New News

Ice Skating Competition

Diane Zhou had her first competition of the 2008 season! The name of the competition was Crystalline, held at Santa Rosa on March 29th. Congratulations for placing 4th out of 9, Diane! Diane competed in Pre-Juvenile artistic and fell on a jump. “My mom went crazy, but I still placed 4th. I hope I do better later, but I think this was a decent finish,” Diane told GWN.

Events:

• Happy “Belated” Easter: It was Easter on March 23rd. Who found eggs and celebrated? Hope you had fun!
• 2nd and 3rd Grade Writing Test: Write, write, write, 2nd and 3rd graders! Your writing tests are on April 15th and 16th. Good luck!
• Young Author's Contest: Did you have a Young Author's Contest? GWN hopes you did well! Send your outstanding story to our email address. Ardenwood Elementary's Young Author's celebration is on April 18th.
• Green Grass Contest Results: Our editors' and their brothers' Green Grass Contest results will be out on April 18th. That day is also Green Grass's Open House date. If you would like to go to an afterschool everyday after school and have Chinese lessons, be sure to visit! It is located at Kid's Castle in Newark.
  
• Spelling Bee: Ardenwood Elementary's Spelling Bee is on April 23rd. Good luck, GWN readers in Ardenwood (including our editor, Diane)!
• STAR Testing: Be sure to study! STAR Testing for 2nd to 6th graders begin on April 28th. Study, study, study!
• April Fool's Day: Hope you don't get tricked on April Fool's Day!

Interesting Hike

“Pant, pant, pant!” Diane and Alex Zhou's family, Andy and Emily Wang along with their dad, and Vicky and Nicole Sun's family were hiking up Mission Hill. It was a beautiful afternoon on March 22nd when all but two moms made it to the very top, the summit!
In the beginning of the long hike up, everyone was fresh, talking, laughing, energetic. As everyone emerged the benchmark of one-third of the way up, they were all breathing hard. The girls, Alex, and Vicky's dad were there first. They waited for the rest of the panting hikers of the group. “They will be so depressed that it's only a third of the way up,” Diane said. When they finally arrived minutes later, there was water drinking, snack eating, and rest for 20 minutes. Then the moms went down the hill (already!) while the rest continued the challenge.
On group gradually became four. Party 1: Alex and his dad, at the head; Party 2: Diane, Emily, Vicky, Nicole, and Vicky's dad; Party 3: Andy; Party 4: Andy's dad, at the tail. Parties 1 and 2 took many steep and challenging shortcuts. Andy and his dad took as many as they could to catch up. Diane (as you know, is an athlete, an ice skater) was very competitive and caught up with her brother and dad. Diane's dad couldn't keep up with Party 1 any longer, so lagged behind to Party 3 with Andy. Diane and Alex were the only ones in Party 1 now, about a hundred paces ahead of Party 2. Alex moved back with Party 2 and Diane arrived first at the summit!
Party 2 came seconds later, and since most of the people arrived, they took pictures. In about 10 minutes, everyone was up, there was rest, drinks, and snacks, and the descent started. Everyone then underestimated the difficulty of going down. It still took 2 hours!
There were no rests since it wasn't very tiring, but Alex “tumbled” down a steep shortcut. He was running down in wild control, yelling, “Aaaaah!” and THUD, fell down, sliding. Trying to get up, he literally tumbled on his side and continued slipping and sliding. His dad finally got Alex up. GWN interviewed Alex about his “tumble”: (See the Interview section.)
Then, Diane's friends shouted, “Look! Disgusting!” A cow was peeing! Yuck! Yes, it's disgusting, but funny too! What an interesting hike and a funny one too!

Do you think it was worth being tired while getting to the peak of Mission Peak? (Debate #3) Send your answers to GWN!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

It was just Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th. GWN hopes you wore green! If not, did you get pinched? Diane totally forgot about it, but luckily, she wore a little green on accident so didn't get pinched at the ice rink where her skating coaches and friends asked everyone if they wore green.
Alex Zhou also luckily wore green, but his parents didn't. Diane got to pinch them! “Saint Patrick's Day wasn't really emphasized this year, but I guess it was fun seeing how many of my friends accidentally wore green.”

Another Test Result...

Now we know Diane Zhou's piano test results! She passed! Diane, as you know from last week's GWN, got 98% for theory. The results for her technique and sight reading are here too! Good for sight reading and excellent for technique! Hip hip hooray for passing Level VII (7), Diane! Please send congratulation notes!

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail GWN received this week:

Debate Time (Debate with Adults?):

• “I like debating with my parents and teachers. You can share your answers to each other. You can also see how adults think differently!” Chloris Li, 5th grade
  

• “It all depends. If it's my parents, then I would feel more agreeable, but if I think I'm right then I would try to show my opinion. If it's my teachers, then I would definitely agree with them. If you do, matters would become worse and you might get in trouble.” Tiffany Chen, 7th grade

Debate Time (Presidential Election):

• “I like Barack Obama.” Emily Wang, 4th grade
• “I choose Hilary Clinton because she has the talent and experience. Her husband, Bill Clinton will be able to help her. She will also be the first woman president in the United States! It won't be fair to always have a man for president.” Chloris Li, 5th grade
• “Hillary Clinton, of course! I want the president to be the first woman, not the first black.” Cynthia Yao, 5th grade
• “I would want Hilary Clinton to win because it's nice having a woman as a president for change. Women should be respected more and "noticed." In my opinion, Hilary Clinton is also a bit more experienced than Obama and McCain because she served in the congress or something like that. :]”Tiffany Chen, 7th grade

Volume I No. 17

Two Birthdays in a Week!
There are two birthdays this week: one girl and one boy. Both have relationships to GWN. Happy Birthday, Katherine Xiao (GWN reader) and Andrew Chang (Amanda's brother)! Send you Happy Birthdays to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Table of Contents
Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Debate with Adults

Do you like debating with your parents and teachers?

Speaking of “debate”, do you feel proud of yourself for debating with your parents or do you feel ashamed? Send answers to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Proud!

It's a time to show the world who you really are! It's time you can get your own way. If you're interested in politics, debating is a start (speaking of politics, see bottom of page). Debating is a way to show yourself, maybe on decisions that affect you like moving.

Ashamed...

Parents and teachers always want the best for you. You may have your own ideas, but don't go on debating forever. Grown-ups, especially elders, have lived longer and experienced more. Their opinions or decisions are probably best!

Presidential Election
Do YOU like Hilary Clinton, Barrack Obama or John McCain?

It's still election time. Who would you want to win: Clinton or Obama? Maybe John McCain... Send your “not counting” vote to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

By the way, do you play computer games? There's an interesting game about Obama verses Hilary at: http://www.miniclip.com/games/street-fight/en/

Cover Story

Two Birthdays in a Week!

Birthday Girl: Katherine Xiao

Our GWN reader, Katherine Xiao, is the birthday girl this week! Her 10th birthday was on March 11th and was celebrated on March 15th. Have a merry birthday, Katherine, and thank you for enjoying GWN!
GWN interviewed our birthday girl this week:
GWN: Hi Katherine! GWN would like to interview you.
Katherine: Uh...okay!
GWN: What's your favorite hobby?
Katherine: Gymnastics.
GWN: How long have you been doing gymnastics? We think you are pretty good at it.
Katherine: I didn't really learn gymnastics before. I just like doing the gymnastic moves.
GWN: How do you like reading GWN?
Katherine: It's very interesting...
GWN: Thank you for taking our interview! Happy Late Birthday, Katherine!

Birthday Boy: Andrew Chang

There are two birthdays this week! Andrew is our editor, Amanda Chang's, brother. Happy 8th birthday, Andrew! He had his birthday party a day after his real birthday. The party was on March 15th.
Fun, fun, FUN! There was a basketball game at City Beach. It was a tiring and exciting game and became a tie. Good game, Andrew's friends! Diane and Alex Zhou went too. “They were cheating and all, but it was exciting!” Alex told GWN.

New News

Be Careful!

(By Diane Zhou, editor)

Some students from Delaine Eastin told GWN, “Did you know a teacher got hurt at our school? It was scary!” Please be careful, fellow schoolmates, and be sure your parents drive safely too!
If you notice dangerous things in your neighborhood, please tell GWN too! Safety first!

Book Buck$

Last week was BOOK BUCK$ week! How many BUCK$ did you receive? Send to GWN's email address. Diane Zhou and Amanda Chang always go for the most (800 maximum), but this year, their maximum was only 600. Why? On a coincidence, both of them didn't get The Argus on Monday. Diane is in a combination class and the school didn't have enough copies of the newspaper for her class. Amanda had a substitute who didn't know about the Book Buck$ so she didn't get one on Monday. As Diane told Amanda that it wasn't fair, she found out that it was actually fair since Amanda didn't get a copy either. What a coincidence!!!

Donations

(By Amanda Chang, editor)

Please make efforts to help those in need! There was a story on news that a 75-year-old man retired from his job and went back to his hometown. There, he saw many children playing around because they had no money for school. He decided to sell most of his possessions to help raise money for the children. When that wasn't enough, he rented a three-wheel vehicle that carries people and carried people to other places. All that money he earned went to kids. Now he is 95 years old and can no longer ride the three-wheeled vehicle. This man raised thousands of dollars for the children. If he can do it, so can you! Not thousands, but if 10 of us donate 20 dollars each, that's already 200 dollars! Please help our community!

Please do not donate to GWN; we don't need money. Donate to the poor please!

What a Joke!

(By Diane Zhou, editor)

Errrr...”What's that?” “I think it's the speaker.” There was a sound coming from Diane Zhou's classroom computer. “Oh it's the so-called 'good' computer,” Diane's teacher said. Then he went to the back of the room and told the student by the computer, “And it might explode...” The teacher went to another student...and suddenly shouted, “BOOM!” Chloris Li told GWN, “I actually got scared for a moment!” What a joke!

Fun Field Trip (or maybe not...)

(By Alex Zhou)

On Tuesday, March 11th, Alex Zhou's class went on a field trip to an art museum. The name was Mocha, which is short for Museum Of Children's Art. His class looked at art pictures made from other 2nd graders. Some were made by overlapping shapes. After they looked at the pictures, they made things out of clay. Most of them made dinosaurs. Lastly, Alex's class made pinch pots. They put designs on them. On Alex's opinion, it was a boring field trip. “I thought there were way more displays and things to do, but very disappointingly, nope, not there,” Alex told GWN.

More Test Results...

(By Amanda Chang and Diane Zhou, editors)

We now know the results of some of our GWN readers' and editor's CM test results. Starting off with our editor, Amanda Chang in Level IV (4) out of 10...93% in theory and good for sight reading and technique! Super job, Amanda! Our other editor, Diane Zhou, got 98% (as you know from a previous GWN) and just had her technique and sight reading test on March 16th. Results will come next week. She did great though, so good luck on Level VII (7)! Sara Ye, also Level IV, got ~~~~~~ for theory (passing), excellent for sight reading, and good for technique. Give it up for Sara!! Grace Ching, on the same level as Diane (VII), got 89% for theory and excellent for sight reading and technique. Congratulations! Diane also had her ice skating test on March 16th (that was a crazy day with piano and ice skating) and passed! Congratulations everyone!

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail GWN received this week:

Debate Time (Yard Work or Homework?):

“I don't know which I'll rather do, but if you want to pick one, I will choose yard work. You can breath in the fresh air and spend more time with your family members. Many people don't really know much about their family members because they don't talk to them. I will rather do yard work.” Chloris Li, 5th Grade
“I would rather play piano because in the process of elimination, 3 choices: homework, piano, and yard work. I hate homework and yard work, and piano's okay, so I like piano the most.” Emily Wang, 4th grade
“Whichever is easier. If there's hard homework, I'd sweep leaves outside for yard work.” Vicky Sun, 5th grade
“Same as my sister, only I'd rather rake leaves.” Nicole Sun, 5^th grade
“I'd rather do yard work since I hate piano and homework.” Cynthia Yao, 5th grade

Remember “What's this?” from last week? It was a root in the ground! Congratulations to: Vicky Sun, Bryan Yan, Deanna Wong, Emily Wang, and Chloris Li.
Good guess: Nicole Sun, Austin Xiong, and Susan Pham, who guessed a worm.
Nice unique idea, Cynthia Yao, who guessed a vine!

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

Volume I No. 15

Test, Test, TEST!
There are so many tests, contests, competition, and more going on at this time of year! See them all on page 7. Let's see the results for all of them so far, what we hope will happen, and what we think will happen. Send your opinion, congrats, or news to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Table of Contents
Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Breaks Between Writing Tests
Should the breaks/recesses between classes be eliminated during writing test days?

Some people think they need breaks between classes on writing test days. Others think it is best not to. Do YOU think breaks should be eliminated? Send answers to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

By the way, last week's debate topic was a tie of 1 to 1. GWN will have a blog site if our editors have the time.

Yes!

Of course break time should be eliminated! Ideas flow from one to the next, and a break can ruin your writing grade! Essays are best when the writer continues the story throughout. Students may “cheat” during recesses like asking questions to other students or getting ideas. Breaks should be eliminated during writing test days.

No!

Why should breaks be eliminated? Students write their rough drafts all at once, without a break between. Even if students get ideas, it may be hard for them to interpret the ideas into their writing. If two students write the same sentence, the student who copied the idea is plagiarizing. There is no right or wrong to writing and it is very subjective. Breaks should stay, even on writing test days.

Cover Story

Test, Test, TEST

• Diane Zhou's CM Test: 98% Congratulations to Diane for a wonderful theory test! She's in Level VII (7) out of X (10) and she can get 98%! That's great!

• Amanda Chang's CM Test: 93% Congratulations to Amanda for a wonderful theory test! It's her first one she's ever taken. This is a Level IV (4) test, which, compared to Diane, sounds easy, but no, it is NOT easy. Diane knows that too.
  

• Green Grass Contests:
  

• Chinese
• penmanship: Our GWN editors did GREAT at Chinese penmanship
• presentation: Presentation is tough, so our GWN editors aren't so sure about winning this...still cheer for them!
• character recognition: Our editors are GREAT at this!
• writing: Our editors are, without doubt, the top two at this topic!

• Math – No one has taken this contest yet...but our editors are great at this topic.

• Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) Writing Test: 4th and 5th Grade Diane, Amanda, and all of 5th
  grade in FUSD had a genre of response to literature. Both say, especially Amanda, that teachers prepare students for this topic the least! There has never been a response to literature writing test in the past nine years.

Send good lucks, congratulations, and comments or questions to Gingerbread Weekly News and our editors will read the notes. Also send your news about tests, contests, and competitions to Gingerbread Weekly News.

New News

Class Field Trip!
By Cynthia Yao
February 26th, 2008

Everybody in my class was excited about the field trip. We lined up and loaded onto the bus. Finally, (it seemed like hours) we were at the center called "Davis Street Recycling Center". First of all, we were introduced to a worker named Linsey. Then, we went into the building called Recycle Education Center. We were introduced to another worker named "I forgot her name". Linsey taught us about the 4 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot. Then "I forgot her name" took us to a place where they use big bulldozers to transport the trash to someplace else. Also, we had to watch 2 videos before we went out. We got to look at a a place with a giant hole FILLED with trash. (Plastic, glass, wood, paper, cardboard, mattresses and so many other things) Well, it was a short field trip and time to go home. "We're due to leave at 2:20," announced Mrs.Brightwell, and it was 2:20. So, we had to go.

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

Events:

• Diane Zhou's CM theory test See results on pages 4 and 5.
• Green Grass Contests See what everyone thinks about the contests and Diane and Amanda Chang's afterschool, Green Grass.
• Amanda and Grace Ching's CM test Still wishing luck for Amanda and Grace. Thumbs up for your CM piano tests! See results on pages 4 and 5.
• March 4th and 5th Also wishing the best for 4th and 5th graders on the FUSD writing test.
• March 16th Get a thumbs up, Diane, for your CM piano playing part test. It's also Diane's ice skating test date. Good luck, Diane!
• March 17th Saint Patrick's Day. Wear green and don't get pinched! Find a four leaf clover!

Get your thumbs ready to go up, everyone, for all our editors, friends, and family, who have worked hard to have achieved so much, and are working hard to achieve much too!

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail GWN received this week:

Debate Time (Should GWN have a blog site?):
“Of course GWN should have a blog! It's easy to update and you can get in touch with a lot of people online.” Cynthia Yao, 5th grade
“No, because it wastes electricity.” Nicole Sun, 5th grade

Happy Birthday, Gingy!:
“Happy 'Belated' Birthday!” (Deanna also gave Gingy a birthday present: a little turtle she made with puff balls herself! It is now Gingy's pet named Turtie. Thank you so much for the cute turtle, Deanna!) Deanna Wong (from last week), 5th grade 2/25/2008
“Happy Very Late Birthday, Gingy!” (Chloris also gave Gingy a house for Turtie. Thank you Chloris!) Chloris Li, 5th grade 2/29/2008

Volume I No. 14

Extra News!
Gingerbread Weekly News has extra news this week! If you would like to add your news to GWN, send to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Table of Contents
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

GWN Blog Site
Should Gingerbread Weekly News have a blog site?

Diane Zhou's dad thinks Gingerbread Weekly News should have a blog for everyone to see GWN issues. We already have a website but it is hard to update. Should GWN have a blog instead?

Send all answers to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Yes!

It's easy to update and now everyone uses the Internet! GWN should create a blog to be up-to-date now that everyone has blogs. GWN can then save more paper and money.

No!

Blogs aren't used that much. It takes time to make good blogs and that's what GWN editors don't have much of. It takes electricity too. It would take a lot of time to make and update a blog and do GWN issues on a writer than just make GWN issues on a writer without a blog. No!

New News

Lunar Eclipse

Did anyone see the lunar eclipse on February 20th? Our GWN editor, Diane Zhou, saw it with her astronomer dad. It was cloudy, but it was visible.

“It was my 2nd time seeing a lunar eclipse, but it was still cool seeing one. It also marked the full moon date, meaning the next day would be the last day of Chinese New Year,” Diane told GWN.
Alex says, “Cool! A 'moon' eclipse! I never saw one. But too bad I had to eat white balls in soup again the next day.”

February Birthdays!
From now on, Gingerbread Weekly News will add birthdays at the end of each month. Here are February Birthdays:

• Gingy: February 16th - Happy 1st birthday to our gingerbread!

• Alonda: February 23rd - Happy 1st birthday to Gingy's bear friend!

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Chinese New Year celebration just ended! It started on February 7th and ended on February 21st. Diane Zhou's family ate white balls in clear soup on both days. She loves it, though her brother, Alex, hates it. Both of them got red envelopes under their pillows! Yay!
Diane was excited. She told GWN, “It's finally the year of the rat, which was the year I was born (1996)! I'm finally, in Chinese years, 13 years old! A teenager! In China, you are one year old when you are born, and then everyone grows a year together during the Chinese New Year. That way, since I'm 11, in China I'm 13!”
Alex wasn't as excited. He told GWN, “Yay! I get money! But yuck! White balls in soup! I'd rather have muffins. I am so jealous that it's my sister's year. It'll be my year in the dragon.”

Events:

• February 23rd: Gingy's friend, Alonda's, birthday! Just like Gingy's birthday, send any Happy Birthday presents or quotes to Alonda. Happy Birthday, Alonda!

• February 26th: Diane Zhou's CM piano theory test. Good luck, Diane!
• February 26th - 29th: Green Grass Education Center's Chinese presentation, writing, penmanship, and character recognition; math; and drawing. Good luck to our GWN editors who go to Green Grass: Diane Zhou and Amanda Chang! Good luck also to their brothers: Alex Zhou and Andrew Chang.
• February 29th: Comes only once every four years! Sadly, Diane's dad has a dentist appointment!!!
• March 2nd: Amanda Chang and her friend, Grace Ching's, CM test date. Good luck Amanda and Grace!
• March 6th and 7th: Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) writing test dates. Practice, practice, practice everyone! Good luck!
• March 16th: Diane's CM piano playing part test. Good luck, once again, Diane! Also could be Diane's ice skating test date. Good luck, for the third time, Diane!

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail GWN received this week:

Debate Time (Should violence be in video games?):
“If you have violence then, kids may think it is real. Sometimes parents try to handle kids but they don't listen! It is the kid's fault! NO VIOLENCE!” Chloris Li, 5th grade
“I think there should not be violence in video games because it makes the players get interested in violence and then bad things happen. Also, if you're addicted to those kinds of video games, your parents might not let you play them (because they always want the best for you...right?) and life will be really hard!” Sara Ye, 4th grade
Violence in video games? Yes! The video game will be no fun without any violence at all.” Cynthia Yao, 5th grade
“No violence! You see, kids like to follow games' rules, but do they listen to parents' rules? No. Basically, games are their role model. If there is violence in their role models, they will like violence. So, NO VIOLENCE IN VIDEO GAMES!!!” Carol Zhang, adult
“Yes, because there wouldn't be any fun.” Emily Wang, 4th grade

Happy Birthday, Gingy!:
“Happy 'Early Bird' Birthday, Gingy! Here's a gift (a token for Gingy, thank you Amanda)!” Amanda Chang, 5th Grade, 2/15/08
“Happy Birthday, Gingy! I made a book just for you!” Diane Zhou, 5th grade, 2/16/08
“Happy 'Belated' Birthday!” Deanna Wong, 5th grade
“Tell Gingy I said 'Happy Late Birthday!'” Grace Ching, 5th grade

Volume I No. 13

A Winter Trip to China

For winter break (or Christmas break as some people call it), Amanda Chang went to China. Let's hear about this exciting trip in this GWN issue!

Table of Contents
Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Video Games & Violence
Should there be violence in video games?

Should violence be in video games? Is it appropriate? How does it affect kids and their future? How does it affect our community?

Send all answers to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Yes!

Games are for enjoying, right? Some people enjoy violence. So violence should be in video games. Parents can be responsible for teaching kids right and wrong. Enjoy, but don't use it in life. Simple as that!

No!

Are you kidding? Violence in video games? No way! Little kids can use what they see in real life. Parents can be busy or irresponsible. Who wants violence on the streets? Is violence the only topic for video games? What about peaceful movie or story scenes, cooking, learning games, pet games, etc.? Can't those be fun? NO VIOLENCE!!!

Cover Story

A Winter Trip to China

On the first Sunday of Winter Break, my family headed on the airplane to China. It was a long and boring ride. When we finally arrived, my dad's old co-worker and my cousin picked us up. My cousin is 22 years old and sells used cars in Beijing. I didn't eat much at dinner since I was very drowsy. We stayed at my dad's co-worker's apartment. Throughout our stay in Beijing, we visited the Great Wall and the Summer Palace with my cousin and The Forbidden City without my cousin. Every night, we would go out to dinner in a reserved room with my parent's old classmates. Some of my dad's classmates were very rich and they invited us to a restaurant where they treated us like the royal family. They would open doors for you and stuff like that. It was a nice experience.
In my mom's hometown, Chongqing, we stayed at my uncle's house. My aunt's sister had a cute dog named Dudu and she let us keep her for the week. In Chongqing, we went Karoke, washed our feet (massage), visited my grandpa and great grandma in the cemetery, and went out to many more dinners. We mostly played with Dudu, though. In the mornings, Dudu would lick us all over and be very active.
In my dad's hometown, Hefei, we lived at my uncle's house. There we visited many places as well. I forgot some of their names. We even went to a place where you eat and take a bath. It felt very awkward. In Hefei, I found out that I have an aunt younger than me! That aunt is my great-grandpa's sister's granddaughter. On the last few days, somebody gave my uncle's family a brown-spotted dog too. She was really cute as well as Dudu. Her name was Huanhuan. The next few days, we took her to take shots, buy her food, etc. Finally, on our last day, we said farewell to China and went back home.

New News

It's a New Year!!!

It's a new year...already! 2008! What are some of your resolutions? Share them with everyone by telling Gingerbread Weekly News. Email to:

gingerbreadwklynews@gmail.com

Gingerbread Weekly News has resolutions too. We will try to make issues every week, unlike the end of last year. We will also list upcoming events in the “New News” section. Debate will go with the holidays, seasons, events, etc. Tell Gingerbread Weekly News if you like it this way. Send to the email above. Also tell Gingerbread Weekly News any ways to make our magazine better than ever!
Diane Zhou's father says much local news is becoming national or world-wide news because companies are being bought by chain companies like McDonald's. He supports having Gingerbread Weekly News because it talks mostly about Fremont and the Bay Area, about what is happening with people here, not all over the place. You can send your opinion about this too.

Upcoming Events:

• Valentine's Day, February 14th: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

• Gingy's birthday, February 16th: Happy birthday, Gingy! Send presents to Gingy if you'd like to. Gingy would be happy!
• Testing, Testing, and Testing! March is the testing month! STAR testing and writing test in school, and CM piano tests for some fantastic pianists in our neighborhood (including two of our editors!). Contests in Green Grass Education Center and a spelling bee in Ardenwood School. Be prepared and good luck to all!

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail Gingerbread Weekly News received from last time's issue:
“Ummm...oh! Christmas, 10! Of course!” Alex Zhou, 7
“I like Halloween, 7.” Nicole Sun, 10
“Holidays aren't my favorite, I like plain weekends...because I LOVE to sleep! Any old holiday, I like them 4.” Carol Zhang, adult
“Holidays are okay, but weekends are the times you get to SLEEP! Sleep is great! Holidays I'd say are 2...” Shudong Zhou, adult

Volume I No. 12

Thanksgiving Parties

So many stories for Thanksgiving! Here are some stories from Diane and Alex Zhou. If you want to send a Thanksgiving story, send it to:

GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Table of Contents
Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Favorite Things of the Year

What's your favorite holiday? It's holiday season now ... already! What a year! Gingerbread Weekly News would like to know your favorite holiday (besides your birthday...of course!) and how much you like it from a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best. Too bad it doesn't snow in the Bay Area...but it is vacation time. Gingerbread Weekly News would also like to know your favorite season.

Send all answers to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Cover Story

Thanksgiving Parties

• On Thanksgiving Day, Diane went to a friend's house. She and friends played Hide and Seek. Then she played card with grown-ups. Her team won!
• The day after Thanksgiving Day, Diane's friend and her parents' friends came over to her house. They played Wii and had fun making crafts. After dinner, Diane, her friend, and the grown-ups played cards together. Too bad this time Diane lost!!!
• On Saturday, Diane's friends at school came to her house because the grown-ups wanted to play cards. This time Diane didn't play with them. The kids played Wii, Play Station 2, and computer. They also played 4 corners, Monopoly, and made sugar cookies. The sugar cookies were great! Diane loved making cookies and asked her friends to help. All 15 of the sugar cookies were eaten by the end of the party!!!
• The next day on Sunday, Diane went to a friend's house. They made arts and crafts, but since the next day was school, they only stayed until 8:20pm.

New News

VMWare Halloween Party

Just the day before Halloween, Diane and Alex Zhou went to their dad's work, VMWare. Ever hear about their high stock market? Too bad Diane's dad can't sell the stock yet.
After Diane's dad picked Diane and Alex from Ardenwood School, they went to the VMWare work place. Then they changed into their costumes (Diane was Pocahontas, Alex was a dinosaur). There was face painting, a mini pumpkin patch (with little pumpkins), food, and two art stations. Everything was free. They ate dinner first. Afterwards, they got some candy, a bag, and a pumpkin. Diane and Alex went to the art station to decorate their pumpkins and bags. Their dad went to his office while the kids went to the other art station. They made more crafts and cool stuff. Before the “party” ended at six, Diane did the face painting. Alex didn't want to do it. “It was really fun,” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. “I was glad to go instead of doing other fun things at my afterschool.” “Someone pulled my 'tail' on my dinosaur costume,” Alex told Gingerbread Weekly News. “Very funny!”

School Improvement

Schools are improving. Diane says she sees the most improvement in Ardenwood out of all the years she went to school there. “We just got new flat screen Apple iMac computers. They are really good.” Science lab also got new slides to see cells, which 5th graders need to know about for the STAR testing in science. More P.E. materials were passed out too. That's a lot of improvements!

Notice

Sorry, Gingerbread Weekly News is busy! We skipped many weeks. School, schedule, it's a lot of work for the GWN editors! We hope you understand this. Sorry for skipping many weeks!

Volume I No. 11

Birthdays!
There are 4 birthdays to celebrate...and one is Amanda's birthday on September 23! Say “Happy Birthday” to our Gingerbread Weekly News editor! The other ones are Grace, Cynthia, and Claire! Say “Happy Birthday” to them too!

Table of Contents

Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Parties

We're talking all about parties this week, and....our birthday girl, Amanda, gave us a great debate topic: Should parties be any later than 12:30 am? Send you answers to...

Did Gingerbread Weekly News forget to tell you? Gingerbread Weekly News has a new email address! So, you can all send your answers to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com
Please type in subject as “GWN Debate” if you are answering a debate question.. It really makes Gingerbread Weekly News's job easier to know what you are trying to tell Gingerbread Weekly News that you are answering the debate topic. Please give reasons too! We value your opinion.

Yes!

Parties...are parties. You don't get too many of them. So why can't you stay longer? Have some fun that you wouldn't have in about a month. Parties should only be on Saturdays so you can stay up late with no fear of being late to school the next day. Everyone needs to have fun once in awhile, but not toooooo often. Most parties are at night, not in the day, so staying up late would make the party longer. Parties are a great way to communicate with old friends, not just one, but many all together in one place! Parties should last longer than 12:30 in the morning.

No!

No way! What if you're sleepy and you live an hour drive away from the party? What if you're drunk (since people often drink beer at parties)? That wouldn't be good, but it does happen. If you walk, you could get really cold outside and you could be really sleepy if you drive. Most people eat too much at parties, which isn't good for your health. Sleeping late isn't good for your health either. Is having fun important or health more important? It's a really bad habit to stay up late like people are doing now. So...say no to parties that last longer than 12:30am!

Cover Story

Birthdays!

So many birthdays! Amanda Chang, Grace Ching, Cynthia Yao, and Claire Qian all have birthdays in September! Say “Happy Birthday” to them all, especially Amanda, our Gingerbread Weekly News editor. Amanda had a birthday party at Cal Skate in Milpitas. Let's see what she and her friends (including Diane and Alex) did at her party...
It all started at about 2 o'clock on September 23rd, which was Amanda's exact birthday. Most of the people arrived and started roller skating a little bit. Once everybody arrived, they ate a cupcake, a hot dog, and had a drink. Then everyone went to roller skate. It was really fun!
As you know, Diane ice-skates. “It's not exactly the same, but close enough. It wasn't too hard to be able to skate around the rink, but still harder for me than ice-skating,” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. “I guess it was good for a first try.” There was a race (everyone was really fast), but no one from Amanda's party participated. There was also a Holky Polky dance to celebrate all birthdays for the day. That was fun too. But most of all, let's say “Happy Birthday!” to Amanda! She is our important editor for Gingerbread Weekly News.
Remember also to say “Happy Birthday” to Grace (who also went to Amanda's party), Cynthia, and Claire.

New News

The New Wii!

(Alex's Opinion)

A Wii is fun. There is tennis, boxing, bowling, baseball, and golf in Wii Sports. Tennis is hard and fun. My skill level is 460. I like tennis the best. Boxing is hard and fun. My skill level is 840. I like it second. Bowling is fun and easy (unlike real bowling). My skill level is 600. Baseball is boring and hard. I hate it. My skill level in baseball is only 110. Golf is also boring and hard. I hate it the most. My skill level is only 100. I think the Wii is really fun.

Off to a Good Start...

Gingerbread Weekly News hopes you're off to a good start in this 2007 to 2008 school year. At least, Diane is. “I was the first one to finish this program called 'Type to Learn' in computer lab! I was the first out of the whole school! (Only 4th, 5th, and 6th graders do it.)” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. “My friends finished too! Cynthia finished 5th in the school and Emily finished 11th. Emily was also the first fourth grader to finish! I think everyone's off to a good start!”
“Forest Park is off to a good start too!” says Amanda. “We've got a science lab now and many new computers.” Hopefully everybody off to a good start! How's school? Send your answer to (our new email address): GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail Gingerbread Weekly News received from last week's issue – Celebrate!, September 9 Issue:

Debate Time:
(Should Gingerbread Weekly News have an email address?)
“Yes! It's a lot easier to have everyone be able to check it instead of forwarding. Not everyone has to check it if you already have too many accounts. One person can check it and tell everyone else the next day.” Vicky and Nicole, 5th Grade
“I think gingerbread weekly news shouldn't have an email address. If you already have an email address, why make another?” Cynthia, 5th Grade

Well, Gingerbread Weekly News has decided to have its own account: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

Volume I No. 10

Celebrate!
Gingerbread Weekly News has hit its 10th issue! It's time to celebrate...and make some improvements too. It would be great to send some comments and questions about Gingerbread Weekly News. Remember, Gingerbread Weekly News has 2 websites: http://home.comcast.net/~mariezhou/gingerbread.html and http://home.comcast.net/~mariezhou/index.html

This week's Cover Story is about Diane's trip to Texas. How exciting!

Table of Contents

Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Mail Pail

Debate Time

Gingerbread Weekly News Email
Should Gingerbread Weekly News have an email address?

Should Gingerbread Weekly News have an email address? Gingerbread Weekly News people have different opinions. Some say, “It would be better to have emails about Gingerbread Weekly News in another account instead of taking up my inbox.” Others say, “Why waste another account? I already have 2 accounts to check!” If Gingerbread Weekly News makes an email account, it will probably be: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com

What do you think? You can suggest an email address too.
Remember, every vote counts! Whichever “Yes!” or “No!” has more votes is the answer to “Will Gingerbread Weekly News have an email account?”

Cover Story

A Trip to Texas!

On Friday, August 24, 2007, Diane's family went to Texas. Diane's mom was actually on a business trip, so the rest of the family just tagged along. It was Diane and Alex's first time in Texas. Late in the night, they landed in Austin, Texas and rented a car. Diane's dad drove her family to Houston, where Diane's aunt lived. They arrived there at four in the morning! They ate some things and went to bed for four hours. They got up in the morning at eight, and off they were to NASA!
But before that, they went to the Sea Center. It was free. Diane saw many types of fish, eels, and even sharks! It was really interesting. Since the Sea Center relied on donations to run it, Diane and Alex donated five dollars. In thanks, the Sea Center gave them a beautiful poster.
Next stop, NASA. At NASA it was fun. Diane and Alex played on the playground, rode on a simulator, went on a tram tour, and watched a movie. On the playground there were fake rocket guns to play with, balls to shoot and put into the rocket guns, and fake rockets you can sit in. On the simulator, there was a screen, seats, and poles that you hold. It was like a roller coaster; the screen showed what you would see in front of you in a real roller coaster, and the seats would move around the way it would in a real roller coaster. On the tram tour, they saw rockets, the place that astronauts get trained, and the Control Center. In the movie there was a rocket named Culumbia that went into space to fix a satellite. When it was going down back to earth, it exploded. Another rocket called Challenger exploded when it was going up. Going to space is dangerous. There were many other activities in NASA.
It was almost time for dinner, so they drove to a restaurant called Saltwater. It was near the beach, so they played at the beach for awhile. The tide was getting higher, so they went to the restaurant for a seat. They had to wait for 30 minutes though. “Cool look! There's a horse pulling a coach!” Diane said. So they decided to ride the horse. It was fun, and after going around the area for awhile, they were dropped off in front of the Saltwater restaurant. A table was already ready for them. It was a great meal. It was a great day.
The next day, they were off to Austin! Diane's family went to her parent's old friend's house. They had lunch and then went to their hotel: Hilton Gardens. After checking in and putting everything in the hotel, they went to Diane's dad's old teacher's house. It was actually his university teacher. They had dinner there, and afterwards, went back to their hotel.
It was Monday, their last full day to play. Diane's mom went to “work” already, and there was only Diane, Alex, and their dad at the hotel. They decided to eat breakfast at Krispy Kreme doughnut store. Then they went to the capital building. They learned how the system worked and many other things. Then they went to a Visitor's Center and bought some souvenirs. It was lunch time, and Diane's dad decided to see his university: University of Texas (UT).
They were really hungry, so they ate lunch first. Then they explored the place. It was tons of walking. They went to the Lindon B. Johnson Library and Museum. It was actually his birthday that day! Lindon Johnson was the president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There was a lot of construction around the place. They also saw the old places that Diane's dad lived at before. That was pretty much what they did on Monday, August 27, 2007.
Tuesday was their last day. Diane's mom went to “work” again and the rest of the family decided to go to the place where Diane's dad used to go get supplies and other things. Diane and Alex got many souvenirs. They decided to buy a binder with “TEXAS” on it and put pictures in it too. It was almost time to go, so they picked up Diane's mom. They packed up everything...and off to Home Sweet Home!

New News

The Squirrel

“Yes! Darn, I lost! Yes! Nooooo!” Diane and Alex were playing the new Wii at Andy and Emily's house, their neighbor. “Hey look! A squirrel! Leo's trying to get that squirrel! What's the squirrel trying to get?” Leo was Andy and Emily's big German Shepard dog. He was trying to get the squirrel. The squirrel wouldn't climb up the tree. It was trying to get...a nut on the ground. It got it really quickly and started nibbling on it. “Too bad I couldn't get a picture of it, since Leo scared it away from the perfect place to take a picture. But I can still draw a picture of it,” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News.

School's Starting Again

School starts again! Too bad. “Actually, I think school's pretty good, I got sort of bored of the summer,” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. Congratulation to those who have gone to Junior High, Senior High, College, or whatever accomplishment!
How did everyone do on the STAR Testing this year? Better? Worse? Was it actually easy? You can send your score and comments to Gingerbread Weekly News too! Gingerbread Weekly News hopes that you did really well. If you didn't, it's okay. Put away the past and just try to improve. Go for the best score you could possibly get.

“It's fake.”

Wondering about what “It's fake.” means? Well, The Ad was actually a “shop” Diane and Amanda made, originally called D&A, but they thought it was too obvious to find out. Very creative...

Mail Pail

Here's all the mail Gingerbread Weekly News received from last week's issue – The Disastrous Day, September 2 Issue:

Debate Time: (Should parents allow kids to have email?)
“I think no because kids spend too much time on it.” Vicky and Nicole, 5th Grade
“I think yes because it's a great way to communicate with your friends besides using a telephone all the time.” Emily, 4th Grade

Volume I No. 9

The Disastrous Day
What kind of a disastrous day did Diane's family have? First a this, then a that, so many things to take care of... but finally, it's over. Find out what happened in this Gingerbread Weekly News issue.

Table of Contents

Cover Story
New News
Debate Time
Notice

Debate Time

Email For Kids

Should parents allow kids to have email?

Should parents allow kids to have email? For some kids: What? Kids have email? That's a grown up thing! For others, it's: Email is just part of my plain life. Tons of kids have email. If come grown ups get email and we don't...well...I can't imagine that...

Yes!

Kids should be allowed to have email. Email helps keep kids in contact instead of always going to each other's houses, especially during school time. All you've got to do is go on the computer, go on the Internet, and log onto your account. It's better than waiting until both friends have time to play with each other. Of course, phone calls are good, but who knows if you're there? With email, you'll be sure that your message will reach your friend. If you do something like Gingerbread Weekly News with your friend, it's easier to email your friend to ask if what you wrote is okay, than reading out loud on the phone, or printing it and giving it to your friend. So, kids have email, as well as parents.

No!

No way! Kids with email? Once children get email, they will check it all day long, chatting with friends all day, and if you tell them to stop, they'd say, “Then I'm behind on news! You've got to check mail everyday. Don't you check it everyday?” It can damage kids' eyes and use up too much homework time. School's more important than this email thing! Aren't phone calls a lot easier? Just dial and call. If someone's not at home, call to your friend's parent's cellphone. How easy is that? No! Kids should not have email.

It's fake...not the debate. (see the Notice)

Cover Story

The Disastrous Day

It all started in the morning with a few sounds of scratching in the kitchen. Something gray passed by. MOUSE!!! Diane's family chased the mouse all around the house. The closest they got to it was when it jumped off the table right in front of Diane's dad's face! Too bad...it escaped.
Later, Diane's family went to the Redwood City's ice rink (Ice Oasis) to pick Diane's skates. They were stretched the night before, to make the skates bigger by a half size. They felt a lot better to Diane. Then they went to Costco, and that's when a problem occurred...
When Diane's family put all the things they bought into the car, ready to go home, the car wouldn't move. Out of batteries. Costco sold battery cases, but wouldn't allow anyone to use their tools. There was no way to change the batteries. They had to call AAA (Triple A) for help. The AAA truck transferred some electricity to Diane's family's car. They went to Home Depot to buy some things to capture mice. Then when they were going to go, the car stopped again. Luckily, Diane's dad bought a back-up battery case and Home Depot had the tools to put the back-up battery case in.
Finally no more trouble. What a disastrous day!
“I guess it wasn't too much of a disastrous day. I played card games with some grown-ups at a party at someone else's house,” Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. “And the best part was [that] the mouse was caught when I came back from the party!”

New News

Skating in the Dark

One day, Diane was just skating in the morning like usual. BLINK went the lights in the rink. BLINK BLINK BLINK OFF! It was so cool "skating in the dark". There were only emergency lights on. They were like spotlights. "It's just totally cool, 'skating in the dark', I don't even know how to describe it," Diane told Gingerbread Weekly News. "Too bad the employees told us to get off in 30 minutes."

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Grand Opening September 16, 2007!

River Rafting

On Sunday we went rafting at the American River in Sacramento. We had a group of 27 friends. They split us into three groups of nine. I went with Sara's family (3 people), Virginia's family (2 people), and my family (4 people). We were the second boat. Our guide was named Andrew, same name as my brother. All the boats stayed together. In the morning (or the first two hours) there were only Classes 1 and 2 waves. The higher the class number, the bigger the wave. It was pretty relaxing. We stopped at this place with tables and chairs to eat lunch. We had chips, fruit, sandwiches, and cookies for lunch. After lunch, we climbed aboard the wet boat and got into our soaking life jackets. The boats started splashing water at each other and we got even more wet. I was shivering. The guide told us that when we see the lollipop tree the first time, it means that Class 3 waves will come in 10 to 15 minutes. When you see the lollipop tree the second time, it means Class 3's are around the corner. The afternoon was pretty rough and more fun. Some waves even went over our heads! I had tons of fun unlike some people.....

Notice

What does the "It's fake." mean?

Volume I No. 8

(Another Special Edition!)

Gingerbread Weekly News...
Goes to China!!!
(Written by Diane Zhou)
Gingerbread Weekly News goes to China! Diane and Gingy send their wonderful story about their trip to China. That's the surprise!

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story

Gingerbread Weekly News...

Goes to China!!!

(Written by Diane Zhou)

We left on the June the 26th and then landed in Tokyo, Japan, in the afternoon on the 27th, Japan time zone. My family was going to China! We brought Eric (my brother's friend) with us because his parents didn't want to go. The airplane flight was 12 hours long. At the Narita airport, I ate dinner. I didn't eat the airplane food; it's so disgusting. Japanese food is so delicious. In an hour or so, we were off to Shanghai, China. I slept most of the time on the two-and-a-half hour flight. When we finally landed in the Shanghai Pudong Airport, we got our belongings and went to find my uncle who was going to pick us up. I thought my aunt was coming too, but I was depressed to find out she wasn't coming. We had to go on two taxis with so many people and things. We were going to our hotel, which was really near the Shanghai train station, pretty far away from the airport.
It was so hot in Shanghai, or, I guess I should say really humid, that I got sweaty one second after I stepped out the hotel door, even at night!!! I got a horrible stomach ache, and skipped “Dinner #2”. “Dinner #1” was sort of like my lunch. My uncle rented three rooms in the hotel, each room had two twin beds. I had to sleep in a room with my brother! Tell you why. There were three grown-ups, three kids, and each parent was to take a kid. I couldn't go with my uncle, I'm a girl; Eric couldn't, my uncle doesn't really know him; which left my brother to be with him. He cried about that!!! Because I was the oldest, I had to sleep with him!!!
I woke up in the middle of the night, not used to China time zone. At five o'clock, everyone was up, not used to the time zone just like me, besides my uncle (he lives in China). The kids ate breakfast at McDonald's. Then at seven, my parents, my uncle, and I ate in the hotel breakfast buffet. At 7:30, we walked to the Shanghai Train Station. We were off to Nanjing! I played cards with my dad the whole time. It only took two hours with two or three stops in the middle!!! Eric went with his aunt on his real vacation in China. He didn't look happy to leave Alex; they were best friends. My uncle's car was parked at the Nanjing Train Station. We went to my dad's side's family home and had our first meal at “home”.
The next morning, my mom went to her family's home for some personal reasons. My dad took Alex and I to Mochou Lake. We went on a boat, and went saw the beautiful, huge lake. We went “home for lunch. Afterwards, my uncle brought us to my mom's family side. We slept immediately because of China's time difference. That was the end of our first full day in Nanjing.
The next day, my brother and I started playing MaJiang with my dad after eating breakfast. Before lunch, my cousin came and joined us in our game of MaJiang. Then we ate lunch and went to Zhong Shan Ling. The park has 371 steps up the mountain. We counted that much up and another 371 steps down. Very tiring...
Next day was shopping day. It was to buy my brother and my prizes from my relatives for a great school year and many achievements. I got this coloring set, it's totally cool. I also got a watch, a shirt, and a pajama dress. Afterwards, we went back to my dad's side. We had an annual "family reunion" dinner at night, though my brother and I were sleepy then. We slept through the whole thing! That was the end of this day.
After my mom left for her family home in the morning the next day, my dad and my other cousin took us to Xuan Wu Lake. We didn't actually see the lake, but we played in a water park. It's way worse than places like Silliman Aquatic Center or Great America; there's no chlorine in the water, so there are dead bugs and yuck stuff in the water! The water slides are huge and fun. I almost couldn't ride them. I wasn't quite tall enough so they asked me how old I was. I said ten in Chinese, but they heard it as fourteen. That wasn't enough, so my cousin said that I was used to riding big water slides. After awhile of debating, they let me on the water slide, but said that they weren't going to be responsible if I got hurt. It was really fun!
My dad took us to Fuzi Miao the day after. We just went on another boat. We went “home”, ate lunch, then went to a sports center. My brother got to go for his swimming, so then it was my turn for my ice-skating. My brother skated too. I was like the only one who knew how to skate besides another skater about the same age as me and the coaches. The rink was about two times smaller, the ice was also really scratchy. Oh well, it was just for fun.
This day was boring; my brother and I just stayed home watching this really funny Chinese comedy and playing computer. We also built a mini roller coaster (Alex's gift that we bought the other day in China). My parent's were out doing their personal things, don't know what it is.
On Thursday morning, my dad took Alex and me to a place where we could see a huge ship forty times bigger than Columbus's that sailed around the world several times around the same time Columbus did. The original ship, of course, was destroyed a long time ago, but with written notes in old books and pictures, people were able to construct a ship similar to the original. We could even go inside it! In the afternoon, my family went to my mom's family home. All my brother and I did was play computer. No one to play MaJiang with. Two person games were not fun. My dad was getting a new T.V. set up while my mom was helping.
We went back into the city (my mom's family lives in the suburb.) after lunch the next day. We packed up our stuff. We would be leaving Nanjing the next day! Already! We went to the train station after lunch the next day. My aunt went with us. Alex was excited to see Eric. We arrived in Shanghai and went to our hotel. It was near the Shanghai Pudong Airport. We ate at the hotel's restaurant. We slept and woke up at six the next morning. We said bye to my aunt and we were off to America...