Kat, St. Benet's House
Vth Form Day Student from Newport, RI
Classes: US History (AP), Biology H, Latin 3H, Precalculus, Faith & Church, American Literature
Extra-Curricular Activities: Drama, Basketball, Softball
Three adjectives to describe you: comedic, outgoing, tenacious
Favorite movie/TV show: Sixteen Candles/The Vampire Diaries, Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl
Favorite Abbey Tradition: Headmaster's Run
Favorite Memory at Portsmouth Abbey: Ms. McDermott dancing in the St. Mary's dorm party IIIrd Form year.
Favorite Part of Going to a Boarding School: Benefits of boarding school as a day student - - weekend trips and dorms
Favorite Class and Why: US History (AP) because we are learning about America through different historical perspectives
Favorite Teacher and Why: Mr. Moffie because he finds more than one way to teach every topic in math, so that everyone can grasp the concept.
Favorite Dorm Memory: Manor House trip IVth Form year to see the Lion King in Providence.
Favorite Dining Hall Meal: Personal Pizzas
If you had to give advice to a new student, what would it be, and why: Don't be afraid to be yourself at the Abbey, because you will be surprised how welcoming and accepting other students can be.
Why I chose PAS: The community
PAS is: a second home
Favorite Weekend Activity: Trips to Boston
Favorite thing about living on Aquidneck Island: Frosty Freez and the Beach
Most important thing you've learned at PAS: To never say no because you never know when an opportunity may present itself.
October 16, 2011
Hey Guys!
Happy fall! This October at the Abbey I have been bundling up and stripping down due to some extreme fluctuating New England weather. As of today it seems as though the cold has finally kicked in and coats are emerging around campus. This unfortunatelly solidifies the end of summer for me as well as the beginning of pumpkin season, my excuse for eating excessive amounts of pumpkin pie. This past week I took my PSAT for thankfully the final time. Besides tests and pumpkins, everyone is getting excited for the Halloween dance! My friends and I are planning an Abbey mall trip to gear up on costumes. As a day student, whenever there are buses to Providence or Boston I take full advantage of going to a boarding school. This weekend, apart from the mall, I had my friend Jamie sleepover. We went to Pasta Beach, a local Newport Italian favorite restaurant, where we saw three different parties of Abbey students. This serves evident to the fact that although you may be at a boarding school, you are not restricted to the campus! After dinner we went out with other friends to see Footloose in theaters. If you are into romantic comedies, I strongly recommend it. Upcoming next week I have the regular amount of homework to do, collecting for my Biology class leaf collection, my 16th birthday (Wednesday), play rehearsels, lines to memorize, my permit test, and college visits. A week at the Abbey is never uneventful.
As school goes on, I am adapting more and more to my academic schedule. Although history has been a lot of work and biology is one of my hardest subjects, squeezing in enough devoted time throughout the day has become extremely useful. Homework assignments for both of these courses are typically due over a long period of time, which forces us as students to avoid procrastination. Although procrastinating is usually my specialty, every week I seem to be working more efficiently. Hopefully this will continue throughout the year. With manageable classes, dances, mall trips, friends, and the upcoming reality of the college search, my Fifth Form year is well on its way.
If you have any questions or comments about my journal or about the Abbey, please feel free to email me at katharine_haines@portsmouthabbey.org.
Until next month,
Kat Haines
October 4, 2011
Hey Guys!
School is back in session! My name is Kat Haines and I am a Vth Former here at Portsmouth Abbey School. Missing summer, but anxious to be back, school opened with the traditional picnic on Manor House lawn, where everyone reunited before the first day of classes. Glad to see all my friends again and meet the new students, the year started off with excitement. I am currently a day student in St. Benet's House, and have a pretty awesome day student locker room. This is where all the day students keep their stuff and hang out, a communal dorm room. Day students also stow away necessary items such as popcorn, snacks, and other treats in here! Socially, most of my friends live in St. Benet's so even though I'm a day student you could find me in the common room right up until study hall, 8 pm. I consider myself a boarder (minus the sleeping part).
My courseload for this year is pretty demanding: US History (AP) with Mr. Gittus, Biology Honors with Mr. Sahms, Latin 3 Honors with Ms. Benestad, Faith & Church with Ms. Thomas, American Literature with Father Ambrose, and Precalculus with Mr. Moffie. Although academically adjusting to Vth Form year is challenging, I love my teachers and thankfully my friends have a similar curriculum. Mr. Sahms never runs out of energy, Ms. Benestad never forgets to tell a joke, Ms. Thomas never stops smiling, Father Ambrose never stops caring, Mr. Moffie never gives up on us math-challenged kids, and Mr. Gittus never stops loving history. My favorite class memory so far is when Mr. Sahms jokingly yelled so hard that another girl in my class almost fell out of her chair. The entire class burst into laughter.
After classes in the fall, I am a part of the school play, The Frogs. The Frogs by Aristophanes is about Dionysus', the god of wine, journey to Hell in order to bring back the greatest poet/playwright, either Euripedes or Aeschylus. I play Aeschylus, and rehearsels have been going well so far. Almost done with Act 1, we Abbey Players seem to be cruising right a long. Stage Crew is also diligently working on the 'round-about' set. The show is the weekend of November 17th, so if you're in the area please come and join us!
I will be updating my journal every month and if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email!
Until Next Time,
Kat
