The Hillwood Herald is the news blog of Hillwood Academic Day School. Written and published by the school’s upper grades (fifth through eighth), this blog tracks student, staff, and family happenings at the school.
Google and partnered with OK GO and a dance troupe to create another great music video. This take of "All is Not Lost" is a playful HTML5 music collaboration that lets you embed a message in the music video while the troupe dance to it. Sometimes the dancers seem underwater; other times, they seem to be water bugs or frogs scooting across the surface of a pond.
According to Google's daily blog, the site was built in HTML5 for use with the browser Google Chrome. As you'll see, various video clips move, or are rendered, in multiple browser windows that move, re-size, and re-align throughout the piece as the music changes.
In the Google blog post by Keiko Hirayama, a marketing manager for Google Tokyo, the collaboration had a "special significance" for the Google team in Japan. Apparently, the team worked alongside OK Go, and the message "All is Not Lost" is in support of all the people who were affected by Japan's earthquakes.
You can see our special message in the image with this post! For The Herald's coverage of OK GO, click here. For more information about the code behind this effort, click through to the Google Code Blog.
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.
All of us here at Hillwood Academic Day School have been doing bake sales all week to raise money for local dog shelters and Haiti relief.
Charlie, a 7-year-old in West London, rode five miles to raise money for the Unicef childrens' appeal to give food, water, and shelter for the people in Haiti. He was aiming to raise £500 ($1,000) but raised £110,00 ($220,000). He got sponsors from all over the world. To get all of these sponsors, he posted a blog on the Internet. (Charlie is shown in this picture from the BBC.)
Charlie isn't the only person who is trying to help Haiti, many kids around the world are and you can help, too.
Everybody who lives in San Francisco should know about our historical earthquake -- the one that happened 104 years ago.
San Francisco, called "the Paris of America," was knocked down in the early dawn on April 18, 1906. Fires erupted, buildings fell down, and people were injured. The day before, it had been very hot and dry. No wind. Not at all. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.7. States from Oregon to Nevada all felt a small part of the shaking.
San Francisco, at the time, was still a new contribution to the U.S. But the city already had 410,000 residents with 63,000 more a few months later. There were 42 banks, 120 places of worship, and also 3,117 places to buy liquor. Amazingly, some restaurants back then are still open today. They include Tadich Grill, Fior D'Italia, and Schroeder's Cafe.
San Francisco is right along the San Andreas fault. It is a daily worry for some that a sudden earthquake may hit. Here are some tips:
When an earthquake hits, get under the nearest wooden object as soon as possible. A wooden object can include a table, a desk, or a chair.
If you're in bed, get under the blankets and hold a pillow over your head. Other than that, you can also get under the bed.
During a fire, try to get out as fast as you can. If you are in a room, feel the door with the back of your hand first before opening it. Also, cover your mouth and nose with a piece of cloth so the smoke doesn't get to your lungs.
If you get fire on your body, you — stop, drop, and roll. I learned in a fire prevention assembly at my school.
At home, parents can prepare safety kits for the family. You can include water, unperishable food, extra clothes, cash, a record of the house, a record of your car and car insurance, family member I.D.'s, flashlights, and something to comfort the kids.
At our school, we do a fire and earthquake drill about every 2-3 months. A loud alarm goes off and, depending on which drill, we have a few different procedures. During the earthquake drill, students get under their desks or under the doorway (our school was safe from the 1906). A second alarm goes off and the teachers lead their students out onto the sidewalk. During a fire drill, the students are expected to run out of the school onto the sidewalk and wait quietly for their teacher to take roll.
Parents who would like to be added to Hillwood Academic Day School's email notification in case of emergencies can contact Mr. Graham Clarke at hillwoodadmin@gmail.com.
Read Rubina's story about the terrible earthquake that happened in Haiti.
To see what Market Street looked like before the earthquake and fire, watch this video:
What bothers me in America is that we give too much money to the rich and not enough to the poor. What I'm going to do about this is try to give the poor more money to the poor and try to give them a home.
What bothers me in San Francisco is they're not prepared for another earth quake and it would destroy the houses. If I'm rich when I'm grown up I'll try to do constructive work on San Francisco to make it stronger for another earth quake. The buildings won't break and houses won't cut in half. That's how I'm going to help San Francisco.
Give Herald readers an update about the earthquake in Japan, and use this an introduction to tell readers about how they can prepare for an earthquake. Use the following as sources:
Google and partnered with OK GO and a dance troupe to create another great music video. This take of "All is Not Lost" is a playful HTML5 music collaboration that lets you embed a message in the music video while the troupe dance to it. Sometimes the dancers seem underwater; other times, they seem to be water bugs or frogs scooting across the surface of a pond.
