of energy. Precious little progress has been made though. Perhaps with companies such as Google getting behind the effort, more progress will be made. In the mean time, the Pohick family will be turning off the lights tonight in support of Earth Hour. We hope that you do the same! It's our planet. Let's take care of it.

Habitat For Humanity

Jake had an opportunity today to give back a little bit to the community. He participated in building a Habitat For Humanity house.

Habitat For Humanity is an international, ecumenical Christian, non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing. Homes are built using volunteer labor and are sold at no profit, with no interest charged on the mortgage. Homeowner families are chosen according to their need; their ability to repay the no-profit, no-interest mortgage; and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat. Homeowners are usually expected to put approximately 500 hours of "sweat equity" into their own or other project homes.

This of course wouldn't be a good Pohick story, without telling you about the details of Jake's adventure (or should we say misadventure). This was the first time that Jake has participated in a habitat project. He was invited to do so by members of his church. When Jake showed up at the work site, he saw a big sign that said, "Habitat For Humanity" and it listed a bunch of churches that are supporting the project. Jake reported to the site foreman and was given a job painting walls. After about two hours, Jake noticed that he had not seen anyone else from his church. He had met and chatted with a bunch of other really nice folks though. Jake was surprised that no one else from his church was participating that day since they had all been talking so much about the project. Finally, during a break, Jake looked at the sign-in list and came to a realization. He was at the WRONG work site. He looked up the street and saw another house under construction. Sure enough, that was the house he was supposed to be at. So, Jake went to the correct house and after a little (well, more than a little) good natured ribbing, Jake was put to work putting the roof on the house. All is well that ends well!

If you have the opportunity to work on a habitat project in your area, I recommend that you do so. You don't need any special skills except a willingness to help. You may even pick up a new trick or two on how to fix things in your own home. Just like those classes at Home Depot, except it won't cost you anything except a little bit of time.

If you would like to read a nuts and bolts book on the process Habitat For Humanity uses to build its houses, check out Habitat for Humanity: How to Build a House. It is written by Larry Haun, a veteran crew leader who has led the construction of hundreds of habitat for humanity homes.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Alabama Learner's Permit

Today marks a major milestone. Scribbles Pohick received her learner's permit. And yes, when I say learner's permit, I mean a real live license to operate an automobile. My immediate thoughts were, "This can't be happening to me. I'm not old enough to have a daughter who is old enough to operate an automobile." I also find it hard to escape the thought that time is passing by entirely too quickly. We only brought Scribbles home from the hospital a year or two ago or so it seems. And to me, it seems as if this is the same little girl who just started kindergarten last week. How can she be old enough to drive a car? Now intellectually, I realize that she is indeed old enough (legally at least) to drive a car. That doesn't ease my angst though. If the last fifteen years have gone by so quickly, how fast will the next few precious years pass by. How long before scribbles graduates from high school and starts college? (3 years). How long before she graduates from college? (7 years). How long before she brings home a young man for the family to meet? (Editor's note: Jake passed out at this thought and had to be revived by splashing cold water on his face and patting his wrists. He is OK now. ) So, I guess the moral of the story is that we can't stop time. Live your life the best way that you can, help those around you and by all means make the most of the time with those closest to you.

If your child is going to be driving soon, I recommend that you take a look at these resources.

Family Guide to Teen Driver Safety from the National Safety Council
Teen Driving dot Org
Crashproof Your Kids: Make Your Teen a Safer, Smarter Driver

PS. I'm sure that scribbles will do just fine with driving, but you might want to use some caution if you are in the Alabama vicinity for the next while.