Makenzie's blog

I read two stories on National Geographic about space junk. I read both of them because I wanted to know what different people think about space junk. I also wanted to learn different facts.

The first story I read, I though was more interesting. I learned lots of facts. The U.S. Surveillance Network used a radar and found more than 13,000 pieces smaller than four inches. There are also millions of tinier pieces such as flecks of paint and bits of plastic... wow! Space Junk includes whole satellites, parts of satellites, deployed rocket bodies, human waste, and many more random stuff. NASA has found space junk a serious problem and they are trying to get rid of the junk as fast as they can. If you want to look at this article, click on this link:
http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/orbital....

The second story I read only has a couple of facts. One that I found was that space junk is interfering with robotic missions and human space flight. The debris are guessed to stay steady through 2055, then they will increase. Scientists say that removing big pieces of old space junk will soon be necessary. If you want to see this article, go to http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0119_060119_space_junk.html.

Today a guy from The Harlem Globetrotters game in to our school. I forgot his real name, but his team nickname is Dizzy. His name is Dizzy because he is amazing at spinning the basketball. He is also number 2.

The Globetrotters' colors are red and blue

This year, we have been reading a novel of our choice for about thirty minutes every day. So far, I have read eleven books. Eleven novels, to be exact.

When I first came to sixth grade, I did not like reading that much at all. Now, It is still not my favorite or best subject, but I like it a whole lot better. This year, I started out with small novels. Now, I am reading way bigger ones. I have found out that I like books about fairy tales, mysteries, and adventure books the best.

I have really improved my reading this year; more than any other year. I used to read very, VERY slow, but now, I am not the fastest, but I am a lot faster than I was before. This was the best reading year ever.

Dear Kindergartener,

I am writing this letter for you so you will have some advice for when you get older. Please follow this so that you won't get in trouble and so you can be smarter.

First of all, here are some tips for not getting into trouble. If the teacher is talking, do NOT talk. Raise your hand before saying anything. Always do what the teacher tells you to do. If you ever do get in trouble, don't pout or whine, or else you will be in trouble for longer. One more thing... just try to stay out of trouble.

Next, I am going to tell you how to stay smart. Listen to the teacher. When you get as old as me and you don't listen to the teacher, you could fail a test. Also, when you get older you might want to take notes to help you.
Study at home when you have the time. You will do better on tests.

Don't forget that when you go to first grade, you will not have as many toys, it will be mostly work so get ready for that. I hope this advice helps you get through school.

I read a story in National Geographic about Iceland. Iceland would NOT be a good choice for a vacation. It is very dangerous. It wouldn't be good because there are tons of volcaneos and glaciers.

The reason for volcanoes is that they could erupt when you are standing near them and they could kill you. You're dead... What a great vacation! The reason the glaciers would be bad is that if you decide to take a hike on them, you could fall in a crevasse and also die. Two ways of dying in Iceland. That's why I would prefer going to Hawaii.

The land of Iceland is very pretty, but it's also very dangerous. I might not be like whoever is reading this, but I would recommend NOT going to Iceland if you had a choice.

Today, I was walking to school and I found a magical wand. At first, I didn't know what it was so I picked it up and said "I wish I knew what this was." Then, out of know where, I knew what it was. It was a wand that made every wish come true. It was so awesome!

Well, first I wished for a plate of waffles because I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast. Guess what. I got a plate of waffles! Next, I went to school. I was in math and was SUPER bored. So, at break time, I wished for it to be the end of the day. There I was, at home, in less then a minute. I didn't feel like doing my homework, so I wished for it to be all done with all the right answers. The next day at school. I turned in my homework and got an C on it because I didn't show my work. Maybe next time I should do some of my own work. That day, I forgot my lunch at home. So then I wished for a piece of pizza and it appeared right in my hands! I ate it in less then two minutes. I love this wand so much.

Even now, I use my wishing wand daily. In fact, it is sitting in my desk right now. I will never stop using it.

Today, we watched a video about Greek Olympics and a time machine. We took notes on facts and fiction parts about the story. I got a few of each.

One fact was that Olympics were a time when Athens and Sparta could compete without being at war, or fighting. I thought it was cool that they could do a sport without fighting.
One thing I thought was interesting is that women could not compete in the Olympics. I don't think that is fair. One rule in the Olympics was that if you fall down in a wrestling match, you lose. I think it would be hard to win if that was the rule now.

I got some fiction from this movie too. One fiction was that a little "boy" was forced to compete in the Olympics. (It was really a girl acting like a boy). Another fiction part was that there was a machine that made them travel through time. That is so not true. Another fiction part was that someone thought ketchup was blood. One more fiction is that there were two people that were holograms, and that is way not true.

I thought this movie was weird but cool. I would want to see more movies about time travel. I liked it.

I read a story on National Geographic about tigers and apes in a zoo that snuggled together.

First of all, Demis and Manis were two tiger cubs. They were rejected by their mother, so the people brought them to the zoo. They were joined with Nia and Irma, two orangutans. At first when they were together, they just played and took naps together. The zookeeper said, "One morning, I walked in and Nia and Irma hugged Demis, the tiger, and he lick-kissed them back!"

When they grew, their natural instincts started showing, so the zookeeper moved them to separate cages. Now, two other apes the zookeeper is raising also made friends with a leopard cub. I really enjoyed reading this, but I wish it would have given more information. I hope I get to read about the apes and the leopard also. You can find a picture and more information at
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Stories/AnimalsNature/Tigers-cuddle-w....

If I got a free airline ticket, I would go to Hawaii. I would go there because I love swimming. I also like seeing underwater life, like fish and stuff. It would be really cool to see a sea turtle.

I would go to the beach every day to get an awesome tan. I would also go swimming every day. If I went to Hawaii, I would want to go snorkeling and see all the fish... no way! I would way rather go scuba diving then snorkeling. I would be able to get closer to all the animals. I would also be able to see all the animals, not only the ones that live near the top, but I would see all the animals that live deep down under the water. I might even get to see a turtle! I would get as close as I could or was allowed to get to the animals.

Hawaii would be the funnest place EVER! I have never been there, but I really want to go, and it would be so much fun.

Today, we went to a Zoo Zoo Performance. It was our own zoo in Fairbanks. It was people dressed in animal costumes and they acted like the animals they were dressed as. I thought some parts were cool and I didn't like some parts as much. There were birds, a snake, frogs, anteater things, polar bears, penguins, and evil bunnies. I thought the frogs' costumes were the most realistic looking.

What I didn't understand was the audience. They were really giggly. They laughed at some things that I didn't think were funny at all. I was confused on why they were laughing. Our class only laughed at some stuff, but not nearly as much as the other people.

My favorite animal was probably the polar bears. I liked them because they had a balloon and they bounced it around and I thought that was pretty funny. They also got up on two feet and growled. They were cool.

I am glad we all went to the Zoo Zoo performence. It was very fun and I would like to go and see it another time. It was a cool field trip.

Yesterday, our class went to the Museum of the North. We went to see all of the art upstairs. There was some really cool stuff there. We saw loads and loads of art.

We were split up into four groups. I think I was in group two. My favorite part was a room with music and lights. The music depended on what is happening in Alaska. For example, we heard calm music because there were northern lights happening. The lights depended on the color of the sky and how bright it was outside. I thought it was really cool.

When we got back to school, we got paired up to interview someone in the class. I got paired up to interview Kaylee. "My favorite type of art was the abstract." she said. "I didn't like standing on the high balcony." she told me. "My favorite part was the music and light room too" she told me.

I definitely want to go to the museum again. Next time I go, I want to see the whole museum! We had a lot of fun. I hope I get to go there on more field trips.

Last week, my mom ordered a wii for me. I have been waiting and waiting and waiting; you get the point. Then, on Monday, it got to my house! I was so excited that I got it ready the night I got it. My cousin has a wii, so I know how fun it is.

When I got my wii, I was out of control because I was so excited to play it. The next day after I got it, I made a mii. A mii is a person you make on the wii that looks like you. I have two games. One of them is called Wii Sports. It is a game where you play sports such as baseball and tennis. The other game I have is called Wii Play. It has more relaxing games such as pool and fishing. I like Wii Play better, but they are both very fun.

I am hoping I will get more games for my Wii, so I can play all of them. I am so glad I bought my wii, even though I used up all of my Christmas money. It was really worth it. Now, I am a pro at the wii... almost! Best of all, all my family will be in shape!

"Cool! It's an iPod touch!" I shouted.

This Christmas, I got a lot of new presents. We had Christmas early we were snowboarding on Christmas day. Some things I got were: a new helmet for snowmachining, a camera, and a LOT of new shoes.

When I saw my helmet, I thought it was cool. " It's from Grandpa" mom said."

I like it a lot." I said. I also got a keleidascope which is a thing you look into and see "quilt-like" shapes.

"That's coool!" I hollered.

Another present I got was a glass case with real butterflies in it, but they were not alive. I thought that looked really cool. I got a wood frog with a mallet, and when you rub the bumps on the frog's back with the mallet, it sounds exactly like a frog.

My mom said "Oops! We forgot the stockings." The coolest present was the very last one in the stocking. "Cool! It's an iPod touch! I shouted. The first day I got the iPod, I got it all ready. I have played it so much ever since.

Christmas is coming! It's December 14th already! I am so excited for Christmas. We put our Christmas decorations and tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. We will have kind of an early Christmas at home, because on Christmas day, we will be in California. So far, there is already a bunch of Christmas presents under my tree.... yay! About one half of them are mine too.

For some reason, I am really excited for Christmas this year. I think it might be because I am going on vacation for it, and maybe it's because I am getting a lot of presents. I hope everyone has a great Christmas! Happy holidays!

I am going to California over Christmas break! I am so excited. I am going to visit my family in Palm Springs (my grandparents live there) and go to Mammoth Mountain. I might even to go a theme park.

We are first going to Palm Springs. We might celebrate an early Christmas because we will be snowboarding on Christmas day.
We are probably going to go to some nice restaurants because we don't have much of those at Alaska. I'm so excited to see my family.

We might go to a theme park called Six Flags Magic Mountain. I went there last time I went to California. There is a really fun ride where you face the ground when you ride it. It's called Tatsu. I really hope we get to go to Six Flags when we go to California.

We are going to Mammoth Mountain. It is one of the biggest Ski/Snowboard resorts in the U.S.A. We have been to Mammoth twice before. It is a good place for beginners or pros. It is a very fun place, and I'm really excited to go.

I can't wait to go to California and see my family and have fun.

Avalanches are very dangerous. There are two types of avalanches: loose snow and slab. Slab avalanches are more dangerous then loose snow. Avalanches usually form when there is a loose layer of snow. Avalanches can move up to 80 mph. They will only fall at a 25 degree angle.

Dr. Adams is a guy who studies avalanches. He makes an explosion and then he sits in a shed at the bottom of the hill. That's a scary but cool job. I think it would be a cool job to study avalanches.

One connection I had with the avalanche story is that my dad told me he got caught in an avalanche when he was younger. Another connection I had with this story is that my dad's friend climbed Mt. Everest, and I bet he saw some avalanches.

If I ever get caught in an avalanche, I will just stay calm until someone finds me. But let's hope I don't ever get caught in one! I learned a lot from this story. I hope I get to read more books about avalanches, so I can learn more about them.

This year, I came from Nordale to Denali Elementary. When first came here, I thought I would ever make any friends. People were nice to introduce me to Denali, but I still didn't think I would make friends.

Now, I have a LOT of friends. I still miss my old friends, but my new friends are really nice. I am sad that I have to go to a different middle school than them, but I'll still get to see my old friends in middle school, and my new friends in high school. I will be happy to see them again. Most of my friends here are girls, but I have some guy friends. I have about fifteen new friends here.... maybe more. When I first got to Denali, two people came in the school. They said hi to me. I said hi back. They told me their names. They were Kaira and Jenna. Now, we are good friends.

My experience moving to Denali made me nervous but excited. I was nervous because I was worried that I wouldn't make any friends. I was excited because I got to try something new and compare Denali to Nordale. I saw that the two schools were built the same.... confusing!

My class read a book called Number he Stars. It was about a girl named Annemarie, her little sister Kirsti, and her best friend, Ellen. Ellen was a Jewish girl with long blond hair. Annemarie and her were very worried because they found out that the German Nazis were trying to take the Jews away. Annemarie's family was hiding Ellen from the Nazis. Ellen's parents are hidden somewhere else safe.

I think this was a very great book and I recommend it to anyone. It has a very good ending, but I won't tell you it. If you want to know what happens, you will have to read this amazing book by Louis Lowry.

You can learn about different children in this war at this link: http://www.graceproducts.com/fmnc/main.htm.

Last year, I went on a vacation to Florida....more like the best vacation ever! We went there to visit our family. A lot of my family lives there. They are: my grandma, my grandpa, my twin aunts, their husbands, and one of the twin's sons (my cousin).

First of all, we had to get there somehow. Of course, we flew. We went from Fairbanks to Seattle, then Seattle to Orlando. The flights were HORRIBLE! In all, it took twelve whole hours to get there. Twelve hours of sitting and doing nothing!

When we finally got there, we had to drive the car to my grandparents' house, which was another two hours. My grandparents live in the country. It is a place called Branford. They have a pool at their house. My family and I swam in it almost every day we were at Branford. It was a lot of fun.

A few days later, we went to St. Pete. This is where my aunts, uncles, and my cousin live. We did lots of fun things there. We went bowling one day. My mom was the best. My twin aunts took my sister and I shopping. We visited a lot with our family in St. Pete.

I read a cool story called Isty-Bitsy Dino. A guy found a dinosaur fossil just this year. It was REALLY tiny! In fact, it was only four inches tall, and just over two feet from head to tail. It weighed less than two pounds! That's like the size of your average cat. That's one tiny dinosaur. It is said to be the tiniest dinosaur ever to roam North America. They also said that the "tiny" dino was a very fast runner and it could run under bigger dinosaur's legs.

Being a fly on the wall is very fun. A fly on the wall is where you sit in the school and observe. I was at a bench upstairs, then a bench downstairs, and then in a hallway downstairs near the music room and cafeteria. I have done three fly on the walls so far. Some parts of the three were the same, and some parts were different. I found many patterns, and a lot of stuff that I wasn't expecting. A thing that was the same, is that there was always at least one very noisy class that walked by. People also asked if I was in trouble a lot It got kind of annoying. And one of the times, there must have been orchestra because everyone had violins is their hands. One place I was at was very quiet. All I could hear was stuff in the cafeteria.

There were some pretty interesting things I saw like for example: I saw this tall lady with huge sunglasses, and she was carrying a big suitcase behind her. I saw a little boy humming, and a little girl skipping. I saw lots of teachers lecturing students. A lot of kids walked by arguing. When I was downstairs, I could hear a bunch of classes on the stairs, and I could hear then going to gym.

I have a pet ball python. We don't know what gender it is but we are calling it a girl. Her name is Gladiss. We keep her in a big glass cage. She has a log, a shelter, and some water in her cage.

Gladiss is brown with black spots all over. She almost looks like a cheetah. She is about two feet long and an inch thick right now. She is still a baby, though. I have heard they can get up to four feet long and very thick. I can't wait until Gladiss gets that big so I can put her on my neck.

Gladiss eats mice. My dad dangles the mouse so she thinks it's alive. She snaps at it and wraps around it. She stayed wrapped around it for like ten minutes, to make sure the mouse is dead. Then, she swallows the mouse. When she is done she looks really fat because that big mouse is in her stomach. How do snakes eat something so big whole?

I sometimes hold Gladiss. It is funny when I hold her because she tries to go somewhere that's dark and somewhere that she can hide in. Her skin feels weird when she slithers around on your arm.

According to "Frightful Animals" in National Geographic, the blood python is a very gigantic and creepy snake.... at least in my opinion. The blood python squeezes around its prey until they stop breathing, then it swallows it whole. It eats small animals. Blood pythons are found in Southeast Asia.

A surprising fact about the blood python is that it has scary teeth.... and it doesn't even use them! I think this fact is surprising because number one: it's a big, scary python and you would think they would use their teeth to chew. Number two: Why have teeth if you're not going to use them?

Well, I'm glad I haven't gotten face-to-face with a blood python. If I did, I'd be dead right now. The scary part is that I have a python. My python is a ball python. It also wraps around its food. It eats dead mice and we make them look like it's still alive. It is brown with black spots and it is very, very cool. At least it's not a blood python.

Winter is on its way! I am so excited for winter. I like winter 100% more than summer. Sorry, summer people. I like winter because I can make snowmen, have snowball fights, go snowboarding, and ride snowmachines at our cabin.

I think winter is very beautiful, how the snow shines in the sun. I also think the trees look cool.

This year, I changed schools for sixth grade. I went to Nordale for five years. I love my teacher here. Guy teachers are always the best! One thing I like about my teacher is that he is strict. I like strict teachers because they always cause the kids to follow the rules (teachers that aren't strict at all, let the kids do too much things that could cause a problem).

I really like Denali so far, but I really, really miss my friends from Nordale. But, I have made some new friends here at Denali. I also like my principal a lot. One of my cousins used to know him when she went to this school. She is now nineteen years old. I think I am going to have a great year here at Denali. I have loved this school so far. It's going to be a fun year.

My favorite sport is snowboarding. I think it is really fun. When I first started, I was really bad. In my opinion, I think most people don't snowboard because they give up. Ao if you want to try something new, just keep practicing and don't give up.

I usually go snowboarding at Birch Hill. There is a chairlift there. A chair lift is a chair attached to a wire that brings you up the hill. I can do rails and jumps now. I can only do small tricks though and i can't ride the rails with my board sideways.

This year, I am working on improving my tricks. My dad, my sister, and I are gonna try to possibly do a 180 or 360 this year. Hopefully we can do it. We also might try to ride the rails sideways.

I have been to Mammoth Mountain Ski and Snowboard resort in California. You are probably wondering what that is. It is the biggest Ski resort in America. It was so fun there. I am actually going there again this winter.

Each year, I get better and better at snowboarding so remember, if you wanna get good at something, don't give up.

I have a dog named Comet. She is a female. She is black and white. She is a mutt (bullterrior and short-haired pointer). She is very big and VERY friendly. She has floppy ears. She is only kinda cute. She is not very soft to pet, but she is a little. She is always hungry.... and I mean ALWAYS. She is very, very obedient, and good at tricks. She can run pretty fast.

She likes to come to our cabin with us. She rolls in every mud puddle she can find. She is a very good swimmer and she loves to chase the grayling in the creek. She has a big basket on the back of my dad's fourwheeler that she rides in. She mainly just runs, though. Whenever we catch a fish, she tries to lick them... bleh! She is a very nice, adventurous dog.

One time, Comet was riding in my dad's fourwheeler when she was a puppy, and she fell off the back. Luckily, she had a harness on so she didn't get ran over. My dad stopped right away so he wouldn't drag her on the ground. It was so cute when she fell out because she looked so scared. Comet WAS so cute when she was a puppy. She is the best dog you could ask for.

Last week, I started reading a book called Charlotte's Web. You have probably heard of the book, or seen the movie before. I am going to tell you about the book. I am almost finished with the book.

Wilbur, and of course, Charlotte, are the main characters. Fern is the third main character. Fern is the owner of Wilbur. Wilbur is a very terrific, clean, and beautiful pig.... you don't see that very often. Charlotte is a very kind and nice big grey spider.... you don't see that very often, either.

In the beginning, a little eight-year-old girl sees her father with an axe. She asks him what he is doing. He says that there is a pig in the barn that is way littler than all the rest, so he thinks he should kill it. Fern tries to tell him not to, but he refuses. She begs and begs and finally, he decides not to kill it and he gives it to Fern. She named it Wilbur.

Eventually, Wilbur gets really big, so he has to live in Fern's uncle's barn. He got very sad because no one wanted to play with him or be his friend. Just as he was laying down to go to bed, he hears a voice that says, "I will be your friend."

Hi my name is Makenzie. I am gonna tell you about Barack Obama. I voted for him. I voted for him because I think he would be a great president. I also thought it would be cool to have the first African American president. So far, he has been a very awesome president. He is VERY good at making speeches.

Today in class, we watched a recording of one of his latest speeches about school. He talked about good education. One of the things he said is the you shouldn't drop out of school. He said to not think that you can drop out of school and drop into a good job. I totally agree with him about that.

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