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!