Chimps Smoking?

April 30, 2012 · Filed under E.L.A, Half Brother · Tagged , ,

We are finally done the book “Half Brother!” I thought overall the book was alright it was kind of dragged near the beginning and the end, in the middle it was much more interesting! Now that we are done the book we get to watch a movie about a project that the book was based on called “Project Nim.”

As you might know, the book “Half Brother” is based on “Project Nim.” Now that we have finished reading Half Brother we watched a movie call “Project Nim.” There is many differences and similarities between the two.

Half Brother is a lot about the project and not so much Zan. The book describes Zan more a human than he is chimp. It says a lot about Zan being a nice chimp and not that harmful. But, that is not how the actual Project Nim went. Project Nim was the total opposite, Nim was not a nice chimp, he bit people a lot! The family he got sent to at first in real life, was a family with many children. In the book there was only one son. He was way more chimp than human, he was nowhere near a human except the fact he could communicate using sign language and dressed like a human! I think it is kind of cute how chimps wear human clothes though! I guess there is a little similarities between humans and some chimps.

The movie and book or the same in a ways. In the book and movie  Zan/Nim both went to a facility near the end and got the help they needed. They were both male and dressed like a human. Zan/Nim also learned many signs! I could not imagine how much effort that would have been!! I think that would be so cool if I got to do that someday!

In the movie I couldn’t believe we were allowed to watch it in school because there was a lot of gross content, and swear words. The funniest part about the movie that wasn’t in the book was Nim drank alcohol and smoked joints! I thought that, that was a hilarious! I think seeing a chimp high would be the funniest thing ever!! They never showed Nim with the side effects though. What do you think about chimps drinking and smoking?

The most interesting part about the movie would be when right after Nim would bite someone he would try to apologize and say sorry. The most interesting part in the book would be when someone found out that Ben had an information journal about her. I would be totally creep-ed out if anybody had a journal about me!

Over all I think that it was an alright book. It wasn’t the best book I ever read but it was alright. I hope we get to read another book over Skype next year in grade 9!




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My Thoughts On Animal Cruelty

February 27, 2012 · Filed under Half Brother · Tagged , , , , ,

Honestly I never thought of animal cruelty until we started reading a book called, “Half Brother.” Half Brother is about communicating with a chimp, and to see if the chimp is able to learn sign language. I think at the end of the book, the project will turn out perfect but have a few problems through out. As bad as this sounds, I do not care about animal cruelty.

Animal cruelty can be a very bad at times. Scientists kill many animals a day testing out cosmetics, and experiments. For each product they test it in maybe three animals. Those three animals are saving thousands of others. Scientists pick chimps to test things on because they are the closest specie to a human. Animal cruelty can also be very good. When scientists test on animals they test things to make sure that humans do not get rashes or even die. It can also be very good because some scientists do not harm them. For example some try to test animal communication skills. Communicating with animals usually never harms an animal. Just like Zan from Half Brother. I do not think they are harming him, they are inly trying to teach him sign language and they treat him just like a human. I do not think animal cruelty is that bad, but it sure can be at times. That is just my thought but everyone has their own opinions. Some people do not eat meat and some people do.

Half Brother

Doesn’t this steak look tasty?

Some people are vegetarians and they probably absolutely hate animal cruelty. If you are like me I can eat meat like there is no tomorrow, and not really care about animal cruelty. I do not get why people are vegetarians they must feel bad or something. Sometimes I even hunt my own food like chicken, or catch my own like fish! I do not get how people could not eat meat! But instead have tofu! Tofu is so disgusting!! But whatever floats your boat I guess. I could not imagine how people do that. I also do not get how some people never go hunting or fishing!

                

Animal cruelty in Canada is nowhere near as bad as it is in the states. In Canada animal cruelty is mostly done by “dog sledding“, says CBC news. This is because they whip and push the dogs to their maximum. In the states more than 80 million mice and rats alone are killed to do testing. Now that is a lot! But it is rats and mice they do no good anyways besides make a mess! I could not imagine having to experiment on rats! That is probably really stinky and gross!

After you are done reading leave a comment on what your opinion is. I like to here others people’s opinions. Also if you have time check out some other blogs on animal cruelty on ideahive.org.


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Summer Hurry Up!!

February 7, 2012 · Filed under E.L.A, Exam, Fun, School Stuff, Summer Holidays · Tagged , , , , ,

Finally we have finished half the school year! Half more to go until summer time! I am so excited because my good friends Sumari, Samantha, and Nick are coming to Snow Lake! This summer is going to be so much fun, chillan, tubing, fishing, boating, cruise in the Camaro, lots of golfing, long walks, knee boarding, swimming, dirt-biking, quadding, shooting, etc. It feels like such a long wait!!

At the beginning of the year….

At the beginning of the year we had made little letters to ourselves about goals we would like ourselves to reach. We have the letter in a little envelope waiting to be read in June. Some of my goals were getting over 85% in all of my school subjects and have straighter teeth. I hope to get over 85% in all of my subjects so I do not have to write finals and not have to worry about studying when it is summer. I achieved my goal at getting straighter teeth because I now have braces.

    (Ugly Betty)

Just before exams…

Just before exams I was so worried because I did not know that much in some subjects. So I decided to put my stuff together, three weeks before exams so I could get ahead start. When I study I gather all of my information and I write all I need to know on little recipe cards. It seems to help me a lot. I got that idea from my friend Sumari. She is 1 1/2 years older than me so I would sometimes go over to her house and ask her questions for the exam. After I get all of my information on cards I throw away all of my stuff out of my binders! That is my favourite part about exams you get to throw almost everything away!

What I could have done better when studying…

I think I could have done a lot of things differently when studying. I think that I  could have started studying a little more in advance. I think that I need to start paying more attention in class so I understand what is going on all the time.

After I wrote my exams…..

I do not like exams that much. I did alright not as good as I thought I would. At least all my exam marks are over 80%. Each exam I did not get over 80% on I would be grounded for 5 days. My mom is a teacher and kind of strict so that is why! Thank god I got all of my exam marks over 80%!

Starting the second half of the year…..

Now that the first half of the school year is over I am going to try really hard so that I do not have to write finals. I will make sure I listen and concentrate a bit more and make sure I take my time and not rush. I hope the second half of the year will go really well!

What I will do if I do not have to write finals….

If I do not have to write finals in June I will spend most of my time hanging out with friends, boating, crusin, drinking slushies, walking, and most of all GOLFING! Hurry up June!

“Hurry up summer, I can’t wait!”

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Working on Half Brother.

December 15, 2011 · Filed under E.L.A, School Stuff, Wingham · Tagged , ,

       For the past few months we have been working on a project about chimps, with Wingham. We had to make a presentation on animal communication. I have learned a lot of interesting things they do with animals during the process of experimenting with chimps. It is not that hard of a hard process for scientists but at some points it is mind-blowing!

   

       Since I have started working on animal communication at the beginning of the year I have learned a lot! Here are some of the things I have learned about a lot of animals. When animals are sad the will whine, when they are happy their tail is up and wagging if their tails are down and in-between their legs they are sad. When animals are bored they will usually start following people around because they want attention. When they jump up they are usually super excited, if they start growling or barking that means they are mad!

  Communicating with animals is difficult, but once you learn the facts up above you will find it a little easier! Since the beginning of the year I have learned that sometimes they teach chimps sign language I thought that was pretty cool! I think we are going to learn a lot about chimps in the book Half Brother.

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Working with the people in Wingham.

November 30, 2011 · Filed under E.L.A · Tagged

Over the past few months we have been starting up once again talking to the kids in Wingham. We have been working on a few projects such as Halloween activities, photo contests, interest surveys, and many more. Every assignment we did so far has went well.  Nobody has gotten into any scraps using the google docs chat room. When you are working with people 2700 km away it’s kind of hard to communicate with them, without getting the wrong impression.

So far this year I have been getting better at using google docs and google presentations. It is pretty easy once you know what you are doing. The past few weeks Wingham and Snow Lake have been put into groups of 5 or 6. Each group has to make a presentation about a book call half-brother, such as animal research, poaching, animal cruelty, life in the 70’s, evolution, sign language and chimps.   I am in group one and so far our group has been very successful. Our group is working on animal research. We are including things in our presentation like sign language and communication. It might sound easy but sometimes its pretty hard finding information. We had to start over once because google had updated the presentation documents. When they updated a few days after we started out presentation, there was a chat room in the doc. So the people in my group erased the presentation and made a new one. There never used to be a chat room until a couple of weeks ago. In our presentation we need pictures, information, and present notes to help us remember the things we need to talk about while presenting. After each group is done their presentation they are to present with their group over Skype. Each person was assigned a task and they are to present their piece they have been working on over the past few weeks. I hope while presenting Skype doesn’t mess up. I think it is going to be cool giving presentations to people who are 2700km away! I am just a tad nervous but I think I will be alright.

                                          

So far it has been really fun working with Wingham it is way better than doing paper work!

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September 22, 2011 · Filed under Life, School Stuff · Tagged

In class we are all going to write a blog post about an interest servey. Between two classes. One class which is Wingham, Ontario. The other class is my class. Between the two classes there is 56 students.

INTEREST SERVEY…..

Something I have in common with everyone is…
The one thing I have in common with everbody is that we all brush our teeth. That is super gross if you only brush your teeth 1 or twice a day. I brush my teeth at least four times a day. That is all everbody has in common.

Something I have in common with most peple  is….
The thing that I have in common with most is that a lot of us absoluetly hate spiders! There is a lot of us I mean a lot!! Here are there names…
Tyler, melimasr, taylwalk, AlysHuff, dylasche, bradpewt, shelgree, kaseatte, Kole, Cassidy, Tayla, Joan, Wesley, Emily, Julianne, Riley, Jord, Katie, Logan, Madisyn, and Sully. That is a lot of people!!

Something I have in common with a few people is…..
The thing that I have in common with a few peoples is I watch Pretty Little Liars.  If you ask me I think it is an awesome/creepy show. There is only girls in the survey that watch Pretty Little Liars, and those girls are CassAdam, MeliMast, AlysHuff, ShelGree, and Cassidy.

Something that is unique about me is ….
The one unique thing that is different about me is that I watch Grays Anatomy and nobody else does or doesn’t say they do. I really like Grays Anatomy because it is very interesting. I think it is very interesting because there is a lot of  doctoring and you get to learn about a lot of different kinds of surgery. Some people dont like it because it’s, “GROSS,” because there is a lot of blood and skin and wounds. But nothing like that bothers me.

The person from my partner school that is most like me is……
I don’t really know who I am like if anyone I think I am like melimast.
We are a like because….. We both like Pretty Little Liars. I forgot to write down Pretty Little Liars I don’t know how I did because it is my ultimate favourite show. We also really DO NOT like spiders. We both like the movie grownups, we both like going outside, both of our dream vacations are going to a warm place, we have both been outside of Canada, we both like watching hockey, and our favourites website to go on is Facebook. I think we have a lot in common! Which I think is pretty funny. I don’t know why though.

But I still have a queston for the interest servey I want to know about people and that questions is….. Have you ever went hunting before. I don’t know why I want to know this question but I do. I really like hunting and shooting because I started shooting when I was really young!

I have been wondering a lot about this question because I really would like to know! I think it is very cool learning about other peoples interests.

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WTF (World Taekwondo Federation)

September 19, 2011 · Filed under Uncategorized

My passion is taekwondo. I love going to Taekwondo, it is a great workout and it is known for pushing people to there maximum limit. I am a poom black belt. Which means I am a junior black belt. I am a junior black belt because I am not 15 and you have to be 15 in-order to get it.

When I grew up I always would pretend I knew Taekwondo.  I would always run around the house jumping then pretending to kick something.  My dad would always call me over to the kitchen because he wanted me to practice a position I now know exists, fighting stance.  He would always say, “remember to keep your hands up.”  So when I heard that there was going to be a Taekwondo club coming to Snow Lake, I thought for sure I am going in this because this is the day that I have been waiting for!  From this day forward I will always remember to keep my hands up!

I joined Taekwondo for a few reasons, one reason was because I have always wanted to be in Taekwondo ever since I was a little girl when I first heard the news that there was going to be a Taekwondo club starting up I was like really ! I never thought Snow Lake would have a Taekwondo club even though I always wished for one! The second reason is because there has been a lot of contractors coming into town, so I have been feeling a little scared to walk around by myself just in case I got face to face with a creeper.  So I have been trying my best to try and remember my self defense just in case my friends or I get into a bad situation! After Taekwondo I will show my friends some self defense just in case one day they need to use it! I show them for there safety and for others too, because I never want anything bad to happen to them!

I hope that one day that I will have my own taekwondo academy. I hope that the people reading this will try it out. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you are never to old to try something new. Just remember Chong Lee is in his 80-87!

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Hello Again

September 16, 2011 · Filed under Life · Tagged , , ,

Hello, this is my second year of blogging. As you should know if you have read my first ever blog post my name is Syd. I go to Joseph.H.Kerr school. I am in grade eight now. I live in a little town less then 1000 people in Manitoba, Canada. I really like it here even though there is not a lot of people. You cant even bye a pair of socks here! Oh well I can survive.

Some of the things I like to do on the weekend and after school… After school I like to for bike rides, golfing, and a lot of walks. I love to participate in every school sport I can. I really like sports. The main sports I really enjoy playing are volleyball, ping pong, badminton, trap setting, and golf. I might not be the best at these sports but I try.

My favourite colours are lime green, blue, and yellow. My favourite t.v shows are Pretty Little Liars, Grays Anatomy, Combat Hospital, Futurama, and many more. My favourite book is called, “The Hot Girls Friend.” You should definitely read it sometime! It is very good! My favourite seasons are summer, and fall. Last but not least my friends names are, Joan, Jamie, Jordan, Logan, Brady, Austin, Cole, Riley,and Kade. Hopefully when I go to high school I have a social life!

I am really looking forward to working with Mrs. Durnin again, because it was super fun last year! Especially meeting new people.

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The end of The Wave!

April 24, 2011 · Filed under Uncategorized

In the last few chapters of the book I read was very interesting but amazingly surprising at the same time! There are a lot of things that happened that I never thought would happen!

In the last few chapters Laurie went to a rally and she had to do the salute in – order to go into the stands and she refused to do it! She was fighting with a Wave member telling him that just because she doesn’t do the salute doesn’t mean she isn’t allowed into the stands! Wave members were complaining that the news paper written about The Wave was really bad and needed to be destroyed Wave members were saying that it’s not that bad of a group and that nobody should be saying bad things about it! I think that It doesn’t matter, because I think The Wave is not a good thing to be apart of!

Later after all of that happened Mr. Ross and his wife were talking about The Wave and how it needed to end because there is parents, teachers and student complaining about how The Wave is going way to far and needs to end!

That night Laurie was in the school all night after having to do the paper after school! The school was dark. When she got to her locker there was a note with a threat on it! She heard footsteps coming towards her so she started to run! The footsteps started getting louder and louder so the faster she ran! She ran right to the exit doors and they were locked so she couldn’t get out she started to panick! Louder the footsteps got she started to panick even more! She tried the other door, she got out and started bolting out of the school parking lot! Then David was waiting for her to come out he started grabbing onto her and pushing her because of what she said in the newspaper about The Wave and how it is not true! He finally lost it and shoved her right down to the ground! After he realized he had done that to her he thought to himself maybe The Wave has gone to far! After all of that happened Laurie and David went to Mr. Ross’s house and told him how he NEEDS to END The Wave because it has gone out of control! He said he will try but it might not be easy! The next day Mr. Ross did end The Wave but it was hard! He had to sacrifice his job!

I am not going to tell you what happened during that proses because that will spoil the ending! Ha guess your going to have to read the book!

During the part where David threw Laurie to the ground that really surprised me! He did that just because of The Wave, he never knew that he was doing that until Laurie started to cry!

If you were to do that not knowing that you were, I would say that The Wave would need to be stopped immediately!

What also surprised me was that Mr. Ross actually listened to his wife! He didn’t want to but he did! He stopped The Wave! It was hard for him but he did it. I never thought that he would have because The Wave to me seemed like his baby. It seemed like he loved it! It’s scary because remember that this was based on a true story.

Don’t ever think that the stuff that happened with all the Jews and Nazis can’t ever happen again! As easy as a little experiment can turn a long way and get out of control like a flash! Look at The Wave there is a perfect example!

Over all I really liked the book! I might even read it agin!

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Just because he was Jewish!

April 20, 2011 · Filed under Uncategorized

In this post I am going to tell you about my book in chapters 9-12. I found at the end of chapter 12 that The Wave has gone WAY to far!

In chapters 9-12 the class started to become bigger just because of the wave, more students came from free periods, study halls, and lunch.

The Grapevine paper finally found a topic to write about and that topic is The Wave. Later in the day Laurie looked out the window of The Grapevine staff room and saw two boys fighting down below in the school yard. One of the boys was Brian! The other boy was a junior who’s been after Brian’s position all year!

Laurie and her mom had a discussion early in these chapters about how Mrs. Saunders thinks that The Wave is going way to far! I thought it was too! Laurie said that her mom was a worry wart about everything! She was always worried about the things Laurie does!  That day Mrs. Saunders was talking to Robert Billings mom and she said that Roberts personality has changed a lot from The Wave!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

The next day Mr.Ross got called into Mr. Owens office. Mr. Owens is the principal! On the way to his office Mr. Ross did the wave salute, and on the way there he also was thinking that maybe The Wave was going to far! That really surprised me! On the way there Mr. Ross felt like there was somebody following him and there was it was Robert was following because Robert thought that Mr. Ross would need a bodyguard because he was the leader of The Wave. Robert was he a withdrawn and un-confident boy and now he is a serious man! When he got to Mr. Owens office Mr. Owens and him were talking about how The Wave was going to far and how it was just supposed to be a little experiment and now it is this big thing!

 That day The Grapevine got a letter from a kid that didn’t want to be in The Wave. He sent it because there was somebody bullying him to be in The Wave! I felt really bad for that kid because his friends joined too! So he had no friends or anybody to hang around because they were all mostly in The Wave.

At the end of the chapters Laurie and her parents had a talk about The Wave and how Mr. Saunders heard on the golf course that a boy was beat by a Wave member. the boy who got beat was Jewish, and wasn’t apart of The Wave. Laurie was speechless after she heard that!

At the end of the chapters really surprised me because I think that The Wave is the worst thing that could ever happen! I think the members of The Wave are acting like Nazis and the people who aren’t apart of The Wave are like the Jews! If I wasn’t apart of The Wave I would be very scared because I would be scared of getting attacked!

While I was working in class my teacher Mr. Fisher came into the class with a radio! I was like what is he doing! He plugged the radio in and said that the students that were in The Wave in real life and the real teacher that was Mr. Ross were talking on the radio! I was like wow that is so cool! I thought it was such a long time ago that those real characters would have passed away! ( No offense to those near their age!) Anyways overall I thought that hearing them on the radio was fascinating!

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