Michael L. 4W

Cronus

 

It is known that Cronus was a god called the Titans and Cronus is the titan of time. Cronus is one of the 12 children of Uranus and Gaia that were locked in their mother Gaia. Uranus heard of a prophecy that one of his children would one day defeat him and become the king of the heavens. Uranus was so scared that he locked all of his children away in their mother’s body. Cronus escaped from his mother’s body using an unbreakable sickle. Cronus defeated his father at night while his father was asleep and struck his father. Not a fatal blow but a blow to turn him into a shadow. His father was defeated and a daughter Aphrodite was born from the pieces of her father that fell into the sea.                                                                                                                 

Cronus the Father of the First Six Olympian gods and goddesses

            Cronus defeated his father and then fathered the first six Olympian gods and goddesses.  The Olympian gods and goddesses are: Poseidon, Hades, Zeus, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. Five of the six children got swallowed by Cronus. Only Zeus did not get swallowed because his mother Rhea hid him on the island of Crete and gave Cronus a stone wrapped in baby clothes to fool him into thinking it was Zeus.  Cronus swallowed the stone instead. Zeus became a young man with an excellent tan.  When Zeus grew he gave Cronus a drink that Cronus thought would make him stronger, instead it made him throw up his children and that stone.  Zeus and his siblings waged war on Cronus and the Titans.  The war lasted ten years until Gaia told Zeus that he could win the war if he freed his cousins and uncles from Tartarus – part of the underworld.  The Cyclops’ gave Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades each a magic weapon.  They gave Zeus his famous Master bolt (lightning bolt), Poseidon received a trident (three tipped spear) that can divide the seas.  Hades got a helm of invisibility which enabled him to walk among enemies unseen.  The crashing blow came when the Cyclops’ and Hundred Handed ones threw boulders among the Titans' ranks.  Cronus and the Titans were locked up in Tartarus.  Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades won so they split creation among them.  Zeus became god of the sky, thunder and lightning, and was made king of the Olympians.  Poseidon became god of the sea and earthquakes.  Hades became god of the underworld. 

Margot P. 4W

The Perfect Snow Day

Chapter 1

It was a perfect day for the best snowball fight ever in the history of the world. I put my hands in the air and ran out into the soft blanket of snow. “Weee!” I shouted as I threw myself into the cold, white snow. The first thing that my family (Except mom because she was too cold) did was get into a snowball fight. I threw a snowball at dad, who dodged the ball. He had a snowball ready in his hands and he saw his chance. He threw his snowball right at my face, while I, trying to throw a snowball at Ollie, didn’t see the icy ball that dad was holding the whole time. “Nice job, dad. But I’m going to clobber you!” I yelled at him. I saw another snowball he was holding out of the corner of my eye. I quickly mad a snowball and chucked it at the one dad was holding. It caught him in complete shock. “How did you see that coming, MJ?” my dad asked me as I quickly made another snowball and chucked it at Eliot, who was 5, and he started to whine loudly. “Oh, get over it Eliot!” I said as I was packing another snowball. Dad got me back. He hit me right in my arm. “Haha! Revenge!” he said, aiming for my butt this time.  “No way are you going to do that!” I yelled as I chucked a ball at him.

Chapter 2

Soon, it was time for sledding. This was the best time for sledding. “So, dad, I know that we have to do something before we get the sled. We have to make a path so it doesn’t go crazy!” I said to dad as he was about to get the sled. He went to get the sled, then made a path. I went first. “Weeee! Woah! Omigosh! This is so fun!” I yelled as I flew out of the path and landed face first. That was amazing! I thought. “Dad, I’m ready!” I yelled up the hill. A figure came and took the sled and me up the hill and back to the starting place of where I first took off. “You’re a hyperactive machine!” I said to Eliot. He was jumping up and down. Suddenly mom came out of the house to take pictures of us as we sled down and either fell off or the sled slid out from under us. “Say cheese!” mom said, snapping pictures of us as fast as she could. “Wee!” Eliot yelled as his sled down. Ollie went next. “Woah! Wee! Awesome!” he yelled as he went down into the big field with the Christmas trees.

Chapter 3

“Dad, why do we have Christmas trees when we don’t even celebrate Christmas?” I asked Dad as we went to get the sled and Ollie. “I was thinking that we could sell them and make lots of money!” he replied. Yeah right! I thought. We need more money?! Dad makes at least 1,000$ every day! He still wouldn’t get me an IPhone… When we finished sledding, Mom asked us if we wanted to go inside. “Nope!” chorused me, dad, Eliot, and Ollie. We went to get shovels to make some snow forts. “Ummmmm, these probably won’t hold up!” Eliot quavered. I think my brother worries too much.  Eliot was 4, but he should learn to put aside his fears. I never expected him to be so scared! Sometimes, I think my brother is trying to trick us. “So, what are we going to do next?” Ollie asked excitedly as we tromped up the hill and put away the shovels. “There’s not much left to do, kiddo.” Dad replied sadly. I chucked another snowball at him. “Think again!” I replied to dads comment. (That was really not true!) I believe that the rest of the time, he was happy I suggested that we could do a rematch snowball fight because I think I won the last match that we had. We played in the white snow like two little puppies in a wrestling match. “This is so fun! I’ve never had this fun in my life!” Eliot cheered as he threw an icy ball at dad.

Chapter 4

Of course, since he was only 4, his throw went up into the sky and fell down on his head. Eliot fell down into the snow. He was barely visible, since the snow was about 5 feet, and he was 3. We continued to play as happily as a cute little bear cubs. I loved the snow. It was like an angel that was transformed into the white snow. I think the snow was like the color of the snow and it felt like the dress was covering the whole universe, signing no trace of its hands, feet, head, and crown. I threw a snowball at the office, where, usually, we played on the computer. Mom was doing important work on the laws because she was a police commissioner. She shook her fist at us. She was typing stuff like “Don’t drink and drive, or you’ll die. It’s very important!” I think it’s boring.

Chapter 5

We were still playing when mom told us to come in. “But it’s only 1:00 p.m.!” I protested. We had gone out at 11:00 a.m. We have been out for 2 hours. Personally, I think that we should stay out until 9:00. “You’ve been out for two hours. Isn’t that enough?” Mom asked. “NO!” I said. She looked surprised.  “MARGOT! I WANT TO GO INSIDE NOW! I DON’T CARE IF YOU WANT TO STAY OUT IN THE COLD, BUT I’M GOING IN! YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO BE NICE! I WANT TO GO INSIDE, AND YOU NEED TO COME WITH ME! YOU’RE THE MEANEST KID IN THE WORLD! YOU’RE GOING TO FREEZE TO DEATH! YOU NEED TO COME INSIDE!” Eliot yelled. I looked surprised. Eliot never yells. NEVER. “El, calm down!” I mumbled. “NO! YOU KNOW WHAT? I’M GOING TO YELL FOR A LONG TIME UNTIL YOU GET INSIDE” he screamed. There is no (and I really mean NO) way he will calm down after she yelled for about a minute. “Eliot! Calm down now. I’ll go in, but stay calm!” Sadly, when I went in, mom told me that I would stay in here. I thought that was really unfair. Why? I thought as I was kept in the house, drinking hot cocoa.

Jalen J. 4W

Basketball.

 Introduction                                                                               

The crowd is screaming, number 2 races down the lane, he passes through the legs of a defender to number 5 who jumps up. Slam Dunk! “Score, the Nicks win!” shouts the announcer.  The stands erupt into cheers and shouts. The two teams line up to shake hands. Is that what you think when you hear “basketball”? Well, there is a lot more to basketball than you think. It wasn’t just a sport, it was also a solution to a problem.

What Is Basketball?

Basketball is a sport played by two teams. Every team is allowed to have five players on the court. The objective is to shoot a basketball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high mounted at a backboard at each end of the court. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports.

Who Invented It?

James Naismith invented basketball in early December 1891 at the Young Men’s Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.). Mr. Naismith was a Canadian physical education instructor who had bored students. To make them feel better Mr. Naismith hung two peach baskets on balconies on either side of the gym. The point was to through a soccer ball into the peach baskets. He made up some rules, threw a soccer ball in there and… Poof! Basketball was born!

Starting the Game.

To start the game two people from each team step into a circle on half-court. All the other players get close to the circle, but not in. A referee, a man who calls fouls, violations and determines what kind of shot shots are, holds a ball and at the tweet of a whistle, he throws the ball into the air. The two players jump up and try to tap the ball to their teammates.

Points.

The points you can earn in basketball depend on where you are on the court. There is a semi-circle at either end of the court, it is called the field goal line. When you shoot the basketball and you’re behind the field goal line you score 3 points for your team. That is also why the line is called a 3-point line. When you shoot in front of the 3-point line you  get 2 points for your team.

Passes.

There are three kinds of passes. A pass is a way to get the ball to your teammate quicker and without handing it to them. The first kind of pass is a bounce pass, it is the easiest. You have to bounce the ball on the ground three quarters of the way to your teammate. The second kind of pass is a chest pass. You hold the ball to your chest and flick it out, hard, to your teammates chest, but never pass to anyone when they are not looking. The third kind of pass is an overhead pass. You hold the ball over your head and throw it to a teammate, but this pass is easier to steel, so be careful.

Fouls.

When somebody makes too much physical contact with you they foul you. When you get fouled you get to shoot 1 or 2 foul shots that cost 1 point. When one team fouls your team seven times, your team is in the Bonus. When you get fouled you shoot one foul shot, if you make it you get to shoot another one, if you miss you don’t. That is called a 1 and 1. When somebody fouls you and you aren’t shooting or in the Bonus you get possession of the ball. If you’re not in the Bonus and someone fouls you while you are shooting you get to shoot a 1 and 1. If one team fouls your team ten times your team is in the Double Bonus. When you get fouled you get to shoot two foul shots no matter what (no 1 and 1 and no matter if you’re shooting or not.). When someone fouls you while you are shooting a 3-point shot and you miss it you get to shoot three foul shots. If you make any shot when you get fouled you get the points for that shot and you get to shoot one foul shot. That is called an And-one.

Violations.

The other team gets the ball if a person Travels, Double Dribbles, or Back-Courts. Those are called violations and are not allowed in the game. A Travel is when you move with the basketball without dribbling, a dribble is when you bounce the basketball lightly with your finger pads. To Double Dribble you need to dribble, pick up the basketball, and dribble again. This is a violation because when you pick up the basketball you need to shoot or pass to a teammate. To Back-Court you need to dribble up pass the half-court line and back over it again. The half-court line is a line evenly dividing the court into two parts.

Winning the Game.

To win your team must have the most points after a certain amount of time. If both teams are tied (have the same amount of points) additional time, called Over Time, will be added.

Conclusion

Well, basketball might not be the most popular sport, but it has a big history. Basketball is an invention that changed the world. It isn’t America's favorite sport (soccer is), but it sure is fantastic and fun!

 

Ava L. 4W

Can I Have a Salad Instead?

Mom puts nachos on the table

All crisp and baked nice

I can tell she used the meat with the spice

But I glance at the table and shake my head

Can I have a salad instead?