The Adventures of Dewey and Emerson

We’ve Moved!

gentis — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:11:56 +0000

Please visit us at our new address:
http://learningspace.nisd.net/adventures/

and visit our Class Blog here:
http://learningspace.nisd.net/gentis/

Where have we been this summer?

gentis — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:31:21 +0000

We’ve been all over and can’t wait to share our crazy, amazing adventures with you!

Dewey spent time in Uganda – making new friends and staying on top of his school work.

We both took off for a relaxing trip to Costa Rica.

Emerson is on his way to Ecuador and there is still another trip to Africa and a jaunt to New York City planned for later this month as well as some more adventures close to home. Can you believe we also squeezed in West Texas, San Diego, and St. Louis!?

Whew! We’ll be happy for the routine of school to start again!

What adventures have you been up to lately!? We’d love to hear from you!

Have an Adventure Everyday!

Love, Dew and Em

It’s Summer Time!

gentis — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:03:11 +0000

We will be taking a brief haitus for the summer while we travel all over the world and meet interesting people. We’ve had a great time with the 2008 – 2009 class and can’t wait to meet the 2009 – 2010 class! Thank you to everyone who has helped make our adventures so fantastic. We will be back in August with all new adventures!

Here is a little treat to make you laugh this summer. The class created pictures of Mrs. Gentis and recorded themselves saying things that she says “all the time”.

Enjoy and remember to Have and Adventure Everyday!!!

10 things you need to know about 5th Grade!!

gentis — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:20:23 +0000

by Caitlyn, Cat, and Adrianna

1. You should read more to make more AR points!!!

2. Don’t be scared to go to 5th Grade it can be fun!!!

3. You will study a little bit more than you used to…

4. All of the 5th Grade teachers rock!!! They are the best!!

5. You need to have a lot of AR points.

6. In 5th Grade you will be held responsible for your own actions.

7. When ever you have a problem you could always go to the counselor.

8. You get to blog, blabberize, and do other cool computer projects.

9. The Promotion Ceremony ROCKS! (So does the cook out after!)

10. Everything you do now counts for your future.

Congratulations, Mrs. Boddie!

gentis — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:49:33 +0000

Congratulations to our friends over at Boddie’s Pad! They won an award for their blog at Northside ISD’s “DigiAwards” – a HUGE award ceremony for the best digital projects in the district! We’re proud to have them on our blog roll and call them our friends!

Château de Versailles

gentis — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:40:09 +0000

700 rooms, 67 staircases, 2,153 windows… a hall of mirrors, secret doors, Kings, Queens, art and splendor. Sounds like the setting of a fairy tale! The Palace of Versailles has a history that is very fairy tale-like. What started as a “small” hunting lodge eventually became the epicenter of French politics and royal life.

(This is the famous “Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.)
One very famous resident of Versailles was Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI. There have been many movies and books written about her life. She grew tired and bored of the “palace life” and had a small village built on the grounds of the Palace so she could “play” like she was a villager.

Here are some of the animals that live there today in her “village”.

The Palace of Versailles was very grand – it had many gold guilded gates like this one:

Huge lawns and beautiful fountains that were bigger than swimming pools:

All that luxury wore this lion out. Whew!

Have an Adventure Every Day!
Love, Dewey

P.s. Use what you’ve learned about internet research to find out who else lived in Versailles. Name two people and when they lived there and you might get tickets from Mrs. Gentis!

Getting Around Paris

gentis — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:07:32 +0000

I found many ways to get around Paris…

You can travel by bicycle…

hitch a ride in a backpack…

or relax on a train.

There is one other way people move around the city that is faster than walking. Can you name what it is? First person to tell me the name of the transportation mode I’m thinking of gets 5 tickets!

Musee du Louvre

gentis — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:31:12 +0000

The Louvre. It is the most famous art museum in the whole world. I was so excited about visiting and seeing amazing works of art!

More than eight million people visit each year to see a collection that has been growing since the late 12th Century. Originally the Louvre was a residence for French Kings and Queens. When King Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his main house in 1672, the Louvre was used for many things but it always housed the royal collection of art. The collection grew and grew and now includes some of the most important pieces of art in the world.

Recently the Louvre was made even more famous because the movie The Da Vinci Code was filmed in its galleries.

Some of the famous works of art that are on display include:

Winged Victory

The Mona Lisa

and Monet’s Water Lillies

Be sure to check out my Paris Album on the More Pictures page to see my other amazing photos from the Louvre.

Have an Adventure Every Day!

Affectueusement,

Dewey

P.s. Use a research webpage to find another fact about the Louvre or the name of another piece of art that is part of the Louvre collection. Leave me a comment with the information you found!

Notre Dame and Opéra Garnier

gentis — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:06:16 +0000

What a big day! Two amazing places that are each the setting of two of my favorite movies!

This is Notre Dame Cathedral, a church that has more history than most buildings in the world! Construction started on the church in 1163 – more than 846 years ago – and was finished about 1345. One of my favorite books-turned-movie is set here. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was written by Victor Hugo in the early 19th century and set there because he loved the church’s architecture. People all over France became interested in Notre Dame and even contributed money for its restoration because of Hugo’s book. Look up Notre Dame on Wikipedia to read some really cool information about it!

This really cool building is the setting for another of my favorite stories “The Phantom of the Opera”. This is the Palais Opera (or “Opera Palace”) built in 1875 under the supervision of Emperor Napoleon III. It is one of the greatest building built in that time – and is still one of the most loved building in all of France. In 1896 one of the counterweights holding the massive chandelier broke and the chandelier came crashing down killing a person. The tragedy inspired Gaston Leroux to write his novel ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ in 1909. The novel was turned into an opera and the opera was made into a movie.

Stay tuned! I have bunches of Parisian adventures left to share!

Have an Adventure Everyday!

Affectueusement,

Dewey

Les Halles – A Market Place

gentis — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:26:54 +0000

Les Halles (pronounced “le – al”) has a huge spot in the history of Paris. It was an outdoor market place built in 1183 and was remodeled in 1850 to include huge glass and metal buildings. Then in the 1970’s it was replaced with an underground shopping center. It’s nickname is “the stomach of Paris”. One of the really cool things about it is that there is lots of art, sculptures and fountains in the area. It makes it a very nice place to shop!

This is one of the huuuuuuuge sculptures I saw at Les Halles. I wonder if he’s supposed to be napping?

Have an Adventure Every Day!

Affectueusement,

Dewey