I was at the park called Carr Park with two of my friends, Conner and Jared. Conner is medium height with a Bruins hat, always. Jared is tall and has brown hair.  I like Conner more than Jared from my point of view. They are both really good friends though.

I had my basketball there, and Jared and Conner both love basketball. I asked them if they wanted to play a game of pick-up on the bone-dry concrete. They both said yes simultaneously like two birds mating. As a group of three, we walked to the basketball courts. Well if you count running as fast as a tiger walking.

I started with the ball because it was me against them. I didn’t think that it was unfair because I was two times better than them. I dribbled the ball up to the foul line. Both of them were on me like eagles on a mouse. I had to use my special move called the toss and run. I toss the ball high in the air so it would distract them. Then I run around them and catch the ball. After that, I shoot. This time when I shot, it rolled around on the rim and swiveled in. Yes, 2 to nothing. Like stealing candy from a baby!

They had the ball and they played a pass play perfectly. Conner dribbled up and swiftly passed to Jared. Being the ball hog he is, shot the ball. Of course it swished right into the net, 2 to 2. I sunk in displeasure. I thought to myself “That ball hog Jared” though I was proud of him.

The game went on for an hour and a half like this. The score was 46 to 48, I was winning. We promised that this would be the last play. Conner and Jared drove up with the ball. I was thinking “This is it.” I played the best defense I ever had in my life. When of course Jared shot it, I jumped as high as a bunny and stopped the shot. I had a silent celebration in my head before I went back to my last drive.” I hope I score,” I thought.

 I ran up to the net, jumped so high. And BANG, I dunked the ball to win the game. Jared got a little mad but not too mad, and Conner didn’t seem mad. They both shook my hand and told me good game. Even though that I knew that Jared didn’t really mean that it was a good game. After that, Jared and Conner went home, So did I.

That basketball game was pretty fun. Even though Jared didn’t think that it was, or so I thought. I got home and had to go to bed. When I was lying down, I thought “This has been the best day of my life. I got to play basketball with my friends, and I had fun.”

Check out students' posters! Students researched an animal and created a poster that cleverly displayed the information they learned. 

Ever wondered how snow forms? There is actually a lot to know about haw snowflakes are formed! Snowflakes are all different. Wondering about how snowflakes are formed without turning into ice and how all snowflakes are different? If you are, read this.

How is snow formed?

First of all, snow is formed when the temperature is low and there is moisture in the air. Next, when tiny ice crystals collide and stick together in the clouds, that is called a snowflake. Following that, when the snowflake is heavy enough, it will fall to the ground. Snowflakes fall very lightly and slowly. Sometimes when the snowflake is wet, it will fall fast and heavily.

How are all snowflakes different?

Snowflakes are all different, they are never the same. All snowflakes have six arms sticking out from the body of the snowflake. Long needle like snowflakes fall at around 23 °f. Very flat, plate-like snowflakes form at 5 0f. all snowflakes are different because all snowflakes fall a different path to the ground. Therefore, all snowflakes have different atmospheric conditions. Therefore, every snowflake has a different heat pressure on them which means that each snowflake melts and freezes differently. That means that all snowflakes are different, even if it is the slightest of difference; it is declared a difference technically.

As you can see snowflakes are actually very interesting. They have a lot of cool facts too. Learning about snowflakes was actually pretty fun. Overall, snowflakes are fun to learn about and, fun to study.

P.S., there is one more thing fun to learn about snowflakes. That is that there are more than 10158 combinations for a snowflake. That makes a lot of the snowflakes “pretty”, and some “ugly.”

References:
Wikipedia. "Snow." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow. Accessed 2/10/2014

Chemistry. “Snow.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/22/science-snowflakes-shapes-chemistry_n_2338737.html.  Accessed 2/13/2014

David and Zanna are both from the last dragon Chronicles. David and Zanna have some things in common, the also have some things that they don’t have in common. This report will compare and contrast David and Zanna.

David and Zanna are alike because, they both care for their kids. For example, once Zanna almost got pecked to death by ravens just to save her daughter Lexie. Another example is that David dove in front of a baseball coming 60mph at Alexa his daughter. David and Zanna are also alike because they both hate evil. For example, Zanna, a Sybil met another Sybil but, that Sybil was evil. Zanna used all of her powers just to destroy the evil Sybil. Another example is that David will do anything he can do just to destroy the other evil Sybil Gwillanna. Once he went to the North Pole to hunt down Gwillanna. David and Zanna, as you can see don’t have a lot in common.

David and Zanna also have some things that are different, such as, David never thinks ahead. Zanna, on the other hand, always thinks ahead. For example, once Zanna was going out to battle an evil Sybil but, she knew that the evil Sybil would know that she was coming. Another example is that David went down to the artic and when he got there he noticed that he forgot to bring food. David and Zanna have another thing that is different. That thing is that David is always so nice, when Zanna can sometimes be mean. For example, David never yells, not even at Lucy when she looked at his story before it was done. Another example is that Zanna got so freaked out when she figured out that someone was spying on her. One more way that David and Zanna are different is, David stands up for him when Zanna is really shy. For example, David does not get mad when people yell at him, like Lucy who got really mad and yelled at David. David did not yell or cry back, he just asked Lucy why she was yelling at him. Another example is that when people yell at Zanna shy just says “Oh, ok, ok.”

In conclusion, David and Zanna are more different than similar, but the real reason why they are the same is because they are in the same story.

Students task was to write a well-structured opinion essay filled with evidence supporting their claims. Special features include:

• A strong, clear thesis statement
  
• Three unique, powerful reasons
  
• Meaningful personal experiences
  
• Facts and evidence from others
  
• A strong introduction and lasting conclusion

Students could write about any topic that they felt strongly about. We hope you enjoy our essays!

Have you ever hated homework? Well than, do you think kids should have homework? Some people think homework is very useful, but homework is just additional work than what you already did in school. Well I don’t think kids, or anyone should have homework. Mostly every kid in America hates homework; well about 98% of kids. To my stand point homework is just plain useless. It has no purpose in this world so somebody, I say somebody take homework out of the world. It does not help kids or anyone learn!

I think kids should not have homework because homework is tedious and intimidating. For example, once I got a headache just from doing homework! Another example is once my cousin spent all weekend doing homework and still had more homework left! The last but not least example is once my sister had 20 questions on each page; and she had 5 pages of homework. That means that she had to do 100 questions in total. All of the questions were so alike. Now that must have been tedious, or what.  At least I think it would be very tedious.

I think kids should not have homework because homework makes you stay up late. Staying up late can make you tired for school the next day. An example for this is that once my mom had to write a 40 page essay. She waited until the last day, and worked on it all that night! The next day she was really tired for college and got nothing done at all! Another example for this is that once I stayed up all night doing homework. The next day of school I was so tired that I got no work done! See, having homework can lead up to not learning in school. Now think about that parents and teachers. This is why you shouldn’t give kids homework.

I think that kids should not have homework because homework is pretty much doing what you already know and, what you already learned. This made me realize that kids should not have homework! For example, once we had been learning division for a whole week; than we had homework on division. Another example is, once last year I had homework on addition, and of course I already knew addition! It was 10 adding questions I know, easy right. That’s what I thought at least. I knew all of this stuff. It is just unfair that we get homework that we already know!

I don’t think kids should have homework because homework is tedious and intimidating; it makes you stay up all night. Homework is also just doing what you already know. Eventually every kid in America is going to get tired from homework. That means in school no one is going to learn anything. And that all leads up to the whole world being dumb! Now that would be bad, wouldn’t it…. Well I think it would be. Everyone should think it would be bad. Well actually no one would be thinking so I guess not. All-in-all I think that kids should not have any homework.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Christmas is coming soon and I was thinking about what we like. We like being generous and we love awesome stuff. So that made me think that we should get a limousine for Christmas! I know that it might feel odd for us to be driving around a limousine, but at least we will look famous! We could be generous by picking up my hockey teammates so their moms and dads will not have to take them to hockey. After that we could take them back to their house. That would make you feel really good on the inside, right?

Mom, Dad I even know where to go to get one of our own limousines. All you have to do is go to  down the street from the airport in Punta Cana, DR and then go straight through the first two intersections then take your left then right, left, then right again. After that you will see a street called Mangle Street. Go down it and you will see a shop called “Limousines us.” There you can buy the limousine you want. The highest price is only $100,000! The lowest price is $1 (well of course a toy limousine!) All of the limousines are waiting for you to buy one. I already know where to go, see.

Just think what it would be like to have a pure white limousine! Swimming in the pool, relaxing in the hot tub, dancing on the roof, wouldn’t that be nice? This limousine is the size of a house and has everything that a house has and more! You guys should sell our house; maybe get some money off of it if you’re lucky! I mean come on, who wouldn’t want a limousine; it will be the best thing that has ever happened to us! For the most part we could have parties, watch movies, and watch sports. We would be able to do all this because we would have 3 flat screen TVs. All of this leads up to the fact that we should get a limousine!

I have a great idea! Mom, Dad, how about I take you guys out on vacation. We can even go to the Dominican Republic resort. I already got Steve (our neighbor) to take us to the Dominican Republic Resort, it was O.K. with him. There is only one problem with that though. Steve is only going to take us one way, not back. With that big factor on hand, I was wondering if you could get us a limousine. The only reason I think you guys should get us a limousine is for the ride back from the airport. When we get back home from Punta Cana, DR we can have fun with the limo.  For the most part we can go anywhere at any time with a limo.

Guess what Mom and Dad, I finally cleaned my room! It looked like a tornado hit it before, but now you can barely see a speck of dust! I noticed that I have so much junk in my room and I was thinking that a limousine would be a great place to store all of it. I could have my room in it and I would try my best to keep it clean. It will for certain be way more neat because there will be 10 times the space I have now in my room. Then when I go to college we / I won’t have to pay for a dorm, I could just live in the limousine! So, with all the money we can make, and all the money we can save the limousine will pay for itself in no time!

                                                                                                            Sincerely,
Chase

I plop down on the cozy chair in the living room. The cozy chair is a light tan color; it is also pretty long but not too long. I feel the excitement rush down my spine like a speeding train. It also feels like a lightning bolt shot right down my back. As I look around the room I see our Christmas tree with at least, ten presents under it. My heart is pounding at 100 miles per hour because there is a lot of excitement overflowing in my body. It feels like someone poured just a little too much crazy juice in my body. As I keep looking around the room I see my mom, dad, and my sister all looking at me. I asked them if I can open my presents first.  They all said “yes”  at the same time. I walk to the Christmas tree and grab one of my small presents. I sit on the chair and rip my small present open. I look at the present and it is a remote control helicopter. I thank my mom and dad and go on to my next present.

 The next present is a huge box. I sit back down and rip the big present open and look at it. It is a plug in keyboard (piano.) my mom says that that is all of the presents that I have. After that my mom and dad open their present. My sister opens her presents last. After she opens her presents my dad says that he has to go to the bathroom really bad. He sprints up the stairs like a speeding bullet. Right when he runs up he runs down instantly. He was holding a box; he said that he “found” a present upstairs for me. When he got down he handed me the present.

 While I was opening my present I thought to myself “Dad wouldn’t buy me a three-hundred dollar laptop.”  I just kept on ripping it though.  Once it is opened my mouth drops like a hammer. I am speechless, even paralyzed. I thank my dad and mom with all of my joy. And open the laptop case. It’s a laptop. I bring it up to my room and grab the plug out of the box and plug the laptop in. after that sadly Christmas is over. I can’t wait for next year.

Papi hits a home run, and now the game is done

Chorus: Reading the news is such a blast, even though it happened in the past.

I watched Ortiz hit the ball out of sight, and then I read about it on a web site.
I read it on the news, and some TVs; now the red sox are in the World Series!
The Cardinals fans watched in terror, as their team made error after error.

Chorus: Reading the news is such a blast, even though it happened in the past.

Papi slid home and had a celebration, way to go Red Sox nation!
Salty showed up at Medford Modell’s, all you could hear were all the screams and all the yells.
Saltalamacchia has a really long name, so fans just call him Salty during the game.

Chorus: Reading the news is such a blast, even though it happened in the past.  WWOORRDD!!

I see a morbid, black mansion with 1 light sputtering on… and off. Brittle and decaying trees lie all around me. Lightning strikes somewhere nearby; thunder claps right after the lightning. As I walk down the rocky path. As I keep walking down the path a branch skewers my arm. The instant excruciating pain makes me fall back in pain. I stumble back up to keep walking forward.  When I walk a little longer I trip on a rock but I don’t fall down. I hear a squeak right beside me. As I look to my side I see a green moldy rat. I get freaked out so much that I start to sprint up to the 13 foot tall door in a half second. I am not excited to see what’s inside of the house if all of “that” was outside.

I’m in my class at the school of fun, it’s scorching hot in there. I can’t wait to get outside for recess. I grab bright orange rollerblades off the rack and put them on. I start skating down the hall. I can feel the wind whooshing in my hair as I graze the ground. I start getting close to the door. I can see the kids outside laughing and playing. Once I got outside I went directly to the hockey rink. I grab my red hockey skates, put them on and hop on the chilly ice. I am on the red team. I start to skate like a boss. I can hear no one breathing, mostly because all I can hear is the scratch of skates on the ice. I just remembered, I tis time for lunch at Dunkin Donuts. I am very bummed out. I stagger of the ice to go to lunch. I take my skates of my stinky feet and put my shoes. I start to walk in the door of the school of fun and peter literally took some of my hair off as he whipped by on his purple roller blades. I wipe the sweat of my face because I thought that was way too close. I was so relieved when I figured out that he didn’t hit me. As I walk around the bend I start to see Dunkin Donuts. I walk into Dunkin Donuts and get in line. When I get to the front of the line I order an egg and cheese sandwich on a plain toasted bagel. I also order an orange juice to wash the food down my “mouth-hole.” I  get my food and go outside to the pool and hop in to the pool. I start to eat my food and drink my drink. I throw my trash away in the trash chute. I walk out of the pool and dry off. I go back in to my class at The School Of Fun just in time for math… Jk it is the end of the day whooooo. The School Of Fun is awesome because it has everything you can imagine.

Check out some outstanding student work from the first homework project of the school year, All About Me. I've listed the requirements of the project here; below is what some especially creative students did with it.


Job 1. Mini-biography: Choose two from the following:

• Writing about yourself, your life, and your family – funny stories, sad stories, amazing family facts, etc.
  
• Describe the best book you have ever read.
  
• What was one of the proudest moments in your life?
  
• Describe a turning point in your life.

Job 2. Predictions: Write predictions about where you and three of your friends will be, and what they will be doing with their lives in: Ten years time & Twenty years time.

Job 3. Compliments: Write a page of compliments to friends and family, the kind of thing that you may have thought but never said. Try to include as many classmates as possible.

Job 4. Portraits: A page (or pages) of photos and/or artwork expressing your personality and what makes you YOU.

Dad is a great engineer because he can use the machines at his work with no hassle. I admire that because I want to invent some type of new electronic but to do that I need to have great engineer skills. He helps the house to because he gets us all of the hi-tech equipment.

My sister is a good sister because she gets me fun stuff for my birthday.  She also looks out for me when I am in a real fuss or when I am in trouble with my parents. She is always just very nice because… she just is. I could go into a very long story about how nice she is but I’m not, she just is a wonderful sister.

Ben is awesome because he always cheers me up in my toughest of times. He is always the most hilarious kid in the class. He is very fast, which is good because I like a challenge in the tag games. He is also a very nice kid, I can tell.

Peter is probably the best kid at football and flag football in the class. He always includes people who want to play what he is playing at recess and after school. He always shows respect to everyone by helping them pick up something that isn’t his but theirs. He just is always very nice.

Stefan is a helping machine at school. If I can’t remember the answer to a question in math, etc. he is the outlet to all of my answers. He is great at almost every sport there is even baseball. He is so very thoughtful.  He is also a great pod buddy.

Paul is the best friend I have ever had and probably will ever have in my ever so long life. He is great at Minecraft CPU and Xbox edition. Even though he isn’t in my class this year we will always be best friends possible to ever have in the world.