November 2013 – AUSTIN TENNIS ACADEMY

Blake Davis: Mind Over Matter

ATA CP Alumnus Blake Davis is amid his senior season as a Florida State Seminole. Now in a leadership role on the team, Blake calls upon his lengthy tennis resume, but also his experience of fighting through numerous injuries throughout his career to guide him through whatever challenge is in his, or his teams, way.

With the meat of his senior season looming and a job on the horizon upon its completion, Blake and his Seminoles are dialed in and have high hopes for the coming year.

Below, Blake is featured in a short video courtesy of Seminole Productions, titled Blake Davis: Mind over Matter. Enjoy a closer look into Blake’s Seminole experience.

The Power of ONE

ATA patron Haden Spencer recently visited CP and spoke of her CASA work with a family affected by the recent floods in Austin near Onion Creek, and the Power of One – what one person can do to make a change.

CP students donated collected clothes, shoes, gift cards and money to give to this family and other the Austinites who were stripped of their homes and possessions. Additional donations go to the Austin Disaster Relief Fund, an organization that immobilized immediately to render aid.

Here is a link to The Power of ONE video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIIXoOXj0Ek

Le Chat au Chapeau

from Madame Perim

Throughout a semester long project, French 1 students have been working on the translation and illustration of their own The Cat in the Hat- Le Chat au Chapeau- book. They are about half way through the project and the books look great. This project has turned out to be an effective and fun way to build vocabulary, as well as familiarize the sounds of the French language through repetition. And last but not least, student have developed their drawing skills!

The Spanish Classes Celebrate Day of the Dead with ATA College Prep

From the Students:

Annika:
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday, celebrated on November 1, and 2. It focuses on gatherings of family and friends, celebrating the lives of dead friends and family members who have died. People will usually make altars, sugar skulls, and eat and drink the favorite foods of the deceased.

Synclair:
They do all of this to celebrate their loved ones.

Adison:
Day of the dead is a Mexican holiday to celebrate the gift of life and to remember those who have died.

Ela:
This holiday has a long, long history. The Day of the Dead started with the Aztecs. Honoring their dead was a daily ritual.

Grayson:
El día de los muertos celebra el fallecimiento de nuestra familia y amigos. En honor de ellos nosotros cocinamos sus comidas favoritas. Una comida popular del día de los muertos es pan de muerto. Es muy azucarado y sabroso. Comidas comunes del día de los muertos son atole de calabaza, pan de yema,  dulce de calabaza, tamales, y sopaipillas. El día de los muertos no es un día triste; es un día feliz.

Callie:
I think el día de los muertos is a great way to remember passed family and friends!

Adison:
At ATA College Prep, us Spanish students celebrated with a glorious Mexican meal. Including tacos, sopapillas, guacamole, Mexican cupcakes and more.

Annika:
We spent time, cooking, decorating, and preparing to share this wonderful festival with the citizens of the school. We made food–

Grayson:
We spent two hours before lunch preparing our meal. I helped juice fruit, cut peppers, cut onions, fry sopapillas, and crumble cheese.

Callie:
Cooking for the day of the dead was so fun! The food was so yummy! I loved making the chicken, guacamole and chocolate sauce.

Ela:
The whole class worked together to do these things.

Grayson:
Cooking an authentic meal was actually a lot of fun and cool. I have never seen any the foods we ate be cooked before.

Ela:
Our dessert was by far the best. We made sopapillas. They were very delicious. With that, we had warm chocolate sauce, honey and a coconut sauce. Our food was amazing.

Hannah:
The class decorated the school with festive decorations.

Annika:
We even learned a song about Frida Kahlo and Día de los Muertos!

Hannah:
Before lunch I introduced what Day of the Dead is and how it is celebrated. Then the Spanish 1 class sang a song pertaining to the Day of the Dead.

Callie:
I was really nervous before singing the song.

Annika:
We performed it in front of the students and after we ate our delicious meal.

Ela:
We had lots of magnificent foods.

Synclair:
My experience with Day of the dead was a lot of fun we got to cook and learn about a different country’s culture and how they celebrate the ones who have passed.

Annika:
I learned about how the Mexican culture celebrates life and death. Celebrating Día de los Muertos opened my eyes to a whole other world, culture, and people, without having to even leave Austin.

Adison:
We all had a blast and the day was a success!

Ela:
I think that this will be a fun thing to do next year.