A persuasive letter to stop overfishing

Dear Congressman,                                                                                         

There are 3 main concerns I have about some of the fishing limits we have here in our beautiful coastal community.

People used to harpoon three meter long 400 pound sword fish in rowboats; nowadays you are lucky to get a 100 pounder. Only ten percent of all large fish are left in the sea.  The big fish in our ocean are being overfished; they are caught before they have a chance to reproduce. If big animals like these die out, our ecosystem will have severe changes that will make life harder for humans. New laws need to be made about fishing for large fish.

            The gorgeous coral reefs we have here provide shelter, habitat, and food for myriad species. They are as rich in species as rain forests.  But the condition of the reef is at a sharp decline. One of the biggest factors to this is underwater trawling for fish. This involves towing a big net along the bottom of the sea floor. To catch more fish boats have begun doing this at coral reefs. This tows and destroys the beautiful ecosystems that are coral. These practices must be outlawed.

             The demand for sea food has increased over the years, and to keep up with these demands some boats are using high tech devices developed in the cold war. They help them fish with greater accuracy and speed. Because of this many deep sea species of fish are dying out. Scientists warn that species such as cod, tuna, haddock, flounder, and swordfish could be extremely scarce within a decade. This would put many establishments that rely on fish out of business. These techniques that involve high tech machinery should be put on a decline instead of our amazing animals that are fish.

            These are the three main concerns I have as a citizen about the fishing limits we have here in our beautiful coastal community. I urge you to take action and save the fish that we have left.

           

                                    From,

                                                J.R. Oldham

           

Wrestling Persuasive Essay

One of the greatest problems facing youth today is physical health.  I believe Davis School District should not eliminate Fairfield Junior High’s wrestling program in their budget cuts for many reasons, such as; many student’s physical health would be at risk, some teens would feel less connected to the school, and a loss of the wrestling team mean less chances for sportsmanship and leadership opportunities.

Would Davis School District sacrifice the health of young people to save a few bucks?  Continuing the wrestling team would help youth stay fit, physically, and mentally.  The health of youth now will determine their well being in the future.

School sports encourage teens to support their school.  Young adults come to games and cheer on the mighty falcons.  Loss of the wrestling team would result in a loss of school spirit for wrestlers and students alike.

One of the most important parts of school sports is learning how to get along with others.  Athletes and students need the wrestling team to practice skills such as leadership, sportsmanship, and commitment, the skills that are of great importance during school, and in life to come.

 I know that if Davis School District chose to eliminate Fairfield Junior High’s wrestling team, a plethora of problems would arise, including the risk of student’s physical health, less school spirit for all, and loss of sportsmanship opportunities.  When Davis School District decides to not eliminate Fairfield Junior High’s wrestling team, they will make Fairfield Junior High a happier, healthier place.

ACT Practice essay #1

High school should be extended to five years for many reasons. Students would be able to achieve a higher Grade Point Average, and would gain more values and maturity being with their families

            If more years were included in high school, students could raise their Grade Point Average even higher. The more classes you take, the more grades you receive, the higher your GPA can soar. One main thing that colleges look for in a student is his/her GPA. Imagine how many more students would enter college if their GPA was higher. But an outstanding GPA can only be produced with the support of an entire family.

            When young people enter college, they need to be prepared with strong, cemented values and a mature temperament. With another year to be living with their families, many students would gain all of these values and more if high school were five years long. If college students didn’t have a strong moral foundation, how can they succeed in college? If they aren’t mature enough to handle college, they will not be able to handle the responsibility. Instead of these students studying for a big test they have the next day, we could find them playing Mario Kart in their college dorm.

These are the reasons high school should be five years long. Students would be able to achieve a higher Grade Point Average, and would gain more values and maturity being with their families.

When Worlds Collide

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. But what did that bring about? The Columbian exchange benefited both the new world and the old in three main ways: the exchange of food, trading of animals, and sharing of knowledge. The first reason is the exchange of food.

Food was an important part of the Columbian exchange. The Europeans brought over wheat and sugar to America, and the Americans shared potatoes, tomatoes, and corn. All of these foods are very important staples in the world today. This food is frequently used to feed animals.                  

         

The trading of animals played a huge piece of the Columbian exchange. The Europeans brought horses, pigs, cows and goats to the new world. We wouldn’t have the Pony Express or the Kentucky Derby if we didn’t have horses! The horse can make work and travel easier for everyone. Along with the animals, both worlds traded ideas.

The trading of knowledge happened during the Columbian Exchange. The main reason Europeans came to America was to convert Native Americans to Christianity, and they did. The Indians showed the Europeans different ways to farm, and a new culture. Imagine how different America would be without Christianity! Tons of Americans today are Christian. This brings us to the conclusion.

The Columbian Exchange involved lots of great things; the exchange of food, the trading of animals, and sharing of knowledge. Both Americans and Europeans benefited during it. A more fitting but less catchy phrase to “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” would be: In 1492 the Columbian Exchange changed the world for the better.

Volcano House

Welcome to Mansión del Volcán: Mansion of the Volcano. I hope you enjoy your stay here. When my eccentric master died, I was heart broken, but glad when I heard that I would soon have a new master. Now that you have built this beautiful home here on Mount Shasta, I suppose it would seem fit to give you a grand tour. Oh, I almost forgot, Yo soy su mayordomo, Nacho. Shall we begin?

As you come into the foyer, notice the extensive ornamentations made with volcanic rock. Also notice the million dollar furnishings. Off to the left you might see the kitchen, where your private chef, Pierre awaits your every order. As you look out the huge windows with beautiful views, notice your private ski resort and an 18 hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

As we go down stairs we enter your entertainment floor, with a private theatre, arcade, party rooms, and a golf driving range and putting green with your very own golf shop. Out this door, we see your garage with 25 different cars from the most famous designers in the world, such as: Audi, Bugatti, Ferrari, Ducati, BMW, and Lamborghini. Also notice your extensive collection of ATVs, trucks, motor boats, and motor cycles, all powered by steam that draws off the lava underneath us. As you look out the Garage doors, you will see your private racing track.

Now let’s take the elevator to the fourth floor. (Elevator music plays as you rise on the elevator, as Nacho taps his foot to the beat). Welcome to your exercise and well being floor, with geo thermal heated hot tubs, saunas, pools, and 500 foot high water slides. The heat from the lava not only heats the water in the house, but acts as a thermostat when in gets cold. On the right you will see your gym, soccer fields, basketball courts, and running track. You can also see your personal trainers, massage therapists, and servants to attend to your every health need.

On the next floor we come to the guest floor, which holds the guest rooms. Rooms personalized for each person who comes to stay here. And if you look out the window, you may see your barn with horses, cows, and the like, all taken care of by your own servants. Adjacent to the barn you will see your 300 acre farm, grown on the rich volcanic soil.

As we climb the stairs and come to the nest floor, we come to the music floor with a recording studio and every instrument known to man. Also on this floor, your private library and office, notice the beautiful views from 10,000 feet above the ground.

As we come to the last point on our tour, your floor we notice your massive bedroom with a  huge walk in closet and 1,000 square foot bathroom. There are also doors leading to your golf course, ski resort, kitchen, or any room in the house.  As you may notice there is a staircase off to the right, this will take you to the elegant roof, a good place to eat, sleep, read or do just about anything.

Now as you might have guessed, living on an active volcano is not easy, we have prepared escape routs for you to take, in the event the lava flows through our walls of indestructible metal. The first escape rout is for you to strap on your skis and use your supreme ninja skills to ski down the mountain away from the lava. The second escape rout is for you to take your private jet or helicopter off the volcano on your private air strip.

This concludes our tour, master I hope you will enjoy living in Mansión del Volcán, as I know I will enjoy serving you. I will give you a chance to get settled into your new home so hasta que nos reunamos de Nuevo, master, until we meet again.

Rhapsody's Musical Revue 2010

Recently I had the opportunity to be in a musical revue with the Rhapsody group at Fairfield Jr. High. We sang medleys from Wicked, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, and Hair. All of the songs were fun to perform to. Besides from the music, it was great fun to be with my friends. Another great part was that we were able to eat some carrot cake after the last show, which was delicious. We wore some sweet costumes and performed some pretty touching sign language. In Wicked, the boys and I wore sparkly hats and glasses, in Joseph, I wore an Egyptian headdress and necklace, and in Hair I wore a hippie headband. The sign language was great, my friend and I were the best sign linguistics in the whole performing group. But then, when I was watching the performance afterword on video I realized my headdress was crooked. I was petrified, I looked goofier than ever! I had a lot of fun in the musical revue, anyway.

Seventh Grade Writing

 I think I did this for my English class:

Disestablishmentarianisms are mononuclear paladins with hydromantic ramekin. They are related to Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis and like to floccinaucinihilipilification. Hopefully we can Honorificabilitudinitatibus Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. Then life would be supercalifragilisticexpealidocious.

These are all real words!!

       

Utah Studies Term Project Report

J.R. Oldham Period 3

            Lots of people think that service work is a chore but for me, it was a blessing in disguise. For my Utah studies term project I did service by doing yard work and collecting food for a food drive. I weeded and edged my elderly grandparent’s lawn, and helped them plant, water, and fill their 1 acre garden. I did this on Saturdays throughout the term. While working, I got hot, sweaty, thirsty and discouraged, but one of the most rewarding things about yard work is seeing the finished product. I also had my family helping out along the way. Some more yard work that I did with a church group was mowing and weeding a family’s home whose mother was expecting a child, and the father was disabled.  Working in the yard was fun for me. It also improved my work ethic and probably my muscles.

            When I went on this canning drive, it was storming snow for two hours! I went with my church group and knocked on doors asking for canned or boxed food items. Then we’d lug the food out to a trailer. These items would go to a bishop’s storehouse to help feed those who are in need. Luckily, I did not get cold in the slightest because I had on plenty of warm clothes. The snow was so deep at one point that we had to push one of our leader cars out of some snow. This food drive was fun, not only because I knew I was helping others in need, but I had fun running around with my friends in the snow.

           

This project was extremely fun, while driving for food in the snow, and doing yard work for those in need. After doing this project, I think serving others benefits the server just as much as the person in need.