CSMA -- Blogmeister

1.Shiver- Maggie Stiefvater Romance/Comedy
2.Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac- Gabrielle Zevin Fiction
3.Elsewhere- Gabrielle Zevin Fantasy
4.The Great Wide Sea- M.H. Herlong Adventure
5.Twilight Saga- Stephanie Meyer Fiction/Romance
6.Losing Forever- Gayle Friesen Fiction
7.The Clique (series)- Lisi Harrison Fiction
8.The Chronicles of Vladimer Tod- Heather Brewer Fantasy
9.A Corner of the Universe- Ann Martin Fiction
10.Red Thread- Roderick Townley Historical Fiction
11.The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks- E. Lockhart Romance/Fiction
12.The Young Man and the Sea- Rodman Philbrick Realistic Fiction

Around the U.S.A, a day called Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October. On this day, people don't have to go to work or school, and there are many parades for celebration. The reason we celebrate Columbus Day is said to remember the time when an Italian man named Christopher Columbus sailed west to modern day North and South America. Some people believe that Columbus Day shouldn't be celebrated as a holiday, however, I think that Columbus Day should be celebrated for several reasons.

My first reason explaining why I believe Columbus Day should be celebrated is because it helped the natives to become less primitive, and introduced to the technologies of that time. Although, the natives probably wouldn't still be primitive, there is still a chance that they would be. In addition, if Columbus hadn't been the first European to sight the Americas, we, the Americans, probably wouldn't be settled here today. When Columbus saw America, he returned back to Europe to tell the other Europeans what he'd found. So, some Europeans who wanted to settle somewhere other than Europe were able to travel to the America's and settle there instead. Finally, because of Columbus helping the Europeans to settle here in the Americas, we use the Western European culture, democracy, personal liberties, rights, and equality in everyday life.

I believe that Columbus Day is an important holiday for Americans to study and to learn about just how they came to be here in America. If it weren't for him, we might not even be here. So I think that of course we should be celebrating one of the major people who helped us to be living here, and to be prospering as we are in everyday life. Columbus not only helped the original people living here, but helped the Europeans, or now Americans, in the location in which we live.

As I look down below the surface of the swaying wooden bridge, a sudden chill makes its way down my spine. A memory from my childhood days creeps it's way into my mind, making it one of those memories that are impossible to get rid of...
The booming of the thunder rattles my bones, the flash of lightning makes the hairs on the back of my neck stick straight up. One last glance, that's all it took, that one last glance of my father never left my brain. I turned for one second to look back at the swirling clouds above my head. Hearing a snapping sound and wood breaking made me whip my head around. Before I could say anything, the sound of the splashing of water filled my ears, and in that moment, I started preparing what I was going to say to my older sister when I returned home... alone. For I knew that one quick dip in that alligator- infested raging rapid below would take your life away, right before your eyes. Tears flooded my eyes and I tried not to remember of that one last glance I took of my father. One last glance, that's all it took, that one last glance of my father, in that water, never left my brain.
And so today, I am here, standing, on the same bridge, that took my father, away from me, forever. Should I cross it? Should I cross it, and fulfill my father's dream to be the first person in the world to ever cross a bridge connecting the two countries of USA and Mexico? My own life is at stake, just as my father's was, 30 years ago. Should I stay?

In math class, the companies stocks' I purchased were Apple (AAPL), Home Depot (HD), and Wal-mart (WMT) each for several reasons. When we were viewing stocks to choose which one we wanted to buy, the first one that appealed to me was Apple. I not only had heard of Apple, but I own some of their products. In addition, it was just about the holiday season and I knew that they were creating a new product which probably would sell during this time of year. Also, many people have or would like to have their merchandise, which is expensive but extremely popular. Home Depot caught my attention because in their history, they had risen up at a good pace. They have great products and they're very popular. So I thought they'd make a lot of money this year. The last stock I purchased was Wal-mart. I knew that Wal-mart was visited a lot by customers, and greatly appreciated as a store. Also, their stores are all around the USA, so I thought they would make a lot of money this year because they are so liked by people. I think that I made pretty good choices in stocks by purchasing Apple, Home Depot, and Wal-mart.

There is a lot that I would change about the stocks I purchased because they either rose or fell drastically. For Apple, I would probably add more stocks. This is because they increased by a surprising $68.00 over the course of 24 weeks of following them. Even though Apple is expensive stock to buy, I would purchase more because in the long run I'd end up making more money then I'd spend on it, which is the point of stocks. Home Depot also did well this year so I would buy more of their stocks. My reasons for buying more are that they have done well. However, they have not increased as much as I'd like them to have, they still increased. Since they didn't increase that much, I would buy thousands and thousands of their stocks, so I would really be making more money. Wal-mart, on the other hand, didn't do too well and I wish I had bought less. Even though I only lost $35.00 total on this stock, it just isn't worth losing any money, so I would definitely purchase less.

I have some advice that I hope will help others looking to buy stocks for the first time. I would tell them to buy many stocks that have done well over the course of about five years or so. I would recommend to look at the history of their stock to see if it has done well over tough times in the stock market. Also you should research stocks. This is to see how long the stock has been around. You don't want a stock that just came out into the market because it could be unreliable and even have to close because it wouldn't make much money. Finally, I think that you should check your stocks as much as possible. This would be so you could know if your stocks were losing you money, or gaining you money. If you gain a lot over about one month, don't just sell it because it usually gets higher. I would suggest keeping your stocks for at least one year. Although, if you are losing a ton of money, sell it right away. This is because chances are, it will probably drop even more after the next few months, or even weeks! I hope this advice would help others thinking about buying stocks for the first time.

This is a combination of Rye, NH (US) and Belize students.

Since November, 2009, I have been updating and keeping up with the stock market. I had $10,000 of fake money to spend on shares of three different stocks. I chose to invest in Apple (AAPL) Home Depot (HD) and Walmart (WMT). When I purchased Apple, it was 200.51 a share. Now, it is up all the way to 248.92 a share! Home Depot was originally 27.11 per share, but over the weeks, it gained 8.03, so it is up to 35.14! Lastly, Walmart was 54.54 when I bought it, but lost value to be 54.13. This project has taught me so much about the world of stocks.

One time this year, I was on vacation with my family in St.John. While we were there, my mom got a phone call saying that all the power was out in our hometown. We never thought that the power would still be out when we got home...

Once we were off the plane, and in Boston, we were picked up by one of my parents' friend's daughters. She told us that the power was still out, and had been for three days! This meant that the people who we had come to our house and feed our pets wouldn't be able to get in, because the only way we allowed them to get in was through the garage, which needed electricity. I remember the shock on my sisters face when she realized that her pet fish had no food, and no warmth from the house. Once we arrived at our home, my mom pulled out her only key to our house. When she went up to the house and tried the key, it didn't work. This meant that there was no possible way, without breaking anything, to get into my house. My dad tried calling all of the hotels in Southern New Hampshire, some even in Massachussetts, but none had any vacancy what so ever. Just then, one of my friends called me, inviting me to sleepover at her house, because she knew my situation with the power outage and no place to stay. My parents and little sister went over to another one of their friends houses, and stayed there for the night.

When I was picked up by my friend, on the car ride back, we noticed all of the trees down, for there was a massive wind and rain storm four nights before, which knocked all of the power out. There was only one way out of the town I lived in, because there was a tree that fell right on the street. There were hurricane force winds, flooded basements, and powerlines down. This was one of the worst storms to occur in my lifetime, in my town.

Later that night, while at my friend's house, I remembered how I usually get extremely plane sick, and was surprised I hadn't gotten sick yet, I was hoping that I was done with the phase of being sick after plane rides, but I couldn't have been more incorrect. I got up at 5:30 am in the morning, and was sick.

The next morning, my parents picked me up, and we drove to my house. On our ride there, I saw all of the trees that had been knocked down by the hurricane force winds. I was relieved when there weren't any trees on my house. Since the power was still out, and my pets were inside, my parents decided to break into my house. They went to the kitchen door, looked around for a tree branch on the ground (this wasn't hard to find at all), and smashed the branch into the kitchen door. It went through, and my dad reached inside the broken glass and turned the lock. We'd made it inside! My sister ran to her room to see if her fish was still alive, and he was. About a half hour later, the power came back on. We broke a door for nothing, it turned out. This was an amazing weather adventure I'll never forget.