Caroline Z.

The Incident about the Neon Green Sharpie

“Swoosh,” the sliding glass door to Walgreens slid to an opening. My brother and my dad walked in, with me tapping and trying to jump onto my dad’s shoulders for a piggyback ride, once he allowed me to  hop on to his back, we made our way straight back to the Pharmacy area. We were only there for one reason, that was to get my asthma medicine. But obviously, that one reason changed to two reasons when I first set eyes on that fine tipped, neon green, beautiful,” Not as beautiful as me, of course,  but still beautiful,” sharpie. Halfway, I made him stop. I tried to squeeze my way out of his strong grip on me. He allowed me to get down, just to let me sprint over to the school supply aisle. I screamed with delight, Daddy, Daddy, I NEED that neon green sharpie. At that time, I was like every other 5 year old. Annoying, and if they don't get what they want, they'd go haywire. After my dad replied,

” No!” Well, I bet you can guess what happened next.

          I suddenly took a moment to process what just took place. Before you know it, I just settled in meltdown mode. The entire store could hear me, ( it was so embarrassing).

” BUT WHY? I… PLEASE!” With tears rolling down my cheek. After my embarrassing meltdown, my dad still said no in the end and kept on making his way to the back of the store with Chris, where the Pharmacy was. After about 10 minutes, I calmed down. ( back then, I was such a drama queen.)

Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in my head! It was a wrong thought and I knew that it was a wrong thing to do. But, I couldn't let the opportunity just leave to get a hold of the fine tipped, neon green, beautiful,” Not as beautiful as me, of course, but still beautiful,” sharpie.

I glanced in one direction, then the next until I made sure that there were no workers, security cameras, or anyone around. I noticed my dad and my brother were asking the Pharmacist,

 “ Yes, Hi. I have a prescription for Caroline Zajac. Can I have it, please?” This was my chance, a perfect moment to snatch it. But then, I started to daydream. “ I can just picture my dad yelling at me, when he finds out I took the same exact sharpie I was having a meltdown over, in my hands. At my apartment, in my hallway.” I deleted the image out of my head, I pushed it aside. I decided to take the risk and got back to what I was doing. There was still a chance to grab it. No workers, no security cameras, no parents, and no brother. No one watching. I picked up the sharpie and slipped it into my pocket. I immediately felt guilt pour into me. I tried, somehow, I mean, to put it back. But it was too late, there were two workers in front of me putting in a new stock of cherry red lipstick. I turned left, another pair of workers were putting in a new stock of Valentine’s Day teddy bears. I turned to the other side of me, My dad and brother were heading towards me. No turning back now.

I was sweating bullets, I thought, “ What if a Worker finds out? What if my Dad finds out? What if I go through the sliding glass door and the security detector goes off and the manager finds out?!! So much questions and stress went through me at once, I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t know what to do. To make matters worse, when my Dad walked up to me he felt bad and said,

“ Sorry, Caroline. For yelling at you, I mean. I will get you the sharpie tomorrow, on my way home from work. I gulped, he carried me to the cash register and I couldn’t put it back. I took the sharpie, carelessly, with my face like a tomato, my hands were clammy, and there were butterflies in my stomach. I wasn’t thinking, but I did it.

          Before I knew it, I was home after about 15 minutes. At Apartment 5B, I tried to put the sharpie away, under my bed. But suddenly, my Dad saw me

 “ I can just picture my dad yelling at me, when he finds out I took the same exact sharpie I was having a meltdown over, in my hands. At my apartment, in my hallway.” I remembered when I pictured that, I murmured to myself.

 “ Oh no! It's happening.¨  I was so nervous and shaky like I was in a earthquake. Those were my words when he saw the sharpie in my hands. His words were,

“ CAROLINE!¨ 

The lesson I learned helped me throughout life, that was. Not to steal a neon green sharpie from Walgreens. Also, not to steal anything without paying for it. I learned what consequences are, what they mean, and that they can be good and bad.

Henry T.

Samuel Adams

Do you know who spoke “The country shall be independent and we will be satisfied with nothing short of it” ? I will give you a hint. He was a Harvard graduate and governor of Massachusetts revolutionary war hero and a very smart boy. It is Samuel Adams!

Chapter 1 Samuel Adams education /childhood

Samuel Adams was born September 16, 1722. His parents names were Mary Fifield, and Deacon Adams. Only three of his brothers and sisters lived past three. He had 12 brothers and sisters. Samuel's education began in church at age seven in Boston. Every day he spent 4 hours in church listening to prayers.In my opinion he was a very smart boy. He attended dame school and learned how to read write and do arithmetic. Then after Dame school he attended Harvard at age seventeen. He studied Hebrew, Latin, Greek. He also studied philosophy. In college he was very interested in John Locke's piece´s they taught him to resist bad government and should not be taxed without the consent of the people.

Chapter 2 Samuel Adam’s careers

After college from Harvard in 1743. He was hired at Thomas Cushing’s counting house but the job didn’t last too long, because Cushing’s thought that Samuel Adams was too preoccupied to become a good merchant. After this his father gave him $ 1,000 and that didn’t go well he gave half his money to a friend that never repaid, then frittered away the rest of the money. Then his father made him a partner in the family’s malt house. The malt house has been run by many adams. In 1748, his father, Deacon Adams passed away and he was now responsible for all the family affairs. He then became a tax collector, for a man that did not have much money and skill this was a bad choice, because he didn’t collect taxes if people didn’t have enough money so he barely collected any taxes.In 1749 he married the preachers daughter Elizabeth Checkley. After that he decided to focus on politics.He went to the Boston town meeting in the 1760’s. He got into Massachusetts House of Representatives and he went to the first continental congress in 1771. He then became the the governor of Massachusetts. He was also a political philosopher.  

Chapter 3 Samuel Adam's Role in the Revolutionary War

After the Boston tea party the coercive acts were passed in 1744. After the Boston Massacre he helped arrange the funerals for all the victims. In my opinion this prove that he is a nice man. After this they sent a article to Britain stating that these were innocent  that were just shot and killed. He was actually one of the lawyers for one of the soldiers who killed them. He did this to prove that everyone deserves justice even the British. He was against anything the British parliament did. He was a war hero in the war. He signed the constitution and played a major role in the revolutionary war. He did not want anyone to buy anything from Britain. The times were getting hard and the people wanted to start trade with the British and live in peace cause stuff was getting scarce. People stopped reading his article and people had started to stop printing them in there newspapers. In 1772, he asked that a committee of 

correspondence shall be established. It a group of 21 men making rights and sending them to other colonies.He also wanted a committee  for each colony.

Samuel Adams was a war hero. He was also one of the most important people in american history. He had one of the most important quotes in American history. Without him, America would not be the same.

Quiz

1.Where is Samuel Adams born?

A.Nevada

B.Boston

C.England

  

2.When was he born?

A.1722

B.1772

C.1754

3.What was his famous speech?

A.Give me liberty or give me death.

B.The country shall be independent and we will be satisfied with nothing short of it.

4.Did he have a wife?

A. Yes

B. No

5.Where did his education start and where did it end?

A.School

B. Church

C.  At home

6.What was his first job?

A. At a malto

B.  As a lawyer

C.   At a counting house

7.How much money did his father give him?

A.750 pounds

B.200 pounds

C.1000 pounds

Benjamin B.

George Washington Crosses  the Delaware River

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace. -George Washington

Boom!!!!!!!!!!!! Here comes the…

King George lll have taxed the American colonies way too much and for bad reasons. They wanted freedom. It was like instead of getting paid by parents and working for it, they worked for money and paid them what they earned and double. Totally unfair! Hi, my name is Ben  Straborny and I am going to teach you about George Washington Crossing the Delaware River. I will teach you all of the hardships. All of the shortness of many supplies. And last all of the battles in between and after the Delaware River. Now, sit back and read this thrilling, exciting adventure.

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all. -George Washington

The Hardships of Crossing the Delaware River

      First of all, the weather was terrible and very hard to be in. Such as: The winter that year was bad.  Over the course of the winter, New Jersey had twenty six snowstorms and six of those

were blizzards!  Every saltwater inlet from North Carolina to Canada froze over completely. In fact, New York Harbor froze over with ice so thick that British soldiers were able to march from Manhattan to Staten Island.

Some soldiers were missing clothing. The soldiers have walked more than 20 miles in the snow barefoot. Many soldiers died from the harsh winters. Even some patrols and battles were called off because nobody would want to ride down and fight in that weather. That are the devastating hardships of the revolutionary war.

Shortness of Supplies+Men

Both George Washington and King George lll went out scavenging for more men to join their side and fight. And even after they stopped looking, they were still short of men. Some of the rebel soldiers were missing clothes like shoes. The rebels were also short of guns. Even if a soldier had a gun they didn't have much powder or amo. And last, they had to steal from the town villagers.

The rebels did not have enough of anything. They stole from the tories and captured leaders. All of the shots fired in the revolutionary war required gunpowder. Without gunpowder, no bullets would have been able to leave the gun. Which that leads me to the story of ¨The Gunpowder Shortage.¨

Detail of a 1775 Boston map depicting the location of the powder house, or magazine, now in Somerville (as shown above)

The shortest of gunpowder was an early conflict. The rebels knew if they were out of gunpowder they were in big trouble. They would have not battled or won anything without gunpowder. They had to get some gunpowder.

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.- George Washington

That is George Washington and his crew crossing the Delaware River. You now know the hardships crossing the Delaware River. You also know the shortness and supplies. And last, you now know the battles in between and after this. I’m Ben Straborny and teached you about George Washington Crossing the Delaware River.

Some quotes above came from the website BrainyQuote. The example about the hard winter abo

ve came from the website emergingrevoultionarywar.org. Picture of map and caption came from allthingsliberty.com.

Griffin S.

Meeting       

  Midnight

                

It was a pretty normal day at school. We did some math, reading, writing, etc...

I was sooo excited for the long week to finally end. You see, my Mom told me on Friday we were getting a dog, but not just any dog, THE CUTEST DOG EVER!!

Today was like every other Tuesday that spring was awesome! The reason’s Tuesday was so awesome is that I had TENNIS PRACTICE!  The reason tennis practice was so fun was that we would always make getting better into a game. For example, to get faster we would run around the net dodging tennis balls that are hit at you.

At the end of tennis practice, I was huffing and puffing. When my Mom pulled up she yelled out the window “ There's a surprise for you in the car!” I saw my sisters friend and thought “ Oh this is kinda a crappy surprise.” but then it happened the cutest thing ever a black and brindle blob “MIDNIGHT!!!” I thought about all the days  playing fetch in the back yard with the new Penn 1 tennis ball with the sun beating on my back.

         When we went to the other court to pick up my brother my dog was slobbering all over my face. My Mom told me to settle down so I did. When my brother got in the car he was dumbstruck he screamed “OH MY GOD!!!”

        After we got home, and loved him some more and it was the night. Midnight started barking at the door to go out. I asked my Dad “What happens if he runs away?” My dad laugh “ That's not gonna happen.” Then I bet you can guess it, he ran away to the front of our house. It took us a quite a while to find because it was so dark and he was black and brindle.

         To this very day, Midnight is a small curious dog that loves attention (Maybe a little too much!) 

Erik S.

The Weapons of Colonial America

“Boom!” The sound of a gun in colonial times, one of the few weapons that were in colonial times. Just what I’ll be teaching you. The weapons I’ll be teaching about are bows, arrows, muskets, swords, and tomahawks (tomahawks are another word for an axe with a thin blade attached to a handle. AKA mini axe.)

CHAPTER #1: BOWS + ARROWS

Bows and arrows were almost the best weapon out there in colonial times, in fact, they were better than early guns, this is true because muskets took 1 whole minute to reload! (Muskets are the most popular guns back in colonial times.) guns also weren’t as accurate as bows. These reasons make bows be the 1st priority for the American Indians, this is also why they train them for use of them at a young age. I'm guessing that they had trained them around 6 or 7 years old, because they are very good weapons.

Here's a fun fact, arrows weren’t just used for bows, but they were
also used on something called an atlatl. The atlatl was something
were you put the arrow head on the atlatl and fling it, the atlatl was
a faster, yet inaccurate way of shooting arrows.

CHAPTER #2 EARlY GUNS AND CANNONS

Guns used to be the most advances things back then in colonial times,

even though they were most deadly (other than cannons), they were

very inaccurate and took way too long to reload. I feel like that you

were trained to use a gun at the age 16, like driving, because it has

the responsibilities of someone that age.

Cannons on the other hand, were very powerful and very strong. They used
cannons to defend their colony from attack because it could hit many
attackers at once. Did you know that early cannons took 14 men to operate!
I think that you have at least a minute reload time on those cannons, maybe
even 2 minutes, they still used them though.

lil' fun fact: Blacksmiths used to make guns along with steel and iron tools
in those days, but now they only make steel and iron tools.

CHAPTER #3 TOMAHAWKS AND SWORDS

Tomahawks are types of single handed axes with thin blades, these
originated from the American Indians in colonial times. These were
also pretty effective weapons used in colonial times they are about
as sharp as the swords. Tomahawks were also made in many different
sizes. I'm guessing, probably sizes like 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. An 1 would be
the smallest and maybe 7 the biggest but they would maybe be like
1 centimeter apart, each size.

Swords were the most common weapon used in colonial times, this is
true because they are very sharp and could slice right through an
enemy, swords were very heavy and only used in close range combat,  
I guess that this made tomahawks able to be thrown weapons.

CONCLUSION

You may have learned that a arrow wasn’t used for just bows. Also
that muskets were the most advanced thing ever in colonial times.
And of course that a tomahawk was something from the American
Indians that was a popular weapon. I, ever since I started, wondered
what came first, the tomahawk or the sword and now, you shall
wonder too.

QUIZ

1. How long did it take to reload a musket in colonial times?

A: 40 seconds

B: 20 seconds

C: 1 minute

2. How many men did it take to operate a cannon in colonial times?

A: 12

B: 14

C: 16

3. What was the most common weapon used in colonial times?

A: Swords

B: Tomahawks

C: Bows and Arrows

Thanks to the book, The Real Story on the Weapons and Battles of
Colonial America.

Jack L.

The Big Game

                   “Ohhh”, I yawned as we got to Field of Dreams for the big game. As I got out of the car I felt the burn from the big, bright, yellow sun. Once I stepped into the dugout I saw Jesse pull into the parking lot.

I yelled, ”hey do you know what time it is”?

Jesse shouted back, ”11:15”. ”Ok thanks Jess” I replied. Then Mickey asked if he could hit some ball to us. Jesse shouted no as if we had just lost the game. But then I said fine because wanted some early morning practice.

I also told Jesse, ” Guess you don't want to win today cause we go to practice”.

Jesse shouted back, ” we got 45 minutes before the game starts”. Then I didn't talk to him any more so I tossed Mickey the bat and dashed on to the zucchini green field. As Mickey hit the ball i heard the loud crack of the bat. I squinted into the bright yellow beast. Since the ball was right in front of the sun I decided to block it with my hand. Then I put my glove up and I  caught it. It felt like a rock just hit my glove as I brought my glove down to my hand to lob it into Mickey.

After he hit 20 or so more I decided I was loose.

So I shouted, ”Hey Mickey think I’m loose gonna sit till game time. As I jogged into the dugout I felt the wet morning dew on the bottom of my Under Armour cleats.

Once I got to the dugout I started shouting, ”Who's gonna win today, were gonna win today!” As I kept on shouting more and more people kept on coming.

But then I asked my dad, ”How much more time till game time”. He replied,” 30 minutes. I thought why people were coming this late. I mean, it's the championship game! You need to practice to win.

                   A few minutes later it was already game time. I couldn't believe it. As I walked on to the field I saw my coach giving money to the umpire for his pay.

My eyes opened as  heard my coach say, ”here's 60”. That means the ump get 120 a game. I thought maybe when I'm a little older I could ump those kid games for that amount of dough.

                   As I sprinted to short I said, ”here” to Julia asking for the ground ball next. Just as we threw the balls in  the dugout. I told Liam I have cover on steal to second.

Just as Liam said, ”Ok” Luke threw the monster throw down to second base. I scooped like ice cream and lobbed the ball to Jesse.

I shouted, ”No outs plays to first out field cut two.” Right then I knew it was time. Time of the starting of the biggest game of the year.

As the ump yelled, ”Play ball” I got down in my position.

Right then I was thinking of last years championship game. When we lost when it was pouring rain out. This year I feel like it's going to be the complete opposite. Bam! My day dream was over as Jesse just threw a . strike down the middle.

I shouted, ”Atta a boy Jesse”.

Just as the ump said, ”Strike one”. We all clapped our hands in excitement for the opening  pitch of the big game. We all knew this was going to be a great  game.

After three well defended innings it was time for my second at bat.

Squared myself up to the pitcher while murmuring, ”let's go” to myself. i put my bat up and stared into TJ’s eyes. As T’s leg went up and the ball released  stared at the ball and…. Bam! I crushed the ball into left field.  I put my head down and started sprinting around the dirty bases. Once I was halfway to second they started to throw the ball into second. I slid into the white bag. it was close. But…. I was closer! As I dusted the dirt off of my pants my teammates were jumping up, shouting,  and hollering. I thought to myself that sure woke the fans. As Luke walked up to the plate I thought we were 5-3 in the 4 inning we got this. Then Luke squad to the pitcher. Bam !My eyes opened as the ball went up were the birdies fly. Since there were 2 outs I  sprinted to home as if they had a chance to drop it. Luke  got to second  as it hit the second baseman's glove. But he caught it. So we all jogged in. But we were up 2 run after being down 3 in the first.

                   “Let's go rockies let's go”!The parents chanting. We all had grins on our faces when we went in to the top of the  6 inning with a 1 run lead 7-6. As Luke went out to the mound i went behind the plate.

As I squatted down i yelled, ”Balls in coming down”. The batter agreed at me saying with his eyes I'm gonna crush it.

                   Luke pitched the ball. Bam! One straight at Julia. Bam! Again she caught it!We only had 2 more outs till we  win this thing. Next three batters was just boring because Luke walked all of them getting bases loaded. We all sighed heavilyy from walking all three guys.

I called, ”time”: and I jogged to the mound to see Luke.

I said, hey we just need 2 outs  and were at the bottom of the order so just throw strikes”. Luke nodded his head as I walked to the plate. Luke took a big deep breath. And started dealing the first batter was up and down (3 strikes and got him out). Now we just needed one more to win this. i punched my hand into the catcher's glove and stared at Luke.

Liam shouted, ”let's go”. Luke’s knee went and the ball released. Bam! it was a liner right to Jesse. He caught it! We all jumped up. I stood up and shook the other teams hand this time feeling like winners.

Penny L.

           Coney Island Cyclone

We were walking out of the of the aquarium. Mom, dad, Linc, Iris, and me. The Cyclone, Wonder Wheel, and other rides towered above us. As we walked down the stairs and through the gate, I could feel the ground change from pavement to wood. We were on the boardwalk. Last time I was at Coney Island, I had lost my pedometer. I didn’t want to lose anything else. Iris, Linc, and I were asking for ice cream, snow cones, etc.

“No, but we can have lunch”, mom said.

“Mom, can we go on some rides?”, I asked. I’ve been wanting to go on the Cyclone ever since my first time at the aquarium.

“Maybe,” she replied.

We walked down the boardwalk to get some lunch.  Hot dog for me, burgers for Linc and Iris. “Coney Island hot dog” I thought. “Mmm.”

We walked and ate, moving our way down the boardwalk. Once we were all done, we kept walking.

“Can I take my shoes off and go down to the beach?” Iris asked.

“Go with dad,”mom replied.

 “I’ll come ,too!” I said. I took off my shoes and stepped onto the sand.  I felt like an egg being scrambled! “Ouch!” I exclaimed. “My feet are burning!”

After the beach, mom said we could get a treat. “Ice cream!” me and Linc said in unison. “Snow cone!” Iris exclaimed. Me and Linc got ice cream, and Iris got a snow cone. I got chocolate, Linc got strawberry, and Iris got a cotton candy snow cone. It took her so long to choose. My ice cream almost melted off the cone. Iris gobbled hers up and soon we were all done. “Can we pleeeease go on a ride?” I asked with cute eyes.

Mom replied, “Oh, all right. What do you want to ride?”

“Wonder wheel, cyclone!”  me and Iris said.

“What?” mom answered.

“Wonder wheel.” Iris said.

“Cyclone.” I repeated.

 “Linc?”

 “I’d prefer not to go on a ride.” he answered.

 “Okay. I’ll go with on the Cyclone with Penny, and Peter, can you go with Iris and have Linc wait at the bottom?”mom asked.

 “Sure thing,”dad said. We walked to the ticket booth and got two tickets and one Luna Card. The Luna Card held two tickets for me and mom. We walked through the gate of the park and split up. Me and mom didn’t know where to go. Mom told me to ask a man in a booth directions.

“Excuse me, sir,” I said. “How can I get to the Cyclone?”

“That’s in Luna Park,” he replied. “You’re in Denos Park. You would have to go around the street.”

 “Oh, thank you.” I replied. I felt so embarrassed! “We have to go around,”  I told mom.

Once we got to the Cyclone, we raced up the ramp and scanned our card. We hopped into the third cart.

“Please remain seated and enjoy the ride” a voice said after all the carts were filled. The ride began to move. Up we went to the top.

 “Beautiful,” mom said looking at the view. “Just beautiful,”

Down. The ride felt like it would collapse underneath us. Mom was screaming.

“Best. Ride. Ever.” I was thinking. It felt like my skin was coming off my bones.

As the ride slowed, I opened my eyes. The whole ride they were glued shut. My mom slowly started to stop screaming.  I remember the time I was on Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce. I used to call it “Smash, Crash, Boulder Dash.”The first time I went on Boulder Dash, I was scared. So I gave it a name that would scare people.  But that was nothing compared to the Cyclone. I decided to call the Cyclone “The White Mamba.” It was shaped like a snake (somewhat) and was painted white.

“Can I get a shirt?” I asked as we walked down the ramp. My gramma recently got Linc and Iris something, but I couldn’t find anything I wanted, so she told mom to get something for me if I wanted to. I got a black and white t-shirt with a picture of  the rollercoaster. I could just imagine wearing the t-shirt on the first day of fifth grade. As we met up with the family, it started to rain. We stopped under an outdoor  hot dog shop’s roof. Linc ran under a phonebooth on the other side of the sidewalk. I was soon following. Dad and Iris ran over to join us and mom took some pictures.

We finally got to a restaurant. I put on my new dry t-shirt(lucky me!) and we had a nice dinner of dumplings, calamari, and other appetizers. It was surprisingly the best dinner I’ve had all summer. Two days ago school got out. I didn’t want to let go of Mrs. Scholz, even though I knew I would see her again.

When dinner was over, the rain had stopped. As we walked back to the boardwalk, we talked about the rides.

“The view was pretty. We went so high!” Iris exclaimed.

“It was so fast. And we saw a nice view, too!” I said happily.

The ride home was a fun one. After about half an hour, I got sleepy and I think I took a nap. When I woke up, we were home. I wasn’t all that tired because I took my nap in the car, and the whole family got our PJ’s on, and brushed our teeth only to go to bed after an episode of the Flash. I dreamt that I was a little pin, keeping the Cyclone together so others could enjoy it as much as I had. 

The End