12 Days of Christmas - Room 19 Style! ! !

Please click on the music below and sing along to Room 19's version of this classic Christmas song. Thank you Mrs. Rowen for helping us create this masterpiece!

12 Days of Christmas ( Room 19 Style)

Cheese pizza without the long lines
2 Spelling words
3 Days of Recess
4 Square Balls
5 Field Trips
6 Crazy Hair Days
7 Book reports
8 Chrissy's talking
9 Snowball recordings
10 Teacher learning Days
11 Running club cards
12 Penguins blogging

Top Thanksgiving Videos

Roasted turkey, tasty stuffing, vegging out with the Macy’s Day Parade… what could be better? Maybe a family-friendly flick to help you through your food coma? Kaboose movie expert Jane Louise Boursaw has chosen her picks for the top Thanksgiving-themed movies of all time. Here are a few movies to get your family in the mood for even more turkey! (From Kaboose.com)

Why You’ll Be Thankful That Your Family Watched This Film: It teaches kids that when you sit down at the Thanksgiving table, it’s good to be grateful for all that you have—even if your meal is just toast and popcorn.


Holiday for Drumsticks
This 7-minute short, part of the “Stars of Space Jam” collection features a family of farming hillbillies who are fattening up a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. A fellow farm animal – namely, Daffy Duck—gets jealous and wants all the food for himself. Of course, his plan backfires.



Why You’ll be Thankful That Your Family Watched This Film: This tiny short helped to make Tom and Jerry a household name. What’s charming about this mini-flick is that Tom and Jerry succeed in turning what otherwise might be a humdrum Thanksgiving into a feast of laughs.


Why You’ll be Thankful That Your Family Watched This Film: Youngsters in your household will love this beautifully animated tale filled with towering forests, rugged cliffs, and sparkling waters, set against a backdrop of lovely tunes like “Colors of the Wind” and “Just Around the Riverbend.” The message: It’s never too late to learn something new and be thankful for it – just as John Smith learned of nature’s peace and harmony from Pocahontas.

Electoral College or Popular Vote?

Each state has at least three electoral votes- one for each of its two senators and one for each representative in Congress. Population determines how many representatives each state gets. Washington, D.C., has three electoral votes.

There are 538 electoral votes at stake. A candidate needs 270 to win.
Would it be more fair if the popular vote, rather than the Electoral College, decided the presidential election? Explain. (Read "Who Really Picks the President?" on page 6 of the TFK magazine for background information.)

Cutest Obama Baby!!

Check out our friend's baby in Pittsburgh, PA who already seems to have an opinion about who our next President should be. She is SO adorable!!

Hello From Middle School

By: Joel (6th grade)

Hello members of Room 19, I was glad to see that this place has not been completely deserted. Only Lucas wrote back. Anyway, I go to Miller Middle School, and I think it is okay. I know I can probably make it through the whole year. It is not as bad as I thought, though I got homework on the first day, as a good "greeting". I got some very nice teachers, and there was a big change from Elementary School to Portal. I've made a lot of good friends and you fifth graders won't believe that I got Kevin Yang in every every class of mine except one. Things that I started worrying about I'm not that much. Things such as bullying aren't happening (probably because there is a member of staff hanging around every corner) and the homework is easy to deal with. The only thing I suffer from in school is the fact that my days are pretty boring. The teachers are constantly repeating the same lectures for 10 minutes and brunch (as we call it now) and lunch is pretty boring. There is nothing to do once you are done eating. There aren't any wallball courts or playgrounds. Well, I think I can still survive.

Amulya's Post

Greetings From Abroad
By: Amulya

Helllooooo, Room 19!!!!! I am Amulya, your fifth grader from India. Sorry, it has been a VERY long time since I got in touch with anyone in Portal. (Except Meryem)

It feels like I have been in Meridian (the school I go to now) for a long time. In India, our timetable for the year is hard to get used to. We have 3 Terms aka Semesters. In every term we first have slip tests, Unit tests, and then slip tests again, then...the term tests. I got A+ for Social Studies, Science, English, Computers and Telugu (3rd Language). For Hindi (2nd Language), gulp, I got a C!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am getting a dog during the Dasarah holidays. It is going to be a Yellow Labrador Retriever. If it is a boy, we will name him Buddy. If it is a girl we will name her Daisy. I am SOOOOOOO excited.

I miss Portal & the U.S. more than anything.

P.S. I want every 4rth grader to know that Room 19 is the best among the Rockhopper villages and that you are very lucky to be in this class.

BYE!!!!!!!!!!! MISS YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What questions to do have for me about living and going to school in a far away country? What things do you think are different and what do you think is still the same? Please ask away and more than one question is definitely allowed! ;0)

Meryem's Post

I’m on the Road... AGAIN!!!
By: Meryem Guler

When I was little I traveled a lot, but my family first started in New York City, New York. My mom and my dad were visiting my mom’s brother (my uncle) who lived in New York. They were introduced to each other and were married two days afterwards.

Soon they moved to Houston, Texas where my older brother, Mustafa, was born. 17 months later a baby girl was born to the family while in Houston, and you can all guess who that baby was: ME!

A few months later we moved to Cleveland, Ohio where my younger brother, Mehmet, was born. We only stayed there about 3 months and then moved to New York again.
Then we moved to Foster City, California. Afterwards we moved to Cupertino, where we stayed for quite a while. Our next move was to San Jose, where we are now.

After moving from Texas, to Ohio, to New York, and, finally, to California we are tired of moving and hope to stay here a while.

Where were you and your sibling(s) born? Where did you travel to? And give me DETAILS!

In The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson

We just started reading this entertaining, and quite funny, book in class this week. The main character so far is a young girl named Bandit, who finds out she has to move to America and leave her home behind. What have you learned about her so far? Include descriptions from the text to help support your opinion.

How would you react if you found out your family was moving to a country you have never been to before? Why? Explain.

Popsicle Stick Abacus

Procedures:

1. Cut each skewer into 4" rods.

2. Place the tips of the rods onto one popsicle stick, centered and equidistant from each other. Trace the tips with a pencil.

3. Remove the rods and draw lines of glue over the pencil marks. Carefully place the rod tips onto the glue. (A popsicle stick placed under the rods helps to prop up the rods so the tips maintain contact with the first popsicle stick while the glue is drying.).

4. After the rod tips dry, thread two pony beads onto each rod. These will be your "Heaven" beads.

5. Place the second popsicle stick (for the center bar) under the rods about 3/4" down from the first popsicle stick. Mark the rod placement by tracing with a pencil. Draw lines of glue onto the pencil marks and glue the rods onto this stick. Be careful not to let the beads stick to the glue.

6. Thread five pony beads onto each rod for the "Earth" beads. Place a third popsicle stick under the rod tips and glue the tips to the stick.

7. Line up and glue a popsicle stick over each of the three sticks you glued the rods to earlier.

8. Another layer of three popsicle sticks will raise the abacus to prevent the beads from rubbing on the table surface. You're now looking at the back of the abacus. Flip the abacus over and enjoy!

Can you explain in your own words, using math language like "place value" and such, how the abacus works? Why did people use this? Why is it not used as much anymore?

Lucas' Post

Greetings from Middle School

Hello Room 19, this is Lucas from Cupertino Middle School. Middle school isn't that great as Portal, but I think I can survive. It was pretty scary going to a new middle school. The middle school had a orientation for students, so I went. I felt better after that orientation because some eighth graders who orientation leaders told us that there was barely any homework for sixth grade. That was partly true because I got a hour of homework on the third day of school. That was less than what I thought it would be.
Besides middle school, I've had a great summer. I went to Hearst Castle and Seqouia Lake. The iPhone 3G was also launched in the summer. It only cost $299. By he way, I've fixed up a Apple computer that was broken that my friend wanted to throw it away. I offered to fix it and succeeded. The Mac is now mine.
All 5th graders currently, don't worry about middle school, it will be a pretty smooth transition with not much homework.

Ode To The Scientific Method

Please take a moment to pay tribute to the fabulous scientific method. Without it data would be inaccurate, conclusions never would be drawn, and we would never learn about the world around us.

If you would like to pay tribute to the scientific method, we can add poems, songs, or skits on this post to show all the love we have for science.....we love science done right!!

Rujuta's Post

Traditions & Celebrations

By: Rujuta Munshi

This weekend, I had a Rakshabandhan celebration at my house. We invited three other families and then all the sisters tied the bracelets on the brothers’ wrist. Then we had a potluck, watched Phelps swimming and one of my friends stayed for a sleepover.

Rakshabandhan is a celebration where the sister ties a bracelet also called a rakhi on her brother’s hand and then feeds her brother a sweet. In return, the brother gives his sister a present and feeds her a sweet. Rakshabandhan symbolizes the bond between brothers and sisters. In addition, they promise to take care of each other and help each other when they need it. Rakshabandhan is celebrated in August on the full moon day. This year Rakshabandhan was on Saturday the 16th.

What are traditions and festivals you and your family celebrate? Which ones do you like the best and why?

2008 Beijing Olympics

After an incredible opening ceremony, the games have started! There are so many exciting and interesting sports during the summer games. Which ones have you enjoyed watching and why? What new sports have you discovered? Are there any sports you have seen that you might like to try? What has been the most exciting moment so far? Go TEAM USA!!!

Summer Updates...

Use this post to tell everyone "hello", what you have been up to, or what you plan to do for the summer. I hope you all are having fun and I can't wait to hear about it!!!

Meryem's Post

MY BROTHER’S B’DAY PARTY
By: Meryem Guler

Mehmet, my younger brother, turned 9 on June 9th and had his birthday party on June 8th, Sunday. The invited people were the Cuyle Family, the Ogata Family, Brandon Chen (3rd grade), Victor Shih (3rd grade), and Nandini (the one in our class) since I was allowed to invite one of my friends to the party.

The party started at 1:30 p.m. and the movie started 3:00 p.m. The movie we went to was Kung Fu Panda which had come to theaters on June 6th. We got to play for about 30 minutes and then we had to leave to the movie theaters because it gets kind of crowded. It got so crowded that we had to split up into small groups or else we wouldn’t fit. The movie was fantastic and hilarious in every single way. For example, Po, the main character, can only do karate if he thinks or knows that his goal is food, like when he thought a very special scroll is a bowl of dumplings. It started out as Po’s dream that came true later in the story and ended with Po beating the evil Tai Lung. If I could rate this move I would give it the highest rating a person could ever give to a movie. If my mom and did didn’t order tickets online, there wouldn’t be any tickets left.

After the movie was finished, we went out of the movie theaters and went to Fresh Choice to have an early dinner which, by the way, was right next to the theaters. We all got to choose what we wanted to eat and sat down to eat it. When we were done eating we waited for everyone to finish eating and then we all chose our desserts and went back to the tables. My mom had brought a candle with her, but it got lost somewhere in backpack, so my dad got his lighter out and we pretended it was a candle.

When we got home, we gave the presents for coming to them which were water guns that you could use any bottle for holding the water up to two liters. After everybody had filled their water bottles we had a water fight until their parents showed up. We had a really fun time during his party.
What did you do for your birthday party? Is there anything you want to do for your next birthday party?

Brandon's Post

Is your Electricity bill Rising?
By: Brandon Eltejaein

Have you heard that your electricity bill will be rising by 4% due to high gas prices? This news has made me think about different ways to conserve electricity in order to bring down the electricity bill. First, you should clean, change or let someone check your furnace filter if you have one. Since dust and dirt can pile up clean you should clean it once a month. But if you hire a technician they will check a few things and it will cost you $50-$100. Another way to save is to install installation so when its winter you can turn on the heater and the warm air will stay inside the house. Then, when its summer you can turn on the cooler and the cold air will stay in. That saves energy because you won’t let the air that is cool or warm out so you won’t have to keep the air condition on. To maintain your air conditioning wash it with your garden hose so the air flow. If you plant a tree it can save you 25% on your bill because of the shade and ceiling fans can circulate the air so you can have the air everywhere. Seal al doors and windows so no air could come out and check for any leaks. Use smaller appliances because they can save 75% on your bill. Plus keep your refrigerator 36-38 degrees and freezers 0-5 degrees. Only put full loads of launders in the washer and only use warm water for dirty clothes. Use 75% watt light bulbs because they last ten times longer and save energy. If you want to buy energy efficient appliances look for the brand energy star. If you know any other ways to save energy please share.

Richard's Post

Summer Movies
By: Richard Mao

Getting ready for the summer movies yet? Well, there are some here that you might want to watch.
The new WALL.E is about a robot that was abandoned on Earth after humans destroyed it by causing Global Warming. He was very lonely until he was accompanied by another robot from a spaceship called EVE.

Another movie you might like is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The adventure continues with the sidekick, Mutt Williams (played by Shia LaBeouf) helps Indy to find a crystal skull that can make you control an empire. Marian Ravenwood, starred in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is back again as Mutt’s mother. The “bad guys” are the Russian Storm troopers that try to find the crystal skull but always fail.

One very recent movie is Kung Fu Panda, a panda named Po that struggles to be a true Dragon Warrior. He joins the Furious Five and Master Shi Fu to practice his skills. He battles the powerful prisoner, Tai Lung all by himself and defeats him really fast. This movie is humorous so if you like humor, you should watch it!

Narnia: Prince Caspian is a sequel to Narnia: The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. A prince called (it’s kind of obvious what the name is: note the title) comes back and helps Lucy, Peter, Susan, and Edmund defeat evil enemies that roam Narnia.

Last but not least, Iron man is about a man called Tony Stark, a millionaire, also an advanced engineer, creates a powerful exoskeleton and becomes a super hero. During a business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries' new weapon, the "Jericho" cluster missile, Tony Stark's convoy is attacked. One of his own company's bombs lands near him and explodes. A lot of debris stabbed him on the chest, one particularly close to his heart. He finds out about armor, exoskeletons, and all that fancy stuff and decides to make his own. His super hero name is Iron Man.

All these movies are awesome; you should go watch some of these movies! Trust me, they’re the best!
Which movie do you like the best and why? If you haven’t watched any of these, which movie do you want to watch and why? (share some other movies that are coming in 2008)

Neeraj's Post

Celtics Rule
By: Neeraj Agrawal

The Celtics are in the NBA finals. They have gone through many challenges to get to the Finals. In the finals they are playing their arch enemies the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics are facing the Lakers for the third time in the finals. The Celtics have won two out of the three times that the Celtics have faced the Lakers in the final. When the Celtics played the Lakers all three times in the finals they had the big three: Larry Bird Kevin McHale Robert Parish. Now the Celtics have a new big three: Kevin Garnett Paul Pierce Ray Allen. This year the new big three will rock the Lakers and win the Championship.
The Celtics had 4 different challenges to make the finals. The first challenge was to make the playoffs. They made the playoffs by having such a great record that they had best record in the NBA. Their record was 66 and 16. That means that they hade 66 wins and 16 losses in a total of 82 games. They made the playoffs and played the number 8 seed in the first round. The 8 seed was the Hawks which had a record of 37 wins and 45 losses. The first game was at Boston. In the first game the Celtics scored 104 points while the hawks scored 81 points. The next game the Celtics won because of home court advantage. The series went on and the games went to the home team every time. Since the Celtics had home court advantage they won the series by the slightest margin four games to three. Next, the Celtics were made it to second round which was their third challenge. They were playing the Cleveland Cavaliers which had a great player called Lebron James who had the most points in a game averaged. In the first game the Cavaliers were oh so close to beating the Celtics at home but they lost by the score of 76-72. The serried was the exact same as the first round game but this time the Celtics were playing the number 4 seed. The beat the Cavaliers four games to three games. I was happy that the Celtics won because I knew that they were facing a pretty good team.
Last, the Celtics face their most feared competitor yet the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons were the number two seed in the conference and had a very calm team. They beat their second round team by the deficient of four to one games. In the first game the Celtics were on their regular schedule of beating the other team at home but this game was a blowout, an 11 point difference. The next game was a huge surprise to me, the Celtics lost!!! For the pistons their leading scorer was Rich Hamilton who scored in total 25 points. I though t that the Celtics were going to lose since they lost one at home and aren’t a very good on the road team. Then I was amazed the Celtics won a game on the road. For the first four games in a series each team splits 2 home games each. The Celtics won the third game which gave them the flow. They lost the next game but came back and won the next two games. Their man leaders for those games were the new big three. That’s how the Celtics made the finals.
Some of the player that were leaders in the playoffs the Celtics needed were Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, the big three, and James Posey. The Celtics needed Rajon Rondo because he was their starter point guard and was their playmaker and can also be clutch. Next, Kendrick Perkins was important because he could get rebounds over other people and was so tall that he averaged about 1.27 blocks per game. Then, the big three were the big leaders of the Celtics. They would be the clutch man to go to and played more minutes than anyone else on the team. The big three had around 1,500 points in total and are the people to pass to. Last, James Posey was an important player because he would be the man to go to if they needed a three pointer. He also, is a very clutch free throw shooter. Clearly, the Boston Celtics are one of the best teams in the NBA.
Who do you want to win the championship and why? If you don’t care who wins write about one of your favorite sports team or player.

Shooting Star

Here is the shooting star song so you may practice before the ceremony next Thursday. The tune may be just a little different than what you are used to, but it will still help you learn the beat of the song. Happy singing!

Kedar's Post

The Los Angeles Lakers
By Kedar Thakkar

The Los Angeles Lakers are my favorite team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They made it to the playoffs with a record of 57 games won and 25 games lost (57-25) and with the first place in the western conference. In the Conference Quarterfinals they played the Denver Nuggets who they beat 4 games to 0 (4-0). The team that wins 4 games first is the team that advances to the next round. Then they beat the Utah Jazz in the Conference Semifinals beat 4-2. After that they beat the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the Conference Finals. That gave them a place in the NBA Finals.
Now they are going to play their first game in the NBA Finals against their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics, on June 5 at 5:00 P.M. The last time the Lakers and Celtics played each other in the NBA Finals was in 1987 when the Lakers won 4-2. The Celtics have won 16 championships which is the most in the NBA, and the Lakers have won 14 championships which is the second-most in the NBA.
The Laker's star player is Kobe Bryant. In the playoffs Kobe Bryant's scoring average has been 31.9 points every game. At the end of the regular season Kobe Bryant scored 28.3 points every game, had 6.3 rebounds every game, and gave 5.3 assists per game. Kobe Bryant's scoring average was the second best in the league. LeBron James had the best. Kobe is turning 30 years old on August 23rd. He was the youngest player to start an NBA game, the youngest player to start and NBA All-Star game, the youngest player to score 10,000 points, and the youngest player to score 20,000 points. He was also the MVP for this year. He made it into the NBA at the age of 17. He was drafted directly out of high school! You have to be really good to do that. Another player who did that was LeBron James. Kobe Bryant won the NBA Slam Dunk Competition as a rookie (first year playing) with a between-the-legs 360 slam dunk!
In the playoffs this year the Lakers are 8-0 at home. The Lakers got a really good player named Pau Gasol in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. They also have a good veteran player named Lamar Odom. The Lakers are obviously a really good team with their skilled players and their awesome coach.

What is your favorite team in the NBA? Why? If you don't have one do you think you would choose the Lakers as your favorite team?

Jamie's Post

Outdoor School
By: Jamie Wong

During the trip to Outdoor School I had a lot of fun. My cabin leader was really nice and I had many friends to support me while we were doing our hike. On the first day, I was scared to climb the steep slopes but my cabin leader, Goby assured me that it was completely safe. When we went downhill, we slid down a VERY steep slope on our bottoms and it was a great experience. Except for the fact that I only packed one pair of long pants and that pair of long pants got dirty with dirt on the first day. On the third day, our naturalist brought many fun games to the hike. We played O'Deer and The Life Cycle. The best part of Outdoor School in my opinion was going on the six-hour hike. I kissed a bannana slug and I painted my face with rocks. Aside of the six hour hike, I also really liked the rope course. It looked very scary at first but when I saw all the people who survived when they fell on purpose, I decided that it didn't look that hard. After I finished the rope course I found out that it was really fun and I wanted to do it again. Signing up for the trip to Camp Koinonia was the best thing I've done because of all the fun things that I did and all the new friends I made.

At the very end of Outdoor School I learned my cabin leaders name. Goby = Nicole. What was the best part of Outdoor School in your opinion and why. Also if you want, what was your cabin leader's real name?

Ramya's Post

The Santa Cruz Summit Fire
By: Ramya Nyalakonda

As you know, when we were in Camp Koinonia we experienced a fire on the last day of camp. Even though our camp was 50 miles away from it we saw a lot of smoke. The firefighters saved it from destroying Camp Koinonia. This fire required help from the firefighters from San Jose and Cupertino. The fire spread approximately 4,000 miles! The fire was contained yesterday, May 27, 2008. Also, today, May 28, 2008, the fire will be burned out completely. Many people were affected because their houses and property was destroyed. Many people got into poverty, while others had hard time breathing. In some schools students were not allowed to go outside and had to stay indoors the whole day for safety. The children in our school, who were at the campsite Koinonia for outdoor school, had to get transported to another school called Lakeview Middle School.
This was a big hazardous and disastrous event that I have been through. So which hazards have you been through and got you very scared?

Brian's Post

San Jose Earthquakes
By: Brian Tung

Last Saturday, I went to a real pro soccer game(Earthquakes v.s F.C Dallas). My friend and coach from AYSO came with me. Our assistant coach We thought that the Earthquakes would win. It took a long time till the game started but when it did it was really cool. They played the national anthem before the game began. When they did a coin toss to decide who starts first. Since the Earthquakes won the coin toss, they get to go first. When the game began, the Earthquakes went off in a flash. Nothing very interesting happened in the first half but it was so cool when we saw the ball fly. It went so far. They all had a lot of skill and are all very fast. Then it was half time
When it was the second half break, something weird happened. There were selected people and they had to dribble around 5 KFC buckets and score a goal. If I remember correctly, then the first one who did it gets a bucket of KFC coupons. When the second half began, it was the Dallas's turn to start. They almost scored but still missed. Plus, the part that I can't believe is the part when the Earthquakes had their corner kick. A guy headed the ball and one of his teammates missed the ball while trying to kick. The Earthquakes were supposed to win but whatever. When the game was about to end, the Earthquakes played as hard as they could but it was too late. So in the end, both teams tied. Since my coach brought me here with them, they took me to my teammate's friend house. His name it Aristottle and short for Ari. There at his friends house, my parents came to pick me up. Then I went home with my ticket to the Earthquakes game. The Enddd!

Shivani's Post

Global Warming
By: Shivani Singh

Global warming must not seem like a big deal to you when you are shivering on a cold winter, day but it is. When carbon dioxide and other gases are released when people burn fuel, drive cars, use factories, and burn down trees, over time, these gases can cause a green house effect. Greenhouse effect is when greenhouse gases (like water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone and other gases) make the atmosphere thicker, so when the radiation is absorbed in Earth, the sunlight is trapped in Earth and cannot come out. Because of this heat, the Earth's climate is beginning to change drastically and is affecting the habitat of many animals. For example, polar bears are getting extinct because the ice will melt due to the heat.

Scientists predict that by the next century the global temperature can rise up to six degrees Fahrenheit! Scientists are very concerned about the global warming problem and try to get people to try and prevent it. Some ways I can prevent global warming is to walk most of the time instead of using the car for no reason (also get some fresh air.)
What are some ways you can prevent global warming? Please explain your opinion about global warming.

Olivia's Post

Bad Bottles?
By: Olivia Wissig

Everyone wants to save the earth by re-using those re-usable bottles, but are they really that safe?! Research shows #3, 6, and 7 bottles are bad for the reproduction system! These bad bottles have a bad type of chemical called Biosphenol-A. This kind of chemical can be used in plastic containers and baby bottles! Many adults are worried about their young ones drinking out of unsafe bottles. This video reveals the answer.


Explain how you feel about this surprising topic. Should we go back to the disposable plastic bottles even though they are ruining our planet?

Rujuta's Post

The Picchetti Winery

By: Rujuta Munshi

Over the spring break, I did many fun things. I went to P.E.P. for the first week and I stayed home the second week. I had sleepovers with my friends and lots of other fun, but my most favorite thing was going on a hike to Picchetti Winery with my friends. At the winery, we saw a peacock with all its feathers spread out. We also saw another one ¬near the shed. When we started the trail and got to the lake, we saw newts, salamanders, and tadpoles. Some people were catching the tadpoles to observe and then letting then go. My friend and I helped catch the tadpoles with our hands. When our parents told us we had to move on, we let the tadpoles free and went to the next trail, which took us up a hill that was very steep. We slipped many times but we finally made it. When we finished the hike we went back to where the peacocks were and when one of them saw us again it started making sounds and unfolded its feathers and then we had to go back home. What did you do over the spring break? Was it exciting or not?

Vinitra's Post

International ‘Creepy’ Cuisine

By: Vinitra Swamy

When I say International cuisine, I am sure you can imagine the delightful Thai cuisine, spicy Indian curries, flavorful Mexican cuisine, cheesy Italian pasta, colorful Japanese Sushi and so on. But have you heard of some creepy International cuisine?

People from all over the world have been eating various kinds of foods since long time back. In fact, some of these foods are so special and rare, that they have become part of their culture. Let me introduce you to some such strange and creepy foods.

Scorpions:
Yes! Scorpions! It is an Asian delicacy. People in Hong Kong, pickle the scorpions in wine, then deep fry it before eating them. To top that, some people in China, eat scorpions alive!!! Chefs get these scorpions drunk by giving them alcohol before serving them live to the guests.

Crickets:
In our neighboring Mexico, people fry crickets, then dust it in chili powder and other spices for a delicious crunchy snack. If you have been to Mexico, you can see people selling these delicacies by the bagful on street corners.

Tarantulas:
In Thailand, people eat Tarantulas! Yes, they are poisonous and big. They roast these hairy scary creatures and serve it with coconut cream and lime leaves. I would like a piece of Tiramisu with coconut cream and lime leaves instead.

Bats:
People even eat bats. That’s right, bats! Poor Stellaluna! People of Guam (an island near Japan) boil whole bats and eat them. Some bats have wingspans of three feet and weigh about three pounds. They even leave the fur and the wings on when they boil the bats. Imagine the size of the pot in which they are boiling it!

Are you ready to try any of these delicacies? The scariest thing for me is to eat a scorpion alive or even to watch someone eating it alive. Which is the scariest food for you? Do you know of any other creepy foods to add to my list?

Lights, Camera, Action!

Vacation To Mars

Our play practice will be starting up right when we get back from April break with auditions. You must have your dialogue memorized and be able to sing along with the music. In order for you to practice over the break, I've included the music to the song in this post. Sign-ups for auditions will be the week we get back. I want to encourage EVERYONE to sign up. Our play is going to be fabulous!!!
Are you nervous or excited? Tell me why! What part of the play did you like the most? Funniest part? What part would you like to have?

Amulya's Post

MY LAST BIRTHDAY!!! (in the U.S.)
By: Amulya Raju

Today, March 31, is my last birthday in the U.S. I will be moving to India on May 17. In other words, my last day at Portal will be May 9. Yesterday, Sunday, I had my 10th birthday. I invited all my friends. My birthday took place in Westfield Valley Fair Mall. At the mall we were going to go on a scavenger hunt. My friends came to our house then we took them there. At my house, we chose teams. One team was called The Pink Butterflies (PB). The other team that I was in was The Wierd Banana Slugs (WBS). When we first got to the mall, we went to PICTURE PEOPLE, a photo studio. Since we had some time left, we tried to finish our first clue. I remember that PB went to the childrens place to find a cute spring outfit for me that was under $30. WBS went to Sanrio to find all the characters they were selling. After the picture, we tried to finish the other clues. At the end of the first round, the PB finished first. The final round was the hardest. The PB went to LIMITED TOO to find clothes that matched with the picture given. WBS went to the tricky one answering ?s about the APPLE products. At the end, we got to buy our own things at either SANRIO or CLAIRS. I got a Hello Kitty saying March 31 on it. After that, we ate ice cream. I had eaten Cotton Candy with Kool-Aid Munch Crunch. Whe I opened the gift cards from each of the teams, I found that I got $20 for SANRIO (yes!) and LIMITED TOO (boo-yah) each. When we got back home everyone got a present. Oh dear, I forgot to tell you something really important. Yesterday, when I woke up, my brother & dad suprised me with a Nintendo DS lite!!!! If it was your birthday, and you could make one wish, what would it be? Why would you chose that?

Malini's Post

My Birthday
By: Malini Ramaiyer

Today (3/26/08) was my birthday, I turned ten. That is out of the single digits and on to the double digits! Even if it was a weekday it was the best birthday I’ve ever had. So many people were nice to me. Some even gave presents and cards. When we went to the pioneer living assembly I got a big piece of Fool’s Gold (pyrite) and the guy who was leading the assembly gave me an arrow head since it was my birthday! How much better can this day get? Well a lot more. We played a really fun game in P.E., called “Conquest “. At CDC I had fun, because I brought chocolate chip cookies for everyone. Finally, me and my family went out for dinner at a restaurant called “Harvest”. That was a wonderful tenth birthday.

Now it’s time for you to come in; how would YOU like your tenth birthday to be? What would you want? WHY???

Himaja's Post

Talents

By:Himaja Movva

Hi everyone how are you guys doing? Today I want to talk a little about talents. So everyone knows what a talent is, but did you know that a talent can also be something you do all the time? Like for example I love to sing and dance! It's really amazing how I make up steps for each song I dance to! Actually I also have a dance book which I keep for each song I dance to. So far since I have so many interests for dance I also learn cultural dances too. Now lets see about music, I just love it ! I don't know why! So tell me about your talents. What do you like to do? Why?

Carolyn's Post

What Moms Say During A 24 Hour Period
By: Carolyn

Sometimes moms say things that are annoying or funny to us kids, like go clean your room, or go do your homework. One lady that is a mom found out what a mom would say in a 24 hour period. She condensed it down to two minutes and fifty five seconds! It also has 6,718,808 views on youtube. One of our family friends sent it to us. It is amazing because it is sung to the William Tell Overture. I have one favorite quote from the movie. It is "No texting at the table." It is one of my favorite quotes because I text a lot at the table with my parents' cell phones.

Is there anything that your mom has said that is funny? Has your mom ever said any of these things,( from the movie)if so what? If you were a parent would you tell your kids the same things your mom is telling you? Explain why or why not.

Sarah's Post

The Grand Canyon
By: Sarah Chui

During the winter break, my family and I went to the Grand Canyon. There was snow and we had a snowball fight. We also saw a great hill to sled on but we forgot to bring the sled! At the Grand Canyon, there were trails and we could go out a little into the Grand Canyon. It was so wonderful that my sister even thought it was fake! In the souvenir shop, there were rocks that were polished of many different colors. There were also post cards showing the Grand Canyon everywhere, as well as gemstones, glass models, antiques,( The things Indians made ) playing cards, sweatshirts with the words Grand Canyon on the front,etc.

The Grand Canyon had shades of dark red, light red, red, dark orange, orange and light orange. They were made from the rocks, cliffs, hills and valleys. The colors blended in real good. I couldn't tell where the different colors meet. There were so many layers of rocks, so I didn' t try to count. We saw the Grand canyon in the morning, so the sun shined onto the Grand Canyon directly. The Grand Canyon is 18 miles wide and 5,000 ft. deep! It also is 227 miles long! It was the most amazing sight I would never forget. Are there any sights you would never forget??

Time To Spring Into Spring!!

The end of winter is fast approaching with the beginning of a new season; spring. It made me think of how we actually have different seasons on our planet. How do we know when it is a certain season? It can't be determined by the temperature outside because sometimes in winter it can be as warm as a summer day. I wonder if it has anything to do with the length of the days? In winter, it seems like it gets darker earlier. In summer, it seems like it is the opposite. Hmmm....
Use the picture above and any research to describe the changing of the seasons. What causes seasons? Do the earth and sun have anything to do with it? Try to explain this in your own words and use specific details from your research to prove your point.

CHALLENGE: There are two terms I want you to understand when talking about seasons:equinox and solstice. What do they mean? How do they relate to the seasons?

Joel's Post

Playing Baseball with My Dad

by Joel

As many of you know, I like baseball. I also have a big dream of playing major league baseball. In order for me to actually achieve that dream, I must practice. Since the MLB (Major League Baseball) doesn’t allow kids under 16 to join these days, I still have a long time to play and practice. To practice, I play with my dad a lot. It not only helps me in baseball, it gives me exercise and prepares me for all kind of balls that I may see . I also think it is very relaxing. We just throw the ball around a lot in our backyard or driveway. We can’t bat there because it isn’t big enough. Sometimes, my dad takes me to a park with a baseball diamond there. There is a big field there so we also throw the ball around there. I get to bat over there. Wherever I play with my dad, I always enjoy it. I always have fun experiences with my parents. Have you ever had any experiences you enjoy a lot that involves your parents? If you do, please comment on this blog and explain about it.

Kevin's Post

NINTENDO WII

By: Kevin Yang

So you are a person that likes to play sports but you also like to play video games. You want to do both but there isn’t enough time. Then Nintendo Wii is the suitable system for you. Wii is a video game council but you don’t just use old buttons this time. Your remote has a sensor and the sensor bar equipped with the Wii will sense it and your character will mimic you. You should probably stand in front of the sensor bar so it can pick up the movement faster. Since you’re moving, isn’t that sort of exercising? If that isn’t sporty enough, the Wii comes with a game called Wii Sports. You would probably know what you’re about to do once you hear the title. So your
playing Wii Sports but you want to play boxing. You have to
use the Nunchuk and connect it with you Wii remote at the
bottom and then start boxing. If you like the classic remote
that is just buttons, you can buy that but it’s sold separately.
Games is not all the Wii can do you know? You can create
Mii’s (characters in Wii) and use them to play Wii Sports.
Internet is also available on the Wii but I rather you use the
computer for that. Here are some additionals for Wii sports
like a plastic tennis racket, baseball bat, and a golf stick. It
looks better but it doesn’t really do anything. There is new
game on the Wii that was just released on March 9, 2008, and
it’s name is called Super Smash Bros. Brawl. You can purchase
your Wii at Target, Toys “R” Us, etc. I’m sure you can get from
a lot more stores but these are the only one I know. Right now,
the price for a Wii is probably one hundred dollars but I’m not sure.
You can probably only get one Wii since it’s not very fair but rules might have changed. A normal Wii is white, but there are plastic covers that can cover it and soon it would be the color you want. Same thing with the Wii remote and Nunchuk. Say that today you’re going to your friend’s house and you bring your Wii Remotes along and you have four people playing. You have to Sync with your friends Wii machine since they are like strangers. Once you get back home you sync with your own Wii so you can use your remote on your Wii. Times ticking, better get those Wii before they run out! What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and good luck!

Nandini's Post

My Trip To Chicago
By: Nandini Iyer

Over the February break I did many fun things with my uncle, aunt and mom. First we stayed at this AWESOME hotel called Blacksmith (it was on a street with a number of Diamond stores). It was cool because this hotel had 3 rooms! One was the bedroom where there was this GINORMOUS window and to my surprise there was a sofa bench connected to the window. Obviously we had beds. Two Queen beds!!!! They had enough space to fit in a TV, desk and a shelf in which there was the TV and under it were some cups. The second room is the one we entered (aka the middle room☺) anyways, there was a second TV a microwave, a refrigerator and some fancy chairs. The third room (aka the bathroom) had the “regular” things they would have in a bathroom.
Right next to this place was the famous sculpture “The Bean”, Art Museum and the Ice Sculpture museum. The Bean and the ice sculpture (picture below) is in the famous Millennium Park. This is indeed the pride of Chicago and I agree that it is a great place to be at even doing nothing. We walked around and saw the frozen Lake Michigan. It was then that I realized what was meant by Ice Fishing. I really enjoyed walking on the field of “ICE”. I was afraid the ice would crack and I would be in freezing cold water. It must be fun to live in a city like that with waterfront and great open spaces. I remember I felt the same way when I visited New York City too.
One night, for dinner we went to the most famous Pizza Place – Uno’s . There is a bit of history I learned about it. The owner brought what we now know as “Deep Dish” pizza to Chicago. His place grew very popular and overcrowded, but he could not expand his restaurant. So, he opened Pizza Due right across the street. We really wanted to eat in either of these two places. But, the wait was a minimum of two hours! I was starving and sleepy and it was already almost 8 PM! It was very cold and dark (obviously). Put all these together and I am not a happy camper.
All in all it was a great trip and it was the first time I was away from home. I was also all by myself without any one from my home (no Mom/Dad/Brother) for a few days in between.
Now, I would like to hear from you:What did you do over the February break? Do you really think Ice Sculpture is an art? What happens when the weather warms up even a bit to say 28 degree Fahrenheit?

Nikita's Post

Elk Grove, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe
By: Nikita Seth

Over the break ,I went to three places.In Elk Grove ,I went to a party.Elk Grove is a city near Sacramento.I wonder if any of you know about the size and/or population of Elk Grove?I also went to Sacramento.Sacramento is a one hour drive from Elk Grove.I wonder how many cities I went through the way there? What resources did you use?I stayed at one of my friends house.We slept there and then my family and my friend's family went to Lake Tahoe.
This is what happened there: We went tubing{ kind of sledding}.I got to go six times.It was a lot of work walking up the slope, but eventually it was worth it.We went tubing for an hour.We had four tubes and seven people who wanted to do it. One person only went once . How many times could each person go tubing in an hour if each person tubes for 5 minutes each.

Vibhu's Blog Post

My Belt Test and My Tournament
By: Vibhu Singhal

Hello fellow students of Room 19. In this presentation you will watch a video of me testing for my green stripe and me participating in a breaking tournament. In the very beginning you will see me testing. The first thing we did was our patterns. The patterns we needed to know were Dan-Gun and Chon-Ji. Each pattern name means something or is named after someone. We need to know that as part of our theory. The next thing we did was our kicks. We were doing our side turning kicks and our back kicks. The next thing was our Ho-Sin-Sul A.K.A. (self defense). The next thing we did was three step sparring. The best thing we did was our free sparring. Here we do a variety of moves against our opponents. Then we move on to our tournament. You can see me breaking a green board. I hope you enjoyed watching me. See ya! This is an experience I will never forget. Is there any experience you will never forget? If so explain why.

Running Leopard on Dell Dimension E521

What Leopard Is
(And what I’m talking about in the blog)
Posted By: Lucas

Leopard is an operation system made by the computer company Apple. An operation system is a system that helps you do your work and manage your documents. It’s what the computer needs to turn on. OK, this is confusing so think of it this way. Your computer is a bunch of metal, plastic, and silicon. The operation system is there to control the computer chips (not the chips you eat). When you turn on the computer the operating system starts loading and up pops up a lot of graphics like menus, buttons, etc. Microsoft also made operating systems for non-Apple computers called Windows. These non-Apple systems are called PCs. Well, Apple wants to make money so Leopard only works on Apple systems named Macs. Recently, people have hacked Leopard (or Mac OS X Leopard 10.5) to run on PC. Here is some vocabulary you need to know before you try this guide out:
Partition: a section that of the disk that is formatted
Format: this is writing a file system to a disk
File System (FS): a system or code of how to store files (ntfs, fat32, hfs+, ufs, etc.)
GUID and MBR: a bootable disk type, GUID type are used for Macs and MBR type are used for PCs
Disk: an object for storing data
Torrent or BitTorrent: a file sharing program from computer to computer
Program: a code stored in the hard drive that allows you to do something
Mbit: a number of data traveling through the internet
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(Lucas' original post)

I ran Leopard on my Dell Dimension. Leopard is a Apple operating system (OS) made ONLY for Mac. People have made a project that hacks Mac OS to run on PC which is called OSx86. These are the steps of running Leopard on PC:
What you need:
DVD
1 computer
Vista Install DVD
10+ MBit Internet connection
A person that wants to do this
__________________________________________________________________
1. Download Leopard x86 JaS from a torrent website. Download a torrent downloader too, like Azureus and it will open up the .torrent file for you. It took me a day for the DVD to finish downloading.
2. Burn the ISO to a DVD or if it is in parts like part01.rar download WinRAR and select all and extract it.
3. Reboot and insert your Vista install DVD and select your language and click “next”. Then select “Repair my computer” even though it’s not broken. Then, select “next” again and select Command Prompt. Type:
Diskpart
Select disk 0
Delete partition 1
Convert gpt
Exit
4. Reboot and insert the DVD you just burned. Press enter when a screen pops up that says, “Press any key to boot into Mac OS X (8)”.
5. Select your language in the screen.
6. Click “continue” and “agree”.
7. Click Utilities>Disk utility.
8. Select your hard disk and click the Partition tab. Click Options and select GUID. Finally, use Mac OS X (Journaled) format and name the disk Macintosh HD. Click “Apply”.
9. Select Disk utility>Quit and select the HD you just created.
10. Click “next” and select “Customize” deselect all applications except Mac OS X essential software.
11. Take a cup of coffee while it installs.
12. It’ll reboot and come to a setup screen. Follow the instructions and disconnect your internet connection(s) because you don’t want to register on Apple’s servers.
13. Congratulations you’ve installed Leopard on PC.

Do you like Windows or Leopard better? Why? Give a comparison of Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard.