Hurricane Sandy Blows Away a Week of School!

11/1/2012

Hi 344 Scholars,

Boy have I missed you over this last week! We are living through an unprecedented event. New York City Public Schools have never been closed this long due to a storm. I hope you're all staying safe and finding creative ways to exercise your bodies and minds. When we return to school on Monday, I can't wait to hear about all of the interesting things you've learned at home this week!

I know we'd all love to hear about how things are going at your home. Did your family lose power? Are you at your apartment or did you have to move somewhere else during the storm? Have you seen any examples of people helping one another? Have you learned any interesting facts about hurricanes?

I strongly encourage you to use the comments section below to write a response about the hurricane. The entire class will be able to see your response - it will be public - so please take the time to edit your writing. Also, please do NOT post any personal information like your specific address or contact information. Your first name is fine, but please have an adult check over your comment before you hit "submit."

I can't wait to read all about your Hurricane Sandy adventures! See you soon!
Mrs. Zimmerman

94 Comments

Nathaniel Lok

11/1/2012 01:49:09 am

The storm was effective to me because I lost power. It makes my sister scared because it was dark and it came unexpectedly while I was playing Go Fish with my sister and my aunt.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/1/2012 02:15:04 am

Hi Nathaniel! Wow, I'm sure you must have been very brave when you lost power suddenly. It must have made your sister feel much calmer to have you with her. Do you have power back yet? How else has the black out impacted you and your family? I'm so happy to hear you are safe!

Nate

11/2/2012 08:09:39 am

It impacted me and my family so we had to go to one of my grandparents' house for power and for warmth. I'm delighted that you replied and I hope your safe too. I still have no power put I heard it might come back tomorrow!

Nate

11/2/2012 12:36:42 pm

"May the power be with you". I have power yay!

Brayden

11/2/2012 11:32:51 pm

Hey Nate, that saying is from Star Wars. What clever of you.

Brayden

11/3/2012 09:47:37 am

I agree with you Nate, but i wasn't playing Go Fish.

Brayden

11/3/2012 09:53:13 am

Nate, I have question. Was your birthday the same day as the storm?

Zeke

11/4/2012 02:05:38 am

In fact, I went down to the Midtown Tunnel on Friday, and saw almost 12 brand new pumps lined up doing nothing.I also asked a police how tall the flood was and they said it was still fully flooded.I also live 2 blocks away from the Midtown Tunnel! Now I'm back at home.My grandparents don't have power in Connecticut.

Britt Burney

11/4/2012 04:14:28 am

Hi guys,during the hurricane I lost power but it actually was not that bad because I learned about fibonacci spirals infact this hurricane looked exalcty like a fibonacci spiral.Also the water was so strong it was pushing cars down the street!And I can't belive I saw people walking down the street!Also I was walking down and up 44 flights of stairs every day so I got realy strong.

Lauren Marte

11/2/2012 05:57:20 am

I had the same experience because I lost power, too.
I got a little scared because it went out while I was reading.
I then moved to Brooklyn on Wedsday night and stayed at
my mom's friend's mom's house for two days and my aunts
for one day who also lives in Brooklyn.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/2/2012 08:29:27 am

Hi Lauren, wow, I'm in Brooklyn too! We're lucky that many of us here in Brooklyn didn't lose power for very long. I'm glad you had somewhere safe and warm to stay. I met up with Mrs. Breving and Ms. Miller for lunch today (they both live in Brooklyn,) and we were talking about how brave all of our students must have been during the hurricane! I can't wait to see you next week!

MIng

11/3/2012 08:31:35 am

Thats Funny, Nate!

Ming

11/3/2012 08:40:12 am

Happy birthday,Nate! May happiness+power be with you!

Britt Burney

11/4/2012 03:38:08 am

Nate I and agree with you and your sister.I agree with you because my famly also lost power and I agree with your sister because down in 20th street cars were floating down the street!Also a beam hit and destroyed a car but I was not scared I just said "get out of the street dumb torrists!"

Julia W.

11/1/2012 01:54:04 am

Hello, My family and I were safe and did not lose power but my grandmother lost power and I am begging her to come over to my house where there is power. Hope you all are safe.

Best,
Julia W.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/1/2012 06:01:16 am

Julia, thanks for writing! It just shows what a caring person you are that you are worried for your grandmother. I know a lot of people are having sleepovers with family and friends right now to stay in places that have electricity and heat. Let us know how things go with your grandma!

Julia W.

11/3/2012 07:51:40 am

Hi, my grandmother is still without power and now she is at our house. Right now my family is watching Sandy's Aftermath like crazy.

Lauren Marte

11/4/2012 09:04:54 am

You are very lucky Julia W. and I think how you were begging you'r
grandmother to come stay with you was super nice of you!
best wishes:)

- Lauren

Jijuan Xu

11/1/2012 07:01:52 am

The storm didn't affect me because we didn't lose power and all we had was just some wind and rain.But my feelings didn't agree. To some people they think, hooray for no school! But I think it's no fun with no school. You can't go outside to exercise either. Plus, I ended up getting cramped.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/1/2012 11:29:24 am

Hi Jijuan, thanks for sharing your thoughts about the hurricane! Your comment makes me think about the chapter in Frindle called Ripples. Remember when we read about the external (outside) impact of the word Frindle, and then about the internal effects on Nick? You also wrote about the outside effects (wind and rain,) and the "Inside Jijuan" effects (boredom, cramps.) You are right, I'm sure some students were happy to have an unplanned vacation from school, but we certainly don't all have to feel that way. You are entitled to your ideas and feelings!

Josephine

11/3/2012 10:35:02 am

I also agree with you Jijuan

Julia W.

2/7/2014 11:00:54 pm

I agree with you Jijuan

Rowan

11/2/2012 10:54:58 pm

I agree with you Jijuan.

Iris Park

11/3/2012 02:11:10 am

Me to!

julia w.

1/4/2014 11:55:13 pm

same here

Ming

11/3/2012 08:33:05 am

Me 2!

Brayden

11/3/2012 09:43:19 am

I agree with you Jijuan, but I still have no power, and I had a lot of wind and rain

julia

1/5/2013 04:42:36 am

me 3

Liesel

11/1/2012 11:19:39 am

My family was safe but my mom's and dad's phones were not working. So they could not call anybody. Likewise our house lost power and we lost water to. Fortuantely my mom filled the bathtub with water so we could wash our hands and flush the toilet.When we had to bathe we would go to a friends

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/1/2012 11:35:13 am

Hi Liesel, it's great to hear from you - and I'm very glad that you're safe! That was a great idea to store water in the bathtub - your mom really thought ahead. Taking showers at a friend's house must have been exciting!

Lauren Marte

11/2/2012 06:05:41 am

The same exact thing happened to me!

Brayden

11/2/2012 11:41:11 pm

My dad did the same thing Liesel!

Julia

12/9/2012 09:06:29 am

My mom also filled the bath,Liesel.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/1/2012 11:36:59 am

Hi Scholars,

Great job to those of you who have already shared comments with the class! I just want to remind you that in addition to writing your own comment, you can also REPLY to other people's comments. Just hit the "Reply" button under their comment, and you can write back to them. It's wonderful to hear that you're doing well!

Best,
Mrs. Zimmerman

Julia Uziel

11/2/2012 04:53:35 am

ok teacher

Josephine

11/3/2012 10:40:56 am

Ok Ms. Zimmerman. Great blog u have here! Oh! Gtg! (Gtg for got to go)

Mortaly yours,
Josephine
( Your good ol' student)

Ming

11/2/2012 01:26:07 am

The storm didn't affect me because I live in heights and had the normal amount of water and electricity. There were 5 blackouts that were only 1/16 of a second. There were a funny thing that there was a buzzing noise coming from the bathroom and it was the 61 kmph wind trying to push through the tiny line through the bottom of the bathroom door. I looked in the computer and went to the map of the places that need people to evacuate and I saw Brayden's house was right next to the east river and they had to evacuate and I was worried about if there fancy apartment got damaged.

Ming

11/2/2012 02:02:34 am

I Watched the news and saw how bad the damage was at far rockway, Boardwalk, and Staten Island. Many people lost thier Homes and everything. I feel very bad for them.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/2/2012 08:33:41 am

Ming, thank you for all of those interesting scientific details about the storm! There are always new things to learn, even during tough times. I am proud to hear that you did all of that research! I can also tell that you have a lot of empathy! It is so caring of you to worry about Brayden's apartment and all the people who lost their homes in Far Rockaway, Staten Island, and elsewhere. Thankfully, we have a lot of heroes in our community who are working together to make sure that even people who lost their homes have a place to stay. It is scary and sad to think about what has happened, but people will rebuild soon.

Brayden

11/3/2012 09:45:16 pm

Me 2 Ming!

Julia Uziel

11/2/2012 04:49:26 am

We did Not lose power but my Building Was shaking and making a
sounds and all the lamps on the sealing was shaking but it finally
stop at midnight.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/2/2012 08:35:07 am

Hi Julia, I'm happy to hear that you are okay! That sounds like a pretty crazy experience when the lamps were shaking! I want to hear more about it when we return to school next week.

Julia Uziel

11/4/2012 01:26:11 am

Ya it was

Iris Park

11/3/2012 02:14:57 am

Sounds scary.....

11/4/2012 01:19:12 am

Julia Uziel

11/4/2012 01:20:26 am

cool essay love it <3

Josephine

11/4/2012 09:00:19 am

Thanks! Look at the funny faces I brought into the reply! :) :o :l :/ :D :] :} Anyways, thanks! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Best,
Josephine

Josephine

11/4/2012 09:32:00 am

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Scary!

Josephine link

11/2/2012 02:24:25 pm

Hi. Here is an essay I wrote about Hurricane Sandy.

Welcome to my neighborhood, where there is power out everywhere, floods everywhere and, very strong winds, just because of Hurricane Sandy. It was a horrible experience. I even saw somebody’s roof came down. Horrible. Don’t ask me anything else because that’s all I remember. Now listen about this amazingly desctructive storm.
I would prefer talking about the floods first. It was dreadful. There were floods happening everywhere. For example, I looked outside from my bedroom window, the flood had only started, not much water heading towards us, but then about 15 minutes later, we looked out the window and there it was, the flood. Another example, my mother my sister and I, headed off towards my grandparents house, because of the flooding in my place, though, almost every street was filled with flooding.
Secondly, I would like to talk about these dreadful winds. These horrible winds, have been taking trees down, taking off roofs, and other very harmful things. For example, I saw just in front of my house somebody’s roof had come off from the top, freaky. Another example, trees had fallen down nearly everywhere. These winds were harmful.
Finally, let’s talk about how much power had gone out. For example at my grandparents house suddenly everything went off, no power. Though the sun was shining in through the window, so we were fine. Another example, my mother was driving me and my sister home, and when we got home, all of it, power gone.
Now, that you know tons about what happened during Hurricane Sandy, make an essay of your own on something. Other things that surprised me were the amount of buildings that lost power. I was worried as the flood headed towards us. This was my second flood in my place, and I did not want it to be a good one. But, the flood did not stop me from living a happy life. Though the flood made a gigantic mess. I am relieved to find my family alive, this flood was a horrible experience.

Iris Park

11/3/2012 02:18:10 am

nice essay.

Josephine

11/3/2012 10:19:27 am

Thanks, Iris

Iris

11/3/2012 11:41:33 pm

You are WELCOME

Rowan

11/4/2012 12:02:24 am

I love the essay:-)

Rowan

11/2/2012 10:49:30 pm

Hi Ms.Zimmerman,
We have had power all week. But people a few blocks away didn't have power. We decided to stay put. The police came and we had to turn of all the lights and be super quiet. All they did is say something about mandatory evacuation in "zone A". I was worried a lot. But they didn't arrest us and due to the hurricane we did not have internet and we couldn't go outside but that was it.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/3/2012 05:22:20 am

Hi Rowan, it's great to hear from you! I was a bit worried since I know you live in Zone A. It sounds like you had quite the adventure staying in your apartment - I'm glad it all worked out. See you soon!

Josephine

11/3/2012 08:14:01 pm

Rowan I was worried for you!

Josephine

11/4/2012 08:50:31 am

Hey! I also had power all week. My lights actually turned on there selves!! I was kind of startled to see my lights turned on there selves. Ha! But at least I was happy. Great to here from you!

Best,
Josephine

Brayden

11/2/2012 11:21:29 pm

Since I live on the Lower East Side, at Waterside Plaza, near 23rd Street and FDR, I had a lot of wind from the storm. The wind was so strong, I thought the large windows in the living room would bust open because the windows were shaking a lot. I got a little scared. My dad taped all the windows in the house just in case. I saw the water at the river bank go through the gate. But from my building’s laundry room which is on a lower floor right at the river, I could see it better. The water kept getting higher and higher. Eventually the water flooded the streets a lot. It looked like the land sank under the water!
There was a blackout in Lower Manhattan because the Con Edison there blew up. It blew up because energy runs through Con Edison, and there was a storm. And when water and energy is mixed together, it might make a fire. My dad told me that.
In the morning, it wasn’t flooded. But it was still a little wet. There was wood everywhere from the docks. And the boats next to our building floated forward until they were touching the gate on the street. The cars parked on the street got moved by the wind and water and they were almost on top of each other. I even saw a Coke vending machine lying in the middle of the road!
After 2 and ¼ days of the blackout and no water, my family and I went to a hotel, called the Sheraton, at 53rd street and 7th avenue. We had to walk down 25 flights of stairs because of the blackout! When we drove past the Water Club, a boat restaurant next to our building, it was wrecked! Also, the office trailer for the heliport near our building on 34th Street was moved to the side of the road because of the water. There used to be a vending machine right in front of the office trailer for the heliport but it floated all the way down to the middle of the road on 23rd Street!
Now some of the Lower East Side has power. But my building still doesn’t. Hopefully soon it will have power.

Min-Seo

11/3/2012 01:25:22 am

Hi Brayden! My apartment is near the East River too. I saw the water come to the bay. I also saw it come to the FDR. It was the most active storm I have ever seen! The water level was higher than my height! I have no problems with power. Hope your power back!

Brayden

11/3/2012 10:06:27 am

Thanks Min-Seo. I can't believe the water was past your height. What floor do you live on? Anyways, I had problems with power AND water.

Josephine

11/3/2012 10:24:46 am

Hey Brayden, I went to my grandparents house because of the flooding in my place. I also had problems with power AND water @ home.

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/3/2012 05:27:17 am

Hi Brayden, I know I speak from the entire "344 Family" when I say that I'm so happy that you and your family are safe! It sounds like you had "front row seats" to the flooding - what an amazing description you have written of the experience! Walking down 25 flights of stairs must have been a tough adventure in itself. Thanks for sharing that YouTube video. It really helped me imagine the scene near your building. I hope the power is back on in your building now, and that things are beginning to return to normal. See you soon!

Brayden

11/3/2012 07:46:07 am

Thank you whoever replied to my comment. I hope everyone's okay!

Josephine

11/3/2012 08:15:46 pm

Brayden I do not think you notice but that is an essay.

Brayden

11/2/2012 11:27:01 pm

Someone took a video of the floods from my building and put it on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF3KQWpi_DA

Iris Park

11/3/2012 02:05:59 am

Hi Ms.Zimmerman,
I was OK. Just a lot of strong wind. I went out exploring and I could barely breath. No power outages!

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/3/2012 05:21:03 am

Iris, I'm glad you're doing well. I went out exploring after the storm ended too. It made me sad to see the damage to the trees in a park near my apartment. See you soon! (P.S. Thanks for replying to other students' posts - great job!)

julia

1/5/2013 04:48:12 am

I also went out. SSSSSOOOOO sad.

julia

1/5/2014 12:02:49 am

me too

Thalia Markowski

11/3/2012 02:57:03 am

I'm in zone B and our power was out the whole week,until last night. The minute it turned on my dad opened the window and yelled "POWER! UNLIMITED POWER!!" (from Star Wars 3) The whole neighborhood was screaming!! It was a great time!
On Monday we had a big potluck. Once we finished, all the kids were playing in my room then all of a sudden.....it was pitch black! Man, it was a grand time. My brother said "This is the best time ever!" Oh, and I agree, except I got sick from the cold. Well that's what it was like this week. :)

Mrs. Zimmerman

11/3/2012 05:19:42 am

Thalia, thanks for describing your experience so well! It sounds like you turned hurricane into something memorable and exciting - you're a true optimist! What a great story about your dad yelling out the window when the power came back - I can totally picture the scene! See you Monday, and feel better!

Thalia

11/3/2012 05:39:20 am

Thanks,I actually am fine right now.How are you doing after Sandy?

Josephine

11/3/2012 08:04:21 am

Thalia,
I am fine. We actually have power, and I know you do too, it feels like we are the only two GIRLS to have POWER in our place, I think.

Brayden

11/3/2012 09:39:06 am

Thalia, I live in zone A and still don't have power. I'm happy you are okay!

Iris

11/3/2012 11:39:26 pm

I had power all the time!

Sukie

5/3/2013 07:48:42 am

I actually have power also

julia

8/24/2013 01:44:43 am

never lost power

Josephine

11/3/2012 08:00:06 am

Hey guys I have power, It is a really long story, I can't wait for you guys to hear!

Josephine

11/3/2012 08:14:21 am

Hi Ms. Zimmerman! The Hurricane was dreadful. Do you like the essay I wrote about it?
I would like to here what happened with you. You know, I heard that, one of my father's worker's house got destroyed and now he has literally NO house.Very very very very very very very very very sad. I never new how much a hurricane like Sandy could cause.

Josephine

11/3/2012 10:31:05 am

I love hearing all of your guys experiences, and I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy you guys are ok!

Brayden

11/3/2012 09:36:02 pm

I still don't have power :(

Brayden

11/3/2012 09:39:36 pm

Hopefully I'll have power tomorrow

Iris Park

11/3/2012 11:36:14 pm

My area is just really cold now.

Julia Uziel

11/4/2012 01:21:32 am

nice too Brrrrrrrrrr hahahaha

Julia Uziel

11/4/2012 01:22:28 am

i mean mine too brrrrrrrrr hahahahaha

Josephine

11/4/2012 07:31:37 pm

Not my place. I am living warm and tasty Iris, hahahahahahahahahaha

julia

8/24/2013 01:46:12 am

me to

julia

2/7/2014 11:06:58 pm

me 2

Josephine

11/4/2012 07:18:13 pm

Huh? I really do not get you Julia Uziel!

Josephine

11/4/2012 07:28:45 pm

Hey look at the funny faces I made below!
:) :( :O :o :D :} :]

MING

1/25/2013 02:56:15 am

GANGDUM STLE AEE AEE LADYS

MING

1/25/2013 02:57:37 am

SXY LADYS

thalia

4/16/2015 07:35:46 am

seriously ming!?

???????Sam

5/5/2015 09:24:46 am

Hurricane Sandy Blows Away a Week of School!

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