Volume I No. 16

Yard Work
Diane Zhou's family is doing tons of yard work! They are getting new grass for their humongous backyard!!! Find out how fun and tiring mix together for Diane's family to have a “new” backyard. How interesting...

Table of Contents

Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Yard or Homework?
Would YOU rather do yard work or practice piano, do homework, etc.?

Speaking of yard work on the cover story, what would you do instead: yard work or homework type things? Send you opinion to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com
Diane Zhou's family has been doing tons of yard work (see cover story). She doesn't know what she'd rather do. Neither does her brother, Alex. What would YOU think? Be sure to send you opinion with reasons!

Yard Work!

Yard work is waaaaaaaay better! You get healthy fresh air and see green, which is good for your eyes. Homework, piano, etc. is bad for your eyes and you don't get fresh air for your mind. Yard work is also like exercising, so you can have a healthy “workout” while doing yard work. You get a taste of what it was like in the old days without machines.

Homework!

Of course homework or piano is better! Studying makes you brain smarter and focused on education. Don't you already spend much time outside in school, shopping, playing at the park, etc.? Wanting to do yard work might just be your excuse for not playing piano (which some people hate) or homework. You don't get dirty while doing homework, do you? It would be surprising if you did. And you don't get sore either. So, do more homework than yard work!

Cover Story

Yard Work

“I've been working on the backyard,
All the afternoon.
I've been working so very hard,
Until I cannot move.”
Alex Zhou sung that while working on the backyard on Saturday, March 8th. “It doesn't rhyme, but it's cool!” says Diane Zhou, his brother. “He [Alex] sung it in the 'I've been working on the railroad' tune. It made the yard work fun!” Diane hates yard work, but also dislikes playing piano inside the house. Her family has been picking grass, flipping the soil, and all that stuff to get new grass since the Sunday before. Yard work was much more fun with Alex singing on that Saturday.
Diane's neighbor changed grass before, so her family asked them for advice. “Just flip the soil and get the grass loose with a machine on one day, pick out all the roots the second day, and put the new grass on the third day!” they had said. Well, their yard was tons of times smaller, so instead of three days, it took a whole week! The job finally got done on March 8th and surprise! A “new” back yard.
Everyone had jobs that day. The new soil came in big bags so it was Diane's dad's job to get the soil onto the wheelbarrow. Then Diane's mom pushed the wheelbarrow to the backyard. Diane took a big bucket of soil to the backyard to help get all the soil there. Alex had the spread the soil with a rake. When the soil was done, Diane and her mom carried the new grass to the sidewalk of their backyard while Alex put water into a manual lawn roller and Diane's dad finished smoothing out the soil. Halfway through getting all the grass, Diane and Alex flattened the soil for good together with the heavy lawn roller. Diane's parents took a break. Later on, Diane's dad used the roller to flatten the rest of the soil while the females continued getting the grass. Alex went in the house to rest awhile. Diane went in ten minutes later. The rest of the work was done by their parents. “It was sooooooo tiring,” Diane told GWN. “I saw how exhausted my parents were, but I was also really exhausted.”
The job's not done yet! Something should be done with the extra grass. Diane's family put it by the gate to the backyard. More work! Well, this was much easier and done in one hour on Sunday, March 9th.

New News

Dance Performance

By Chloris Li

On Saturday, March 8th, 2008, I went to a place (where old men and women go to when people in their families don't have time to take care of them) to perform 4 Chinese dances. In total, 8 people were in our group (including me)! Our teacher, Amy Wang, teaches 3 groups at the Union City Community Center (Next to Alvarado Middle School): the adult, kid, and toddler groups. Even though we learn Chinese dance at a community center, Ms. Wang is a professional dancer.
Once we got there, I was puzzled. I did not know where to go to change my clothes so I just waited. Then finally, my mom asked a lady and I went to change. The first dance for me was the Peacock Dance, but first, my auntie did the Ribbon Dance.
After the Peacock Dance, I hurriedly changed. The next dance was the Mongolian Dance. This dance was harder than the one before, though it was still a little bit easy. There were a few hard movements in this dance. People clapped wildly after I did them. At the middle of the dance, the music softened, paused a little, and people started clapping because they thought it was the end of the dance. I smiled when I saw them stop clapping.
After the Mongolian Dance, it was the Tibia Dance. That dance was the easiest one of all, and with the most people in it. I did not make a single mistake, except for the beginning.
Lastly, we had the Dun Wong Dance. (I think that is how you spell that.) It was the most difficult, and the prettiest too! I totally forgot what to do at the last part in that dance, so I stayed wherever I was and copied my dance mates.
Finally, I took a lolly-pop from a box and headed back to my House Of Merry Ends (HOME)!

Thank you, Chloris, for sending your story to GWN!

Ardenwood Choir on the News!

Do anyone of you of your parents read the World Journal, a Chinese newspaper? Guess what? Ardenwood's great choir singers went on the news! Some of our GWN readers are there too! Emily Wang, Chloris Li, and Deanna Wong are sort of famous now! It didn't mention names (since it's Chinese) but their faces are there.

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail GWN received this week:

Debate Time (Should GWN have a blog site?):
“I think there shouldn't be a blog because others that have not the slightest connection to it can access it. Those people may mess up the blog or send the website to friends and then GWN will be exposed to others.” Sara Ye, 4th grade

(Now, since Sara sent her opinion to GWN, 2 people think GWN should NOT have a blog while only 1 person thinks GWN should. GWN will not have a blog. Sorry for those who really wanted it. GWN will reconsider in the future.)

Debate Time (Should the breaks/recesses between classes be eliminated during writing test days?):
“No breaks on writing test days! I forget my ideas during recess and become unfocused on the topic! Recess should be eliminated on writing test days!” Emily Wang, 4th grade
“I don't think breaks should be eliminated. If you don't have breaks during writing tests, then you will go crazy staying in the classroom for like 6 and a half hours! Students need breaks, you know. They will be really tired and dizzy writing all day. I think we should still have breaks on writing test days.” Chloris Li, 5th grade