"Five Things You Must See in Paris" by Kelley

There are so many things and sites to see when you are in Paris, but so little time to see them all. The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Seine River are just a few of the most popular places for tourists to visit while in Paris. 

      #1 The Eiffel Tower is huge and it is 1,063 feet tall. There are usually huge lines to go up to the top of the tower. You also have to pay to go up the tower. IT costs even more money to go to the very top of the tower, but it is worth it. 

#2 The Louvre is a giant museum with many paintings and sculptures. Probably the most famous is The Mona Lisa. There is a completely different room where they have the Mona Lisa hung up a wall behind glass. There are security guards that try to push you away after you have taken your picture to let others take their pictures. The room is insanely packed with people and it’s hard to get a good picture.

           #3  Notre Dame is a huge church and is really pretty. It has beautiful architecture on the inside and outside. You can also climb up to the very top and look out off the roof.

          #4  The Seine River is a huge river and it flows right between the Eiffel Tower and The Louvre museum. You can also take boat tours throughout the day. It is a lot of fun.

             #5  The Palace of Versailles is a beautiful palace, but you have to travel outside the city to see it. It has a gold iron gate and the Hall of Mirrors is absolutely beautiful.

  

"Five Stars for the HP dv5 Laptop" by Kelley

           HP’s dv5 laptop is a very good laptop. It is a very nice and lightweight laptop for students, or other people always on the go. The laptop has a 14.5 inch screen and there are so many different brightness settings which can affect your battery life. The maximum battery life that the dv5 laptop has is six hours and fifteen minutes. The battery life of most laptops will naturally decrease over time and usage. If you always keep your laptop plugged in and never let the battery die, its potential battery life will decrease tremendously.

            The HP dv5 laptop has a 500 GB hard drive which holds a lot of documents and pictures. It also has an Intel Core i3 processor inside. It also has the amazing Windows 7. Windows 7 is amazing and the way the desktop is set up is so much better than Windows Vista or Windows XP.  When you first turn on your computer, you can choose to sign up for automatic updates which is nice because your computer will not constantly bug you to update. It updates by itself. The computer is a great value for the price. 

"Busuu.com" by Kelley

           Have you ever wanted to learn another language but never had enough time or not known where classes are offered. Well, there is a website that will teach you how to speak almost any language for free! It is called Busuu.com. Busuu.com allows you to select the language that you already speak and a level that suits you; either native or advanced. Then you have to choose which language you would like to speak. You can learn just about any language you want. There are also a few different learning levels to choose from; beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

            The way that Busuu.com teaches the languages is very unique. First, it shows you the order of the lessons that you will be learning. It starts off with how to welcome someone and how to say your name and your age. Then it starts to teach you how to say where you are from, describe people and things, and personal pronouns. Then it goes on to teach you how to say which language you speak and ask if someone speaks a certain language. The first way that Busuu.com shows you the vocabulary is with a picture and the definition. Then when the exam comes, it shows you the pictures and you have to choose the one with the right definition. Then you have to match the sentences with the correct translations. The last part of the test is a typing section. It says the words, and then you must type them with the correct spellings. It makes it easier to learn the language, and the best part is that you can learn it at your own pace. 

"The Difference Between 7th Graders and 8th Graders" by Kelley

           The last two years of middle school are the hardest years of a kid’s life. Kids are starting to get a taste of more challenging work which they will experience in high school. At the same time, everyone is trying to fit in and have lots of friends. Kids get jealous and then they try to be the best socially by spreading rumors about each other, making fun of each other, excluding one another, and anything that makes them feel better about themselves. This puts a lot of pressure on everyone and makes these two years of life more difficult than they need to be.

8^th Graders tend to handle all of this better and act more mature. There is not nearly as much drama going on between eighth graders as there is between the seventh graders. Seventh grade girls tend to exaggerate everything and get jealous of each other over every little thing. 8^th graders just do not care what people say anymore. They don’t care because they know everything is going to change as soon as they walk through the high school doors. 8^th graders don’t care about middle school or its drama anymore. 

"Five Things You Must See in Rome" by Kelley

Rome, Italy is such a beautiful place to see and visit. There are so many things to see there, but here are the top five.

 #1: The Coliseum. Most everyone sees pictures of the Coliseum, but once you see it in person it changes your whole perspective about it. The Coliseum is enormous. It is beautiful looking from the outside, but even more amazing from the inside. It’s really cool to know that you are standing where many events in history took place.

                  

            #2: The Vatican. The Vatican is its own country (Vatican City) and is beautiful, despite how small it is. There is a big square out in front of the basilica and it is filled with pigeons. The Vatican looks a lot like the pictures, but like the Coliseum, it changes your perspective.

           

#3: The Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is connected to the Vatican, but separate tours are available. All of the long hallways and different rooms (on the tour) leading up to Sistine Chapel itself are beautifully decorated with paintings and sculptures. The tile and ceilings of these rooms and hallways are magnificent. They have such beautiful designs. The Sistine Chapel itself is very dark to preserve the paintings all over the room. The wall behind the altar is a giant painting of The Last Judgment. The detail is astonishing throughout every single painting in the Sistine Chapel, especially The Last Judgment.

The Last Judgement

           

#4: The Trevi Fountain. Have you ever heard of the song “Three Coins in a Fountain”? Well it’s about throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain has beautiful statues and on a sunny day you’re guaranteed to have wonderful pictures.

               

#5: The Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps are not only a tourist attraction, but also a local meeting spot. There is also a small fountain in front of the Spanish Steps. Many tourists like to climb to the top, even though it isn’t very high.

             

            In addition to seeing and visiting all these places, there is one thing you must eat. GELATO!!! Gelato is the best thing in the world! If you ever go to Rome, make sure you visit these places and eat some Gelato!

"Smuggler's Notch Resort" by Kelley

Smuggler’s Notch is a great resort for families that is open during both the winter and summer. According to their records, their summer season is just as, if not more popular than their winter season. During their winter season they have lots of tourists and locals who come to ski and snowboard. Smuggler’s Notch (Smuggs) also offers half and whole day ski lessons for ages three and up. They require that you must be at least four years old to snowboard. They have three different mountains to ski on. Morse Mountain, the beginner slopes, Madonna Mountain and Sterling Mountain which are more advanced and expert slopes.

            During their summer season, Smuggs offers day camps for kids 18 years and younger. They provide multiple fun counselors for all and half day camps. For teenagers there are low ropes courses, high ropes courses, field games, and long and short hikes. Every camp goes or has the option to go swimming everyday. They have three different pools, one of which has a 300 foot waterslide which is a lot of fun, and they also have swimming holes. Bootlegger’s is a big lake that has a small dock and a water pad. The water pad is like a flexible dock that is hard to balance on. The younger kids also have field games, long and short hikes, swimming, and they are also allowed to play in the creek that flows through the entire resort. The summer season is so much more fun because I see the same people every year for 8 years.

"Cheetah Hunt" by Kelley

            Busch Gardens is one of everyone’s favorite theme parks, and it is about to get even better. They already have so many roller coasters like Montu, Kumba, and Sheikra. Busch Gardens is almost done building their new rollercoaster, Cheetah Hunt. Cheetah Hunt is located towards the front of the park, near Montu. From a distance, the rollercoaster looks like it has a giant figure eight at the top, and right after that there is a 130 foot drop.

            Cheetah Hunt is also said to be the longest rollercoaster in Florida. In addition to the figure eight and 130 foot drop, it will also have large bank turns. Busch Gardens also says that Cheetah Hunt track will soar right over the park’s sky ride. The rollercoaster is 4,429 feet long and will go at a max speed of sixty miles per hour. Busch Gardens also says that the rollercoaster will be able to accommodate 1,400 riders per hour.

            To keep the all of the cheetahs at Busch Gardens happy comfortable, Busch Gardens is also opening Cheetah Run. The cheetahs will be able to be viewed at Cheetah Run when it opens Memorial Day weekend. It is said that fourteen cheetahs will live in the Cheetah Run area.

"The History of April Fool's Day" by Kelley

The History of April Fool’s Day

            April Fool’s Day is a day filled with practical jokes and pranks to have fun and make your victim look like “a fool”. The exact history of April Fool’s Day is unknown, but it is thought that Pope Gregory XIII requested a new calendar caused a this day to become a tradition. This new calendar moved New Year’s Day from April first to January first. Soon after, France decided to switch calendars, meaning they would celebrate New Year’s Day on January first as well.

            Some people did not start using the new calendar immediately. They did this for a few possible reasons. Since the forms of communication and transportation were not very advanced back in those days, some people never even heard about the new calendar. Therefore, they continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April first. Another possible reason was that they totally refused to switch to the new calendar. Those who did not start using the new calendar had pranks pulled on them for amusement. This started to become a tradition that was celebrated every April first. After many years, the new calendar as well as the new tradition had spread all over Europe, and around the world. We now know it as April Fool’s Day because people were originally tricked into looking like “fools”.

Sources:

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html

http://www.wilstar.com/holidays/aprilfool.htm

"Summer Reading" By Kelley

To some people, summer reading is a must. To others, it’s unnecessary and a big hassle. Some adults believe that every single student should have to read multiple books over the summer so that they do not lose any progress they have made throughout the school year. This is understandable. To read a few books over the summer and do projects to go along with them may not look so bad from an instructor’s point of view.

On the other hand, it can be very inconvenient for the students and their families. Whether they are traveling or just trying to relax during their time off, it puts a lot of pressure on them to get them all finished and ready before school starts. Kids and their families look at summer as a time to relax and not have to worry about schoolwork or anything.

There are a few possible solutions. Every kids wish would to not have to complete summer reading at all. Compromising would be more realistic. A good solution would be to have each student read one book of their choice (within reason) over the summer and then do a book report on it. This would compromise not having to read multiple books over the summer and keeping up their reading level over the summer.

"Notebooks vs. Netbooks"

         Trying to pick out the right computer for you is an important part of computer shopping. There are so many options between brands, memory size, processor speeds, size, and colors. All of these 

combinations can make shopping very overwhelming.

      Probably, the most common type of laptop is a “notebook”. These mainly range from fourteen inches to seventeen inches. They have a very wide range of processors and memory size. You can also get them in lots of different colors. Almost every single brand that sells computers, makes notebooks. Some of the main features of a notebook would be all of the different ports on the sides of the computer and a larger keyboard. All notebooks also have a CD drive. A main disadvantage to notebooks is that they are so big and they can be very heavy and awkward to carry.

            Netbooks also have advantages and disadvantages. One main advantage would be that they are really small and lightweight, making them easy to travel with. They are a very good choice in computers for a student who is just starting to need a computer or someone who is not computer savvy. Netbooks are a very good choice for young students starting to need laptops or for elderly people who don’t use a computer too often. They are also a good choice for people who are always traveling. Some disadvantages to netbooks are the battery life and the ports on the outside of the computer. They do not have as many ports to upload things and most do not have a CD drive.

            Notebooks are a much better choice when buying a laptop because they have many more features like memory size and processor speed. They also have much bigger screens and keyboards, and most of the time they have better quality speakers. Whenever I get a new computer, I will definitely choose a notebook because of all of the greater features.

"Why We Shouldn't Have School Uniforms," by Kelley.

           School uniforms are a huge pain. They should ban all school uniforms everywhere. There are many reasons that kids should not have to wear uniforms to school ever. One major reason is that they are super boring looking and they do not allow the kids to express themselves. Uniforms also cause families to pay extra money for more clothes that they need in addition to their weekend clothes. They are also very expensive.

When students have to wear jackets and/or shoes that are in uniform it’s also a big pain. It is very difficult to try to find jackets in local stores that match the uniform requirements. If you go to a uniform store or have to order the actual uniform jackets, they are more expensive. Another problem is sizing. It’s much easier to determine a good size for the student in person, than trying to guess which size to order using only the given measurements.

One way other people might look at this issue is the fact of peer pressure. Some will say that kids will try to show off how nice their clothes are, causing someone else to feel bad about their less expensive clothes. Well there is an easy solution; don’t allow clothes with big store brand names on them. This way kids will be able to where what they want (within guidelines) and there won’t be any competition.

I would rather wear nice clothes that match a guideline than a uniform any day, because otherwise everyone looks the same and there is no individuality.

The Top Five Super Bowl Commercials

The Top Five Super Bowl XLV Commercials

Out of all of the brand new commercials that came out during Super Bowl XLV there are five that really stand out. The funniest commercial was the Best Buy commercial with Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber. Best Buy was trying to get Ozzy Osbourne to advertise their new electronics and he kept messing up. Finally, they brought Justin Bieber on to do their advertisement. After filming Justin, they showed Ozzy and some other guy and Ozzy said, “What’s a Bieber?” The other guy said, “I don’t know, but it looks like a girl!”

            Another great commercial was for Volkswagen and it had the little kid in the Darth Vader costume. This was such a cute commercial because the kid walked around the house pretending to have super powers. He went outside and stood in front of the car and imagined he started it with magic. The dad standing at the kitchen window saw him, and hit the remote start button on his car keys.

            The Doritos commercials were also very cute. In the first one, a girl’s boyfriend closes a glass door leaving the girl’s pug outside. He tries to trick the dog into running into the glass door to get the Dorito chip, but he actually ends up plowing down the door and landing on the guy. The other one shows a guy house sitting and when things go wrong, he drops Dorito crumbs on everything and they become better. The goldfish comes back to life, the plant blooms flowers, and the other guy’s grandpa comes back to life out of a picture frame. 

 

            Lastly, one of the best commercials was for the new Chevy Camaro. It featured 2 guys narrating that they had an idea for the new Chevy Camaro commercial. The first started out in a desert with a bunch of mirrors, then a high speed chase that ended up flying of the side of a building, and completed the story with the girl driver pulling into a school as a teacher. It’s a very creative commercial.

Interview with Mrs. Vargas by Kelley

Interview with Mrs. Vargas

1.   When you were little, what did you dream of being when you grew up?

A singer.

2.   Did you ever think of pursuing another career?

Up until I was 17 I wanted to be a singer. Then I decided that I wanted to go to college. Then I decided to be a teacher. Then I wanted to be a singer. And then I decided that I really want to be a teacher and now I’m going to graduate school.

3.   What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of my job is interacting with my students and getting to know them personally and help them; to be a source of support for them.

4.   What inspired you to be a singer?

It wasn’t inspiration. It was just something I did from an early age.

5.   What is one of your favorite songs?

I don’t think I have a favorite. I have different kinds of favorites. There are my favorites to sing, and my favorites to listen to. I think that my favorite song is Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

6.   What were your favorite subjects in school?

History and English. And music because I went to a performing arts school.

7.   What inspired you to be a social studies teacher?

I love history.

8.   What is your favorite part about being a teacher in general?

I love children and I like seeing the proverbial light go on for a student to lead them to connections and I believe that education has the power to transform people.

9.   What is the best part of Academy?

I think that Academy “nurtures the whole child” and because of the focus on the arts.

10. If you could give any piece of advice to someone who wants to be a singer, what would it be?

You can’t put in what God left out. You either have it within you to sing or you don’t because singing is an abstract art. It occurs internally and is placed upon you to make that first beautiful sound. 

"The Terrorist Bombing in Moscow," by Kelley

The Terrorist Bombing in Moscow’s Airport

            On January 26, a terrible bombing happened in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. Officials believe that it was set off by a suicide bomber in the arrivals hall. As of January 24^th, thirty-five people have been reported dead and 100 people have been reported injured. Two of the people announced dead were Britons. This bombing occurred at Russia’s most used airport. There is lots of footage showing smoke and dead bodies everywhere. They believe that the equal amount of TNT would be seven kg in the bomb. That’s fifteen pounds! Russian TV's Vesti news program tells that the suicide bomber yelled, “I’ll kill you all” before lighting the bomb.

            Russia’s President, Dmitry Mendvedev, had extra security all across the capital and promised that whoever was behind this, would be hunted down and penalized. There was also mention of the Dagestan Region subway stop bombing in Russia’s capital. Two female suicide bombers were the cause of this bombing. They killed forty people and injured even more than eighty people.

            Since the explosion, all departing flights have  been canceled and all arriving flights have changed destinations to Moscow's Sheremetevo airport. Russian police are looking for three people associated with the bombing. The British Prime Minister states that, “We should never allow the terrorists to win”.

Source:

                                                        http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12268662

"The Top Five News Events of 2010," by Kelley.

The year 2010 was a very eventful year. Of all of the things that happened last year, five main things come to mind. The BP Oil Spill was probably one of the most talked about events of the year. The tragic oil spill lasted for a full eighty-six days. That’s almost three months! Another horrible event was when the Chilean Miners got stuck in the mines underground. They were trapped underground for 69 days. A mine unexpectedly collapsed in Chile leaving nowhere for all 33 miners to go. Another tragic event was the earthquake in Haiti. It destroyed almost everything, and left lots of people homeless. The people living in Haiti lost everything in one day. They are still trying to rebuild everything and get back on their feet. The election of Florida’s governor was also very significant. Rick Scott unexpectedly defeated Alex Sink. Rick Scott spent almost seventy-five million dollars on his campaign. Alex Sink did some things wrong during her campaign, which hurt her chances alike. For example, she answered a helpful text message in an important debate where cell phones were prohibited. Another event that comes to my mind when I think of 2010 is the volcano eruption near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in Iceland. When the eruption happened in April, lava shot up a hundred meters and this caused lots of flights to be canceled. The last eruption in this area was in 1821.

Sources:

-http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100906112348AAcgaYq
-http://www.phongpo.com/search/how+long+were+the+chilean+miners+trapped
-http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2010/1103/Florida-governor-election-results-Republican-Rick-Scott-prevails-in-tight-race
-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8578576.stm

"The History of the Florida State Fair" by Kelley

The History of The Florida State Fair

            The Florida State Fair is a very big event in Florida. It comes to town every year in February at the Florida State Fairgrounds. It is one of the most popular festivals. The fair has been going on since 1904. The only few years that it hasn’t come to town was during World War II. The current size of the fairground is 355 acres. There is no wonder it seems so big when you’re walking around there.

            There are so many amazing things to do there! One of my favorite things to do there is the huge yellow gunny-sack slide! It’s so much fun and it has been the highlight of the fair for me since I was little. Another one of my favorite rides is the flying swing ride. It’s so cool to be up that high! I also really enjoy the miniature bungee jump on the trampoline. It costs a little extra but it’s totally worth it. My favorite part is doing a lot of back flips. Another great part of the fair is the food. There are so many different things to eat and they even have stuff like cotton candy.

The fair is such a great way to start off every year and is super fun!

Sources

http://www.floridastatefair.com/fair-history

"An Interview with Brad Englund" by Kelley

Interview with Brad Englund

1. What was your favorite part of high school at Academy?
 My favorite part was playing soccer because of the experiences and going out and playing    with friends.

2. What was the college application process like?
Essays were difficult, all of the time deadlines were very hard to keep up with and it was very stressful.

3. If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently, if anything?
 I would have taken more AP classes to have more credits to transfer into college.

4. What confirmed your choice in going to Georgia Tech?
 It is the top engineering schools, it just felt right, and I like the people there.

5. What is your favorite thing about Georgia Tech?
Football games. They are a great time and a lot of fun, before, during, and after the games.

6. How do you think Georgia Tech compares with other colleges?
There is a bigger emphasis on math and science there and is the top engineering school in the U.S. Also, everyone is smart there so there is more competition.

7. When you decided to go to Georgia Tech, did you think that you would have lots of snow to play in?
No, not much, if any. Especially not during Atlanta’s snow records.

8. What is dorm-life like?
It’s a lot of fun. We do a lot of activities together like sledding and football games.

9. What is the best part about being on your own and taking care of yourself?
Being able to do what I want, when I want without living up to others’ demands or expectations.

10. Do you have any advice for other students going through the college process?
That they should apply to a lot of schools early. When you are trying to decide, you must pick the one that will make you happiest and best prepare you for your future.