Fears and Expectations
During this journey through middle school, I have many fears and expectations of what will happen this school year. I may face many difficulties and maybe even some fortunate events. To tell you how I feel, the following are some of my fears and expectations of my 06-07 school year at Venado Middle School.
Some of my fears about going to middle school are getting lost while transitioning from class-to-class and getting a detention if I’m tardy to any of my classes. My second fear about going to middle school is that I might fall behind and not keep track of any of my homework which follows a bad grade. Lastly, my worst fear of going into middle school is that I’m scared if my teacher is really strict.
I also have some expectations that I did not really accomplish in elementary school. One of them is participating in class. In my past years in elementary school, I didn’t really raise my hand much in class discussions because I’m too shy and quiet and I would really like to do that this year. Also I would like to excel more in the entire school subject. I did well on almost all the school subjects last year in the sixth grade but not good enough to go to Purdue University. This year, I would want to excel more in school work and get better at basketball because if I can’t get into a college by my academics I’ll probably need basketball so I can get a basketball scholarship. Last but not least, I would want to concentrate better in my classes. In the sixth grade, I sometimes fell behind because I was too distracted by other people when they were talking to me.
In conclusion, I would like to overcome all my fears of transitioning from elementary school to middle school and reach all my goals and expectations by doing what is right, avoiding troubles and by becoming a better student and a better person in life. I would like to pursue a career as a professional basketball player after college or if I don’t make it there, I would like to be a doctor and being a better student is probably the only way I can reach these goals.
Reflection: This is my first writing essay I’ve ever done in Mrs. Walden’s class. We were assigned to do this the first day of school which was kind of weird. I liked this essay because it’s funny how I worried about things which I am used to now.
Winter Celebrations
During winter, my family and I do many traditional things that we always have done during our 6 winters in America. Those holidays had been a tradition that many generations of my family celebrated. Some of those traditions are both religious and just regular. Sometimes, we might even visit new places that we never seen or heard of .The following are example of the things that my family and I do during winter.
Every winter, we would start everything off with Eid Ul-Fitr. Eid Ul-Fitr is a religious holiday which is the end of Ramadan; we celebrate the holiday because we are Muslims. Ramadan usually start around the end of October and ends during late November. We fast for a whole month meaning no food or water until the sun goes down. In the end of Ramadan, we would go to the mosque and pray, we celebrate and share presents. We would also forgive each other for the things that we had done wrong and we would give them gifts.
After Ramadan, it would be my birthday that we celebrate because it is on December 2nd. I would get presents from my family, and the present from my grandma would usually be something big, such as a vacation. For my 10th birthday, we went all over the east coast from New York to Boston, and all the way down to Virginia. For my 12th birthday, we went to Florida during winter break because my grandma’s friend lives there. We would usually bring the whole family and we would visit some of the famous monuments and places.
December 3rd is usually when my basketball season starts, my family would usually come to watch my games. Mid December, is the time of year when my mom and dad visit me from Indonesia to bring my birthday presents. Since they have good jobs there, they only visit me once every 4 months. The last holiday that we would celebrate is New Year’s Eve. My grandma would cook a big stew and we would visit our friends in San Diego where we party ‘till midnight.
All and all, these holidays are what my family and I celebrate every year. Someday when I have my own family, I would like to celebrate these holidays. I would especially celebrate the religious holidays such as Ramadan because those holidays are part of my religion. And even if I don’t get my own family, I would still celebrate it with my family that I live with now.
Reflection: Mrs. Walden assigned us to do this essay in mid December since it was Holidays. It was one of our first essay stories that we had to write. We had to write about what we do during winter and what kinds of holidays we celebrate.
The Goat Killer
In the village of Huntsville in West Virginia, lives a farmer named Bob Williams and his family, his wife Pat, and his son Zach. The Williams live in a small house on the hill where his farm was right next to it. Bob had been raising goats and chickens for nearly 10 years now, he also plant corn. His wife stays home and does chores while Zach goes to a nearby school.
After spending the day farming and feeding his chickens, Bob decides to come home and watch television with his family. While watching the news, he has been informed that there have been mysterious sightings of an unknown man who goes around killing people’s goats. He was sighted on the border of Virginia and West Virginia, killing goats. He addresses himself as the Goat Killer, he wears an oversized coat and he holds some kind of knife in his right hand. Bob thought,” Who would come to our village, after all it is very small.” But little did he know that something bad was going to happen.
Summer went by like a breeze, and then fall came. There haven’t been any sightings of the Goat Killer for nearly two months. Bob thought he died and forgot all about him, but when Halloween starts to get closer, weird things start to happen. Each and everyday, goat after goat started to disappear. Bob became furious, but he didn’t care.
One day when Zach was playing by himself outside, he saw a man by the barn killing his father’s goats. Zach ran to the house and shouted,” Daddy, daddy, there’s a man outside killing the goats.” Bob was so scared that he didn’t care to go outside and look at the man. So Bob locked all the doors and windows so the Goat Killer won’t come in and harm his family. But he was too late; the Goat Killer already cut down the door and went in. With the knife in his hand he mumbled,” Give me more goats or I will kill your family.” Bob quickly ran upstairs and told his wife and son to stay upstairs; he got a pitchfork and went downstairs. The Goat Killer was very tall, about seven feet in height, and now he’s going after Bob. Using the pitchfork to defend himself, the Goat Killer tries to stab him but he keeps missing. So Bob gets his pitchfork and stabs the Goat Killer right in his chest, blood spurted everywhere. Bob expects him to be dead, so he quickly goes to the phone and calls the police. The police come and take the body away; they also showed records of the killer. It said that the man had no family and turned psycho because of his loneliness. Bob was overwhelmed that no one got hurt and his family was ok, and from that day, Bob and his family lived happily ever after.
Reflection: This was the Halloween Scary Story that we had to write. We had to create our own scary story and share to our class and get a grade on oral reading.
Oreo vs. Ritz
There are many similarities between Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers. I am writing this essay to tell you that Oreo cookies are better than Ritz crackers. Even though these snacks have almost the same price, there are still differences between them. The following essay explains both the similarities and differences between Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers. It also proves why Oreo cookies are better than Ritz crackers.
An Oreo cookie has a sweet taste and has two parts. The first is the black cookie; it has printings on it such as “Oreo” and tastes almost like chocolate. The second part is the white cream; it has a sweet taste and gooey feeling when you taste it. The third part is again the cookie that makes the Oreo look like a little sandwich which makes it interesting. The Ore cookie not only tastes sweet but can also be eaten with milk by dipping it in.
The Ritz cracker is a plain circular cracker with a boring salty taste. The Ritz cracker makes a crackling sound when you chew on it. The Ritz cracker consists of a yellow cracker and sprinkles of salt which are not very appealing. You can sometimes eat it with a dip such as salsa or cheese. The Ritz cracker comes from a red box that says “Ritz”.
There are also some similarities between the Oreo cookie and the Ritz crackers. One of them is that they are both snacks which you can eat. Another similarity is that both treats are circular in shape and have designs on the edge. The last similarity is that they both have a pretty good taste. Last but not least, both the Oreo cookie and Ritz cracker can be eaten with some kind of dip or drink.
In conclusion, Oreo cookies are tastier than Ritz crackers. They are also better because Oreo cookie are already known worldwide and have been around a long time. Even though there are many similarities and differences, I think Oreo cookies are better than Ritz crackers. I am trying to convince you that you should buy Oreo cookies more than Ritz crackers. So the next time you go to the Supermarket, buy an Oreo cookie!
Reflection: From this essay, I learned how to compare and contrast foods such as the Oreo cookie and the Ritz cracker. I also learned that if you add details to a story it makes it better. I like this piece because it turned out good.
The Egg Hunt
Once upon a time inside the forests of Irvine lives a family of rabbits called the Cottontail family. The family consists of Flopsy the Dad, Mopsy the Mom; the twins, Fred and Freeda; the three girls: Marge, Mary, and Mopsy; the three boys: Flip, Flop, and Furry; Grandma Topsy; and the two family pets, Quaker and Honk. The Cottontail family lives in a very roomy house large enough to fit the whole family. The oldest children: Mary, Flip, Flop, and Marge all go to Irvine High. While the middle children: Molly, Fred, and Freeda, goes to Venado Middle School. Meanwhile, Furry, The youngest child, goes to Deerfield Elementary school
.
As March passed by, April came along with spring. The Cottontail family is getting ready for their favorite Holiday, Easter. During Easter, the children would participate in the annual egg hunt along with the neighbors, The Furrytail and the Poofytail families who were also rabbits. The main point of their game was to get as many eggs they could find, and whoever collects the most, that family would receive a prize. There were fifteen eggs scattered around the forest, in order to win the will need to collect eight eggs minimum. The egg hunt does not begin until noon, but it was only ten o’clock. As the children of the Cottontail family got ready for the event, the parents announced that the prize would be a shiny, golden egg trophy. As they waited for the hunt to begin, the Cottontail team took a shower, change their clothes, and brought all the necessary equipments
After waiting for nearly an hour, the egg hunt was about to begin. Their opponent, the Furrytail and the Poofytail families had gone off deep into the forest and was nowhere to be seen. As the Cottontail team approached a nearby tree, Molly saw something gleaming from under the bushes. As they searched through the bushes, they had found their first egg. The egg was yellow and had many intricate designs on it. They only needed seven more eggs in order to win the prize, so they searched deeper into the forest for more. After walking for about two minutes, Flip spotted something under the rocks. So Flip ran to where he had seen the object, it was another egg. This time the egg was green had no designs on it whatsoever. They now had collected two eggs and only needed six more eggs, so they continue their search for more eggs. As they continued to search, they found nothing until Furry fell into a deep ditch. Fortunately, the floor was covered with grass so it did not hurt Furry. As Furry climbed back up, he saw that the walls of the hole had colorful rock shaped objects on it. The objects were actually eggs, so Furry picked them and climbed back up thanks to his rabbit reflexes. When Furry got up, they counted all the eggs that they have collected. They counted eight colorful eggs; they had yellow, green, red, blue, purple, orange, pink, and brown. Finally, the Cottontail family had collected all the eggs to qualify and they headed back to their house where the judges will announce the winner.
When they arrived at the house, the judges were there and were ready to count the eggs. In first place, we have the Cottontail family with eight eggs. In second place was the Furrytail family who collected four eggs. And last but not least, the last place was the Poofytail family who only found three eggs. The judges then announced that the winner of this year’s Annual Easter Egg Hunting Competition was no other than the Cottontail family whom collected eight eggs.
In conclusion, the Cottontail family had won their first Easter Egg Hunting trophy. After the egg hunt, the three families had an Easter celebration part. They had more fun than they ever had, and from that day on, The Cottontail family lived happily ever after.
Reflection: This was my most recent essay story I had to write for Easter and the Spring Theme. We had to make a story using the family members of the Cottontail family that Mrs. Walden made up.
Billy the Leprechaun
Once upon a time in a land far, far away called Ireland, where the grasses are always green and little animals roam the land, lived a leprechaun named Billy. Billy the Leprechaun lived in a little hut along the river by the other leprechauns. Billy and his friends lived on a little island near the coast of Ireland
called, Leprechaun Isle. He also owned a pot of gold, made shoes all day, and then sent the shoes to the mainland for the humans.
Billy, the Leprechaun, woke up one beautiful day and decided to take his usual morning shower. As he took his shower, he realized that today was his favorite day ever, St. Patrick’s Day. He quickly ran out of his hut to the field of lush, green clovers. As Billy picked the green clovers one by one, he found an unusual one. The clover was different, it was greener than the other ones and had an extra leaf, so Billy decided to keep it.
As hours passed by, Billy decided to take the ship to the mainland to see the humans celebrating this glorious day. As he was leaving the isle, unusual but fortunate things started to happen. Billy might describe these unusual events as “luck”. One of them is that the ship leaving Leprechaun Isle leaves exactly at 3:00, and it will not let anyone on after 3:00. But when Billy arrived it was already thirty minutes late, unusually the captain allowed him to enter his ship. It took about an hour until the ship reached Ireland, but when he reached the mainland, another unusual event happened. The distance from the dock where the ship stopped was about a mile. As Billy walked he saw an abandoned bicycle, it was still in good shape. Billy took the abandoned bicycle and rode it all the way to the city. When he arrived at the city, Billy saw that everyone was partying and having a good time. He saw a parade, some kind of lottery drawing where you can win prizes, and everyone was wearing green. In fact, everything was green including banners, souvenirs, lights, and some people had even dyed their hair green. Billy was most drawn to the lottery because the grand prize was a pot full of Irish gold, so he bought a ticked and entered his name on the lottery. A few hours later the lottery is announced, the lucky winner that would take a pot full of Irish gold would be, Billy. He thought, “Why am I so lucky today, is it because of the clover?”
When Billy returned to Leprechaun Isle, he explained to all the other leprechauns about the magic of the clover and what he had discovered. He discovered that only the four-leaved clover contains magical powers and brings unlimited luck to anyone who holds it. The news spread all over Ireland, people everywhere were trying to look for this clover. And from that day on, Billy the Leprechaun was known as Lucky Billy and he lived happily ever after.
Reflection: This entry is an essay which we had to write for St.Patrick’s Day. This is also one of my favorite entries because it is fun and creative.
Florida
Out of all the places I’ve been to, Florida is my favorite place that I’ve visited. First of all, Orlando and Miami are my two favorite cities in the U.S. Orlando because of the Orlando Magic and Miami for the Miami Heat of the NBA. I also like Florida because of its worldwide-known beaches. Many tourists from all over the world visits the beaches to have a vacation from all the work they have at home. The weather is another thing that I like about Florida. The hot, humid weather reminds me of my home, Indonesia. But my favorite thing about Florida is the costs of the items that they sell at stores. Everything including the store items in Florida are way less than those sold in California, including the food, the homes, the gas, everything!
In conclusion, out of all the states I’ve visited, Florida is always my favorite state in the USA.
A= Power 1
A= Power 2
A= Power 3
Reflection: This is the power paragraph that we wrote to understand power paragraphs. We had to choose our favorite place to visit and I picked Florida.
The Desert
- Saguaro
- Cactus Wren
- Cholla
- Barrel Cactus
- Century Plants
- Desert Mallow
- Date Palm Creosote Bush
Soil Type
Desert soil often has a lot of nutrients because they need only water to become very productive and have little or no organic matter. It scarce water so the soil is relatively poor and also have intense solar radiation. But all deserts are different from each other. For example, the desert in Australia is different from the desert in Arizona.
Reflection: This entry was from a science research on plants of the desert. It wasn’t much but it shoes what kinds of plants could grow in such harsh climate and how the soils are rich in nutrients.
Billy The Red Lobster
One day a big red lobster named Billy was walking down the street when he remembered that it was Valentine’s Day. His usual morning was just to sit at his table and eat some red chili. But since it was Valentine’s Day, he wanted to do something special. So Billy the Lobster ran down the street to the flower shop where he bought a bouquet of flowers. He took a little nap before giving the flowers to the person.
Billy suddenly was awaked by the big red fire alarm that had gone off. Billy was shocked when he saw that it was already 4:00 in the afternoon. His house was full of smoke because he had forgotten that he was cooking red meat for lunch. He quickly ran down the red street to where Ms. Piggy lives. He rang the red doorbell and Ms. Piggy came out, she asks what the problem was. Billy the Lobster gave the red flowers, said Happy Valentine’s Day and left. Billy went home and ate his cooked red meat and put some red ketchup on it.
After a few hours of boredom, Billy decided to take a trip to the reddest planet- Mars. Billy quickly put on his red shoes and drove all the way to NASA Space Center
with his red car. As he entered the Big Red Rocketship, he bumped into the door and his claw started bleeding. As the Rocket takes off, he felt a vibration and almost fell out of his red seat. It took him a few days to reach Mars, and when he got there all he saw was red rocks. He thought it was an ideal place for him to live, since it was nice and not crowded
Billy the Lobster decided to live in Mars, he even built a house there. He only comes back to Earth once in a while to get food. After a while, he extended his house to cover half of Mars. Sometimes he would see Santa Claus flying around. And from that day on, Billy the Red Lobster lived happily ever after.
Reflection: In my opinion, this is probably the worst piece in this portfolio since it was an in class assignment which we only had forty minutes to do this. I learned that I can use colors to describe things and make a good story out of it.
If I Was the Main Character
If I were to be the main character to a story, my story would be about a poor boy that grew up to be very rich. The story would first take place in a ghetto neighborhood and ends in an elite city such as Beverly Hills. The boy was neglected by his parents, which led to running away from home.
At his High school years, he started playing basketball and was recognized by scouts all over the country. After averaging a dominating 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 blocks, in his senior year, his coach gave him a scholarship to whichever college he wants to go. He picked UNC, University of North Carolina
, the school which Michael Jordan went to for college. He never thought he would graduate and enter a real top ranked college, because none of his family members had graduated from high school or go to a college.
He made history in his freshman year at UNC, averaging 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 12 assists. In his sophomore year, he improved and broke more records averaging 40 points, 20 rebounds, and 15 assists. Most college players would turn professional after their junior year but he wanted to finish his college and earn a degree. His junior year was one of his bests, averaging 50, 20, and 15.
His college career ended in his senior year, he was now known all over the nation and Nike had sponsored him. His shoe, the Nike Air Benjamin, was popular with many people and was sold more than the famous Air Jordan
’s. His pictures were on soda cans, posters, and even the cover of video games. But he made an announcement that shocked the basketball world. He announced that he will use his doctorate degree to become a doctor instead of turning pro! He told the press that he does not want fame; all he wants is to help others when they need help.
In conclusion, the main character of the story did end up in a big house in Beverly Hills
. But he made it without going professional, instead he became a doctor. If he had become a pro, he would have earned millions of dollars and would be known all over world. If I was the main character of a story, this would be my story.
Reflection: This entry is one of the journal writes that I included in this portfolio. We could create any story we wanted and put ourselves as the main character. And because we can do anything, this is why this entry is my favorite one.
Posting first by: Skuldesak Traxfm.
