stasman24's learning journey

Just another Milwaukee Jewish Day School Sites site

May 11, 2020
by stasman24
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My Story

For writing, we wrote a fictional story about a bad guy and a good guy but from the good guy’s point of view. Here’s mine:

I woke up and jumped out of bed. I gobbled up my breakfast and rushed to school. On the way there, I studied my script. Today was the auditions for the school play! I was hoping for the lead, but I’ll be okay if I don’t get it. After all, I think I’m a good actor and that’s all that matters. When I auditioned, I wasn’t so nervous up on the stage. When they announced the cast, I felt like my head was going to explode! I got the lead! I didn’t want to brag, but I also didn’t want to seem like I wasn’t grateful, so I smiled. Not a big, braggy smile, but a nice, happy smile. I heard that my friend, Scarlett, got to design and make the dresses. Well, I thought she was my friend. We saw each other in line to audition. I said, “Hi, I’m Penelope! What’s your name?” I said that as friendly as I possibly could, without sounding too friendly, like I was crazy. Then she said, “Scarlett. Don’t go telling people we’re friends. I don’t want people thinking I’m friends with someone who’s not as good as me. Then again, no one’s as good as me!” I thought it was a joke, but then I started to realize what she really meant. Anyways, that night I practiced my lines over and over again, even though rehearsals didn’t start for another week or so. 

 

When I came to school the next day, Scarlett was showing people her ‘amazing’ dresses. I have to admit, they were pretty good, but if I had that talent, I don’t think I would be running around telling people how great I was. Then again, she could just be asking if they look good. I don’t like to assume bad things about people. Scarlett came up to me and said, “Hey, here’s one of your dresses. I stayed up all night making them, so thank me.” “Thanks…?” I answered, trying not to sound so much like I was questioning her. I looked at the dress. It was shiny, but not blinding. It was soft on the inside. I put it in my backpack and went to class. 

 

After school was over, I grabbed my backpack and headed home. When I got there, I took my dress out and looked at it. I could’ve sworn it wasn’t all ripped up when Scarlett gave it to me! What in the world happened to it?! So I tried to fix it, but I think I messed it up more. I decided to leave it alone. The next day after school, I asked Scarlett to fix the dress, but I didn’t get a good answer. “You ruined my beautiful dress?! I’m not fixing this for you!” she said. So I left it alone again. A few hours later, I took it to my friend who sews. She said that she would love to help me, but that her sewing machine was broken and her brother hid all of her needles. What a situation! So I left it alone, again. Another day passed and I took the dress to a tailor. He said he could fix it for $50. I thought that was a little overpriced so I left alone. Again. The next day, I asked my mom to help me. She said she would fix it! 

 

She gave it back to me, and just in time. It looked good as new and the first rehearsal was the next day! I took it to school and put the dress in my dressing room. I realized that I forgot my headband outside, so I went out for a minute and grabbed it. When I came back, the dress was gone! I told Scarlett. She immediately started accusing random people. I told her to stop and that it was probably my fault. But she kept accusing people. So for the next few days, I rehearsed in my clothes. Then weeks passed. The dresses still weren’t there. I had to practice without a costume for a long time. I decided to quit the play. When I announced it, my understudy (someone who takes over the lead’s role if that lead can’t perform for some reason), Victoria shouted, “Wait! I…I’m the one that took your dress. I wanted to be the lead, not just the understudy. I’m sorry.” I thought that was really weird because she never apologized for anything. After thinking it over, I came up with a compromise. I announced, “We have lots of performances, so we would alternate who plays the lead in each performance. If one of us was supposed to play the lead, but we get sick or hurt, the other one can play the lead.” Everybody was happy, even Scarlett.

 

April 6, 2020
by stasman24
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Writing Story

For writing, our online assignment was to write a story about what we would do after all this is over if we could plan the whole day. I replaced the names of people. Here is my story:

I woke up, jumped out of bed, hopped into my pants and shirt and zoomed downstairs. Today was the day I would see Jake and Giselle again! My parents were already up and getting ready. My dad was sitting in our brown leathery chair, looking at his phone. My mom was getting dressed in her room. We had a reservation at The Original Pancake House at 9:00. As soon as my mom was dressed, my dad was outside, and my brother was downstairs, we all ran out the door. I fast-walked the whole way and beat them there. We walked in, and they brought us to our table right away! I had fluffy buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes that felt like clouds in my mouth and the creamiest chocolate milk I had ever tasted! We went back home as quickly as possible, like squirrels crossing the road. As soon as we got home, I was the Flash! I rushed up and down the stairs with my suitcase for the plane to Omaha. We were out the door in five minutes. my brother said he didn’t want to come, so my parents said he could go to his friends’ house and hang out until we got back. We zoomed to the airport, still obeying the speed limit. It was almost like the world wanted us to catch our flight. There would always be a red light, and as soon as we were two seconds away from having to stop, it would turn green! Our flight was supposed to leave at 10:30, which meant we were supposed to get to Omaha at 1:30, but our flight left twenty minutes early and was only two hours long! We got to Omaha at about 12:15! My mom texted Karen telling her that we landed early and should be at Spaghetti Works at about 12:30. When I saw Jake in the parking lot, he ran over to me like he was running from a horrible monster! He smiled the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face and squeezed me tightly. I picked him up and made him fly in my arms all the way back to Michael and Karen, and I put him down there. My parents caught up with me as I was walking inside. I looked inside of the stroller, and there was little Giselle! I said, “Hello, Giselle! Hi, cutie!” She smiled back at me and laughed. We walked inside Spaghetti Works. I, of course, ordered spaghetti with marinara sauce. Jake had that, too, but in a smaller size. Giselle had tiny little cut-up pieces of plain spaghetti. I think she liked it! I would not have eaten that! Karen had to have wiped Jake’s face at least five times! I don’t think all of it even came off! My face, however, wasn’t completely covered in sauce, but I’m sure I got some on my face. After Spaghetti Works, we came back to Karen and Michael’s new house. The carpet was thick and was as soft as a kitten! I played with Jake and Giselle in the living room while Karen, Michael, and my parents talked in the kitchen. I couldn’t hear them, but I think they probably talked a little bit about the kitchen because ever since we got our kitchen redone, my parents have been obsessed with kitchens. Anyways, I watched some Dinosaur Train with Jake while Giselle bounced in her baby walker. We stayed there for about an hour. Then, we went to the park that was a few blocks away. As I pushed Jake on the swing, he screamed so loud that if he was a little closer to me, it would’ve burst my eardrums! Thankfully, he wasn’t screaming in terror but was screaming with excitement. Jake flew up and down, like he was a bird, coming down to the water to grab fish to eat, then flying back up to the sky. Then I pushed Giselle a little bit on the swings. Jake also likes to run around. When he ran around the park, I chased him. Soon after, we went to Boulder Creek Amusement Park. My dad, my mom, and I ride the roller coaster a few times. The wind blows my hair every which way, almost hitting the people sitting in the seats behind me! Then I watch Jake on the baby rides, like the little ladybugs that go in a slow circle. Jake looks like he’s having fun on it, but Giselle’s not happy having to sit out on all of the rides because she’s too short. After that, my parents and I go see a movie while Karen, Michael, Jake, and Giselle go home to take a nap. The seats in the theater are thrones! Although the movie wasn’t that sad, my dad’s eyes got all teary and shone when I looked at him. Later on, we all meet up again to have an early (ish) dinner together. We decide to go to The Amazing Pizza Machine. Giselle can’t have pizza, but Jake has a feast with his pizza (he actually doesn’t eat much, because most of it ends up on his face)! I order pizza with very little mozzarella. Usually, the cheese falls off of the pizza, which leaves me eating straight cheese. By the end of dinner, Jake’s face is a canvas for a painter that only uses food! Soon after pizza, we quickly stop at Ted & Wally’s Ultra-Premium Ice Cream for some dessert before we head home. I order chocolate chip cookie dough. Here, I can order it with chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla (which I did of course!). The creamy ice cream barely gets on my face, proving that it really was good ice cream! The worst part of the day was when we boarded the plane to Milwaukee. Michael and Karen drive us there. As they’re saying goodbye to us, Jake hugs my legs, but I pick him up and hug him. I give Giselle a hug, but she just looks at her hands. She discovered them for the 1,000th time. We board the plane. It’s the longest plane ride of my life. When we get home, I immediately go to bed, and the whole thing happens again in my dreams.

March 3, 2020
by stasman24
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Jacob’s Dream

In Jewish studies, we learned about Jacob’s dream that he had when he ran away. We are supposed to answer these questions:

1. What is Jacob’s Hebrew name?
יעקב

2. Why was Jacob leaving? (2 Reasons)
Because Esau was mad at him

Because he was going to find a wife

3. What happened in Jacob’s dream?
He saw angels going up and down a ladder that lead to heaven. Then G-d talked to him.

4. Why is this dream important?

Because when G-d talked to him, G-d told him that he was blessed.

February 27, 2020
by stasman24
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Global Experience

The best thing about Global Experience and the work leading up to it was making our video about one of the Gods. Learning about another country is important because if we ever visited that country, we would already know something about them or their culture. The best thing about student-driven learning is being able to choose our own topics and not having to have a topic that we don’t care or want to learn about.

 

 

 

February 26, 2020
by stasman24
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My Editorial


Have you ever fallen asleep in class? Why do you think that is? Is it that your math class is boring? Or is it that you’re not getting enough sleep? School needs to start later.

 

Doctors suggest that learning children and teens should get eight to ten hours of sleep a night. Studies show that only 15% of teens get enough sleep. 20% of high school students have reported only having six or less hours of sleep every night. But why is that?

 

Lots of high schools start at 7:30 in the morning. My high school brother has to wake up at 6:30 to catch the bus. Usually he misses the bus two days each week, sometimes even more. He doesn’t even have time to eat breakfast! I think that schools should start fifteen minutes to thirty minutes later. With sleep, that much time makes a big difference.

 

For example, you need sleep to do well in school. People could fall asleep in class, causing them to miss a lot or even fail a class. One study showed that your brain has to be well-rested to receive and retain information. Other studies show that a good night of sleep can improve learning. While sleeping, your brain goes over what happened the day before. This improves memory, which is key for learning. Research shows that it’s harder to focus and learn new concepts if you are sleep-deprived. It’s also easier to forget things if you’re tired.


It’s also easier for the adults in the situation for school to start later. If the kids miss the bus, or don’t even take the bus, the parents would have to drive them. If that was early in the morning, the parents would have to wake up early, too. The bus drivers and the teachers have to wake up even earlier than the kids.

 

If you don’t get enough sleep, you will feel too tired to exercise. Scientific studies by Karen Postal Ph.D show that exercise helps you think by helping new brain cells grow. After you exercise, lots of skills needed to learn are improved, such as problem solving skills, memory and attention. 

 

Teens would rely less on caffeine if they got enough sleep. According to Medical News Today, 83.2% of teens drink caffeine on a daily basis. Too much caffeine causes anxiety, illnesses, and slows down brain development.

 

Some people say that changing school times means changing schedules, but schools shouldn’t have to change their schedules. It is scientifically proven that changing schedules causes unnecessary stress. While that is true, changing schedules teaches people to problem solve when things happen that they weren’t expecting.

 

Some people think that there will be no time for after-school activities. But if enough schools ended later, the after-school activities could be moved fifteen minutes later. The problem with that is if they started fifteen minutes later, they would also end fifteen minutes later, which would mean the kids or teens would get home fifteen minutes later. The solution to that would just be to let them have fifteen minutes less of screen time than they normally would, which would also be better for them.

 

Many kids and teens agree that they aren’t getting enough sleep, that they don’t get enough food in the morning, or skip brushing their teeth because they would be late if they did. As a result of starting school later, students would be healthier, would have a better memory, get more exercise, and be better in class overall if they got enough sleep. Starting school later could make a huge impact. 

 

February 25, 2020
by stasman24
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Global Experience

For global experience, we visited senior and junior kindergarten. I saw a bunch of cool family trees in senior kindergarten. Some of them went way back. I learned the junior kindergarteners’ stories about refugees. I liked walking around to the seniors’ stations and seeing their illustrations and what they knew about different families.

February 14, 2020
by stasman24
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A Wrinkle In Time

At First Stage, we saw the play A Wrinkle in Time. My favorite part was at the end when the whole family was together because it was like everything was solved and there were no more problems. I think other people should see it because they did a good job showing where they were, even though they didn’t change the background much. There were a few differences between the movie and the play, such as in the movie, there was one bully, but in the play, there were multiple bullies.

February 10, 2020
by stasman24
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Tu Bishvat

Today in Jewish Studies, we learned about Tu Bishvat, the birthday of the trees. I learned that טו (Tu in Hebrew) is, in gematria, 15, like the 15th of Shvat. I also learned about Jews in India and how they celebrate Tu Bishvat. I learned that they eat sweet rice, not just fruits.

February 6, 2020
by stasman24
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Hercules

For reader’s workshop, we watched the Disney movie Hercules and wrote two things about it: a SWBST (Somebody wanted, but, so, then) and choose a person to write character traits about. For my SWBST, I’m doing a scene from the middle of the movie.

Somebody (a character): Meg

Wanted (what they want): For Hercules to become a God and beat the Titans

But (the problem): Hades makes her trick Hercules into giving his powers away

So: Hercules gets his strength back by Meg getting hurt

Then: Hercules saves Meg and has the choice of becoming a God, but Hercules chooses to be with Meg

For the character traits, I’m doing Meg.

Meg is selfless.

Evidence:  When Hercules is about to be crushed by a pillar, she pushes him out of the way and gets crushed herself.

February 3, 2020
by stasman24
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Caste System Opinion

I strongly believe that the Caste System is not good. All people are equal. There aren’t ‘kinds of people’, there are just people. It is not fair for the lower caste because they have no control or choice over how they’re treated or where they live. People shouldn’t take a bath after their shadows overlapping or touching a Dalit. The Dalits shouldn’t have to tie a broom to themselves to clean their footsteps. People will become poor and there will be no change. The Dalits also shouldn’t have to live in a dirty place. They should have clean clothes and should not live in another place than the higher castes. They should be able to go into other neighborhoods without having people be violent to them. They should not live in shacks, and they should be treated the same as the other higher castes. Their needs should be met, and they should not be in poverty. Even though it’s illegal, people still discriminate against the people in the lower caste. The Caste System should not exist.