Baby Chicks are Cute but Samonella isn't

Many families buy chicks for Easter presents, but these little birds may be carrying more than just an afternoon of fun. Salmonella is caused by bacteria in animal feces. Sometimes the chicks get their feces on their beaks, wings, and feathers. When children go to pick the chicks up they get the feces on their hands. Most children put their hands in their mouths, and if they haven't washed their hands they can get food poisoning,(salmonella). The best way to prevent salmonella is just to wash your hands after you handle the chicks. So next time you touch a chick be sure to wash your hands.

by: Seth and Monte

Gun Safety

We believe you need to have a background check to be able to purchase a gun. It is not the gun that is violent it is the person that uses the gun to make violence. Guns such as machine guns, snipers, and other dangerous guns should only be able to be used for wars. We also believe you should have to have a separate gun license to purchase a gun.


Ryan
Daulton
Tanner

Gas Prices

Officials say people are driving less which means there's less money from gas taxes to fix the state. Also according to state revenue department, Iowans used about 19 million fewer gallons of gasoline and ethanol- blended fuels from February 2007 to February 2008 than in the previous 12-month period. Gas is over $3 a gallon, the overriding reason people are cutting back on unnecessary trips.

Heather

Homework

For our blog project we did it on the way we felt about homework and they way a couple of teachers felt about homework. The two teachers were Mr. Mast and Mrs. Orr. First we asked the teachers how they felt about homework. Mr. Mast said he thinks that without it, students are not able to learn and master concepts. Mrs. Orr said she thinks it is important to do individual work but too much can be stressful. We think it refreshes our mind but we shouldn't have too much of it. Another question we asked is how long do you think homework should take. Mr. Mast said he thinks it should take 20-30 minutes a subject. Mrs. Orr said she thinks it should take 2 hours a night at the most for all subjects. We thought it should only take 20-30 minutes for all of it. Mrs. The next question we asked was should we have it or not. Mr. Mast said definitely. Mrs. Orr said yes but not every night, especially Fridays. We said yes but definitely not on weekends. The last question we asked is do you think it helps us get better grades. Mr. Mast said yes if you don't do homework you will probably not do well on tests or quizzes. Mrs. Orr said "I think it helps teachers more than the students". It can help improve grades. We said that it helps us on class work and tests or quizzes. That is how Mr. Mast and Mrs. Orr felt about homework. It is also how we felt about homework.

Jake V.
Jacob F.
Christian W.

School Shootings and Shooting Threats

These terrible shootings are often provoked by the shooter's classmates or former classmates who have annoyed the shooter to violence as a form of revenge.
Some killers will create a false alarm, and in the chaos, open fire on the victims. Other times, there are written and/or verbal threats. The Virginia Tech shooting started with a written threat. In other cases, a threat is received or delivered by an accomplice and the building or area is locked down A.S.A.P. Sometimes the killer will already be in the building and either take hostages or start shooting randomly. Shootings can be any time, any day, anywhere. It doesn't matter if you are the killer's best friend or their enemy, you can be killed even if they don't want you to be. They are shooting aimlessly and don't care (or don't know) who they hit.


Grace
Alex

Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter is out of Major League Baseball until late July for the St. Louis Cardinals. He injured his elbow September 30th 2007 playing the Pitsburg Pirates. He will most likely have to go back to the minors until he he is fully recovered. Now all us fans can do is wait and see. Go here for major league stats.

Gage
Harlee
Dallas
DJ

GOING GREEN!

What has the environment ever done to you?Nothing right?Well then why are we destroying it?If you are concerned about what can happen listen to this; companies are starting to realize that they can help.Here's some tabs on what companies are making doing and what you can do to help the environment.Cleaning products like chlorox decided to go green and so did laundry detergent.Also jewlery,makeup,clothes solar panels to heat and light buildings,paint,light bulbs,and cars.Actually,in some states they are banning water bottles because people are not recycling them.Also taxis are "going green"by turning hybrid.You have control on what happens to our earth so choose recycle or don't recycle.

What if Animals Fought Back?

What if animals started hunting us? Where would we go? What would we do? This probably won't ever happen but what would we do if it did? What do you think we should if it did happen. Why would we do that?


Matt,
Eathen, Austin

Lock down 101

Has your school been in or practiced a lock down? Well if not, you need to! Being safe in a lock down, is key. So, we are going to tell you how your school and everyone in it, will be safe during a lock down.
Your classroom should be prepared. You need to close the windows and blinds, lock and shut the door,turn off the lights, remain silent and cooperative, turn off all electronics, and remove the battery from cell phones, blackberry's, and other hand held devices. Make sure all children stay with the group the teacher is in. Now there is possibility you may be in the hallway, you are to run to the nearest classroom and try to get in. For more information go to school lock downs.
We hope you have learned something from this. If you or anyone you know doesn't know what to do in a lock down please tell them, because safety is key, and we want everyone to stay safe.

Serenity N.
Courtney P.
Kaytlynn S.

St. Louis Cardinals

It started in Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. It was the final inning in the 2006 World Series. 2 strikes and the pitching. The pitcher threw the ball and the batter went to hit the ball and missed. For a moment it felt like the world stopped. The crowd cheered and screamed as the players in the dugout ran out on the field and made a big dog pile. David Eckstein was awarded M.V.P. 6 months after the World Series; a heart breaking accident on Interstate 64 took place. The pitcher of the Cardinals, John Hancock, was killed. He died on the scene. The Saturday before his death he pitched three innings against the Cubs. As the 2008 season is about to begin the St.Louis Cards traded third baseman Scott Rolen will be playing for Troy Glaus. Rolen will be playing for the Toronto Blue Jays. Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder won't be ready opening day, but the new player (Juan Gonzalez) is there to rescue them in the new season. Eight players are injured: Matt Clement, Chris Carpenter, Juan Encarnacion, Dewon Brazelton, and Mark Mulder. Albert Pujols has an elbow injury and probably will be out, but right now it is not for sure thing. It looks as if the Cardinals are already off to a rough season,but in the end Cardinals Fans will always love them.

Rebecca

Amanda