Hanging with the Grandparents

Hello everyone, it's Mackenzie. Two weeks ago my grandparents came down from Georgia to see me and my marching band play at halftime during a football game and in the Showcase of Bands. What is the Showcase of Bands, you might ask? Well, it is a big performance where each marching band in the county does their halftime show on the field for a big audience. I was so thrilled that they got to see me play my bass drum, twice!



Mason also got a chance to share his activities with Nana and Grandpa. They got to see him play in his first play-off football game, and his team won!



Below is the link to Gulf Coast High School's 2013-2014 Shark Marching Band halftime show at the Showcase of Bands. Check it out, the theme is movies! (:

Model UN

Last week Mackenzie had the opportunity to attend her first Model UN conference which was held Georgia Tech.

What is Model United Nations? It is an extra-curricular activity in which students typically role play delegates to the United Nations and simulate UN committees. This activity takes place at MUN conferences, which are usually organized by a college MUN club. The Shark MUN delegation consisted of 45 students representing three countries in their debates. At Georgia Tech, the students debated nearly 40 topics while representing the United Kingdom, India, and Denmark. Some of the topics of debate included Combatting Bioterrorism, Protecting Civilians in High Conflict Areas, Reducing CO2 Emissions in Aviation, Human Rights Violations Against Indigenous People, and Predictive Technologies for Natural Disasters.



This was Mackenzie's first conference but probably not her last. She plans to attend the University of Miami MUN conference in the spring. While in Atlanta Mackenzie did have some time for sightseeing including a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. Mackenzie's cousin Kayla (who lives in downtown Atlanta) was even able to join her for dinner one night.



Next post: a visit from Nana and Grandpa

Homecoming 2013

Unlike last year we were prepared for this year's homecoming. Mackenzie shopped weeks in advance for her dress. I got my camera out and started snapping pictures early so I wouldn't repeat last year's blurry photography mishap.









A friend of Mackenzie's hosted a pre-dance dinner and then her group of friends headed to the dance together.



We might have been ready for Saturday night's homecoming dance but we are totally unprepared for Mackenzie's upcoming trip to Georgia Tech for a United Nations Model Competition, more details to come.