Alan's Blog

When I first arrived in August I expected school to be easy like it has been before but soon I realized that things wouldn’t be so easy. Instead of American History or World History in 7th grade we study Texas History-I did not know anything about Texas History.
By October my life was not going well. Texas History was destroying me. I was procrastinating for days then cramming and staying up late others. Eventually I figured out that my life could not go on like this-I had to change my habits.
In 7th grade I learned that procrastination and good grades don’t go together. I also learned that when you jump into a class you know nothing about, the result is not good. I also learned something about myself; I am really glad Texas History is not important in real life.
As the year comes to a close, I am still cramming.
If I could redo the year I would study over the summer (I know that summer and study don’t go together) so that this year would not be so hard.
My advice to future 7th graders is study a little over the summer so that you won’t have to cram like me.

iPads are a bad idea for school because there is only one big enough upside for students to consider and countless downsides. The only thing students do on their iPad is play games. Also the only upside I see is that we can look at our grade book while on school campus but we could already check it at a home or on campus computer. I guess there are a lot of advantages for the school board and principles but for the teachers I don’t think there are any advantages because all I hear is “Stupid thing! Work!”. The thing is that when you give a student a iPad for him or her to use from 6th grade until you leave the high school (including summers) they will just say “Sweet!” And download some games. Then when they get bored in class they will just turn to they’re iPad. It’s also really easy to get away with playing on the iPad because all you have to do is click the big button and your game goes away, then you can say you were doing something educational and the teacher has no evidence against you. Also if the teacher says “Apples up!” (iPads down!) you can just turn your brightness really low and flip your iPad over if a teacher comes by.
The second reason I think iPads are a bad idea for school purposes is because of the cost. Yes getting the iPads is free but insurance costs 110 dollars for the school year and 60 for the summer, adding up to 170 dollars a year for 7 years which means they cost more than just getting a brand new iPad (the school ones are refurbished). And at least 1/4 of the school iPads I see have cracks in them, mine does! Also the insurance is a ripoff because on the basis that you crack the screen once a year (which is about average) without insurance you would pay 105 dollars and with insurance 205. That’s because insurance (as I already said) costs 170 per year and with it it covers ONLY ONE break for 35 dollars instead of the normal 105. So you think that it would be a good idea to get insurance but it actually costs more no matter how many times you crack it since it only covers you once! Also to keep the iPad over the summer costs 10 dollars plus the 60 for insurance. So over the time that you have the iPad (if you pay insurance witch most people do, break it the average once a year and have it over the summer) you will pay 1,505 dollars! Also think about how much money the school payed to buy iPads for hundreds of students! All in all the school iPads are a waste of time and money.

Beneath the Surface

BY PRISCILLA LEE

In a fish cleaning station near the equator,
off the coast of Africa, summer stretches
over the barracudas, their long mirrored-chrome
bodies heaped like eel fillets, slung jaws gaping,
red canine teeth exposed as if they still crave
meat and muscle. Even dead, they are a melancholy fish,
never satisfied, always wanting to bite off
more than they can chew, their curious white eyes
in a lidless showdown with an existence
beyond the visible. Maybe they are the spawn
of the serpent who prowled and tempted Eve,
cast into the saltwater. They are terrifying and defiant,
their pointed heads hammering towards the light,
waiting for the first sign of weakness. The fishermen
catch them hovering just beneath the surface.
What is it like to die with your eyes wide open
in the bright sun?

I think that this is a good poem because it talks about some of my favorite subjects and a good truth. The subjects I like are animals, nature and water and the truth is that we slaughter fish in masses and if we keep going this way we may end up with no seafood because it will be way to expensive.

http://www.toysrus.com/buy/powered-riding-toys/power-wheels-jeep-hurricane-ride-on-x0074-12819274

        When I was little the Fisher Price Power Wheels Jeep was a toy I could not do without. It was the coolest thing I had. It was really fast to me when I was little and I could skid out because of the plastic tires. If I was not in my room builing Legos you could find me riding my Jeep down our hill. It had a working radio. While I used it I felt like I could go anywhere.

         Thats why now, I like cars and other vehichles. Without it I would not know everything I do about cars. That vehichle has more memorys than any other possesion of mine.

“HELP! My friend has been hurt!” Sometimes help can change everything.
One way help can change things is that it can form friendships. “Uuhg.” I pant as I carry the props for the school play.”This stuff is heavy.” Then the person I least expect to help me helps me. “You need some help?” Asks the new kid Javier, the kid I thought was weird at first. “Sure, thanks!” Was my reply. Sometimes help can rewrite an first impression of someone.
Another way help can change things is that sometimes help is the only way people earn their freedom. Nelson Mandella is a good example of this. Nelson devoted his life to bringing freedom and equal rights to South Africans. Help came with a heavy cost though, 27 years in prison. In the end Mandella won and now South Africans have equal rights, no matter what color skin.
Javier and Mandella helped out, and by helping changed the world. No matter how small a gesture of help you do, it will always change things for the better.

“HELP! My friend has been hurt!” Sometimes help can change everything.
One way help can change things is that it can form friendships. “Uuhg.” I pant as I carry the props for the school play.”This stuff is heavy.” Then the person I least expect to help me helps me. “You need some help?” Asks the new kid Javier, the kid I thought was weird at first. “Sure, thanks!” Was my reply. Sometimes help can rewrite an first impression of someone.
Another way help can change things is that sometimes help is the only way people earn their freedom. Nelson Mandella is a good example of this. Nelson devoted his life to bringing freedom and equal rights to South Africans. Help came with a heavy cost though, 27 years in prison. In the end Mandella won and now South Africans have equal rights, no matter what color skin.
Javier and Mandella helped out, and by helping changed the world. No matter how small a gesture of help you do, it will always change things for the better.

This weekend I was at a birthday party that was really fun. We first went to play land skates and I tried to skate. I fell Like 50 times! When we got back we played capture the flag. I hid our flag about 20 feet up in a tree. The problem was that they hid theirs very well and it was dark so we tied. When it got to be really late we tried not to sleep but I did and got a shaving cream beard for a reward. In the morning we had a water balloon fight and I got soaked. I was very disappointed when I had to go.

Uhhg! CALM DOWN! Calm Down, calm down. Sigh… Stress can hurt you ability to do things.
First off, stress may cause a loss of focus. For instance, during my math test I wasted the first five minutes worrying my butt off. I wasn’t even trying to solve the problems! All throughout the test I took a lot of time worrying. That resulted with a very low grade. Stress caused me to lose focus and waste valuable time.
Furthermore stress can harm you physically. One day I was stuck with a bunch of homework on a Sunday night. Finally-when I started-I realized my finger nails were no more and my teeth hurt from clenching them. Stress makes you harm yourself. By the way it is really annoying to have no fingernails.
Stress is such a pain! Eating yourself and a lack of focus two things I don’t want! If you worry about something it makes you do worse on it. Ugh! This is making me anxious about that upcoming science test.

By Alan and Zach

I was at my friends house and we were bored. We were outside playing with some boxes when we thought of something. We could use the card board to make gladiator armor.
We made a helmet and torso armor and put it on Sam. Javier has a Border Collie mix that chase and tackles you I f you ran. So we took homemade bows with soft arrows and shot at him while he ran around. With that we invented a new game.

Some friends and I have started playing together. I have two friends that play the guitar, one that plays the electric bass, one with a drum set and I play the trumpet. We are learning songs like Seven Nation Army, Back in Black, Memphis Train and Sunshine of Your Love. I have become pretty good at Seven Nation Army but I can’t figure out how to play Sunshine of Your Love.