The Chatterbox - St. Nicholas School

St. Nicholas School
Nov. 25, 2013
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
Special points of
interest:
Halloween Costume
Winners
1
Family Night
2
Alumni
3
Booster News
4
6-8th grade Science
5
December Calendar
6
Who can forget Halloween day at St. Nicholas School? It was a fun-filled day from the
morning parade, to the Halloween Fair that was filled with games and goodies for everyone. The
children had a blast showing off their creative costumes! We want to congratulate all the costume
winners; 1st place winners: Dimitroula Mitsopoulos (1-1) as The Claw Machine, Mia Kost (3-1) and
Alexander Saroukos (3-1) as Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and Dmitri Schuyler-Linch (8-1) as the
World Wide Web. Second place winners were Hannah Sinnema (2-1), as a Minion, Alexandra
Turley
(5-1) as Genie in a Bottle, and Angela Bacoulis as the Progressive Insurance lady. Third place
winners were Elisa Milkie (2-1) as Lucille from “I love Lucy”, Sophia Placencio (8-1) as the base of
the lamp on a table and Nikola Milicevic (4-1) as an old St. Nicholas School student.
Congratulations to all of you!
2nd Grade Animal Reports 7
A day in PK!
8
Halloween Poems by the
4th grade
9
Creative Writing by
1st grade
10
Artwork
11
Gold Club Winners
12
Gold Club Winners 11
It was a fun day for the Limo
lunch winners and their guests:
Cassandra Chan, Emilia Chan,
Nicole Diamond, Dean Kost,
Nikola Milicevic, Alek Milkie,
Mauro Morgan, Paris Pappas,
Kimberly Perales, Bella Pinho,
Alexander Saroukos, Angelo
Saroukos, Dimitri Savas, Hailey
Sinnema, Lauren Sinnema,
Sophia Turley, Ava Wheeler and
Brynne Wheeler. They had a
blast eating their yummy lunch
and enjoying a ride in the limo!
Page 2
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
St. Nicholas School
www.stnicholaseducation.com
Thank you to all the classrooms for their auction donations! We had a lot of fantastic items to auction!
Thank you to Jackie Pappas and Presvytera Andrea for coordinating the exciting night with food and
games. The kids had a ball with the "Minute to Win it" games. A huge thank you is due to Mr. John
Apostolou for donating all the delicious souvlaki. Thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped
set up or clean-up including the: Jenkins Family, Turley Family, Wasylyn Family, Presvytera Andrea,
Lisa Safady, and Kathereen Hernandez. It was the perfect event for spending time with friends and
family. Parents, if you would like to help out with family night next year or have any fun ideas, please
let the Boosters know!
Page 3
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
Alumna and actress Jenna Elfman, Class of 1985,
joined forces with Fashion Project
(www.fashionproject.com) and their VP of Digital
Marketing and Engagement, Nicole Barefoot, class
of 2002, to support the cause she’s most passionate
about, Youth for Human Rights. Elfman opened her
closet with red carpet looks from Fendi to Gucci to
support their mission to inspire youth to become
advocates for tolerance and peace.
Fashion Project lets you donate designer clothing,
shoes and handbags, and sell them on their online
boutique. You decide where to donate the majority
of the proceeds with 100 times the financial impact
of a standard thrift store.
It’s wonderful to not only hear about the successes of
past students but to see how they network and
support one another in their life’s passions. Nicole
says if you wish to give back in some way, visit
www.fashionproject.com/donate. They take care of
all the shipping details. You decide which charity to
donate the majority of the proceeds and they’ll send
you a tax receipt. Doing good has never looked
better!
For the mothers and daughters, Committees are being formed now to put
on a fabulous fashion show and tea which is coming Saturday, March 8,
2014. Want to help? Contact Ms. Jane Daily or Mrs. Dana Palmer:
[email protected] & [email protected]. We are very excited!!
Please join in on the fun!
Page 4
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
It’s long overdue…guys night out!
Father/Son bowling has moved to Friday,
January 10, 2014. Dads, please make sure to
change the date on your calendars…this may
be way too much fun to miss!
Thank you parents for all your support in
September at the Book Fair. It is because of
your generous book purchases, our profits
exceeded $1800! With that money, Mrs.
Spraglin was able to purchase resource
materials for each grade to be used on the
smart boards, common core writing kits for
1st-6th grade and differentiated activities.
Also, the preschool chose beautiful books to
augment their libraries.
Thank you to the volunteers who
helped set up, work the book fair and tear
down/clean up including: Georgia Bacoulis,
Jennifer Griffin, Maria Matar, Milena
Milicevic, Tanya Milkie, Carrie St. John,
Anna Taylor and Cathy Turley.
Thank you to all the parent volunteers who
have helped out at various events so far. Don’t
forget to keep track of your volunteer hours.
Turn in your list of hours at the end of the year
and be entered into our raffle for a $200 cash
prize!
Parents don’t forget those box
tops! Our school receives 10 cents
for each one. Sorry, expired ones
are not accepted. Have you tried
those handy sheets to attach 25
box tops? If not, ask your teacher
or stop by the school office to get
some. It’s fun to watch them fill
up! Thank you in advance for
helping our school out!
This year’s Halloween festival was another scary
success!! There were a few changes including a new skee
ball machine, donated by Patricia Langermann - thank
you to the Langermann family and her team of engineers
who worked (maybe even had a little fun) to make the
skee ball dream a screamin' reality!! Thank you to all the
parent volunteers, I hope you all had as much fun as I
did!! A special thanks to Luchanna Hall for all her efforts
in co-chairing. Spooktacular job everyone! Until next
year..BOO!!
To honor our Patron St. Nicholas on his Feast day, our
students have emulated St. Nicholas’ love of children by writing get
well cards to young people admitted to The Children’s Hospital of
Los Angeles. During religion classes, students have drawn art work
and written uplifting notes to children who are in need of being
thought of and remembered by others. St. Nicholas students are
truly learning the meaning of giving to others and will hopefully
continue to do so throughout their lives. On December 6 at the
conclusion of Liturgy, the students will bring their handmade cards
to be collected and will receive a small gift from the St. Nicholas
Booster Club. The spirit of St. Nicholas is alive and well at St.
Nicholas School!
Page 5
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
The 6th Grade Science class is learning about erosion, deposition, and the 4 types of mass movement: landslide, slump, creep, and
mudflow. Mudflows are rapid downhill movement of a mixture of water, rock, and soil (which is difficult to illustrate). Landslides
are the rapid movement of rock and soil down a steep slope. Slump is when a whole mass of rock and soil slips down a slope.
Creep is the very slow downhill movement of rock and soil, which can even occur on gentle slopes. In Science, the 7th grade
learned about the cell cycle, and the different stages thereof: interphase, Mitosis, and Cytokinesis. An important first step of cell
division takes place in the interphase stage where DNA is replicated, allowing two new “daughter” cells to be created from one
original cell. In order to completely comprehend the replication process, the 7th grade learned about the Nitrogen bases that create
DNA, and which bases pair with each other on the opposite sides of the DNA double-helix: Adenine with Thymine, and Cytosine
with Guanine. The 8th Grade has begun studying atoms, and the subatomic particles that make up atoms: protons, neutrons and
electrons. Protons and neutrons are found in the nucleus of the atom, with electrons floating around randomly in a specified
orbital. Students have also learned the rules for how many electrons fill up an electron orbital, and the properties of certain
elements with full valence (outer) electron shells like Helium and Neon, as well as the properties of elements with only one
valence electron like Hydrogen, Lithium, and Sodium.
Nicole Muzsnai (7-1)
Kassandra Chacon (6-1)
Nicholas Stasinis (8-1)
Michael St. John (8-1)
Page 6
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
December 2013
SUN.DAY
MONDAY
1
TUESDAY
3
WEDNESDAY
4
THURSDAY
5
FRIDAY
6
SAT.
7
Liturgy
St. Nicholas Day
9:00 am
10:15 am Early
Dismissal
8
9
10
11
2nd & 3rd
Grade
Field Trip
Getty Museum
8:20am-1pm
15
16
17
18
12
13
Progress
Reports
Distributed
PALS TOYS
Vespers
2:15 pm
19
20
14
21
Christmas
Program
9:00am
Ballroom
Early Dismissal
After program
22
23
24
25
Merry
Christmas!!
29
30
31
26
27
28
Page 7
The Chatterbox
Zoe Mattan
Briana Zdenek
Volume 6, Issue 2
Kailey Jimenez
Markela Psihalopoulos
0
The Day before Thanksgiving
It was the day before Thanksgiving and I was walking in the forest and all of a sudden, I heard a
hunter! He was trying to find a turkey to eat for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the most horrible holiday for
turkeys, especially good tasting turkeys like me! Can’t people eat pig or cow for Thanksgiving? Like last
year the people ate my uncle Bob, but I was too busy talking to myself when the hunter caught me. He took
me to a farm. The hunter had a daughter. Her name was Emily. Emily said poor turkey; you always get eaten
on Thanksgiving. I thought to myself Hello? I’m in the net! Can you help me out of the net! But Emily just
ran off and on Thanksgiving night Emily came back. Emily said, “It is ok turkey”. “ I will help you out of
the net”. I thought to myself again, you could have helped me last night! Emily let me go. But when Emily’s
dad came out he saw no turkey! Emily’s dad Bill said, “Where is the turkey?” Emily said, “I do not know”
and when they walked in Emily’s mom Elisa said, “Where is the turkey?” Emily’s dad said, “I do not know.”
The food was on the table and thankfully no one noticed that there was no turkey. I had a great Thanksgiving
which is unusual for a turkey!
By Hannah Sinnema
Page 8
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
“It’s what’s inside that counts”
rd
By the 3 Grade
It’s what’s inside that counts”
It’s what’s inside that counts”
The outside might not be pretty, but what matters
is what’s on the inside that counts.
I would look for kindness, helpfulness, someone
who cares and who will take care of you.
It is important to get to know someone because
they might be mean and not care for you. They
can also hurt you.
By Mia Kost
It means like at first you say I like this person and
when you get to know him/her, you say “wait this
isn’t such a nice person”.
If I met a new friend, I would look what’s on the
inside of that new friend.
It is important because they can mistreat you and
you would not be happy.
By Michael Taylor
It’s what’s inside that counts”
It’s what’s inside that counts”
A person who is kind, trustworthy, and generous is the
people you want to be friends with. If someone is
pretty or popular, but mean you should not be their
friend. Those people might be very mean to you.
If you make a friend, just because their popular they
might be bossing you around. You want someone who
is kind like my best friend Maya.
You want someone who is nice. It doesn’t matter if
they are popular; it matters if they are kind.
We should not judge how people look on the outside.
We should see how they act in the inside, not the
outside.
I would look for a friend that is nice, and does not
hurt you. A friend that is not mean and doesn’t fight.
They should encourage me, play with me and be
good in school.
By Mia Saad
Pre-K in Mrs. Skiani’s class was very
busy this month. Our scientists
painted a volcano and watched with
excitement as it erupted with "hot"
lava!!! We also planted sunflowers
and learned that they need sun, water
and great care to grow. The kids were
amazed at how tall sunflowers can
grow when we visited Lombardi
Ranch on our field trip!
By Alexander Saroukos
Page 9
The Chatterbox
Halloween
It was Halloween night when I saw a box.
In the box there was a fox.
The fox asked, “Do you want some candy ?”
I said that would be handy.
Then I saw some bats and a ghost.
Then I asked, “Are you the host?”
Volume 6, Issue 2
Halloween Night
I was in a haunted house.
The house had one mouse.
Watched and saw how it would run,
I had a lot of fun!
There was a witch behind me,
That scared my head off of me!
By Nikola Milicevic
Halloween
By Nikola Milicevic
One night I went to a haunted house.
Then I found a mouse.
The mouse ran out the door,
Because there was a spider on the floor.
Then I went outside,
And the mouse ran to hide.
By Georgia Psihalopoulos
At Halloween night, I saw a house.
In that house, I saw a mouse!
I went upstairs and shivered in fright.
Then I saw a witch that night.
I ran out of the house screaming,
Then I noticed I was only dreaming!
By Giselle Nunez
By Sandra Messiha
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mrs. Kontos’ Kindergarten class is busy learning about families, number
families that is! This month, the children are also learning to read the
following color words: blue, green, brown and red.
Life is great in kindergarten, we work hard, but we have fun!
Page 10
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
Page 11
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
Students in After School Art Enrichment 1 learned
about Vincent van Gogh and painted a still life
flower arrangement inspired by, "Sunflowers."
Students produced a foreground and background
space. They drew a vase shape and a stencil was cut.
Students painted through their vase stencil. Flower,
petal and leaf shapes were arranged in the space
from the back to the front. Students mixed many
values and emphasized their art with bright colors.
Oil pastel crayon was added over the painted flowers
for added detail and line direction, as well as
producing impasto effects (thick paint).
Nancy Azzam (1 -1)
Mauro Morgan (K-2)
Dakota Workman (K-2)
Page 12
The Chatterbox
Volume 6, Issue 2
Gold Club Winners
October 2013
Class
Student
K-1
Emilia Chan
Lauren Sinnema
Aliyah Zelaya
Daniella Jimenez
Toula Mitsopoulos
Alexa Ulchenko
Bianca Basinger
Ava Wheeler
Elisa Milkie
Jonathan Torres
Briana Zdenek
Mannat Chadha
Mia Kost
Paris Pappas
Alexander Saroukos
Nikola Milicevic
Nina Wasylyn
Kassandra Chacon
Nicholas Andrews
Nicholas Stasinis
K-2
1-1
2-1
3-1
4-1
5-1
6-1
7-1
8-1
If you have any questions or comments regarding anything written in The
Chatterbox, please use the following email address: [email protected].
It would be greatly appreciated if you could send us any pictures you take at the
various school events. You can put them on a disc and drop them off at the office or
email them. We use photos for our yearbook, our Chatterbox, our church bulletin (The
Wonder Worker), as well as for our archives.