POST#61: FIELD TRIP #2!!!

Hey! Yesterday, I went to my official 5th grade field trip to La Cueva Del Indio in Las Piedras Puerto Rico and the Humacao Wildlife Reserve in Humacao, Puerto Rico.  We went on a charter bus, which meant we had reclinable seats (ahhhh), a bathroom and air conditioning.  We first went to La Cueva del Indio where we walked through a really dark tunnel, a natural cave, and saw Taino Indian sites. We then went to a local mall's food court and ate lunch and stayed for one hour. We goofed around the food court and hit the little quarter and 50 cent candy and toy machines... I got a ring! We then went to the reserve where I bought a book about hurricanes in the gift shop. We hiked along trails to the beach from where we saw Monkey Island and Vieques Island. We went back to the bus to have a snack and then we returned to school. Yesterday was also my last day of school before Easter Break so the teacher chose a very good day for the field trip! It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy weekend!

Maria. 

POST#60: WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 2013

Hey guys! Today, we're gonna be talking about sports, and by sports I mean baseball... The 2013 World Baseball Classic is an international baseball competition. The main tournament is being held from March 2 to March 19. For the first time, a qualifying round was played during the second half of 2012. It expanded tournament participation from 16 to 28 teams. Japan entered as the defending champion. It had won the prior two World Baseball Classics, in 2006 and 2009. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament. The automatic qualifiers were Australia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the United States, and Venezuela. The other four teams from the 2009 tournament (Canada, Taiwan, Panama, and South Africa) contested a qualifying round in late 2012, along with 12 additional teams invited by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The qualifying round was organized as four independent modified double-elimination tournaments. The modification was that the final game was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket. Although this modified double-elimination format was used in some rounds of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, in that tournament the final game was only for seeding and never for elimination. As practiced in the 2013 qualifiers, the team emerging from the winner's bracket might be eliminated from the tournament despite losing only one game (as, in fact, happened to Israel in Qualifier 1). The composition of the qualifying pools was determined based on geographical location, competitive balance, and regional rivalries. In Qualifier 1, South Africa took on France, Israel, and Spain, with the games taking place in Jupiter, Florida, United States. In Qualifier 2, Canada took on the Czech Republic, Germany, and Great Britain, with the games taking place in Regensburg, Germany. In Qualifier 3, Panama took on Brazil, Colombia, and Nicaragua, with the games taking place in Panama City, Panama. In Qualifier 4, Taiwan took on New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand, with the games taking place in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Canada and Taiwan dominated Qualifiers 2 and 4 (respectively) to advance easily. In Qualifier 1, South Africa was eliminated in the second round, and Spain narrowly defeated Israel to advance to the main tournament. In Qualifier 3, Brazil narrowly defeated Panama to earn the final berth in the main tournament. Pool A games were held in the Fukuoka Dome, in Japan. Pool B games were held in the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, in Taiwan. Pool C games were held in the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, in Puerto Rico. The Pool D games were held in Chase Field, and in Salt River Fields, both in Arizona. The Pool 1 games were held at the Tokyo Dome, in Japan. The Pool 2 games were held in the Marlins Park, in Miami. And the Finals will be held in the AT&T Park in San Francisco. 

Pool A      Pool B                    Pool C                             Pool D
Japan       South Korea          Venezuela                      United States
China    Netherlands           Puerto Rico                    Mexico
Cuba        Australia                Dominican Republic       Italy
Brazil       Chinese Taipei      Spain                               Canada

So far, the games to qualify for the finals have been:

Italy 4 - 5 Dominican Rep. (WINNER)
Puerto Rico 1 - 7 USA (WINNER)
Italy 3 - 4 Puerto Rico (WINNER)
Dominican Rep. (WINNER) 3 - 1 USA
Puerto Rico (WINNER) 4 - 3 USA 
Puerto Rico - Dominican Rep.

It's gonna be a really, really, REALLY good game! Hope you guys liked this post! Go Puerto Rico!


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#59: FIELD DAY AND SCHOOL TRIP!

Hey guys! Today, I'm going to tell you about two things: my Ecology Club field trip (it was yesterday), and my school field day (which was today).  The field trip was AWESOME!!! We went to a prestigious investigation station belonging to the University of Puerto Rico in the El Yunque National Forest, and then we went to the Outlets of Canovanas' food court and we could buy whatever food we wanted. I ate KFC, then I bought a churro from the churro stand. Since there was a WiFi hotspot in the food court and I had my phone, I connected to it and checked Facebook and my email. Then we went back to the school. OK, now on to the field day. We warmed up a little bit, then we participated in some events including:

75 meters race
Obstacle course race
Tug of War
and more....


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#58: SCIENCE FAIR!!!!

                                                                                                                                                                     
Hey guys! Today we're talking about my school's upcoming 
science fair. As one of my 5th 
grade requirements, I have to participate in my school's science fair. You either partner up or be in a group, or do the project alone. I chose to do it alone. I'm doing a hypothesis that suggests that volcanoes destroy land, but at the same time create land because when the lava or magma solidifies, it becomes rock (like in the case an underwater volcano erupts and creates a new island). Is it a good subject? My presentation will be a volcano and on one side it will be destroying a nearby village on the island, and on the other side, it will be expanding the island as the lava reaches the ocean and solidifies into rock. I will update the post with some pics of 
the setup so you can see it! 

Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#57: TOP 10 THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE PRESIDENT

Hey! Today, we're listing the top 10 things I would do if I were President of the World:

1. I would make movie theaters open 24 hours a day from Friday-Sunday and that those days, movie tickets would be free.
2. I would make jobs start at 8:00 am and end at noon so adults can spend more time with their kids.
3. I would put libraries inside parks and the libraries should have at least one computer and a shelf of all types of magazines.
4.  NO GUNS AND NO VIOLENCE!!!
5. I would make schools start their day on 8:00 am and end at noon and no school on 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month.
6. I would make parks EVERYWHERE so that kids could play freely.
7. I would make all the stores and restaurants give a 25% discount on all merchandise and food.
8. NO HOMEWORK!!!
9. I would pass a law that would oblige people to take a half hour nap in the afternoon every day.
10.  I would pass a law that would make all candy and   
 ice cream free on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and five cents on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. 

My ultimate goal is for families to live peacefully, and for them to interact with other families in peace. I am making that happen through these goals.


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#56: TOP 12 MOVIES I WANT TO SEE!!!

Hey! Today I'm listing my top 12 movies to see in 2013. I'm also including a hyperlink to the movie trailer if there is one. 
Here they are:

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 
2. 1D3D 
3. Despicable Me 2
4. Monsters University
5.  Grown Ups 2
6.  Escape From Planet Earth
7.  The Host
8. The Croods
9. jOBS
10. Beautiful Creatures
11. The Smurfs 2
12. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

These are going to be awesome movies!


Happy weekend!


Maria.

POST#55: KING OF THE NERDS!!!

L-R: Jon, Ivan, Alana, Virgil, Moogega, Brandon, Danielle, Hendrik, Celeste, Joshua and Genevieve

Hi! Today we're talking about King of The Nerds, TBS's new reality show. It is AWESOME! Last night, Daddy was confused with the comic-book questions! King of the Nerds is an American reality competition series on TBS. It is hosted by Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong, both actors from the Revenge of the Nerds films. The series follows eleven contestants as they complete various tasks in order to win the grand prize of $100,000 and to be "crowned the greatest nerd" of them all, worthy to sit on "the Throne of Games" (a pun on The Game of Thrones). The show uses a progressive elimination of the contestants. Following the first week, the contestants were separated into two teams chosen via schoolyard pick. The teams compete in a Nerd War, an event that requires them to work together to prepare for the main demonstration. Judges select which team is the better team; members on this team are safe from elimination. On the losing team, two players are selected for a Nerd Off; one is selected by a secret vote on the losing team, and the other from a similar vote from the winning team. The two selected players are told what the concept is behind the nerd-off, giving them a few hours to prepare by talking to anyone else still remaining in the game. At the event, the losing player is eliminated from the game. Typical King of the Nerds episodes consist of two challenges. The Nerd War is a team competition, often decided by a judge, with the entire team granted immunity from being sent home. The Nerd-Off is a head-to-head elimination challenge between two members of the losing Nerd War team, with each team voting in one competitor.

The contestants are:

Team Servants of The Forsaken Orb (Orange Team):

Ivan Van Norman, 27, Torrance, CA, Role-playing game designer
Moogega Cooper, 26, Pasadena, CA, NASA Planetary Protection Engineer
Joshua Ovenshire, 24, Los Angeles, CA, Producer/host of geek-themed web show
Danielle Mackey, 23, Rome, NY, Gamer and game review vlogger 
Brandon Moore, 24, Somerville, MA, Neuroscience Ph.D student (9th place)

Team Blextrophy (Blue Team):

Genevieve Pearson, 27, Studio City, CA, Young-adult fantasy writer
Virgil Griffith, 29, Pasadena, CA, Master hacker
Celeste Anderson, 22, Orillia, Ontario, Canada, Pro-Gamer
Jon Paprocki, 22, Atlanta, GA, Physics and Mathematics buff (10th place)
Alana Smith-Brown, 26, Corning, NY, Comic book fan and live-action role player (8th place)
Hendrik Lenfernik, 26, Somerville, MA, MIT geophysics student (11th place)


Happy weekend!


Maria.