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The Ribbit Report

November 2011

Volume XI Issue 1

BURNING TREE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Mrs. Lowndes is in the House by Molly Herson

This year, Burning Tree School got a new Assistant Principal. Her name is Mrs. Lowndes. She is our Assistant Principal, but she has been a teacher in many schools, like Seven Locks and our sister school, Broad Acres. She has spent a lot of time with elementary school kids.

One of the reasons she chose to be an Assistant Principal is that she loves kids and she loves watching them succeed. She says that one of her favorite parts of being an Assistant Principal is “seeing the Continued on p. 5

The New Frog Leader by Rachel Scissors

Our new principal, Dr. Lewis, is glad to be part of Burning Tree. Before she became a principal, she was a teacher. What inspired her to be a principal was that, while she was a teacher, the principal told her that she should be the next principal. Also, her mother was a principal.

Before she was the principal of Burning Tree, she was the principal of Wheaton Woods Elementary. Continued on p. 5

Dr. Lewis. Photo by Sophia Klubes.

Around the World in One Night by Simon Cantor

Thursday, October 20, was International Night at Burning Tree Elementary School. International Night is a feast of colors and countries. At first, the school looks normal, with the exception that kids and parents are milling all about the hallway. But that is the signal for the start the Continued on p. 4

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Mrs. Lowndes lands at Burning Tree. Photo by Kyle Herson.

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The Friendly Competition by Louis Moon

Here we go again. The posters now hanging are creating big traffic jams. It must be time to vote for our SGA representatives. Voting will take place during the; week of November 1st. At this time students in all grades will be able to hear the speeches of all candidates for SGA office. Only fourth graders can run for either Secretary or Treasurer. The students in SGA work with the faculty advisor, Ms. Whalen, to make important decisions like how to help the community through fund raising. Students in the SGA also contribute their hard work to food drives and other PTA sponsored community activities.

The job of the Secretary is to record what goes on at the meetings, which are held every month. The Secretary must be good at writing quickly. There are four candidates for Secretary. One of the candidates for Secretary, Neo Toborek said “I ran for this office because it sounded fun and because it’s really exciting”. He said he would try his hardest to write down what they say in the meetings. Isabella Johnson-Hughes, also running for Secretary says she is good at typing. She believes her biggest competition is Neo since he's the only boy running for Secretary.

Another candidate for Secretary Meredith Battaile, said that she ran for this office because she wants to “help people know what is happening”. Her campaign strategy is to be a “good sport” and try her hardest. Serena Lee, one of the four candidates for Secretary says that she is a strong writer. Everyone wants to win but Serena has a good attitude about winning or losing. She said “if I win I will try my hardest to be a great Secretary but if I lose I will get to spend more time with my friends.”

The job of the Treasurer will be to keep track of what the SGA does with the money. Sometimes the SGA runs a fundraiser. The Treasurer will count the money so they have to be good at math to do this job. Chris Kluever, a candidate for Treasurer, said he ran for this office because “I love math and love working”. His campaign strategy is to make funny posters so look out for them.

Candidate Quinn Okon says she wants to help raise money for the school. Her campaign strategy includes being nice to everybody. If he wins, candidate Charlie Thomas will make a box for people to put in ideas for fundraisers. Emily Chen is also running for Treasurer and she says that “I chose to run for the SGA Treasurer because I love to do math and to help the school.” With just enough time to make this issue, the results are in. Congratulations to Secretary Isabel Hughes, Treasurer Quinn Okon, Vice President Kristin Sequeria, and President Ally Zambri.

And the Votes Are In by Serena Lee Who will be the next President and Vice President for the Student Government Association (S.G.A.)? There are four presidential candidates and five vice presidential candidates. I interviewed one presidential candidate and one vice presidential candidate. I randomly chose these two people: Ally Zambri for President and Megumi Hibino for Vice President. I wanted to know how each of them felt being on the executive board. Ally said, “It is awesome and amazing.” Megumi said that it is “really exciting” because she had never been on the S.G.A. before. I asked both candidates about what they wanted to accomplish if they got elected. Both Ally and Megumi said that they want to make this school a better place. Finally, both Ally and Megumi want to make Burning Tree more eco-friendly. So, who do you think will be the next S.G.A. President and Vice President?

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Right: Newly elected officers seated from left to right: Secretary Isabel Hughes, Treasurer Quinn Okon, Vice-President Kristin Sequeria and President Ally Zambri. Left: The Executive Board. Photos by Kyle Herson.

SGA

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Time Travel in Third Grade by Madeleine Wenger and Emily Chen

On October 10, the third grade had their Wax Museum. The Ribbit Report interviewed some of the students from Mrs. Hill’s class. The children were very creative with their costumes and speeches. They researched Ludwig van Beethoven, Hedda Hopper, Albert Einstein, Harry Houdini, George Mendal, Alexander Fleming and many more. Mira Kux played the role of Hedda Hopper. She chose this celebrity because she thought the costume would be interesting and she knew that Hedda Hopper was on a radio show, has a newspaper column, was in many movies and very famous. She loved playing this role. Continued on p. 6

Photo by Sophia Klubes.

A Step Ahead for the Homeless by Ava Chambers and Ava Zambri

Step by step, on a sunny day, students and teachers at Burning Tree helped the homeless. On October 17th, after being rained out the week before, Burning Tree held the Mini Walk for the Homeless. The walk was at lunch time. It started at the school, went down Beech Tree Road to Winterberry Lane, and then back up the hill to the school. It was good way for Burning Tree to show that we care for others. It helps the homeless by reminding people that there are homeless people in our area, and it raises money to help them. Mrs. Whalen was in charge of the walk. “I thought it was important for the school to do, so I volunteered to organize it.” she said. “Everyone in the school walks, and some people donate money for the homeless.” First time walker, kindergartener, Eden Chambers, says “I had fun getting the exercise and helping the homeless at the same time”. All and all, it was a successful event, and a marvelous day for the school.

Costume Craze by Katie Klepp On Friday, October 28, Burning Tree was filled with kids wearing all different costumes, from monsters to i-pods. Fifth grader Laney Segret, in Mrs. Reed’s class, says, “It was fun seeing all the great costumes.” It was the Halloween Parade and class parties. The day starts off normally, except kids bring their costumes in bags with them. After the last lunch period, the kids change into their costumes and march around school with their grade for the Halloween Parade. Isabel Sanfuentes, a fifth grader in Mrs. Shapiro’s class, says, “There were very cool costumes, and the teachers looked great. The weather good, probably because Mother Nature herself, Mrs. Whitby, was at the event. The teachers’ costumes went from Superwoman, Ms. Levenstein, to Sacajawea, Mrs. Reed. We even had Superteacher, Mrs. Kunst.

After the parade, kids go back to their classes and have their class Halloween party. At The Halloween parties, kids play ghoulish games and eat fangtastic food, fangs to all the parents that help out. When it was time to go, no one was sad, because Halloween night and trick-or-treating was still to come. Second graders Cailey Thalman and Caitlin Rose

dress for Halloween. Photo by Vera Zhong.

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Around the World continued from p. 1 parade. The parade is a very long line of kids wearing traditional clothes or just holding the flag of that country, or both, that represent the many countries on display at International Night. From the parade, we can see that there are so many people in Burning Tree who are from different countries, and it is like the world in one building. Japan is a very ancient country with lots of culture to it. The Japanese booth is a replica of Japanese culture, food and entertainment. I interviewed Makoto Negeshi, a student in the fifth grade, and he said, “Manga, a Japanese cartooning style, is very popular in Japan and all over the world.” Manga is also the Japanese word for comic, if you translate the word. The Japanese booth also has on display the very popular origami art place, where people can make origami. Origami is simply folding and creasing paper to make an object. The most popular origami is the crane and box. And of course, the traditional Japanese food, such as sushi and California rolls, were served in the booth. Almost everyone who walked by the booth grabbed one or two. Some even came back for more. I also spent quite some time in the Chinese booth. The Chinese booth represents China’s rich cultural diversity and, again, had lots of food. I talked to Na Liu, a Huayuan Chinese school teacher, who was representing Chinese stories, who said, there are many famous Chinese novels. The one on display tonight was Xi You Gi. The book was published in 1590 A.D. and is very loosely based on the Continued on p. 6

Traveling the World in School by Jessica Solomon

On October 11, 2011, the world came to Burning Tree. There were as practically as many nations represented as there are around the globe. And the best part of these nations, as always, is food. You could have seaweed from Korea, Swedish fish from Sweden, or sushi from Japan. Best of all, you could have every one of them.

There was also talent on display from many countries. The acts were performed by students from Burning Tree wearing a great variety of costumes. All of this was led off by a great parade. If anybody wanted to appreciate the many cultures of Burning Tree they were right in front of us.

Performers at International Night. Photo by Santi Karamchetty.

International Night Q&A by Clara Koritz Hawkins

Do you remember what happened on October 20? Yup, it was International Night for Burning Tree, the evening when international families at Burning Tree display their country and celebrate their culture.

I talked to Mrs. Fuerrer, coming from Switzerland, who was part of the preparation. Q: Why do think all these people are signing up this year? A: It was a big hit last year so I knew it would be a huge hit this year. Q: Was it stressful planning this big event? A: Yes, but in the end its fun. I walked around and looked at all the booths. I stopped at the Swedish booth and talked to Mrs. Ryden. Q: Is IKEA the only company that comes from Sweden? A: Skype and Volvo, the car company, both come from Sweden as well. Continued on p. 6

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The New Frog Leader continued from p. 1 She came to Burning Tree because she thought it was a good school and she wanted to be part of it.

Some of the things Dr. Lewis really likes about being principal are being with the students and working with the teachers. The only thing she doesn’t like about being principal is having to talk to students who made bad choices.

Every day, Dr. Lewis goes into classrooms, has meetings about students, talks to parents, and answers email. Dr. Lewis is a wonderful principal.

Mrs. Lowndes continued from p. 1 smiles on the children’s faces”. Kids see Mrs. Lowndes every day at recess, in the hall, and always in the cafeteria. Mrs. Lowndes says “Burning Tree is the best school ever!”

She has made Burning Tree a lot more responsible with our recycling and energy savings. The environment is very important to Mrs. Lowndes, and she wants to see Burning Tree go even greener. She hopes that by the end of the year, everybody is an expert recycler.

Mrs. Lowndes is married and has two children. One is a boy named Robert, who is 13 years old, and a girl named Charlotte, who is 11. You might have seen Mrs. Lowndes speaking Spanish to kids and grown-ups many times in the hall. She learned how to speak Spanish during one of her years at college at the University of Cordoba in Spain.

The teachers and kids are very happy to have her at school too. One of the students, Julia McGowan in Mrs. Shapiro’s fifth grade class, thinks Mrs. Lowndes is so nice, and she loves her. She also said, “I am so glad that Mrs. Lowndes does not yell.” When Julia heard that Mrs. Lowndes was coming, she was excited to meet her and to find out what she was like. Julia really loves the changes that Mrs. Lowndes is making. Continued on p. 7

Getting to Know You by Gianna Fuerrer

Ms. Reed, the new 5th grade teacher, lived in Miami, Florida and was not a teacher before. She became a teacher because she believes in the importance of learning as a part of life’s success. Ms. Reed thinks the most important thing about teaching is to have a positive environment focused on teaching and learning. She chose Burning Tree because she wanted to find a school in her area. Her personal goal for being a teacher is to be a positive influence for her students so they Continued on p. 7

Ms. Polovoy is a new Speech Teacher. Photo by Matthew Eisner.

Let’s See The Ring by Meredith Battaile and Cristina Forero-Torres

Ribbit Report interviewed Ms. Levenstein, Mrs. Olesker to be. Her fiancé’s name is Erik. Erik proposed in Puerto Rico, on a morning walk on the beach. Ms. Levenstein was asked how she reacted to the proposal. She says, “I started to cry, hugged him, and said yes.” When asked how she feels about getting married, she says, “I am excited to spend my life with him.”

Let’s see the ring.

Soon to be married.

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Time Travel continued from p. 3 Next, we interviewed Brielle Ohana who was the smart Albert Einstein. Brielle decided to research Einstein because he was a genius and he seemed very interesting. Some interesting facts about Einstein are that he didn’t say his first words until he was 3 or 4 years old. Also, he wasn’t very excellent in math when he was a child because he suffered with dyslexia. Beethoven came back with Rachel Scissors in Mrs. Hill’s class. She said she plays the piano herself, so Beethoven would be a nice character to study. When Beethoven died, more than 1000 people came to his funeral, and all the schools were closed for the day. Alexander Fleming invented a very important medicine, penicillin. Daniel Chen was the scientist. “I want to be a scientist like Alexander Fleming when I get older, and I would like to be a doctor,” says Daniel. Alexander Fleming was interested in bacteria and finding a cure for all those citizens who died because of bacteria. An interesting fact about Alexander Fleming is that he discovered penicillin by accident. The story behind this was that he left some stray bacteria on a dish before a trip. He had forgotten to close the windows so while he was gone, the air was humid and mold crawled up to this petri dish. When Alexander Fleming came back, he found Continued on p. 8

Around the World continued from p. 4 true story of a Buddhist monk named Tang Seng who, with the help of a powerful monkey king and two other followers, was going to India to master Buddhism and bring a real Buddhist Bible to China. Almost everyone in China knows the stories in this book. And movies and TV shows were made based on the stories. The Chinese food is always a big hit in each year’s International Night. This is year wasn’t an exception. My sweet mouth couldn’t resist those pink taro buns, black-bean, red-bean-paste-flavored and pineapple-flavored bread. There were also dumplings filled with vegetables and meat, and other traditional Chinese snacks that you can only find in Chinese stores. The food was very delicious, and so many people were cutting in line just to reach the food. At the booth, someone was also writing Chinese characters for people using the ink and brush technique on rice paper. It was worth visiting this active and memorable booth. The booth is like China, as it was very, very crowded, like China.

Time for TumbleBooks By Katie Klepp

TumbleBooks has come to Burning Tree. “What’s TumbleBooks?” you ask. Ribbit Report asked the same question, so we sent a reporter to see Ms. Barry, our Media Center teacher, for information. Ms. Barry told our reporter that TumbleBooks is an electronic book library on the internet. TumbleBooks stories can be read, or a voice can read the story out loud. TumbleBooks can either be picture or young chapter books too. Continued on p. 7

TumbleBooks is a library on the Internet. Photo by Matthew Eisner.

International Night Q&A continued from p. 4 Then I went to the Bulgarian booth. I spoke to Mrs. Lee. Q: Is Bulgarian a hard to learn language? A: Well, of course it can be difficult but it is not that hard. The biggest difference is the fact that it uses cyrillic letters. Lastly I went to the German booth and I interviewed my mom who was doing the booth. Q: Is Germany different from the USA? A: One of the bigger differences is that stores here are open on Sundays which they are not in Germany. Q: What do you miss the most about Germany? A: I miss really good wholesome bread with a real crust.

I had the best time at International Night, did you?

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Getting to Know You continued from p. 5 can to be a positive influence for her students so they can reach their goals.

Ms. Locke, a new resource teacher, has lived in Bethesda, Maryland all her life. She wanted to become a teacher ever since she was in third grade. She loves helping others and working with kids. She chose Burning Tree Elementary School because she was impressed by the staff and could not wait to meet new students. The most important thing about teaching in her opinion is to pay attention to her students. Her goal as a teacher is to learn from the other teachers as well as her students. One of the events she remembers the most since she came to Burning Tree was when there was an earthquake during one of her first staff meetings. What a nice welcome!

Mrs. Lowndes continued from p. 5 One of our second grade teachers at Burning Tree is Mrs. Kiviat. She thinks that Mrs. Lowndes is wonderful, encouraging, dedicated, and a very important part of Burning Tree. She also thinks that Mrs. Lowndes is so kind to everyone. She feels very lucky to have her at school. When Mrs. Kiviat heard that we were getting a new Assistant Principal, she was excited about her coming and very excited to meet her. She thinks that recycling is very important. Mrs. Kiviat loves how children are learning how to recycle and thinks it’s important to Burning Tree.

TumbleBooks continued from p. 6 Another question is, “Why all of a sudden do we have TumbleBooks?” Have you noticed the new computers at school? Well, Ms. Barry explains that these new computers came with new software and new online resources. One of those new resources was TumbleBooks. The last thing we have to tell you is the best, that you can use TumbleBooks at home. All you have to do is Continued on p. 8

Ms. Locke is one of Burning Tree’s resource teachers. Photo by Matthew Eisner.

Swimming In The Theaters By Alexa Fleck

The movie Dolphin Tale is inspired by a true story about a dolphin that was captured in a crab trap. In the trap he damaged his tail. A fisherman rescues him, but a boy named Sawyer takes the dolphin named Winter under his wing to try and save him.

Sawyer meets Hazel whose dad is the owner of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Sawyer and Hazel were both devoted to Winter and gave him a lot of care, love and attention. With the help of Sawyer and Hazel, the rescue center for Winter tried to get him back to good health so he can go back in to the ocean and lead a normal dolphin life.

When all this was happening, Sawyer’s cousin Kyle who was in the army in Afghanistan was severely injured and had to come home unexpectedly because he had to get a prosthetic leg. This is when Sawyer got the idea of creating a prosthetic tail for Winter. He talked to Kyle’s doctor Cameron McCarthy. In life there are miracles. What do you think happens next?

Movie Reviews

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Time Travel continued from p. 6 out that the mold had destroyed and eaten all the bacteria. The mold was called penicillum mold.

We also interviewed Ben Stricker who played out George Mendel. He chose George Mendel because he wants to be a scientist just like him, and it interested him how much he loved plants. Ben thinks George Mendel was very motivated and creative. Ben liked how much George Mendel wanted to try out different materials with plants. The Ribbit Report also interviewed Kushan Weerakoon who acted as the well-known Harry Houdini. He thought Harry Houdini was fun and strong because he loved magic and how he could escape traps. For example, Harry Houdini could escape from jail cells, packing crates, metal chains and many other things.

Second graders, we hope you look forward to the Wax Museum next year.

Blue Ridge Word Scramble by Zoe Cantor

I went to Skyline Drive in Virginia last Saturday, October The following Blue Ridge Word Scramble is inspired by my trip. DHESONDNHA CLAAAAPPNIH KNSLYEI VERID TRNOF LRYAO YSNOT NMA TUISMM ACLBK RBEA LUBE GDREI TOMUIANS HWTEI TDEALI EDRE Answers on p. 10

School Word Scramble by Pablo Roig

rgfo

keds

sbu

mheorwko

tydus

tceahre

amht

okbos

eercss

chlun

sikd

osloch

gdeinra

Answers on p. 10

Maze by Ryan O’Meara

TumbleBooks continued from p. 7 go to the Burning Tree web page, http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/burningtreees/, click on the link for TumbleBooks, and you’ll be ready to go. When asked what she likes about TumbleBooks, Kiara Chuang, a first grader in Ms. Askin’s class, says, “I like the stories.” Emily Chessoni, a second grader in Ms. Curry’s class, says, “It is fun, and I love it.”

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Sports Word Search By Micaela Murrugarra

BASEBALL SOCCER

BOWLING SWIMMING GOLF TENNIS POLO TRACK SKIING S G G N I L W O B W O Z N P O L O A I L C T E N N I S M F A C A W P A E M A S W E M O C B I I E L T R C U A N K C A R T D R L G Z S K I I N G L

A Maze: Help the Skelton Find Its Bones By Andrew Moon

Answers on p. 10

A Message about International Walk to School Day From Mrs. Stacie Gould, Vice President of School Based Programs

After all the rain, the sun was shining on Wednesday October 5th for Burning Tree's 11th annual International Walk to School Day and it was a great success! We had such a terrific turnout. Two hundred and ninety two (292) Burning Tree families, teachers, Mrs. Lowndes and Dr. Lewis walked to school.

Many people wore green clothing to show their school spirit during the walk and Dr. Lewis even had on green sneakers! Before the walk, healthy snacks and fun giveaways like foam balls, cinch sacks, and rubber bracelets were given out.

We are grateful to Ms. Loftus for leading the warm ups before the walk. After the warm ups, the sidewalks were filled with kids, parents and teachers walking safely and having a wonderful time going to school as one community once again!

Halloween Word Search By Daniel Chen

y m t s g b t z z w q n v a g s k e r e l f g l t e c e z g m h a j u m e t n d c s q b r w y d b n i k p m u p g v z g y i d y w p y v f j n g u o t d n t h e k o f f t g c d c l j e o c o y r a c s h d k l r b h t o h y z e b p o l r x s i p p n g o o s w v s i s k l z s j j u y r q u c t f e j a f l k p h a g z a b m l b w u c t j p b u h n v t e g l l s t r e a t s d o a t m j w c u r x d a b y p x o e h w m u n r k v d a n n n i w z k a c u

candy ghost haunted pumpkin  scary skeleton  spooky  treats unusual  witch  

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Comic-Down Dog By Roman Conway and Nikhil Saldana

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The Ribbit Report 2011-2012 Staff Editor-In-Chief: Mary Zambri News Editors: Vicki Herson and Patti Klepp Layout Editors: Marisa Del Savio and Scott Singer 5th Grade Reporters: Simon Cantor, Molly Herson, Katie Klepp, Jessica Solomon, Ally Zambri 4th Grade Reporters: Meredith Battaile, Emily Chen, Cristina Forero-Torres, Gianna Fuerrer, Clara Koritz Hawkes, Serena Lee, Louis Moon, Micaela Murrugarra, Madeleine Wenger 3rd Grade Reporters: Ava Chambers, Daniel Chen, Roman Conway, Alexa Fleck, Sophia Klubes, Nikhil Saldana, Rachel Scissors, Ava Zambri 2nd Grade Reporters: Zoe Cantor, Matthew Eisner, Kyle Herson, Andrew Moon, Ryan O'Meara, Pablo Roig, Vera Zhong

ANSWERS TO BLUE RIDGE WORD SCRAMBLE: Shenandoah, Appalachian, Skyline Drive, Front Royal, Stony Man Summit, Black Bear, Blue Ridge Mountains, White tailed Deer ANSWERS TO SCHOOL WORD SCRAMBLE: Frog, Desk, Bus, Homework, Study, Teacher, Math, Books, Recess, Lunch, Kids, School, Reading

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