Shooting at a Jewish School Leaves Four Dead

      On Monday morning, a shooter opened fire on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France just after students arrived. The shooting took place at the Ozar Hatorah school, killing four people, and severely injuring three others. The shooter killed a thirty year old rabbi named Jonathan Sandler, as well as his three year old and six year old sons. The school headmaster's eight year old daughter was also shot and killed. The suspect had arrived with two guns on a motorcycle, and opened fire just as the students were gathering for morning prayer. Police quickly arrived trying to calm the students and parents who had heard what happened.
      Police are trying to find who the shooter was. They have sixty policemen looking for the shooter. The French police department is also trying to determine if there was a connection between the shooting at the school and a shooting that had occurred in the same area the previous week. Both shootings occurred in the same area, using the same weapon, and the suspect drove off on a motorcycle. It is important for police to find who the shooter was quickly, before he decides to attack again.

SOAPST

      These last couple of weeks we began reading The Great Gatsby in class. This novel was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The purpose of this book is to entertain and to explain. The novel tells about Nick, who is the speaker, and his interactions with the other characters such as, Daisy, Gatsby, and Jordan. The events in the book take place during the summer of 1922 in various parts of New York. Nick had moved there in order to make money of his own, even though he came from a well-off family. He did not want to live on his parents money, but instead see what he can do on his own, so he began working in stocks. During his time in New York, he met with his cousin Daisy, her husband Tom, and Daisy's friend Jordan. Nick learned that Tom was cheating on Daisy, and was amazed at how they pretended everything was all right. Nick also heard about the famous Gatsby, who also happened to be his neighbor, and finally got to meet him at one of his parties.
      Nick soon realizes that Gatsby is a very complicated person. There are constantly rumors circulating about him, and he hardly ever denies or accepts them, but simply allows people to believe whatever they want. Gatsby is a very convincing and charming person, although every word he says to Nick is always carefully thought out and measured. Nick soon finds out the reason for this from Jordan. Jordan explains to Nick that Gatsby and Daisy were in love, and because of certain circumstances could not be together. That was why Gatsby bought a house across the bay from Daisy's house in the hopes of one day meeting him. Jordan tells Nick that Gatsby requested to set up a surprise meeting with Daisy at Nick's house, so now Nick has to decide whether or not he wants to get involved in the situation.

Language

      Language is one of the key aspects to someone's identity. It is the main way that they express their thoughts and feelings, and communicate with the rest of the world. People from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds speak different languages. Many people do not even just speak the language of their ethnicity, but also another language. Not only do people speak different languages, but when they speak the same language, each person brings their own twist to it depending on where they came from, their level of education, and their culture. These little details may also affect how people perceive them.
      Language can tell a lot about a person. If someone is speaking using slightly higher vocabulary than usual, then it usually means that they have had some sort of higher education. The slang people use can help determine what type of environment they came from. Even accent is a strong indicator if they are native to country whose language they are speaking. I think accents are one of the most interesting aspects of language, because they can sometimes automatically tell you exactly where someone is from or at least some part of their ethnic background. I believe language is one of the most important characteristics of a person.