Mike Lupica

by Jack Jones

Mike Lupica is one of the best sport writers in America. He has written more than five books, and they are loved by kids. When I have read his books I noticed that the main character has something big coming up at their sport, but then they suddenly are not as good as they used to be. Then, they finally get amazing at their sport and succeed at what they’re doing. Mike Lupica is always coming out with new books.

Mike Lupica was born on May 11, 1952. He has three sons and a daughter and they live in Connecticut. Also, he is a newspaper columnist. You may think he does a lot but he also is a TV sports commentator and co-wrote autobiographies with Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells. Being a sports writer made it easier for him to write novels. He also got good ideas for his stories by playing sports and reading sports stories as a kid. He writes as long as he can each day. He writes mainly about basketball, baseball, and football. Some of his ideas come from coaching his kids.  He writes for adults and kids. 

I like how Mike Lupica has many exciting ideas in his writing. He mainly focuses on one character in his stories and that person always has a big thing happen to them. Mike Lupica is still writing books.  He is on the news every once and a while.  He must be very busy and have a hard time writing a lot. Mike Lupica is always coming out with new books. Lots of people like him as an author. You can find his books in almost any library.  Try one, you might like it.

Twin Towers

Emma Santasiere

September 11 2001 terrorists from the Middle East crashed into the Twin Towers in New York. Almost 3,000 people died. When the first plane crashed people thought it was an accident but after the second one crashed they knew it was not an accident. Both towers collapsed within two hours. The terrorist group that was blamed was Al/Qaeda.  The person that had the idea was Osama Bin Ladin .The Twin Towers was part of the world trade center. People’s names that died are carved into the side of the memorials. The first tower that was hit collapsed at 10:28. This year on the day of 9/11/2011 the memorial was only opened to friends and family of people who died in the attacks. The unveiling of 9/11 memorial in New York brought a symbolic end to the decade. I would like to see the memorials in New York with my family.

Star Wars

By Boris Moscardelli

Star Wars is the best movie I have ever seen in my whole life. It is about when Luke Skywalker wanted to be a Jedi.  A Jedi is a padawan learner who gets better and better when she /he are in battle. Luke wanted to have a light saber like his dad.  He found two droids on a Jawwa’s sandcrawler, which is a vehicle. A Jawwa is a dark creature with yellow eyes and a cloak over him. 

Inside the Sandcrawler, Luke got a red artoo but it did not work. Next, Luke got the blue artoo and it worked and then C-3PO and artoo went to Luke’s home.  They hung out until they saw a message from Princess Leila. She said,

“Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

Luke did not  know who Obi-wan was.  He knew about Ben-Kenobi but he had no clue about Obi-Wan. Luke learned how to use a lightsaber by Obi-Wan. He learned how to use the force upside down and using it the regular way by Yoda, a green old and wise creature. Luke was ready to go by himself with R2-D2, C-3PO, Han Solo,Princess Leia, and Obi-Wan on special missions.

They needed to fight Stormtroopers and a battle against the Galactic Empire. They went home and talked about his dad in the Clone Wars. He said

“My dad got killed by someone in the Republic,”  

but Ben-Kenobi had no clue who did it. He said he used a weapon called a Lightsaber. Luke said  “ a Lightsaber!”  Obi-Wan said”it’s a weapon that cuts things in half and your dad said that you could use this weapon when you were old enough.”  He pulled out a thing and a flash came out of the grip handle. The blade was Blue and the movements were making sounds out of it.He held it out to Luke and handed it to him.Try it he said, sympathetically.  It will give you luck .They went to a SandCrawler in the Desert Village and saw it still as a dead fly. They said,

“Maybe a bomb?” Obi-wan said, “It  is theThe Stormtroopers!”

They always come and destroy our village and tear  things apart like our Sandspeeder.  Luke said,  “Maybe my house is destroyed!”

Luke and the two droids and obi-wan were rushing to Lukes house. When they got home it was too late. Luke`s home was already destroyed by the stormtroopers. Flames and smoke were drifting past into the desert. His family was the best family he ever had.  He was crying so much that he could see his tears landing in the sand. He took his first mission to get revenge on the stormtroopers and the empire.  If you like this story be sure to watch the movie. It’s a favorite for many people and there are six episodes.

Dance

by Maddie Young

MODERN

    For many years people have been dancing to express their feelings. Modern is a type of dance used to show how you feel. Dancers perform natural and spontaneous movements in flowing costumes and bare feet. Some famous modern choreographers are Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Twyla Tharp. Martha Graham was the creator of a dance company called the Martha Graham Dance Company. Believe it or not Twyla Tharp has a connection to Martha Graham. She was a student in Martha’s dance company!! Finally we have Isadora Duncan. She was considered to be the creator of Modern dance. She was so famous that people made sculptures, novels [etc.] of her. Modern started in the 1900’s and is still popular today.   

BALLET 

       Ballet has been around since the 17^th century. It was very popular in Italy and France. Many of the dancers were men! A famous Russian composer Tchaikovsky wrote beautiful music for ballet dancers. 

                                                                    

                                                                        JAZZ

         Jazz began in the United States. In the middle of the 1900’s. It goes along with jazz music. You use muscle tone, strength, and flexibility. It is based on African folk dances. Jazz is important in the development of tap dancing. 

                                                                        TAP

            The music is very important in tap. It’s all about rhythm and stomping to the beat. Tap dancing is similar to Irish step dancing, Clogging, and African dancing. My favorite type of dance is tap dancing. What is your favorite type of dance?

Katmandu, Nepal

By Jessica Moyher

     On vacation I went to Nepal!  My favorite part was seeing the Monkey Temple. They called it the Monkey Temple because a lot of monkeys live there. The monkeys were nice and didn’t attack my family and me. At one part was a tree where there were monkeys that swung from the tree to the next and then to the next. It didn’t smell like anything unusual but it was cold and the monkeys were screeching loudly. It sounded like someone was getting murdered but saying ‘OO! OO! AH! AH!’ I thought that it was pretty cool to see a big temple filled with monkeys.

       There was a big temple with Buddha eyes and near the bottom were pray wheels that went around the temple. Prayer wheels are cylinders that people spin and pray. In a corner were a lot of mini temples that looked like a graveyard. There was also a golden water fountain. I don’t know if that the fountain was made of real gold but it looked real. Now I thought that is awesome.

      On the top was a humongous stair case made of rock that lead to a great view of Katmandu. When I heard we were going to the Monkey Temple I thought it was going to be a temple with monkeys in it and smell like dirty monkeys. But it seemed really cool. And that was an amazing trip. We went to other places and went trekking but that was the best part in Katmandu.

The Brownie

by Will Russel

The first brownie was made when a wife forgot to add leavening to her cake.  She did not want to admit her mistake so she called it a brownie cake and everyone loved it. The brownie then was more like a stale cake, because it was lacking important ingredients the brownie now has now.  But no one cared because it was new and exciting. It was made in Boston, Massachussetts, and put in a book by Fannie Merrite, a famous cook.

Fannie Merrite was a farmer that loved cooking and enjoyed writing books about her cooking. She was famous for her recipes with sour ginger bread.  That was the thing Fannie loved to make.  It was water and molasses mixed together and tasted sour and stale. The only 2 things that did not have molasses were her margaritas and her German cookies.  Instead she had coconut in them, and everyone agreed coconut was a healthy substitute.  It tasted nicer than sour gingerbread and it was very hard and crunchy.

The brownie we now know was made by Maria Howard.  It had extra fudge and 2 eggs just like today. The best brownie I have had was when we were in Boston, where the original one was made. The brownie I had was pure chocolate and tasted superb. It was just a little bit chewy. I was very surprised when I saw peanut butter brownies, I didn’t even know about different kinds of brownies.   Also I was amazed when I saw that Fannie made so many recipes, but the brownie was the most famous and the most delicious one of all. . I cannot wait until I eat a brownie again and then, I will remember all about how many changes the brownie has gone through and how it started, also how it is now. I predict the brownie will be the number 1 favorite dessert in the future.

Going Green, How Kids Can Do It

  by Julianna Manville

Going Green is amazing because you can save our planet for the future.

 The way kids can go green is by turning off lights when you're not in that room, turn off water when not in use, and saving trees and plants by not hurting them, and cutting them.  You can recycle bottles and cans and  put them in the trash, or recycling.  And if you are already going green, you can go to your school and try to get your friends and family to go green also.  Pick up trash when you see it, even though it may be yours. 

By going green you can make a big difference.  If you just replace a light bulb with an Energy Star light bulb, you would save enough energy to light a lot more than  3 million homes for at least a year. We have already installed Energy Star light bulbs in many areas in our home.  

Cars fill up 80% of traffic.  If you use public transportation, such as buses, it will lead to improved, and more efficient services, as well as quicker traveling time, due to lower traffic.  There for you can be using less carbon emissions and air pollutants. And then it will prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.  And it will also save you money.

Going Green with Water and Coffee

Get a purifying water pitcher, and fill a bottle for when you’re not at home.  It’s simple, cheaper, and less wasteful.  It’s also been proven that if you’re drinking repeatedly from the plastic bottles, it can cause some little plastic particles to go in your body, which could lead to cancer.

Our trees, plants, and flowers that are original to this area,  provide a habitat for native birds and other animals.  They provide food and shelter.  They use less water, saving you having to use up 265 gallons of water per hour with a sprinkler on.

The next time you go to Starbucks, if you don’t have a travel mug, ask for the porcelain cups, but if you do have a travel mug, use that instead to use over, and over, and over because you will save trees.

Saving Energy

That little red or green light on your T. V. , DVD, stereo, or computer adds up to $100.00 to your electric bill each year. And it creates up to 85 kg of unnecessary greenhouse gas; stand-by power serves no function.  Switch them off at the power point.

Local trade reduces energy that is used in transportation. Rather than doing all your grocery shopping at your super market, you can walk to your local butcher, bakery, and or grocer. It is not that hard to bring a canvas bag with you to your local grocery store , or rather any store so you can put your purchases in there.

Going Green with Seafood

Atlantic flounder, orange rouge, farmed salmon, imported farmed or wild shrimp have all been at risk of overfishing.  Instead… have  Pacific halibut, U.S. farmed catfish, Dungeness crab, and/or Alaskan salmon. You can save endangered species, and protect biodiversity.

Saving Trees

Penn Publication services is committed to environmental stewardship through sustainable purchasing initiatives the recycled content stock and conducting businesses with printers, paper suppliers, and also other partners who are committed to sustainability.    

  I got these ideas from Google, on Going Green, How kids can do it. I chose this topic because , I thought that even though it talks about it on T.V. all the time, maybe I should write about it to get into peoples long term memory. And then people can start going green.

China

 – By Kishan Sonpal

Have you ever wondered about China – its beautiful landscape, culture and artifacts?  Let me tell you all about it. 

China is the fourth largest country in the world but it has the highest population of the world.  It is located in Central Asia.  Its neighbors are Kazakhstan, India, Russia, Mongolia, Nepal and many more.

This past summer, I was fortunate to visit China.  We started our trip from Shanghai.  It is famous for the Bund Riverside and Nanjing Street.  The Bund Riverside is a place where people go to enjoy the beautiful view of downtown Shanghai.  At night the water view is absolutely gorgeous.  All the buildings are lit up and thousands of locals and tourists come to the riverside to enjoy the view.  Some of the famous buildings are the Oriental Pearl TV tower and bottle opener Financial Tower.  Nanjing Street is must see because it is a one-stop shopping alley.  It is just fun to see people shopping and vendors selling.  The best part of Shanghai was flying kites on Bund Riverside in the morning.

From Shanghai we took a cruise on Yangtze River.  Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world and we experienced beautiful gorges along the way.

Next stop – Xian is just mind blowing.  It is most famous for the Terra Cotta Army museum.   Did you know that it has over two thousand life size clay soldiers that all have different expression on their faces?  These soldiers were built for Emperor Qin.  His wish was that when he dies he wanted to be surrounded by clay soldiers.  We were lucky to meet one of the farmers who discovered the site and get his autograph on the book.  We went to a local restaurant for eighteen course dumpling dinner.  One of my favorite parts was the Tang Dynasty Show. 

Our last stop was Beijing.  Beijing is the best combination of old and new.  On one side, it has the famous Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Winter and Summer Palaces and on the other side, it has the modern buildings such as the Bird’s Nest and the Ice Cube in Olympic Village.  Bird’s Nest is the building where all the gymnastics took place and all the swimming competitions took place in Ice Cube building.  The Great Wall of China is one of the wonders of the world.  Did you know that it is about four thousand miles long?  We did climb to the second base, it was exhausting but worth the climb.

The history, architecture, landscape and most of the people were so beautiful that they will have a special place in my heart.

The Great Wall

By John Huang

The Great Wall of China is the one of two things that can be seen in space that is man made.  From an orbit from 160 -310 kilometers, it is visible to the naked eye.  It was back in the 7^th century, B.C. when millions of people died trying to build the great wall.  Guard stations, watch towers and signal towers were built evenly apart.  The towers looked like old Temples.

The Great Wall is 1500 miles long.   For many years no one thought anyone can walk the Great Wall.  While I was walking on part of the Great Wall it felt just like concrete, hard and bumpy. The stairs were 6in.-10in high and it was a challenge to climb it for me.  The Great Wall is made out of wood, earth, stone, and brick.  It is 25 feet in height and 15 – 30 feet thick at the bottom. 

The stones were a silver color but now they are fading  and they look like concrete.  Also 27 miles of the Great Wall may disappear in the next 20 years, because the wall isn’t that strong anymore and it may break apart. I walked to an end at one point and I could see the Great Wall broken apart into at least five pieces . Also the Great Wall is divided into many different sections.

Whose idea was it to build theGreat Wall?

Qin Shi Huang undertook many big projects including the Great Wall of China. The emperors in the time of the Great Wall were Qi, Yan, Wei and Zhao.

Solar Energy

                                                  By Matei Mandoiu

1.     What Solar Energy is used for

     How Solar Energy was used  has improved.  Over the years things have changed: In the past people have designed houses to attract heat in the winter.  In the present,  people now use electricity to heat the house.  Maybe in the future we will have self powered heaters.

2.     How the sun makes energy

     The sun always had energy and heat.  How the solar panel makes energy is by the sun’s solar cell: the solar cell goes to the solar panel.  It breaks up and makes energy.  The energy renews the electricity, makes the electricity positive, and it will come back negative. The photovoltaic effect happens again.

3.     Photovoltaic Effect

    The Photovoltaic Effect is an effect and a current used as a piece of material is used to make the electricity.  People use the electricity to power useful things that help a lot.  Some people feel grateful to have electricity but some people want to use things differently.  But life in some places is a little different and some places are a lot different.

4.     How Wind makes electricity

    Wind is only some piece of air that is moving.  The wind-turbine makes the electricity by the wind.  The wind turns the wind-turbine then the turning makes a piece of metal turn which then makes a spark.  The spark makes the electricity which then is used for things to be powered. The wind turbine can be only powered by the metal turning because then it won’t make even a spark if it isn’t turning.

5.     Cool Idea

      Do you want to save energy?  Well, if you want to then take solar panels to be able to get electricity by the sunshine and probably when it rains.  You can get a battery for the night, or you can go to bed early to be able to sleep before the night.  You can use a heater to make snow go away or else you won’t have electricity.  Take a wind-turbine for windy days. So, that’s how you can save electricity or you can try to make a different idea to save electricity.  Have fun!

Women’s Championship 1999

by Allie Raynor

As the most attended women’s event in history on July 10^th of 1999, USA soccer team was ready to go.  Ready to play against China in Pasadena, California as the host team.  As the players sat on the bus they thought  they would be late because all  they saw was traffic.  Then they realized that all of the people were going to their game!  90,185 people came to the final game.

The game was scoreless at the end of 90 minutes. So penalty kicks came upon them.  China’s 1^st attempt was scored.  As USA’s Carla Overbeck stepped up, she made the goal.  China’s 2^nd shot was made too.  Joy Fawcett was next.  Her shot was scored.

China’s 3^rd penalty kick player shot and USA’s goalie Briana Scurry saved the goal. The team was so excited. Kristine Lily scored USA’s 3^rd goal.  China scored their 4^th goal.  Mia Hamm, (my role model), scored the 4^th goal for USA.  China took their last shot and … score.  Now USA’s last shot was taken by Brandi Chastain.  USA’s whole team was so nervous because if  they made it they would win the championship game of 1999.  Finally she took the kick, and … she SCORES!!! USA won the championship game of 1999! This year of 2011 USA was hoping for the same win. But it did not happen.

Tokyo Airport and the Earthquake

  by Alexander Holzbach

I was playing computer games on the computer at the Admiral’s club at the Tokyo Airport on the morning of March 11, 2011.  The game was at Lego.com and it was called “Hero Factory.”  I had won a game and lost a game, so I was eager to win another game.  Then, I felt some shaking.  I thought it was a big loud airplane, so I tried to ignore it.  But it kept on getting bigger.  Then my Dad came running over, and said, “There’s an earthquake happening.”

We ran out the door of the Admiral’s Club into the main airport and we crouched down with our hands over our heads.  A bunch of other people went over and leaned against the wall.  It was eerily quiet.  All the conversations stopped, because everybody was so frightened.  All I did was wait until the vibrations got smaller. 

I went back to my computer game afterwards, and then my father told me that we had to get out of the airport.  We ran out to the runways with everybody on the side of the airport I was on.  Then a huge aftershock, that was bigger than most earthquakes, happened.  Everything was shaking again.  Some of us went into a big bus that had a heater on because it was cold outside.  From the window of the bus I saw a curtain blowing out of an airport window that wasn’t made to open. 

After a while, everybody started going back into the airport.  My bus parked, and we stayed in the bus for a while.  I liked it because it was warm, but there was a couple of times that the bus started shaking more than a bus could by itself.  I learned that it was because of more aftershocks. Finally , we all had to go back inside the building because the flight attendants told us that we needed to go back into the building but they didn’t know why. Once we were in the building , we looked in the buses and saw  cleaning crews in them . I thought the buses were clean and I could not understand why they made us go away and put cleaning crews in. Then the cleaning crews left the buses and we still had to stay out.

Then we learned that we would have to sleep in the airport in a huge room with everyone else. The flight attendant gave us blankets. Me and my little brother, Andrew, made a bed with the blankets . We got more blankets to use as pillow. After a while we played with little tops on the floor. Then the flight attendants brought us airplane bread for dinner. We didn’t really like the bread, but we still ate it. After that our mom told us to go to sleep. It wasn’t comfortable because the floor was really hard , cold, and there was so many little aftershocks. Later at night, my dad got a sleeping bag which I used instead of the bed I made, finally, I went to sleep! In my dreams I was thinking of what everybody in America would think of my story.