Wildcat Times - West Northfield School District 31

WEST NORTHFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT 31
HENRY WINKELMAN SCHOOL
Wildcat Times
Teacher Interview
O’Grady the Great
By: Bryce Wolf and Vanessa Bayarmagnai
Artwork by Mia Burshteyn
WT Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Inside this issue:
The Most Amazing
Mammals
2
Ask the Expert:
Advise Column
3
Fix our School:
The Car Line
4
The Festival of
Lights, a Very
Special Celebration
5
Here with us today is the amazing Ms.
O’Grady. She teaches second grade. So we
recently sat down with her and asked her a
few questions. Her full name is Jennifer
O’Grady
Q: What is your favorite animal?
A: Pug
Q: If you could have a super power, what
would it be?
A: To fly
Q: Why did you want to become a teacher?
A: I had some really good teachers when
she was little and wanted to be just like
them
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Brown. But runner up hunter green
Q: Who inspires you and why?
A: My parents, because they are patient, kind,
and are great role models
Ms. O’Grady
(continued on page 7)
Student survey
Our Kind of
3rd Grade
Teacher
6
YOUR Chicago
White Sox
8
Da Bulls!!
9
Winter Maze Fun
Favorite Ice Cream Flavors
By: Trinity Choi
11
Hi. My name is Trinity Choi.
I am a reporter from the Wildcat Times. I did a survey on
the Fourth Grade’s favorite ice
cream flavor. This survey
showed which ice cream flavor
is most popular in our grade.
The choices were
Rocky Road, Mint Chocolate
Chip, Vanilla, Chocolate,
Strawberry, Cookies n’ Cream,
or other. All seven of these
choices are very popular, so I
was sure the results would be
very close.
(continued on page 6)
WT
Page 2
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
National Geographic Kids
Orcas: Amazing Creatures
By: Anna Vierimaa
There are many animals in this world, one
that I really like is the orca. The orca is also called
a killer whale. Their scientific name is Orcinus Orca. They are meat-eaters and can live until they are
50-80 years old.
The orca belongs to the dolphin family and
is the largest dolphin. An orca weighs about 1,200
pounds and is 23-32 feet in length. That’s huge!
Orcas are sometimes called, “the wolves of the
sea.” They are called that because they hunt in
groups like a pack of wolves. They can swim up to
30 miles per hour. That’s fast! An Olympic swimmer could not keep up with an orca.
Orcas live in all of the world’s oceans. They
never fully sleep. When orcas sleep part of their
brain is awake. The other half is asleep. The family
that an orca lives in is called a pod. The whole entire pod is related to each other somehow.
Orcas are black and white. Their bellies are
white and their backs are black. The reason for this
is for camouflage. Being the predator of the ocean,
it needs to get close to its prey without it noticing it.
For example a seal on an ice float can’t see it
Image courtesy of Google Images
because the dark back blends with the ocean. The
white stomach makes it hard to spot from below because it blends with the sky. An orca can eat about
500 pounds a day.
There are two kinds of orcas, transients and
residents. Transient orcas eat other animals such as,
penguins, dolphins, walruses, seals, sea lions, and
even a blue whale. Resident orcas on the other hand
only eat fish and squid. Like all dolphins orcas use
echolocation to find food. They also communicate
using echolocation. Echolocation is a sound wave
that travels under water.
If you want to help save and learn more about orcas
you can go to the Whale Museum’s web site,
www.thewhalemuseum.org
Image courtesy of Google Images
Image courtesy of Google Images
WT
Page 3
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Diwali
World Cultures
By: Sonia Thakkar
Have you ever heard of a festival called Diwali? Diwali is the festival of lights celebrated by Hindus. Diwali day varies year to year
depending upon the position of the moon. In 2014, Diwali was celebrated on October 23rd. Diwali day is the new year for Hindus.
Courtesy of Google - Diwali oil lamps
Diwali is celebrated for five days.
The word Diwali means a row of lights. Diwali is celebrated in many different ways depending on which
part of India you’re from. On Diwali Day, people light up candles and burst firecrackers. People light candles to remove darkness or evil and to bring brightness and goodness. Hindus also go to the temple and wear
new clothes. This is a sign of a new beginning. Hindus distribute sweets to family and friends on Diwali and
usually have a feast with them. People do these things to get blessings from their elders.
The history of Diwali is based on a religious story. A prince named Rama left his city to rescue his wife
captured by an evil king. Rama fought with the king for seven days and succeeded. When Rama went back
to his city with his wife, people lit thousands of diyas, or small clay lamps, to welcome their beloved king
and queen, because that day was a new moon, so it was dark and they couldn’t let their beloved king arrive
in darkness. From then on, the day Rama arrived to his city was known as Diwali, the festival of lights.
Fashion
By: Carly Bass
Fantastic Fourth Grade Fashion
elastic that has a button attached to it. If you have a
I love fashion and wanted to share my passion! Jeans
are always in fashion. Every-
pair of those jeans, the button helps the jeans fit. They
sell them at Justice GAP and H&M. Scarves are also
body has their own preference in style. Some people wear fashionable scarves. An
of jean style. Some students
amazing style of scarves is the infinity scarves. They
like boot cut jeans.
are mostly made out of cotton, polyester, silk, and
Also, some wear them bavla.
ripped at the knee. Some jeans
have an adjustable waist. The
Courtesy of Google Images
adjustable waist is a piece of
Fashion is about everybody having their own
favorite styles because everybody is different. What
do you prefer for fashion?
WT
Page 4
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Fix Our School
Car Line
by Lauren Nies
I think we should dismiss everyone at our car line differently. I think we have too many people scrunched together that parents can’t find their kids easily. I have an
Courtesy of Clipart
idea that would make it faster and less confusing.
Courtesy of Clipart
At my previous school the parents had signs with their child or children’s names on them that they hung from
the rearview mirror in their cars. One teacher would be at the turn in the car line and another teacher would be
with the students. The teacher at the turn would call out the names to the teacher with the students using walkie talkies. That teacher would then call out the names to the kids. By the time the parents pull up to the pickup
spot, their child or children would be there ready to go. I think this worked well and I think it would work for
our school, too.
Kids can sit in the hallway against the walls and listen for their name to be called. I think this would be better
than kids not paying attention and looking for their cars to pull up. I think it would also be good for kids because when its winter time they would be inside where it’s warm.
I think this would be better for our school because not only would it be quicker and less trouble, it would be
warmer. This would make more sense than our present car line.
Courtesy of Google Images
WT
Page 5
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Book Review
Cupcake Diaries
By: Michelle Lim and Justine Liu
“Katie and the Cupcake Cure” is the first book of the series, “Cupcake
Diaries.” It’s about four friends starting a cupcake business.
On the first day of middle school, Katie Brown met a girl named Mia on
the bus and became friends. Then, at lunch time, Mia introduced Katie to
two other girls named Alexis and Emma and they all became friends. That
day, Katie brought a cupcake for lunch and the girls started to call every
Friday, “Cupcake Friday.” “Cupcake Friday” is when they take turns
bringing four cupcakes. They then started a cupcake business.
Courtesy of Google Images
There are lots of things in this book about friendship that you should know. First, friends are everywhere and
you don’t have to be alone. That’s what Katie thought of when she broke up with her formal friend, Callie.
Second, no matter how young you are, you can always start a business. If you like something, you should go
for it. Being yourself is also included in this book. It is filled with fun chapters and you can even learn things
in it!
Advice Column
Advice From The Master: What To Do In An Awkward Silence!
By: Mia Burshteyn
Second, you should always have something to talk
about. For example, talk about something the people
Hi my name is Mia and I will give you some advice to you are with are wearing or doing. But DO NOT pull a
use in an awkward silence.
piece of paper with things to talk about out of your bag
First of all, don’t do that thing where you say
or pocket.
“awkward” because that only makes things worse. To
Thanks for reading. Use my master advice next time
avoid the awkward part of the silence you can say “did you are in an awkward silence.
you hear that?” That way you are listening for something and it is now a normal silence.
Page 6
WT
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Teacher Interview
Interview with Mrs. Peltz
By: Jamie Hyun and Alexandra Smith
We decided to interview Mrs. Peltz because she is
one of our favorite teachers at Winkelman. We had
so much fun interviewing her and getting to know
more about our favorite teacher.
Q:What is your favorite clothing store?
A. Nordstrom
Q: What is your favorite T.V. show?
A. Mystery shows
Q: What is your favorite activity to do in the summer?
A. Family vacations with my daughter and son.
Q: What is your favorite food?
A: French Fries and broccoli
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Turquoise
Q: What do you do
outside of school?
A. Take long walks in
my neighborhood
Q: What is your favorite animal?
A. Tropical fish and
puppies
Q: What is your favorite movie?
A. Action movies
Q: What is your favorite holiday?
Mrs. Peltz
A. Halloween
W: What is your favorite band?
A: Pearl Jam and Coldplay
Q: What other subject would you teach?
A: Science Lab but, I love third grade!!!!
Student Survey
Favorite Ice Cream Flavors—continued
(continued from page 1)
I chose to do an ice cream survey because everyone loves to eat ice cream, and from research online,
these flavors are some of the most popular ice cream flavors in the United States.
This is how the survey worked. We asked the person taking the survey to circle their favorite ice
cream flavor. The students were allowed to circle only one flavor. Then they turned their survey in
to their teacher, and the teachers turned the surveys in to the Wildcat Times.
Here are the results: Cookies n’ Cream and Mint Chocolate Chip tied for first place. Rocky Road
came in second and Chocolate took third. Vanilla and Strawberry tied for last place.
Thank you for participating in the ice cream survey, fourth graders!
First Place Cookies n’ Cream
First Place Mint Chocolate Chip
Images courtesy of clipart
Second Place Rocky Road
Page 7
WT
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Teacher Interview
O’Grady the Great— continued
(continued from page 1)
Q. If you could teach another grade besides 2nd what
grade would you teach?
A. 8th grade literature
Q. If you could not be a teacher, what would you want
to be?
A. Own an animal shelter
Q. Where did you go to high school?
A. Main East High School in Niles, Illinois
Q. If you could be an animal what would you want to
be?
A. A sloth
Q. What do you like to do during your free time?
A. Spending time with friends
Q. What is your favorite movie?
A. You’ve Got Mail
Q. What is your favorite book?
A. Wonder
Q. What is something most people don’t know about
you?
A. If I get too excited about something, I will get a
cold.
Q. What is your favorite dessert?
A. Laundree macaroons
Q. If you won the lottery, what
would be the first thing you
would buy?
A. A private island
Q. What is your favorite vacation?
A. Australia
Q. What would be your dream
vacation?
Photo courtesy of Google Images
A. An African safari
Q Were do you live now?
A. Chicago
Q. If you could be a celebrity, who would you want
to be?
A. Tom Hanks
Q. What would you like
our readers to know about
you?
A. That I love to laugh so
next time you see me tell Knock knock….
me a funny joke
Who’s there?
Q. What city did you grow
up in?
A. Niles, Illinois
Q. Using 3 adjectives how do you describe yourself?
A. Goofy, kind, and frantic
Q. When are you most happy?
A. When I am spending time with my family
Q. What is your favorite sport?
A. To play volleyball and to watch baseball
Q. Is it easy to control your class?
A. Negative!!! Lots of work!?!
Q. What motivates you to keep doing what you are
doing?
A. My students
Q. If you could meet anyone, whom would you like to
meet?
A. My grandmother
Q. What is your favorite TV show?
A. Modern family
Q. Do you have any pets?
A. 2 cats and a dog
BOUNUS QUESTIONS ABOUT MS. O’GRADY
Q. What did you do that was embarrassing in your childhood?
A. I drew a big heart on my parents wall and blamed it on my brother
Q. Out of all the years teaching what was your favorite year?
A. My first year teaching second grade
Tragically our story must end. We get up from our seats, thank her for the interview and walk away to search
for our next story.
WT
Page 8
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Sports—MLB
Major League Baseball and The Chicago White Sox
by John Gemignani
The Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins have a big rivalry
in the Major League Baseball (MLB). In the 17 games that the two teams
played against each other, the Sox came out ahead with 9 wins and 8 losses.
The highest scoring game between these two teams this season ended with a
score of 10 – 8 with the Sox having a win. With this win, the Sox improved
their record to 54 wins and 56 losses for the season. The loss in this game
gave the Twins a record of 48 wins and 60 losses, not too good.
Courtesy of Google Images
In all, the Sox played 162 games. In April they played 28 games and had a record of 13 wins and 15
losses. In May they went with 14 wins and 14 losses. Next, in June they did
not play so well ending with a record of 11-14. They continued their season in
July playing 26 games and having their best month with 14 wins and 12 losses,
still not too good. 9 wins and 19 losses lead them to their worst monthly record for the year. This came in the month of August. The Sox ended their season in September with a record of 11—14.
A big moment in Sox history happened at the end of the season. Veteran
White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko retired. Paul was traded to the Sox on
November 11, 1998 and has played for the team ever since. Helping the Sox
win the World Series in 2005, Konerko played a total of 16 seasons with the
Chicago White Sox.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
He was team captain from 2006 through 2014. The last
game of his professional baseball career was a 3—1 loss. The Sox did not go
on to make the play-offs. But everyone loved Konerko and loved
to watch him play on the Chicago White Sox.
Other highlights of the 2014 baseball season for the Chicago
White Sox include Jose Abreu breaking the White Sox Rookie
Hitting Record with 36 home runs in a single season.
Photo courtesy of Google Images
WT
Page 9
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Sports—NBA
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year….Basketball
by Logan Kim
Courtesy of Clipart
Courtesy of Clipart
This is one of my favorite times of the year. Not because the leaves are changing color, and not because MAP
testing is done, but because the National Basketball Association League ( NBA) season is just about to start.
Basketball is my favorite sport. I think the NBA is the best sport to watch because it is fun and exciting
and you get to see the best athletes perform. I have gone to many NBA games and met many NBA players. The
funniest and nicest player that I met was Jimmy Butler. He plays for the Chicago Bulls. I
learned that his favorite snack was Cheetos and that he loved to play video games.
I know most of you like the Chicago Bulls but my favorite team is the Cleveland
Cavaliers because LeBron James is now on the team and he is my favorite player. Lebron James is a great scorer but a horrible flopper. Did you know that LeBron James and
Michael Jordan are the only two players to win a regular season
MVP, NBA finals, MVP and Olympic gold medal? I also think the Cavs now have
the next "Big 3", Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. They should have a
great chance at winning the NBA finals. I also think that the Chicago Bulls can win
the NBA finals because Derrick Rose is back. They have Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler. I think the Central Division is going to be the toughest division in Eastern Conference.
Here are some trivia questions about the NBA. See how many you can get right.
1) How many championships have the Chicago Bulls won?
2) What 3 numbers did Michael Jordan wear on his jersey?
3) What was Lebron James's favorite subject in high school?
4) Who was the shortest player in the NBA?
5) Who was the tallest player in the NBA?
(answers can be found on page 10)
WT
Page 10
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Television Review
By: Bryce Wolf
Dr. Who
This is a TV show lots of people don’t know about. Maybe after you read
this you might want to watch this show, it is called Doctor Who.
In a galaxy far, far, far away there is a blue police box that can travel
through time and space. But in that little blue police box is a man, a crazy
man. He likes to be called the Doctor. He calls that little blue police box the
TARDIS. It is bigger in the inside then the outside.
First, let’s start with the Doctor and the adventures he goes on. The Doctor
Courtesy of Google Images
has brown frisky hair, a blue silk shirt and long black jeans. He has a Sonic Screwdriver that can open almost any locked door. Then he has the TARDIS. The TARDIS, he says, was the best thing that happened to
him. The reason why he has the TARDIS is because he is a time lord. A time lord helps people in the future,
past, present and space. The Doctor goes on many adventures, like fighting off aliens. There is one alien
type. Well, let’s just say robot alien type, called the Daleks. The Doctor hates them. The Daleks hate him
too, but they also hate earth so they are always planning to destroy the world. But the Doctor always figures
out a way to stop them. The next thing he is usually fighting off is the Weeping Angels. The Weeping Angels are statues that move when you turn around. They get closer and closer and BAM!!! You’re history!
I think this is a great TV show with lots of adventure and suspense. There is also tons of action in it. So by
now, I think you will like it and want to check it out.
Answers to NBA Trivia from page 9
1. 6
2. 23, 12, 45
3. Science
4. Muggsy Bogues. He is 5’3” - almost my height
5. Manuute Bol. He is 7’7”
WT
Page 11
Vol. 10, Issue I
December 2014
Video Game Review
NBA2K15 vs Madden 15
By: Aahil Jiwani
I think the NBA2K15 game is better than the Madden 15 game. On
Xbox360 NBA2K15 the graphics are the same as the graphics in NBA2K14. But
the graphics on Xbox One are amazing. On Mycareer you can talk to the coach
when you’re on the bench. Also on NBA Blacktop you get every player even
though you have Xbox live or not. But the worst thing is Kevin Love is still on the
Minnesota Timberwolves and Andrew Wiggins is still on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Courtesy of Google Images
On PS4 you see Pharrell Williams and other singers during the halftime show. Also you can talk to the
players you are mad at for not playing well. In the locker room you can throw Gatorade and put it on your
coach, but only at the end of the game. Also in PS4 you can pick who you want for Myteam. You can get any
player on NBA Blacktop - whether you have PS4 live or not.
That is why I think NBA2K15 is better than Madden 15. Which is your favorite game?
Winter Maze Fun
Image courtesy of www.billybearkids.com
WEST NORTHFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT 31
Happy
Holidays
To
You!
HENRY WINKELMAN SCHOOL
CALLING ALL 4TH GRADE
WINKELMAN STUDENTS
The Wildcat Times Newspaper will be
running a 2nd Edition in the Spring.
The paper is open to all 4th grade
students. If you would like to join the
writing staff in the spring, please contact
one of the editors below for further
information at:
[email protected]
1919 Landwehr Road
Glenview, IL 60026
Phone: 847-729-5650
T H E W I LD C A T T I M ES I S W RI TT E N B Y W I NK EL M A N S T U D E N TS F O R
T H E I N T E R ES T A N D B EN E FI T OF F E L L OW S C HO O L M A T ES .
W R I T I N G S T A F F : ~ C a rl y B as s , M i a B u rsh t e yn , T r i n i ty Ch oi , RJ D av i s ,
J o h n G e mi g n an i , Ja mi e H yu n , Aa h i l Ji w an i , L o g an K i m, M i c h el l e L i m,
J u s ti n e L i u , L au r en Ni e s , V an e ss a B ay a r ma g n ai , A l e xa n d r a S mi t h ,
S on i a T h a k k a r, An n a Vi e r i ma a , B ry c e W ol f .
C O - E D I TO RS : B es s T so n i s an d J en n i f e r G e mi g n an i
E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F : M i ch a el K ah n
T H I S P U B LI C A TI O N I S F U N D E D B Y T H E
W E S T NO R T H FI E L D S C HO O L DI S T RI C T 3 1 P T C.