The Grim Grotto

The Grim Grotto

by Lemony Snicket

Pages: 323

"Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp." The Grim Grotto, by Lemony Snicket, tells one of the final unfortunate events in the lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. A stroke of luck brings the siblings aboard the Queequeg, a submarine somehow connected with V.F.D. There, the orphans encounter Captain Widdershins, a loud captain with the tendency to repeat "aye," Fiona, an aspiring mycologist, and Phil, an optimistic, past co-worker from Lucky Smells Lumber Mill. Soon, the Baudelaires and Fiona are sent off to find "the sugar bowl," a mysterious item of V.F.D.'s, that must be kept away from Count Olaf. While on their search, Sunny is found to have been afflicted with Medusoid Mycelium, a quick-killing fungus -- just as she and her siblings are captured by Olaf. With Sunny's life on the line, Violet and Klaus must find a cure and escape Olaf... But the question is, will they accomplish this before it's too late?

The Slippery Slope

The Slippery Slope

by Lemony Snicket

Pages: 337

"Like handshakes, house pets, or raw carrots, many things are preferable when not slippery." The Slippery Slope, by Lemony Snicket, is the tenth tale of the lives of the Baudelaire children. After an unexpected plot by Count Olaf succeeds, Sunny ends up in the villain's clutches, while Violet and Klaus are stranded in the Mortmain Mountains with few supplies. The siblings try their best to be reunited, but with the cruel cold of the mountains, snow gnats, confusing snow scouts, and chilly breakfast, the odds are instantly stacked against such a thing. Soon, Violet and Klaus meet Quigley -- the Quagmire triplet presumed to be dead -- and the three make their way to the mysterious V.F.D.'s headquarters. Or, rather, its ashes. Meanwhile, Sunny comes face-to-face with two new villains, who love arson almost as much as Olaf -- but are far more sinister. With Sunny trapped, Violet and Klaus caught in a mystery, and V.F.D. who-knows-where, will all three Baudelaires make it out of the mountains, or will they be lost in the snow?

Hurray, Science Lab 3000

Today's science lab concerned pollution -- and its effect on animals. Every group was given two piles of different colored bears, red and blue. The red were meant to represent living bears, while the blue ones were pollutants. We were also given a "game board," and a page to record all findings. The bears were tossed into a bucket, and groups of two were pulled out until they were all gone. Two red bears meant they lived, and got a red baby bear (or cub, if you prefer). A red and a blue meant a dead bear, but nothing happened to the pollutant. Two pollutants created a... baby... pollutant (don't ask how that's possible, I honestly have no idea). The task was to see how much pollution this species could take before being wiped out; my group almost made it past the fourth generation. I learned a few things in this lab. A) Pollution, even in small amounts, can really take its toll on an environment (of course, that's common knowledge, but still.) B) At the rate the world is going, species are going to be going extinct faster than they are now. And C) If this keeps up, the mighty species of plastic counting bears will reach its end.

Hurray, Science Lab 2.0

I would have made this entry about Computer Lab, but that entry would consist of "I played games and learned nothing," which kind of defeats the purpose of blogging about the labs.

Anywho, today's Science Lab did not contain dangerous chemicals or bird feathers, yet it was still very interesting. The topic of the lab was plastic. Ms. Martinez pointed out the many things we use in our daily lives that contain petroleum products: alarm clocks, toothbrushes, pajamas, toilet paper; and that's only part of the typical morning. Needless to say, it was rather shocking. Next, the class was given a paper with a picture of a common kitchen on it. To make a long story short, only two things were found in that kitchen without any form of petroleum products on, in, or making up the item. The rest of the lab was devoted to finding plastics we use daily, and thinking of ways we can try to push away a bit of the plastic filling our lives. I learned, while plastic is useful, too much can be a very bad thing. Really bad. Affecting the majority of the America bad. I also learned people are beginning to take note of just how much plastic is around us. That's something to think about; there's still a chance we won't all develop horrible health and die thanks to plastic. And, lastly, that glasses made of glass are actually quite nice, especially compared to plastic cups. Just saying.

Hurray... Science Lab?

Today's science lab was the second half of last week's lab, and arguably the more fun one. Each table was given a bird's feather, and drops of oil would be placed on the feather. This was supposed to be a bit like a bird caught in an oil slick. The goal was to get the feather clean without ruining the feather, as this would kill the bird. Now, what did I learn from this? Cheap liquid soap spreads around oil, vinegar only fizzles a bit, and baby shampoo may smell nice, but is otherwise useless. The other thing I learned? Baby powder is probably the worst thing to use in this kind of situation, as all it does is crust onto the feather and ruin it. And it's also pretty funny when it happens to other people, and it isn't an actual bird. Oh, and the last thing I learned? Pet shampoo and... Citric acid, I believe? Anyway, they're the best combination for clearing away the oil, which Ms. Martinez told us after the lab was done.
In conclusion, it's now very clear to me why sixth graders don't handle animals from oil slicks.

Hurray, Computer Lab The Fourth

Today in Computer Lab, once again, I reviewed many old topics, in preparation for the CST. Beforehand, however, the class was shown a chart of what happens with technology in sixty seconds, like how many emails are sent out, or how many Facebook posts are made. I was a bit surprised to learn 17,000+ apps are downloaded during this time, but that's due to me not understanding the allure of iAnything. Soon after the class was sent to Bite-Sized Math, where, as mentioned before, more CST prep was waiting. I managed to get through three of the five/six, which covered 2D shapes, 3D shapes, and angles. I figured they would be easy, but soon realized how much I had forgotten, and am glad to say I now remember quite a bit about those topics. I hope the CST test will arrive faster; I want to see if, with all this practice, I will be able to pass it with flying colors.

Hurray, Computer Lab 3000

Today in Computer Lab, I reviewed two old math topics, and practiced more on another. The class was sent to Bite-Sized Math, where three activities were waiting for us. The first had to do with frequency diagrams. Pie charts, bar graphs, and the like were reviewed, through the scenario that a village had been overcome by the plague, and we had to tally up who was infected and how much of the cure was needed. These charts are used often in real life, like for organizing how many kids take the bus to school, or measuring the success of a new brand of cereal. The second was a review of median, mode, mean, and range, which, of course, we have been learning in class. Needless to say, it wasn't too difficult, but it was still a very good way to practice the math. While I still am not sure how it's relevant to real life, I'll guess it's something highly important. And lastly, the third taught probability. This means the likeliness of something, and an example would be: the likeliness of winning the lottery is the same as developing a flesh-eating disease and being mauled by a grizzly bear and a polar bear, all in the same day. See? Real life. Probability could also be used for deciding what the chances of a racer winning a race against 16 others is (1/17, by the way). In short, I learned many useful skills today, and don't plan on forgetting them soon.

Hurray, Computer Lab 2.0

     Today's computer lab lesson consisted of Raspberry Pi and Bite-Sized Math. Upon entering the lab, Mr. Jost showed us a group in England, who were called Raspberry Pi. They had created a computer no bigger than a credit card, which you could very well carry around in your pocket or backpack, and were very convenient. They also happened to be selling for $35. Over the course of about three hours, the ten thousand computers made were sold out, and Raspberry Pi is currently making new ones, in hopes of selling them again. Once the video ended, the class went off to Bite-Sized Math, a site where many small lessons on math, English, and science are given. The lessons were meant more as a sort of review, but they taught nonetheless, and many important things about all three topics were learned. And if this weren't enough, Room 14 also arrived five minutes early. This is a sure sign of the apocalypse, but at least everyone enjoyed themselves.

The Carnivorous Carnival

The Carnivorous Carnival

   by Lemony Snicket

Pages: 286

 

     "The word 'carnivorous,' which appears in the title of this book, means 'meat-eating,' and once you have read such a bloodthirsty word, there is no reason to read any further." The Carnivorous Carnival, by Lemony Snicket, tells yet another story of the Baudelaire orphans and their unfortunate lives. After stowing away in the trunk of Count Olaf's car, the children find themselves at "Caligari Carnival," where a fortune teller, Madame Lulu, has supposedly been providing Olaf with the whereabouts of the Baudelaires. Wanting to hide themselves away from Olaf, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny disguise themselves as freaks, pretending to want a job at the carnival. Soon after getting the job, the three meet the other freaks, Hugo, Colette, and Kevin. Everyday, the freaks are meant to be shown off in the House of Freaks, and be laughed at by crowds. This is hardly the life of luxury, but the Baudelaires decide it will do until they can escape. However, when a plan to spice up the carnival through throwing freaks into a lion pit surfaces, the Baudelaires may need to escape earlier than they thought. With a horrible plot and the clock ticking, will the children outsmart Olaf's plans again, or has their luck finally run out?

Hurray, Computer Lab.

     The main focus of today's computer lab session was Autodidacticism, or the concept of teaching yourself something. Every site we visited today was filled with information, about many different topics. The site "Grammar Girl" covered many different aspects of grammar, while a similar site, "The Math Dude," covered math. Another website, "Wonderopolis," held the answers to many different, interesting questions, from "Why do some years leap ahead?" to "Why are school buses yellow?". But the most interesting part? Everything covered was learned by the student, and not dictated by the teacher. The class simply taught themselves, just as they were expected to!

The Hostile Hospital

The Hostile Hospital

by Lemony Snicket
Pages: 255

 

Summary: "There are many pleasant things to read about, but this book contains none of them," the back of the book reads, and rightfully so. The Hostile Hospital, by Lemony Snicket, tells another story of the Baudelaire children, and the extremely unfortunate events in their lives. After being accused of murder, the Baudelaires join a rather joyful group of people, the Volunteers Fighting Disease, and accompany the party to Heimlich Hospital, a building that has only been half-finished. Inside, the siblings discover Count Olaf has found them again, but is not wearing a disguise. Instead, he speaks over an intercom, pretending to be "Mattathias," the Head of Human Resources at the hospital. However, even without showing his face, Olaf causes much trouble. With the return of a past "guardian," horrible surgery, anagrams, shocking news concerning a fire, and balloons, this episode in the life of the Baudelaires will prove to be an interesting one. The real question is: will they live to tell the tale?