December 2007 - Norman Bridge Elementary

V o l um e 6 4 , I s s ue 1
S p e c i a l Wi n t e r Ho li d a y Is s u e
D e c e m be r , 2 0 0 7
BRIDGE BUGLE
A CPS ―Rising Star” school, a “School of Distinction”, a CPS “Exemplary
81
Years
―Bruno‖
Achievement Award” Winner, an “Autonomous Management Performance School” (AMPS) and
An Illinois Honor Roll of Schools ―Academic Improvement Award” & ―Spotlight School Award” Winner!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Brake’s Take
2
December Calendar
3
Students of the Month
5
Honor Roll
10-11
Perfect Attendance
12-13
News from the Grades
14-19
32,500 Challenge
20
Special points of interest:
• National Board Success!
• “Principals for a Day”
• Santa Shop Info
• Family Movie Night Info
• Lunch with the Principal
• Student Articles/News
• Lots of other great stuff!
BRIDGE SCHOOL TEACHERS GAIN
N A T I O NA L B OA R D CE RT I FI CA T I O N !
On November 9th two of
Bridge School‘s finest were
notified that they had
achieved National Board
Certification.
7th/8th grade departmental science teacher Mrs.
Iammartino earned National Board ―Science/
Adolescence and Young
Adulthood‖ certification.
6th grade teacher/
chairperson Mrs. Green
earned National Board
―English Language Arts/
Early Adolescence‖ certification.
The NBCT certification
program is a rigorous yearlong process that culminates
in a 10-year Master Teacher
Certificate designation.
Mrs. Tracy Iammartino, National Board Certified Teacher
Congratulations!
Mrs. Iammartino
&
Mrs. Green
Happiness doesn’t depend
on what we have, but it does
depend on how we feel towards what we have. We can
be happy with little and miserable with much.
-W.D. Hoard
Mrs. Laurie Green, National Board Certified Teacher
Santa Shop
December 10th-14th
10:00-1:00
Page 2
V o l um e 6 4 , Is s ue 1
B RAKE ’ S T AKE
Students/Teachers
Staff/Parents
Would you like to
have a poem, article,
short story, event, or
other item of interest
published in the
Bridge Bugle?
Submit your item to
Dr. Brake
on computer disk
Happy
Holidays!
To all the Bridge School
Students, Staff, and Families!
Best Wishes,
-Dr. Christopher Brake-
(Microsoft Word format preferred)
no later than the third
week of the month for
publication in the next
month‘s school newspaper.
December Non-Attendance Days for Students
CPS Staff Development Day
Friday, December 7th
No school for students
Do you have any
ideas, suggestions,
or comments on
ways to improve our
school and the services that our children receive? If so,
please call, write a
letter, or see me to
share your ideas.
Your input is greatly
appreciated.
Thank You!
Dr. Brake
Winter
Vacation
December 24th - January 4th
School Resumes 1/7/08
Happy Holidays to all the
Bridge School Family!
Tag Week is Back!
December 17th-21st
Buy a Tag
Don’t Wear Uniform!
December 2007
Happy Holidays!
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4
5
9
10
11
12
6
7
CPS
Staff
Development
Day
No School
for Students
8
13
14
15
LSC/PAC
Meetings
5:30 PM
Family
Movie
Night
Santa Shop This Week—10:00-1:00
16
17
18
23
24
20
21
Class of 2008 Class of 2008
Popcorn
Popcorn
Sale
Sale
Market Day
Pick-Up
2-3:00 PM
In Gym
Tag Week
19
Tag Week
25
Tag Week
26
22
Snowflake
Dance
Tag Week Tag Week
27
28
29
Winter Holiday—No School
30
31
New
Year’s
Eve
Winter Holiday—No School
Indicates day of non-attendance for students
School
Resumes
Monday
1/7/08
Indicates After-School Program day
Bridge Elementary School
3800 N. New England Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60634
(773) 534-3718 Fax:(773) 534-3612
Dr. Christopher Brake, Principal
Mrs. Margaret Moore-Taylor, Assistant Principal
November 26, 2007
-Lunch with the Principal-
Steven Barrios & Dr. Christopher Brake
See page 16 for Steven‘s article!
December Students of the Month
Mateusz Babula
Omar Santiago
Alexandra Zugaj
Nicole Nguyen
Radek Bobowski
Leonardo Peralta
Owas Abuhashish
Joshua Kornatowski
Veronika Piszczek
Josue Rodriguez-Gonzalez
Patty Amador
Tommy Green
Samantha Alanis
Nykkol Roldan
Natalie Zajac
Dawid Babula
Anthony Jarvis
Robert Lech
Amy Harenberg
Brianna Green
Carolyn Rodriguez
Amal Ahmed
Nicole Swiderski
Ivan Gonzalez
Kamil Michalek
Kenneth Watkins
Paul Dubicki
Bridge Elementary School Students of the Month are selected for their outstanding attendance, academic performance, and conduct.
Bridge
Family
Movie
Night*
What: “High School Musical 2‖
When: Friday, December 14th
From 6:00 PM—
Who: Bridge School Students
and Families only! Students must
be accompanied by an adult parent or guardian.
Where: Bridge Auditorium
How Much:
Free!
-Copyright Royalty Licensing fees paid to Movie Licensing USA-
*Family Movie
Night is held on
the second Friday
of every month.
“Principal for A Day” Mr. Harry Teinowitz
Mac, Jurko & Harry Show, ESPN SportsRadio 1000
On November 25, 2007 Bridge School was honored to have Mr. Harry Teinowitz as our CPS ―Principal For A Day‖. Mr. Teinowitz is a co-host of ESPN SportsRadio 1000‘s, Mac, Jurko & Harry radio show. Mr. Teinowitz also happens to be an old college
buddy of Dr. Brake‘s. The CPS ―Principal For A Day‖ program was held on November 30th this year, but Mr. Teinowitz wanted to
visit on the 25th so he could enjoy our annual OctoberFest Fun Fair activities. Mr. Teinowitz stated that he wished he lived closer so
his children could attend Bridge School!
“Principal for A Day” Dr. Harvey Drucker
Associate Director, Argonne National Laboratory
On November 30, 2007 Bridge School was honored again by having Dr. Harvey Drucker as our second CPS ―Principal For A
Day‖. Dr. Drucker is an Associate Director at Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Drucker is pictured above with a hydrogen fueled
GMC truck that the Argonne Transportation Research Center is currently testing. Dr. Drucker spent the day at Bridge School visiting with students and staff. Dr. Drucker was extremely impressed with the students and staff of Bridge School.
P A R E N T /C O M M U N I T Y SIPAAA M E E T I N G
(SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
FOR
ADVANCING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT)
When: Friday, December 7th, 12:00-2:00 PM and
Wednesday, December 12th After LSC Meeting (~6:30 PM)
Where: Bridge School Library
Who: Parents/Community Members
What: Give Input/Develop 2008-2010 SIPAAA
Academic Computer Games Online!
Parents: Do your children spend too much time
playing computer games? Did you know Bridge
School has an online computer curriculum that allows students to practice reading and math skills using computer games? All students have access to this
system with their personal user name and password. The website is:
http://www.Studyisland.com/
If your children like to play computer games, make sure they‘re
playing on Study Island! Thank you.
-PTA Popcorn SaleThank you to PTA President Mrs.
Niewinski, PTA Vice-President Mrs.
Paula Guy, and PTA Parent Volunteer
Mrs. Sue Szajna for helping with the 8th
grade popcorn fundraiser on November
28th & 29th. This coming month‘s fundraiser will be on Dec. 19th & 20th.
All profits are going toward reducing
the student cost of the end-of-the-year
8th grade Springfield trip.
Thank You!
L-to-R: PTA Vice-President Mrs. Paula Guy, PTA President Mrs. Lora Niewinski.
Not pictured: PTA Parent Volunteer Mrs. Sue Szajna
GOLDEN
HONOR
ROLL
Room 001
Isabelle Santiago
Room 202
Dawid Babula
Corbin Bowen
Lauren McGuire
Marcelina Puc
Room 203
Mustafa Ahmed
Nicholas Guy
Anthony Jarvis
Dana Rudzinski
Artana Sherifi
Room 205
Megan Szajna
Room 207
Kristyn Krajewski
Room 208
Nicole Swiderski
Room 209
Angelica Gacek
Martha Gebala
Briana Green
Jessica Smith
Room 211
Mark Miceli
Room 214
Brian Kuczynski
Damian Pikul
James Sobotka
Natalie Zajac
Dawid Hruswicki
Karolina Jedlecka
F I R S T Q UA R T E R
S I LV E R H O N O R R O L L
Room 001
Kala Geralds
Aman Haidari
Alexandra Macias
Christina Pecoraro
Nicholas Pesole
Katarzyna Pukala
Ivan Ruiz
Juan Sanchez
Jessica Tredota
Julia Troszczynska
Charlie Vasquez
Danielle Walsh
Room 106
Katlyn Tenold
Kamil Michalek
Lukas Klasek
Mariusz Gorlicki
Room 114
Josue Rodriguez –
Gonzalez
Room 202
Christian DeJesus
Ricardo Herrera
Patric Hruswicki
Katarzyna Koperny
Piotr Lesniak
Jazmeen Rivera
Room 203
Christopher Delgado
Alejandro Gonzalez
Pawel Kalisz
Eryk Kania
Room 204
Amal Ahmed
Dana Buczkowski
Room 205
Remah Abuhashish
Daniel Allegretti
Adrianna Goral
Patricia Kania
Konrad Michalek
Mateusz Wiechetek
Room 206
Ezdhar Deeb
Thomas Frackiel
Marco Silva
Kenneth Watkins
Room 207
Amy Harenberg
Khrystyna Kozak
Jovanne Mejia
Ricardo Reyes
Room 208
Steven Galiardo
Sylvia Gebala
Zbigniew Pasierbek
Jessika Warjas
Room 209
Nicholas Armijo
Paulina Kocon
Room 210
Paul Dubicki
Katarzyna Grolle
Anna Kielich
Ewelina Krystopa
Alexandra Lopez
Nara Solis
Congratulations
To Our
Scholars!
Karolina Krol
Room 211
Francisco Alcantar
Kamil Kieras
Carolyn Rodriguez
Room 212
Dawid Bobro
Saul Zamora
Room 214
Yasmeen Abushehadeh
Jasmine Ayala
Matthew Coronado
Tiffany Myszkowski
First Quarter Honor Roll
First Quarter
Perfect Attendance
Room 001
Manual Abughoush
Kienna Bariso
Billyjoe Calayag
Thomas Carey
Artur Cius
Aman Haidari
Daniel Lozeau
Aleksandra Niemas
Nicolas Pesole
Katarzyna Pukala
Jacob Rivera
Juan Sanchez
Isabelle Santiago
Julia Troszczynska
Cyndy Zikowski
Room 002
Patty Amador
Lizvett Herrera
Peter Jackowski
William Knapp
Julia Konieczna
Daniel Kulach
Alexis Lopez
Shannon McGuire
Jeremiah Munoz
Kamil Piotrowski
Delanie Preston
Jerod Raymond
Rafael Reza
Aleksander Sulewski
Room 003
Andrew Azzam
Kiara Barrios
Jakub Bigos
Kevin Mienta
Christopher Molina
Theodore Nickson
Sandra Santhosh
Daniel Taylor
Natalia Wzorek
Room 004
Sasha Aponte
Ashley Bock
Jakub Koperny
Victoria Kospin
\Luis Martinez
Sylwia Mieczkowski
Alexander Paszkowski
Karolina Peza
Karol Pisanko
Paulina Rydnak
Melanie Sobenes
Dawid Sobus
Emily Swiderski
Nicole Zacny
Room 101
Maksymilian Bajorek
Julia Chmiel
Juliette Drewniak
Damian Gawruk
Angelica Geletka
Sebastian Gembis
Emilia Jakubaszek
Daniel Kania
Marek Klejn
Maya Konieczna
Peter Kospin
Natalia Kowalska
Brian Kwiatkowski
Nicole Lesniak
Bartlomiej Mendrala
Veronika Smialkowska
Aleksandra Smyk
Damian Staszel
Zuzanna Strapoc
Room 103
Owais Abuhashish
Alexis Allen
Samantha Armijo
Jennifer Castaneda
Alani Davila
Morad Deeb
Joshua Hampton
Kayla Jurewicz
Natalia Hernandez
Justin Johnson
Szymon Ramos
Christine Sprogis
Jessica Zajac
Ariana Zepeda
Room 105
Amir Abuawad
Daniel Alcanter
Jennifer Bui
Angelina Davila
Anthony Guy
David Krasnicki
Nicole Nguyen
Jahred Raymond
Ryan Szajna
Liam White
Nathaniel Zukowski
Room 106
Gustavo Amador
Viviana Atempa
John Balingit
Paulina Bauer
Kristopher Bocanegra
Mariusz Gorlicki
Angelica Jaje
Mateusz Kaczowska
Lukas Klasek
Kamil Kwasnik
Kamil Michalek
Anna Omelyan
Lukasz Pikul
Anna Pukala
Marquez Rivera
Michelle Rosado
Christopher Santiago
Room 107 AM
Heidy Araujo
Armando Ayala
Mateusz Babula
Patricia Banasik
Victoria Baran
Angelina Bredicean
Lizbeth Cabrera
Hanna Choubkha
Paola Gomez
Claudia Goral
Julian Ly
Karolina Mikos
Elias Munoz
Jakub Rojek
Sean Simmons
Anthony Sobie
Kaitlyn Tarasiewicz
Room 107 PM
Julia Domian
Andre Namrood
Tyler Rudzinski
Omar Santiago
Room 108
Jocelyn Bonilla
Nicole Brzys
Patrycja Dobosz
Pawel Gwizd
Karolina Kaczowka
Witoria Kurc
Andrea Reyes
Ofelia Romero
Gabriel Smyk
Piotr Szczech
Bartosz Walkowiak
Room 109
Samantha Carey
Alma Carmona
Elisa Coronado
Konrad Gondek
Natalie Hanek
James Ignatowski
Joshua Kornatowski
Holly Lewandowski
Jonathan Nickson
Sandra Pajda
Shyla Solis
Nicole Soltyszewski
Kelly Tarasiewicz
Quinn Taylor
Room 111
Stephanie Anguiano
Fernando Caballero
Myah Gonzalez
Selina Guevara
Eric Martinez
Alondra Ortiz
Pedro Romero
Isaiah Salgado
Room 102
Elias Allen
Fouad Chahada
Roberto Hernandez
Alexander Jamroz
Allen Namrood
First Quarter
Perfect Attendance
Room 202
Dawid Babula
Corbin Bowen
Christian DeJesus
Shaquita Glass
Patric Hruswicki
Katarzyna Koperny
Tamara Lewis
Karolina Lukasiak
Lauren McGuire
Enrique Morales
Christian Nguyen
Marcelina Puc
Cheyenne Reza
Jazmeen Rivera
Jose Rivera
Noreyma Salgado
Joshua Santos
Tomasz Tutka
Room 203
Matthew Bock
Alejandro Gonzalez
Arlene Gonzalez
David Guevara
Nicholas Guy
Alexandra Kania
Eryk Kania
Joshua Lebron
Julia Rakoczy
Shawn Rivera
Wayne Sobotka
Room 204
Dana Buczkowski
Nicholaus Cappy
Jesse Chavez
Tomasz Jackowski
Rozalia Jurvzak
Berenice Martinez
Sebastian Mozdzierz
Selma Music
Justyna Pikul
Desiree Ramos
Henry Salgado
Anna Szczech
Room 205
Waleed Abughoush
Samantha Ayala
Stephanie Ayala
Lukasz Boufal
Meghan Carey
Iliana Cato
Grzgorz Chlebek
Adrianna Goral
Natalia Kalamarz
Patricia Kania
Robert Lech
Mario Martinez
Konrad Michalek
Bartosz Pikul
Megan Szajna
Justyna Szczech
Tatiana Turcios
Room 206
Joslyn Araujo
Ezdhar Deeb
Klaudia Dobosz
Thomas Frackiel
Cinthia Gomez
Braulio Herrera
Seham Hussein
Adam Kornafel
Maritza Tlapa
Marlena Warjas
Kenneth Watkins
Room 207
Leslie Aispuro
Gabriel Augustyniak
Martin Banasik
Amy Harenberg
Kristyn Krajewski
Jovanee Mejia
Adrian Skobelski
Damian Wysocki
Room 208
Ashley Castillo
Andrzej Cudzich
Desiree DeJesus
Augusto Estrada
Jonathan Figueroa
Steven Galiardo
Sylvia Gebala
Jeremy Johnson
Ryan Harenberg
Sean Horwitz
Dariusz Kwasnik
Ihor Omelyan
Krystian Pankiewicz
Jakub Rogoz
Nicholas Santos
Kaylani Shannon
Nicole Swiderski
Jessika Warjas
Nicholas Wdowiak
Patrycja Zakrzewski
Aleksander Zbroja
Room 209
Nicholas Armijo
Radoslaw Burgiel
Samantha Calayag
Angelica Gacek
Aide Garcia
Sebastian Jaje
Dessire Mar
Kenneth Santiago
Kaitlyn Scanlan
Daphne Valle
Room 210
Mohammad Abuhashish
Ruben Ares
Mark Babilonia
Percy Cavero
Jessica Conneely
Colleen Doyle
Paul Dubicki
Kyle Enriquez
Alejandro Gallegos
Katarzyna Grolle
Anna Kielich
Karolina Krol
Ewelina Krystopa
Alexandra Lopez
Filip Palka
Dominik Pikul
Omar Ramirez
Aleksandra Ryndak
Nara Solis
Janelys Vasquez
Room 211
Francisco Alcantar
Anthony Amato
Kielvin Bariso
Sebastian Cato
Kamil Kieras
Peggy Knapp
Kamil Krystopa
Gladys Mar
Salvador Moreno
Keisamar Santiago
Room 212
Dawid Bobro
Dominika Duda
Aida Garcia
Ivan Gonzalez
Maciej Kalwajtys
Brian Miklas
Felicia Plewa
John Samek
Krystian Solowiej
Saul Zamora
Room 214
Nur Hussein
Dawid Hruswicki
Evelina Jaje
Svetlozar Kolev
Brian Hruswicki
David Lozeau
Damian Pikul
Gregory Pikul
Jacob Rakoczy
James Sobotka
Natalie Zajac
Kindergarten News
Turkey Fun!
November was a learning-filled month that included a focus on learning the sounds of
letters, reading 3-letter words, such as ‗mop‘, ‗ant‘, and ‗not‘, and an introduction to highfrequency words, such as ‗the‘ and ‗a‘. We focused on math skills, such as counting and order,
and learned about Thanksgiving and the meaning behind it today. The highlight of the month
was when Ms. McGuire‘s Fourth Grade class joined together with both the AM and PM Kindergarten classes for a special art project! See pictures below.
December promises to bring more learning and fun-filled activities. We will continue to
work on letters, reading and math skills. Students will be making their own books to practice
reading! We will also be learning about the holidays that various cultures celebrate.
Santa Shop is coming! The boys and girls will be able to buy gifts for their families.
Ms. Evangelista & Mrs. Dotson
First and Second Grade News
Fighting
Germs
During our unit on health, we
learned about how to protect
ourselves from germs. Then we
conducted an experiment to
show the importance of washing our hands with soap and
water. We used glitter to represent germs, and then we put the
glitter on our hands. Each group used a different process to remove the germs:
baby wipes, paper towels, soap and water, antibacterial soap, and one group
didn't use anything. Before we started the experiment, we predicted which
group's method of germ removal would work the best. At the end of the activity, a member from each group reported on the method that he or she used. After discussing the results, we voted on which group's method was the best.
There was a unanimous vote for the group that washed their hands. We learned
that the fastest, easiest, and most efficient way to get rid of germs was to wash
them off with soap and water. Way to go scientists!
More First and Second Grade News
Thankful Thoughts
Rooms 101 and 111 shared a unit on Thanksgiving and discussed the things that they are thankful for. The children discovered quilts and their importance as family memories. Each child created a square where they wrote and illustrated
their thankful thoughts. These squares were used to make a quilt for the entire class.
PILGRIM TOWN/WAMPANOAG VILLAGE MODELS
The students were busy building models of Pilgrim towns and Indian villages recently.
The models were made to look three-dimensional and gave the students an insight on how
the first Pilgrim town at Plymouth looked compared to a seventeenth-century Wampanoag
village. The students did a great job constructing their models and were happy to showcase them off.
THANKSGIVING DAY PLAY
Room 109 recently put on a play on the Pilgrim‘s
voyage to the New World and the first Thanksgiving with the Indians. Each boy
and girl was a given a part in the play to act out. We all dressed up as either a Pilgrim or Indian and performed it in class as well for other classrooms. The students
were really excited to be part of a play and couldn‘t wait to perform it for their
classmates.
Young Authors
Three of our classmates in Room 102 are now authors!!! They each wrote a book
about school which they donated to our classroom library. The books are now available to check out from our book corner! Great job Ola, Sabrina, and Lesly!
SECOND GRADE RESEARCH PROJECTS
The boys and girls in Room 103 learned about the many crops that are grown in the United
States. Each student chose a fruit or vegetable and researched where it is grown and the many
food products that we get from these crops. They created beautiful posters and then gave an
Third and Fourth Grade News
On November 14, 2007 the third grades rooms (002, 003, 004) visited The Art Institute of Chicago. The special program entitled
―Art From Many Places‖ had been arranged for the students. Children saw various forms of art from England, France, Russia,
Egypt, Spain, the United States as well as a number of other countries. The children were delighted with the stories the docents told
them about the art pieces. Here are a few comments from some of the children.
I saw a statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair. I learned that his hands make the initials of his name. You can see the same
statue in Washington, D.C. By Shannon McGuire
I liked the ballerina paintings because I used to be a ballerina. By Neidelyn Reyes
I saw lots of Chinese vases and jewelry. All of it was very, very old. By Jacob Habayeb
I saw a masterpiece made by Chinese people and I learned that they use dragons for good luck. By Julia Smialkowska
The exhibit I likes the best was the Indian headdress. If you would do something very brave you would get a feather added to your
headdress. The one I saw had over 150 feathers on it! By Kamil Piotrowsk
We saw a huge buffalo skin and it had pictures all over it. The Indians tell stories by drawing out the story on the skin. The one I
saw was telling a story of war. By Alexis Lopez
I learned that the Cheyenne tribe believes that if you touch your enemy that is one of the bravest things you can do. By Rafael Reza
On my trip today I saw a suit of armor. These suits were used in the past to protect men in battle. By Lluvitza Alvarez
I saw a painting of a park with lots of people and some pets in it. The whole painting was painted using dots. It took the artist over
two years to finish it. By Danny Kulach
When we visited the Pompeii art we saw a sculpture of a man, his wife, and their baby. They were running to escape the ash from
the volcano. The man covered his family with a blanket so they wouldn‘t get covered in ash. By Daniel Michniowski
I saw lots of little rooms. Everything in the room was very, very small. It showed us what people lived like hundreds of years ago.
By Peter Jackowski
I saw cowboys riding horses. It looked like it was in the Southwest. They had their guns drawn and they were laughing. One of the
riders horse looked like he was about to fall down. By Monika Cywinska
My Lunch With The Principal
Hi! My name is Steven Barrios. I am in fourth grade and the student of the month for November. I was
picked in a drawing to have lunch with my principal. For lunch I had a Happy Meal (Chicken Nuggets) and my
principal Dr. Brake had a Quarter Pounder with cheese! I was very excited about having lunch with Dr.Brake!!
By Steven Barrios, Room 114
Room 001 News
Room 001 students are buddies with the Kindergarteners. We
do holiday projects each month. We each have two buddies, one for
the A.M. class and one for P.M. class. I like my buddy, his name is
Aramado Ayala. We all like our buddies, they are cute.
Written by Alexandra Macias
Happy Holidays
From the
Bridge School Family!
Fifth and Sixth Grade News
TURKEY STORIES-ROOM 205
Turkey Trouble
Halloween is over and November is here to stay.
Kids will be playing in the hay.
The night before Thanksgiving we were going to buy a turkey, but
every store we went to was sold out. So we kept on driving. Then we finally
found a store. So we went in. There was one turkey left. So we went to the
counter. The man said you can‘t buy this turkey. It is haunted. All the other
stores are sold out. Fine! You will regret this. When we got home we told our
family and everyone laughed.
The next day when we put it in the oven after an hour the turkey
came out and said, ―It‘s hot in there!‖ I yelled,‖ Mom, the turkey is alive!‖
She walked in and yelled, ―Oh my god!‖ My dad came in and saw the turkey
and fainted. The turkey said, ―You‘ve never seen a talking turkey?‖ What‘s
the big deal? The turkey sat down on the couch and turned on the Simpsons.
While he was watching t.v. my mom and I went to that store again. We went
up to the same person as last night and said, ―The turkey you sold us is alive!‖
He laughed and said,‖ I told you, you will pay the price. Ha, Ha, Ha! How do
we kill it? You put it in the oven. We tried that. Keep it shut. Oh! So we
went home. The turkey was asleep so we put it in the oven. Then we kept it
closed for a long time. When we opened it the turkey was done!
By: Corey Egan
They can touch cows and pigs at farms.
They won‘t do any harm.
November is a time for thanking.
But then the family says is that turkey baking?
November is a bundle of joy.
Except when the kids say are we getting new toys?
November is fun.
Except when the family says is all the food done.
By: Alyssa Polanco
6th Grade Field Trip to Navy Pier’s IMAX Theater
On Monday, November 26th, the sixth grade classrooms went to see a movie about Egypt. It was very
interesting to learn about Egyptian times. We could see how they used to pull the heavy stones in order to build
the great pyramids. We also saw the mummification process. On the huge IMAX screen, we could see the Nile
River; it gave us a great view of its length and the land around it. We learned about the man who discovered
King Tutankhamen‘s tomb. It was fascinating to see all of the riches that were buried with him and the other
pharaohs. Everyone enjoyed the movie.
By Azhar Deeb and Jocelyn Rodriguez
The Native American Project
In Rooms 202, 203, and 205, the fifth graders did projects on Native Americans. It is very interesting to see
kids putting such great effort into their work. Hopefully Ms. Gilana, Ms. Bermeo, and Mrs. Cutler will encourage
them to continue to do such an amazing job! The great projects helped the students learn about Native American
culture, history, and religion. We hope that everyone will enjoy the hard work they put into their wonderful projects.
By Lauren McGuire and Marcelina Puc,Room 202
Editor‘s Note: The projects are on display in the first floor Bridge hallway located outside the auditorium and office.
Veterans Day
On November 11, 2007 my class 207, wrote letters to the veterans, we thanked and honored them for protecting our country.
We sent these letters to Walter Reed Army Center, Washington, D.C. We also made Christmas cards for the veterans. They were
great! Some kids made pop outs and others made regular ones. They were beautiful! We also sent these to Walter Reed Army Center. Remember to always honor a soldier and or veteran. Peace and Love!!!
By Paige Germain, Room 207
Ancient China
Room 207, 211, and 209 are learning about Chinese letters and number. I really enjoyed studying Chinese numbers. Mrs. Bowen
was great at teaching Chinese numbers. We studied, studied, and studied some more. We took a test on it, and I got a very good
grade. I love learning about other cultures and their history. Not only did we learn to count from 1 to 10 in Chinese but we also
learned how to write Chinese letters. I learned how to write my name in Chinese. Still interested? Check out the upper floor in the
hallway and see our 6th grade social studies project. This project was awesome!
By Amy Harenberg, Room 207
Ethiopia Reads!
Room 207, Mrs. Bowen‘s class is doing a program called Ethiopia Reads. This topic was inspired by a journal entry asking if you
could change one thing about the world what would it be. There were many ideas from the class then Mrs. Bowen found the website
and we decided to help. We have been making posters for the Shola Children‘s Library. The posters were the covers of our favorite
books so the Ethiopian children could see how much we love to read and so we could share the love of reading. We are also making
books for the Shola Children‘s Library so they can enjoy our variety of books. Did you know that books are a rare resource in Ethiopia, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. In the poor neighborhood where Ethiopia Read established the first children‘s
library in the country there are about 180 children per class attending half day school. Did you know that 99% of schools in Ethiopia
have no libraries! So if you want to be a part of this amazing program go to ethiopiareads.org.
By Khrystyna Kozak, Room 207
Seventh and Eighth Grade News
The Hausmann String Quartet
Seventh and eighth grade students went on a field trip to Kenwood Academy. There they
saw a concert by the Hausemann String Quartet. The free concert was sponsored by the International Music Foundation for CPS. The quartet had two violins, a cello, and a viola. The seventh and eighth graders learned that the
violins have a higher pitched sound and the viola sounds a little lower then the violins. We also learned that a violin and fiddle are the same instrument but the violinist plays slower music and the fiddle plays faster music. At the
end of the concert they played the theme songs of ―Spiderman‖ and ―The Simpson‘s‖. We really liked that they played cool and fun
music. At the end of the concert Ronnie asked the question, ―why do you move your heads really weird when you play.‖ The guy
answered and said they play like that because they really get into the music when playing their instruments.
By Ronnie Orlando and Marquez Rivera, Room 106
The Isle a la Cache Brigade Visits Bridge
On Tuesday, November 20th, the 7th graders had guest speakers in Social Studies class.
They were a group of living historians called The Isle of la Cache Brigade who portray
French fur traders and their Potowatomie Indian wives. (Illinois was French territory
from the late 1600s until 1763 when the British won The French and Indian War.) Our
speakers discussed how they lived completely off the land to survive. Ashley Castillo,
from 208, thought seeing all their artifacts was the best part of the presentation. ―They
brought examples of the hats they made from beaver fur, clothing made from cow hide,
Indian arrowheads made from stone, a mini-canoe made from birch tree bark and knives
and axes with handles made from other kinds of trees.‖, she said. The 7 th grade classes
really enjoyed their first guest speakers.
Student Council News
Help A Hero: In November, the Student Council sponsored a program called Help-A-Hero. We collected items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, hand sanitizer and shaving cream for our veterans. We
would like to thank all those who donated items for this worthy cause. Also, special thanks to Mrs. Naughton in
Room 208 for recommending this important program.
By Kathy Grolle
*** Mix-It-Up-At-Lunch: At the end of October, Bridge School participated in the 2nd annual ―Mix It Up At
Lunch‖ Day. On this day, students were required to sit in a different seat during lunch and meet someone new
or talk to a person that they don‘t normally converse with on a daily basis. This activity helped to remind students to be open to new experiences and celebrate our diversity. Special thanks to Mrs. Pappas and Mrs. Swanson for their assistance. Everyone had a great time!
*** Red Ribbon Week: During the last week of October, the Student Council sponsored Red Ribbon Week.
All of the students signed banners on their classroom doors pledging to stay drug free. In addition, everyone
wore red ribbons throughout the week to show our support for this nationwide acknowledgment. Thank you to
all of the students, faculty and staff at Bridge School for their participation.
*** Make A Difference Day: The Student Council sponsored our 2nd annual Make a Difference Day earlier
this month. With Mrs. Miarecki‘s help, the students used part of their computer time to send electronic postcards to our soldiers in Iraq. The postcards included warm wishes and thoughts of appreciation. Thanks to Ms.
Evangelista for recommending this creative idea for our students to ―make a difference‖ in many lives. Can you
think of another way that you could make a difference in someone‘s life today? Tomorrow?
*** Toys for Tots: The Student Council is currently sponsoring our 2nd annual Toys for Tots drive. Donations
are being collected near the main office at Bridge School. All donated toys need to be in new, unopened boxes.
The toy drive will end on Tuesday, December 9th. Thank you to all those who have already brought in a donation. We hope to collect even more than last year.
*** Upcoming Events:
Student Council Popcorn sale: December 19th-20th (Wed. and Thurs.) Caroling to the Classrooms: Last week
of school before the holidays Snowmen decorations for classroom doors (Contest): Dec. 3rd – Dec. 12th Holiday
―Snowflake Dance‖ on December 21st (5-8th grades). By Briana Green
***
BRIDGE WRITING CLUB
MY UNCLE’S COOKING UP A STORM!
By: Marcelina Puc, Room 202
Who Stole the Clock?
Quintet Attaca came to Bridge School, on November 15, 2007 to find out who stole the antique at their
last rehearsal. Bridge School enjoyed the investigation and performances to find out who stole the antique clock. Each person played their instruments,
which were the bassoon, the clarinet, the oboe, the
French horn, and the flute, to find out the thief of the
clock. We found out that the person who played the
French horn stole the clock. They kept the French
horn player in the band because they couldn’t play
without him. Bridge School enjoyed solving Quintet
Attaca’s investigation.
By: Bobby Jurewicz and Piotr Lesniak , Room 202
Yummy! I could smell my uncle’s
cakes, pies, and cookies. But I can’t
believe it, he made my favorite dish!
Pierogies with: apples, blueberries
cheese and potatoes, also cabbage,
and strawberries.
And he made his famous soup. It’s
mushroom soup .And then I smell
his best dish: cabbage rolls. Finally,
time to eat! Bon appetite!
Jingle, Jingle
By Megan Szajna, Room 205
Jingle, jingle sleigh bells ring!
Look at all the carolers sing!
Snowflakes falling, children calling,
“Santa’s coming, Santa’s coming!”
Building snowmen, snow fights, too!
Go inside to get hot chocolate,
Then go and hide beneath a blanket!
Red rosy nose!
Hundreds of tissues in the garbage,
Buy more boxes on the double!
If you don’t there will be trouble!
Here comes Santa,
don’t you hear him?
Editor’s Note-
The free Qunitet Attaca concert was provided through
a Bridge School partnership with the not-for-profit organization Communities In Schools of Chicago:
Don’t be nosy and go peek,
At all the gifts under the tree!
Its Christmas morning, so much fun!
Jingle, jingle sleigh bells ring!!
Happy Holidays
From the
Bridge School Writing Club!
32,500 Book Challenge
Special Winter Holiday
12,788
Bridge Elementary School
3800 N. New England Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60634
773-534-3718
http://www.bridge.cps.k12.il.us
Principal:
Dr. Christopher Brake
Assistant Principal:
Mrs. Margaret Taylor
LSC
President:
Mr. William Doyle
Parent Representatives:
Mr. Paul Henmueller
Mrs. Martha Kulach
Mrs. Wioletta Rakoczy
Mrs. Pamela Sparks
Mrs. Renata Zabiega
Community Representatives:
Mrs. Yvonne Majewski
Mrs. Pat Walenga
Room 107
Kindergarten
168
Year-to-Date
402
Room 102
1st Grade
390
Year-to-Date
1,160
Room 105
1st Grade
382
Year-to-Date
1,141
Room 101
1st/2nd Grade
567
Year-to-Date
979
Room 111
Room 114
1st/2nd Grade 2nd/4th Grade
412
30
Year-to-Date Year-to-Date
767
80
Teacher Representatives:
Mrs. Catherine McGuire
Mrs. Joan Miarecki
Administration:
Dr. Christopher Brake
PTA
President:
Mrs. Lora Niewinski
Vice-President:
Mrs. Paula Guy
Secretary:
Mrs. Debbie Horowitz
Treasurer:
Mrs. Jeannie Doyle
Room 103
2nd Grade
508
Year-to-Date
1,181
Room 109
2nd Grade
378
Year-to-Date
918
Room 108
2nd/3rd Grade
241
Year-to-Date
679
Room 002
3rd Grade
137
Year-to-Date
414
Room 003
3rd Grade
125
Year-to-Date
317
Room 004
3rd Grade
125
Year-to-Date
260
Room 001
4th Grade
104
Year-to-Date
419
Room 214
4th Grade
276
Year-to-Date
461
Room 202
5th Grade
306
Year-to-Date
669
Room 203
5th Grade
158
Year-to-Date
417
Room 205
5th Grade
150
Year-to-Date
308
Room 207
6th Grade
84
Year-to-Date
253
Room 209
6th Grade
68
Year-to-Date
354
Room 211
6th Grade
57
Year-to-Date
214
Room 204
7th Grade
48
Year-to-Date
129
Room 208
7th Grade
112
Year-to-Date
307
Room 212
7th Grade
64
Year-to-Date
170
Room 106
8th Grade
54
Year-to-Date
273
Room 206
8th Grade
67
Year-to-Date
224
Room 210
8th Grade
73
Year-to-Date
292
NCLB PAC
President:
Mrs. Pamela Sparks
Vice-President:
Mrs. Herlinda Macias
Secretary:
Mrs. Catherine McGuire
Corresponding Secretary:
Mr. William Doyle
BAC
President:
Mrs. Kacala Liliana
Vice-President:
Mrs. Veronica Estrada
Secretary:
Mrs. Zacny Iwona
Representative:
Mr. Romero Alejandra
LSC = Local School Council NCLB PAC = No Child Left Behind Parent Advisory Committee
PTA = Parent Teacher Association BAC = Bilingual Advisory Committee