Myles

When I was about 7, I went to a basketball camp. One day the coach was talking to the team that I was on, about practice and how it makes you better. I then blurted out “Practice makes perfect!” The coach told me I was wrong and that “practice makes permanent not perfect. Practice can teach you how to do something but nobody is perfect and if you keep practicing you will always know how to do it, but just not perfectly.”

After that conversation I realized that when you practice a drill over and over again you are doing that to make you memorize how to do it. When you practice it enables you to do it in a game. When you see a basketball player make multiple three pointers it’s not that they are perfect, they just have it set in their mind that they need to do something in order to make the shot. Or when you crossover the ball from your right hand to your left you have practice in order to do it in a game. When you practice you have to do the right move and then you and your brain remembers how to do that move.

If you keep practicing you can be great at something you just have to remember how to do it.

I am feeling really good about getting new Macs. I say this because I don’t have one at home and I really want one. It is  going to effect my learning by letting me research whenever I want to. There are two thing I want to try when I get the Mac. I am going to get better at using Imovie because I am not very good at it and I need a lot of practice and a lot of time. Another thing is that I need to work on using garage band because it is cool and I don’t know how to do it.

This picture was intriguing to me because it reminded me of the Oregon trail but it has nothing to do with it. It really has to do with Jim Richardson and his life and trip to the land of his ancestors. I imagine my life being a farmer and I feel lucky that I live in a nice house with nice clothes because I could live on a farm with rags with the smell of animals like pigs and cows. 

Where: Ireland

When: 1882

Why : because he wanted to know what his family's life was like

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/07/editors-note/editors-note-richardson-500.jpg

            When people go to buy a car they don’t think about the effect there car has on the world. When you buy a hybrid you are making a difference in the world.

Hybrids produce less toxic fumes, also batteries and plugins cost a lot less for a car and gas. Some people think it doesn’t matter because it is the same car. They are the same speed and the exact same appearance except it runs on batteries instead of gasoline. I was thinking and I said if hybrids are so much better than regular cars then why don’t people buy more hybrids. To me, if hybrids were so much better why people won’t buy them. You also have to look at the other side of having a regular car. If you want a Lamborghini or a Ferrari you can’t get those cars in a hybrid so you have to buy that car and it gives off fumes. Miss Payne quotes “I enjoy my hybrid better than her regular car because it is more ecofriendly and you don’t need to buy gas”.  She says they are so quite that she has to honk to make sure people know she is backing out of a parking space. Miss Payne has no problems with hybrids she just had to buy a new battery. Now these are the reasons why hybrids are better than regular cars.

Hybrids and regular cars both have good and bad things about them but in the end the hybrid is better than a regular car.

Myles

At Trinity School in Atlanta, Georgia there is an event called the faculty/staff and 6^th grade basketball game. This is held in Trinity’s gym. Every Friday before Spring Break they put on the basketball game because they wanted to get everybody excited for spring break and to equalize the teachers and the 6^th graders.

We were thinking and we said, “Are the teachers going easy on the 6^th graders”? So we asked and Coach Brain said,” That it depends on what the score is and the class”. The faculty/staff and 6^th grade basketball game was invented 10 years ago by Coach Brain because he wanted a way make the faculty and the 6^th graders equal so they invented the basketball game.

They would have had the basketball game earlier but at the old gym they didn’t have nice floors they had a gym with a carpet so when they got the new gym they thought, “How we could use the gym” So they came up with the basketball game. Every Friday before spring break at 1:00

The teachers and students all have a great time playing this basketball game and look forward to it the whole year and they don’t care who wins or loses because it’s such a great activity.

The students only have P.E. class to practice for the game or they can practice at home. The Basketball game is a great way to stay active and we think children should stay through 6^th grade or come in even if you’re new to experience this amazing activity.

Julien and Myles

Koly makes the best out of  her situations by just working hard every day and not just quitting because she feels like she is hopeless even though she was when she got toVrindavan. She also makes the best out of her situation by spending time with Raji like she does in chapter 9.  If I were Koly I would want to spend time with him to because when you meet someone nice you begin to bond. Also Raji was the one who got Koly into the widow’s house. Also by bonding with Tanu she is going to actually have a good time and she won’t be sad anymore.  Also I think Koly is adapting well she has made friends with girls at the widows house. If Koly didn’t adapt she would still be working as a marigold stringer.

I think the theme of this book is that life may knock you down but you have to keep getting up and fighting. I also think another theme is that you can never give up hope. I say this because when Koly got left in Vrindavan Koly could have given up and just sleep on the street every night but she didn’t she got up and asked for her widow’s pension. Even though she didn’t get her pension which is considered being knocked down she still didn’t give up hope. When she saw Raji she could have just walked away but she went up to him and talked if she hadn’t done that she wouldn’t have been in the widow’s house and she would have been sleeping on the streets of Vrindavan.  Also if Koly hadn’t approached Raji she would not have gotten re married and would be living at a widow’s house.

Gloria Whelan uses several comparisons. One comparison was when she said Koly felt like a chained monkey after she asked the man at the office about her widow’s pension. Another one is on page 21 it says I felt like a newly caged animal that rushes about looking for a open door that isn’t there. This is describing Koly while she is in the Mehta’s house. All of these metaphors are sad and make me feel sad. I felt really bad in the beginning of the book because sass was angry at her but now I feel good for Koly because now sass is gone and now nobody bosses Koly around. Also on page 159 Koly describes Kajal as no house cat to be tamed but a malicious cat. On page 161 Binu  the sitar player compared and called Kajal an animal.

GAINESVILLE — The University of Florida men’s basketball team returns all four of its top guards from a year ago plus a McDonald’s All-American recruit and a transfer from Rutgers who sat out last season after averaging 16.7 points as a sophomore in the Big East. Guess where the Gators expect their strength to be in 2011-12? Florida reached the Elite Eight last season with a veteran front court. This season, which opens Thursday with an exhibition against Catholic, UF will be more of a pressing, running team like Donovan had in his early years in Gainesville. “Certainly over the last few years with our depth in the backcourt with Erving, Walker,r and Kenny Boynton logging so many minutes, it made it very difficult for us to extend the floor like we needed to,” Donovan said. “I do think that because we have speed and quickness in the backcourt we really need to try and get up the floor and try to be a more full-court defensive team. That’s not to say you do it for 40 minutes, but I’d like to do it more than we have in the past.” The six players who will share time at guard averaged a combined 148 points as high school seniors. Offense? That won’t be an issue with this group. But there’s so much offense … is there too much? Walker led UF with a 14.6 average last season while Boynton was No. 2 at 14.2. Mike Rosario ranked in the top 10 in scoring in the Big East before moving on to Florida. Scottie Wilbekin and Casey Prather were solid backups and Brad Beal was one of the nation’s elite recruits with a 30-plus scoring average. “He’s certainly gifted,” Donovan said of Beal. “Like all freshmen, there will be some ups and downs — it won’t always be easy. He’s very competitive, highly motivated and driven. I think he will be a great addition to our team.” Rosario took the role of cheerleader while sitting out last season. “With Mike, it’s a similar situation to when Vernon (Macklin) transferred — they were both McDonald All-Americans,” Donovan said. “I think Mike made a decision to stay close to home. I think there were a lot of expectations he placed on himself, with being a local guy, to help raise Rutgers’ basketball team. Probably, like all these guys wanting to someday to play in the NBA, probably thought there was a route that he needed to take. He is a guy that has scored a lot of points in college, but his teams hadn’t won at a level that he probably wanted to.

When fall comes around.

I feel gust of air,

Nobody can see it.

Do you feel the cold on your cheeks

As we left to go to my aunt’s house “I said were on the road, and off we went”. While we were driving I saw beautiful sunrise and flowers we arrived in Washington on June 20 at 11:00. This was my first time staying at my aunt’s house in D.C because she had recently moved there from Chicago. There were a lot of people in my family staying there because my aunt’s house was one of two houses in D.C that people could stay at besides a hotel. Once I went to bed I was still not sleepy because D.C is an hour ahead of us June 26, 2010 was a hot sunny day and I was wearing a tuxedo and walking to my car. It was my cousin’s big day she was getting married to a professional football player. My family got to the church late so immediately after we walked into the church I got the rings and walked tie tight and shoes tied down the aisle. While I was walking I was sweating like a pig, as I looked to my left I saw my side of the family when I looked to my right I saw my cousins fiancé, Josh’s side once I finished walking I went to stand next to a groomsmen named Mr. Ernest.

What I remember most is when Jasmine, my cousin, and Josh said their vows my cousin Jasmine immediately said I do but Josh hesitated a little but eventually said I do. After the wedding everybody but my aunt and me had to drive in a regular car to the Art gallery for women in Washington DC for the reception. Once we got there we had to wait to go into the big and beautiful dance floor. While we waited we looked at really cool art from different female painters. We finally got to go to the dance floor it was big and dark with no windows. 6:00 so first we ate dinner the dinner was stuffed chicken with macaroni and cheese and collard greens.

After we finished dinner we went to the dance floor and did dances like the stanky leg and the running man. I had such a fun tine that I didn’t realize that it was 9:00 so everybody had to leave. Even though it was late I still got to tour Washington, D.C. I got to visit all the monuments and cool places. One of my favorites was the Lincoln memorial because when I looked at President Lincoln I felt so small. When we got back to the house it was late at night so I had to go to bed. Once I woke up we immediately had to get dressed and had to go into the car and my mom asked me was ready to go home and I said yes and then I said we are on the road again. We got back to my house really late so my mom didn’t make me take a shower and go to bed. While I was in bed I realized 2 things. One I had a great time in D.C. and two my cousin is on T.V every week.

Myles

Did  you ever wonder how  the Babylonian empire fell? I chose this topic because I thought that this was a topic that not many people would do. I also like to learn about city’s falling like the walls of Jericho.

While I was researching I learned that there were strange words on king Nebuchadnezzar’s palace  the words were mene tekel feres and nobody knew what the words meant. Then the queen said their was a man named Daniel who was a man of  god. So king Nebuchadnezzar summoned Daniel and Daniel translated these words as god will end this civilization and it would be shared by the Persians and the Medes. Eventually the empire was defeated and the civilization fell in 1654 B.C.E.

Some things that went well were taking notes and getting facts. Something that didn’t go well was finding information because it would give me a lot of other stuff beside the fall of ancient Babylon. When I found a good website it gave me a lot  of good information.

http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/LGOT/kingdom.shtml

39. The fall of the Babylonian kingdom

http://www.bible-history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaThe_Fall_of_Babylon.htm

Ancient  Babylonia- The Fall of  Babylon