Been a while ;)

Hey everyone!!! So a lot of things have happened..

First of all, I drove alone for the first time and I'm still alive to tell the tale! This has been a huge landmark for me (don't laugh), I'm so excited to start gaining more confidence in my driving skills!

Me driving to Marlhurst for volunteering!! 

Second, junior college prep day was EXTREMELY helpful. We started our resumés, filled out the common app, and started our faifsa!! I wouldn't even know where to start if we didn't have a day dedicated to just these things, so grateful that SMA holds events like these for their students. We didn't get through all of it, but it's so nice to have a starting place and somewhere to continue from.

Hawaiian dance at the AAYLC

Third of all, the AAYLC (Asian American Youth Leadership Conference) was absolutely spectacular... Never have I ever seen so many Asian people in one room. We did several work shops, from dealing with micro aggressions to learning about Japanese internment camps during WWII. it was truly enlightening. And speaking of all things Asian... I'm going to be an official APIC (Asian Pacific Islander Club) leader next year, definitely something to look forward to!

Certified member of the NHS :) 

And lastly... I GOT INTO NHS (National Honors Society) ! I'm so excited to have the opportunity to tutor and help people, as well as be part of such an amazing program! I hope it'll help me break out of my shell as well :)

Have a WONDERFUL week of studying and finals prep sma, my prayers go out to all of you!

Hey St Mary's!!

Hey SMA, i hope you're all enjoying the sunny weather :)

 I finally signed up for the AAYLC (Asian American Youth Leadership Conference) this week, and I'm so excited to go! I'm looking forward to all the new people I'm going to meet and workshops we're going to do. I'm really nervous as well, but I think it's going to be an amazing experience and I hope I'll go again next year :)

APIC (Asian and Pacific Islander Club) has been going great too! We're nearing the end of our service project, an de it has been a long road but I enjoyed every moment. Thanks to everyone in the club who participated in our diabetes prevention and awareness project, the posters look great! I can't wait to see them up around school.

SAT class has drawn to a close as well. I feel like I still have a lot of preparing to do, but the class has been so helpful. I'm going to miss spending that extra bit of time with everyone on tuesdays after school ;( good luck on the SAT everyone!

The pic above is the dress I wore to the SMA auction. I so appreciate everyone who donated and everyone who just attended, your support does not go unnoticed! It was a wonderful night and we reached well past our goal, way to go St. Mary's!! I just got back from Mary's Woods Elderly Home where I told everyone about it, and turns out one of the tenants there used to work at SMA and go to every single one. What a coincidence! Just keep swimming lady blues 💕

Happy back to school Tuesday :)

hey lady blues, welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a wonderful, stress free break. I might be moving soon, something exciting to look forward to! I finally figured out how to add photos to my posts, so there are going to be a lot more visuals from now on ;) 

This spring break was all about colleges for me. I went on an overnight trip with Serapiya, her godmother, and two sisters to the University of Oregon. We enjoyed spending time on campus of a bigger college, and we shared (or tried to share) their enthusiasm for the Oregon Ducks.

Their sports teams are increasingly successful, but I don't think Sera and I are very interested in going there. Still, it was a a wonderful experience and I learned a lot about what to look for in a good school! I know that it's important to visit all kinds of schools even if I don't want to go there, because now if I hear about a school about the same size that I'm unable to visit I have a reference school to look back on. 

Today I went to visit two more colleges, and I just got back home a few hours ago. Our wonderful SMA college counseling office provided up with a college bus tour the Monday before school starts back up again, so we all have something to talk about tomorrow. We visited OSU and Willamette, and they are both wonderful schools. I'm interested in biology/BioHealth sciences and PreMed as a Major, and OSU has wonderful programs for both of those, as well as a 75% acceptance rate into medical school after graduating. I was very sad about Willamette though, because I absolutely loved the campus and small school feel but they don't offer Premed as a Major. I still enjoyed visiting and having the opportunity to go on a tour with the student ambassadors. 

This break I also went on a more relaxing vacation with my godsister and her family to bend. 

Visiting the painted hills near bend 

We rented out a house and visited many Oregon landmarks, and I really enjoyed the break from schoolwork and college-ing. 

Wild cow-crossing on the way to a state park

Hope to see you all bright and early tomorrow morning! Have a wonderful Monday afternoon 

Spring is Almost Here!

Hey lady blues, great job at the basketball game last week! We did amazing, i hope everyone enjoyed sporting our class colors and cheering our team on :)

Ski team recently got fourth in state, I'm so proud of everyone on our team! I haven't been able to participate recently due to injuries, but im so looking forward to getting more involved next year. Ski team is definitely something i want to be a part of long term, I loved the overnight trips and staying up at the lodge to warm up before practice. Races were amazing and i look forward to having the opportunity to improve.

SAT classes have begun -- and with them a lot of college related anxiety, but i know that our college counselors are really good about helping us through the process. Im thinking of visiting a few colleges this summer to get a head start for applications, and I've signed up to take a bus tour with Serapiya to Willamet College and Oregon State Uni. Still need to get that SAT prep homework done!

I hope women's empowerment week is going well for you as it did for me! The kickoff assembly was amazing, and we heard some wonderful speeches from our student body and from some of my amazing friends.

Have a great women's empowerment week!

Hey SMA!

I hope all the junior who went on this encounter had a wonderful time. It was nice having some time away to relax and make new friends.

It was my birthday recently, and i just celebrated yesterday! I enjoyed spending time with family friends and having a great dinner at my favorite restaurant. I hope this weekend was great for everyone else too!

The junior class is in the process of writing our english research paper. I'm writing mine on the catcher in the rye. Right now I'm on the outlining stage, but its really starting to come together! I was very worried about the process, but now that ive started im really enjoying seeing the piece of writing take shape. I think the end result is something im going to be really proud of and something im going to learn from. 

We've also just started forecasting for our schedule next year. Next year is my last at SMA, so im feeling a lot of pressure to get everything in before i leave.. but im sure it wil turn out ok! I only have a few credits left to complete and they should be done by the end of next year. Some classes im looking forward to are AP Bio, SRM, and the PSU challenge course for European history. Arm is especially exciting because I get to go aroun dto different science and research labs and write up lab reports, which is something im really interested in.
Biology project stop motion animation

Hello lady blues!

Happy end of semester one, I hope all your finals went well! Finals week was stressful for everyone, but we made it through. I think my toughest finals were U.S. History and Honors PreCalculus. 

So far our ski races have been going great, I've shaved my time down to 1 min and 9 seconds (I still plan on a lot more improvement!). We have many more overnight trips to come (in fact we have one the next two weekends), and I'm excited to be in so many races and to have a chance to improve. 

I finally took my last drivers Ed test! Now all I have to do is wait to see if I passed. I brought in lemon bars for everyone and we did many kahoots, and we had a review/ study session before hand so I'm pretty sure I passed. Can't wait to get my license!

Yesterday I went with WOCA (Women of Color Association) to see the movie "Hidden Figures" (also for extra credit for U.S. History :) ), and it was an amazing film. It's about three Black women during times of segregation who work at NASA. They're mathematicians and scientists, and the film is about how they progress in their roles in NASA despite their oppression and discrimination. I really enjoyed it! 

Going to hidden figures with WOCA

Back to school

Hello SMA, I hope you all had a wonderful, peaceful break. We've been having many snow days and it's interfering with many school and extracurricular activities but I'm sure we'll all be able to work through it! I hope everyone is enjoying their extra days off!

I haven't been skiing much because I recently got a concussion, but we had our first race of the season and our team got third place out of all the teams participating!! Go SMA Blues!! We also had out overnight bonding trip, no it was loads of fun. We did a white elephant exchange and I stole a lava lamp (sorry Elsa!!), and we played cards against humanity and waxed our skis. I hope everyone had just as much fun as I did on the trip!

Our last drivers Ed class is this Wednesday, and I'm super nervous for the final test. After that all I have to do is go to the DMV and take a safety test to get my license -- I'm so excited! Thanks mom and dad for all your support and thank you Marilee for being such a great instructor.

Christmas tree at the lodge at meadows! 
Ski trip blizzard

Happy almost Christmas SMA!!!

Merry Christmas!

Our break started early this year due to weather conditions, but that just means more snow and better skiing up on the mountain! This past weekend was my first time going up to the mountain alone on our bus, and it was extremely fun. Sadly our bonding weekend overnight trip this week was cancelled, but nonetheless I'm still looking forward to heading up this Saturday for a one day trip! I hope all off you are taking advantage of the snowy weather as well.

Our winter concert was a huge success, and personally I think it was much better than last year's! I hope some of you attended and watched our wonderful orchestra and piano ensemble play, this was my first time playing with the orchestra and it was great! We've already started preparing for our spring concert, I hope to see you there.

In the spirit of Christmas all of our TA's were assigned Christmas families, and this Wednesday we packed them up, wrapped them, and delivered them to our Christmas families. While we were wrapping a singing Christmas telegram stopped by the commons with gifts and a wonderful student written song. Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season SMA!!

Piano ensemble attire
Wrapping for Christmas!

Hello St. Mary's Blues!

I hope all of you had a wonderful thanksgiving break. At our house we had turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce and we invited over some friends to have dinner with and watch a movie.

I just took my drivers Ed test today, and I passed! All I have to do to get my listen every now is take a safety test at the DMV and then I'll have my license. I'm excited to be able to drive around on my own!

So far ski team has been going great, we've been up on the mountain almost every weekend. I'm relearning a lot of things because I haven't skied in so long, but I think I'll be ready in time for racing season! My new skis and equipment work great, and I just got my racing helmet yesterday.

Piano ensemble is going well too this winter, and our winter concert is this Sunday in the Auditorium at SMA. It's completely free, come to see us playing Christmas carols and to watch SMADco and our dancing classes dance to Christmas music! Hope to see you there!

Me in my ski gear at timberline

Hello again SMA, happy thanksgiving! 

I hope your mindfulness week is going well! Many teachers have been having electronic- free classes all this week to help us be more aware of dependency and appreciation of the resources we have. In English for mindfulness week were supposed to do a project on how where we live and our region affects or forms who we are and the values we hold as important.

The juniors also went on encounter this week, and in the morning they loaded into the busses! I'm excited for when I get to go on encounter. It's supposed to be a secret in- the- moment trip so the juniors who have gone have to keep the activities a secret from everyone else. 

Our first ski team meet was a few days ago as well! It's been a long time since I've exercised so much, and our ski coach says we might not be going up to the mountain this weekend yet but as soon as it snows we'll be up at timberline preparing for the races. I can't wait to finally get on snow! 

Mindfulness week English project 

Hi SMA Blues! 

I hope you all are doing fine! There's been a lot of stress at school lately, but I hope all of you are pushing through and taking the time you need to relax and keep going. Stay strong!

Winter sports are starting soon, and I'm so excited for ski team! I'm still working on figuring out how to juggle ski team, piano ensemble, driver's Ed, and all my homework while keeping my grades up but I'm sure it will work out. Our first ski meet is this upcoming Tuesday, and I'm excited to meet my new alpine skiing teammates. I went to the ski swap at the expo center this weekend and bought ski gear as well as a pair of racing skis, and they're currently in the shop getting the bindings attached. Hopefully they'll be ready by the time we go up to the mountain! 

One of the many perks of being an ambassador is having the opportunity of hosting shadow visits and incoming/ prospective students. This Monday I had a shadow from my old school, Celia, come in for a visit. We caught up on everything that's been going on at arbor (including all the latest news on the arbor goats) and talked about her favorite activities (reading and rock climbing). She got a chance to see what English, Spanish, biology, and theology classes are like here at SMA and I hope it was a great first shadow visit experience for her! 

See you next time, Hannah 

At the ski expo
At the ski expo 2
Free snow shoes?!

Hey again,

Happy end of the quarter! Our final first quarter grades are finally being put not the grade books, a first for our new freshmen. I hope everyone is staying calm and stress-free during this often stressful time

We had a great founders day, and it was wonderful to see graduates and alumni from as long as 80 years ago! Our founders enjoyed a much anticipated reunion before the assembly, and everyone cheered them on as they walked to the front of the auditorium. Our students and faculty really made them feel welcome and appreciated, and I can't wait until our class alumni get to return to SMA for our founders day in the future! 

Another thing that I've been busy with (I forgot to mention this in my last blogpost) is drivers Ed. I'm so close to getting my license, and I've been getting better every day! SMA hosts drivers Ed classes as well as central catholic. All the paper and in class classes are held at St. Mary's, and all the drives are done starting at central catholic and go through Portland and the downtown area. It's a great way to learn all the new traffic rules (and to get a better deal on insurance parents :) ). And if you complete drivers Ed with a cumulative 80% or higher, you automatically get your license, no DMV testing!

In piano ensemble we've been preparing for the winter concert. So far we've decided that we're going to play "canon in D" and "Carol of the Bells". You should come to get a sneak peek at our music programs, SMAD Co and others will be performing dances and other pieces as well! Hope to see you there. 

As well as practicing for the concert, I decided to try something new and joined our ski team (very nerve wracking, I don't usually participate in many sports). Even though I'm not a very sporty person, all my ski team friends and previous alpine ski team members have been very supportive. I'm excited to get to know them better while learning how to ski!

Good luck with everything lady blues, Hannah Kapoor 

Dressed up for picture day
Our pill bugs from the biology lab

Hi Lady Blues!

We just had a wonderful open house, and all the prospective students looked so happy to be there! Helen, Jasmine, and I were at the
snack bar and we handed out snacks to all the prospective families. Luckily there were some left overs :) I hope all of you also had an
amazing SMA open house experience!

After Open House, we had our spirit week and BBW walk to raise money for our scholarship and financial aid programs as well as to keep our music programs like the Marians and piano ensemble funded and running smoothly. It's never too late to donate, all donations are appreciated! Here's a link to my donation page: Blues bridge walk donations SMA

During our fundraising walk, we all dressed up in our class colors and walked to the waterfront to help fund raise. After a long week and a half of fundraising we reached our goal! Thanks you to everyone who helped raise money, volunteers, parents, and anyone who got involved.

anatomy lab integumentary system photo

Sera and I in our class colors for BBW 

Hi SMA Blues!

Welcome back to school! So far we've been off to a great start. We had our first all school assembly Friday and all four classes showed their SMA spirit through their great skits and performances. The teachers shared their spirit as well through the "SMAlympics" as students cheered them on (go Peterson!). 

Clubs and after school electives have started as well. This week we had our first piano ensemble meeting, and we met the new freshman recruits while playing get-to-know-you games and warming up our piano skills from our long summer break. Make sure you come to the spring concert for our first performance of the year! 

I hope you guys have been having a great year so far too, 
Hannah Kapoor 





The first day of school:
http://m.imgur.com/99G69nl

The pac after our first piano ensemble meet:
http://i.imgur.com/51B6gbw.jpg