Here is a story I wrote, hope you like it!

One of the resources we can use during our investigation is the Inquiry Cycle Guide! Created by Kath Murdoch:

Due to technical problems with Slideshare, the guide cannot be shown at this moment. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

We just did an activity related to tuning in. There were 3 groups, I was in the blue group, and I had some rights, and some groups didn’t. So we could: Go to the bathroom without permission, and boss the yellow group around. So I was in the blue group, we had to write down 20 words and make sentences out of them. Our task was pretty straight forward. And we could ask the yellows to give us pencils and stuff. It was awesome!

…Until we had to change groups…

I changed to yellow, and so the blues could now boss me around.

I learned that power is sometimes used for negative purposes, and sometimes for positive purposes. Power can be powerful!

Today, I simply just practiced my Financial Literacy Skills on WeSeed, a fun mock trading game with real stats but fake money.

(Due to technical problems, a screenshot won’t be put on. The problem will be solved.)

Dreams of Inocente

I am Inocente,

I wonder if I’ll ever find a home?

I hear the waves crashing,

I want to be free,

I am Inocente

I believe my dreams will come true,

I feel hope,

I worry that people don’t appreciate me for who I am,

I will continue believing myself,

I am Inocente

I understand that dreams can’t always come true,

I say that they can come true,

I dream of a world of achievers,

I try to follow my dreams,

I hope one day they will come true,

I am Inocente

Adrian, Hanley and Pak San

Today, we watched a TV Show called Switched At Birth. It is about a girl called Bay, who found out that the nurse accidentally switched Bay and a girl called Daphne. Daphne was is deaf, because her mom was drunk so she couldn’t drive her daughter to the hospital. Now the 2 mothers met, and they are in an argument about who keeps who.

So we used a comprehension technique called “KNIFE” to visualize the story

K= Know. So what do I know? Well I never ever heard of a situation when 2 babies get switched, but that might only be for careless hospitals :S

N=Note. What do I need to remember? Well, the main points that I have to remember is that the 2 babies are switched, and their moms are mad and arguing. Bay is mad too, and the father is in a lot of pressure.

I=Interesting. The interesting parts of the movie is when Bay gets mad and got nose rings, started drinking coffee and started smoking. Probably because of moodiness, so Bay started doing bad things. She even went to jail!

F=Formulate. What are some questions? 1. Why is Bay so moody? And why would she suddenly start doing bad things?

E=Explain. I have to explain how this movie can help me practice skills for peace. So during this TV show, I practiced empathy, especially on Daphne. I covered my ears, and looked around. Wow. Very quiet. That’s probably how Daphne felt when she realized she was deaf. But now, I think she is probably used to it…

We haven’t finished the show, so I hope we can continue soon.

So here is my Writing Prompt! The instructions are in the title!

Today, we took the DOPE test! The purpose was “to find your behavior type and how it affects your performance, and find ways to be productive.” The questions reminded myself on my personality, and I answered the questions on the dope test with ease. My answers were mostly the peacock, as the meaning of the peacock is “The peacock loves talking, being the centre of attention, has passion/optimistic. Peacocks can be accused of too much, and aren’t good with detail and time control.” Wow! Most of this is not my personality! I don’t really know how the test figures your personality out, and I also don’t get why I am a Peacock. Two actual examples: Hmmm. I sometimes struggle with time management, and I sleep at 11. 2. I love being the centre of attention-while I am playing the piano in class.

A Peacock:

Sources:

www.achieve-goal-setting-success.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Please take a look at this video. You will need headphones/earphones for this video. And remember to close your eyes. Don’t worry, there is nothing to watch! Just hearing!

The video is about 3D Holographic sounds. When you close your eyes, it really feels like you’re in a barber shop, it is really crazy! It surprises me about how advanced our technology really is these days! It really feels like a barbershop, doesn’t it. I think that this video is really professional, and I also think the person who made it must be really professional at sound and your ear!

Questions for G6 Blogs from Mr. Steiner

 Instructions:

Students are to write in their own words answers to the following questions related to our central idea for team games – “Success in games depends on skills, rules, strategies and sportsmanship.” Students need to post these answers on their blog. Students are encouraged to comment on each other’s answers in a positive/constructive manner.

What does sportsmanship mean to you/look like to you? Give some examples.

Sportsmanship looks like people having fun while being nice to each other when doing sports. For example, when you’re playing team handball, and the other team loses

Why is it important to follow the rules of a game?

It is important to follow the rules of games because if you’re not following the rules of the game, it won’t be fair to the other team, and you’re not showing sportsmanship.

Why are good team strategies important to success in team games? Give examples of strategies for team handball?  How would you create and/or deny space in team handball?

What is a strategy you/your team used in “Capture the Flag” to be more successful?

Team strategies are important because if you don’t have strategies, there is a very big chance your team might lose.

You create space by standing in an open area and shouting “PASS TO ME!”          You deny space by blocking the person with the ball.

 And for capture the flag, the strategy we used is distractions. We distracted other people by doing some obnoxious actions (like singing Thomas the Tank Engine) and we got all the “flags”!

Describe why having strong skills helps your team be more successful? Give some examples of skills with a specific team sport in mind.

Having strong skills are important because if you don’t have strong skills, your team will be weak and have more chance of losing.

In handball it is important to be good at the following skills: You have to be good at denying and creating space, and you have to be good at fake shots to win the other team.

Why does a team that is very physically fit have an advantage over a team that is not fit?

The team that is physically fit has an advantage(s) because if the team is weak and tired, they won’t run that fast, so that makes the fit team have a better possibility of winning!

So, as you know, the World Education Games are coming up. If you don’t know what the world education games are, than here are the details: The World Education Games is an online event that everyone can register for, and it’s FREE! So, after you register, there are 3 games you can choose from. World Science Day, World Maths Day and World Literacy Day. The games are really awesome, and if you get the top few on the scoreboard, the World Education Games people will come to your school and give a medal to you! Last year, I won a medal because I was 2nd in Hong Kong for World Spelling Day (Now World Literacy Day), and the medal was pretty nice!

Today, I practiced (The real games are in March) World Science day, and it was a lot of fun! I really think you should join in! Even adults can join! Meanwhile, check out some screenshots!

Look how many countries there are!

Yesssss! 17 answers correct! Beat that dude!

By Pak San Trooper and Hanley Monster

Let’s talk about technology! So here is the definition of technology for future use: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, esp. in industry: “computer technology”; “recycling technologies”.

A few days ago, we did another Round Robin Reading with the class. It was fun. The story was named The Flying Machine, and it was about a man who built a machine that enabled him to fly. It was an extraordinary sight back then (the year was 440bc), and the story took place in The Great Wall of China. Anyway, the emperor asked the flier to get down, and asked him some questions. The inventor got excecuted because the emperor did not want anybody to find out how to fly, fearing enemy “fliers” would drop rocks and destroy the great wall, which will harm China.

Remember how the title had nothing to do with what the first paragraph was talking about? Well, this paragraph is about the title! I don’t think it’s fair that the inventor got killed, just because he invented a dangerous weapon, doesn’t mean that he would tell anyone else? I mean, why? So nowadays, we talk about computers and technology more than we talk about airplanes. Guess what, I can make a connection between these 2 topics! As you see, computers can be harmful to you! What happens if you go on Facebook and learn new swear words? That can have a big impact on your life, but that shouldn’t mean that teachers should ban computers from us! You know how many new things are learned each day just by surfing the web? I learned lots of stuff about natural disasters just by going online and researching! Same with the flying machine! If the emperor didn’t execute the man, airplanes would have existed a lot longer! And trading around the world would have been a lot easier!

So overall, my concluding statement is: It is not fair that people get harmed because of something they didn’t do! And technology is NOT harmful, it is the way you USE it that might be harmful.

As the day passes, you have probably heard someone talk about some Brazilian fire or something, right? Well, it is true. There was a fire in Brazil. The fire took place in Santa Maria, close to the border or Argentina and Uruguay. The fire took place in a nightclub, named “Kiss”. This is basically what happened:

It was 2:15am in Santa Maria, Brazil, The day was Janurary 27th. In the Kiss Nightclub, the band started playing their songs. But after around 5 songs, a band member looked up at the ceiling and saw the roof burning. One of the guards gave the singer a fire extinguisher, but it didn’t work, causing the fire to spread across the whole nightclub. Nightclubbers scrambled to the only exit, the main exit, but the security guards were blocking it. They said that the nightclubbers had to pay the bill before they could leave, thinking that a fight had started in the nightclub and people were trying to sneak out without paying. But when the security guards saw the blaze, they immediately let the nightclubbers out. But it was too late. The thick dark smoke was way too strong to cope with, so a lot of people died breathing in thick smoke. After the blaze was put out, officials reported that 232 people were dead, with more than 50 people found in the bathrooms. Officials believe that there were so many people in the bathroom because they thought it was an exit, and the toilet just locked them in a death trap. Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff flew back from Chile to comfort the relatives of the 233 people who died (One died later in the hospital). The cause of the fire is believed to be the Sputnik, a device made to shoot flares out in a band performance. The flares shot to the ceiling, and that was the cause to the fire. Brazil is announcing a 30-day mourning  period to remember the people who died in the really sad accident.

I think this accident is really… I don’t know how to explain it, but it was really sad, with 233 deaths. That is a lot of deaths for just one fire.  I really think the band should test out all the equipment before they actually start letting people in, because if there really is a fire, it would only kill (at the most) 5 people. But then the band didn’t take the time to examine the equipment, which caused 233 deaths. I don’t think the band should be charged or put to jail, because it wasn’t really their fault that so many people died. They just didn’t check the equipment. So what? Why do they have to be fined or put in jail? It just doesn’t make sense…

So, we have just started tuning in into our newest unit, How We Organize Ourselves. The central idea is: Physical and virtual public spaces provide people with opportunities to make connections and establish a sense of community. We haven’t really done anything yet for the unit, but I have made a piece of digital artwork for my interpretation on the central idea. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

We just finished reading the story “3 Questions”

I have 3 activities to choose from, and I’m choosing #2:

• Choose one of the following characters: the king, the hermit, or the wounded man. Write a diary entry explaining the day’s events from the perspective of that character. Explain the lessons learned and/or taught by the character and include detail from the story.

Wounded Man: 1885/3/20

Today was a really weird. I actually apologized to my enemy, the king! So, first, I was plotting to kill my enemy, but I bumped into one of his bodyguards, and he wounded me really badly. I knew that the king was at the hermit’s house today, so I went there. When I reached the hermit’s house, everything turned black. I guess I fainted. When I woke up, the king was putting bandages on my wound. Wow! The king saved my life! Therefore, I forgave my enemy, and I became his slave. I can’t believe my enemy would actually save my life!

And that’s it!

We’re about to read a story called “The Three Questions” by Leo Tolstoy, but before we start reading, we have to do 3 activities. The first one is to write 3 questions about a game.

I am choosing Minecraft as my game.

1. Who invented Minecraft?

2. What was the meaning of Minecraft?

3.Why is everything in minecraft cubes?

The second activity is to guess the meaning of 4 vocab words

1.diverse: I think it means parallel, because of the words “diverse universe”

2.hermit: A person living in solitude as a religious discipline.

3.spade: I think spade is sort of a shovel, but sharper.

4.assaulted: I think it means insulted in a really strong way.

UPDATE: JANUARY 21,2013:

Meanings:

1.Diverse: Showing a great deal of variety; very different.

2.A person living in solitude as a religious discipline.

3.A tool with a sharp-edged, typically rectangular, metal blade and a long handle, used for digging or cutting earth, sand, turf, etc.

4.To make a physical attack on

Activity 3: Where Russia is:

So, I have currently been reading news about CES 2013. CES, or Comsumer’s Electronics Show, is an exhibition held in various countries every year. There are lots of new and awesome gadgets getting shown at CES 2013, like the HAPIFork, a fork that vibrates when you eat too fast, the Pebble, a watch that connects to your iOS or Android device and can show you your emails and the daily news every morning. Really interesting, eh? But the gadget I am going to talk about in a few seconds is the weirdest ever. It’s called the iPotty.

So what might that be, you ask? Well, it’s basically a normal plastic potty for babies to do their business in, except with an iPad stand at the top of the potty. Its makers say that it’s for the babies to “get entertained” during potty time, and so the babies will get potty trained sooner, because it’s real fun!

I think this is just the weirdest gadget ever invented, because I don’t think babies would really like playing with electronics during potty time. Plus, I don’t think parents would like it too, because the iPad is way too “electronicky” to be played with at potty time, and the child will probably just turn into tech addicts, which is not good. I wouldn’t buy this gadget for my child either, so I’m not sure if this product will be successfull.

So for this week’s Bucket o’ Learnin’, I practiced my typing skills on Keyhero, an awesome typing test website. From the last time I tried the test, which was a month ago, I got fifty WPM. Now, my score has increased to sixty-five WPM. Isn’t that amazing? I love Keyhero, because it’s really fun to just type out quotes written by other people. Once, I even got a quote written by Taylor Swift! Actually, typing games bore me. They seem really boring. But in Keyhero, you’re focused on the typing, not the playing. That’s why I think Keyhero is more efficient and more fun.

Bye for now!

So, today’s math investigation’s question is really long! Check it out:

Exploring Wild and Wonderful Number Patterns Created by Yourself !!

You’ve probably come across number patterns before; ones like :-

1) 2  4  6  8  10  12 . . .

2) 512  256  128  64  32 . . .

3) 220  210  200  190  180  170 . . .

4) 11  14  17  20  23  26 . . .

Work out the rules that produced each of the patterns.

MY ANSWER:

1)The numbers are going up by twos

2)The numbers are halving while going down.

3)The numbers are counting back by tens.

4)The numbers are counting by 3s

What could be the reason for the series of dots appearing after each one?

MY ANSWER: It is because the patterns aren’t over. The numbers are formed based on the rules shown above.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Well, let’s form some patterns of our own. But this time we will use two maths operations [for the maths person 'operations' mean adding, multiplying, dividing, subtracting etc.] to produce each new number in the pattern. You can probably multiply, add, subtract and divide. Because dividing sometimes can leave bits left over, let’s ignore that one for the time being.

Adding put together with subtracting results in something that we could have got just by adding or subtracting. Let me show you:-

Suppose you decided that you would add 5 and subtract 2 each time . . . . then you might as well just be adding 3 each time.

OR suppose you decided to add 6 and subtract 11 each time . . . . then you might as well just be taking away 5 each time.

I therefore suggest that we make a rule about the two operations that we will use for this exploration.

RULE 1 You will use multiplication with either adding or subtraction. BUT you can have the multiplication last if you like.

So let’s get started, you will need to do 5 things for this work:

a) You need to choose a STARTING NUMBER (In my example suppose it’s 7)
b) You need to decide which OPERATION to do first [addition, subtraction or multiplication] (In my example suppose it’s multiplication )
c) You need to decide what NUMBER to use with the operation you chose in b (In my example suppose it’s 3 )
d) You need to decide on your next OPERATION (I chose to use multiplication before so it’s got to be addition or subtraction, suppose it’s subtraction)
e) You need to decide what NUMBER to use with the operation you chose in d. (In my example suppose it’s 3)

Let’s run through this a bit.

Starting number 7 [ x 3−3 ] gives 18

Now we use 18….. [ x 3−3 ] gives 51

Now we use 51….. [ x 3−3 ] gives 150

I think it would be better to write it down without the brackets bit, although we do have to do both operations before we write the result down and it would be helpful to write it all out in columns going down:-

I now write down ALL THE THINGS THAT I NOTICE ABOUT THIS PATTERN.

Things like:-

The answers go odd, even, odd, even . . . . .

The units figures go 7  8  1  0 ,  7  8  1  0 , . . . etc.

You might be able to see lots more, I’ve just written down a few quick ones.

When I’ve had a good long, hard look and talked with others, perhaps, I do the next stage; which is:-

Take a look at a, b, c, d, e, that I used and make a SMALL CHANGE

SUPPOSE I decide to change e, to subtracting 4 instead of 3 BUT everything else stays the same so:-

Starting Number 7 [ x 3−4 ] gives ……

Like before I write down all the things that I notice :-

LIKE :-

The answers all end in a 7

The tens figures go 4  3  0  1,  4  3  0  1 . . .

AND maybe many more things.

Then I COMPARE what I noticed this time with last time, similar things and rather different things.

SO I might write something like:-

In the first pattern the units went in a pattern of 4 repeating different figures, in the second pattern it’s the tens that do that. Both patterns end with a 7 every 4th one. I also notice that in the units of the first you could say that the 8−1gives 7!

WELL after that L O N G introduction it’s time for you to have a go!

1) Choose you five things to start off with a, b, c, d, e.
2) Produce at least 8 answers underneath each other in good columns [it helps to see tens patterns etc.].
3) Write about the things you notice.
4) Make one small change in the 5 starting things a, b, c, d, e.
5) Do 2) and 3) again.
6) Compare what’s happened this time with the first time.

My Answer:

(Check the above if you are confused with the “Do” part)

1)Choose your five things to start off with a, b, c, d, e.

A=My starting number is going to be… 9!

B=My operation is -

C=My number for this operation is 5

D= My other operation is x

E= My number for the other operation is 6

So basically, my equations will be (-5×6)

2)Produce at least 8 answers underneath each other in good columns [it helps to see tens patterns etc.].

3) What I notice:

1.The unit digit is always a 4 (except the 1st one).

2. It is always an even number (except the 1st one).

4)

A=9

B=Operation is x

C=My number for the operation is 5

D=My other operation is -

E=My number for my other operation is 6

5)

What I noticed:

1. The unit digit is always 9

2. The tens digits always repeat “3,8″

3. The hundreds digit is repeating “1964″

4. All the numbers are odd numbers.

6)

1. The unit digit is the same on both diagrams.

2. The numbers on the first one are all even (except the first), and the numbers in the second one are all odd!

Before Discussion:

Well, we just finished reading “The Lottery”, which is a short story from a newspaper. You might remember The Lottery from the last post. The Lottery was the most confusing story I’ve ever read, probably because the story took place in 1948. Now, lotteries take place on TV shows, and is less confusing. Back then, they took a paper out of a box or something like that. The story was pretty normal at but real boring at first, but the story became really confusing at the last bit.

In the end, a family won (I think).But then the guy who won was forced to put the piece of paper back or something. Then, they have to have the draw again, and someone else won. Facts are buzzing around in my head, and I just can’t put the puzzle pieces together!

After Discussion:

Mr. Deragon explained about how this was actually a fiction story (about how the people would blame one person for something they didn’t do.) For example, Hitler blamed the Jews for doing nothing! Crazy. But, I still don’t really understand the story. Maybe it’s written for people older than me.

So here is the challenge: (Click the picture for a bigger version)

And here’s my work.

Nice eh? Get ready for the 4th WP, it’s coming soon!

Today, we had a round robin readaloud for our class. The story is called “The Lottery”, and it’s about a lottery in a rural village. The rural village has a population about 300, so the lottery would only take around 2 hours. Remember, this story was written in 1945, so there was no TV. The villagers had to go to the lottery themselves.

To be continued (Because this post is obviously not finished.)

On Christmas Eve, I watched a movie called Life of Pi. It is a movie filled with very cool animation, and really realistic acting. Here is the trailer: 

Click here to view the embedded video.

WARNING: THIS MOVIE IS RATED PG! DO NOT WATCH UNLESS YOU ARE 8 OR OLDER! IT IS PRETTY SCARY!

The story is about Piscine Patel (Read as Pees-een Patel), also known as Pi Patel. Pi lives in India,  one of the most beautiful places on earth. The family runs a zoo, and it includes a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra and a Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. When Pi was 16, his father decided to move to Canada and sell the animals. The family boards a Japanese boat named the TsimTsum and heads off to Canada! On the fourth night, the boat encounters a ferocious storm, and Pi wakes up to hear a crack of something. “Storm!” He says to his brother Ravi. “Lets go watch!” But Ravi just continued sleeping, and so Pi went out to the deck himself to watch. Suddenly, red lights started to flash, and an alarm started to ring. Pi looked at the boat. It was sinking! So Pi went looking for his family, but couldn’t. The hallways were filled with water and the door was really hard to open because of the water pressure. Pi swam back up to the surface of the boat, and got loaded onto a lifeboat. And before Pi knew it, the rope snapped, and the boat fell into the water. Pi quickly jumped off to save his family, but it was too late. The boat had already sunk to the bottom. Pi’s family was dead. The zebra was injured and lying of the deck of the lifeboat with Pi, and Pi just decided to go to sleep.

The next morning, Pi woke up to a cloudy day. No rain, but it was fine weather. He woke up to the zebra’s neighing, and suddenly, the spotted hyena jumped out of the tarp where all the food was and killed the zebra. The orangutan was also found, and the hyena wounded it in a fight.  Suddenly, Richard Parker popped out of the tarp and killed the hyena, and roared at Pi. Pi was so scared that he grabbed onto the end of the ship and stayed there since. After Richard Parker’s appearance, Pi started making a flotation device made from life jackets and life-saver rings. He put some food (installed on the lifeboat) and some water onto the flotation device and stayed on the flotation device, staying away from Richard Parker. One night, an encounter with a whale jumping out of the ocean wobbled the flotation device so hard that all the food and water on the flotation device and lifeboat were all tossed to sea, and very soon, Pi and Richard Parker were starving to death.

After a few months at sea, Pi had collected enough rainwater for Richard Parker and himself to drink, but still no food. So he tried fishing. With some luck, he managed to feed Richard Parker and himself. Pi then realized that he wouldn’t be able to survive on the flotation device any longer, so he trained Richard Parker to be a good tiger, and it obeyed every single command of Pi. Very soon, Pi was living on the lifeboat again, and Richard Parker and Pi were running out of energy. One morning, Pi found his boat docked onto an island with lots of edible plants, so Pi got off the boat, anchored it and started eating and drinking the water like mad. But at night, Pi noticed that there were dead fish floating around in the water, and found a human tooth in one of the plants. Pi suddenly realized that the plants were carnivorous and the water was acidic, forcing Pi and Richard Parker to leave the island. After another few months of floating, Richard Parker and Pi finally reached the Gulf of Mexico. Richard Parker ran over to a forest and stopped. Pi thought that Richard Parker would come back and end the friendship there, but Richard Parker just disappeared into the forest, without even a little goodbye!

Very soon, a bunch of people came and rescued Pi and brought him to a hospital. When he was there, 2 Japanese insurance agents for the freight carrier came to ask him what actually caused him to survive. Pi told them the story, but no one believed them. So Pi told them another story, and that my friends, is the movie!

I will be posting weird facts over these next few weeks. Here is 1.

#1 You are more likely to die from obesity, die from a lightning strike,  die from texting when driving, die from hippo attacks, die from airplanes, die from volcanoes, die when shopping on a Black Friday, die from falling out of bed, die from bathtubs, die from falling coconuts, die from deer attacks, die from falling icicles, die from eating Hot Dogs, die from tornadoes, die from jellyfish, die from dogs, die from ants, die from high school American Football, die from vending machines, die from rollercoasters than experience a shark attack.

So, that is the photo prompt for this week. Now here I go!

My burger is called the Healthy DietBurger!  This revolutionary food item is our healthiest yet! Let us show you how we make it!

So, we start off with a butter-coated bun, coated with the fattest butter on earth. Next, we add a layer of our special sauce, HealthySauce, filled with tons of sugar and a sprinkle of salt! After that, we add a slice of deep fried 1 oz lamb rack (just the meat), and we add candy sprinkles, just for the perfect balance of sweet and bitter. We add an ounce of corn oil onto the lamb, and we put in a few slices of melted cheese, all seared with fire. Then, we add some chocolate and peanut butter paste into the burger, add a few Skittles, a few M&Ms, and, we add in another piece of deep fried 1 oz lamb rack (just the meat). We add another few candy sprinkles, add in some seared gummies coated with XtraFATCHEESE™, and we add another 3 deep fried 1 oz lamb racks (just the meat) and we add in some deep fried lettuce, just to keep you as healthy as ever!

Buy it from McDonalds for $19.99 now!  I’m Lovin’ It!

Yesterday, I went on a typing test website called keyhero, like I always do, and I typed out a story, or more like a poem, written by Kassandra Gagnon. I typed out the whole poem, in around a minute, and I only made 5 mistakes, and those were carless mistakes. I reached a record RPM, with an RPM of 55.98, which is pretty fast for a middle school kid. Check out the photo!

This is our first week doing photo prompts-we are just trying this out. I like the activity quite a lot though!

The task:

So, here is my advertisment:

Click here to view the embedded video.

And the propaganda type I used was probably Half-truth. (Click on the link for more info)

And that’s my Photo Prompt of the week! Cheers!

Today, Ms DC came in to our classroom to help us tune into our new unit, How The World Works. In this post, I won’t write too much, because Pak San, Jason and I made a movie review to explain everything that happened. Here is the movie:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, here we go, just another one of those days with Deragon Monster. Check out this picture I made using photoshop yesterday:

Do you like it? It’s so funny! Anyway, I’m not here to talk about Deragon Monster, I’m here to talk about what makes a narrative text a fantasy story. So, I haven’t researched anything yet-here’s my prior knowledge: Fantasy stories are fake 2. They usually have magic characters like faries.

Reasearching… Researching…

Aha! Got it! I found the elements of fantasy stories! 1. You have to have fantasy creatures (faires, dragons etc.) 2. There has to be some type of magic in the story. 3. There has to be love in the story, but not too much smooching and stuff. 4. There at least have to one great battle.

So, here are the elements of fantasy stories! What cool research!

Credits: http://suite101.com/article/the-fantasy-novel-a82292

Hello, people! What a long time without a new post! A whole 10 days! Woah! (Sarcasm)

So anyway, today I am here to tell you about my learning journey for the last two days. I have understood a lot more than when I started the unit a few weeks ago, especially on moviemaking, because that’s my topic for my art poster. I have researched on websites and really good resources to find the elements, principles and the success of moviemaking. So, the project is almost due, as I am finished the poster already.

So, here is a list of the elements of art: 1. You have to have perfect lighting when shooting a movie, if not, if you are sitting right in front of the sun, then your face would be really dark. Not nice. 2. The time should be less than 2 hrs, so the audience won’t get bored. 3. The time span of the movie can take up to 3 decades, or maybe just a years. It depends what type of movie you’re making. 4. The sound should be constant. Not suddenly out of sound, and 3 minutes later, sound comes back up. Sound should be “blaring” every second (unless you’re doing a silent movie). See, if you go on good websites and find good resources, the website would just give you the answers to your question (my question was: What are the elements of moviemaking?). I also got the principles and the success of moviemaking, as I understood more about how moviemaking is art.

I really like moviemaking, so I will consider these elements and principles when making movies.

“Ughhhhhhhhh…” Stanley Yelnats and his friend, Zero, are surviving on this mushy liquid called Sploosh. They did not have water, nor food, just the Sploosh. The boys are fighting for survival, will they make it? Louis Sachar’s Holes is a fiction book filled with a mystery hidden inside it. Winning a Newbery Medal, it is one of the best books I’ve read.

Stanley Yelnats, is arrested because he seemed to have stolen a shoe. The shoe was on auction for 5000 US dollars. But the truth is, the shoe just fell into his hands, for no reason! So then he was brought into court, and had two choices, going to a labor camp, or going to jail. He chose going to a labor camp. There, he had to dig a five foot deep hole every day. Stanley’s companion, Zero, escaped from camp. Stanley went on a journey to find him, with very little water. Will he survive? Will he find Zero? Read the book to find out!

There are quite a lot of conflicts in the book, but I’m just going to talk about the most important one. It is when Stanley’s lawyer comes with a signed deal from the court allowing his release. But the warden does not allow that. He argues with the lawyer that he does not have the permission from the Attorney general. But then the general just comes and allows him to leave, and the Warden and the lawyer get into a big argument. The argument is really severe, as the two people shake their fists at each other and the Warden almost wanted to kill that lawyer. But then the Attorney General comes back with Stanley’s documents, so they left. I think that the Warden just really wants that “treasure chest” Stanley had, wanting the gold inside it. If the two wanted to resolve the conflict, they could have called the cops to investigate the situation. Or, they could have opened the chest to see what was inside. But it would be Stanley’s anyway.

I think this book is one of the best books ever written, because there is a really big mystery in the book that relates to little things that happened around 200 years ago. Stanley is a “willing to help” type friend, as he tries to help Zero survive the wilderness. This book wouldn’t be recommended for children aged 10 or younger, because there are some things that little kids won’t understand. For example why a negro cannot kiss a white person in the olden days.I would rate this book a 9 out of 10, because even though it kind of takes time to understand this book, it’s still really amazing. If you liked the book, you would really want to read Small Steps and Stanley Yelnats’s Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake, which are really good sequels to this book. You’re awesome, Louis Sachar!

Here is a list of videos that I have made in the first month of school.

1: Video Reflection w/ Nicole R

Click here to view the embedded video.

2. Adrien, Adrian and Me Review

Click here to view the embedded video.

3. Integer Learning

Click here to view the embedded video.

4. A Pak San a Day, keeps a scientist away!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

First post in 6B!!!!!! Mr. Deragon has been really funny since. Anyway, I am not writing about Mr. Deragon. I’m writing about a reflection for a video we watched this morning.

This morning, we watched a video about boarding school in the olden days. The teachers were like stiff dudes. Except they weren’t dudes. The teachers didn’t wear jeans or cool sunglasses. They wore fancy suits and some university graduation hat to prove that they were “real” teachers. Except they ain’t no real teachers. They’re just plain old brats who don’t understand a kid’s humor. So in the video, the teachers were forcing the students to work. Here’s a simile (not a smile ) to explain the situation shortly: The students were working as hard as slaves in gold mines. In another scene, the teacher was forcing the students to write and recite a poem. So when the children were writing, another kid was writing another poem,  except this one was really creative with lots of rhyming-and the teacher called it junk. The teacher “forced” other kids to laugh at him, because he used a really mean tone of voice to read his poem out. So the children laughed and laughed at the kid’s poem. I kinda’ feel sorry for that dude whosepoem was really awesome. The poem that the teacher taught was really “philosophic”  and really boring.

But that was completely 1935. Come on, this is 2012! Boarding schools are now fun, with joy and excitement! And free writing! Now, the only difference from school and boarding school is that you live in boarding school, but you don’t live in school. School is also really fun these days, with all the teachers tellin’ jokes and stuff, but that was totally 2012. Come on, this is uh…never mind.

Here is the video: 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music by Pink Floyd 

The female singers that I favorite the most list: (4:=I’m okay with) (1: I really like)

4:Jennifer Lopez

3:Avril Lavinge

2:Katy Perry

1:Ke$ha

Here is the list of the most-favorited-by-me male singers/bands list

5:LMFAO

4:Eminem

3: Bruno Mars

2: Taio Cruz

1: Maroon 5

Here is a video made by me showing a lot of stuff that happened over the year. It’s just like a photo album, except it’s Digital!

Click here to view the embedded video.

A quick year in the 5D Generator has passed, and I really feel, like it was a dream, a memory. I still can’t really believe this is true!

Here’s a timeline of the year in the 5D Dynamos:

August 2011: 

22nd- First day we met Ms Cahusac! Open House Day!

23rd-First day of school! First CCC!

31st- We got our Amethyst color MacBook Pros! What a fun night!

September 2011:

1st-First day use of MacBooks in the 5D Generator! Best IT day of Grade 5!

16th- Curriculum Night (I didn’t know what Ms Cahusac was telling the parents!)

30th- First Grade 5&6 Assembly! And the first Dress Down Day (or DDD for short) of the year!

October 2011:

1st-Hong Kong’s National Day!

7th- Chun Yeung Festival, No School. (Sad day for the Dynamos!)

11th-First Early Dismissal Day!

14th-Mr Dave practice portfolio sharing at the end of the day (It was outrageously funny) Also, portfolios went home on that day.

28th- Halloween DDD, Saw some really spooky costumes in the Generator, especially Dynamo 1

31th- Real Halloween, Some Dynamos, like Dynamo 16, went Trick-or-Treating!

November 2011

4th-The scariest event of all… 3-Way Learning Reviews… (Dramatic Music)

6th- The best day ever!! The FFF, or the Family Fun Fair, was rockin’ the house @ CDNIS!

8th- Second Early Dismissal of the year :S day

11th- Remembrance Day Assembly (Wasn’t too fun for the energetic Dynamos…)

18th-2nd Assembly of the year!

20th-First Field Trip of Grade 5, The Cemetery Trip!

25th- DDD!

December 2011

2nd- CDNIS’s Upper School Musical Production, Grease! (I saw a few Dynamos there, including Dynamo 15)

12th- DiG Day! We went to Sandy Bay Beach and dug up some old clay artifacts

16th- DDD! and Assembly! Also, it’s the last day of school before Winter!

25th-CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!! :D:D:D:D 

January 2012

1st-Happy New Year!

5th-First Day back at school from the holidays. Nice to see each other again, especially my friend, Dynamo 19.

5th- LMIH! (Let’s Make it Happen!)

9th-Meatless Monday (A lunch without meat ;( )

16th-Early Dismissal

17th- Chinese New Year Fair (Bought some goodies. My friend, Dynamo 19 gave something to me!)

19th-Chinese New Year Concert (Great Show!)

20th-Early Dismissal! And MacBooks go home for Lunar New Year Holiday!

February 2012

3rd-Back to School! So happy to meet Ms Cahusac again! Also, we found out that Ms Cahusac is leaving next year ;(

9th-Spring into Reading Assembly (this assembly is about a programme where we read books and earn money to donate to charities)

13th-EDD (Early Dissmissal Day)

20th-Started our TRASH ART, our art masterpieces made of trash

Here is Dynamo 18′s and 5′s

Cool, eh?

March 2012

2nd- Dynamo 20 is off to Singapore for a swimming competition!

6th- World Spelling Day!

7th-World Maths Day!

8th-World Science Day!

9th-PDD for teachers, holiday for students

12th-John Wood, founder of Room To Read, came over to talk to us, and I was the “MC”!

16th-First Minecraft Club Meeting!

19th-EDD

20th-Alan Dick Memorial Walk. (Mr Dick was my principal for a few years, then he died in 2009, a horrible end to his life)

23th-DDD

29th-Last day of school until the Easter Holidays!

April 2012

10th-Back to School!

13th-Grade 5/6 Sports Day! (Thanks to Mr Steiner, it was the best sports day EVER!)

18th-19th-SLLR (Student Led Learning Reviews)

27th-May 1st- CHINA TRIP!!! (Only 20 Gr5 students went to Guiyang, China to experience what it’s like in poor rural areas in China)

7th-11th-Lower School Festival of the Arts!

21st-23rd-Grade 5 Camp. (BEST OUTDOOR CAMPING EVER!!!!!)

June 2012

8th-Porfolios go home+Electronic Reports (Everyone was happy with their grades)

12th-BEACH PARTYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (What a fun day at Deep Water Bay Beach!)

12th-We gave Ms Cahusac and Mr Dave their end-of-year gifts. Ms Cahusac-The New iPad. Mr Dave-Photo Frame

13th-GRADE 5 PARTY!!!!!!& Last day of school. We had a party, and said our final goodbyes, final farewells to some, and left the school.

Next year, as soon as I walk into the school, I’m a Senior Lower Schooler. Grade 6′er. I’M EXCITED!

I made a dream hotel on a computer game on minecraft not that long ago, and now I’m here to talk about it. (The process). Minecraft is a computer game all about building blocks and 3D blocks. Even though the quality isn’t that good, I think it is a good game because you can build stuff really easily. Just put your blocks down! I made this house on Minecraft, because I think this is a good software for building things. That’s why I used minecraft. To learn more about minecraft, go to this website: www.minecraft.com

First, we made a paper floor plan, then we converted it into minecraft. Then, we had to make a video of a tour of the house, and we also had to scan the floor plan to your computer! Enjoy down there:

The floor plan:

A tour of my hotel:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hello! My class has just started learning about the human body on Monday! We ooooooh’ed and aaaaaaaahhhhh’d as we learned about the many systems, like the Reproductive System (Which we haven’t really learned) and the Digestive System. Actually, the unit is just about puberty and some other gross disgusting changes in the body. We are just learning about these systems to start us off, warm us up. The central idea is: Throughout life our bodies go through changes that are caused by many factors.

There are many disgusting and unique facts we learned during the first week of this unit, like people produce more earwax when they’re afraid. Or maybe people can still live  with a working kidney. You are actually taller than you are in the morning than in the night! THESE FACTS ARE SO INTERESTING!!!

There are interesting things that I want to investigate about in this unit, which is why you have puberty and start to get some really ugly stuff on your body. Can’t it just be the same as when you were a kid? It’s the real thing I want to know. There are really interesting things that happen in puberty, and I wanna’ learn about everything in that topic. Haha!

We have been doing a lot of things in this unit of inquiry. We have been watching a movie about the human body, and also investigating and exploring the human body. This unit has been the most interesting unit for now, because there are many things that I can learn about. I can’t wait to learn more!

Operation Sharp is my drawing of some shapes in still life trying to capture a bad guy rectangle (which is also still life) and it’s just like a photograph. I love this drawing made by myself, Dynamo 4. This drawing took lots of research on how to draw still life, and it also took a long time to draw. I hope you like it! The only materials used were pencils, erasers, and paper!

I just finished making a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about children’s rights. I made this PSA because it’s part of our summative assessment, for our Unit of Inquiry, Children’s Rights. My PSA is specifically about Artice #31, Children should have the right to play.

The reason we’re making this PSA is because it relates to our Unit of Inquiry, about children’s rights. The unit was an awesome one, with a lot of fun learning and maybe some boring learning. There is one very shocking thing that I found out: That one out of every eight children in Pakistan can’t play. That is mean. If I can play freely and have fun all the time, than why do those children have to work hard, in carpet factories, and in brick factories. They can’t play. If they want to play, they are forced to stop and continue working. I learned a lot of things in this unit, like a lot children in this world don’t have all the opportunities and things we do have. They don’t have iPads, iPods, computers. They just know they have to work hard and get really little pay. I serioiusly feel sorry for them.

This assignment has shown me as a responsible person in many ways, I have been responsible for handing this assignment in, by the due date. Some people didn’t, and finished today instead of Friday (the due date). I handed it in on Thursday, the day before I went on the China Trip. (I’ll write about it in the next post !) Also, I was responsible for sharing the news with everyone, share that Children’s Rights were important, to raise awareness, by posting my PSA on youtube.

If you were wondering what I was talking about above, just watch my PSA! It’ll be really clear that it isn’t boring once you check it out! Come on, watch it! I’ll be happy if you do!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This picture is about a man ordering thousands of rubix cubes to make a mosiac of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist for human rights, especially segregation rights. Martin was assassinated when he was 40, and this mosaic was to remember him. I like this picture, because it shows creativity. And this whole project cost $17000 US dollars!!! Maybe I’ll make something creative soon!

Today, my mom and I went to school for a very special activity. It was the Student Led Learning Review! The Student Led Learning Review is a programme that very few schools use, where the student brings their parents around the classroom talking about what the student has done at school for the past few months. Today, before I came to school, I was very nervous, I almost wanted to run away, but mom didn’t notice that. Because my sister had to do the SLLR before me, I had to wait one whole hour for my mom to come. For that hour, because I knew the way around the school, so I could walk around the school myself. At one point, I met my friend Camper 25, and I played with him on the football field. That took away most of the waiting time.

My mom came 6 minutes late for my SLLR, so I was really off schedule, but at the end, I finished just in time, at the exact minute. I showed my mom a lot of work I did over the last few months. I showed her how to play Ultimate Frisbee, which we are currently learning in physical education. I also showed her how to change a background on a Mac, and a lot of other subjects, including Chinese and Math! It was a very fun day today, and I wish we would have another one soon!

Mom interview:

Q:Was the SLLR exciting?

A:Yes, and it gave me a better picture of what you’ve been doing at school.

Q:What was the activity that you liked the best?

A:I liked the frisbee activity best, because you showed me how to play frisbee, and I learnt some tricks.

Thank you for coming to the interview, mom!

Yee Ha! Just came back from Malaysia 2 days ago! The trip was awesome. Here is one story from my trip to Malaysia. It’s hilarious and weird at the same time!

On the 4th day, I went to the islands of Kota Kinabalu. I went snorkeling, and that was a huge mess! When I got in the sea, I put the mask on and the weird mouth thingy that I think is called a snorkel. Once my head went in the water, I accidentally breathed with my nose, and as you know, the sea is filled with salt water. I started sneezing and popped out of the water. Then, tears came out of my eyes, hot tears. So I was crying and sneezing at the same time. Then suddenly, I felt a bzzzzzzzz! Holey Moley, I’ve gotten stung by one jellyfish!!! (dramatic music) So I started shouting OW! OW! OW! Ow! Achoo! Ow! Cough.. Cough… It was a big mess. So I guarantee myself not to snorkel anymore.

We are currently in a unit of inquiry about children’s rights. We are learning about how children should be treated and how they are treated right now. We are currently watching movie called Ryan’s Well. Ryan Hrelijac, as you might have heard of before, is a kid, who at the age of 6, started raising money to build a well for Ugandan people, because Ryan found out that people were dying without clean water. He spent 4 months trying to raise his first $70. Then, people heard of this young man who is raising money for the people in Uganda to have clean water, and they started donating money too! Very soon, Ryan had about $7000 dollars, and now, he could build a well.

We are also reading a book called Iqbal, and that book is about the famous Iqbal Masih, who escaped from slavery at the age of 10. He spoked to schools and churches, but sadly, he was murdered by a shotgun when he was 13. Iqbal’s work and death inspired Craig Kilberger, the man who started Free the Children, a charity that helps people get a home and get good food (and water).

I like this unit because we get to learn about geography, and I love geography. See that whole list of flags over there, on your right? multiply that number of flags with 1 trillion. That’s how  much time I would want to spend on geography (in nanoseconds). This unit is going to be the best ever. (The next one is about puberty and I don’t like the sound of that…) Anyway, for the summative assessment, we are going to do a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about children’s rights. I would pick a topic of, um, maybe to let children have clean water? - Oh well, I’ll post more posts up about this! Bye for today!

Who was Jim Henson? Well, he was the guy who started The Muppets, and he is currently one of the most famous puppeteers on earth! Even though he passed away, his legend will live on and on. This book, named Who Was Jim Henson, is an autobiography written by Joan Holub. This book is an autobiography specifically designed for primary children to read, so it’s not blabby and boring. In fact, there are illustrations, so it will make more sense.

Jim Henson went on TV the first time in College, as he was doing a puppet show. He fell in love with puppets since then, but he created puppets that were unique, with metal strings and wires, and cloth heads. His famous Muppets are still here, and a movie came out about it.

Later, Jim Henson gave the buisness of the Muppets to Disney, and then came his sudden death.

I recommend this book to smaller people like 5th graders or 4th graders, because it’s not really for adults. It has no adult-words in the book. Oldies who know some English can read it too! So they can find out who Jim Henson really was! So read the book now, or buy it on your kindle for only $4.99 US!

Yesterday was the Alan Dick Memorial Walk. Mr. Dick was the principal of Lower School from 1994-2008, as he passed away in 2009. He was 54 years old, and he had a very soft heart. He believed that kids should have fun at school. He sat with me on the school bus, so it was a big blow for me. Anyway, yesterday was the memorial walk that celebrated him. Grade 5 and up had to walk to the sports ground, which was really tiring. I felt that if this was even a centimeter farther, than my legs would fall off. Now you get the feeling? Let’s continue. At 9:00am, the horn went off, and we started walking. Punf, Punf, Pant Pant. Man, this was tired. But once I found my teacher, Ms Cahusac, I chatted with her, and started fooling around with some friends. I wasn’t tired at all! Around 2 hours later, 5th grade was called out of the field and onto the stands to have lunch. It was totally free, so that was cool. Plus, the lunch was a treat, Hot Dogs with mustard and Ketchup, Yummy! That was one of the best days of my life!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Please take half an hour out of your day to watch this video, and share it too! Remember, it’s for a good cause!

This picture is about a boy standing next to a collapsed building in a city in Syria. Syria is in war now. and lots of buildings are collapsing, and lots of people are dying. This is a really sad picture.

I chose this picture because I have been watching the news lately, and I feel really sorry for the innocent people in Syria. Let’s just hope that Syria stops the war and brings peace.

(This picture is from the globe and mail)

Here are my spelling words that I picked off the internet for this week:

1. leachate

2. vernacular

3. scruntinize

4. contemplate

5. deliberate

6. excogitate

7. ruminate

8. contemplative

9. Elixir

10. panacea

Those are the words!

Last Friday, I felt really sick in the middle of the day at school. I thought I had a fever, and it was true. At around 11:30, I started to feel really hot, but I thought that it was just a headache and it would be fine soon, but in fact, it got worse, so at 1:50, I got up, and went to the nurse’s office. She said that I really had a fever, and I had to go home ASAP. School ends at 2:30, so it would be pretty useless to ask my mom or helper to come pick me up, ’cause by the time she would have arrived, it would probably have been 2:30 anyway, so the nurse just let me lay in her office’s bed until it was time to take the school bus home. My parents were informed, and before I knew it, I was in bed, back home, asleep.

At around 5:00, my dad arrived home from work, and brought me to the doctor’s office. I had a humongous headache,but after eating the medicine the doctor gave me, I felt fine again. On Saturday and Sunday, I was fine and had fun out of bed. But sadly, on Monday, I got sick again and had a fever. I’m fine again and I never missed any more days of school.

Well, to me, trash is basically everything you throw away that ends up in the landfill. Composting is composting, not trash, and like recycling is recycling! Not trash. Hong Kong is very bad with trash. It seems as if the government dosen’t even care about it! Yes, they do care, but they’re taking almost no action, like they’re saying they want an incinerator in HK 2 years before, and there are no incinerator plans or anything yet! There is a big problem with waste management, and it is uncontrollable. There’s too much! You probably would see a cigarette butt lying on the floor anywhere, because people are too lazy to throw them in the garbage can, or they’re full. Again, if they’re full, it means that there is too much trash in this world. It’s too bad that my family doesn’t recycle or compost, but we reuse stuff, like plastic bags, and cardboard boxes or toy wrappers etc. Even old toys! We give the old toys away to charity, or my mom’s friend’s kids’.  If I was the government, I would think of a greener future, like change all the transport into hybrid transport. For example, all cars, trucks and buses would need to be hybrid or electric to run on the road.  I would also build incinerators, and demolish the landfills, so the land can become a nature park or a wind-powered electricity power plant. Sadly, I can only control my own eco-friendly ways now, like not throwing away usable things, or useful things others like. Should we take action now? I don’t know, let yourself decide.

February 16                              272 words
Last week, I checked the number of sharks left in the ocean, and I made a stunning discovery, there are a very little amount of sharks left! Do you want to know why? Just read on!
Sharks are almost extinct, because many people kill them, just to take their fins, and then throw the body back into the sea. The fins get eaten with soup, or they are used to make drugs.  Chinese people say that if you eat shark fin, you would not have cancer, But it ain’t true. In fact, the fin is actually tasteless!

People believe that sharks are  very frightening animals, but they are not,
Sharks are one of the most important animals in the world. If the shark is extinct, and the sea-life food chain will break down into a zillion pieces. If the shark is gone, the fish they eat will overpopulate, the fish that THEY eat will slowly all get eaten,  and that means extinction for another specie. The fish that the sharks eat will slowly become extinct too, because they are too hungry and have nothing to eat. It will be a disaster
I hope that people will imagine how the underwater world will be like soon, some people say that if this continues, about 100 years later, the world will end, or somehow disappear. Do not kill the shark, they are very important animals,If you cut off the shark’s fin, it’s just like someone cutting your ears off, and then throw you into the sea. I believe that the shark should live on, and have a happy and peaceful life like us!

Recently, our class has been studying trash, where it goes and all that stuff. Anyway, we have an art project to do, and we are going to make a sculpture or a mosiac out of TRASH! That’s very cool, right? I’m working with a partner, Dynamo 21. We are using bottle caps to build our mosiac, and it is going to be a shape of a recycle bin. Reason? Well, we are sending a message out to the world, that we should recycle our plastic bottles, because it’s bad for the environment. Have you ever seen a shirt made from recycled plastic bottles? Well, I’ve seen one. Our mosiac will basically look like this:

By the way,I found this video about a hotel made from garbage in Spain.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Today, it is Thursday, and we went to the Tuen Mun Eco-Park. The bus ride took a total year or so, or maybe just an hour. You get the feeling that it was long, right? Anyway, once we got there, we had a toilet break, then we started the visitor exhibit. We saw how the trash in the landfills were treated, and learned how we should recycle instead of throwing it away. After that, we went to the Plastic Recycling Center, the only one in Hong Kong. I saw how the plastic was melted or cut or chopped into little pieces. I got to have 1 pellet of those plastic remains. We learned that the plastics have different codes, like “PS” or “ABS”! Overall, it was a fun day, and we go to learn a lot too!

Finally, Oh finally, do I have 100 flags. Lucky dip got me in Guernsey! It’s so exciting! Thanks for the flag!

For a long time, for 5 whole days, I’m stuck with 99 flags. It’s really freakin me out! I mean, like who has survive with 99 flags for a whole week? It actually feels really stressful having to wait so long for a new flag. There are actually a lot more flags! Mongolia, Gambia, Tonga….. The list could go on for hours, but I would be so happy if someone gave me my hundredth flag. Thanks, and comment if you are!

By Extreme 12

Chocolate

Chocolate

chocolate,

chocolate.

Fudge chocolate,

milk chocolate.

White, light brown, dark chocolate.

single, double, triple, layer of chocolate.

Those are just a few.

Melted chocolate,

frozen chocolate.

Hershey, Cadbury, M&M’s, chocolate.

Mars Bar, Time Out, Godiva, chocolate.

Star chocolate,too

square chocolate,

triangle chocolate.

Don’t forget blueberry chocolate.

Last of all–best of all–

I like drinking chocolate.

One day a lady goes to the store, and buys a pair of high heels. The next day, at her job, she died because she was wearing high heels. Where does she work, and how does she die?

You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed. On your right is a sharp drop off, and on your left is an elephant thundering along at the same speed as you. Directly infront of you is a galloping kangaroo and your horse is unable to overtake it. Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you and the kangaroo. What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

I want to go, and you have to write this application form, and you have to demonstrate why you would want to join and the evidence of the learning attributes and attributes you’ve demonstrated. Here is what I wrote:

Q: Please explain in essay form why you would like to participate in this trip and what you feel you will bring to the experience. Evidence of how you have demonstrated the attributes and attitudes of the Learner Profile should be included.

A: Well, first of all, I like to travel, travelling is fun. You get to go to new places, eat new foods, and experience another culture. I am especially excited about being buddies with another kid from another country. Guizhou, China is the most exciting one yet! I like Chinese food, but not the poisonous kinds (Obviously), and I am willing to go on new roads, meet new friends, and most of all, have fun.

I like meeting new people, like the Beijing exchange students. I got to really know one of them. I made sure he was happy during his visit, I want more friends. I am usually caring, and willing to help anyone in need. Let’s say I’m a thinker, OK? I’m thinking about making people happy.

It’s the first time I’ve been to a poor village, and I’m really excited to see how the people there live. I guess they go to a really rickety-old school and barely have meat to eat. It’s just totally awesome meeting a poor kid!

I hope the trip is going to be fun, and so is the preparation.

Q: Please provide specific examples of when you have traveled away from your parents before or that you are capable of being away from them for five days and four nights.

A: Let’s say Grade 4 camp. 3 days, 2 nights. I never got homesick, and sometimes I even thought that I was already at home! Another time, I went to this musical theater camp for 6 days, and I barely got to see my parents, only at night! I never wished to go home, like another kid did, or got homesick. I believe that the China trip will work for me!

Q: Please explain why you think that you can travel to a culture in rural Mainland China that is significantly different from your life here in Hong Kong.

A: I travel, and I’ve experienced 2 cultures. (3 including Hong Kong) I have experience the Japanese culture, and also the Singaporean culture. I have loved both of them, and guess that I’m ready for my 4th culture, the Chinese one.

To end the application, I must have my parents’ approval I can go, and a letter indicating why they feel that I will benefit from the trip and why they feel I can overcome the challenges of being in Guizhou, China for 5 days.

Parents can also join the trip, and be chaperons. Sadly, you have to be a fluent Mandarin speaker or a trained medical doctor, just in case we need emergency medical service.

The trip is on: April 27th – May 1st 2012

Who else is going:

1. The ZIGEN Group representative, Marcy Trent Long

2. Mr. Macpherson and Ms Cahusac

3. About 2 other staff members

4. Grade 5 parent volenteers

*I won’t be writing any more blog posts then!*

*But don’t worry! I will write a whole reflection on it after I get back!*

Click here to view the embedded video.

In class, we have been learning how to describe a setting, and this one was written by Boss 23.

The synagogue was huge. Amy and I scrunched our way through the mud to see the gravestones of the people who died in the volcano in the back of the building. My eyes filling with burning tears, I wept mournfully when I saw Mum’s gravestone.

†††

The volcano was rumbling angrily. Its burning lava spewed from the top of the volcano and knocked down the houses as if they were butter. I smelt the smell of burning ash and I choked. Mum was running the garden when the lava spewed over her. I wept and wept as she muttered her last words: “Do…your…best…” Then she moved no more.

†††

I couldn’t believe that I would not see Mum again. Beside her were some flowers that were the same kind I had in my hand.
Amy and I wept as I laid the flowers on the other side of her stone.
“Do…your…best…” was engraved on the stone. I read the epitaph. It wrote:

Lucy van Volcanau (1940-1979)
was covered in smoke
burned in the lava
and died of her wounds
“Do your best”
REST IN PEACE

I felt a ‘clunk’ as Amy read the last sentence. I had cried so much that I was out of tears. Amy fed me a bucket of water and I came to. I saw Amy lying on the ground. She had died of a broken heart because she thought I was dead too.
All my fault… it’s all my fault…
I sniffed as I picked up the shovel. I engraved a few words on her stone:
May Amy Banane (1969-1979)
have a good time
with heaven and the angels
REST IN PEACE
My heart ached for Mum and Amy. I was alone. All alone.

†††

(By Boss 23)

This is a way to write a description. This is (obviously) a sad description. These are things you want in a description:

Now, using these tips, try to write a description!

Links:
How to write a description
Writing descriptions

Here is the poster for our Let’s make it Happen performance.

By Dynamo 5:

If you have an Apple product, you can also check out iTunes. It is as equal quality to iMovie. You can search on iTunes and make a folder and then add it in to your favourites. You can also download music onto it too. The good thing about iTunes is that it can run music while you are doing a presentation so there can be music in the background and it will seem really neat. As I typed in the previous paragraph, you can drag music into iMovie so you can s tart and stop music whenever you like. iTunes is a great opportunity to listen to music, especially if you are a musician or a music teacher.

iPhoto, which is another amazing app that can save pictures that you import into it.

You can write i n a small text box they give to you where the image came from, what’s the name, and other things you might need to remember about it. You can also put images on your iPhoto and then go to System Preferences (only for Apple Products) and it will show up in the desktop section. Then you can set it up as your background. iPhoto can keep lots of images in folders. Make sure to organize them or there will be hard times finding pictures. Pictures are sometimes automatically organized in order you put them in, so your latest import would be at the top of the page and you have to scroll down to see your earliest import.

Here are 2 funny videos about hockey. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

From Dynamo 5:

4 different ways to get more visitors on your blog:

Check out this funny Minecraft video about Revenge! It’s a parody of the song “DJ’s got us falling in love again”.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check this out! The Aztec Bat God, which is an artifact, is shaped exactly like the gummy bear! Maybe the gummy bear making companies copied the Aztec Bat God in the making of the gummy bears?

Here is a funny poem that I made:

A lot of residential homes are covered by snow in Canada. This picture, again is from the Globe and Mail.

National Treasure

MPAA Rating: PG

Running Time: 2hrs 11mins

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Made by Disney, National Treasure, is a 2004 adventure film (or movie). Written byJim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, andMarianne Wibberley and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, It is the first movie in the National Treasure series, starring Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha,Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, and Christopher Plummer.

Cage, playing Benjamin Franklin Gates, is a historian and a cryptologist. He is searching for a lost treasure once protected by the Knights Templar. Bartha, playing Riley, is Ben’s accomplice. Bean, playing Ian, is helping Ben find the treasure, but they have an argument and suddenly, Ian wants to kill Ben and Riley to find the treasure himself. He sets a bomb, and tick tick tick, BOOM! Ben and Riley survive, but Ian drives away, out of the snow. The next clue is on the back of the Declaration of Independence, and Ian wants to steal it. Just to protect the Declaration, Ben plans to steal it too; for good. If you want to know what happens next, find out yourself.

Our class chose to watch this film because it has a connection to our unit of inquiry. They’re finding a treasure, all about history, and our present unit of inquiry is also about studying history. I liked the movie, adventurous, with tons of action in it. The only problem is, it has a bit of violence in it, and the school doesn’t let kids our age watch violent movies of videos. We were lucky enough to sneakily watch some violence. It was fun watching it. (We sometimes also ate junk food while watching too!) It was a great experience, and last Friday, sadly, we finished the movie. No more junk food, no more fun movie watching. If I were a movie recommend-er, I would say the movie would be suitable for people aged 10-55.

Here is the trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A few days ago, I started to have a million spam comments and a lot of other useless comments. I am starting to think that the spamzy people are actually trying to advertise their products via my website. The “LTT” company said that we should just delete these spam comments, but I think these comments might be handy. I just delete the website URL’s and check it out, they can’t advertise anymore! Check this out! Once I got a comment from a company named Sex Cameras!

As most people know, 5th graders have personal MacBook Pros, and guess what, we’re bringing them home this Christmas! Usually, the first time 5th graders bring home their MacBook Pros is in New Year’s Break, but this year, we were so responsible with our MacBook Pros, the teachers were convinced to let us bring them home this Christmas!

Grade 5 is snazzy!

Yesterday at school, I tested out Finale NotePad 2008, and it is so cool. Finale is a tool used to make music, and it’s really simple. You just drag the notes out and make sure they’re the right notes. And after you finish your piece of music, you can share it to the world. Even though it costs about $1000 HK, I think the application is worth it’s price.

Our class has totally been studying history. Including wars, assassinations, and more! Ms Cahusac found this music video. The song is by Billy Joel, and it’s named We didn’t start the fire. It’s all about history! Check out the video!

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you just want to watch the lyrics, here is the movie for you!

Click here to view the embedded video.

A fireman looks down in a scene of a blazing building in Hong Kong. This picture, again, is from the Globe and Mail

Found an artifact? Want to record the information down? Well, this is the place where you can get the Artifact information sheet. Trust me, it’s useful. Plus, the main idea of this Archaeological Field Journal post is because we are now working on artifacts, and finding them, making clay statues of the artifacts, and it’s really exciting! Be an Archaeologist too!

Here is page 1, and Here is page 2.

At school, we have recently been working on mosaics, paper ones, stone ones, and the most easiest and exciting one, digital mosaics. We use a tool named MacOSaiX, which is really cool. You just have to insert the picture you want to be mosaicized, and then choose the image source. You can use Flickr, Google Image Search and more, but I use Flickr. Why not you try downloading it? Click here!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out Apple software iMovie! It’s such a good movie making software. You can use it for making movie trailers, and actual movies. You can also make a slideshow with it, like wedding slideshows. Plus, they have sound effects already installed with iMovie, so when you need it, just drag it in the movie and check it out, It sounds so pro. Plus, iMovie is easy to fiddle with. You can make a 6 minute movie in 20 minutes. (with filming) If you have an iPad or a Mac, you better try it out!

Here is the picture of the day:

Another Emirates Boeing 777-200 is leaving for Dubai in the morning rush hour as there is another visible lineup of 777′s next to it.

The picture is from PlanePictures.net

Now, here’s the thing. My friends don’t write this many blog posts, that’s obvious. The only reason I do so many blog posts is because, I hate writing. I used to be the fastest writer in class, and I can still write well and fast, it’s just that I don’t really like it. I like typing more. If a teacher told me to write or type an essay out, I would choose type. The reasons are: 1. Computers are magical. They are out of this world. 2. Your hand can just relax on the keyboard when you are typing, and your hands don’t get tired. I type really quickly, and I am a touch-typer. I can type about 85 words in a minute!. Plus, I’m lucky to be used to the computer, because if you’re not an expert or anything, modern technology is nothing to you. You wouldn’t know how to be computer pros, and if a lot of people are using tablets and computers in the future, you’ll need to know you stuff, if not, then you’ll be struggling with typing. (Using just 2 fingers and looking at the keys to type is quite irritating when you are in a hurry to type  an email.) I hate teachers who don’t use modern technology. Imagine that, no computer lessons, just pencils and paper. How boring could that be. Plus, why do schools use textbooks? My school doesn’t, because I guess they think that textbooks are dumb and have no meaning in them. What we really need are computers.

So if you ain’t that good with computers and tablets, better start learnin’, if not, you future life is gonna’ be hard. Trust me.

Splat! Splat is a performance which is basically dramatically performing poetry. Run by Faust, the 3 performers worked as hard as they could. It took them 2 weeks to plan, and get ready all the poems, and then 3 more weeks to rehearse and prepare the show. Today, Grade 5′s were fortunate enough to watch it, and it was great. Everyone laughed and joked around.

I got inspired to writing poetry after today’s SPLAT! I wrote a poem about my school day.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

In January, grade 5 will have a performance. It used to be called the winter concert, but I guess the school thought that was too plain. Now, it’ called the Let’s make it happen concert! This year, our subject is about history,and me and my group, (With Dynamo 2, Dynamo 12, Dynamo 21 and Dynamo 25) will be doing a skit or a little drama performance about The Great Depression, mostly about John Dillinger.
It’s gonna be exciting, and I will write 1 more post about this after the performance.

It’s been 3 months since school started, and let me say, Grade 5 is the best grade we ever had. So far, it has been wonderful with Ms Cahusac and the Dynamos. It rocks! Ms Cahusac usually (almost every day) gives us free time on the computer. I usually play Minecraft, a game of creation and imagination. If I am not allowed to have free time, I would draw or doodle randomly. It has been a great year so far, with DiG Day coming soon. It’s really exciting. There will be a post about DiG day soon. I hope Grade 5 would be even better! So continue rockin’ the world!

For all you parents who want to watch the upcoming winter concert, the details are underneath here.

Here is the picture of the day:

An Egyptian protester throws a protest stone at riot policemen during a demonstration in Tahrir Square. Again, it is from the Globe and Mail.

Our class has just finished a writing unit of procedural writing. I made a really funny one to let all you readers laugh and giggle until your arms fall off.

How to make a sticky (teacher’s edition)

1. Before class time, put Pattex Brand Super Glue on the teacher’s seat. (Make sure that nobody is looking)

2. Act casual as the teacher walks in. (Do not laugh or snicker. It will be suspicious to the teacher)

3. Force the teacher to sit down. (using a nice way)

4. Wait until the teacher is finished babbling about whatever tests or lessons.

5. Wait until the teacher has to go to the bathroom.

6. Watch as the teacher is struggling with his/her butt sticking to the chair.

7. Watch the fun.

8. After that,

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

I know, it’s way past Halloween already, but I found this funny movie about halloween candy. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now, here is one thing about friends. You have to pick carefully, if not, it might ruin your life. Choose the friend that suits you the most. Not a bully (obviously). You should find a good friend that trusts you, and is willing to help you and make sure that you’re happy. When you play with a friend, you should pay respect to them. You shouldn’t treat your friend badly, if not, your friendship with be gone! That happens with adults and teenagers too, like teenage boys are finding girlfriends. If you are picking a wife, you should pick carefully. Pick one that seriously likes you, has trust in you, and is not bossy.

Remember, treat your friends in a good way, if not, they might dislike you or just not be your friends anymore.

Based on Extreme 24′s “Failure Is The First Step Of Success” post, I agree to that because it’s just the sign on how you would improve and how you would do next time.

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”- Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs failed to make a good technology in the 80′s, and went to Pixar. He thought and thought what went wrong, and then came back to Apple. There, after that, he changed the world. Now every day people are using iPhones, iPods, Macs, and a lot of Apple products.

Failure is just the first step of success!

Yesterday, Grade 5′s went to the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence located in Heng Fa Chuen, Hong Kong. We went there to study history (mostly about war). The museum used to be a fort, and a place where people fought. We went around the museum, and it was like an adventure. We went to the batteries, (The places that are used to shoot and hide) and we even went to the missile station! There was one real missile inside. For some reason, it looked really fake.  It was a lot of fun yesterday. Check out the photos from the museum!

Today, I got picked up in the middle of school, and guess what, I was going to make a speech in the 63rd speech festival! The speech wasn’t really a speech, it was just reciting a poem and making yourself expressive, and make sure that you’re clear, so that the judge could actually make out what you were saying. I was so nervous when I was waiting in line. It was totally freaking me out. But then, it was my turn, and I could get those crazy words out of my mouth and stop being so nervous. I feel lucky that I was the 8th in line because the longer you wait, the more nervous you get. If the rank was ranked approaching, meeting and exceeding, I would get meeting. The judge said that I was reciting the poem like I was in a hurry to go somewhere, and I was just stoppin’ by to recite a poem. And I am not. I didn’t get a trophy or anything that pretty, but at least I got a participation certificate, and I will receive that next year. I don’t feel too bad about not getting anything, I mean, there is always next year, the year after that, and so on. After the race, I even saw a boy crying ’cause he didn’t win a prize! How sad. Well, hope I do better next year.

The Artifact Game is when the teacher shows you an artifact on the projector screen, and you get a Post-it note to write you answer on. We did the Artifact Game yesterday, and there were 2 artifacts for us to guess. They were really hard, and no one actually got the answer to any of them. It was hard, but also fun. Taking turns listening to your classmates’ guesses is actually a lot of fun. These were the artifacts yesterday. Guess them, and see if you are right by decoding the message.

(Hint: The letters are in some kind of pattern.)

Answer: Bodjfou Npefm Bjsdsbgu

Answer:    Uif Cbhiebe Cbuufsz

1. Write with a favorite pencil or pen. It helps you concentrate better.

2. When you are feeling tired, don’t take a nap. Instead, take a hot bath or shower to keep you awake.

3. Get some snacks or beverages to eat when you have a headache.

4. Make sure that you are in a quiet room with nobody disturbing you.

5. If you are bored, read a book about the subject of your homework. (ex. Chinese Homework: Chinese Books)

6. Make sure that you are concentrated and nothing is distracting you or tempting to play with.

Try all the steps! If you still are stressed out, comment on my blog! I will research some more fantastic ideas. And I will send it to you via email.

Every week or so, we go to the Globe and Mail website to do Picture of the day. There are about 10 pictures each day, and today I chose a picture to write about. It’s this:

The picture is about the new plastic money that came out just yesterday! It happened in Canada, and it was made on one hundred dollar bills. I don’t know why Canada made the plastic bill come out so late, Australia had their first plastic bills 23 years ago! Even Hong Kong has plastic bills! The good thing about plastic bills is that when you put it in liquid, it won’t go soggy and break. Plastic bills are really hard to tear apart too! I think most countries should use plastic bills because it is convenient and safe to use.

It was remembrance day today, and it was a serious day. We had a serious assembly in the Leo Lee Art Center and no one was allowed to clap, even after the most spectacular performance you’ve ever seen. Remembrance day is to remember the people who died in war to fight for peace, and for some families, it’s really sad. Here is a short poem I wrote just for remembrance day.

War,

Sacrifice.

You wear poppies in remembrance day, and I donated $5 to get a paper poppy.  I also made a big poppy out of paper. It’s a really serious day. I feel happy now because the people in war are now resting in peace, with nobody distracting him.

Here is a trailer of a movie that me, 5, 13,18 and 20 is making. The movie is called Operation Golden Rules, and it will be coming out at the start of 2012. This is the trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I am participating in an event called the Better Blogging Battle. The Better Blogging Battle is a battle for whom is the best blogger in the battle. The winner will get a full bag of technology things, like computer cases. I hope I win!

Why does CDNIS love halloween so much? Well, first of all, Halloween is a very exciting celebration where you get tons of candy, and CDNIS loves to see all the costumes that the students wear. Plus, there are parties, soft drinks and movies. All the teachers get to dress up too! It is a great celebration for the teachers and students.

I bought a computer game in August. It is called UK Truck Simulator! It is really cool. You could drive a truck all around the UK when you’re still a kid! The game is really realistic. It has pretty much all the controls in a car, from Hazard lights to Motor Brakes. The truck is really detailed, and it has 7 views! Including Cockpit view, Outside View, Top View, Roof View, Front view, wheel view and roll-by view! Even though the game costs a lot, I think that the game is worth it’s price.

By the way, check out these funny videos.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Steve Jobs passed away today. He was the CEO of Apple Inc. He was very good at technology, and the world just lost him. Go to the Apple website if you want to write anything to the public via email.

Today, 5A, 5E and our class went to Art Jam! It is located in Windsor House Causeway Bay. It is a place where you get a plain canvas and you could draw a picture using 1 main color. The newly opened Causeway Bay branch is very big, and it can fit approx. 100 people! There are lots and lots of colors there, including violet! My chosen color was red, and I drew a sunset and a red Chevrolet car. It was a lot of fun there at Art Jam.

I express myself with communication technology using Email and the internet. Sometimes I use the phone. I do not have a mobile phone so I cannot text. I always type when I am using communication technology, like in my emails. The other tools I use are also on the computer: Blogging and um, I don’t have any more. I started blogging when I was 9 and a half, And now I am still nine and a half, so blogging is new to me. You can’t really just let 1 specific person see your message on your blog, It is for everyone to see, not like in the emails. You can just let one specific person see my message. For phoning, it is the same, except we can hear your voice.

That is how I express myself with communication technology!

Our current writing Unit Of Inquiry is poetry, and I wrote approx. 14 poems already! Here is my favorite one: (It is a Haiku)

Hot Dog

Today we went to a website. It was called Building Walls of Wisdom. It  is a charity that donates money to very poor countries to build schools. Our class, the 5D Dynamos wants to be on their premier list by donating approx. $2400(HK). Our class is thinking about what we could do to earn the money. I am thinking of this idea where the class shows a movie or performance ever day (Except Wednesdays) and cash them $20 for each admission. I think we could have an “all week ticket” where it is $60 for the whole week. It has a ten dollar discount. I hope this idea works! Please leave a comment to judge my idea.

Welcome to Bazinga 2′s or Hanley’s Blog!

What’s goin’ on lately: 

-School’s ending soon!

-3 Weeks until the summer!