From the Pages of Grace's Tran...

 

THUS THE SEASON TO START BLENDING

My favorite holidays are Chinese New Year and Christmas.  Chinese New Year because there is the lion and dragon dances.  People are always laughing.  And there are pops and fireworks and much more.  Christmas because I sleep over at my uncle's HUGE house.  When I wake up the next morning, I open my gift at the foot of the Christmas tree.

I celebrate Chinese New Year with my parents and family members.  I celebrate Christmas with family members and friends.

For Chinese New Year, my family and I go to a restaurant and eat.  We also go to Chinatown to see the parade and pop firecrackers.  For Christmas I sleep over at my Uncle's family.  Every year I go there with my Aunt's family.  The next day, its Christmas.  Relatives and friends all go there, including my grandma and grandpa.

To make Chinese New Year better, I would combine all the holidays to make Chinese New Year.  For example, to add some Christmas spirit,  I can give presents instead of red envelopes.  That would be cool.  To make Christmas special, I can spin it with Thanksgiving, being thankful.  I call this method, the holiday blend.

from the pages of Grace Tran....

 

                                                                       WHAT EXACTLY IS A HERO???



Hero's don't exactly have to hover in midair or shoot laser out of their eyes.  They just have to have bravery, skill, and leadership.

Bravery is important.  No hero wants to chicken out.  Skill is also important.  Who's ever heard of a hero that isn't good at anything?  Every hero has to have one talent.  And last of all, leadership.  Leadership is important, too.  A leader doesn't always mean they lead wars.  It can also mean having a good influence on others, reassuring others, etc.

My hero is Abraham Lincoln.  I think he is a great hero because he had bravery, skill, and leadership.  He wasn't scared when he plunged into the icy river just to save his dog.  He wasn't scared when one general wasn't attacking.  And he was calm when slavery started.  Abe Lincoln's speeches, strength, and humor were his skills.

He was the only person who said speeches only two minutes long.  But his speeches reached out into other's hearts.  His strength was when he was only seven years of age but Abe could lift up a log all by himself.  His humor was when he preached just like the preacher, coughed like him, and memorized what the priest had said on Sunday's announcement.  He preached to the other boys when they were tired.

His leadership grew stronger as he became the president.  As president, he had to lead the country.  At that time, there was slavery and Abraham wanted to stop it.  He refused to retreat.  And at last, the war was won.

To others, Abraham Lincoln is a great hero.  After all, he was shot to death.  All heroes die hard deaths (maybe).

THE 2012 FORMULA by Nicholas Ng

Do you know how wacky one year can be? 2012 was a surprising, concerning, roller-coaster like year.

 

Winning an essay contest, seeing Las Vegas and surrounding canyons, and participating in a math competition were the best experiences that happened in 2012.  The most memorable moment was when one day my teacher, Ms. Poole, called me to go up to her desk.  I thought I was in trouble.  Instead, she pointed to an email with a smile on her face as I stood next her.  The email said that I won the Liberty Essay Contest sponsored by New York Liberty, a women basketball team.  I competed against students from my school and other New Jersey and New York schools, winning first place.

 

Last October, I participated in the competitive Bergen Math Competition. Even though I didn’t win, I had an opportunity to see how much other kids knew about math. It amazed me.  From my experience in this contest, I can tell you right away to prepare and don’t be nervous. Being nervous will slow you down when relying on speed to win.  Preparing will help you get ready to enter a competition and make it seem not as hard.

 

During the summer, my family took a trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Circle, a circle of amazing National Parks and Canyons.  I thought it would just be a tour of boring canyons, but it turned out to be a surprisingly fun vacation.  It was very fun hiking up and down the mountains (though dehydrating), exploring Las Vegas, gaping at the colorfully lit lights of the hotels and during the shows at the casinos. I never thought that Las Vegas and a hiking trip could be so enjoyable!

 

Challenges were faced in 2012, too. An unexpected sorrow of 2012 was getting uveitis last summer. This was not like a broken bone or something of that sort; it was an inflammation in my eyes.  Now, I take medications to control the swelling.  Without medications, I could have gotten cataracts. Good thing I didn’t. I take pills every day and injections every Friday and every other Tuesday to help me treat uveitis.

 

We had Hurricane Sandy days before Halloween.  We were much more fortunate than many others, but we still faced hardships. Our family went through four days of blackout. That seems like a lot, but some people lost power for an entire week and a half. Some families even lost their homes and cars. Based on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I know to be prepared for natural disasters at all times.  When I buy a house, I’ll buy it away from areas prone to natural disasters.

 

My favorite book I read last year was Powerless by Matthew Cody. It is about a boy named Daniel who moves to a new town and new school. He meets these weird kids who have superpowers. Slowly, their powers disappear one child at a time. Daniel needed to know what kind of evil would steal elementary kids’ powers. Read Powerless and find out what happens next yourself.  Powerless deserves five stars. Matthew Cody makes every chapter a cliffhanger, always tempting you to read more. I couldn’t put the book down until the end!!!

 

Lessons are learned often. Two important lessons I learned in 2012 were to always prepare before something and never last minute. Also, certainly not do the minimum. If you prepare for a test last minute, you might score 100 but you wouldn’t learn anything. Don’t take my path and cheat your way through school. If you do the minimum all the time, it would be terrible for you and your grades. For example, if you did a worksheet and you did not do the extra credit, you could get a question wrong and your grade would be lower; but if you did the maximum, even if you got a question wrong, the extra credit would cover that. Also, trying your best means that you did the maximum you could’ve done. Doing the maximum means you did a good job even without getting a 100 on your test.

 

Surprises + worries + roller coaster bumps = 2012.

 

 

Study Ahead, Study on a Schedule, and NO EXCUSES! by Grace Tran

An important goal is to understand what you're studying.  It doesn't matter if you got a bad score on the test.  It only matters if you study; you know what you studied, and tried extra hard.  Like I can get an 100% on an exam.  But not know what I was studying.  It only matters if you understood the text.

 

This is my goal because I never realized how important studying was until I pretty much flunked every single test.  (So don’t be like me!!!  I’m warning you!!!)  You can always study ahead of your teacher so you know what you're going to learn.  Studying is also important because it shows responsibility and independence.  Nobody has to remind to do it.  Just do it independently!  You're studying for yourself, not other people.

 

To reach my goal, I think I'll have to have my own study schedule.  Like on certain days I have to study and some days I don't.  Or I can push myself more often.  Like write reminders and not play or enjoy myself as much.  Who cares if I can't play as much!  It’s not like my whole life depends on it?!

 

I feel confident that I can someday accomplish this goal.  I mean, like, everything's possible on Earth.  Also, goals like this might be especially hard because of excuses.  It’s simple to come up with excuses for this goal.  "I had a bunch of homework; I had to take care of my demented parrot."  No excuses!!!

A LESSON LEARNED by Grace Tran

I once learned a very important lesson.  It was . . . to NEVER EVER do homework last minute.  It all started one Friday.  I had to finish tutoring homework last minute!  I had to stay up until 11 o'clock before I finished all the assignments. It was so tiring. 

                The same thing happened the next two weeks.  But by that time, I was very tired of having to stay up till 11.  So I knew I had to do the homework step by step.  I was all planned out.  I had to fit the tutoring homework with the school homework.  It was a tight fit, but at least I wouldn't have to stay up so late on one day.

                So on Sunday, I started on my homework.  As you can see from this story, never ever do all your homework last minute.  Also, take breaks between each assignment and plan your time wisely.  Or else, you'll end up having a really hard time.

                If you don't think this tip is good enough for you. Then, all I have to say is . . . GOOD LUCK!!!  Although it's a lot of work, that's what being a student is all about.  And, it doing homework last minute can develop a bad habit.  Therefore, my lesson is to never leave the homework last minute.  EVER!!!

ADVICE FROM A 6TH GRADER by Grace Tran

Sixth Grade Facts

 

          I'm in sixth grade. Sixth grade is kind of fun. Your first year in middle school isn't really that bad. I mean, you get to walk around the halls by yourself and not with a teacher. This year, we studied math, English, humanities, Chinese social studies, and science. (WOW! I know! That's a lot of subjects to take!)

          For middle school, you will need a flash drive, a little pack of tissue paper, hand sanitizer, pens, pencils, highlighters, notebooks, a binder, a three-hole puncher, folders, and post-its. In order to be successful in sixth grade, you have to study all the subjects. (Yes, all the subjects). That's what sixth grade is all about, studying and being independent. Being independent rocks! You don't need a teacher for every single little thing.

          However, there is something I would like to warn you about sixth grade. You see, the problem in sixth grade is that you have a large bundle of tests every two-three weeks. Also, there is a 70% chance you can fail a pop quiz if you don't study every day. Sixth grade has a lot of pop quizzes. Label your notebooks and always put your heading on homework assignments or else, the teachers won't accept your work. Oh, and one more thing, do NOT try to skip classes! If you do, you won't know what your class is doing, and you'll have to make up the work next time.

          My advice for sixth grade is. . . try to relax. If you have a ton of homework, don't freak out!!! Study! And last of all, have fun!!! Sixth grade is not that bad. You just have to relax and try to have fun!!!! Sixth grade is a BLAST, but it's no joke.