Blogs

I didn't really like the blogs this year. They did help reading and writing to some extent. I think what you could do to improve is doing less articles. I really didn't like those. So you could do those maybe every once in a while or something.

Abortion

I do not agree with the senate's decision. I think that women under 18 should not need to have parent permission to get an abortion. Half the time, they don't even want their parents to know that they're pregnant. And the whole thing about transgendered people not being able to sue for not being able to go into their preferred bathrooms is stupid. Whichever sex you were born as and then you change it, you should be able to go to the bathroom that you changed to.

Poem

I think this poem is about someone being lonely. This person is imagining being in a grocery store walking around with someone. They are fantasizing about it, wishing for it. They must be extremely lonely to be wishing to walk around the grocery store with a guy named Walt Whitman.

Story

The story was about a giraffe and zebra. I'm not really sure what was going on in it, it was really confusing. It was something like how the leopard was getting his spots. I think he was learning something. I just didn't really understand it.

Maine Health

I think Maine Health should have to pay the taxes. If they don't, than other people have to pay even more. A lot of people can barely afford taxes as it is. And raising them could make them lose their house or something. So I think Maine Health should have to pay taxes.

Article

I think that what we're doing will make them even more mad. I think we should stay out of Libya because it could make things worse. They could get really mad and do some bad things. So I really think that just staying in Libya could really make things worse. We should just leave Libya but still keep an eye on them some how.

Macho Man

The professional wrestler got in a car crash today in Florida. He was 58 and they don't know what killed him. He lost control of his car and veered off into a tree. Police say he suffered a "medical event" but aren't elaborating. Other wrestlers and fans are really upset about his death.

Fate in Romeo && Juliet

Fate plays a big role in Romeo && Juliet. It was fate that brought them together in the first place. Also when they fell in love when they first saw each other. That doesn't happen to most people. They were destined to be with each other because of that. There also must be some fate in that they are from rivalry families so this was destined to bring those families together.

Shakespeare Difficulty (5/9)

My first impressions of reading Shakespeare is that he has a wide ranged vocabulary. It's like he makes up his own words because it's really hard to understand. You have to think about it a lot to understand what he's trying to get at. So for me it's really hard to understand what everyone's saying in the play.

SAT worries (5/5)

I think colleges should focus more on overall academic performance. I think this because people try so hard in school so it shouldn't be overlooked because of one test. Some people could do so well in school and then do badly on the test but then not get into the college they want. And I think the overall academic performance looks on how much they try in school.

End of Play

I think the play will end by the families ending their feud. When Romeo and Juliet kill themselves, I think in some way it'll bring the Montagues and Capulets together. They will end their feud due to their kids killing themselves because they couldn't be together because of that family feud..

Marriage

If I had to choose a place to get married, it would be somewhere outside. I don’t know exactly where, but I’d like for it be outside somewhere. This is because I wouldn’t want to get married in a church or something. I like the whole idea of it being outside.

Favorite Character

Juliet is my favorite character in Romeo and Juliet. This is because she's not a stereotypical girl. She doesn't care much about getting married and such. She's more like a tom-boy type than a girly girl. So I admire that.

Article

What I feel about the overly joyous reaction in the US to the news of Osama Bin Laden's death, is that they deserve to be happy about it. He was dangerous and a threat to Americans so we all deserve to be happy that he's dead. He won't be able to attack us anymore and he got what he deserves.

Warm Weather Activity

My favorite warm weather activity is going to the beach. I started doing this when I was really little. This is my favorite because I love laying in the sand. I also like meeting new people there and going in the water/jumping over the waves. In the ocean, I like to go way out and ride over the waves with my friends.

Renaissance

The Renaissance influenced Shakespeare's work. One of the ways was that he updated the simplistic writing style of the pre-renaissance. Another way was that Shakespeare was able to explore the humanity of every character regardless of their social position. Lastly, he was able to bring into play his knowledge of Greek and Roman classics when writing his plays. Those are some ways the renaissance affected Shakespeare's writing.

Important Tips

In this article, there are some important tips. When reading Shakespeare's plays, locate the subject, verb, and the object of the sentence in order to understand it. The object of the sentence is usually placed at the beginning in front of the verb and subject. Also, Shakespeare often leaves out letter, words, and syllables. Shakespeare also had about 30,000 words in his vocabulary. Those are some of the important tips in this article.

Vacation

Over vacation I am going to Salem, Massachusetts for a few days with my family. We are going to go to the witch museums and the House of Gables and the cemetery and stuff that. We are also going to go shopping and walk around and such. I think it's going to be really cool to learn about all the witches and stuff. It should be fun. (:

Article

Shakespeare's writing style is called iambic pentameter. That is when you write in verse and each line has 10 syllables. Also, the syllables are are five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables. They have a certain rhythm which is ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM. Each beat of the verse, is a set of syllables called an iambus. I learned that William Shakespeare also wrote sonnets and love poems to express his love into words. Also, that when you try to read his work, it would be difficult since they were written over 400 years ago and the words he used have evolved since then.

Article

I think the real William Shakespeare did and did not write the plays. What I mean is that Christopher Marlowe's death was a supposed fake and he changed his name and such. William Shakespeare was the same age as Marlowe when he "died". They were also both play writers. I think they are the same person.

Biography

William Shakespeare was a poem and play writer. He wrote comedies, tragedies, sonnets, ect. He was born on April 23, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616. He married Ann Hathaway at age 18. They had three children together Judith, Hamnet, and Susana. He lived a pretty productive life with making very famous plays and poems and all.

Article

It is important to have this labeled as a "international humanitarian mission". This is because they don't want a US-led offensive in another muslim country. The Obama administration is eager to transfer the military command to NATO to portray the six-day-old operation as the international humanitarian mission.

Article, once again

I think the United Nations shouldn't supply the rebels with the weaponry they are asking for and just keep the no-fly zone. I think this because they don't deserve them. They are going against what is right so they shouldn't give them any weaponry. Maybe if they didn't do that stuff, they should.

Article... Again.

The conflict is that the United States, France, and Great Britain were attacking the Libyan air-defense and other militaries. The conflict started by the Libyan rebels calling on international action to help ward of the assaults by Libyan government on their positions in Benghazi and other places. They then issued a no-fly zone to "protect civilians and civilian populated areas" from the government attacks. 

Article

I think the punishment does not fit the crime. I think this because that was a horrific crime that deserves a life sentence. Whether you're crazy or not, you still have some sense that that is very wrong. 60 is not a good enough punishment for that. He doesn't deserve to be forgiven.

Culture

My definition of culture has changed. I now think of it as how people live and such. Understanding culture is very important. This is because if you don't understand it, you won't understand other people and why they do what they do. So to understand them, you have to know about their own culture.

Culture Project

There are some things that need to be done to present my project on Tuesday. We have to practice what we are going to say when we present. We also have to finish our Keynote. And lastly, we have to finish the website. These are some things that need to be done so we can present or Cambodia project on Tuesday.

Budget Cuts Article

On Monday, there were ideas for the budget cuts. Those ideas were reducing the state's share of General Assistance funding for large cities, giving the state 90 days, instead of 45, to determine whether someone is disabled enough to qualify for benefits, changing the income eligibility standard for Medicaid to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, imposing a strict five-year limit for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, reducing the income eligibility levels for a program that helps pay for prescription drugs for senior citizens, and requiring legal noncitizens to live in Maine for five years before they get food stamps, medical and financial assistance, and Supplemental Social Security income. I think these changes are a bad idea. I think this because no one is getting anything good out of it. It's all bad for the people who live in Maine and needed those things.

Article

I'm on the state workers' side. I don't think state workers should have their benefits cut. I think this because if everyone's benefits were cut, a lot of people wouldn't be able to afford insurance. So then people wouldn't be able to get the healthcare and stuff that they need. So, I think Paul LePage shouldn't cut the benefits.

If I moved to a new country

If I moved to a new country, I wouldn't want to change my religious life. I don't go to church or practice a religion or anything, so I wouldn't want to have to start doing that. Something I would want to change is my eating habits. I don't eat very well, I'm very picky. So I would like to branch out more with that.

Article

I think Americans should follow cultural pluralism. I think this because people should be able to express themselves and their culture freely. It's wrong to force people to dress and act a certain way. Everyone should have the right to pick their own religion and stuff.

Texting and Driving

I think texting while driving is bad. There should be a law passed about it. I think this because a lot of people have died and or gotten injured from texting and driving. Whether you are the person doing it, or it's someone else crashing into you. The punishments should be community service or having your license suspended for a certain period of time. If it's really bad, then there should be a little jail time or something. It's really dangerous to text while driving.

Article

I think George W. Bush should be charged for war crimes. This is because he tortured people in the army. There is a law against them being tortured by their national officers. He broke this law so he should be charged.

“Which was worse, to walk around with everything held inside so that no one really knew you? Or to have these feelings exposed to the whole world?”

I think what would be worse is to tell everyone everything. If you did that, everyone would know all of your secrets, everything. People could spread rumors about you and hold things against you. Like if someone did something bad, and you knew of it and said you were going to tell someone, they could blackmail you with what they know of you. I just dont't think that I would want to do that.

Atricle

1) What is the purpose of this article?
The purpose of this article is to pull together existing studies on child immigration experiences to see a better understanding of the new second generation.
2) What three things are notably different between United States immigrants during the early 1900's and the immigrants of the late 1900's?

3) Why will "contemporary immigrants represent a crucial component of future American society"?

4) Why is it important to study second generation immigrants in the United States?
It is important to study second generation immigrants in the US because that way we can see how things have changed since the first generation.

English

I'm not exactly sure if I want to do honors or CP English. I like English and I think I'm pretty good at it since this English class is pretty easy for me. But, I didn't do honors challenge this year. And, I don't like presenting anything. So, I'm not sure which one I should do. I don't know what honors English is like or how hard it is. So I don't really know...

Immigrating Teens Movie

People are always immigrating into the United States. Some reasons that they come here are that they want freedom. Some countries don't have freedom like we do. Another reason is to leave hard times or war or something. Also, to have a better life and become successful. You can get a job here and a good education and such. So those are some reasons why people immigrate into the United States.

Teen Immigrants

Teens who move to different countries have a lot of difficulties. An example is having a whole new culture. Like trying to keep your culture while everyone else around you has a completely different one. Also, language. If you speak a different language than the country you moved to, there's no way to communicate unless you learn the language. Those are some difficulties they would encounter.

Children of the River

So far, I like Children of the River. A question I have is: In the beginning when Sundara was on the boat with the family, was that a flashback? Another question I have was what happened to the baby that Sundara was trying to save? And also, what grade and how old is Sundara? Those are some question I have about Children of the River.

Holiday

If I were to invent a holiday, I would invent Daughter;s Day. I would do this because there is a Mother's Day and Father's day but no Daughter's Day. There should be one for Daughters where you can get appreciated. Presents are always nice, too. (: Daughter's Day should be a real holiday.

Graduation

I would like to go to college after high school. To achieve this, I need to study more. I usually don't study for quizzes and stuff. I also need to put more effort into some things. Sometimes, I don't try very hard on some assignments. These are a couple things I need to do to achieve my goal.

We should go home early.

We should go home early because it is snowing really really bad. So, before it gets even worse, we should be able to go home. And also, I have to pee really really really bad and I don't like public bathrooms. So we should all be able to go home for these reasons.

American Culture

There are some things you should know about American culture. People are sarcastic a lot. For example, if someone says "I'm going to kill you," they are most likely joking around and won't actually kill you. Another thing is that you can dress whatever way you want. But if you dress like a pirate or something, people will stare at you. These are a couple things that a foreign exchange student should know about American Culture.

Lobster

I don't think that they should go for the Sustainable Label. I think this because it was based on a company not from around here. It would change the culture because the lobster is a part of Maine culture. We've been fishing for lobster for many years. So, I think they shouldn't go for the sustainable label.

Ethnicity

Ethnicity is the state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition. It is different in some ways from culture. Culture is how people live. So the difference is that ethnicity is what group of people you belong to (your background) and culture is how you live.

Culture

Culture to me is you and your family's way of life. Like how you live and your traditions and stuff. My culture would be having my mom's side of the family coming over to my house on Christmas. Another would be that I am French, Irish, and Italian. Culture is where you're from and how you live.