Month: September 2024

PW #1: Why I Want to go Back to Europe

About one year ago me and my hole family went on a 2 week Europe trip there was 13 of us traveling around. We went to France Italy and Swisserland all of which were dream places for me to visit. One of my favorite spots we visited in Italy was Venice. It was beautiful there  the architecture was perfect and it was so cool to see everyone in boats rather then cars the food was amazing everything about Venice was perfect. The only thing that was bad was the millions of tourists in your way. Another amazing place we went to in France was Paris it was magnificent walking down the streets going to amazing Bakers to buy croissants and other amazing pastries. The people of France are also very lovely and all of them speak beautiful French. One of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in the world is in Paris and that is the famous Eiffel tower, it is a beautiful tall tower that overlooks Paris. It was amazing to see in person. I wont forget that sight ever. These 2 places were the highlight of my Europe trip I went to so Mutch more, but Venice and Paris were my two favorites. I wish to go back to Europe again and visit it all again it was amazing experience. 

 

PW# 1 Hollow Creek

On a chilly Halloween night in the small town of Hollow Creek, a group of friends, Sam, Mia, Jake, and Lila, had decided to explore the abandoned Thompson house. Old stories say in the 60’s a man and his wife “The Thompson’s”  lived there, and one night Mrs. Thompson just died. Some people say that Mr. Thompson killed her and others believe she killed her self. The moon hung high as they approached the crumbling structure, its windows dark like hollow eyes.

“Are you sure about this?” Mia asked, her voice quivering slightly. The others laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “It’s just an old house, Jake said, pushing open the creaky front door.

Inside, the air was stale, thick with dust. Cobwebs draped across the corners like ghostly veils. Lila led the way, holding her dad’s big flashlight, illuminating faded portraits of the Thompson family that hung on the wall. Their expressions seemed to follow the teens as the moved, sending shivers down their spines.

“Lets check the basement”, Sam suggested, trying to sound brave. Reluctantly, the group decided to take the rickety stairs. The air grew colder, and and the beam from Lila’s flashlight couldn’t stop flickering as they walked down the stairs.

As they reached the bottom, a sudden chill pushed through them. The walls were lined with shelves of old jars, filled with unidentifiable contents. “This is gross,” Mia whispered, feeling a creeping dread inside. Just then, the door above them slammed shut, plugging them into darkness.

“Guys? Was that you?” Jake’s voice trembled. Panic set in as Lila’s flashlight died, leaving them in pitch black. “Stay calm,” Sam whispered, though his heart raced. They huddled together, listening to the sounds of the house. It’s creaks, whispers, and a fait chilling giggle echoed through the darkness.

Suddenly a cold breeze swept past them, and they heard footsteps approaching. “We need to get out of here!” Mia screamed. They scrambled toward the stair, the door creaking open as if inviting them back.

Bursting outside, they couldn’t stop running unit they reached the safety of the street light. Breathless, they looked back at the Thompson House. A shadowy figure stood in the window, watching them. Halloween night in Hollow Creek had turned from a thrill to a nightmare, forever etched in their memories.

 

 

M+M Personal Respense

When looking at the story as an overall, it thought it was well written because the author was able to include lots of details with very intense scenes and he used imagery very well as I was able to imagine scenes clearly. I think this story really emphasizes the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”. I think this because when I saw the title of the book and looked at it, I thought it was most likely going to be a boring book with content that I wouldn’t understand. But as I began to read it more and more, I started to gain some interest in the book and about the characters. I thought that the character development throughout the story was interesting because I had a feeling that Vasili was going to have a change of heart and he did. I did find it shocking though that at the end of the book Tolstoy had Vasili die and have Nikita stay alive. It was an ending that surprised me and something that I didn’t expect. Something that I did dislike about the book was that the grammar and some of the word choices were hard to understand. I found that on some sentences I was confused on what Tolstoy was trying to indicate and they seemed backwards, or words were out of place. But that is how old English was and how they wrote. All in all, I liked the story as I thought the plot was interesting as well as the character involvement.

My introduction

Hi my name is Valentina Orozco I am 14 years old. I was born in October/28/ 2009, I have 3 brothers named Nico, Max, and Cris, I am the oldest. I have 2 cats there names are nieve and kitty . I like play padel and horse riding but I stop doing horse riding because I didn’t like it as much as padel. Right now I do cross cross contry and volleyball . My favorite foods is pasta , some of my hobbies are painting and hanging out with my friends .  My favorite color is blue and i like to visit new places . I came to canada because i wanted to imporve my english and make new friend, also i think it was a great opportunity to be here.

My personal opinion on Master and Man

Master and Man was an interesting book and I enjoyed it. The book had a very interesting story line that was easy to follow. The characters were described well enough that as a reader I could understand the point they were trying to make. I liked that the author did not rush to finish the book but rather took his time and painted a word picture of what was going on in the moment. It made me feel like I was there witnessing it. I liked that the story had a good build up and explanation of why Nikita behaved a certain way and why Andreevich did the things he did. I liked the internal monologue Andreevich had that told us he was going in circles literally and emotionally. I liked the ending to the story because I did not think that is how it would have ended. I was surprised that after all the greediness and selfishness Andreevich showed, in the end he turned out to be a really great human being. He didn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself so Nikita could have a longer life, or so he had hoped. I liked that Nikita apologized to his son for his wrong doing, it showed great courage on his part. He understood that his drinking had led him down a dark path, and he loved his son more than he loved the drink.

 

self introduction – Rachel MYP4

 

self introduction – Rachel MYP4

Hello, my name is Rachel, and I’m 14 years old. I live in Victoria, BC, but I was born and raised in Mexico until I was 7 years old, when I moved to Turkey. I currently attend Brookes Westshore.

some things people might know about me are I love travelling and experiencing new cultures,  I’m very sociable and I enjoy meeting new people and getting to know them. In my free time, I like reading books specifically based on real life or, historical fiction, Cooking and baking, particularly from scratch, are also passions of mine, and I’m always striving to learn more. I also have a passion for fashion, history, and makeup, enjoy learning about historical events because it gives me a deeper understanding of how the world came to be and I’m always striving to learn more from it. I like Fashion because to me it’s a form of self-expression, allowing people to show who they are without saying a word. Most importantly, I love spending time with the people I care about as they make me feel happiest and it’s my favourite thing.

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my personal opinion on the Novella Master and Man – Rachel D MYP4

master and man personal opinion – Rachel MYP4

Master and Man is a Novella written by  Leo Tolstoy, it tells the story of a wealthy man named Vasili Andreyevich and Nikita his humble servant. In the story, both Nikita and Vasili embark on a journey amidst a snow storm and we read as they navigate through the challenges they face. I found this story to be well-written and thought it had many good points. For one I found the descriptive writing to be very detailed allowing me to picture everything that was being described in my head, especially during the snowstorm. I also found the character development of Vasili to be very well executed as he went from someone who was materialistic and shallow to his selfless act towards Nikita in the end. However, I would have liked more background on Vasilis’ past, particularly an explanation of how he became the person he is also At times, the story felt a bit slow, and I found myself getting lost occasionally. However, overall, it’s a great story that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys tales set in historical periods and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

My personal opinion on Master and Man

After reading Master and Man, I realized that I did not understand it very well. I think this is because I didn’t understand some of the vocabulary. Personally I dont really read books like this but after reading it I would say it was an okay story. I think that this short novella tries to show what it was like back in the 1800s as in the importance levels. They showed that Vasili Andreevich was the master by his authority and wealth, and they showed how Nikita was the peasant by saying how he navigated in the storm and how his home life was, how he had run out of money for drinks so he sold his clothes. I think that I would have enjoyed the book more if I would have understood a bit more.

my personals response on master and man

I think that master and man was a decent book but I didn’t like it that much. the end was the only part that I liked. I feel like they could have added more to it instead of them just being cold and getting lost all the time and I think that there should have been more action in the book. The character’s were good I did like learning about them and who they were. Some characters were pretty cool like Vasili and Nikita. I liked how Vasili changed at the end of the book and saved Nikiti by laying on him to keep him warm but that was basically one of the only parts that I liked. I probably wouldn’t read the book again. I might have read it again if there was more to the story.

All about Valeria

Hi, My name is Valeria I am 14 years  old and my birthday is on July 19 2010. I have 1 brother , his name is Jorge and he is 12 years old . I had 1 pet and it was a cat but he run away from my house some years ago. I play paddle which is something similar to tennis I used to go to gymnastic and swimming classes but I didn’t enjoy it . My favorite food is pasta and some of my hobbies are cooking and painting  I also like to run . My favorite color is purple and navy blue. I like to travel  a lot, two of my favorite place I been is NYC and Washington DC . I came to Canada to make friends and live a new experience also to learn more english.

My response to “Master and Man”

My overall personal response to the book “Master and Man” was that it was an okay read because it was easy to foreshadow what would happen like when they but it was also boring. One of the reasons why I liked “Master and Man” was because it was more on the side of an easier read. My favorite part in the book was when they got stuck in the snow for the last time at the end of the book.

“Master and Man” Viv

After reading Master and Man I was glad it was over but did enjoy the little details such as the hanging clothing, the backstory to Nikita and his development through the story and the dreams Vasili Andreevich and Nikita where having when they died or was close too death. The book was well written it just didn’t have very much going on through the beginning and the middle of it but towards the end is where it felt like it began to pick up with Vasili Andreevich trying to save himself but then getting brought right back to the sledge and seeing Nikita in the sledge decided to save him instead of himself. I think the development of Vasili Andreevich’s  character through the story is subtle but noticeable like how he had felt he was not the same person he was before he fell asleep in the sledge, while again deciding to give up his life for Nikita’s. the story was good but I probably wouldn’t read it again.

My personal opinion on “Master and Man”

I found the overall book was a little more on the boring side, only till the end it got interesting. In fact, the end was the only part about the book I enjoyed. Though the book had a sad ending, it was good. I did not enjoy how most of the book was set in one place, I wish more would have happened. I found some parts of the book quite confusing; from what what happening to where the setting was. I did enjoy learning about the characters, from what there job is to what life a home looks like. I was taught few lessons on life in general, I even found my self grateful for what I have in life. I think if the book was written in a more common era I would have enjoyed it more. If I could read the book again I probably wouldn’t.

My personal opinion on “Master and Man”

I enjoyed Leo Tolstoys “Master and Man” novel to a certain extent. I believe it is a fantastic novel for those who enjoy a good fictional story about the bygone days, like me. However, I did not find this particular one amusing to read, as I had a hard time understanding what the story was about. When the story started to progress and get more interesting near the end, I enjoyed it more and more and started to understand who the characters were and what effect they had on the story. The end of the story was a good way to end the book because it showed that Vasili could be a somewhat good person and, despite all of the egotistical behaviour, he still saved Nikita’s life by laying on top of Nikita to keep him warm. The subtle humour made the story more enjoyable and made it feel more like real life rather than just a fictional book. I would’ve liked to know more about Vasili’s past and how he came to be. I feel like it would enrich the story to make it more enjoyable.

Master and Man Diego

After reading the book i found it a little boring because i found that in the plot it was very simple that he goes gets lost in a snow storm trying to make a trade there was noting that really stood out to me. All the way up to near the end, However at the end of the book i found that it taught good lessons. Such as to not be greedy and the importance of family and life. So even though i found the plot boring. In the end i kind of enjoyed it. I think this book has great meaning to it. My rating would be a 5 out of 10.

 

Personal opinion on The novella. Master and man.

Master and Man is an Novel by Leo Telstoy, about a rich landowner called Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov  and one of his laborers, Nikita, who embark on a journey and learn that life is better when you don’t live for yourself only.

The novel is an interesting and entertaining short story. It has a good spread of well-painted characters, and it doesn’t focus on only one character too much; It’s almost as if there isn’t only one main character, but everybody plays a main role in the plot of the story. I would not change the plot, because it was very good and interesting.

The settings are well depicted, and perfectly pictured in the book. I can see the snow storm in my head when I read the chapter that the journey begun. I would change the way they talked about the homes. they didn’t put too much emphasis on Vasili’s or Nikita’s house, I would have talked about them more.

The words used in the book are perfectly in context and they are easy to understand even if i didn’t know what the word meant. I wouldn’t change the the way they used their wording, It fit the context very well.

I would rate this book as an 8.5 only because of the lack of emphasis on the houses.

“Master and man” personal response

I did not really enjoy this novella, I thought there were way to many filler words and things could have been said and described with way less words. I also didn’t really like how the majority of the story is just them being cold and lost in the woods with their horse, I feel that there wasn’t a lot to take in and felt it was very boring having pretty much the same topic and scene throughout most of the book. I also think the book could have better explained the time frame and it would have been nicer to read. Since the book was written long ago some words will be different which makes sense because they didn’t have the easier words or maybe you didn’t use the words when writing a book, if this was written in todays age I think I would have liked it more.

My introduction

Hi, my name is Sofia Bequer Zayas. I was born in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. My family and I moved to Canada when I was 3 years old.  As of right now we live in Duncan, BC. I have a dog, and two brothers. My favourite colour is probably light pink or red. I love to travel and I hope that in the future I can travel lots. Some places I want to go is Spain, Brazil, Greece, Italy, Costa rica, and Columbia. I really just want to travel the world. When im older i would like to be something in the medical field.

Get to know me

Hello my name is Nathan. I was born on September 30th, 2010 in Richmond BC. I have no brothers or sisters. I moved to Victoria when I was 3 months old. My mom stayed with my grandparents for the first few months and then I finally moved home. When I was 6 years old my parents enrolled me in Karate. Since then I have earned my full black belt with the opportunity to upgrade to a 2nd degree blackbelt. The journey was not as easy as I thought it would be. I have been playing hockey since I was 7 years old and it is my dream to make it into the NHL. In hockey I play goalie my favorite goalie is Marc Andre Fleury. My parents say I’m not a picky eater but I do have favorite foods that I could eat all the time. My favorite food is chicken wings. I also really like spicy food because I grew up having all sorts of spicy foods. Both my mom and dad love spicy food and I got my first introduction to spice when I was really young. Previous to this year I hadn’t travelled very much outside of North America. This year was the furthest I have ever been in the world was when I went to Australia for my aunts wedding.

all about Viv

my names Vivienne but I prefer Viv I was born on January 21 2010,  I was born in Edmonton but moved when I was really little. I have a cat dixie but I call him bean, my favourite subject is socials, I listen too a lot of music like Tyler, the creator, $uisideboy$, billie eilish and lil peep. some hobbies I have are redecorating my room a lot, shopping, going on super long walks, collecting little things for my room, playing dress to impress with my friends and collect the long daisy’s for my dad. I went to private school (Westmont) for 10 years then switched to Colquitz last year at winter break. I used too spend a lot of time out in Sooke because my best friend Jordyn lived out there and over the summer I got too fly out too Edmonton too go see her. one day I wish too either design rooms or too do something else I don’t really know yet

All about Emma!

Hello, my name is Emma. I am 14 years old and was born on May 20th 2010. I have lived in Victoria my whole life with my mom, dad and brother William who is in grade 12 also at Brookes Westshore.  I am a golfer who has been playing since I was 3 years old. My whole family all golfs as my mom works as a golf pro and my dad played on tour years ago. So golf is in my blood. In my free time I enjoy going the golf course, being with friends, going shopping and hanging out with my brother Will. My dream one day is to either become a D1 golfer and eventually play on the LPGA tour. Some personality traits that I think best describe me are active, determined, focused and loyal. If I had to pick a place to travel I would either pick Las Vegas because it is one of my favourite places ever or Georgia so I can play Augusta National where the masters is played.

Get to know me – Adrien

My name is Adrien Mills, I’m 14 years old and was born June 1st 2010. I was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but after a couple years moved to Edmonton, Alberta. I lived there for 5 years and spent most of my childhood there. Five years later, we moved to Montréal. our experience there wasn’t great because we moved there right around when Covid started. But 2 years later, we moved to Vancouver island and have finally settled. My dream is to go to France, because having lived in Montréal, I’ve wanted to see how the French culture differs. I also want to go to Japan, because my mom went there as a teenager, and she says it’s just so amazing, and I’ve heard many good things about it.

All about Silvana

Hi, my name is Silvana but my friends call me Syl or Silvi , I am 14 years old and my birthday is on april 20th I really love my birthday because I always travel with my group of friends to Santa Marta, a city in Colombia with beach , I was born and I have lived in Bogota-Colombia my whole life, I have 1 sister, and 2 dogs. My favorite sport is horse riding, I have been practicing it since I was 7 years old, My favorite hobbies are reading, baking cookies, and spending time with my friends and family, and learning new languages, right now I am learning how to speak Italian, I love to travel, and my favorite place in the world is London, my favorite movie is 5 feet apart you, I love watching sunsets and going to the beach my favorite subject in school is science, right now I am a boarding student, I came here to Canada to experience new thing and make more friends, but I love my school in Colombia and all my friends right there, my favorite food is Sushi or a poke bowl, but I love Colombian food and i would not change it for nothing, I love arepa with cheese, and my favorite drink is Colombian coffee, which is the best in the world,

Some things about me!

Hi! My name is Valentina but I rather be called Val because I feel like people are mad at me if they call me Valentina, I´m 15 years old and my birthday is on June 17th, my mom is brazilian and my dad is mexican so.. I´m mexican-brazilian! I have 1 brother, his name is Diego and I also have a dog, her name is Lola, she is a pomeranian, I currently speak 3 languages which are: spanish, portuguese and english, my favorite color is navy blue and my favorite flowers are the lavenders, some of my hobbies are learning new things, playing volleyball, reading, cooking, talking and spending time with my friends and family, right now I am a boarding student in Brookes Westshore (Victoria, BC) and, I am having a great time!! I came to Canada to improve my english, make new friends and become more independant, other thing that I love since I was a little girl is science and anything related to medicine, I hope to one day become a doctor but right now, I will just take all the opportunities I have to keep improving and making my dream of becoming a doctor come true.

About Archie

My name is Archie and i am 13 years old.

I was Born on October 18 , 2010 in Chisinau, Moldova. Before Brookes Westshore, I went to CML the newly built middle school in Langford. The thing i love most is basketball. I am very passionate about the sport I play for “The Grind” which is a tier 1 basketball team in Victoria. My dream is to play in NXTPRO Puma Circuit which is a tournament held all over the USA for the U16-17 age range.  Another thing i am passionate about is shoes. I love collecting shoes and selling them. My favorite type of shoe is Jordan Fours. I know nearly every colorway and i love the way they look.

My introduction

Hi my name is Sophia, I was born in Toronto, Ontario on November 27th 2010, I moved to Victoria when i was 4 years old. I have a little brother who also goes to Brookes, and 1 year old dog named Campbell. I was named after the italian model Sophia loren. My favourite colours are navy blue and light pink. My favourite things to do are train my dog, watch movies, and visit my horse. I love to travel and in the future I hope to travel more around Europe and I would like to move there. I would love to become a lawyer of some sort in the future, possibly a patent lawyer in the science and medical field.

My introduction

Hi! My name is Alexa Castro, I was born in Mexico city on June 21st 2010. I have a little brother who was born when I turned three years old. When my brother was born, we moved to a city called Cuernavaca, which is like an hour away from Mexico city. When I turned eleven years old, my parents decided that Mexico wasn’t safe anymore, so they decided to move to Canada. I have a dog, her name is Lila. She is a rescued dog from Mexico, so we don’t know what breed she is. I still haven’t decided what I wanna do when I grow up, but i’ll figure it out, I really like to travel so i’m gonna travel a lot. I like to play sports, like rugby, volleyball, basketball, and sometimes I like to play soccer with my brother and dad.