I climbed to the Burgess shale

By Steve G.

Two weeks ago, my family went on vacation in western Canada. We went to the Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rockies. In Yoho, there is a famous fossil site,the Burgess Shale.

The fossils are Cambrian/Permian, which means that they're from the time before the dinosaurs. Part of the Shale was on a mountain called Mount Stephen.

My dad and I were going on a hike up Mount Stephen to see the fossils. There were sixteen people in the group.

It was a four hour hike to the shoulder of the mountain. We had hiked two and a half miles uphill. The first part of the trail was pretty easy. We hiked through woods on a trail with many roots in the path. The ground was spongy.

The second part of the trail was harder, we went through thinner trees and the trail was rocky. The view was incredible though.

After the second part, we stopped to have a snack. I ate corn nuts. We ate near a small fossil bed. You could see Trilobite fossils everywhere.

Trilobites look like large pill bugs. They could be one inch to three feet long. They scavenged in the ocean for small things to eat. (This region was once under water by the way.) That was really cool.

The third part of the trail had no trees. There was lots of shale that made you slip a lot. When we got to the top, it was all worth while.

The view alone was worth while. We could see for miles and miles. Then we could just pick up a piece of shale, and there would be a Trilobite fossil on it.

We even found some fangs to a Anomalicarus, a thing that ate trilobites. The whole animal looked like a flat fish with fangs. It could grow up to three feet long.

We couldn't go to the summit because they wanted to protect those fossils.

On the way down, we were allowed to go at our own pace. Another seventh grader from Seattle and I were far ahead of everyone else. We discussed strategies for Starcraft, Red Alert 2, and Age of Empires 2.

I had to wait half an hour for my dad to get down. Unbeknownst to me, he had twisted his knee on the decent.

The Burgess Shale hike was the coolest experience of my life!

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Chinese Cinderella makes for interesting reading

By Sammie D.

Over the summer, one of the novels I read was Chinese Cinderella (1999) by Adeline Yen Mah. It takes place in China, where Wu Mei, which means Fifth Younger Sister, is sent to live.

The author tells the true story of her own childhood in which she was neglected and unwanted in her many homes located in the large, Chinese cities of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tianjin.

I really didn't understand why she thought she was so disliked and unwanted during the first few chapters of the book. As her story goes on, however, the title, Chinese Cinderella, seems to fit her life story more and more.

Chinese Cinderella is a good book that really holds your interest.

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Harry Potter's back

By Elysia B.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) by J.K. Rowling, is a suspenseful and exciting book. It is so full of suspense that you just may be reading until three in the morning.

Harry Potter is in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the summer, he goes to the Quiddich World Cup with his friends. Something terrible happens at the end of the World Cup, and many people are blamed for it.

Then back at school, Harry is entered into the Triwizard Tournament. His friends Hermione and Ron help him to get through his three dangerous tasks, but an annoying reporter named Rita Skeeter keeps getting in the way of everything.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling has a medium level reading, mainly because it is 734 pages. After a while, you may lose your train of thought.

Overall, I highly recommend Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, if you are up to the challenge.

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What was big during the Big Break

By Kaitlyn L.

The break wasn't as long as we would have liked it to be, but most people have said that their vacations were great and long enough! School isn't as great as swimming and traveling, but some of us have had enough.

Many seventh graders went on more than one vacation and pretty much had a fun time. Lara P. went to the Mall of America and so did Rose D. In fact, it was Rose's favorite place for a vacation this year. If you like to shop, this is one of the places to go to considering it is one of the biggest shopping centers.

Rose also went to Michigan where she participated in many water sports.

Lara went to Colorado too. In Colorado she did things such as white water rafting, swimming, hiking, shopping, biking, movies, and even walked through caves. Sounds like that vacation was a good one.

Shannon P. went on over six vacations. She went to Rockford, Peoria, Milwaukee, Cedar Point, Door County, and Cleveland.

Shannon's favorite place was Cedar Point, which is a huge amusement park in Ohio. She did things like wave running, mini golfing, regular golfing, go karting, playing baseball, and going to drive-ins.

On the down side, Shannon was moved from being first in line for the Millennium Force roller coaster to last in line. That was definitely not a highlight from her vacation.

Susie S. went to Door County. Her favorite part of Door County was her Mor Mor's birthday. Mor Mor is Swedish for grandma.

In Door County, Susie went canoeing, swimming, and kayaking. She even swam at midnight. She said that swimming at midnight was a lot of fun, but it was really cold when you first got in.

Marina L. went to Rainbow Falls, her Grandma's pool, Six Flags, Twin Lakes, and Lake Geneva. Her favorite place was Six Flags and the best part about it was that she went on Raging Bull, which is a big roller coaster.

Lauren S. went to Wisconsin Dells and other places in Wisconsin. While on vacation, she went to water parks, and shows.

Overall we can probably say that this break was a good one and hopefully all of the other breaks will be just as great!

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