Japan's Sad Disaster Reminds Us: Is the Hillwood Community Ready for a Quake?

This morning an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan. It caused fires, whirlpools and tsunamis. You can watch a video on the left hand side of this page: New York Times.

When the next big earthquake hits in San Francisco, here are some ways you can keep safe.

• Doorways are safe, but it wold be better to get under a table or bed and hold on to bed or table leg with one hand and cover your head/neck with the other.
• To prepare you should always have a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit, flashlights, water and purification tablets and canned food. 
• Stay indoors if you are in there and duck and cover. 
• Do not go near fireplaces, windows and do not go into the kitchen. 
• If you're outside get away from buildings and power lines. 
• After earthquakes wear sturdy shoes. 
• Check for injuries and fire hazards, spills, objects that fell and food and water supplies. 
• Before the next earthquake happens, decide where to meet after a natural disaster. 
• Also, if you have pets have a list of friends and family you can send your animal to after a disaster, as they are not allowed in shelters.

This is a archived news clipping from the 1906 quake.

You can learn more about earthquake saftey from Prepare.org, and Earthquake.usgs.org.

Over the Rainbow at the Oscars

As Clara reported earlier this year, PS22 school kids from New York performed at the Oscars. Here is a vide clip from their performance at the Oscars.

Lindsey Z. Visits The Herald and Tells Us About the City's Society of Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy

What would you do with 100 dollars? One day Lindsey was having dinner with her friend Joslen, who suprised Lindsey by giving her 100 dollars. Her friend was very mysterious about the money and what Lindsey should do with it. Joslen asked her if she was free on March 6th, but couldn't tell Lindsey what they would do together on that day. Lindsey was skeptical, but she said that she was free.

Little did Lindsey know she would become part of San Francisco's Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy. Lindsey had to find the best way to give away the 100 dollar bill. The way the secret society works is that when someone has been given 100 dollars, the person with the 100 dollars has to give the money to someone else very soon.

Lindsey had a lot of options. At a taqueria Lindsey saw a band of sisters from the ages of 8 to 16 called the Sosa Sisters. When Lindsey learned that they had been part of the foster system and had been separate but eventually adopted by one parent, Lindsey wanted to give them the 100 dollars. But instead, she decided to give them her own money, and that's partly how the secret society works. When you begin to think about all the ways you can give, you want to give more. You also realize that even a little amount can help others.

Some other people in the secret society decided to give money in very creative ways: some have given admissions to museums to people, others have hid one dollar bills inside books and added a note about the society in it, some people bought ads on Google and wrote little "be happy" notes and little things like that.

Below is a video, shot by Faryn, with Lindsey and her parents in it.

This second video is the Sosa Sisters, two sets of twins and another sisters, singing the National Anthem at the Giants stadium. You can read more about their story here.

Photo by Jake of The Hillwood Herald

ROCKIN' CLAMSHELL — OH YA

At first I tried to put a small Dixie cup on top of a stick but it was to heavy so it didn't spin.

Then I tried aluminum foil. I shaped the aluminum foil like a clam shell and stuck a stick through the back so it weaved in and out the "Rockin' Clamshell" was moving side to side so I tied red string in bows next to it to stop it from moving. Then I duct taped two other sticks to the side as a skeleton for the..."Rockin' Clam shell". It moved, but it was very unstable so Hank, Lindsey's dad, had the idea to put plaster in the cup and duct tape on the stick really close to the cup. It was still leaning, so Hank had the idea to make a brace out of a stick and tape it to the cup. His idea worked! I now have an amazing "Rockin' Clam Shell" — with the great and very helpful ideas of Hank!

Now to decorate! First I tied pink pipe cleaners to the base sticks on both sides then I tied gold pipe cleaners to the top. Then I put stickers on he bottom.

Skips in London with DESIGN SQUAD

In the new design squad video a British girl named Mariam and Bert talks about her new idea of where to plant flowers and vegetables.

This new idea is to plant the food and flowers in skips. Skips are basically "big rubbish cans".

This idea is really cool because its recycling and it saves money that people would use to buy pots.

Instead of using feralizer they use worm tea, a mixture made by worms.

Then she and Bert got a bicycle. They used the bicycle to take her fruits and veggies to restaurants. The restaurants then made there food out of the organic home grown veggies.

Since its really hard to bicycle heavy produce to restaurants Mariam and Bert wishes she could find a better way to bring the fruits and vegetables to restaurants.

This is where Judy and Adam come in -- they help to make a dream come true.

First the four them brainstorm and come up with a trailer idea with two bikes attached and protection from smog and pollution.(as shown below).

Then to build the trailer they go...DUMPSTER DIVING!

They find big peices of wood, giant tubes of rubber and much, much more.

They use bakery trays to hold the fruit in the trailer.

And the finished product is shown to the left:

Design Squad Rocks!

Today Jake and I went to Design Squad and made a sketch of a walking cake.

Our cake, as you can see, has wheels and layers.

This cake sketch is one of many ideas that you can sketch. On Design Squad, there are a bunch of questions such as "I wish I could build a cake that moves." Then you pick one of the many questions and you can either draw a sketch or make a prototype.

On Design Squad you can make a username and password and play games and get points and stickers.

Judy and Adam are engineers for Design Squad. They use engineering and recycled materials to make playgrounds and skate parks for kids who don't have them and so on.

You can watch videos on design squad also. Design Squad is also a television show that airs nationally. You can watch the shows first three episodes in full on the website. 

We Have to Race to the Top -- Join the Effort

Race To The Top people! We can reform our education program. Last night Obama made a speech about the Race To The Top, a program formed by Republicans and Democrats not by Washington. This program replaces the No Child Left Behind Law. The No Child Left Behind Law is a law designed to ensure that K-12 children receive a proper education but it has had mixed results and been very controversial.

Did you know that less than 1 percent of what we spend on education has led to higher standards of learning and teaching? This is important because as a country we have put less value on education, and Obama says that it is time we shape up -- we should put more value on learning, teachers, and students to get our children a better education! And a better education leads to a better future for each and all of us.

Bruce Randolph, a school in Denver, was one of the worst schools in Colorado; one of the reasons is that there were two rival gangs near the school. Last May, though it was rated a bad school, 97 percent of the seniors graduated and got their diploma.

Obama said, "In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child -- become a teacher. Your country needs you." 

Obama noted that teachers and parents effect a child's success.

Written by Clara and Anya

Good Study Habits -- What It Takes

This is a Wordle designed to inspire good study habits. To do well in school you have to work hard and pay attention.

You'll also want to  have a quiet space and try not to get distracted. Always have pencils and scratch paper handy.

Elementary School Is Oscar Bound

These fifth graders are insane, in a good way of course, but they are INSANE, I-N-S-A-N-E! These kids go to school at P.S 22 in Staten Island. One day they got a call from a Hollywood producers and the school chorus got invited to sing in the Oscars. They sing Hip hop, pop, Indie rock and more.

In this video from The New York Times, you can see them singing Firework by Katy Perry and Imagine by John Lennon. When the kids were singing at their annual holiday concert Anne Hathaway came and told them the good news! They are all pretty used to big concerts but something as big as the Oscars will be a first experience for them.

Here is the link to the video: Elementary School is Oscar Bound

Happy Birthday, Wikipedia!

This weekend, a site that is insane in the way that we type in something and tons of information comes up about it, is going to be the same age as me! Yep, that's right -- 10!

How do 50 employees handle about 400 million viewers? Not only do to the employees handle the definitions so do the viewer. 

Wikipedia is not necessarily accurate because anyone can write on it. It got an 80 percent accuracy and other sources got 95-96 percent in a peer-reviewed journal ("peer-reviewed" means that a publication is reviewed for accuracy and importance by a group of professionals, usually professors and other academics). You can read more about the research here. The following is an excerpt from the study's findings:

The study did reveal inaccuracies in eight of the nine entries and exposed major flaws in at least two of the nine Wikipedia articles. Overall,Wikipedia's accuracy rate was 80 percent compared with 95-96 percent accuracy within the other sources. This study does support the claim thatWikipedia is less reliable than other reference resources. Furthermore, the research found at least five unattributed direct quotations and verbatim text from other sources with no citations. 

As a student, this research is a good reminder that Wikipedia is a good place to start in your search for information. However, it's not a place to stay. Also, an 80 percent accuracy rate -- a low B grade -- isn't terrible, considering that Wikipedia relies so much on the work of volunteers.

You can read Hillwood's Wikipedia page. Irene T., now a Hillwood graduate, wrote it in 2010. Below is our happy birthday video for Wikipedia:




By Clara and Angela

Links: Emerald Insight, NPR, Atlantic

It's a New Year and a New Congressional Session

The United States government has an executive branch, a judicial branch, and a legislative branch. The leaders of the executive branch are the President and Vice President. The executive branch makes sure that our laws are followed. Led by then Supreme Court, the Judaical branch keeps an eye on our laws. The legislative branch which makes laws, is the Congress.

The two parts of Congress are the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. There are two U.S. Senators for each state and "at least one U.S Representative; the more residents a state has, the more U.S. Representatives it is allowed." Usually laws start as bills, and bills start with ideas. It doesn't matter who has the idea as long as its a good one!

Then the idea goes to Congress, and members of Congress think about the idea and if they like it they will make a bill.

"Once the bill is written, it is placed in the hopper, and introduced to the rest of the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives." The Representatives talk about it then if they like it they put it out to the public.

And now John Boehner is becoming speaker of the house. Boehner plans to lower taxes and critics say that this will most probably lead to bad health care systems.

The Hillwood Foundation: What It Is and How it Came to Be

The Hillwood Foundation gives scholarships to the graduating eighth graders who have had a "outstanding academic records" at Hillwood school. The scholarships help the graduates create their college funds. The Hillwood foundation also donates to charity groups. The nonprofit also donates to Salvation Army and the trust for public lands. Alysen and I interviewed Mr. Grantz about the foundation.

Q:Who started the Hillwood Foundation?

A:"My grandmother. She started it to help the Hillwood students with their high school and future careers."

Q: When did the Hillwood Foundation start?

A:"on February 6-1967."

Q: Why did your grandmother start the Hillwood Foundation?

A: "She thought it was a good idea at the time and wanted to help students."

Q: How has it evolved over the years?

A: "We have more money than we did at first but in general it hasn't really evolved in the sense that its goals still the same."

Q:"How is the Hillwood Foundation funded?"

A: "The funds for the Hillwood Foundation come from contributing parents, staff, and any other generous San Franciscans. "The Hillwood Foundation is a nonprofit volunter organization."

If anyone would like to contribute to the foundation, parents can write a check for 5 or 10 dollars, or whatever amount of money they please. If anyone would like to write a check, make it payable to the Hillwood Foundation, and send it to school with their child. This year, especially, the need for the contribution is great. Thank you!

By Clara and Alysen

Harry Potter: No Where Is Safe

This new phenomenal Harry Potter film will without a doubt capture the hearts of thousands of viewers. In the beginning, there is an amazing music piece.

In the film, three little eleven-year-old wizards are now young men and women. They start on an epic journey to save the world and are determined to finish it. On this journey, there is no more supervision no more safe Hogwarts and now that Voldemort is back "no where is safe."

There is no turning back now that they have embarked on a dangerous journey to find the many horocruxes (parts of Voldemorts soul) and to kill Lord Voldemort himself.

Will they succeed on this tremendous journey? When they are on this quest all they have is each other.

Post your comments about the film in the comments section after this post.

Harry Potter: Scene Anatomy

Last night at midnight Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows opened in theaters.

In one scene Harry, Hermione, and Ron are in a coffee shop in the muggle world. They had just escaped Death Eaters (Lord Voldemorts followers) and are planing what to do next. In this post, I will guide you through the scene with pictures.

In this picture, Yates, the director, is trying to make it uncomfortable and cold. You can see that the camera is looking down on them. This is because it makes it look kind of frantic and claustrophobic. For The New York Times, Yates created an anatomy of a scene, in which he talks about why he did and why in the film.

Here (below), there are to Death Eaters dressed as muggles. They turn around and start a battle. Yates wants to emphasise that magic can be dangerous and this fight is more like shooting guns than spells.

In the image with Hermione, we see that she just shot a spell at one of the death eaters, and he is collapsing on the door. The bright light is the glass exploding.

Yates is trying to symbolize blood with all the red. The red doors, the red tables and so on.

In the scene with Ron, Harry and Hermione, they are standing there looking at a knocked out Death Eater. Hermione has to obliviate or erase the memories of the Death Eater which is very dangerous. Yates is trying to show the ending of innocence and having to use magic dangerously, and the wizards we knew when they were eleven are growing up in to very educated young men and women.

White House Science Fair!

President Obama is having a middle school high school White House Science Fair ! There are robots, solar cars, and rockets!

There are robots that play soccer, Ninth graders building planes, concoctions that could cure cancer, and electric wheelchairs!

At this fair comes Mythbusters! and Bill Nye the Science Guy!

President Obama Wants America to be number one in science and math not the twenty first.

This is part of his speech:

The importance of tapping this potential is why we’re here. It’s why I wanted to host this fair, which culminates this weekend in a science and engineering festival on the National Mall and across the country where more than a million people are expected to participate. 

So we welcome championship sports teams to the White House to celebrate their victories. I've had the Lakers here. I’ve had the Saints here, the Crimson Tide. I thought we ought to do the same thing for the winners of science fair and robotic contests, and math competitions. Because often we don’t give these victories the attention that they deserve. And when you win first place at a science fair, nobody is rushing the field or dumping Gatorade over your head. But in many ways, our future depends on what happens in those contests -- what happens when a young person is engaged in conducting an experiment, or writing a piece of software, or solving a hard math problem, or designing a new gadget.

It’s in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit, and the future scientists, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs are born. That's what’s going to help ensure that we succeed in the next century, that we're leading the world in developing the technologies, businesses and industries of the future. 

You can learn more about his speech at White House!

Adam and Judy went to meet some of the winners!

Maryann made a smarter toilet. A toilet that has a gallon bottle filled with water so that there toilet thinks it has more water in it then it actually does.

Daniel made a MiBike a bike that can go in rain or shine. It has a shower curtain over the bike so that the bike has protection against blazing sun and pouring rain!

Lilly made a Sibling Soaker, a dunking booth with out the booth! She put a bunch of balloons in a tube with holes at the end when she hits something the balloons burst and pore out the tube on to the victim!

Our Magazine Buzzer — Success!

Today, October 15th, Clara and I did the Hidden Buzzer Challenge (designed by Judy and Adam for PBS Kids' DESIGN SQUAD). We decided to "hide" our buzzer in a magazine so when someone touched the magazine the buzzer would go off.

Of course we needed a little help with the circuits, and our buzzer had a mind of its own. But on the other hand, it was pretty fun creating our buzzer.

As some people know Judy and Adam are coming to talk with The Hillwood Herald next Friday, and of course we have questions for them!
When Judy and Adam come, the first five questions that I will ask them are going to be well thought out. Since I want to make sure I get them down, I'll write them here:

1. How long does it take for you guys to actually make the experiments?
2. What made you want to become engineers?
3. Do you two have fun making the experiments or is it really hard?
4. Do you two usually get it right the first time, or do you have to keep trying at it?
5. Do you sometimes want to give up on the experiments you're making?

I bet it's going to be a great time when Judy and Adam come to talk to us about all the experiments they have made and how they get the ideas and things like that. But until then everyone can go to their site on PBSkids and try all the expirements we've been doing the past few weeks.

Pop Fly Challenge — More PBS Kids DESIGN SQUAD Experiments

DESIGN SQUAD is made up of Judy and Adam who create challenges and see how they work out. They have challenges like the Kick Stick Challenge and the Roving the Moon Challenge.

They show more challenges on the website PBS Kids.org that are fun, but challenging. Judy and Adam are going to actually take some time out of their day to come to Hillwood, so we can interview them! We're going to be able to show them all the projects we have made with their neat ideas.

Today, Clara and I did something called a "Pop Fly Challenge." We created a device to launch ping-pong balls into the air, using: cups, duct tape, and paint stirrers. When we launched our ping-pong into the air we caught it usually every time.

For our project, we had to make a cage out of a part of one of the cups to keeps the ball in place.

Our project resembles a see-saw because when we hit one end, the ball flies up on the other. We also were able to catch our ball in a cup, much like basketball.

On PBS Kids Go there are plenty of challenges, including the Pop Fly Challenge, which we were doing this week.

Pop Fly Challenge

Today Alysen and I did something called the Pop Fly Challenge, from PBS Kids DESIGN SQUAD that features science and technology based projects that Judy and Adam put together.

The Pop Fly Challenge is a thing where you build a design to launch ping pong balls high enough to catch.We even caught the launched ping-pong ball in a cup.

Our launcher was a paint stirrer on top of a paper cup.The paint stirrer had a ping-pong ball on one end and nothing on the other so it looked sort of like a see-saw. At one end of the paint stirrer there was a little piece of paper. We would lean the ping pong ball on the paper then hit the other end of the paint stirrer and the ping pong ball would go flying.

At first the paint stirrer was laying on the cup when we launched it and Alysen caught it. Then we pushed the paint stirrer up a little more, it went even higher. When we finally pushed it to the highest point, the ping pong ball whacked the ceiling and I caught it.

You could try the pop fly challenge and tons of other cool experiments at the PBS Kids DESIGN SQUAD website.

On October 22nd, Adam and Judy from the Design Squad are coming in to Hillwood to talk to us and see our experiments! We will be interviewing them about their work and their experiments.

The picture above to the left is Adam and Judy's launcher. The picture to the right is mine and Alysen's launcher.

The above is a video of the Pop Fly Challenge.

Help with California's Coastal Clean-up

Saturday, September 25, is coastal clean up day! You can help clean up San Francisco's waterfronts and coasts. In 2009 more than 80,600 people collected more than 1,300,000.

We should help clean up the beach because what people don't realize that plastic doesn't decompose, so if you leave trash on the beach and it goes into the ocean it stays there and doesn't decompose. (Watch the video below for more on this topic.) So it just stays there. Please help do what you can and clean up the coast!

For more information, read this page about volunteering to help clean up.

Dead Whale on Ocean Beach

At ocean beach a rare whale carcass was found. The carcass was forty seven feet long. The whale looks like it was chewed on by sharks.

Marine biologists think it is either a fin whale, Sei whale, or even a hybrid (a combination of two things). A fin whale is pretty rare and there are 2,600 off California,Oregon,and Washington. But the Sei whale is even rarer there are less than fifty in the three states.

People found the whale at 7:00 a.m. The fin whales have been seen off the Farallon Islands. From the slash on its tail, it looks like it was hit by a container ship heading from Los Angeles to Oakland.