GEM!

As will be notified in the next issue, #34, we will be having a Gingerbread Employee of the Month, or GEM. You may vote here anonymously, BUT YOU MUST EMAIL US IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU VOTE!!! Otherwise, your vote will not count.
Please either email or vote here anonymously. Email us for more information.
Thanks!

GWN 30 is out!

GWN 30 is now published online! Please visit http://www.freewebs.com/gingerbreadwklynews to see the current issue. We now have a new archive blog: http://gingygingerbread.blogspot.com/
We will not be archiving GWN #30 on this blog. When the new blog has been completely finished, the URLs for these two blogs will change. GWN will notify you on Freewebs and by email to let you know the new URLs.

Freewebs Updated!

Diane Zhou has been able to update the Freewebs (GWN current issue website) website, so please visit the website and read it! Please answer to the debate, write stories, etc. GWN really needs your support during the summer!!! Thanks.

Sorry Again!

Sorry GWN Readers! The Main GWN Website cannot be updated this week. Freewebs cannot be accessed from China, which is where Diane is. Sorry! Blogspot is inconvenient for reading but good for archiving. Mail Pail will be sent out when Freewebs can be accessed again.

GWN Announcement!

GWN decided to have a new website! It's a blog where you can make comments on stories (you will receive tickets for your comments). Please do NOT write your debate answers on the blog though because then other people will see your answers to debate. There would be no point for Mail Pail! Also, sorry for the inconvenience, but GWN cannot make email copies unless you use Open Office. Open Office will NOT work on Microsoft Word. Sorry.

Favorite Florida Fun

(Debate Time)

After reading about Diane Zhou's trip to Florida, which day was your favorite?

Read about Diane's trip to Florida on pages 3 to 5. Which day do you think you would like the best out of these?:

• Day of Arrival!

• Disneyworld: Magic Kingdom

• Disneyworld: Epcot Center

• John F. Kennedy Space Center

• Disneyworld: Disney's Hollywood Studios

Make sure to also take the poll on this page! And also send your answers to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com!

Kung Fu Panda Interview

Emily Wang answered the interview about Kung Fu Panda! Here it is (you can answer it too):

GWN: How did you like Kung Fu Panda? Rate it from A through F.
Emily: A

GWN: Was it really funny? What was the funniest part?
Emily: It was funny. The funniest part was in the end when Po thought Master Shifu was dying and then he [Master Shifu] said, “I'm not dying, you idiot, I'm simply at peace.”

GWN: What was the secret ingredient? What had to be done to be the Dragon Warrior or even the be a great cook?
Emily: nothing

GWN: Which character in the movie would you like to be? Why?
Emily: Po

Remember about guessing what the secret ingredient is? Emily Wang is correct! Good job! Some people got the answer wrong, but it's okay. “Nothing” is a hard thing to guess.

Jokes Center

(New News)

By GWN Joke Maker Tiffany Chen

1. Squeeze it and it cries tears as red as its flesh, but has a heart made of stone.
2. Nicole is Cara's daughter's aunt's husband's daughter's sister. What is the relationship between Nicole and Cara?
3. What has two backbones and a thousand ribs?

If YOU have jokes, send to GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com!

(ANSWER TO JOKES: I. a cherry II. Nicole is Cara's niece. III. rail road tracks)

Japan

(New News)
Contributed to GWN by GWN Reader Cynthia Yao

I am currently in Japan on a tour. The food here is great and the places we go to are fun! So far, my favorite place is "Nara Deer Park". We got to pet the deer, and for some reason, they didn't seem to be scared of us at all. We walked to the museum, which was basically a monk temple. After walking around inside, we went back to the place with the deer. I was so excited! My mom had agreed to let us feed the deer with crackers which you could buy for 150 yen ($1.50 in U.S. currency) on the sides of the path. The deer were so cute. They kept bowing their heads, that meant they wanted more which I learned from our tour guide. After feeding the deer, we went to the souvenir store. I bought a small statue of a deer sitting on a slice of wood. We had to get back on the bus to go to our hotel. That's where I am right now! I'll see you later!

My 11th Birthday

(New News)
By Birthday Girl Chloris Li

On Wednesday, June 4th, 2008, it was my 11th birthday. I was really excited! When I got downstairs to start my breakfast, there were 3 boxes of donuts. My dad or mom wrote a letter that said 1 box was glaze, 1 box was chocolate, and 1 box was filled with glaze and chocolate. I brought those donuts to school, eager to meet my friends. I found out that there was a substitute that day so my teacher never knew it was my birthday.
At school, I placed the donuts at the back desk. The substitute saw them and she asked if it was my birthday. My reply was yes. On the board, the substitute wrote down the schedule for the day. One part said to say Happy Birthday to me. I was so happy!
When the time came, I chose Deanna, my friend and classmate, to help me pass out the donuts. Most people took the chocolate donuts when I thought more people would've taken the glaze! After all that passing, my classmates, including the substitute teacher, sang happy birthday to me. I was pleased and happy!
At home, my mom bought an ice cream cake. The whole entire cake was ice cream! It was delicious! I was really full when I finished eating that day. I barely was able to eat my last piece of cake! I was proud of my presents. My whole family gave me a card, my friend Susan wrote Happy Birthday on a piece of paper, my friends Jessica and Chela made a card for me, Deanna was going to give me a card the next day, Diane, another friend, gave me a Japanese doll which I named it Jade, my mom gave me a Melody water bottle, and finally, my grandma gave me a red envelope! I was really happy! I hope I will be as happy in my 12th birthday! (I can't believe I'm almost a teen!)

Florida Fun!

(Cover Story)
By GWN Founder Diane Zhou

Florida was really fun! It was actually my first time going there. It's exciting because my family doesn't travel a lot. The only other states I have been to (and played at) are Nevada, Illinois, Texas, and of course, California. Now add Florida to the list! It wasn't too hot in Florida, but it rained a lot...
My dad was actually on a business trip so he arrived in Florida on Monday, June 23rd. My mom, brother, and I got to Florida on Wednesday.
On Thursday, my dad had one more day of meetings in Orlando, so just my mom, Alex, and I went to play. We went to Disneyworld! We chose to go to Magic Kingdom on the first day because it's the main Disneyworld park. My mom got discount tickets from her work, IBM, so we didn't need to buy those expensive tickets. After we parked our rented Kia car, a tram took us to a place where we could ride a ferry or a monorail to the park. We decided to ride the ferry. Magic Kingdom is the exact same copycat of the Disneyland in Los Angeles. In fact, Orlando is the same as southern California! There's Disney, Seaworld, and even Universal Studios! Except in a much bigger version! Oh well...back to Magic Kingdom. We got some fast passes so the line would be much shorter. It's boring if I go into the details, I just went on tons of fun rides! About 5 of them. My favorite is Space Mountain. It's super fast and has many turns and drops. If you didn't know, I LOVE roller coasters! I rode Space Mountain with the other GWN Founder, my friend, Amanda Chang. She knows how fun it is too! Very sadly, it started raining around five o'clock. Then Alex just had to start complaining about his soaking shoes and blah blah blah. We bought a rain jacket so I could still go on indoor rides, but Alex just ruined my day. We went back to the parking lot by monorail, and that was the end of the first disastrous day of Florida...

By GWN Writer Alex Zhou

On Friday, June 27 Alex and his family went to Epcot. There, they went to the world center. They went on a ride that showed history. Then, they went on a ride in a clam that moves while watching Nemo. After they finished, they saw animals that live in the sea. Alex's sister saw a big turtle. Alex saw a stingray at the top of the water. How unusual of having a stingray at the surface of the water. Next, Alex's family went to eat lunch. Alex ate Macaroni and Cheese. Later, Diane and Alex went on a simulator ride. You're supposed to go on a mission to go to Mars. Alex had to be pilot and engineer because they were missing one person. Then, they went to a movie ride. It was about energy. There was a person named Ellen who didn't care about energy. She was watching Jeopardy when she fell asleep. She dreamed that she was in Jeopardy and there was a person named Judy who knew all about energy. The categories were all about energy so Judy got them all right in the lead with $17,800 in points. Albert Einstein was there and had $0 and Ellen had -$100. Later, Bill Nye comes and takes Ellen through time and they talk about energy. After that, they go back through time back to Jeopardy and Ellen won with a score of $35,600! Then, we watched Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It was very boring. Next, we went on a fast and fun ride, Test Track. It was hecka fast! Later, we went around the world. First up, was Canada. We watched a movie named O'Canada. It was a good movie. Next was United Kingdom We did a Narnia Quiz. Later we went to France. We watched a show there. Next up, Morocco. We didn't do anything there. Then we went to Japan. We saw pokeplushies there. Alex wanted Chimchar and Diane got Turtwig. Next was USA. We only took a picturethere. At china, we only looked around the shops. Next up Norway. We went on a ride there. The ride was fun. Later we went to Mexico. We didn't do anything there because we had to go on a ride called Soar'in. Soar'in was very fun. After that, we went all the way back to Japan and bought PokePlushies. After that we watched fireworks. It was a fun day!

By GWN Founder Diane Zhou

Our third day was spent at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. They still launch space shuttles there! We took a tour. We learned a lot of things! The first stop was just about America's beginning of space travel. Very unsuccessful. Russia was very successful at the time. Next was fun! We saw the exact control center of the first successful orbit around the moon by Americans. We also took a cool picture! All of the people in my family took individual pictures with poses like we were floating. Even the PokePlushies and Gingy (Yay! GWN's Gingy!) took pictures. We saw how the person put our poses together. We looked like we were floating in a spaceship! We ate lunch at this stop. The third and final stop was about the International Space Station orbiting around Earth. NASA is constantly sending people up there. After the tour, we rode a space shuttle simulator and went back to our hotel.
On our final full day in Florida, we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios! Fun! We went on rides and blah blah blah, but the best ride was the Tower of Terror! There's tons of drops, and I LOVE those! The second best was the fastest roller coaster in the whole Disneyworld. SUPER FAST, and with upside downs. Well, that was our trip to Florida, and back to Home Sweet Home!

Answer to Debate!

Now that we use blogspot, you can comment stories. You can also answer to debate without email! Please do not be anonymous, write your name and grade please! Reply to the debate this week by commenting here.
Please, please, please comment the stories and reply to the debate! Under the GWN #28 stories will be all the stories and debate. You can click on the comment button at the bottom right corner of the article and you can comment. Once again, please include your name!
You can also tell GWN if there is a mistake in the story. We want to find all mistakes and correct them. Thanks!

Tri-City News!

Under the GWN Website on the upper left side of this page, check out the Tri-City Voice articles that include our GWN Readers! In the Ardenwood International Day Celebration, Diane Zhou and Chloris Li participated in the performance. (See the videos while they are there at GWN's main website). There is a Kung Fu Panda Movie Review! GWN Reader Andy Wang is in the Fremont Flute Ensemble!

Turtie's Kitchen Announcement

From the desk of Turtie Turtle

Hi GWN Readers!

I am here again, just like I promised! Still a little busy, so there will be no cooking tips. I decided to take the Kung Fu Panda interview though, so here are my answers! Gingy decided to take it too, so her answers are also here!

Turtie Turtle, Owner of Turtie's Kitchen

Please note that these are all false email addresses.

From: “GWN”

To: “Diane Zhou” , “Amanda Chang”...

Cc: “Turtie Turtle” , “Gingy...

Subj: Interview for Kung Fu Panda

Here is an interview for everyone to answer about Kung Fu Panda, the movie that just came out. Reply to this email with the questions filled in:

How did you like Kung Fu Panda? Rate it from A through F:

Was it really funny? What was the funniest part?

What was the secret ingredient? What had to be done to be the Dragon Warrior or even to be a great cook?

Which character in the movie would you like to be? Why?

Thanks for taking the interview!

From: “Turtie Turtle”

To: “GWN”

Cc:

Subj: Re: Interview for Kung Fu Panda

These are my answers to the interview!

I loved Kung Fu Panda (especially since a turtle is the wise one). I'd rate it A!!!
It was very very funny! I like the part where Po (the panda) stole cookies. At the end when it showed the credits, it showed the monkey looking for the cookies and Po hiding.

*(Will not show the secret until everyone is done guessing!!! See the "Cover Story" section.)

I would LOVE to be Master WuGui, the great Kung Fu master that is a turtle!!! I am a turtle too :-)

--------------------Original Message--------------------

Here is an interview for everyone to answer about Kung Fu Panda, the movie that just came out. Reply to this email with the questions filled in:

How did you like Kung Fu Panda? Rate it from A through F:

Was it really funny? What was the funniest part?

What was the secret ingredient? What had to be done to be the Dragon Warrior or even to be a great cook?

Which character in the movie would you like to be? Why?

Thanks for taking the interview!

From: “Gingy Gingerbread”

To: “GWN”

Cc:

Subj: Re: Interview for Kung Fu Panda

These are my answers to the interview!

Kung Fu Panda was pretty good. I am happy that my pet, Turtie, is a wise Kung Fu master! I rate it B.

It was hilarious! I love the part (no offense to Po) where one animal says, “How can he [Po] learn kung fu if he can't even touch his toes?” and another one says, “Or even see his toes.”

*(Will not show the secret until everyone is done guessing!!! See "Cover Story" section.)

I want to be Tigress because she is a good guy and is good at Kung Fu.

More About the Word Contest

(Debate Time)

Remember about the word contest where you can try to make the most words out of the word GINGERBREAD? GWN forgot to mention many things.

First of all, the deadline for this contest is June 30th. You can always send in early and update your list. The judges will be Diane Zhou and Chloris Li. Chloris will be participating in the contest, but we promise she doesn't see other people's words before she is done submitting all her words.

Amanda Chang and Katherine Xiao wanted to submit an entry together. If two people would like to submit an entry together, GWN may divide the number of words by 2 or 1.5 since it would be unfair to have 2 people's words together....or would it be fair? That gets to another debate:

Divide Score?
Should GWN divide two-people entries? If yes, by how much?

GWN will allow Amanda and Katherine to submit an entry together. But GWN wants to divide their score by 2, 1.5, or 1.25 to be fair, while Amanda thinks GWN shouldn't. What do you GWN readers think?

For now, GWN will divide their score by 1.5, and they will get a bonus of dividing by 1.25 if they get 100 words. Do you think this is fair?

Send all your answers to GWN please!!!

Favorite Place

(Debate Time)
Where is your favorite place to go to?

School is finally over! (Please send fun end-of-the-year stories to GWN!!!) Summer vacation is here, so where will you go (Also send vacation stories!)? Speaking of where you will go, where is your favorite place, or where do you think is your favorite place?

GWN News: Update Corner!

Dear GWN Readers,
There are a couple updates in GWN!

1)You can answer to the debate on the website now! Please do not answer on the website if you have email. Freewebs only allows 25 submissions a month.

2)Summer is here so GWN cannot see everyone in person! Paper tickets cannot be given out, but GWN will continue to calculate your tickets. You will receive all tickets when school starts in September!

Have a great summer (and be sure to send your interesting and fun vacation stories!)!

Sincerely,

Gingerbread Weekly News

Big Red Ball

(New News)
Written and Typed by GWN Writer Chloris Li

On Friday, June 13th, 2008, there was a substitute in my classroom at Ardenwood Elementary. We had extra recess. The substitute brought a large red ball outside and the fifth-grade boys started playing basketball with it. Someone shot it inside the hoop and the ball couldn't come back out. The boys used theirs shoes and it did nothing. Later, a boy found a stick and he used it to push it out but it didn't work. The primary kids (first to third graders) were staring at them. Later, GWN Founder Diane Zhou (I think she is the tallest fifth-grade girl in our class.) tried pushing the ball out with the stick and it didn't work. Later, we gave the stick to the substitute [because he was the tallest out of all of us]to push the ball out of the hoop. It still didn't work because I think he doesn't want to work. Finally, the boy who found the stick carried his friend on his shoulders and they got it out! YAY! After all that, all the fifth graders decided to play dodge ball.

Jokes Center

(New News)
Written and Typed by GWN Joke Maker Tiffany Chen

1. There is a word that I know, six letters it contains, subtract one, and twelve remains. What is it?

2. What can run but not walk, has a mouth but can't talk, has a head but never thinks, has a bed but never sleeps?
   

3. The more of this you take, the more you leave behind.

(ANSWER TO JOKES: I. dozen II. a river III. footsteps)

Alex's 8th Birthday Party

(New News)
Written and Typed by Birthday Boy Alex Zhou

On Saturday, June 7, 2008 Alex had his 8th birthday party. His real birthday is June 4. He and his friends mostly played video games. When it was time to eat, most of them didn't. Only he and Austin ate. After that, they started playing video games again. Then they ate ice cream cake and sang happy birthday. They went outside and played with flying disks on the field at Ardenwood School. Afterwards, they went back to Alex's house and started playing video games...again! About an hour later, parents started arriving. My neighbors stayed the longest since they live next door. It was a fun birthday party!

A Field Trip to Don Edward's San Francisco Bay National Wild Life Refuge

(New News)

Written and Typed by GWN Writer Alex Zhou

On Thursday, May 29, 2008 half of the second graders at Ardenwood School went on a field trip to Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The second graders played many fun games and activities. Alex's favorite activity was looking in owl pellets (owl throw up). Too bad Alex didn't have a skull in his owl pellet. He also liked the last activity about wetlands. Everyone had to pretend to be an animal and only can eat the food that the animal eats. In another activity, students had to look for an animal that lives in the mud. They were small but can still be seen. The students got to use microscopes. The park rangers told us to protect wetlands because there are less wetlands and a lot of animals that are endangered live there. One of them are endangered because there are less wetlands and because of predation. This field trip was the best one ever!

Kung Fu Panda

(Cover Story)
Written and Typed by GWN Founder Diane Zhou

My family and GWN Reader Emily Wang's family went to Century Theaters in Union City to watch Kung Fu Panda on Saturday, June 14. People at my school, Ardenwood Elementary, said it was very funny, for young and old. A yard duty parent asked me what the “secret ingredient” was. I told her the next day, but I won't tell you what it is, watch the movie for yourself!

Kung Fu Panda is basically about an enemy, Tai Lang, who got out of prison and wanted a scroll so he could be the Dragon Warrior. He used to be a good Master's son, but when he mastered Kung Fu and was ready to be the Dragon Warrior, Master Turtle, the great Kung Fu master, sensed darkness inside Tai Lang. Tai Lang got angry and crazy so Master Turtle had to trap him. Now, since Tai Lang was free and Master Turtle was becoming weak, he needed to find the chosen one. It happened to be a big fat panda named Po. See the movie to know how things went...

Turtie was very happy that he, the turtle, was a master! There was tons of laughing during the movie. I really enjoyed the movie too!

GWN interviewed Diane and some other people:

GWN: How did you like Kung Fu Panda? Rate it from A through F.

Diane Zhou: Kung Fu Panda was very interesting. It was fun and I was laughing like every 5 seconds! I would rate it an A- or B+. The movie was pretty original, having Kung Fu and a lot of Chinese in it. I love the part where the turtle is the wise one!

Shudong Zhou: B

Carol Zhang: A (Assume A is the best)

Alex Zhou: A

GWN: Was it really funny? What was the funniest part?

Diane: It was totally funny! I think the funniest part was...well, the whole thing! I really remember the part where the panda stole the cookies and when the he always thought of food. I also remember when he sat right on top of Tai Lang.

Shudong: Panda makes a face because of acupuncture.

Carol: Yes, it is really funny. Funniest part: When Tai Lung saw Po, he said: Hm, a panda, what are you going to do with me? Sit on me?

Alex: It was very funny. The funniest part was when Po made Tia Lung high into the air and when he came down and made a hole.

GWN: What was the secret ingredient? What had to be done to be the Dragon Warrior or even the be a great cook? *****

GWN: Which character in the movie would you like to be? Why?

Diane: I might want to be the turtle. He is wise, and I like turtles. I might also want to be Tigress. I would certainly NOT want to be the Panda. I like him in the sense that he is funny, but I don't want to be fat, even if that would make me a hero.

Shudong: Wugui, wise and powerful.

Carol: Po, of course. He is funny, enthusiasm, never give up. Good role model for us.

Alex: Po because he is funny.

GWN: Thanks for taking the interview!

If you would like to take the interview, email to GWN, along with your name, the questions, and your answers. You will receive one ticket for taking the interview!

***** What was the “secret ingredient”? Guess, or if you watched the movie, tell us about the secret ingredient. Email to: GingerbreadWklyNews@gmail.com by June 30th. You will receive one ticket for guessing and one more if your answer is correct.

Announcement!!!!

Gingerbread Weekly News has decided to archive all issues on this blog! The stories will be published here whenever GWN editors have time. The issue the story belongs to will be shown at the bottom right hand corner. Please comment about this decision!!!

Testing a New Blog

Testing this blog! Please comment if you like it or not. If you don't we'll use the old website. If you do, we'll use this one. Please comment!!