Happy New Years

It's New Years Eve. Tomorrow will be a new year. We will write 2011 on our papers, but that is basically all that will change. We make New Year resolutions we will keep for maybe a week. We will go back to school and to work and it will be the same old thing we left behind in 2010. Why do we make such a big deal of a New Years?
To me, New Years Eve represents something new. It is a new start and a new chance, and this world is all about chances. Some things you can't control, so you need to take the most of your chances. New Years is the chance to be a better person. Make the most of your chances and embrace them.
Happy New Years!

Harry Potter Characters

Try your luck, how many of the most mentioned Harry Potter characters can you name? Click Here.

Famous Inboxes

There is this wicked funny website, called Famous Inboxes. It gives you a look into some interesting characters email inboxes...

Winnie the Pooh
Severus Snape
Lord Voldemort

I found this website through the Leaky Cauldron, and awesome fan-run Harry Potter website.

Reflections on a Christmas Night

Too bad the pictures aren't better quality.

Our Scar

Back with more poems, this time not just from me. Being the huge Harry Potter fan I am, it wasn't long before I wrote one about the books.

Our Scar

One day Harry Potter roamed round the world,

dropping eyeglasses for others to own.

J.K. Rowling pushed the glasses into our view,

And started something exciting and new.

The day I stumbled on my own pair of glasses,

I wasn’t sure what to see or to go.

When I tentatively put them onto my nose,

From the paper magical things arose.

I began to see different than ever before,

I truly saw past the end of my nose,

I saw past what things seemed to be,

And saw the true world in front of me.

I saw people that could be my friend,

Who would always lend me more than one hand.

I saw places I could travel to,

When things were wrong and I needed things new.

From Harry I learned how to be brave,

Hermione taught me all knowledge could save.

Ron told me it is ok to go back,

Ginny showed me kindness’ path.

Luna told me its good to be different,

 Neville showed me everyone’s stars

Malfoy told me how to make the most of my chances,

Dumbledore showed me the weapon of Love.

Sirius taught us to see past misconceptions,

 Lupin showed us how to live through the pain

Pettigrew betrayed and showed me I need to be loyal,

 Lily and James say nothings in vain.

McGonagall straightens out young Potter,

Slughorn learned how to live things out.

Snape shows how hard it is to let your love show,

And we thank Hagrid for leaving his open door.  

Trelawney, Flitwick, Sprout, and Ms. Pomfrey,

Umbrage, Lockhart, and Filch entertain us for hours.

Quittach, House Cups, competitions, and parties

Makes Hogwarts the best hope we know.

Gryffindor shows me to be brave to the test,

Ravenclaw says being clever’s the best.

Slytherin teaches that it’s good to have ambition,

And mine, Hufflepuff is kind and takes all the rest.

Voldemort shows us how he took the wrong path,

The Death Eaters follow his lead,

Of course we all cry when to help others succeed,

Dobby gives up his own life.

Tonks, Kingsley, Mad-Eye, The Weasley’s ,

Fudge, Bellatrix, and Scrimegour

I know I’m forgetting some,

But they all help me go forward today.

We cry at their deaths,

We laugh at their jokes,

We scream for their triumphs,

From our hearts we are thankful.

I want to cry when I take off the glasses,

But I put them in my pocket for another time.

When they aren’t on my eyes,

Harry is always in the back of my mind. 

Harry Potter gave us a scar, our scar

So we know the glasses will always somewhere be there, 

Let’s all stand up and give a round of applause,

For we are proud to hold the key- to Harry Potter.

It's still being revised, so tell me If something sounds bad. Now Emily decided to write two poems with her ideas. You can see she is a true Slytherin, and me being a Hufflepuff I don't always agree with her, but they are good poems. It's pretty good for her having put it together in 5 minutes.

Draco Malfoy

So misunderstood

But I really get you

As no one else could

I know you did it all

To help save your folks

But all other people

Think you’re a horrid bloke

Everyone thinks

You’re a cold-hearted person

But it was in self-defence

That Harry you were cursing

All the fans hate you

Because of some stuff you did

But I understand why

Even though I’m just a kid

You saw your mistakes

And you wished there were zero

You made the best of your chances

And that’s why you’re my hero.

Here is another one. This one is good too. I need her to think of titles though. I like her long words.

I’d like to start off by saying

That I don’t mean to offend

I’m just stating my opinions

So please read to the end!

Gryffindor, the well-loved house

Is stereotypically perfect

But I think they’re obnoxious jocks

And full of disrespect

They are the known as the “good” house

Which is perhaps why I dislike them

Everyone has flaws, but theirs aren’t shown

Are they really such true gems?

Hufflepuff, so loyal and true

I feel bad saying things against

Really, though, they’re so pathetic

And should hardly be commenced

But I suppose they have good hearts

And for that reason I’m proud

To read about the Hufflepuffs

That make our world go round

Ravenclaw, the braniacs

Are really nerds at heart

But I think it’s commendable

For them to be so smart

I am, of course, part Ravenclaw

So I do have a soft spot

For those bookworms rarely mentioned

We owe them quite a lot

Slytherin, the so-called “evil”

I feel a certain love for

Because really, I fit right in

A Slytherin to my core

They aren’t evil, just misunderstood

And never show their feelings

Because they don’t want other people

To help them in their dealings

I’ll wrap it up, thanks for your time

I hoped you liked my thoughts

And if you didn’t, well I warned you

That with controversy this was fraught!

Our House

The most exciting time,
in the longest of days,
is when Pooh and his friends,
come out to play.

They come from the woods,
and walk down to my house,
Pooh leads the parade,
they all scream and shout.

The journey's not long,
but its of a different sort.
You can't take a train,
or a car or a boat.

Even though they live really quite far,
they can be here in the blink of an eye.
But why do they come to be and not you?
It's only because I chose for them too..

Like Poetry and Hums there not things to find,
They are things that come when you are around.
The only thing you can possibly do,
Is go to a place were they are bound to pass through.

I built my house on Pooh corner the other day,
And now they come by and tell me all they can say.
If you move to the corner called Pooh
You will be visited by Kanga and Roo.

Pooh will stop by because he can't miss a party,
And then you'll be visited by Piglet, Eeyore and Rabbit.
Owl and Tigger will stop by real soon,
And then you will have enough guests to fill every room.

What I am telling you is really quite true,
As long as you live at the corner called Pooh.
You will have friends through the whole day,
As long as you can listen to what they can say.

Thanksgiving to All

Charlie Brown- We've got another holiday to worry about! It seems Thanksgiving Day is upon us.

Sally Brown- I haven't even finished eating all my Halloween candy!

So it seems that Thanksgiving Day is now upon us. Tomorrow we will be sitting down and feasting and giving thanks. I'm glad. Thanksgiving is a good day. But how did it really start? From my Social Studies teacher, and the book "The Mayflower and the Pilgrims New World" by Nathaniel Philbrick, (a kids version of his bestseller, "Mayflower" I know a little more than I did last year about the subject. It seems we have been hoodwinked! Is everything we know about Thanksgiving really true?

Here are some things about the First Thanksgiving, Native Americans, and Pilgrims you might not know, but you might know. Just to get the facts straight.

1. Before the Pilgrims came to America, the Native Americans had already been in contact with European people (and their diseases.) The "European Epidemic" had wiped out Natives from the Kennebec River to Cape Cod by 50-70%.

2. Europeans back then often thought the Natives had no religion because they had nothing that Europeans thought were religious. They didn't have churches or priests. This made the Europeans think they were "savages" or "barbarians".

3. The Native Americans of this region did not live in tepees. They lived in wigwams, rounded structures. They also did not wear headdresses, or ride horses.

4. Pilgrims did not wear all white and black with big belts and tall hats. They were a bit more colorful then that.

5. The Wompanoags were actually Pokanokets. The Wampanoags were a large group of people, and the Pokanokets was the head tribe. Massasoit was the sachem of the Pokanokets, but was the most powerful leader of the Wampanoags.

6. The Pilgims were not really all Pilgrims. About half of the people on the Mayflower were "Strangers" or other people who wanted to go to the New World, often they wanted to make money. The other half were the Pilgrim Sepresists looking for religious freedom. Some of these Strangers had ties to the Pilgrims, like Captain Miles Standish, but others, like Christopher Martin, just caused trouble.

7. The Pilgrims were originally from England. But they then went to Holland for religious freedom. Some of the congregation from Holland decided to go to the New World, but not all. They had to stop many times before they finally left without the Speedwell. The last port they stopped in was Plymouth, England, which is where Plymouth got its name.

8.The Pilgrims started out with two boats. They had bought one called the Speedwell to take with them to the new world, as well as the Mayflower. The Speedwell was definitely not speedy, and the boat sprung a lot of leaks, so they had to abandon the boat.

9. The first place that the Pilgrims landed was not where they settled. They first landed on the tip of Cape Cod and the Mayflower was docked in Providencetown Harbor.

10. That brings us to Plymouth rock. Its a myth. Most people know that, but I thought I would mention it all the same. Do you really think they all stepped off the boat in an orderly fashion? Not really. It was a good spot for a boat to stop, so people may have stepped on it, but there is no written record of any rock.

11. Jamestown actually had a Thanksgiving celebration on 9\8\1565, but no one mentions that because it ruins the spirit of the "First Thanksgiving". Just pretend I never told you that.

12. The Pilgrims Thanksgiving Day was actually celebrated in late September or early October. The Pilgrims did not use the term "Thanksgiving" themselves. They were having an english style Harvest Festival.

13. Thanksgiving was instead of very English, a very Native American celebration. There were almost double the amount of Natives at the celebration than Pilgrims. They didn't sit around a table with a table cloth clasping hands. There were games and races and it was a jolly time.

14. For our last thought, I would like to say that Squanto was not as big of a super hero as we think he is. I mean, he has a lot going for him. He was captured and brought to Europe for a ton of years, and when he finally came back, almost his whole tribe had been wiped out by disease. He had it pretty rough. But that does not mean he was the kind, generous, Pilgrim-helping soul we all assume him to be. (By the way, he was not the only Native who could speak English, there were others, like Samoset, who was the first person to speak to the Pilgrims.) He tried to undermine the Pokanokets by telling the other Wampanoags that he alone had the ear and trust of the Pilgrims and they should abandon Massasoits leadership for his one. And Massosiott had done a lot for him. Also, he attempted to mislead the English by telling them that Massosiot was conspiring against them. Eventually all the lies came out, but because Squanto had helped the Pilgrims so much, they protected him. "Squanto sought his own ends and played his own game." -William Bradford. Squanto struck a fever and died a few weeks later. Woah, thats some harsh karma.

Well, no need to remember any of this information. You can go back to thinking of the tall-hatted pilgrims English tablecloth celebration. It's not doing you any harm.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Here are some things to think about-

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.

— Robert Caspar Lintner

But Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by 'Thanksgiving,' Charlie Brown.

— Marcie Johnson in 1973

Thanksgiving is possible only for those who take time to remember; no one can give thanks who has a short memory. ~Author Unknown

Peak into My Life

Here are two videos-

Maggie's Jeep Play

and the Seaside Inn Mystery Movie that we made

Two Sides

The problem with the world, and also one of it's greatest virtues, is that everyone is different. If everyone was the same, it would be bad and uninteresting, everyone knows that. But there are problems with being different too, because it creates problems.

Along with every story, there are many sides, but none of them are right. Everything is just misunderstanding. You think your right, but the other person thinks they are right. When you hear out the other persons side of the story, you can understand their point, but it makes you sound bad, so you usually dismiss it, because you believe yourself more than other people.But really, can you trust yourself? You don't know how other people are feeling.

This is one giant game that the world is playing with you, a game of perspective. You see some things, other people see something else. Nobody can win, nobody can lose. Unless, that is, you decide to tie. The only way to solve things is by both people admitting they were wrong. That doesn't happen a lot of the time, because who wants to be wrong? But hopefully if you admit that your wrong, the other person will too. If not, well, you've been the bigger person, so you've truly won.

Throwing Caution

"We are afraid of things we do not know, just because we do not know them." -Linda Sue Park A Single Shard

As a whole, we human beings are very quick to stereotype. We tend to assume things before we need to, which leads us to go into new things with a less than positive attitude. One lesson we all need to learn is that new doesn't necessarily mean bad, it only means unfamiliar. You need to get used to something before you judge it, don't judge a book by its cover. I'm not saying throw caution into the wind and go skipping into every new thing without a second thought, but you can throw caution around a little bit, as long as it is always within your grasp.

Columbus Day, or not?

Today if you ask any American kid who discovered America, most likely the vast majority of them would say Christopher Columbus. In school, we spend a lot of time learning about Christpher Columbus and his voyage. In Kindergarton, we even put on a play about him. They rarely give credit to the Vikings or the Chinese, who evidence says was there long before Columbus. But they almost never give credit to the real discoverers of America, the native Americans.

Almost every written document of people who ventured to America mention the natives. The natives had already created themselves a civilization long before any European set eyes on the Americas. They were there when all the explorers came, but they are never given credit. They are the true discoverers of America, and should be given credit for that.

Americans always give the credit to Europeans, even when the credit is not due. Americans are never truthful, especially when it comes to Native Americans\Europeans, and they should be. There is a federal holiday that we get the day off from school for. It is named after not the true discoverers of America, or even the first explorers to go there. It is named after the European who wasn't even one of the first ones to go there. I though we were supposed to learn the truth in school? I guess not.

Baby Molly

Here is a video of Molly! She is really cute!

Shoe Steps

It's something everyone tries to do, walk in somebody else's shoes. See from somebody else's point of view. It solves all your problems!, everybody thinks. Really though, thinking in someone else's shoes isn't quite different than actually walking in someone else's shoes. For those times you're going to do something quick, like grab something out of the car or turn of the garage light, and all you really need is something to cover your feet, you usually slip on the first shoes you see. They usually aren't your own, your mothers sneakers, your dads business shoes, or your little sisters boots. And when you put them on and are walking, maybe for only a few steps, it feels odd, different than what you are used to. They are too big or too small, and you have to walk extra slow to make sure you don't trip over your own two feet. It is like this when you look at somebody else's perspective. The world is shaken. It's dizzying. Suddenly, all the times something looked not as pleasant from other shoes beside your own come back to mind. You have to walk slower so you don't trip over your own two feet. But, your never quite sure if you are actually walking in someone else's shoes either, because people are different than what they seem. Is it better to stick to your own shoes? Maybe so.

Picture via Flickr

The Great Dragon Dilemma

This is a movie that me, my sisters, and cousins made. It is called the Great Dragon Dilemma!

Laughter is Good!!!

So I think we all need a laugh so here are some funny videos!!! So watch these!!! Potter Puppet pals makes me laugh! :)

Hahahahahahahaaa!!!!

Hahahahahahahaaa!!!! That one is funny too!!!

And this one is funny as well!

The Colors of the Earth

Yellow is the color that sprays down from the sky,

Of sunshine, smiling, happiness, and cheerful childhood song.

Blue is the color of hope,

Of the long-rolling ocean and sky.

Green is the color of the grass, stems, and leaves,

Things as They Should Be.

Brown is the source of everything,

The color of the earth, the dirt, and the trees.

Red is the color of the love we share,

Purple is the color that dares to be different.

White is the snow, the clouds, and the breaking waves so pure,

Black is the night winter magic.

The Earth is such a world of color,

From the leaves to the sky to the trees,

It would not be such a wonderful world,

Without the color we see.

A Soul on a Journey

Here you go Kate-

(This is an essay I wrote for school)

You’re scanning the hallway, looking for someone. All you have is a vague description. A girl, shortish with light hair swept into a ponytail. “That could be anyone!” you think. The truth is at Parker, and many other schools, its not hard to blend in. Parker doesn’t look much different than every other school, and its students don’t either. Without a second glance, people can dismiss Parker as “just another middle school.” But those who know Parker understand that though we may be similar in someways, every student at Parker has a unique personality. So who is this girl on the inside? There is more to her than you know.
She’s not just another student. She’s a kind, energetic, wonderfully fantastic, everything but the kitchen sink kind of girl, there is always more to learn. Let’s start with learning her name, Kate. Over a hundred kids go to school with Kate every day, but more than half of them have never stopped to really get to know her. The #1 thing you should know about Kate is that she is going to do something in this world because she is always helping people, and really cares.
Just this summer Kate got a puppy named Kneeli. Even though Kneeli can be trouble, Kate loves her. A puppy can be lots of work, but Kate never slacks off. She works her hardest to make sure others have the best time they can, even if it means giving up some comfort of her own. I hope Kneeli knows she is a lucky puppy! Kate always wanted to be part of the world, even when she was young. When she was a baby, she screamed a lot. (I bet her parents and her brother Drew can back me up on this.) Even when she was in Elementary School she was involved. She was on Student Council in third grade. Even though she was eight, she wanted to show the older kids that she could still help the school. She has always wanted to help.
Now, Kate is just as involved as ever. She is a peer leader, and never misses a chance to help someone, anywhere. Today, Kate even volunteered to wash of the lunch table, a job no one ever wants to do. The small things add up. In October, there is a walk for A.L.S. The school hopes to take 40+ kids to the walk as “Team Parker” to represent Mrs. Peach, out old cafeteria manager, who was recently diagnosed with A.L.S. And of course, it was all and completely Kate’s idea. She never misses a chance to make a difference.
Kate’s ideals don’t come from nowhere, she has a very involved family. Every summer her dad organizes the Take the Lake 5k, a charity race to benefit breast cancer charities, and Kate always helps out. Her mom is a nurse manager, and to be a nurse you need to take care of people. Kate likes that her mom can always take care of them when they are sick. She wants to be a nurse manager too when she grows up, following in the footsteps of your mom, taking care of people.
There are so many more sides to Kate, and unfortunately I can’t tell you them all here, because I don’t even know them all, and I bet Kate doesn’t either. Remember, when you think you know it all, you always learn some more. But I can teach you one more thing about Kate, she is modest. If you congratulate her on something she’s done that you learned from this paper, she will say that I exaggerated. But I didn’t. Kate is more than just a normal girl. She is a unique personality, a girl on a mission, and a soul on a path to change.