The Dragon Times Volume 6 October 2019 Issue 1

Davidson Celebrity

Newcomer Edition

*Mrs. Bradley*

By: Anoushka Senthilkumar

Q1: Where are you from?

A:I am from fort worth Texas

Q2: Have you done any other jobs?

A: Project manager in a hospital and a Red Cross worker.

Q3: Why did you decide to become a teacher, and why at this school?

A: My daughter is dyslexic so I really wanted to learn and help the students who have learning disabilities and to give them confidence and hope. Why I picked this school is because it’s amazing and I started volunteering here first and I love the community and the culture and my daughter always had great support so I wanted to be one of those people who helped a lot of students and the community.

Q4: Who was your role model when you were little?

A: Mr. Krause. He was my biology teacher. He was really engaging and creative.

Q5: Which places have you been ?

A:I have been to 30 out of 50 states in the united states and I have gone to all of the places in northeast.

Q6: What is your favorite type of food and restaurant?

A: Chuy’s and Mexican food

Q7: Do you have any kids?

A: I have Bella Bradley in fifth grade and Keaton Bradley in third grade.

Q8: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

A: Europe

Q9: What are your hobbies?

A: I like to be with my family and spend outside time running.

Mystery Teacher

By: Sarayu M.

With the questions and the answers below try figuring out

who the mystery teacher is?

When is your birthday?

My birthday is on Feb 11th .

How many kids do you have?

I have two kids.

What is your favorite color?

My favorite color is blue.

What subject do you like teaching the most?

I like to teach writing.

What was your favorite subject as a student?

My favorite subject as a student was science.

Did you guess who it is? It’s fine. There are a few more questions

below to figure out who it is.

When did you join KDE ?

I joined KDE when the school opened in 2014.

What are your hobbies?

I like listening to music, going to concerts, reading and watching movies.

Do you want to be a P.E teacher or a principal?

No way!!!

So do you know who the mystery teacher is? It is fine if you don’t. Just read it over and over again

or ask your teacher a few of these questions, and who knows...it

could be your teacher!

Book Review

Cucumber Quest

By Gigi D. G.

Reviewed by: Teja T.

If you think this book is about a cucumber then you’re totally wrong. If you’re thinking this book is the best graphic novel you’ll ever hold in your hands then you’re awesome! Cucumber Quest is a magical book. And by magical, I mean magical. Cucumber’s Town is in the hands of misery, and he has to save it. But how? The disaster stones are the key...but all of them are activated! When each one is activated, each kingdom is in danger! Cucumber now has a bigger problem! Now he has to save all the 7 kingdoms! And of course, Cucumber is a BIG wimp so his WAY cooler little sister has to help him. Cucumber’s sister is named Almond. She is a never ending sass machine. This book is action packed fun. So if you ever see it at a library or some place else, make sure to check it out!

About the author:

Gigi D.G. is a comic artist from Southern California

Who occasionally does concept work for animation

And video games. She started creating Cucumber Quest

In 2011, and it is her first published work.

Movie Review

Avengers: Endgame

Reviewed by: Smaran

Kanamarlapudi

Have you ever watched any movie that made over a billion dollars within its opening weekend? Well guess what, there is only one and that is Avengers: Endgame. Avengers: Endgame is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team, the Avengers. It is produced by Marvel Studios and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the twenty-second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and received the MTV Movie Award for best villain.

Personally, I think Endgame was a huge success because it went viral to everyone within its opening weekend and is the third most expensive film ever

made. Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame is about how a group of heroes saves the world from Thanos who tries to steal many Infinity stones. There are 6 stones and they are very powerful. There are the Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Time, and Mind stones. If you get all the stones, you are basically immortal and invincible. In these two movies, the heroes try acquiring all the stones before Thanos and his minions can!

These heroes do this by going to the quantum realm. The quantum realm is a dimension that exists below or within our own. It can be accessed by shrinking down to subatomic sizes. You can do this by using Pym Particles just like Ant-Man. In Endgame, they didn’t have enough Pym Particles to get the Infinity stones. So, they later went into the quantum realm to get more Pym Particles with the remaining Pym Particles they had because time is irrelevant in the quantum realm.

Later in the story they messed with themselves in the quantum realm which changes what happens in the present day. They also gave Thanos a hint that they were going to try to kill him later in the present day, so he and his minions did stuff differently and changed what happened at present day. These events led to a huge bloodbath in war…

I would rate Avengers: Endgame 4.5 stars out of 5. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes movies that make you emotional, hyped, and makes you hang at the edge of your seat because of the suspense!

What is the History

of Halloween?

By: Jasmine Nelson

Every year, another October

31st comes around and we get

dressed up in creepy costumes, go

trick-or-treating, carve pumpkins

into jack-o-lanterns and then… we

eat enough candy to give us a

sugar rush through the New Year!!

But, where do our favorite

Halloween traditions even come

from anyway?

You might be surprised to

learn that Halloween began as the

ancient Celtic festival of Samhain

(pronounced sow-in) 2,000 years

ago! Samhain marked the

beginning of the dark, creepy and

cold winter. This was a time of

year was associated with death.

October 31st was the night before

their new year (November 1st).

They believed the dead could cross

into the land of the living and

weird creatures with strange

powers would wander the Earth.

Ancient Halloweens were

about mischief. Celts stirred up

trouble and damaged crops. They

had a big party to scare away

ghosts and evil spirits. They also

received predictions about the

future – a great source of comfort

to help get them through the long,

dark winter.

The American version of

Halloween came from these

ancient beliefs and customs

meshed with those of Native

Americans encountered in the New

World. During the first public

celebrations, neighbors sang,

danced, told each other stories

ghost stories, and read fortunes.

Wishing you a spooky good time

this year!

Houston Champions

By Harini S.

Raise your hand if you like the Houston Astros! Well, if you do, then you’ll find this article interesting. The Houston Astros have at least 19 pitchers, including Gerrit Cole, Brad Peacock ,Josh James, Wade Miley, and others! Now let’s talk about the catchers, They have 3. I know, not as impressive as the amount of pitchers , right? But they are still very important. The catchers are Garrett Stubbs, Robinson Chirinos, and Martìn Maldonado. After that is the outfielders. There are 7, a tad bit more impressive then the amount of catchers, right ? Here are some of them, Jake Marisnic, George Springer , and Kyle Tucker. Next on the list is injuries. On September 27,Carlos Correa injured his back, but the doctor said “ he should be good to go for the playoffs.” Aron Sanchez was hurt on the shoulder on September 17, and Collin McHugh was injured on the elbow on September 9. Now, on with the happy parts! A rookie right hander Jose Urquidy was very impressive against the Angels by throwing 6 scoreless innings. This allowed 3 singles and a walk, leading the Astros into a 4-0 victory. Go Astros! Until next time, ~Harini

DID YOU KNOW????

Celts wore animal heads and

skins as costumes.

1/4 of all candy sold each

year is purchased for

Halloween.

Modern Halloween combines

several ancient holidays: All

Souls’ Day, All Saints’ Day

(aka All-hallows) and

Samhain (All-Hallows Eve).

New Playground Reviews

By: Tina Cao

Interviewed people:

5th grader: Ramanika Madineni 4th grader: Mia Hodovic

3rd grader: Haley Coker

2nd grader: Emmah Stretch

Questions: 1.What do you think of the new playground?

2..Do you like the new playground?

3.What is your favorite part of the new playground?

4..Any dislikes?

5.(For question 4)What equipment would you take out?

6.Were you wishing for anything else to be added to the playground?

7.What would you rate the new playground? 1-10

======================== -Ramanika Madineni- 5th grade

-1.”I think the new playground is really helpful for special ED kids, since the older playgrounds isn’t exactly good for special ED kids. It also adds a new touch to our school.”

-2.”Yes, because it is helpful to special ED kids and it’s fun.” -3.”My favorite part of the new playground is the music instruments, and the boat because it is great for hide and seek.”

-4.”No, everything is great!”

-5.”...”

-6.”No, I think everything is great!”

-7.”I would rate the new

playground a 9 out of 10, since it isn’t perfect. I mean the whole playground isn’t perfect, since nothing is perfect in life!”

======================== -Mia Hodovic- 4th grade

-1.”I really like the new playground. It’s very fun and cool.”

-2.”Yes, because it is more fun than the other playgrounds, and I can troll/have fun with my friends, since I can push them down the bumpy slide.”

-3.”My favorite part of the new playground are the monkey bars, because they are very fun to climb on, and they create funny moments with my friends.”

-4.”Yes, I’m not a huge fan of the red spinner. I’m not a huge fan, since it isn’t for everyone. For example, some people can get very dizzy even if it goes very slow,so I’m personally not a huge fan of it.”

-5.”I would take out the red spinner and boat. I would take the boat out, since people keep getting on and shaking it, while my friend and I are relaxing on the boat alone. I also don’t like the red spinner, since it gets me very dizzy even when it’s slow.”

-6.”I was wishing for a better playground for special ED kids. Like not skinny and bumpy slides. I also want a small and short bridge for the special ED kids and short slides for the special ED kids, so the special ED kids have better things to play on ,and it would be easier to walk on.”

-7.”I would rate it the new playground a 9, because of the red spinner and boat. ======================== -Haley Coker- 3rd grade -1.”I think the new playground is really fun and it is good for special ED kids.”

-2.”Yes, the new playground is very fun and helpful for special ED kids.”

-3.”My favorite part of the new

playground is the boat, since it is very fun!”

-4.”I’m not a huge fan of the new red spinner.”

-5.”I would take out the red spinner.”

-6.”More things to play with, like jump ropes and chalk.”

-7.”I would rate it a 9 out of 10, since everything is very fun and nice, except the new spinner.”

========================

-Emma Stretch- 2nd grade -1.”It’s pretty nice! It is also way safer than the other playgrounds. It is safer, because it is shorter than the other playgrounds, so if you fall off, you don’t get hurt that much.”

-2.”Yes, very much. I go on it everyday and it’s safer.”

-3.”I really love the new monkey bars.”

-4.”The curvy slides in the back.”

-5.”The curvy slides, because they are not fun and boring. Also, no one goes on the slides, so it is a waste of space.”

-6.”I would add a new seesaw and a new dome that is shorter for people who are scared of heights.”

-7.”I would rate it a 9, because the new playground is fun, but the curvy slides ruin it.”

The Legend of Zelda

By: Carolina Trevino

The Legend of Zelda

Hoi peeps! Welcome to the first Dragon Times of this year. In this issue , I will be talking about The Legend of Zelda! Here are the main topics: The Legend of Zelda characters, game timeline and pos-sibly more! So let's start with the article. First let's talk Legend of Zelda stuff, like weapons, masks, and more!

Weapons So if you have experience playing the Zelda games, you might know what the Master Sword, and Hylian Shield is. If not then….. This article might not be for you (but if your interested, KEEP READING!). So let's do the weap-ons from Wind Waker and…. Breath of the Wild. First, Wind Waker. Like always, you get the Master Sword. At the beginning Link's grandma gives him a Hero's Shield. Then he finds the Master Sword in a rock at Hyrule. Blah blah blah, adventure, blee blah, finally, Links finds/gets the Hylian Shield. Now Breath of the Wild. Yes ,Breath of the Wild ALSO has the Master Sword and Hylian Shield. BUT….. this game also has EPIC weapons to. Here, let me name a few…

1. Ancient Short Sword 2. Ancient Shield 3. Revali's Bow 4. Ancient Arrow 5. Tree Branch (yes,it's true)

Fact by the way, the tree branch is actually kind of strong!

Masks To people who know or have played Majora's mask you proba-bly know WHAT Majoras mask looks like. Well, also in Breath of the Wild, they have masks there too! ( this game does have Majoras mask in it!) So here are some of the masks that are ins the games!

1. Majora's mask 2. Korok mask 3. Sheik's mask 4. Midas helmet

Some of the masks allow you to blend in with the surroundings or with the monster stuff or just for random reasons. NOW…. let's go with the charac-ters. Link Link is basically the elf thingy try-ing to save the princess Zelda. For 25 (and counting…) years, he has been the rescuer and the “Hero of Time”. Then for some RANDOM REASON he keeps growing! Like In Ocarina of time young Link touches the master sword and BOOF! He's like 17. Then in Ma-jora's mask he's young again then in Breath of the Wild he's like 20 or something.

Zelda Zelda is the princess,the damsel in distress (actually yeah,she was captured by Ganon and stuff.) She too, RANDOMLY GROWS UP! (SHE HAS RICHES!!!!!) Ganondorf

Ganon is a huge fat guy. He wants to destroy hyrule and steal the tri-force or something. Then in Breath of the wild he is called Calamity Ganon and again wants to destroy Hyrule. The Champions In Breath of the Wild, there are four people things that fell 100 years ago (in the game). Revali, Mipha, Daruk, and Chief

Urbosa. Revali is kind of like a

show off, Mipha is the weirdest

creature I have ever seen, Daruk is

this big strong guy, and Chief Ur-

bosa is fierce.

3rd Grade Career Day!

By: Anushka Sapru

Do you remember going to the 3rd grade career day? Or just sitting in your seat, full of excitement waiting to hear about the most fantastic jobs out there? Well let me take you back to the past (or future!) to the wonderful world of 3rd grade career day! Me: “What is your job? Chef: “I am a chef, I cook different types of food like French, Italian, and Asian but my favorite food is lasagna. A cool fact is that our menu is 54 pages long because we have so many different types of cuisine!” Me: “Why do you like this job?” Chef: “Because I like to cook and it is my passion!“ “And because I like to see a smile on my clients’ face after they try my cuisine!” Me: “What made you apply for this job?” Chef: “I loved to cook and I’ve been cooking since I was 13!” Me: “How many years have you been doing this job, and when did you start? Chef: “I spent two and a half years at the best college in the world! “ At the C.I.A. (Culinary Institute Of America) in New York. Interviewing Chef was such a pleasure and a treat to know him and to know about cooking! If you ever stay in Marriott hotel, be sure to try their cuisine!

CARACALS

By: Isaac Taing A caracal silently creeps up on a herd of grazing impalas. Then it stops at about ten feet away. It silently scans the horizon to make sure there are no other predators around. Then it crouches, getting ready to jump. But no animal would dare attack from that far away! This caracal just got its lunch. Caracals are a species of wildcats that most people do not know. They are rarely seen in the wild because they are so stealthy. Caracals are one of my favorite animals because of their amazing jumping abilities. Their strong hind legs allow them to jump about ten feet in the air! This helps them catch the birds that they like to eat. Their tawny golden fur helps them blend into the tall grass that they like to hide in. Instead of chasing after their prey at top speed like a cheetah caracals prefer the art of sneak attacks. Their paw pads are cushioned with coarse fur so they barely make any noise when they creep toward their prey. When other apex predators are around and the caracal has just killed a large animal sometimes it drags the animal up into the tree so other predators can’t eat it. Caracals normally live and hunt alone unless they are mating or the mom is taking care of the young. After he mates the male does not stay with the female to help take care of the young. The mommy caracals usually have 3 babies per litter and the babies are born blind and hairless. This is what the amazing caracal is. Who knows? Maybe one day it will be one of your favorites too!

Restaurant Review

Scholars & Scoundrels

Reviewed by: Natalie Kitts

If you are looking for burgers, football and much more, you should try Scholars & Scoundrels. On my visit I tried many different burgers, wraps and loads of mac & cheese. I tried a fried zucchini appetizer, however, even with the ranch dip I was not a fan. The burger I tried was called the OG with cheese. (The menu has many other funny names.) There was melting cheese, well cooked meat and fresh lettuce. I added mushrooms, so since I could add items that weren’t even mentioned on the menu, I consider them to have flexible options. While the burger was good, it wasn’t the best I've ever had. I tried a bacon burger that had a good amount of crispy, peppered bacon and also a Chimi Churri wrap that had well cooked chicken and good Southwest flavor. Neither of these knocked my socks off, either. Finally, their mac and cheese was cheesy, creamy and personally, I couldn’t get enough of it! It was phenomenal.

The restaurant also had a variety of card games on the tables for guests to enjoy. In addition to that, they had loads of TVs playing all kinds of sports. Another thing that was unique was that instead of bringing the bill in a regular black folder, they bring it to you in an old book. The history of Scholars & Scoundrels is very interesting. I spoke with the manager and he said there are two owners, Tony and Chad, who used to serve in the military. The restaurant started as a food truck and a pop-up at events. Then, demand from the public convinced them to turn it into what it is today. They chose the name because they believe that is what the people who built our great country were: Scholars and Scoundrels. All of the food was just ‘okay’ (except for that delicious mac and cheese!) but the football, friendly and fun atmosphere made up for it. Overall, I give Scholars & Scoundrels 3.5 stars.

THE BURNING OF THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

By: Joseph Joy

You're probably wondering what's the big deal that the biggest forest, where 20%of the world’s oxygen comes from, 10% of Earth’s biodiversity, and the world’s biggest regulator is burning. Well, I hate to break it to you, but that’s a pretty big deal.

First of all, The Amazon Rainforest is twice the size of India. Just imagine how many animals are living there, especially non discovered species. We won’t even get to explore the greatest parts of the forest. The Amazon is a huge part of the changing temperature. I’d rather have organized weather than crazy, wacky weather. Just imagine one day 100 degrees and the next day -50 degrees. That’s wacky!

It’s up to us to stop The Amazon from getting wiped off the map. We can help by just spreading the word, like making an article (Like I’m doing!). Ask your parents for more ways you can spread the word about the Amazon. Remember something done small can turn into something big. Are you up for the challenge?

The Grand Canyon

By: Ambar S. Hi dragons! For this article, I am writing about the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is a canyon, but not just any canyon! It is an inspiring, majestic place to be, formed by years of erosion, that has captivated so many people! It is about 1.1 miles deep, and approximately 18 miles across! But now, let’s go into a even more depth… The Grand Canyon has one of the most famous rivers in the U.S. flowing through it: the Colorado River! It is one of the forces of nature that created the canyon. The river’s headwaters are almost two miles above sea level! This makes for great power, and it carries hundreds of tons of silt and sand in only one day! Although there is a lot of water in the river, it is really hot on the canyon, so the diverse community of animals and plants there all have one thing in common: the adaptation of living with little to no water sometimes. This happens because it is very hard to get down to the Colorado River, for the rapids and steep incline make a difficult journey to the bottom.

There are also many man-made places, such as the Yavapai Lodge, which I have stayed at before, the shuttle buses and their stops, which will take you from point to point faster than it would take you to walk, a museum where you can watch a 5-10 minute movie, an area to rent bikes if you prefer biking over riding in a bus, and probably the most famous; the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which is a big glass bridge that goes into the

canyon; you can actually see straight below your feet! Pretty cool, right?

The sunsets, however, are on a whole new level of amazing! It was one sunset I will never forget! Sometimes, you need to move around a bit to get the perfect spot, but when you do, don’t move! You might miss the most beautiful sunset of your life! I would recommend that you just watch with your eyes, but if you want to capture it on your phone, then I would take pictures, because that way the image will be more clear than in a video where the sun will just look like a big, glowing ball unless you focus the camera every few seconds.

When you are visiting the Grand Canyon, always remember to pack sunscreen, bug spray or wipes, and lots of water, because the Grand Canyon doesn't have water fountains on the of the trails. (For safety reasons, and of course, it would be very difficult to hook up water systems all over the enormous canyon.) On the note of safety, I do advise that you stay behind the guardrails, but yes, there are spots all over the canyon where you could get as close to the edge as you'd like. I have sat on a rock that jutted out into the canyon, and honestly, it was breathtaking!

Well, I hope you learned enough about the Grand Canyon to visit, or maybe just get a new sense of appreciation for nature. Thank you for reading!

Credit to: Lamb, Susan and the Grand Canyon Association: Grand Canyon The Vault Of Heaven.

Smartphone Distractions

By: Neha Pagidi

Ring !! Ring !! What is that noise?

Oh! It is my Smartphone. There I

go, I got distracted again. Do you

like to text on your Smartphone or

do anything that involves devices?

Well in that case, those devices

could lead to a distraction. This is

the case with most of the people

these days.

The phone was made for communication, but nowadays people have so many uses for a Smartphone and they became a part of our life. These phones can be used for almost anything: music, texting ,games and all sorts of different types of apps. That is what can make you addicted to your devices or phones. Here are some of the health issues that Smartphones can cause: headaches, influence our nervous system, decreased attention, shortness of temper, sleep disorders. Finally the most dangerous things of all is distracted drivers using smartphones can cause road accidents. This is a common cause of teenage driver accidents.

Smartphones are not always

bad. Without smartphones, we cannot imagine our lives. We use smartphones for communication (calls, text and email), school assignments, shopping, alarms, calculators, navigation, browsing, and a lot more.

Most of the kids growing up at some point will have a smartphone. How do we balance between using the smartphone wisely without causing a distraction? Well here is a solution ,try to be active by staying outside and take a walk or a run. Set a time limit for phone use, keeping your phones or devices out of your bedrooms. Remove excess apps and never use your phone for morning alarm clock. Make meal time phone free time. Finally, there could be an app for almost every task, but avoiding apps and using our brains can help activate our senses.

Howdy, Modi!

By: Mohit Addanki

WHAT IT WAS: The HOWDY MODI event was a special event, in which the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, came to Houston, TX. It happened at NRG Stadium on September 22, 2019. Modi came to meet and share all of India's ideas with all the Indian-American citizens living in Texas. About 50,000 Indian Americans came to see Mod’s speech. The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump and the mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner were there, along with other representatives of congress and senator and other prominent Americans from all around the country to say: HOWDY, MODI !!! The Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner presented the ‘Key to the City of Houston to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. SECURITY: The security to get in was really, really, really heavy. The Secret Service was there, with bodyguards for both Prime Minister Modi & President Trump. People had to go through at LEAST 5 stages of security. We were given wristbands so it would be easier to get past the security because the bands tell security that you've already been checked. ARRANGMENTS: The parking arrangements were very nice. They put different sections for all the cars to park. The sections were based on colors. The parking sections were Yellow, Purple, Red, Green, Blue, Maroon,

and Orange. Although the parking sections were meant to keep traffic out of the way the Blue Section had almost a MILE of traffic. The food arrangements were good too. All the food was bought inside the stadium because no food was allowed from outside. There was a variety of food from India and America, like Burgers, Samosas, and Popcorn, Pizza, and Chutni.

They also gave us free T-shirts that said: HOWDY MODI! SHARED DREAMS, BRIGHT FUTURES to show our support for Modi. ENTERTAINMENT: At the entrance there was Face painting, there were drums called Dhols and dancers dancing to invite people into the stadium. The entertainment part of the show started around 10:30 There was high energy in the stadium. ‘Howdy, Modi’ event began with prayers and dhols. A lot of Indian American artists performed cultural events. Dancers performed various Indian dances like -Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Manipuri, Bhangra and fusion dances where East meets West. There were performances from the students of the University of Houston, there were cheerleaders, there was also a choir. A group called Indian Raga performed. The American and Indian National Anthems were performed. Prime Minister Modi thanked Houston for its amazing energy and affection. Both Modi and President Trump talked about the

importance of India and US relationship and the cooperation of both countries. At the end of the event, PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump took a lap around the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas to the sound of Dhol or the drums.

The Howdy Modi event was a fun and eventful time. I felt that it was a great time to learn a little about India and America's past, present, and FUTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun Facts: India is the largest democracy

on the face of earth With 1,30,000 Indian-

Americans Houston has one of the largest populations of the diaspora in US

1,000 volunteers and 650 Welcome Partner organizations are involved in organizing the event at Houston.

India is Houston’s 4th largest trading partner.

The event was broadcasted live online and on television channels reaching over 1 billion people across the US and India.

Both the constitutions of the USA and India begin with the words “We the people”

Author Visit

By: Angelica Lyles Do you like to read the book series, The Last Kids on Earth? Or do you prefer to watch the series on Netflix? Either way, the series is so good that you will want to meet the author. That is why it was so fun to meet Max Brallier (the author of The Last Kids on Earth) during the author visit.

The author visit was so fun because we learned things about the author. For example, when he was young he originally wanted to be a millionaire baseball player, but he decided he preferred daydreaming and writing about his dreams instead. At the author visit, we also learned that Max Brallier started his career as a publisher who wrote book reviews and slowly made progress by quitting his job. He wrote about things he would want to read in a book like strong friendships, silly and brave characters, video games, monsters, and junk food. Then, at the author visit we learned that he started planning out books by getting a piece of cardboard and index cards to write everything he wanted to put in the book in order from beginning to end. After that, by the age of thirty two he wrote and published the very first book of The Last Kids on earth in 2015! He wrote and published his latest book of the series at the age of thirty-six on September 17, 2019.

Lastly, after he became famous, he started traveling around to schools (like ours) in his car which he named “Big Mama” to inspire us to be creative and pursue whatever we want to do. Hopefully you enjoyed my review of the author visit and I hope you feel like you were there.

Courage

By: Tanya A. Courage at Davidson.. What a beautiful thing! Hey! Why don’t I share a little story with you?

One day two brothers were playing happily near a well until the school bully came over!!! Suddenly, they both started running home as fast as they could. The bully chased them back …BAM PLOP! The bully pushed over the older brother into the well!!! Suddenly the bully left. The younger brother had no idea about how to get his brother out. There were no adults around at all! He had no other option but to release the pail down. He pulled and pulled and up came his brother ALIVE!! What a story!!!! HEY!!!

For more stories, wait until the next Dragon times!!!!!

Better Habits

By: Zoe N. What is a habit? A habit is a pattern of behavior that you form over time. As a student we should learn to develop better habits that would help us in our school life. If you think you need some better habits, than this article may be for you.

Sleep Early

One good habit everyone should have is sleeping early. As a student, we must develop the habit of waking up early so we can prepare and get ready to study in school. Sleeping early can help us be productive, help our memory levels, and also help us to stay focused in school and keep us in a happy state.

Eating Healthy

Another positive habit is eating healthy. This ensures that our bodies are getting the proper nutrients for it to function properly. This gives us energy to help us perform our responsibilities as students.

Exercise

Exercise is another pleasing habit to have. Exercise is good for our muscles and bones, it can improve energy levels, it can help with brain health and energy, and it can even help with your sleep quality. I hope you find my article helpful :D

Mysterious Dholes

By: Samyuktha T.

Have you ever seen an extinct animal before? Well actually have you ever seen a dhole before? Well you will learn about them now. Dholes don’t hunt for food. They eat leftovers of food that other animals leave. It’s really rare for a dhole to do the hunting. Dholes eat mostly hoofed animals in India. They eat wild boar, deer, goat, banteng, sheep, and reindeer. Now you know what they eat, so let’s learn about what eats them. Tigers, leopards, and sometimes wild dogs eat dholes. But that’s also very rare because scientists say that tigers are very calm in the Indian forest. Dholes live deep inside the Indian forest. Scientists’ theories suggest that when a dhole pack catches its prey, it’s not the alpha who eats first, it’s the dhole who caught the prey .

Great White Sharks

By: Elsa St. Rose

Do you know what the scariest shark is? The scariest shark (to scientists) is the Great White Shark! The reason the great white shark is the scariest shark is because when they hunt they roll their eye pupil into the back of there head so that the flippers, or any other body part of the animal it is hunting, does not damage their eyes.

A lot of people are scared of

sharks because they think they eat surfers. The only reason sharks bite or eat surfers is because they think that surfers are seals. Sharks hope surfers are seals because seals are one of shark’s favorite meals. But, once a shark takes a bite out of a surfer, they soon figure out the surfer is not a seal. Sharks do not like the taste of human beings, mostly because we are not fat enough.

So, if you go to the beach,

do not fear, sharks will not eat you unless you are either surfing, (which will hopefully not happen) or going out during hunting time which is night. Some sharks hunt in the day time but Great White sharks do not commonly hunt during day time. So, do you think great white sharks are scary blood thirsty animals?

What is OCD?

By: Mackenzi Parkinson “I’m so OCD!” Is something people say when they’re talking about how they're organized and clean. But OCD is a lot more than that. It interferes with daily life. OCD causes your brain to get stuck on a particular thought or urge. For example, a person with OCD might check their stove 20 times to make sure it’s really turned off because they’re terrified of burning down their house, or wash their hands until they’re scrubbed raw because they’re afraid of germs. There are multiple categories of OCD, but here are the main ones. Fear of contamination and

germs. They frequently have cleaning or hand-washing urges.

Checking things over and over and over (oven turned off, door locked, etc.)

Frightened that if everything isn’t perfect, something terrible will happen.

Obsessed with order and perfection. Superstitions about certain numbers, colors, or arrangements.

OCD is hard to understand, but the book OCDaniel really helps OCD make more sense. The book, (written by Wesley King, who has OCD himself) is about a boy named Daniel. Daniel has OCD but he doesn’t know it. He thinks something is wrong with him, because every night, he has to go through his routine, or he thinks something bad will happen. He has to take the right amount of steps to the bathroom, use the right amount of toilet paper squares, wash his hands the right amount of times, flick the light switch of the right amount of times, etc. Every night he ends up crying himself to sleep, because the routine took him 5 hours, so he didn’t get to bed until 2 in the morning, and because his arm is sore from flicking the light switch 217 times. He’ s been doing his routine in secret for years, because he’s petrified that if he tells his mom, she’ll make him stop, and he thinks something horrific will happen if he skips his routine. Of course, nothing bad will happen, but because of his OCD, he thinks it will. In the end, Daniel finds out he has OCD and realizes others have it too. He starts to ignore the urges making him do things, and can finally be calm again.

The Great Fire of London

By: Aaravi Chhabra

It was the evening of September 1, 1666. Thomas Farriner, the baker of King Charles II, was at his bakery at Fish Yard, off Pudding Lane. Thomas Farriner did not properly extinguish his oven when he closed for the day and went to bed. A little after midnight, sparks from the smoldering embers of the oven fell on the firewood lying beside it, igniting a fire. Before long, his house was in flames. Farriner managed to escape with his family and a servant through an upstairs window, but a bakery assistant died in the fire – he was the first victim. Soon, sparks from Farriner’s bakery leapt across the street and set fire to straw and fodder in the stables of the Star Inn. From the Inn, the fire blazed with a fierce speed, spreading to Thames Street, where riverfront warehouses were packed with flammable materials such as candles, lamp oil, spirits, and coal. These stores exploded, transforming the fire into an uncontrollable blaze. In those days, houses were made of wood or tar which were both very flammable items which explained how the fire spread so quickly. Typically, in London, streets were narrow, houses were crowded together, and the firefighting methods in those days consisted of neighborhood bucket brigades armed with pails of water and primitive hand pumps. It had been a hot, dry summer, and a strong wind further encouraged the flames. The fire spread far and wide causing extensive damage to property as it grew. People tried to put out the flames with buckets of water, but they abandoned their efforts and ran away to rescue their families.

In those days, “firebreaking” was a common firefighting method where the city authorities demolished buildings to create a gap, so that the lack of flammable material would stop the fire from spreading. Sadly, the Mayor of London refused to give permission to the firefighters to demolish the buildings. People fled into the Thames River dragging their possessions. The homeless took refuge in the hills on the outskirts of London. Light from the Great Fire could be seen 30 miles away, as far as Oxford. On September 5, the fire slackened, and on September 6 it was brought under control. That evening, flames again burst out in the Temple, but the explosion of buildings with gunpowder extinguished the flames. The Great Fire of London was a devastating experience for the city of London and demolished nearly 2/3rd of the city. It raged from September 2 to September 6, and engulfed 13,000 houses, nearly 90 churches, and many public buildings, statues, pillars, livery halls and historic landmarks were destroyed. It left almost a hundred thousand people homeless. The ground was scorching and there was ash, dust and ruins everywhere. The old St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Guildhall and the Royal Exchange were severely damaged. Within days, King Charles II set about rebuilding his capital. The great architect Sir Christopher Wren designed a new St. Paul’s Cathedral. To prevent future fires, all new houses were built of brick or stone and separated by thicker walls. Narrow alleyways were forbidden and streets were made wider. However, permanent fire departments, were not established in London until the 18th century.

Surprisingly only 6 deaths were reported but the deaths of working class people were not recorded, so the count is thought to be significantly higher. But it took the city nearly 50 years to rebuild. In the 1670’s, a memorial column for the Great Fire of London called the Monument was built. The column stands 202 feet above the pavement and features sculpture and engravings that tell the story of the conflagration. In 1986, London’s bakers finally apologized to the lord mayor for setting fire to the city. They gathered on Pudding Lane and unveiled a plaque acknowledging that one of their own, Thomas Farriner, was guilty of causing the Great Fire of 1666.

Meet the

2019 - 2020

Dragon Times

Staff

4th Graders:

Tanya A.

Whitney F.

Sarayu M.

Neha P.

Harini S.

Elsa S.

Teja T.

Isaac T.

Samyuktha T.

5th Graders:

Mohit A.

Tina C.

Aaravi C.

Joseph J.

Smaran K.

Natalie K.

Angelica L.

Zoe N.

Jasmine N.

Mackenzie P.

Anushka S.

Anoushka S.

Ambar S.

Carolina T.

Teachers:

Mrs. Mason

Ms. Pustejovsky