Sophie’s Blog! (Obviously)

Over the past 2 weeks our class has been working with Franziska and Josh from Arts Umbrella. Using a web cam, we took hundreds of pictures using two different programs. Motion Sequence and Multiple Exposure. Haley and I used Motion Sequence for this particular photo. It is a picture of a broken battery charger. INTENCE! Once I put a non-rechargable battery in the charger and it sort of… BOOM!… Actually, I did that twice. He he… Woops!

In Motion Sequence there many different grids you can use. For this picture we used 4 by 1 and made the border really big to create this… Masterpiece???

I really like this picture because of the border and the slant it is on. The thing I would change would probably be making sure that you can see the whole word because you can’t really read it.

Today our class went to Mark Isfeld to watch a performance put on my the grade 11 and 12’s and a grade 4 class from our school. It was…. Interesting.

What do you think of my photo?

Photo by: ME!

P.S. Guess what? My blog has reached it’s goal of 1000 visits! Actually 1025!

Right now our unit in Social Studies is Justice. We have been learning all about Canadian court and we have even been to court ourselves with the accused….. The third little pig, and the big bad wolf, but that’s another story.

What Is It Like to Enter a Canadian Courtroom?

Leading up to the building is generally very nicely landscaped and very community friendly and most of the time has a Canadian flag. I believe represents respect for our country. The building itself is very formal. It seems to say “This is not a joking matter.” When you enter the building you have to go through security. There is usually a sign that says “remove all metal objects before entering metal detector”. There is also a lot of no smoking signs. When you get into the courtroom you take your seats in the designated area. If the accused is in custody at the time they sit in the prisoner box. The court clerk is the official assistant to the judge and enter and exits close behind her/him and also sits in front of him.

5 People Present in a Canadian Court Room

Judge: If there is no jury, the judge makes the final decision after listening carefully to the stories from witnesses, victims…etc. If the accused is guilty, he/she decides the punishment. One quality I think a judge should have it would be not a pushover. If the accused starts telling a sob story about his family the judge should not give in or be “moved” in any way.

Press: The press is welcome in the courtroom to report trials. They are not allowed to take any pictures and the judge is allowed to tell press not to record some info. Automatic ban if one reports the names of people under 18. One quality I think someone involved in the media should have would be listening carefully, because if they miss an order from the judge or Crown Prosecutor, they’re job may be prosecuted.

Court Reporter: The court reporter records everything that is said in the courtroom. In order to do so well, They sit next to the witness stand to hear everything. They record using a special machine or by typing it. One quality a court reporter should have would be quick fingers for typing.

Investigating Officer: The investigating officer is the police officer that… well… Investigated the scene. They know all about the case so they make sure that the Crown Prosecutor has the correct info. One quality I think an Investigating Officer should have would be communication. They would have to be able to communicate clearly to the Crown Prosecutor.

Court Clerk: This person is the assistant to the judge. The court clerk prepares the schedule, reads charges against the accused, calls court to order, and makes sure witnesses swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. One quality a court clerk should have would definitely be organization.

What Makes The Process Fair?

I absolutely, totally, 100% believe in justice because no one should be hurt or punished with out being proven guilty. It’s not fair. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, if proven guilty at all. One major thing that makes a trial fair would be that every one’s story is heard. But one thing I am totally against is that the accused does not speak. They are innocent at the trial because they are not yet guilty there for their side should be heard and considered. If you think so, please, let me know!

Post adjourned!

To be in band, or to not be in band. That is the true question.

Today Mark R. Isfeld’s band and jazz band came to our school to play for us. Following the wonderful and very loud performance, Mrs.Smith asked us if we would want to be in band when we reached grade 8 (if the teachers would tolerate us for that much longer).

During my brothers first year of high school, (which was grade 9 because there has been a configuration since then) He played the tenor saxophone. I always loved it, and if I was lucky sometimes he would let me fool around with it! It was so much fun! When I am in grade I hope to also play the tenor sax.

My favourite part of the performance was the featured soloist. They played the kazoo!

Do you play an instrument? If so which one? Is band an option at your school? I would like to find out.

-Sophie

Photo credits: Melissa Marano B.

I am thinking of customizing my banner image, but I do not know what to put there! Help!

I was thinking of something very, very, random, just like me! Maybe… A cow?… A glass of orange juice?… The alphabet?… Mr.Incredible?… Batman? These are just ideas right off the top of my head. Hey, that gave me an idea! How about Bob Marley? (Don’t ask how I linked “off the top of my head.” to “Bob Marley”!)

I was thinking of a super hero or something. I am going to be Superman for Halloween this year. OH! Maybe the S chest on Superman’s costume-y thing! No… Ughhhh! I am so confused! What do you think it should be?

A very confused,

Sophie

Photo by: SHOfrE3zE

The very first post on my blog was 7 random facts. Well, I have thought of some more. These ones are probably the most random of them all. More random than puppies in purple convertibles like this one over here. I call him Jiggly-Pants. Anyways, here they are.

1. I like to eat yogurt with a fork.
2. I once ate an apple that tasted like a tomato.
3. Bananas make the inside of my mouth itchy.
4. I donated 9 inches of my hair to children with cancer or going through chemotherapy.
5. Both of my parents are working in schools. My dad is a principal and my mom is a grade 1 teacher.
6. I saw the movie ‘Mamma Mia’ 3 times in theaters and then got the sing-along from my aunt for Christmas.
7. I now have 14 random facts posted on my blog.

Like ‘em? Pretty Random eh? Well I hope these interesting facts gave you some smiles.

Do you have an interesting fact about yourself? If so, please leave it in a comment.

Hope you liked it!

-Sophie

Photo by: millerm217

P.S. Guess what? I changed my tagline on my blog. Like it?

The struggling life of a robot in show biz!

“The sun will come out, tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow..”

“That’s enough.” says Asimo. “Dexter, I’m just not feeling it, you will never in a billion years win this show!”

“I’ll be back for Robotican Idol again next year.”

“No. You won’t.”

“But I…”

“No.”

Dexter slowly heads to the door, dreams crushed but his hopes high. He was headed for his audition on the show, “So You Think You Can Do The Robot?”. At least he could look forward to that.

“Have you seen this show?” says one judge.

“Yeah. Kid, you don’t have the chops to be on this show.” says another.

“You just did the human, not the robot.” says the next. ”I’m sure you did your…Best?”

“It obviously wasn’t enough” says the second judge under her breath.

Dexter’s dreams are crushed once more but not before he heads to his last chance. The audition for “Robots Got Talent!”

“Do you honestly think that you could win this show? I mean, you lifted up the juice container, and put it in the trash. Whoop-Dee-Ding”, the first judge says sarcastically.

“It’s just not for you.” says the next.

Dexter’s hopes remained high for next year. Or until some new talent show comes up.

The next morning…

*Bring, bring*

“Hello?” Dexter says in a hopeful way.

“Hi, is this Dexter? I have dispatching information for you.” says the woman on the phone.

“Yes, yes?” Dexter replies anxiously.

“The Canadarm 2 has just been constructed and we need help. Are you a risk taker?”

“Some could say that…Err…Umm…Yeah, sure.”

“We need someone to strap to the end to work in space. Are you game?”

“This is my big break!” he says to himself “Yeah, I might be able to squeeze that in my tight schedule.” he comments trying to keep from bursting into tears of happiness. He didn’t want to rust.

“Dexter, you truly are a life saver! We all thank you so much!” the woman on the other end says quite relieved

“A life saver…” Dexter comments going into daydreaming montage mode. “Maybe there is hope after all…”

THE END

Photo by: FlySi

Okay, it is not an actual published book, but it was part of an art project that my class worked on.

The book is called “War and Peace” by Warren Peice.  To many, that title would come across as a sad story about war or the great depression, but thankfully, it isn’t!

It is about a couple, Sarah: A clueless air-head out in her own world, and Darren: A neat freak with a sparky sense of humour but very little patience.  In this book, they have to resolve their differences to keep this relationship.  Will they in time for their second honey moon, or will they go as far as court?  I am planning to write this story and I will post it on my blog so you will just have to wait!

Blogging is difficult to get started at but after a few weeks it becomes a daily routine for some.  If you have a blog you would know!

If you go to the bottom of a blog you will see a meta side bar widget, the log in lets the owner of the blog make magic!  Not really, but it is surprise that we can pull this off working without a wand!

When you log in it takes you to the dashboard, there they can add widgets, approve and manage comments and posts, change themes write new posts and update the entire blog.

At the top of the box when you are writing a post you can add a link, image and media to your post.

Like my blog or others you have seen?  Create an account and become an edublogger!

Photo of laptop keyboard by: Declan TM

Wednesday was a very important date for division 16 because…

We spoke to astronaut Clayton Anderson!

We were last to ask our questions and I introduced our class to Diane, Susan (organizers), Dr.Anderson, and all of the other participating classes.  Our questions were about the kind of recycled water that they have in space and about their free time and what they liked to do.

He told us that the water they drink is purified from their urin, sweat, and condensation.  It is said that a glass of purified water from space is cleaner than a water from earth!  For our next question, he said that every morning they played name that song via satellite with mission control on earth.

What surprised me was that he was very laid back and funny!  He joked around when ever he got the chance.  He spat a raspberry at us!

I thought the most interesting fact was that when they go on a space walk they have a cuff check list that ties on their wrist so they don’t forget anything.

To work well in space, I think you would need a good attitude and be able to be serious when needed but still be able to have fun while working!

Over all it went very well and even after that, frankly, I would not go into space.  I almost threw up on a bus!  Me + Rocket = BAD!  Very bad!

Earth photo taken by woodleywonderworks

Water, water, water!  We all use to much of it!  Our class entered a contest to help people understand what will happen if this continues and what we can do to stop it.

Go to this link to watch my my My Water Wise psa!

I hope mine, and other videos you might see from other people in my class will inspire you to Be Water Wise and make better choices for a better future.  Thanks for watching!