January 2014

Volume 2, Issue 4

The Lander Leopard News

The January Birthstone By: Alexis Ochi

Were you born in January? Have you ever wondered what your

birthstone is or wanted to know about it? I’ll answer all of your

questions. Well, to answer that first question the garnet is January’s

birthstone.

Did you know that Princess Kate has this birthstone?!! Once people believed that the

garnet was a protector against poisons, injuries, and even nightmares! You can find garnet

in bodies of water where the water is eroding rocks that reveal the gem. Before this gem is

polished it looks like small pebbles. They come in many colors including red, black, and

green, which is the least common. Some are even clear.

Source: National Geographic Kids February 2014 issue

The PTG Beat

By Kelsey Blanchard

Your vote is needed for the spring fundraiser! Save the date! The fundraiser starts February 25th, 2014

Do you want the limo back?

Or do you want the money machine again?

The Lander PTG needs us to vote on the main prize for the spring fundraiser. Last year, we had a money

machine and ice cream party. It was fun, but we can decide by voting what we want the PTG to do this year. We

are selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookie dough, and the cookie monster will be coming to Lander again! You only

have to sell 10 tubs of cookie dough to get the main prize, so remember that when you vote!

The Lander PTG is also organizing Kalahari night on January 23, 2014.

Stay tuned next month for my report and pictures from Kalahari, and the result

of the vote. The teachers will take your vote in class and give them to Kelsey Blanchard.

Kelsey will report back to the Lander PTG president.

Page 3 of 21

Page 2 of 19

Survey Question of the Month

Survey Director, Logan Ferritto

What is your favorite Olympic sport?

Bobsledding

Skiing

Ice skating

Curling

Hockey

Other

Vote Here!

Last month’s results:

Lander Geography Bee, and the Winner, Ryan Davidson

By Alvin Cai

The fifth graders of Lander Elementary

school had a great geography bee and

even though there were lots of

challenging competitors the winner, Ryan

Davidson, was able to steal the win. The

school geography bee consists of four

rounds and the winner does a geography

test to see if they made it to the state level

geography bee. The winner of the

country geography bee gets about 50,000

dollars for a scholarship. There were 24

contestants total in Lander’s Geography

Bee. Ryan Davidson felt good that he

won, but he did not expect to win. During

the competition he felt nervous, but felt

better and became less nervous as time

went by. He earned a medal and was

quite surprised he won. Ryan says that

the questions can be hard, but not really

because most were multiple choice. If

you see Ryan give him a thumbs up for

his huge accomplishment

Interview with Mrs. Jochum

By Wale Onamusi

Me: Hello.

Mrs.Jochum: Hi.

Me: How was your Christmas?

Mrs.Jochum: Good.

Me:.What did you get for Christmas?

Mrs.Jochum: It's not about getting it’s about spending time with

your family and family traditions.

Me: What's your favorite Christmas treat?

Mrs.Jochum: Christmas cookies.

Me: How was it when Meredith came home?

Mrs.Jochum: It was nice to have all three girls home.

Me: Did you and Mr.Jochum do anything with just you two?

Mrs.Jochum: We did everything as a family. We went to the

movies and out to dinner.

Me: Thank you.

Mrs.Jochum: You’re welcome.

What Happened Before 2014?

Reported By: Megan Linsky

Lander School opened in 1957. The first principal was William Hild from 1955-1987. The

second principal was Mrs. Stephen, she was principal from 1987-2006. The third principal was

Mrs. Bender, she was principal from 2006-2011. Then was our very own, Mr. Legan who began

being the principal in 2011-now. You might be wondering why did Lander School ever open.

Well here is your answer….. Oakville school was overflowing with students, so they built

another school for all the extra students.

.

Interview with Mr.Legan

By Emily W.

Me: Hi Mr.Legan: How are you doing

today?

Mr.Legan: I am doing great today.

Me: What is it like being a principal?

Mr.Legan: Being a principal is a lot of

fun. I love interacting with everyone and

knowing that I am trying to make a

difference. This job is very rewarding.

Me: How long have you worked at

lander?

Mr.Legan: This is my third year.

Me: Did you go to lander?

Mr.Legan: I went to lander and graduated

in 1986.

Me: Thank you very much.

Mr.Legan: You’re welcome.

Page 3 of 19

An interview with Mrs. Francetic

By Marissa Dalessandro

me: "Hi, how are you?"

Mrs. Francetic: "Feeling good. I'm glad to be back here at Lander after my materninty leave"

me: "That's great. Whey did you decide to become a fourth grade teacher?"

Mrs. Francetic: "I've always enjoyed teaching this grade level. The kids are like little sponges

and soak up all the information I give them. I also love teaching the math content at fourth

grade. The kids become so excited about math!"

me: "Why did you decide to name your baby Maria?"

Mrs. Francetic: "I think it's a beautiful name for a girl. It's also an Italian, Spanish and Croation

name, which is where our family is from"

me: "How do you think your son, Vinnie will like having 2 sisters"

Mrs. Francetic: "He is the best big brother and loves them very much!"

me: "What is the best thing you did this year to change or make this year better?"

Mrs. Francetic: "I like to make every year a year to remember. This year I started in the middle

of November so I'm still getting to know these great kids. I decorated my room with colorful

lights and cheerful decorations to make it more pleasing and inviting for all!"

me: "Thank you so much for this interview. I miss you so much as a teacher and have an

amazing rest of the school year!"

Mrs. Francetic: "Thank you for the interview, Marissa. I love having students come back to see

me and check in"

Page 4 of 19

Page 5 of 19

5th

grade teachers:

What was your favorite thing you did over break?

By Julietta Puletti

Mrs.Stepanek- Family movie night (even the dog watched the movie) also Christmas Eve and dinner was great!

Mrs.DiGeronimo – Staying in my pjs all day with my girls!

Mrs.Malenda- A family trip to Florida and all 4 of my kids were able to go. When I was there I saw 3 dolphins!

Miss Newman-Skiing and snowboarding with my kids!

Kindness Kids

An update by Mrs. Schmidt

We would like to celebrate the

following students who were

recognized for being kind here at

Lander with 50 Kindness Stamps:

Nolan Kern

Addison Sporar

Lexi Schween

Aaron Tang

Lucas Swinderman

Vasana Webel

Anna Kovaler

Paige Lamson

Domenic Menta

Jessica Attina

Morgan Lender

Mohammed Al-Saeed

Rachel Holt

Marco Ochoa

Niko Willrich

Allison Hawk

Allison Krishtal

Justin Stafford

Lauren Schmidt

Myah Goodman

Kaley Janson

Shane Trivisonno

Anastaciya Kovel

Chloe Delisio

Ellena Baghdasaryi

Sudhan Sibi

Sam Walters

Lander Staff 2014 Resolutions

By Haley Lackner

In January, when we returned back to school, I took the

opportunity to interview a few members of the Lander staff.

I asked each staff member what their 2014 “New Year’s

Resolutions” were. They shared very interesting ideas and

funny things also. There were some resolutions that seemed

hard to get used to. Let’s take a look at what these resolutions were:

Mrs.T.Stepanek- “Not to go on Facebook as much and exercise more.”

Miss Newman- “Exercise more and eat better.”

Mr.Legan-“To be a better father, to run a marathon and to grow hair.

Officer Bandelow-“To be the best person I can be, and to do my job at the

best of my ability.”

Mr.Skupniewicz-“To be as good as a member of my family.”

Mrs.Farinacci-“Make healthy eating choices.”

I enjoyed interviewing these wonderful staff members, and wish them

luck in completing their 2014 resolutions.

Page 6 of 19

Interesting Facts about New Year’s Eve in Time Square

By: Marco Ochoa

1. About 1 million people stand outside and celebrate. Over a

billion people watch the broadcast from all around America.

2. About one ton of confetti is thrown by hand in time square.

3. The New Year’s Eve Ball is a geodesic sphere that weighs

11,875 pounds and is 12 feet high in diameter.

4. The ball is covered in 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles.

5. 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs light up the ball.

6. There have been 7 versions of the NYE Ball.

7. The ball has dropped every New Year since 1907 except

1942 and 1943 because of the wartime “dim out” in NYC.

8. Blue party hats and long skinny blue balloons are handed

out to partiers.

9. The ball can create more than 16 million colors and billions

of patterns.

10. It takes 2 days to clean up the 15 tons of trash left over from

the New Year’s bash.

11. The clean up takes 151 workers, 24 supervisors, 2

superintendents, and 2 deputy sheriffs.

Source: www.google.com

New Year’s Eve

Reported By: Jaiden Varanese

On December 31st a lot of families

get together and have a party. Then

as it gets closer and closer to

midnight some people go to bed

and a lot of people stay up. Then at

11:59 p.m. the countdown comes

on: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1……. Happy New

Year!, everyone shouts out and

they are glad they made it through

the year. So all I have to say is,

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

The Start of a New Year

By Grace Rocco

This month is very special; it is the start of the New Year 2014!!!

Here is what some teachers did to celebrate the New Year:

Mrs.DiGeronimo was home with her family and celebrated!!

Ms. Newman spent time with her friend, watched TV and was probably asleep by

10:00 p.m.

Mrs.D’alessandro watched the ball drop with her family!

Mr.S was at his sister’s house in Atlanta, Georgia!

Officer Bandelow was camping in Florida with his family!

Mr.Lanese was with his wife’s parents and just watched football!

Mrs.Archacki spent New Year’s celebrating her son’s birthday!

Happy New Year!!

What was your favorite

year?

By Samantha W.

Miss Newman: 2010

Julietta: 2009

Niko: 2008

Delaney: 2012

Maia: 2010

Mrs.Grasso: 1993

Anna: 2003

Elijah: 2010

Darrion: 2012

Haley: 2013

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

By Kathy Du

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

for all his good deeds. He gave African-Americans their rights. Before they

had their rights given, African-Americans could not eat in the same place

as the white people, drink from the same fountain as them, go to the same

school as them, and many more. Whites were always the first to do anything. Martin Luther King Jr. did a very, very

good thing for African-Americans. Although on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. After his

death, MLK Day became a holiday. If it wasn’t for Martin Luther King Jr., the world wouldn’t be what it is today.

Page 7 of 19

Checking Up On Winter Break

By: Molly Xiao

Katie Voronkin: Hi Molly!

Me: Hi Katie!

Me: So, what did you do over winter break?

Katie Voronkin: On Christmas Eve, I went sledding with my mom and brother and we went skiing too! Then, we

came home and watched a movie.

Me: Cool, so did you do anything else?

Katie Voronkin: After Christmas, I kind of just hung out with my family and played on the iPad.

Me: Thanks! Bye!

Katie Voronkin: You’re welcome! Anytime!

Me: So what did you do over winter break?

Katie Eippert: I slept, and celebrated Christmas at my mom’s, dad’s, and grandma’s house.

Me: Thank you! I’ll see you later!

Katie Eippert: You’re welcome! Bye!

Me: So, did you do anything over break?

Ryan Davidson: Yes. I played my Xbox and watched TV. I think that’s all.

Me: Ok...Then... Thank you for letting me interview you!

Ryan Davidson: No prob. Bye!

The Best Winter Books

By Wynter Gant

Hi! This is your reporter, Wynter Gant

reporting to you about the BEST Winter

books.

1. Thomas Snowsuit by R.Munsch

2. The Mitten by Jan Brett

3. Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

4. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Hope you had a happy break!

Page 8 of 19

Uggs vs. Snow boots

By Maia Langan

Me: Delaney what do you think is better, Uggs or Snow boots?

Delaney: I like Uggs better.

Me: Why?

Delaney: Because Uggs are soft, warm, and fluffy and you can wear

them in the house or anywhere else.

Me: Thank you for your vote.

Me: Niko, what do you think is better, Uggs or Snow boots? Niko: I

think Snow boots are better because they are waterproof and Uggs

aren’t.

Me: Thank you for your vote.

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan

Review by Lindsey Urban

The Red Pyramid is an awesome book! It contains Egyptian mythology with the story. Carter Kane at age 14

and Sadie Kane at age 12 are Egyptian magicians and are blood of the pharaohs. This book contains different

Egyptian gods and goddesses including: Set- God of Evil, Chaos, and Darkness, Bast- Goddess of Cats, Isis-

Goddess of Motherhood and Love, Horus- the Falcon God, and many more. This book is the first book in a series

called, “The Kane Chronicles”. I love this book and I think you will too.

The New Craze

By Gianna Balog

By now I’m sure you have heard of Rainbow Loom. It’s the new craze! There are so many

things you can make with the Rainbow Loom! You can make bracelets, rings, necklaces,

and charms. You can go on YouTube to look up different ways to make these items. I love

my Rainbow Loom! I have so much fun making all the cool jewelry. Plus you can make

your own stuff and other cool things. If you see other people playing with a Rainbow Loom

you might want one too. Hope you get one!

“Smile”

By Delaney Lancry

The story “Smile” is about a girl named Raina. One night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls and knocks her two front teeth out. She has to go through all these surgeries with her teeth. While this is all happening she has to deal with an earthquake, boy problems, and not so friendly friends. This is a story that takes Raina from 6th grade to high school. Read to find out when Raina finally gets to smile!

Page 9 of 19

Interview with My Aunt Erin

By Laney Sipos

-Her favorite color is green

-Her favorite subject is history

-Her favorite Christmas gift is her new purse

-Her favorite number is 11; she says it used to be her

soccer number

-She has three kids: Ashleigh, Nicholas, and baby

Michael

-Her favorite restaurant is P.F. Changs

-Her favorite thing to do with her family is be with

them

-Her favorite book to read is “Beauty and the Beast”

-Her favorite team is the Browns

-Her favorite thing to do with her kid

s is watching them play sports

-She used to go to school at Mayfield

-Her favorite drink is Diet Coke

-Her favorite flower is a rose

-Her favorite food is vegetables

-Her favorite animal is a dog

Debate over Disney Channel or Nickelodeon

Written by: McCartney Puhalla

Aquira Myles chose...... Disney Channel because “It has a

lot of things that make you laugh and because it reminds me

of Disney World, where I always wanted to go. It also has

my favorite TV stars like….. Cameran Dove, Zendaya, and

Bella Thorne. It also has my favorite TV shows like Shake

It Up and Liv and Maddie. Disney is much better than

Nickelodeon because it inspires me.”

Joey Piscitelli chose…. Nickelodeon because “My favorite

show is the fairy odd parents and Spongebob. I like it

because Disney is for young kids and Nickelodeon is more

my age. Nickelodeon is much better than Disney. I’ve

always wanted to go to Nickelodeon

Studios to meet the person whose the

voice of Sponge Bob and the person

who made Sponge Bob. Sponge Bob

inspires me to make annoying and

funny noises.”

Page 10 of 19

Super Bowl Predictions by Ryan Davidson

Reporter, Myah Goodman

Me: Hi.

Ryan: Hello.

Me: Who do think might make it to the Super Bowl?

Ryan: I think 4 teams: the Seahawks, 49ers, Colts, and Panthers.

Me: Out of all the teams who do you want to win?

Ryan: I want the 49ers to win.

Me: What do you like about this team?

Ryan: I like the 49ers because they have an amazing offense and the best defense!

Me: Ok, if you had a choice to sit anywhere in the stadium where would it be?

Ryan: 5th

row in the middle.

Me: Why?

Ryan: Because you can see the field better.

Me: Ok that’s all I have for you today thanks for your time.

Ryan: You’re welcome bye bye.

Me: Bye bye Ryan.

Photo source: www.pronfl.net

ids

Scarf-tastic! By Riley Anderson

Do you want to learn the newest way I learned how to tie a scarf? It is called the bow tie scarf. Here

is how you can do it:

1. Wrap the scarf around your neck and have one end long and one end short, but not too

short.

2. Take the long end and loop it into a vertical circle.

3. Pinch the middle of the vertical circle.

4. While still pinching, turn it horizontally.

5. Grab the short end of the scarf and wrap it around the center of the bow (bottom to top).

6. Tuck the short piece through the top opening between your neck and the scarf and pull

tight.

There you have it! It sounds hard, but with practice it turns out super cute.

There are a million ways to tie scarves like infinity double loop, skinny scarf necklace, neck wrap,

double scarf loop knot or even the way you make up yourself!

If you want to see the final result of the bow tie, I’ll be wearing it today! Have fun experimenting

with scarves! Rock your own style!

Page 11 of 19

Page 12 of 19

Check out January’s featured cartoonists:

Page 13 of 19

Can’t get enough LLN cartoons? Then check out more here on our website:

More LLN Cartoons

Page 14 of 19

Snowflake Hunt Can you find all of the snowflakes hidden in this month’s newspaper? LLN Puzzles & Games This month Director of Puzzles & Contests, Jimmy Shaw hand-picked a Super Bowl word scramble, an Olympic word search, and a box game for your enjoyment! Coloring Contests This month Jimmy chose pictures to color from Disney’s newest movie, “Frozen”. Grades K-2 are invited to color Olaf the snowman and grades 3-5 are invited to color the group-picture of Frozen characters. Turn in your completed coloring contest entries to the LLN mailbox in room 24 no later than Tuesday, February 18th. The LLN staff will review all submitted entries and will select two to be published in next month’s newspaper! Submit your best artwork and good luck. Congratulations to our January coloring contest winners: K-2 Winner: Marcus (Mrs. Favazzo’s class) 3-5 Winner: Kaylie Cornelius (Mrs. Francetic’s class) They received the most votes from our LLN staff for their neatness and use of color. They each won their own copy of this month’s LLN!

Director of Puzzles

& Contests,

Jimmy Shaw

Thank you to everyone who submitted a picture! We hope

you will participate in this month’s coloring contest.

Next month in LLN: Look for our February 2014 edition of

LLN next month!

Riddle me this By Seth Jones

What goes up and never comes down?

What did the rib cage say to the heart?

A smart landscaper is given the task of placing 4 trees so that they

are all the same distance away from each other. How does he do this?

Our 5th grade LLN Staff:

Reporters: Madison Bean, Camryn Brown, Alvin Cai, Marissa D’alessandro, Kathy Du, Katie

Eippert, Myah Goodman, Seth Jones, Haley Lackner, Paige Lamson, Delaney Lancry, Maia

Langan, Brynn Lorkovich, Alexis Ochi, Marco Ochoa, Natania Pollard, McCartney Puhalla,

Julietta Puletti, Grace Rocco, Shrinidhi Shah, Shane Trivisonno, Jaiden Varanese, Katie Voronkin,

and Samantha Walters.

Cartoonists: Sean Averell, Josh Davidson, Brynn Gillen, and Krystal Tatum.

Director of Surveys: Logan Ferritto

Director of Puzzles & Contests: Jimmy Shaw

Editor-in-Chief: Molly Xiao

Our 4th grade LLN Staff:

Reporters: Riley Anderson, Gia Arnold, Gianna Balog, Kelsey Blanchard, Kaylie Cornelius, Katie

Demello, Cassidy Feng, Wynter Gant, Samantha Konecek, Megan Linsky, Iulia Marginean,

Wale Onamusi, Laney Sipos, Ryan Turek, Lindsey Urban, and Emily Warsheskie.

Cartoonists: Allie Collette, Joey Dilella, Kimberly Faithbell, Madison Ferrell, Emily Folliett, Ayden

Freeman, Steven Ribovich, Camila Sardo-Longo, Gino Tierney, Gia Varanese, Tommy

Vertanessian, and Lexie Warren.

Page 15 of 19

Remember the dot game? Players can take turns

connecting dots in an attempt to complete the

most boxes. (Once you make a box, write your

initial in it to claim the point!)

Grades 3-5 LLN January Coloring Contest Due Date: February 18th

Please write your name and teacher on the back

Grades K-2 LLN January Coloring Contest Due Date: February 18th Please write your name and teacher on the back