Hard work is important to me , but when I was little I didn’t get it. I always thought that I could automatically do something, like a back flip or play soccer with the big kids. When I was younger, I thought that everything was easy, but when I got older that all seemed to change.

It was a hot Saturday morning and I was heading to my first gymnastics meet ever. When I peeked inside of the gym I saw tons of competitors and I knew it was going to be a tough day. When the competition started I had a lot of butterflies in my stomach  then we started to compete, our team began on  beam. After five people on my team went, it was my turn I saluted the judges and a rush of adrenalin went through my body. When I got up on the beam I fell off and all of my pride disappeared I tried to build my confidence back up ,but then I heard my teammates cheering me on. I hoped back up onto the beam and then after two hours of competing our last event ended. The audience died down and the awards ceremony began and after 30 long minutes of waiting they finally got to my age group. They announce the beam scores first I knew that I wouldn’t be called then after they called second I hear my name getting called for first place! I thought that they were joking but then they announce my name again then I knew it’s not a joke and I was beaming with joy.  Then after the competition ended I ended up having five first place medals.

After that gymnastics competition I knew what the true meaning of hard work was. It means pushing through things that might hurt or something that is embarrassing. Hard work also means doing the best that you can and never giving up know matter what. Now that I understand the true meaning of hard work and it is very important to me.

Next year in sixth grade we are getting Mac Book Airs! I am super excited because we get are own computers but we don’t have a lot of freedom. I think the Mac Book Airs are gong to help the students learn more because when we have a question we can look it up on the computer. I also think it will help us organize so we won’t be messy. I also think the advantages of having a Mac is that you can try new things and and get better at things. I want to be a better blogger and get on my blog more. I also want to get more comfortable  with iMovie and makes more movies. I want to explore the Macs and i can’t wait to get them next year. Even though they are temporary I can’t wait to get the Mac Book Airs. 

This picture is of a street of Kolkata, India that is crowded with people.  This picture is taken at 5:30 in the morning imagine what it is like at rush hour. In this picture the people are trying to get to work or buying something at the local market. I choose this picture because it is filled with emotion. This picture is overwhelming because the streets are crowded and busy and the cars can’t even get through the streets without running over someone. This also makes me feel claustrophobic because it is so crowded .  I  bet the photographer felt claustrophobic to because he was taking the picture. Also this is a  sad  picture because some people don’t have a home and the animals there have nowhere to run around and the can easily get lost. It makes me feel lucky because the streets are not crowded with people all the time.  This is happening all over the world. The world is getting to crowded and the population is still growing.

         Caption

India Its streaming streets crammed with vendors, pedestrians,and iconic Ambassador taxis, Kolkata throbs with some 16 million people and more pour in every day from small towns . In 1975 only three cities worldwide topped ten million. Today 21 such megacities exicts, most in developing countries, where urban areas absorb much of the globe’s rising population. 

- Randy Olson

Who

People in Kolkata India, and the people all over the world.

What

The population is getting to big and there is to many people.

When

Every single day

Where

Every were in the world.

http://deladream.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Population-Seven-Billion-picture-India-Crowded-Streets.jpg

In Atlanta, 90,000 dogs and cats die every year because they are abandoned. If you’re looking for a dog you should rescue a one because millions of dogs are put to sleep or abandoned every day.   Most dogs are abandoned because their owner can’t take care of them anymore. Also, they are abandoned before natural disasters. Some dogs might have not have had the best past but you can help them have a better future. You can save the dog from a grim future. Rescue dogs might have been abandoned, but they can learn to trust and love people again. Some people think that rescue dogs aren’t good with a family, but they can adjust to any situation over a period of time. They just have to become familiar with it.

Another reason why you should get rescue dogs is because breaded dogs cost more money than a rescue dog. Rescue dogs cost little to nothing compared to a breaded dog, but they still cost money. Breaded dogs also come as puppies so they chew on anything they can get their paws on. Rescue dogs are mostly young adults and not puppies so they won’t chew up your belongings. Also, a rescue dog is a good sleeper and breaded dogs might not sleep well. They might wake you up in the middle of the night because they are not familiar with their surroundings. Rescue dogs are sleepers because they have been with a family before and are familiar with the surroundings. Breaded dogs have to go to the vet a lot because they need to get shots and treatments in the first year.  When you buy a rescue dogs their not puppies and they don’t have to visit the vet other than yearly checkups. When you rescue a dog you get a dog, but you’re also saving their life and without you they would be dead.

Who is ready for summer I know I am. I can’t believe that we almost have one month left of school. I really want school to be over so I can travel to amazing places. I really want to go to Australia were are some places you want to go?

At Trinity School, in Atlanta Georgia , students have been wondering what their teacher does after school. Severeal Trinity teachers were interviewed to see what kind of lives they have after school , on the weekend, and Throughout the year.

Trinity Teachers don’t just teach, they enjoy an active life outside of school. They appreciate participating in a lot of activities just like kids.  Ms. Johnston, a fifth grade teacher, says “I like to walk around my neighborhood with my dogs and I love to read the Hunger Games as much as I can. Also I enjoy to sit down and watch T.V. on my DVR.”

Some teachers prefer to lay low, by  resting and taking it easy.  Mrs. Pam, a 3’s teacher, at Trinity School,  “I like to  exercise by walking my dog every day around the neighborhood and going to the gym. I also prefer to cook dinner for my husband, she explains their favorite meal is chicken. I also adore reading for fun.”

Many teachers are  busy after school. For example, they are always doing something in their free time. Ms. Smith the world languages teacher. Ms. Smith “I walk my dog around the park in my neighborhood. I cook dinner every night if I’m  not out with my friends .One of my hobbes is to run I run around the Bobby Jones golf course with my friends. Every Monday I have Bible study after school with Ms. Walker.  I like to babysit kids early in the summer before I go on vication. In the summer I enjoy going to Africa with some of my co-teachers at Trinity School. Throughout the year I’m outside in the pool swimming. My favorite thing  to do after school is to read. I am in really into books about Africa.

Many teachers do the same activities and share the same hobbies after school. For example, most teacher loves to exercize, hit the gym, take walks with friends around their community. Teachers also love to spend time with their friends and family. Our P.E coach, Justin Cahill Explains “I get home as soon as possible to play with my three kids. I play kickball and other sports outside with my two sons. I  also loves to play barbies with my daughter.” Another thing teachers have in common is that they love to read. Teachers love to read The Hunger Games and other exciting books.

Teachers love to do other things and not teach all the time. Teachers and studentsare very similar.They both like to exercise, kids like to play sports and run outside. Teachers like to walk with their friends and walk their dogs. Teachers and students also enjoy spending time with their family and friends either on the weekends or after school. They both love to read similar books like The Hunger Games or Harry Potter. Either way Teachers and students are not as different as you might have thought they were.

Drew and Sophie

Homeless Bird is a book about a 13 year old named Koly, who lives in India.  Koly has a happy family but there is little food for them.  Koly’s mother can’t feed any more mouths. On her wedding day Koly’s marriage is sealed and her life will never be the same.  Koly wants to flee but she is caught up in tradition so she can’t.  Later Koly’s husband dies in the sacred city of Varanasi.  Then Koly’s fate tumbles downhill, and she gets cast out and is forced to face the cruel world on her own.  Her mother in law, Sass abandoned Koly and she says “I suppose a part of me knew all along. The thought had been waiting like a scorpion at the edge of my mind. Now it stung me.”  When Sass leaves her, Koly does not fit in and try’s to find someone like her.  She also can’t find shelter, food or water and she only has a couple of rupees and has to use them wisely.

Koly has to adapt to her soundings by making right decisions, and cannot trust anyone. When she was waiting outside of the train station a man comes up , grabs her arm, and says  “What is a pretty girl like you doing out here on the street?” Koly quickly huddles in the corner and Koly decides that she can’t trust anyone. As time goes on Koly gets more familiar with her surroundings. Then Koly becomes friends  with a rickshaw boy named Raji and he guides her to a widows’ home. It helps Koly get in touch with her real self ,because she has lost her courage on the streets. When she gets out of her widow sari she says “I once saw a snake shed its skin now I know how it feels to get out of the old things and in with the new.” After she gets dressed the mother of the home says “Here you are not a widow but a young woman with a life in front of you.” This has a great impact on Koly because she can start over and have a great new life.   Koly gets a new job as a marigold stringer and then gets a job as a skilled quilt maker.   Koly is very grateful for the jobs. Koly gets married to Raji and they move to his farm ,Koly can finally calm down and start over.

This book is a touching story that has many important themes. One of the themes in the book is courage and bravery. Koly has to have bravery to leave her family and live with people that she hasn’t met before. Koly also has to be brave when she gets abandoned in the city of Vrindavan, and has to live on her own without a job and a little bit of money that she will spend fast.  Also, Koly shows courage when Sass leaves her in Vrindavan and she looks for Sass and when she figured out she had left. Koly waits at the train stop every day hoping that she will come back.  Another theme in  Homeless Bird is tradition. Koly shows tradition when she arrives at the Mehta’s house by wearing a traditional sari and kissing the Mehta’s feet.  Another way Koly shows tradition is when she presents her dowry to the Mehta family.  Another theme in the book is perseverance because Koly always pushes through even though  times seems impossible and hopeless.  One way Koly shows perseverance is by not letting things get to her like when Hari died she didn’t believe them and would always believe he was alive.  Koly also shows perseverance when Raji would not come  back but Koly waits for him every day in the court yard. This book has valuable lessons in it and the themes are what make the book so important.

The book Homeless Bird is written by Gloria Whelan,  she  make the book come alive.  She made the book come alive by using descriptive words and comparisons. One of the comparisons is when Chandra is getting married and the man that she is marrying has a mustache.  Koly says, “ The mustache is like a rats tail.”  When Koly says this she is comparing Chandra’s soon to be husbands mustache to a rats tail.  Another comparison in the book is when Koly says” I feel like a chained animal in a cage.”  Koly is comparing herself to a bird in a cage because she can’t escape Sass and she feels like she is in a cage because she doesn’t have freedom like the captive birds.  Another one of Koly’s comparisons is when she meets a dog and when it leaves it grabs a gosling.  She compares it to when she was at the train station and the strange man walks up to her and grabs her.  She says “ He had a tight grip on me like the dog holding the gosling and he wouldn’t let go.”  Koly is comparing herself and the man to something that has happened in her life. One of my favorite comparisons is from the Togo’s Poem’s . The poem is called Homeless Bird it say “ The flock of Birds are going to the south. But the Homeless Bird is all alone and not following the rest.” I like this because it means don’t be afraid to be yourself being different isn’t bad.  Gloria Whelan did a great job on the book Homeless Bird.  It has heart touching moments, tragic moments, and romance.  Homeless Bird is one of the most descriptive books I have ever read.

Top 11 freaky and weird things I ate or drank in Peru

11) Potatoes every night – Peru has over 5,000 different types of potatoes – big, little, purple red, bumpy, hairy, and anything else you can think of…

10) Dried Lima Beans – a snack that kids eat like potato chips

9) Chicha – A purple corn drink

8) Inka Cola – A yellow like soda

7) Pisco Sour – a drink that is very sour that is made with egg whites

6) Quinoa – a grain that looks like little worms are in it

5) Calf’s Heart – Tastes like chewy beef

3) Alpaca – Like a llama but with longer hair

2) Piranha – Caught by me

1) Guinea Pig – Kind of sweet like barbecue, sometimes served with the entire body on a stick, teeth included

On Christmas break I went to Peru. Peru is an amazing place with breathtaking monuments. You may not realize Peru also has the most crazy food. The Incas are one of the first people who settled or called Peru home. Then the Spanish who wanted the land, gold, silver, and money in Peru went to war with the Incas.  The Incas used the gold and silver not for money but for decoration. The land around them was the  most valuable thing to them.  The Incas had a lot ways to try to defeat the Spanish like flooding the battle grounds and they also tried burning down their own villages to stop their enemies.  Unfortunately, the eventually lost to the Spanish.

For my gift of time I did two amazing things. The first thing I did was write holiday letters to people in the hospital. Our class did it because some of the patients can’t be at their house for the holidays or with their families. I hope that they got our letters and when they opened them they got a big smile on their face. I also hope that they get out of the hospital soon and they get to spend the next holiday with their family.

The secound thing I did was in Peru I brought joy to childern by talking to them, playing with them, and giving them small gifts. In Peru they have a little bit of money and can’t afford a lot of things such as small toys for Christmas, not being able to go to school, and not having a roof over their heads. In Peru I met people from 2-81 who were so greatful for what they got and what their childern got. My family gave away over 150 toys in Peru. After doing this I realized that they enjoyed the conversation with me and my broken spanish more than the gift.

I am so gald that I helped out so many different people on winter break. I learned whether you are rich or poor you can still have a great Christmas.