The Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school. Everybody brought board games and playing cards. We were allowed to wear free dress instead of our boring old uniform. In the morning, our English teacher asked the class to talk about how they feel, this being the last day of school. Many students had mixed feelings. I felt happy and sad. I felt sad because I wouldn't see all my friends every day right in the morning. I will miss my class because next year, who knows who I'm going to be with? The last day of school is when we part with our friends and teachers we know so well. That is a sad thing. I felt happy because it's the last day of school and I'm relieved from all the work. I have weeks to have fun and go to camp. I can spend all day exploring Montreal or just relax at home. I'm free! As the song In the Summertime goes:

In the Summertime when the weather is high, you can stretch right up and touch the sky, when the weather's fine, you got women, you got women on your mind. Have a drink, have a drive, go out and see what you can find. If her daddy's rich, take her out for a meal. If her daddy's poor, just do as you feel. Speed along the lane, Do a ton, or a ton and twenty-five. When the sun goes down, you can make it, make it good in a lay-by. We're not grey people, we're not dirty, we're not mean. We love everybody, but we do as we think. When the weather's fine we go fishing or go swimming in the sea. We're always happy, life's for living, yeah, that's our philosophy. Sing along with us, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee. Da-da-da-da-da...Yeah, we're happy happy, da-da-da-da-dah. When the winter's here, then it's party time. Bring a bottle, wear your bright clothes. It'll soon be summertime, and we'll sing again, we'll go drivin' or maybe we'll settle down. If she's rich, if she's nice, bring you're friends and we'll all go into town.

(Song by Jerry Mungo) Long live summer!

F-factor and the Silliest Mistake

Excerpt from the book "Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze." Please read this sentence and count the Fs: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS. How many Fs did you count? If it was 6 then you are correct. The human mind doesn't know the word contains the letter because it's pronounced with the sound. Say this out loud: The Silliest Mistake in in The World If you said "The Silliest Mistake in the World," then you are... WRONG. The real way to say this phrase is "The Silliest Mistake in in the World." The human mind is always correcting itself and other things. So you did see those two , it's just that your brain corrected the phrase. Please post your comments and tell me how many Fs you counted in F-factor and if you fell for the silliest mistake.

Papier Maché

Papier maché can be very fun and amusing but very messy. You can make many things out of papier maché, including model houses, bowls and many more items. First, you have to make your adhesive. There are three ways to make the adhesive but I only know one way. Add three cups of water to one cup of flour to get your glue. Next, tear newspaper. You would want them long and skinny if you're using a circular mold but the newspaper strips can be wide if you're using a rectangular mold. Dip the newspaper into your adhesive, using the thumb and forefinger to take off any extra glue. Keep repeating these steps until you're done. Remember, papier maché can be very messy, so I would do it outside if I were you. To get more information on papier maché go to http://www.papiermache.co.uk/exec/cms-documents/s-tutorials/p-view/id-23/ http://www.papiermache.co.uk/exec/cms-documents/s-tutorials/p-view/id-23/page-2/

Multicultural Events

Today the grade fives got to eat snacks and participate in activities that originated from three countries: Japan, Italy and South Korea. The food from Japan was snow cones. We got to choose one of three flavours: strawberry ,peach or lime. I chose lime because I like it's sour taste. The food from South Korea was a soft drink that had moo moo milk inside. From Italy, we had chocolate chip biscotti. For the activities: from Japan we did karate, from South Korea we played a board game and from Italy, we played soccer. We started with karate. First we have to bow for respect. Then we have to warm up by moving our head. After that, my class played a game where you try to touch your partner's forehead, but your partner is also trying to touch your own forehead. Last, we put on some protective gear and learned how to hit and kick. Next came South Korea. This game is like Sorry! There are two teams. The white team and the black team. Each team gets four pieces. The object of the game is to get all four around the board and get to home. But there is a faster way. There are shortcuts that go diagonally. There's only one catch: you have to land exactly on the square that leads to the shortcut. If you land on a square which is occupied by a ival team's piece, you get to eat it. When a piece is eaten, that piece is removed and must start all over again. Instead of rolling dice, you roll Korean dice. This game is fun and easy to learn.

The March to Jerusalem

Today I completed the march to Jerusalem. The March to Jerusalem exists to raise money for the March of the Living. In the beginning, you register at a desk. Once you're done, the officials give you a passport. The passport isn't real; it's fake. There are many checkpoints (named after cities in Israel) along the way starting with Ben Gurion airport and ending with Jerusalem. At every checkpoint, volunteers stamp your passport. When you reach the end you are supposed to get a medal and a loot bag. There are a few things that bug me. This year, the organizers cut out the Town of Hampstead from the route. There are alot of people who can do more walking. When I completed the March, I only got my medal. When I asked them for a loot bag they said, "they've all been taken." I saw people who took shortcuts take loot bags. That's not fair! I did the whole March, but when I get to Jerusalem, they've been taken by people who cheated. it's like a ship. There should be enough lifeboats to carry all the passengers and crew. The officials of the March to Jerualem should be more fair.