Heathcote Spirit Day!

by Xiyan

At my school, we have a day called Spirit Day it’s when the whole school dresses up in our school colors (Yellow, White, and Black), but some people go even more far. Some people like my friend Carlie get so festive, that they have face paint, lipstick, and even tattoo’s! But the fun is when we get to have pom poms, and dance around at lunch! But there is also another activity we go to, it’s after Spirit day and it’s the Heathcote Carnival, but now since we aren’t allowed to have rides anymore, we call it a fair. But it’s still fun without the rides, like there is food, and you can even win special prizes, like maybe have breakfast with your teacher, or go to a curling game with Mr. Borgia (Our P.E. teacher). And this year, I am more excited than any other year because my teacher Mrs. Rago, promised that she would bring her kids Rory and Finn, and I haven’t actually met them in person but I know that they are super cute! Because the whole class has seen tons of pictures of them. I hope that this year’s Spirit day and Fair will be even more fun than ever!  

The Greek Gods

by Xiyan

Hi guys! I recently read a series that were based on the Greek Gods called Percy Jackson and the Olympian Gods. I became so interested that I read all about the Greek Gods. I was inspired to write this chart of the Gods and what they represented:

How to Make Colorful Bath Soap Bombs

by Xiyan

Imagine tons of colors exploding into your bathtub. That’s basically how a bath bomb works after you put it in the water. I am literally in LOVE with bath bombs which is why I decided to give you guys a recipe for how to make a bath bomb:

Ingredients and Supplies:

1 cup of baking soda

½ cup of citric acid

½ cup of Epsom salts

1 tsp. of water

2 tsp. of essential oil

3 tsp. of olive oil

Any type of food coloring

A bowl

A whisk

A jar

Bath bomb mold

Steps:

Heathcote Art and Poetry Festival

by Xiyan

April is Spring and our school always holds an Art and Poetry Festival. The Art and Poetry Festival is basically when all of the students write a poem and they have art work up on display so the parents can come in and look at all of the poems and art.

This year my class is making chairs for a person in art. But these are not just any kind of people, Fantasy ones like a wizard, or a giant. I got a Vampire teen, so I basically designed a very dark chair for him.

Our art teacher Ms. Cameron is also making a Poetree, get it? A poetree! It’s also very fun to look at other people’s poems, because you might be surprised by the stuff your friends write.

I hope this year I get to see some very interesting poems by my friends. I also hope that my parents can see my poem. No matter who you are at Heathcote, the Art and Poetry festival is very interesting and fun!

The Process of Making Chocolate

by Xiyan

researched on BrainPop

1. After the beans are harvested, they have to be fermented for about a week
2. Then the beans get dried in the sun for much longer
3. Then the beans that have already been fermented and dried in the sun will get roasted
4. After that, the beans are winnowed
5. Then they get mashed into a gooey liquid that’s called chocolate liquor
6. Then cocoa solids are ground into cocoa powder like the stuff we use to make hot chocolate

How to Make the Usual Chocolate We Eat

1. Most of the recipes start with the baker’s unsweetened chocolate
2. Then you have to add more cocoa butter to be added into the bowl
3. Next, sugar and flavorings are added into the mixture
4. If it was milk chocolate we were making then we would add a lot of milk too
5. The ingredients then get mixed all together in a special process called conching
6. Finally, the conched chocolate is heated then cooled on a very complex process called tempering

Glossary:

Fermented - Dried out for a period of time

Winnowed - De-shelled

Conched - Ingredients getting mixed up in a special mixing process

Tempering - The chocolate is heated and cooled

The Boston Tea Party

by Xiyan

When it was the night of December 16, 1773. The Sons of Liberty pretended to be some Indians and boarded three ships on the Boston Harbor and they threw 342 chests full of tea into the sea. This is today known as the Boston Tea Party.

The Cause of the Boston Tea Party

The American Revolution had started and the king had just passed out a new law, that everyone had to pay taxes for all the Tea they drank, that’s a LOT of Tea, so on December 16, 1773, some of the true patriots of our country decided to dump 342 chests full of tea into the sea.

The Effect of the Boston Tea Party

When all of the Tea was dumped overboard, the British shut down the Boston Harbor until all of the Tea was all payed for.

The Boston Tea Party was one of the most important and famous acts of the American Revolution.

Traditional Food in China

by Xiyan

After all, I am chinese, so researching about this topic was very easy. Let’s first start with the most popular and traditional, Dumplings. The fillings usually inside are pork or cabbage. You can also have Fried Dumplings. In my opinion, they are delicious!

My Classroom's Valentine’s Day

by Xiyan

I remember my class' Valentine’s Day. As people walked in, the whole classroom was decorated with hearts on the ceiling and on the door when I came in. That was because earlier this month, some of the girls in the class (including me) decorated the whole classroom with hearts. Some people walked into the classroom with Valentine’s boxes. They were full of candy, and tattoos. Then we had to go on a field trip to see an orchestra called the Philharmonic. After the trip, we went back to the school to have lunch. When lunch was over, one of the 4th grade teachers (Mrs. Roberts) gathered all of the 4th graders into the wing and she told us all of the Valentine’s activities we could do. I chose to make Valentine’s for my friends and teacher. I first made a Valentine’s for my substitute Mrs. Singer. Then I found in my locker a Valentine’s by my best friend (Jessica), and I felt inspired. So I made a Valentine for my best friend too (Jessica). Then it was time to hand out Valentine’s, I got tons of Valentine’s (a.k.a. I got a lot of candy). I also completed this math/Valentine’s puzzle. This was basically the BEST Valentine’s day I ever had!

Interesting Facts About the first Thanksgiving

by Xiyan

Have you ever wondered about what the pilgrims ate at the first Thanksgiving? Have you ever wondered who they ate with? They all are very interesting questions, that’s why I decided to write about them.

The first Thanksgiving actually wasn’t to celebrate pilgrims reuniting with their family (Like we do), but actually to celebrate their harvest with the Wampanoag Indians to thank them for helping them survive.

Interesting Facts About the First Thanksgiving

by Xiyan

Have you ever wondered about what the Pilgrims ate at the first Thanksgiving? Have you ever wondered who they ate with? They all are very interesting questions, that’s why I decided to write about them.

The first Thanksgiving actually wasn’t to celebrate pilgrims reuniting with their family (Like we do), but actually to celebrate their harvest with the Wampanoag Indians to thank them for helping them survive the Winter.

Turkey

The Amazing World of Harry Potter

by Xiyan

J.K. Rowling’s books are known for their fantasy and her amazing storytelling tricks have amazed us! The Harry Potter series are fantastic to read no matter where you are, or who you’re with, it’s still a very interesting read! I’ll ask you a question, do you know what Butterbeer is? Or do you know how to play Quidditch? If you don’t know, read the books! Or if you like, go to this website: Pottermore - The digital heart of the Wizarding World. There are Harry Potter fans all around the world. Maybe you could be one of them too!

Makeup Tips

by Xiyan

#1: Always remove your makeup before you go to bed (It will make it more easier!)

#2: if you want to change your eyebrows always change it like your original eyebrows

#3: Apply eyeliner with open eyes so basically every shape you make is the same

#4: Use eyeshadow as a highlight

#5: Try not to apply blush to darkly (It won’t look natural!)

#6: You can see what kind of blush you need by looking at your lips (It has to be a bit lighter tone than your lips). Thank you for reading!

P.S. Some of these tips I learned from my mom, and some of these tips I thought of myself.

Dolphin Facts

By Xiyan

Dolphins are related to whales and porpoises. Dolphins has a fish shaped body but they  are mammals. Dolphins have lungs but they have to go to the surface to breath. Dolphins usually are 4 to 30 feet long. They weigh between 100 to 20,00 pounds. Some kinds of dolphins live in rivers. Dolphins have a layer of fat called blubber. Blubber helps the dolphin float and keeps them warm. Dolphins uses sounds to sense the places of underwater objects (My favorite fact!). Dolphins have excellent hearing. Groups of dolphins communicate by making a clicking sound. Most dolphins live in groups. Several kinds of dolphins are endangered. Thank you for reading about dolphin facts!

World Math Day!

by Xiyan

It was another World Math Day!

World Math Day is all about celebrating math all around the world. At Heathcote we celebrated math by playing math games/puzzles. Also at Heathcote our principal walks to all the classrooms holding a jar which has a certain number of an object. In this case this math day at Heathcote we have a jar of smiley face yoyos. My clases guess was 45 which wasn’t even close! Turns out, it was 60! I guess I’ll wait another year.

You can celebrate math anyway you want. You can celebrate by reading about math, you can celebrate by doing math, you can celebrate even by just talking about math, you can even sing about math. There are so many ways you can celebrate math! They are all so fun! Go World Math Day!

Meet the staff writers - Xiyan

By Xiyan

Hi! My name is Xiyan. I am in 4th grade. I have never done the Heathcote Herald. I love reading and writing. I play tennis and I like to run around. I also really like pizza. I hope I can do a lot of writing on animals this year. I also hope I can write about fashion this year, I would like to also make some videos this year.