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Swiss School

Sustainability Management School
-Business school based on sustainability
-First in Europe
-Located in Gland, Switzerland
-Its in the modern green building of the international union of Conservation.
-It helps for economic growth with sustainability issues
-They learn how to bring sustainability in all the careers existence and make it a daily basis.
-They will understand where to start in world sustainability issues and business admin. which learn to put them both together.

Sustainable Consumption & Production
-By 2050, we will need twice the Earth size to keep up with our trash
-European Commission decided to make strict measures about our planet
-They are making the market sustainable.
-They are producing a new ground for the making of new energy, which was never produced before.
-They want to make the consumers know that by making this plan work, they need to become responsible consumers and buy only ecological products, including goods and services

An Inconvenient truth
-In 2005, the climate was the hottest time ever.
-Patagonia was a dessert and became a lake
-Kilimanjaro was covered with snow and know it became a dessert
-We need to prepare for something bigger than what we can handle.
-Katrina was Earths revenge.
-We betrayed earth. Earth didn't betray us.
-Florida, India, Manhattan, Shanghai would be underwater if Greenland starts melting. We would lose the most important cities in the world if we keep betraying the world

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Activity

Sustainability is something that the world isnt quite aware of completely. The global warming and climate change has seriously affected Bogota, Colombia. Since I was a kid, Bogota has always been this beautiful, cold city between the mountains. Practically the only thing that was missing was snow. About two or three years ago, Bogota started getting warmer and warmer. People said that the climate would change drastically by 2050, but I guess that happened much earlier than that. Today, I dont even like to wear my school hoodie because its too warm outside. You see, Bogota is changing, just like the rest of the world, but we are not doing pretty much anything about it.

I think that by this point the world cant be saved. The problem has advanced a lot to change it back like it was before everything started. This problem became bigger than what our machines can fix. But we can help it stop evolving more. I think that the best way to make a difference is to actually let the people know what is really going on. I think that we where never really aware of what was happening. In schools, they dont even touch the subject. Instead, we only learn about the past. We need to learn about what our future will be if we don't do something about it, because it can get worse. I think that in my school we should add a new class or period all about sustainability. One college can help, but that isnt quite enough. We as a world need to do something together. Join forces and REALLY make a difference. 

Growing Up Online

Things I already Knew

-It didn't surprise me that 90% of the teenagers are normally online.
-I already knew that this was the teenage world, that was basically a place we can express yourself.
-I knew that its hard to focus for us because we are online.
-I knew that you can read chapter summaries online, which is way easier.
-I already knew that there was a page called turn it in which checks for plagiarism.
-It didn't surprise me that Facebook and Myspace are the biggest social media networks in the world.
-I knew that teens said mean comments on Myspace and can say it in person.
-People sent naked pictures to each other which is really dangerous.
-Internet can make you do weird things.
-Some people say that doing inappropriate things is normal, which it isn't.
-I knew that its easy to find things online
-Everything is eventually known. Everything spread.
-We know who to talk to because we won't go spreading out information about ourselves.
-Being online can make your self esteem boost up, even if they are doing something wrong.
-Internet is literally always listening.
-Teens cut our relationships off because they are scared that their parents will ruin their lives.

Things I didn't know
-Something I didn't know was that you could know that you are being track and manage what the other person is seeing because my computer has never been tracked.
-I didn't know that the parents thought that someone would be stalking us.
-I didn't know that the USA made tv shows and court sessions about online stalking.
-We as teenagers have more trouble offline that online.
-I didn't know that anorexia was like a religion for people. That they have a goddess and everything.
-I didn't know that there where actually webpages that teach you how to kill yourself.
-Computers are not the cause, they are the tools of the cause.
-Some parents actually support their kids issues.
-Teachers don't really know what the mean of cheating actually is.
-You never know who you are actually talking to.
-Our use of computers have made us develop more cases of distraction diseases.
-We are more used to things very fast, and teachers are trying to change that.
-Online predators have increased a lot since social networks have increased.
-Parents are more concerned about pedophilia than suicide, because they don't know the risks about it.
-Students are using social network even at school computers, and prefer to stay inside than go outside and breathe air.


Things that have changed
-All the webpage layouts have changed
-Myspace is not popular anymore, now Tumblr is better.
-Violence is not with fights anymore, everything is verbal insulting.
-We now use cellphones for different things, like games and application.
-Parents now don't ask kids for passwords, because they know that teens wont give it to them.
-There are things that "hurt" before, but don't hurt to us anymore.
-Teaches do classes in videobims because students pay more attention to it.
-Laptops exist now and you cqan take your computer everywhere.
-There are tablets that are like tiny laptops that are easier to take everywhere.
-Parental protection is much more safe now, because technology has evolved.
-Internet is now used for groupwork that we couldnt finish at school.
-Teens now use computers for school and study, more than actual notebooks.
-There is more info abaout internet safety and we are much more aware.
-Teens are mopre cautious about what they do online.
-People find facebook more boring know, because people dont really care about eachothers lives.

What topic in the video did you most strongly identify with and why?
-What I identify the most with is with the concentration problems. For example, its very hard for me to keep concentrated in something more than five minutes. I have to be constantly changing things so that my brain can think right. Multitasking is an urge to me because I don't really know how to keep concentrated without changing tabs. This is affecting my learning too but I don't know how to stop it from happening. My brain is constantly thinking about too many things at once and that is affecting my studies.

What topic in the video was most UNLIKE your own experiences online and why?
-I think something I would never ever EVER do in my life is send naked pictures of myself. It has happened a lot around the school and the consequences have been fatal. and, who would even do that? You don't know who you are really sending a picture to, and you wouldn't even send one to someone that you know because its just really weird. I don't think I would ever do that because the world isn't like that, you can never be sure that the picture will never spread, and even if you where, why would you want to show your naked self online?

What advice would you give to parents about kids being online?
I would say that never ask your kid for his or her facebook password, because its their private things and they will never give it to you. You canbe friends with your kid on facebook or twitter, but that doesn't mean that they will tell you every single detail in your life. People dont share everything anymore online, because we know the risks better. Never send emails to other parents because that can ruin your child's life.

GAFE

Google+ and Google Hangouts

Today I'm going to investigate about two of the most important things that Google has. This year CNG is planning to change all of the technology to Google. Today I was given the task to search for Google+ and Google Hangouts. These apps will give us a hint on how will school look like next year.

Click Here to see a Google+ and Hangouts tutorial.

Google+ is a new social media site, just like Facebook or MySpace. It uses the same system, but it takes it closer to reality. As you know, in Facebook EVERYONE is your friend. Every single person you know, including your mom, sister or boss is on classified as "friend" on Facebook. Your boss can see embarrassing pictures that your friends upload and you have to untag yourself so that he or she doesn't see them. You have to censor your posts so that you don't give a bad impression to people. 

Well, Google+ isn't like that. You can have "circles" or groups of people you hang out with. Like in real life, you don't tell everything to everyone, you just tell it to certain people. You can make circles of friends, coworkers, family and more. You can add many people to your groups and you can have a person in two different groups. This can help for school because you can have your teachers on Google+ and not see their personal things because they can have you in "student circles" instead of friends. Also, teachers don't see your personal things because you have them in a different circle than your friends. You can make circles for projects and share things that you need for your project. Click Here to see an easy explanation of Google+. 

Google Hangouts is like this sort of Skype but much better. It comes with your Gmail account and includes video chat but with mure than just 2 people at a time. Here, you can video-chat with up to nine people at the same time. You can skype with one of your circles, and if they are offline and later get online, they can join a conversation, just like you would in real life. You can show a YouTube video with your buddies or even share your screen. You can also dress up like a pirate, a princess or even a dog. Click Here or Here to see more about Google Hangouts. 

I explored Google+ and its quite easy to use, and like it says on the first video, Google consumes you and you will eventually use Google for EVERYTHING. In a way it's kind of a pity because using other pages is fun than just using one page for everything you do. It makes multitasking present and it can make your brain become dumb. But in another way, it can make homework easier than what it is now. I think we shouldn't let technology completely take over, because then in the future we won't know how to write, which is much more important than typing. We can't let technology consume our brains, we have to keep being intelligent and not dumb robots. But that is just my opinion though. 

Google UCLA Letter

About two weeks ago I sent a letter to UCLA Admission Center and this is what they replied:

Hello,

Each year UCLA admits an extraordinary group of students. We have carefully designed our review process to ensure fairness and expand opportunity. To select students for our freshman class, we perform a holistic review of all applications to UCLA. As admission to UCLA is highly selective, it is crucial that freshman applicants present complete pictures of themselves, their educational histories, and their personal perspectives by thoroughly and carefully completing the application.

How UCLA Selects Its Freshman Class
UCLA selects its freshman class through a holistic approach in which all of your achievements, both academic and non-academic, are considered in the context of the opportunities you have had and how fully you have taken advantage of those opportunities. 
We consider the following academic elements:
* Academic grade point average (GPA), calculated using 10th and 11th grade UC-approved courses only.
* Performance on standardized tests: the ACT Assessment Plus Writing or the SAT Reasoning Test, and two optional SAT Subject Tests in two different subject areas [English, history and social studies, mathematics (Math Level 2 only), science, or language].

* The strength of your senior year program. 
* Quality, quantity, and level of course work taken throughout your entire high school program, especially course work completed beyond the minimum a-g courses required for eligibility to the University of California.
* The strength of the program taken within the context of the high school you attended.
* A progressively challenging academic program, including the number of and performance in college preparatory, honors, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and transferable college courses; mastery of academic subjects as demonstrated by high grades and exam results; and presence of summer session/inter-session courses that enhance academic progress. 
* Passing scores on AP or IB exams.
* Sustained participation in activities that develop academic and intellectual abilities.
* Honors and/or awards in recognition of academic, intellectual, or creative achievement.
We are also very interested in your personal development and background, and we use these elements from the application to increase our understanding of you as a whole person. Consequently, the personal statement forms an integral part of our review process. We consider the following:

* Your likely contribution to the intellectual and cultural vitality of the campus.
* Your personal background and experience.
* Extensive leadership and initiative in school and/or community organizations and activities.
* Exceptional achievements, such as recognition for special talents or extracurricular activities.
* Employment or personal responsibilities.
* Overcoming life challenges relating to personal or family situations, social or economic difficulties, lack of educational opportunities, or challenges particular to the urban or rural environment.
The personal statement portion of the application allows you to provide information that will give us more insight about you during the review process. The information the University seeks in the personal statement should add clarity, richness, and meaning to the information in the other parts of the application. Your personal statement should enable you to make the best possible case for admission. You should respond to both questions and share with us the accomplishments, perspectives, experiences, and talents that are important to you. The personal statement should reflect your perspectives and should complement, not repeat, the information included elsewhere in your application. Please see our information page on the personal statement for more information about writing yours.

Your academic and personal achievements are considered in the context of your educational circumstances, with an emphasis on the opportunities or challenges presented to you and your response to them. Because our admission process is comprehensive as well as holistic, no single attribute or characteristic guarantees the admission of any applicant to UCLA.

Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools review applicants to the College of Letters and Science. Freshman applicants to the College of Letters and Science are reviewed without regard for major. Therefore, no Letters and Science major (including Undeclared) is more or less selective than any other. Representatives from all other schools-the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science; the School of the Arts and Architecture; the School of Nursing; and the School of Theater, Film, and Television-review their respective applicants and admit students by major. The portfolio/audition is the primary consideration in the review of applicants to the School of the Arts and Architecture and the School of Theater, Film, and Television. Applicants to the School of Nursing must submit a supplemental application. 

Google Day 3

Today I'm going to investigate my third option for College in the united states. In this class I will search for facts about UCLA (University of California in Los Angeles). Here are my goals for today:

• Investigate about UCLA
• Email a Professor from UCLA
• Compare it to UM and UCSD

UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California. According to naviance.com This college accepts an average of 3.77 GPA for every year. This college has pretty much the same rules as UCSD, only that this one has .3 lower in GPA.This college is much harder to get accepted to than most of the colleges I've searched for. In my school (CNG), only 4 out of 13 people who have applied have been accepted. This college has a lot of expectations for students academics there. This college, like pretty much every other college in USA has dorm rooms involve, but they cost about $13,950 dollars to pay for a dorm room, which is quite more expensive than the other colleges. This college has financial aid, but you have to have a GPA of 4.0 and play at least two sports, which is kind of hard to keep up. This college also receives students with AP programs involved. You can also get an in-college job, although it takes a whole lot of your time to do homework and to study. According to ucla.edu, This college is 419 acres and has about 174 buildings, which meant you would need to get a car to get to your next class, which is time wasting and money consuming. This college is in Los Angeles, one of the prettiest and most influential cities in the US. Its very fun because you can get out of college and see the town, but I would recommend for students to stay in college, because if you have that of a huge campus you have a lot to do inside. Its close to the beach and has a beautiful campus. 

I emailed the admissions center asking these questions: What are the requirements to enter to UCLA? How can I make my application stand out? What services do you have for international students? Do you have any abroad or internship services? 

I entered naviance.com to compare the universities I chose and here is what appeared: 

I learned a lot of important information about UCLA that I need for my choosing of college. 

Google Day 2

Today I'm planning to investigate about another college in the united states.
In this class I'm going to research the UCSD (University of California in San Diego)
My goals for this class are:

• Finding out about UCSD
• Emailing two professors from UCSD
• Comparung UM (University of Miami) with UCSD

UCSD is a college located in La Jolla, California. This college accepts an average GPA of 3.82, which is much more of a challenge for me and other students. According to naviance.com and www.ucsd,com, this college has accepted an average of 3/4s of the people who have applied, which is very good, but the thing is that not many people from CNG apply to this college because its not that known. This college is not as known as University of Miami, but its as good as UM, or even better. This college also involves dorm rooms, which cost about $11,300 dollars in total. This college also has financial aid, but its much harder to get one than what would be in UM. UCSD counts the AP programs and the bump that I get in my pre APs. This college can get you an in-college job, in case you need the money or meet new people. This college is 4.9 km2 big in size, which is very big. I think that you might get a car so that you can get early to each class .UCSD is located in La Jolla, which is an advantage because you have the beach besides you and its very pretty. You can get out of college, go to the beach and surf which is pretty fun. 

I made a letter to some of the schools to find out some information about the college. I emailed to jgattas@ucsd.edu, kluciani@ucsd.edu and jadegriffin@ucsd.edu. Here is what I wrote:

Good Morning, 

I'm currently an 9th grade student in Colombia, and I find very interesting your program. I wanted to ask you for advice to enter to UCSD. What requirements do I need to enter to this career area? How can I make my application stand out from the others? What services do you have for international students? Do you have internship or abroad services? I'm sorry for the inconvenience. 

Thank you for your time,

Valentina S. 

I used naviance.com to compare the two colleges I've investigated. This is what appeared. 

As you can see here, ucsd has a much more challenging acceptance rate because of the GPA and SAT, but this one has accepted 3 out of 4 students that have applied. Unlike ucsd, UM has lower rates in GPA and SAT than ucsd, but has a much lower acceptance rate (only half of the students) than ucsd. I have to put all my effort on school to enter to this college. 

My goals for next class are:

• Investigate UCLA
• Email a professor from UCLA
• Compare UCLA, UCSD and UM