Brother   vs.   Brother 

By Anisha Saboo

A battle between brothers! The Harbaugh brothers, Jim and John Harbaugh coached their teams against each other in Super Bowl XLVII  ( 47 in roman numerals) on February 3, 2013. John is fifteen months older than Jim. They both grew up together with their parents, Jack and Jackie, and their younger sister, Joanie. Today Jim is 49 years old, and John is 50. Though the brothers were battling for the Super Bowl title, they still love each other very much. Jim Harbaugh coaches the San Francisco 49ers, and John Harbaugh coaches the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens havewon two titles, and the 49ers have won 5 titles until now.  

 The XLVII Super Bowl game was very interesting. In the first few quarters of the game, the Ravens were winning by a big margin. At the end of the first quarter, the Ravens were leading 7-3. By the end of the second quarter, the Ravens had increased their lead. The score was 21-6. After half-time, when the 3rd quarter started, the Ravens scored another touchdown!! Now the 49er fans had almost given up hope of their favorite team winning the championship. 

However, in the middle of the 3rd quarter, a very strange thing happened. The power went off in the Superdome and the game had to be halted! When the game resumed, the 49ers had a sudden boost of energy! Now the 49ers were finally scoring touchdowns and  their fans were screaming with joy. During the last few minutes of the game, the 49ers were extremely tired but they continued to work hard and still hoped to win. Unfortunately, the Ravens blocked them from scoring at every chance they could get. The Ravens won their second Super Bowl title and though the 49ers are bummed, they tried very hard and I think they should be proud of themselves.

 

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The Legendary Loch Ness Monster

by Ishika Shah

     Down in the depths of the Loch Ness lake of Scotland lives the mysterious Loch Ness Monster. Or so it is said... The famous Loch Ness Monster, nicknamed Nessie, has been puzzling many people for the past century.

     Many people claim to have seen it. The most common belief is that it is from a line of plesiosaurs (a large extinct marine reptile) that survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs around 65 million years ago. Scientists say that it is just a myth and explain viewings as tricks or wishful thinking. The evidence is unreliable and the description changes on whose account is being looked at. Therefore, scientists are still asking the question of “Fact or fiction?”

      Sightings range from the sixth century to very recently. The earliest recorded viewing of a monster in the Loch Ness area dates back to 565 AD. However, this creature wasn’t brought to the world’s attention until 1933. A Scottish newspaper published the story of a sighting. A man named George Spicer and his wife had seen what they called “the nearest approach to a dragon or pre-historic animal that I have ever seen.” They described it as having a large body (about four feet high and twenty-five feet long) and a long, narrow neck slightly thicker than an elephant’s trunk and 10-12 feet long. The first picture of what seemed to be Nessie was taken later that same year by Hugh Gray. Countless sightings have followed.
      The Loch Ness Monster’s existence has been questioned time and time again. Numerous photographs have been doubted and proven wrong. Sonar has also been used to scan the lake for any signs of Nessie several times. Some have even tried diving in a submarine (which once ended with them finding a bunch of golf balls). None of these have provided reliable proof.
      So far, we have no solid proof of Nessie. Whose side will you take until then? Would you like to go to Scotland to try and spot it for yourself? The mystery continues...

The Summer Olympics 2012

Do you want to be in the Olympics? Well I do want to be in the Olympics.Team USA won many medals in the 2012 games. In all they won 104 medals. There was 49 gold medals, 29 silver, and 29 bronze medals.Allison Schmitt , Missy Franklin , and Ryan Lochte got five medals each.Gymnast  Gabby Douglas is the fourth U.S female to get a gold medal.I feel like I should be Ryan Lochte because  he is a great swimmer. What do you think? I feel good USA won so many medals. Team USA competed in all Olympics expect one. I am guessing there are over 200 Olympic medals across America. There was 530 athletes from America to compete in the Olympics.There were 261 men and 269 women to compete. I feel like that is a lot of American athletes .  Don’t you think so ? The best person I think is good is Missy Franklin. You do you think is the best? I want to get a gold medal. I feel happy for the men and women who got medals because they work real hard to get medals.No US athletes won medals for saling since 1931. 

USS Midway

By:

Rahul Krishnan

Hi classmates. The USS Midway is a military aircraft carrier. It was active in World War II, Vietnam War, and Operation Desert Storm. The one I am talking about is the leader ship of all of the ships. This ship is the only USS ship that survived World War II. They even tested a rocket on the USS Midway. The USS Midway joined the U.S Atlantic fleet. The USS Midway launched one plane that had the first but last air-to-air battle. This event took place in Vietnam. In the USS Midway there are many things that are cool! They have their own jail cell, lots of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. I like the old typewriters they used. On top of the ship there were many planes and helicopters. Well I hope you can visit the ship at San Diego the USS Midway. Thank You!!!!!!!!!

Vote for President -By Rohan Dasari

        Vote for President

In less than two weeks the Presidential candidates, the Democratic candidate Obama and the Republican candidate Romney, will be head to head trying to be voted as President!!!!

Whoever is elected will be the 45 President!!
         Romney was born on March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. Romney was first a businessman before he was the mayor of Massachusetts in 2003. He did not try to be re-elected as governor. Instead, he tried for President in 2008 but lost. His father, George Romney, was governor of Michigan but was first a chairman, then President of the American Motors Corporation.  Romney’s Vice Presidential choice, Paul Ryan, entered the congress when he was 28. In 1998, he was elected as US  House of Representatives from Wisconsin.
         Obama, our current president, was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Obama was first a community organizer next he was an Illinois Senator then a US Senator. Afterwards, he was the President of USA in 2008. Obama loves to play basketball and plays it with his friends. Joe Biden, Obama’s Vice Presidential choice, was a lawyer for Delaware for two years.  First he was Delaware’s senate, and later joined the US Senate. He tried running       to be elected as  President two times, one in 1988 and another time in 2008.  In 2009 he was Obama’s Vice President.   

Both Obama and Romney are trying to solve the same problems but in different ways. Obama believes billionaires and millionaires should pay more taxes, while Romney thinks that taxes should be lowered. Obama wants to help the economy by working towards building jobs by bringing small jobs back. Romney wants to boost the economy with jobs and by hoping for giving  more money to the government. Obama is trying to have most people go to college and wants states to have high standards for schools. Romney works for reduced government involvement in education. Also he wants kids to have a few ways to be schooled. Obama strides for US

military spending cut down, while Romney thinks we should spend wisely. Obama thinks we should bring down health insurance and get high quality healthcare. Romney thinks we should not have the affordable healthcare act?!?!

As you can see, the candidates different ideas about how to serve best as president but  soon we will find out who wins the election!!

Which president would you vote for?!

Your Future Career

Your Future Career

By Caroline

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?
Well....when I grow up I want to be a orthodontist. An orthodontist is like a dentist but deals with more complicated teeth situations. I first got interest of being an orthodontist when ….................

I first had teeth problems, so I went to an orthodontist office. The doctor’s name was Dr. Kinoshita. He was very friendly. He asked my family to get x-rays on my teeth to see what was going on with my teeth. After Dr. Kinoshita got the x-rays, he said that a baby molar tooth was stuck in my gums and could not get out because an adult molar was blocking it. So this is what happened. I first got retainers but then my orthodontist saw that it shifted my front teeth not my molars, so they got rid of my retainers. Then I went through an extraction on my top left canine tooth so they can do a procedure called ankylosis. Ankylosis is when they extract a tooth and then put it back into your gum again so it will fuse to the bone. They did the procedure on me, so I could get braces. The canine was successfully being used as an anchor tooth to move the molar. The braces was for moving the adult molar tooth out of the baby tooths way so the baby tooth can come out. After the braces, I got retainers again to keep my teeth in place. Now the problem is that the baby tooth is not coming out. So now they are going to do surgery to cut my gum and get the baby tooth out. This surgery I think is going to be around Thanksgiving this year.............and now I am very nervous about it!

I want to be an orthodontist because this situation made me very interested with the things Dr. Kinoshita did with my teeth. A few questions popped in my mind. How did he put on my braces? Who does and make my retainers?....................................... These are some questions that I should think about. This is why I want to be an orthodontist when I grow up!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Why do you want to do this career?

Fun and Only- by Annie Pan

Fun and Only

by Annie Pan

                On a Saturday morning, I sprung from my bed, excited. When I arrived at our school, I was ready with my flute clutched tight under my hands. Ready for the competition at Great America.

    I was grouped with my friends, Jessica and Jasmine, with Jessica’s dad in charge. When we arrived, it didn’t look anything like Great America. It was old and torn and it looked more like a school. I soon figured out we’re going to Santa Teresa High School for the competition. We practiced G-Force and Shockwave and was ready to go. Our band was small, but we had confidence. After the competition, our director said we probably got first place. I was time to leave to Great America.

    We raced to the entrance with our tickets while music was pounding in our ears. My friends were frightened to go on any ride, so we had to start with Celebration Swings. It was just like swings, except it lifts higher with you orbiting in a circle. I put my hands in the air as the gentle breeze past by. After a while, it was fun. Now, my friends were eager to go on the other rides.

We headed towards Psycho Mouse, a roller coaster. It took about 20 minutes to wait in the line. Step after step, it was finally our turn. Jasmine sat with Jessica in the back while I sat in the front. My teeth were gritted while the announcer said, “Enjoy your ride!” There was a thump. The cart gradually went higher. Then, a slight turn, and it started. I put my hands up while my other friends were saying, “Help!” and “Yikes! Wait, it’s actually not that bad!” Then the ride was over. What fun! I promised Jasmine that we would go to Orbit, a fun, yet dizzy ride.

On the way, we saw this ride called Delirium. I was always scared the past few years I came to go on it, but the more I was scared, the more I wanted to go on it. Jessica was too scared to go. Jasmine and I held hands in the beginning. Sweat was dripping from my cheeks. The ride begun. It wasn’t scary at all. I put my hands in the air. The ride was over.

After a few rides, we decided to go on Rip Roaring Rapids. We sat down on this huge tire-like boat and drifted towards the roaring rapids. “Ha!” I laughed at my friend. “Your back is faced to the waves, you’re gonna get soaked!” Right when I finished my sentence, the boat turned. Splash! I was completely soaked. At the end, I turned out to be the one that was least drenched.

After all those rides, it was time to go the the Showtime Theatre to see what places we get. The middle schoolers received their prize. “And finally,” they announced. And we waited. Wow! Get what place we got?

Last!

A LAND OF GIANTS- KINGS CANYON, By Alexander the Explorer

          I had a great chance to visit Kings Canyon National Park, located in the Southern Sierra Nevada, east of the San Joaquin Valley. It takes almost four hours to drive there from Bay area.  Visitor activities vary by season and elevation - that varies from 1,370 to 14,494 feet. It’s called the “Land of the Giants” because here are the tallest and largest Sequoia trees.  At the beginning, I did not know that “General Sherman” was living there! The landscaping is fabulous and of great variety. The animals that live there are :gray fox, bobcat, striped and spotted skunks, black bear, wood rat, pocket gopher, white-footed mouse, California quail, scrub jay, lizards, goldfinch, acorn woodpecker, gopher snake, California king snake, striped racer, and many more. The animals that I saw were the groundhog which tried to find its way out of his log, the wood pecker- pecking on some wood in search for insects, lizards and a snake.

        The most exiting thing was the stillness and quietness of the forest and you could hear only the chirping of the birds.  Finally I got to meet with” General Sherman “which is the tallest and largest redwood tree in the world. Its height is 83.8m tall and width is 33m wide. Research shows that he is about 2,000 years old. This was my only chance to get closer to him and give him a huge hug! But you can guess how many arms did I need to embrace him all around? Good question for a math problem!  To conclude with, for me and my family this trip was the best and the beginning for exploration of more of the Sequoia National Park, too!

     Have you ever been to Kings Canyon?

     Have you ever seen “General Sherman”?