Bottlenose Dolphins

By: Rishita Hi Room 24! We have been studying Island of the Blue Dolphins in class, but how much do you know about dolphins? Bottlenose dolphins are really interesting aquatic mammals! Unlike human, they have a very cool way of communicating by making high-pitch whistles, clicks, and using body language. Bottlenose dolphins are like the acrobats of the sea. They can swim really fast to the surface and then leap out of the water. They do all this just to breathe! They jump about five feet in the air at one time! To do this, dolphins must swim at a speed of twelve miles per hour. That is high for just one dolphin! Most dolphins go around together in groups called schools, or pods. It’s basically like a herd, with a few males and females grouped together. Did you know? 1. Bottlenose dolphin is an endangered species. 2. Bottlenose dolphin has its name because its beak is shaped like the neck of a bottle. 3. Dolphins don’t mean to save anyone; they just like to push objects around. Now that you have read this article, please tell us if you like bottlenose dolphins? Why or why not?

Career Day!

By: Ishan Career day is coming up! There are millions of jobs in the world from doctors to football players, and mailmen to the CEO stars of business! What are you going to dress up as? If you’re still wondering what YOU’RE going to be, you should choose something that really interests you. For example, I’m going to dress up as an aerospace engineer because engineering really interests me (I like fixing stuff) and I have a super-high interest in planes! It would also help if you were good or had experience at the job you’re doing. You don’t want to be those people who hate their jobs, waking up miserably everyday waiting for the weekends to come! I bet teachers love their jobs because they love spending time with children! Which job (or jobs) will you dress up with and why? How do you think you would keep up with the jobs? Well, any job or jobs you choose, good luck with them!

New Year's Resolutions

Do you have a New Year's Resolution? You might have a few, but do you know what is a resolution? It means a firm decision to DO or NOT TO DO something. Here is the link to find out the most popular New Year's Resolutions in our nation. http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml Tell us one of your resolutions! Why is it important to you and how do you plan to make it work?

Scott O'Dell

Read about Scott O'Dell, find out what he says about himself at http://scottodell.com/lifebks.html Have you ever thought of becoming a writer one day? Have you wondered what it takes to become one? Tell us what you think after reading his story.

What Is Your Favorite Book?

Let's find out what our favorite books are. What are some books that you would strongly recommend to your friends? What is so special about it that really impresses you, inspires you, or simply makes you laugh or cry? My favorites include the Dragon series by Dav Pilkey. Dragon is such a silly fellow yet full of heart for others. I laugh when Dragon actually believes that he could make friend with an apple, yet feel the sorrow too when Dragon mourn for the death of the apple. Tell us your favorite book and a few words about it. We will add it to the list of our classroom favorite books and watch how fast the list grows!!

5th Grade Math Dream Bedroom Project

Here is a sample of poster designed by a 6th grader from last year. We have started our new project on 1/23 and it is due on Friday, 2/27. Have fun designing your own dream bedroom!! Be creative, future architects!! Don't forget to apply all the math skills you have learned for measurement and scale. Share with us any tips you might have for a better design, whether it's an idea, or a cool website!!

Taipei, Here I Am!

What has happened to our classroom blogsite? Has Mrs. Yu forgotten how to edit or poblish a post? How disappointing! No, I did not forget how, but simply could not find a good time to update our blogs. Ever since we started our school in August, time flies quickly and everyday is filled with more work or more things to do on my list. Finally, a break for me and I chose to come back to visit my family here in Taipei, Taiwan. No homework or test to grade (after spending ten hours to grade all 58 social studies tests, and 29 math quiz, I think I deserve a break!), no lessons to prepare, no emails to send reminders or reply, whew!! So what exactly do I do in Taipei for eight days? Well, first of all, I got plenty of relatives to visit. I also had a chance to see two great movies made by Taiwanese directors, and they are both enertaining as well as inspiring. Did I go shopping? You bet I did! I have a hard time thinking what I could buy for my famlies or students because almost everything is available in San Jose nowaday. I bought more origami papers, but they will be saved for next year when we work on Sadako. Tomorrow I am going to join the flag raising ceremony early in the morning to pay respect to the Independence Day of Taiwan. We refer to it as Double Ten Holiday, because it's on 10/10. I have not had a chance to be here during October since 1986, that's 22 years ago. How is your life during the break? Did you go to any special place or do anything interesting? If you are visiting someplace new to us, why not bring some postcards back to show us? I will bring some home with me too!!

Richard's Post

The Olympic Games By: Richard On the 8th of August, 2008, 8:07 P.M., the countdown for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games began. When the timer reached zero, hundreds of fireworks went off at the exact same time and made the Bird's Nest, the Olympic stadium that seemed like a nest constructed of steel twigs, seem ablaze. Even before the fireworks at the Bird's nest were all launched, exactly 29 sets of fireworks (because these were the 29th modern Olympic Games ever held), resembling footsteps from Tiananmen Square leading to the Bird's Nest. When the final footstep arrived, even more rounds of fireworks were launched, which were accompanied by drum roll by 2008 drummers, for the year 2008. After the raising of the Chinese Flag and the announcement of the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, The Opening Ceremony started with the four ancient Chinese inventions, the Compass, paper, fireworks and printing, but one didn't show up, which was the compass. Just as the speaker finished, an LED screen began to unroll and some performers began to make a painting of the mountains and water with their bodies. When the performers finished, they stepped aside and the entire sheet of paper was lifted into midair. When a few other acts were over, a set of movable-type blocks rose from the floor and imitated some patterns by moving up and down, made the Great Wall of China and the Chinese word for harmony about three times. When the tops of the blocks flipped over, I realized that people, not hydraulics or computers were inside. After more acts were made, a giant globe rose from the floor where the blocks once were, and people were walking on the exterior, except we don't have side effects from walking near the South Pole of the real Earth. After a little while, two singers appeared at the top and began singing. When they finished, fireworks went off all over Beijing. When the fireworks were over, every single athlete that was competing was paraded into the bird's nest. Anyways, did you watch the opening ceremony? And what events did you watch? (I watched Swimming, Basketball, Cycling, Volleyball and Gymnastics.

Summer is Finally Here!!!

Dear Penguins, what are you doing this summer? Are you ready to do something silly? Are you ready to be muddy, goofy, or just exploring? No matter what you choose to do, stay cool! Have some fun, relax, and share your stories with us!

Shivani's Post

Spring Break By: Shivani Spring break is over! Darn! What did you do over the break? Did you go to PEP? Seven students in our class went to WASHINGTON D.C. !!!!! For many students, being away from home for one week must have been a great experience, but for others it must have been sad. If you went, how did you feel about being away from home? But anyways we had such wonderful supporting chaperones and teachers. We saw many amazing sites like, The White House, The Capitol Building, John Fitzgerald Kennedy's gravesite, President’s Park and Old Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. We also saw the Washington Monument. We saw Ford's Theatre where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and The Peterson House where he died. Some of the memorials that we saw include The Lincoln Memorial, The Jefferson Memorial, The FDR Memorial and the Army Memorial for Men and Women. We visited the Smithsonian Museum and saw the Tomb of the Unknown soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery where two of our presidents are buried. My favorite part was going to President's park and The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. Now if you did not go to Washington D.C, would you want to go now? And if you did go, what was your favorite part and what more would you have wanted to see?