Metropolitan Museum of Art trip – by Ben

Metropolitan museum of art trip
Last week we went to the Met. in NYC. The Met. or Metropolitan Museum of Art is a big art museum filled with all kinds of art from all over the world. They also have ancient art. We went to the ancient Greek art exhibit.

When we got there, we broke up into two different groups and both groups had tour guides. Our tour guide showed us some major Greek art pieces. We had lots of fun discussing them. We saw artifacts like grave stone markers, pots and a chariot, which is a big carriage pulled by horses! After the tour we went to a park and ate some lunch.

When we got back to the Met. we were given books full of different things we had to find. It was a lot like a treasure hunt. We had to find things from the Percy Jackson books which was pretty fun. I found it amazing looking at all the art I saw in books and pictures. They were all much bigger than I expected. I really liked our trip and I think it helped me a lot since my end of the year report is about art!

Nature’s Classroom by Ben

Nature’s Classroom Blog Post

Nature’s Classroom was very fun. One of my favorite parts was field group. Field group was when we would split up into assigned groups and hike, look for animals, rock climb and much much more. This period was usually between breakfast and lunch and was about a hour but on special days sometimes longer. Field group was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.

I had a bunch of friends in the group so I wasn’t lonely. The first day we got to know our field group and it’s leader. Our field group leader was Rustache (his real name was Russel…I think). He was very funny and nice. He’s the kinda guy you would see on one of those hardcore survival shows. He pretty much knows every little thing you could know about nature. Anyway, the first day all we did was go hiking. As we walked he would point out interesting things like multicolored moss and pine needles that turn your spit green.

The second day we had a little more time. Most of our group wanted to go to the farm but before we went to the farm we had to partake in a variety of different challenges that took mental and physical strength. We flew through the first challenge which was to swing across a rope onto a small platform. The second challenge was a little harder. We had to get through a giant spider web (Wire put together) but when ever someone touched the string we would all lose. To make things even harder the holes would close after someone would pass through. We finally realized if someone stuck a hand through the web we could all take turns going through without it closing. We went to the farm and we had lots of fun with the animals.

The third day was the most fun. We went to the beach. Not to swim but to climb rocks and look at nature. We saw a seal that was very cute. No one was allowed to go to close to it because it would get scared. After that we walked down the shoreline finding shells of various sizes. We also found a little crevice and hid in it. As we hiked our path was blocked off by a field of rocks ranging from 4 to 10ft. We started to climb. We got lots of cool pictures of us on top of HUGE rocks.

We were done climbing within 1-2 hours. We decided to go to a miniature zoo. It was only one building but it had lots of fascinating cool creatures in it. The complex even had a touch tank were you could touch various sea creatures. That was one of my favorite days field group wise.

The next day the last was not so exiting. All we did in field group was go to Roller Coaster island which was a island with a roller coaster. We had a great time at Nature’s Classroom and I was disappointed we had to leave early.

Imagination Day by Ben

Imagination Day

Our school had an Imagination Day on the 15th of March. Imagination Day is when the students come up with different things to teach. Instead of going to our normal classes we go to student made classes. We got to pick which classes we wanted to go to because there were a lot of people who wanted to teach something. Here is an example of some of the classes… basketball skills (which I was in), making brownies, devil stick tricks, World War II (I was in this also) and much much more.

The only thing I didn’t like during Imagination Day was that we only were allowed to go to two classes which was kind of annoying since all the classes looked very fun! I also found it kind of annoying when kids wouldn’t follow their classmates instructions.

The two classes I was in were basketball and World War II. The basketball class was run by my Friend Joe. It was really fun. We worked on dribbling and passing. After all that we had a big scrimmage. My next class was ww2. It wasn’t a sports based class but it was interesting. It was run by my other friend Matt. He knew so much about World War II and he made a 50 slide power point about it! Overall, it was a great experience!

Snowboarding by Ben

Snowboarding

What is snowboarding exactly? Well, it’s a sport much like skiing but instead of having skis you have a snowboard. It looks a lot like a skateboard except it’s a little bigger. Snowboarding is a very hard sport to master. You have to be great at balancing and be good at maneuvering with your feet. If you think snowboarding will be super easy, it’s not. People say it’s harder than skiing when you first start, but once you get the hang of it, it’s probably easier to do tricks and jumps than skiing.

I started out skiing but then when I saw all the cool tricks snowboarders could do, I decided I would try to pick it up. I had been skateboarding for a while and I thought it couldn’t be that different then snowboarding. It was! The most difficult part about it was that my feet were stuck to the board. It made it hard to turn but easy to fall. When you fell it was mostly was on your butt so it hurt a lot! There is a snowboarding style of dress. Snowboarders usually wear things such as bandannas and bright colored gear. Here is a great YouTube channel that has lots of good videos.

In the footsteps of Marco Polo By Ben

Dear Denis,

Yesterday I heard you talk about your travels. I find it amazing you were able to go on Marco Polo’s journey by land! I also find it interesting that you wrote a book and made a documentary about your travels. It must have been very hard every day traveling thought the desert questioning your sanity wondering if you would ever return to Venice. It also must have been scary being captured  by the Iraqis. I love how you talked to us making it even more interesting. Also you were the first person to make a presentation that didn’t make me fall asleep. I read some of your book and it was amazing but the five star movie was even better. Thank you for this experience Dennis.

Ben

What makes a good teacher?? By Ben

What makes a good teacher? Well first of all teachers have to be nice but also stern. The teacher has to be your friend and your parent. They have to enforce the laws of the classroom but they shouldn’t be too mean. They have to come up with fun and creative ideas that also teach you. Fun subjects and activities will keeps students intrigued and also learning. If your class is acting up a lot then the teacher has to give the class a punishment. The teacher also has to find the classes’ weaknesses. If someone isn’t very good at something it’s the teachers job to encourage them. Those are all of the qualities of a great teacher.

Favorite web 2.0 tool by Ben

My favorite 2.0 tool is the blog. The reason I choose blogging is that it has so much in one package. You can write posts, update your blog, customize your profile, comment on other peoples posts and make worldwide friends. The blog can also be used for educational purposes. You can learn about other peoples cultures and teach people about yours. It is the ultimate web 2.0 TOOL!!

Edgar Allen Poe by Ben


Edgar Allan Poe

On January 19, 1806 in Boston, Massachusetts one of the most famous poets was born and his name was Edgar Allan Poe. He had a brother and sister, but unfortunately his Mother died when he was very young, and his father abandoned him shortly after. He was then taken in by a wealthy merchant and his wife. When he was ready for college Poe went to the University of Virginia, but he had to leave after the first semester because he didn’t have enough money. Then Poe decided he wanted to join the army and lied about his age to do so. He trained to be an officer, but failed the test. After he left the army he decided to leave his foster parents to pursue his writing career. Soon after that he married his 13 year old cousin Virginia Clemm. He started creating very popular poems and stories. He became very popular for creating Sci-Fi and horror stories. One of his greatest poems was “The Raven”. It was published in January 1845. He had many other stories to, like “The Tell Tale Heart” and “Alone”. Two Years after The Raven was published Poe’s wife died. This led Poe into a spiral of depression. Poe started to drink. He died on October 7th 1849 of unknown causes. He was found unconscious on the streets and that led to his death. Many believe he was killed or he died because of his alcohol problems. Poe still keeps inspiring other horror writers with his collection of work.

Poe was known as “The Father of Horror.” He was the first man to write horror stories and have the stories become popular. His stories made the whole world shriek in terror and let me tell you why. Poe used such dark and creative ideas for his poems, like in “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Raven.” In both of these poems the settings were very dark and eerie like in “The Tell Tale Heart” when the crazy man in the story killed the old man. I’ll give you a sample of the scene, “The old man’s hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once –once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him.” That one scene gave me a great picture of what was happening in the old man’s room and how the crazy man killed him with the bed. Let’s break up that scene in parts. Number 1 the setting: The scene took place in a very dark and scary room. Great. Number 2 the sound: The sound was amazing. I felt like I could hear the crazy man screaming and the old man’s heart slowly beating. Great. Number 3 the action: The action was one of the best parts. His language describing the action made me feel like I was in the room watching the crazy man dragging and killing the old man. Great. Poe was a master of horror. He could build up the anticipation till the last moment and that is an important element in a good horror story. Poe could also make you feel that you were in the minds of the victims and killers. His work inspired many writers of horror and mystery over the ages and continues to do so.

Many men and women love Edgar’s stories and Poems. Let me tell you why I love them. First the titles are great. You may think the titles are just words but Poe’s titles make you wonder what’s going to happen in the story. They make you want to read the poem without giving to to much information away. The title is only the bun and the story is the real meat. As you know his stories are mostly horror. They are very scary. I think there some of the scariest story’s ever. Poe reminds me of more modern writers like Stephen King and Alford Hitchcock. Edgar’s stories aren’t so much jump out of your seat stories but more mysterious and suspenseful. That is what I like. I love his characters and plots. They seem so real maybe some of his characters could relate to his real sad life. Just a hunch. I think Poe is one of the best horror story writers and always will be.

Name: The Raven (Edgar Allen Poe)

By keveindooley
URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12836528@N00/2787381665
This Photo was shot on August 3rd 2008 with a with a Canon Powershot G7

Edgar Allen Poe by Ben

Edgar Allan Poe

On January 19, 1806 in Boston, Massachusetts one of the most famous poets was born and his name was Edgar Allan Poe. He had a brother and sister and unfortunately his Mother died when he was very young, and his father abandoned him shortly after. He was then taken in by a wealthy merchant and his wife. When he was ready for college Poe went to the University of Virginia, but he had to leave after the first semester because he didn’t have enough money. Then Poe decided he wanted to join the army and lied about his age to do so. He trained to be an officer, but failed the test. After he left the army he decided to leave his foster parents to pursue his writing career. Soon after that he married his 13 year old cousin Virginia Clemm. He started creating very popular poems and stories. He became very popular for creating Sci-Fi and horror stories. One of his greatest poems was “The Raven”. It was published in January 1845. He had many other stories to, like “The Tell Tale Heart” and “Alone”. Two Years after The Raven was published Poe’s wife died. This led Poe into a spiral of depression. Poe started to drink. He died on October 7th 1849 of unknown causes. He was found unconscious on the streets and that led to his death. Many believe he was killed or he died because of his alcohol problems. Poe still keeps inspiring other horror writers with his collection of work.

Poe was known as “The Father of Horror.” He was the first man to write horror stories and have the stories become popular. His stories made the whole world shriek in terror and let me tell you why. Poe used such dark and creative ideas for his poems, like in “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Raven.” In both of these poems the settings were very dark and eerie like in “The Tell Tale Heart” when the crazy man in the story killed the old man. I’ll give you a sample of the scene, “The old man’s hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once –once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him.” That one scene gave me a great picture of what was happening in the old man’s room and how the crazy man killed him with the bed. Let’s break up that scene in parts. Number 1 the setting: The scene took place in a very dark and scary room. Great. Number 2 the sound: The sound was amazing. I felt like I could hear the crazy man screaming and the old man’s heart slowly beating. Great. Number 3 the action: The action was one of the best parts. His language describing the action made me feel like I was in the room watching the crazy man dragging and killing the old man. Great. Poe was a master of horror. He could build up the anticipation till the last moment and that is an important element in a good horror story. Poe could also make you feel that you were in the minds of the victims and killers. His work inspired many writers of horror and mystery over the ages and continues to do so.

Many men and women love Edgar’s stories and Poems. Let me tell you why I love them. First, the titles are great. You may think the titles are just words but Poe’s titles make you wonder what’s going to happen in the story. They make you want to read the poem without giving too to much information away. The title is only the bun and the story is the real meat. As you know his stories are mostly horror. They are very scary. I think there some of the scariest stories ever. Poe reminds me of more modern writers like Stephen King and Alford Hitchcock. Edgar’s stories aren’t so much jump out of your seat stories but more mysterious and suspenseful. That is what I like. I love his characters and plots. They seem so real maybe some of his characters could relate to his real sad life. Just a hunch. I think Poe is one of the best horror story writers and always will be.

This picture is from flickrCC

Name: The Raven (Edgar Allen Poe)

By keveindooley

This Photo was shot on August 3rd 2008 with a with a Canon Powershot G7

The raven (Edgar Allen Poe)

Win Win Win By Ben


Win Win Win .

I think blogging has made a big difference to life at our school. For one thing, it allow us to connect to other schools around the world and share ideas with many other students. That really made a big difference to students in our school. Another thing is that we can learn about different countries by asking someone from that specific country. I have met many different friends. It makes school much more fun and it helps me type. Some people think it doesn’t teach you anything well if you blog to someone from another country you can ask them questions and learn about their country. We are commenting on students posts in Instanbul, Turkey, from Sabanci University and that is fun. I hope our school keeps up blogging because it is great fun!

This post is part of the student edublog challenge….The Edublogger’s Share Your Blogging Experience