Capstone Reflection

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Have you ever done a Capstone? Or made a video for one? Even make one about space? Well, I actually did all that, and even though it was hard, I had lots of fun! A Capstone is when you pick a topic that you want to either learn about or show other people about, and create a video, a TedTalk, or a Ignite. There were lots of steps, including research, the essay, making the script, and the presentation altogether. But even though it was hard, it is still very fun and students will definitely learn a lot. If you ever make one, just remember, even if you are having trouble at first, do not give up because the finishing results will end up very good, no matter what!

During research, you first need to make sub questions. This helps you elaborate on the main question. Next, you have to know some keywords to remember when you are scanning books or the internet. These are important because you do not want to go on an article that is really long and doesn’t have anything to do with your topic. After you find at least 20 keywords, you can start researching. When you research, only trust reliable sources, like nonfiction books, Wikipedia, or special websites that you know tells the truth. For example, I did my Capstone on black holes and neutron stars, so I used Nasa’s website. To be able to save your work, write some notes in a notebook or notepad so that you can put it in your Capstone essay(more on that later). Some things that went well were the keywords. I had TONS of them, so I also had lots of research for the first four sub questions, but the fifth one… that was a problem. I barely found anything on that one, which was about how the study on black holes and neutron stars expanded over time. So I needed to search over fifteen websites before I found a good source. And some things were really interesting too. I found out that magnetars, a type of neutron star, can literally melt you! And that white holes are black holes that sucked up so much stuff that they blast stuff out of it instead of in. Altogether, Capstone research is a tiring step, but pays off in the end.

The essay is where you bring all the research together into, well, an essay! You usually make each sub question into a body paragraph. The answer to my main inquiry question (How does a Neutron star compare to a Black hole and what are scientists doing to learn more?)is that neutron stars are more of a threat than black holes, and scientists are also trying to build better telescopes, and discover new ones. To write the essay, though, you need a lot of research, not just remembering off the top of your head. Also, you need to tell them exactly what it is, and cite every quote. Some things that were enjoyable were actually writing! It was pretty fun to write it, and also the feeling when I finished, it was great. One thing that was challenging was the fifth body paragraph. As I said, I did not find much research, so I could not write much, and as a result had a small body paragraph. But a found a website where there was an example of an advance in the study of neutron stars and black holes. Here is my essay. Ultimately, the essay was fun and played a big part in making Capstone.

When we were making the Capstone, you could either choose a TedTalk or a Movie, and for both of those, you must have a script. For the script, you need a narration, and a chart/the “script” itself. First, you take your essay and put it in your narration. Then you need to only have the important parts. Eight hundred to one thousand five hundred words, more or less should be good. Then, you want to put all the words into the script, and time how long it takes. You want to take four to six seconds, and put either four or six seconds in the time box. After that, you want text and photos. Write the type of text or photo you want on the side, and then you are done with the script! The most enjoyable part was when I was reading it aloud, because that is important for the video to be on time, and it was also kind of fun. There were a couple problems, like the timing. I had a ton of errors, like putting three words in a four-second box, and it was near the top of the script, so I couldn’t waste time moving the time down. Eventually, I quit using the time, and on the movie I just read down the script without time. Here is my script. Long story short, the script is hard and can confuse and mess you up, but it holds everything together and is important.

Now, we did everything except for the video or TedTalk itself. I’m going to start with videos. For videos, you first make two seconds of black at the start and end of the video. Next, put in the photos. My class used WeVideo, so I am going to explain about that. WeVideo has photos itself, but you might not have enough, so you can take photos from the internet. But there is a big rule for that. You can only have Creative Commons photos, and still have to cite them. To do that, you can search up an image, go to tools, and then click creative commons. Make a small section at the end of the video and put the sites on it, or even put the link at the bottom of the photo. After you put all the photos in, go to the project bin, and click narrate. Record yourself saying the script, then drop it in after the two seconds of black. Finally, add music, and see if your video is the same time as your recording, and if it is no extra frames(in WeVideo there are twenty-four frames per second, about two times the lowest frames per second when the brain makes motion). My favorite part was when I was listening to the music for the video because they were SO COOL! But that ended quickly because of the most challenging part: getting the time well. I had to spend so much time trying to match up the time, and it was hard. But just remember this: you can not steal photos! For a TedTalk, you need to make a Google Slide. Same for a TedTalk, you need photos. Just go to the photo icon and tap “Insert photo from google”, and it will give you pictures that you do not need to cite. That is the only other step except for memorizing the script. Try doing everything in one go, and use flashcards to practice. Now, you know how to make a TedTalk, and WeVideo.

All in all, Capstone was hard, but the results were very good. The steps are research, the essay, the script, and the final product. Capstone was a memorable choice for an end-of-the-year project, and was really amazing. If you ever make a Capstone, I hope you will have fun!

Teamwork makes the Ardsley-work

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Imagine you are on a bus. You are going to a Curling rink. It’s freezing cold, about 40 degrees, and you step inside the rink. You see the other class finishing their games. They roll a stone down the ice, and they are yelling and cheering when a stone is in the rings. All too soon, it’s your turn. You slowly walk in the rink, shuddering. An instructor teaches you how to play, and it’s pretty fun! Have you done Curling? Well, I did last week! Curling is a game of skill and speed. The basic rules are, you “Curl” a stone down the ice, and your team sweeps the ice, trying to make it slide in the ring. You win the round if your stone is closest to the center of the rings. Many Curling clubs let you Curl with many friends and have fun, including Ardsley. Ardsley has even held Curling championships! But Ardsley Curling club taught me how to properly Curl, and something special; to work as a team.

Eventually, I learned to work as a team, but at the start, I was a mess. I didn’t know the rules, and if I knew the slightest bit, it was just that you slide a rock down the ice and try to get it inside a bunch of rings. I started to learn as a team first at Physical Education(PE). Mr. Borgia, the coach, told us to start by showing us a video that told us how to play and the origin of Curling. Basically, the rules are, there is a stone, you slide it down the ice, and try to get it in the center of a bunch of rings, which is called a house. Whoever’s stone is closest to the center wins the round, and gets one point for each stone in the house. Whoever loses though, gets the “hammer”. That means you go last, and have the power to even knock all your opponents’ stones away! I started by practicing with bean bags. I made teams, then played. After the game, I would say, “Nice game!”, and when the other team or our team made the bean bag go in the house. The only problem was they’re really light and I was basically throwing them. The real ones were FORTY-FIVE POUNDS! So I only learned how to play and a bit of how to “Curl” the stone. Then, I used light Curling stones, but on wheels. When you “Curl” the stone, it basically means that you send it slowly spinning in a direction. I learned that, and not to use too much or too little power. But I still was throwing the stone, and wasn’t that good. So when we got to the Curling Club, I was terrified! I also actually was shocked. “What? I thought it would be smaller! Well, it’s supposed to be smaller than a hockey rink! And what are these sliding things?” I had no idea what was going on. Most of the time, me, Sebastian, and Juan got along pretty well as a team.

When Sebastian, Juan, and I started playing, we actually did well! We were playing against four girls. I was last. It was really hard though. Sebastian went first, so me and Juan were sweeping. He sent it down, but it was way too fast! We speedwalked after it, but we couldn’t catch up(you can’t run on the ice or you won’t be able to play). It flew past the house. Then, we came back. Clearly there were some problems, but everything else was fine. No one scored that round. The next round, Sebastian went again. Cha-chink! The stone grinded against the ice. “Don’t sweep”, I called out. The stone raced down the ice. It was in the house! We ran down the side of the rink, where there was no ice. Yeah! We all cheered. But then, “tonk!” their stone hit ours, knocking it away and declaring yet another tie. This was the last round. This round would determine who won. Them, or us. Sebastian went first. We didn’t sweep but it still went too far. The other team went, but was short. Juan went. We sweeped and swept, but it barely made it two-thirds the way. Finally, it was my turn. I put my foot back, turned the stone at ten o’ clock, and pushed. My teammates swept and swept. Harder! Just a bit more! It slid closer and closer…and went in. WE WON! Everyone cheered. Yeah! This proves that if you work as a good team, you can achieve anything. A funny time at the Curling rink was when I was walking away from Juan, because he was about to practice Curling the stone(actually, there was no way you could call sliding at fifteen miles per hour on ice “walking”). The coach said, turn it from ten o’ clock to two o’ clock. WHOOPS! Well, there goes the broom! And my confidence. The coach came rushing over. “I’m surprised that she didn’t bring a wheelchair. Or fall over, I thought.” She asked, “Are you ok?” No, I said stupidly. That was a time where teamwork actually DIDN’T actually help. Still, ninety nine percent of the time, being a team member will help.

In conclusion, this trip taught me a lot about being a good team member and friend. Sebastian and Juan both were also really good teammates. When I made that game-winning shot, they didn’t sweep, and actually, they let us win. This trip was really inspiring, and Mr. Borgia must have done a lot so this trip could happen. I also thank Ardsley Curling Club for teaching us and letting us play on their rink. Do you want to play curling? If so, stop by Ardsley!

Feature Article Reflection

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What do you like? Video games, chess, a sport? And would you write about it? Well, I just did, and it’s called a Feature Article! Come on, go to your device and start writing!

 

I came up with my topic and message because, for the topic, I had three choices: Chinese culture, hockey, and Pokemon. I chose Pokemon because I know a ton about it, love it, and am a collector and battler myself. For my message, I know there are over 1000 species of Pokemon, which is a lot, and I came up with “ There are over 1000 types of Pokemon, with many different varieties. Where do you start?” 

 

The part of the article that was most enjoyable was writing the types of Pokemon because I know a lot about those types of Pokemon. After all, in the card game, you have to know a lot about that to play. The part of the article that was challenging was the part about the world championships, which is out of my normal area, but I still know a lot about it. The reason why it is challenging is because there have been quite a lot of them, and it is split up into Junior, Senior, and Master.
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An example of the technique I used best in the feature article was a statement of fact, in my introduction. I wrote, “Pokemon is so much more than just collecting cards. True, that is one of the things that you can do with Pokemon, but there is also battling and selling them to make money.” And, in the conclusion, I Used an antidote and said, “As you can see, Pokemon is very fun with its competition, varieties of cards, and collecting them! Go and research Pokemon and let everyone you know enjoy the fun, So next time you’re going for a stroll at Target, think before walking away from the Pokemon aisle!” What I am most proud of in this piece of writing is that It is my favorite piece of writing because I got to write what I liked and I have not made a better one(so far). 

Finally, writing a feature article compares to writing a personal narrative because you don’t need fun facts, vocabulary, or pictures, and the Feature article is larger. The Feature article is my favorite writing project and will be for a long time.

Trick-or-treat

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Ding-dong! Oh! There’s someone at your door. It’s a little kid in a costume. Suddenly you remember! You give the kid some candy then rush upstairs to change. The trick-or-treating time has come! It’s Halloween! Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, do you think it is fun? I do! The costumes are amazing! Also, it’s nice to go with your friends and have fun! Plus, Getting all that candy is good too. Happy Halloween!

At my school, we had a Halloween party and a parade too! The Halloween party was only for 5th graders. There was a dance party and a game room. My favorite activity was the foosball table in the game room. If you don’t know what foosball is, it’s a two-player game where you try to get to these small plastic people to score a goal. Some of the costumes were fun! I saw some terrifying ones, but also fun ones. There were many football players, but the one I liked most was Andrew’s because he was a giant chicken! I was a grim reaper. During the parade, I saw many costumes and parents. We even took a photo at the end. Everyone wanted to be next to Andrew! I liked marching around because it was fun being the head of the attention. This is what I enjoyed about the Halloween party and parade.

After school, I trick-or-treated outside my neighborhood with my friend Eric Yang, then counted all the candy at home. When I went trick-or-treating, I didn’t know the neighborhood. So, Eric and his dad guided me, and we went to the other side of the school area where his house was, which was Fox Meadow. It was really fun to see all the decorations in the yard and get the candy. After we trick-or-treated, we came back to Eric’s house and counted our candy. I didn’t get too much candy, only 69 pieces. Then my mom went to pick me up, and we went home. I could only keep ten pieces of candy, so my top three were: 3.100 grand, 2. sour punch ropes, and 1. Butterfingers. I was allowed to eat a couple of pieces of candy each week. These were what I enjoyed the most about Halloween at school and home.

So, this Halloween has been fun for me at home, and school. If I had to choose my favorite holiday, Halloween would be one of my favorites. what would be your favorite holiday? And what do you like about Halloween?

Don’t Look Down!

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Imagine you are standing on a cliff. A rope swings in front of you. You have to get your whole team to the other side. Swing, swing, swing. Noooo! You fall off the cliff to your doom. I experienced that at the Bedford Ropes course. Not the cliff though. Anyway, my class just went there! It is a tough rope and wire course, with five challenges. There is the “Mowhawk Walk”, the “Indiana Jones Challenge”, the Rope Swing Challenge, “Lava Island”, and the Rope bridge challenge as the 5 very hard challenges. I started off thinking, this is pretty easy! In reality, it was pretty hard. Can you do it? 

My favorite challenge was the Indiana Jones challenge. First, you had to walk on a bunch of wooden beams that led up to a tree. Then you got down and had to walk on four series of wires. The first was a rope that you could hold on to and a wire. Then, there were two intertwining wires. Next, there was just a tightrope. Finally, there were two metal wires with two ropes attached to it. All of them were hard. But that is not it! You had to walk across another wire, and then step on swings to get to a wooden beam, but before you got there, there was a rope to swing across.  The Mohawk Walk was my second favorite. I just had to go across wires to get to a pad. It seems easy, but it is challenging.  Logan said, “If we scoot, we don’t touch the floor, and we can move across!” That was the only way I got across, and that hurt a lot too! A frustrating challenge was the rope swing challenge. You had a rope swinging from above, and you had to use it to get everyone across to the other platform! Those were the challenges that I enjoyed.

I learned that I should not just go rushing in by myself, and instead help others. I also realized that Logan was very strategic. He had a plan for the rope swing challenge: climb very high. We tried it, but it failed the first time, but then the second time, someone climbed high and then dropped on the platform. It worked! Also, he swung off the rope and hung on to it, which was a good plan for the rope bridge challenge. I learned that teamwork is very important, especially for the rope swing, because when we were climbing high, a ton of people had to hold on to the rope so that the person up high wouldn’t just swing off. Another example was when we did the lava island. Everyone had to step on the plank so the person jumping to the following platform didn’t make the plank touch the “lava”, so we had to work together. Then, we had to work together to make a plan for the Mohawk Walk, and first when we didn’t, well, we just flipped upside down and fell. I thought, “That was hilarious!” I learned a lot about teamwork that way.

I think this trip was very fun. The two challenges I enjoyed were the “Indiana Jones Challenge”, and the “Mowhawk Walk”. One that was frustrating was the rope swing. As you know, teamwork is essential for Bedford Ropes. Now that you’ve heard about it, would you want to go? And how would you deal with the challenges?

     -Grade photo           Rope swing challenge-

Home of the Brave Reflection

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Often times in literature, Authors create characters that we can relate to to learn from. A window is a part of the text that is new to you, and a mirror is a difference to you from the story. In the novel “Home of The Brave” by Katherine Applegate, the main character, Kek, has a lot of windows and mirrors. Today, we will be focusing on windows.

One way Kek’s life is a window for me is losing family members. In the story, Kek lost all of his family except for his aunt and cousin, Ganwar. His mom might still be alive, but nobody knows. I have never lost a family member, and it must hurt. You will still live, but you never forget the loss. When he was reunited with his extended family, he realized how much he missed his true family. Kek keeps trying to find her, so he must never give up! I am not that brave and might give up in times like that.

Another window for me is having to adapt to new technology. I was always used to computers and laundry machines and stuff like that. But Kek? No. Everything was new to him. There was a key, a lock, and he said, “There are more? How can that be? You have a kingdom here! A TV machine, a sitting place, a cooking fire!”. Also, he thought that you put the dishes in the laundry machine to wash them! This part of the text proves that Kek is not used to America. I think this would be hard if you didn’t know much.

From reading Home of the Brave, I learned that the life of a refugee is hard. They go through a lot, and it is impressive! I just can not relate to that. What do you think about this?

Identity Map Reflection

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In the first month of school, we made identity maps. Identity maps are a way to express who you are and what you like. Making one is challenging. First, use a ruler to make lines. Then, write some things you enjoy inside the lines. Finally, you start to draw. For example, if you did something like sports, you could draw basketballs or a soccer net! You get to do whatever you want. That is how you make an identity map. Find out more next!

There are a lot of categories in my identity map, but there were a couple of activities that I just really liked. One aspect is Pokemon. I think one of the reasons why Pokemon is so interesting is because it allows people to immerse themselves in a world filled with fantastical creatures and exciting adventures. The idea of capturing and training our own Pokemon, battling against other trainers, and exploring new regions is incredibly appealing to many people. Additionally, the variety of Pokemon available – each with unique abilities and personalities – means there’s always something new to discover and new strategies to try out. Whether you’re a casual fan or a dedicated player, the world of Pokemon is endlessly fascinating and entertaining.  Another element I liked was science. Science is fascinating because it allows us people to discover new information about the world we live in. It helps us to answer questions about how things work, why things happen, and what we can do to improve our lives. Through science, we can explore the mysteries of the universe and unlock the secrets of the natural world. It is a constantly evolving and advancing field, making it even more exciting to learn about. Whether you are interested in biology, chemistry, physics, or any other scientific discipline, there is always something new and interesting to discover. Finally, Scratch is a fascinating programming language because it allows users to create interactive stories, games, and animations by dragging and dropping code blocks. It’s a great way to introduce kids to programming concepts in a fun and engaging way, and it also allows for creativity and experimentation. With Scratch, users can bring their ideas to life and share them with a community of like-minded creators. It’s no wonder that Scratch has become such a popular tool for learning and expression. 

I also enjoyed learning about my tablemates, Noah, Ebrar, Jennie, Nina, and Suhana. We each shared three sections. Ebrar likes cats because they are soft and fluffy, and she says they are adorable. Jennie enjoys playing violin, and she likes the music too. She used to play piano but the violin’s notes are easier. She also likes reading because it is entertaining, fun, and healthy for your brain. Lastly, she is proud of her Chinese culture. For Noah, he likes Tennis. Noah likes tennis because there are so many role models to look up to that blow him away, it is his best sport, and he loves watching it. He also likes his camp, Chenawanda, because it is his happy place and he would do anything to stay there a little longer. Another reason why he likes it is because all his friends go there and each year he makes new ones. Lastly, Noah loves hip-hop because there are so many artists and he likes the music.

In conclusion, creating an identity map can be a helpful tool for exploring and understanding the different aspects of yourself. By mapping out our values, beliefs, experiences, and relationships, we can gain a clearer sense of who we are and what is important to us. Would you like to make an identity map? If so, what would you put on it? What would you do? What is really important, is to have fun!

 

My First Week of School Reflection

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BEEP! BEEP! I’m just going to hit the snooze-what the! The alarm clock? Yes! It’s the first day of school! I quickly get out of the car, into the school, and wander down the hallway to the classroom. More and more kids are starting to come. IT’S FIFTH GRADE! Fifth grade has had a lot of fun things so far. I enjoyed recess, The We Make a Difference project the past week, and the 4 fours challenge. Some of the things I plan to enjoy this year are the science unit about space, curling with Mr. Borgia, and the comic writing unit. 

Three. . . Two. . . One. . . Brinnggg!!! It’s recess! Recess is fun because I like playing outside, breathing the fresh air, and getting a little exercise. I also get to spend time with my friends, which is important for me.  Practicing some sports is also good. Another thing I enjoyed was the “We Make a Difference” assignment. I like drawing, and drawing the lines for my self-portrait was fun. After drawing a self-portrait, I had to look and see if a word matched my trait, and I chose smart. Then, I went online to find a quote that was about intelligence or smartness. I found one by Albert Einstein. Finally,  Mrs. Furgatch helped me glue them together. The final thing I enjoyed this week was the “4 fours challenge”. You had to get the digits from 1-20 using four fours. As a challenge, you could do it to 50. Some of the odd digits were hard. I got stuck on numbers 33,35,37,39 and 41. It was really hard, but I finished in three days. So, those things were the subjects that I enjoyed the past week.

I am looking forward to 3 things this year: The science unit about space, curling with Mr. Borgia, and the Comic writing unit. I would enjoy the space unit because I like learning about space. Stars are really interesting because stars are the most widely recognized astronomical objects, and represent the most fundamental building blocks of galaxies. I’m also excited about curling with Mr. Borgia because curling is exciting. Curling is fun because sliding the stone down the ice and then aiming for the center ring is hard. I also enjoy exercise too and the stone is pretty heavy. Curling has been described as chess on ice. It is a game of great strategy and skill. A steely nerve is required to deliver the stone when the pressure is on and there is no room for error. Finally, there is the Comic writing unit. For me, writing comics is fun. Comic writing is just that They engage the senses. Unlike prose, comics bring together multiple senses on one page. Not only does the comic creator have the power of words, but they also have the power of visuals and symbols. They can represent the emotion behind the dialogue.  I once wrote a comic about dinosaurs, and I loved making it. Making a comic can be a way to express your feelings, to make people laugh, or simply for fun. These were the things that I hopefully will enjoy this year.

That’s what I enjoyed the past week and what I will look forward to in the year. In conclusion, last week was fun! As mentioned, I liked Recess, which is all-around fun, the We Make a Difference project, where I enjoyed drawing, and the 4 fours challenge. I will enjoy the science unit about space, Curling with Mr. Borgia would be fun, and the Comic writing unit is fun because of drawing. This year will be fun. What did you enjoy these past weeks?