Gingerbread Weekly News: May 2007

Volume I No. 3

Too Much News!!!
There's too much news this week! Let's find out what's happening in this Gingerbread Weekly News.

Table of Contents
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Online Gingerbread Weekly News
Worth It or Not???

Gingerbread Weekly News thought about putting these weekly news issues online. Should Gingerbread Weekly News do that?
(Gingerbread Weekly News already has an ad page online! See it at: http://home.comcast.net/~mariezhou/index.html)

Yes!
Gingerbread Weekly News should do it. Gingerbread Weekly News center wouldn't have to make as many copies, using less paper and money. “Go paperless, save trees,” Diane's dad says. “And more people can see your issues too!” It saves money, and uses today's technology.
No!
Don't do it! Gingerbread Weekly News's employees are already too busy making these issues. “There's no time,” some people say. “And kids already spend too much time on the computer. Save electricity. Save the time you can never get back.”

New News

Ice-Skating Competition

There was an ice-skating competition on Saturday, May 19, 2007. The name of the competition was Spring Jubilee, and it was held at San Jose Sharks' arena. “I fell on a jump,” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. “And that was the end of wishing to win. I still tried my best after I fell down though.” Diane's group's results took an awfully long time. “Let's go home now. You can't win since you fell down. We can check the results online anyways,” Diane's parents said. Just then, the results came out...and....Diane won first place!!!
“How do you feel?” Gingerbread Weekly News asked Diane. She answered, “Very lucky. I'm glad I still tried my best after I fell.” Good job, Diane!!! Good luck on your next competition!

What Happened to the Bus???

Driving on the highway, Amanda's class heard a loud “BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...” in the bus. The bus driver quickly pulled the bus to the side of the freeway. He tried to start the engine again...and...it...work....didn't work. “The bus driver talked on the walkie-talkie to the other bus driver who was driving the other students in our school. That bus driver called the mechanics to come, dropped off the students on her bus at the school, and came back to pick us up back to school. Whenever we saw a bus coming, we all screamed, 'Save us!!!' Finally the correct bus came and the teacher took three students at a time to board the other bus,” Amanda told Gingerbread Weekly News.

A Leak in the Pipe

Someone* reported to Gingerbread Weekly News, “My house's hot water pipe is leaking and we don't even have a drip of hot water! We have to use cold water always. We have to take showers at friend's houses, swimming centers, and work places. We are going to repipe and it will be very messy since they have to dig holes to take out the leaking pipe and replace it with a good pipe. I wish we could live in some one's house or hotel when that happens.”

*Family names are to be kept private. This family would NOT want to give out their names.

Another Gingy...

Boring ads...hey, wait! A gingerbread guy? “Shrek the Third. Come watch it.............Gingy...” What? There's a gingerbread guy? Plus, his name is Gingy? In Shrek the Third? Vicky and Nicole told Gingerbread Weekly News, “ I saw this gingerbread guy called Gingy on an ad about Shrek the Third.” Later on in the day, Bryan brought the other “he Gingy” toy from Shrek the Third. The “she Gingy” said, “Hey! I don't want a brother!”

The Writing Contest
Everyone who entered the writing contest did a great job! Gingerbread Weekly News decided that these are the winners:

1^st Place: Andy Wang, Brookvale Elementary
2^nd Place: Nathan Chen, Warm Springs Elementary
3^rd Place: Vicky Sun, Ardenwood Elementary

Congratulations!

Be Careful!!!

Some bad news has been spread! One thing: Diane's classmate reported to the teacher that on the news online, it said that there were sixth grade Ardenwood boys who were giving out bags with poisonous rot candy. Diane's mother also saw an email about that. Second thing: Around the Ardenwood Plaza, Amanda's friend reported that someone had a gun and tried to shoot someone else. It's lucky that the gun had no ammo. Be careful, watch out!

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail Gingerbread Weekly News received from last week's issue – A Picnic, So Boring, May 20 Issue:

Debate Time: Let's Play Ball-
“Yes, because you get to waste one day of school.” Nicole, 4th Grade
“Yes, because it's fun to watch a baseball game.” Vicky, 4th Grade
“Yes!” Alex, 1st Grade
“I think it would be fun to go to the baseball game and miss some school!” Sandy, 4th Grade

Debate Time: Cookies-
“Peanut Butter Cookies, 7 or 8.” Nicole, 4th Grade
“Peanut Butter Cookies, 5.” Vicky, 4th Grade
“Gingerbread Cookies, 10!” Cynthia, 4th Grade
“Snickerdoodles, 10.” Alex, 1st Grade
“My favorite cookies are peanut butter cookies!” Sandy, 4th Grade

Cover Story:
The answer to “What do you think that creature was?” was a snake. Good job to: Vicky, Nicole, Alex, Cynthia, Sandy, and Andrew!

Volume I No. 2

A Picnic, So Boring......
This picnic is so boring! But then, Diane and Gingy tell of an adventurous adventure. What happened? Let's find out in this Gingerbread Weekly News.

Table of Contents
Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Let's Play Ball

Good or Bad?

Talk about baseball! Some say it's fun, others say it's boring; even if it means skipping a day of school. What would you think???

Yes!

Most people say it's fun to have a baseball game. Of course it is for baseball fans, but how about just regular people tat aren't fans? Diane of Ardenwood Elementary is just one of them who says, "You get to go to school later [at 9:30 instead of 8:20] and skip a day of learning. It's a nice treat, once in a while." Her friend, Amanda of Forest Park says to her, "Lucky head!" Gingy agrees.

No!

"Nerds" who aren't baseball fans say, "No way! It's just wasting a day of education. We [students] already get like five full-day field trips in a school year. There are so many [students] who are already "dumb" enough ad need a lot of help in education. It's a nice time to find a better future."

What do you think?

Cover Story

A Picnic, So Boring......

It was Saturday, May 12, 2007 and Diane's family was going to go to a picnic in Palo Alto. It was a picnic for the parents who went to Nanjing University. If course, Diane brought her beloved Gingy with her.

When they got there, there was nothing to do, at least the things to do were boring. Diane took several pictures of Gingy. Another kid named Amy came and played with Diane and Gingy. She also had a stuffed animal. It was a cat she named Kelly. Gingy and played together while Diane, her brother Alex, and Amy played together, but it was still boring. They ate a delicious lunch, though, that consisted of barbecued chicken, Chow Mein, a humongous hot dog with ketchup, and apple juice.

Five minutes after everyone finished lunch, the picnic people went on a hike up the hill near the picnic area. Because Diane took pictures and Amy wrote things on her notepad, Diane's family, Amy, and her mom became a small group behind the rest of the group. The large group ahead soon found a dead end, so Diane's little group got to the head of the group for awhile. Gingy told Gingerbread Weekly News, "It was so nice to be at the front for awhile. I didn't like catching up with them [the group] ahead." The two groups became one again, and went through a different trail up the mountain.
Throughout the hike going up, Diane and Gingy remained near the front of the group, Diane's dad and brother in the middle, and her mom, Amy, and Amy's mom at the tail, way behind. On the way down, everyone stayed as a group, besides Amy, her mom, and Diane's mom, and went on the car road back to the picnic area. Diane's dad took Diane and her brother through a shortcut on the grass. Then....something mysterious... Diane's brother screamed when he saw something black-and-white striped that slithered. Diane and Gingy didn't scream because they didn't know what it was until there was a "ssssssssssss" sound*. "I regret I didn't take a picture of that *, but it was sort of 'cool' seeing it."

After the hike, Diane's family flew kites. Diane's kite didn't go up, but it stayed low above the ground for a pretty long time. Soon it was time to go and Diane had to carry the kite across the huge meadow. The kite started rolling on its six "legs" so Diane "walked" it across the meadow and called it the "rolling pin". She told Gingerbread Weekly News, "It was so much easier and fun 'rolling' the kite, but not for my parents. The kite 'loved' to roll over my parents." Gingy adds, "This boring picnic had become an adventurous adventure!"

*What do you think that creature was?

New News

The Oakland Athletics Against The Kansas City Royals

Let's go Oakland, let's go (clap, clap)! Let's go Oakland, let's go (clap, clap)! Let's go Oakland, let's go (clap, clap)!” That was the cheering at the Oakland Coliseum. Ardenwood Intermediate students got to the Oakland A's game along with several other schools. “It was our [Ardenwood students'] reward for reading 2.5 million pages this school year,” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. “It's too bad the A's were losing 4 to 6 at the seventh inning when we were going to leave, but it was fun watching. I hope they can catch up to those Royals.” At the end of the day, Diane listened to the radio and told Gingerbread Weekly News, “We didn't miss much of the game. The Royals just gained one point. Too bad for the Oakland Athletics. Better luck next time.

The STAR Testing

It's finally over! Last week, the dreadful STAR Testing ended at last! Kids are relieved after the stressful pain. “It's time to have a bit of fun here,” Diane's mom says. Diane wonders, “But we [students] may not have done very well.” Her mom replies, “The thing is, you've had a busy year, and most of you have tried your hardest. It's time to rejoice.” Diane's family went to a picnic the Sunday after testing was over.

A “Fake” Bomb

Talk about boys fighting...but...this is serious. Amanda told Gingerbread Weekly News, “There was a call saying that there was a bomb at our [Forest Park Elementary] school. We stood in the grass for a half hour, waiting, in case there really was a bomb about to explode. They [staff and police] searched the whole school, but found nothing. The school was safe. What a mysterious call.”

The Writing Contest
Remember about the writing contest? Please turn in all your gingerbread mysteries by Friday, May 25, 2007. Good luck!

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail Gingerbread Weekly News received from last week's issue – The Mission, May 13 Issue:
“My opinion is that this Gingerbread Weekly Issue mabober was a great idea!” Cynthia, 4th Grade

Debate Time:
“I think Richard because he doesn't really do anything to Gingy, just a few little things.” Vicky and Nicole, 4th Grade
“I think that Richard likes Gingy more than the other three boys do. Don't you think so too?” Alex, 1st Grade

New News (The STAR Testing):
“I think it's OK because the problems are easy, it just takes a lot of thinking and calculating.” Nicole, 4th Grade
“I think it's medium because there are an equal amount of easy and hard questions.” Vicky, 4th Grade
“It sucks like crazy and I never wanna do it again 'cause it's freaking boring and a waste of time......” Nathan, 5th Grade

Volume I No. 1

The Mission

What does Gingy do at Mission San Juan Bautista with Diane? Let's Find out in this Gingerbread Weekly News.

Table of Contents
Cover Story
New News
Debate Time

Debate Time

BB Best Boy
Friend or Foe?

This is the “Gingerbread” Weekly News, right? So, which of these four boys would you consider acting the “best” to the famous gingerbread girl: Gingy? Let's see...

Andy:
He entertains Gingy and makes her do funny things ... but ... he throws Gingy and makes Diane angry sometimes.

Bryan:
He entertains Gingy, and makes her do funny things, but throws Gingy and makes Diane angry, though a lot more times.
Nathan:
He doesn't do much about Gingy, sometimes just helps out Andy and Bryan. He does say bad things about Gingy, which makes her angry.

Richard:
He doesn't do much about Gingy either. He says a few things bad about Gingy though.

Who do you think likes Gingy the best?

Cover Story

The Mission
Yippee! Time for a field trip! Diane takes her beloved Gingy on a field trip to Mission San Juan Bautista. Gingy explores the mission.

THE LOST GINGY

Gingy was bored in Diane's backpack and wanted to explore. Out she jumped and wandered around...but then...got tired after awhile and couldn't find Diane. She thought, “Whaaaaa! I'm lost forever!” Then Helen, a classmate of Diane's, found Gingy and picked her up. Diane was thinking, “This stupid field trip made me lose Gingy.” A minute later, Helen came and said, “I thought this was yours.”

New News

The STAR Testing

Doesn't everyone know that it's the dreadful STAR Testing time? Easy or hard? It seems easy for most. But last year people were saying it was easy too, though a fourth grader told Gingerbread Weekly News, “I thought it was so easy. But in August last year, the scores came out. I got something around 490 to 500 [out of 600] in language. My family went to check what I got wrong and I only got 3 problems wrong! I believe it [STAR Testing] isn't all that easy, but it still seems to be this year.”

Do you think STAR Testing is easy or hard?

A Writing Contest
Gingerbread Weekly News wants to have a writing contest with the topic: a gingerbread mystery.
Prize: 2 pencils, your choice (1^st place only)
First, second, and third will all get a certificate.
First place winner's story will be attached to the end of the next Gingerbread Weekly News.
Good Luck to all!!!