In social studies we created a journal on every day life as a gladiator and learned aboute the colosseum.

I am becoming more adept at the weapons they are training me with.  My favorite weapon is the sword.  I am ambidextrous, which means that I have the advantage of using both my Dear Diary,

 

               I am now known as a Gladiator. I look back at my life, and it seems like yesterday that I was peacefully living as a tribesman among my Gaul people.  Then in the blink of an eye, I was captured by the Roman Empire and trekked many miles back to Rome.  The trip was horrendous.  I thought I would die before I made it to the city of Rome.  Many of my countrymen died on the trip and my heart breaks for their families that have no idea what ever became of them.  As for my family, they don’t know where I went or what has become of me either.  However, I am hoping one day to return to the people I love and survive this great challenge that is set before me.

Dear Diary,

               The process of me becoming a Gladiator was awful and humiliating.  I was first sold into slavery at an auction.  People actually bid on me, and I was forced to disrobe and people made fun of my body and how “strong” I looked.  I was so embarrassed as the slave seller bid me like a common animal, that I cringed as finally, a wealthy man bid on me, and dragged me home in shackles, threw me into a slave pit, and left me for dead.   I never thought I would survive that first night of humiliation and loneliness.

Dear Diary,

               Today was my first day of training.  I survived the “night from hell” which consisted of rats, a flea infested bed of straw, and a watered down supper of “leftovers” from my new “Master.”  Now that I am “officially” his “Gladiator slave” I am now privy to meals of high protein, as long as I “perform” for him.  I met my trainer today, as he is a brutal task master.  He pokes us in the back sharply if we do not do exactly as he instructs.  I have never had experience with the weapons he is making us use and worst of all we have to fight each other; the other “gladiator slaves” in our compound that the Master owns.  I feel so guilty hurting these other men, or may I say “boys” as we are barely of age.  We learned archery, sword fighting, and other means of hurting and maiming one another permanently.   If we don’t “make the grade” and “succeed as strong, impervious to pain and mayhem gladiators, then we are eliminated, permanently, this means DEATH.  I am so scared, I can barely breathe, but I have to press on, and not give up, or my life is over, and there will never be any chance of seeing my family again.  This is what gives me the strength every day to train and fight.  Not for the Roman Empire, but for my people and the improbable but not impossible chance of reunification with my people once again.

Dear Diary,

               Combat is intense.  I am being trained by “supposedly” the best Gladiator trainer in the land.  This means that hopefully, I won’t be killed on my first attempt at being a Gladiator at the world famous Colosseum.  My first manner of business, was declaring an “Oath to my “Gladiator trainer” which I later found out from my gladiator friends, which I basically agreed to be his slave.  This was not what I expected.

Look at this awsome eye it will change your life.

Its the second week of school and we are learning about the eye.

My first Blog entre My teacher is Mr B, that is what we call Mr. Bissonnette. One of the things that he is teaching is how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. We do journal entries about it and he also has a caterpillar in the chrysalis stage in his classroom. We also do a lot of podcast which are like videos that we make summaries of. We are learning a lot. Some of the things we are learning right now are podcasting and journaling. We learned that today the night and the day are the same exact amount of time. MATH: We are learning the Metric System. This is important because the United States is one of two remaining countries that use the “old system” like pounds etc. to weigh and measure things. I am glad that I am finally learning the metric system. We have a school garden that we were able to pick potatoes and weigh them and learn the metric system in a fun manner. I enjoy Math a lot. GYM: In gym we are playing basketball. We are learning specific techniques such as: dribbling, passing, and shooting. Today we had a scrimmage and our team won. I love basketball and I am going to play basketball after school for the Junior High team. I love gym and always have! LIFE SKILLS: We are learning to sew. We all have to make a stuffed pumpkin out of felt cloth and stuff it with cotton. I am going to give my stuffed pumpkin to my second grade teacher, Mrs. Bean as she was my favorite teacher of all time. I hope she enjoys it. I like to learn about sewing because my mom wants me to teach her how to sew once I am finished learning at school. I hope I can teach her what I know. I enjoy Life skills class as much as gym class! TECH EDUCATION: We are making “autographed ping pod paddles” Mine is an "ice cream cone" pattern. Our teacher uses the saw to cut our individual patterns that we have created and we are responsible for sanding the paddles down and painting them. I greatly enjoy Tech ed because I am a builder/inventor myself. Many of the “tricks and tools” that are taught in Tech ed, I already know because of my dad. Thank you Dad! SPANISH: We are learning about Spain, and have focused on vocabulary and grammar. We must make sure we spell all words correctly or we lose points on the tests. Sometimes this is hard, because I know Spanish well, but not the spelling of the words. The reason for this is because I am Mexican and my Dad’s primary language is Spanish. My “ita” ie: “grandmother” only speaks in Spanish to me, and I understand her, but I don’t understand people with a different Spanish accent. I like to study Spanish with my mom, since she learned Spanish as a third language after English and French in order to marry and understand my Dad! We try and speak Spanish at home also.. I especially enjoy Spanish because it is part of my heritage. MUSIC: We are learning to read music. We also are learning how to keep “timing” using the drums and piano as our musical instruments. I enjoy the drums the most. We also use the drums to learn rhythms and notes. I greatly enjoy music class this year and am learning a lot while having fun. ART: In art we are “stamp making”. Presently we are carving fruits and vegetables from a piece of rubber sheet. I created multiple vegetables and fruits. So far the “squash “ is my favorite “stamp” to make. I like the “art of making stamps.” LANGUAGE ARTS: In Language Arts we are in the process of reading Seed Folks which we just started this week... We have read two chapters and I do like the book, but don’t have enough information to discuss it thoroughly at this time. Every night we also have homework to read at least thirty minutes a night a book of our choice. I am reading Julie’s Wolfpack by: Jean Craighead George. I enjoy Language Arts ,especially reading. SOCIAL STUDIES: We are studying and making maps of present day earth with information about each country’ s climate, longitude and latitude. We use different color pencils to differentiate the climates around the world. I like Social Studies.