A detective case -- whether there was a fire evacuation at San Diego International Airport (by William)

This evening at my school open house, Ms. Huang mentioned to me that her son told her that there was fire evacuation at San Diego International Airport today.  She told me that my homework was to get more information and write a blog about it. 

I went home and started working on it after I did all my night chore.  We first went to Google and Facebook, and searched for any report about fire evacuation, but we didn’t find any.  Then I started thinking “Hmm, why doesn’t the internet have it?”  My mom said “Why don’t we call the Airport directly to find out whether it really happened?”  So she found the phone number online and called the Airport, but there were voice messages only because people have gone for the day.  Then we tried to call the Fire Department in the Airport, but that didn’t work out either for the same reason.  Next we tried to call the Police Department non-emergency line, a dispatcher there told us that she hadn’t heard anything about the airport fire today.  At last, we called the car rental company at the Airport and were told that they didn’t hear anything about the fire evacuation at the airport. 

At this point, my mom turned to me and said “Ha ha ha, William, it is possible that the evacuation was small scale so most people don’t even know about it.  It’s also possible that Ms. Huang is testing you and there was no evacuation.”  Either way I loved the investigative work. 

Thank you Ms. Huang for giving me the challenge.  The research process was interesting and exciting.  

The Solar System Project (by William)

A few weeks ago, we learned that each of us was going to do a Solar System Project.  I was very excited.  

We first learned about the Solar System in School.  The Solar System has 8 planets.  Let’s start off with Mercury.  Mercury is the closest plant from the sun.  It has dark rocks that don’t reflect the sunlight.  Mercury has no moons.  Venus is the 2^nd planet from the sun.  It has poisonous clouds that traps in the heat.  Venus has no moons.  Earth is the 3^rd planet from the sun.  The temperature on Earth is perfect for us.  Earth has one moon.  Mars is the 4^th planet form the sun.  It is called the red planet because there is red soil on Mars.  Mars might have Martians living on it.  Mars has two small moons.  Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are all inner planet.  

There is an asteroid belt between the inner and outer planet.  It is made out of asteroids and debris.  

Jupiter is the 5^th planet from the sun.  There is a storm called the Great Red Spot on Jupiter.  The great Red Spot is about three Earths wide.  Jupiter has the most moons in our Solar System.  Saturn is the 6^th planet from the sun, and it has many rings made out of debris and moons.  Saturn has about 42 moons.  Jupiter and Saturn are Gas Giants.  

Uranus is the 7^th planet from the sun.  Uranus is tilted on its side and spins vertically.  Uranus has about 24 moons.  Neptune is the 8the planet from the sun.  It has a storm, the Great Dark Spot which is even stronger than Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.  Uranus and Neptune are Ice Giants. 

 (Paint the planets based on their actual colors)

  (Planets ready to fly to their orbits in a recycled carton box)

(Solar System - Explore the Unknown)

After I learned all the information at school, I want home and collected information online about eh diameter of the planets and the distance from the sun.  After that, my mom took me to a craft store to purchase materials.  When we got home, mom helped me cut the Styrofoam balls according to the sizes of the planets, and I painted the Styrofoam balls.  We hung the planets/balls up, and I made labels for each planet and rings for Saturn.  Finally, mom recorded my piano playing of Star Wars Main Theme and my project—Solar System Explore the Unknown, was nicely completed. 

      

 

Our Egg Project by Ethan

We did an egg project in our class.

First we received 2 dozen eggs and also an incubator, all on April 6^th.  Chicks take 3 weeks (21 days) to hatch. We first studied all of the parts of an egg and their function. The shell provides the embryo with moisture and warmth. The shell membrane is a thin but tough skin that lines the shell. It can keep bacteria from getting to the chick, but not virus. The air cell is a pocket of air in between the membrane and shell. It is what the chick first pecks at when it hatches. Next come to the albumen; it is the white of an egg. It provides needed amounts of protein to the chick. The chalazae are protein-made twisted strands that hold the yolk in place. The yolk is the yellow blob in an egg. It gives the embryo fat and other nutrients. If you look closely, there is a tiny white dot on the yolk; it is the germ spot. That is where the chick starts to develop.

On the day we got the eggs, we were showed all the parts of the incubator before we put the eggs in. The thermostat controls the temperature and it is the most important part. If the incubator is pushed, shoved or even just lightly bumped, then the thermostat may move and the temperature may change, that can kill the embryos.

When we put the eggs in we had to worry about temp, time and humidity. After excitingly while anxiously waiting for 21 days, nothing happened! Why?  We investigated carefully and found out that someone bumped the incubator and raised the temp too hot.

It is very ,very disappointing that we have no chicks. That happens sometime.  But the project was exciting. I think it is very fun to study about eggs and chicks.

Accept Changes (by William)

*Dedicated to Ms.Tang who taught me how to write an opinion story.

I believe that dealing with changes is not always easy.  One example of that is if you need to move to a different place, you may have to sacrifice your belongings or face unfamiliar people.  But changes are unavoidable. That is why we should learn to accept changes.

One time my cousin Livia came to visit me for a week.  After I went home from school, I met my 3 year old cousin for the first time.  My jaw dropped open.  She had a chubby face, brown hair, and a smile that seemed to light the whole room.

A few days later, I saw oranges with funny faces that my mom and Livia drew on.  At that point what really bothered me was that my mom took time off from work just for her, and they were having fun while I was in school.  My cheeks got red as a tomato as I stormed upstairs.  I confronted my mom with steam rushing out my ears.  I asked my mom furiously, “How come this happened, all my oranges are ruined!”  Later my mom explained that I need to share my attention and love from her with my cousin.  I need to learn to be nice to my guests.

(My cousin is so adorable and I do love her very much)

Sometimes changes will happen unexpectedly.  I never thought that my swimming coach would leave me.  This is how I faced changes that came unexpectedly.

Another time, I was happily swimming in my swim school.  Just then, my mom swam up to me. Then she said, “Coach Mickie will be leaving.”  My eyes grew as big as saucers and I even felt like crying.  I was silent for a long time. I felt my heart skipping a beat.  After a while I asked, “Why is he leaving?  “He is going to go to Chile and then is going back to school,” replied my mom.

Later that night, I drew him a surfer to represent good luck for the adventure that awaits him.  Now I have a new coach and I learned a lot from my new coach like how to do a flip turn, but I will always remember the time I had Coach Mickie.

These experiences showed me that changes can happen anytime.  When you accept changes, your heart grows bigger, stronger and more tolerant.  From now on, I will try to accept changes with an open heart.

Ski at Lake Tahoe (by William)

During my spring break, my family and I went to Lake Tahoe to ski.  We lived in David Walley’s Hot Springs Resort in Genoa, Nevada. 

(Steam from the hot spring made me feel in the clouds)

We tried to sign up for group ski class, but unfortunately, it was all filled up.  I was so disappointed that I almost cried.  My mom said, “William, how about we think about other options?”  “Okay.”  I responded.  After a while, my mom returned from the office of the ski school and told me that she got me a private coach named George.  I was so happy! 

George picked boots, skis, and a helmet for me, then we rode on a snowmobile, went to an area called the Magic Carpet.  My coach taught me how to keep my balance and how to turn, and he was very patient.  When I made mistakes, he corrected me with the right way.  My class was three hours but I didn’t even notice the time.

(Coach George and I had a snowmobile ride)

After my class, I had lunch and continued to ski on my own.  I fell but didn’t give up. 

I loved skiing because it feels like I was flying on the mountain.  I saw evergreen trees and snow, and endless blue skies.  It was a spectacular day of skiing.

(Flying on the mountain slope)

Tips of Skiing

1. When you are coming downhill, make a pizza by pointing the head of the skis to each other.

2. When you want to keep balance, do an airplane by stretching out your arms.

3. To turn left, turn the right ski head inward.  To turn right, turn the head of the left ski inward. 

Chinese New Year Celebration (by William)

I celebrate Chinese New Year because my parents are Chinese American.  Chinese New Year goes by the lunar calendar.  It is called “Nian” in Chinese. 

In the south part of China, Nian was a monster who lived near a village on a mountain.  In wintertime, food was scarece on the mountain, so Nian roamed the village eating pets and farm animals.  People wanted to stop him.  They wore red clothes because Nian was afraid of red.  Villagers put sticky Nian cakes outside so when Nian ate them, his paws and mouth were stuck together.  People also blasted fireworks and firecrackers making him loose his coat of feathers.  Eventually Nian died. In the north part of China, the emperor decided to make dumplings for everyone.  He invited everyone over to the palace to eat.  This became known as Nian, or Chinese New Year. 

In China, cities have parades and dragon dances for celebration.  People give red envelopes to their children.  Red envelopes contain money for good luck and good fortune.

My family and I went to storytelling about the Monkey King at the Mission Playhouse in San Gabriel.  From my own knowledge, he and his monkey soldiers fought some soldiers from Heaven because the Heavenly God was upset that the Monkey King stole things from heaven.  The story teller also taught us Chinese characters.  It was very fun!

Storyteller

Street party

We didn’t just hear stories, we also saw a performance a few days afterwards.  My favorite acrobat performance was the Monkey King.

 The Monkey King

 Performers for the New Year Celebration

The Monkey King and me

Chinese people have special foods when celebrating the New Year.  The special foods are sticky Nian cake, turnip cake, and family reunion dinner with many dishes.

I am very proud to be a Chinese American.  Maybe one day you can write an article about holidays your family celebrates too.