LSGA -- Blogmeister

Columbus Day is celebrated all across America. Christopher Columbus revealed the Americas for Europe. It's named after Christopher Columbus, but we also celebrate the fact that he opened the communication between Europe and America. Columbus Day takes place in October, on the second Monday. Schools have the day off and we go to parades. We've celebrated this holiday for hundreds of years. Some people believe that we should not celebrate this day for some of his actions: I disagree.

Columbus was a hero of his day, and is considered one now. He brought from Europe life-changing technology and ideas that would make the Americas change for the better. One reason why we should celebrate his day was the technology he brought. He brought over new types of ships, medicines, and new ways of architecture. The Native Americans were still hunter-gatherers, and most had not developed permanent civilizations in the North. Columbus brought over the idea of using resources to their full. The Natives had failed to use all of their natural resources, so Columbus showed them the way to use them for their benefit. He, in a way, saved their lives with his modern knowledge.

Another reason we should celebrate Columbus day is because he brought European culture to the New World. One of the most important parts of that was the spread of Christianity. He brought to the Americas a whole new religion- one that did not involve human sacrifices. Christianity is the dominant religion compared to the pagan religions of the natives. They still made sacrifices to the gods. Humans would be killed frequently. If he had not come, modern America could very well be using pagan religions. He brought to the Americas a new way of living.

Finally, one of the more recent reasons we should celebrate this day is because, in celebrating Columbus, we celebrate American heritage. Columbus himself was Italian, but sailed for Spain. We celebrate in Columbus' name, but we're really celebrating heritage. If he had not discovered the New World, Europe would not have colonized the new continent, and the countries that exist today would not exist. There are huge numbers of Italian and Spanish citizens in America, so Columbus Day is a day for them to honor their heritage.

Columbus Day is a day worth celebrating. We've been doing it for many years, so why should we stop now? Columbus was responsible for the colonization of our continent. We should continue to honor him because of that. If he had not come, we would still be practicing pagan religions, still be a hunter-gatherer society, and we would be lacking with an advanced society.

“The bridge is big and tall.”

“Well, that's kind of obvious.”

“I know, but it's big and tall.”

“And you're pointing this out why?”

“I've never really looked at a bridge like this before.”

“Then stop looking at it.”

“Think of all the things it could be!”

“Other than be a bridge?”

“It could be a passage to a fantasy world with goblins and gold and magic!”

“Or it could lead across a body of water like most bridges do!”

“It could be an escape passage during the zombie apocalypse!”

“Which was really just people's imaginations over thinking what a bridge is!”

“There's probably a safe shelter right over there with zombie-proof iron!”

“Or regular iron.”

“ It could be a passageway over a hard time in life!”

“Okay, that sort of makes sense, but you're still over thinking this!”

“ I've always wondered how people build such grand bridges.”

“They use hammers and metal and other stuff.”

“But how do they keep the huge bridge up without it falling down?”

“I don't know, but who cares?”

“Maybe they use their imagination.”

“How on Earth could that possibly work?”

“I wonder if real bridges inspired the dental bridge.”

“Where are you getting these things!”

“We should be playing Bridge right now.”

“ No, we shouldn't.”

“Or listening to a song with musical bridges!”

“What?”

“I think connecting is the best part of a bridge.”

“So?”

“I can connect our conversation to something else one day.”

“Sure you will.”

“Perhaps I'll go on a field trip and investigate bridges at some point in my life.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Then we'll have to write about a type of bridge and I can use this conversation to my benefit.”

“Of course you will.”

“And it'll be easier for me because I thought about it in advance.”

“Well... then... I could possibly use this idea.”

“But then some people will try and copy my idea, but I actually knew what happened.”

“Hey!”

“Just saying.”

Stock Market

For a Math Project, we each were given $10,000 to spend on stocks. I invested in Apple Inc., Aeropostale Inc., and The Cheesecake Factory Inc.. I invested in them for many reasons that I thought would make me a good profit.. I invested in Apple because it was near Christmas, and I knew that the Christmas before, iPods had been popular gifts. I figured that with the new iPhone and iTouch recently out, it would be a huge hit. I was partly right, but that big boost would come later. In the end, the stock was almost $67 dollars higher from when I bought it! I made $1,771.38 off of them. I invested in Aeropostale because I knew it was a really up-and-coming business and Christmas time would make it do well. The quality of their products is great, and it's very popular. It didn't do as well as I thought, but it went down and up. Eventually, I lost $206.48 off of them..The Cheesecake Factory was the most reliable stock I bought. It was $19.09 when I bought it, and $27.17 when I sold it. I invested in them because it's a nice business with friendly workers, and for many cheesecake is a holiday item. I was right. Also, they have not so bad prices, and may be considered a “special place” to go out to eat, so the holidays would make it busy. I made $824.16 from their stocks.

There are some things I would have changed for the better. I would not have gotten any Aeropostale stocks because I lost money off of them. I'm not sure what I would've gotten instead, but I would've spent more money on the Cheesecake Factory. The Cheesecake Factory did so well, I made $824.16. It wasn't as good as Apple, but it was stressful wondering if I would win or lose. I was lucky when I sold my Apple stock, but for many it was not a good situation. It was unreliable, having a low low and a high high. It was far too unpredictable for my liking.

If you are intrested in buying my stocks, here's my advice. Don't buy Aeropostale. It wasn't a very good investment. I don't know what happened, but it had a low that it didn't recover from. Buy Cheesecake Factory. It was very reliable, and I'm glad I chose it. It didn't make as much as Apple, but that's ok. If you're a gambling kind of person, you might want to buy Apple. But if you like to play it safe, don't buy it. You might want to invest in it when it's at a low, and sell it after a new product comes out. New products are really the reason the stocks go up so high. That's probably the best case scenario.

The stock market project was really fun! It was great to learn about the stocks; I never really understood it until we started the unit. I would suggest “investing”in stocks for fun to learn more about it. It's fun to predict why something will drop in price or climb up in price. Happy investing!

The Higgins Armory Museum is located in Worcester, Massachusetts. It's a great way to learn about the types of armor worn in the Middle Ages, and it has one of the best armor collections in the world. John Higgins, a milliTitleonaire, founded it in 1929, though he had collected armor his whole life. Made to look like a Great Hall of a castle, the armor is laid out along the sides so it can be viewed by the public. There are several major sections useful to learn about the armor and why it was used. Some are the major periods of uses of armor, the parts of armor, and the Code of Chivalry.

One topic you can learn about is about the different uses of armor. There are three eras of armor. The first use, and the the reason it was invented for, is combat. Knights would wear armor into battle for protection. However bulky it may look, it's actually easy to maneuver in as long as the knight has had the proper training to wear it. Most weapons could not penetrate the metal plates. Eventually, other weapons were invented to use against the knight, such as the hooked spear or crossbow. These weapons lead to full body armor to become less useful; defense against them were trying to get out of the way with speed. So, the use of battle armor declined into special occasion and game attire. If a celebration was being held, a very rich person would dress up in armor with fancy decorations and a helmet in the shape of an animal, most commonly a fish or dog. It was also necessary to use in the joust, also called the tournament. Two knights mounted on horses, armed with a long wooden pole, would charge at each other and try to break their pole on each other. It was necessary because when the pole broke on the other knight, it would hurt and splinters would fly everywhere. The helmet was designed to have a very thin slit to see angled upward. It was designed so that the splinters would not go into people's eyes, which caused several deaths. But eventually, armor faded into a decoration to show off wealth. If a guy had a set of armor, he's the fanciest of the fancy. That is how armor stayed for quite some time, and it's eventually going back up into combat use. Even now, if a person had a set of armor, you would now that he's rich. John Higgins himself was an example of that! The three periods of armor all make sense, whether it was dodging swords, parading, or showing off.

Another area of interest is learning about the parts of a knights' armor. The helmet consists of a visor, the part where there are eye holes, a bevor, the part below the visor, the helm in the back, and the gorget, the neck piece. This is crucial to have to deflect fatal wounds to the neck and head. The biggest piece of the armor is the cuirass, a breast-and-back plate, which also deflects fatal blows. The pauldron is a shoulder protector. It's easy to move in it because of the overlapping pieces of armor that form joints. Going down the arm, there are rerebrace and vambrace that connect to the elbow joint, the cowter. On their hands, knights wear gauntlets on the top so they can protect their hand while fighting. Back to the main body armor. Below the cuirass, an upper thigh shield also allows movement due to its overlapping armor pieces. The cuisse protects the lower thigh and connects to the poleyn at the knee. From there, the greave protects the rest of the leg from the knee to the ankle and shin. The sabaton is like a metal shoe. Armor is very heavy, and knights must go through special training to wear it. The pieces of the armor, however heavy, do protect to a certain degree. Without it, a lot more people would have died in the middle ages.

Another interesting part of the museum is learning about the Code of Chivalry. The Code of Chivalry is a set of strict rules that a knight swears to follow at his knighting. The first part of the code is obedience to the Church. Knights will follow orders from the Catholic church like they would their king. Similar to that comes willingness to defend the church, which means to defend it while under attack. Knights must also have respect and pity for weakness, and must be steadfast in protecting them. They certainly need a love of their country. Knights swear to not retreat before the enemy during war. To knights, it was either fight, fight and get killed, or retreat and get banished from the church. Most knights did not want to be banished, so they fought. Relating to that, they must have unceasing and merciless war against the infidel, meaning war against people who do not accept a certain religion or faith. They must have obedience to their feudal overlord, unless their orders do not agree with God. They must be loyal to the truth and pledged word, which also means they can not go back on their vows. Generosity in giving goes with their companionship of what is right and good anywhere and anytime against the forces of evil. That was why knights were so successful in battle and with helping their people.

There is so much more to learn at Higgins Armory! You can learn more about the Code of Chivalry, the parts of armor, and the timeline of armor. But besides that, you can learn about who wore armor, how you became a knight, the types of weapons used by the knight, weapons used against the knight, more about the tournament, women in armor, and so much more. But an article alone cannot give you the whole experience; only going there can. For people who love history, it's a great place to learn more about the middle ages. For those who are history-reluctant, it's a great place to start.

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

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

Conclusion

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

3 Brought closure to essay (Summed up essay)

Structure

3 Essay format followed the directions for assignment

2 Spelling

3 Capitalization (Used correct capitalization)

Comments: Excellent supporting details and vocabulary in the body. Good solid conclusion, one area that could have been better is the transition in the introduction, it could have been a smoother and clearer for the reader. Excellent overall effort!

Lights, microphone, ACTION!

That's how it went on Thursday, April 22, 2010. We crammed around a table with a microphone an a computer and addressed the world. Rye Junior High participated in the for earth day. I was a speaker, so I'll tell you firsthand how it went. After two fifteen minute segments before my group, four of us walked into the seventh grade science room for our turn. We had planned a slide show to present what we do to our earth and what we can do to stop it. We were all nervous with excitement as we stepped in there! We introduced our group and turned on the slide show. After a few moments of dead silence, we realized our viewers sent us messages (via the chat room available for comments from the public) that the sound went down. Not wanting to give up such a chance of a lifetime, we stretched the microphone across the room and continued the slide show.

The slide show was fantastic. Our first slide featured aluminum. Did you know that a can just thrown away will still be here in 500 years? There's no limit to how many times a can can be reused or recycle, so let's make that can be recycled for 500 years instead. And, recycling just one aluminum can can power a TV for three full hours! Since we use over 80 billion cans a year, that's 24,000,000,000 hours of TV power we could have PER YEAR. Twenty-four trillion hours. Having second thoughts?

The next slide was plastic. Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles per hour. Not exactly the best statistic. Plastic saves twice as much energy if its recycled instead of burned. As well, every piece of plastic tossed into the ocean may one day kill one million sea creatures. In the Pacific ocean, there is a giant turning current full of plastic that doesn't go away called a gyre. Birds, turtles, dolphins, whales, fish, anything could get caught in them and die. Things will swallow bits of plastic and die of poisoning. They can also eat so much of the plastic they are always full and cannot get the real food they need, so they die of starvation even though they're gorged.

The next was about paper. Recycling one run of a newspaper can save 75 trees. All the wood and paper we use could heat 50 million homes for 20 years. Most of that paper is junk mail. The average household throws away 13,000 pieces of junk mail. Not only is it unwanted, but it is harmful. Trees are basically cut down to be thrown away! That's like building a house from scratch just to tear it down when you're done. It wastes money to grow those trees. The money could be used for helping the poor and homeless, donated to a food bank, to build a hospital. But no. We toss it out the door just like our trash.

On to glass. Glass is better than plastic, but it has to be used properly. Every month, we throw away enough glass bottles to fill a skyscraper. For every time we make glass, 385 pounds of waste is made. If recycled glass is used instead, we could cut that amount by 80%. That would be the better choice, because glass would take up to 4,000 years to biodegrade; even longer if it is buried in a landfill.

But here's what we can do. Let's use recyclable or reusable items instead of disposable. They might cost more, but they're mostly better in quality and better in the long run. We can use "plastic" made from wheat and corn. Those decompose. You can usually identify them by how loud they are, but they should be marked. We should also spread awareness. The more people realize the problem, the easier it will become to solve. Even if everyone recycled 10% of their cans or plastic bottles, that could make a HUGE difference. Let's try to save our Mother Earth!

This is my scan of the things that represent by book, Girl in a Cage The clay tree represents the woodlands of Scotland and England where the story takes place. The wooden deer represents how the characters are always on the run. The stone bracelet represents how much the main character loves vanity. The drawing represents a scene where knights were defending a castle. The coin represents how rich the family is.

We used the scanner to put everythings together. I was the first in my class to use it, so I had a bit of trouble. It was really easy once I understood it. The directions were clear. We could also use the scanner for social studies, for putting maps or projects together.

In math class, we invested in three stocks. We were given $10,000 to spend on stocks. I invested in Apple, Aeropostale, and The Cheesecake factory. Apple has recovered from falling under $200, but Aeropostale went down below my buy price. When my other two stocks were down, The Cheesecake Factory was going up. Right now, I'm making $1,569.64.

This shows the data of favorite classes for students in New Hampshire and students in Belize. The larger the word, the more people voted for that class as their favorite.

My speech was about my trip to Setinal Ledge in 2008. Setinal Ledge is in the White Mountains. We were supposed to see all the way to Lake Winnipesaukee, but it was rainy and foggy, and we couldn't see anything.