My Camp Moment

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Greyson

For an end of the year activity my class was allowed to go camping. We were right by the beach and spent lots of time down there. This is my second year doing this trip but it was just as much fun this year as it was last year!

On the morning that we were leaving there was a mad scramble to get into cars and put our gear in peoples vehicles. The trip to the camp only took 7 minutes or something like that.

Right away we went into the camp and set up our tents and beds and then got ready to head for the beach! It only took a few minutes to get down to the beach and plus the trail to the beach is covered in shade, it was a nice walk.

Down on the beach everybody spread out and did whatever they wanted. Me and Zach really wanted to play soccer. Except, we hadn’t brought the soccer balls. So Zach and I ended up walking back to the camp and grabbing 2 soccer balls so we were able to play soccer. We played pass for a little while but then lots of people started to come and play. This was probably my favourite moment. We played a very very long game. It took up most of the afternoon but it was really funny and it was fun.

But later we also had a scavenger hunt. My group sorta kinda’ bent the rules so we didn’t have to do get some of the things. So my group ended up quitting early so we were sitting in my teachers shade tent and Matthew brought a fish that he thought was “dead”. As it turns out, it really wasn’t. It flapped out of his hand and fell onto the tent. Matt tried picking it up but ended up dropping it. He then tried again, and then dropped it. And then (third times the charm) he picked it up and started to sprint towards the water. Matt knew the fish was dying so in the end he tried throwing it into the water. It made it all right but it did end up dying.

So these are my 2 favourite camp moments. You ever been to camp? What did you like about it?

!!!Sailing!!!Catamarans!!!

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Greyson

So, I am pretty sure that everyone has gone swimming at some point. And I am sure that some people have gone kayaking in a river or something alogn those lines. But probably what lots of people haven’t tried is SAILING.

My class (well me for the second time because I have been in Ms. Smith’s class twice) got to try sailing catamarans. CATA-MER-AN-S. These sail boats have 2 hauls (yes 2 hauls, it is possible) a big tall mast, a main sail (the big big sail that is over the spot you sit) and a jib. (A smaller sail that is at the front of your boat.)

Every part of the boat has an important job. Here are a few parts that these boats have on them:

Hauls: The things that the boat floats on. (And remember, there are 2 of them.)

Mast: The really tall thing that comes out from the middle of the catamaran. The sail is “attached” to it.

Main sail: The big “bed sheet” that catches the wind in it and powers the boat forward.

Rudder: These are like the steering wheel of the boat. They look like knife blades and with the tillerbar which allows you to move the rudders you can steer the boat.

These are only a few parts of the boat. It takes awhile to learn all of the parts since there are a lot of them. And on top of that you have to learn about tacking and jibing and a wind compass. So don’t feel bad if you start sailing and it takes you a while to learn all of the parts because it is natural.

Just a warning, make you sure always have a change of clothes because you are going to get WET, especially if it’s a little windy outside. Just a caution.

And to conclude, I recommend you go SAILNG!

Have you tried sailing?

Search and Rescue Parachute Drop

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Greyson

Today we got to witness something for the millionth time, our search and Rescue team parachuted out of planes and landed in our sschool field. 3 guys jumped from the plane and pulled their rip coords then came driting down to earth under a bright orange parachute.

After they had all landed we were able to go talk to them. One person asked if it was scary to jump out of a moving plane while being higher in the sky. He answered “It is actually fun.” In my own opinion it probably was fun after you do it a few times. ‘Cause I am pretty sure that the first time I would be pretty scared to do it.

Our search and Rescue team does, well exactly what their called, they serach and rescue people who are lost or need to be evacuated out of a spot if they are badly injured. In my opinion is does sound like a sorta fun job being able to go parachuting while also being able to help somebody, but in the end I would probably choose a different career.

They usually jump from Buffalos that take off froour Canadian Forces Base that is in the valley.

Would you like to go skydiving? Would you become a Search and Rescue jumper?

24 Hour Soccerthon

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Greyson

I absolutely LOVE playing soccer. I play on grass fields and sometimes practise on gravel fields. But the thing we don’t have is a turf field. Turf is literally plastic grass! Thats all it it. But the grass doesn’t grow, you don’t get weeds, and the field remains flat! It will be a nice thing for the Comox Valley.

To help fundraiser for it our soccer club is having 24 hour soccer. It will be SOOO much fun. Every hour of the day there is a new game taking place. And it isn’t just happening the the afternoon and evening, some teams get to play at 12:00pm. My team is one of the lucky teams. Even my sister’s team gets to play at 1:00am!

So hopefully the Valley will soon get a turf field.

Does your town have a turf field? Do you play soccer? Do you play a different sport but play on turf? Let me know!

Class Election

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Greyson

In case you didn’t know this, Canada (the place I live) has recently had a federal election. Well, my class, (Huzzahnia) has recently had an election of our own.

Our class now has a 3 member council. These people are there to make sure we help the environment, make class life better, and make sure we get P.E. outside. These people are Jack, Max, and Meghan. However, the big question that was asked was if the election was free and fair. And I say YES it was!

For starters, we had all of the required personnel to do the jobs. A Returning Officer, Polling Clerk, 2 Scrutineers, and a Chief Electoral Officer. They all had to swear an oath to not share the voting information and not take advantage of anyone’s disabilities.

Our Scrutineers

Some problems did arise but were dealt with quickly by our Returning Officer.

Firstly, you are not allowed to have ANY signs or advertising in the polling station. Some people did try to sneak a few up and they were quickly taken down by our Returning Officer and had a thorough lecture about how that was wrong.

Someone getting caught putting up a sign

Someone even tried to put advertisement inside the secret voting box. Once again, it was taken out and nobody else tried to sneak any more signs in. But there was something else that somebody did. While waiting in line someone was trying to persuade people to vote for someone else by whispering to them. They were given a warning and then they stopped. Our Returning Officer did good huh?

Secondly, everyone who was of age was able to vote no matter what. Our friend Matt, ended up breaking BOTH of his arms on the day of the election. So his “brother” Zack had to swear an oath that he would go in and mark down who Matt wanted to vote for and wouldn’t change it to what Zack wanted. Our Returning Officer also went to Matt to make sure everything was legal and all.

Lastly, everyone’s vote was kept secret. You didn’t put your name on the ballot so nobody knew how you voted. This was a big one in the election. And there is only 3 people who know the exact total of votes. And they swore an oath not to tell.

This was a free and fair election!

Image Credits: All pictures taken by the wonderful and smart Queen of the Universe.

Victoria Cross

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Greyson

The Victoria Cross or VC is Britain’s highest military decoration. It has been awarded 1353 different men however, 1356 medals have been awarded. So that means that some men were rewarded more then 1. Only 3 men have EVER recieved the VC twice. It is amazing to win to win 1 but winning 2 of them is outstanding. The men who were rewarded twice are:

Lt. Col. Arthur Martin-Leake

Cpt. Noel Chavasse

Cpt. Charles Upham

These men showed”…most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.” As did all of the other 1350 men who have recieved this medal. It can only be bestowed upon members of the Armed Forces inside the British Commonwealth or territory.

This medal was introduced on January 29 1856 by Queen Victoria in order to honour people who showed great valour during the Crimean War. The medals were made from gunmetal. The gunmetal comes from captured Russian cannons during theSeige of Sevastopol. To date there is now only 10 kg of that gunmetal left. This amount is estimated to be able to create 80-85 more medals.

To earn this medal first you must recieve a recommendation by an officer in the army or someone who has equivalent rank. (Since there are 3 different types of military, there are different rank titles.) It also has to be witnessed by at least 3 people. However, in some cases, that has been waved away. That’s means that in some cases there was less then 3 witnesses, but the person still recieved the medal. Then it is assessed by the chain of command and then it is approved by the monarch. (Such as Queen Elizabeth) This is the order it takes to gain this precious medal.

Do you think you would like this medal? Before you answer, please remember what you would have to do do gain this medal.

What Have You Learned?

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Greyson

I learn something new everyday. No matter if it is Monday or Saturday. I can be in school or out of school, no matter what I learn something new everyday. I like this fact, it means I am always getting smarter. The information that I learn varies though between politics, soccer, school subjects, WWII facts from reading, etc. (I actually just learned something right now, how to write excetera in short form) Just recently my grandmas friend actually gave me a few books, and I have learned a whole lot! I am reading about the history of the RAF. The RAF stands for Royal Air Force, it protects England (U.K.) from attacking forces. Before I read the book I had a small picture of the history of the RAF, but this book has taught me so much. I learned about the different squadrons, different planes, why each plane was built, if the planes were any good, how the planes helped in battle. It has been a lot to take in. I have only been learning about WWII stuff right now since it was a huge part of the history for the RAF.

I have a passion for WWII but what I really do like learning about the equipment that each side used, and planes were a huge part of the war, which means that I really like learning about them.

So I learn something new everyday. Do you? Who do you learn it from?

Edited by Max and Matt

WWII German King Tiger Tank

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Greyson

The King Tiger tank was the heaviest armoured and most powerful tank in World War 2. It had a massive 88mm gun on the front that could rip open any tank that the Allies had. Even by the end of the war the Allies had no highly effective means of defeating this monster tank.

Why it was made?

German heavy tank production started before the war around 1937. The project was actually ignored when the Panzer III and IV came out as both of those tanks were effective. But when Hitler attacked to the West he was surprised by French heavy tanks. A meeting acquired on May 26th 1941 and Hitler wanted a bigger tank that had more armour then previous tanks and he wanted the tank to have a speed of at least 40 km/h. These were the starters and then the Tiger I was created and then later came the more powerful King Tiger.

What was it armed with?

The gun that was used was actually a variation of a 88mm anti-aircraft gun but it was a potent tank killer. It’s 88mm gun had a velocity of about 1000m a second if it was firing an amour piercing round. Since the gun was very accurate it could go through 150mm of metal armour even if the tank was more then 2 kilometer away from the tank. The shell traveled at about 2200m in about 2.2 seconds sometimes even less which meant that this tank could kill other tanks at ranges where the Tigers opponent couldn’t reach it.

What armour does the Tiger have?

Since it was a heavy tank it’s armour was massively strong. Some tank shells would just bounce off of it’s armour. Two designs were made, each with a different amount of armour and different guns. Lets just say that both had armour plating that was was extremely protective of the crew inside.

How to destroy this tank

The weak spots were it’s belly where the armour wasn’t as thick as well as the back where armour wasn’t as thick either. Another way was to shoot the track of the Tiger which would make it stop. Some tanks could actually kill the Tiger with it’s main gun but that wasn’t very often.

How many were made?

Since they were heavy tanks and took a lot of work to build, not very many were put out in the battle field. Also something else that held them back was the fact that later in the war, Germany was on the defense everywhere and they couldn’t get the raw materials top make the tanks so production slowed.

All around though it was a great tank, though one tank could match it on pretty even terms, The Soviet IS “Stalin” 2. But that is for another time.

Do you know anything about tanks? Have you ever heard of commanders that are good with tanks? Do you know how they are used today? I hope you learned something!

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Image Bovington Tiger II by Hohum

Image Koenigstiger_Saumur by Wkikmedia Commons

Tank compliments of Noah

My Pysanka Egg

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Greyson

Notice the weird name before egg? Well, that’s because it is Ukrainian. They are Easter Eggs except they do something special: these eggs tell stories by using certain symbols. Some symbols include horns, suns, wheat, ribbons (long patterns) and so on. Here are what some of the symbols mean:

Triangles: Represents many different things. They come in groups of 3. air, fire, water. Father, mother, child. Or Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Circles: These represent the great thing bright thing in the sky. (A.K.A the sun)

Nets and baskets: These show knowledge and represent “fishers of men.”

Pine Needles: This symbol represents health, stamina, eternal youth.

Some of the best qualities of my pysanky is that it represents me. The pine needles represent the fact that I am young and healthy. The swirls show that I am protected from harm when I am with my family, while the triangles represent my Dad, me and God. I also have several sets of ribbons which represents ever lasting life. Also, the colours that I have used are very bright unlike other pysankys I have seen. Although my pysanka only has a few symbols, the traditional ones have way more, they also tell a more detailed story. Here is an example of a real ones.

As you can see there are a few more than one here. If you can enlarge this image you will see all of the individual symbols on each pysanky like mine, each symbol represents certain things. Some have a lot more symbols and tell a long long, long story.

Do you decorate eggs for Easter? Have you ever made pysankys? How do you spend your Easter?

Image Credit: Pysanky II by Matt Carman

The Best Place In The Comox Valley?

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Greyson

The answer is Kye Bay. It is a huge stretch of beach right below our airport. The bay is about 2 km wide and stretches out for over 1 km. At the end of the sandbar there is a reef. Hundreds of shells along with dozens of starfish and thousands of sand dollars. You can lay out on the sandbar or sit up above the high tide line.

My family has a beach cabin down there. We stay there all through the summer. I usually hang out with friends down there. It is a lot of fun being able to go out on the beach every morning and walking out and smelling the salty breeze.

Whats your favourite place?

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