Happy Summer!

This summer of 2012 has been magnificent! Fathers day was excellent, many blockbuster movies have debuted, and it's also the season to go swimming! In addition, remember to keep reading and working on math to keep our brains strong over the summer. This summer has truly been excellent!!!

Elementary Graduation!!!

On May 23 the fifth graders celebrated their last day of Elementary School. This is the closing of one door, but the opening of something much bigger! Thanks to the Walker Staff for guiding me through the five years that I spent at Walker. I know that everyone will do great in middle school, no matter where they go. Congratulations!

Minnesota!!!

Minnesota is one of America's most excellent states! It is home to The Mall of America! The Mall of America is the size of 78 football fields! Another extraordinary attraction is Spirit Mountain. This mountain is a great part of natural history and it's exquisite to hike on!

Minnesota was the 32nd state to join the union. It officially became a state in 1858. St.Paul is Minnesota's capital that has a population of 285,068 as of 2010. The state flower is a very beautiful flower called the Lady Slipper. The state bird however, is called the Loon. The motto for Minnesota is "The Star of the North". In addition, its nickname is The North Star State.http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/content.do?id=-8494&agency=NorthStar

Pan Balance Equation!

The pan balance equation is a huge part of algebra. To see an awesome website about this equation, click here

Chaos in Ecuador.

The country Ecuador, contains a huge rain forest called Yasuni. In that forest lies a great source of oil. The only way to get to that oil is to cut down the forest, and Ecuador needs that money. Many people believe that it's not okay to cut down the rain forest. The president of Ecuador says, " If other nations pay 4.6 billion dollars over the next 13 years, than we won't cut down the forest". What if they cut the forest down anyway just to get more money? What is your take on this situation? To get more info click here 
  

Earths Solar System!!!

Many scientists believe that our solar system began millions of years ago when a mixture of gases and rocks mixed together to create our solar system. Our solar system contains eight planets. Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus, and Neptune. Scientists have recently discovered that Pluto actually is not a planet. It's axis isn't the same as any other planets. If you want to see an amazing website all about the solar system, click here

Mercury's orbit!!

Mercury's orbit!!!

More Facts about Mercury!!!

Mercury rotates around the sun in 88 days! Mercury barely has an atmosphere, but does not have glaciers! During the day, the average temperature on Mercury is 800 degrees farenheit! During the night the average temperature -300 degrees. Mercury is about 36,000,000 miles from the sun. These are very amazing facts!!1

Satellites that have been to Mercury!

Mercury can be seen at night without a telescope. Mercury is made mostly of rock. Mercury has no clouds. Mercury does not have rings around it. Mercury is much smaller than Earth. "Mariner 10" went to Mercury in 1975 and got some upclose shots. The "Messenger" went to Mercury in 2008 and got some more pictures! The latest satellite to go to Mercury it "BepiColombo" in 2011! These satellites are amazing!

Mercury's origin!!!

 Mercury was named after a mythical roman god. He was named after the messenger god. Greek name is Hermes.
It is believed that is can get to a scorching 800 degrees on the planet surface. Mercury has zero moons orbiting it.

Mercury does not have any moons.

Facts about Mercury

Mercury is the 1st planet from the sun. It is one of the inner planets because it is located inside the asteroid belt. It is the 2nd smallest planet in our solar system. It takes my planet 87.969 days to orbit the sun. Mercury has weaker gravity than Earth. My planet is known for its amazing temperatures. it can be boiling hot during the day and below zero at night.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

St. Patrick has many great myths,legends and folktales! In fact, St. Patrick wasn't actually born in Ireland. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts! One of many folktales is that St.Patrick scared all of the snakes out of Ireland. Is this true? To see an interesting website, click here! 

Congratulation OM teams!!!

A few weeks ago, three Odyssey of the Mind teams from Walker Elementary won the Southern Arizona OM competition! OM is a program for high level thinkers. It can also help increase high level thinking! The next OM competition is the state competition! It will take place at CDO High on March,31, and is open to anyone who would like to attend! Good luck guys! For a cool site about OM, click here

Republican Debate In Arizona!!!

A few days ago there was a Republican debate in Mesa, Arizona! Rick Santorum has been winning in many states lately, but in this debate he was constantly targeted by Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich. There is definately a lot of tension in these debates. Eventually, there will be one winner and he will go on to face President Obama, to determine who will be president! For more info look under "Rad Websites"!

Ipad Chaos!!!

Recently, schools all across the nation have been using I pads to help them learn. Many teachers say that instead of carrying all kinds of books, you have it all in your I pad! Although, many critics say that this can be a distraction to kids learning. Too much screen time can also damage your eyes. What do you think?

Happy birthday Arizona!!!

This year,2012 will mark the 100th anniversary of Arizona! 100 years ago Arizona became part of the US. It used to be part of Mexico! Then the United States won the land in a war. This state was 48th state to become part of the US! It's also home to one of "The Seven Wonders of the World," the Grand Canyon!!! The Grand Canyon is one of the most beautiful places on Earth! So this February 14, 2012 will not only be Valentines day, but it will also be Arizona's 100th birthday!!!

Young Reporter~Julian V.

Bear Essential News for Kids

Biodegradable Water Bottles!!!!!!

There are many kinds of plastic bottles in the world. Most of them are extremely harmful to the environment. It takes most plastic bottles over 300 years to decompose. So they're filling the Earth underground. You might say that recycling solves the problem, but half of the stuff you recycle gets thrown away anyway. So a few months ago a brand new biodegradable water bottle! It's a Canadian Red Leaf Bottle! These take much less time to decompose and they only cost about one dollar! If everyone in the world had these it would make a big difference. Which would you buy?

KVOA!

On Wednesday I was on KVOA news for Tucson! I read my "Organic Vs. Conventional" article on camera! It was such a wonderful experience! The studio is absolutely amazing! Earlier today I saw myself on TV! I never thought I'd be on KVOA before. I'd also like to remind anyone in grades 3 through 8 that they too can join Bear Essential News and maybe get their story's broadcast on TV! It was absolutely awesome! Under "Rad Websites" I have the Bear Essentials Website! It gives you all of the details!

Galileo Galilei!

The science fair is coming up and my class and I have been learning about famous scientists! My favorite scientist was Galileo Galilei! He was an amazing scientist! He was born in Pisa, Italy in 1564! There was another scientist named Aristotle. Aristotle had a theory that heavier objects fell faster than lighter objects. Galileo however disagreed. So Galileo went to the top of the Tower of Pisa and dropped a heavy object, and a light object. They both fell at the same time! Aristotle was wrong. He was an amazing scientist and there are many more radical things that he's done!

Cruise ship wreck in Italy.

A couple of days ago there was a big cruise wreck in Italy. First the boat crashed into a corral reef and then it crashed into a big rock at the ocean floor. Suddenly the boat flipped on its side. At least six people died and many more are missing. Have you ever heard the phrase "The captain goes down with the ship? Well not this time. The captain of the ship left the boat and swam to shore. People in the boat were waiting for orders, which they never received. The captain may be charged for abandoning his ship and may spend 15 years in jail. I hope everyone on that boat is okay.

The Republican Debate!

The Republicans will debate all across the U.S Eventually one of them will win and run for president against Barack Obama. So far they've been in Iowa and New Hampshire. Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, won both of those debates. Many say that he has a hometown advantage because Massachusetts is not far from those other two states. Next they'll move southern to South Carolina! Who will win that debate? Get the full results from New Hampshire under "Rad Websites"!

Gabrielle Giffords Recovery.

One year ago today, there was an awful shooting here in Tucson,AZ. Congress woman Gabby Giffords was talking in front of a crowd in front of a Safeway when a 22 year old man shot 30 bullets that killed many people and went through Gabby's brain. People were almost certain she had died. She was rushed to a hospital. What happened next was amazing. She was actually recognized her husband, Mark Kelly. Since then she has made an amazing recovery. She can speak very clearly now. Lets take a moment to remember all of those who lost their lives. Her recovery was amazing. It shows you that failure is not an option! Look at how the bullet affected her and what it could have done, under "Rad Websites".

50 years of the BEATLES!

This year 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles! 50 years ago in 1962 the formed and made some of the best songs ever! Fans would scream so loud that the band couldn't even hear themselves play. They made 219 songs in eight years and they did it with out any computers or technology like there is today. The Beatles are a fabulous band and many of us will always remember John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. Look under "Rad Websites" to hear a great song! 

Marvelous Molecules!

Molecules are amazing! They are an amazing part of science! It's interesting how they work and what they do! Take a look at them under "Rad Websites"!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year! 2012 will be a radical year and it will have many special events! There will be many blockbuster movies coming out! There will also be a new election! Who will be president? Let's never forget about Superbowl 46! I think Green Bay will win it again for the second straight year! 2012 will be gnarly!