The Lion’s Roar

Fall Issue September-December 2016

The First Day of Schoolby: Britney Familia-Espinosa and Aniya Whittle

September 6th 2016, was the first day of school. Children at School 16 in Yonkers, NY, were more than happy to come to school on the first day. Staff and students were excited to see their colleagues, friends, and new teachers. Many students couldn’t sleep due to this excitement. Some kids admitted to saying “I miss you “or “I’m so happy to see you!” to their friends. This year more than 50 new students and teachers have come to our school from all over the world.

The Intramural Sports program allows 7th and

8th grade kids in Yonkers Public Schools

to play sports. The sports that the

students play are basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer.

Both boys and girls can play. Transportation by bus is free. The kids go

to another school to practice and play

against other schools. This program existed a few years ago, and it is so exciting the funding is back so we can have it again! -by Jeremiah

Hughes

Extend Your Learningby: Joana Baldera

“Extended Learning Time” is an after school program that helps students to bring up their grades while also having a good time. It takes place all around our school, mostly in the classrooms. Most of our charming teachers and staff members stay for the program, which is so beneficial to our learning. During ELT, some students are pulled out of class to learn how to play a musical instrument of their choice. They gather in the auditorium at 3 o’clock to practice daily. ELT is a very convenient way to bring up your grades while still allowing you to have an enjoyable time. How do you like ELT so far?

Using Class Dojoby: Edward Ramirez

Some teachers in our school are using a classroom management / parent communication website called Class Dojo. Some teachers that use this program are Mrs. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. LaBarbera, Mrs. Widrick, Mrs. Gordon-Murray, Mrs. LaBianco, and Mrs. Lepore. Class Dojo is an app used to give students points for doing good things. It makes students feel better for doing the right thing. It is good that we use Class Dojo because it makes students work harder for points. You can earn points by participating, good behavior, doing homework, and helping others. Ways to lose points are disrupting class, excessive talking, no homework, and not being focused on the lesson. We think every teacher should give ClassDojo a try!

Fall Newspaper Staff!

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4th Grade Trip!by:Gavin Mojica and Mariceli Flores

Isn’t it fun when your class gets to go on a cool, exciting trip? Well today I’ll be talking about the 4th grade school trip. Mrs. Murphy, Mrs. Ross’s and Mrs. McCormack’s classes went to St. Paul’s Historical Site in Mount Vernon. In 1763, the building of St Paul’s church was created to celebrate the end of the French and Indian War, and the momentous victory of England and the colonies over France. On October 18, 1776, the Revolutionary War Battle of Pell’s Point was fought less than a mile away from the church and served as a hospital for the British Army following the battle. When the fight began to move closer to the church, George Washington ordered the parishioners to bury the bell to prevent the British for melting it down and using it for ammunition. The bell still hangs in the tower today. Now St. Paul’s church is a national historic site that anyone can visit. The 4th graders went to different stations and learned about life in the colonial times. They played games and the roles of people that fought in the war. They loved when they pretended to be soldiers in the Revolutionary War and met with blacksmith. The kids loved that it was hands on. They had a great time!

4th Grade students learn from the Blacksmith at St.

Paul’s Historical Site.

1st Graders Enjoying the Farm

School Safety!by: Ashley Martinez

There are different kinds of drills we have at school. It’s a practice just in case one day there’s a real emergency. The students and teachers would have to follow the rules. One drill that we have is the fire drill. When we have a fire drill the bell rings outside in the hallway . When the bell rings the students have to get up from our seat and push our chair in, then the teacher will stand at the door and then evacuate us to the closest exit door to leave and walk to the backyard or front yard. Then when we get a signal, we can go back inside to continue learning. Another drill that we have is the evacuation drill. For the evacuation drill, we have to go across the street and go to the auditorium. Our teacher crosses us to the street so we can get there safely. Ms.Eisner will announce when we will have the evacuation drill and then we have the evacuation drill and then we evacuate the school. Our last drill is the lockdown drill. We practice this drill so we know what to do if a real intruder came inside the building.These are the drills we have in school 16 for our safety. I hope you enjoyed learning about these school’s drills.

Fun on the Farmby: Lizbeth Morel

The first grade, along with the 4th and 5th

graders from the annex went on a fun trip. They went to Muscoot Farm, which is about 45 minutes away. Their teachers Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Gardner, as well as Mr. DeFiore and Mrs. McCabe, accompanied the students. They absolutely loved Muscoot Farm. At the farm, they studied nutrition, went on a tour around the farm while on a hayride, and saw many farm animals, like black-and-white cows and fluffy sheep. Their favorite part was seeing a baby animal, which was probably adorable. Because it was a beautiful sunny day, they had a nice picnic. “The children loved it,” Mrs. Carey wrote.Accompanied- came along withNutrition- the process of giving or getting the food you need for health and growth

Everyone loves a bake sale, but baked goods are not always the most healthy

treats. Our English teachers, Mrs. Fitzpatrick and Mrs.

LaBarbera helped out with a Healthy Snack Sale on

October 26th. Our school really wants to help us make

healthier choices. This Healthy Snack Bar was located outside of the

cafeteria. Students loved all of the healthy yet delicious

options! We had this fundraiser to help offset the

cost of bussing for trips. I hope we have another sale

soon!By: Peterson Cruz

Halloween is a time for fun and candy. Kids of all ages love to go

trick-or-treating to get candy. However, it isn’t always safe to

go door-to-door and trick-or-treat. That’s why School 16 had

a Trunk or Treat. People decorated their trunks, and

students would go trunk to trunk and trick-or-treat. The Trunk-or-

Treat offered a fun, safe, alternative to trick or treating!

By: Ofeibea Micah

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New Teacher Spotlightby:Aniya Whittle

This school year, we’ve gained six new staff members to our school. Mrs. Gordon, Mrs. Widrick, and Mrs. Martin are the new 7th

and 8th grade Science, Spanish, and Health teachers. Ms.Sabetti is our new 6th grade special education teacher. Mrs. McCormack is the new 4th grade teacher, and Mrs. Couch-Jenkins is our new assistant principal. Some teachers have joined us from other Yonkers schools, and some are brand new to the Yonkers District. Some teachers even teach in a different subject area than they did previously. The best part of them being here is the new learning environment they are providing to our School 16 family. We have welcomed them to School 16 with open arms!

Say No to Bullying!

Stand like a flamingo!

BOO to Bullying!by: Nicholas D’Agostino

Anti-Bullying has become a problem in the USA, and now all schools commit one day to anti-bullying by creating posters and other activities to help stop bullying.Our school had each grade make posters and create pieces that went up in the hallway to advertise that bullying is wrong and that people should encourage others to stand up against bullying. Here are some of the activities the middle school participated in. Mrs. LaBarbera’s class wore the color orange for 20 Dojo points on Class Dojo. We read a book called How Full is Your Bucket? and wrote positive statements. Mr. DeBiase’s class did an activity called “Wicked Wonda” where we colored a picture to show beauty. Overall, it was a great, positive day for everyone.

Middle School Tripsby: Anthony Porter

The 8th graders were supposed to go on a great trip to Project Adventure in November. Mrs. LaBarbera planned this trip to have a great day of fun and teamwork. Unfortunately, this was an outdoor trip, and the bad weather made the trip get cancelled. We are hoping to reschedule! Mrs. Gordon-Murray planned a fun, educational trip for the 7th grade to go to the Bronx Zoo in November. It was pouring rain outside, but the students and teachers still had a great time! They visited all the indoor exhibits the zoo had to offer, and had a fun lunch together. Mr. DeBiase planned a bowling trip for the 7th grade on 12/2/16. Since the 8th

grade trip got cancelled, some stellar 8th graders were invited to attend as well. Everyone walked to Homefield Bowl and had an enjoyable day of bowling, eating lunch, and having fun with friends!

Page 3 Thank you for reading! :)