Rafael University: November 2023

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Grade 4 (2023)

UAAP Blog: Finals Game 1 (Grade 4, PE, UAAP Basketball, November 30, 2023)

I decided to make one blog for the entire series. But this as of here, I’m writing from the day after Game 1. The matchup was UP vs DLSU.

The first quarter was close (as always). UP started ahead 4-0, but then La Salle went on an 11-6 run. After that, it was a back and forth, with both teams scoring. The quarter ended 28-24.

The second quarter was kinda close, but UP was playing better. But again, both teams were trading shots. Towards the end, UP was on a 15-7 run, ending the quarter with a three to go up 53-41.

The third quarter was lopsided. UP won the quarter 24-14, including a 13-8 run at the start. And even after that, they were making a lot of shots. They ended the quarter up 77-55.

The fourth quarter was a continuation of the third. UP won the quarter 20-12. They kept scoring, and La Salle was just playing as if it was practice. The 22-point lead at the end of the third grew to 30, with UP winning 97-67. Now for Game 2.

UAAP Blog: Final Four (Grade 4, PE, UAAP Basketball, November 28, 2023)

This is it. The Final Four! This is what we’ve been waiting for the entire season! (Just kidding, there’s something even bigger later on. But we’ll get to that later.) But yeah. I’m going to cover the UP vs Ateneo game today.

The first quarter was very low-scoring. Nobody scored until an Ateneo player named Chris Koon (sometimes Westernised to Chris Goon by foreign news) made a layup. It took UP long enough to score. More than four minutes, to be exact. It took another minute until another two points were scored. Fast forward to the end of the first quarter, and the score was 11-7 in favor of Ateneo. Yes, for real. You’re not dreaming.

The second quarter was a bit better. The start was still slow, but it didn’t take too long for them to score. It was also close throughout. Well, there’s not much else to say here. But Ateneo remained ahead 25-22 heading into the second half.

The third quarter was also quite close. The game was tied at 29, but then Ateneo made a three. It was a battle for the lead for the next few possessions. However, UP went on a 9-3 run to end the third quarter up 42-37, showing signs of pulling away.

The fourth quarter was very boring. UP was pulling away, making shot after shot after shot, and with Ateneo even air balling a technical free throw. UP won 57-46, meaning that Ateneo will miss the finals for the first time since 2015.

So, what was that even bigger event? It's the finals. La Salle already beat NU, meaning that they’ll face UP. This is the first time that matchup is in the finals. Okay, now I’m done. Bye!

Monday, November 27, 2023

UAAP Blog: Final Games of Round 1 up to the Playoffs (Grade 4, PE, UAAP Basketball, November 23, 2023)

You probably clicked on this post, thinking, “Aw, this is gonna be ANOTHER UP-dominated game.” But no. La Salle is the other good team in the league. So this was a very close game.

The first quarter was kinda close, but La Salle played better. UP was making some shots, however, I’d say they would make 1 shot for every 5 shots they took. La Salle, meanwhile, was making 4 shots every 5 shots they took. (I’m not being literal here. I’m just estimating it to give you an idea of how they played). Anyway, the first quarter ended with La Salle up 28-21.

The second quarter was also kinda close. There was a stalemate around the 7:00-6:00 time period, but UP went on an 11-0 run afterward. However, La Salle played better for the remainder of the quarter. At halftime, the score was 47-38.

Immediately in the third quarter, La Salle made a three. But they only scored three points the entire quarter. The third quarter was a very lopsided comeback for UP.

The fourth quarter was the best part. La Salle recovered from their poor third quarter. There were a lot of reviews, and the last 4 seconds lasted minutes! La Salle inbounded the ball with 2.9 seconds left, but CJ Cansino stole the ball, and the game was over. Final score: 67-64.

The next game is UP vs Ateneo. Well, that’s it guys! Bye!

Note: I looked at the box scores on https://www.teampilipinas.info/2018/09/uaap-live-updates-schedule-results.html.

This is a recap of the 1st round of the eliminations. Yes, I’ll cover each UP game today. (I decided just to cover the UP games because those are the games that my parents like to watch.)

UP’s first game was against Adamson. And it was a blowout. The first quarter even ended with a half-court shot from a UP player. That was the only time I saw something like that this season. Final score: 68-51.

The next game was also UP-dominated. You might be saying, “Oh, for sure UP will go 14-0.” Well, no. You see, UP’s only one of the good teams in the league. But since they are one of them, they managed to beat UE in another blowout. The first quarter even ended 32-9. To think that a team would not even score 10 points in a quarter is just crazy. But it happened.

One of the upcoming games is UP vs NU (on the last gameday). It will probably be a close game. But their first round meeting wasn’t. UP won the game by 18. It was the second half where they pulled away.

Finally, someone who can challenge UP. FEU actually forced UP into overtime. (That means that they needed to play an extra period because there was no winner after four quarters.) UP thought they made a game winner at the end of the fourth quarter, but they released the ball too late. Still, in overtime, UP managed to win.

Another lopsided victory for UP. Well, not right away. UST did quite well in the first quarter, but the third quarter ended with UP ahead by 35. The game ended with them winning by 31.

I already wrote an in depth view of this game, but if you’re short on time, just read this one. La Salle is one of the other good teams in the league, so this was a close game. The final seconds were very long, but when CJ Cansino, UP’s shooting guard, intercepted a La Salle pass, the game was over.

UP played against Ateneo, another good team. The first three quarters were very close. In the fourth quarter, though Ateneo was playing better at first, UP made a huge comeback to force overtime. However, Ateneo outlasted them in the extra period. Finally, UP lost. They ended the first round 6-1.

Okay, so I’m going to write a second article on the last game (UP vs NU), because it’s very important. But more on that at the end. For now, let’s talk about what happened in the first six games of the second round.

UP vs Adamson was also the first game of the second round. And it was a blowout. Adamson only scored 9 points in the second quarter. UP’s biggest lead was 26. The final score was 77-51.

The second game was UP vs Ateneo. I didn’t watch it because I was sick, but I’ll try to give you a quick recap on the game. UP, despite having multiple injured players, played very well. But in the fourth quarter, Ateneo came back. However, UP managed to survive, winning the game 65-60.

The next game was UP vs La Salle. I did watch this one, I was much better by then. The game was very close all throughout, though La Salle kinda played better in the first half. La Salle was ahead by a few points in the final minutes, but UP finally took the lead again. But La Salle recovered, and UP kept missing important shots, which cost them the game.

After that was UP vs UE. It was very close, so let me analyse the fourth quarter. UP was holding on to a very delicate lead when UE finally destroyed it. But UP came back. And with UE missing a lot of major shots, UP managed to seal the victory.

UP vs FEU in the first round went to overtime. But this one wasn’t even close. FEU played quite well in the late first and early second quarters, but by the fourth quarter, they were down by a lot. The game ended 81-64.

I’ll end this one with UP vs UST. UST was playing very well in the early first quarter, which is very surprising, because they only won one game (as of November 17). But UP came back later in the first quarter, holding on to that for the rest of the game, and winning the game. (I can’t remember the score or see it online.)

So, as I said at the start, I’ll leave the last game out of this blog, because it’s very important. That’s because, along with La Salle vs Ateneo, that game will greatly affect the standings. Let’s look at the different scenarios.

But first, you have to understand how the Final Four works. The top four teams will play in two separate playoffs (#1 vs #4 & #2 vs #3), with #1 and #2 having twice to beat advantages. That means that even if they lose, they still have one more chance, and if they win the second game, they’ll make it to the finals. (If #1 and/or #2 win the first game, they’ll automatically advance to the finals.)

If UP and La Salle win, UP will be #1, La Salle will be #2, NU will be #3, and Adamson and Ateneo will play a tiebreaker game to determine who #4 will be.

If La Salle and NU win, there are two possible scenarios. The first will happen if UP loses by 18 points or less. In this scenario, La Salle will be #1, UP will be #2, NU will be #3, and again, Adamson and Ateneo will play a tiebreaker game for #4.

The second scenario if La Salle and NU win will happen if NU wins by 19 points or more. In this scenario, La Salle will be #1, NU will be #2, UP will be #3, and again, the Adamson-Ateneo tiebreaker thing.

In the end, if La Salle and NU win, it really doesn’t matter which scenario happens, because a practical best of 3 is guaranteed to be played between UP and NU. But actually, their first game is just to decide who will get the twice to beat advantage. However, for all practical intents and purposes, it’s just a best of 3.

If Ateneo and NU win, there are also two possible scenarios. The first is that UP will be #1 and NU will be #2. This will happen if UP only loses by 17 points or less. But if NU wins by 19 points or more, they’ll be #1, and UP will be #2. Then, La Salle will be #3, and because Ateneo won against La Salle here, they won’t need to play against Adamson anymore.

If Ateneo and UP win, UP will be #1, #2 La Salle will play #3 NU in a virtual best of 3 (you already know how that works), and Ateneo will be #4. Again, here, Adamson will be eliminated.

So, I know it’s complicated. But once you study more on this, it’s actually very easy. Okay, now I’m done. Bye!

I told you a big game was coming. La Salle beat Ateneo, and Adamson beat UE, so Adamson could still make the Final Four. But as of my writing, Ateneo already won the play-off game. Okay. But I’m gonna rewind a bit to the UP vs NU game.

Let me just say, you would not want to watch the first quarter. UP scored the first 10 points of the game. NU finally scored some points at the end of the first quarter, though. Still, UP ended the first quarter up 23-13.

So, you’re saying to yourself, “Hm, but NU’s a good team. The second quarter will be their comeback, right?” No. NU did lose the second quarter only by 2 points (19-17), but the score at the end of the quarter was 42-30.

The third quarter wasn’t as bad as the first, either. UP did end the quarter up by 13 points, but NU played quite well also. They were very close to making a comeback. However, UP just resisted it, ending the quarter up 58-45.

UP went on a huge run early in the fourth quarter. NU was no longer showing signs of a comeback. UP was ahead by more than 20 points at one point. And so, the game ended in a 79-54 victory for UP. What? Remember, in a previous blog, I said that the game would probably be close? Well, I was wrong. I guess I’m not the best at those things.

So the Final Four is coming soon, and the matchups will be UP vs Ateneo and La Salle vs NU. UP and La Salle have the twice to beat advantage. If you don’t know how that works, read my previous post. My mom’s going crazy over UP vs Ateneo tickets. Okay, now I’m done. Bye!

UAAP Season 86 - Issue 1 (First Four Games) (Grade 4, PE, UAAP Basketball, October 15, 2023)

Hey guys! I’m actually Emperor Augustus II from the OttoRoman Empire. If you also like history, please consider checking out that blog.

So, this second blog is about the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). There are eight schools who send their athletes there, namely Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), National University (NU), University of the East (UE), University of the Philippines (UP), and University of Santo Tomas (UST). Now that you have an idea on what the UAAP is, let’s begin.

The first game I watched in full was UP vs Adamson. This was the women’s edition. UP kept a big lead for almost the entire game. Though I’m a neutral watcher, I enjoyed watching this UP team.

Then I watched the men’s edition of the game. One highlight I remember was when a UP player made a half-court shot at the end of the 1st quarter. Anyway, the UP men got an easy win, just like their women counterparts.

I didn’t watch Ateneo vs Adamson in full, but I luckily caught one highlight. An Adamson player named Vince Magbuhos (mag BOO hos) made a buzzer beater to win the game. And it was actually his birthday! If you wanna watch that, here’s the video: https://youtu.be/-zb8kkihuvE?si=edyh_IJ5u32MvJUp (Courtesy of One Sports).

UP vs NU was the next game I watched in full. (I know I keep watching UP games.) UP got yet another easy win, and a lot of highlights, including dunks. A player named Francis Lopez made perhaps my favorite dunk of the game. Oh, and I ate three hotdogs that day. Just an interesting side note here.

I then watched yet another UP game! UP vs FEU, to be specific. And it wasn't actually an easy win for UP. Francis Lopez made a “buzzer beater” at the end of the game. Why am I putting it in quotation marks? It didn’t count! But UP still won in overtime.

However, FEU wouldn’t get back-to-back losses. It was close, but FEU beat Ateneo. Though Ateneo seemed like they would come back and win, especially after they forced overtime, two straight FEU baskets helped them win. And I was actually supporting Ateneo. Too bad for me, I guess.

You guessed it! Another UP game! It’s UP vs UST! (I’m not tired of watching UP games. They’re actually quite entertaining.) I watched the women’s game too, again. It was close, and even went into overtime. But in overtime, UP won.

Now for the men’s game. Again, UP got an easy win. Remember, this is amateur basketball. But UP even reached the 100-point mark! UST didn’t even reach 80 points.

So, the next game I’m watching is on Wednesday. It’s La Salle (DLSU) vs… UP again! This might be a nice game, though, because La Salle is also a good team. The previous opponents (except for FEU) were not good enough for UP.

Anyway guys, that’s it. Thanks for reading, and bye!

Mock Article (Grade 4, PE, UAAP Basketball, October 18, 2023

UP made a huge rally against La Salle, winning 92-91. JD Cagulangan was the star of the game, making 29 points, 8 assists, and getting 9 steals. Malik Diouf was also a major contributor, making 9 blocks.

In the first quarter, La Salle went off to a quick start, making the first 12 shots to go 25-2 in just 4 minutes. Cagulangan committed 8 turnovers in that time period alone. Coach Goldwin Monteverde was heard saying, “I will cut Cagulangan as soon as I can.” The first quarter ended with La Salle up 47-2.

The La Sallian minority remained where an ocean of maroon once was.

In the second quarter, La Salle made 4 straight threes to go on a 12-0 run, up 59-2, thanks to 5 UP turnovers in just 18 seconds. UP called a timeout right after. Kevin Quimbao said, “As early as then [the timeout], I could already see UP fans leaving the arena, but the La Salle crowd was having the time of their lives, booing at the UP chants whenever they would be played.” The quarter ended with La Salle up 69-4.

At halftime, the La Salle performance was so loud, it could be heard from NAIA. But the UP performance was so quiet, because only two UP fans, Rafael Mercado and Rhuel Mercado, were there. Well, quiet from UP’s perspective. Because the whole time, the drums and pep squad were much quieter than the La Salle crowd chanting, “BOO!!!”

In the third quarter, La Salle continued destroying the fallen empire of UP. La Salle fans started moving behind the UP bench and throwing bananas. The quarter ended with La Salle still up, 88-10.

But in the fourth quarter, UP made a huge rally. La Salle was not even able to inbound successfully for 9 minutes, with UP making 100 steals in the quarter alone. Finally, with 1:52 left, La Salle up 88-86, Harold Alarcon

made a three to put UP up, 89-88. Malik Diouf then blocked Kevin Quimbao, who was trying to make a layup. UP fans who were still in the area tried to re-enter, but could not because of the MOA Arena’s no re-entry policy. So only two fans were actually happy.

The La Salle crowd finally cheered after utter silence for almost 10 minutes.

However, with 9 seconds left, and the La Salle crowd, actually, the whole crowd quiet, Evan Nelle made a desperation three to put La Salle up, 91-89. The decibel rate went up from 2 dB to 890 dB. You could even hear it as far as Sucat. Not yet in the penalty, La Salle kept fouling UP. But with just 0.7 seconds left, CJ Cansino made a full-court shot to win the game, 92-91. And so, only Rafael and Rhuel were left cheering. La Salle fans left immediately, refusing to sing their school hymn.

Isaac Newton (Grade 4, Physics, November 26, 2023)

Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England on December 25, 1642, but in New Style, which is changing dates in the Julian Calendar to dates in the Gregorian calendar, (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/new-style#:~:text=for%20New%20Style-,New%20Style,dates%20using%20the%20Gregorian%20calendar), he was actually born on January 4, 1643. (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isaac-Newton) One of his major scientific contributions was writing the three laws of motion. (Same as above.) The three laws of motion are:

If a body is not moving or moving straight, it will continue unless a force acts on it. (https://www.britannica.com/science/Newtons-laws-of-motion)
The product of mass and acceleration is equal to force. (https://sciencenotes.org/newtons-laws-of-motion/)
If one object hits another one, they will both exert effort on each other. (https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/newtons-laws-of-motion/#:~:text=His%20third%20law%20states%20that,opposite%20force%20on%20object%20A)

However, his major discovery was gravity, which is the idea that if you jump, gravity will keep you from getting too high. (https://www.newscientist.com/people/isaac-newton/#:~:text=New%20Scientist%20once%20described%20Isaac,in%20the%20history%20of%20science)

Newton first found out about gravity in 1666. According to John Conduitt, he found out about it when he saw an apple fall from a tree. (https://www.york.ac.uk/physics-engineering-technology/about/newtons-apple-tree/#:~:text=It%20states%20that%3A%20%22he%20first,Manor%20when%20the%20event%20occurred) Afterwards, he kept working to establish the law of gravity. He mentioned it in his book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.

Here are some interesting facts about Newton. (All from https://www.twinkl.com.ph/blog/isaac-newton-facts-for-kids)

He almost gave up on his education. Though he loved school, his mother wanted him to spend more time on the family farm. So she made him leave his school. Isaac did not like working at all and wanted to return to studying. His uncle then helped him return to school.
He had a dog named Diamond. Since electricity was scarce back then, they had to work with a candle. But one time, Diamond actually kicked the candle by accident, causing the laboratory to burn and (probably) forcing Newton to rewrite so much work for over a year!

Isaac Newton’s story is inspiring. Just something simple like an apple falling from a tree could lead to something big. Maybe one day, you will make a big discovery also.

Thomas Edison (Grade 4, Physics, November 26, 2023)

Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. His dad, Samuel, was a Canadian political activist in exile, while his mom, Nancy, greatly influenced Thomas as a school teacher. (https://www.biography.com/inventors/thomas-edison#)

Thomas Edison is known for inventing many things with electricity. He started studying it because telegraphers had to keep equipment operating while sending and receiving messages. (https://www.biography.com/inventors/thomas-edison#) He invented things like the motion picture camera and the phonograph, but is most known for inventing the incandescent commercial light bulb.

The incandescent commercial light bulb was invented in 1879. Thomas wanted to invent it because he wanted to compete with nowadays obsolete lighting. (https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-motivated-thomas-edison-to-invent-the-light-bulb.html#:~:text=He%20had%20previously%20formed%20the,sources%20of%20lighting%20and%20energy.) It actually took 1,000 attempts to make it successfully. Some of the biggest problems he faced were the difficulty in finding a good filament and making an advanced pump.

When Thomas was 12, he became deaf in one ear, and his other ear got a hearing problem. But this actually helped, as outside noise could not not distract him during experiments. Later on, he began selling candy near the train. One day, he saw a boy about to get hit by a train and saved him. As a reward, he was offered the job of telegraph operator.

Thomas Edison is an important person to study because of three different points. First, it is a good lesson to work hard. It took him 1,000 attempts to finally make his light bulb successfully. Second, it is inspirational. You may follow in his footsteps and invent something even more powerful later on. And third, you must recognize the many things he, along with many other people, had to endure.

The Navajo People (Grade 4, Language Arts, September 25, 2023)

Navajo is a Native American tribe. Most members of the tribe live in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. They actually migrated south from Canada and now live in the United States. The Navajo people settled in lands that they still occupy today.

However, the land is not the best for agriculture and livestock, which makes it hard to live for poorer Navajos. Thus, many Navajos migrated to areas like Los Angeles, which are better for livestock.

Though most Americans are Christian and speak English, Navajos actually have their own religion and language. However, it is mostly just the pitch that distinguishes Navajo from English. Nouns are either animate or non-animate.

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navajo-people, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navajo-language

The Olympic Games (Grade 4, Language Arts, September 25, 2023)

The Olympics is an event with many games, like basketball, volleyball, and discus throw. Though it is now a worldwide event, it originated in the ancient city of Olympia, Greece, in honor of the Greek Olympian pagan god, Zeus.

The Olympics started around 800 BC, but the term “Olympic” was not used until 776 BC. It was named the Olympic Games after Olympia, the city it was based in. Unfortunately, in AD 392, the games were banned by a Roman emperor named Theodosius I for being “pagan.”

Fortunately, in 1892, the Olympics were revived. There is a major race in the Olympics called the marathon that was made in honor of the Greek victory over Persia at the Battle of Marathon. A messenger ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to tell the Greeks about the victory over the Persians. Runners now run the same distance in a race.

Though the Olympic Games were first played almost 3,000 years ago, they are still played today. It is just one way that history repeats itself.

Fable: Marcus and the Lions’ Den (Grade 4, Language Arts, August 23, 2023)

A zebra named Marcus walked around the forest every day, where he met many other animals, like a horse named Gary, and a sheep named Andy.

One day, his cousin John appeared to him. “Come,” John said to Marcus, “I will show you my school friends.”

Marcus met many new friends, like an octopus named Olivia, and a bear named Teddy. Then, John’s principal, Damian, who was a horse, asked Marcus, “Do you want to attend class for today? Your cousin John loves it!” “Oh, yes,” Marcus said, “I love class!”

Marcus in School

Principal Damian took Marcus to the maths classroom first. The teacher was named Mike. “Please review the multiples of 8,” he said. “And, Marcus, since you are a new student, please open the Times Tables book on your table.” After the bell rang, Teacher Mike said, “Everyone except Marcus, please take your homework home.”

Then, Marcus and John went to the English classroom. Their teacher was a goat named Benjamin. “Please welcome our new student,” he said, “Tia the Hen!” “Hello!” Tia said. “So, students,” Teacher Benjamin said, “Please do Self Test 3 from pages 29 to 31. Good luck!” Marcus and John both got 8/10. “Good job!” Teacher Benjamin said. “Thank you! See you next time,” the students said. “Nice meeting you,” Marcus said, “Bye!”

The next class was biology. The teacher, Mark, was a horse. “Welcome, class,” he said. He talked to the class about some animals, including the students’ species. When he talked about the lion, he said, “I will show you a lions’ den, but do not enter.”

Marcus Goes In

“So cool,” Marcus said, “I wish I could go in!” His classmates kept telling him, “No, the lions will eat you!” But, Marcus did not listen. So, when Teacher Mark and the classmates were not looking, he entered the lions’ den! Very quickly, Marcus regretted his decision. “Help,” he screamed, “I am stuck!” “Hey, Marcus,” Teacher Mark said, “I told you not to enter!” “Sorry,” Marcus replied. “Listen, always follow people you trust. Follow God, follow your parents, follow me, follow your other teachers,” Teacher Mark replied.

Moral:

Always follow people you trust.

THE END

Book Report: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (Grade 4, Language Arts, August 10, 2023)

Summary:

Julius Caesar, a Roman senator, returned to Rome after defeating Roman general Pompey. However, a soothsayer said to Caesar, “Beware the Ides of March!”^{^[1]} A group gathered and plotted to kill Caesar on the very same day he had been warned about.

Brutus, one of Caesar’s friends, loved him, but felt like Caesar wanted to be king or dictator, even though Rome was a democracy. So he convinced his brother-in-law, Cassius, that killing Caesar would be good for Rome. Some other people joined the group.

On March 15, Caesar’s wife warned him not to go outside, because she had experienced weird dreams the previous night. But Caesar ignored her. The soothsayer said to him, “The Ides of March have come!” But Caesar ignored him, too. At a meeting, the conspirators stabbed Caesar. As Brutus was stabbing him, Caesar said, “Et tu, Brute?” Then, he died.

“Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead,” the conspirators cried out. A shocked Mark Antony, Caesar’s best friend, decided to speak at his funeral after Brutus.

Brutus spoke first at Caesar’s funeral, to make sure that the crowd would favor his speech. But when Antony spoke, the crowd got so angry at the conspirators, that they tore a man to pieces just because his name was Cinna(the same as one of the conspirators).

Antony, Caesar’s nephew Octavius, and a guy named Lepidus formed a triumvirate to try to avenge Caesar. They defeated Brutus and Cassius in a major war. Brutus later committed suicide. As he was running towards the same sword he used to stab Caesar, Brutus said, “Caesar, now be still!”

Eventually, Octavius exiled Lepidus and defeated Mark Antony at a war. He later became emperor.

My Opinion:

As someone who enjoys studying history, I really like Julius Caesar. However, there were a few extra parts.

According to a YouTube video, Caesar’s last words were not, “Et tu, Brute?” There are many sources, and I am not sure which one is true.

Also, Octavius was NOT the real name of Caesar’s nephew. His full name is Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.^{^[2]} And, my history book, the Mystery of History, refers to Octavianus as Octavian.

There were also some missing parts. The war between Octavian and Mark Antony was not only between them. Mark Antony was helping his wife Cleopatra win the war.

Also, Lepidus’ full name was Marcus Lepidus. And, lastly, when Octavian became the emperor, he did not retain his name. He changed his name to Augustus Caesar.^{^[3]}

I think I will give Julius Caesar an 8/10. I understand that Mr. Shakespeare was making a fictional version, and that he did not have to include everything, but I am still a bit disappointed. Still, I think it was a really good book. It comes with other Shakespeare books, too, so you can read those, if you want.

^{^[1]} The Ides of March is March 15.

^{^[2]} Octavianus (Octavian) was Julius Caesar’s adopted son.

^{^[3]} He is referred to as Caesar Augustus sometimes. You can find his name in Luke 2:1. It reads, “And so a decree came from Caesar Augustus that all the world be registered.”

The Story of Zohn (Grade 4, Language Arts)

Zohn Evans (A.D. 306 - 394) was a Christian missionary. He converted over 60,000 people to Christianity, including 3,000 in one day, and 15,000 in one week.

Zohn used to be called John. He used to be a Muslim. Most of his friends were also Muslims, but one day, he had a classmate named Gregory McGregor, who was a Christian. Gregory was mean to John, so John told lies about Christians. This made Christians afraid of John. He was known as a major enemy in several Christian communities.

One day, John was walking on the street, he heard a voice. It was from Jesus Himself. Jesus said, “John, why are you telling lies about My followers?” John responded, “Where is this voice coming from?” Jesus said, “It is coming from Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You are telling lies about My people, but depart for the Vatican in Rome and talk to one of My devout followers.”

While John was on his way to Rome, Jesus sent one of His devout followers, Mikal, to go to the Vatican and wait for John. Jesus made a painting only visible to Mikal with John’s face on it. When Mikal saw a guy who looked just like the guy in the painting, he knew it was John. Mikal said, “John, why do you hate my Lord and Savior?” John explained the whole story, mentioning Gregory, his lies about Christians, and Jesus’ messages.

After John understood the Christian faith, he said, “Oh, so Jesus is our Savior?” Mikal responded, “Yes, and He is also the Son of God. He is God, and part of the Blessed Trinity, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.” John converted to Christianity a few days later.

After his conversion, Jesus said to him, “John, you are a great man. Because you have served Me, no longer shall you be called John, but now Zohn.” And so John was Zohn. Jesus told him to tell the Gospel to as many people as he could. And he did. On the first day of preaching alone, Zohn converted more than 600 people. In 346, he converted more than 21,000 people.

Zohn was a great man. His story shows that even if you sin, you can still be forgiven by none other than God.

The Past and Future (Grade 4, Language Arts, August 30, 2023)

The Past and Future

by Rafael Mercado

68 Brgy. Tibig Rd., Brgy. Tibig, Silang, Cavite

Andy left his wife and children for a short walk in the forest. He was vlogging his walk when he saw a mysterious building. When he walked inside, he heard a voice say, “Andy, please say the name of a year.” Andy responded, “My birth year, 1985.” “In the Current Era or before it,” the voice replied. Andy responded, “Obviously in CE.” Then, he saw a gate to a tunnel open.

He walked for 5 minutes, and at the end, he became a baby! He said, “Wait, am I in 1985, the year I chose?!” He heard his mom, Chloe, say, “Aww, what a cute baby!”

A few minutes later, Mama Chloe and Papa Joe gave Andy the milk that he always gave his son, David! Andy tried saying, “I’m not 1 hour old,” but when it reached his parents’ ears, it sounded like, “Goo goo ga ga!” Andy decided to cry and refuse the milk. He walked and got a notebook. His parents said, “Wait, what? Our baby is so smart!” Andy wrote, “I don’t want milk!”

Then, it was time to name Andy. Papa Joe said, “Baby, I’ll name you…” Andy tried saying, “Andy! Andy,” but again, it sounded like, “Goo goo ga ga!” Papa Joe continued, “Googoogaga? Okay, baby!” Andy, or Googooogaga, started crying again. He wrote in his notebook, “I’m leaving,” and with that, he returned to being 38 years old.

Andy said, “Wait, I think I can go to the future, too! Please take me to 10,000 CE.” Andy’s tunnel was longer this time, but when he exited, he saw things he had never seen before, like golden trees, cotton candy clouds, and syrup rain. Andy met a man named Anthoniocus (ann-thow-nee-oh-cus), wondering why his name was so long. Anthoniocus told Andy, “Where are you from? Long names are very common!”

Back at home, Andy’s wife, Mary, and their sons David and Marcus, had been waiting for him for 3 hours! David was using his tablet, when he decided to call Andy. “Dad,” he said, “where are you? It’s been three hours!” Andy replied with the whole story. After that, he returned home. “Dad,” Marcus screamed, “I’m glad you’re still here!”

Then, Mary had an idea. You see, David was being homeschooled by Andy. History was his favorite subject, and he kept telling Andy, “I can’t get enough of history!” “Andy,” Mary said, “why don’t you use the time machine to teach David?” Andy agreed, and took David to the area.

“Hello, Andy and David,” the voice said, “which year do you want to go to?” “753 BCE,” Andy said, “but on Palatine Hill in Rome.” So Andy and David went to Palatine Hill, where Romulus and the Europeans founded the city of Rome. They chanted with the crowd, “Romulus! King of Rome!” Andy and David walked around the city, being the only ones knowing that it would become a large empire later on.

“Romans,” David shouted, “this city, that was once a village, will conquer Gaul (France), Hispania (Spain and Portugal), Carthage (Tunisia), and much more land!” The Romans cheered, while Andy and David suddenly went back home.