Final Reflection blog

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?


The Holocaust
My belief
What I want to do to leave a mark on the world.

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

Going into the Holocaust Museum was such an interesting experience. It showed me the lives of people trying to survive in concentration camps and trying to flee from the Nazis. The best part of the museum was the train car. The fact that it is still intact was quite surprising.

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

Helping me when I missed a class. Whenever I missed a class someone would make sure that I was up to date. When I needed supplies for my butterfly some friends offered some items to me. They are very generous and I thank them for their kindness.

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

That everybody, no matter who you are, can be happy. I showed them that happiness can come even in the worst situations. Happiness will always come to those who want it

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

Finishing my work is my biggest improvement and my accomplishment. I had 1 phone call to my dad saying I was missing work. After that I decided to turn in every single thing that was assigned to me.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

The butterfly project was the toughest project I had to do this year. I'm no artist so I couldn't really draw anything. However I did use symbolism as my main focus on the butterfly, but people didn't really notice it at first so I had to explain everything about the butterfly which was hard because most of the time I didn’t know what it meant.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

The investigative Journalism piece I did about the murders and growing crime rate in Chicago. I think it was my best because of all the time and detail that i put in to make it great. I was so interested at what goes on in chicago so I always checked for new statistics and new pieces of evidence.

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was by far the best book I've read this year. It was so amazing that I couldn't put it down. I ended up finishing it in 4 days and it was pretty upsetting to be done with such an amazing book. I've always been a fan of the Harry Potter series and the cursed child was just an amazing addition to the series.


9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?


Always do your work and turn it in. Mrs. Larson doesn't fool around with that stuff. If you don't want an awkward phone call to your parents saying you didn't do your work, then I suggest you should always turn in your work on time.

This I Believe

“Smile”
By: Robert Salas

I believe that everybody can be happy. Happiness is such a major part of life. Happiness is what drives people to do what they love. I am always happy when i’m in science class which pushes me to chose a career in science in the future. Michael Jackson made himself happy by singing his songs and now he is the King of Pop, even in death. Stephen Hawking enjoys his life as a theoretical physicists, even though he is disabled. Happiness can have such an impact on someone's life that they could be changed forever. Everybody has something that makes them happy. Some people use what makes them happy as a way to be successful in life.

    When I was about 6 years old I went to a White Sox game with my family. It was on a pretty dull day, the clouds were gray and it was very cold. On our way to the stadium my uncle gave me $20 to spend in the park. On the sidewalk there were these homeless men that held out cups that they used to put money in. I’ve seen them before and it was always the same guys, no matter what the weather was our how many people were drunk and rude to them, they stayed there and kindly asked for a donation. I went over to one man who seemed to be the oldest and pulled out the $20 that my uncle gave me and gave it to the man. He was so happy and surprised. At the end of the game my family walked back out and saw the man smiling and continue to smile the entire time we were by him.

This really changed my view on happiness and it has stuck with me since. It showed me that the smallest acts of kindness can improve a person's emotional state, mainly into happiness. I will do my part in making others happy by helping those who feel like they can't.

I believe that everybody can be happy. If there is something that makes you happy, then do it. It's better to live life poor and happy than go through life rich and miserable. Kindness, Gratitude, and thankfulness are all components of making someone happy. So go and use what makes you happy. Everybody can be happy, no matter who they are.

Lit-Circle and Non fiction blog

EQ: How is the outcome going to change?


The Year of the Hangman is a What if scenario. It's the outcome of America losing the revolutionary war. However, the main character Creighton was meant to change the fate of America. The reason that this EQ stands out is that the answer isn't clear. The outcome itself is obvious that America loses the war, but it's unclear on how they lose the war. On the book preview on the back it says “Creighton must decide where his loyalties lie. . . A choice that could determine the fate of a nation.” His choice however doesn't seem to affect the nation at all because America already lost the before Creighton even went to the colonies. So this EQ made all the other people who read this book, go back and read it again and again to find the answer.

Nonfiction article

The topic that both my book and the article have in common is the events before and during the revolution. The article I chose was “American symbol returns from obscurity: Boston’s Liberty Tree”. The article states that “Throughout these early years before the revolution, the ancient elm tree across from the distillery became Massachusetts’ most important symbol of revolt. In the decade before the Revolutionary War, images of the Liberty Tree, as it became known, spread across New England and beyond.” This tree is a major part of the revolution because it's a part of what starts the patriots to rebel against the British.

Paragraph 14 states “In August of 1775, four months after the first battles of the Revolutionary War, British troops and loyalists cut the tree down. After the British evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776, revolutionary Bostonians tried to reclaim the site. They erected a “liberty pole” there, and in the following years newspapers occasionally mentioned the site of the Liberty Stump.” The battles that happened during the war were all in my book, which gave it more accurate detail. Although, you never see Boston or the Liberty Tree itself, there is a newspaper called Liberty Tree which was printed by Benjamin Franklin. Liberty Tree still makes an impact on Creighton and it pushes him to finish the decision on where his loyalties lie.

Blackwood, Gary L. Year of the hangman. New York : Turtleback , 2004. Print.

"American symbol returns from obscurity: Boston's Liberty Tree." Newsela | American symbol returns from obscurity: Boston's Liberty Tree. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017.

Lit-circle blog

The Year of the Hangman is a “What if?” Book. It shows what could've happened if America lost the revolutionary war and follows the life of Creighton Brow. Fifteen years old British boy named Creighton Brown who is very selfish and rude is sent to the colonies with his uncle as a disciplinary action. The plan backfires as Creighton gets separated from his uncle and Creighton ends up living in the house of Dr. Franklin and his housekeeper Sophie. His uncle is a British officer and decides to use Creighton as a spy to find the author of The. Liberty Tree, a rebel newspaper. Creighton must choose which side he lays his loyalty on. America or England. Whichever he chooses will decide who wins the revolutionary war. 

Interpret (Which characters would you interpret to be ‘good’? Which would you interpret to be ‘bad’? What has the author written that leads you to those interpretations?)

Since this story takes place during the time when the British had rule over the colonies, the antagonists are obviously the British. However, an entire country is hard to pin as an antagonist. So to narrow it down, there is one officer that deserves the role of antagonist. Hugh Gower (Creighton's uncle) is a terrible man who is persistent on making sure that Britain wins the war, even if it meant hurting his nephew. He claims to other people of authority that everything must be done with honor, even though he will play dirty and has almost no respect for other people's lives. His partner in crime and friend of Creighton is Hervey Hale a lieutenant for the British Army.  

The protagonist of the story is Creighton Brown. In the beginning of the story Creighton is shown as a boy who loves his homeland and is fascinated with hangings. When he arrives at the colonies he lies about himself and ends up making friends in the rebellion such as Pete a giant man, Benjamin Franklin, Benedict  Arnold, and Sophie. Though he is used as a spy and currently despises the rebels, he is starting to grow a liking to them. Other protagonists are of course, the other rebels. 

3rd Quater Reflection

In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?

I have improved in writing my blogs especially now that we've started our argumentative unit. So in a way my biggest improvement was writing in particular and pulling out text evidence. My blogs in the beginning of the year were not the most detailed or grammatically correct. Now my blogs are the best they can be and I have made sure to add whatever is needed into my blogs. Another improvement is getting my IXLs done. I am now able to understand what the questions ask me in IXL.

What is something you have accomplished this quarter that you are proud of?

I am very proud of finishing my butterfly and creating the thinglink to go along with it. My butterfly was purposely made to be ugly so I spread dirt on it and cut its sides to make it look edgy. So long story short, my favorite accomplishment was me being able to think outside the box while under pressure.  

What has been the most challenging part of 3rd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

The most challenging part of 3rd quarter was creating the butterfly for our holocaust unit. I'm definitely not an artist and I did not have a lot of time because I was not able to get the supplies I need to make it. When cutting out my butterfly I made a bunch of wrong cuts that made my butterfly look all choppy and edgy. I thought I would have to start over and then it hit me, everyone else's butterfly was neat and clean and very beautiful. These butterflies represent the holocaust and that was a time of death and terribleness. So I purposely made my butterfly an eye-sore so it can represent the horribleness of the holocaust.

Of the books you have read this quarter, which was your favorite? Why?

My favorite book was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (movie script). I love this book because it had so much action and drama. The book was based in 1926, New York, and followed a wizard from London named Newt Scamander, he has a case full of magical creatures that he hopes to protect against other people. In New York there is a group of people known as The Second Salemers. Meaning that they believe that witches and wizards live among them and hope to end their entire way of life. The book also doubled as a script for the movie that came out the day before the book's release. Since it was the actual script, not a single thing was different in the movie. Which made it very interesting.

Life is beautiful

Similarities
There are many of similarities between Night and Life is Beautiful. Such as, the father and son relationship between Guido and his son, and Ellie and his father. In both stories they started off as everyday happy people who go through life normally. Then near the middle they both were shipped to a concentration camp where the father ends up dying. Another similarity is the fact that both of the fathers were paranoid about being captured but they didn't really express it or prepare for being taken.

Differences
Although there are similarities there are still a lot of differences. Such as the mothers, throughout the entire movie you see the Dora in various places and eventually she reunites with her son. In Night the mother only lasts for the first couple chapters. When Elie and his father reach the first camp he saw his mother and sisters go to a separate location and he ends up never seeing them again. Both the fathers die however they die in very different ways. Elie’s father was taken to a crematorium while Ellie  was asleep, and Giosué’s father was murdered in an alley of the camp on the night the Germans lost the war. One final difference is their liberation. America liberated the camp that Giosué was in, and Russia liberated the last camp that Elie was sent to, therefore setting Elie and Giosué free.

Suspense or Humor
From the very beginning of the movie you could see that this movie was going to be humorous. At the very beginning of the movie Guido and Ferruccio are driving their car down the road and they don't realize that the car's brakes are gone. This causes them to drive right into a parade where there are tons of people who believe that Guido is Mussolini because he raises his hand as if he was hailing Hitler while telling people to move out of the way. One of the most notable pieces of Humor in the movie is Guido constantly falling for Dora, literally falling. He firsts meets her when she falls out of a chicken coop and into a haystack with Guido. They then fall on each other again when Guido tries to escape Amico and crashes right into Dora again. Then when Guido impersonates an inspector he meets Dora yet again and asks her out right there on the spot.

Life IS Beautiful
In the middle of the movie Guido announces his love for Dora and takes her out of a party on a green horse. They then have a child named Giosué and live happily together. While Guido and Giosué get shipped to a concentration camp Dora insists on staying with her family and demands that she be sent on the train as well. Within the concentration camp Guido and Giosué find a PA which Guido uses to tell Dora how much he loves her and exposes himself and almost gets themselves caught, but he did it so his wife doesn't give up hope.

Night Blog

How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person?

Elie definitely goes through tons of changes. Many of them affected his personality, morals, and faith. His physical appearance was also changed because of the poor conditions in the camps. Before the Holocaust Elie is a very religious and innocent child. However, during and after the Holocaust we see Elie become a emotionless man who strives for survival. Wiesel says “Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. We thought only of that. Not of revenge, not of our families. Nothing but bread”(109) In the beginning of the book Elie is a well fed and normal kid with a love for his family and had no enemies. Now he only cares about filling his starving stomach and his survival.

Beliefs

In the beginning of the book Elie is a very pious boy and does everything he can to learn more about his religion. Wiesel says “We talked like this nearly every evening. We used to stay in the synagogue after all the faithful have left, sitting in the gloom, where a few half-burned candles still gave a flickering light” (3). This is the part when he explains his time with Moshe the Beadle and shows so much interest Ginto his religion. He takes the time and effort to study and gets help from Moshe because he wants to know as much as he can. Then as the book goes on there is a huge change of his perspective on his religion. Wiesel says “But these men here, whom You have betrayed, whom You have allowed to be tortured, butchered, gassed, burned, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!” (64). Here he realizes that God is silent. He believes that he is just letting all of this happen. Elie is now understanding the negative that God has done.                                                      
             


Morality

Elie’s morales aren't explicitly shown in the book, however it is easy to find them within it. Most of his morals come in while he’s already in the concentration camps with his father. Wiesel says “A terrible thought loomed up in my mind: he had wanted to get rid of his father! He had felt that his father was growing weak, he had believed that the end was near and had sought this separation in order to get rid of the burden, to free himself from an encumbrance which could lessen his own chances of survival” (87). This is when he realizes that the son of Rabbi Eliahou wanted to leave his father to better his chances of survival. That destroys one of his morals to protect his family.

Wiesel, Elie. Night, Elie Wiesel. New York: Spark Publishing, 2014. Print

Butterfly Project

   

"Night In The Ghetto"

Another day has gone for keeps 
Into the bottomless pit of time. 
Again it has wounded a man, held captive 
by his brethren 

After dusk, he longs for bandages, 
For soft hands to shield the eyes 
From all the horrors that stare by day. 
But in the ghetto, darkness, too, is kind 
To weary eyes that all day long 
Have had to watch

 Dawn crawls again along the ghetto streets 
Embracing all who walk this way. 
Only a car like a greeting from a long-gone world 
Gobbles up the dark with fiery eyes 
That sweet darkness that falls upon the soul 
And heal those wounds illuminated by the day...
 Along the streets come light and ranks of people 
Like a long black ribbon, loomed with gold.

1943 Anonymous

Anti-Jewish decrees

What did you learn?

I learned that the discrimination against Jews only increased between 1933 and 1945 during the war. It took so many rights and privileges from them. They took their food, transportation, friends, family, pets, and entertainment. It ruined their lives and changed it so dramatically that people could hardly cope with it.

Why do you think this monument was built?

I think it was built to show that it wasn't only things that were needed for survival such as food and water that was taken away from the Jews. They also took their entertainment which is shown in the memorial with the decree that took their music. Life is so much more than just survival. Living life and having fun is what makes life worth living. So when someone takes that away it takes a toll on people.

What did you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years?

Well in 1933 the number of laws just kept increasing because Hitler had just risen to power in that time. Then in 1934 he slowed down to calm people. He only did this to stop a revolution or rebellion. He didn't do it to make himself look good he only did that for the olympics and only the Olympics. His patter went up and down and up and down and just kept on continuing.

Which restrictions do you think you would have the most trouble dealing with and why?

It's hard to choose which would be worst between losing music and losing pets. I love dogs and I know how to take care of them. The dogs I have are one of my best friends and it would be terrible to lose them and never have any pets. Music is one of my many passions. I love making music. I love the great beats and how it changes how you feel. Getting that taken away would be like losing a part of me.

ELA 2nd Quarter Relfection

Of the books you have read this quarter, which was your favorite? Why?

My favorite book was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was a very entertaining book to read because of all of the adventure and magic. This was actually the first Harry Potter book I’ve ever read. However, my older sister is a huge fan and always watches every movie so I know the story of each book. This book inspired me to read the other books within the series and even outside of it like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?

I believe I made my biggest improvement in the IXL’s. In the beginning of the year and we started to do IXL I had trouble finishing them on time and would end up in working lunch. Nowadays, I haven't been in working lunch for IXL in a while and they have gotten a lot easier for me.

What is something you have accomplished since the new year that you are proud of?

I am very proud of the robot that my team has built for a competition tomorrow. It was very tough and we put a lot of effort in it and I think it has payed off and now my team is ready to go to the competition and win. The point of this robot was that it had to throw stars and cubes over a fence so it was tough to get the right kind parts and designs that brought my team to where we are now.

What has been the most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

The most challenging part of 2nd quarter was the Illinois Constitution test. I was very afraid of the it because I want to be able to graduate and I was hearing bad things about it from people who already took it such as my sister. I made flashcards for every question i thought would be on the test and studied every day before school, during school, and after school. I put in a lot of effort and I then passed with 100%.

Book Talk: Black Widow Forever Red

The book I am reading is called Black Widow Forever Red. The genre of this book is Action and Adventure mixed in with some mystery. The main setting of this book is Brooklyn, New York, 8 years after the main character Black Widow saves a little girl from a terrible incident.

The main character, Natasha Romanoff is trained at a very young age to become the world's most lethal assassin and is given the name of Black Widow by the man that trained her. You may recognize this character when she is played by Scarlett Johansson in 2012 Avengers movie. She decides she doesn't want to be used for evil so she joins S.H.I.E.L.D. Which means Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. Now children in Eastern Europe go missing so Black Widow must find a way to save them with her new ally Ava.

The mood of this book was very ominous. It kept me on the edge of my seat and wondering what happens next. I really enjoy reading this book and I best remember the beginning of the book because it shows you Black Widows way of strategic analysis when under pressure and i think it's really cool and plus the didn't give you Black Widows origin story because they assume you know it already.

I would recommend this book to fans of Marvel Comics because this book captures all of the detail just like a normal comic book. I am very excited to read the other books in the Black Widow series and other books like it.

Murders in Chicago are getting out of hand

Chicago, Illinois. It’s an amazing city with beautiful sites to see and interesting history. Yet, who knew that Chicago is considered the Murder Capital of America. Yes, it’s true, according to Time magazine, “The murder rate in the U.S. is projected to rise by about 13% this year, but almost half of that increase is due to violence in just one city-Chicago.” That was only at the beginning of the year and these murders have been happening since the 1800s. Now we are near the end of 2016 and the murders never stopped. As a matter of fact the longest Chicago has gone without murder is 5 days.

Why does this happen?

Well Jens Ludwig, the director of Crime Lab at the University of Chicago says “Chicago’s Police Department, overwhelmed, can respond only to the most serious problems, leaving citizens to feel responsible for their own security.” What he means by this is that the citizens of Chicago feel like they’re on their own.
since officers are not handling all of the cases that obviously means that there are not enough of them to help others.

Who's responsible for Chicago's history of murder?

It’s no surprise to anyone that there are tons of gangs and mobsters running about in Chicago. You never know who's in a gang until it's too late. However, it’s not only gangs that are the problem. There are some people who think crime is the solution to their problem (such as a breakup, loss of money, etc.) These men and women are like lost dogs trying to find their way in the world but, if you get in their way they’re way then they are bound to pounce. Then there are just crazy people such as H.H. Holmes who is known as America's first serial killer.

He was known for his crimes against humanity and his home the “Murder Castle”. H.H. Holmes was a notorious con man so he bought a pharmacy under a fake ID and decided it would be a good idea to lure his victims into the pharmacy (that he made into a giant death trap) and killed them. He was then captured and executed in 1896 (death by hanging).

Then there was the king of gangs Al Capone. He was a child from Italian culture and grew up to become the infamous leader of the Chicago Mafia. He was best known for illegally selling liquor during the prohibition. People even considered Al as a Robin Hood. He is most known for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre where he killed the men of Moran McGurn a rival gangster.

 Although, Capone met his fatal end in 1947 and Holmes in 1896 many people actually look up to them because they think they were cool or made easy money. That ends up creating a person who will kill in the near future. All of these gangsters and other criminals are all poisoning this city with so much violence.


Is there any hope?

It seems like as though there is no hope for anyone in Chicago. Tio Hardiman wrote an article for the Huffington Post and he said “In order to stop a killing, one must have a relationship with a would-be shooter in which that person will listen to reason before taking a life.” This would be extremely difficult and would take a lot of effort. The person would need to realize that their friend/family member/ or partner will take someone's life. Most people don't realize this until it is too late. Then someone is taken from their family and can never be brought back. This is a serious issue and there needs to be a better way to take care of this.

However, in most of the cases in Chicago the murders were school drop-outs, drug addicts, or had mental disabilities. These are things that people can treat such as making sure students stay in school and get a good job, find drug dealers in Chicago and destroy their stash of whatever drug they deal, and giving people with mental disabilities proper treatment and care. So in a way there is plenty of hope for Chicago we just need to use it to our advantage. The number of cops are increasing and the speed of responding to 911 calls are increasing.

Weird violations of human rights #20 right to assembly

This will be about the violation of human rights #20 “the right to assembly.” There's no doubt that with people terrorizing countries and others that are being kept as slaves that there are violations of human rights. However, around the world there are very strange and odd violations of human rights. This blog will be focusing on some of the most outrageous and ludicrous violations.



In St. Petersburg, Russia. A Russian woman by the name of Yelena Borisovna Mizulina. She decided that it was best for the country to have a ban on homosexual propaganda. If you are seen with anything rainbow or something related to homosexuality then the authorities will not hesitate to take charge. The reason this violates the right to assembly is because in Russia there are homosexuals that can't express who they are because of this law.


In North Korea. Kim Jong-un outlawed talking on the phone during the 100 day mourning period. The have this time to mourn over the death of their last leader Kim Jong-il. If anyone caught using a phone during this time is punished as a war criminal. Punishments for war criminals are very harsh and shouldn't be used on civilians. This violates the right of assembly because groups of people on their way to work during the mourning need to use their phone for business issues.

Nonfiction blog

For a nonfiction book I decided to get a book about the world famous and historic singer Ella Fitzgerald. She was a jazz singer who was born in Newport News, Virginia on April 25 1918. She began her career when she got noticed at an amateur show. What makes her so famous is her amazing voice and dance moves.

Even though Ella Fitzgerald was one of a kind and extremely famous even she had obstacles in her path of stardom. On page 59 it says “Chick Webbs death in 1939 cast the future of his band in doubt. “I felt like quitting,” Ella Fitzgerald said, “[but] the fact that people like me and I like people...kept me going.” She had a huge problem when Chick died because he was such an inspiration for her. However, she found a way to keep going.

I've  learned so much about Ella and the world of jazz in the 1900s. I am a big fan of all types of music punk rock, classical, orchestra, rock and roll, etc. With so many bands and so many different genres there are some that take the cake for each genre. Such as Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson. Each of them inspired people with their music even after their death. These deceased stars will always be in the hearts of their fans.

Gratitude blog

This blog will present all the things im grateful for. There are so many things things that i'm so thankful for. Such as an education, family, a roof over my head, and items that brings me happiness. I would first like to talk about my education. I am so grateful to learn new things every day. There are so many kids around the world who don't get to go to school. That only makes me feel so lucky to have the education I get.

Now I would like to thank my family for everything. I wouldn’t have an education or a home. Without my parents I wouldn’t even be around today. Also, they gave me a home and allowed me to have a good childhood. In a way, they even allowed me to have friends by going to the schools that I went to. If I never gone to those schools then I would never make the friends that I have now.

Finally the last of example of gratitude is my friends. Without them I would be so lost and alone. They make me laugh and help me get through the day. There are friends that I’ve known since preschool. They still call me by my old nickname (Bobby). Then there are the friends that I’ve known only for a little bit. Just like school i'm always learning something new about them.


I commented on Emilio's blog

AOW review

Today in ELA I learned about many things going on in the world. These topics ranged from the recent election and the ninth planet found by scientists. My favorite topic is from Jesse Segura. His was about the ninth planet. He said some very interesting things such as “Planet 9 is slowly moving into our solar system and messing with the gravitational pulls.” This is amazing for the entire word to know because this ninth planet is affecting earth and is supposedly 10 times bigger than earth!

Science wasn't the only subject of topics I liked. I also enjoyed hearing about how students voted for Hillary Clinton in a mock election from Dena Ahmed. She said that “students voted Hillary more than Trump and this also affected how the community saw Trump and actually gave Hillary the votes that count.” This shows how one thing can change so many people's minds. Im sure the students didn't expect people to change their votes because students thought Hillary is better.

Election reflection

What are your thoughts on this election in general?

I think that the election was kind of rigged. If you think about it if Hillary Clinton won she would become the first female president in history. That would've been great for the country and Hillary also had good ideas for the country's well being. So it kind of seems off that Trump suddenly and quickly achieved a higher number of electoral votes than Hillary.

Would you like to be more involved in politics? If so how?

Yes in fact I would even like to be an elected official such as Mayor. I have an understanding of politics and it's inner workings. That knowledge could land me a spot in the government as an elected official. I even have some ideas for the town of Berwyn. Some are making sure that parks stay clean by increasing the number of trash cans. Or increasing the number of service hours either from criminals or student volunteers.

Some of you will be voting in the NEXT election! Are you excited? Why or why not?

I'm kind of in the middle because my opinions count on the candidates that we will have running for president. If Hillary ran again I would vote for her and hopefully she will win. If she doesn't run at all then I will have to vote for the candidate I think is best for the country. I know the problem has its problems. Such as corruption in the government. I would vote for a candidate that will do full background checks for people who become part of the government.

Veterans Day Blog

"The Great Heroes of War"

Heroes are not far
There all around
In homes
In cars
In offices
Heroes are never far


Some are fighting war
Some are fighting for their life
But there's the still the group that makes it home
To family
To friends
To pets
To you
Heroes are never far

Some have more honor than others
Some have none at all
But people know them
With or without a name
Then those names can make it home
To cars
To offices
To homes
To family
To friends
To pets
To YOU
Heroes are never far

Investigative journalism

•  

Newscast: 2016 Halloween weirdness

Costumes are getting weirder and weirder every year. On October 22, 2016 many costumes around Berwyn, IL caught people's attention. Now halloween isn't until a week from now but over the weekend a costume party was going on near Clinton Ave. As people were entering the party the costumes people wore ranged from funny to horrifying. One series of costumes that seemed to continue were comic book characters. Mostly Harley Quinn and other characters from recent movies based on comics. Some costumes were homemade and others were store bought. Although some may not be able to tell the difference, others can. 

One way you could tell what's store bought are if you see that costume in a store or online. One way you could tell if a costume is handmade is not seeing it on a store as well as the quality of the costume. If it’s a terrible costume where you can’t tell who it’s supposed to be and pieces falling of are most likely store bought. Although, store bought costumes are known to be more expensive. Homemade costumes could usually cost at low prices because everything you buy could be cheap. Here's a tip of advice from Lucy Van  Pelt (It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown) "A person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality."

Many people have already started to put up their halloween decorations. Some houses don't really have a lot of effort put into them. While others are extremely detailed! The most popular decoration around Berwyn  is a gravestone. Most homes have about 2-5 gravestones on their lawn. Lots of the stones have the letters R.I.P which means Rest In Peace. ALso, some have motion sensors that cause either a sound (like a growl or scream) or something would pop out of the ground ( a hand or head). More declarations only add on to the entire creepiness of a house. Some decorations are so frightening they leave someone mortified. 

1st quarter reflection blog

1st quarter reflection blog Where are you in your 10 book challenge? In my 10 book challenge I have read The Giver (by Lois Lowry), Harry potter and the cursed child (by J.K. Rowling), Paper Towns (by John Green), and The Clockwork Three (Matthew J. Kirby). So far that is a total of four books which is not too bad and also not to amazing either. My goal is to do a 13 book challenge instead of the 10 book challenge. I’ve liked all of these books especially the Harry Potter book because this book was unique to the rest of the series. I’ve never read the other books but because my older sister is a Harry Potter freak she made me watch all the movies. So that made me want to read the rest of the books starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

 What strategies have benefitted you? I have lots of strategies for many things some for homework and others for studying. My strategy for homework is writing down everything i’m going to do on a stickie note on my book. I do that mostly in ELA because that's when I have my book out most of the time. Another strategy for homework is taking a picture of whatever I need to do and saving it as my lock screen on my ipad so that way i’m reminded to do whatever that assignment is. That also works with having to study. For subjects like math I take pictures of the questions I got wrong in IXL that way I can always look back and see what I did wrong and fix it.

 What have you learned about your world? I’ve learned so much about my world. I’ve mainly gained this knowledge in ELA and science. My favorite thing that i’ve learned about my world is how one person can do one little thing and could completely change the world. Everyone imagines the world in a different way some picture it as a utopia where nothing goes wrong and life is great. Even if those people face the hard truth of their reality not being so great they still choose to remain happy. Others however have a different point of view. Take a criminal for example some of those people choose to do the wrong thing. Why? That's because they see the world as a place where opportunity never comes. So they turn to a life of crime by theft, murder, ransom. I however am in the group of people who see things both ways. The world isn't perfect it's full of crime and death. However it’s also full of life and wonder. People can make a huge difference in the world if they choose to.