Fire!         By: Matei Mandoiu

 A starting Fire
   It was a hot day in the forest, the ground was dry with leaves, and animals were scattering for shade. As the day grew hotter, a flame flickered through the sun light. The day was so hot, a leaf caught fire like there was an invisible magnifying glass above. A fire had just begun.

    Inside the fire

  The fire is made up of chemicals: heat, oxygen, and fuel.                                                                             

This is known as “The Chain Reaction.”

The flame is not the fire. The flame spreads fire. The flame is made
 up of gas and and solids. Yes, the flame is made of solids that are invisible.

Moving the fire

   The fire moves from the breeze of the wind and spreads around. The fire spreads depending on the speed of the wind. Water does not move fire, it puts out fire.

The good and bad fire

   Fire can be deadly, but sometimes it helps us to live. The fire can make a lot of damage. It can burn down houses, buildings, forests, planes, helicopters, etc., and it can burn objects down really fast. The fire in the fireplace gives us heat and does damage to the wood, but not to the house. The fire makes energy also. It is used to power things, the fire makes light to see.

Where fire is used

   Fire is used in fireplaces to heat the house during the winter. It is used at campsites

to heat the family during the night. Fire is also used in stoves to heat or cook
the food. Fire is used for many things that even you use.
 
How to start the fire

 Fire can start in many different ways : Very strong heat can catch dry objects on fire. A magnifying glass needs to be placed in front of paper and strong sunlight to catch the paper on fire (The objects need to be on different sides). Two rocks rubbed together can make a spark and catch fire.

Safety from Fire

   If the stove doesn’t turn on, turn all equipment off and open all windows to not let the house catch fire. Fire that is already burning is best in moist area. If not, dry objects like trees or leaves can catch fire. To make the area moist, you can take a hose and spray far and high for protection.

 The ending fire

   The clouds have come to the forest with rain ready to put out the fire. Rain and fire are enemies with each other. The rain is falling, and making the fire hiss like a snake. The fire is getting smaller every second the rain strikes the fire with drops of water. The fire is getting fainter now, the rain is also getting fainter. But the rain leaves marks to destroy the fire. The rain left everything in its way wet to not leave the fire pass. And the little droplets from the remaining trees will help the rain win the battle. The war is over between rain and fire.

The Tallest Man in the World

                                  By: Allison Raynor

Robert Pershing Wadlow was the tallest man ever to walk on earth. He was born on February 22, 1918, in Alton, Illinois. His parents were Addie Johnson and Harold Wadlow. Robert had pituitary gland problems which made him grow so tall.

 By the age of four, Wadlow was five feet four inches. I think that’s amazing because most ten year olds aren’t that tall! But he didn’t stop growing there, by ten he was six feet six inches. When he was nineteen, his height was eight feet six inches. Robert’s shoe size was a size 37AA, in men’s shoe sizes (AA means double wide).

            Wadlow was so tall that he couldn’t feel his lower leg and feet much so he needed leg braces to walk. The leg braces caused blisters on his ankles which he couldn’t feel. The blisters got infected and he needed surgery, but that didn’t help, it got worse. Then Robert died in his sleep, age 22 1940 July 15.

             On July 19 his funeral was held in southern Illinois. About 40,000 people came to his funeral. Now there is a guard guarding his tomb so he is not stolen. There are also wax replucas of him in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! There are Ripley’s in Saint Augustine, Florida, New Jersey, Atlantic City, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Queensland, Gold City and Mexico. There’s also a statue of him in the Empire State Building.

             I went to Niagara Falls this summer and I went to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! That’s how I know about Robert Pershing Wadlow and wanted to research about him.

Hurricanes

      

By Amber Olgac

        Our word hurricane comes from the Taino Indian word “Huraca’n” meaning big wind. Hura means wind and ca’n means center. Experts think that Huraca’n came from a Mayan word “Huraken” which means God of Storms. When Columbus met with Taino Indians, this word became a Spanish word.

         A hurricane starts in an area of the tropics that lies between 5 degrees north and 5 degrees south of the equator. Hurricanes begin as groups of thunderstorms that spiral and grow into a giant storm. In the summer and late fall, the air above the warm ocean gets hot, it picks up moisture and starts swirling- a tropical depression is born. If the winds begin to go faster, more than 39 mph it becomes- a tropical storm and is given a name. If the winds swirl faster than 74 mph it is called- a hurricane. The hurricane season starts from June 1^st to November 30^th. The busiest part of the season is August, September, and October.

         Hurricanes are the largest of all storms. The inside of a hurricane is calm. The inside of a hurricane is also called the eye of the hurricane. Next to the eye there is the highest winds called the eye wall. I think it’s called the eye wall because it is like a wall around the eye. Some hurricanes may produce tornadoes. Tornadoes can be deadly.

Tropical storms and hurricanes are important because they actually balance the temperature on the earth.  Otherwise parts of the earth would be too cold, while other parts get too hot. There are 4 major hazards of a hurricane. These include Storm Surge, Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding. Hurricanes usually hit the eastern part of the U.S. The states that were hit at least once include Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and Texas.

       In CT we had hurricane Irene at the end of August. Northeastern part of U.S. did not have a hurricane like Irene last 100 years. During hurricane Irene, NASA satellites were flying above Irene providing information for us. The hurricane was 65-75 mph. It created a lot of damage in North Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Mid-Atlantic, and that’s not even all of them! Hurricane Irene caused 56 deaths! One of them was a lady in Maryland. She was killed when a chimney fell on her house.  When a man was going canoeing he drowned because the waves were too wavy. Those are 2 very sad stories. About 7.4 million houses and buildings lost power from hurricane Irene! Irene was the first major hurricane in the annual hurricane season. In New York, people rushed to stores for batteries and bottles of water. About 10,000 flights were canceled all around the country. I hope this never happens again because so many people suffered from Irene.

Mini Schnauzer

                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                  By Renee Haddad

The Mini Schnauzers are different from many breeds of dogs. First of all they have rectangular

heads, and can be black, white, gray, or salt and pepper.  The breed is popular because the dogs are good family animals.  They have very good noses and love to be around people, especially kids. They have to be trained when they’re young or else they will be hard to train.

The Mini Schnauzer was bred in Germany and shown first as a recognized breed in 1899.   The dogs were first bred to be farm dogs and may be seen in German paintings as far back as the 15^th Century.  They’re known for their amazing handsome looks. The Mini Schnauzers are also known by their whiskers and double coat.  They have a hard wiry outer coat and close soft under coat.

Although it’s small in size, the mini schnauzer can give a shout just as well as a larger dog.  They also have a naturally protective nature which makes them an excellent watch dog.  They are also the most known of the three schnauzer breeds, the Giant, the Mini, and the Standard.

Mini schnauzers are amazing animals. They are very popular and loved with their handsome looks and their mini size. That puts them on the top of the scale for amazing animals.

Schnauzers are loving dogs. They are good with kids because they will love to run around and play with you. They are lap dogs and in the toy family.  I think mini schnauzers are the best of the schnauzer breeds and I hope that they are still the best known in the future.