Hey Everyone,

    Check out the new Shred Ready Commercial! The paddling is based on the whitewater in the Deerfield river area. I hope you enjoy this White Water video!
Best,
Tino

Michael Jorgensen
Academic report
9/14/08
Week 2, Ottawa River
Things are finally starting to fall into rhythm with our second week of school.  Stephen was named student of the week for all a round great work and epically good class participation. 
    In math AP calculus started their first calculus unit, which is limits. Algebra II just finished absolute value and inequalities, and is testing on Monday. Algebra I has started imaginary numbers, and number lines. Physics is doing falling objects, vectors, and projectile motion.  Biology just finished chapter 2 on experimentation, research, and characteristics of living things. 
    Human geography is reading A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, and students are hopefully prepared for there upcoming test of the geography of Africa. US history has been flopping back and forth between current events and the growing resentment between the colonists and great Brittan in the 1700s. American government discussed the three different types of democracy; republic, federation and confederation. The American government class is also following the presidential race and acceptance speeches of Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.
    Also on a history note last Sunday the whole school took a field trip to the Canadian parliament in Ottawa city. We took a tour of parliament and learned about the House of Commons and the senate.  We also visited the Canadian Museum of Nature.
    In English, American Literature started the Great Gatsby, with reading out loud in class, and studying vocabulary from the book.  Creative writing is writing about their greatest fear, including an artistic element. World Literature just started researching the background and setting of Never Cry Wolf by Farley Moat and has read the first chapter.
   

My photo assignment for this week was to take 3 pictures depicting one of the six elements of design, pattern, shape, line, color, form, and texture. below are the descriptions and my three pictures.

Fire- (color) we had a fire to get rid of the cardboard and Trop had put in something that made the flames burn cool colors. My aim was to capture these colors with a good compromise between blurred fire, and crisper colors.
- f/6.7 1/15 iso 100 -2 stops 70mm

Spider web- (pattern) All of our mornings are really cold so there is lots of dew. One of the spider webs on the volleyball net had lots of drops and I wanted to show the blurred tress in the background and the sharp upside-down tress in the foreground of the water droplets.
-f/11 1/60 iso 200 70mm
Sunrise-(form) I wanted to capture the sunrise and the fog off the Ottawa river. The fog lets the views see depth so they can feel like they are in the picture.
-f/6.3 1/25  iso 200 -.33 stops 17mm

Our first portfolio assignment had to do with the different elements of photography. These are texture, color, form, shape, line, and pattern. We had to take three pictures, and each one had to show a different element. I really enjoyed this assignment. It was challenging and fun! Enjoy!

This first picture was taken when NRA visited Ottawa and went to some nature museum. It was cloudy, but I am inside here anyways. It is in a stairwell going up between exhibits. It was dim inside the stairwell, only natural lighting. This picture displays, for me, color. Lots of people think color has to be bright and vibrant. Well, I portrayed blue here. Blue can signify so much. I think just showing one color really brings out its meaning. To me, this picture shows lonelyness, calm, solitude. These are all charactoristics of blue. It is kind of a sad picture, although just looking at it, one would not be able to put their finger on why. Answer? I swear it is the color.

The second picture was taken outside “yakistan” (the girl’s cabin) in Canada. It was early morning during photo class, and we were outside taking picture. At first, I was just looking for cool shots with dew, but I saw this plant and really wanted to try and capture its essense. Fuzzy! this picture makes me want to reach out and touch it. The plant actually really is soft and pleasing to touch. This picture is showing texture. Texture is super important because it is was makes the picture relatable to the viewer. Instead of just a picture of a cool plant, it really makes you interested in feeling the plant, it makes you feel like you are there, like you really can reach out and touch the leaves.

This last picture was taken ouside, yakistan as well. It was early morning, as you can tell by the dew. the sunlight had not yet overcome the treeline, so it was shady and cool. This picture represents line. What I really like about this picture is that it really contrasts between the thick black rope and the thin and delicate spiderweb. What is even cooler is the dew droplets on the spider silk. To me it looks like tiny strings of beads strewn across the thick rope. I love the contrasts between the two lines. In my mind, I was thinking that it showed the contrast between man’s awkward creations verses nature’s beautiful and delicate masterpeices.

It is late September here in Ottawa and COLD. Classes are spent huddled in sleeping bags. I cannot wait to go to WV where it will be warm(er)!!! It is supposed to be a high of 33 degrees F tonight!! thank god the girl’s cabin has heat…unfortunately the boys don’t…

This past weekend we went into Ottawa City to do some sight seeing. First on the list was Parliament. It was really cool. We got to learn about the Canadian government and how different it is from ours. The architecture was amazing! There was one room that a certain sculpter had been hired to do. He was told that he was not allowed to sign his name anywhere on the sculptures. He was proud of his work and wanted people to recognize him for it. So, when the room was unveiled, up on the wall was a carving of his face!! 
Next we jetted off to lunch at the mall. Id forgotten what groups of clean people smelled like. It was good to eat a non wilderness tours meal. After lunch we went to the Museum of Nature (or something). It was a big building with four floors of different exhibits. The boys were running around playing with all the kids toys in play areas. I think the funniest moment was when Keagan and Stephen put on a puppet show. 
Finally we drove the hour and a half home to Keenerville. It was really fun to get out and do something completely different from our normal schedule. Ottawa is a cool city for sure.

The level is rising fast on the Ottawa. This sure has been a weird summer for the river. Normally it is around -1,-2 at this time. It is currently 5 3/4!!! I think it is cool that the river fluctuates so much. There is always something new! The students are hitting all kinds of big moves. I have been off the river due to tendonitis is both arms for the past week, but as of today am back on the water (thank god!). I cannot wait until I am fully healed and can paddle hard again…

We are really getting into the swing of things here. School is full intensity and there is a definite routine down. The honey moon is over so to speak. I am still having so much fun though!
-Tracy

I am Michael Jorgensen I love all things out doors related. I first got into wilderness trips at camp Nebagamon. that was the first time I got into a canoe, I recently started white water kayaking (a lot easier then canoeing). I just recently finished a week with the keener program on the Ottawa river. From there I met up with New River Academy were I am now doing a semester of school.

Hey Everyone,

    So every week the New River Academy has a competition on or off the water. The idea behind a mandatory competition is to condition everyone competing to the everyday competition you encounter in life. And the rest of life such as trying to to get into college or applying for work. We did some training sessions in which everyone picked the moves they were going to do in competition and repeated them over and over again. This repetition helps everyone cement the correct motion before having to link each move together in a 45 second ride.
    So after a few days of intense training and instruction from myself and David Spiegel the competition was on our doorstep. We had a pre comp meeting on land to go over a few last things and then geared up and put on the water for out flat water warm up. As soon as both schools were in the eddy, we started off with the less experienced class athletes at the lowest wave on McCoys named Babyface. The New River Acadmey Athletes took the top three spots in the first rodeo. David Gorski who got third was the most consistent in his rides with clean spins and a blunt. Emery Tillman who was one of the only girls competing in a large class of junior men but not only held her own, she got second beating out every single world class junior in the competition. And last but not least for the babyface competition was Zach. Zach took first by staying consistent for most of his ride with spins and then at the last second when he was about to crash and flush off the wave gave into the water and threw a big back panam ending up in a frontsurf to win the whole competition.
    The Corner wave competition was just as exciting with our New River Academy Athletes taking the top three spots once again. Isaac Holden in third with some blunts a clean blunt and a back stab. Jason Craig in second with an unheard of loop on corner wave as well as some high end moves thrown in there for example a pan am and a helix. Now, Keegan Grady pulled down the top spot in the advanced class blowing away the competition with almost every move in the book. Keegan finished his ride with a score to beat most of the top pro men in the sport!
    Over all as a coach I was proud and impressed by the athletes poise and consistency under pressure. Everybody stepped up and performed to the top of their ability level as well as took time out of prepering themselves to help out with the logistics of the competition, asking “what can I go Tino?” numerous times which is something that shined through to make them winners of the competition as well as incredible and supportive team mates and competitors.

Here is the video update of the competition made by Ross of the New River Academy Video Class

Paddle Hard,
Tino Specht

Hey Everyone,

Our very own Keegan Grady has put together some of his footage from this spring to show what big wave kayaking is all about. He also put this together in video class so if you watch closely there are requirements that he had to meet throughout the video. Some of them are:
1: A good Interview
2: Color Enhancement
3: Multiple Angles
4: Text informing the viewer what is going on in the video.

So here it is, Hope everybody is entertained!
Best,
Tino

New River Academy

Academic report

written by Michael Jorgensen, 11th grade

Week 2, Ottawa River

Things are finally starting to fall into rhythm with our second week of school.  Stephen was named student of the week for all a round great work and epically good class participation. 

            In math AP calculus started their first calculus unit, which is limits. Algebra II just finished absolute value and inequalities, and is testing on Monday. Algebra I has started imaginary numbers, and number lines. Physics is doing falling objects, vectors, and projectile motion.  Biology just finished chapter 2 on experimentation, research, and characteristics of living things. 

            Human geography is reading A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, and students are hopefully prepared for there upcoming test of the geography of Africa. US history has been flopping back and forth between current events and the growing resentment between the colonists and great Brittan in the 1700s. American government discussed the three different types of democracy; republic, federation and confederation. The American government class is also following the presidential race and acceptance speeches of Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

            Also, on a history note,  last Sunday the whole school took a field trip to the Canadian parliament in Ottawa city. We took a tour of parliament and learned about the House of Commons and the senate.  We also visited the Canadian Museum of Nature.

            In English, American Literature started the Great Gatsby, with reading out loud in class, and studying vocabulary from the book.  Creative writing is writing about their greatest fear, including an artistic element. World Literature just started researching the background and setting of Never Cry Wolf by Farley Moat and has read the first chapter.

We are adopting the philosophy of “work hard, play hard” and spirits remain high.  We are beginning to find that ever elusive balance between our schooling and out time on the water.   The busy load is manageable and it keeps us focused on our studies, but the ambient sound of the river can always be heard.  I believe that for most of us that is all the motivation that we need.