October Sky

Just recently, I watched a very inspirational and touching film, called October Sky.  It was about how young men from a coal mining town begin to try to launch rockets.  In their attempts and experiments, the boys used a lot of math, especially Homer.  He taught himself trigonometry just by reading a book.  Also, another connection to math is that they could calculate where their rockets landed by using different factors about the launch.  A connection to character education from this movie is determination.  Homer and the rocket boys showed determination because no matter what people said or did to them, they kept pushing forward.  The biggest case was Homer determined to make his father proud of him by building rockets, instead of coal mining.  He was determined to make this happen, and go to college.  Homer succeeded in both areas.

Response Blog: Down Syndrome

I recently learned about down syndrome by reading a blog by a friend. Basically, it explained about the effects down syndrome has on a person. Also, it taught me that people with down syndrome have a lower life span than the average person. I understood everything in the blog, due to the fact that it was well explained. Women above 40 having a child have a 1 in 100 chance of having a child with down syndrome. I personally feel bad for people with down syndrome. They do not have the same privileges the average person always does. They can't do all the activities we can either. Lots of people take that for granted, and we all need to become more aware of whats going on around us.

Sickle Cell Anemia xD

There is a dreadful disease in the world, known as sickle cell anemia. It was acknowledged by Africans in 1870's in Africa but the first sickle cell patient known was in Chicago in 1904. People with the disease have sickle shaped blood cells and develop anemia in most cases. Teens can develop jaundice, and just about all patients go through pain crises that are painful. Also, the cells break down faster than average cells, leading to infection risk. One advantage of sickle cell anemia is that they are usually malaria prone. There is no cure for sickle cell anemia. There are some treatments like taking vitamins and shots. The average life span of a male is 42 years and 48 years for a female. There are approximately 70,000 people with sickle cell anemia in the U.S. 1 in 500 black children develop it, and 1 in every 36,000 Hispanic children. It is caused when the genes on the short arm of the 11Th chromosome are mutated. It is a very terrible disease. I feel empathy for people with this disease and I hope that a cure is discovered. I think I learn more about this disease now.

For more information visit:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle-cell_anemia
kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/genetic/sickle_cell_anemia.html
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_WhatIs.html

S.S- North Korea's Army

North Korea has developed new missiles, torpedoes, and submarines. They have an army 1.2 million strong. Right now, they are being considered a threat to the United States of America. With their new missile technology, they can easily hit multiple U.S military bases in the Pacific Ocean. We are going to begin negotiations with North Korea so that they stop attacking South Korea and so they do not use any of their new weapons or new found army against us. Hopefully, our peace ideas will be successful and no American lives will be hurt.

My Roller Coaster Website

Dudettes and Dudes

Newark's Cory Booker

Newark's Mayor, Cory Booker, is going to focus and trying to improve Newark's economy. He believes that they can help. Also, he is creating jobs for people who need them and has already created extra housing for those who lost their homes. Since Newark's unemployment rate has skyrocketed this year, he best get to work quickly. All in all, Cory Booker is going to help our economy. He has created housing and jobs for those who need it and is working hard in Newark.

Roller Coaster

Last week in science, the entire class participated in creating roller coasters. We all had groups, and collectively had to use our omega dollars and supplies effectively. Though some supplies seemed overpriced, we still seemed to be alright money wise. The roller coaster had to consist of 3 turns and one other roller coaster aspect. Since all of that was on our roller coaster, i am led to believe that we may do well. Overall, this project was very fun, but required a lot of thought and application.

President Obama's Inauguration

Just last Tuesday, a historic event took place in Washington, D.C. The first black president in our nations history was inaugurated. Barack Obama was sworn into office and took the presidential oath. This inauguration took rigorous effort and lots of time to set up and pull off. It was also the most expensive, public, and historic inauguration in history.

"Barack Hussein Obama became the 44Th president of the United States on Tuesday before a massive crowd reveling in a moment of historical significance", was very important in our countries history. It marked the first time a black man has climbed the ladder of leadership in our country and became president. Also, his presidency shows that you can become anything you want to as long as you put your mid to it. Barack's presidency is remarkable and inspirational to anyone who wants to aspire to do something people have told them they can't. The article i read shows and explains what's going to happen over the next four years.

“I always felt it was important to tackle the tough issues today and not try to them on to future presidents, and future generations,” was one of President Bush's quotes on the subject of Barack Obama's presidency. Mr. Bush seems to be taking all of his criticism well, negative and positive. Also, he is helping President Obama and his family get acquainted into the white house. “I never took an opinion poll to tell me what to think. And I’m coming home with my head held high and a sense of accomplishment.”, was another one of George Bush's quotes about president Obama.

I agree with both articles that this election is very historic. Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States. WIll all Americans be able to adapt to having a black president? I personally believe he will do an excellent job as president.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Lately in class, we have been reading about the electromagnetic spectrum. It is quite an impressive topic to learn about. The amount if different waves and light in our world is amazing, especially since we can only see such a small percentage of it. Besides visible light, there are radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays. All of those have their own different wavelength and frequency. Radio have the highest wavelength, but lowest frequencies. On the other hand, gamma rays have the shortest wavelength and highest frequency. From longest wavelength to shortest, the order is radio waves, radar, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, and then gamma rays. As you can see, the electromagnetic spectrum is quite fascinating.