From looking at library websites on the Internet, I have found the favourite books of teens around the world. When I looked at the Toronto Public Library Website, I found that a favourite book of teens is "Potential: The High School Chronicals of Ariel Schrag" by Ariel Schrag. On the New York Public Library website, many teens recommended the book "Waiting For Normal" by Leslie Connor. In Vancouver, many teens are reading the "Twilight" series, by Stephanie Meyer. I think that this is interesting because it is also very popular here. In Sydney, Australia, a well regarded book that won an Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature was "Two Pearls of Wisdom" by Alison Goodman. In London, many teenagers are reading is a book called "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor. The city in Asia that I chose to find out what kids were reading there was Tokyo. I learned that many teens loved the book Saiyuki Gaden, a manga book. I think that this is cool because the influence that Japan has on us has made manga books popular here. The city that I chose in Europe was Rome, Italy. I learned that the teens there love the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling as well. The city in South America that I chose was Sao Paulo. I learned that the kids there like to read English books that have been translated. I learned that they read The Gossip Girl series.

If I were one of the Mohawk people during the time of the Oka crisis, I think that I would responded the way they did by making a barricade.  I would have done this because it was a very effective way of spreading a message because the army was not able to do anything about it. With regards to violence, I think that I would have only shot back if the army shot their guns and teargas at me, which was what the Mohawks policy was anyhow. I would not have brought in the warriors as quickly ass they did because they only caused the problem to flare up and make the people of Quebec angrier. I would have been very angry if I was one of the Mohawks who had the government fire me from my job for the government just because I was part of the barricade. I would have also been very mad that all the shitments of food and supplies were tampered with or shut down completely from coming.  Overall, I would have been that the people of Quebec wanted to take away our sacred cemetery. I would have done what the Mohawk people did just with a little less violence.

Blood diamonds are diamonds that come from areas that are controlled by rebels who are against the government. Some of the countries that have blood diamonds include Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia, Ivory Coast, the Republic of Congo and The Democratic Republic of Congo. In this essay, I am going to talk about the civil war caused by blood diamonds in Sierra Leone, the effect they have had on the people living there and my opinion of them.

From watching Blood Diamond and reading Chanda's Secret, I have found many similar aspects in them.  Chanda's Secret is a book that we read for novel studies, written by Allan Stratton.  It takes place in Africa, in a made up city called Bonang.  The main charecter is a girl named Chanda.  Blood Diamond is a movie, nominated for five Academy Awards.  The movie stars Leonardo diCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Housou.  The movie takes place in Sierra Leone and is about Blood Diamonds.  In this essay I will talk about each of these individually then compare their similarities and differences.

 Chanda's Secret is a book that takes place in a made up place called Bonang, Africa. It is about a girl named Chanda. Her first father and her two older brothers died in a mine while working. Her mother then marries a man named Isaac Pheto. Her mom and him have Iris together, but her mom leaves him when she finds him raping Chanda.  They do not have anywhere to go until Ms. Tafa, a woman who also lost her husband in the mine says they can stay at her house.  They live at her house for a while, until mama marries Mr. Dube, a hairdresser who lives next to Ms. Tafa.  He treats them very well and they have Chanda's brother Soly together, but one night he has a stroke and dies.  Chanda's mom then marries Jonah.  Together they have Sara, but she dies at a very young age.  Jonah is always drunk and cheating on mama.  Mama becomes very sick and although Chanda refuses to admit it because she is ashamed, she know her mom has AIDS.  Chanda's best friend Esther is a prostitute and ends up with AIDS from it. Many deaths take place but it is all part of everyday life their.  Throughout the book, shame, AIDS, death and prostitution are all common. 

Blood Diamond is movie that takes place in Sierra Leone during the 1999 civil war between the government and the rebels.  The movie starts with the RJF invading a small village and capturing and killing many people including SolomonVandy, who is forced to work in the mines searching for dimonds. His son Dia is also taken, being forced to be a child soldier.  While Solomon is working in the mine, he finds a huge diamond, which he manages to sneak out and hide in the ground, but while doing it his commander sees him.  Luckily at that moment the government launches an attack and Solomon and his commander are taken to a jail in Freetown.  At the jail, Danny Archer(Leonardo DiCaprio) a white-African who trades weapons for diamonds hears about the big diamond Solomon found and wants to find it because he thinks it will be his ticket out of Africa.  The movie is about him and Solomon trying to find the stone and Solomon trying to find his son. 

The movie and the book are similar in many ways, but also very different.  For example, in both book and movie, death is a common thing.  Chanda's father and two brothers both died in mines trying to get diamonds for wealthy people in the Western world. In both, people are ashamed of AIDS. For example, in Chanda's Secret, people will shun you if you have AIDS and people make up how there relatives died.  In Blood Diamond, this is the same when the prostitute is trying to sell herself to Danny and one of the first things she says is that she does not have AIDS.  This is because she is ashamed.  Another common thing is that there are prostitutes in both.  In Chanda's Secret, Esther is a prostitute and in Blood Diamond, the girls that are outside of the hotel that Danny  is staying at are prostitutes.  Something different about the two is that in Chanda's Secret, there is a lot less gun violence than in Blood Diamond.  The majority of the deaths are from health issues. One final similarty in the two is that globalization has caused a negative effect.  In Blood Diamond this is the case because if it was not for people in the Western world, this whole civil war would not have started and all the people that died would still be alive.  In Chanda's Secret this is the case because there would not be the need for the diamond mines and Chanda's father and brothers and many other people would not have died that way,

Overall, there are many similarities and differences in each, a lot of them being things that have a negative effect on the people there.  I think that a lot of the outcomes are caused by globalization. 

Throughout Chanda's Secret, there are many symbols. To me, symbolism means something that represents another thing without directly saying so.  I am going to give some examples of symbolism in the book Chanda's Secret.  one example is when Chanda asks Esther how she knows that every man cheats on his wife at one point or another in their life.  Esther just winks and says she knows.  This is because Esther knows that they cheat on their wives because she cheats with them.  Another example of symbolism in the book is when the stork comes.  This is symbolism because the stork represents good luck.  I think that the author chose to add this part because where Chanda lives, many people believe in spirit doctors and other good and bad luck symbols.  Having the stork in the book turned an ordinary animal into something more important.  Another example of symbolism in the book is with Sara's death. The author never directly comes out and says that she died of AIDS, but with many clues in the book, one can draw the conclusion that AIDS killed her.  There are many other symbols in the book that represent things that help you get a better understanding of the book.  Overall, symbolism in Chanda's Secret is very helpful.

The journalist that I chose to talk about is Roy MacGregor. He is a writer for the Globe and Mail and often writes about hockey although he also writes about news that is happening in Canada. Roy MacGregor has also written a series of childrens novels called the Screech Owls. They are about these boys on a hockey team, who go to hockey tournaments and always come across a mystery to solve. Roy MacGregor puts humour into his writing and still manages to be a great writer. He has been able to write for all ages, with the Screech Owls series being for younger kids, while his articles about hockey in the paper tend to be targeted at older children and adults. His articles about news taking place in Canada are aimed mostly at older people. Overall, Roy MacGregor is a great writer and I really enjoy reading his articles.  

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a great book written by John Boyne.  The book takes place during the Holocaust in Germany.  It is about a boy named Bruno who is nine years old, who comes home one day from school to find his maid, Maria packing his bags.  He finds out that his father has been assigned to move for his job.  Bruno does not know what his father does, except that he is a very important man, and according to his mother, "someone to be afraid of."  Bruno hates his new house.  It has only three floors, unlike their old house which was five floors.  There are always unfriendly soldiers in their house and he would much prefer to be back in Berlin and there are no kids to play with.  From looking out of his window he can see many people walking around in what looks to be like striped pajamas.  Whenever he asks his dad who they are, he ignores the question and says that in time he will learn.  You figure out that Bruno's father is the person who watches over this concentration camp.  One day though, Bruno cannot take it any more.  He walks to the fence and sees a boy who turns out to be his age.  His name is Shmuel.  Bruno and Shmuel begin to meet secretly everyday.  They become best friends, and Bruno brings Shmuel food and they sit on separate sides of the fence and talk.  The book is really good and I would recommend it.  I like the fact that it is written from the point of view of a nine year old that does not care that the two of them are supposed to hate each other and they are on different sides in the war.  Overall, I would give it a 9/10.

On Friday, January 23, the Leaside Wildcats played the Willowdale Redwings.  The last time these two teams played Willowdale won 4-1, but they controlled the game.  Their whole team is a year older than Leaside.  But this game, Willowdale did not dominate, in fact both teams had many chances to score and it was end to end.  Part way throug the first period, Willowdale, took the lead 1-0.  With thirteen seconds, a girl on their team took a great shot and scored.  In the second period, Leaside started out by scoring a goal.  Unfortunately, the referees were aweful at refereeing and did not see the puck go in the net.  A few minutes later, the girl who got the second goal for Willowdale, scored again, allowing them to take the lead 3-0.  The period finished with a goal by Willowdale, but a  the referees called it back because one of their players was in the crease.  The third period had many penalties and a lot of chances for both teams.  Leaside got a goal and kept Willowdale at three goals.  With one second left, with Leaside's goalie pulled, they got another goal.  For the second time that game, the refs did not allow it.  The final score was 3-1 for Willowdale.  Hopefully at their next game against each other they will have half-decent referees, unlike that game.  Leaside plays again tommorow against Brampton and Willowdale plays Brampton on Sunday.  Overall, the game was exciting.  We will have to wait and see to know what the outcome will be when they face off again on February 6.         

This week our school went to Northern and North Toronto to see our choices for high school.  I thought that the tour at North Toronto was okay, but I would have preferred if they had showed us more classes than they did.  Our group only went to the art room, the Latin room, the history class and the auditorium.  I thought that it would have been much better if we had spent less time in each class, but instead, we would have the chance to go to more classes.  I also think that instead of doing an activity in the classes, it would have had a greater affect on me if the teacher explained what we did in each of the classes, especially the courses that we do not have at Deer Park.  I think it will be nice to be one of the first grades to be in the new building if I go there.  I liked the size of the school and I thought that the buddies and teachers seemed nice.  I thought that the tour at Northern was very good.  I thought that it was well organized and that it was much better than the one at North Toronto.  I liked the fact that we went to more classes than we did at North Toronto and I liked that in the classes, we did not do an activity but instead the teachers talked about what we do in the class.  I thought that the tour was very worthwhile and it made think about going to Northern more than I was thinking about going before.  I went into both the tours with the likelihood of going to North Toronto, far greater than Northern.  I came out of the tours not knowing which school I wanted to go to.  I liked both the schools and I know people at both of them that really like it there.  I think that it will be a really hard decision to make.   

5. In twenty years, I will be… 

In twenty years, I think I will be living somewhere in Europe, maybe in France or Italy. I would like it to only be my part time home because I think it would be a rewarding job and a great experience to work for World Vision or United Nations, helping people in less fortunate places. It would give me a chance to make an impact on people in third world countries and I would like the chance to do something that makes other peoples lives better, while making me more grateful for mine. I think I will be married and have one kid and maybe have another one coming. If I lived in Italy I would live in Bolzano, by my family, or in Cinque Terre by the ocean. I would also like to be fluent in Italian, but also German because it is by the Austrian border. I think that if I moved to Europe it would be nice to experience a different culture and meet new people. Those are some ideas of what I would like to be doing in twenty years from now. I hope you enjoyed reading this. 

I hope you like looking at my glog. Click on this link to get to it. http://nicoletaylor.glogster.com/glog-837/ 

 This coming week our class has a lot of things.  This Monday we have our confederation raps due. I am in a group with Anthony, Toby, Gaetan, Sooho and Sebastian. We did our rap to the song Hotel California. I am excited to see everyone else’s raps. On Monday I am also presenting my photo essay which I am doing on North Korea.  We also have our class party.  I am very excited for it.  We are doing Secret Santa and ordering pizza. It will be a fun way to end before the holidays.  I cannot wait for it to be Christmas. I need to do a bit more shopping for presents for people but otherwise I am ready. I hope it snows and I can toboggan, go skiing and go to the outdoor hockey arena Hodgson. I hope it is a good break and I can relax, but I am sure it will go by way to quickly.    

This weekend I have hockey twice.  On Saturday I have a hockey practice and on Sunday I have a hockey game against Aurora.  We have played them before but we lost and played one of our worst games of the season.  Today my sister Kate, turned 11.  She is in grade 6.  For my sisters birthday dinner, she wanted to go out for sushi, so we are going to this restaurant called Fukui Sushi on Bayview.  It is a very good restaurant and I really like going to it, so I am glad my sister chose it.  We have gone there a lot before and last week while I was at a hockey tournament she got to go again, but she really likes it so she wanted to go even though she went last week.  This weekend I am the most excited that I get to sleep in because lately I have been really tired and have felt like I am going to fall asleep in class.  I have had to wake up early almost every morning the past few weeks and even last weekend because I had two early hockey games.  I plan on going to bed really early and waking up very late so I can catch up on sleep.  Hopefully I will be well rested by Monday.           

Last weekend I had a hockey tournament.  It was in Kanata, a suburb outside of Ottawa.  My team and I left on our bus on Thursday and got there at around 8:00.  That night we just stayed around our hotel and got chased and yelled at by a security guard from the hotel. There were 12 teams in our age and level group. On Friday, we had two games.  In our first game, we played well, but lost 4-0, to Burlington, a team that is mostly made up of girls a year older than us, because we have two ages in each age group in girl’s hockey, and I am in Bantam, so there are kids in grade 8 and grade 9 and our whole team is grade 8. In the game, two of our players were already hurt so they were just watching and in the second period, two more players were hurt and unable to play so we had a very short bench. In between our first and second game, we had a lot of time so we went to Kelsey’s, but because we still had 4 more hours until our game even after we had eaten, we went shopping in this little mall where the Kelsey’s was. The mall was terrible and only had Winners, Wal-Mart, Roots, Jacob and a few other stores. The second game we played really badly and got killed by Nepean.  That night we went back to the hotel and because our game the next morning was early, we had to bed at 11:30. On Saturday we had a game against Kanata, the home team. Even though we lost by a lot, we played a good game. That afternoon, after a quick lunch, we headed back to the rink. Even though we had lost all our games, we had a chance to make it to the consolation round which was made up of the teams in 6-12 place. We won our game 3-0 and I scored the first goal. It was against a team called Lac St. Louis in Quebec. It allowed us to move on to the consolation finals. The rest of that day, our team hung out around the hotel. The next day, we had a game against the other Lac St. Louis team. We were losing 2-0, midway through the second period, but after two strong shifts, we scored 3 goals to go ahead 3-2. We won the game 3-2 and we played a good game. After a long bus ride home, we got back to Toronto, happy with the weekends outcome.  Of the three teams that we played in our first round, Burlington and Nepean made it to the finals and Kanata came third.     

I like living in a country that has capitalism because I think that it is only fair that everyone has the right to earn things and make money based on their job and not have it taken away by the government. I feel this way, because everyone in Canada has a chance to make money, so it is reasonable that if somebody is working much harder, they should get more than someone that does not work as hard. If you live in a country that has communism and you were making a lot more money than many people, you would feel ripped off having your money taken from you and if you were poor, you would feel guilty for taking other peoples hard earned money away from them. I would also hate having the leader of the communist country that I lived in, taking my money. I would not like having a dictator because I would find it unfair that they would be making a lot of money for not doing very much and I would be working very hard and making less than them if I was lower class. For those reasons I would not like living in a communist country or a country with a dictator.  

If I were to migrate to a certain place in the world, I would go to Bolzano, Italy. I would go there because I really have liked the area that it is in, the past times that I have been there. I like it because it is in the Dolomites and it is in Italy, and I really like Italy. I would also be closer to some of my family members because some of my family lives there.  I would like the adventure and the change of culture.  I would also like the challenge of learning a new language.  I would learn Italian because I would be in Italy, but I would also learn German because in there schools there they learn English and German as well as Italian. I would only want to stay there for a year though, because I would miss my friends and family. I would also miss Toronto. I think it would be a good experience to go there and learn a new language and be a part of a different culture.  The picture is off the Dolomites in Bolzano. 

This weekend, I have a hockey tournament. It is in Kanata, a suburb by Ottawa. Our team is taking a team bus there, which will take about 5 hours to get to Kanata. We are leaving Thursday at 2:30. I am very excited. We are playing Burlington, Nepean and Kanata. If we do well, we will advance and play a team from the other division.  There are twelve teams in our age group. We have played all three teams in previous years, and usually have good games against them so hopefully we will again this year.  My dad is one of our coaches, but he cannot come because he has to go away for work and my mom has to stay with my sister, so one of my friends on my team and I are sharing a room.  I am really excited because I will be able to hang out with my teammates the whole weekend.  I also really like playing in away tournaments because it is fun to stay in a hotel with everyone. Hopefully we will do well and make it to the finals, but if not, I know it will still be fun.

On Halloween, Sarah, Claire, Belinda and I were sailors.  In the afternoon at school, we had a dance. After school, we went home and got ready for the night.  I was really happy because it was so warm out. Eve, Claire, Sarah, Belinda and I went trick-or-treating until 8:00, and then we went back to Belinda’s house. At Belinda’s house, we watched TV, and then we went to a party across the street. It was fun. After we went back to Belinda's house and hung out, but Eve had to leave. I went home at 12:30. I was tired so I went to bed right away. The next day, Sarah, Belinda and I went shopping on the Danforth. I did not get anything but they got nail polish and Belinda got her mom a birthday present. After, I had a hockey game in Markham, which we won 2-0.  Today I have a hockey game in Mississauga.  It was an exciting weekend, but busy too.

I just finished reading the book Lovely Bones and I really liked it.  It was about a teenaged girl named Susie, who is raped and murdered, by a neighbour named Mr. Harvey, in the middle of a cornfield.  She goes up to heaven, where she can look down at all the people still living on earth.  Her family meanwhile is struggling to live without her. Her mom is on the verge of leaving and cannot even think about her daughter and starts to have an affair with the detective in charge of their case.  Her dad is convinced that Mr. Harvey killed his daughter, even though he did and when he tells the police cannot find anything suspicious. Lindsay, Susie’s 13 year old sister, is being very brave and her 3 year old brother is trying to figure out where Susie went, without knowing the meaning of death. It is a very sad book, but I really liked it. I would recommend.   

Paragraph from: A Thousand Splendid Suns- Pg. 168-By Khaled Hosseini

Leila waited up, all night hoping that she would hear good news.  Her best friend, Tariq, was in the hospital.  He was like a brother to her.  They spent every minute of every day together, since they were 3, when they had first met.  They were now 16.  Leila and Tariq lived in a town called Kabul, in Afghanistan.  It was becoming more and more dangerous to live where they did, with the war happening.  Tariq had already lost a leg to it.  It had been midday and Leila was in her house.  She had heard a big explosion and looked out to see Tariq, hit by a gunshot, in a pile of debris.  He was bleeding and in pain.  Leila ran to the yard to help him.  All Leila heard were the other gunshots going on around her.  She did not care if she got hurt, as long as Tariq was okay.   

He had been rushed to the hospital, only to find out that he would only be treated at a different hospital on the other side of Kabul.  Once he got there, he stayed in the dirty waiting room for hours, until all the other patients with injuries just like his, had been treated.  He was in critical condition, but the nurse told Leila and Leila’s dad had to go and that they were not allowed to come visit him.  Only Tariq’s parents could stay.  She slowly left with her dad, mustering all the energy she had, for the long walk home.

The next day she awoke from an almost sleepless night, with an empty feeling in her stomach.  It pained her to think that Tariq could die.  She hated these evil people that had injured her friend.  She hated the people that had started this war.  Leila waited all day for news about him, but none came.  She prayed that he would be okay.  That night at dinner, she could not force herself to eat anything.  She just thought of Tariq.  She cried herself to bed, but even after lying down for hours, sleep did not come.  This continued for a painful week, eating very little, hardly sleeping and spending her time alone.

A week after the accident, a man came to the door.  He confirmed her fears.  Tariq was gone.  He was dead.  The funeral was to be held the next day, at his house.  After, his parents were leaving Afghanistan, for Pakistan, hoping to find a better life and forget their painful memories.

At the funeral, Leila tried to contain herself.  But as it went on, she could not hold her tears any longer.  She thought about all the good times they had together.  The time when Leila’s dad had taken them to a town north of Kabul.  How much fun they had going to see the latest movie at the theater in Kabul.  Their life before the war had started, when they were able to go wherever they wanted.  It made her miss him more than ever. 

Everyday, she forced herself to remember him.  It stung her to do it, but she was scared she might completely disregard him.  It was like an ongoing nightmare how much it scared her that she was beginning to forget him

With the passing of time, she would slowly tire of this exercise.  She would find it increasingly exhausting to conjure up, to dust off, and to resuscitate what was long dead.  There would become a day in fact, years later, when Leila would no longer bewail his loss.  Or not as relentlessly; not nearly.  There would become a day when the details of his face would begin to slip from memory’s grip, when overhearing a mother on the street call after her child by Tariq’s name would no longer cut her adrift.  She would not miss him as she did now, when the ache of his absence was her unremitting companion-like the phantom pain of an amputee.-Pg. 168-A Thousand Splendid Suns-Khaled Hosseini

When Leila had become an old woman, she still remembered Tariq, but instead of it being so sad to think of him, she found it joyful.  All the fun that they had together being no longer memories of missing him and tears, but she thought of it instead of all the good times and happiness.  She had long forgotten what he looked like, and she did not miss him as persistently as she used to, but she had new eyes for the tragedy.  She thought of him only with joy and was thankful for the years that they had shared together.  She would always remember him though, for the rest of her years.

Today I went to the Toronto FC game, with Claire and Katie.  Toronto was playing the Chicago Fire.  The game was very exciting and fun to be at. It was my second time going to a Toronto soccer game and it was just as fun as the first time.  It was very cold though, so we had to dress very warmly.  I had to wear many different layers.  At BMO field, they were giving away Toronto FC hats and Toronto FC scarves, which helped us to stay warm. Toronto won the game 3-2, which made it even better to be at. We had good seats that were near the Chicago goalie in the first half and the Toronto goalie in the second half. It was Toronto’s last home game, so the stands were filled and everyone was happy that they ended at home with a win. That was my experience at the Toronto FC game. I hope that  next year I will be able to go to another game.     

This week has been very busy for me.  On Tuesday, after the long-weekend, I woke up very early and had to go to hockey practice that started at 7:00. After school, I had basketball. The next day I had football twice and a basketball game. We won our game.  On Thursday, we had our second cross-country meet. I was very nervous for it, but finally it was time for my race.  By the end of it I was really tired.  But once my friends and I got back to school, we had to get ready for our basketball game.  Luckily we won. I was ready to go to bed by this point, but I had to go home, do some homework, than leave for hockey practice. By the end of the day I was exhausted. The next day though I had to wake up really early for football. By the time it the end of school, I was so excited for the weekend.

 I got this picture from the Toronto Star. The things that I say in this article are not true, so do not believe them.

This summer I went to Italy. While my family and I were there, we visited my cousins.  They live in Northern Italy in the Dolomites. The city that the live in is called Bolzano by Italians and Bozen by Germans. There are a lot of Germans because it is very close to the Austrian border. The first day my family and I got there we were tired and jet lagged, so we just stayed around my grandparents house which is right next door to 2 of my cousins and there families house. We also had dinner there. My sister, cousins and I slept at my grandparents and my parents slept at my cousin’s apartment.   

In this blog, I am going to describe to you this picture that you see of LeBron James.  But, I am only going to write an introduction and a conclusion and there is not going to be any details or body in it at all.

In this article, I am going to describe to you the picture of which LeBron James is in.  I am also going to explain to you how this picture got made and the reason it got banned by the Chinese government.  I am also going to tell you what is happening in the picture.

The past subject that I have just described make up the picture of LeBron James, the dragon, the lady and the two men.  The subjects that I described were, how and why it was made and by whom.  The reasons why the Chinese government banned it, what is happening in the picture and why it is called the "Chamber of Fear."  I have also told you about what it represents.  All those subjects that I just said, are what I talked about in the body of the essay and what make up the picture.

Sydney Crosby vs. Wayne Gretzky 

In this essay, I am going to compare two hockey players.  I will compare Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky and figure out their similarities and differences.  In the first paragraph, I will talk about Sidney Crosby.  In the second paragraph, I will write about Wayne Gretzky.  In the third paragraph, I am going to compare the two of them.

Sidney Crosby was born in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.  He is now 21 years old and is considered one of the best hockey players ever.  It is his third year in the NHL, playing all his years on the Pittsburgh Penguins.  He is number 87.  Sydney Crosby is known as “Sid the Kid” and plays center.  He was Pittsburgh’s number 1 pick and was 1^st overall in the draft.  Sidney Crosby is great at scoring goals, setting up plays and seeing the ice.  He has won the Art Ross Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Award and the Hart Memorial Trophy.  He was also the youngest player to come first in the scoring title and the youngest player to reach 100 points.  Crosby has also played in NHL all-star games.  Last year, Pittsburgh even made it to the Stanley Cup finals, losing to Detroit in game 6.  Overall, he is a great hockey player, and hopefully will continue playing well in this upcoming season.

Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1961.  He learned how to play hockey on his backyard rink, from his dad.  He played lacrosse and baseball as a kid, which he thinks helped his hockey skills.  In the NHL, he played for the Edmonton Oilers, from 1979-1988.  He also played for the St. Louis Blues and finished his career with the New York Rangers.  But from 1988-1996, he played on the Los Angeles Kings.  Wayne Gretzky won many awards and had many accomplishments, including 9 Hart Trophies, 5 Lady Byng Trophies, 10 Art Ross Trophies, 2 Conn Smythe Trophies and 5 Lester B. Pearson Awards.  He also led LA to the 1993 Stanley Cup final.  By the time he retired, he held 40 regular-season records, 6 all-star records and 15 playoff records.  As well, he is the only NHL hockey player to get more than 200 points in one season, of which he did 4 times.  He also won 4 Stanley Cups.  His number, 99, is the only number to be retired by all the teams in the NHL.  Gretzky had a talent for anticipating the play, where to go, his passes and his goal scoring ability.  He is now known as the “Great One.”  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame during 1999, becoming the 10^th player to not have to wait three years to be inducted.  Gretzky is now the coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.  He also coached the Canadian Olympic team.  Gretzky is considered the best hockey player ever and no one will likely ever break the amount of records that he did.

Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky both are and were great hockey players.  They both play center and shoot left.  Growing up, the two of them both started playing hockey at a very young age and were always practicing.  They have won many of the same awards, including the Hart Memorial Award, the Art Ross Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award.  Wayne Gretzky has won more trophies than Sidney Crosby, but had a longer career than the career of Sidney Crosby’s, so far.  Gretzky also won 4 Stanley Cups and Crosby has not yet won any.  As well, Gretzky is retired and played from 1979-1999, but Crosby is still playing and it is only his 4^th season.  Gretzky played a lot of his career on an American team and Sidney Crosby has spent his whole career so far, on an American team, even though they are both Canadian.  The both have good skills in puck movement, spotting open ice, scoring and getting assists.  As well, they are both widely known and are very famous.  As kids, both of them dominated the play in the leagues they played in, scoring more than 200 goals.  They both are great hockey players and will always be remembered for their amazing plays, their skills and their overall hockey knowledge. 

In conclusion to that essay, in the first paragraph I talked about Sidney Crosby, his accomplishments and his career and childhood.  In the second paragraph I talked about Wayne Gretzky and in the third paragraph I compared the two of them, finding their similarities and differences.  Overall, we can conclude that they are both great hockey players and they make such a big difference to their team.                        

Last week we had a very short week.  On Tuesday, we had picture day, which took up a lot of time.  We also had our school cross-country run on Thurday afternoon.  It took place in the ravine and at the reservoir.  All the grades, from 4-8, both boys and girls participated.  The girls went against girls, and the boys went against boys.  First the grade 4,5,6, girls went together, then the boys.  This continued until grade 8 girls, when it my turn to go.  It was only about 1 km, but there was a very long uphill, and you get to the top of it and you think you are done, but then you need to run up this steep hill to get into the actual park.  Luckily, the weather was warm and it was a fun afternoon.  

Our already short week, was even shorter because we had a P.A. Day on Friday.  My friends and I went shopping at the Eaton Center.  It was fun, but unfortunately I didn't buy anything.  When I got back that night, I had a hockey game.  We lost 2-0.  I was very tired, so I went to bed early to get ready for my soccer tournament the next day.  

I saw Sisterhood of the Travveling Pants.  I was really excited to see it, because I loved the books, and I thought the first movie was good.  But I was disappointed by the second movie.  It was not anything like the book and it combined the first, second and third books together.  It also missed a lot of important details.  As well, it was really long, and it dragged on. 

The movie is about four girls who are best friends and have been since they were born.  But in the summer, each girl goes seperate ways.  But they find these magical pants that fit all of them even though they are completly different sizes.  The pants are given to each of them for equal parts during the summer. 

Shy, quiet, Lena goes to art school, but once she gets there, she is horrified to find out that the model poses naked.  But she realizes shortly, that she really likes him, and the start going out.  But Kostos, her former boyfriend comes from Greece, just to see her, and she realizes that she likes him more.

Carmen stays at home and goes to drama school.  But then, a friend of hers, named Julia, finds her a job backstage in a play, while she acts in it.  But Carmen meets this guy, who convinces her to audition for it.  She gets the main role, but has to deal with Julia's jealousy. 

Tibby, goes and works at a vidio store, but she gets fired because she is not focused and is always being rude and moody to the costomers.  She also gets in a big fight with her boyfriend.  

Bridget, goes to Turkey for an archeological dig for skelotons.  But she leaves from Turkey early, when her guide teaches her a very important lesson.  She goes and visits her grandmother, from her dead mothers, side.  She has not seen her grandmother in a very long time, and didn't even know she existed until she found some letters from her in a box that her dad had hid.  Her grandma tells her more about her mother and why her dad didn't help her get better.  It helps Bridget fell closer to her mom.

The movie skipped very important details that happen during the book.  I would rate it a 6/10.    

I am reviewing a blog on a book called Pretty Little Liars.

The writer of the blog talks about how she picked up the book and though it would be like all the other teenage girl books.  About the rich, popular girls who steal each others boyfriends and get in fights with their best friends.  I  thought the same thing.

But it was not about that at all.  It is about four girls who were best friends until their other best friend, Ali, went missing at a sleepover, and has not been seen since. 

It is a couple years later, and Aria, one of the best friends, is returning from Iceland, and hates the thought of being back in the U.S.  Spencer, is playing field hockey and doing so many extra-curricular 
activities, just to live up to her older sister Melissa and her parents expectations.  Hanna, the used to be chubby, dork, is now 
slim and popular, and Emily, the state ranked swimmer, is on the 
verge of quitting, now that she has met the new girl Maya, and is falling in love with her.  But things start going wierd for the girls when they recieve haunting 
text messages and emails, talking about their biggest secrets.  The person sending the notes, signs it as A.  The scary thing is, the only person that knows the secrets is Ali, and she is suppossedly dead.  The girls all think that each one of them is the only one getting the weird texts.  They individually try to figure out who the sender of them is. 

The writer of the blog says that she was very happy with how different the book was.  I agree and was pleasantly surprised.  We both would recommend this book.

This Sunday, I did the Terry Fox run.  It was at Mooredale.  I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and by 7:45, my 3 friends and I were ready to go.  We biked down to Mooredale house, where we were volunteering.  When we got there, tents were set up and a bunch of volunteers were there, getting ready.  There was one with food, one with registration, one for people giving massages and one for the band that was playing. 

My friends and I started to help out with laying out the food, making sure the people that were starting the run knew where to sign in, cheering people on and giving out balloons to little kids.  There were people from a fitness club, that were there with various excercise equipment.  They were teaching people how to box, there was an obstacle course and some balancing equipment.  I really enjoyed doing boxing.  There was also lots of food.  A bakery sponsered, and a company gave lots of Mars bars, Snickers, Bounty chocolate bars and Twix.  There was also pizza, oranges and drinks.  It was very fun.

  At 11:00, me and one of my friends did the 10km bike ride.  It was a nice ride through Rosedale and Moore Park.  Once we got back to Mooredale house, the run was wrapping up.  It had turned into a sunny day, so we headed home by bike. The run was a huge success and raised around $30,000.  I was glad I was able to do the run and I can't wait to do it again next year.

One week ago, Monday, I was getting ready to go back to school.  I could not wait to see my friends, but I knew I would miss being able to sleep in, and hanging out all day.  I couldn't believe how quickly the summer went by.  It felt like just yesterday, it was the last day of grade 7.   

The next morning I had trouble getting out of bed so early.  My friends and I were leaving for school early, so we could talk to everyone.  It was fun to see everyone for the first time in a couple of months.  I also liked meeting all the new grade 7 students.  

But after going to homeroom class and getting our schedule, lockers and finding out about the school year, I started to wish that it was still summer and I was still asleep in bed.  The rest of the day passed by well.  

After a long day, I went home, exhausted, but ready for the upcoming school year.   

My name is Nicole. I am 13 years old, in grade 8, at Deer Park P.S.  I am going to tell you about my family, background and hobbies.                                      

There are 3 other people in the family I live with. My mom, my dad, and my 10 year old sister.  I am part Italian, Sri Lankan, Austrian, German, English,  Scottish and Canadian. Some of my hobbies are reading, being outside and  playing sports. My favourite sports are soccer and hockey. I especially love being with my friends.                                                                                                       

That is basically all that I can say about me and who I am. I have told you about my family and my background and where you would find me in my free time.