March 2012 Vol. 17 Issue 2

Stone Mill Gazette March 2012 Page 1

Stone Mill Elementary School 14323 Stonebridge View Drive North Potomac, MD 20878

HERE’S THE BUZZ ABOUT THE SPELLING BEE by Bennett G.

Imagine standing up in front of a roomful of people all staring at you while you try to

remember how to correctly spell a word. Well, that is exactly what 41 Stone Mill kids in

Grades 3-5 did on Thursday, January 19, 2012 in the All-Purpose Room from 6:30-8:30pm.

In the Spelling Bee, there were 6 rounds of words to spell, with each round eliminating

the kids who spelled the word incorrectly. It all boiled down to one word:

E X T R A V A G A N Z A. That was the final word that fourth-grader Kareef U. spelled right.

The second place winner was fifth-grader Devansh M. and the third place winner was fifth-

grader Kevin C.

Do you know who judged the event? There were 4 judges and they were: Ms. Williams,

Mrs. Budman, Mrs. Abrahams and Mrs. Omerso. There were also PTA volunteers who helped

put the entire event together and they were: Mrs. Susan Bock and Mrs. Neetu Kaur-Singh,

who oversaw the whole thing, and Mr. Dipak Thakkar, who came the night of the event to help

keep score of the Spelling Bee.

You may not know how the kids qualify to be in the Spelling Bee. First, forms are

handed out and kids can register to be in the Spelling Bee. Then, they take a written spelling

test at school and only those who get a lot of words right are asked to participate. Once the kids

are picked, here is how they prepare. They stay after school with Mrs. Abrahams who helps them study more words that might

be used during the event. They are also given a packet with a huge list of words to study during Winter Break.

You may not know this, but Stone Mill has actually been running the Spelling Bee for 4 years now. So, if you want to be

in the Stone Mill Spelling Bee next year, be sure to sign up when they pass out the registration forms. It‟s a lot of work but it‟s

worth it. If you don‟t think so, ask Kareef, Devansh, or Kevin.

Wonderful Ms. Williams By Haley S.

Did you know Ms. Williams went to school at the University of Maryland and stud-

ied psychology? Guess where Ms. Williams grew up? She grew up in New Jersey even

though she does not talk with an NJ accent! Her dad was a salesperson and her mother

was a homemaker. Ms. Williams has one son named Jack who is 12 years old.

One of her best childhood memories was her fifth grade teacher, who was one of

her most influential people, telling her to never give up and that she can do anything she

wants to as long as she believes in herself and tries her hardest!

Her favorite TV show is Glee Productions and her favorite song is “Jar of Hearts”

by Christina Perri. Ms. Williams is a vegetarian and loves Indian food! She also loves to

read and exercise.

Ms. Williams began her career as a clinical counselor for boys and then she became

a 4th and 5th grade teacher. She later became a principal. She was only 28 when she

started to be a teacher and when she became a principal she knew it was a perfect fit for

her! Ms. Williams is the best principal ever!!!!!!

Photo of Kevin C., Kareef U., and

Devansh M. courtesy of Susan Bock

Photo of spelling bee contestants and judges courtesy of Susan Bock. Creation Celebration photos courtesy of Tabatha Yeatts-Lonske.

Photo of Ms. Williams courtesy of Susan Bock

Thanks for

the great

Creation

Celebra-

tion, Mrs.

Siebert &

Mrs. Buzy.

Masthead by Caitlyn G.

Page 2 March 2012 Stone Mill Gazette

Saying Bye by Estefania D.

Isn‟t it funny how „bye‟ and „by‟

sound the same?

OK, maybe you know me, maybe

you don‟t. So, my name is Este-

fania D. I come from Peru, and

that is in South America. I speak Spanish.

When you read this, I‟ll already be back in

Peru. I came here two years ago. My family moved

here for my dad‟s job. But now we are moving back.

I was in Mrs. Omerso‟s 5th grade class and it

was fun! When I was here, I learned to speak Eng-

lish so much better!!!

And also, I met lots of people that are now my

friends. They are crazy and funny. They are so upset

with me for going back to Peru.

While I was here at Stone Mill Elementary

School, I was a patrol, a STAR and a member of the

Newspaper Club. I wrote the interview article called “Mrs. Hill‟s World.” I hope you have

learned a little bit about me. If you want to learn more about me, ask the front office for

my email address! Bye.

GLOBAL WARMING by Rena E. Are you still hoping for a snowstorm to come this

year? Are you hoping for a big break from school? I cer-

tainly am, which brought me to this question: why hasn’t it snowed yet

this year? Well, the main answer to this question is global warming.

Global warming is caused by the pollution that we create every

day by using cars that burn fossil fuels (gas), waste from power plants,

using non renewable resources and much more. Our actions are actually

the main cause of global warming.

You are probably wondering how that prevents us from having a

school cancellation? Well, global warming causes everything to be imbal-

anced in our world. When we have 60 degree winter days the people in

Russia are having extremely cold temperatures.

It’s not just Russia that’s being affected. The polar bears are

having a hard time surviving because of the melting of their habitats.

Since the temperature is getting warmer in places where it shouldn’t,

the whole Earth is getting imbalanced. When condensation occurs – that

is when moisture goes up or evaporates into the clouds and forms pre-

cipitation, it won’t be able to snow. If it’s too warm, it will only rain. The

rule for snow is it has to be below 32 degrees Fahrenheit to snow. Since

global warming makes the temperature higher, it can rarely snow.

What can you do? Try to ride your bike instead of driving to close

places, carpool when you can, use your own bags instead of getting plas-

tic bags at the grocery store and reduce-reuse-recycle! One step at a

time can lead to snow days!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) says:

Did you know?

There's more carbon dioxide in the atmos-

phere now than at any other time in the

past 650,000 years.

You can visit the EPA’s A Student Guide to

Global Climate Change at

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/

Help the Polar Bear cross the maze to the iceberg

The 39 CLUES: A Review By Elena Y.

Have you heard of The 39 Clues series, which is written by different authors? The first book, The

Maze of Bones, is written by Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson series.

It all starts out at Dan and Amy’s beloved grandmother’s funeral, where Amy and Dan Cahill dis-

cover they are part of the most powerful family in the world. Amelia Earhart, Winston Churchill, Mark

Twain, you name it! They’re all a part of the Cahill family.

Also at their grandmother’s funeral, Amy and Dan (and several other family members of the Ca-

hill family) must choose their inheritance. They have to decide between one million dollars or solving a

clue hunt where there is only one winner. The winner becomes the most powerful person in the world.

Amy and Dan pick the clue hunt. But their competition (their relatives) will do anything to win the

hunt.

Will Amy and Dan come out of the challenge the most powerful people in the universe, back in

boring Aunt Beatrice’s clutches, or DEAD? Read The 39 Clues series to find out. Each book includes six book-related

game cards. You can go to http://www.the39clues.com/ to find out more.

Did you know that the

capital of Peru is Lima?

Something interesting

about Peru is that the cli-

mate varies widely —

some parts are tropical

and some places (at the

tops of the mountains) are

arctic!

Peru has three geographic

areas that run roughly

parallel to each other: the

Coastal Desert, the Moun-

tains (which are the An-

des) and the Jungle.

The Peru Flag

Photo of Estefania D. courtesy of Susan Bock

The answer key is on page 6.

BASEBALL WORD SCRAMBLE By Andrew M. and Max L. Hint: Some are 2 words

eurnmho____________ echrcta____________ rldmsaagn____________ guuodt____________ nllifoeu____________ otkrietsu____________ gininn____________ uahcnegp___________ imurpe ____________

Eyes and Their

Story By Hassan S.

When you look in somebody’s eyes,

You can choose to look,

And all the secrets will be revealed.

One that is darting around the room, trying to

avoid eye contact with you,

Has something to hide.

An eye which is staring at you is just daring

you to look,

Just daring you.

An eye which gleams, as if it has taken all

the stars’ light and captured it in their eyes,

Is having fun,

Being happy,

Or just savoring the moment.

But once in a while, you will meet someone

Who deceives you.

Their eyes say they’re fine,

But inside they hide a great sorrow.

And only certain people

Who know can see.

That sorrow hidden in those eyes.

So the next time you look in someone’s eyes,

Remember you can choose to really look.

The Pond Palace

By Lydia W.

The willow sadly weeps

Blowing along the wind

"Woo woo,"

Wind calls out.

The ball begins!

They weep,

They go honk honk

And they drift over the palace.

The beautiful pond

The princess emerges.

With the tip of her love,

The great pond is a queen,

The clouds are worshippers.

The willows are a lot of sisters,

The rocks become dancers,

The grass is the palace floor,

The stone path are decorations,

And so much more.

Great, beautiful pond.

The Train Station By Lydia W.

You sit on a bench,

You wait for the train.

You're drenched under rain,

You want to go home.

But then you hear it,

Chugga chugga chit chit.

You run back,

And hop onto the train

Your next destination:

Somewhere not rainy!

April is National

Poetry Month!

The answer key is on page 6.

Turn to page 6 for the answer key.

By Benny K. and Ryan E.

Congrats to the SMES students

who were Munchkins in Woot-

ton High School‟s production of

The Wizard of Oz!

Stone Mill Gazette March 2012 Page 3

. .

Page 4 March 2012 Stone Mill Gazette

SUDOKU

By Ashley Y.

Soccer Word Search By Dylan O. and Bennett G.

Rsecoc ____________

Ktresir ____________

Aleoig ____________

Ocahc ____________

Ererefe ____________

tecnre imd _________ ____

rgthi kcab _________ ____

ftle cbak _________ ____

Wepesre ____________

htorw ni _________ ____

Tnup ___________

Alog ___________

idels catelk ______ ______

veid ___________

erfe ikck _______ _______

School By Laura P., Allie H., and Julia H.

V C H O R U S M A T H R S C W

B A C K P A C K S V I O E N B

D R A O B K L A H C P L C F T

S U R E P A P N C E N E I L B

D K P A K H I W N G N S F R U

D Q O H S C V R C K P N F L E

C E E O V L F U E L L U O D A

O C S A B A O I A T O O U A Y

M H R K L S P Y E M E C R R R

P A U D G S G E L L A F A T M

U L N Q U R C E N T D R A U S

T K O F O O O Q I C B T S C D

E S O U F O V O S I I I R M R

R Z N Z S M N D L F C L O I Q

S D X W C S L A P I C N I R P

ART CHALK

BACKPACKS CHALKBOARD

BOOKS CHORUS

CAFETERIA CLASSROOMS

COMPUTERS MUSIC

COUNSELOR NURSE

DESK OFFICES

EDUCATION PAPER

ELMO PEN

FIELDTRIP PENCIL

LIBRARY PLAYGROUND

MATH PRINCIPAL

By Kareef U. and

Hersh K.

Answer key on page 6

By Jesse A.

Note: Moms’ definition of what’s yummy and

what’s yucky. (Crazy moms)

SMES Science Fair 2012! Mrs.

Budman visits Brendan and Brady

B‟s project. Photo courtesy of Susan

Bock.

April Showers Word Find

Answer key on page 6

Answer key

on page 6

Answer key on page 6

By Jennifer L.

Stone Mill Gazette March 2012 Page 5

Look out Broadway cuz Stone Mill’s got talent!

We had an amazing talent show on Thursday, February 9, starting at 5:30pm at Stone Mill Elementary School. There were about 50 performances,

with a pretty equal amount of participation from all grades, K-5. The show fea-tured skits, comedy, magic acts, piano, singing, violin, and all types of dances from Hip Hop to Indian. However, Mrs. Debbie Ross (the head of show along with

Mrs. Lori Scheinberg and Mrs. Bari Kotler) said that piano and dance perform-

ances were the most common types of talents shown by kids.

Did you know that 50 performances is not that much compared to what we

have had in the past? When we did the talent show at Wootton HS, there were over 80 performances. So with that many acts, the talent show went on for about

4 hours! And who wants to sit for 4 hours? So the chair people decided after that to limit the show to the first 50 performance request forms submitted (first-come,

first-served).

Do you know why the talent show is no longer at Wootton? Well, if you don’t, here’s the answer. The increase of the price to rent the Wootton auditorium

made it an easy decision for the parent volunteers to keep the show at Stone Mill

which could be rented by our school for free.

Can you guess how many volunteers it takes to run the talent show? Hope-

fully your guess was around 15-20, because that’s the answer! They helped Mrs. Ross, who’s been doing it since 2007, about 4 to 5 years now. Without Mrs. Ross, Mrs. Scheinberg, and Mrs. Kotler, along with all the many volunteers, the talent

show could not have been as successful as it was.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered! We had so much fun performing in

and watching the talent show.

by Caitlyn G. and Rita Z.

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure By: Aman T. Rated E10+, Systems: Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS Skylanders: Spyro`s Adventure is an amazing game!! It comes on differ-ent systems like the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, and, last but not least, the 3DS. But in this article I will review the Wii version of Skylanders: Spyro`s Adventure. The game is about a world named Skylands and these creatures called Skylanders, who are the protectors of Skylands. There are two Portal Masters. One is good and one is evil. The good Portal Master is Eon. The bad Portal Master is Kaos. A Portal Master is someone who controls the Portal Of Power, the Skylanders, protects and controls Skylands, and protects the Core Of Light. Kaos is trying to and has always been trying to destroy Skylands. In the game you are a good Portal Master. Kaos destroys the Core Of Light and the Sky-landers come to Earth. It`s your job to bring them back to life to re-store the Core Of Light and restore Skylands and everything else back to normal!!!!!!! RATING: 10 Skylanders out of 10 Skylanders

Lovely Ms. Lewis By Amanda L. and Lauren R. Ms. Lewis has been working here at Stone Mill for over 10 YEARS! She came to work here in January 2001. Ms. Lewis loves teaching art! But she hasn’t always

taught art, though. She used to do inventory for a computer company. When she was younger, she wanted to be a teacher, and decided to teach art

later on in her life. Ms. Lewis has always been interested in art. When she was little she did lots of arts and crafts with her mom. When she first came to Stone Mill, she worked as a substitute teacher. Then

she became a part-time art teacher at three schools: Stone Mill, Twinbrook Elemen-tary School, and Olney Elementary School. Her second year of teaching art was at

Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School. The year after that, Stone Mill’s previous art teacher retired, and Ms. Lewis took her place here, where she belongs!!!! Ms. Lewis only went to college for one year, and then went to work for a long

time. She didn’t like it, so she went back to college to get her degree in Art and then became our WONDERFUL art teacher!!!! Photo of Ms. Lewis courtesy of Susan Bock

Jokes n’ Riddles by Katie B. and Rachel H. What do mice use to floss their teeth?

What do you call a lazy kangaroo?

What is an owl’s favorite class in school?

Why did the cat spend so much money at the computer store?

Why is an owl the most forgetful bird?

Which bird has the highest IQ?

What is a spotted cat’s favorite game

show?

What do you call fat jack-o-lanterns?

String cheese!

A pouch potato!

Owlgebra!

He kept eating his mouse!

Because it keeps asking, “Who? Who?”

Owl-bert Einstein

Leopardy!

Plumpkins!

By Andrew M. and Jesse A.

Congrats to Tori S.! She

won a MoCo Reflections

Literature Award of Merit!

Photo of Ms. Hayman and Mrs. LaDuca

courtesy of Susan Bock

Photo of Sean, Ian, and Jeremy C. cour-

tesy of Susan Bock

Meet Mrs. Huang! By Hana L. and Ashley Y.

Did you know that Mrs. Huang taught at 5 schools including

Stone Mill? She taught at Jones Lane Elementary School, Hoover

Middle School, Cabin John Middle School (the middle school you‟ll be

going to unless you move somewhere far away), Lakelands Park Mid-

dle School, and of course Stone Mill Elementary School.

Mrs. Huang has 6 members in her family. She has a husband

named Rich. She also has three children. Her children are Rachel (in

Kindergarten), Kayla (in 4th grade), and Brian (in 6th grade). Last,

but not least, she has a dog named . . . . . . . . . . Cupcake!!!!!!!!!

Do you know why she wanted to start teaching? That‟s because

her Kindergarten teacher inspired her!

Guess what her favorite movie is?! If you guessed, the Anne of Green Gables series,

you are right! She likes it because it is a wonderful story!

Do you know what Mrs. Huang likes to do with her family? She likes to go on walks,

go on vacations, and go to the movies with her family.

Now that you know about Mrs. Huang, when you see her, make sure you say hi!

An Interview with Mrs. Purdham by Angela C. and Anna C.

Do you know Mrs. Purdham? If not, let us tell you about her. She

was born in Frederick, Maryland. She is married and lives with her husband, Mr.

Purdham. Together, they have a Chihuahua.

Mrs. Purdham is a fourth grade teacher at Stone Mill Elementary School.

Teaching is her first job and she has been a teacher for seven years. She always

wanted to be a teacher because she had wonderful teachers when she was a child and

she likes to teach concepts in a fun and interesting way which she thinks is the easi-

est part of her job. But saying good-bye at the end of each year is the hardest part for

her. Her pet peeve is when students are late to class.

Mrs. Purdham likes to teach first and second grade because she can teach stu-

dents how to read. Fourth grade is another one of her favorite grades to teach though

because she enjoys having funny conversations with her students.

Her favorite part of school is Math because there is always a

right answer. Her favorite sports are football and hockey; her fa-

vorite teams are the Redskins and the Capitals. Her favorite movie

is Finding Nemo and her favorite book is The Giver. Her favorite

food is bananas.

During her leisure time, Mrs. Purdham likes to be with Mr.

Purdham. They go hiking, go to the beach, and eat at new restau-

rants. Over this coming summer, Mrs. Purdham plans to go to

Turks and Caicos because of its beautiful scenery.

The next time you see Mrs. Purdham, say hi to her and wave.

Soccer Word Search from page 4 By Dylan O. and Bennett G.: soccer, striker, goalie, coach, refe-ree, center mid, right back, left back, sweeper, throw in, punt, goal, slide tackle, dive, free kick

Page 6 March 2012 Stone Mill Gazette

ANSWER KEYS

Fourth Graders

Jesse A. * Katie B. * Katia B. * Anna C. * Angela C. * Ryan E. * Elaine

G. * Or G. * Bennett G. * Allie H. * Julia H. * Ivy H. * Kayla H. * Rachel

H. * Benny K. * Amy K. * Hersh K. * Andy L. * Hana L. * Max L. * Kel-

ley L. * Jason M. * Saba M. * Andrew M. * Amrita M. * Dylan O.* Tas-

nim O.* Laura P. * Kavya R. * Jennifer R. * Haley S. * Ryan S. * Jessica

S. * Aman T. * Kareef U. * Lydia W. * Miranda W. * Victoria X. * Julie

Y. * Ashley Y. * Ashley Y.

Fifth Graders

Nabil A. * Nicole D. * Estefania D.* Rena E. * Lilly G. * Caitlyn G. *

Somya J. * Pearl K. * Jennifer L. * Amanda L.* Caitlynn L. * Lauren R. *

Hassan S. * Callie W. * Elena Y.* Lena Y. * Rita Z.

Advisors

Carol Greenspun * Michael Greenspun * Tabatha Yeatts-Lonske

Baseball Word Scramble from page 3 By Andrew M. and Max L.: home run, catcher, grand slam, dugout, foul line, strike out, inning, change up, umpire

STONE MILL

GAZETTE CLUB

Sudoku by Ashley

Y. from page 4

April Showers by

Kareef U. and Hersh

K. from page 4

By Ashley Y. and Kelley L.

Some Theories Just Aren’t True

by Rita Z.

From page 3

Stone Mill Gazette Club wishes you a very happy Spring Break!

Polar Bear Maze

from page 2

By Rena E.

From page 4

Photo of Mrs. Huang cour-

tesy of Susan Bock

Mrs. Purdham and her students on Crazy Hair Day.

Photo courtesy of Susan Bock.

.

. .