Snow realistic fiction piece by Katie

SNOW FORT by Katie

“Uhgg, I hate putting on these fat snow pants!”  I said.  Reluctantly pulled them on.  Eeew, I thought.  Slowly, I trudged down the stairs to see Grace, waiting there.  It nearly scared me out of my snow pants!
    “Come on, come on, come on!”  Grace said, like an excited puppy.  We walked together to our neighbor’s house.    “Ding, Dong” we rang the doorbell.  Simon (8) and Ben(5), came rushing out in their snow gear.  Thank goodness I wasn’t alone!  We basically sit there while they pelt us with snowballs.  Finally, it was time to make our annual snow fort.  We got right to work.          “OK Katie” Simon ordered, “Let’s collect the snow n that red sled over there,” Simon pointed at my sled.     “Kay” I responded in a cheerful voice Simon and I quickly started piling snow into the sled with our shovels.  Ben and Grace piled snow into a small green dish.  Wow, we really hit the jack pot with a big sled I thought.        “Katie,  help me pull the sled”  He said, struggling to pull the sled full of snow that probably weighed more than him.  Jeez, this kid could be a politician with all that bossing around he does.          “Sure” I answered.  Together, we heaved the sled onto the snow, where Ben and Grace were making a pile of snow.  I love snow days I thought happily.

Ski Trip

Ski Trip by Nicholas

On January 17, the fifth grade went on a field trip to Hidden Valley to ski. For the people that have never skied before, it was a challenge. But for the kids who had skied before, it was a breeze. Before we could get any of our gear we had to watch a safety video so we didn’t hurt ourselves while we were skiing. The kids that had gone skiing before got poles and got the opportunity to ride the chair lift. Everyone had to do ski school before they could go on a slope. The first station was getting your skis on. The second station was learning how to fall. The third station was learning how to walk facing forward. The fourth station was learning how to walk sideways. The fifth station was learning how to stop and start. The sixth station was applying the start stop skill on a slope. Once this was done 3 times you were aloud to go to the last station. The seventh, and last, station was being able to swivel between cones that were about 7 feet apart down a steep slope. Now Mrs. Barnes class wants to go again.

Snow mystery by Lila

Buttercup
By: Lila

        It was finally snowing! After living in Texas for ten years it was finally snowing! I love Philadelphia. I brought my dog Jack outside to play in the snow. We were frolicking and playing fetch in the cold white fluff. I ran in and asked my older sister Angelica if she wanted to come out and play. Being 16, and too old to have any fun, she said no. I went back outside and tried sledding down the hill with a large piece of cardboard. I was having a great time.  Then I heard the scream. It was a blood-piercing scream of pure terror. It was Angelica. I ran inside and up the stairs to the bedroom. Jack was bounding up the stairs behind me – howling away. My eyes bulged as I saw her door had been ripped off of its hinges. My sweaty hands pushed the door away. I felt my heart beating – thump, thump, thump.  It stopped short. I saw my sister lying on the ground in a pool of blood. She had a knife in her stomach and was inches away from death. She beckoned me closer and whispered “Buttercup.” Her eyes rolled back into her read and I hastily called 911. I was on the phone in complete hysterics, and then I called mom and dad. They rushed home followed by the wailing sirens of fire trucks, police cars, an ambulance, and a car of detectives. I saw Angelica being loaded into the ambulance, then turned to find my mother crumpled on the ground in complete despair. Even though the EMTs said they would try to do something, we knew my sister had been murdered. Buttercup had something to do with it. I had to avenge my sister.

Snow Poetry by Leah

Snow

A wondrous thing

Cold and white

A winter carnival

Children building and playing in the freezing crystals

Beautiful part of nature

Breathtaking

The white sand of an ocean of green forests

Snowflakes never alike

So many floating down from the sky

Trying to catch them yet it is impossible

Melting into pools of water

Children of all ages want to cry

“Come again soon” is the only thing they can say

And it will be back,before we know it

All of this is very simple

It is

Snow

Snow song and poem by Jayla

         Snow late at night
    snow is falling, people laughing, kids having fun. When there parents call them in, they go.

    Its late at night snow is falling from the sky.  So high

Everybody is tucked into bed, kids are fast asleep, mommy and daddy working on a snow man.
its late at night snow is falling from the sky.

WHEN they wake up  on this winter day they finally say

SNOW is falling from the sky. SO high  
all we can do is, go out side side

Snow is falling from the sky, so high.

Snow Fantasy by Wooyoung

More Than Just An Uh-Oh

by Wooyoung

Why me? Why? The thought darkens the world as I slip and down, to nothingness, into the cold world I never thought of. The frost spills over my head as myself seep into the freezing crystals of snow. I tried to stand, but came spilling back down. I was starting to get serious. What if I really....disappear for life?


    “Hey, stop throwing snowballs at me, will you?” I screamed over the whole racket of snow. I managed to knock down one of my little brothers and run back home. I could feel snowballs crunching up and breaking apart against my coat. I sped up, trying to ignore them.
    I just hate Snow Days for no particular reason. It grossed me out on the day I was born. It was just, ugh! Especially if you have a pair of insane little brothers that almost gets you in a coma for throwing at least a ton of snow at you. Those you want cute little brothers? Nope. Definitely a bad idea.
    I throwed my coat on the couch and ran upstairs. I locked my door to make sure nobody came in. I located my brothers building a snowman with two noses. I was just so glad they lost interest in me.
    I took off my wet socks and made a few tosses down the hallway. You see, I’m not the organized type of person; I just throw all the junky things down in my closet. Simple and quick. The parents never notice. Once my fish Harry died because I didn’t clean his bowl for a month, so it practically means he died in his own....junk.
    Nobody understands really why I don’t like snow, because since I’m so unorganized and messy. But snow just isn’t the thing for me. I always can’t wait for summer so every day is a perfect weather for sports. In winter, you can’t do anything but just to stay put and try to enjoy the dark, muddy days. Just thinking of how the snow kind of swallows your feet when you step into it? It just grosses me out.
    “Open the door!!!!!” Banging, banging, more banging. “I know you’re in THERE!”
    I muttered under my breath, pushed a chair up against the door, and headed to the secret passage where nobody knows leading outside. I removed my desk and the small window appeared, covered in colored paper to disguise it. I ripped it apart and opened the window. I really really really didn’t want to the outside because of the cursed snow, but I had no choice. Terror on snow or trampled by little brothers.
    I hung tightly to the ladder right below the window, and leaped outside. I dangled at first, but then I climbed down slowly and hopped onto the ground in our yard in a few minutes. Then, a sickening feeling overwhelmed me that followed the feeling of triumph. I was in.....snow. Snow. SNOW!
    Oh no Oh no Oh no.......
    That feeling... of the snow swallowing me up!!! I screamed and yelled and shouted but no one heard me. The snow was actually swallowing me up, and suddenly my arms melted into the snow and became snow. I freaked out but now no sound came out from my mouth. As my head became melting, the world started to look starry and.......

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” I screamed as I jumped out of my bed and tumbled onto the floor. What was that? Was it true or was it a dream?

But why was the window behind my desk open and the colored paper I put on it last night ripped out?

Jayla's Injury

Jayla’s Injury

By: Stevie

Everybody knows that ski boots hurt your legs they especially hurt Jayla’s.  At the ski field trip in Hidden Valley, Jayla fell down and fractured her ankle.  Here are a few questions we asked:
 
Stevie: What did it feel like to fracture your ankle?

Jayla: It felt horrible like someone was shooting my leg and trying to kill it.

Stevie: How did it feel to be in crutches for the first time?

Jayla: It was fun but hurt my arms which annoyed me.

Stevie: How did it feel to finally be out of the crutches and walking again?

Jayla: It felt good because those things hurt your pits.

    Now that Jayla is out of her crutches and walking again maybe she could start playing.  We wish her the best to be okay and pray she won’t be hurt again.

Colony Flags

Colony Flags
by Peter

In 5B we have been making flags.  We have been making flags because they are supposed to represent our colonies. First we started with a draft. Then we copied it onto piece of paper. Some people designed off their name. Basically everybody did it off the name. The names of all the colonies is Blazing Britain, Cannon Company Colony, Golden Falcons, and Free Frenchmen.The Blazing Britains did theirs off the Union Jack. The Free Frenchman did theirs off the French flag. The Cannon Company Colony (Triple C) did theirs completely off imagination and so did the Golden Falcons. All the flags used imagination just the format was off other flags. On Blazing Britain's flag there are words in Latin, "Venimus Nos Pugnaverunt Vicumus." That means we came, we fought, we conquered. The Free Frenchman's Flag has unlocked handcuffs to say I'm free. Triple C has a cannon to represent that they are a cannon company. The Golden Falcons have a falcon because they are falcons and they are very lucky.

Claymo

Being a Claymo Leader
by Iman

In fifth grade you become a claymo leader, a claymo leader has a group to lead with a partner.  What you do is you have fun with them, and get to know them, they become your family.  You also learn different life skills for school and for life.  When we are the leader we learn how to lead or to listen to each other.
                What I get out of this is the privilege to feel like an adult.  One thing that we claymo leaders have to remember is to be kind and gentle to our claymo family.
    My favorite part of claymo is when I get to act like a teacher and pick someone to answer a question that I ask.  Being a claymo leader is great you get to help kids and have fun with other friends making a claymo family.

When I was in 4th grade I was watching my Claymo leaders.  Now I'm in their place following what they did, except in a different way, and I love it!

Capture the Flag

by Koji


Earlier in the school year, we read a book called Capture The Flag by Kate Messner. It is filled with plenty of action and mystery (and quite a lot of cliffhangers too). The book was about 3 kids, Anna Jose and Henry.  The kids are stuck in a airport with a huge snowstorm that is cancelling all of their flights, and at the same time, the legendary Star Spangled Banner was stolen and the thief is in the airport! What Anna, Jose and Henry want to do is find out who is the thief and get the flag back to where it belongs. On their adventure they meet many people, including a presidential candidate and a new friend named Sinan. But suddenly Sinan’s parents get accused for the the very crime by the candidate and Anna, Jose, Henry, and Sinan venture deeper on the quest for the flag and unravel many secrets. I recommend this to kids who like mystery.

Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Writing

by Jayla 

Persuasive writing in Glenridge means convincing someone to do something by paper.  In 5B we’re convincing our principal into letting us make a school newspaper.  We wrote her a  persuasive letter and she said YES.  Some ways we have learned to be persuasive is by reading persuasive books.  The books we read were Earrings by. Judith Viorst, I Wanna New Room By. Karen Orloff, Hey, Little Ant By. Phillip and Hannah Hoose. 
Some of the topics that our fifth graders are writing on are. . . . .
Leah is writing why her summer camp should have a soccer team, Dillon is writing a letter to his parents, convincing them they should let him play on a tackle football team, Kaleigh is writing why kids should design their own room, and my topic is on stricter gun laws in America.

Colonization Simulation

Social Studies 

The map of the simulation

by Nathan and Erik

In social studies we are doing a unit on a colonies. In this unit, we are doing a simulation of people who settled on America in the time when the Thirteen Colonies were still forming.

    Like most social studies “games” we jumped to the conclusion that it was going to be a boring one with textbooks and worksheets, but as Mrs. Barnes went on with the topic it started to sound fun. She talked about conquering and taking over the Atlantic coast, or making peace with the Indians and getting land peacefully, surviving the long voyage and getting filthy rich.

    There are four colonies, the Blazing Britains with a theme 'Venimus Vidimus Vicimus,' which means 'We came, we fought, we conquered.' The Free Frenchmen, who also has  an anthem. The third is the Cannon Company Colony and finally The Golden Falcons, who are the only ones who are not sponsored by the government.

You start off the simulation by doing assignments and extra credit which then starts to earn you points that are turned into wealth units. Then you use your wealth units to load your ship with all your items you will need and all your food. While you are doing this you are also getting assigned a type of colony either a government, religious or private company. Each of these options has its pros and cons so there are not any huge drawbacks to anyone of them. Then you say goodbye to the flag you made and start sailing.

When you’re sailing its very plain as all you do are consume food units and hope you don't sink. Although it may sound boring there is a certain excitement to it. Then when you hit  land the real excitement begins.

Our daily log

When you hit land you immediately get to work deciding on jobs, choosing land and farming, fishing and hunting. Now just when you think it can't get any better you start expanding, colonizing and attacking and being attacked.

 This kind of reminds me of fourth grade where we were going across the Oregon Trail.  I hope it’s like that because it was fun.

               

Favorite Books

Books that we like in 5-B

By Leah and Izze

In our 5th grade class we have enjoyed many books.We took a survey on our favorite books.We asked kids in 5-B what books we liked the most; our results where Crash by Jerry Spinelli, Earrings by Judith Viorst, Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton and Tom Lichtenheld, and Biggest, Fastest, Strongest by Steve Jenkins.

    Crash was by far our favorite. Crash is a novel by one of our favorite authors, Jerry Spinelli. Crash is a football jockey who cares about no one but himself and his stuck-up friend, Mike Deluca. Crash  teases his neighbor, Penn Webb all the time. When Crash`s grandfather, Scooter has an unfortunate accident everything changes in Crash’s life.

    Earrings was a persuasive book about a girl who wanted to get earrings. She loved earrings so much she made up a bunch of ideas so she could convince her parents to get her earrings. She said they would go with all her outfits and everyone else has them.  You can tell that this girl wanted earrings.

    Shark vs. Train was a funny book about a shark and a train. The shark thought that he was better than the train and vice versa. It has funny contests to see who is better.  In many different areas one of the candidates would dominate the other . If you are looking for a good book with a lot of humor here is your winner!


  

  Biggest, Fastest, Strongest is a very factual non-fiction book. It`s kind of like the guinness book of world records for animals. You will learn many new facts about some of these record breaking animals. 





    These are our favorite books in 5-B. If you need a good book to read choose one or more of these treasured books.

Our Strings Program

by Madeleine and Wooyoung

The 5th graders in strings are having SO much fun! They go to strings on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week. Our teacher, Mrs.Tourville, teaches us and helps us improve. These are what the violin and viola people say (we took an interview):   

Name: Vincent
Type of Instrument: Violin

Q: What are you learning?

A: La Chase.

Q: What have you achieved this year?

A: I have passed five songs.

Q: What song are you practicing and why do you like it?

A: I am practicing La Chase. I like it because the melody is different from  other songs.

Q: Are you proud of your progress?

A: Yes I am. I don’t think I am the best violin player, I am proud of my work>  

Name: Izze
Type of Instrument: Viola

Question: What music are you learning?

Answer: La Chase and after

Q: What have you achieved this year?

A: More than half of the green Viola Book.

Q: What song are you practicing, and why do you like them?

A: La Chase and I think it is hard to get the tempo.

Q: Are you proud of your progress so far?

A: I am very proud of our progress in viola. I am not sure if I will continue, but it is not my thing.

Name: Lamia
Type of Instrument: Violin

Question: What music are you learning?

Answer: Minuet in the Style of Haydn

Q: What have you achieved this year?

A: I learned how to do slurs.

So far, 5th graders are making big progress and learning to really handle their instruments and play cool and fun music for the concert, which takes place in the CHS auditorium on February 5.
Right now, 5th graders are playing “Learn to Play in the Orchestra” by Ralph Matesky. This is a book to practice our skills. We are practicing “Trumpet Tune”, “Happy Dance”, “Barcarolle”, “Tomahawk” (one of our favorites), Minuet in the Style of Haydn”, and “Song of Brotherhood”. We are all excited about learning new things in 5th grade strings!

Some people are already in ViBravo (the Wydown Honors Orchestra) or practicing ViBravo music. We love the pieces that we are working on! These are the songs that ViBravo people are working on:

(Songs for the 1st concert only)

Hopak by Modest Mussorgsky

Orange Jam by Jeffrey Bishop


Jazz Pizzicato by Leroy Anderson and edited by Samuel Applebaum