Squirm Book Making

This year my classmates and I read Squirm by Carl Hiassen. I thought it was really good and engaging, almost after every time we read we would get off into groups. That was my favorite part. I love discussing interesting stuff with my peers. The book was about this kid named Billy who went on adventures with his friends and family. After reading Squirm, a professional artist came in to help us design beautiful and abstract pictures with paper. The artist’s name was Peg Gignoux. Peg was really encouraging and nice. I was making a habitat for my endangered animal the Orangutan. If you don’t already know an Orangutan is one of the most endangered animals.

It was really fun working with Peg, especially for me because I really like art. My book was truly amazing. You can go check it out in the lower Gateway building; it has an Orangutan, pink trees, and a cool background. My story is called Oscar the Orangutan.

Here’s a sneak peek at my story. Read the rest in Gateway.

I’m walking through the Asian rain forest as I feel the pleasant, humid air hit my big fur body. It feels so good to be alive. I see my family around me, then humans approach me, and I know I might be in trouble as they come even closer. I grab my children and start running as fast as I can. These humans are trying to capture my family and take them away to a place called the Zoo. They chased us a lot. They caught my sister last time. It was a very sad day for my family and me.

I’m walking back to our shelter when I see some Durian. If you don’t already know what Durian is, it’s the best food in the world. As I take a big savory bite, I taste the sweet crisp goodness inside. We finally make it back to our shelter, and we’re safe once again. As I enter our cozy, warm shelter made out of sticks and rocks, it is time to go to sleep. We were so close to being caught, we don’t want to lose another family member.

Field Trip to Life and Science.

My classmates and I went to the wonderful Museum of Life and Science on Tuesday. The bus ride there was really bumpy and fun, on the way there I sat next to Oliver. When we got to Life and Science, it was surprisingly really crowded for a Tuesday morning, so many people were there, besides our school. Life and Science is huge, so our advisory was having a hard time deciding which activity to do first.

Then we saw a bunch of other people at an exhibit called Hideaway Woods. Hideaway Woods was a really big tree house built into the forest. Most of the grade played tag in Hideaway Woods for the first 20-30 minutes. It was really fun because I was it and it was fun to tag people.

After that we went to this exhibit called Into the Mist it was a really fun exhibit where you got to run around hills filled with mist, we did get kind of wet but it was a blast. Right next to Into the Mist were some of the animal exhibits, we saw Geese, Wolfs, Bears, Turtles, and many types of birds. My favorite animal we saw was the Bears because they came right next to us, so we could get a good look at how fascinating they are.

After lunch, we went to this Biology room where a Life and Science employee introduced us to three really cool animals: a ferret, a Snake, and a Turtle. We got to feel all the animals. The fur was really stinky, and the snake had a really interesting feel and texture to his skin. And the turtle’s shell was very rigid and hard.

Finally, we went to the Butterflies and small insects center, where we saw beautiful butterflies, and scary insects. My friend Yaya got to hold a tarantula. Spiders just give me the creeps, though, so I didn’t touch it.

That was our trip to Life and Science. I would definitely recommend it to people who like  Science and physics.

Hideaway Woods

Photo by me

2026 Nike Kobe 5 Rookie of The Year

What’s up, Sneakerheads? Did you know that the brand new Nike Kobe 5 Protro is the “Rookie of the Year” PE’s just came out on the official Nike app, at a retail price of 190 dollars. This shoe in the sleek red, and metallic silver, will make you look good on and off the court. These comfortable and stylish sneakers are for any Sneakerhead or Hooper. This shoe is one of Caitlin Clark’s signature shoes. Caitlin Clark is coming back from injury this year and will for sure be wearing these. You can get them right now. If you want to look like the WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark these are the shoes for you.

Hillside Park

My classmates and I went on a trip to Hillside Park, just outside of downtown Durham. The organization that we worked with was called Keep Durham Beautiful. When we got there some of the workers gave us a talk about why we were planting trees and some history about Hillside Park. I learned that Hillside Park was originally a high school, and was built in 1922. Funny enough, the Algonquin Club was built in 1922 too. I was in a group with Lukas and Ethan, and we planted a Red Bud tree. It was hard work at first but we persevered and made it through. After that we picked up trash in the woods, and found some weird stuff.

Photo by Me

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, by James Patterson

If you want to laugh your head off, then this is the book for you. In my opinion, this book is one of the top 5 books I’ve read. I like this book because there is action and humor on almost every page.

This book is basically about a middle school boy named Rafe who is trying to break a bunch of rules with his imaginary friend, Leo, without getting in trouble. Rafe just moved from his other school and has no friends whatsoever, just Leo, who isn’t real. If you want a thrill, this book is for you.