Samir

toc =My Journal=

Water Issues
I like. I wish. I wonder.

I like the way how water comes from being gross, to being purified. I also learned that dirt takes away oxygen, and fertilizer attaches to the dirt and soil. I also learned, that if you put to much fertilizer in the ground, and it rains, the fertilizer will make thing sick, and if grass and algae grow in the streams, it makes the living things that live in the stream suffucate and die because the grass and algee toook up all the oxygen, and there is no oxygen for life, and the stream become a dead pool.

Sometime, I just sit around and wish, that people would stop dumping in the water and polluting it. I also wish that there would be more people arounde that would care enough about the water around us and have a cleanup the water event every one a month.

I sometimes sit and wonder, why do people pollute and dump in the water. Is it mental, or people are just not aware of what they are doing and what is around them. I also wonder if people will ever stop dumping in water.

A Long Walk to Water
If the government in a democracy said that people can only practice one religion, there would be fights riots, people moving to different countries where they can practice there own religion, there would be a lot of protests, and people would be threatening to impeach the government, and threaten the government in many ways to. It would also be hard for immagrants of a different religion to follow the law, and then democracy would turn into a dictatorship.

The thing that can be done for Syrians today, is that they can all stop fighting, and leave the refuge camp. I also don't think that the U.S. should get involved because, it is not our problem that Syria has gone to war, and it's not our businesses to take action in Syria, because it is not in our country, and not in our continent. and If we do get involved, the Syrian army could possibly get upset and attack and invade the U.S. Also, what goes in other places, stays in other places. There are about 1,00 Syrian refuges I n the camp. I am wondering more about our decision to help refugees, not fight in the war going on in Syria.

WONDER
The one time I felt different happened a few years ago when I attended my cousin's roller skating party in Washington, DC. All the boys that attended knew how to roller-skate except for me. On the first few tries, I was barely able to get around the rink without falling. Others were flying past me on their skates. Then someone told me just to put one foot in front of the other without lifting my foot. Finally, I began skating. I only fell about three or four times after that.
 * 1-21-14**
 * Different**


 * Part 1 August **
 * "Ordinary"**

Ordinary 1-22-14 August says,"The only reason I am not ordinary is because no one else sees me that way." because the kids at his new school will not be used to seeing his face like his family and close friends are. His family sees him as ordinary because they are used to seeing his face but the students won't know him well enough to know he's just like them. This will probably happen only when he first attends school. Once his classmates get used to him and develop a relationship with him, he may become more ordinary to them. August also thinks things he's not ordinary because he is used to getting the same reaction from kids if looking away when they see him for the first time.

//**"**//**The Performance Space**//**"**//

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover 1-23-14 Yes, I think people assume that if you have a physical disability you are mentally slow. These people may be basing this on if you have a disability in one thing, you must have a disability for everything. However, I do not think people with physical disabilaties are mentally slow. People with physical disabillaties can also be very smart if the disability is not in the brain. Also, someone with a physical disability may have a much stronger ability in something else. For example, a blind person may have the ability to play the piano at a very high level because his ability to play is higher than a person that can see.


 * "Lamb to the Slaughter"**

Darth Sidious 1-28-14 Mrs. Petosa did not know about "Star Wars." When Julian made a joke to August about Darth Sidious, he was teasing August about his face. In "Star Wars", Darth Sidious's face was burned and deformed. If Mrs. Petosa had more knowledge of "Star Wars," she probably would've told Julian to stop making jokes about August.


 * "Choose Kind"**

Mr.Browne 1-28-14 Mr. Browne is August's English teacher, and is tall, with a yellow beard. Mr.Browne wrote on the chalkboard and had very sloppy handwriting. He enjoyed teaching English. Every month, he had expectations of his students. He called them precepts. Mr. Browne also gathered ideas from his students to help them identify what was really important. I think August will enjoy his class. I would like to be in Mr. Browne's class, because he is one of those teachers who makes class better for everybody. He allows his students to express themselves and conduct assignments to help them become great adults.


 * "The Bleeding Scream" "Names"**

1-29-14 Jack Will My feelings about Jack Will at this point in the story have changed. In the begginig of the story, I thought Jack Will would be a great friend for Auggie. Then, on halloween, when Julian and Jack were talking bad about Auggie and his face, and that Jack said, he only hung out with him, because Mr. Tushman told him to. I now think of Jack as an unloyal friend, and not a good person.


 * Part 2 Via**
 * "Time to Think"**

1-30-14 Via When Via uses the metaphor, August is the sun, and the rest of the family are the other planets orbiting around him,she means since August has a disability, everything the family does revolves around him, and his disabilities. Via sees that things start to change because,since he went to school, August is getting treated like a normal kid, and his classmates do not give him special treatment, because of his disabilities.

I feel that Via's speech to August was a motivating speech, to get him back to school. The classmates did not know he heard them talking about him, so Via's speech convinces August that he had the upper hand on how to react.


 * Part 4 Jack**

" **Why I Didn't Sit Next to Auggie, on the First Day of School"** 2-4-13 Hypocrite Jack calls himself a hypocrite because, he did not treat Auggie like his friend. In the cafeteria, on the first day of school, everyone was looking at Auggie, and talking about him. Jack saw where Auggie was sitting, and moved as far away from his table as possible. Friends are loyal, and look out for each other, no matter what. I think Jack was doing this so people didn't think he was friends with Auggie and get teased. If I were Jack, I would've sat next to Auggie.


 * Part 5 Justin**

2-4-13 In Justin's part, I expect to learn: 1. How he met Via 2. How he treats Auggie 3. How he treats others 4. Is he a good student 5. What his hobbies are 6. Did he date somebody else before he dated Via
 * Justin**

I think the author had Via's boyfriend be part of the story because Via is in high school, and high school is where people start dating. Also, Via is one of the main characters in the story, and friends, and boyfriends of one of the main characters, should be in the story.

2-5-14 1. I think Justin's part was in lowercase, because the Author wanted to show that Justin was different than the other kids in the book. Justin has the ticks, and when he gets really nervous, he starts blinking. I can relate to this. When I get really nervous, I start to twirl my hair.

2. Justin is an important character in the story. When Via started crying about Auggie coming to the play, fearing everybody looking at him, and talking about him, Justin tried to comfort her. Justin was a true friend to Via. He was different, like Auggie, he calms her by telling her how it feels and understands. Everybody needs somebody to calm them down, when they are upset. For example, when something happened between me and my friend, I had a talk with my mom. My mom said, "Things like this are going to happen, that's how life is, so don't take it to heart." The conversation made me feel that things would get better between me and my friend, and they did!


 * Part 7 Miranda**

2-10-2014 Miranda Af ter completing Miranda's part of the novel, I feel that she is nice sometimes and can be very mean at other times. An example of when she was mean was when, Miranda, and her friend Ella, badmouthed Via behind her back. An example of when Miranda was nice was when Miranda gave the lead role in the play to Via. Everyone has good days and bad days, including me!

2-10-2014 The Performance Y es, I think Via and Miranda will be friends again. Miranda felt very bad for the way she treated Via, and wanted to be friends with her again. Miranda showed she was a great friend, by giving the lead role in the school play to Via. Miranda was great friend in this situation. I have been in this situation, many times. For example, when my cousin was visiting, over the summer, I was in trouble with my parents and didn't know how to get that anger out. So, I took it out on my cousin. I realized I was wrong, and it wasn't his fault. Later, I went and apologized to him, and let him picked the activity we were going to do for the evening.

2-11-2014 What I Miss the Most Miranda feels safer at Via's house because Miranda's parents are divorced, and she doesn't talk to her dad often. She doesn't have the feeling, of having a mom and a dad, in one house again. Since, she is very close to Via and her family, she feels like they are actually family to her. If my parents were divorced, I would have the same feeling also. When I'm with my family on Thanksgiving during the summer, I feel at home. I feel at home because, everybody enjoys being around each other, most of the time.

Samir Ajy

Reading

April 12, 2014

Book Review Level 5

//Wild Pitch //

By Cal Ripken Jr.

 If you are interested in reading a book with a sports theme, you will love //Wild Pitch,// by Cal Ripken Jr. //Wild Pitch// is a story about a twelve-year-old boy named Robbie, who lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Robbie is the very accurate pitcher for his little league team, the Orioles. He is admired by his teammates and respected by others in the league and was selected in pitch in the league’s all-star game. During the all-star game, Robbie losses control of a pitch, and accidentally hits a batter in the head with the baseball. The batter is severely injured and is treated in the hospital. Following that game, Robbie is worried that he will hit another batter with a wild pitch. During the following baseball season, Robbie allows many home runs, RBI’s, and walks to first base. He is even mocked by members of the league when they call him “ball four”. Because of Robbie’s lack of confidence, the team was no longer successful at winning. One day everything changed. During a practice, Robbie’s best friend, Marty helps him overcome his fears by telling him to forget what happened the day he hit the batter. After the conversation with Marty, and many conversations with his dad, Robbie leads his team to their first and only victory of the season. Unfortunately, that was the last game of the season.

 If you enjoyed other sports-themed books such as: //Heat// and //Million Dollar Throw,// both by Mike Lupica, you’ll really enjoy this book. Similar to the Lupica books, I think the lesson of this story is important because it shows how you should never give up, no matter what happens. With every chapter, Robbie tries to find a way to become a respected pitcher again. It takes the entire season and assistance from teammates to help Robbie overcome his fear of pitching. I also recommend this book because it is an inspiration to those, like me, that have to overcome a challenge when playing a sport. Some challenges are not physical and are difficult to handle.