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June 2021 • Tucson Edition • www.bearessentialnews.com
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Amazing Sea Turtles! June Is National Turtle Month!
In This Picture: Find a baseball, a Father’s Day necktie, a pizza slice, the sun, the word DAD, the U.S. flag, a butterfly, a hot dog, a pair of sunglasses and the word FUN.
FEATURE
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A mazin g S ea Turtles!
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Their survival depends on us Pages 8 & 9
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June 2021
Complete the Summer Games and
stay safe this summer! Do the Math to get the Message! 10 3 2 3 8 13 4
7
9 10 5
12 3 7 2 3
9 12 11
13 7 8 6 8
7
7
7 12 6 10 3 10 6 14
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2 3 10
16 9 10 15 14 3
1. Do the ADDITION to UNLOCK the CODE! 2. Use the CODE NUMBERS to fill in the BOXES with the Right LETTERS!
2 + 1 = 10 + 5 = 4 + 6 = 6 + 3 = 4 + 3 = 3 + 2 = 3 + 5 = 3 + 3 = 1 + 1 = 7 + 7 = 9 + 4 = 6 + 6 = 9 + 2 =
E U N I A F R O V T C L D
Kids & Vehicles
Use the word bank to complete these sentences.
Check the ____________ when getting out of a car. Place an item you will need in the back or place a diaperbag in the ____________ seat with you. Teach children not to ________ around cars. Keep ___________ out of the reach of children and lock the car at all times. Check the entire ___________ first if your child is missing. Be cautious of inside _________________ when placing a child inside a car. vehicle • play • backseat • temperatures keys • front
Match the vehicle on the left with its correct safety device on the right!
1 + 3 = H 8 + 8 = M 3. Discover the important safety message & share it with your family!
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News Highlights Image: shutterstock.com
Alabama Approves Yoga In Schools Alabama has ended a nearly 30-year-old ban on yoga and will now allow it to be taught in schools. Just don’t say “Namaste.” The ban first went into effect in 1993, and was one of several policies put into place involving religion, including a controversial school prayer bill that was later struck down by courts. More than a year ago, Alabama State Rep. Jeremy Gray introduced a bill to revoke the yoga ban. Governor Kay Ivey signed the bill, and local school boards will now decide whether students can be taught yoga in grades K-12. Yoga is an ancient form of exercise focusing on strength, flexibility and breathing. The practice originated in India about 5,000 years ago, and it is a spiritual practice with connections to Hinduism and Buddhism. Therein lies the source of conflict for why yoga was banned three decades ago. Some conservative Christian groups fought to keep the ban in place because they argued that allowing yoga in the classroom would expose kids to Hinduism and lead to them converting. As a compromise, before passing the state legislature, the bill was amended to include a regulation requiring parents to sign a permission slip to allow yoga. Another amendment to the bill says that “Chanting, mantras, mudras, use of mandalas, induction of hypnotic states, guided imagery, and namaste greetings
You may think of drones as cool gadgets that allow you to take to the skies. While drones can certainly be a fun toy, they also have an amazing range of scientific and everyday uses. Later this summer, five little orange drones called saildrones will set sail directly into the paths of hurricanes. Their mission? To gather data from inside the storms that will hopefully save lives and coastal properties. Hurricanes are often deadly and cost the United States an estimated $54 billion each year. Saildrone, the company behind these drones that is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says the biggest challenge to hurricane forecasting is rapid intensification and that these drones will help scientists understand
shall be expressly prohibited.” Additionally, the English names of traditional yoga poses must be used. Gray is a former college football player and liOcean Drone Facts: censed yoga instructor who is also a Christian who attends a Baptist church. He argued that the amend- • Total saildrones: Five ments were unnecessary. • Launching location: Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands “The promoting of Hinduism argument is the only • Exploring location: Atlantic talking point these conservative groups have, and it Ocean makes them look very misinformed and miseducated on the issue,” Gray previously said to more about how the ocean works during The Guardian. these storms. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, yoga has The drones will monitor heat, wind speeds, been linked to a variety of benefits. These include water pressure and other metrics. They’ll then everything from managing stress and boosting energy communicate these measurements to sciento improving physical health throughout the body. tists as the storm is happening. “The biggest gap in our understanding of hurricanes are the processes by which they intensify so quickly, as well as the ability to Abhimanyu Mishra is focused on earning his third accurately predict how strong they will benorm (an international chess tournament where you come,” said Dr. Jun Zhang, a scientist in the must play at least at a 2,600 Elo rating). Players must Hurricane Research Division at NOAA/AOML. also reach a chess federation (FIDE) rating to 2,500 “We know that the exchange of heat between or more. The highest rating ever was 2,882 by current the ocean and the atmosphere is one of the world champion Magnus Carlsen in 2014. key physical processes providing energy to a The brilliant homeschooled sixth-grader from New storm, but to improve understanding, we need Jersey has been coached by Grandmaster Arun to collect in situ observations during a storm. Prasad since Abhi was 6. His coach says Abhi has a Of course, that is extremely difficult given nearly photographic memory for games and can recall the danger of these storms. We hope that key moves from those early years. data collected with saildrones will help us to If Abhi plays well enough, he could become a improve the model physics, and then, in turn, grandmaster in July, playing a tourney in Serbia where we will be able to improve hurricane intensity he will take on players from around the world. The forecasts.” field will include at least three grandmasters. By understanding more about the storms, The youngest grandmaster to date is Russian scientists believe they’ll be able to offer more Sergey Karjakin, who at 12 years, 7 months earned accurate predictions which will allow more his title in 1990. Famous American player Bobby time for people to prepare and evacuate. The Fischer was 15 when he became a grandmaster. drones will be launched in August from Florida Tucsonan Tal Shaked earned his grandmaster title and the U.S. Virgin Islands. at age 19.
Chess Whiz Kid Could Be a Grandmaster! Since the COVID-19 lockdown began more than a year ago, the game of chess has been making a rather grand comeback. Some of the best players in the world have taken the game online and fans are flocking to watch on gaming platforms like Twitch (which is for people 13 years old and up). Also adding fuel to the chess fire is the movie and entertainment industry. But a 12-year-old is playing the old-fashioned way—with wooden pieces on a board and a chess clock—and has a real shot at becoming the youngest grandmaster the world has ever had! Already an international master, which is also a lifetime chess title Image: just a step below grandmaster, shutterstock.com
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Ocean Drones Help Gather Data
photo by www.saildrone.com
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Mother, Daughter Start Animal Food Bank by Reporter Sophia Bradley, BASIS Tucson Primary My brother Max and I interviewed Donna DeConcini, who co-founded and currently directs the Southern Arizona Animal Food Bank. It all started when her daughter, Margaux, worked in a feed store and a lot of people came in to see her and find out if they had any food to give away because they couldn’t afford food to feed their pets. The mother and daughter team decided that they should make an organization to help people get free food for their pets. In 2014, Donna and Margaux opened the SAAFB out of their garage, and bought animal food to give out to people in need. Then a lot of people started to donate food to help the food bank and it finally got too big for their garage. DeConcini says that there were so many people wanting to help that they were able to open their organization with no problems. They have a store now, where they sell lots of unique and neat things and the money goes to the food bank. It is a nonprofit organization, in the Monterey Shopping Center near Bookmans. Working in the food bank, DeConcini’s most important job is to help people get food for their animals who need it the most. Today, 27 people work
or volunteer at SAAFB. Ever since the pandemic started, they have given out 12.5 thousand pounds of animal food! When I began interviewing Pet food is scooped into bags DeConcini, I was a little terrified and afraid that I would mess up, but after a few minutes, I felt confident about myself. If you can’t afford food for your pet, please go to Southern Arizona Animal Food Bank! And if you’d like to help out, please go check out their cool gallery at 6252 E. Speedway Blvd., where you can purchase pet supplies, art and home decor. You can also drop off animal food to donate. The SAAFB is a great Tucson organization!
Helping Out at the Animal Food Bank by Reporter Maximus Bradley, BASIS Tucson Primary On May 15 and 16, my sister and I volunteered with SAAFB giving out free dog and cat food. We worked with the director and co-founder, Donna DeConcini. We had a busy two days, but it was worth it! On Day 1 when my sister Sophia and I went to Southern Arizona Animal Food Bank, we had to put dog and cat food in smaller bags to give to people the next day. When we were done packing HUNDREDS of bags of cat and dog food, we loaded it all into our dad’s truck. We had dry and canned food for cats and dogs, and we also had dog toys, leashes, collars, and dog beds!!! We stacked and crammed as much as we could (several hundred pounds) in dad’s truck, and the rest fit into another vehicle. On Day 2 Sophia and I woke up at 6 a.m., and we
had to go to the parking lot of Bookmans in midtown. Donna, my dad, two Girl Scout voulnteers and a couple more guys met at the back of Bookmans to set up all of the tables, awnings, food, “fluff stuff” (beds and leashes, etc.). People came, and since it is a nonprofit, had to sign up to get all of that. EVERYTHING WAS FREE!!! While people were signing up to get the free stuff for their animals, Sophia helped them by asking them if they had cats or dogs and then she would get the food for the people. She grabbed all of the dog or cat food they wanted and we gave them treats for their cats or dogs. The visitors could then go to the next table and get “fluff stuff” if they wanted. After six hours, we had given it all away! The Southern Arizona Animal Food Bank will be doing more events like this in the future. Visit www.saafb.org to learn more about the organization, or to see how to get assistance or volunteer. I felt happy volunteering because we were helping people to feed their pets. MORE SCOOPS, page 7 ➧
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News Stories Written by Kids— for Kids The History of Candy Land by Reporter Ysrael Hernandez Arizona Virtual Academy It is a rainy day and you have nothing to do. Then your little sister says, “Let’s play Candy Land.” You agree. After a while you happily play the game with your family. After you play a thought crosses your mind, What is the history of Candy Land? The game was invented by Eleanor Abbott, a schoolteacher was recovering in a polio ward. She designed the game during the polio quarantine. She sold Candy Land, and the money she earned was donated to children’s charities. The game helped kids stay entertained during the polio epidemic of the 1940s, when many kids had nothing to do. The most ill kids had to be in iron lungs. Playing a simple game like Candy Land helped. From their iron lungs or beds kids could travel to Candy Land. They entered into a world of fantasy. They could finally play a game without having to get up. They could play the game at break, free time or any time they were not busy. Many kids still play the game, but they don’t know its origins. Most kids think the game is about winning but it is not. They get super happy when they win and super upset when they don’t. But the true meaning of Candy Land is deeper than competition. It is about having fun. It’s not about being first, second or third. Playing with your family is the best. Laughter is the best medicine and being with your family helps you laugh the most. Thank you Eleanor Abbott for making Candy Land for kids to play without having to struggle and without having to be competitive. And parents would all agree that hearing their children laughing and playing together is the best gift.
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AZ Artist Spreads Joy with Murals by Reporter Abigail Hernandez Arizona Virtual Academy Recently Young Reporters had the chance to meet Arizona artist Joe Pagac. One of Pagac’s notable artworks is the Whale Mural in central Tucson. Pagac has also painted libraries, building walls, and even Instagram worthy backgrounds that you can pose with! At Kirk-Bear Canyon Library, Pagac painted a mural around the building, and changed styles. Part of it is realistic, and part is painted like how a child would. Pagac has done paintings around the U.S., including some in D.C. Some artwork that I personally like is the trompe l’oeil, which in French means “deceive the eye.” It’s an optical illusion. Pagac likes nature and often paints animals. He tries to make the animals scientifically accurate but provides his own personal touch. Pagac said he’s liked doing art, ever since he was a kid. He used to have his mom write down his book ideas, and then he would add the illustrations. In school he liked to doodle on paper and his notes, math tests, etc. Pagac at first didn’t believe that he could make a living as an artist. One day his college art teacher told him that he was good and that he could make a living as an artist. He’s taken his teacher’s words and made a living as an artist for 16 years, which has worked out really well. Pagac says his favorite artwork to do is making animals doing people things, especially bike riding. He said he likes to make things that make people happy. He says he likes to paint really fast—the whale mural took him nine days to paint, and it’s almost a city block long! But one with a cowboy, girl and animals
riding bikes took six weeks! Pagac says that he wanted to be an artist because he didn’t want to sit behind a desk all day, and he likes to see what he made and is proud of it. He said with public art he likes knowing he’s making an impact on the city and making it a better place. “You sleep better at night when you know you’re contributing to your community and not just yourself,” he says. He has painted thousands of paintings. When he did smaller ones he could do three to five a week. He says he usually does three big ones a month, but is always doing smaller ones on the side. He says a lot of his murals don’t exist anymore because they’ve been painted over. Pagac says his favorite mural is one with animals on bikes, which can be seen in downtown Tucson. He said it’s the first mural he did by himself, and over 300 people raised money to help with it. Pagac said to all aspiring artists: “Keep drawing right now, don’t give up—a lot of people give up too early, but just keep going.”
Get Ready for Monsoon Weather by Reporter Amanda Vega, Arizona Desert Elementary It’s coming soon! Lots of weather change, wind, rain, flooding and dust storms are coming our way. It’s almost monsoon season for Arizona. Meteorologist Royal Norman grew up liking weather. “My family and I would go to the garage and watch the weather,” he says. During the monsoon, our rain pattern changes and monsoons come from the south according to Norman. “There are 14 different monsoons in the world. There is a famous one in India,” says Norman. Monsoon season in Arizona is June 15 through Sept. 30. Norman says the desert heats up and there are 100 degree plus days along with wind flow changes. “That’s how we get more thunder storms,” he explains. As far as predicting when we will have a monsoon, Norman says, “Sometimes we don’t know when it is coming until it is close to us. We know what day storms are more or less possible.
First it starts in Southern Arizona and then we wait to see if a storm develops and then follow the weather pattern.” Monsoons mainly affect Mexico, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Texas and Southern California. Norman says, “When you are outside during the monsoon season, be careful for lightning. There are a lot of sports in the summer and we never know when or where it will strike. Be careful for flash flooding. Every year washes flood and cars try driving through them. Be aware of your surroundings and watch the weather report. If you hear thunder, get inside.” According to Norman, the monsoon failed last year, but he is hoping that this year we have a monsoon. “Most of the state only got 20 to 30 percent of the water it needed and it did not turn off the fire season. The long range outlook seems to be positive late July or in August.” Adviser: Karen Golden
Remembering Author Eric Carle by Reporter Aleena Rafiyath BASIS Oro Valley You’ve probably read the famous books “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” and probably know the author who wrote these books. His art is distinctive, recognizable at the first sight of the illustrations. Eric Carle was the author and illustrator of many children’s books, including these famous ones. With his first books published in 1967 and 1969, Carle’s books are well known around the world—more than 50 million copies of his first book were printed! After “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” was published, his career began as an illustrator. Carle won the Regina Medal in 1959 and the Children’s Literature Legacy Award in 2003. He founded the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts in 2003. He illustrated over 70 books which sold over 170 million copies internationally. Many of these books are best sellers, most of them written by Carle, as well. Unfortunately, on May 23, Carle passed away at the age of 91. Despite his recent passing there is no doubt that his books will live on in the memories of many children. MORE SCOOPS, page 12 ➧
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S e A a le’s World! Turt YOU cantect ro help to p& eir h t s e l t tur home.
Ancient, adorable and amazing, sea turtles seem to magically fly through ocean waters. Learn more about them and a recent rescue effort that saved thousands!
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Swimming & Diving
Image: SeaTurtleIn
c
verall, sea turtle populations are struggling, and these marine reptiles are in many ways our fine flippered ocean ambassadors! Six of the seven species of sea turtle can be found in U.S. waters. But sadly, several of them are endangered species, with the Kemp’s ridley and hawksbill being listed as critically endangered. You’ve also probably heard of at least some of these other sea turtle species—olive ridley, flatback, loggerhead, green and leatherback.
Sea turtles are superb swimmers. The fastest sea turtles can cruise underwater at 22 mph! In 2020, biologists announced they had released and tracked Yoshi, a loggerhead turtle, swimming 22,000 miles over two years. “They go far—they are world travelers,” Zavala emphasizes. Being reptiles, they breathe air, but are incredible divers. Small sea turtles can stay underwater for 10–15 minutes, but large ones can stay (and sleep) underwater for 4–7 hours! One leatherback was measured diving almost 4,000 feet down! .
Allison is one of five reptile residents at Sea Turtle Inc. An ocean predator had torn off three of her flippers, but the youngster was saved. She is wearing her fifth custom prosthesis—a rudder that enables her to swim and dive almost normally!
What Sea Turtles Eat
Sea turtle life spans vary by species, but they tend to live about as long as humans do. What they eat also varies according to species. “Kemp’s ridleys love blue crabs, shrimp and squid. They’re more of the meat eaters,” Zavala says. “The loggerheads have strong jaw strength (to go with their large heads)—very strong in terms of crunching and munching!” Green sea turtles love to eat seaweed sea grasses. In fact, they eat a lot more vegetation than other sea turtles, so much that it may color a thin layer of fat under their shells! And the hawksbills are omnivores that eat mostly sea sponges. They can use their pointy beaks to pick out the soft coral polyps.
110 Million Years & Counting “They used to live in the era when the dinosaurs lived, so their ancestors swam the oceans when the dinosaurs roamed,” points out Sanjuana Zavala, marketing manager for Sea Turtles Inc., which recently helped save thousands of sea turtles caught in a massive cold stun weather event off the Texas coast. Zavala is amazed that sea turtles are still living with us today.
Bigger Than Your Box Turtle
Cold Stunned Turtles Image: SeaTurtleInc
While Kemp’s ridley hatchlings are about the size of a half dollar and weigh just a half-ounce, even the smallest fullgrown sea turtle is much larger than your pet store box turtle. “The smallest sea turtle is the Kemp’s ridley. They can be around 80 pounds—males 85 pounds,” Zavela says. Adults average about two feet long. The list of sea turtles above is roughly organized by size. “Then we have the leatherback, which is the largest sea turtle in the world,” she continues. The largest one on record weighed a whopping 2,019 pounds and was nearly 10 feet long. But Archelon, an extinct sea turtle that lived during the Late Cretaceous (75–65 million years ago), is the largest ever discovered—15 feet long and 4,900 pounds!
Images: shutterstock.com
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A visitor compares her height to sea turtles.
Like other reptiles, sea turtles are ectotherms, meaning their body temperature depends on the ambient water temperature or external sources of heat like the sun. South Padre Island is home to 2,000– 3,000 people and Sea Turtle Inc. It is in the
aTurtleInc
Image: Se
Moving a sea turtle nest into the protection of the corral where the hatchlings are watched
aTurtleInc
Image: Se
usually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, near the southern tip of Texas. This is one of the nesting sites of the critically endangered Kemp’s ridleys, which used to come ashore by the thousands there and at Rancho Nuevo on Mexico’s eastern coast. The females dig holes in the beach and lay a clutch of about 100 eggs. For sea turtles, sandy nest temperature determines the sex of the hatchlings—cold temps bring about males and warmer produces females. In the wild, hatchlings make a mass scramble for the ocean. The ones not picked off by predators, like birds, still must get past basically any predators their size or larger swimming in the ocean with them, Zavala explains. Then they leave the Gulf and not much was known about where the 1- and 2-year-olds went until freezing temperatures hit the Boston and Cape Cod areas in December. Being ectotherms, when water temps drop below 55° F, the young Kemp’s ridleys became too cold to move! These “cold stunned” turtles aren’t able to raise their heads to get air and risk drowning! Rescue workers scooped up dozens of these young sea turtles, which were flown hundreds of miles to Sea Turtle Inc. for care. “That was the most amazing thing because we never (usually) get to encounter a Kemp’s ridley around that age,” Zavala points out. “Those are called the ‘lost years’ in sea turtle science because there’s so little research on how they look, where they’re at, what they’re eating or what size they are.” While workers and volunteers at Sea Turtle Inc. were excited to help with these little young ones, they had no idea what was about to hit the Texas coast a few months later. In mid February, days of freezing temperatures dropped the 80° waters of
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the Gulf of Mexico down to 37°. This was a massive cold stun event, causing more than 5,000 cold stunned sea turtles near Texas. People went out on their boats to pull the stunned turtles out of the frigid waters and brought them to South Padre Island, much of which had no electricity or heating! Sea Turtle Inc.’s facilities quickly filled. Still, with the help of hundreds of South Padre volunteers and by opening the community center just a few blocks away, the thousands of sea turtles had shelter. In 48 hours, Sea Turtle Inc. took in the bulk of those turtles. “Almost all were green sea turtles and a few loggerheads,” Zavala adds. Most weighed 80–150 Plastic garbag e is an aw ful threat pounds, with the largest green coming in at 400 to sea turt les! pounds!
Image from
photo courtesy of Sea Turtle Inc
June 2021
shutterstock .com
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Threats to Sea Turtles These amazing creatures, some plant eaters, some mostly carnivores, are an indicator of the overall health of the ocean. The bad news is that most of the seven species of sea turtles are endangered. The good news is there are ways you and those you know can help. Pollution, especially plastic waste in their habitat, may be their biggest threat. “Sea turtles have a brain the size of a grape. They’re hungry, so they’ll eat what’s in the water. Trash is not supposed to be in the ocean, so that creates the problem,” Zavala explains. “Even though a family might not live on the
coast, all rivers lead to the ocean, one way or another,” she continues. Try eliminating or limiting single-use plastic items from your life, like plastic straws and plastic grocery sacks. Try not to buy items over-packaged in plastic! And be sure to recycle the plastic that you do use. Zavala suggests switching to other items like reusable grocery totes and those reusable water bottles. “Buy a nice water bottle that you like and then everyone in your family can get one!” she says. The massive cold stun event strained Sea Turtle Inc.’s resources, but on the positive side, the rescue organization has grown from all this exposure and is even adding a turtle research area. Visit seaturtleinc.org for more photos, news and if your family wants to donate.
Take the Sea Turtle Challenge! 1.
2.
3.
Word Bank 4 5.
6.
7.
8.
Reptile Nesting Leatherback Carnivore Herbivore Foreflippers Hind flippers Carapace Hatchlings
9. ACROSS: 3. Used as rudders, stabilizing and directing the sea turtle as it swims 5. Baby sea turtles 7. Used for swimming 8. Digging holes in the sand and laying eggs 9. Most sea turtles are meat eating and live on a diet of crabs, mollusks, shrimp and jellyfish.
DOWN: 1. Green and black sea turtles live on a diet of sea grasses and algae. 2. Has a tough leathery skin instead of a shell 4. The thick shell that covers the back of the sea turtle 6. An ectotherm with scales and a backbone. It breathes with lungs.
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Boomer’s Boredom-Busting Activity Page
Ho w Ma n y
Tu rt le s ?
Saving a Treasure! Helping the Sea Turtles Survive
S
ea Turtles are one of the longest living groups of animals ever to have existed, having far outlived the dinosaurs. They are an intricate part of the ecosystem and make substantial nutrient and energy contributions to beaches.
count the hatchlings. Boomer Bear is helping the picture? How many can you see in
Do the Dot to Dot
You might see them sunning themselves on the shore of the beach, but they are deep divers, too. It is common for a green sea turtle to migrate thousands of miles in search of food and nesting grounds. These wonderful sea creatures can live up to 80 years if the conditions are right.
Find the Green Sea Turtle! START
Make Your Own Sea Turtle Friend! You will need:
• paper plates • green and brown paint • 4 legs, head and tail cut out from a paper plate, paint them green or brown and let dry • brass brads • sponge (cut into small shapes) • hole punch
Color the artwork when you’ve finished the dot to dot.
Directions:
• Dip sponge shapes in brown and green paint to make shell pattern on paper plate. • Hole punch a place on the plate for head, tail and four legs. • Attach the head, tail and legs with brass brads so they can move. • Let plate dry according to paint directions.
Have fun with your new friend!
Use the word bank below to check your knowledge about one of the sea’s most popular creatures. 1. Air breathing reptiles that live in the ocean and are able to spend hours under the water. There are seven species and all are endangered. 2. Largest of all the hard shelled turtles. They eat meat when young and turn herbivorous as adults. Principal cause of their decline is the harvesting of their eggs and meat. 3. Smallest of the species and one of the most seriously endangered. 4. A grouping of animals and plants that are the same kind. 5. A recently hatched baby sea turtle or other animal. 6. A nest or batch of eggs. 7. Protection of wildlife and natural resources. 8. A type of animal or plant in danger of becoming extinct, mostly through human actions. 9. Where a sea turtle hatched and returns to lay its eggs.
WORD BANK: A. Sea Turtles B. Hatchling C. Natal Beach D. Endangered species E. Conservation F. Green Sea Turtle G. Clutch H. Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle I. Species
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How to Have a Kindness Party by Reporter Sophie Hannley, Esperero Canyon Middle School Every year in April is Global Youth Services Day. This is a weekend where kids all over the world are encouraged to do something good for their communities. It doesn’t matter where you live, it is important to be kind and make the world a better place. In honor of Global Youth Services Day 2021, I invited 12 friends to come over to my house for a backyard Kindness Party. Together with my friends, we made 120 positive and inspirational notes for homeless youth who are part of a local homelessness organization called Youth On Their Own. Youth On Their Own helps kids ages 10-21, who are homeless or can’t live in their homes anymore, stay in school, graduate and have the supplies they need to get through this hard time. The notes my friends and I made will be given to 120 homeless students in Tucson! So can you also host a Kindness Party or do something good for our community? Yes you can! First pick a cause you care about. Learn more about the cause and why it’s important to you. It is also a good idea to contact an organization in your town who is doing work in the area you care about. They may have good ideas or specific ways for how you can help them. Then start party planning! Pick a day and time when you want to do the service project and figure out how many friends you need to help you. On the day of the Kindness
Party, set up your work area and whatever supplies you will need. Will you need tables for writing and drawing, shovels and dirt for gardening or gloves and garbage bags for cleaning up? Think about what you need for the project to be a success! When your friends arrive, take a few minutes to explain any rules or guidelines and what you will be doing. By explaining to my friends why this project was important and who these notes will be given to, I noticed a lot of effort and hard work was put into writing super creative and inspiring notes. I also introduced my friends to the idea that kids our age could possibly be homeless for a variety of reasons. I don’t think many of my friends even thought about that before our service project event. We had a great time, especially when you make volunteering fun and like a party! I made sure that we had great markers and stickers so that writing notes for homeless youth was easy and creative. Plus we also had awesome snacks and drinks! It’s very easy to make a difference in the world. What ways can you spread kindness and help your community?
e-mail: boomer@bearessentialnews.com
Swim Teams Start Up by Reporter Ellie Divijak Dove Mountain CSTEM K–8 Summer is here you know what that means—and it’s getting hotter and hotter. This summer I am staying cool by joining the Pima County Swim Team Program. There are no meets this year because of COVID19, but there are practices all week and our times for the championship meet will come from our practices. There are some rules that are explained in the program handbook. For example, children under the age of 10 must be able to swim one length of the pool without stopping and without assistance. For children ages 11—18, you must be able to swim two lengths of the pool without stopping and with no assistance. Teams practice four days a week at their team pool. I have been a part of the Thad Terry Stingray team for several years, and look forward to being a part of the team again this year after no swim team program last summer. Coaches teach you how to dive and do the four strokes (freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke), and you learn how to turn in the water when you touch the wall. For more information, go to webcms.pima.gov and search for “swim team.”
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KIDS! WIN a
Sea Turtle Friendship Bracelet!
To Enter, go to BearEssentialNews.com Click on the CONTESTS tab!
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Color the Sea Turtle!
e-mail: boomer@bearessentialnews.com
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June 2021
l a n o i t a N e t Celebra
! h t n o M y r i Da
6/4
National Cheese Day
6/1
World Milk Day
JUNE is my favorite month!
6/7
National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
6/20
Vanilla Milk Shake Day
6/20
Ice Cream Soda Day
Cookies ‘N’ Cream Rice Cereal Treats
Mini Sweet Potato Donuts with Maple Glaze
KIDS! Use the QR codes below to get to these recipes—and lots more great ideas for your family!
Mini Sweet Potato Donuts with Maple Glaze
Cookies ‘N’ Cream Rice Cereal Treats
www.arizonamilk.org
Images: shuttestock.com
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