Happy Holidays

This break is awesome and it's only Saturday!!! I hope that all you guys are having a good time too. There are about 8 presents under the tree now but on Christmas day there better be alot more then that!!! Not that its all about the gifts but I gotta say that is one of the best things about Christmas. What is your favorite part of it all, The food, gifts, giving,snow????? I'm counting the days till Christmas and if my first grade math is correct, there are 3 days left.Merry Christmas, Happy New Year,Feliz Navaidad and all that good stuff!!!



Especially nice,
~ Jocelyn ~

ya i think its a good idea, so that all the children that cant go to school can have some way to learn. and the internet can help alot
so i think every poor kid should get a laptop.




Dylan A

One laptop for Every Poor Child

So what do you think? Is the solution to helping children and giving them hope and education a laptop?
There is no question that The Internet will allow you to learn many many things. Is that good?

I do think that if you do not know how to use computers that it will have the same effect on you as not knowing how to read. Everything is involved with computer technology. Bar Codes at the store is a type of computer. I think that having the access that the internet gives us allows us a freedom that we did not have before it. Still I do not think it is enough and I think food shelter clean water and medicine have to be the first step for every person. I will be anxious to see how your generation uses technology. You who have been raised with computers your whole life and video games.

Remember 6-8 sentences.

Mrs. Masterson

One laptop per child campain

I think it's a good idea, mostly for all of the developing nations and third world countries. Considering that at least 14% of children in those countries have never had a day of school in their LIFE! It would be a good way for children to educate themselves after work or after chores or whatever. It would also be a way to communacate with other children like them, so they aren't "deprived" of friends. It might be good for adults to because they can educate themselves ,too. Therefore they could get better jobs and get more than a dollar a day. I'm happy that 7,500 have already been sent out.

I wish I could do something like this one day :]]

Kesslea Christensen

Hey cheack out this blogspot

Hiden and hiding has some pretty weird stuff to say but dang at least its something to read you should cheack it out.

i think its inportan to know how people live in other country's so that maby we can do sompthing about it.and i think if kids new how other kids lived in other country's they would be more thankful



Dylan a

Himal"s Story

What do you think about Himals and Ali's stories? It is easy to forget how people in other countries live when we can't travel. Do you think it is important to know how children in other countries live? Do you think that if kids understand the hardships children face in other lands that they will appreciate how lucky they are to have what they do here in the US? How important do you think it is to have compassion for others and to be able to have empathy? Do you think you can walk in these kids shoes in you imagination or is their reality too different from yours?

Please remember to write 6-8 sentences and use good spelling and grammar.
Mrs. M

i am pretty much thankful for music, because that is what ilove and i love food. and i love my hair.




God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward



Dylan a

What are you thankful for?

The assignment is to find a poem or quote about gratitude or thankfulness. Then write about what you are grateful for in your own life. Please make sure you do both parts. Only doing one or the other will effect your grade.

My favorite quote is " Have an attitude of gratitude." Anonymous. What this means to me is that whether you are having a good or bad day you need to remember what you are grateful for in your life. It also reminds me to notice the beauty and joy around me. Look at nature; enjoy my daughter when she is being a silly 8 year old instead of being too busy to have fun.

What I am most graetful for in my life is my family. I have a good man for a husband and a daughter who is hardworking and loving even though life stacked the deck against her at a young age. I am also close to my sister, my brothers, Mom, Dad and step mom. I can't imagine my like without my step son or my niece either they are my bonus kids. My family is my main blessing but I am also grateful for my health and being able to provide for my children is a good way. I have a strong circle of friends that add so much to my life. I have work that I love. I am blessed many times over. This is what I try to remember each and every day.

What You're Thankful For

Well, there's so many things in this life
that a person could be thankful for.
To me, a few things that I'm very thankful for are

my brother, my mommy, and my daddy~
I don't know what I would do with out them.
A warm home and plenty of food on my plate,
oreos and milk,
hunting and getting to see my uncle,
Texas,
rain,
my friends,
my fishing pole,
athletics,
and music.

If you really look at it and see
someone less "able" than yourself,
you gotta realize your LUCKY.
You got arms that work,
a brain that thinks right,
and legs that run...
you should be greatful for just that
I am.

katie fowlds

i would hate ti get this disease, because their is no cure for it. if people just wash their hands, and keep themselves clean, the dont have to worry about it.that would be scary if one of my family members to get it because the could die.

Dylan

i would hate to get this since thier is no cure for it
they should tottay find a cure
Dylan a

MRSA Scare????

So what do you think? Is it a reason to be afraid? Do you think most people are clean enough to avoid this? Are teenagers more likely to get this than adults? I would hate to be scarred up because I had to have surgeries to keep from dieing. But I'd rather have a scar than be dead. Do you think this is because people are to quick to take drugs so they have become ineffective?
I look forward to reading your thoughts. Remember to include details from your reading and to try to write 6 to 8 sentences.

molly

i felt bad for her. her parents are really big jerks. i felt bad for the boy he had looked for her for a really long time. if i was the boy i would be pissed. i thought it was a good story but i dont like sad storys next time can you please have a happy story.


- shane

Molly

Mrs.Masterson-

After reading the story about Molly this week, I thought it was a very depressing-heart felt-then happy in the end story.

I really liked it, I thought the beginning was really sad because his parents gave up on Molly and put her in a mental hospital, and her name was forbidden in the house.
But I loved the end, where after 46 years the brother went to "re-connect" with Molly.

I thought it had a good message...makes me think of a book called PETEY I read a few years ago...I liked it alot too.


Katie Fowlds
=]

This is a sad story. thoes parents are jerks. It is very mean that peaople whold do that back then.I think it was cool that her brother loved her enough to go looking for her.








Dylan a

Finding Molly

Excellent entry Kesslea! Again you lead the pack. If you need to know what an excellent entry looks like read Kesslea's. Include information that shows you read the artcile. Explain your thoughts and reactions. Consider another perspective. Why do you think doctor's use to think this was the best treatment? WORK ON LENGTH, MANY OF YOU ARE NOT WRITING A LONG ENOUGH ENTRY!!!!!!!! 6-8 sentences!!!!!!

Finding Molly

This was a very depressing story. It made me cry. How could someone just send away a child , it doesn't make sense to me. Just because someone isn't "normal" doesn't mean they aren't people. It make me upset to even think about it and how cruel it would be to one of the child sent away. I'm so happy he found her and that she was okay. Molly was one of the millions of forgotten children and I can't even start to imagine what it would be like to be institutionalized. It just makes me sick to even think about that. The only good reason I can think of to send a "retarded" child away, is if you truely don't have the money to get the meds and they would really suffer from it. If the parent truely loved her then this never would have happened. Just becuase the mother was a "perfectionist" doesn't give her the right to do that. Just becuase she couldn't handle having a "flawed" child.


KESSLEA

THANK YOU M'AM

I think this story had a good massage but was a hard read.The sentances were worded strangely.I had to read some of them many times before I could understand them.This whole paragraph seems,well you read it and find out:

Firmly gripped by his shirt front,the boy said,"Yeas'm."
The woman said,"Why did you want to do it for?"
The boy said ," I didn't aim to."
She said," You a lie!"

It seemed really choppy and is hard to read without stopping and starting over a couple of times.
The story seemed really long because I wasn't really interested in it.



~ Jocelyn ~

i kinda liked the story but i wouldent be fun to do house cleaning in a 99 year old persons house.that was good when the person gave him



-Dylan A

Thank you Ma'am

Work on writing at least 6-8 sentences or more for your response. Include something from the story so we know you really read it. Do you think that people's kindenesses make a difference? Have you ever had a situation where you thought you were in big trouble but you weren't? Are there any circumstances that are so desperate where it would be ok to steal? What is the lesson or moral of this story?

When I was in middle school I dropped our TV. I though I was dead meat. I burst inro tears. My uncle asked my Dad if he was going to punish me. He said" I think she is punishing herself enough." Turns out the handle broke but the TV was fine. My dad told me years later that he felt bad because the TV was too heavy for me to carry and that he should have been the one moving it so he sort of thought the whole thing was his fault.
Do you have a story to share?

Mrs. M

Thank You, M'am

hi

hi

Football

Well, since I have an older brother who loves to play football and plays on the high school team and has played since 6th grade, I don't think football is too dangerous.
Yes, there's going to be injuries...there always are because it's that kind of sport.

Sam got a "mild" concussion his 8th grade year when him and Jake Tappert (Adam's cousin) went full out in hitting in practice. Sam loves to hit hard...it's a sport where you won't get a technical foul for just sticking somebody...it's a good thing.

So, from what I know based on Sam and what I know about football, I don't think football's too dangerous.

It's a game.


~Katie Fowlds

football

no i dont think its too dangerous



By Dylan a

Football: What do you think? Too Dangerous?

So don't just rage on here. I want to know you opinion but I want to know why you feel the way you do. If you want us to hear more than blah blah blah have a good solid argument. Keep us flowing with your thoughts without being overbearing. Convince us that what you think has merit.
Mrs M.

Dream Poem

Dreams...
of flying from the nest
and spreading my wings
and soaring among the best

Dreams...
of enough love
to give a million nations
to set free the caged morning dove

Dreams...
to let the blind man see
a world of colors and beauties
don't know about you, but that's good enough for me.




By Katie Fowlds

daegens I DREAM POEM

I dream about a happy life
it makes me feel good

I dream about video games
it is what i do

I dream about my famile
they feed and help me

I dream about straight A's
because I don't think it will happen

by daegen

Dream poem

i dream about music
that makes me happy

i dream about music
that i love

i dream about music
that is my life

without music im no more



Dylan A

tina the teen fairy

dear mrs. masterson

i really liked this story it was really good.and the the 13 year old girl didnt belive in any thing and the moral of the story was good but i tough epicac was better then tina the teen fairy

Tina the Teen Fairy

Mrs.Masterson-

I really liked the morale of this story, how Tina the fairy had to make a going-to-be 13 year old girl who didn't believe in anything besides what she saw with her eyes. I liked it because it was easy to follow and picture, where as EPICAC was harder to relate to and understand. I liked the light hearted sense I got from reading this story. It was gooooooood.


BY Katie Fowlds

Dream Poems

Thanks for the beautiful poem Kesslea to start us off! So what do y0u think about dreams? Do you believe that if you want a dream bad enough that you can make it come true? Langston Hughes who wrote these poems had many reasons in his life to give up. He is amazing to me because his need and desire to create in writing could not be drowned by the hardships he faced. May it be so for all of us!
Mrs. M

Dreamer, Superhero Extraordinaire

If dreams are the diamonds
on the souls
of our shoes.
The sparkle
and
the SHAZAM!
Then all of us
old
or
young
Are super heroes.
Breathe deep
the beauty
of life.
Let it
be
your steady diet.
See yourself
living
your dream.
Let
nothin
steal your thunder.
Keep your
eyes
on the prize,
you!

Mrs. M

Dreams Poem

Dreams give love
So we can soar

Dreams give happiness
So we can be excited for life

Dreams take away hurt
So we can forgive and forget

Dreams give hope
So we can make it to the next day



KESSLEA

i liked this story about tina the teen fairy i thought that it wasnt that realistic and kinda babyish but overall i thought it was good story. i didnt understand why you wouldnt remember it and just not tell anyone.






Dylan A

tina the teen fairy

i liked this story about tina the teen fairy i thought that it wasnt that realistic and kinda babyish but overall i thought it was good story. i didnt understand why you wouldnt remember it and just not tell anyone. if my mom died her hair pink that would be insanly kool.
p.s. jocylen happy birthday in 9 days ill probebly forget about it so im saying it now


-shane e boi

I think Tina the Teenage Fairy was a really cool story.I'll be turning 13 in 10 days,so it has more meaning to me.I like how Tina shows Maia all her mom's CRAZY hairdos...I wonder if my mom ever had pink hair????? I agree with Maia in that you don't have to decide what you want to be when you get older.I have a few ideas of what sounds fun to do as a job ,but nothing is set in stone. After reading this story it makes me wonder if a fairy will swoop down at midnight on the 28th and teech me about being a teenager.



~Jocelyn~

Tina, the Teen Fairy

Write about this short story. Include details that let me know you read the story. Comment on the key points as well as the style of the story. What do you think about the message of the story? Do you agree that this is true about teeenagers? It is alright to comment on what someone else has said but no put downs. Make sure to sign your work so you get credit. Some use of internet shorthand is ok but you need to use punctuation.
Check back and add comments after more people have commented for extra points toward your grade.

EPICAC

Tell me what you think about this short story. Include details form the story.

Welcome back to school!

Hi All - here we go on this adventure of eighth grade! I am excited for this new year. I hope that what ever you have felt about school in the past that you can clear the decks and we can start fresh. It is my goal for you to have an awesome year, for everyone to learn and whenever possible for us to have fun too. I hope that your minds are strong your hearts are open and your character is tenacious. Let me know what you want from this year.
Mrs. Masterson