Picture Poem- "The Big Game"

Today was the day.

The big championship game.

The Mustangs are playing GBS

They’re down two points.

They can tie with a layup or

Take the lead with a three

They can play it smart

Or take the lead

10 seconds left.

It’s Over Time now

He gets the ball

He dribbles fast down the court it makes people say wow.

He crosses one defender than another

He goes to the three pointer and shoots now

It looks like it’s good

It rises up and up

Then you hear the sound of iron

changing both the teams mood

Then it bounces out as the buzzer is heard

Game Over

Global Collaboration- Final Draft

       My level of global awareness was low before 7th grade. I didn't really explore, I just hear of events on the radio and the news. However, all I hear about involves wars, killing, bombing, etc. It's very depressing to hear  all of those things, and I wish they told some good news for once. I think I started getting interested in world news during the World Cup. Seeing all those different cultures and religions in one place was beautiful. However, it could've been dangerous because they could dislike each other.

      My collaboration with the Indian and Swedish pen pals put two more cultures in my global awareness. I learned how they talk, where they go to school,and what religions they were. I also learned different games and different types of food they have. I got to see what their school was like and how they learn. Sweden has a different process from Heritage. They don't have the 1:1 program. India also doesn’t have computers. Instead they have study rooms and have different books for each subject.

    The perspective I had on other cultures has changed throughout this project. I thought, since we had computers that they would also have them. They have similar activities as us, but different believes. In India, they have different types of dances and a school team for the game Khoo-Khoo. In America, Khoo Khoo is tag. Therefore, I thought it was weird they had a school team for it.

   The most shocking thing I saw, was from the Swedish group. They have such a big school. They have all types of playgrounds, basketball courts, soccer fields and stuff like that. Their cafeteria is huge. They sometimes get to choose what they want the cooks to make for them! Although, as I mentioned before, they don't have the 1:1 program. That means they don’t have computers to take home. This project is  fun, and I hope to find more interesting facts about these kids.

The Thief Lord

February 26, 2015

Prompt:  One character I least liked, One word I didn't know, and What character I liked best

                   The character I least like is Esther. She is the aunt of Prosper and Bo. She wants a detective to find Prosper and Bo just to separate them. She talks bad about Prosper right in front of Bo. I think the only thing she is good for is nagging! Esther must always get her way no matter what it is.  She gets an attitude with the detective but then cries when she can’t find Bo.  I don’t think she has the ability to raise a child. I hope she doesn’t get custody of Bo.

                     A character I like the most is Victor. He’s a detective, but he’s really funny. He has many different disguises and has two pet turtles. The reason I like him, is because he changed his perspective of the kids. He helps the group along with Ida Spavento. The kids love him like a father. Even though they had some hard times, they get along very well. He protects the kids and provides them with snacks.  He started as a villain, but is ending like an allie. 

                    One word I didn't understand was diabolical on page 208. I thought it meant evil or bad. The sentence it was in was  "Bo would throw a diabolical fuss if he found out the others where meeting the Conte." After I re-read that sentence I thought it meant annoying or irritating. As you can see, I had different choices to choose from. Before I looked it up I wanted to make one more shot. I couldn't think of anything so I just stuck with my two guesses. After all of that I looked it up in the dictionary. It means so evil to recall the Devil. Therefore my first guest was the closes.

Global Collaboration Project 2-20-15

        My level of global awareness was low before 7th grade. I didn't really explore, I just heard  to things on the radio and the news. However, all I hear is wars, killing, bombing, etc. It's very depressing to here all of those things, and I wish they told some good news for once. I think I started getting interested in world news during the World Cup. Seeing all those different cultures and religions in one place was beautiful, but it could've been dangerous because they could dis-like each other.


       My collaboration with the Indian and Swedish pen pals put two more cultures in my global awareness. I got to learn how they talk, where they go to school, what religions they were. I also saw the different games and different food. I got to see what thier school was like and how they learn. Sweden had a different process from Heritage. They don't have the 1:1 program. Same for India, they have books instead of computers.


    The perspective I had on other cultures has changed through this project. I thought, since we had computers, I thought these kids would have computers as well. They have similar activities but different believes. In India they have different dances and a school team for the game Khoo-Khoo. To America, it's what we call tag.

   The most shocking thing I saw was from the Swedish group. They have such a big school and all types of playgrounds, basketball courts, soccer fields and stuff like that. There cafeteria is huge. They sometimes get to choose what they want the cooks to make for them. Although as I mentioned before, they don't have computers. This project should be fun and I hope to find more interesting facts about these kids.
 

The Thief Lord

February 19th
Prompt: Letter to a character from a friend.





             Dear Prosper,

                                  Hey Prosper, I'm okay. But I miss you, I don't like being with Ester. Will you come and get me? I miss all the others. How are my kittens doing? Are you guys feeding it and giving it it's baths? I miss that old movie theatre.  It was nice and cozy, and it felt like home. I miss Mosca's cooking. Were's the snoop?  Is he the one who gave away our hideout?  Hehehe, he's still funny though. I miss all you guys.

                                  Even though Ester says I cant right to you, I do it anyways. How's Scip? Is he our friend again?  I want to see him again, he's really cool. Prosper, why did all of this happen? Will you please come get me? I miss all of the group. I don't like Ester. Even though I feel angry with you I want to see you. You've protected me ever since we came to Venice. I want to say thank you and I love you.

                                When you come get me, will we still live at the theater? Probably not right? Well I'm going to miss it. But were are we going to live then? Will we have to leave Venice for good? I have so many questions to ask. Don't get caught by Ester though. She is still threatening to send you to a private school. So please be very careful, or she will send you away forever.


                                                                                                     Sincerely,
                                                                                                           Bo

Poetry Reflection

2/17/15

Holding Court

By Jacob Saenz

Today I became King

of the Court w/out a diamond-

encrusted crown thrust upon

my sweaty head. Instead

my markings of royalty

were the t-shirt draping

my body like a robe soaked

in champagne & the pain

in my right knee — a sign

of a battle endured, my will

tested & bested by none

as the ball flew off my hands

as swift as an arrow toward

the heart of a target — my fingers

ringless yet feeling like gold

This is a poem about basketball, my favorite sport. It connects to me in so many ways because I love the sport. I have not yet been crowned a champion, but I’m working hard to make it. Our Heritage basketball team failed last year. It was a depressing lost. This poem made me remember how that feeling was, to loose our championship chance by 3 points.

I think it will connect to anyone who truly loves basketball. For the kids that work hard, practice and practice. One of the most important ones I recommend this to are the ones who strive for greatness. Not just people who play the sport, but they must love the sport. Although, people who want to love the sport, this could inspire them.

The Thief Lord

Blog for 2-9

Prompt:What are some things you do when you don’t understand what you’re reading? What are two emotions the main character has felt? What made the main

character feel that way?What have you learned about life from what you’re reading?

        When I don't understand what I'm reading I do a few different things.  I re-read the paragraph I just read. Then I will think about it, try to understand what I read.  I'll ask myself what is the main idea of this passage. I'll see what words I don't understand and look them up. After all that and I still don't understand, I ask for help. Then if the help doesn't work, then I change my reading material.
        

        Two emotions Prosper (the main character) felt anger and depression. Scippio had betrayed the whole group. He had lied and said he was a big time thief. He basically told them stories that were all lies. Therefore not just Prosper, but everyone felt anger and depression. Now, the group denies Scippio of everything. He doesn't even get anymore money.


        I learned to enjoy all things I get. Even the little things. Some kids don't get nice and warm clothes on their backs. Or they don't have parents to look out for them when they hurt themselves.  Some kids are very ungrateful, because kids across the world would trade spots with me in a heartbeat. 

The Thief Lord

1-26
Prompt: List three problems the characters faced. After reading I wonder. Describe something you read like this.

       The characters faced a lot of problems. One of them was when they got caught by Victor in the city. Another one was when Bo told the detective about there secret hide out. The last one is when they find out the truth about Scippio and if they don't get the 5 million lire, they will have to turn themselves in.
   
       I wonder if Scippio will gain the groups trust again. I mean he has stolen frome his own family to support them. The kids used to live in an abandon basement. Were they spent the night with rodents and leaky pipes. If it wasn't for Scippio, they probably would all have pneumonia and forced to turn themselves in.

      I've seen stuff like this on TV, but I never have read a book like this. Therefore, thats another reason I like this book. It's one of a kind and different for a change. I have never read anything that took place in Italy, so it's a good way to learn about a new place. The author describes Venice so well. like with all the small alleys and no cars, just boats. If I were to runaway, it would be to Venice, Italy.

     

The Thief Lord

1-12-15


Prompt:How did the reading make me feel? If I was a character in this book who would I be?
Is this story believable?

                This book make me feel a lot of different ways. Excited, worried, forgivable, and disappointed. Scippio (Thief Lord) disappointed me and his friends in so many ways. It turns out that he can't really get into any place he wants or broken in anywhere. He says he's a runaway orphan, but he lives with his father in a huge mansion. He gets the valuable jewels by stealing it from his own house. Therefore, he is basically a wanna be thief.  I think he's going to do something real special to gain our trust back. Thats why I feel forgivable. I feel excited when they do crazy things and feel worried because, what if they get caught?

                 If I was one of the characters in the book, I think i'd be Prosper. He's an older brother and I'm an older brother. He's 13 and I'm 13. We both protect our little brother. He hates when his brother tries to do bad things and I hate when my brother tries to do bad things. We have so many things in common that I feel like I could put myself in Prospers shoes.


              I don't find this book to realistic. The stealing and the orphans I feel could be real, but not the magic. I've seen movies like this based on true stories. Runaway orphans that live and support themselves on their own. Although it's not realistic because their is magic involved. Although, besides that everything seems real.

The Last Time I Did Something For The First Time

1/9/15



            The last time I did something for the first time was over this winter break. My family and I went to Sky Zone in Elmhurst Il. It's a trampoline place were you can free jump, play dodgeball, and play basketball. They give you socks with grip at the bottom, so you won't slip all over the place. You pay for how many hours you jump. You can go 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1 hour and 30 minutes etc. They speak through a speaker every 30 minutes, so the workers know when your time is up.

           My favorite part about Sky Zone was the basketball and being able to dunk. For me I was nervous jumping that high for the first time. When you land it feels like your going to blow out your knees or land the wrong way on your ankle. They had 3 separate rims. A 10 foot one, an 8 foot one, and a 6 foot one. I dunked on the 8 foot and 6 foot. I could've dunked on the 10 foot one, but I was to nervous and scared I could injure my self.

          There food is amazing. They have hotdogs,pizza, candy, slurpee's, water, gatorade etc. I had 2 slices of pizza and a bottle of gatorade. The cost for 1 slice of pizza was $3.00 and for a Gatorade it was $2.00.

*Book Talk* "The Thief Lord"

                                      I am reading The Thief Lord by Cornella Funke and the genre of this book is  Adventure/Fantasy. The main characters are Prosper and Bo. Prosper and Bo are runaways who took a train to Venice Italy. They lived with their aunt because their mom died in an accident. Their aunt was going to separate Bo and Prosper by sending Prosper to a private school.  They live with a group of other runaway kids in an abandoned movie theatre and they are taken care of by the Thief Lord.

                                     

                                     All the kids are around 13 and 14. Except for Bo who is only 5 years old. The Thief Lord is also only 13 years old. He steals valuable things and the kids cash it in for money. Bo is fascinated by the Thief Lord and wants to learn how to break in houses, museums, and buildings. Although Prosper hates the fact of Bo trying to learn how to steal. When Bo steals things like wallets, Prosper gets very angry at Bo ad yells at him. 

                                   The kids are getting chased by a detective who was hired by Prosper's aunt. He is clever at disguising himself. He has a whole wardrobe of disguises. Although, it is hard for him to try and follow the kids because he doesn't want to look like a pedophilia . He has two turtles that are married and the detective makes it seem like they show emotion. For example he says that one of them looks bored and if the turtle wanted to go outside. 

  

                                   The mood of this book is funny, suspenseful, and exciting. There are a lot of surprises in this book. I had a weird feeling of sadness and anger because of what happens. People aren't always who they say they are. Riccio is the funniest character to because he always finds a goofy way to get serious things done. Also he has some really bad teeth. He has a bunch of cavities and his teeth are a yellowish brownish color.  One of the most exciting parts is when Prosper and Riccio have to run away from the detective. If you want to see if the kids get caught or escape. You must read the book.

I commented on stevens blog.

I commented on Diego's blog

       

AOW Impressions

           Last week my 7th grade class did a Gallery Walk about our AOW's. We learned about news and current events around the world. I learned about things from new advanced technology to hostages and Japan. I wrote about Child Trafficking in China. The article I wrote was important to the world because police need to start cracking down on Child Trafficking all over the world. The best thing about this was being able to learn about different things around the world and learning about things i've never heard before.
           
           My personal favorite article was the one about Drone that are causing problems. It was interesting to learn about the Drones ability and what they are capable of. It's scary though to know that a Drone could also be harmful to civilians around the world. It kinda reminds me of the movie "War of The Worlds." Although they also said that Drones could be very helpful, like helping with an oil spill and stuff like that.