January - February 2012 Newsletter

Save the Chambered Nautilus

By Aidan, Noah, and Arvind

The nautilus might be one of the most endangered animals in the world. The problem is that their shells are being used as jewelry. “Saving the Nautilus” was premiered in the Time for Kids magazine. There is a website you can visit, www.savethenautilus.com. The mollusk is related to octopus, squid, and giant clams. They live to be about fifteen years old in age. They use jet propulsion to move in the water. How do they do this? They suck in water, and when they want to move fast, they spit it out hard using the same technique as the octopus. Did you know that the nautilus have no eyelids? Therefore, water can flow freely through their eyes. They have survived for about 500 million years! They are a living fossil that has forgotten to evolve! Their shells form a perfect spiral, holding several chambers. As the nautilus grows, it adds more chambers. The nautilus has a special power; it can pull its hood over its body, completely closing its shell! The nautilus has about 90 tentacles! This beautiful living fossil has many great features and would be horrible to loose.

Patty Reed’s Doll

By Natalee and Cameron

We just read a wonderful book about a girl named Patty. She and her doll that leave Springfield, Illinois in1846 to go to California with her family and the Donner Party in order to have a better life for Patty’s mom. They had a lot of tragedies on the way, including a desert disaster, a river tragedy, and a snow in. The worst one was that on the way, one dear family member, Patty’s grandmother dies. If you want to find out more you should read the story yourself. It’s an interesting fiction book based on historical facts. P.S. Patty Reed’s doll is in the Sutter’s Fort Sacramento, CA.

Jokes and Riddles

By Lateef and Satvik

Q. Why did the stoplight stay red?
A. Because it was too embarrassed to change in front of the street.

Q. A cowboy rode into town on Friday he stayed three days and road out of town on Friday, how did he do that?
A. His horse’s name was Friday.

Q. What do you call a fish with ten eyes?
A. A fiiiiiiiiiish.

Q. Knock knock. Who’s there?
A. Who. Who who. Is there an owl in here.

Q. What can you catch but not throw?
A. A cold.

Q. Which goes faster heat or cold?
A. Heat because you can catch a cold.

Q. Knock Knock
Who’s there
Joe King.
Joe King who?
Just Joking!!
Q. What is spicy but has ice in it?
A. Spice!

Q. Why did the dinosaur cross the road?
A. Because the chicken hadn’t evolved yet!

Q. Why wasn’t SOPA a smart idea?
A. Because it had the brains of bar of soap.

Our Colonial Presentation

By Julianna and Sonika

The 5th level students put together a project based on Colonial Times. There were many different jobs such as the gunsmith, milliner, tailor, cabinetmaker, apothecary, blacksmith, silversmith, and the candle maker. We were all dressed up as colonial people. The 5th graders set up little shops and showed our wares. We demonstrated how we sold and made our goods. We talked a little bit about our work that helped the whole colony survive and how we depended upon each other. We sang a song called When I First Came To This Land. All the parents loved it. In the end, the parents came to our booths. They asked us some questions and we answered them. Although the presentation took a lot of work, it paid off.

Recycle Rally

By Alex N. and Joseph

The Recycle Rally was through the roof! It worked in three simple steps:

1. Cans and bottles were collected that said “CA CRV” (California Cash Redemption Value)

2. Then people took them to a Re plant(Recycling station) and recycled their bottles and cans

3. Finally people brought the money to the office.

The Recycle Rally ended on January 31, 2012. We have raised over 1,600 to help the kids in Honduras. Honduras is in Central America and the school we are raising money for is very poor. This year the money we raised will go to getting 50 more desks, 9 teacher desks and fixing up their worn down bathroom. The Recycle Rally was a competition. Now, the moment you have all been waiting for. The group that won was ...Elementary !!!!! The winning group will get a party. In the party there will be three sections. The first section has LOTS of food and sweets from Honduras. The next section is a craft. Kids get to make the Honduran flag. The third and final station will be a station of Honduran games. It will be very fun. The primary group will get to come in at the dance part so they can learn the dance to. They will also receive a goodie bag. Good job to all of the students and thank you for donating!!!!!!!

Environment and Health

By Yasi and Lauren

Are you helping pick up trash in your environment? When you pick up trash it helps animals and people have a cleaner environment. It also helps stop pollution, which makes the world a better and cleaner place. Picking up trash will stop animals from eating trash and getting sick or dying. You can help by scouting your neighborhood for trash, and recycling it. Cigarettes are another part of trash, they easily cause smoke, which is pollution and can cause people to have asthma. Therefore, when we stop pollution we save people from getting sick. When you turn in your recyclables you can donate the money you earn to charity. We go on short walks up Monte Vista road looking for trash to help keep our planet GREEN. Our 4th grader’s even wrote persuasive letters to the nearby businesses to stop littering on Monte Vista Rd. As you can see we are trying to help the environment, maybe you should too.

Westward Expansions- History

By Emma and Angela

In history, we are studying about Westward Expansion. The most well known journey is probably that of the Donner party. They traveled to California in 1846. With many tragedies along the way they went to from Springfield Illinois to Sutter’s Fort in California. Another well-known journey is the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They explored the Louisiana Purchase. They also took Sacagawea a Native American girl along as their guide. During the Westward Expansion, people traveled in covered wagons. They were about 15 feet long and 5 feet wide. They were covered in canvas. In history class we all built covered wagons. Our class painted them and then glued them together. While traveling west, one of the trails they followed was the Oregon Trail. It is a trail that leads to Oregon. Did you know when women didn’t have time to make butter, they hung it on their wagon hoops and because the trail was so bumpy, in a couple of hours, the butter would be made? The butter made itself! Wow!

Letter’s to Honduras

By Shireen and Kayla

This year, during Spanish class, the first through fifth graders are writing letters to Honduras. It is new for us and for the children because the children in Honduras are leaning how to write in Spanish. Some of the kids wrote letters to us last year and our Spanish teacher Melissa will send our letters we made this week to Honduras. It is exciting that we get to write in Spanish to Honduras kids. In the letters we wrote about what we do in the mornings, afternoons, at night and on Saturdays. We can’t wait for the letter’s to be sent. We are also raising money for the children In Honduras for school supplies and to remodel their school. Both experiences have been fun. ☺

Are School Uniforms Good or Bad?

By R.J. and David

In Creative Writing we have been writing persuasive letters. One of the several topics we have written about was School Uniforms. Some people in our school think that school uniforms are a good idea. They think that they make the pictures on picture day look neat and orderly. You also don’t have to worry about what clothes to choose off your rack each morning. It makes everything fair also. In this way, no one feels bad about the clothes they wear. For example, one person is not spending lots of money on their clothes when their classmate can’t afford it. On the other hand, some people think that school uniforms are a bad idea because they feel that school uniforms don’t let you show your personality - everyone looks the same. They also take away the right of freedom and choice. In addition, school uniforms might cost too much, you have to do laundry more than you should, and the same old color gets boring and dull. What do you think?