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!