Zoe M

This is a presentation I made on the battles of Kibutz Negba in Israel during the year 1948:

https://docs.google.com/a/mjgds.org/presentation/d/147GGthLvjlaAe22g

PsepEdT6QHFY5HlBAgBM6hIgoXI/edit#slide=id.p

Do you know a place that has to do with space? If so, is it in Florida? Well, I know one. That specific place is………..The Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral! The Kennedy Space Center is the home of NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. At the Kennedy Space Center, there are a lot of things to see and do. You can walk around in the rocket garden, or watch an IMAX movie. You can go to the Angry Birds exhibit for kids, or go on a bus tour. There are many exhibits and activities at the Kennedy Space Center.

Last week, the fourth and fifth grade went on a field trip there. We all went to our school at 6:45 AM, and the bus left at 7:00. It was a long drive so when we finally got there we were relieved. First, we went on a bus tour. The driver was our guide and he explained a few things while we watched two videos about NASA and space. When we got there, we went into a room and watched another video on NASA and space. The video showed the scientists perseverance while trying to get a spaceshuttle ready to launch properly. It showed America’s triumph when we got ahead of Russia in the “Space Race”.

When the video finished, we went into another room. That room was the actual control that was used when the first shuttle was launched. After that, we got to walk around in a small area. That “small area” had a huge space shuttle hanging from the ceiling.

We ate lunch at the picnic tables outside when we returned. After lunch, we were allowed to go wherever we wanted with our chaperones. My friends and I rushed with our chaperones to see a 3D IMAX movie about the

Hubble. We ran in just as the doors were about to close. It was hard to find seats in the dark. We couldn’t see anything in the theater! The movie was extremely interesting. It was all about pictures the Hubble took on baby stars and new galaxies. We saw a star nursery that had baby stars forming. It was so cool!

                           Source: Hubblesite.org

After the movie, my friends went on the simulator. I didn’t go on it because I had done it before, and didn’t want to again. After that, we went to the Angry Birds exhibit for kids. There were lots of activities to do such as laser tag or a mirror maze. We didn’t do the laser tag because the line was so long, but we did do the mirror maze. The mirror maze was a maze, but the walls were mirrors. It was hard to know what was a wall or what was not, so we had our hands out the whole time. We didn’t know where to go and we didn’t want to get lost, so we followed someone to the exit. After that we walked around and went to the Rocket Garden. The Rocket Garden was a small garden that had rockets. There was also the tip of a rocket that you could go in and sit down. After that, we went to the gift shop and bought gifts. I bought two flashlight pens that say Kennedy Space Center and had the NASA logo.                                                         

My favorite parts of the trip were the Hubble IMAX and the Angry Birds exhibit. I also really liked the bus tour and rocket garden, though. I enjoyed everything! The Hubble IMAX and the bus tour were so interesting. The IMAX was my very favorite, because I think learning about space is so cool and interesting. The bus tour taught me more about the history of the Kennedy Space Center, and the Angry Birds was a lot of fun. There were so many kids in it! Also, the rocket garden was very cool. In the garden, we looked at the rockets and relaxed.

I learned so many facts on the trip! I learned about height and width, such as, the space station is as large as two football fields, and the NASA building is the largest one-story building in the world. It also has the largest hand painted American flag on the wall. Did you know one rocket ship is bigger than two Statue of Liberties? Or, there are over 1,300 hidden cameras at NASA and it is the safest place in America?

I had such a spectacular time at the Kennedy Space Center. It was one of my favorite field trips ever! I would definitely recommend going to the Kennedy Space Center with your family, or with your class at school. It is educational, but most importantly, it is fun! Would you like to go to the Kennedy Space Center? Have you already been there? If so, tell me about it. What was your visit like? What did you do? Did you have fun?

Image Credits: Microsoft Clip Art

During the first semester I made a few goals for myself. I think I did and did not accomplish my goals. My first goal was to be patrol each semester. That, I accomplished. I also wanted to get straight A’s. I have not gotten a B this year! I also wanted to get honor roll each semester which I accomplished. Another goal of mine was to improve in math and science. I am almost certain I have. After that I wanted to get more visitors from around the world on my ClustrMap. That, I definitely accomplished. Click here to see. I also wanted to get a higher reading. That, I accomplished, and got the highest one there is! I cannot go any higher now!

One of my Jewish Studies goals was to get 100′s on every test. I got 100′s on most tests but I am pretty sure there is one I didn’t get 100 on. My second Jewish Studies goal was to lead the class in everything. That was a hard goal to accomplish but I am close. One of my Social Studies goals was to do better on Social Studies tests. That, I definitely accomplished. I have done very well on all of my Social Studies tests. Another goal was to improve on Math tests. I feel like I HAVE improved and even though I do not only get 100′s, I get what we are doing. I accomplished about half my goals, so for the last semester I will try to accomplish all of them. To accomplish getting 100′s I can study more. I do study, but I can study for two days, not one.

My teachers made a few goals for me also during the first nine weeks. I have two Language Arts goals. One of them is to read two non-fiction books during the semester. I did read two non-fiction books, so I accomplished my goal. My second goal was to use less repetition when writing essays. I am pretty sure I accomplished that because I know a good sight to look up synonyms for words and I have a bigger vocabulary. I also have two goals for Math. One of the goals was to do enrichment activities to enhance my skills. I started doing that towards the end of the semester. The other one was work independently on KhanAcademy.org. I haven’t really done that.

I was given three goals for Social Studies and Science. My first Social Studies goal was to become a curious learner about the events in American history and investigate topics about the past and the present. My second goal was to learn how to find the answer to questions based on the text or website. My third goal was to learn how to write an expanded answer based on knowledge learned about a topic. I know how to do that, and I demonstrated by writing a  one paragraph answer for one simple question. My first Science goal was to increase independent research skills. I have gotten better at researching. My second goal was to share new knowledge or homework application of an old idea with peers. I do share some of my ideas with peers. My last goal is to be a more active role model. I am not sure whether I accomplished that or not. I was also given one Jewish Studies goal. That goal was to use Hebrew for all conversations during Jewish Studies class. I did not accomplish that because with my friends I speak English.

Language Arts is the class that we do the most writing on our blogs. I have written a lot of posts that I am very proud of. However, my favorite post is the persuasive essay I did on why schools should have study halls. It was written to convince schools to get a study hall. I wrote that because I play soccer three times a week and it takes up a lot of my time. I often find that I get stressed when I have too much homework. Click here to view my post. 

For the third nine weeks we had to read at least three books and do one project on each of them. We were given a sheet that had the things we could do, but we couldn’t just choose any random three. We had to choose three that were in a line. One of the options was Wildcard. That is when you can do whatever you want. I chose to do it as one. For mine, I made a small book about the book I read called, Grave Consequences by Lisa Bergren. It was an amazing book. These are the first two pages that I did:

I also thought of a few goals for myself. One of them, it to try and only get 100′s on AR tests because it would show that I understand what I am reading. Another goal is to read bigger, and more challenging books. 

In math class, we take tests after we finish learning a skill. I have never been very good at fractions, so I was a bit nervous when we were going to take the test. It was on adding and subtracting mixed numbers. We had ten mandatory problems, eight normal problems, and two word problems. The other three word problems were extra credit. With the mandatory problems, I got one wrong, so I would have gotten a 90. However, I had done two out of the three extra credit so I got fifteen extra points and ended up getting a one hundred and five. I was very happy. 

I thought of a new goal for myself. That goal is to get A-’s as my lowest grade for tests. I can accomplish that goal by checking my work again and again.  

In Jewish Studies we do a lot of writing stories. All of our stories are all in Hebrew.  This is one of my stories:

I wrote this story because we were learning about Jews going to Hadera, Israel and finding nothing but swamps so they try and get rid of them. This story is about people wanting to cut down trees to build a neighborhood. They want to cut down the eucalyptus tree. People hear about it in the newspaper and they go to the city hall. They say that because there is a swamp nearby with a lot of mosquitos no one will want to live there. The city hall does what they want and they save the trees. I am very proud of this story because it is about something we were learning and had to do with the lesson. It is all in Hebrew and it is two paragraphs. 

I have thought of a new goal for myself to use for the next nine weeks. My new goal is to always participate the most in the class. I participate a lot, but I would like to even more.

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Do you ever feel stressed when you have too much homework? Do you feel like you are staying up so late trying to finish your homework, or study for a test even though you are tired? Do you ever feel like you have no time to spend with your family and friends? If you do, there is one solution…..a study hall in school. Study halls should become a forty-five minute class for all grades. Principal David Chambers of Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary High School in Montebello, California started a study hall at his school.

In an article by Education World, titled Homework Study Hall Makeup: Mandatory Study Hall, honor roll went from 32 percent of the student body to more than 50 percent. Because of the study hall, the 30 percent of students turning in homework went up to 90 percent.

“Our teachers are very happy with the program,” Chambers observed. “Its initial effect was to increase faculty morale quite a bit. When you go from 30 percent of students turning in homework to 90 percent, it makes you feel like you’re really having an impact. Also, the students know the material and perform better on tests. Now, it is such a part of our daily life that teachers use it as another tool to motivate students.”

Students AND schools can benefit from a study hall.

There are also many great arguments against study halls. Those are very solid arguments, which is why many schools don’t have study halls. However, although some students may not take study hall seriously and misbehave, there are others who desperately need a study hall, and will put the time to good use. If there is a study hall, teachers can be walking around to help students with homework, making sure everybody is working, and checking to see if everybody is behaving. If that happens, there should be no complaints against study hall. There should only be complements. At Cantwell Sacred Heart of mary High School in Montebello, CA, parents seem to be pleased with the new study hall.

“I had a single mom tell me that she just doesn’t have time to chase after her daughter to do her homework, but now her daughter does her homework every night,” recalled Chambers.

One very important reason why all classes should have a study hall is because kids stay up late trying to finish their homework when they have a lot, and they get very stressed. Teachers always say themselves,“It is very important that you get a good night’s rest.” With a study hall, students definitely will. However, without one, there is not as much of a chance. In an editorial called Students Need Study Hall  written in the  Hopkins Academy  publication called The Hawk’s Claw, Sydney Denault says,

“Teenagers tend to stay up late putting in minimal effort to finish the night’s homework or to cram for a test. This leads students to become tired the next day, which results in students not paying as much attention to the teacher as they should be. Many grades begin to drop because students can’t find time to study and do their homework. Some even resort to cheating because they aren’t prepared. To fix this issue, most students at larger high schools have free periods or study halls to get started on homework or get help in a difficult class.”

Another reason schools should have a study halls is for help with homework. If students don’t understand their homework, at study hall they can ask teachers. The teachers can walk over to students and explain the homework to them. The teachers can make rounds and help a lot of people with homework. However, if there is no study hall, if they don’t get their homework their teachers aren’t there to explain it to them. It can get VERY annoying waiting for a teacher to email you back. It can also get stressful if it is late.

One last reason is students can work with their friends. They can work in a group, or with partners. On a website for the Independent Schools Network, there was a post about Middle School Study Halls  and one teacher commented:

 ”I can tell you my group of 6th grade boys love study hall, and get disappointed when it is cancelled. More often than not, they work on math and grammar together. Sometimes the best extra help they can get is from their peers who can explain it at their level.” (Nancy J)

Students can work in pairs or in groups. If one person doesn’t get the homework, the others can explain it to them. Friends working together can also make it not as boring. Students don’t like to just sit quietly working, so if they work with their friends they can make it a bit less dull.

Study halls will help students a lot. They are very important to have because students can start on homework and they won’t have to be stressed, or up late. An eighth-grade student at Floyd Dryden Middle School said in a publication in the Capital City Weekly,

“Having an in-school study hall will allow me to relax, and do other activities at home that are just as educational.”

A study hall would improve grades, decrease the amount of missed assignments, make it so no students get stressed and are up late, and students can get help with homework from the teachers. In an article supporting study halls, Lauren Simister said, 

“Sometimes, teachers can give SO much homework, and to be given a time where we can work on it, where we we have access to classmates with the same assignments who understand the stuff we ourselves don’t. With Study Hall, we can accomplish more.”

In all, study hall would be a great addition to all schools. It should become a 45-minute class every day.

Image Credits:

Microsoft Clip Art

This past week was spirit week. My school has spirit week once every year. Spirit week is when you do something fun like pajama day for every day of the week. This year for spirit week we didn’t have school on Monday. On Tuesday, we had pajama day. Then, on Wednesday, we had Kaleidoscope Day. After that on Thursday, we had wear your favorite sports team shirt. On Friday we went on a Mitzvah trip. Every day we had a lot of fun!

On Tuesday, everybody wore their pajamas to school. It was so much fun! Unfortunately though, we still had to do normal school work, and it seemed like a normal day, other than the pajamas. We were all even more tired than usual. I was wearing a 3v3 soccer t-shirt with sweats. That is what I wear to sleep. Most people were wearing pajama pants and a top. Very few people were wearing nightgowns. Some people even brought robes, stuffed animals, and wore slippers!

Kaleidoscope Day is a day focused on the arts, such as drama, singing, and dancing. This year, we went to The Florida College South Campus. For the activities and buses, the whole school was divided into three groups. The first group had Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade. The second group had Third Grade, Fourth Grade, and Fifth Grade. Then, the last group had Middle School. First, the whole school went on the stage, and the four people in charge put on music and had us warm up by doing different things. The stage was pretty big, so we all fit on it, even though it was a bit crowded. Next, we were divided into our three groups. Each group went to do a different activity.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth, which was my group, first stayed on the stage. We all got in a big circle, and had to think of a small thing to do that had something to do with us. Then, the person in charge ran around the inside of the circle and when she pointed to us, we had to do our thing. I did a kick, like I was pretending to kick a soccer ball because I play soccer. After that, we were told to divide into groups of four. I was in a group with the rest of the girls in my class. I go to a super small school, so my class only has eleven kids. Four are girls, and seven are boys.

Each person was supposed to either use the thing we did before, or think of a new one. I thought of a new one. The new one was me pretending to read, then reaching behind my back to a pretend quiver, taking it out, and shooting with a pretend bow and arrow. That symbolized me reading The Hunger Games. I did this because I love to read, and because The Hunger Games was one of  my favorite books. The bow and arrow symbolized Katniss, the main character, with her bow and arrow. The person then said to show everybody in your group your move and learn everybody else’s. After that she taught us a dance. In the middle of the dance each group had to do every person’s move.

The next station was with props, stage places, and positioning. We all sat on chairs while the girl in charge chose volunteers. She put the volunteers in different places around the stage. Then she would tell us what the spot was called. When we knew what all the different places on stage were called she would get more volunteers and quiz them. Everybody got at least one answer wrong. After that, she chose a group of four volunteers. She gave them each a prop. The prop was just a normal thing, like a baseball bat, or a pillow. Then, each person had to use his or her prop as something else. For example, the person who had the baseball bat used it as a walking stick. It was very cool seeing what everybody did. It was also funny. One person used a pillow as a trampoline! For the last thing, a group of people was told a scene. Then, they had to act like it was happening to them. After that we went to the last station.

First we were divided into two groups. We were told to stand in a line and stare at each other. Then, he went over to the first group and told them something. They all had to stand in a line as before, except this time doing what they were told to do. The other group had to watch them. Then he went over to the second group and told them something similar. It was opposite. After that, we played a game called Who’s the Boss. To play, the person in charge chose a leader. Then he chose a guesser. Everybody stood in a circle except for the guesser, who went out of the room. The leader had to do something and everybody else had to copy. Then the guesser came in and tried to guess who was the leader. He or she had three guesses. After that, we went to lunch.

After lunch, each group had to make up a little act to do with teaching and kindness. Third through fifth grade was divided into two groups. Each group brainstormed ideas, and then started to put them together. We were given a certain time limit. After the time was up, we all went to the big stage and did ours. Kindergarten through Second Grade went first. They did a little dance. It was so cute! Next the first group for Third through Fifth went. Theirs started off with people dancing and going crazy when a girl walked in limping. Two people went to help her and everybody else crouched down in a line as she walked over them. After that, the girl didn’t

have a limp anymore. Then the second Third through Fifth group went. That group was divided into two groups of nine each. They were pretending to be learning how to row a boat, and each boat had a captain who said instructions. The remainder of the people were waves. After that Middle school went. They were divided into three groups on the stage. The first group had two people eating. Then, in pairs or by themselves, people would go up and ask for something, like they were very spoiled. When the people eating said no, they would throw a fit. Then two girls came up and said they were very spoiled and should appreciate things. The other two groups went and both of their acts were similar. After that we went back to school.

On Thursday almost everybody wore a shirt or jersey of their favorite sports team to school. Other people wore their own jersey if they played a sport on a team. Others just wore a uniform. Some people also wore hats with the jerseys. Almost everybody wore a Gator’s shirt or jersey. The Gators are a football team in Gainesville, Florida. They are very popular all around Florida. I support a soccer team called Manchester City, so I wore my jersey for that team. Manchester City is a team in the English Premiere League.

On Friday, my class went on a mitzvah trip. We went to River Garden and the Coves. They are both homes for senior citizens. River Garden is for people that cannot be by themselves and need care all the time. The Coves is for people that can be by themselves. We went there for the holiday Purim. We delivered Mishloach Manot (gift baskets) to a list of certain Jewish people. We each had made a basket at our house to give. We sang songs for the people and took pictures with them. I learned that you shouldn’t have to get something to make you happy. Giving should make you happy. I felt very good after I visited all those people. Bringing a smile to their face was an amazing feeling. I think the mitzvah trip was very meaningful because we saw all those people in bad conditions and it really made me sad thinking I could end up like that.

Spirit week ended up being a lot of fun. My favorite day was Friday because of the Mitzvah trip. It was a lot of fun and it was a very meaningful experience. It made me very sad seeing all of the senior citizens, but it also made be happy knowing I had made them happy. The rest of the days were a lot of fun though. Have you ever had a spirit week at your school?

Image Credits:

Microsoft Clip Art

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjgds/8494199753/in/set-72157632817972431/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjgds/8494187645/in/set-72157632817972431/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjgds/8495287126/in/set-72157632817972431/

In art class we made self portraits. Then, we used those pictures to make a magazine cover.

Here is my cover….