For week #9 we were asked to visit 9 blogs and to leave at least one comment on each one. By the time we were done we had read 3 posts on every blog and left a comment. I went back and read some posts that were more  recent from Emily B’s blog. I also took the time to visit a NEW blog her name was Macy. Macy wrote about how the colours on her sand picture made her happy because of the bright colours. She created the picture on www.thisisand.com sorry it will not allow me to link it. The game is fun because you get to see what other students are doing on their blogs around the world. I really enjoy reading so it is fun to me for that reason. I also recommend Shelby’s blog. She has some really interesting posts, why don’t you check them out for yourself too?

Edited By: Matthew

image: LOOK! By dogwelder under a CC attribution non – commercial license

This week we have been assigned to write a persuasive post. This week my post is about why all classes should have a blog. Meaning that every teacher should set up a blog for their class from the grade rages of 6-12 classes.

Blogs can be an interesting and fun thing to have. It teaches you about the skills of writing and how to learn from each other.  Many things you can do on a blog is beyond what you can do with a pencil and paper. Not saying that writing on paper is a bad thing, but blogs give you more benefits. The fact that people from all over the world visiting your blog or class blog is that you can learn about other peoples cultures and the way they go to school. You leaner this through their comments on your posts. You can connect to what they say in their comment and get a conversation going. It’s really a neat thing. And be sure to reply if someone commented on your blog thy took the time to comment then they must want to start a conversation.  And the idea of writing posts all the time up dates your writing skill even though you barely notice it. The fact that you are writing consistently is your mind becomes stronger in thought and you learn how to spell better because you spell the same words over and over again. But make sure that you are writing a post at least one every week so that your readers that keep coming back won’t get bored. So this is WHY every teacher should set up a class blog for their class. One more thing the kids you teach can be taught on this as well. Get them to write a post together as a class get them to come up with a topic and get them to say what they want to about that topic. And of course you would write it.

Keep up the great work everyone we are almost at the point to having a fantastic blog!

Edited By: Matthew

image:  Macbook Pro   By   geerlingguy   under a CC attribution

Well I have been working hard on my picture for week 7 on the Student Blogging Challenge. This week we have been asked to create a picture that represents how we are and what our emotions are. I am sorry mine was a bit late but I wanted it to be perfect. I hope that you like it and enjoy it.  Keep up the good work everybody!

If you’d like to see how I painted this picture click here.

Edited By: Matthew

The 6 Pillars are words that my school represents and what we are awarded for at the end of each month. They are  Respectfulness, Citizenship, Fairness, Trustworthiness, Responsibility and  Caring. The last one I demonstrated was caring. My friend had hurt his foot  Badly. So what I did was help him down and up the stairs, carried his school stuff, and opened doors for him if he couldn’t do it himself. Which hurt him to do it so I did it for him. When was the last time you demonstrated these or just one? Have you helped someone when they where hurt? Caring is the one that speaks out to me the most. Because everyone is equal and deserve the same amount of care and love as any other human being gets. The last one that speaks out to me is Trustworthiness. Because if you tell your friend or anyone something that you wouldn’t tell anyone else you expect them to keep it instead of blabbing to their buddies about it. Don’t you think? And trust is something we can all use more in this world.

Edited By: Matthew

image smoke spectrum on white  By  Creativity103    under a CC attribution license

Photo has been edited by me to create the six on FotoFlexer.com

On April 24th all the grade sevens in my school went to the fire hall to learn about safety issues and how to stay alive. The first station was a paramedic station. My friend was a volunteer to go up and demonstrate what happens if you hit your head. Always wear a helmet if you are biking, snow boarding, roller blading E.T.C. The first thing they do is put you oto an ambulance bed I am sure all of you have seen one before. The next thing they do is strap you in so that you don’t move around in the bed. Then if you hurt your head or neck the place a plastic neck brace around your neck to support it. (it’s not comfortable). After that they give you a needle and if you lose oxygen they place a plastic mask over your nose and mouth so that you can breathe. after that they place a small plastic hook in your mouth so that your tongue doesn’t go into the back of your throat. Doesn’t that sound like a lot of plastic? The next station was not so fun. We had to watch a video of a real fire and what happens in it, what the fire men have to do in it. The third station was interesting. A fireman explained what can happen while using explosives and fire works and crackers. He showed us a video of a boy who was making a fire cracker and one night he picked up the bowl of chemicals and it blew up in his hand. Now he can’t play his saxophone and his finger is bent and scared severely. As you can tell this must have hurt A LOT! The fourth station we got to use extinguishers to put out fire I know it may sound cool but in the case of a real emergency you need to know how to use one. And just a little tip: NEVER USE AN EXTINGUISHER ON A FIRE IF IT IS BIGGER THAN YOU. It will NOT go out. The last station was a kitchen one. They taught us how to put out fires if you start one on top of the stove or in the stove. And if it is a microwave stop it and unplug it then call 911 so that they make sure it is clear and safe again. So that’s it if you think fire is cool and not dangerous think again. It can ruin your life and your homes. If you can’t put out a fire call 911 right away! Talk to your family about an escape route and make sure your smoke detector is working and if you can get an extinguisher. They help.

Edited By: Matthew

image: Renault Premium 420 Bronto Skylift F42 RL   By   Hoszi  under a CC attribution non  – commercial license – non – derivative works  license

All of Vancouver islands schools participated in the Tim Horton’s Clean Up. Many classes from my school did and we found a large amount of garbage! You’ll never believe what we found here are some examples: a hose, chair, sprinkler, house siding and junk mail boxes. If you visit our class blog you can see the video that goes with my classes clean up. Have you helped clean up our community lately? If you haven’t then you might be surprised with what you will find! You will find the link to my class blog on”Blogs That I Follow” It is called The Ripple Effect.

Link: Tim Horton’s Community Clean Up

Edited By:  Kylie

image: Festival of hibiscus 8 | Pink propeller By Fabrice ROSE under a CC attribution non -commercial – no derivative works license

My class will be participating in the Entrepreneur Fair on May 23rd and we’ll be selling products that are hand made. I will be making plastic bookmarks wrapped in fabric that have a ribbon at the top. Please take my survey below so that I know what my market will want and what I will have a better chance selling. My product relies on your feedback so if you can please take my survey you will provide me with helpful advice.

Well Earth hour is coming up do know what that is? It’s when everyone turns off their lights in their homes to preserve energy. The times are in between 8:30 – 9:00 it’s simple and saves ENERGY! I love Earth day me and my friends always play darts in the dark with Nerf guns and it is what I am looking forward to this year. The Earth matters and we only have one so we may as well look after it so we don’t lose it. I encourage all of you to participate in Earth day and tell you friends and family about it. Happy blogging everyone keep up the good work!

image: Most Amazing High Definition Image of Earth – Blue Marble 2012 By   NASA Goddard Photo and Video under a CC attribution

Edited By: Matthew

Well this week we have been assigned to write about what we want for a job when we are older. I decided that since I enjoy writing for you guys so much on my blog that I will be taking up a job in journalism. More specifically a writer. I enjoy writing and the job I have chosen is not just something I just  decided on, I have been wanting this job since I was a little kid. The things that I like writing about most is art because  when I have a pencil or writing utility I feel the sky is the limit. Meaning I can go beyond what I can imagine (In my mind). When I am writing I feel passionate and confident that what I am doing is beautiful, I feel beautiful. So everybody who reads this could you tell me what makes you confident and makes you feel good about yourself. Keep up the great blogging everyone!

Edited By: Matthew

image: Parole perdute By Valentine_A  under a CC attribution share  – alike license

This week we are learning about fair use and attribution to videos and photos. Many people don’t know this but if you go onto a random site and find pictures, save them, and put them into posts and other forms of anything it is called copy right. It is stealing the work of someone else and technically saying it is your own. It is against the law and you will go o jail for it if trying to sell or make money off of it. On Flickr you can get pictures in the creative commons area and they will have licenses on pictures you can or cannot use. Many of the photos you find on creative commons are available to use. But you need to respect ALL licenses. There’s 3 common licenses and they are:

CC attribution meaning you need to credit the person.

Non – derivative works meaning you can’t change ANYTHING on that picture.

Non – commercial meaning you CAN”T use that picture to make money or sell it.

So next time you are looking for a picture and you see these licenses FOLLOW THEM!

Edited By: Matthew