January 17

Red Ribbon Week

By Lauren and Dalia

There is good and bad drugs.The good drugs are the ones that make you healthy and the bad drugs are the ones that are very fatal (death). We need to keep drugs out of the country. The very special agent Kiki found a really deadly drug. We honor him by saying NO to drugs. The people wearing blue ask you at the boarder who are you with, what are you bringing, and where’s your passport. Also if you are driving a  truck from mexico and bringing foods from that country, you always have to get the fruit checked to make sure there aren’t any bugs or little parasites to infect humans and some of the other fruits at the grocery store.

If you want to become a police officer, it’ll take you 3 years to become a full police officer. Near the border there is a tunnel that leads to mexico. Mexicans can smuggle drugs from mexico to the united states. Luckily police officers are catching and arresting so smugglers. Also we are learning if you find something on the ground that looks like cant or something you don’t know of, you should get an adult or call the police. Some drugs look like powder, some look like pills, and some look like regular food. When police officers are looking for drugs, they use special trained dogs to find them. When dogs are being trained the police officers get two backpacks and put a drug in one of them. If the dog finds the right one… then he gets to play with a police officers favorite toy… a rubber hose.

In the world people get addicted to drugs. Some people get really ill or die if they swallow a drug. Some of the drugs like cocaine, heroine, and ecstasy are one of the deadliest drugs. When a police officer finds a guy with a drug he will send him to court. Then the police officer will try to detect what type of drug it is. Sometimes the person who is  carrying the drug will get charged and sent to jail. Sometimes when a police officers are looking for drugs they use  trained dogs to sniff and hunt the drug dealer. Police officer dogs start training when they are one year old and they stop when they are ten. Then they live with the police officers as a house dog.

When police officers are looking for a really dangerous guy with drugs or deadly weapons, the use a little robot that is called the throw bot. The throw bot has night vision, a camera, lights, and it can be thrown in a room with out it breaking. But the throw bot costs about $2,000. When the police officers find were the bad guy is hiding, they send in a swat team with protective armor and weapons. They also have ear protection so they can protect their ears and hear foot steps. The swat team even has a shield that is very strong and most bullets can’t go through. The shield even has glass so you can see through. But the glass can be broken by a really strong bullet. So to keep safe, don’t eat anything you see, don’t go up to strangers, and tell an adult if you see something strange on the ground or if you see a weird looking person.

January 17

Common Core

 

Did you know that the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will cost Washington state about $300,000,000 of taxpayer money itself?  Common Core is a school standard nationwide that was imposed on us and almost all schools had to go with. Most people don’t like it. It should be repealed nationwide. CCSS is one of the biggest changes in education. It brings grades down, teaches nonessential material, wastes money, and provides insufficient training and resources for teachers.

 

CCSS uses money to bribe schools to use CCSS.Washington state of Superintendent of public instruction estimated that CCSS will cost the state itself $300,000,000 of taxpayer money but that’s a waste,  although instead why not focus on important things wrong with America such as the homeless, curing cancer, hunger, or even child obesity.

 

CCSS makes math different and harder to understand. Sandra Stotsky a professor at the University of Arkansas who served the committee to validate that CCSS said the “Standard dumb American education down by 2 grades worth to comply with CCSS.” That’s like if you were in 5th grade and your school or state didn’t fit the CCSS you would  maybe do 3rd grade learning as a 5th grade student but a bit more advanced.

 

CCSS teaches material that lack essential info or don’t make sense at all,. Only 33% of California 4th graders were proficient according to the scores on the 2013 national assessment of educational progress. That ‘s less than the results before CCSS. CCSS drains your friendship with education and makes you friends with confusion

CCSS provides insufficient training and resources for teachers. 54% of teachers claim they had no CCSS training and that’s over half which is the majority of teachers who claim it. Also more than 63% percent of teachers said that they need new formative and summative assessments that make sure how well the students are learning the standards  and that’s the majority of teachers.

this doesn't make sense

this doesn’t make sense

CCSS reduces the money states pay for test development, scoring,and  reporting, but is it really worth it when we get bad grades due to CCSS. If we get bad grades then we probably won’t get to a good college and if we don’t even get to college , how will we earn money back? CCSS might finally become Common Corpse because states are dropping out such as New York, South Carolina, North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri,etc.It brings grades down, teaches nonessential material, wastes money, and provides insufficient training for teachers .Support the standards before not the Rotten Core.

 

January 17

Paper is it worth it?

Can you imagine a world without trees? If we keep using paper at the rate we do now, we will eventually run out of trees completely. So that is why we should ban paper because it wastes resources. Kids need to use more technology, and not waste resources we need for other things.

 The first reason is that paper wastes lots of resources, such as trees. Without trees, there will be increased air pollution. We breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide while trees store carbon dioxide and give away oxygen, it’s like a friendly relationship. Without trees we might not have enough fresh oxygen that we need to live and we could die! images

Kids should put more learning on using technology than writing on paper. Most  jobs these days use a computer or another type of electronic device. We can use the Kindle app, Raz Kids, Xtra Math, Wordly Wise, Spelling CIty, Multiplication.com, Google Docs, and other programs online. We don’t need to use the paper books.

The last thing is it wastes lots of resources we need for other things like houses, more trees, pure soil, and other stuff. If we waste it all, there will be nothing else that can be made. That would be bad for us and animals.

January 17

Saving Water

Barcelona

This fountain may be fancy, but it wastes lots of water.

Creative Commons License Photo Credit: G D via Compfight

   Did you know that people all around the world waste gallons and gallons of water each day? Saving water helps people, animals, and plants. We should save water. Water is very important.These are some reasons and facts about why we should save water.

   Saving water can help people. If you save water, there will be more water for other people to use. There is only about 1% of freshwater on earth. So what do we do when all that water is used up because we can’t drink salt water? Also, if you save water, there will be more water for things like public pools and water fountains.

   Saving water helps animals. If you save water, animals will have more water to drink. Animal will also have more water to bath in. Saving water will help animals survive and have babies. Water is as important to animals as it is to us. They need it just as much as we need it.

   Making more reservoirs will help water plants. When it rains, there will be lots of reservoirs to catch the rainwater. We can use the water in the reservoirs to water plants with. The water in reservoirs will water the plants around them too.

  Some ways to save water are: water your grass at night so that the water won’t evaporate. Don’t leave the water on while you brush your teeth. Take showers that are less than 10 minutes long. So now you know how to save water and what will happen if you don’t save water. I hope you now try to save water.

January 17

Stop Pollution

full-steam-up?

This is part of making pollution

Creative Commons License Photo Credit: John Bennett via Compfight

Did you know that over one million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals and land animals are killed by pollution every year? Can’t you believe that! We should stop polluting our environment. Pollution harms many animals and people, and kills plants.

Pollution hurts animals in many ways. Pollution can hurt animals by breathing in the polluted air. They can also eat and drink polluted food and water they can get very sick and die if the keep drinking it. Pollution can also hurt people too. How it hurts us is by breathing in the polluted air and get very sick and die the air polluted air can make the lungs bad and that can stop you from breathing correctly. They can also drink polluted water, and not get clean air from the plants.

Pollution can also affect plants and trees.The water can get polluted and if the isn’t clean they could die. The can’t make the air nice and clean if they can’t survive. They can also die and we can’t make paper and we can’t have clean fresh air

We should stop polluting and these are some ways we can help stop pollution: ride your bike more, stop using oil as much, and stop littering. now you now you know how to stop pollution.

January 17

Energy drink dangers

Imagine this. You are working out at the gym and you get tired and you need something to give you some OOMPH!!! So you get a Rockstar energy drink, but think to yourself, “Is it really worth it?” Energy drinks are choosing victims and you might be one. Energy drinks are bad for your health and they’re not worth it. Many energy drinks have bad acids in them and are super caffeinated and are really high in sugar.

 

They have bad acids in them,why you may ask? Well because BIG NAME ENERGY DRINKS don’t care about your health! They most always have mixes of horrible ingredients heres a list of some acids that are bad for you, ascorbic acid, citric acid,and pantothenic acid. These are all pretty bad for you. And here’s some of the other ingredients, install vitamins, sodium phosphate,rockstar: cyanocobalamin

 

Many energy drinks are super high in sugar. They can cause diabetes,make people hyper, sugar is also bad for your blood, and sugar could lead to serious headaches.

Not one energy drink or supplement is good for your health.

Many energy drinks have no nutrition in them and are bad for your health and are really high in sugar.

 

Sugar, thats a really bad part, in most energy drinks caffeine is the worst part. In redline theres over 250mg of caffeine in it. Caffeine is bad for your heart and can kill you at a young age, one girl died at age 32 from too much caffeine in energy drinks. The companies just said that she died of an overdose and then they forgot about it and didn’t care.

 

 Don’t drink energy drinks because one day they will put you down and the energy drink companies won’t care about it. I don’t drink energy drinks and you shouldn’t either, always drink a more healthy drink like V8 or water hay even sprite is better. Choose the wise path not the bad path.

 

           Go to www.caffeineinformer.com for more information.

SERIOUSLY DON’T DRINK’EM!!!

Thank you caffeineinformer for all the great facts.  

January 17

People should have less soda

  People should drink less soda

 

By Mia Gallo

Free Soda Can Mock-Up Template

Do you care about your health? If you do,   you should not have soda as much it has a lots of  sugar which is bad for you, soda has a lot of calories, and soda can give tooth decay.

 

Soda has much sugar and that amount of is unhealthy for your body.  and that is a lot and is too much sugar for one day.Soda has 121/3 teaspoons of sugar. You need about 21/3 teaspoons of sugar every day. Can you stop having soda as much because it is only good to help you read and write. When you have too much soda it can get you very jittery and that from the sugar and caffeine.

Soda has a lot of  calories. Even small cans are 30 calories and also can be 90 calories and big cans are 138 calories! It is wild that the big cans of soda are 138 calories?

Soda can give you tooth decay, it has so much sugar and some people drink too much soda and it can make you all fat and can be very very bad for you. Also like I said it can give you tooth decay.

If you have learned anything, be aware that you don’t drink too much soda and have a great and healthy life. Like I keep saying SODA IS BAD FOR YOU1!!!!!!!!!

 

January 17

Ban Plastic Bags

Plastic bag
Photo Credit: Scottish Greens via Compfight

Did you know 1,440 million plastic bags are used each day? Plastic bags are taking over the world! We should ban plastic bags. Plastic bags harm the environment. Second, they also kill animals, most of which are marine life. Third, It can also harm humans but most people don ’t know it.

Please Recycle

That’s a lot of plastic bags, right?

Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Matt Carman via Compfight

One reason we should ban plastic bags is that they harm the environment. Plastic bags go in the soil and release toxic chemicals which are dangerous to those animals that live under the ground. Also, only 1-3% of our plastic bags are recycled, with a lot going into landfills or, worse, our oceans. Another fact is that it takes 1,000 years for plastic bags to break down!

 

Another reason we should ban plastic bags is that they kills animals. And did you know that 1 billion seabirds and mammals die each year for ingesting plastic bags? That’s a lot! Most animals mistake bags for food like jellyfish. Also, if animals are small enough they can get strangled in them when they’re floating around in the ocean. Something else is that land animals like seagulls eat plastic lying around near the ocean.

 

My last reason is that plastic bags harm humans too. When they make pollution, it hurts our health especially our lungs, if we breathe it in. People don’t also understand that when you use too many plastic bags, too much carbon dioxide gets in the air we will all die because there’s very low oxygen. We will run out of fish for food because they’d be dead by plastic bags.

Canvas bags are a better choice but only if you clean them because they have bacteria. Less than 5% of US shoppers use canvas bags. We need to change that number by using reusable bags. Let’s ban plastic bags! You’ll save tons of animal’s lives, help the environment, and help humans too.

January 17

Ban Cigarettes!

Photo credit to :http://www.acne.org/smoking-acne.html

Something is expanding , and killing` millions each year. They are called Cigarettes.We need to ban them because they are bad for human health,pollute the air, and cost billions of dollars for all countries. Also cigarettes are addictive and unhealthy  to animals.

 

Cigarettes are bad for human health. For example it makes the lungs appear dark and mottled. Also it has nicotine that make people addicted to cigarettes.It also causes a disease called lung cancer whitch can kill people.This is one reason why we need to ban cigarettes.

 

Cigarettes also are bad for the Earths atmosphere.The pollution emitted by cigarettes is 10 times greater than diesel car exhaust. It helps cause global warming, which is melting the polar ice caps and killing polar bears.Global warming is when carbon dioxide thickins the atmosphere and traps heat in the atmosphere of earth and cigarettes emitt carbon dioxide.

 

Also it costs health care and citizens billions of dollars every year.America spends $80,000,000,000 on cigarettes each year!

Some people say smoking relieves stress  and is healthy  for you.Others say it gives you a lot of money when you sell cigarettes. Many think it is good in millions of ways.New zealand collected $842 000,000 in tobacco TAX alone!

We need to stop and make cigarettes illegal. As you see they are unhealthy , pollute the planet , and cost healthcare billions of dollars.Are you going to help save our planet and people… or help destroy it?

January 17

Is candy really so sweet?

Trick or treat! (Project 365: 229/365)

Candy is yummy but it’s full of sugar which is bad for you.

Do you know how much sugar you’re eating? Just on Halloween alone 600 million pounds of candy is eaten in the U.S. That’s the equivalent to the weight of 6 titanic ships! Do you care for your health? If yes, then don’t eat too much candy. Candy is bad for your health, has no nutritional value and has lots of calories, and also it is bad for your teeth.

Candy is not good for your health. It has lots of sugar. Sugar is bad for your health. When the amount of sugar in your blood gets too high it can damage your eyes and kidneys and slow down your blood in your feet and fingers. Too much sugar is also linked to diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that starts making a person sick. It could also damage you when you are an adult or at any age.

Scientist named the calories in candy “empty calories.” Empty calories has no nutrients like vitamin D or C it has nothing it has NO vitamins.

Too much sugar is also bad for your teeth. The sugar in the candy can cause cavities. If your adult teeth get cavities it can affect your overall health.

Some people say candy is delicious so we should keep eating it. But be careful not to eat too much. The most important thing is to balance your diet, and brush your teeth if you eat candy. If you want to eat candy then eat dark chocolate it is good for you it has vitamin D and A and more milk.

 

January 17

No More Plastic Bags

93/365: a bit ashamed
Did   you know that more than 100,000 plastic bags are killing sea animals every year? And yet, 500,000,000,000 plastic bags are used worldwide! Now that doesn’t make sense!!! All people and the earth would benefit if we banned plastic bags.

Did you know that it takes 10 to 20 years for plastic bags to reduce? On top of that it takes oil to make a plastic bag in the first place. Oil is VERY expensive and is the same stuff used to make gas for cars and run machines and lots of other stuff. “It takes about 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic bags, and the U.S. goes through 380 billion of them a year.”

 

So lets get back to the part when plastic bags reduce in 10 to 20 years. Well that isn’t so good, but this is the worst part. When it reduces there are still little bits of the plastic bag that can NEVER recycle! Guess who eats those tiny pieces? Yes, you with the groceries packed in your little plastic bag, you are correct, the sea animals!!! Let me list a few (maybe all). Sea turtles, sea lions, sea gulls, fish, penguins,and seals.

 

News flash people! If fish die then how will we have sushi!!!! But seriously, the ocean and all the things that live in it are really important to our environment. This is what Robert Hunziker, from The Dissident Voice says: “The ocean is the lifeblood of the world, and the survival of humanity is inextricably (that means you can’t separate it) linked to its health the ocean (1) creates more than half of our oxygen; (2) it drives weather systems”So what he is saying is that we should protect the ocean and all the creatures that live in it.

 

I got back from Hawaii a few days ago and it is a place where the people respect the environment and guess what  they have already banned plastic bags! I am also glad that I didn’t go to a different island – the island that is MADE of plastic bags! This island is in the Pacific Ocean between California and Japan (just a bit North of Hawaii). Guess how big it is? You won’t believe it… this island made of OUR TRASH is 2 TIMES BIGGER THAN TEXAS! So that is why we should ban plastic bags. We would all benefit if we all work together to ban plastic bags.

January 17

School Uniforms Should be Banned

There Shouldn’t be School Uniforms.

by Tawnie

uniforms4.jpg

Did you know that 63% of people say no to school uniforms? Most American schools don’t have school uniforms but lots are making the shift. School uniforms should be banned from all schools.They’re uncreative, and they can be very expensive.

 

Misleading

     Some kids wear silly or fancy clothes to school and that’s their style. If kids like that get introduced to uniforms that aren’t their style they can be misled, meaning kids will judge them and think they’re no fun.

 

Uncreative

   School uniforms are also very uncreative. Most school uniforms are drab, they’re usually black or gray. If kids are wearing dull colors no one can express themselves, if they like to dress crazy, they should be allowed.

 

Expensive

Can you guess how much school uniforms cost? Lets just say that they can be in between $255-$420. Retailers are being shut out of this $675 million market. Did you know that secondary schools are now selling uniforms for $420 and primary schools are selling them for $255.

 

Who wants to be uncreative, unidentified or spend a lot of money on clothes. Would you like to be one of those people? Some people say school uniforms can save time in the morning and they make everyone look the same, but that’s boring rushing in the morning is what makes life fun and interesting.

January 15

Trash Hurts

mégots de cigarette

Fifty percent of all liter is cigarette butts.

Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Eric delcroix via Compfight

How Trash Gets to the Ocean

Lots of trash ends up in the ocean. How does it get there? Well, some people through cigar butts or other trash out there car windows or while they walk down streets or alleys. The trash gets pushed over to the side of the road or to the sidewalk. Most people don’t bother to pick up and throw away trash thats not theirs, but if they don’t they’re just helping the trash get to our waterways. Then after a big rain the trash flows down the streets, caught in the rush of water, to the sewers and then to the ocean. There the trouble begins. Nine billion tons of trash ends up in the ocean every year.

 Ocean Animals

Have you ever gone swimming in the ocean and seen a piece of trash floating in the water? Well you should pick it up and throw it away. Animals like fish will eat this trash and die, a dolphin mite eat the fish then the dolphin dies to.  A seal or a turtle sees a plastic bag, thinking that it is a jellyfish the seal eats it. After this the seal can drown, starve, or choke, all a slow and painful process. Any ocean creature can get sick, severely injured, or even die. Sometimes when a baby turtle swims they can swim into a plastic holder for soda and can get stuck. When there shell grows their body can become deformed.

Land Mammals

When you throw a fishing line away, make sure that you put it in the trash. If you don’t, the fishing line can get caught on the legs, wings, and necks of animals. Do you drink liquid that comes in a glass bottle? You should put it in the trash or recycle. If the glass falls and breaks pick up the pieces because, when a coyote or a fox goes by the glass pieces it can get stuck in their paws and can hurt them. Cans are dangerous because when a mouse or other small mammal gets its head stuck in the can they can die because they can’t get there head out. Then they starve or die of thirst.

People

Trash is everywhere in the ocean, in the air, and on the ground. Litter is there because of humans. We through out so much trash and most of that can be recycled or made into dirt. Trash makes neighborhoods and yards ugly. If you’re having a party or a get together you don’t want trash flying around. The trash uses too much money to clean up. If we use all our money to get trash to the dumps then families will have no money to get food and other needs. The government won’t be able to pay their workers and if everyone has no money, then no one will go to the stores and they will close. About $11.5 billion is spent on the litter, just to get it cleaned up. If you don’t want to pay that much then don’t litter.

To Hard to Stop Littering

Some people say its to hard to stop littering. “There is already too much trash in and on the world. It would cost a lot and it would be to hard to clean up. The world is fine, we don’t all have to change our ways. Maybe only a couple million people need to stop. Then all of the other people can keep their routines.”

People need to stop littering. Its not that hard, its just common sense! Animals are suffering, humans are in trouble, you don’t want any of this to happen because of you. So make your mark and end the pain, stop littering.

January 5

Hanukkah

 

Hanukkah is a holiday celebrated in late November or in early December. The story that goes with this holiday has many versions. The versions only differ because they say the miracle happened at different times; before the battle, during the battle, or after the battle. One tale is that after the Jews (the people who celebrate Hanukkah) defeated the Syrians in a war, they went back to their destroyed temple. They were trying to rebuild the temple, but only had enough oil to light all of the lamps for one night only. The miracle was that the oil for the lamps lasted eight nights instead of one night. Today in memory of them we eat latkes, play dreidel, light the menorah, and sing songs.

Such as:

Rock Of Ages

I Have A Little Dreidel

and

Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah