KidsViewWinter, 2008

KidsView online at www.glencoewest.org/happenings.lasso

Erin A.Sacha A.Emily B.Sabrina B.Dylan B.Celia B.Jack C.James D.Henry E.Eric F.Eliana F.Chloe F.Elizabeth G.Hannah W.Dylan H.Mia K.Chloe K.Danny K.Madeline K.Sabrina K.Sophie K.Katie K.Sam L.Harris L.Grant M.Enya M.Jessica N.Annika P.Addie R.John R.Paul S.Jacob S.Hannah S.David S.Bianca S.Indigo S.Ethan S.Camryn W.Chayla W.

KidsView Staff:

Editors: Mrs. Salzman Ms. Melamed

Fabulous West FairHave you heard? On November 9, many students from West School (and other Glencoe schools) came to the West World Tour! This fair is sponsored each year by the Glencoe PTO. This year to celebrate West School’s 50th anniversary, the school decided to also raise money to buy a PlayPump for a community in Sub-Saharan Africa through an organization called PlayPumps International. A PlayPump is a combination of a merry-go round and a water pump. Kids pump clean water up from the ground and have fun at the same time. Each PlayPump costs $15,000 and so far, West has raised about $9,000.

The topic of the fair was “Around the World.” If you went to the fair, you definitely saw the flags from many different countries hanging everywhere! To play the awesome foreign games, you first made a passport. The games were hoopball, basketball, scooter racing, bootball, can knocking, hockey, and ring toss. You received a stamp if you played a game, and if you played them all you would get a prize! The prizes were either a troll or a Webkinz. Also, there was a cakewalk! Lots of cakes were brought in and it cost $1 to play. Everybody had so much fun winning cakes! Also, the DJ in the gym was a big hit. Many kids were showing off their moves on the dance floor. The company, Icon, had a blast too! “Dancing with Icon made me feel like a star!” says fourth grader Rose G. One of the best parts of the fair was the book fair. Many families bought lots of books. Roland Smith’s new book, Peak, was sold out in no time! It was a great way to celebrate books.

Another great thing about the fair was the teacher auctions. To raise money for PlayPumps, teachers donated time to do activities with students outside of school, such as lunch or bowling. At thefair, students bid on these items. Another part of the auction was the raffle to be “principal for an hour!” Each ticket cost $5.00. There were two drawings. The winners were Erin M., from Mrs. Berkley’s class, and Bianca S., from Mrs. Ross’ class. West School 5oth Anniversary T-shirts and water bottles were also sold to benefit PlayPumps. Students sill enjoy wearing their shirts and drinking out of their reusable water bottles instead of plastic bottles. If you didn’t go to the fair, you missed a lot. Next year, go!

By: Bianca S. and James D.

Mrs. Fischer and Mrs. Ross sell raffle tickets!

Mary Amato Visits By: Emily B.On November 29, author Mary Amato visited West School. She has written many books including, Please Write in this Book, The Word Eaters and the Riot Brothers series. Mary Amato was born on January 3, 1961, in Belvidere, Illinois. She grew up in Libertyville, Illinois. She married Ivan Amato, and has two kids, Maxwell and Simon. Mrs. Amato has no pets, and her favorite food is chocolate. She told the students at West that she always wanted to be a writer and she loves to write! She started to write when she was seven years old and her mother handed her a little spiral notebook. She also told us how she gets some of her ideas and then we played a game in which the students acted out a story. It was great to meet an author of such fun books that many students are now reading.

Flag of the Day happens the week of the West World Tour. During lunch period, third and fourth graders receive 3 clues and are shown a flag. Then they try to guess what country the flag belongs to. The students received clues such as: “this country produces 220,000 tons of chocolate a year.” The flag for the third graders is different than the one for the fourth graders. The third graders received clues for these flags starting on Monday: Australia, Belgium, Austria, Netherlands, and Egypt. The winners of third grade were Mr. Johnson's class, Ms. Hand’s class and Ms. Shapiro’s class. The fourth graders received more challenging flags and clues. The fourth graders received clues for these flags: South Africa, Dominican Republic, Singapore, Chile and Bangladesh. Ms. Meyer’s class won. The Lunch/Recess Council has decided to start a trivia question because everybody loved a fun activity at lunch. The Flag of the Day activities helped kids learn about geography.

Flag of the DayBy: Eric F.

All the third grade classes participated in the Chicago bus tour in October that took them to many historical sites like the Firehouse, the Chicago History Museum, where we ate lunch, Clarke House, the Board of Trade and the Opera House. Some third graders had a picnic on the museum campus on Lake Michigan’s shore. Some classes also saw Millennium Park. They left the school at 9:00 and came back at 3:00. At the Firehouse they saw the spot where the Chicago Fire started and looked at all the old fashioned fire equipment. They also went inside the fire truck to see what it looked like. The firemen explained everything about the Chicago Fire. The Chicago tour was a great experience for the third grade classes. Students learned a lot more about Chicago for their Chicago study.

The Chicago Tour

By: Chloe F.

This year all fourth graders went to the Wagner Farm, one of the last historic working farms in Cook County. The Glenview Park District purchased the farm in early 2000. The Wagner Farm is an 18.6 acre farm preserved for educational purposes. When you go there you can do tons of activities like: milking a cow, learning about chickens, seeing the Wagner's house in the 1920’s, and learning how to make a very yummy lunch! One thing we learned about was the difference between straw and hay. Straw is used for animal bedding, and hay is used for some of the farm animals to eat. Also we learned that your phone line and your neighbor’s phone line used to be connected. This was called a party line. So if you picked up the phone you might hear your neighbor talking to someone else. Plus, if you had a lot of kids like the Wagners did, then they would most likely share a bed. How would you like it if you had to share a bed with your brother or sister?! I suggest that you visit the Wagner Farm. If you want to have a great deal of fun - go. Because that is where you can learn to be a real genuine farmer!

Wagner Farm By: Jessica N.

Did You Know?The MS ExplorerBy: Harris L.

Honduras is a country near Mexico. It borders Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. It is in North America. It is 43,443 square miles, about the size of Tennessee. The language Honduran’s speak is Spanish. Honduras has about 7,400,000 people living there. Honduras’ capital is Tegucigalpa, which means “silver mountain”. The country is a democracy now but it is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Honduras got its independence from Spain in 1821 and its Independence Day is on September 15. During their revolution Tegucigalpa was completely destroyed but after the war it was rebuilt. Honduras’ revolutionary war was a lot like America’s. The President’s name is Manuel Zelaya. Honduras has 595 km of railroad. There are many mountains in Honduras and it borders the Caribbean Sea. There are Mayan ruins in Honduras to visit and it is a good place for snorkeling and has coral reefs. There are also forests in areas of Honduras .

Honduras By: David S.

ALL ABOUT WEBKINZ WORLD

Breaking news in Webkinz World: Go on to today’s activities and click on Webkinz quick draw and this is how it works. On the bottom there is a number. You take the coin and you scratch the blue and if you get the same number you get an exclusive item. Also there are new Webkinz. They are Collie the Penguin and the Charcoal Cat. At the Kinzville Academy there is a new class. It is fashion class. Five models come out and you try to memorize what they are wearing. Then they go back in and you try to select the clothes they were wearing. At the curio shop you can search for gems. If you find a gem, it could be the gem of the day or not. If you don’t find the gem of the day you can still find a gem. You can keep it or sell it to Arte the dog who is in charge. If you get all the gems, click on the Crown of Wonder and you can wear it. If you find the Webkinz diamond, Arte will make you a big offer for it. That’s what’s new in Webkinz world!

By: Camryn W.

The MS Explorer hit an iceberg and sank 75 miles north of the Arctic Peninsula on November 23, 2007. The MS Explorer sank in water that was 25° and 2,000 feet deep. There was a 10 by 4 inch gash in the hull of the ship that people think was made by ice. The MS Explorer was 246 feet long and 2,400 tons. All of a sudden there was a loud bang and then a passenger reported sea water in their cabin. Everyone on board had to wait in life boats for three to four hours before a Norwegian ship came to rescue them. Some passengers were taken to King George Island and airlifted to Chile. The passengers who were not taken there were brought to the Uruguay’s Artigas Base. All of the 154 passengers and crew survived and no one was injured but all had an incredible adventure.

In 1997 Earl and Alice Count wrote a book called the 4,000 years of Christmas. The book says that the Mesopotamians were the first people ever to celebrate the winter solstice. They had a 12 day festival of renewal. Lots of ancient cultures built great architecture for the solstices. One of them is Newgrange that not a lot of people know about. It is a huge circular stone stone structure built to receive a shaft of sunlight deep inside its central chamber on the dawn of the winter solstice. Newgrange is located in Ireland. Many, many cultures celebrate the winter solstice such as the Russians, the Germans, the Scandinavians, and the Spaniards. This year the Winter Solstice was on December 22 at 12:08 a.m. (midnight).

Recalled Toys! By: Erin A.

The Winter SolsticeBy: Enya M.

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year. We don’t lose hours off our day but we have the shortest amount of daylight hours.

Win t e rBy: Sacha A. and Chayla W.

BreakChannukahChocolateChristmasColdDayDecemberEveFebruary

HockeyHolidaysHotIceJanuaryKwanzaNewPajamasSkating

SnowflakeSnowmanValentinesWinterYearsSnowSleddingGear

Nine million Chinese toys including some Mattel Pollypockets play sets, and Batman action figures that were made in China were recently recalled. That means they can no longer be sold and people who have them should stop using them. They are dangerous because they could have lead in them or tiny magnets that could be swallowed. The Consumer Product Safety Commission

warned customers to check if their children are playing with any recalled toys. However government officials also say that no injuries have been reported with the newest recalled toys. In fact, less than 10% of toys are recalled each year and there are about 3 billion toys sold in America each year. Many of the toy recalls are done by the toy maker themselves voluntarily and not by the government. For example, Fisher-Price has recalled 83 types of Chinese-made toys, including Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters because their paint contained lead. Some things that parents can do to help make sure their children’s toys are safe are: check the recommended age on the package, don’t buy toys with small pieces for children under three, check to make sure that hand-me-down toys are safe, and make sure batteries cannot be swallowed by small children. Follow these directions and you will have a safer holiday season.

Animals

All About Fell Ponies!!

Today, the Fell ponies are generally awesome jumpers, and are still strong. The Fell pony never goes above 14 hands, which is the way that horses are measured. One hand is 4 inches. The main colors of the Fell pony are black, brown, bay, and gray. The markings on the Fell pony are a star or a tiny white spot on the hind fetlock. The head on the Fell pony is small. The nostrils on the Fell Pony are large and expanded. The Fell pony has too much hair and the mane and tail are left to grow long. Now you know more about the Fell pony than you did before.

If you like horses you’ve probably heard of the Fell pony. The earliest Fell pony was a wild European pony that lived in the British Isles approximately 15,000 BC. This early Fell pony made a good working animal. It was strong. As a general riding pony, the Fell’s fast walk and easy paces make it a comfortable ride.

By: Eliana F.

If a patient needs to regain strength in their arm, they can throw a ball and Len will fetch it. Once Len gets the ball, they have to make hand signals with their muscles so that Len will come. If they need to improve their speech, they can say “Len fetch” then “Len come”. Since my dad works at RIC, I got to meet Len. Len wasn’t jumping and playing even though he got so much attention, he was calm like a helping dog should be. I thought it must be hard being Len because compared to my dog who barks all the time, Len is as quiet as a feather dropping from the sky. All in all, I think Len is a great helping dog and I hope you agree with me.

If you are looking for a a helping dog, you’ve come to the correct place. Len is a helping dog from RIC (the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). He helps people in wheelchairs get around, turn on and off lights, and do other simple things people in wheelchairs can’t do. A helping dog has to be trained a long time because a dog like Len cannot hurt the patient in any way, even scaring them. Len has to be trained not only to do the amazing things he does, but to be calm with the patient. If a patient strokes his fur in a place he doesn't enjoy, Len has to deal with it. He cannot bark or whine, and he has to follow all the orders people give him. Another thing Len does is help people regain strength in their body.

Man’s best friend, Len

I thought this was an amazing story because Owen went from being washed onto a shore to being best friends with Mzee. Mzee went from being a sad tortoise that is alone to being best friends with Owen, a hippo. I can still barely believe a relationship like that is true. I really suggest reading this book so you can feel the same thrill I did.

Owen and Mzee Reviewed by: Eliana F.

Owen and Mzee is a great book about an amazing true relationship between a hippo and a giant tortoise. Owen, the baby hippo, gets washed onto shore away from his family. It takes people trying to help the hippo almost a full 12 hours to get Owen off the shore. Owen can’t stay there because he would die. Then Owen gets moved to an animal shelter where he meets a giant tortoise named Mzee. Mzee has always liked his own space and he never spent time with any other animals, only the park helpers. Owen wanted someone like his mother but he found Mzee instead. Owen started following Mzee everywhere he went. But Mzee just walked away. Little by little, the strange couple started coming together. In the end Owen and Mzee became friends. They ate together, they played together, and did everything else together.

By: Addie R.

Creative WritingThat One

Thanksgiving

By: Sam L.and John R.  

One day on Thanksgiving Sam and

Noah were having a feast at Noah’s

grandparent’s house. They were

having turkey and cranberries when

they heard something outside. It was

John. He was invited too. Then, they

heard something else. Sam, John, and

Noah went outside to see what it was.

They saw a turkey! Then at once the

turkey ran into the bushes. They ran

after the turkey. Then the turkey ran

somewhere else. All the kids stumbled

outside. The turkey came back after

about 5 minutes. Sam, John and Noah

hid in the bushes and jumped out and

caught the turkey. Then the turkey

escaped their hands. Then the turkey

shot LASER BEAMS!!!! The kids shot

laser beams back. You are probably

wondering how they did that... well it’s

a story!! Then the turkey’s mama shot

laser beams at the kids. The laser

beams reflected off the boys and hit

mama turkey and she went flying to

the Empire State Building. Next it hit

the other turkey but the turkey fell

backward. The boys were confused

and they went back inside and

finished their Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Surprises By: Indigo S.

“Yes tomorrow is Thanksgiving,” said Jack. “You actually like Thanksgiving,” said Ally. “Yes of course I do.” That night Ally puzzled his words. When she woke up she was in a place, a place where she knew she shouldn’t of been. “Where is this place?” Ally said. “You are in the new land” said a small boy about the age of 9. “Why do you have weird clothes on?“ she asked. “We are wearing regular clothes, this is how everyone dresses today,” the boy answered. “What are you doing?” noticing his bow and arrow. “Carrying stuff for the Indians.” “Indians?” “Yes, they helped us plant and hunt. We are going to have a feast for dinner.” “A feast?” “ You ask a lot of questions. Why don’t you come for dinner?” “Sure”

To be continued..............

Book ReviewsDouble Identity: ElizaBethany

Double Identity is a great book about a girl named Bethany Cole who is living a normal life until the age 12. One month from her birthday Bethany gets in a car with her parents and they drive off without Bethany knowing where she's

going! They drive for miles and miles, and hours and hours, until she gets to a gloomy neighborhood. Then her dad stops right in front of a house that looks almost like a haunted house. He tells Bethany that she will be staying here with her aunt for some time. The strange thing is, Bethany never knew she had an aunt. When Bethany gets out of the car she says bye to her crying mother (who seems to be crying all the time now) and the car drives away. At her aunt’s house Bethany tries calling her parents but all the numbers she calls are down. Now she is stuck with a relative she doesn't know, and no way of getting home. That night she hears the phone and rushes downstairs thinking it is her father. Instead of opening the door to the kitchen, she listens to what her aunt is saying. The word she catches is “Elizabeth”. A week later she receives a package in the mail with $10,000 and 4 different birth certificates. It also has a note from Bethany’s father saying “He is after me. He is hunting me down. I never knew this would happen.” Read Double Identity to find out if Bethany and her parents survive and if Bethany ever sees her parents again. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Go Rebels!!! In the hit new movie “The Game Plan” quarterback Joe Kingman, (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) is one of the

best football players of all time! He is also a snob who loves himself. He is found in a tough situation when he discovers he has a daughter! Payton (Madison Pettis) is a ballet-dancing seven-year-old who turns Joe’s world upside-down! Joe just can’t get the parenting thing right! What is he going to do?!?! See the movie to find out!!! We rate this movie five out of five stars! It was so funny!!!!!! Also a little sad, too!

Written by: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Reviewed By: Sacha A. Reviewed By: Sacha A.

and Chayla W.and Chayla W.

The Game PlanThe Game Plan

Reviewed by: Eliana F.

This book is one of the best books I’ve ever read because Margaret Peterson Haddix made you think there was a problem in the first few pages of the book, but the problem kept getting worse and worse, while the story keeps getting better and better. I also think this is such a great book because it has cliff hangers on every page and I could not put it down.

We Recommend...

Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl is the sequel to Super Smash Bros. Melee. It will come out on the Nintendo Wii. The game contains many game characters including Mario, Link, Samus, and Bowser. The game has a fighting genre (no blood!) and a game rating of T for teens. The game contains stages from other Nintendo games like the Defiso Plaza from Super Mario Sunshine,Norfair from Metroid, and Sky world from Kid Icarus. The game also containsmany items to defeat your opponent like the pitfall trap. You throw it intothe ground and when someone touches it, that person falls through theground and falls off of the stage. It’s pretty humiliating to fall for a trap like that. Also there’s crates and barrels. They have other items in them and they can bethrown at other people. In stages that seem hi-tech, they take a futuristic tone. In more fantastic stages, they look like presents. They’ve also added rolling crates to the mix. The story takes place when the subspace embassy took over. The subspace embassy is a group that wants to take over the world. Your goal is to defeat the embassy. The embassy contains Roader, a motorcycle robot that tries to run you over, Poppet, a coward that runs away and throws candy from its trousers, and Brynt, who multiplies every once in a while so you better kill it before it starts to get ugly. Twolon, uses its towel like arms to launch you off, and Shaydos is a translucent fog-like creature that sneaks up on you and slashes you. Its weak spot is a glowing circle at its center. Auroras, is a bird that dives in and stabs you really hard. Try to fight it when it dives on you but misses and gets its beak stuck in the ground. Greap, another belonging to the group is HUGE! It attacks you with two enormous sharp sickles. Its weak spot is its big red head. The R.O.B. squad is a group of robots that in this game, can either shoot lasers or fire missiles, and obviously, the Ancient minister. There are also newcomers in this game including Wario, Meta Knight, and even Sonic! If you want more information about the game, google Super Smash Bros. Brawl then select Smash Bros. DOJO.

By: Ethan S.

Enchanted, the movie, is about a young princess Giselle (Amy Adams) who is living in a fairy tale world when she is transferred by an evil queen to the real live Times Square in New York City. She is not used to the real world so she is frightened by all the noise and everything going on. Later on in the movie, divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) sees her climbing on a billboard and just as she falls off, he catches her and brings her to his house. The more time Giselle spendswith him the more she falls in love with him, but Giselle has already promised to marry her fairy tale prince (James Marsden). While Giselle is hanging out with the divorce lawyer, her fairy tale prince comes to New York city to look for her. Will Giselle and her fairy tale prince find each other? If they do, will they still marry or have they met someone else?The movie Enchanted is a great movie because it is full of action, drama, romance, and comedy. I liked the comedy the most and you can’t keep your eyes off the screen. So go and see Enchanted now. You might love it and you might hate it . . . but either way I’ll still like it the same way I do now!

Enchanted Reviewed by: Maddie K.

The reporterDr. Crawford in 3rd or

4th grade

Interesting Interviews

By: Jacob S.Unknown to students, well known to teachers,

Dr. Cathlene Ann McGee Crawford is the Superintendent of Glencoe schools. She hires teacher and principals of West, South, and Central School, along with making decisions about student programs. She has a very important job. Sometimes she has to be strict but she is very nice. With a powerful job like this, Dr Crawford is a fascinating lady.

Dr. Cathlene Crawford had other jobs before becoming the Superintendent. She worked with some special education programs and was even the principal of South School! When she was asked to become the Superintendent, she first refused, but she was eventually talked into it. She is 56 years old and it’s her 10th year as the Glencoe Superintendent! Dr. Crawford makes her typical weekday of visiting classrooms, talking to principals, and talking on the phone into a fun game. Since the easiest part of her job is talking to people, and her favorite part is visiting classes, she is a terrific Superintendent.

Dr. Crawford is actually a Cherokee Indian, too! Her Cherokee name is Bull Stubborn (she can be like a stubborn bull)! Dr. Crawford also loves the color black, to bake sweets, and to eat chocolate and drink Diet Coke. She has no pets and she loves to take warm weather vacations. In her youth, bellbottom pants and tie dye were the common fads. Now, Dr. Crawford is well known to students, well known to teachers, but powerful nonetheless.

The reporterDr. Crawford in 3rd or

4th grade

Meet Dr. Crawford

Mrs. Meyers’ full name is Ann Elizabeth Meyers. Many people called her Annie but she did not like being called Annie. Mrs. Meyers has one sister named Myra. After Mrs. Meyers retires she is going to travel, visit friends and maybe teach adults. She has taught at West School for fourteen years and taught both third and fourth grade. She taught in Highland Park before West School. She loves to teach all kinds of subjects and loves being with kids. Mrs. Meyers also loves to travel and is going to travel more often after she retires. She grew up in Chicago. Her favorite sport to watch is basketball and she loves the Bulls. When she was growing up she collected stuffed animals. After school Mrs. Meyers grades homework and goes to meetings. Sometimes she tries to relax. She has two children. Her daughter, Sarah, is a social worker and and her son Brad, is a food scientist. Mrs. Meyer’s daughter Sarah, just had a son, which makes Mrs. Meyers a grandmother for the first time! She thinks her favorite sport to play is tennis but she says she is not good at it. Her favorite ice cream is chocolate, no question about it! Her favorite color is blue. Sometimes she likes to cook but only if she is prepared. She loves cooking for the holidays! When she was young she had family chores and they were to clean your room and take out the trash. Mrs. Meyers is soooo nice and we will all miss her!!

By: Mia K.Mrs. Meyers Retires

Awesome Ms. Sacher

SUPER MRS. SHAPIRO

Mrs. Shapiro’s role models are her parents. In her spare time she likes to knit, read, run, and spend time with friends and family. Her favorite color is purple. The animal she likes best is a dog. She really loves to eat sushi. She has been teaching at West School for 11 years. Her favorite subject to teach is math. She was born in Chicago. Her birthday is August 31st. She went to college at Ohio State University. Her sport of choice is ice skating. She likes to watch football. Her nickname is Debbie. Her favorite song is Landslide. The holiday she likes best is Thanksgiving. She has a dog named Marlie. She likes to play a board game called Rummikub. She lives in Highland Park. Mrs. Shapiro is the mother of a beautiful son, Simon, and this spring she will have another baby! I had fun interviewing Mrs. Shapiro.

Ms. Sacher is a third grade teacher at West School. She has been here for 3 years. Ms. Sacher was born in downtown Chicago. She loves the color purple. Her lucky number is 11. Her first name is Dara. She has one brother and no sisters. When she is not at school she plays with her dogs and she hangs out with her friends and family. Her favorite activities are tennis and running. Her middle name is Ellesse. If Ms. Sacher couldn’t work at West School she would be a designer. She has two dogs and she has a great time playing with them. She roots for the baseball team, the Cubs. Her favorite character is Elphaba from Wicked. If she had to play a web game she would play on Funbrain. Her best grade when she was in school was third. Her most loved subject was art. She would like to travel to Greece. Her nickname was “D”. She loves to shop at Banana Republic. Now you know Ms. Sacher!

Interviewed by: Elizabeth G.

All About Ms. Mooney

Interviewed by: Sabrina K.Ms. Mooney is a very good teacher at West school. When she is not at school she likes to run and spend time with her family and friends. Her favorite color is green and her middle name is Ann. She loves being a teacher. Her favorite activity is going to Bears games. If she could have any pet she would have a German Shepherd dog and if she had a wild animal she would have a horse. Her favorite candy is Snickers and if she could be anything for Halloween she would be a witch. 3rd grade is her specialty. She would rather run than swim. Her favorite book is Edward Tulane and her best-loved movies are Rudy and Jaws. She was born at Evanston Hospital. Ms. Mooney loves to collect shoes and to shop at Anthropologie. I loved learning about Ms. Mooney!

Interviewed by: Katie K.

Talk with the Teachers

Interview With Ms. Zabarsky

I interviewed Ms. Zabarsky and here is some information abouther: Her first name is Jacquelyn. Her favorite color is blue. She speaks two languages, Russian and English. I enjoy speaking with Mrs. Zabarsky in Russian. She grew up in Highland Park. She was born in Highland Park and her mom and dad still live there. She graduated from Lake Forest College in 2006. She is twenty-three years old. Her favorite food is sushi. Her preferred vacation spot is Florida. She really likes dogs. If she was a specialist teacher at West she would teach ESL (English as a second language). She started teaching at West School this year. Ms. Zabarsky will be the permanent substitute for Mrs. Shapiro when she has her baby later this year.

You’re sitting in the classroom bored out of your mind, when suddenly someone yells out, “two times four is Pluto!” Every one in your class cracks up. But does your teacher? You’ll find out in this article. First of all, if you asked different teachers the same question: What is the funniest thing that ever happened in your teaching career? The answers would be different. For example, Mrs. Feldman said that The Dental Health play that she wrote with Mrs. Ross was the funniest. It was based on Little Red Riding Hood, but instead of having Little Red Riding Hood, they had Pearl E. White. Instead of the Big Bad Wolf, they had Mr. Tooth Decay. The grandma was the same except instead of being sick, she just had horrible teeth. Mrs. Abrams, (a Hebrew school teacher) told that me that her funny situation was when there were two identical twins. The only way she could tell them apart was that one of them wore their hair in a head band and the other in bangs. But one day they decided to play a trick on her and both of them wore their hair in bangs. Mrs. Abrams went up to them to see on which one would their hair fray. That would be the one that usually wore her hair in a headband. But when she tried, they ran around. Mrs. Melamed states that at Central School, (when she was teaching technology) the smart board suddenly started showing a tv program and she could not get it to turn off!The students were hysterical! Mrs. Roth says that she thinks it’s pretty funny that some kids that have known her since kindergarten still call her the wrong name! I think a lot of funny things happen when you are teaching.

What Makes Teachers Laugh? By: Celia B.

I interviewed Taylor P. who is new to the Glencoe schools. Her birthday is Feb. 10, 1999. Right now she is in 3rd grade and is eight years old. Her favorite room at West is the lunchroom. Her favorite subject is silent reading and she loves the color purple. The food she likes best is definitely mango! Her middle name is Maryl. Taylor has a collection of dolls from around the world. Her hobby is basketball and of course, that is her favorite sport! She has four people in her family and her favorite brand for anything is probably Hershey's. Her favorite famous people are Zack Efron and Ashley Tisdale. Taylor loves the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and the television show Wizards of Waverly Place. She would like to design a chocolate dress and if she could change the world she would make it mango and chocolate. She thinks pollution is terrible and.... Terrible! When she has children she would name her baby Kyle. Taylor also really enjoys the computer and likes to visit disneychannel.com. She loves winter because her birthday is in winter but she also likes summer at least a little bit because she loves to swim. Taylor is a nice friend and loves school. I am glad I interviewed her.

Meet Taylor! By: Sophie K.

More People to Meet

By: Danny K.

Sports of All Sorts

The Boston Celtics are an NBA team with a great history. Their first game was on November 2, 1942. Their color is celtic green and their logo is a winking leprechaun. The Boston Celtics have won more title championships in their history than any other team in the NBA. They have won the World Championship 16 times, first in 1957 and last in 1986. That is even more than the Lakers or Bulls. Some of their most famous players are Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. The retired Boston Celtic numbers are 33, 6, 00 , 35, 3, 1, 2, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 31, and 32. I think the Celtics are nice because they have a Boston Celtics Shamrock foundation that raises money to help the community, especially children. The Celtics have an incredible history.

The CelticsBy: Dylan B.

By: Henry E. and Dylan H.Brian Griese plays in the NFL. One of the teams he played on was the Denver Broncos. He lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl, and won! In March of 2006, Griese signed a 5 year contract with DA BEARS! Griese went to Michigan for college. He joined the Wolverine football team and he lead the them to an undefeated season in 1997. Griese helped lead the Michigan Wolverines to their first national championship in 49 years as a senior. In 1997 Griese was voted MVP of the Rose Bowl. He went to Christopher Columbus High school, and he played football there too. Brian has one child named Annalia Rose. Brian Griese was a prep football reporter. Watch for Brian Griese even if he plays for another team.

NHL All star GameBy: Grant M. And Jack C.

This year’s NHL All Star game will be held in Atlanta at the Phillips Arena on Tuesday January 15. Last year’s All Star game was a big win for the Western conference, winning 12-9. Crosby, Ovechkin, Thornton and Hossa are some players expected to be in this year’s game. Some Blackhawks that are probably going to make it are: Pat Kane (right wing), Martin Havlat (right wing), Jonathan Towes (center) and maybe Nikoai Khabibulin (goaltender). I hope you see the game on Versus. Go Western Conference!!!

Brian Griese

MORE Sports of All Sorts

NTSC

Members of the swim club go from the age of 6 years old to college. The levels start at Yellow then Green, Blue, Bronze, Silver, Gold, White, and Red. If you want to be on the team you have to try out and the results (what level you are in) come out on their website. It feels like a very long wait! If you need to improve a stroke you should try out. From our experiences it is also SUPER fun. You will be able to learn flip turns, front crawl, back crawl, breast stroke, and butterfly. Wow! that is A LOT of strokes! The Green and Yellow coaches are Coach Caroline, Coach Bob, and Coach Ally. They are really nice and are very good at helping with instruction. If you do really well at the end of practice you get to use your flippers. What have we not talked about? Oh meets! Swim meets are when you race against other swim teams. If you are 8 years old and under you are only going to swim to the end of the pool (1 length, which is 25 yards). If you are 9 and 10 you are going to swim there and back (50 yards). If you are 11 and over you swim 4 lengths (100 yards). You are going to have to be prepared. You need a team suit, a practice suit, a mesh bag, flippers, a swim cap (they are a pain in the neck), and goggles. WE HOPE YOU TRY OUT! BYE

Charles Woodson

Charles Woodson was born October 7, 1976 in Fremont, Ohio. Woodson is an NFL cornerback for the Green Bay Packers and he has also played for the Oakland Raiders. He went to Fremont Ross High School. In high school Woodson won the Mr. Football award. But in high school he was a running back and in just one season he scored 466 points and gained 3,861 yards. He went to college at the University of Michigan and played football there. He was an All American and won the Heisman trophy. He was the only defensive player to win the Heisman trophy. He led the Wolverines to a national title. Woodson was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft. Woodson was NFL defensive rookie of the year. He was sent to the Pro Bowl, and after that he went to three more Pro Bowls. On April 26, 2006 Woodson signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers. Woodson still plays today. His number is 21. He is married to Elizabeth Ferris and has no children.

If you love swimming you might want to read this. Hi, I am Chloe and this is my friend Sabrina. We are on the New Trier Swim Club. The New Trier Swim Club was founded in the 1980s.

By: Chloe K. and Sabrina B. By: Paul S.

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NHL StarsBy: Jack C. and Grant M.

Horses and

Ponies

By: Addie R.

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