Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs By: Justin

Hi room 24! Do you like dinosaurs? I do! Dinosaurs lived during the Phanerozoic eon, and the Mesozoic era. The three periods they lived in was the Triassic, Jurassic, and the Cretaceous period. My favorite dinosaur is Giganotosaurus. Giganotosaurus’ skull length is 6 ft, height at hips is 12 ft high, each hand has three fingers, its length is 43 ft long (13 m), and each weight is about 8 tons. It lived in South America. It lived in about 100 million to 95 million years ago. Giganotosaurus was even bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex. If you would like to find out more about dinosaurs, please visit http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/ and http://www.kidsdinos.com/dinosaurs-for-children.php. What is your favorite dinosaur and what is something special about it? Please share with us!

April Fool's Day!

April Fool's Day

By: Shrila Have you ever been April Fooled? I love April Fool's Day because you never know what is going to happen! April Fool's Day is a day that everybody plays pranks on each other. It is so fun! Every year, I start thinking about what I'm going to do about a week before the actual day. One year, I made a bunch of small squares of paper, and wrote the words "APRIL FOOLS!" on them. Then, I put some tape on them. Whenever I saw somebody walk by, I would stick a piece of paper on him or her. It is so funny when you see them go by not noticing what is going on. My favorite April Fool's trick that I did was a couple of years ago. We used to have a remote control car, so I taped a video camera onto it. I took the remote control and clicked the record button on the video camera. A few minutes before I did that, my brother told me that he was going to do work, but I heard a little noise in his room so I got suspicious. I quietly opened the door and moved the car inside using the remote controller. I left the car with the camera in the room. After about five minutes, I again opened the door, and slipped the car outside using the controller. When I looked at the footage, I saw my brother listening to his iPod, and singing along with it so loudly. I laughed so badly! When I showed the videotape to my brother, he was so embarrassed! It was so funny! I will never forget that April Fool's Day! Some believe that the custom is related to the arrival of spring with the unpredictable and capricious April weather, but nobody is sure of that because there are many different theories of why we have April Fool's Day. Have you ever played a prank on someone on April Fool's Day? If you haven't, have you ever been tricked? Tell us all about it! I hope this blog helps you change your opinion about April Fool's Day!

Music and Songs

Music and Songs

By: Soraya

Hi room24! Mrs. Yu has just shared with us last week that one of her favorite songs is Naturally by Selena Gomez. That is also one of my favorite songs too! I also like Falling down by Selena Gomez. My favorite singer is Taylor Swift. My favorite songs by her are You Belong With Me, and White Horse. I also like Love Story. Another singer that I like is Demi Lovato. A few of the songs I like by her are Remember December, and La La Land. I also like a few bands. One of them is The Black Eyed Peas. I like I Gotta Feeling, and Meet Me Halfway. I like so many songs that I even have a book with all of the lyrics inside of it! What are your favorite songs? Who are your favorite singers? What are a few songs that you recommend to the class? Please share with us!

Interaction Reaction

All right, we know the Europeans are here to stay, and they rather be allies to the Native Americans than being enemies. What could bring them together? What do they each have to offer for the other side? Let's learn our history from Abhinav, Raymond, Mihir, and Jeffrey!

New Kid

By: Sabrina

Hey everyone! You all have been a new kid once, whether it was when it was kindergarten or in the middle of the school year, you were still a new kid. When I was a new kid here at Portal last year, I was really nervous and thought I would never know the new rules or make any friends. But later (by now) I have made tons of friends here and know how it's like to be here at a new school. How was it like when you first came to a new school? Were you nervous? What did you do to adjust to the new school? 5th graders, are you nervous about going to middle school? How do you plan to fit in?

A Loyal Dog-Shiba Inu

By: Clara

Recently, I watched a movie named Hachi. It is a story about the strong bond between a loyal Shiba Inu dog named Hachi and his master who is a professor. As a puppy, Hachi gets lost at a train station and is adopted by an old professor. The professor loves Hachi so much that they build a strong friendship. Every day, Hachi sends off the professor and waits at the train station for the professor to come home. One day, the professor gets a heart attack at school and passes away. But the dog still goes to the train station year after year waiting for the professor to come home until Hachi himself dies at the train station.This story inspired me to research the Shiba Inu dog. Shiba Inus are generally independent and intelligent dogs. They are loyal and affectionate to those who earn their respect. They are small to medium size dogs and they are popular in Japan. Their tails curl up on the back of their hip. They have short fur and are easy to groom. They bond closely with their masters. Unlike most dogs, Shiba Inus do not chase balls or Frisbees at all. Instead, they have fun playing with kids and other pets in the house. They are good at hunting, tracking, guarding, and performing. I like Shiba Inus and I wish to have one someday.Besides Shiba Inus, I like Pomeranians, Yorkshire Terriers, Shih Tzus, Shetland Sheepdogs, and Huskies. Do you like dogs? What kind of dog do you like to raise as a pet or a friend? Have you heard a touching or a funny story about a dog? Do you want to raise a dog after hearing this story?

Places I Have Traveled To

By: Leanne Hi Room 24! Have you ever traveled to any countries or states? Well, I have! I have been to Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. I also went to Victoria and Vancouver which are both in Canada. I really liked going to Wyoming, South Dakota, and Vancouver because in Wyoming I got to go to Yellowstone National Park where you get to see real life geysers. In South Dakota, I saw Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. When I saw Crazy Horse during nighttime, there were rainbow lights shining over the statue and there was also firework in the sky. Last but not least, Vancouver!!! I went to this science museum where you get to go inside a plastic nose, watch a movie similar to Chabot's, and shooting tennis balls all over the room! {Nobody got hurt.} Where have you been? Was there a particular place you liked in that state or country? Share your experience!

Worrying

By: Auboni

Have you ever worried about something? For example, you have a test tomorrow, or if you're popular or not. Many people worry about many different things. In a TFK article named "The State of the American Kid" it shows that 43% of kids worry about their homework. That's almost half of the kids! Also, 40% of kids worry about their family. What do you sometimes worry about? Sometimes I worry if I will do well on a test or on a homework assignment. I guess I worry because if I make a mistake, someone might make fun of me or something like that. Many kids also worry about the health of someone they care about. I know I sometimes worry about my grandparents. From homework to family, there is so much to worry about whether you are an adult or a kid. What are some things you worry about? If you don't, what are some strategies to avoid thinking about it?

Music

By: Lynn Hey everybody! Do you like music? I do. I like to sing them, play them, and even make them. My favorite song is called “Naturally” by Selena Gomez. It is a fun song where you can jump up and down and throw your hands. I also play a few instruments. I play the violin and clarinet. On the violin, there are four strings. They are called the “G” string, the “D” string, the “A” string, and the “E” string. The “E” string is the only string that has four different notes. The other strings have only three different notes. That doesn’t mean there are only 13 notes all together. There are also notes that are sharp, natural, and flat. On the clarinet, there are a lot of notes. 59 including sharps, naturals, and flats! Both the instruments are fun but challenging. The sound of music, (not the movie) had inspired me to play both those instruments. I love the sweet sound of the violin and the soft sound of the clarinet. Do you play any instruments? If you do, what are they? If you don’t, would you like to play one and what would it be?

Video Games!

By: Siddesh Kids think that video games are the best pass time for them, but if we look at the parents’ point of view, they would say, “Oh my, if my daughter/son plays video, it will spoil his/her eyes and he/she will get glasses if they play too much.” Here are some of the characters in a famous game called Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Diddy Kong, Ike, King Dedede, Lucario, Lucas, Meta Knight, Pikmin & Olimar, Pit, Pokemon Trainer, R.O.B., Solid Snake, Wario, Wolf Bowser, Captain Falcon, Donkey Kong, Falco Lombardi, Fox McCloud, Ganondorf, IceClimbers, Jigglypuff, Kirby, Link, Luigi, and Mario. At Shaan’s Birthday party, it was my 3^rd time playing Brawl. Himanshu was Bowser and I was Meta Knight. Some special move Meta Knight can use is this attack where he turns into a red tornado. Also, when you are Pikachu (or any other character) when you see this glowing cube or a hammer, go and pick it up. If Bowser get the glowing/shining cube, he will turn humongous and stomp everything in his way, but the bad thing about getting the shining cube when you Bowser is that it is hard to JUMP . There is another very fun game on Wii called Mario Kart. It is a game when you have the Wii remote held sideways and you pretend to drive a real car. There are a lot of things to play on Mario Kart. They are: Grand Prix, Balloon Battle, Coin Runners, VS, Solo Race, Team race, Time Trails, and Wi-Fi battles (with someone totally different.) Here are some items from Mario Kart. What is your favorite video game? How long are you allowed to play each time?