Kiva, Freercie, The Girl Effect.

Hello Bloggers, welcome to assignment #4, where I am collaborating with ;
Shahad, Zuhair, and Qavi.
Our blogpost, is about examples of diffrent charities online, where you can help donate to other people in the world.

Here are some examples ;

Kiva

Kiva is an online charity where you can give loans to help entrepreneurs in villages, who need a start in their business.

This is how Kiva works;
1. on the Kiva website, there are thousands of profiles of people, which contain; their picture, and their reason for you to lend them your money.

2. you browse through the site, and select who you want to loan your money to.

3. Field Partners distribute the money, to who you lent your money to.
4. Over the course of time, the person you lent your money to, pays you back!

That's how Kiva works.

***

Free Rice
Free Rice, is an online charity where you can play a game by answering a few questions in a variety of subjects, and everytime you get an awnser correct, you donate 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme.

You kill time and feed hungry people through out the world!
Isn't that great?

***

The Girl Effect

This charity is called 'The Girl Effect,' and this charity helps adolescent girls in poverty get a good start in life. When you donate, you help give girls an education, health care, protection against HIV and early pregnancy.

I bet you're all wondering why it's called 'The Girl Effect.' Well, did you know that out of 100% of children that don't go to school, 70% are girls! That's more than half! They deserve the rights as equal human beings, and given opportunity to healthcare, education, and a clean, developed enviroment.

Click this link for the video,for 'The Girl Effect.'

As Free As a Bird - Poetry of Hope

Hello lovely Bloggers!
Thank you for stopping by my page!
Welcome to assignment #14.
In the month of November, we learned all about the Holocaust, and what the word 'ghetto' actually meant.
So Ms.P has us writing our own poem in the eyes of the Holocaust, about hope and freedom.
This poem is completely written by me.
So here it goes..

As Free As A Bird
by: Claire Garcia

I pray,
that one day,
I will be as free as a bird.
To majestically soar,
up, up high.
To the flawless clouds,
in the painted, blue sky.
To freely observe the world,
in my eyes.
And squander,
wherever I'd like.

But no.
I am trapped in this ghetto.
No freedom,
just this prison.
Among the thousands of other strangers.

Yet,
the birds still sing to me.
Singing a song of hope.
Alittle bit of happiness evokes my soul.
And I know...
there is still hope.

Letters of Remembrance

Hello Lovely Bloggers!

Because of Remembrance day, Ms.Pollock has us doing assignment 11, which is coincidentally the assignment is #11, like November the 11. (11/11)

In this blog post, we must write a letter or journal entry in a soldier's perspective, or someone impacted in the war. Like a family member, friend, or loved one.
I decided to write in the perspective of a little girl, (about 10 years old) whose father is in the Afghanistan war.
So here it goes...
***

Hello Daddy!

Or General Davidson, which ever one you prefer.
I miss you so much! So does Mom, and baby Greg.
We hope your doing fine.
So anyway,
thank you so much for the card you sent me for my 10th birthday!
I love that everyone signed it! Thank's alot dad!

So we had a birthday party at home, and I invited all my friends. Like Molly, Dana, Reilly, and the guy I've always been writing about to you... Jason.
Mom made her famous chocolate cheesecake, which was absolutely amazing! As usual.
And you know what the best part was?
Mom FINALLY bought a puppy!
It's a wiener dog. We named it Buttercup, because it was a butterscotch-y color.
And you know how much I love butterscotch pudding!
My birthday was a blast!
But I think it would've of been so much better if you were there.

Anyway, I'm going to go now.
Mom is nagging me to take Buttercup out for a walk.
Just so you know, I pray every single night for your safety.
So please, becareful.
Come home for Christmas!
Can't wait to see you.
Love you tons.

-Ashley

Eric Walters Response - Part 2.

Welcome to part two, of my Eric Walters Response.
Assignment #16.
In this post, Ms.Pollock has us doing a short story, or one small chapter about an issue we think is important, and base the character on our self.
Here is alittle summary of my short story;

       Claire Garcia is a thirteen year old girl, who has a passion for basketball. She decides to join the 'Ottawa Jaguars' basketball team, for boys and girls, 13-14. Only to discover the standards are really high, and she's the ONLY girl on the team! But being on a team with mostly guys, has advantages. She makes new friends like Jayson, Philip, and the cute, but vauge Mikey; who she's totally crushing on. Being the only girl on the team; Claire feels out of their league, and doesn't think she fulfills their expectations... or Mikey's. Often, she always feels like giving up. Through hard work and sweat, Claire strives to prove herself to the team, and to her shady crush. But is it possible for her to catch the eyes of her teammates and Mikey, at the same time? Or will getting the attention of one, be more important than the other.
There's just one thing for sure;

it's not going to be easy.

***

CHAPTER 1.

     'My first practice..' stated Claire. 'I'm so excited!' She changed into her new, pink, basketball shorts from Nike, a baggy white shirt that said 'Yes, I'm a girl who plays ball,'  and her fresh, purple Nike's. She put on her purple gym bag stuffed with water bottles, and modeled infront of the mirror. 'Ok, I'm ready.' she told herself confidently.
     'Mom! Let's go! We're going to be late for my first basketball practice!' hollered Claire from downstairs.
'I'm coming, calm down Claire,' replied Mrs.Garcia. 'We're going to be there on time.'
Claire recently joined the Ottawa Jaguar's basketball team, which she is super excited to play for. All she could think about was making new friends, getting her own jersey, and just playing basketball.
'Ok, I'll wait for you in the car!' cried Claire with a smile on her face. She grabbed the Toyota car keys, her orange basketball, and headed outside.
      She swung the car door open, inserted the keys in the ignition, and tried to sit still patiently while waiting for her mother to come out. Five minutes turned into ten, when finally her mom walked out, and locked the door. 'Thanks for making me wait Mom. I appreciate it.' she said in a sarcastic tone.
'Next time would you like to bus there?' remarked Mrs.Garcia. 'No Mom. Your just trying to jack my swag,' joked Claire. 'What's swag?' questioned Mrs.Garcia. 'is that a clothing brand?' Claire couldn't help herself from laughing in her mother's face.
      
     After an awkward fifteen minute car ride, with Claire trying to explain the slang word 'swag,' to her mom;
they finally reached the gym. Claire jumped out of the car, and sprinted inside the building. The first thing she heard were the melody of bouncing basketballs in sync. She walked down several hallways until she found the gym where they were practicing in. Claire pushed the doors to let herself through. Her smile dropped.
On the court, was 7-10 guys, doing lay-ups. Absolutely no girls. Just her.

    Her mom caught up with Claire, patted her on the back and said; 'Ok Hun, go practice with them.'
'Uhm.. Mom. I kind of don't want to do it anymore.'
'What? Why?'
'Because, they're all guys..'
'So?'
'And they're really, really good!'
Claire started to observe them. They would sprint full speed, jump atleast one metre in the air, and sink the ball in the net.
'See mom!' pointed Claire. 'I'm not as good as them..'
'Claire, it's just a practice. Get your basketball and join them. I didn't drive all the way here for nothing.'
'But Mom-'
'GO!'

     Claire rolled her eyes and turned away to set her bag down. She took out her basketball, and dribbled to the fellas, who were lining up to take some lay-ups. 'Claire, honey!' yelped her Mom. 'Your shoe laces are untied!' Claire couldn't hear her. 'What is it Mom?'
'Your shoe laces!' Claire gave up on trying to listen in, so she ignored her. 'CLAIRE!'
'What!?' She turned away for a second, and walked backwards while dribbling the ball. 'Yes?'
'No, wait. Look where your going!!'
'What-'
In an instant, Claire was on the floor, with a huge headache.

    'Hey, I'm so sorry,' apologized a boy, about her age, helping her up. 'I bumped into you by accident while making a lay-up, and you sorta wiped out.'
'Oh,' was the only thing that came out of Claire's mouth.
'You.. ok?' asked the boy. Claire nodded slowly, still wondering what happened.
'Ok, good. I'm Mikey by the way.'
'Uhm, I'm.. Claire.'
'It's nice to meet you. And by the way, you better watch where your going next time,' Mikey applied. He smiled at her. 'Are you going to join us or what?'
'Uhm, yeah. Just let me.. tie my shoe laces.' she implied.
'That's a good idea. We don't want another accident, do we?' grinned Mikey.
Claire giggled. 'We sure don't.' Mikey got back to the line-up. Claire started tying her shoes.

      Something that Claire didn't understand, is why she has butterflies in her stomach, and she can't stop smiling like a manic. And something else she didn't understand is how she got that floor burn on her knee. Whatever, it's another collection to the hundreds she already has, she thought to herself. But the thing that really scarred her wasn't the floor burn, it was Mikey's smile engraved in her memory.
Right off the bat, Claire knew this was going to be one heck of a basketball team.

Eric Walters Response - Part 1.

Hello Fellow Peers!
Welcome to assignment #16!
A few weeks back, we had such an amazing author come in, named Eric Walters.
He wrote ALOT of books, based on teenagers, and about realistic issues.
Here are some books I researched, and found interesting. With also, intriguing messages behind them;

***



I think the message in this story is to stand up for what you think is right, not what everyone says is right.
(Listen to your heart. Don't go with the flow.)



The moral in this book, is that your own opinion matters, and you should do it for yourself, and not hold back just because of what others think.



The message in this novel is; never let anyone pressure you into something you know is wrong.

So that's it for this post!
Part 2 will be posted up shortly.

-Claire