Morning News-Election Day!

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Farin under Sixth

11/5

To win Presidency you need to collect 270 electoral votes. The Electoral College is made up of 538 electors, they cast votes for the President and Vice-President of the United States. Our votes are called popular votes. The popular votes determine who we give the electoral votes too. All states but 2 (Maine, and Nebraska) give the electoral votes away with the method of “winner take all”. Currently (as of 11/5) counting all the states that are solidly or leaning in her direction, Clinton is at a total of 268 electoral votes. Trump is at 207 votes when you count all the solidly and leaning states in his direction. This is only a prediction and we will have to see on Election Day who wins.

I got this information from http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/politics/road-to-270-electoral-college-map-november-4-duplicate/index.html

Solid Republican: Alabama (9), Alaska (3), Arkansas (6), Idaho (4), Indiana (11), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Montana (3), Nebraska (4), North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7), South Carolina (9), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (38), West Virginia (5), Wyoming (3) (157 total) Leans Republican: Georgia (16), Iowa (6), Maine 2nd Congressional District (1), Ohio (18), Utah (6) (47 total) Battleground states: Arizona (11), Florida (29), Nevada (6), Nebraska 2nd Congressional District (1), New Hampshire (4), North Carolina (15), (66 total) Leans Democratic: Colorado (9), Michigan (16), Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (13), Wisconsin (10), (68 total) Solid Democratic: California (55), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), DC (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Maine (3), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Jersey (14), New York (29), Oregon (7), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Washington (12), Minnesota (10), New Mexico (5) (200 total) I got this information and picture from http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/politics/road-to-270-electoral-college-map-november-4-duplicate/index.html

11/4

This elementary school has predicted the outcome of 12 presidential elections. Every year since Nixon the Benjamin Franklin Elementary School has guessed the President. The interesting part about the way they do the voting is that instead of Trump vs. Clinton they say Candidate A vs. Candidate B. All the school tells them is their platforms and what they think. Then the children vote, this year’s outcome is Hillary Clinton winning with 52 percent (277 votes) compared to Donald Trump’s outcome of 43 percent (230 votes). Let’s see if they are correct this time.

I got this information from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/benjamin-franklin-elementary-school-has-correctly-predicted-every-presidential-election-for-48-years/

11/8

Donald Trump won the election taking the lead from Hillary Clinton with 276 to 218 electoral votes. Sadly the school’s outcome was wrong.

I got this information from http://graphics.wsj.com/elections/2016/results/

Gwendolynn’s Time

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Farin under Humanities

Everyone is in the hall, gathered for me. Finally I can become a knight. Just don’t mess this up, Gwendolynn, you worked so hard to pass as a man for this. You cut your hair and used most of your savings to buy fabric for men’s clothing. This is your dream, the king is right in that other room. You came all the way from the South of France, to the middle of England to learn how to be a knight. You are just minutes away from your dream, to actually become a knight. Luckily my page Quinn kept the secret, or else I would be ratted out to the king and all my fellow knights. Hopefully they don’t find out that I’m a girl.

My name is called, and Quinn nudged me in side with his elbow. My turn. Quinn has done so much from fixing my hair cut, to keeping my secret. I can’t let him down. With every step I take down the middle of the aisle towards the king, I start to think. What if it goes wrong, what if they find out! No, just believe in yourself. If this goes wrong they might execute me; or shun me away from the village or even worse; laugh at me. It is ok, you wanted to be a knight, you wanted to take this chance. Just breathe, and don’t cry. His holy sword in his hand ready to make me a knight.

After what feels like minutes of walking I meet him, the king. I remember everything that Quinn taught me. Bend down silently, pray to God, and say my forever thanks to the great king, Hadrian the Third. King Hadrian’s sword lowers onto my right shoulder then moves slowly to the left, he grants me knightship then everyone cheers on the sidelines. Time to stand up, Gwendolynn. I turn and walk out of the room, time for my first real adventure, after the feast.

My Coat of Arms

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Farin under Humanities, Uncategorized

This is my own coat of arms that I created today. A basic coat of arms just needs a shield, but there is a lot more you can do. An example is a supporter, they are normally regular animals but I decided to do a mythical animal, the Hydra. Different supporters can mean different things, the Hydra means conquest of a powerful enemy. Another part that you can add is colors (also known as tinctures). I chose to use gold, green, blue, silver, and white. Gold means generosity and elevation of the mind, green means hope; joy, and loyalty in love; blue means truth and loyalty; and silver/white means peace and sincerity. You can also use plants or flowers, I chose a white rose in the center of my shield. A white rose means love and faith. Finally you can have a motto, the one I chose is victor exercitus, in latin that means conquest of a powerful enemy. I got all my information from http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/blog/genes-reunited-blog/archive/2013/11/7/what-the-symbols-on-coats-of-arms,-family-crests-and-seals-mean

Science Diorama

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Farin under Science

Our science diorama is of the Ashokan Resevoir, and the name “Watery Graves” was not a figure of speech. It turns out a dozen small towns got evacuated so that the city can create the now famous Ashokan Reservoir. Families had to move out of homes, leave the schools and shops. 2,000 people were forced to move to higher ground or completely different towns against their will. The city offered to pay the residents $15 to dig up their friends or families graves and move them elsewhere. The Esopus Valley turned into the Esopus Creek. But many people grew up loving the Resevoir, getting ice blocks in the winter, and fish in the spring. There are mixed feelings about the situation but the land will forever stay wild, pure, and gorgeous.

We got our information from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/14/nyregion/watery-graves-was-no-figure-speech-receding-city-reservoir-reveals-turbulent.html?_r=0.

My Ashokan Paragraph

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Farin under Humanities

We were playing Flux! Nice photo bomb Julia.

The 2 ¾ days that I spent at Ashokan were interesting because the staff were really entertaining, I spent more time than I normally do with different people, and we had a ton of opportunities to learn.

The 2 ¾ days that I spent at Ashokan were interesting because the staff was really entertaining. The staff at Ashokan took us through our classes and put us to bed at night. One of the staff members that I liked was Siggy. For example Siggy rapped, sang a “repeat after me” song, and told us a “scary” story about mosquitos. He sang them to us around the bonfire that the 6th graders had on the first night. They also read us stories before bed, and played games with us in some of the classes. I thought one time that was especially enticing was when we were all laughing and having s’mores around the campfire with the songs that Siggy sang, we were all having a great time. Ashokan was interesting, and the staff made it even more fascinating.

Morning News: Irena Sendler

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Farin under Uncategorized

Irena Sendler is a Catholic woman that saved 2,500 Jewish children during the Holocaust. She smuggled them from Warsaw’s ghetto; a ghetto is the poorest part of a city where the residents are lacking basic needs like food and health care. Every time she took one child she escaped death, because to help a Jew meant the person was risking summary execution (put to death). She helped create an underground network that ferried children in coffins, tool boxes, and under coats to non-Jewish families.

Irena Sendlerowa at the Social Security Office in Warsaw (circa 1949) Photo: ZGRZEMBSKA JANINA ARCHIWUM/EAST NEWS New York Post

When a Christian child died in an orphanage, Irena would give his or her name to a Jewish child. The key part was to never report the death. She would give the name and registry number so the child would be safe with a new identity. Irena then would write the original name down and bury it under an apple tree, so when the war was over the children could get their names back.

During the Holocaust the ghetto was surrounded by barbed wire and brick walls. Six to seven people lived in every room . Irena was working at the Citizens’ Social Aid Committee so with her job she was able to get in to the ghetto. Along with helping children get out, she created fake welfare accounts for Jewish families, because theirs were frozen. To make sure that the Germans didn’t go and visit the families, Irena added that they had contagious diseases.

After it was over Irena tried to find the buried names, but no luck. The city was so destroyed that you couldn’t even find your own backyard. Instead, Irena had to remember the children’s names so she can give them to the families abroad.

Overall Irena Sendler didn’t just save the 2,500 children, she saved so many more, future generations to come.

Summer Reading

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Farin under — Summer Learning

Harry_Potter_and_the_Cursed_Child_Special_Rehearsal_Edition_Book_Cover

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child By: J.K Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Summer Reading

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Farin under — Summer Learning

Journal 3 By: Alex Hirsch

The Summer

Posted on September 3, 2016 by Farin under — Summer Learning

This summer…the summer of independence, I’ve learned a lot and got to try new experiences that I wouldn’t have if I was in the city. I got to fly to Texas, hike in flip flops, be a pizza chef, and see too many daddy long legs to count. I got to jump 2 feet on a horse in LI, practice for show jumping (got champion overall XD), learn all about how to take care for horses, and make intrepid friends. I got to cook and bake, cookies, dumplings, and shrimp bisque. And… I was blessed with a new baby boy cousin and had a stupendous time bonding with my grandma. This summer was so far the best I ever had.

Here are times where I saw growth in myself (and humor):

Messing up badly with horse cookies (the batch turned out to feel like soggy fruit leather) and still persuading Molly (my horse for the summer) to eat them. This was my first experience taking the lead chef position while my mom stood back and watched. I got to learn about my mistakes and was able to fix them myself. The next time the cookies were a whole world better!

Those are my second try on the cookies, looks tasty!

Getting a second degree burn and being able to use my first aid knowledge to help (and the doctor’s wisdom too). I was able to keep calm and be brave while the pain was intense. I had to take responsibility and chose to take of it myself and not rely on others. If you don’t want to see something gnarly, skip this part.

This is my burn when it popped, eww.

I set goals for the summer. One was jumping a full 2 foot course. I surpassed that challenge. My trainer and support from all my friends at the barn gave me motivation. I felt confident because I knew I was working hard. I needed to have a lot of perseverance and not to give up. Because of this they are recommending that I compete in show jumping starting October.

This me jumping a 1’9-2’0 foot elevated oxer. An elevated oxer is when 2 jumps are put together but 1 jump is higher than the other.

My grandma and I learned a lot this summer. I learned what’s it like to be away from home for a long time. And I taught her how to boil water, and make pasta. But most importantly we learned about each other. We were roomies, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Those are my crazy highlights of my incredible summer, and I can’t wait to have an even better summer next year.

Barn Life

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Farin under — Summer Learning

Getting up in the early morning to go see a stable full of lively horses is a spectacular experience for any equestrian. Luckily I get to do just that. Walking in at 8:30 am to my favorite smell of horse sweat and poop, it’s quiet but not for long. My sneakers bounce against the concrete floor and I smile at the familiar views. The light peers in from the many windows in every stall, empty for now. After the never ending walk to the back of barn, I unlock my musty box. (My grandma couldn’t stand all the cobwebs and dirt so she had to clean it; although the dirt and spiders create a mystique not any ordinary barn could have.)

It’s time to get started… lugging my saddle, saddle pad, and bridle to the wash stall. Then to wait with my boots and chaps on till 9:00 am to get Molly, my horse for the summer.

Walking to Molly’s pasture where, she, Destiny, Sassy, and Scorpion hang. The hot sun beating on my back, dirt kicking up covering my boots. Swinging my lead rope back and forth, hitting my legs. Opening the rusted gate and looking inside. Molly comes running towards me as I run to her… nope, that’s not exactly what happens. I walk all the way to the back of the humongous pasture only to have her walk two steps forward. Making me do all the hard work.

Scorpion far left. Center of the pasture, Molly to the left of Sassy and Destiny to the right.

Time to ride! In the beginning of the summer I set out to jump a full 2 foot course, only had enough power to jump cross-rails throughout the year. But with perseverance and getting up with a smile I got somewhere. Jumper turns, elevated 1’9- 2 feet oxers, a full 2 feet course, and sooner than later a flying lead change. That’s what I achieved by devoting my whole summer to riding this one horse, working hard and learning something. And now, I am going to keep it up with all the challenges I might face and to eventually jump 4 feet.

This is me jumping 1’9

Me jumping 2 foot

Me jumping a 1’9 oxer