Do Penguins have feelings?

We as humans notice the negative effects and have feelings about global warming. Things like overflowing rivers, floods and tsunami, but the question is - do penguins? I think that penguins do have feelings because I think they are noticing changes in their environment. Think about if you were a penguin, how would you feel?

One of the changes they are probably noticing is that their land is melting. I think that they are getting nervous because they fear losing all of their land. I also think that they are noticing new species of fish in the water when they go for food; I think this is happening because the water is getting warm enough for other species of fish to move to the Arctic/Sub arctic waters. Another thing is that they are probably noticing is that on the end of Argentina there are tourists that are coming to see them, and I think that they don’t like people invading their land

These are some of the things that penguins are noticing and I think they feel sad, mad, and surprised.

By, Ethan

Are Backpacks too Heavy?

I know a lot of sixth graders who think their backpacks are too heavy. I don’t think backpacks are too heavy. In 6th grade you do not get much homework. I will be talking to you about whether or not backpacks are too heavy. I will be telling you some things that you can do to make your backpack lighter, and how your backpack can help you if it is heavy.

First of all, you don’t carry your books in your backpack very much. One of my teachers puts the textbook online . Next, if you have your backpack on the bus, you can just put it right next to you so you don’t have to carry it. Most of the time you don’t have to carry your backpack at all. Also, when your backpack is a little heavy you get a little bit of exercise. Sometimes you have to walk down your street and you might get a little tired, but otherwise they are not too heavy.

In conclusion backpacks are not too heavy. So, people should just stop worrying about it and just carry their backpacks! In my opinion, if you think your backpack is too heavy then just keep carrying it.

By, Lorenzo

Why are Kids Mean to One Another?

So, why are people mean to one another? It appears to me that people who are mean think they are better than the victim they are being mean to. Also, people who are mean sometimes act this way to be cool or to make others laugh at that person. I think that being mean is NOT cool. I will talk about the consequences, and the aftermath of when kids are mean to one another.

Sometimes people are mean to each other because it makes the person who is being mean feel better about themselves by making the victim ashamed. Also, most of the time bullying will start with a kid just making a random joke, and then the person who is making the joke will go too far by accident and start hurting the other person. The person being made fun of will not think it was very funny, but others will join in on the joke and laugh at the poor victim. Think about it this way- always remember the golden rule, treat others the way you want to be treated. Would you like to be made fun of all the time? If your answer is no, then don’t be mean.

Some negative outcomes of being mean are - it hurts other people feelings, it makes the person feel uncomfortable, and it could possibly make someone feel worse about themselves. Also, if you act really mean to someone, you could get reported for bullying. Then, you could even get a detention. Being mean isn’t just when someone hurts the person emotionally, but it can also include physical behavior. An example of that is when a bully pushes and shoves another kid out of line to cut ahead of everyone else. Another example of mean physical behavior is when a bully starts a fight and begins punching and hurting the victim.

Personally, I think most of the time when kids are being mean to one another they just don’t notice that they are. Some signs of mean behavior can be as simple as not letting someone hang out with you or be in your group. I see it happen all the time, kids being mean to one another and excluding someone from their group because of something as little as they don’t like the way someone dresses.

To conclude this article I would like to add that you should not be mean to anyone under any circumstances. If the person is being nice to you, why not be nice back? Maybe there are people you know who don’t like this person, so what? If someone is nice to you, there is no reason that you should treat them any less than you would want to be treated. Also, you should put yourself in other people’s shoes. For example, imagine that you are trying to make a friend who will accept you for who you are, but people keep shutting you out of their group because of a bad rumor that WAS NOT true. How would you feel if you were that person? Think about that, and don’t be mean to someone just because your best friend told you something about that person that may not be true.

By, Morgan

Helping Endangered Animals

Did you know that when you drive somewhere your car sends out bad fumes, which melt ice in Antarctica? The melting ice endangers the polar bears because they need the space to live on. The fumes are also bad for you to breathe in.

Another way people are endangering animals is by cutting down rain forests. The rain forests are home to a lot of animals. It’s like people destroying your home that you live in.

Here are some ideas for what you can do to help the animals in the artic and in the rain forest. First, try not to drive to a lot of places. You should ride your bike or walk instead of taking your car. Second, you can recycle instead of throwing trash out.

There are still a lot of other ideas you could try doing to help endangered animals. I hope this helps you think more about how to save animals that are going extinct.

By, Blake

Do Teachers Give too Much Homework?

Do teachers give too much homework? Are kids complaining too much about nothing? What do you think?

If teachers give too much homework backpacks can break. Kids’ parents will have to buy new ones, and some backpacks cost a lot of money. Maybe kids have after school activities like sports or clubs like drama. Also some kids aren’t doing their homework because there is too much. Some people think it is just like having school at home.

But there is a good side to homework. It reminds people of what they learned in school so they don’t forget, and it helps students study for tests/quizzes. Kids who do more homework will get better grades so they will go to better schools, and maybe get better jobs.

There are two sides to this argument. What will it be? More or less homework? Are kids complaining too much? Do we need to change the amount of homework kids get? In my opinion I think that we should lower the homework amount a little bit because some days I have taekwondo until 8:30 so I don’t have much time to do my homework.

By, Austin

What’s the value of recess?

The value of recess is huge. It’s unhealthy if you don’t go out for recess. Every 45 minutes the human body needs a 5 minute break from school. This is because after 45 minutes your brain gets tired. It’s not like the world’s going to end if you don’t take a break, it will just make it more challenging to pay attention.

From my point of view, recess is a time where you can be yourself, explore and make new friends. Everyone has to admit that going outside and playing with your friends is really fun. When you’re playing with your friends you are also getting a work out.

The reason I wrote this was because I wanted to explain how important recess is. Can you believe that some school districts are stopping recess? That means it will be harder to pay attention in school, less time to play with friends, not as much energy for exploring, no more being expressive and letting out all that energy. See how effective this would be. From this article I hope you understand the value of recess.

By, Kyle

Do teachers give to much homework?

I think teachers give too much homework, especially on Mondays and Tuesdays. Teachers give most of the homework then because they want to refresh our minds from the weekend. Most kids do fun activities over the weekend and forget what happened in school last week. They might have a test or quiz coming up soon and forget to study, or a project that is due really soon and forget to finish the project.

Teachers could give us more time to do assignments. For example, the homework could be due later in the week, unless it’s a small quick assignment that can be done in less than 10 minutes. Teachers don’t usually give any homework on Thursdays. They should make it even and give some of the homework that we got on Mondays and Tuesdays on Thursdays or Wednesdays. Some teachers give kids a whole book report that is due the next day and the kids might not have gotten enough sleep last night because of activities after school that end really late.

Teachers should even out the homework because so many people have sports or after school activities to go to and they might not be able to finish their homework on time; which will lead to their grades dropping. When grades are drop the parents will most likely get mad that the kids haven’t been studying or that the homework was passed in really late. Passing homework in late will take off 20 points everyday until you hand it in; which will affect your grade. Do you agree that some teachers give too much homework?

By, Niki

How many friends should you have?

How many friends do you have? Are they good people or are you pretending to be friends with them to be “cool”? Ask yourself - who truly are your friends?

In some cases a lot of friends actually can be very helpful! One example is if one day you get in a fight with one of your friends, you still have your other friends. You won’t be lonely and by yourself. Also, what if you call a friend to get a little help on homework or a project and your friend does not answer, you will still have more friends to call!

Other times it is better to have a couple really close friends. So then you definitely can trust them because you are really thinking about those who are always nice to you. And most times if you do have lots of friends you might just have them and hang out with them to be popular. But on the other side, if you only have a few friends it probably means you want to hang out with them.

In my opinion you should have 3 or 4 really close friends that you can always trust!

By, Katie

Weighing the Costs by Ms. Graves

Do Americans eat too much fast food? Are fast food chains really the heart of Americans’ problem with unhealthy hearts? Many researchers and politicians would answer “yes” to both of those questions. In order to discourage Americans from eating unhealthy food several states are putting special taxes on “junk food”. The idea is that if people have to pay more money for food that is not good for them, then maybe they will start buying healthier food instead. Are extra taxes the solution to helping keep Americans healthy?

In Connecticut, food is usually not taxed because it is necessary to survive. However, not all food is actually good for you to eat. Therefore, Politicians in Connecticut decided that food that is unhealthy for you should be taxed. Unhealthy food includes soft drinks, soda, candy, and confectionery (or sugary food). Connecticut also taxes meals that are prepared in restaurants and fast food chains.

Are these taxes helpful? Does the tax really stop anyone from purchasing food that might be bad for them? For people who know about the extra tax it might discourage them from buying unhealthy food. However, not enough people know that they are paying extra for donuts, or fast food meals. Another problem is that healthy food is usually more expensive than unhealthy food. This means that even with the tax, it would still be cheaper to buy food that is not good for you.

I think that the tax is not a bad idea, because we want to encourage Americans to be healthy and eat well. However, people should be taught about the tax. Then people will know that they can save money by not buying “junk food”. I also think that healthy food should be less expensive than unhealthy food to encourage people to buy food that is good for them. With those changes, maybe the tax will help keep Americans’ hearts healthy.

Facts:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/rpt/2009-R-0037.htm

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2002/olrdata/fin/rpt/2002-r-1004.htm
Photo:
http://www.usaring.com/health/food/miniposter1r.jpg

Looking for Master and Miss Write

Who are Master and Miss Write? You are. You become Master or Miss Write anytime you take the ideas from inside of you and put them down on a page.

Writing, despite what we may sometimes feel about it, is valuable. Writing forces us to think harder and more clearly about experiences we've had or information we've read. Writing has a lasting quality. What we write today, as long as we don't lose or destroy it, can be read years later and remind us of who we were then and how we thought. And, when we publish what we have written, we gain a sense of pride and satisfaction. Writing is valuable.

So, what will you write about? You may be thinking, I haven't the first idea what to write about; so here are some ideas:

1. a hobby or favorite activity
2. pet peeves (things that bother you)
   
3. a poem
4. a book recommendation
5. a memorable moment 
6. an opinion piece
7. a researched topic
8. tips for kids
9. reasons why people ___ (lie, brag, are mean, donate)
10. goals for the year/ for your life

Those are a few ideas, but the best ones will come from you. 

Write on.