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The Fact of the Matter

LA 1 and LA 3: Non-Fiction Magazine

5/21/2012

Authors: Aaron, Cameron, Camilla, Charlotte, Cole, Daniel, Eden, Gus, Jade, James, Jan, Joanna, Kiki, Lexi, Lia, Lily,

Maddie, Mia, Michael, Morgan, Natalie, Paavo, Petra, Sam, Sobia, Stella and Zack!

The Fact of the Matter . . . LA 1 and LA 3: Non-fiction magazine – Your Source for Fascination

First Edition, Published at Poughkeepsie Day School, Poughkeepsie, NY.

May 21, 2012

With many thanks to Ruthie Shaw, Gretchen Lytle and Kaitlin Torp

For Harriet, who has so much wonderful learning in front of her and so many wonderful people with whom to share it.

Contributors – In order of appearance

Aaron S. – The First Crusade

Cameron S. - What is a Bomber?

Camilla F. – The Early Life of a Koala

Charlotte C. – Meerkats

Cole T. – Norwegian Eating

Daniel V. – Squirrels

Eden G. – Mountain Gorillas

Gus B. – Two Great Soccer Players

Jade B. – How Dogs Communicate

James S. – The Battle of Gettysburg

Jan C. – Making Chocolate in a Factory

Joanna H. – Toy Dogs

Kiki S. – What Orangutans Eat

Lexi K. – Primates vs. Humans

Lia S. – Beagles vs. Coonhounds

Lily S. – History of Dogs

Maddie S. – Modern Dance

Mia V. – How to Train a Cat

Michael Y. – Baseball

Morgan M. – Black Cats

Natalie M. – Monkeys and Apes

Paavo H. - All about Galaxies

Petra P. – Arabian Horses

Sam H. - Electricity

Stella P. – Dogs

Sobia H. – Grooming Your Cat

Zack W. – From Squire to Knight

The First Crusade By Aaron S.

“Attack!” cried the knight commander and the

crusaders charged the oncoming Turks. If you’ve

never read about the first crusade than you

probably have no idea what this article is talking

about. Allow me to explain. It all started in 1096

when Pope Urban the 2nd learned that the Seljuk

Turks had taken over the Holy Land a.k.a.

Jerusalem. He decided to send out a crusade of

knights to reclaim it. It used to be that Christians

could visit Jerusalem but the Seljuk Turks refused

them that right. And so the crusade began.

There were in fact two crusades. The crusade

made up of knights and a crusade of peasants who

had taken it upon themselves to free the Holy Land

from the Turks. The knights took almost a year to

prepare all their stuff. The peasants were ready

almost immediately. Led by Peter the Hermit, the

Peasants crusade set off towards the Holy Land.

Those peasants weren’t the good guys you’d think

they were. For that matter neither were the knights.

The peasants attacked Jewish people along the

way and near the end of the crusade the knights

had a massacre, but more about that later. In the

summer of 1096 the peasants got to the city of

Constantinople. The emperor of Constantinople

was worried, unsurprisingly, when a bunch of loud

peasants came into his hall and demanded

passage. So he quickly had them ferried across the

Straits of Bosphorus into what is now Turkey (the

country, not the food.)

Now we get to something exciting. After traveling

across the Straits they went through the mountains.

While they were walking through a pass they were

AMBUSHED by a group of Turks and they were

nearly wiped out! Peter the Hermit and a few others

survived to tell the tale of how they were defeated

by the mighty Seljuk Turks.

A year after the Pope announced the start of the

crusade the knights set out, taking almost the exact

same route as the peasants. In Constantinople the

emperor had the Generals swear their loyalty to

him and ferried them across the Straits. They too

were ambushed but fought off the Turks and

continued on their way. After that they found and

captured the ancient city of Antioch. But the crazy

thing is the army of Turks laid a siege of Antioch

while the knights were still there! The knights were

terrified and thought they would die. That was when

a humble member of the crusade stepped forward.

The night before, he had a dream that the Holy

Lance was in Antioch. Half the crusaders searched

and they did find a lance. They believed that this

was in fact the Holy Lance. Empowered by their

discovery they decided to attack the Turks the very

next day.

The next day the crusaders won a huge victory.

They not only beat the Turks, they demolished

them. The Turkish army scattered and the

crusaders were not bothered by them again. They

finally made it to Jerusalem in 1099. I know it took

them a very long time, but they got there in the end.

Well I guess I wasn’t telling the truth. The Turks

poisoned all the water around Jerusalem. The

crusaders were not deterred by this act. They

continued anyway. The crusaders spent three days

marching around Jerusalem purifying themselves

before attacking. Then after another three days

they made it into the city. They then went on that

massacre I told you about earlier. They killed

almost everyone! It was really gruesome. The Pope

who had sent them died before the news reached

him that they had captured Jerusalem. His

successor made sure that Jerusalem stayed in

Christian hands.

I’m sure you know what happens after that. You

don’t! Well this is what happened. The crusaders

took over and Jerusalem was divided into four

principalities and each was ruled by a knight or

lord. After that two groups of knights formed. They

were called the Knights Templar and the

Hospitalles. The Templar made sure everyone was

safe and the Hospitalles cared for everyone who

was sick or homeless. In other words they thrived

there.

What is a Bomber? By Cameron S.

A bomber is a military plane. It flies high and at a

speed of 600-1,600 mph. A bomber can fly for over

12 hours in the air. .A bomber also carries troops.

HOW DOES A BOMBER WORK?

A bomber uses 4 jet engines to fly. A bomber uses

satellites and

computers to

help them fly.

They also can

refuel in mid-air.

It drops its

bombs when the bomb bay doors open.

THE HISTORY OF BOMBERS.

The first bomb was dropped in 1911.The pilots

used to drop the bombs from a open cockpit. They

used to be detectable by enemy radar. Now they

are mostly detectable by radar.

This is a plane that is

undetectable by radar. This

is a stealth fighter.

The Early Life of a Koala by Camilla F.

The baby koala is born! He is only two centimeters

long, about the size of a jellybean. She is a

marsupial*. Marsupials are mammals with pouches

they carry their joeys around in. Joeys are baby

marsupials. The joey only has two senses - smell

and touch. The joey stays in her mother’s pouch

keeping warm and drinking her mother’s milk for

about 6-8 months. He also eats something called

pap. Pap is a specialized form of his mother’s

droppings

which is soft

and runny.

Joeys eat

pap because

it develops

their

digestive

system so

the poison

from eucalyptus leaves won’t affect them. The joey

will start eating pap when it is about 4 months old.

Once the months have passed and the joey has

outgrown his pouch he rides on his mother’s back

(piggyback style) until he’s about a year old. When

her digestive system has developed she can start

to eat leaves. Koalas mainly eat eucalyptus leaves

which are poisonous to anybody other than koalas.

They also eat other leaves. Koalas will eat and

sleep in trees.

The koala will end up living to about 10-17 years

old. Normally female koalas live longer than male

koalas because of injuries from fights, dogs and

car accidents. Most people call them “Koala Bears”

but they are not bears,

they are marsupials. Most

people think that koalas are cute and cuddly but

they are actually fierce. They have sharp claws to

climb smooth trees and sharp teeth.

*marsupial:mar-soo-pe-ul

Meerkats

By Charlotte C.

Foxes, eagles, hawks, jackals and hyenas all hunt

meerkats. Meerkats blend into the ground, but

somehow their predators spot them. When a

predator doesn’t leave, the meerkats work together

to drive it away. The meerkats tightly clump

together and that’s called a mob. Each member of

the mob turns toward the predator. Next they stand

up tall and hold their tails up straight and stiff. They

puff up their hair and try to look big as possible.

The meerkats are clumped together so they look

like one big animal. After that the mob charges at

the predator and at the same time the meerkats

leap into the air. All of them then hiss and growl. If

the predator is still there they bite and scratch. One

meerkat can’t fight the predator. But working

together they can fight the predator off.

Norwegian Eating By Cole Turner

Have you ever wondered how food in Norway is

gathered? Food in Norway is gathered in many

different ways. Farmers in Norway grow rye, wheat

and barley. These grains are used to make many

types of bread. Farmers raise sheep, goats, pigs and

dairy cattle

which

provide

mutton, lamb

and pork as

well as the

cheeses that

Norwegians

enjoy. One Norwegian cheese is geitost which is made

from goat’s milk. Another kind of cheese is gammelost,

a tangy brown cheese that is made from soured skim

milk.

Fruits and vegetables are also grown in Norway. This

is weird since one third of Norway is above the arctic

circle. But the warm gulf stream currents and mild

southwesterly winds keep the temperature in Norway

high. Norway is cool and damp during the growing

season. Vegetables that grow well in this climate are

potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, peas and rutabagas.

Very often potatoes are part of the Norwegian dinner,

especially when they are boiled. At least twelve

different kinds of potatoes grow in Norway. Many kinds

of berries thrive in Norway like strawberries,

blueberries, lingonberries and cloudberries.

SQUIRRELS By Daniel V.

There are over 300 kinds of squirrels. Three of

them are ground squirrels, tree squirrels and flying

squirrels. The ground squirrels dig burrows in the

ground and can

survive most types

of weather. Some

tree squirrels build

nests like birds.

Some get homes

in trees. Even in the winter they still come down for

food. These two squirrels are most active during

the day.

Flying

squirrels

don’t

really fly.

They

have flaps of skin so they can glide across the sky.

The southern flying squirrels live usually live in

hollow trees. This squirrel is more active at night

time.

All squirrels

have strong

legs and

can leap

from tree

limb to tree

limb. They

also have teeth called incisors that are strong and

can crack a nut. Their whiskers can tell whether or

not the squirrel can fit. A squirrel has a memory

span for 20 minutes. That’s a lot of cool facts about

squirrels. Thank you for reading. What starts with "t" ends with "t" and is filled with "t"?

A teapot.

The Ways of Mountain Gorillas By Eden G.

While there are three different kinds of gorillas: the

western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla

and the mountain gorilla, I find the mountain gorilla

most fascinating. The mountain gorilla has thicker

and longer fur than all the other kinds of gorillas.

They have longer and thicker fur because they live

in cooler temperatures than other gorillas.

Males weigh twice as much as females just like a

western lowland gorilla. Most adult male mountain

gorillas are called silverbacks because when they

get older their fur on their backs begins to have a

silver stripe down the center. Gorillas live in groups

however male gorillas leave the group at age

eleven . In each group there is always at least one

dominant silverback. The silverback decides what

the group eats and where.

When the mountain gorilla is most active is

between the hours of 6am and 6pm. They live in

altitudes ranging from 7,200-14,100 feet. The

mountain gorilla eats leaves, shoots and stems

from plants, bark, roots and flowers. The mountain

gorilla is very social and they keep long term

bonds. Gorillas are such fascinating creatures

because sometimes they can remind us about

ourselves and the more we learn about them the

more we learn about ourselves.

Two Great Soccer Players By Gus B.

Have you ever

wondered who

the two best

soccer players in

the world are?

Well, I’m not

going to just tell you who they are and why, but I’ll

also tell you about the leagues they play in. So get

ready to read some serious information. The two

best soccer players in the world right now are

Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi is the best player in the world.

Although he is only five-

foot-seven, he is the

best dribbler by far and

his shot is so good that

not even Ronaldo’s (see

below) shot is better.

Messi was born in

Rosario, Argentina.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the second best soccer player

in the world and was born in Santo Antonio,

Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo is the second best

player in the world because of his amazing head

balling ability, his great passing skills, and his

lightning speed.

Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messie play in

Eastern Mountain Gorilla in rainforest of Uganda

Picture from Royalty Free Stock Photos

Spain's best league, La Liga, meaning The

League.

Ronaldo used to play in the English Premier

League (the EPL). The EPL is the most popular

League in the world.

How Dogs Communicate

By Jade B.

Dogs communicate in three different ways, by

sound, scent and body and facial expression. These

are some ways to know how your dog is feeling.

When a dog is nervous he has his tail between his

legs, he holds his head low, his body will be

shaking, and he will in a defensive posture. When a

dog is excited/happy he will hold his head high,

have perky ears, wag his tail high and bark. When

a dog is bored/sleepy he will lay around, have eyes

half opened, sigh and yawn.

When a dog wants to play, he will play bow, which

is when the front is down and the back is raised.

He will bark, and his tail will wag. Depending on

the size of the breed some dogs will bark very

deeply, like a St Bernard, while smaller dogs like a

Fox Terrier will bark with a much higher tone. When

a dog is aggressive his back raises, his ears are

pinned down, his tail wags low and he has an

offensive posture. He will have his lip curled and

teeth showing, and he will be snarling or growling.

When a dog wants something he stares at you,

paws at you,holds his ears up, and wags his tail

high. When a dog shows love he will lick you,

cuddle with you and lay on you. These are all

importantthis to know about how your dog

communicates.

The Battle of Gettysburg:

By James S.

Gettysburg was one of the main battles of the civil

war. One of the Confederate generals, Robert E.

Lee, marched with 75,000 troops to Gettysburg. At

first there was a small Union army until thousands

of Union army

reinforcements

arrived. One of

the Union

generals, General

Meade, came

with 88,000

troops. The Confederate were out-numbered in

Gettysburg. Lee ordered his men to attack the

middle of the Union battle line. Some of the

Confederates were killed and captured. The rest of

the Confederates retreated to the south. The battle

was 4 full days long. The Confederates messed

with the wrong Union army.

That retreat

was on the

Fourth of July,

1863.

Making Chocolate in a Factory By Jan C.

It took about four days for the Van Leer Chocolate

factory to make chocolate from a bag of cacao

beans. The cacao beans arrived from all over the

world - - all over the tropical region of the world

that is. Beans from Ghana may be mixed with

beans from Mexico, Brazil, Hawaii, Malaysia and

the Philippines to make a smooth, flavorful

chocolate. When the cacao beans arrived in their

burlap sacks weighing 200 pounds, they were

either forklifted right to the storage pallets in the

large cool warehouse or they were opened and

dumped into a rotating roasting oven for several

hours.

When the beans are roasted, they are deposited

onto a moving conveyor belt situated on top of a

powerful fan so their papery shells can be blown

off and caught in empty burlap sacks. Next, the

beans, now called nibs, traveled to a large grinding

machine which turns the cocoa beans into a thick

paste that looks a lot like peanut butter. This paste,

called cocoa mass or chocolate liquor, is quite oily

because the beans are rich with cocoa butter.

Some of the chocolate liquor heads to a huge

press. The press squeezes the paste so hard that

all the cocoa butter drips out and all that’s left

between the large round presses is a cake of cocoa powder. The company sells some of the

cocoa powder to bakers and hot chocolate makers

and some of the cocoa butter to skin care

companies, but the rest gets used to make their

delicious chocolate.

Workers add sugar and some flavorings such as

vanilla to chocolate liquor to make dark chocolate.

They add dried milk powder and more sugar and

vanilla if they are making milk chocolate. At this

point, the ingredients are all mixed together

according to recipes worked out in a laboratory,

and the first day is drawing to a close.

On the second day, the chocolate liquor, sugar and

other ingredients must be “refined”, mixed and

ground for about a half a day until the size of the

particles is so tiny that the chocolate will be creamy

and smooth. Then it’s time for a long blending

process called conching. Cheaper chocolates are

only conched for a few hours, but fine chocolate

spends at least 24 hours being conched.

During the

afternoon of

the fourth

day, the

chocolate is

sent

through

pipes to a large tempering kettle. The chocolate

must be handled at just the right temperatures so

that when it is poured into ten pound molds, it will

be as brown and shiny as we expect delicious

chocolate to be. Finally, the 89 degree chocolate is

deposited into molds and sent into a very cold

refrigerated room for about an hour. Conveyor

belts bring the bars to workers at the final station of

the assembly line. Workers at this station lift each

bar, place it in a clean plastic bag and place the

bar into a box. Five bars in a box means it’s time

for another worker to tape the box shut: green tape

for dark chocolate and yellow tape for milk

chocolate. These boxes travel by forklift truck to

cool storage warehouses until someone orders Bichon Frise Puppy

them.

I grew up learning and playing around Van Leer

Chocolate Corporation. It is closed now, and all the

employees have gone to work for other

businesses. I have fond memories of the smells,

the sounds and the signs posted to remind people

how to be safe. I loved climbing the greasy ladders

to peer into the giant tanks where the chocolate

was blended. I loved helping pack the ten pound

bars. But what made me feel special was that I

could say to people whose parents worked in

offices doing who knew what, “My daddy works in

a chocolate factory!”

Where are toy dogs from? By Joanna H.

All of the toy dogs are from around the world.

Italian greyhounds are from Italy. Mexican hairless

are from China. Papillons are from France. English

toy spaniels are from England. They are also

called King Charles spaniels. Chihuahuas are from

Mexico. Maltese are from Malta in the

Mediterranean sea. Pekingese are from China.

Pugs are from Europe. Affenpinschers are from

Germany. Bichon Frises are from the

Mediterranean Sea area. Bolognese are from Italy.

Chinese crested

dogs are from

China. English toy

terriers are from

England. Japanese

chin dogs are from

Japan. Lowchens

are from Europe. Pomeranians are from Germany

and last but not least the Yorkshire terrier is from

Yorkshire.

What Orangutans Eat By Kiki S.

As the seasons change orangutans can remember

where the trees are that might have ripe fruit so

they go to those trees more often than others.

Orangutans have

a very big

appetite and

sometimes they

will spend the

whole day

looking for food,

and eating. They

eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, bark, flowers, eggs,

and insects. They have very sharp teeth in the

front of their mouths for tearing and cutting food. In

the back of their mouths they have molars for

chewing food.

Primates vs. Humans By: Lexi K.

Have you ever wondered if primates are like us?

It's hard to think about, isn’t it? I mean an animal

and a human...alike? Well the truth is some way

they are, but in some ways they aren’t. Human

behavior starts in the brain and in our nervous

systems. The more complicated an animal’s brain

is the more

complicated

their

behavior will

be. Primates

are right

below us on

the food

chain and their life is complicated. So that means

primates (monkeys and apes) are a lot like humans

actually. All their senses are the same as ours. In

fact chimpanzees, monkeys, and apes are the only

animals that even approach our human abilities.

Chimpanzees actually make their own

tools and are very, very smart. Only primates come

up to our level and probably will be alive after us

when we get extinct. Yet if you think about it most

animals are very, very different. They hunt and we

buy, they fight others off as we invite most others

in, and they don't use toilets...!

Animals’ brains and bodies work much differently

than the way ours work. We are different in many

ways and also we’re highest on the food chain.

With chimpanzees being right below us they are

like brothers or sisters, except a little different. In

fact all primates

are like our

brothers or

sisters! But

compared to

animals like

jellyfish we are

much more

advanced. Considering that they have no brains!

So Humans are very much different than animals,

most of the time.

Beagles vs. Coonhounds By Lia S.

Do beagles and coonhounds have anything in

common? If you know what beagles or

coonhounds are, then good for you, but If you

don’t, then they’re dog breeds.

Beagles are small. They have floppy ears and a

loud bark. They are

solid, sturdy and very

gentle. There are two

types of beagles. One

of them is under 13

inches and the other is

higher with a maximum of 15 inches. They are

usually black, tan, and white. They were used for

scent hunting in the time of ancient Greeks. They

love being around people and other dogs. Beagles

are clever, quick, and curious.

Coonhounds are medium sized dogs. They are a

little like the bloodhound. Coonhounds love people

and being around them. They are working hounds,

and are capable of fighting through harsh winters

and hot summers. They are

very friendly, but very alert.

They have floppy ears and

long legs. Male coonhounds

can grow up to 27 inches and

females can grow to 25

inches. Coonhounds are very

loving, but they are serious when it comes to

hunting. If they chase a raccoon up to a tree and

they bark at it, it’s called

barking up.

Beagles do have a lot in

common with coonhounds,

like their floppy ears and

loving their family.

The author’s coonhound

How does a hedgehog play leap-frog? Very carefully! What happened to the cat that swallowed a ball of wool? She had mittens! What do you call a gorilla wearing ear-muffs? Anything you like! He can’t hear you!

Modern Dance By Maddie S.

Some choreographers wanted to make a dance

that expressed a lot of feeling and that’s how

modern dance came to be. A couple of

choreographers wanted to expand on ballet. Ballet

is limited and often doesn’t use the dancer’s back

to create movement. Ballet usually tells a story

through the dance and they walk on their toes,

unlike modern dance. Modern dance started a

hundred years ago. It is not as recently made as

hip-hop is but it’s always developing and people

keep on adding new things to it.

In the olden days ballet was very popular but after

a while a choreographer named Nijinsky created

something totally different off of the traditional

ballet. The dance was called The Rite Of Spring.

This dance was not appreciated among most

people when it was first performed in 1913 at

Paris. The Rite Of Spring was a fierce dance. It

was about a little girl who was being sacrificed to

the god of spring. There was an uproar! Some

people found it awful and some found it beautiful.

Loie Fuller was also a great dancer who also tried

something new. Ruth St. Denis and Isadora

Duncan both watched Loie Fuller perform in 1901.

They both became well known modern dancers.

Isadora Duncan did barefoot dancing and showed

freedom through her movements. She was

admired by a lot of younger dancers.

Other dancers and choreographers started doing

modern dance and opening up companies to teach

people how to do modern dance like Alvin Ailey,

Martha Graham, Katherine Dunham, Merce

Cunningham.....etc. Modern dance is now very

popular!

HOW TO TRAIN A CAT By Mia V.

Training cats is fun and a great way to spend some

quality time with your companion. Here’s how to

train your cat to sit, lie down, wave, give a high five

and sit up. But unlike dogs who do tricks to try to

please you, cats only do a trick if they get

something out of it, so make sure you have lots of

his favorite treats. With dogs, you need to do the

trick many times before the dog gets it. With cats,

you only need to do it a few times. This is because

cats have a part of their brain that when they do

something and they get a reward, they almost

instantly know that if they do it they will get a

reward.

If you want to train your cat it’s important that he

masters sit before you try to teach him any other

tricks. First, put him on a table. Have his favorite

treats in your hand. Make sure he’s focused on you

and the treats. Gently push down on his lower back

with one hand, and hold a treat an inch or two

above his head, say “Sit.” Then when he sits, say

“Good sit,” and immediately give him a treat. Do

this a few more times, then try without pressing his

lower back. Remember to reward him. Soon you

SIT

should be able to get your kitty to do sit any time,

even without a treat, but it’s still better to give him a

treat most of the time.

Lie down is a very

fun trick, but it’s a

little tricky to

teach. Have your

cat sit, take his

favorite treat and

put it in front of

him. Remember, not so close that he can’t get to it

but not so far that he needs to get up to get it,

about 4-6 inches away should be good. Then say,

“Lie down.” When he lies down give him the treat

and say, “Good lie down.” Practice a few more

times and your cat should get it.

LIE DOWN

The wave trick is very fun and pretty easy. Have

your cat sit, then hold a treat at eye level to your

cat. Say, “Wave,” and when he puts his paw up

give him the treat and say “Good wave.” He’ll get it

in about three tries. Then you can do it without a

treat, but you should still use treats or he won’t

want to do the trick anymore.

WAVE

First, have your cat sit. Hold a treat a little higher

than eye level to your cat, say “High five.” When he

paws your hand say “Good high five,” and give him

the treat.

HIGH FIVE

Have your cat sit. Then hold the treat above his

head about 3 or 4 inches. Say “Up.” When he puts

his two paws up, say “Good up,” and give him the

treat.

SIT UP

Baseball By Michael Y.

The old days The first official game of baseball was played in

1845. Baseball has grown to be more high-tech. In

the old days, the bases were just paths in the park.

Alexander Cartwright created the 90 foot base

paths. In the 1900’s, baseball uniforms had collars.

Also, their pants were more like shorts. For the

catcher, the mitt to catch the ball was like a pillow

covered in leather. The catcher’s masks were

covered in iron cast so they wouldn’t get hit by a ball

in the face. The old masks also didn’t cover their

throats. They didn’t wear helmets at that time, they

wore caps. Their baseball cleats only covered the

front and back of the bottom of their shoes. The

cleats were made of metal.

The modern days Now, baseball uniforms don’t have collars. The

cleats now cover the whole bottom of the shoes and

the pants are longer. A usual baseball field is 300+

feet long. A mound is 18 inches above the regular

baseball field.

Baseball teams In baseball, there are two teams of nine people

competing to win the game. There are also pinch

runners or hitters. That means some person is filling

in for the person who is getting substituted. This rule

has not changed ever in baseball.

End of season extras At the end of a baseball season, there are awards

given out. The Cy Young award goes to the best

pitcher in the National League and American League.

Cy Young was the greatest pitcher in baseball

history. The gold glove award goes to very good

defensive players. Lots of the gold glove awards are

given out. That is the history of baseball.

Black Cats By Morgan M.

Have you ever thought about why black cats are

thought to be bad luck? Well if you have keep

reading. Black cats are thought to be bad luck for

many superstitious reasons. One is that witches

could supposedly turn into black cats at night.

Another is that they were thought to be witches

pets. At some point Jews and Babylonians thought

that black cats could be related to serpents

because of their love of sitting near a fire. Once,

the French accused witches of worshiping the devil

in the form of a black cat.

The more realistic reason is that black cats have

reflective yellow eyes and at night their eyes have

the illusion of glowing. This is mainly a superstition

as said above but a few are based on history. Like

this one in 1969, there was a big baseball game

Mets vs. Cubs. Somehow a black cat came into

Shea stadium and circled the Cubs and then

disappeared. This event was followed by the Cubs’

defeat. Was this because of the black cat or were

the Cubs just really bad players?? We may never

know.

Monkeys and Apes By Natalie M.

When you went to the zoo did you see the monkey

enclosure? Apes are the closest relatives to

humans because they don’t have tails, and

monkey do. Some monkeys live in the trees, others

live on the

ground. The

monkeys that

live on the

ground need

extra protection

by people

because they are very weak against pray. Ground

monkeys travel in large groups.

There are almost 150 different kinds of monkeys.

They live in Africa, Asia and South America. South

America has the biggest number of threatened

monkeys. Some monkeys are endangered

because we are not protecting them from eagles,

big snakes, such as pythons and boa constrictors,

crocodiles, caimans sometimes even apes eat

small monkeys. Don’t just sit here reading this

article, do something!

THAT WAS YOUR DAILY REPORT ON MONKEYS.

The Japanese Macaque Monkey Macaques live in all parts of Japan, from the warm south to the arctic north. Infant macaques cling to their mother’s abdomen until they’re about a month old. Then they learn to

balance on her back. Young macaques roll snowballs – just for fun! Macaques learn by imitation. Sound familiar?

All about Galaxies By Paavo Hegley

Galaxies are big clusters of stars, planets and solar

systems. If you want to find galaxies with your own

eyes, it has to be dark! You want to have a

sweater, a red light, a telescope and you don’t

want to be near any lights (house and city). Then

you want to look up at the stars and enjoy yourself!

You want to look at whatever you want in the night

sky. If you see a bright light in the sky you have

found a galaxy! There are many other ways to find

galaxies. Scientist use telescopes sometimes.

Sometimes the galaxies give off radio signals so

scientists X-RAY the galaxies. Even though our

galaxy is spiral doesn’t mean that all galaxies are

spiral, some are ball shaped. Our galaxy is one of

the smallest we know. Andromeda is our

neighboring galaxy. Andromeda is the biggest

galaxy known to man.

One day (in about a million years) the Milky Way

and Andromeda will collide and make “Milkamida.”

There are also clusters of galaxies. The Milky Way

and Andromeda are a part of one big cluster. Who

knows what’s going to happen when Andromeda

going to smash into us, will we die or not die?

That’s a question that no one could answer.

Here is a picture of colliding galaxies:

Arabian Horses By Petra P.

Arabian horses are one of the oldest kinds of

horses. They have a very narrow nose and their

faces have a good bone structure. They’re very

strong. They are often a pretty big horse, usually

around 61 inches tall. They’re very friendly horses

and known to be gentle and kind. They are very

good with kids. They have black skin, but black is

not a very common color for their hair. It’s more

common to see bay and chestnut colored

Arabians. Their legs are very strong and muscular.

They are loyal and they follow people well. Many

people have liked to work with Arabians for

thousands of years.

ELECTRICITY

By Sam H.

What do you call excited electrons? That’s right,

electricity. There are different kinds of electricity.

Static electricity, when electrons are being

pulled from one surface to another one. This

happens when you take off a sweater or

sometimes when you rub your sock on a

carpet. There is also a type of electricity

called an electrical current, which is when

there is a flow of electrons in a conductor. A

another type of electricity is an electrical

circuit. That’s when there is an energy source,

energy pathway and energy receiver. The source

will send energy which will travel through the

pathway to the receiver, like a battery giving

energy to a lamp through a wire. Like how there is

electricity in a wall socket the socket carries

electricity. There are many more examples of

electricity, but those are the main types of

electricity.

NOTE: When electricity flows in an object a magnetic field is created around the object.

GLOSSARY Conductor.................A solid with a path inside it. Like a tube. Energy Source..............An object that holds energy inside it. Energy Pathway............Takes energy and sends it to something else. Energy Receiver.................Receives energy from an energy source. Circuit........................A bunch of conductors together making a closed path which can hold electricity inside of it. Electron..............A stable kind of particle that has a charge of negative power, found in all atoms, which is the main particle for carrying electricity in solids.

Dogs By Stella P.

Have you ever wondered how a wolf evolved to a

dog? Well it’s simple! But let’s start from 4,000

years ago. Before we start, remember this: wolves

look just like dogs, except wolves are not tamed.

They were not pets. They were always in the woods

hunting for animals to eat until one day people

started to take in wolves to make them help them

with hunting and pulling things. After a while people

started to think what a good pet wolves could be.

So, people tamed the wolves and gave them some

of their own food. Eventually the wolves started to

change because of being in a different habitat. They

were fed differently and they were tamed. Also the

people who tamed wolves started to breed them so

they could make them stronger, better hunters or

good with kids. So that’s how they started to evolve.

Hey! Don’t just think, “Dogs just became dogs. The

end.” Nope! Dogs still use the same emotions as

wolves, but maybe more, proper. So if you have a

dog try to see how he or she acts like a wolf. Then

see how your dog acts independently. Some

examples of wolf-like behavior: someone that

neither your dog nor you knows crosses your path,

your dog will start to bark. If a dog is scared or

sorry it will put its tail between its legs or it will turn

on its back and show its stomach. If a dog sees an

animal like a squirrel it will try to chase after it. But

when a dog acts independently, most of them

won’t howl at the moon, most domesticated dogs

don’t like to stay on high places (wolves always like

to be on high places like a plateau or an

outcropping) and last, dogs don’t fight to be a

leader of a human pack. Most dogs these days are

not in packs or colonies.

It’s a Dog’s Life! During the Middle Ages, Great Danes and Mastiffs were sometimes suited with armor and spiked collars to enter a battle or to defend supply caravans

Grooming Cats

By Sobia H. Meow! Meow! I’m feeling dirty! Cats should

always be groomed but, do you know how to

groom them? Well, if you don’t, then here is how. You will need a brush, a comb, a pair cat clippers

and a toothbrush. First, to make sure your kitten is

calm and used to being groomed, stroke it gently.

Next, take your comb and comb your cat. By doing

this you’re getting the knots and the tangles out in

their hair. Once you’ve done that, brush your cat so

that you can get all the dead hair out of the

way.After that, take your pair of cat clippers and

stroke your cat with the clippers making sure it

doesn’t hurt. Then, gently squeeze your cat’s paw

and cut the nails.

Later, take the toothbrush and wash out all the

messy stuff. When that’s done open your cat’s

mouth and make sure

that its mouth is clean

and there are no

broken teeth. Lastly,

put some cat

toothpaste on your

toothbrush and rub it

on your cat’s mouth. Soon it will open it’s mouth

and you can brush its teeth. Well, that wasn’t so

hard, was it?

Did you know? • A litter of kittens is called a kindle, and a group

of cats is called a clowder. • A cat's IQ is only surpassed by that of monkeys

and chimps in the world of animals. • Cats are the only animals that purr. They can

purr at around 26 cycles per second, which is the same frequency as an idling diesel engine.

From Squire to Knight By Zack W.

Squires trained for years before they became

knights. When rich boys reached the age of seven

they could be a page and go to a school where

they would study maps and learn to read and write.

After school, when they were about 12 or 13 years

old, the page was apprenticed to a knight and was

called a squire. He would learn how to dress the

knight. Then the squire would learn how to use a

sword and a lance. He used a wooden sword with

a heavy rock attached to the hilt so he could get

used to the weight. He and his knight dueled

together when they weren’t in battle.

The squire also got training from actual battles.

When a squire was thought to have learned the

right skills he would kneel before his king to be

knighted. The king would touch each shoulder with

his sword. Or, in rare cases, he was dubbed by the

knight he served after a brave feat on the

battlefield.

This is a knight charging into battle on his horse.