Keep Durham Beautiful’s mission is to “build environmentally just, resilient, and beautiful outdoor spaces in cooperation with Durham communities.” This Tuesday, Durham Academy’s sixth graders went to Ross Road to plant trees for an apartment complex that Keep Durham Beautiful is replenishing. They are replenishing this because in Durham, many apartments are too expensive for people who make a minimum wage, so they want to make one that is beautiful, affordable, and resilient.
DA has been working together to get the sixth graders to experience something amazing while giving back to the community. So, on March 5th, 2024, the sixth grade went to plant trees. Keep Durham Beautiful provided everything we needed to plant the trees which was amazing and this tells you how organized they are. When we first arrived at Ross Road they gave us instructions on how to plant the trees. Then, they put us to work! We each picked out a tree and then dug a hole to put the tree in. After that we had to put the trees in the holes and started putting all of the mud and clay into the hole to fill in the blanks. Finally, when we finished covering the hole we put mulch on top! I will be honest I did expect this experience to be kind of boring but I had tons of fun! Who knew that planting trees would be fun. So if you would like to experience Keep Durham Beautiful’s amazing work go to https://keepdurhambeautiful.org/
Do you know what a wisdom tale is? A wisdom tale can be any type of story but it has to have a moral. In the span of three months, we read twenty tales and we learned a lot about our world, different cultures, and new writing styles.
After we finished reading some of the tales, Ms. Donnelly told us we were going to make a comic for our favorite tale. So in early December, Brittain Peck helped us see how basic shapes can create long and detailed stories. For example, to make a person you just need a circle, four lines, and a triangle.
The next day we started to pick our tale we were going to illustrate. I decided to do the Talkative Turtle which originated in India. I chose this tale because I like its moral and I think it really is a great lesson for all ages especially teenagers. It’s so important for teenagers because so many people are so ignorant and talk so much. This tale really digs deep into how if your ignorant bad things can happen to you.
Once I picked my tale I started illustrating and figuring out how to say that long tale in a few sentences. To illustrate this I used sketchbook and then I put my sketches into Comic Life. Sketchbook helped a lot because you can use so many different tools and colors. One trick that I found that’s really helped is that you can add a photo in and then add another layer and draw an outline of the photo. After you do the outline you can delete the layer with the photo and finish coloring it in. Comic Life was also super helpful because you can plan your format and move all of the box’s around to create your vision. If you would like to use any of these apps click the links right here! ➡️ http://comiclife.com https://www.sketchbook.com/
Do you have an elf on the shelf? Well I do. My elf’s name is Purple and she loves messes. This year she’s been pretty good but after we get into the middle of the month she goes crazy. My favorite thing she has done is drawing on my mirror with toothpaste. Does your elf have a name? Well some of my friends’ elf’s names are so original like Twinkle Tina or Zimarey (who is a cowgirl!). So of course when I picked her name I chose my favorite color! My elf comes on the first of December and she starts the month off with a SHABANG! She also leaves some sort of surprise on Christmas and sometimes is good and sometimes it’s bad! Of course every day from the 1st to the 24th is fun though! That’s all for now Merry Christmas and remember there’s 11 days until Christmas!
Have you ever read Eleven Before Twelve by Lisa Greenwald? If you haven’t I recommend you go to your library or order it online right now! This book is about two girls Kalyan and Arianna who are just about to start middle school. A few days before they start school they make a list of things to do before the turn twelve. Oh wait, I forgot to tell you they turn twelve in November. Now this is a short period of time and lets just say this list is hard! After they get up and going on the list something happens and it makes this list 2x harder. If this book seems like your jam, I recommend ordering it right now!
(Image from unsplash!)
Do you celebrate Christmas? Well if you do the countdown has started! It’s now December and the season has officially started. I have been excited since November 24th trying to get my family excited and in the spirit. But because we just moved we don’t exactly have a place for all the decorations but now I’m ready! Every year I always look forward to putting up our tree, seeing my grandparents, going to all the fun events, baking fun treats, our elf showingup in crazy places, and many more! This year I’m especially excited because one of my uncles is coming for the first time with his family. Does your family have special traditions you have on Christmas morning? My family gets up early and we open presents and then we have tea ring and admire our presents! Comment down below if you have any other fun traditions for Christmas!
Mountain wind,
Enjoy, dream, peace, sweet, love
Thy Westminster Kings
Father Knighthood
Ninety
Marvelous, Young, Eager, Excited, Sweeter than anything,
True!
Kings fantastic,
Grandpa has done it!
(Image from Unsplash!)
I am a reader. I like to read because it is a great distraction from the stressful things in life. It is also an alternative to TV. Instead of spending hours watching shows or movies. I like to read. I know others read because of school but I love to read either way. For me the best feeling is when it is a cold winter day and I am curled up by the fireplace reading.
My favorite genres are usually romance, fiction, and comedy. I love reading other books too but, whenever I think about what genre book I should get I always think about those three. What types of books do you like to read? Nonfiction? Horror? Mystery?
Right now I am reading Always and Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han! This book is the third book in the series. When I tell you I love this book I mean it! I love reading books by Jenny Han because I always want to keep reading them. Also most of the books I have read by her have shows or movies about the book. These shows and movies help me dig deeper into the books and help me understand the book better. If you think you would be interested in this book keep in mind it is ages 12 and up and it can get a little inappropriate at times.
Do you have a favorite author? I love reading but I can never pick one. Right now Jenny Han, Kiera Cass, and Lauren Myracle are my favorites. I think the hardest thing about reading for me is picking the book. What I like to do is pick an author and try to read all the books that the author has written. Right now the author I am focusing on is Jenny Han!
I love reading but it can be hard at times. I think reading is a way of learning new things. I am interested in many different genres of books. Some books I just can’t connect to so I put them down. So if you have any good books you have read please tell me!
About three weeks ago I finished The Selection by Kiera Cass! This book is about a girl who is chosen with some other girls to spend a few years with the prince. These girls are fighting for the crown. In this book there are casts going from the richest(1) to poorest(8). Which is a big part of how you were selected. I really enjoyed this book because it was intense at times but it also made me want to keep reading. This book for me is definitely a window book because I can not relate to myself in any way. It doesn’t relate to me because I have never gone to a palace where I am fighting for the spot as the queen. Also in this book they have casts and in the world today there are no labels for are you poor or not in fact know one really knows the amount of money you have. I think that this book helped me realize that I like window books more than mirror books. This book makes me realize that I like reading more things that don’t relate to me. On some occasions though I don’t know that it is a mirror book and I end up liking the book! If you are looking for a new book to read I would definitely recommend The Selection!
