My Last Post :(

At the beginning of grade 8, I was exited to see all of my friends. One thing I wasn't too pumped about though was the actual subjects. Geography, science, math, music. But ever since grade 5, there is one subject that I kind of enjoyed. English. When I heard that we were going to be writing blogs in English, I was exited.

Since the beginning of the year I have now written about 20 blog posts, and have actually enjoyed writing them. I think having your students write blogs about different topics they enjoy writing about is a great idea. Rather then having to listen to a teacher inform you about a topic you have absolutely no interest in, you get to express your feeling about something you like. Also, I think that having the freedom to blog about anything in the world allows you to be more creative and can result in a better grade.

If you disagree and think that the teacher or students should have a say in what you write about, you can have two students and your teacher think up blog topics and share them with everyone. Then you can have the choice to choose one of those topics or write about something you think is more interesting.

Overall, I think blogging is a great modern way of expressing how you feel thorugh creative writing and is a great form of teaching.

Brendan

I commented on Alex's newest post.

Basketball

When I was young, my dad enrolled me in many sports. Hockey, football soccer. I thought they were alright except for hockey, because I couldn't skate. One day, I asked my dad if he could put me on a basketball team, because basketball looked like a fun sport. He thought about it and after I begged him for a few days he said yes. When I got to my first practice, I didn't like it because all we did was run. All I had seen in basketball was dribbling and shooting, so that's what I wanted to do. When I went home I asked to quit, but my dad said I couldn't because I was committed to the team. Luckily, when I arrived to the next practice that is exactly what we did, and ever since them basketball has been my favorite sport.

I have been playing basketball since I was about 6 and I can't get enough of it. I don't think I have gone a week without playing basketball since I was 6 either. I have played on about 15 different teams and have attended around 9 different basketball camps. Throughout the years my goals have to just have fun and become a great basketball player and so far I'm achieving my goals. Also, throughout my basketball life I have achieved many things such as being asked to play on high level teams, winning many competitions and prizes, winning medals and being MVP. I am proud of my achievements and plan on getting many more throughout my basketball career.

The reason I like basketball so much is because it is such a fast pace sport. Unlike hockey or soccer, where there is a goal every 20 minutes there is a basket about every minute. Also, there are many different ways of scoring such as dunking, shooting from close up, lay-ups, 3 pointers and free throws. In games that is what keeps me interested and having fun.

To conclude basketball is a great game and my favorite sport and it always will be my favorite sport!

I commented on Cassie's newest post

My Summer

School is almost over and summer is aproaching. The school year has gone by really fast and all we have left is 3 exams and a school trip. To me this is a good thing because summer is the best time of the year.

My summer starts right after the grade 8 tirp with my class. First, Harley's family and I head to Darian Lake for a week. It's an amusement park/camp site. Right after, My frind and I go up to my cottage to chill with my best bud Cassie for another week. There, we get to go tubing on Cassie's boat. Next, Harley and I go on another trip to the maritimes with my family. When we're there we do all sorts of things like zip lining, go to magnetic hill and other fun stuff. Once I'm back from there I have 2 weeks at my cottage with my friends and then I'm off to Olympia Basketball Camp in Muskoka, for 1 week. When I'm there I get to hang out with my friends and play inetense basketball at the same time.

For the last few weeks of summer I go to another camp in Muskoka called Tawingo with Harley. I get to spend 2 weeks there. I have been going to the camp for 3 years and I really like it. Afterwards to end off the summer, Harley and I go to Florida with his family for 1 week. When we're there we get to go to Universal Studios. Then it's back to boring old Guelph for school.

In my opinion this is one of the best summers a guy could have, and I am really exited to start summer!

I commented on Harley's newest blog

Rugby

There are 3 sports to choose from in third term at sjk if you are a guy. Rugby, badminton and track and field. Every single year I have chosen track because I always dislike badminton and I thought I would get murdered in rugby. This year I decided to go out on a limb and play rugby because all of my friends were and it sounded like fun. Now, after playing a month and a bit of rugby, I have realized that I was making a mistake all of those other years at sjk.

One of the main reasons I chose rugby is because I have done track in third term every single year and I decided that I wanted to learn a new sport, and rugby sounded interesting. Most of my friends were joining too, so I thought that it would be even more fun. The first practice I was a bit nervous because I had never played before and everyone else had. I caught on quickly though, and after a few practices rugby became one of my favorite sports to play. We have our first game tomorrow and I am more excited to play it then I have been for every other sport.

I may have only played this sport for a month and a bit, but already I like it more then most of the other sports I have played. If someone were wondering what sport they should do in third term, I would say rugby because you can learn something new and have fun doing it. Track and field can be fun sometimes, but it is no comparison to rugby. Badminton also cannot be compared.

so, next time you are trying to figure out what sport to do for third term, or just any sport to play outside of school, I recommend you try out rugby.

Brendan

I commented on Evan's blog

The King of Pop

On August 29th, 1958 Michael Jackson a.k.a. the king of pop was born. Not on March 1st 1994. Justin Bieber's birthday.

Michael Jackson was the 7th of nine children to be born. He started his musical career at the age of 5. When he was very young, he joined and led a family group called the Jackson 5. In 1968 the Jackson 5 were discovered. It may seem like he just joined a family band and they got discovered and everything was all perfect, but it wasn't. As a kid, Michael's dad beat him. Also, he didn't have much of a life as a kid because Michael was busy practicing in his studio 24/7. After a few more years of number 1 hits, Michael's career grew. He became a solo artist and had recorded many, many more albums.

When Justin Bieber was younger, he lived an average life. One day he had a singing competition and come of his relatives couldn't make it. Since he still wanted them to see him sing, he posted a few videos of him singing on Youtube. Later, usher saw his videos and thought that Justin had a lot of potential. He eventually made Justin famous and he has recorded 2 albums.

After reading those 2 paragraphs, who do you think is the king of pop. Michael Jackson, the best pop singer ever to live who has recorded a total of 16 albums before the age that Justin Bieber is now and a grand total of 26 albums. He also one a record of 8 grammy's in one night! Or do you think it is a 16 year old boy who has 3 number one hits and 2 albums?

Brendan

I commented on Harley's post

Uniforms

Everyday before school we wake up and put on our uniform. It's the same thing everyday. Having to wear the same thing everyday can get pretty bad. Eventually you start to think, "Why do I have to wear a uniform?" Here is my opinion on uniforms.

Firstly, the uniforms are very uncomfortable. I would be fine if I only had to wear it for a few hours, but having to wear it 5 days a week is just too much. I think more people would be fine with uniforms if they were a bit more comfortable. Also, having to wear your shirt tucked in, your tie as high as it can go, and all of our top buttons done up makes it even more uncomfortable. If your shirt comes untucked at anytime throughout the day, you get in trouble for it. I think that is unfair because it is bound to happen eventually and you shouldn't get in trouble for something like that. If you have to wear a uniform, you should get to wear it how you want to.

Lastly, I was always taught to dress how you want, and not follow what others do. Also, to be your own person and express it however you want. Well, a lot of people express their feelings through clothes. Having to wear a uniform exactly how they want you to wear it is unfair. They completely contradict themselves, because they say to dress how you want and not listen to what others have to say. then they go and make us wear what they want, how they want.

I personally don't think schools should make kids wear uniforms. This makes everyone the same and no one can express their feelings.

Brendan (I commented on Evan's blog)

Evensong

Every Friday after 4th period everyone grabs there sweaters and blazers and heads off to the chapel. For some people it's one of the best parts of the day, but for most people it is a waste of time.

Instead of evensong being a break off of school, you have to go sit in an overheated chapel and listen to things that you don't find interesting at all. I would much rather have classes. I find in evensong, that when I do try to pay attention we seem to go over the same topic over and over again. Plus, we already spend 1 hour a week learning everything we need to know.

Another reason evensong is boring is because we can't ask questions. In every class we get to raise our hand and ask a question about something we don't understand. In evensong, if your confused then your out of luck. This makes learning in evensong a lot more difficult.

To conclude, I think evensong is a waste of time and that the time should be used for our regular class time schedule.

Brendan

My Comment:

http://cassiesblog28.blogspot.com/2010/03/were-born.html?showComment=1270686812856_AIe9_BGQZCde_rmSCzWiExE1MDNH_wRt0Ua0G02nfz9zuhTXjMUQpM5sTRSfOestJQ2r66apzBiisTKmRMdc98K_WjORE5iquBOD8xN1FYtNKpNqnUKaxM-1faRxQBUhorjsHjxN1FJoDIWvtiUdABd20VmRd2jya_QQ6aUWjvLgk7rtHFM_zbBZcsydkCpXksUDCTQfDicuMLVrbgATfcFJqVYe-0aLQw#c1911835812541702949

DINOS

Around 65 million years ago dinosaurs went extinct. When most people think back to the dino's time, they are glad that they died and that they do not live with us today. Others think back and wish that dinosaurs didn't die. I am one of those people.

Dinosaurs are AWESOME and deserve to still be alive with us to this day. They never did anything wrong and no one has proof that dinos were destructive and mean. This is just people being stereotypical. My personal favorite dinosaur is the Velociraptor! I've always loved this dinosaur because first of all, it looks awesome, second, it can jump really high, and third, because it has sharp teeth and bosses all of the other dinos around. If dinosaurs were still alive, I would totally use it as a pet and ride it to school everyday. We wouldn't have problems with traffic because everyone would be scared of it and we could just weave our way through all of the cars. 

My second favorite dinosaur would have to be the Tyrannosaurus Rex, also known as the T-rex. This dino is the biggest of all the dinos. It has a HUGE body and tiny arms, and can eat through anything. It still is not as powerful as the Velociraptor though, because the velociraptor always has a posy because that's how cool they are. Velociraptors and T-rexs have been known to have big battles too to prove who was better. Ofcoarse, the velociraptor and it's posy one ever time because of its popularity. 

I hope I have taught you a bit more about my two favorite dinos, the velociraptor and the tyrannosaurus rex. Maybe now you will wish dinos were still alive too!

Brendan

The Olympics!

When it comes to competition, Olympics is as big as it gets. All of the best athletes from around the world come to one place and compete to see who is the best. Canada, U.S., Germany, France and many, many more. The Olympics consist of the summer games and winter games. The summer games consist of sports like basketball, swimming, track and field and more. The winter games consist of sports such as skiing, snowboarding, luge, curling, speed skating and more. But what makes these athletes? People have been asking this question forever and I will try to give you my opinion on what I personally think makes an athlete.

Firstly, I think Olympic level athletes have to be born with some sort of talent in a sport. Also, it takes a lot of dedication. Lots of people dream of going to the Olympics in a sport when they are little, but very few of them stick with their dream. You always here Olympians saying how they dreamed about being there since they were young. They stuck with their dream and dedicated their life to accomplishing it, and it eventually came true. I think this is the main reason that they make it to the Olympics.

Another thing that I think makes an olympian is confidence. Whenever an olympic athlete is interviewed they always say how prepared and confident they are. They are not afraid of failure and they put it all out there. Also, if they do poorly in an olympics, they dedicate their next 4 years to becoming better then they were before. As they say, the olympics is not mainly for competition, but for improvement.

I think that these are the two main things that make an olympian. I also think that an olympian can be made at any age, because all it takes is dedication and hard work. 

Brendan

If I Could Redo One Day

A young girl was hit by a car at 8:00 pm yesterday on in Waterloo and was killed by the impact. A young boy was hit in the head by a hockey puck and was killed instantly in Guelph. I hear stories like this almost everyday on the radio driving to school each morning. Innocent people die everyday because of freak accidents. There families are left wishing, "If only we could redo that day and prevent this from happening?" This blog was supposed to be about if I could redo one day, but instead I would rather give my redo day to someone who really needs it. 

Tragedies happen everyday to innocent people, communities and even countries, so why should I waste a redo for something that probably doesn't even matter. For example, people in Haiti are dying because of something that no one could have stopped. Imagine if none of it ever happened and the world stayed how it was. Children would still have parents and parents would still have children. Over 200 000 innocent people have died. One redo day could save 200 000 people. So why should I be so selfish and redo a basketball game that I didn't play well in, or an embarrassing moment that probably no one remembers. 

Seconds can change some ones life, or the entire world as we know it. The Haiti earthquake only lasted a couple minutes and it is one of the biggest tragedies the world has ever seen. If I had one redo day I would give it to someone who could warn the Haitian people and prevent so many deaths. It only takes seconds to destroy a part of the world, but there is always a way to fix it.

Brendan

If I could be anything for 1 day

If I could be anything in the entire world for 1 day I would be a flying squirrel. Now some of you are probably thinking, "What the heck?" So, I will do my best to give you an explanation of why I chose this extraordinary animal.

One of the main reasons I chose the flying squirrel is because it is fluffy. I love fluffy things, and if I was fuzzy it would just make my life that much better. I don't really care what color I would be, as long as I wasn't black, because it is too plain.

Second, I would be able to fly for short periods of time and climb trees all day. Since I am already pretty pro at climbing things, I think I would fit right in with all of the other flying squirrels. Also, falling from high heights would be scary, but definitely adrenaline pumping.

Lastly, the whole reason why I chose this animal is because.................. IT GETS TO SLEEP AAAAAAALLLLLLLLL DAY! If I could sleep for an entire year I would do it. I love sleeping. Plus my fuzzy fur would keep me warm and cozy in the winters. 

So, next time your walking in some foreign country beside some large trees, and you see something fly out of them and land in the next tree. Just think to yourself........... that just might be Brendan Kirby.

Super D Dooper Power

There are millions of super powers to choose from. Flying, invisibility, x- ray vision, shape shifting and many, many more. If you ask me those are all pretty great super powers to have, but there is only one that beats all of those and that is the power to freeze time!

Some of you are probably thinking something like, “WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY!” or, “THAT IS THE WORST POWER YOU COULD CHOSE!” Well, I used to think the exact same thing. I thought it was the most stupid power of all, but then I thought about it and came up with many reasons why it really is the best.

First, if you were ever in a tough situation where you didn't know what to do or had to think really fast, you could just pause the world instantly. Then as soon as you came up with the answer you could just quickly un- pause the world and say the answer. 

Second, if you were really angry at someone (if you are a teacher then you should just skip this paragraph) you could just pause the world and give them a good smacking. When you un- paused the world they would have no idea what just hit them. Also, if you were being attacked by someone, or another villain, you could just pause the world, hurt them and put them in a choke hold, and as soon as it came back to reality the villain would be done with. These are just two of the many, many reasons why the power to freeze time is the best.

If you still are not convinced........... then you have issues, because I thought long and hard about some amazing reasons and I think the power is super D dooper AWESOME.

Brendan

Did You Know?

In 2006 there were 2.7 billion searches every month, and now there are 31 billion searches every month. That is a 1200% increase! Now that may seem like a pretty big number, but not many people understand how many 1 billion is. One billion seconds ago it was 1960. One billion minutes ago Jesus was alive. One billion days ago there were no humans walking on two legs on the entire planet!

Technology is growing at a extensive rate. Now this is not a bad thing at all, but are we putting it to good use? If we can make a computer by 2013 that has the same capabilities as the human brain, and NTT Japan can make a fiber optic cable that can push 14 trillion bits per second then we for sure can put the money and technology towards something more useful. We need to start learning to learn how to use the technology and put it to better use. 

The biggest question is how do we use the technology to help problems in the world? Well, that's why I said earlier we need to learn to learn how to use the technology better. We are slowly beginning to understand some things and put them to better use. For example african farmers now have cell phones and use them to find the best prices for their crops. They will now have the money to make more and more crops. Another example is if one of your family members is sick, in one click of a button you can figure out what sickness their suffering from and how to cure it. 

If technology keeps growing at this insane rate, we will never catch up to it if we do not learn how to properly use it. This is my opinion on this 

video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

Brendan