The Birthday Surprise

      "Wake up, Max!" Amy exclaimed. "Today is mom's birthday!"
      "Let me sleep and tel mom I said happy birthday to her," Max replied.
      "No! Just wake up...now!" Amy shouted.
      Today was their mom's 40th birthday, but both Amy and Max were sad because she had work today.
      "Bye, guys! I'll see you when I come home from work,"their mom said as she kissed them good-bye.
      "Let's do something special for mom, since we didn't say happy birthday to her yet," Amy told her younger brother.
      "Okay, what do you want to do?" Max asked. After a few minutes of thinking, Amy got a great idea.
      " Let's make a birthday cake for her! I know she has a recipe in the cook book," Amy said excitedly.
      "Okay, but I can not reach the counter in the kitchen," Max whined. 
      "That's okay, we can put a stool there," Amy replied positively. Then, after they put the stool, Amy and Max got to work. Amy got the cook book and found the page with a chocolate cake. she ordered Max to get all the ingredients. When all the ingredients were found, the real work began. Amy and Max made the cake.
      "I want to put the chocolate frosting," Max said.
      "Okay, you can. But, only if you help me put the cake in the oven, since it's done," Amy said hoping he would.
      "Don't worry! I will do it myself," Max replied willingly. But, as he was walking toward the oven with the cake in his small hands, he tripped over the stool and fell. the cake flew up in the air and landed upside down on the ground.
      "Nooo! the cake is ruined!" Amy screamed.
      "I am so sorry,"Max said with guilt.
      "That's okay. You didn't fall on purpose.But, now what are we going to do? We don't have enough time to make another cake," Amy said.
      "Before we worry about making another cake,we have to clean up. Mom will not be happy f she sees this mess," Max said. So, Amy and Max started to clean up. But, before they cleaned up the cake, they heard a sound.
      "It's the doorknob!" Amy and Max exclaimed at the same time. that meant that their mom was home.
      " I am home kids!"their mom says after she opens the door. Then, she walks to the kitchen to drop her lunch box. "What happened?" she asked.
      "We tried to make you a birthday for your birthday, but it got ruined. WE are sorry," Max cried.
      "That's fine. At least you two tried," their mom said."Let's clean up and then we will go out to eat." After they cleaned up, they went to Pizza Hut and their mom had a great birthday.

Response to a Quote

        Nothing in this world is impossible if we keep trying our best to achieve it. Napoleon Bonaparte had once stated," Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools." Many people give up after a few tries to do something thinking that it is impossible. This is the main reason why most people's dreams do not come true. Impossible is the word people use when they give up trying to do something they can not do. Those people are complete fools into thinking that.

        As a young child, there are many things I wanted to do. One of them was ice- skating. I always watch ice- skaters on television doing all these awesome stunts showing off their talents and skills. Those people inspired me to ice- skate. But, learning how to ice- skate was never easy for me. At first, I could not even stand on the ice! I just used to slip and slid everywhere! I also fell a lot of times and at that point I had completely gave up on learning how to ice- skate. I thought it had became impossible for me to learn how to ice- skate. But, then my mom and my dad told me nothing is impossible if you try your hardest to achieve it. I thought that they were lying to me so that I would go back to learning how to ice- skate. Even with that thought in my mind, I went to the classes. I tried my best to do what I was told to do on that slippery ice. But, before I knew it , I could ice- skate! If I had given up, like a fool, I would have never learned how to ice- skate and discover that nothing is impossible if you try your hardest.

        George Washington is one of our great leaders. He fought so many vicious wars and went through tough times just so the United States could get the freedom and independence it deserved. We were attacked by the British Army a lot of times and they were good attacks. We lost may of our soldiers. The British Army had a very strong defense and large equipment to use in the wars, while Washington's army had nothing, except for the people and limited supplies. But, even with so little things, Washington's army won the wars and gave the United States its freedom and independence. Imagine what would happen if Washington and his army thought winning the wars against the British Army was impossible? We would have never gotten our freedom and our independence. Nothing is impossible and we can see the in our history.

        "We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy," J. K. Rowling once had once said. Giving up while trying to something and saying that it is impossible is really easy to say, but it is not the right thing to say. There are many challenges in life and if you say that they are impossible to over come, you are a fool. Thinking things are impossible to do will never get you anywhere in life. You should always remember that nothing is impossible if you try your best.                                       

 

Summer: How lond should it be?

     When the final bell rings on the last day of school, the students are happy. They do not need to think of school for another two and half months! This is how it should be all the students in the US who go to public schools. But, many schools in our country have all students coming there all-year around. they go to school  for 45 days and then the next 15 days, they are off. This pattern  continues until the ultimate last day of school. There are many problems with year-round schooling. It does not improve education, but it does increase the cost.It would also effect the amount of family time a student would spent.Having all year- rounded schools is not the right choice for the students and their families.

     Many teachers say that students forget everything over the two and half months of summer vacation. But, having only 15 days of vacation in between 45 days of school does not make a difference. There is no possible evidence that all year-rounded schools make students get better grades. In 1979, 90% of schools that tried to have a year-round schedule ended up going back to the original schedule. Also, it is very possible that kids forget the things they leaned in 15 days. In fact, a middle school in  Alabama had 13 out of 20 students forget what they had learned in math in 15 days. Others may say that it is easier to forget something over two and half months than 15 days. But,  every student has their own capacity of remembering things. All year- rounded schools do not effect the  students and how much they can remember.

     All year-rounded schools cost a lot. During the school hours, we have to pay the staff members and the electricity bill. That already costs a lot of money and our school budget is not that much. The board of education has laid-off many of our wonderful teachers due to the shortage of money. why strive for money for all year-rounded schools when we should strive for money to bring back the teachers we have lost. Also, New Jersey had a huge budget cut. People who disagree may say that we can hold fundraisers to get the money. But, in today's economy, many people can not afford to donate money.The cost for the board of education would increase if we had all year-rounded schools.

     Family time is really important to everyone because in our busy lives today there is barely any time for family. the two and half months the students have is the perfect amount of time for family. Many grandparents of our students do not live with them. There is no way parents would let their child go visit their grandparents for 15 days. It takes time and money, which no on wants to waste. "Family life is not a computer program that runs on its own; it needs continual input from everyone." (Neil Kurshan) Everyone wants to be close to their family, sharing all the joys and sorrows together. Having all year-rounded schools would take away a lot of family time.

     Making public schools all year- roundeed schools in the US, is not the right choice. It does not help students remember things. It cost a lot and it takes away family time. This decision is not the best one for the students in the US as we are known for having the best school system. No board of the education wants to ignore the concerns of the students and their familes. 

Uniforms??

Dear Superintendent O’ Mally:

          “When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.” (Charles Evan Hughes, US Supreme Court, 1925) Uniforms make us all look the alike. They take away our individuality and all our freedom. Day by day, American schools that require school uniforms are increasing. 24% of schools require them in the USA. That is one fourth of the schools in our nation. The Edison school board has decided that uniforms are mandatory starting in September of the upcoming year for grades K-12. This decision it is not the proper one for our students and their families here in Edison. Uniforms may be more expensive than the ordinary clothes. Also, uniforms do not decrease violent incidents. Clothing is one way people express themselves and uniforms do not allow that to happen. It is in the best interest that uniforms should not be required in Edison schools.

          Today’s economy is not the best. People strive for money to survive. In times like these, uniforms are not the best choice. Uniforms would add more expenses for a family. This is because parents would have to buy uniforms for school and other clothes for their children when they are not in school. Our township does not even provide financial aid for families who need it. Many parents of our students do not have jobs. Without a job, buying things would become complicated because we would have no money to spend. Students may also outgrow their uniforms. The uniforms may also get dirty or ripped up because kids love to play. This would mean parents would have to buy several pairs of uniforms each year. Some people might say that uniforms do not cost that much. That is not true. When parents buy their children clothes, they wear them to school and out of school.

That is buying one outfit for two places, and it saves a lot of money! With having to buy both uniforms and other clothes, expenses for a family will most definitely increase.

          Making all the students look the same, does not decrease the amount of violence in schools here in Edison. There are many more things that cause violence, other than clothes. In fact, only 10% of the students get bullied because of what they wear. As far as safety is concerned, kids very rarely go to a different school than the one they were assigned to. Most kids do not ditch their own school to go to another. Some people may say that uniforms keep away the risk of strangers. Uniforms do not really do that because these strangers are mostly adults. And there is no law or rule that says that adults who work at schools have to wear uniforms. Uniforms do not decrease violence in schools.

Clothes are one of the most popular ways kids around the world express themselves. Usually, when you see a kid, you can guess their personality by what types of clothes they wear. If they are wearing black, most likely they are the gang type. If they are wearing all cute colors, the person is most likely girly. No one wants to be the same as someone else. Everyone wants to be different. They want to feel extraordinary and unique in their own way. Also, people praise others about what they are wearing. By making students wear uniforms, not only do they a topic to talk about, but they also lose a reason to compliment others. In today’s world cruelty is very popular. Taking away a reason to compliment others, is taking the side of cruelty. People who disagree with me may say that clothes aren’t the only way kids can express themselves. There are other ways, but can you use them all the time? Kids can say they smart or dumb, but only in school or in classes. They can not just go around everywhere saying that they are smart or dumb. Clothes are something students wear everyday all the time. They can describe their qualities. Clothes are the best way to express yourself all the time. 

As you can see, individuality is very important to everyone. It means freedom to most people and uniforms take that away. They cost a lot of money as compared to regular clothes. They also do not decrease violence at schools. Clothes are one way kids express themselves and uniforms do not let them do that. It is evident that requiring mandatory uniforms for the upcoming year is not the right decision for our students. But, it is still not too late to change this decision into the best one.

                                                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                                        Krutika Shah