Category Archives: 5th Grade

Feature Article Reflection

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Have you ever written a feature article or even know what it is? Writing one was challenging but also very enjoyable. You have to chose a topic, a main idea or message, and a format. I chose to write about the The Men’s Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup. There are many reasons why I chose this topic. At the end there were also many things I was proud of and some techniques that I used were more effective than others. It all took a lot of thought but it came out fine. 

The reason I chose to write about The Men’s FIFA World Cup is because I knew a lot about the World Cup and I always had had a love and passion for soccer. I wanted to show exactly how much the players and teams had to go through to claim the worlds greatest trophy so I chose the message “The FIFA Men’s World Cup is really hard to win.” I needed to prove how it was more hard to win than the tennis tournaments or the Olympics. 

The parts of writing the article that were most challenging to write about was the category of The World Cup Qualifiers. I did not know that much of the Qualifiers and had to do a lot of research. Another part that was most challenging was writing something in your own words. Its so easy to just do command c, command v. The problem is that is stealing. Another challenge was the actual part were I had to organize the writhing into a slideshow and find images. There was so many “you have to put it like this” and “you can’t do this” restrictions. Also there was restrictions like all the sizes had to be correct, that you could only have one font, and the line and paragraph spacing needed to be 1.15, forced to the top, and aligned to the left. There were also so many grammar checks that we had to do and looking over a 1,000 word block of writing is a pain. This was also enjoyable because it was fun to play around with the organization. The writing part was also pretty enjoyable because I like it to just be silence and have your fingers flying on the keyboard. It was also really fun to add pictures and have fun fact boxes. Even I learned a little by searching for fun facts. But writing a feature article is different from writing a personal narrative or a all about expert book. That because you have to focus on a single message and you have to do a lot of formatting because it is a article. Not a book. 

There were many techniques that I used when I was writing and formatting my feature article like pictures that explained the text, on the bottom and top of the pages I put red strips to make the article look better, and I used a fun fact box and a glossary. Some things I’m really proud of in my feature article are like learning new things myself and completing the narrative. But the thing I am most proud of is finishing the formatting. It was really fun and hard to organize the formatting. In the beginning the slides just looked pretty bad and messy. But after I finished I was really proud that I had persevered. 

So that is why I chose to write about The Men’s Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, the most challenging and enjoyable parts, the most effective techniques, and the things I am most proud of when I finished.

If you want to read my feature article here it is:

Vote For Aiden of Class 5CL in Heathcote!

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My name is Aiden from class 5CL at Heathcote elementary school. I am ten years old and I like art and math. I have very big ideas that I want you to support! Its easy! My two big ideas are that kids here in Heathcote should have more fun! My second idea is that you can spend more time on the subjects you like. So if you vote for me and I win in the election I will enforce these ideas here in Heathcote. 

My first idea is that kids should have more fun. If kids do really good work they should be able to have more recess, or earn something like less homework, or be able to watch a movie. Due that the students know what they are working for they could work harder. I want this so you can have more fun. Lets say you have a board that whenever your teacher puts a star on it for good work its one minute extra recess. Or if you show your teacher you can sit next to your friends without talking you can chose where you sit. If you don’t think I can’t enforce it I can. Some teachers already have similar things like this such as Davidson Dollars or a mystery walker. All I have to do is make sure every teacher has as least one way to do this and that the students agree on it. Less work, more fun! 

My second idea is that you can spend more time on subjects that you really like. I really want this to happen because most of my class wants to have more time in art class. If you have a subject/special you really like this is the time and place for you! There can be a time in the day where some place in the school is free that you can do anything you like there if your teacher says you earned it. Again, hard work, more fun. So you can have more time in your favorite subjects like continuing class work, drawing or continuing your project in art, or just hanging out with your friends.

So those are my two major things that I will do for the school if you vote for me and I win. Heathcote should have more fun and you can have more time in your favorite subject! Must I remind you though that those people that say their going to let you stay home for days and recess all day are tricking you. They have no power to do that. VOTE FOR ME, LESS WORK MORE FUN.  So what if you were elected Heathcote president? What would your two major ideas be? 

Fun at the Westchester County Board of Legislators

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Our Legislator at the Westchester county Board of Legislators that represents Scarsdale is Benjamin Boykin. He represents district five which is Scarsdale and parts of Westchester and Harrison. I actually met him when my class went on a field trip to the Westchester county Board of Legislators. My three favorite parts when I was there were meeting Benjamin Boykin, going into the chamber room, and hitting the gavel at the end of the trip. I also learned so much on the trip.

I have three favorite parts of the things and I had a lot of fun doing them. One of the things I really enjoyed was meeting Scarsdales, Westchesters and Harrisons Legislator when we were about to go into the chamber room. His name is Benjamin Boykin. He was not supposed to be there that day so we got lucky. He led us into the chamber room and showed us around. He said that it was probably the biggest and nicest chamber room in the state. We took a picture with him and I got to stand right next to him behind the actual chairman chair. He said he represented district five. He is the  Representative for us! We got to ask him questions and the answers were really interesting. It was very fun meeting him. The second thing I really enjoyed was the chamber room and what we did there. When we entered the chamber room it was so big and fancy. Benjamin Boykin said it is the fanciest and nicest chamber room in the county. We were all assigned jobs by Benjamin Boykin. The jobs were Chairman, Clerks, and Legislators. Josh got to be Chairman and got to sit in the actual place where the Chairman sits. He is so lucky, I wish I got to be Chairman. But at least I got to be a Clerk with Lainey. Everybody else got to be a Legislator. The most surprising thing was that we all got to sit in the actual seats in the chamber room. There were microphones on each of them. I got to sit right under the chairman as a clerk facing all the other Legislators. “LEGISLATOR OSCAR!” I said through the mic. It came out louder than I thought. It sounded like the world’s biggest horn ‘farting.’ We used a mock bill to see actually how they do it with a real bill. I had a lot of lines to do! I had to take attendance. Chairman Josh got the most lines though, he had to call on people to make comments on the bill and much. Then me and Lainy recorded the votes and we voted no on the law. When I called on people it sounded like this: “Legislator Maria, no. Legislator Spencer, no. Legislator Oscar, no.” and so on. It was fun speaking through the mic. Plus the chair I was sitting on was extra comfy! The third thing I liked was hitting the gavel. At the end of the meeting we all got to hit the gavel and say “the meeting is now augured.” It was really because it felt like I had a lot of power. It was not the funnest thing to do but I still liked it. So those are the top three things I liked to do when I went to the Westchester county Board of Legislators. They were all really fun to do and I want to do it again. I also learned a lot and you’re going to find out what!

I learned a lot on the trip and I was surprised about some of them. One thing I learned is that the gavel is a hammer that you hit on a piece of wood. The Chairman hits it to bring order to the chamber. That means if everybody is arguing the Chairman hits the gavel and everybody stops. They also do at the end of a meeting and say “the meeting is now adjourned.” Another thing I learned is that there are about 1.3 million people in Westchester and about 20,000 people in Scarsdale. The county executive is the president of the Westchester Board of Legislators. His name is George Latimer and he is running for the senate. Another fun fact is that the very first chairman in the board of legislators is about to turn 100 years old in 2025. That means he was born in 1925. Benjamin Boykin represents district five (Our district). There are 17 districts and because there is an odd number of districts when they vote on a bill there can never be a tie. They also taught us about the process a bill takes before it becomes a law. First somebody introduces an idea to the board. They take it to the committee room where the committee members say what they think on the bill. They can add minor changes and then they vote. If a majority of the committee members vote yes then they take the bill to the board of legislators chamber room. In the chamber room the legislators read the law and make comments. The public is invited. After they make comments the clerk tallies the law. If the majority votes yes the bill is sent to the county executive which is George Latimer at the minute. If he signs it the bill is a law. If he vetoes it is sent back to the chamber room to revise or change. Benjamin Boykin said that most bills they vote on become a law. But if the judicial branch of Westchester County says it is unconstitutional it is not a law anymore. Overall, I really liked this trip I learned so much and had so much fun.

Overall, I thought the trip to the Westchester County Board of Legislators was really fun. The things I most liked on the trip were meeting Benjamin Boykin, going into the chamber room, and hitting the gavel at the end of the trip. I also learned a lot and want to go back soon.

The Fifth Grade

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Do you like hot dogs? Well I do. I’m really looking forward to The Hot Dog Field day, the Board of Legislators trip, the science unit Space Systems: The Stars and The Solar System,  writing more literary essays and studying The Making of a Government & U.S. Constitution. I loved making the identity maps, studying the government, and much more. Also, do you like school? If you don’t, you could be surprised at how much you can enjoy the first week of fifth grade. 

Five things I did in the past week I either really enjoyed or were really boring. Really boring. One thing is the book I started (and finished) called Storm Runner and it is now one of my favorite books. I’m dying to read the next book called “The Fire Keeper.” The Storm Runner is about a boy named Zane and he figures out he is a godborn and connected to ancient prophecy. Now he must travel to the Old World and fight the god of death, destruction, and disaster, A-puch. One time in the book Zane found a elephant sized chicken banging on the door of his house with Hondo and Brooks. It turned out to be Ms. Cab the great seer! I had to reread it three times to make sure my eyes were not malfunctioning. It was so funny! “Holy chicken!” I said, “why is a giant chicken pecking on the doors! Does it want birdseed?!” (Later in the book Ms Cab actually started to love birdseed.) I also started the Wings of Fire series and it is so interesting. The second thing I really enjoyed was making an identity map. It tells everything that makes you, you. I worked really hard on it and almost went over the time limit. The hardest part was making the Real Madrid and Spanish soccer team logos. I had to do it last because my teacher Ms. Cooper had to show me what they looked like so I could draw them correctly. Then when it was the last day to finish the identity maps I could not finish in time. “Please please please.” I begged for more time. At least Ms. Cooper gave me five extra minutes to finish the next day. Yeeeee haw! I thought. No, I’m not a cowboy. The third thing I did that I really enjoyed is probably the most interesting. It is studying the government. The 3 branches are the executive (president), legislative (congress), and the judicial branch. (supreme court). We are going to go much deeper in the government and how it works especially since in November 2024 it is the presidential election. This is one of my favorite topics and I really want to learn more. I ended up reading all the books and watching all the videos that I had more than five pages of notes! Once when I told Ms. Furgatch I had finished with my notes she said to read all them over. “Awwwwwwwww.” A fourth thing I loved was drawing the zentangle hands with Mr Bently. Now for the boring part. The “Responsible Use Policy” (RUP) lesson with Mr. Casal. (yes yes I get it. R u p, don’t make a joke about it.) This is when Mr Casal  gives us a presentation about how to responsibly use our chromebooks and the consequences if we don’t. When it was time to read over the responsible use policy about our chromebooks I thought I was going to die of boredom! When he called for questions so many people raised their hands. AAAAAA we are going to be here all day. I just had to stretch and yawn. So these were some of the great and not so great things I did in the first week of school. Next is what I look forward to. Or should I say, the future. 

Yeah, I agree I  made that last sentence a little too dramatic. Probably I did not need it. But, now for what I look forward to. Now, it might sound funny to you when I say hot dog field day but yes. This is all true. The first thing I look forward to is the Hot Dog Field day. Now, I’m not 100% sure what it is about but I think it is a day when you eat tons of hot dogs somewhere. I love hot dogs. So you can probably see why I’m excited.  What I am most excited about is the Board of Legislators field trip. It’s a half day field trip to a building where you learn all about the government. Specifically the Legislative branch (Congress). So you can see that I really like studying the government. The third thing I’m excited about is studying Space Systems: The Stars and The Solar System in science. I’m fascinated by the universe and would love to learn more.  The fourth thing I’m excited about is studying the Making of a Government & U.S. Constitution. Again the government. One thing that interests me is how people come up with such a complex way of making a government and how it will work so I want to learn more. The fifth and last thing I’m excited about is writing more literary essays. It is so fun to type, type, and type some more! And there you go, the five things I’m excited about. Mind you these are only some of the things I am really excited about but I don’t have enough space to write them. Things like the Halloween Party but that is for another time so adios! (For now)

Overall, I really enjoyed what we did in the past week and I’m really excited for the year to come! To summarize what I did in the past week, I enjoyed reading the storm runner series, making the identity map, and studying the government. I’m excited about the Hot Dog Field Day, Board of Legislators Trip, Space Systems: The Stars and The Solar System, and The Making of a Government & U.S. Constitution. What are you excited about?