MJBR -- Blogmeister

Should we continue to celebrate Columbus Day?
By: MJBR Green

On the second Monday in October of every year we celebrate a holiday called Columbus Day. Columbus Day is a day where we celebrate Christopher Columbus' journey across the Atlantic Ocean and landing in America. And if you asked most people why we celebrate they would say just that, but really we're celebrating a guy who wasn't supposed to land in America but landed there by accident. Most people believe Columbus landed in the United States, which he didn't. And he definitely wasn't the first.

Actually the first people to land in the United States somewhere around Maine were the Vikings. But there are more reasons why I don't think we should celebrate it. My first reason is the technology he brought. Yes he brought many new technologies like the wheel and horses that would help the native people, but another technology he brought was the gun. Most people don't know that Columbus killed most of the native people, tortured them, and even enslaved them and brought them back to Spain. This act started to influence more people in Europe that they could use more slaves to do their work.

Columbus did start a new age of exploration but there was not a good outcome for the natives. So therefore my Second reason is in this new age he wasted natural resources in new lands and spread more and more diseases to innocent Native Americans. Yes what you may not know is when Columbus and other explorers landed in America they may not have known it but they spread tons of diseases from Europe to the natives. They knocked down tons of trees because they thought if this land is not being cut down then it was being wasted. So therefore they decided to cut down tons of trees in the new world and used them to build ships and other thins back in Spain. Not only did he cut down any trees but he cut down trees in Native American territory and took away all their land.

My third reason is Christopher Columbus brought a new age of war. This new age of war started ever since Christopher Columbus landed in the new world because he started fighting with the natives. And as I said before Columbus also sparked a new age of exploration which influenced other explorers to sail over to the new world. And when the other explorers got over here they started more wars and taking more native people for slaves. This act of explorers and natives fighting for land and resources lasted for a 300 year period. So ever since Columbus discovered the new world there have been many wars taken place between tribes and countries over land and resources.

So now you can see I do not think we should continue to celebrate Columbus Day for those reasons. You might not think so too but I just think we shouldn’t celebrate it. Why should we celebrate someone who wasted natural resources, enslaved the natives, and started a whole 300 year period of war? And he wasn’t even supposed to land there but landed there by accident and he caused a lot of suffering for the natives. Imagine what he might of done to the people of the west indies where he was supposed to land. Well I hope my reasons helped to give you enough background on why we should not continue to celebrate Columbus day.

Stock Market Essay

My favorite companies in the stock market are The Cheesecake Factory, The Smucker's Company, and Yahoo! Inc. I chose these companies for my stocks not only because I love the foods the produce, but also because I know they do pretty well with their business'. I know the Cheesecake factory does good business because they sell a lot of cheesecakes around the holidays and there are a lot of restaurants. I know the Smucker's Company is a good company because it has been around for a long time and people use jelly almost every day as a spread on food. And also I know Yahoo! Inc. is a pretty good company because people use it every day to help find things they need on the web, just like Google, so I thought it must make good money.

I love the stocks I bought and they have done really well in the market but in the future I think I would make some changes. The changes I might make now that I know everything that has happened would be to not invest in Yahoo! Inc. I say this because after 24 weeks of investing in yahoo it has only stayed around $15 and hasn't helped me as much as I thought it would. Another change I might have made would be to buy more shares for Smucker's company because it turned out Smucker's was the best stock of all 3. And I Think my last change would be to add Disney as a stock. I would wanxt to do this because I already know Disney is a very successful company and I love Disney world, but I did not invest in it this year because a lot of other people already bought it and I wanted something different.

I really like doing this project but it was hard to pick the 3 companies I would invest in.But to help me decide on what companies I would pick was by thinking of the places I like to go and things I like to eat or buy. That's how I decided I would invest in The Cheesecake factory and the Smucker's company because I love their food. And I chose yahoo! Inc. because the name makes me happy and I know it should probably do well in the market because it helps people find things they need everyday. Also if you liked playing video games or something like that you enjoy doing, you could invest in the company that makes those games. I really enjoyed this project and I think next time, if we do this again, I will choose other companies that make foods I like, and other products I enjoy. :)

This earth day my grade and I made a webcast, talking all about the earth and ways to save it. It was a lot of fun because we got to talk all about what we learned to people all around the country! Some of the things we talked about in our webcast were recycling, is it good? or bad? We learned that recycling is very good but we're gonna need a new way of disposing trash and other things that can't be recycled. This solution is composting. Composting is a way we can dispose of trash by putting the trash in a composting bin, churning it up, and then it turns to dirt so we can start the cycle all over again. We also talked a lot about landfills and if they're good for the environment or not. And it turns out they are not very good for the environment because its a whole lot of trash just sitting in land which gives off toxic fumes, and they only last up to 40 years. We learned all this information and more from Mrs. Anderson who was a lady who came into our class room once a week for 3 weeks and talked to us about ways people are destroying the earth and how we can help. The 1st week she came she brought some other guys from a recycling committee too who helped us identify what things in our lunch trash bin we could compost, recycle, or put in a landfill.

The Higgins Armory Museum Essay

By: MJBR Green

The Higgins armory museum was founded by John Woodman Higgins in 1929 and is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Museum is four stories high and is made to look like the Gothic style from medieval times. It is home to weapons and armor from medieval and renaissance Europe, Japan, and ancient Rome and Greece. At the Higgins armory museum, there are over 3,000 pieces of armor and 1,000 weapons from Europe. The museum holds about 1,000 pieces of African, Islamic, Indian, and Japanese defense weapons and arms. They have full sets of armor and weapons from the fall of Rome to the 1600's. The Higgins armory museum has armor from three periods: combat, parade, and tournament.

The 1st period of armor was combat. The armor in this period was mainly used for fighting with swords and daggers, and was also used to defend the knights against these weapons. The armor used during the combat period was very strong and smooth with good flexibility which was good for deflecting weapons. The armor was light and weighed around 45-70 lbs, and was also easy to walk, run, and ride horses in. There was a long thin slit at the top of the helmet that was used for seeing your opponent and also to avoid getting stabbed in the eye with a sword. The only problem with this armor was it was very loud when the knights ran so it wasn't the best type of armor for hiding from your enemies. And over the period of time when combat armor was popular they kept trying to make new ways knights could wear more and more armor while being able to move easily.

The 2nd period of armor was parade. The armor people wore in this period was mostly worn at events and parties then in battle. This armor is heavily decorated and weighs around 30-80 lbs, plus it's not as thick and strong as the combat armor so it can't really protect knights from weapons. Knights also didn't wear this in battle because it was very hard to move in and see out of, and also it felt awkward to wear because of how weak it was. But this type of armor was good for parades and parties because they wore cool and funny masks of mythical characters for showing off. Also this armor was for mostly the rich people because of how expensive and formal it was, so this armor was basically only for showing off how much money you had. And not only knights were wearing parade armor but kids and even dogs were too; for the same reason to show how much money you had. But this period of armor didn't last as long as the combat or tournament armor.

The 3rd period of armor was tournament. In this period of armor people were no longer wearing armor in battle or armor for parades, but instead wearing armor for jousting. Unlike the combat armor which is very light this armor is much much heavier and weighs 80lbs and more, so it is very hard to move in. The reason it's so hard to move in is because it is very thick to protect the left side of the knight's torso and is used mostly for defensive purposes. But it is also used for jousting which is an event where two knights ride on horses and try to knock each other off with long lances. The armor worn in the jousting is made of hard steel to protect the knights from getting knocked off by lances. And the helmets used in jousting are almost closed so it's hard for the knights to see anything, plus its hard to breathe. So the tournament armor is good for jousting and other events but not for sword battles.

So now you can see the historic development of Armor during the combat, parade, and tournament periods. It started off with just a barrel helmet and some chain mail for protection and then knights added more and more armor to protect their elbows, knees, and legs. And then came the parade armor which was more decorative and rounded instead of sharp with funny helmets and masks to show off. And then comes much heavier armor for events and tournaments and used more defensively than battle armor. And the cycle of armor and protection today is almost the same because in World War 1 we wore battle armor again like helmets and chest protection and then in the Vietnam War we wore full body protection because we had powerful guns that without protection on your body would kill you. And now we are having less armor again besides maybe a bulletproof jacket and a helmet because the technology is changing so we'll either wear less or more protection. But no matter if we wear less or more protection from the 1400's to now, armor is going to be a very important part in battle, parades and events, and tournaments.

Higgins Museum Essay

Evaluation

3 -- Outstanding 2 -- Ok, but could use some improvement 1-- Needed improvement 0 --- Missing

Introduction

3 Gave the reader background and general information about the museum --- set the scene.

2 Transitions to the body of the essay. (Three things that can be learned by a visit to the museum)

Body

3 Three topics were addressed, each with its own paragraph

2 Topics were clearly explained and used researched supporting details & vocabulary

Conclusion

1 Restated topic --- What can be learned at the museum?

1 Brought closure to essay (Summed up essay)

Structure

2 Essay format followed the directions for assignment

3 Spelling

3 Capitalization (Used correct capitalization)

Comments: Excellent supporting details & explainations; you could have used more researched vocabulary. Good job setting the scene in the introduction, but you could have been clearer in the transistion (What can be learned at the museum). You don't have a conclusion to the essay. The last paragraph has new topic and doesn't address at all the topic of the essay - (What can be learned at the Higgin's Museum).

Grade

Romans in Scotland Essay

Hello my name is Brookeius Mattheius and i am the wife of a roman soldier. I am going to be telling you about the Lifestyle in a Roman fort and what they wear, and also what the Caledonians wear and their lifestyle. My husband has been sending me letters about all of these customs they have to get used too. And hes says that there'a a big differnece between the Roman fort and the Caledonian village so I will also tell you about these differences, they are very interesting.

First let's talk about my husband and all of the roman soldiers and their fort and what they wear in battle. A Roman fort usually has a Commanders House which is where the commander lives with his family, it is built around a courtyard and has its own baths, kitchens, and underground heating. There are also Baths where they take hot and cold showers and some even sweat in saunas. There are also the Barracks where my husband and the soldiers live. He said there are 20 rooms in a block with 4 men and there is also a common room where they play games and keep all of their belongings. The craftsmen, blacksmiths, and butchers need a place too and this place is the workshops. In the workshops they keep fresh meat, weapons and armour. They also have carpenters and plumbers who build tents buildings and bags. Then there is the main building the head quarters where he said him and the others had to say an oath to the emperor who makes speeches and punishments. But the fort isnt the only thing about the roman soldiers its also their uniforms. They wear metal armour to protect their chest, and a warm waterproof cloak to put over it. They also wear helmets made out of bronze and iron. Their weapons are 2 spears with a long iron point that when thrown would bend and not be able to be thrown back. They have a great offensive weapons but they also have great defensive weapons like the 4 ft. sheild made of wood and iron, and their thick leather shoes that help them get over tough terrain. But their belongings are kept in a kit bag which carries their equipment, food and building tools. Well this is what the roman soldiers wore and where they stay now let's see what the Caledonians wear and where they live.

Now let's talk about the Caledonian Village and what they wear for uniforms. The Caledonion Village is made up of houses, workshops, and herds of animals. The houses are round with peaked roofs, they have 2 floors where they cook, sleep, weave cloth, and tell stories about old and wise Caledonians. In the workshops they made tools out of metal that they would stick in a hot stove and then hammer out a mold. They made this molded metal into armour, helmets, and weapons. The herds of animals live outside of the village and are used mostly for food like goats, cows, pigs, and venison. But they also used the animal's bones and skin for things like building tools and leather. This is the Caledonian Village but that's only half they also wear a completely different uniform then the romans. Unlike the romans the Caledonians wear colorful woolen clothes insead of metal armour. My husband said they also wear a torc which was a copper necklace usually in a shape of a snake. He also said they have different shaped spears that were much longer and had sharp pointed tips like teeth that made a deep wound when it cut into one of his fellow roman soldiers. But like the romans they have big shields that protected not just their legs but their whole body and they are made out of leathercovered wood. He aslo said they would have designs of wild beasts on them.

Well as you can see the Roman forts and uniforms and the Caledonian Villages and uniforms are very different in style. From shorter spears that bend, to longer ones with spikes and smaller tougher shields to big mighty beasts, the Caledonians and the Romans are definately different people but have the same strengths and powers of a good civilization and culture.

All the colors of the rainbow may be white, but you light up my spectrum!

If a cumulonimbus cloud gives out rain than a cumuloheartus cloud gives out all my love for you!

Stars may not twinkle or fly but they're fallin' for ya!

If a Barometer could measure you there'd be good weather all around!

:) <3<3<3

Totally Exciting And Meaningful
(TEAM)

Fridays of 6th grade...ahhhh they were soooo much fun ya know why? Because we had TEAM!! But this year in 7th grade we don't have TEAM so fridays are pretty boring. That's why I want to have TEAM on fridays so we won't be bored and we can have fun. There are actually some good reasons why we should have TEAM, it's not just for having fun it's actually Team building activities ya know hence the TEAM?.

I think we should have TEAM because we will be interacting and working together with one another and express ideas on how to accomplish the game we might be playing. It can also bring up kids confidence when we play interactive games. And our classes are an hour on Friday so maybe if we shorten them to 45 minutes we would have room and enough time to do TEAM! And us students deserve some fun on Friday since we do a lot of work every day of the week!!!

TEAM would also help to get our energy out and will help us to focus on the activity we would be doing. And most kids are not in the same classes as their friends so when we have TEAM with the whole grade you can interact and work together and have fun with your friends. Also instead of fooling around in class we could fool around, have fun, and socialize with our friends. We may even talk with people we don't usually talk to. TEAM can also help by using new strategies that you can use in your every day life.

Some of the activities we did in TEAM were capture the flag which was really fun and we were all working together to try and get the flag. Another activity was a game where we would all put our shoes in a big pile and then we would get in groups and we would have a race, you have to have all of your teammates run and put on their shoes and tie them and if you were the first group done you would win!
But we didn't always do games, we also did stuff like scavenger hunts. We did a scavenger hunt where we were in a group and we had to look up all these different things on the computer to answer the questions. We also did activities where you really had to use your brain to try and figure things out. One of those activities was when we had about 3 or 4 people in a group and they each held the end of a string and you would have to tie a knot without letting go of the string. I liked this one because we had to work together and use each others strategies.

I really loved TEAM! And I hope after my story you will be persuaded and allow us to have TEAM! Thank you for your time

Joe Flood taught us a lot of things about alcohol and drugs. But one thing I really thought was good and important to know was when he taught us about the 6 sort of lights you have in your brain. He showed us when there are 4 lights you are asleep when there are 3 you're sort of drunk. When there's 2, you're passed out and when there's 1, you are in a coma and then you most likely die. This all happens when you drink too much alcohol at a party. It's just like if you had one chip when there was a whole bag of them in front of you you have a craving for more. So even if you say you're only going to have one drink, you end up having like 3-4 because of your craving and then you could pass out and die...not good.

Then he taught us FACTS which stood for Family Age Craving Tolerance Surroundings. Family for checking your family background to see if you have any alcoholism in your family. Age for being the right age over 21 to drink. Craving as your craving for alcohol just like the bag of chips. Tolerance for tolerating how much you drink. Surroundings for your friends and every day life that's surrounding you.

Joe Flood was really good and made me really understand alcohol and what could happen when you drink under age and drink too much. Thank you!!