New Years Resolution
The countdown begins as everyone is ready to jump into not only the new year but into the new decade. It has been a tradition for many of all ages to set personal goals for their upcoming year. Rather it’s changing a diet or picking up a new hobby. Many follow through with it and some tend to drop it part-way through the year.
Setting goals for yourself is a great way to start the beginning of a new year. Not only do you have a mindset goal, but you push yourself to complete that goal.
“ My goal for 2020 is to be more mindful of others and help when needed,” said Kortney Atherton (11).
“A goal I have set for myself is to learn to paint in hopes [that] it will distract my mind from other distractions or help calm me,” said McKenna Peck (10).
Many set goals to help them break a bad habit that has consumed them, such as electronics. By putting your mind into jogging, painting, or even reading it will help take it away from those distractions and throughout the year, you can see how setting this goal helped improve your mental or physical health.
“My goal for last year was to save more money to buy everyone nice Christmas gifts at the end of the year,” Kourtney Atherton (11) said.
“ When Christmas time came around, I wasn’t scrounging for money,” said Atherton. “And I was able to buy everyone nice gifts for the holiday and it made me feel really good that I completed that goal.”
In the beginning of the year when you set a goal, it can be difficult to keep up it. However, if you stick through that goal and reflect back over the year of how that goal helped you improve as an individual.
“My goal for 2019 was to read more. I kept up with it until March, then I slowly forgot,” said Peck. “When I reflected over my year, I was disappointed in myself that I didn’t follow through with that goal, but this year is going to change.”
Many people tend to let go of their goal halfway through the year because everyone gets caught up in different activities. Therefore when you reflect over your year, you tend to get discouraged and disappointed in yourself cause you know you could have completed it.
However there is still hope! 2020 means clear vision. I encourage you to have a clear vision of what you would like to see yourself improve in this upcoming year and hopefully be able to reflect on it at the end.
Diving In At James Buchanan
Ms. Angi Johnson (Faculty) smiles on the pool deck at James Buchanan High School.
On October 29, 2018, Ms. Angie Johnson (Faculty) started as the new swim instructor at James Buchanan High School. Prior to her new job as a swim instructor, Johnson had been an aquatics director at the Chambersburg YMCA for 12 years.
Growing up in Hawaii, Johnson has been around water her whole life. As a child, her mother and father would always take her to pools and water parks. Kings Dominion was Johnson’s first water park. She feels most comfortable in the water or on the pool deck.
“Basically water is my life,” said Johnson.
Wanting to put her love for water to good use, Johnson became the Aquatics Director at the YMCA. Her job entailed teaching swim lessons to all ages, teaching and making sure kids know water safety, and also managing the lifeguards that were on duty to make sure everyone maintains safety. As soon as Johnson started teaching Aquatics, she instantly knew her life came to a full circle.
“Water safety is very important and everyone needs to be aware of how dangerous water can be,” said Johnson. “But it can be so much fun too.”
Johnson has been smoothly transitioning into her new position as the new swim instructor. Students all seem to agree that Ms. Johnson is an excellent teacher.
“She is very helpful as a teacher and always explains what to do, sometimes even through example,” said Makinna Peck (9).
Peck and Nagy really appreciate the fact that Johnson will go the extra mile by getting into the pool with them and taking the time to explain how to do different skills.
“I think Ms. Johnson is doing a good job of keeping us on task and keeping us busy,” said Abigail Nagy (9).
The students especially enjoy how Johnson changes up the class every day. For example, on Mondays and Wednesdays, they do water fitness. Tuesdays and Thursdays, they do water aerobics, and Friday is a free day.
“Aquatics is different this year because there aren’t as many students, sand Samuel Ocasio (11). “So it’s fun because we
get to change it up every day.”
Johnson is excited to give high school students an opportunity to do a different type of physical education that is water-based. She is also looking forward to giving the high school students an opportunity to teach the elementary children as she did in high school.
“I am just really excited to be here, and it’s going to be an amazing experience, I just know it,” said Johnson. “Everybody so far has been so welcoming and friendly.”
