Click on each team member to learn more about each individual. To find out more about the team's thoughts on the ThinkQuest experience, be sure to visit the Team page! Click here to see our coaches' thoughts.

Dat

My name is Dat, I am ten years old and I come from Vietnam. I came to the United States one year ago. I am learning English and a lot of other things about the United States. I have made many new friends here but I still miss my family in Vietnam. My best friends are Azalkhan; he is from Russia and Giovanni who is from Haiti. They are both in my class. Our favorite thing to do at recess is to play tag! I also like the Harry Potter movies. I think I know how the character of Harry Potter feels being in a new place and learning new things.

 

I joined Think quest because my teachers asked if I would like to learn something new and different. I thought it would be fun to work on a project like Think quest. I am very interested in the environment, science and math. We all agreed on the topic of global warming because we know as students how important this will be when we grow up. It has been a lot of fun working on this project. It has also been a little hard because we had to learn to talk on the forum and share our ideas with our teammates. This was hard because I am still learning English and I felt sometimes I could not say the right words. Our team has been great and this experience is something I will always treasure. Plus I was able to talk to my family in Vietnam about this subject and write about my country.

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Emira

My name is Emira and I am nine years old. I also came to the United States one year ago. I was born in Berlin, Germany and moved back to the Ukraine with my Mom and Dad. My Dad came to the United States first and we waited six years until we could come here. I came to the U.S.A. in February of 2006. When I was in the Ukraine I learned to sing and dance. I even was in concerts. That was a really fun time for me. Probably the worst thing that happened to me was when I had to leave my good friends and my family in the Ukraine. I was really afraid of everything when I first came here; everything seemed so strange to me because I could not speak English.

Now I speak English much better. I love American television especially the shows on the Disney Channel, like "Hanna Montana" and the musicals. I have made many new friends but my best friend Alma lives in Massachusetts. I am learning to play the violin and I take dancing classes too! I also write my own songs! My favorite day is Saturday because we spend a lot of time as a family doing fun things.

My teachers asked if I would like to join Thinkquest and I said, "Yes!" right away because I also really like to learn about computers. It has been a lot of fun working on Think quest. I am very interested in ocean life so I wanted to know how global warming would effect the oceans. It was a little hard for me because of my English but Dat and Zayrah are also in my class so I felt a little better working with kids who speak English. I really liked working with our other teammates and coming up with ideas for the website. It is especially fun working on the website design. I am so happy I was able to work on this project. I am not sure what I want to do when I grow up, but I know I want to go to college and that is why this project has helped me start to realize my dreams!I sang in concerts and danced. I moved to America last January so I have been here almost one year. Since I have been in the USA I have learned how to play the violin. I am really glad I get to take violin lessons at school because I really like music. I was even in a school concert!

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Matt

Hi my name is Matt and I was born right here in Manchester, New Hampshire. I am the youngest of three children and the only boy! My most favorite thing to do is play hockey. I love to play hockey. I want to be in the National Hockey League some day, but only after I finish college. I play on a team so my family and I have traveled to many places. I have been at Webster school since kindergarten so I have many friends and I am very comfortable at school. One of my after school activities is being in the drama club. When I am not playing hockey or acting I like to play video games, board games and anything to do with sports. My ideal day would just be hanging out with my friends!

When Mrs. Papanikolau and Ms. Beakey asked if I wanted to join ThinkQuest I was not really sure at first. After our first meeting and voting on the topic I decided I definitely wanted to be a part of this team. I went to Alaska, I saw the glacier, and I know we have to stop global warming. Plus I really liked the idea of learning how to build a website from scratch. It has been a great experience for me especially being on a team where you had to really communicate both by the computer and in meetings. Sometimes it is hard for me to express what I think when I am in a group. The team has been excellent and I have also learned a lot about global warming especially the scary facts, which is one of the subjects I had to research! I really hope our website gets kids thinking about global warming, because if kids think about this then maybe they will get their parents to think about this subject as well.

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Zayrah

My name is Zayrah and I am from Germany, but my Dad is from Pakistan so I also spend time there. I came to the United States in September of 2006. I learned a lot of English in Germany so it has not been as hard for me as some of the other students in my class. My Dad has family in Manchester so it also was not as hard leaving everyone in Germany. I do miss my best friends but it is nice to use the computer for email and to look at my old school from the Google Earth search. I miss all the things I did in Germany. I played the piano and also did concerts like Emira. Now I am learning to play the violin and we will be in a school concert at the end of the year. The other thing about living in Germany was everything was so close you did not need a car to get to places.

When my teachers asked if I wanted to be on a team I was very excited! I use the computer a lot to write to my friends and to learn English. It has been a great experience for me to work on this project. Global warming is a very important topic. It could change everything. That is why we all agreed on this topic. We wanted to get other people around the world involved in changing the effects of global warming. We wanted to build a website that kids could learn about this and feel like they could do something to help the Earth. It does not matter where you come from there is always even a little thing kids can do to help.

My teammates have been great. We have learned a lot about each other and about our subject. Each on of us had a different task so it was like putting together a puzzle. It was fun to speak to each other on the forum. It was also a little easier because I did not worry about my English so much. It was also great to learn how to build a website. It really takes a lot of thought and organization. I am very proud of our website, how it looks and how we all worked together for a common cause.

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Zeke

Hey. I'm eleven year old kid from Manchester, New Hampshire. I am a student at Webster Elementary School. Out of everyone working On this, I'm probably the techier one. I really like computers, programs, functions... well, anything else that has to do with technology or especially computers i like. I like figuring out how technology works and how in the future technology can really be used to a much greater extent in our lives than it already is.

 

That is one reason why I wanted to be on this ThinkQuest team. I am very committed to the environment and our planet. I feel, even though the world impact it provides isn't much at all, that working on this ThinkQuest team is showing the world that even kids care about global problems, and that adults should d what is in their power to help. I am not saying, "Leave it to the Dads and Moms," I am saying that as much as we can to as kids, (which is a lot) we cannot do as much as adults of power can do.

 

I was most likely one of the very few of the people I knew who watched the movie, an Inconvenient Truth. Because of this, I was pretty knowledgeable on the subject of global warming when we formed our team.
The challenge for me on this team was to really learn the flash programs, but as I said I like to figure out how things work. The team has been great, everyone had their own part to play in research and we worked on the web site together. It was fun to work with the kids I already knew but it was just as much fun to work with Zayrah, Dat and Emira who are in Mrs. Papanikolau and Ms. Beakey's class. I liked learning about all the different ways global warming is effecting our planet. This has been a great experience for me especially since it is a subject I have a strong commitment to this subject. I like the fact that we are able to build a web site that educates other kids. If we as a society of people do not all unite and try to stop global warming, than nothing is done. If One Country goes green completely, then something will be done. BUt only through unity can we make a real impact on the world, on global warming. Unity is strength, and we need strength, hence, we need unity, so I can close this off with a quote,

"The People United Will Never Be Defeated."

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Mrs. Papanikolau

This team has been excellent. All the students were so committed to the topic of global warming. There were many other topics the team could have voted on but this won unanimously. These students are very committed to changing the way other people think about our planet.

Ms. Beakey and I teach a sheltered third, fourth, and fifth grade class for students who are new to the United States. This program is housed in Webster School. It was challenging because three of our students were beginning English speakers from our magnet program. So there was a point where I felt the ice was just not breaking since this was the first time everyone had worked together! Sometimes it is easier to communicate by the web versus face to face, but this team rose to the occasion and everyone participated by exchanging ideas on the forum and meetings in school. They all encouraged each other by finding websites, helping clarify thoughts and respecting each others point of view. They were truly amazing. Their commitment to the topic and their ideas seemed well beyond the grasp of their ages.

It has been a really exciting process to watch the interaction between the students. I guess when you feel so passionately about a subject, not even language is a barrier! I am very proud of the work they have done, I know each and everyone of these students is going on to do great things with their lives. I also believe ThinkQuest has given them a forum to create, build and express their beliefs. I also believe it is an excellent way to encourage them to continue learning different ways to apply their knowledge.

 

Ms. Beakey

This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have ever had as an educator. Our team of fourth and fifth grade students took a topic that is both controversial and complex, and were able to delve into the most current views and ideas.

As my colleague Mrs. Papanikolau mentioned, three of our team members come our magnet English Language Learners program. Our class is comprised of immigrants and refugees who are non-English proficient. Despite this obstacle, the magnet students excelled in Internet research, web design, and sharing views that are unique to them as multiple language speakers. I was equally impressed by the three mainstream students. They were phenomenal in researching, writing, and web design. They brought their own diverse life experiences and beliefs and helped give the website a truly unique voice.

The topic of global warming proved to be challenging for all of the students, no matter their background. All teammates were very inspired and dedicated to the topic they had chosen. Communication on the forum kept everyone aware of which topics were being researched, as well as allowing the students to get to know one another. Group meetings were instrumental in refocusing and getting to the heart of such an immense topic.

Throughout this experience, I was consistently amazed at what these students were able to accomplish. Aside from research and writing, the students also devoted themselves to learning animation and design in Flash, creating images in Fireworks, and writing in Dreamweaver. Along with the communication on the forum and Internet research, it was inspiring to see what a “twelve and under” group could achieve. This was so much more than writing a paper or creating a report. All students took full advantage of technology to communicate with one another, to research the latest information, and to represent their views and the facts through web design.

As our team finished the final details of the project, I was surprised to see how moved I was by their efforts. Working with these wonderful students has been extremely inspiring. I am grateful to have been a part of this experience.