How Computer Tech Has Affected Our Lives

Computers have played a great role in our daily basis and in our society. Over the 20th century to the 21st century, the world has been through a lot of major changes. It was the time when population of a lot of countries started to rapidly grow, and it was also when technology started to change dramatically. During that period of time, people started to quickly develop in many different ways, such as in transportation, media, and the basic understandings of science. But one of the most dramatic causes that led to great impact to the world was the creation of computers.  From simple calculations, to advanced programming, the advance of the use of computers has changed a lot.

People use computers in many different ways depending on their needs. In our modern society, people are employed to a lot of different types of businesses such as office workers and modern investors. Without the use of computers, these businesses would be very hard to sustain. Computers hold a huge amount of information and resources that they are able to provide to all these people. Investors use computers to find information about good companies and industries, while some other people, like movie producers, would need them to create their products. Even children nowadays use computers as learning devices by using the internet. Before the internet was even invented, it was much harder for children to learn or to find information. But now, due to the abundant amount of information stored in the internet, people are able to access them in a click of a button.

Computers have also affected us on our social medias and the way we communicate to people. As human beings, we must understand that this world we live in is very large. In the past, people had to send handwritten mails to others in order to communicate  over distant areas. This had a great uncertainty to whether the mail would make it through since they were all sent by people. That also meant that it would’ve been really time-consuming for people to send them. Therefore, it was really hard to communicate with each other in the past. But now that we have computers, we are able to communicate through a lot of social medias. One of the basic communication medias is email. Now, using computers, people are capable of communicating to each other in seconds.

Modern computer technology has dramatically changed the way people live right now. After the people started to use computers, our lives have become a lot easier, as the way we do things has become a lot more efficient. It is a major change to our human society, and also a very important element to our future developments.

How to make a paper lantern

1) Get a piece of paper

Place your piece of paper horizontally. (Long edge goes left to right, short edge goes up and down)

2) Cut a strip of the paper on the right edge

 

3) Fold the remaining piece of paper the hamburger way

 

4) Make a series of cuts (about a dozen or more) along the fold line. Don't cut all the way to the edge of the paper.

 

5) Unfold the paper. Glue or staple the short edges of the paper together.

 

6) Using the strip of paper you cut out earlier, make a handle by gluing the two sides of the strip of paper to your paper lantern.

 

7) You can repeat this procedure for other pieces of paper to make colorful lanterns

 

8) You can add detail or design if you wanted to:



 

Extra Information:

If you walk around China’s streets, your eyes are filled with red images especially at Chinese New Year. Chinese people really like the color red because the color represents deep meanings. People say red was worshiped as fire that sheltered the people with warmth and safety.

 

Chinese people make lots of paper lanterns normally at Chinese New Year, because Chinese New Year symbolizes the Chinese culture and means brightness, happiness and reunion.

Hello from WV

Hello Mr. Kochs students!

My name is Lindsay and I had the opportunity of having Mr. Koch twice as a teacher when I was in high school. After graduating high school I attended college at West Virginia University obtaining a degree to be a physical education teacher. Finding a job as a p.e teacher has been harder than I thought, but I wanted to continue to work with students which brings me to where I am today. Currently I am working as a full time substitute for Doddridge County, WV at an Elementary school as a reading resource teacher working with second grade students.
The students are learning about holidays around the world and countries before they go on winter break. The holidays they are learning about are St. Lucia Day (Sweden), Hanukkah (Israel), Feliz Navidad (Mexico), Melkm Ganna (Ethiopia) and Chinese New Year (China). Since I knew Mr. Koch was teaching in China now I thought it would be a great idea to reach out and ask about some personal experiences. I have had the opportunity to share some of your stories that were posted on this blog to students and they have really enjoyed them and have been excited about learning of other cultures. The students have been working hard on making many different projects for the various countries. I will take some pictures over the next week and post them to the blog so you all can see them.

Thank you all again for posting about CNY!

The Book Hunter - Book Review of I Am Number Four by Sunny Lee

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore is a science fiction novel. The main character named John Smith is a Garde (or an alien) from the planet called Lorien. He was sent to earth when he was a child with eight other Gardes to escape from the invading Mogadorians who destroyed the planet Lorien. They all never had real names, so they were each assigned a number (John was given number four). John was very young when he was sent to earth so his guardian Henri protected him up until now. John is beginning to develop legacies, in his case: telekinesis (ability to move objects at a distance by mental power) and power to transmit plasma through his hands. Earth was meant to be a safe place for training and for getting ready to fight back the Mogadorians because of what they did to Lorien back in history. But the Mogadorians followed them and are killing the Gardes one by one. ”They killed Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya.” Will John make it? This might be the end of his life.

In this dangerous yet frightening story, John, a young alien boy struggles to survive from the Mogadorians on the planet earth and activates two important messages. The first one is don’t trust others, no matter how close you are with them; rather, trust yourself. In the story, some Mogadorians are disguised as humans that pretend to help John until one night John sneaks into this house and finds out that they were in disguise. The second one is to never give up on yourself, don’t stop, in fact sometimes help will come to you. When John went in that house and started fighting the disguised Mogadorians, he ended up being cornered when suddenly his guardian Henri came to rescue. The author captures the reader’s attention by putting some great humor and detail in helping us visualize each moment in the story. Also, after parts of big climaxes, he always puts in another big conflict that we would have never thought of, but keeps the story going smoothly. The story is very straightforward, it gives many visualizing details but never puts any unnecessary text.

I Am Number Four is full of action and danger. It is a wonderful novel to read for those who enjoy action, danger, fighting and maybe even those who love mystery! I Am Number Four shows feelings of a boy that has been wanted and has been chased ever since he was a child. I think this book is good for ages 11 and up. This book is exciting and worth reading.

Deforestation

Deforestation

 

Deforestation is the act of clearing an enormous area of trees or forests. This act of clearing areas of trees is expanding in many parts of the world, causing many acute problems.

 

Deforestation occurs due to both human causes and natural causes. Clearing of land for agricultural purposes is one of the many human causes, whilst one of the natural causes is lightning.

The effects of deforestation are severe; affecting the biodiversity of the wildlife is one of them. An example of endangered species in the amazon range is the Poison Dart Frog. One of the most hazardous effects of deforestation is global warming and climate change, majorly affecting every single side of the world! In the past century temperatures have been raised by 1.33 Fahrenheit (0.74 Celsius). Due to the change of temperature, glaciers have been melting, raising the sea level. Sea level rises due to the increasing heat, when heat is exposed to the water the atoms expand, raising the sea level. Scientists predict that many cities and countries neighboring the oceans will completely submerge under water by 2050 including London, most parts of Japan and The Maldives.

 

Although deforestation is a major issue, there have been actions taken by countries and NGO’s (Non-Governmental organization) to solve this problem. Brazil set about the size of France for protection of the amazon in 2002. Indonesia has been helped by Norway on 2010 1^st July to set new laws against illegal deforestation (logging). Many NGOs are trying to get as many people to recycle. Many companies buy wooden products with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label only, this means that the forest from which the wood was taken is well managed.

 

Deforestation is a very major issue, which is forcing the world to change negatively. If actions will not be taken, it will lead to many dangerous consequences. We all should take careful steps to lead the world to a right direction. Such as, printing double sided so you can save paper, recycling paper, and growing trees in your backyard. Deforestation is spreading in many parts of the world, by doing these little things you are doing you’re part, which will help save the environment.

 

Dragon Dance

 



During Chinese new year the dragon dance is commonly performed. The purpose is to scare away evil spirits. The people believe that dragons represent long life, good luck and wisdom. During the dragon dance one person holds the pearl of wisdom. It's purpose is to guide the dragon.

Year of The Horse

On Friday, January 31st next year it is going to be the year of the horse! There is a cycle of 12 animals, one for each year. If you are born in the year of the horse, you are hardworking, independent and very smart! You are very determined to succeed.

If I Had a Time Machine

If I had a time machine,

I’d fly to the Jurassic Period.

I would steal an egg of a brachiosaurus.

If I had a time machine,

I’d fly to the 28^th century.

I would get myself x-ray goggles.

If I had a time machine,

I’d fly to the Roman Empire.

I would sell a flashlight for a chunk of gold.

But most of all,

If I had a time machine,

I’d fly to yesterday.

I would finish my math homework due this morning!

Chinese new year envelopes

Giving money during Chinese New Year is considered lucky for both the giver and the receiver.

Those who give will also invite the flow of money during the entire year. Giving these envelopes also symbolize that the family luck is passed on to the children.

Tears of My Broken Arm by Sunny lee

“Gotta hurry, gotta hurry,” I said to myself as my fingers were flying through the pile of puzzle pieces. I tried to make my right hand move as fast as I could but at the same time, my left arm was suffering in great pain.

Oh hey, are you wondering what happened to my left arm? Sorry, let me scroll back and show you how it happened from the beginning.

‘Ding ding!’ the school bell rang. “Students it’s recess time! Have fun and remember our class rule number one, be safe!” announced my teacher, Ms. McCawley, as we dashed out the door like angry elephants. My friends and I were always the first to get on the old squeaky swings. “Let’s see who can swing the highest!” my friend Lucy said.

“I bet I could beat you down easily,” I shouted back as we both started swinging.

I kicked hard off the ground. I swung my legs back and forth powerfully as I tried to reach as high as I could on my swing. But suddenly, a wind started blowing hard like a tornado was nearby. It suddenly felt like the wind was controlling my body on the swing. I started swinging out of control. My hands were starting to sweat and I started losing my grip on the swing’s rope. I felt myself slowly sliding off my swing. I swung up really high and ‘BAM!’ I flew off my swing and landed straight on the cold concrete ground with my arm first and face second.

“Ohh… I feel sore,” I groaned, as I nearly passed out. The TA (teacher assistant) came and took me to the nurse office. The nurse checked my crooked arm and called my mom. “Hello? Sunny’s Mother? Your daughter has been injured and I’m afraid she will have to be taken to the hospital.”

She paused as I heard my mom reply on the phone. “What? Injured? Hospital Okay I’ll be there in 10 minutes!” The nurse hung up on the phone as I slowly fell asleep in the clinic’s bed.

“What did you do to your arm? How bad did you hurt it that now you have to go check in the hospital?” my mom shouted, jolting me awake. She was angrier than worried when she took me to our car and drove me to the hospital. After the doctor checked my arm, I was shocked because of the four terrifying words he said, “Your arm is broken.”

For a minute my mom and I stared at each other, until for some reason that reminded me of something. “Mom! What about the puzzle competition? It’s in 3 days!” I was ready to burst into tears now. I regretted getting on those swings. I hated the wind that blew me off my swing. I also hated my friend that just had to get me competitive in something as stupid as just a little swing contest. And I suddenly recalled what my teacher said before we went to recess, “Student it’s recess time! Have fun and remember our class rule number one, be safe!”

“Be safe…” I whispered to myself. I started feeling so mad and angry and wanted to give up on everything. The doctor said he had to put a cast on my arm, because if he didn't then later on I wouldn’t even be able to move my arm and the bone would get dislocated badly. I had to listen to the doctor, what choice did I have?

The next day I was depressed. My mood went straight down, like a roller coaster. Whenever I went out of my house I felt like everyone was staring at my arm. By the time I got into the school area, everyone was gathered to ask questions about it.

That day was bad enough, but it got worse when I came home. My mom had just finished a phone call and looked at me frozen. “What happened?” I asked.

“Your friends were talking about it and the news spread to the people who organized the puzzle competition. And they said that you couldn’t join anymore. They said according to the rules of the competition, it stated that each contestant must be a condition where they are able to compete fairly with the other contestants, which includes being able to use both of your arms.” She slowed down towards the end. By the time she finished speaking I was already on the floor crying.

When my mom called me down for dinner, she was all happy and jumpy. I asked her why and she said, “I almost forgot to tell you! After you went up to your room I felt sad because I knew you were really excited for the competition. So, I called the competition judges and talked to them, a very long time actually, and they said that they would allow you back in the competition.” That made my ears twitch. Did I hear her wrong? In a moment I was out of my chair dancing around. I dashed into my room and started timing myself doing different piece puzzles because I never knew how many piece puzzles they might give me to do. I started from 2000, then 5000, then 10,000 and so on.

The 3 days passed and now I was in the puzzle stadium, shaking hands with the other players. My heart was beating at the speed of light. All the other player’s hands and fingers were all big and long. Everyone was at least 12 years old. And I looked at my hands, all short and small. And I was only 6 years old. I only had one comfortable hand to use, and it wasn’t even my dominant hand. When I was just calming myself down, the whistle blew and the competition started. Everyone threw open the 10,000 puzzle piece box and started matching the pieces. I started to think “Oh my gosh I think I should just get out of here.” But my fingers became more and more comfortable and flexible. My fingers were flying through the pile of puzzle pieces and my work. In about 15-20 minutes I was done and I raised my hand. The judges came and made sure my pieces were all in the right place. I sat, more confident then ever: I knew I was the winner. I looked up and around myself with a big smile. But when I turned my head back, I started thinking something was wrong.

The judges looked frozen and were slowly shaking their heads at each other while the other contestants, and the whole audience, focused on the judges and me. There was a large pause until one of the judges finally made a sudden movement. They held my arm up and blew the whistle. I made it. Even with a broken arm. I beat everyone. I was overjoyed when the judges handed me my trophy. I waved at the audience and held up the trophy with both arms, feeling confident. My left arm felt a sharp pain when I lifted the trophy, but come on. I won this. Did it really matter anymore?

Chinese New Year:::Fireworks

Chinese New Year, is a famous holiday that is celebrated all over China. People use a lot of ways to celebrate this holiday, depending on which part of China they live at. One thing that a lot of people do at night is setting up fireworks and firecrackers. The loud noises caused by them were believed to scare away evil spirits. 

Chinese New year: Couplets

People stick up the Chinese calligraphy wrote on the red paper, this means to have a new great year full of happiness.

Chinese New year: Dumplings

This is a traditional food we eat during Chinese NewYear. It's called dumplings, in Chinese it's called jiao zi (饺子). Jiao zi is invented by a doctor name Zhang Zhong Jing （张仲景).

Jiao Zi is also eaten in a lot of different ways, for example you could boil it, you could fry it… There are a variety of ways of eating dumplings. Chinese people mostly like to eat dumplings with vinegar.

Chinese New year, Dragon Dance

Normally during Chinese new year, a typical thing to do is the Dragon Dance. The dragon is like a giant puppet, and it is watched by hundreds of people around the world.



The dragon can be  blue, green, red, or gold! The people controlling the dragon dress in the same color.

 

 

I'm a snake, It's a horse!

I was born in the year of the snake, and it will soon be the year of the horse. Check out this site to find out which zodiac you are or to find out more about the zodiacs.  http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear/Zodiac

 

My first Chinese new year

It was my first Chinese new year. Me and my mom were eating salads inside our house and suddenly we heard this huge boom noise from outside. We thought their were bombs going off. We looked outside of our house and we saw so many fireworks going off, so we decided to watch the fireworks for a while. Then it got to a point where after 2 weeks the fireworks were the most annoying thing ever!



 

 

Chinese new year: Explained

Chinese new year is based on a lunar calendar. It is also sometimes called the Lunar new year. Chinese people celebrate the new year by setting off fire crackers and posting red pieces of paper with Chinese words on them. Chinese new year is also a time for family and friends. Relatives who are away from home often come back for a few days to spend    time with their family. The Chinese people will also use this time to honor deceased family members.

Loudness

Loudness

Fireworks explode

Dragons dancing through the streets

Little kids get treats

Chinese New Year Products

These are shoes in the design of the dragons. This design is found commonly during Chinese New Year.



These are masks and stuffed toys sold to children during CNY.

Crackle! Snap! Pop!

Crackle! Snap! Pop!
Every 15 minutes,
You hear a crackle and a pop,
Now you know its Chinese new year,
For everyone to hear.

Upside down “福”(fu)

“福”(fu) means lucky, happiness.

People put the word "福” upside down, to make “倒福”.

Switch the order of "倒福” to "福倒” because the word is upside down.

The word “倒”(dao) has the same pronunciation to the word “到”(dao), and “到” means come. “福到” together means lucky and happiness comes.

A Night at Chinese New Year- Sung

Never Ever Give Up

One False Note is a Fantasy and Adventure book written by Gordan Korman. This enthralling story maps out the life of young orphans Amy and Dan Cahill as they venture to find the 39 clues left behind from their dead grandmother in order to attain an unknown prize. Deciding that there was nothing left to lose in their life, the two orphans compete against their own family relatives in order to find all the clues, but will they be able to withstand the brutal attacks of their cousin competitors?

The message of this book teaches me a very valuable lesson, to never give up. Sometimes the character’s determination starts to diminish but the last inspiring words of their grandmother keep their spirits up. The author’s story map is thrilling. One moment they are safe the other they are trapped in their competitor’s ship, threatened to be killed!

The story mountain is a wiggly path filled with invigoration, excitement and suspense. “They were cornered, from the floor Dan pulled up a hockey stick wrapped in brown paper. At that moment, Eisenhower Holt took a running leap at the door. With a teeth-jarring crash, the hatch splintered loose and slammed into Dan. The boy went down hard. The stick clattered to the floor. Blinded by rage, Amy snatched the stick and broke it over Eisenhower’s head. The big man absorbed the blow, wobbled, and collapsed on a mailbag. The victory was short-lived. Holts stormed the car. Madison Holt grabbed Amy by the collar. Reagan Holt yanked Dan upright. They were caught.” This paragraph clearly shows the breathtaking events of this story and rapid action. This part of this story also describes the scene in detail marking that this story is well written.

The only weakness Korman has is his lack of use of good and vivid vocabulary; he should use more specific dialogue and vocabulary that would enhance the picture in the reader’s mind.

My favorite character in this book is Amy Cahill. She is a sweet and shy yet very intelligent girl. Her affection and understanding for her brother and friends is my most admirable part of her personality. I like how the author gave a loving character to an action filled story.

By- Gauri Kaushik 7-7

Autumn by Eileen Lee

Autumn

Season after summer, before winter,
I feel wind gushing on my face,
Disappearing warmth, appearing breeze,
I hear people sneeze with red noses,
Breeze making people shiver like vibrating phones,
Feels like autumn is welcoming me to winter.

Season of the warm colors,
Full of red, orange, yellow,
Path covered with maple leaves,
As people walk, I hear crumpling sound of crispy leaves,
Feels like autumn is making me comfortable from the sound and colors.

Season of fruits,
I see fruits hanging on trees,
Apples, grapes, pears,
About to fall,
Feels like autumn is tempting me to overeat.

One of the four seasons, autumn,
Autumn passes again leaving the cold air and color orange,
Then we will have to wait for autumn to come again.

At the Brink: A Seatbelt Story

At the Brink: A Seatbelt Story
By: Gauri Kaushik

“Shock” was the word that occurred to me when I tried to summarize being at the brink of danger; the terror almost stopped my heart that day. That memory was so fresh in my mind as it was only yesterday when it occurred.

It was a cold and fragile, January afternoon. It was about 3 o’clock and the sun was a few hours away from setting. My dad picked my sister and I up from school and we were heading of to our house in our sleek black car. I was only seven at that time, but that day I learned a very important safety lesson, always wear you’re seatbelt!

When I was young I always thought that it was pointless to wear a seatbelt. Seatbelts were the annoying and strappy barriers that kept me from wriggling in my seat. They had always been the negative point of a wonderful drive. But, that day I realized what an important part it played in road safety.

“Put you’re seatbelt on!” Commanded my father as he started the silent engine.

I felt a diminutive jerk and I knew the car had started. The low rumble of the car’s engine was starting to diminish as I shifted closer to the door peering down at the vacant and ice sheeted roads of Baku, Azerbaijan. My heart skipped a beat as I felt the car jerk to the left. The blood pounded in my eyes, and temporarily, all I heard was my heart beating thunderously. Suddenly, everything came back in slow motion. The only sound that I could discern was my sister yelling her lungs out, my dad trying to control the car. I felt my body yanked from my seat from the momentum of the car, as my body crashed against the front. The car stopped abruptly! The car front was inches away from an electricity pole.

“Everything is alright” I comforted myself softly under my breath when I realized nothing had happened.

We were miles away from our house. The car wheel was stuck in the deep snow. The only thing that could drive us back was broken. We were officially stranded. 20 minutes had somehow passed; my dad was trying to fix the tire with no outcome. Soon, mom would be calling. Suddenly out of the blue two men came running in our direction. Although we could not speak Azeri, the men helped my dad pick the car’s wheel from the deep snow. The chilly wind was howling in my ears. Finally, on the third attempt, the wheel came out. My dad, my sister and I were shortly heading home.

Happiness Is

Happiness is 11, from a scale of one to ten,

playing with a farm animal, in a rusty old pen.

Happiness is an ice cream cone, with lots and lots of sprinkles,

staring up in the night sky, with galaxy stars that twinkle.

 

Happiness is a smile, on a dark rainy day,

you caring to listen, to every word I say.

Happiness is dining, on a very special night,

at a very special place, where it’s colorful and bright.

 

Happiness is all of this, and much much more.

Happiness is all around, I’m sure you’ve experienced before.

More on 年 (monster)

This monster has no permanent form and it is also scared of loud noises. That is why people on Chinese New Year use firecrackers and fireworks to scare away 年.

Summer Camp by Sung

Over the summer vacation I attended a tremendously enjoyable camp where I learned about leadership, teamwork, friendship, cultural differences, and human rights called the Children’s International Summer Village, also known as CISV. The camp takes place in various countries all over the world. This year Korea had the chance to participate in seven different camps. Four children that are 11 to 12 years of age are chosen from each country to attend a camp. It is generally two boys and two girls. For our safety there is also a leader that assists us throughout the entire month we are at the campsite. Luckily, I was selected to go to Denmark with three other kids representing the Korean delegation. Our leader was a woman named Amy who has taken part in this camp at the Netherlands. She was a responsible 21 years old and was enthusiastic to help us spend a wonderful time at Denmark.

Even though it was already my second time staying away from my parents the feeling of sadness and nervousness overwhelmed me. Also, the unfortunate part was that we were restricted to bring any sort of electronic to the camp. This may have been a hard job for me, despite that, I believe I did a good job of cutting down myself from electronics. In total the camp was four weeks. During the four weeks we have two “home-stay” sessions when you do all the laundry and alleviate your hyper mind after participating in all those exciting activities in the campsite. Usually you get to go with a good friend of yours you have made in camp. The first home-stay was before the camp, and in general, most people that volunteer for hosting kids are parents that have sent their child to the camp or have been associated with CISV. The parents take us on tours in Denmark and just chill out at home or the beach. As a result to these homestays I had a chance to tour around Central Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and visit a lake in the town.

The area of the campsite was in a town called Vaerlose close to Copenhagen in a school. We slept in classrooms on mattresses with approximately 10 kids in each room and ate in the art classroom of the school. We were provided with pillows and sheets as well. At the camp there were a total of 13 delegations. It was interesting that only two delegations came from Asia, Korea (Seoul) and China (Guang Zhou). The rest of the people were mostly from Europe and America: Norway, Great Britain, The Netherlands, France, Germany, USA, Brazil, Peru, Italy, and two teams from Denmark.

Even though CISV is an education program, the camp does not contain much studying, instead we learn through activities and friendship. Most of the activities require co-operation, communication, teamwork, and trust. For example, we had an activity session where all of us lie down in a long line side by side. Sooner or later we lift our arm up and have to cooperate and pass down every one of us along the long line.

During the camp every single country had to prepare for something called a National Night. Each country is assigned a whole activity session to share their culture and some basic facts about their home country. Our delegation performed and shared lots of unique possessions of Korea and ourselves in person. In the beginning, we wore our traditional costume that a lot of people said looked gorgeous and taught everyone our cultural bow. Our martial art, Taekwondo, was nicely demonstrated to the camp as well and our highlight was of course ‘Gangnam Style’. As soon as we started to dance to the music, everyone stood up and jumped about struggling to mimic our correct, original way of dancing. The National Night was so much fun and the entire camp had a wonderful night.

My most memorable activity was handicapped day. This may sound uncomfortable and frustrating, however it was a great experience for me. In the morning, all of us received a certain handicap we had to struggle with, for the entire day. Some people were blind, armless, unable to talk, deaf, had a broken arm or leg. I received a handicap to walk on one leg; luckily I could still eat freely and communicate without much trouble. Unfortunately, we had a soccer match scheduled that day. I was extremely shocked after I heard that since soccer is all about your two legs, and I lacked one leg, that made it impossible for me to kick or run fast. By the end, I guided a blind friend and became his eyes while he replaced my legs. Even though I was not running a lot, since I had to balance myself on one leg the pain was really bad. I had to admit it was the worst soccer game I have ever played in my life. Even though, it was a little frustrating and distracting to be handicapped for the whole day but I did certainly learn a lesson about human rights. Through experience I could reflect that disabled people still have the right to live and be a useful person making a difference towards the world.

As a result to these four weeks of camp I might not have gained the knowledge of academics, but I am definitely sure it was a great chance for me to develop into a better person. Through this camp I also did make marvelous friends all over the world. I dare say these memories will always be a part of my life.

Business Letter by Seth

 

November 29, 2013

Apple Campus
20525 Mariana Avenue,
Cupertino, CA

Dear Apple:

Why hasn’t your company designed a video game console yet?   Apple has the capability to design the best one on the market! Apple can quickly catch up and eventually overrun the other companies currently designing game consoles.

Time and time again, Apple has proven its ability to design stunning and powerful interfaces and operating systems. If Apple made a console, I have no doubt that it would be just as impressive as the operating systems Apple has made previously. Operating systems are not the only thing Apple is good at.  Apple is also capable of making tons of features and powerful tools for almost anything one can think of.  I don’t see how this expertise couldn’t be transferred into making a state-of-the-art video game console.

The Apple ID and iCloud wireless features have been extremely successful in keeping all data and media across all Apple devices up to date. It would be a major hit if these features were applied to a video game console. That would make the console the center of all media and data in its location. All the photos, movies, TV shows, music, apps, game center profile, and social networking apps in one place, on large screen would make for a popular entertainment hub.  And the best thing is, millions of people already have Apple IDs, thus making it even simpler to use an Apple console.

Apple already has hundreds of third-party app and game developers who would be eager to design games for an Apple video game console. Many other developers would gladly join along that same path if they were convinced that the console would be popular, which it will be.

There are one or two things you might want to change before making a console. Many kids aged 10 and up own Apple devices. Most of the time kids share an Apple ID with their parents, but I think there should be a feature that enables one to add a side account for a child (or whatever else they might need it for).  This would be good because you could add gift cards to side accounts and keep a 4 number pin could keep your credit card safe.  Parental controls could be used, but at the same time allow children to download free apps that are appropriate.  iCloud settings could be managed so that side accounts can download media without also putting it on the main account.  This is relevant to gaming consoles because many kids will want to have an Apple console.

Apple has the strongest reputation for electronics in the world, and I can clearly envision Apple succeeding because of the ability Apple has to develop and create. It would be a major investment, but I believe it would be worthwhile.

Regards,

Seth Hodges

‘And Then There Were None' by Sung

 ‘And Then There Were None’

-Agatha Christie

The most favored Mystery writer, Agatha Christie, branded ‘Queen of Crime’ begins another thriller piece. Agatha Christie opens the beginning of the book with eight people receiving an invitation from a stranger named Una Nancy Owen. They are invited to come over to Mr. Owen’s private island off the coast of Devon, to stay with him for the weekend. The people are slightly astonished by the letter, despite that they still decide to go visit without realizing the malicious purpose behind it. The eight guests unexpectedly meet on the boat that is heading off to the island. They are surprised at each other, since they did not know anything about other visitors. None of them seem to know each other, all they have in common is a murder they have committed in the past. Beginning that evening, the guests start getting murdered one by one.

The novel was set on a private island off the coast that no one lived on. It was the perfect site ever to commit a crime, if I were the killer I definitely would have trapped the people I wanted to murder in one area where everyone is in risk of death. The smaller the area is the better it would be for the criminal. There may not be an easy way to get around suspicion, however this sort of location would be the easiest, quickest, and the most efficient way to commit murders.

The two literary devices that cover most of the story was allusion, and of course irony. Agatha Christie made an allusion to the poem, ‘Ten Little Indians.’ The crimes happened all based upon how each Indian died in the poem. Anthony Marston died of cyanide poisoning, just like the beginning of the poem, “Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were nine.”

In the ending when the criminal confesses that he was the murderer, it was the biggest irony of the entire book. He was one of the people I was never suspicious of, since he displayed the most determination to find out the killer. He also has a type of job that is actually opposite to crimes and murders.

Throughout the entire book Agatha Christie continuously kept me wondering about the real criminal. Every chapter was thrilling and she never left a huge clue that made me suspicious about a certain person. Agatha Christie kept me thinking till the very end of the book. This is the reason she writes the world’s best mystery books and is known as the ‘Queen of Crime.’  

 

Memories of a South African Election Day - The Washington Post

“Can you believe being 45 and for the first time voting in your own country?” Lindumuzi Mngoma asked.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/memories-of-a-south-african-election-day/2013/12/06/7199c1f2-5e98-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html

Sent from the iPhone ofPaul R. Koch

Nelson Mandela 1918-2013

Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide.

Lobbying Document | City in the Sea

“Lobbying (also lobby) is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. ” via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying

 

Focus Areas for your document

Audience – Neo-Convergency Government

Purpose – For your CITS character to persuade the Neo Con Government to consider your idea or position about any topic that you choose

Format – Published to Buddy Press

via Lobbying Document | City in the Sea.

Winter

A white sky dressed in a cloak of gray clouds

Weeping icy tears of snow

Breathing a shivering gale that chills to the bone

Browning the leaves with a frosty touch

Draping a blanket of white across the world

 

 

10 Days of Fire

I took this picture in the local village behind our school.  It was just a few days after last year's Chinese New Year and there were a lot of spent fireworks in piles all around.

Chinese New Year

1. "年年有余" nian nian you yu

2. "年年有鱼" nian nian you yu

The first phrase means that you would have surplus of food and money for every year.
The second phrase means that you would eat fish every year.
Those two phrases happen to have the same pronunciation, so it became a tradition to eat fish every Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year Poem

What CNY Means to Me

Meeting parent's friends,

Receiving lots of Hong Bao,

Keeping all the cash.

Wishing everyone,

A happy Chinese New Year,

With lots of Hong Baos.

 

年 nian

There is a monster called 年-nian (Year). It gobbles little kids up if they are not wearing red or if they are lonely. SO SPEND CHINESE NEW YEAR WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!   :D

Chinese New Year Poem

Here's a poem about Chinese New Year from my perspective! Enjoy! :)

 

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year's a day to have fun and cheer

A day to celebrate a brand new year

With firework that goes 'Bang!' and 'Boom!'

As it lights up the shining moon

A festival for the young and old

Years old stories that are told

Where people can dance and sing

Oh, the joy that this day brings!

A day to spend with your folks

Eating food and telling jokes

With a certain food in every town

A traditional cake called 'Niangao'

The streets are lit up with lights

Lanterns turn the place so bright

Windows and doors stick on papers

The color red just makes it greater

This festival goes on for weeks

As sounds of chatter sweeps the streets

So tell your family and you peers

That Chinese New Year is nearly here

Li Na - International School Of Beijing Experiential Learning

When: Sunday, December 8th, 2013

Where: ISB, Gym 2

Time: 1:45pm - 3:00pm

Who can attend: ISB students, staff and immediate family members

*Books will be available for sale before the event from 1:00pm-1:45pm outside Gym 2.  Price is 135 RMB per book.

*Students or families can also pre-order books below

We warmly welcome all ISB students and families to attend this once in a lifetime event at our school.  Li Na is a Chinese tennis player who has won a grand slam and is currently ranked #3 in the world.

Li Na's book has just been published in English and released on December 1, 2013.  Li Na is coming to ISB to promote her book and to empower and inspire our students.

via Li Na - International School Of Beijing Experiential Learning.

Watching the Clouds By Hyo Jin

I lie on the grass
Watching the clouds
Walking in the sky.
I wish I could fly
And sit on a cloud.

I lie on the grass
Watching the birds
Flying in the sky.
I wish I could fly
And sit on a cloud.

How great would it be
If I could lie on a cloud
And be freed from the cage of my life?
I wish I could fly
And sit on the cloud.

I lie on the grass
Watching the clouds
Passing by in the peaceful sky.
I hear the storms coming
And soon the thunder bolt strikes.

Sometimes, sometimes
I feel my heart breaking,
Like the thunderbolts breaking the peaceful sky.
I feel like running away from my life,
Like running away from the storm.

However I know
And I am sure
That there is always sunshine
Coming after the storm
Which shines behinds the white clouds.

I still wish I could fly
And sit on a cloud.
But I now know that
Sun always comes up
After the big, big storm.

Stop! Grammar Time!

• Past/Passed, There/their, two/too

• Combining Independent Clauses (compound sentences)
  Comma + FANBOYS
  Semicolon(;)
  Semicolon(;) + Adverbial Conjunction + comma(,)  

• Adverbial conjunctions


• Commas, Semicolons

• Let’s eat Grandma
  Let’s eat, Grandma
  Grammar Saves Lives

• Why do you always use this…? Or worse, this….?

• How have you been taught to punctuate thoughts?

• “Students, please punctuate dialogue correctly,” Mr. Koch screamed.

• Passive Voice?  Just use active verbs when you can.
  The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the "to be verb" with the past participle of the main verb.

• Literature is NOW(and then) – Write in the present tense when talking about books.

• No weasel statements -  “In this_______I am going to tell you about _____________.” Or any variation thereof!

• “It is” is the ONLY time to write “it’s”

• Thesis Statements, Focus statement, what are you going to prove in your paper?After reading The Giver I learned that it is a good book because it shows that planning a society that has everything exactly the same and equal can turn out to have many flaws, and imperfections.For a student, every meal is an important time to charge up our bodies and should be easy to access with reasonable prices and quality of foods.

In this essay, I will (bore the reader) « Kevin's Meandering Mind

More and more, I notice how many of my sixth graders start every reading response with “In this paragraph, I will …” and every longer essay with “In this essay, I will …” and I am trying to ween them off those boring starts. It’s not easy. They have been programmed by other teachers, I think, to begin their pieces this way so that, at least, they will have an opening. (and don’t get me started on the closing sentences, which end with “In this paragraph, I have shown you …”)

via In this essay, I will (bore the reader) « Kevin's Meandering Mind.

Stop! Grammar Time.

-Past/Passed, There/their, two/too

-Combining Independent Clauses (compound sentences)

• Comma + FANBOYS


• Semicolon(;)


• Semicolon(;) + Adverbial Conjunction + comma(,) 

-Commas

• Let’s eat Grandma


• Let’s eat, Grandma


• Grammar Saves Lives

-Why do you always use this…? Or worse, this….?

-How have you been taught to punctuate thoughts?

-“Students, please punctuate dialogue correctly,” Mr. Koch screamed.

-Passive Voice?  Just use active verbs when you can. The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the "to be verb" with the past participle of the main verb.

-Literature is NOW(and then) – Write in the present tense when talking about books.

-No weasel statements -  “In this_______I am going to tell you about _____________.” Or any variation thereof!

-“It is” is the ONLY time to write “it’s”

-Thesis Statements

• After reading The Giver I learned that it is a good book because it shows that planning a society that has everything exactly the same and equal can turn out to have many flaws, and imperfections.

• For a student, every meal is an important time to charge up our bodies and should be easy to access with reasonable prices and quality of foods.


• Many people have wondered which is better, the Xbox One^TM or the PS4^TM. Though there are many differences, it always and always will depend on the player’s opinion.
  

Venn Diagram on Government

Creately - Draw, Share, Validate and Export diagram

Creately - Draw, Share, Validate and Export diagram.

How to Create a Thesis for a Compare & Contrast Essay | The Classroom | Synonym

How to Create a Thesis for a Compare & Contrast Essay | The Classroom | Synonym.

Thesis Statements - The Writing Center

Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life...convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

via Thesis Statements - The Writing Center.

Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay - Compare and Contrast

Simple compare and contrast. This is often the next step up from the plain five-paragraph essay. I sometimes call it the this-and-that paper. The essay can be written around a block comparison, where the two (or more) things to be compared are discussed separately in longer multi-paragraph sections, or on a point-by-point basis, alternating each paragraph. The key here that makes this structure rise above the purely pedestrian is the conclusion. A compare-and-contrast paper that concludes with an unresolved or rhetorical question about the meaning of the comparison is banal and descriptive, but a paper that concludes with an emphatic resolution of the comparison or contrast can be excellent.

via Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay.

Hi y'all

Let's organize our government proposals together

 

HAPPY BAJA

Business Letter by Gauri

October 27, 2013

 

Wal-Mart
Basement One & Basement Two, Block B, Beijing Wanda Plaza,93 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District

 

Dear Beijing Store Manager,

Thank you for giving your attention to this letter. I have some important things to say about the broadcast announcements that advertise some of the products in your store. I presume that the announcements said by the salesperson should be banned because these kinds of advertisements can lead to many problems for the costumers and the Wal-Mart Company.

Wal-Mart is a huge shopping store, it is a popular place for shoppers and therefore there should be more consideration for the health of these costumers.

One of the major reasons why I am suggesting banning these advertisement announcements is because of the extra noise pollution created by these loud announcements in addition to the noise created by the crowds of costumers, which can lead to many hearing problems.  Secondly, the announcements are said in Chinese, many of the costumers are foreigners who do not speak or understand Chinese causing just an inconvenience in their shopping experience. Lastly, the loud announcements disturb the buyer’s attention towards shopping. They will usually go for the free sample, but not buy it. Also, then the shopper will not buy as many things as he/she had intended to.

I suggest that Wal-Mart should use posters or banners to attract the consumer’s attention. This solution will decrease the amount of noise pollution and the consumer instead of him/her being forced upon the announcements will choose to look at the poster willingly.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Gauri Kaushik

 

pkoch9999 shared an Instagram photo with you

Hello,

pkoch9999 just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"Twin Day(well, triplet day)"
(taken at International School of Beijing)

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Types of Letter Format | Full Block style letter format | Informal and Formal Letter Format

Types of Letter Format

As mentioned above different types of letter writing follow certain formats which have been established over the years. Letter formats are applicable by and large to formal type of letters. Informal letters do not require a certain pattern of writing and can be written in number of ways. But for guidance purposes we have included few varieties of informal ways of writing which can be termed as sorts of informal formats. These formats makes the letter writing process a convenient one.

As a general rule most letters follow:

Formal Letters Format

Full Block Style

Semi-Block Style

Modified Block Style

Modified Semi-Block Style

via Types of Letter Format | Full Block style letter format | Informal and Formal Letter Format.

Teaser

Hello,

pkoch9999 just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"Teaser #amnd(otntmtfttt)"
(taken at ISB Theatre)

 

The Citizens Weigh In | City in the Sea

The Citizens Weigh InPaul Koch [STAFF]       November 27, 2013      Uncategorized     No Comment

I liked how we as citizens could lead and take power throughout the discussion, although the Q&A section became a little chaotic with repeating questions and a debate-like environment.

I think all of the government proposal were either republic, democracy or both of them mixed together. So I think we have to say that the voting is gonna lead to republic or democracy.

I really like what we did today. We shared our ideas how our government should be.

It really felt like having a really big meeting about a country!

i would love to do this in the future, i think everybody did awesome i think it is very chaotic, but yet represents what a usual congress is like, with people poking wholes in every thing you say, and people disagreeing completely.

IT WAS SO STRESSFUL! but i think it was a good learning experience I think that we should choose republic as our type of government because people have free choice under this type of system and the majority is also restrained by law as well. This way, people would be able to live freely but also in a safe way.

I think that the Selection went through quite smoothly, but there were a few errors in some forms of governments.

I think we should choose repoligarchy because they have the best system for freedom.

Well,honestly I think that this way of forming ideas is very effective.It shows us the different concepts and types of governments that most likely fit in with our wants and needs list. I like hos some of the presentations were very straightforward and clear but,others were a little too vague.

i think todays discussion is really interesting and helpful.

I suggest that we should combine two different ideas of governments. For example, the Buleutarian and the Equilibracy can be combined because there are similar procedures, yet there are different ways to fulfill the needs and desires of our citizens and society. I, myself, still believes that we should have a council. However, our government also has a few disadvantages, which I believe that combining with a different idea of a form of government can even out the disadvantages and make the benefits of our form of government STRONGLY outweigh the disadvantages. Thank you.

For the method of deciding government i think 778 should debate about the governments and choose the top 2 from the 6 governments. Then the teachers will decide which government we will use from the top 2. I left the question blank because i didn’t know how to say that in one word.

I think that today the chat went well today. Maybe when we are choosing the government we can combine a little bit of each government so that each group can have a little bit of their proposal in the final decision.

I think we need to make laws base on people’s needs and wants. I think the government should be working based on the laws and followed the laws to decide things. Also I think only a government deciding about everything is not reasonable and doable. So i think there should be congress men or maybe representatives to balance with the government.

via The Citizens Weigh In | City in the Sea.

Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four

Thanks to Anna Davidson for the share.

General tips for writing a comparison/contrast essay

Here are some general tips for writing a comparison/contrast essay:

As mentioned above, the overall point of the comparison should be made clear--you should have an analytical thesis that you’re arguing rather than just offering similarities and differences between the two texts.

The ordering of your topics should be consistent throughout. Usually the best way to organize such a paper is to juxtapose one text with the other on a point-by-point basis, rather than treating one text in the first half of your paper and the second text in the second half. In fact, this second form of organization is not acceptable.

Observations about a text should only be included when there is corresponding information about the other text with which to compare it.

via http://www.stanford.edu/class/ihum14/Assignments/Paper2.html

Compare/Contrast

Types of Papers: Compare/Contrast.

Comparing and Contrasting - The Writing Center

Comparing and Contrasting - The Writing Center.

Socratic Seminar Debrief

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qMF1h4BypUJqZn9s8gOoqDrB8t9v7NipKunUAhxyHsE/viewform

BATTLE OF THE YUAN UPDATE from M. Mack

The fight to raise funds for the Philippines has started off strong today with our first day of donations!  6th grade is currently in the lead, crushing both 7th and 8th grade!  Will same be true tomorrow?  Here our or current totals (yes all grade levels have negative points!):

 

Grade 6   –136 points

Grade 7   -947points

Grade 8   -1238 points

They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets. - NYTimes.com

They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets. - NYTimes.com.

"Of 381 college admissions officers who answered a Kaplan telephone questionnaire this year, 31 percent said they had visited an applicant’s Facebook or other personal social media page to learn more about them — a five-percentage-point increase from last year. More crucially for those trying to get into college, 30 percent of the admissions officers said they had discovered information online that had negatively affected an applicant’s prospects."

Challenges ahead; Beijing sets sights on a new China | Reuters

 

Challenges ahead; Beijing sets sights on a new China | Reuters.

Beijing Planning Hall Field Trip

MAP Testing Pilot - From MS Assistant Principal, Fred Shafer

Dear Parents,

This year the middle school is going to pilot a different type of standardized test called Measure of Academic Progress (MAP). MAP tests are unique in that they are adaptive tests your child takes on a computer, which means that the test becomes more difficult the more questions your child answers correctly. When your child incorrectly answers a question, the test becomes easier. Therefore, your child takes a test specifically created for his or her learning level.

We will be administering the first pilot tests starting the on November 14th. In the coming months, we will make sure we keep parents updated on our progress. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Thanks,

Fred Schafer
MS Assistant Principal

PILOT by Kina

I am a pilot.

I fly
In different weather and situations.

I fly through the clouds,
Feels like flying through
Jumbles of cotton candy.

I fly through the thunder,
Feels like going through the strong and sudden flash light!
It makes me shiver like a mobile phone,
Hope I don't pee on my pants…

The weather has so many different faces
That can control my feelings.

Often,
There is blue sky~~
I can see what’s going on down under my plane.

I can see green grass
With buzzing bees.
BUZZZZ~

I can see people put their hands up,
Pointing at my plane.

I can see sweet smiles
From small kids.

I can see the world!!

That’s why I love to fly!!!

Alex Scarrow Visiting Author - 3 Act Storytelling

 

Business Letter by Emerson

Management Office
River Garden Villa
No. 7 Yuyang Road
Shunyi, Beijing 101300

Dear River Garden Management:

My name is Emerson Davis and I am currently a seventh grade student at ISB. This is my second year living in River Garden, and I am very concerned about the serious pollution problems in Beijing. I think that all of us in River Garden should do our part to address these problems by establishing a real recycling program in our compound.

As you know, the Air Quality Index (AQI) measures air pollution levels. An AQI over 100 is “unhealthy,” and a reading over 300 is “hazardous.” Beijing’s annual AQI has averaged around 150 since 2010. In January 2013, the AQI reached 1,000 and was more than 500 for at least 9 days; these are TOXIC levels!

According to Medium.com, on average, Beijing creates 18,400 tons of garbage every day. On Huffingtonpost.com, Peggy Liu says, “If trash is gold, China is very rich.”

Did you know that it takes plastic 100-400 years to break down in a landfill? If you think plastic takes a long time to decompose, think again. It can take up to 1 million years for a glass bottle to break down in a landfill; whereas, it can take as little as 30 days for the same bottle to be recycled and put onto a store shelf as a new piece of glass. Harvesting pulp for making paper is the primary cause of deforestation, and deforestation is a major cause of Beijing’s air pollution problem. Recycling paper instead of cutting down trees could make a big difference. Also, the energy saved by recycling one glass bottle will power a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. Conserving electricity will result in less air pollution from power plants and can help improve the air in Beijing.

By recycling more, we can make a difference. I believe that River Garden should provide each house with a plastic bin for recyclable items such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, newspapers and cardboard. The trash collectors would pick up this bin separately and send it to a recycling facility. River Garden could keep any money earned from trading in the recyclables.

River Garden should also place recycle bins at the clubhouse that are labeled for specific materials such as plastic, glass and paper and other items, like batteries. River Garden should also give Small Jenny’s at the clubhouse and Steak & Eggs large recycle bins and require them to recycle as part of their leases. Small Jenny’s should also stop using plastic bags and ask people to bring their own reusable bags. Steak & Eggs should stop providing straws with the beverages it sells to save plastic.

If River Garden instituted this plan, it would be known as a leader in environmental protection in our area. Perhaps the other nearby compounds would follow River Garden’s lead and institute similar programs. If all the villa compounds around ISB begin real recycling programs, it will make a difference. Please email me at emerson.l.davis@gmail.com if you would like to discuss my ideas.

Sincerely,

 

Emerson L. Davis

The Essay Format

Memoir - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Memoir - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

 

Vocabulary List 5-23

Wow! Crime on Mars

THE LAST CHANCE by Kina

THE LAST CHANCE

What’s the thing that makes you happy all the time and blows out your stress? When I was in Korea, speed skating was that sort of thing that made me feel happy all the time. I was glad to speed skate because it was the only time that I could give some rest for my brain to relax like a bear during the winter sleep. As soon as I stepped into the ice rink, I let my brain rest and followed my instincts. Sports might need the use of your brain but sometimes it’s better to follow your instincts. For example, people speed skate really fast. They are human and can make mistakes and fall down. Due to their speed when they fall down, they could slide into you. In that situation, if you tried to use your head and measure the degree that the person would come into you, eventually you would crash. So sometimes, it’s better to switch off your brain and follow your instincts. I also liked the feeling when the icy cold air passed through me really fast. It felt fresh but my nose hurt a bit because it was freezing cold.

I started speed skating when I was in about 2nd grade. I started a lot later than usual kids who speed skate, so I had a harder time than the other skaters with the age of 7~9. To speed skate, you need to be in the perfect squat posture but you must bend your waist. It MUST be perfect. For it to be perfect, you need a lot of flexibility in your waist and power in your thigh. I endeavored hard with those two parts. I especially strived my best with the flexibility. When I got used to it, my capacity of speed skating improved rapidly. I guess it was because I was flexible enough to speed skate due to the practices and I could understand what the instructor asked me to change. The other members were little kids, so they had some problems with understanding. For example, the teacher asked them to put their weight on their butt, so their butt went down, but they couldn’t understand it. They all looked at the instructor with a silly face.

I made such fast progress, so I moved to the advanced level but not the master one. I practiced hard there. Sometimes, I went to the competitions too. I usually got 3rd place. However, after my 5th competition, I realized how to control myself before the competition to jump over that 3rd place wall. It was like a quirk of fate because when I was practicing for my 6th competition, I heard terrible news. My mom told me this would be my last competition. I was in panic. Thus, I tried harder to get rid of that thought. It was too hard. Later on, I changed my mind. I decided to keep that in my mind so I could remind myself and practice harder to finalize with the first place medal.

It was the day that I had my last competition. I was so nervous that I ran up and down the staircases. I ran the hallway. I did squats several times.

I was sweating like a pig. I watched the clock and I had about 15 minutes left before my competition. My heart was beating so hard as if a thousand elephants were in my heart and dancing. I speeded up to the waiting room and quickly put my skates on. The woman who called out the names, to tell it’s your turn, called my name. I rushed to her. She gave me a white cotton cover for my helmet. She gave different colored helmets to each person so people could identify who they were.

BOOM! With a loud gun sound, the race started. My starting was awesome. It was because of the one that I ran the staircases before the race. My legs were already stretched and familiar with that icy-cold temperature because I was running around the ice rink before the race. Therefore until the 2nd round I was in 1st place. Nevertheless on the last lap, I was so accelerated that I couldn't overcome the centrifugal force. Thus, when I went around the last corner, I went a bit outside of the corner. At that time, the girl who was skating right behind me speeded up to beat me. Then she went to the finishing line faster than me. I was so furious that moment but when I came out of the rink my mom told me “good job Kina!! See? You can do this!! You got 3rd places before but on this time, you got 2nd place which was really close to the 1st place.” Her compliment made a slight smile on my lips. Then I told my mom that when I come back to Korea and go to the college, I will go into the speed skating club and get 1st place

Socratic Seminar | Facing History and Ourselves

Socratic Seminar | Facing History and Ourselves.

Socratic Seminars - ReadWriteThink

Socratic Seminars - ReadWriteThink.

Welcome to Baja

Whale watching in Baja, Mexico pic.twitter.com/gHw3VaTIcY

— Best Earth Pics (@BestEarthPix) October 24, 2013

 

The Journey of Love by Amira

The Journey of Love 

The beauty of a rose is to be respected,
Yet stray too close to be affected,
By the stinging thorns of evil,
A cut could easily be lethal,

The feeling you have could start out new,
Like the bud of a rose as it grew,
Your mind, your actions and your heart,
Blinded by this loving part,

Because love is like a rubber band,
Two people holding different ends,

Stretching and stretching,
Farther apart,

Until one person finally lets go,
And the person left holding it gets hurt the most.

Business Letter (Body) by Louisa

27^th, August 2013

IKEA
Beijing, Chaoyang district                                                                                                                                        CS.CNIKEA@IKEA.COM

Dear Geoffrey Xu (Beijing store manager):

Thank you for giving up your time to read this business letter, as I have some things to say about the rules and regulations at the IKEA store. I claim that rules in the IKEA store should be stricter to people sleeping in the display beds and sofas because this causes shoppers not able to try out the beds they want to buy and sanitary problems throughout the store.

IKEA is well known for its furniture, simplicity, color, usage, etc. IKEA often plays big roles in decorating and theming rooms, kitchens, studies and other parts of the house and office. IKEA also plays a very big role in many bedrooms. I think that one of the most important pieces of furniture in the bedroom is the bed. The bed can be used for sleeping, but it can give the room different feelings depending on its kind of bedding too.

Firstly, I suggest that the rules in the model bedrooms or sample beds and bedding displays to be improved. When I walk into the bedding area of the store, I always find lots of people sleeping, or people lying on the beds when they are not planning to buy the beds. I understand for people to lie down and feel how the bedding or bed feels on their back to choose the right bed they want to buy. At the same time, I do not understand why people sleep on these model beds. There should be strict rules against this action for several reasons. One, the actual customers who want to try the beds out may not get a chance due to other people sleeping on them. Two, the idea of people sleeping on beds displayed on furniture stores is not the correct mindset. Furniture displays are there so people can see what it looks like in a regular room space. If rules do not get stricter, more and more people could sleep on them. Shopping is a tiring thing, but beds are not the place to lie down and sleep on.

Furthermore, people sleeping on beds can cause sanitary problems too. We have unknown, unseen germs that spread in places like IKEA where there are lots of customers daily. Beds can be full of germs, and if people sleep on it, it causes even more germs. In order to keep stores clean, and customers healthy, IKEA may have to have a stricter usage of beds in the store. Also, you may find that bed sheets get worn out easily, dirty, smelly, unclean faster if people actually use them, rather than just touch them with hands or sit on them.

It may be greatly useful to strictly designate an area for beds that can get tried out, and an area for display beds so people do not try out display beds, which will then help stop people sleep on them. These kind of rules are  crucial because people sleeping in sample beds can affect customer satisfaction, sanitation and healthiness.

Thank you for your consideration and I await your response.

Sincerely,

You Found Me by Amira

A story how there is always someone out there who would look out for you, even if you don’t notice it at all.

 

“Alix! 100% on the final unit test! Congratulations (again)!” The teacher’s voice boomed across the classroom, directed to a certain tiny girl. Everybody eyes seemed to turn to the emotionless girl in the back of the room. Her straight raven locks fell down to mid-waist, her bangs delicately framing her porcelain face. There, on top of her nose, nestled a pair of enormous Coke bottle glasses.

“Thank you,” She replied blandly, ignoring the whispers that had spread around the classroom. ‘She’s such a nerd.’ Alix glanced slightly at the girl who spoke up, but after contemplating mentally in her head, she remained doing nothing as more of the test scores were announced, no one’s as perfect as Alix’. ‘Look at those ugly glasses!’ She heard another kid whisper. What did they mean by glasses? Just because she wore huge glasses did not mean that she was a nerd. However, unlike most students in this rich academy, she had gotten to this school on a scholarship instead of paying the rather large sum of money that her “commoner” family was unable to produce. She refused to trouble her hard-working parents in paying for the school tuition fees. All she had to do was remain at the top in class and the school would pay everything for her, not including lunch, which she packed herself of course. People would introduce her to be an extremely responsible person, as she never seemed to mess up. She was what people called perfect (minus the extra big glasses), and that’s what made them detest her more. Too bad there was no such things as a perfect person.

 

~Chapter 1~

Don't let your emotions bottle up; because once you do, you’re going to eventually have to let it all out. –Amira Chou

Alix stared at her belongings that were strewn across the floor, the binders messily ripped apart from the papers. She stared at the wretched bag on the ground before slowly reaching down to get her wallet and walked away. This had become a daily thing, so Alix knew that the belongings had to stay at home. This is everyday of my life… Alix thought, mentally depressed. On the outside, however, her facial expression didn’t even twitch. She knew that once you don’t show reactions, bullies would leave you alone once they got bored. Sighing, she slung the bag over her back before making her way to her house.

“Sister! Sister! Look what I made!” For the first time throughout the entire day, Alix let a smile grace her features as she stared down at her younger brother. He was the joy in her life. He was the only thing she looked forward to when she got home. Alix set her wallet down on the bench before bending down to hug her 9-year-old baby brother. He had drawn a messy drawing of her and him holding hands together with the word ‘family’ messily scrawled on top and presented it proudly with a grin. A frown adorned Alix’ delicate features when she noticed something missing.

“Oh, Adrian. Where are mother and father?” She spoke softly, placing a pale hand on Adrian’s head. His smile wavered slightly.

“Mother and Father don’t take care of me. It’s always Nana and you! You’re my only family!” He retorted. Alix felt her heart tug in pain from how he thought of his own birth parent, and swell at the same time to think that she was so important to him. That feeling left when she felt the words settle down in her.

“Adrian!” She scolded, tapping his head hard.

“Mother and Father have to work, and you know it!” The boy shrugged, looking away, tears welling up in his eyes.

“But none of them show up for any of sister’s important events! Only for Adrian’s!” He cried, hugging Alix’ waist tightly. Alix froze, remembering all those years for her past 13 years of her life where her parents never once came back on time to wish her a happy birthday. Only for Aiden, but she felt it was a need for the boy to celebrate his birthday with his parents, so she had begged every year with all her strength for them to come home. They even forgot what day her birthday was after that! Alix’ lips trembled slightly, but she held strong for her little brother. She couldn’t let her brother know that the wall he leant on for support actually needed more support itself. She couldn’t. That would be unfair for her brother, who was only nine. He was too young and innocent to understand the world around him.

Finally, after returning the hug to her brother a little longer, she let him go and smiled fully at him, one of her special smiles that made her eyes twinkle brightly.

“Let’s go see what Nana’s cooking!” She ushered her now excited brother into the kitchen before telling him that she needed to do homework, leaving her brother to watch their maid cook for the two of them. Nana had been their maid since Alix was 4, when her parents started to become too involved with work and no longer had time to take care of the girl. Honestly, Alix felt that she was closer to Nana than her own mother, which immediately made her feel guilty for thinking that. She stared at the lone picture in her simple room that consisted of a bed, a desk (with a chair), a bookshelf and a door that led to a bathroom. It was a family picture taken when Aiden was just born. That moment seemed to be one of the only moments where her parents looked like normal parents. In the worn-out picture, stood a four-years-old girl holding tightly onto her baby brother, smiling widely. There, her beautiful mother was smiling tiredly, and her father, dressed as a businessman even then, stood professionally next to his wife, letting a small smile slip through his cold demeanor.

Unknowingly, Alix could feel tears slide down her face as she remembered how her family used to be. Faint memories of her when she was 2 and first learned how to read flashed through her head. All her life, she had studied hard to show her parents how smart she was. She aced every test and even skipped grades! All she wanted to do was show to her parents that she was special and yearn for the feeling of being congratulated, but all her parents would do (if they were there,) would stare at her, then walk away as if she had disappointed them somehow. She was indeed a genius, but she never knew being a genius could be so lonely.

 

~Chapter 2~

Different shouldn’t be used in a bad term. Everybody’s different. Some are just more different than others, and that’s whom we neglect. –Amira Chou

Alix stared ahead as their homeroom teacher made his way into the classroom. As everyone settled down, the seat next to Alix stayed empty. At least I have a window to look at and talk to. She thought sarcastically as she turned her head back to the teacher who was addressing to everyone in the class that there would be a new student. Another one? Alix thought as she stared at the door that she knew the student would come in from. Automatically, this new student would most likely find a group to join, and classmates would welcome him/her, and they would automatically fit in. Unlike herself, who would most likely be taunted again if she spoke. Alix could feel something churning where her heart was, as if it was twisting in knots tighter and tighter, and her stomach seemed to burn. Was this… jealousy? Alix brushed that thought off. She was raised through discipline, not emotions. Of course it couldn’t be jealously. Why would she be jealous anyway? The new kid would probably just join a group and then have someone to hang out with during break, or eat with during lu- Alix cut off her trail of thoughts. What was she doing again? The door suddenly creaked open, and the class quieted down, waiting in anticipation to see who it was. A black shoe made it’s way into sight, before a tall boy entered the classroom. His black hair swept over his onyx eyes as he scanned the room, ignoring the gawking and drooling girls.

“My name is Hayato. I come from Japan. Nice to meet you.” He spoke coolly before the teacher could utter a word, stuffing his hands in his pocket as he observed each and every person, as if deeming them worthy of his presence or not. There was a long silence before the teacher spoke up.

“Why don’t we all stand up and introduce ourselves and say something they like? Then ask a question to Hayato here?” The teacher asked nervously, seeing all the sudden fangirls.

“Hi! I’m Hana! I like-“ She twirled her hair flirtatiously. “-Cute things! And are you single?” Alix rolled her eyes. It was typical for the girl to try to act cute and flirt. How was he so popular anyway? There was nothing cool about him anyway. He was only from Japan. Hayato rolled his eyes, too.

“You’re disgusting, trying to flirt with me without even getting to know me. People like you shouldn’t be here. But to answer your question, I am, in fact, single.” He sighed.

“He responded to me~” She whispered to herself, her face tinted a shade of bright red, completely oblivious to what Hayato said. Hayato growled lowly to himself, that was only picked up by Alix’ sensitive ears. She mentally chuckled to herself. Too bad for this guy! Looks like he’s going to have to deal with the rest of the dense female population for the school year, and the next after! More people stood up to introduce themselves one by one, each failing to try and impress the boy, until finally, everyone except for Alix. Everybody’s eyes seemed to burn holes into her body as she slowly stood up. Staring emotionlessly at the boy, she started with her introduction.

“I am Alix. Don’t call me anything besides that. I like very little things. For my question…” She paused. “… Do you get good grades? If not, then I do not have any interest in you.” She said in a dead tone, neatly seating herself before Hayato could answer. The room quieted, before someone shouted out,

“Nerd! Say something cooler, or no one’s going to like you! Wait- never mind! Everybody already dislikes you!” Alix did not even flinch as the class started to laugh. The whole entire class started to turn into an uproar, but all Alix did was stare ahead at the teacher as the teacher tried to settle the class down from that outburst. Suddenly, Hayato spoke up, silencing everybody in the classroom,

“Alix? Is that you?”

FIRST TIME AT THE BEACH by Andrew L.

<<FIRST TIME AT THE BEACH>>

 In everyone’s life, a chance to go to the beach is just essential. It is a wonderful place to go to and enjoy your day. I was born in the US, in Los Angeles, where the ocean waves surge against the Los Angeles coast. At that time period, I was still 2 and a half years old. I would spend my entire time everyday staying at my house, playing with my toys. All I knew about and all my knowledge, was simply “trapped” inside my house. I had absolutely no idea what joy was even there in the outside world. One of my highlights of my entire life was the first time I actually visited a beach.

It all started on this sunny day, the first time when my dad actually took me out to play. Full of joy and excitement, I dashed out of my house with my dad. The fresh air that flowed into my nose, and the wind that breezed across my face, gave me the feeling that this was going to be a very special day.

My dad and I arrived at this place where there were these tiny little bits of things that looked really similar to rocks spread everywhere, and this “huge swimming pool” that seemed limitless, stood right next to it. I took a step into the tiny rocks, noticing that they were much softer than ordinary ones. My toes sunk into the small bits, making me feel really comfortable. This was completely a different world than the one I used to be in!

My dad told me to have fun and play around here, but he also told me not to touch the water. As he walked away to rest on a couch, full of curiosity, I disobeyed his orders and charged toward the body of water. Just at the same time, an enormous wave rushed right towards me like a rough and hard wall, knocking me to the ground. My dad ran towards the place I fell and picked me up. Tears of fear went gushing out of my eyes, but at the same time, I felt like this was one of the best moments of my entire life! That was the very first time I actually went into the ocean!

Everyone has a first time on everything. Thinking back to the moment I first came to a real beach, I feel really different comparing my life now and my life back then.

My First Day of ISB by Hyo Jin

My First Day of ISB

            I was amazed at the size of the school. It was huge, twice as big as my old school. When I went in, the school was smaller than I expected. But, soon I noticed that it was only half of the school that I saw.

In the computer orientation, I got the MacBook. This was the first computer that I owned for myself. The computer was very new to me. So I had some trouble in my class.

“Follow me,” said my buddy on block C, enrichment time. I had no idea what  “enrichment” was. There was no “enrichment” period in my old school. Instead, we had five tests in a week. We had tons of thick textbooks and no computers. It was easier to study in ISB than my old school.

After school, I had to go to a bus. I regret that I did not ask for help. When I came out, I noticed that I wandered around the whole school. Thankfully, the bus was still there in the parking lot. The next day, I thought of a way to go out easily, it was to follow the crowd that was going to the bus.

I learned that ISB was a big school. I like many things in ISB, like getting computers for myself, and the teachers were not so strict, but the best thing that I like is that there are not so many tests as my old school.