"Building A Bridge"

       A bridge is being done in math class for a final project that 8th graders are doing. The 8th graders are working in a group(4-5 students per group) and as a group, students need to work together in order to make the bridge strong, able to hold a lot of weight and us the group, have all of the requirements to achieve a good grade. My group consists of 5 students, Jacqueline N. , Kimberly F. , Michael N. , Caylen N. , and myself. The materials that we were allowed to have were:

                    1. Toothpicks ($1,500 each)

                    2. Spaghetti ($3,000 each)

                    3. Popsicle Sticks ($7,500 each)

                    4. Hot Glue Gun ($200,000 endless but must bring your own)

                    5. Tape ($750,000 endless)

                    6. Elmer's Glue ($60,000 endless)

                    7. String Yarn ($5,000 per foot)

                    8. Pipe Cleaner ($10,000 each)

For these things, you had the option of what to buy but only having the budget of $1.5 million dollars (per group). You needed to use ALL of the money without going over in order to get an +A. The requirements for this bridge were to:

                                      1) The Bridge needs to be strong

                                      2) Being able to carry weight

                                      3) Needs to be 30'' long and 4'' wide

The materials that we used were only the Popsicle Sticks and the Hot Glue Gun so we would have more Popsicle sticks to build with. There was an equation that the group came up so we would know exactly how much popsicle sticks to buy. The equation reads 

                                      7,500p+200,000=1,500,000

  p=posicle sticks being multiplied by 7,500.

        If we were to solve this, first, we would subtract 200,000 by 1.5 million and then we would divide that number by 7,500p in order to know how many Popsicle sticks to buy. The girls (Jackie, Kimberly, and myself) worked on building the bottom of the bridge and the top while the boys (Caylen and Michael) worked on building the sides.  We are building the bridge shaped as a long rectangle where on the sides, it is shaped like W's. On the top, it has double sticks shaped as an X while it also has a cross on top of it.

Middle School Experience

Things to Discuss!!

Well, Middle School experience has been like a Roller Coaster, ups and downs. It has been hard, easy, fun, boring, interesting, weird and so forth but overall, it was nothing compared to Elementary. In the 6th grade, everyone in school were friends and was like starting from 0. For me, I did meet a lot of different kinds of people and their personalities. It was pretty fun but not that much when I started really knowing who my friends really were in the 7th grade. In the 6th grade, we all did not have that much fun. When the 6th graders got to 7th grade, we all new each other and everyone would hang out with different kinds of people than the ones you used to hang out in the 6th grade. For me, 7th grade was the BEST grade level in the Middle School. I say this because the teachers would not be so.... strict. I mean I am not trying to say that in the 8th grade or in the 6th grade teachers were strict it was just that 7th grade teachers had more....patience with us.

7th grade was also that kind of year(for me) where I got to know more about my friends and I also got to know if they WERE really my friends. We did not have that much of field trips compared to the 8th grade but I had a lot of fun with my real friends but at the same time doing my work. I LOVED 7th grade because we had the best teachers EVER!!! One of the funniest and outgoing was Ms. Williams, she was always smiling, joking around and really good in teaching. For Science, we had Ms. Burkett. She was a type of person who you can trust and tell your personal problems to. She also was funny, outgoing, always with a smile, laugh, and and a really good adviser. I say that EVERYONE loved her as a teacher and would really like her to come back and tell us HILARIOUS stories.

I thought that maybe 8th grade would be the same but it turned out not to be. I do admit that 8th grade is fun but with one exception, to much work/projects compared to 6 and 7th grade. I say I really did not expect that much of a work but at the same time, it was not that much of a work. You just had to take your time and effort in order to complete the assignment and get a good grade. It was just that I had lost a lot of work experience during 6 and 7th grade. Teachers did give us sometimes allot of work but not all at the same time(7th grade). Luckily, I NEVER, NEVER got a D or an F in middle school report cards(and I am working on not getting one). Overall, I say that I do try my best when I do my work but not that much in where I deserve in getting an +A. I usually stick to comforting myself with a -B or a B and then I start freaking out when getting a C.

In the 8th grade, we did have more field trips than the 6 and the 7th graders. Like I said before it was fun especially that one time where the 8th graders(and teachers of coarse) went to the beach in the beginning of the 8th grade(first semester and was the BEST field trip). I have changed ALLOT starting from the 6th grade and ending the 8th grade. I've changed by going into a smarty pants into just knowing the regular, not smart but not dumb. I still get good grades and I still like talking face to face not behind people's back. I have also changed my attitude from being that little duckling, not knowing nothing about life to the young adult duck being able to defend myself with my head straight up high. In my Middle School, people view me as a quiet,angel girl.
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CST Testing

What is CST Testing?

     If you did not know, CST is an abbreviation for California Standard Test. This test identifies what you have learned during the school year and what you did not really understand. This test usually happens the first 2-3 weeks of May. The CST is a MANDATORY test students need to take because the state wants to know how much the students have learned during the school year and maybe even the years before. For examples, for the 8th graders, they had to take 4 tests, English, Science, Math and History. For History, we were not only tested on U.S History(what 8th grade was studying) but also on the history we learned in 6th and 7th grade. It all depends on the grade level you are at.
    You would usually get the test results around summer which would be in July or maybe August. The test results inform the students(us) by helping us know what we did well on and what we need help. It may also inform us if we really did learn something in the school year. This test reflects on us the students because the High School people like the principle see if we are able to handle what is waiting for us, High School. For myself, I say that I did pretty well on the tests because the questions were much more easy to understand so I usually new the answer. I do admit that there were quite a few hard questions where you had to read very carefully to understand it or just did not make sense in my brain.
    The struggles that I personally have is getting nervous because I am afraid of not answering the easy questions right and getting an F or Far Below Basic on it. I am also afraid on everyone getting a good grade and I am the only one getting the bad grade on the CST.

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Restrictions on life How to Deal

There were many stuff that the Franks and VanDaan families had to face with. One of the the stuff they could not do was walk, run, or talk that loud because if they did, the Germans or the people working beneath them may find out and do stuff to the them. They also had to try not use the restroom because if they did, it could be heard when it was going down through the tubes. It was really hard for them not to play their favorite games, talk, having conversations, and for Anne, not playing or even admiring her cat. They were not used to these things or lives so it was pretty difficult the way they lived.

One of the ways that I am forced by living is by going to school every single day except on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays. I say I am forced to live this because if I do not follow this rule, my parents will go to jail/get in trouble by the police and I will not get the right education that I am supposed to get. Another restriction where I am supposed to live is brushing my teeth two times a day for two minutes. There are three reasons why I do this and the first one is because I want my teeth to be clean and healthy. Second, if I do not brush my teeth, I will get in trouble with my parents and third, I also do not want people to make fun of how my teeth are dirty so that is the reason why I brush my teeth.

I would reacted real nervous if I was in the situation as the Frank and the Van Daan families because I am not really used to not talking with my family and staying in only one place. I would not resist it and I know that my family would neither we usually communicate with each other and we do not keep secrets from each other which also means that we talk to each other a lot. my family would be very sad and not very happy.

Anne Frank:Stage Adaptation

A Stage Adaptation is where a stories script has been changed into like a plays script. It usually starts of with 2 or more paragraphs describing what is happening in the play, who are some of the characters in the play, what are they doing etc. After that, the play starts with the main characters talking and so forth. This allows people to understand it more because they give you an idea of what is going to happen in the first part of the play and it also helps you understand who is talking during the play.

The play begins during the year 1945 because it is the part where Mr. Frank goes to the attic to say goodbye because it is to much bad memories for him. He feels real bad and tries not to cry because all of his family died but he survived.
Miep is a pregnant lady who tries to calm down Mr. Frank and also tells him why he tortures himself like that. Miep finds some papers which she shows Mr. Frank and he finds out that it is the Diary of Anne Frank. He starts reading the Diary using his voice but also with Anne's voice. It ends by Annes voice slowly fading away.

What is DRAMA?

Drama is when two or more people have different kinds of problems that seems to not get solved. It can also be when a group of people start having bad attitudes toward each other and then when other people out of the argument start watching them.

Drama can be also be described as a genre where elements of drama can be also included. One of the seven elements of drama is the script. The script is usually a copy of text used to direct a director or the performer when doing a play, movie, broadcast etc. It tells what the performer needs to do, the emotions they have to express and every other little detail they have to act out. A set is the place where the story is going to take place like in the forest, the city etc. It is used mostly in stages to see where the story is going to take place at and is important because if you don't have a set, it will not be so interesting to watch.

Costumes are used for characters in plays that have certain kinds of styles of clothes, accessories, hairstyle which needs to be related to the country they are in, the way they act, talk, and of course the time period they are in. Actors are performers who act out plays and are diricted with scripts. Diaologue is a conversation between two or more people and they are used for plays so that actors may use it when they are talking. Lights is where a person diricts different kinds of lights like if they have to be on/off or only one light has to be in only one person. The sounds are sounds that are used when actors are doing something that may look like if it will to sound of. For example, when an actor hits the floor, the person in charge of the sound would turn on a sound that may go BOOM or BAM or something like that.

Last but not least, the historical context would describe the background or what the play is going to be about. It is mostly used as a summary to see what the play or movie is going to be about(lists the main/important events that is going to happen during the play, movie etc.)