Ben & Us Newspaper
School News September-December 2015
Benjamin Franklin Elementary School
Website: http://www.edison.k12.nj.us/Domain/14
Location: 2485 Woodbridge Avenue, NJ, United States
Phone: (732) 650-5300
PRINCIPAL’S CORNER
It is hard to believe that four months of school have been completed and we are about to begin Winter Recess. It feels like yesterday that your children, our students, were arriving for the first day of school. I hope the last four months have been a positive experience for your children, as the staff and I have been working hard to ensure this occurs every day.
It is evident that our students are working hard along with the staff, as our growth in all assessments continues to soar. While we are placing more demands on your children and placing higher expectations on them than ever before, I hope you too are feeling positive about your child’s growth and development as we forge ahead into the New Year. It continues to be our goal to develop all of our students into passionate, confident, lifelong learners who have competence and strengths of character to realize their aspirations as they contribute to a diverse and changing world as well as being prepared to face the demands of the 21st century.
While looking back on the first half of the year allows time for reflecting about the hard work and fun that has been on-going at our school, it is important to remember that this is only the beginning and the harder work is just ahead for all of us, especially from January through June.
During the year, we have continued to be conscious of our school theme, “The true test of character is not how much you know how to do, but how you behave when you don’t know what to do.” Through our many community activities, we continue to teach the students to think beyond themselves and learn that giving not only continues to change the community around them but makes them better people. We are so pleased how the students continue to learn the importance of giving back to our community and to the world.
So, as we prepare for our winter break, please continue to be our partners by keeping your children, our students focused. Be involved, be our partners and be part of the team.
I am sure by working together, we can continue to move forward and ensure that our second half of the school year will be filled with even more success stories.
On behalf of myself and the staff, we wish the community:
Peace and Joy this Holiday Season
And a New Year of
Health, Happiness, and Prosperity
Thank you for your continued support!
School Begins!
By:Eshal Qazi
The First Day Of School!
“TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!” announced Mr.Preville at the end of the day. A lot of people were happy for Summer but a lot of people were feeling blue that they have to leave their wonderful teachers! Now it was the last day of Summer and everybody was starting to get ready for going back to school and a new start! It was finally the first day of school many people were riding the big yellow buses to go to school while the others were riding in their car to school. We were in the bus and finally arrived. When we arrived, “YEAH!” exclaimed the students on the bus because they were so excited! We waited outside by our school, so we can meet up with our teachers and get to our classes safely! My friend Ramsha and I went with our teacher Ms. Lindsey into our classroom. We were very excited while slightly nervous! Ms.Lindsey introduced herself to us. For me, it was the second time because I was in her second grade class. I also met some old friends and met new people too! I already know this year is going to be a fabulous year because on the third day of school I made a new friend. She is one of my BFF - Best Friends Forever now and one of the funniest people I know. I always know she is there. I hope you have a marvelous year because I know I certainly will with my teacher Ms.Lindsey and my friends!
Mrs. Grogan's Super Summer Writers!
Halloween
By Mahnoor Tahir
Boo Bash
By Tharun Sevvel
Did you go to the boo bash? If you didn't go, this article will tell you about the boo bash so you might want to read on and go next year! It was held on Friday, October 25th. You needed to come with a parent because you can’t go alone.
It was amazing to have indoor and outdoor activities for Halloween. We had raffles, trick or treating and some other games outside. Inside the school, you had many places to visit. You could have gone to the cafeteria to eat or the gym to dance to the music. Later on, you needed to stay there because they announced winners of who has the scariest costume, most creative and so on. It was exciting to see all the winners!
In the cafeteria, they had muffins, slices of cake that said Halloween on the top of it. We were dancing to the good music and took some photos. It was fun and cool. Maybe you can come to the next boo bash. Hope to see you there!
PTA Boo-Bash
By Amy Boslet
The Halloween Boo Bash was a great success! More than half the students of the school came. The first area to explore was outside, where you could go trick-or-treating and play games like throw-the-spider and bowling. There were scary decorations everywhere!
Later on, there were at least 2 hours of dancing in the gym. Everyone was having a great time! There were colorful lights and music. Glow-in-the-dark prizes were tossed into the crowd. There was a costume contest and a couple guessing games. Also, there were delicious desserts that were made by Boo Bash volunteers. But, you weren’t allowed to roam the school hallways and nobody knows why . . . Spooky isn’t it??
Finally, Mr. Preville made the announcement to say that it was almost time to leave. Many of the students didn’t want it to end. It was so much fun getting extra time to hang out with your friends! It was so exciting -- and a little creepy -- to be in Ben Franklin after dark! But everyone can’t wait to do it again next year!
Boo Bash Fun!
By Tanisha Angoth
BOO! It’s October and Halloween is coming! So get ready for the Halloween Boo Bash! It is fun and exciting.
Everyone gets to wear their costumes to the Boo Bash. They may wear costumes like a vampire,fairy,or We can play games outside or dance to the music.The entrance was where the kindergarteners learn. While giving our ticket to the staff they give us a bag. In the bag we can put prizes in it from the games we play. Then everyone heads inside the school. While going inside the school you can see a spider. We then go to the gym. After a bit DJ Chris puts on some music. Everyone starts to dance and sing along to the song. If you go outside the gym to where the band room is you will see food that you can buy. There are also some places to take pictures. Finally come the arts and crafts room. There you can make drawings and crafts.(that’s why it is called the Arts and Crafts room)
Families love to enjoy at the Boo Bash! Every year the Boo Bash becomes better and better!Band Winter Concert
By Rahul Agrawal
Guess what? Are you ready for the Winter Concert! First of all, the Band members have been working very hard. The concert will be in the multi-purpose room. There will be all different types of instruments such as drums, french horns, trombones, flutes, saxophones, and many others. The band members are trying their best to get the right pitch sound, so the concert sounds are amazing to the audience. It is awesome to hear the many different sounds from the various instruments! Everyone is going to be there listening to the holiday music as it flows through their ears. What are you waiting for, let's go to the Winter Band Concert!
Ben Franklin Band
By Aditya Sarwaiker
The Ben Franklin Band is an awesome group to be a part of. Our band consists of a group of 4th and 5th-grade students who play together to make music. At Ben Franklin School, the band is a group of students who play their instruments they chose. The band is divided into two groups the first year band and advanced band. You get to choose your instrument when you are in 4th grade. You always start in 1st year band when it is the first year you have your instrument. If you choose to have the same instrument in 5th grade you go to advanced band, but if you choose a different one you have to do 1st year band all over again and can’t ever go to advanced, because it is your first year with the new instrument.
Why do People Choose to be in Band?
People choose band for many different reasons. People choose band because they like music, or want to learn how to play music, or want to be a musician when they grow up. Some people even choose band to just play random notes and have some fun. These are some reasons people choose band, but if you were to ask everyone on planet earth you would get other answers than just these ones.
Instruments
There are many instruments in the band but here are just two of them. One is percussion which is actually like two instruments, but they group it into one. In the percussion, there are bells and a drum pad to practice. The bells are actually a lot like the xylophone, but it is smaller. The drum pad is not really a drum because it is just a pad to help you practice for the real drum. Another instrument in the band is the saxophone. The saxophone is mostly for jazz. Jazz is a kind of music. When I say kind of music, I mean like rock and roll. These are just two instruments, but like I said before there are many others.
What happens in Band Through the Year?
Through the year, there are many shows and concerts the band plays in. People really enjoy listening to the music. Now look forward to the upcoming performances. The main thing band teaches you is doing your part in a group.
Ben Franklin’s First Third Grade Community Career Fair
By Ethan Poon
On October 23, 2015, Ben Franklin students in third grade had their first Community Career Fair. The students rotated to different booths in the gym to learn more about different occupations. This event was important for the 3rd graders because they got the chance to learn about different careers. It also helped the students make connections with their community. Mrs.Julian talked about being a nurse. Some volunteers included a librarian, policeman and a pharmacist. Some of the parents who volunteered included Jagger Alfaro’s mother who works at the Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery and Sharad Patel’s father works at St. Jude Medical. Emaan Effendi’s father shared many important information about being a pharmacist including calling the doctor when they did not think the medication is correct for the patient.
Sanaya Patel in Mrs.Wallitch’s class thought the the Community Career Fair was very informational and said “it really helped me a lot.” She was most interested in learning about the heart and pacemaker. Varnika Sai Sirigineedi in Mrs.Kulyassa class said the fair was “very exciting and alluring because it really helped me understand other jobs.” Miss Karamanos who was in charge of this event did a fantastic job hosting the first “Third Grade Community Career Fair”. She thought it went extremely well and that the volunteers were awesome. Miss Karamanos also stated that “Our students loved visiting the different career booths and learned so much valuable information that will help them in their futures.” She absolutely would love to host this event again!
Community Career Day
By Shraddha Pappu
October 23, 2015 was community Career Day at Ben Franklin. The Volunteers who came to the school set up tables with the information and supplies they use as part of their careers in the multi-purpose room.
As soon as the students settled in the gym, they sat down and were introduced to the many community members. When they were told, the students walked around talking to the Career Day volunteers. There were many community members, as well as parents, who volunteered. Emaan’s dad is a pharmacist, Kirtan’s dad is a banker and even Miss Julian, the school nurse to name a few. Those are three of the many hardworking volunteers who took time out of their workday to come to our Community Career Day.
One of the best parts was finding out about their careers, learning about their schooling, and writing down interesting notes about their career. Some 3rd graders had clipboards, while others had their Chromebooks and even ipads.
The volunteers lectured and asked us questions like a small quiz. Whoever listened attentively and got the answers correct, got a prize. The volunteer from Coachway told us that the buses could travel the entire U.S.A. except 2 states. I told him Hawaii and Alaska. Surprisingly I was correct. In return I got an awesome Coachways bracelet.
I love Community Career Fair. It is the most interesting and fun-filled fair ever!. I hope our school will have another one!
Career Fair 2015
By Savar Toteja
Career fair has been one of the most enjoyable activities that 3rd graders have been to so far!
Career fair was held in October.At career fair a 3rd grader gets to learn about the jobs that people do.Some 3rd graders’ parents volunteered to show other kids what they do in their job like, when a bus owner came and told me that he takes celebrities on his buses like Taylor Swift.There were many jobs that we learnt about like banker, nurse, teacher, librarian, engineer, custodian, and police officer.
The volunteers sat at tables in the gym and every kid got to visit 2 people.We had to write facts about the people we met with, on a piece of paper.I had a lot of fun at the fair and I am sure the next career fair will be as good as this one.
Animal Life Cycle Roams The 3rd Grade Hall
By Ethan Poon
My interview with a great teacher - Ms. Petruzzi
By Adwaith Ramesh
1.Why did you become a teacher?
I Always liked to work with children and I like having fun and being creative.
2.What are your strengths and weaknesses?
My strengths are that I am always looking for fun things to do and my weakness is finding time to fit all my activities into the classroom.
3.What do you like and dislike most about teaching?
I like that I am able to work with young children and I dislike nothing.
4.What teams or clubs did you belong to as a student?
In middle school I was a peer mediator. In Highschool, I was in the Family Career and Community Leaders Of America club and Future Teachers of America. Also, I was a cheerleader.
5.What is your favorite subject?
Math, of course!
6.Do you have any pets? If so, what are some of them?
Yes, I have a dog and his name is Harvey.
7.How do you encourage students to learn?
I encourage by motivating and giving students choices when it comes to their learning.
8.How long have you been in Ben Franklin?
This is my 4th year at Ben Franklin.
9.What is your favorite thing to do during free time?
I like to walk my dog Harvey and go to the beach.
10.Have you worked in any other schools other than Ben Franklin?
Yes, I worked in John Marshall Elementary School
11.Where were you born?
I was born in JFK hospital, NJ.
12.Have you travelled to any other countries?
Yes, I have been to Mexico several times.
13.What is your favorite food?
My favorite food is pizza!
14.Is there any exciting moments going to happen in your life? When?
Yes, I am going to get married!!! :)) We do not have a date set yet, but we know that it will be in the year 2017!
All About Thanksgiving
By Amarie Rahami
Thanksgiving
By Mahnoor Tahir
Do you know what Thanksgiving is all about? If you do, then great job buddy. If you don’t then you are about to find out! So let's get started! Thanksgiving Day is a National Holiday celebrated in Canada and the United States. It is a day of giving and blessing of the harvest. Many families get together and have a huge feast. Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!
First Grade Engineers!
Mrs. Grogan's First Grade Class enjoyed thinking like engineers. They had a great time working together to plan, draw, and eventually create their own unique bridge.
Interviewing a New Faculty Member of our School!
By Divija Gullapalli
Mrs. Lashay Johnson
Elementary Supervisor, Edison School District
At the beginning of fourth grade, I was excited about some of the clubs for fourth graders. For some reason, I really wanted to be in the Newspaper Club, so I signed up. I actually got picked, and one of the options on the list was to interview a new faculty member. That one really got me excited, so I decided to interview someone! The first person that came to my mind was Mrs. Johnson, because she came as a substitute to my classroom, last year, in third grade. After all, she is a new faculty member to Ben Franklin. A few days later, I took the interview, early in the morning and told her that it was my first time taking an interview of someone. She told something that got me really flabbergasted. It was her first time getting interviewed as well! I took a bunch of flowers to get a fresh start with the interview. The interview went really well. Now let me tell you all the things that I learned about Mrs. Johnson.
Mrs. Johnson’s works at Benjamin Franklin, and Menlo Park Elementary schools. Her title at both schools is a “supervisor”. As a supervisor, she inspects everything that is going in and around the school. She has a free choice to choose which classroom she wants to go to on any given day. She knows when some classes are doing a period, so she purposely goes to that classroom. Sometimes, Mr. Preville suggests that they both go to a classroom, so those times she doesn’t get to pick. Mrs. Johnson has to report to the principal of the school, and has a lot of staff members that report to her. Mrs. Johnson mainly focuses on the 3-5 grade students, but she does support the K-2 grade students. Did you know that Mrs. Johnson wrote the curriculum for the 3-5 grade students? Isn’t that interesting? Mrs. Johnson recalls that she has worked in 30 different schools in all! Her most favorite part of her job is seeing the kids learn things that they never knew before. She says it just makes her elated. Mrs. Johnson doesn’t really have a typical day. One day, she may be in a lot of meetings. While another day, she is all over the school, inspecting all the classrooms. Another day, she won’t be running around, and she will be at her desk, looking over things for the district, answering any letters, and giving e-mails to staff members.
Now that you know about Mrs. Johnson, I’m sure you’re excited to meet her! Some of the days she is at Ben Franklin, and some days she is at Menlo Park School. I’m sure you heard her on the school announcements. If you are lucky, and catch Mrs. Johnson in your school or outside in the hallways, be sure to say hi!
Camp Bernie - An Adventure For Your Kids In Fifth Grade
By Arha Gatram
Excited to go to Camp Bernie in fifth grade? Here is all you need to know about Camp Bernie, from what you bring, to what you are doing. This year, students stayed at Camp Bernie for a day and a half. There are four cabins which are, Hickory, Jaqua, Terrell, and Oak. An important thing for you to know, is that boys and girls will sleep in separate cabins. Girls will sleep in either Jaqua or Hickory. On the other hand, boys will sleep in Terrell or Oak. In the cabins, they give you an empty bunk, where you can either sleep on it with a sleeping bag, or a bed roll. A bed roll is three sheets and a pillow rolled together, so when flattened out, you can sleep inside. Also, there are bathrooms inside the cabins, and showers, too. You would probably want three pairs of clothes, one for the first day, one for the night, and one for the next day. Also, toiletry is NOT provided by the school, or Camp Bernie. You might want to bring a rain poncho, because rain, shine or light snow, we will be doing the activities. By the way, don’t forget a thick jacket. Hiking shoes are recommended, but it would be ok if you get sneakers. I suggest sneakers, because some of the activities will be harder to do with boots. That is about all of the things you will need. The rest will be provided by a list given prior to the trip to Camp Bernie.
There are four main activities that students have participated this year. Please be warned that these activities may change over the course of the years. These activities are, archery, climbing tower, stream ecology, and sensory details. In archery, students will be given a bow that fits them, and some arrows. They will be taught how to shoot with a bow and arrow. Then, they will be allowed to shoot them at targets. For safety hazards, these arrows are not sharp ended, and students will wear arm guards. Also, they will have to follow strict rules. The climbing tower, consists of three climbs you are allowed to do. The slant, the easiest, one going straight up, medium hard, and the hardest the chimney. Students will be put on harnesses, and held onto by super strong rope. This wall is approximately 40 feet high. Beware that this wall is outside, so your fingers might get numb. There is stream ecology, which students catch creatures that live in the river. After a little bit of time, the students identify the animals. Based upon this, the students tell if the river is polluted or not. Lastly, there is sensor details. Students will be blindfolded, and taken through a rope course. Next, they will be spun around, still blindfolded, to a tree. Then, when they think they have recognized the tree enough, they are taken away. After that, they must figure out which tree was theirs. Then, the students smell something, and have to guess what it is. Finally, they hear something shaking, and have to guess what it is.
Wondering what food you’re going to eat at Camp Bernie? Well, you’re going to find out. When you arrive at Camp Bernie, it will be almost lunch time. For the first lunch, you will have pizza. There is gluten free pizza, and normal pizza. There is also pepperoni on the side if you want to add it to your pizza. For dinner, you will have steamed vegetables, mashed potatoes, and turkey. There is also a vegetarian option. Lastly, for breakfast, you will have a cereal bar, cheesy croissants, and sausages. The cheesy croissants are vegetarian. In every meal, there is a salad bar. When everybody is done eating, they split up the remaining food. Some go to compost, some goes to liquid waste, and some goes to solid waste. We weigh each container, seeing how much of each we have. We then add up the two wasted, and compare it to the other time, and setting a goal for next time.
There are two other activities that everybody does together. There is a reptile show, and then there is campfire. In the camp fire, students sing campfire songs, and get one s’more each. There are two other groups you will be in. You will be in one study group, with some other students, and a table with some other people. The study group is who you do your activities with, and your table group is who you eat with. There are also two jobs and each student will have one of those jobs. They could be a weather person, or a waiter. A weather person goes early, to a tent where they discuss the weather forecast. After eating, they tell everybody the forecast, and their job is over. Waiters have a very tedious job. They have to come early to the cafeteria, and set up all the silverware on the table. Then, they put the juice and water pitchers on the table. After that, they wait for the other people to come in. They serve their table. After everybody is done eating, they stay back, and clean up everything. It is a LOT of work! Camp Bernie is a great place to go to. It is fun, yet educational. Camp Bernie is a great free fifth grade adventure!
Third Grade Expectations
By Chasity McNamara
Waiting for the third grade to come made me nervous and excited. I also could not wait to meet my new teacher and classmates. I wondered if third grade would be hard. When I entered my classroom, there were so many new things that I noticed. My teacher had so many things on the walls for us to learn from that were new to me. My thoughts of what we were learning started to get more excited. I finally met my teacher her name is Mrs. Kulyassa. She is a great teacher! She makes learning fun! Now here are my expectations.
I joined a bunch of clubs that I couldn't in 2nd grade, like this Newspaper club and Arts and Reading Club. I expect subjects like math to be challenging. I will probably learn more than basic math like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. For reading. I expect more challenging stories, experiments, solitary and partner work. For writing, I expect more writing prompts with lots of details. Finally, science and social studies should be harder as well. Another expectation for school is my grades. I expect more good ones. I got a good report card and it was my first marking period. Third grade is going to be an awesome year!
Inspired Arts Club
By Saja Omar
The new club this year is called Inspired Arts. This club is only for 3rd graders. The two teachers that are in charge are Mrs. Nuzzo and Mrs.Depalma. The club has a lot of activities for students to do. This club involves some nature activities too! It is exciting to have a book read to the group and to follow up with an activity. Check out some of our work in the pictures below! I hope this "Inspires You".
Parent Fitness Night
The multipurpose room at Ben Franklin School is used in many ways, it’s varied from physical education class, all the way to assemblies or school photos! Although, all the activities that I have stated happen during school hours. We’re forgetting about the multipurpose room being used after school. What is it being used for then? You may respond, “Well, what about Bingo Night, or Latchkey?” You are most certainly correct but there is an event that is limited to the students of the Ben Franklin Fuel Up to Play 60 Club.
Background Info about Fuel Up to Play 60/Team Franklin
If you were at Ben Franklin last year you may have seen the breakfast get healthier. You may have noticed every other Wednesday either in the library or in the gym. The Fuel Up to Play 60 Club or Team Franklin, at Ben Franklin, is a club that is determined to make Ben Franklin School more fit and healthy.
On the night of November 24th, 2015 Team Franklin hosted their 3rd annual Parent Fitness night. There were 7 activities in total. Ranging from a cargo net, to just dance! One station was stomach exercise station. Where there were weight balls and you had to slam them down. There were also yoga balls and yoga mats. The next station is a medicine ball station. Where there are crates stacked up on the windowsill. There was a four pound ball and it would go on top of the tallest of all the crates stacked. Then the six pound ball would go onto the second tallest, and the jug would just go onto the windowsill. The next station was the most eye boggling one of them all. The cargo net. There would usually be two people climbing the rope and two people watching the climbers. From there, two people will hold the ends of the cargo net to stretch it out, for more support. After that station, was a t-shirt pull. You lay a t-shirt in front of a rope that is tied to the rock climbing wall onto the ground then you sit on the t-shirt. From there you grab the rope and start pulling yourself towards the rock wall. The next station is the Just Dance station. You would look up a just dance you tube video, then you would dance to it. Just follow the moves projected on the screen! The following station is what I call, “The Trust Station”. There would be one person crawling on sticks the rest will be doing the following. You would have to hold plastic, sturdy, sticks and using teamwork you get the crawler all the way to the other side of the mats. The last but not least station, is the over under station. This is a station where you basically duck under semi circle hula hoops and jump over plastic sticks attached to a cone. That was the last station, after that everybody relaxed in the main lobby and had some fruit and or, yogurt! (Lowfat!)
Fun Things I Do in My Classroom
By Nitya Konduru
We have lots of fun in Mrs. Kulyassa’s third grade class. One of the fun things we do in Mrs.Kulyassa’s room is make fun posters about topics in reading and math. One time for reading, we made posters on a story in our Journeys book. The book was called “The Trial of Cardigan Jones.” I got to work with three of my friends, and we made an amazing poster. One other fun thing we do is Sumdog. Sumdog is a math website, that we used to practice our math skills. There was a contest for all the third graders in our county. After lots of hard work, we won the contest! Next another fun thing we did in our class, was that we Skyped with a school in India. We all got to say hi in Hindi. Three people in my class even got to talk in their language to the children in the school. Lastly, we made a Kahoot in our class for Parent Education Week. All of the parents came to our room, and got to see it. It was so much fun, and we had a great time!
Mrs. Conte and Mrs. Medler Team Up for Learning!
First Grade is studying Meeting New People Unit 5 in Social Studies and we learned about our classmates culture by bringing in clothing, foods, and religious items.
First and Fifth Graders are buddying up for HOUR OF CODE. We practiced a real life algorithm by creating paper airplane. Students collaborated together to decide, order and revise commands that didn't work when we tested out the paper airplanes' flight. We reconfigured what command was incorrect and made a difference to the flight when carefully rethought. Plus we ALL HAD FUN!!
Interview with Mr. Pedersen
By Mourya Khandai
Viewpoints: Christian Pedersen, Teacher 5th Grade Mr. Pedersen discusses about the school, hobbies and his profession ”My motivation for teaching has always been to inspire kids to do their best by demonstrating the connection between academics and real life.”
What are your hobbies? I enjoy being outdoors so things like gardening, biking and running are high on my list.
Why do you like about Ben Franklin? I’ve worked in many schools, and Ben Franklin is hands down the best because of the great kids that go here and because of the positive climate created by Mr. Preville.
How would you improve education at Ben Franklin? The education at Ben Franklin is known to be of a high quality, but I am hoping to further enrich the math program with some fun math projects and games.
Why do you want to be a teacher? My motivation for teaching has always been to inspire kids to do their best by demonstrating the connection between academics and real life. What do you consider to be your strength and challenges as a teacher? My greatest strength as a teacher is probably the fact that I have am able to create games that provide students and opportunity to develop their math skills.
What is your teaching philosophy? My teaching philosophy is to work hard, and if that doesn’t work, work even harder. You get out of it what you put into it. It’s that simple, and that philosophy works for everything.
Holidays Around the World
Shagun Girdhar
Each year, people around the world celebrate holidays and traditions that are special to their religion and culture. This article will tell you about some of the classic holidays that people celebrate.
In January, Chinese people celebrate two holidays,Harbin Ice and Snow festival where people build things out of ice and snow, decorating them with lights and lasers. In the end of January people celebrate the Chinese New Year with dragons, firework and lanterns.
In February, Brazil and New Orleans celebrate with parade of floats and dancing on the street.
Several countries in Asia, like India and Thailand, welcome spring by applying color and throwing water on friends and family.
Holland celebrates “Queen’s Day” and “Free Market” day, where everyone sells everything on the streets. There are also games, concerts and parties on the boat.
Spain celebrates a festival by running in front of bulls. They also have a festival where they throw tomatoes on each other.
In October, Germany and many other countries around the world celebrate Oktoberfest by drinking beer and eating sausages and in USA they celebrate Halloween by putting on costumes, going to houses for trick or treating and collecting candies.
In November, India celebrates Festival of Lights - Diwali with firecrackers, sweets, and by lighting candles. Mexico celebrates “Day of Dead” by praying and remembering family members who have died. In America people celebrates “Thanksgiving” eating stuffed turkey with their loved ones.
Finally, in December almost everyone celebrates Christmas by decorating christmas trees, hanging socks and wishing gifts from Santa. Also, many countries celebrate New Year at the end of the year by setting new goals, dancing, partying and welcoming the next year.
These are just some of the famous festivals from various countries but still there are many many other festivals which are celebrated with great excitement and joy.These are not just a way of partying and gathering but these festivals also have deep history and stories behind them which are really interesting to know.Last, but not the least, festivals are a way of enjoying, getting together and sharing smiles with each other.