“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all, my business.” The ghost of Marley shares this with Scrooge on the night he visits. Marley was sharing how his life was wasted. Scrooge brings up how Marley did very well in his business, and Marley cried out “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all, my business.” Marley is saying that that the dealings of his trade are only a fraction of what his real business was. He says that the common welfare of others was his business, not working with Scrooge in an office. However, he did not fulfill his business, as he was cold and harsh, as was Scrooge. Because of this, he was trapped in the afterlife as a troublesome ghost.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Which means, if you are planning on reading The Giver, don’t read this post!

Jonas has two families in the book The Giver by Lois Lowry. He has his real family, made up of his mother, father, and sister, Lilly. However even these people are not related by blood to Jonas, as the adults receive the children. His other family is made of only one person, the Giver. Jonas is close to his real family at the start of the book, however once he undergoes trainer with the Giver, Jonas learns the horror of his family’s way of life. This begins the gap that starts to crack open between him and his family. For example, his dad preforms the releases of the newchildren, and Jonas never know about the art of releasing. However with the Giver he then learns what the release is really like; killing the smaller newchild and sending the body to someplace else where they don’t have to deal with it. Jonas can’t take the reality of what his father is doing after receiving the memories of war and death. So, the Giver lets him stay overnight.

I think that Jonas is closer to the Giver because the Giver also knows the truth of his community, and he knows the pain and horror of being the only one carrying them. Also, the Giver knows what it is like to hold the memories, so Jonas feels closer to the Giver. His family however does not know anything bout the memories or what their community really is doing.

www.wordle.net

www.wordle.net

Hello All!

Here in the USA we just started a new school year. That means I’ll be blogging a lot more. I have loads of topics and ideas to talk about!

See you around

Courtney

I got tagged by my blogging friend Marnie to do this tag.

A-re you single?: yes

B-uy your own clothes?: Yes, I do.

C-an you lick your elbow?: I wish

D-escribe the perfect guy: I don’t know, good I guess

E-ver puked after a roller coaster?: Almost

F-riends with benefits are OK, right?:  NO

G-ood looks are the most important thing?: No, but there are nice to have

H-ave you said “I love you” and meant it?: No, I have never said that

I-s Facebook your lifeline?: Haha, sort of!

J-ealousy can be described as: It is easy to get, but hard to get rid of.

K-iss and tell?: What?

L-ife isn’t worth living if: You aren’t happy or having fun!

M-oments you share with whom are unforgettable?: My friends!

N-ever: give up

O-ver your latest ex?: never had one

P-erson who makes you laugh the hardest: Lots of people

Q-ueen Bee in the 3rd grade was: What?

R-andom quote you love: Suck it up cupcake (haha I love my class!)

S-een any good movies lately?: Yes, Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian

T-he first friend you ever had was: Anna Savery (I think)

U-nder what circumstances would you cheat on your (imaginary) partner?: None

V-ery awkward situations make you: feel bad/nervous

W-hat does your ideal dinner consist of?: Pasta

X-boy/girlfriends are good for: Don’t have any

Y-our best advice on life is: Live, laugh, love

Z-ebra print?: Nice stuff!

I Tag:

Abbey R

Taite

Edith

For my school, summer really is just around the corner! In fact, this is our last week, which only consists of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I can’t wait to hang with my friends, go swimming, and spend time with my family.

When does summer come for you and your friends? Or has it already started? What do you plan to do?

One of my big trips this summer is going to South Dakota. We are driving all the way from Indiana, so it will take about 16 hours. 

Cheers

Courtney

Unfortunately, this is the last Challenge, #12. Mrs. Wyatt asks us to summarize our blogging experience. She asks:

Challenge for the last week

• How has this challenge improved your communication skills?
• How could blogging become an integral part of your school’s curriculum?
• Would you take part in another challenge and why?

Blogging has helped my online communication skills because I have talked to many new people from around the world. I am commenting on many people’s blogs, and I am writing new post almost everyday!

Blogging really hasn’t become a integral part of my school’s curriculum yet, but my class often does activities on our blogs. These last nine weeks, we had to blog our 1000 pages we must read evert nine weeks on our blog. (Visit “The Book Blog Spot” page). I think what we could do in my school is just have different posts about a set topic, and have everyone respond to it.

I would probably enter in another Blogging Challenge, although it was hard to keep up after a break. It was still loads of fun!

Cheers

Courtney

Using Pictaps, I made my very own animation. It took a while, but it was pretty fun.

Here it is!

ZMS got a great surprise today when our guest speaker entered the gym; it was Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colt’s superstar! He talked to us about priorities, and how we should always put school first. Manning also explained how he balanced his school work and sports and other activities.

Before Manning’s speech, we were left guessing on who our speaker was. We were guessing all day, from other football players to President Obama! However, I think any speaker we might have had would impact us all.

Even though I am not a big football fan, it was fun getting to listen to Manning talk to us. I was cool to have a celebrity come to our school! I bet everyone will be taking about this for quite a while. Have you had any awesome speakers at your school?

Cheers

Courtney