Before vs. After

            Many times I have seen Christmas advertisements or television commercials before Thanksgiving. I am not happy with them being shown a month and a half before the holiday. In November the only holiday I think about is Thanksgiving. To me the month is about turkey and families gathering around tables for a feast, it is not about shopping for gifts, or Santa.When they show a commercial about Christmas, it just makes me think about how far away it is. What I really do not understand is why they would show a commercial about a holiday special three weeks it comes out, and the fact that many shows do not have Thanksgiving specials. The holiday is more about American history, while Christmas has to do with a Christian holiday. I like Christmas too, but I do not think that it should be discussed that much in the month of November.
           Keep in mind, however, that Black Friday is also the day after Thanksgiving when all of the shopping is done. Christmas advertisements remind people to go shopping before everything is sold out from all the great sales on Black Friday, for Christmas. It also makes you realize that the holidays are not that far off from how long you would think. Television specials leave something for kids like me to look up to and make sure not to forget to free up time for that episode. For some people, immediately after Thanksgiving they put up their Christmas trees, which makes this a reminder for them to do so. By December, what you may want to buy may be gone already, making it too late too advertise the products. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I honestly prefer to have them wait until December for the Christmas advertisements, and television special commercials.

Silas Santa

           This upcoming Christmas will be a great time for all the people that have been nice. Being who you are you always know who is naughty and nice and make sure the nice get their presents, and the naughty get coal. You are the only one who can bring balance to Christmas every year, and in addition in being able to make the presents in time for the holidays, you must also be a very skilled reader in order to read thousands of letters each year. My Christmas would be especially great this year, if you stopped at my house and put new basketball sneakers in my stocking. I have worked really hard this year to earn my present.


          Presently, I have basketball sneakers with tiny laces that I can barely tie, that are Air Jordans. Right after I tie them I run down the court and they become untied again so that I have to stop the game to tie my sneakers again. New sneakers that have longer laces would allow me to tie them more firmly and not have to stop the game. With new sneakers, people would not have a chance to trip over them if they are tied properly, instead of being on the ground. Also, not stopping the game would allow it to go much quicker.



          As you know, my stocking was left empty last year, because I did not ask for you to put anything in my stocking that I received last year. It would be great to see something in my stocking this year. I could also use the new sneakers for gym on fitness day and other days to change even quicker for gym than I do now. I would not have to stop in the middle of gym class four or three times to tie my sneakers and risk getting an unprepared. My number of pairs of sneakers would go back to four, which would give me many different choices each day. I have worked hard at school and gone to Kumon to earn the sneakers.



           I know that at this time you are receiving many other requests from people all over the world. I would be very joyful if you dropped your gift off at my house on Christmas Eve. So, please just answer my one request for Christmas. Thank you, for taking your time to read my letter and merry Christmas to you!



Sincerely,
Silas Okoth

Thanksgiving

             The Pilgrims did not like the kings laws about having to follow his religion, so in 1609 they left for Holland. After several years most Pilgrim children only spoke Dutch and the Pilgrims decided to set sail for another destination. Some Dutch came along also on the ship to the New World, now known as America. I took more than two months before they reached Plymouth in Massachusetts, where the Native Americans were. The Native Americans threw a big feast to welcome the Pilgrims. In 1863 president Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, that is celebrated every fourth Thursday of November.

One thing I am grateful for is my video games. I have fun playing them every weekend, sometimes with my friends. I have lots of fun playing them, especially when it is Mario Kart Wii with the steering wheel. Another thing I am grateful for is the computer in my room. It allows me to check NBA scores and find out what time the NBA and NFL games are on television. With the computer I can check homework online at the Rocket website, and I also have to do my homework on the computer. The computer also allows me to watch videos of shows I have missed. This is why I am grateful for my video games and the computer in my room.

Halloween

            Every Halloween, I never dressed up, people would say to me "Hey, Silas what are you going to be for Halloween?"
            Then I would say, "Nothing.".
            Then they would say, "What?!".
            Every time we had our Halloween Parade at school, I would be one of the few people that was not wearing a costume. I would have to be at the front of the parade every year. Also, I never went trick-or-treating either, and I would just sit at home watching the Halloween specials. Halloween is my least favorite holiday.

Satire in My Life

             Whose idea was it to give us these lockers? Our lockers are so small that a mouse could not fit into it.

Why Patriotism Still Matters

          Patriotism still matters today, because it is how we got our freedom. When I think about patriotism I think about veterans who serve for our country. Symbols that I think about, are the flag and red, white, and blue. A show of patriotism is reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every school day. Veterans protect us and fight for our freedom.

          We celebrate patriotism today so that we can discuss how we got our freedom. We celebrate it on the fourth of July and on November eleventh. These holidays mark the times our country has overcome a war. I feel safe knowing that there are veterans out there protecting our nation. Patriotism can be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or wearing red, white, and blue. Patriotism is what we should show every day.

          Philadelphia is a city filled with patriotism, such as Independence Hall, the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin’s chair, and the Liberty Bell. I visited Philadelphia last year for my fifth grade field trip and had fun. It is a really historical city. There are flags everywhere you look in the city, and this city should be the capital of Pennsylvania instead of Harrisburg, because it is much better well known. It is a highly populated city.

          Independence Day is the holiday that is shown with the most patriotism, because we shoot off fireworks on this day. I like to watch the fireworks from my house by looking out the window and seeing all of the wonderful colors.  All of the stores close and Applebee’s has a kids eat for free sale. Independence Day is when the Declaration of Independence was approved. This holiday is celebrated all over the country.

          So, as you see patriotism really does still matter. Without it, we would not have any of these holidays to celebrate, and Philadelphia would not be as historical as it is today.                                                

Marshfield Dreams

            In Ralph Fletcher's vignette, "First Pen", "It was just a cheap BIC, the kind with a clear barrel so you could see how much ink was left in the cartridge" (p.43) was my favorite sentence. I had never known a pen could be described this way. This sentence does not really describe his passion for the pen. I can visualize how this pen looks and I wish my pen was clear too, so that I would know when it is about to run out. It is marvelous that he could make a whole vignette out of a pen. Overall, this piece is brilliant.              
            In his vignette, "Baseball," "We'd insist we could see the ball fine, but she'd make us come inside" (p.43) was my favorite sentence from this passage. I can connect this to when my mom would say it was too cold out for me to play basketball, even though Iwould say it wasn't, she would still make me come inside. I am not too fond of this passage because baseball is the sport I hate the most. Another connection I have is that I am allergic to pollen also, except that it makes me sneeze. Overall, I do not like this piece. Ralph Fletcher is a writer with excellent imagery and woven ideas. 
                                          

3rd Place In The Team Competition

            I had a team competion for my division last year. The location was in HHMS and the name of my team was the Lakers. There are 12 teams in my division and the team in last place, known as the Kings, did not even bother to show up to the team competition. There were 4 events, free throw shooting, three-point shooting, dribble races, and layups. I thought that by the end we had done a very good job, especially in free throw shooting. When every team was done we waited to hear the results. They told us that there was a three way tie between the Knicks, Mavericks, and us. The tiebreaker was that the coach that made the most free throws in 30 seconds would win the tiebreaker. My coach and the Knicks' coach had made four free throws, while the Mavericks' coach only made two free throws. The final tiebreaker was that the coach that made a three-pointer first would win. Unfortunately, the Knicks' coach made it on their second try. We thought that we had gotten second place, when it turned out that the three way tie was for second place, and that the team that had won was the team in 11th place, the Nuggets. So I ended up going home with a third place ribbon. 
           

Library

             Yesterday my social studies class spent the entire period in the library. We learned how to search books on the computer. So far I have not found any books that I like. Today we made a research folder which we are supposed to use to organize research. We also learned how to make a proper power point and to not plagiarize. I think that the library is fun. 

HHMS

So far middle school has not been too bad. My only problems have been getting from class to class. After every period I go to my locker. The real problem is getting to science class, which is on the other side of the school. It is not like I can carry my science things to the period before, because I need ten supplies for math. This is my only problem with transition.