The BC News - April 2015

THE BC NEWS A Berkeley Carroll Lower School Newspaper

Vol. 2. No. 3 April 2015

Ice, Snow, Safety, Oh My!

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By Calla Brown

You are fidgeting in math, doing drum beats in social studies. What to do?

YARD! That is exactly what yard is for. Yard is a place to get all of your silly energy out and come back to a calm environment. It is a place to play and run around. But with the yard closed because of snow and ice, by the afternoon, kids are now back to looking longingly out the window. I asked a couple of teachers some questions about not being able to go to yard, and here are the results.

Brown​ : What are your thoughts and thinking about the safety of kids at yard?

Ms. Abramson​ : I think that it's unfortunate because it's super fun to play in the snow and important to have exercise throughout the day. But it's too slippery to run when there's ice in the yard, so we need to find an alternative.

Brown​ : What alternative are you thinking of?

Abramson​ : The AC or the Lyceum are better than indoor yard in the classroom.

We just have to find room to fit it in with the lower school schedule.

A lot of teachers and support staff have feelings about the safety of kids at yard.

Nurse Heidi said, "I think there are certain days when the yard is too icy and it's unsafe.” When asked how we can we avoid injuries, Nurse Heidi replied, "When you go outside you should avoid the icy areas."

What's inside:

Ice, Snow, Safety, Oh My

What's Happening in Second Grade Math?

How our Goods Get from One Place to Another

3rd Grade Studies China!

Delicious Pizza with Fractions on Top!

Recycled Bottle Caps Make art?

Mock Newbery Chooses The Winning Book!

Revelations through 4th Grade Dance 1

How does Ms. Doko feel about going out to yard? "One, if the students ​ do go out to yard, the students have to be dressed properly. Two, it's a good idea to close the yard because it's too slippery. Three, if it's too cold and snowy, I personally think that they should take the day off."

I asked 1K if they missed the yard. I think it is a yes.

Jazlyn said that she missed playing in the yard.

Arman said that he missed playing soccer in the yard, but he could still play soccer in the AC or the Lyceum.

Eleanor said that she was disappointed, "I miss the fresh air", she said.

Corbin said that he missed the jungle gym.

Zahrah said that she missed the blocks.

Last but certainly not least, Michael said he missed the yard because, "it's bigger."

I believe that we can safely say that 1K misses the yard and all of its best qualities. I also think that everybody misses the yard because it is fun, spacious, and it is a great place to get all of your energy out. Luckily, now that the snow is not falling anymore, we can all go and enjoy the blocks, fresh air, and the space of the yard.

BC News Team:

Jade Angel Ella Britton Calla Brown Anika Fiedelholtz Avra Greenspan Nina Tamoshunas Georgia McNeill

Senior Editors:

Ms. Abramson Mr. Horowitz

What's happening in Second Grade Math?

By Ella Britton

Geometry! Games! 3­dimensional figures! In second grade math they're doing all those exciting things. In 2E, they are collecting and sorting data. They are mostly collecting data about how many teeth their classmates lost. They are also doing some really fun math games!

One of the games is called Guess My Rule. They are using cool shapes to play it. First, you have to choose a rule that some shapes have and that some shapes don't. Next, you have to choose a few shapes that don't fit the rule and some that do, and show those shapes to the person who's guessing. The other people have to guess what the rule is.

Meanwhile, 2M is also learning about geometry! They are learning what kind of shapes are three­dimensional and two­dimensional. They are using three­dimensional blocks to observe different kinds of shapes. They figured out that triangular prisms blocks have 5 faces, and that 2

rectangular prisms have 6 faces. They are also learning about corners and sides of different shapes. “I think our new unit is fun because I like experimenting, playing, and building with blocks and I’m sure my other classmates do too,” says Casper from 2M. It looks like 2M is having a fun time in math!

2nd Grade Learns About How Our Goods Get From One Place to Another

I interviewed some kids from 2E to talk about their perspective on the project.

They all loved the whole part of building their

by Anika Fiedelholtz models of different kinds of transportation. They

Did you know your had a “really fun time and enjoyed it”. goods don't just come in a snap? The Pictures above are Peter, Dillon and an second grade has anonymous student from 2E with their models of been ​ studying how cargo ships and trains. your goods get from one place to Transportation Poetry by Ani Fiedelholtz another. Of course they had to know how the

goods came to us.

The plane is the high The transportation help are planes, cargo ships, the truck is the low trains and trucks. In 2nd grade, each person and they have places to go made a model to represent their work and used they carry things to us on the go. it to make the cycle of how the goods get to

them and the stores that sell the goods. The Plane to train car to truck goods that we usually get don't take only one transportation is good luck. transportation unit so they used snap cubes to

The plane takes off use as cargo. the truck starts the engine To build the models they used cardboard, tape the train goes chga chga and pipe cleaners. They also made a bridge to the cargo ship blows its horn. put their models on. Now, here are some

poems I wrote and second Far and close to close and far graders’ opinions on this to go so far. project.

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Third Grade Studies China

By: Jade Angel

Do you know any facts about China? The third graders do! I interviewed some third grade students and they told me a lot about studying China.

Apparently kids love studying China! ​ Elizabeth from 3B said, "It's very interesting!" ​ Max from 3K said, "It's really fun and interesting because they have a really different culture than we do!" ​ Maddie from 3F said, "It's really fun, you learn things you've never learned before!"

China has so many interesting topics to study. Maddie from 3F is studying ​ traditional Chinese medicine​ , Maddie even gave us a fact. She said "You can use rhino horn to heal fevers and other things like that!"

What a cool fact!

Elizabeth from 3B is studying the ​ Forbidden City​ ! "There are more than 8,700 rooms", she reported. Wow, that's a lot of rooms!

Max from 3K chose ​ tigers as his topic. He told us, "There are only 500 left in the wild!" That fact is sad ​ but​ true.

Delicious Pizza With Fractions on Top!

By Nina Tamoshunas

Do you have a younger sibling in 712 and wonder what they're doing? Well, if they're in Ms. Paller's class they're learning about PIZZA! The knowledge isn't just going into their brain but into their stomachs too. ​ They're making their own pizza shop.

"They love learning about pizza," says Ms. Paller. "We know everything that goes on top," a kindergartner says, but “sometimes it's hard to remember everything that goes on top

Did you know that these topics are all great examples of how you can help out. There are only 500 tigers left in the wild.

Why don't ​ YOU help the Tigers?

The third graders liked studying China a lot. Maybe you should learn a bit about China! If the third graders did it, so can you.

because there are so many different combinations. It's super fun because I love pizza." They've also drawn their own pizzas of what they want them to look like when it’s time to cook! A great way to learn about fractions.

You always started learning about fractions by visioning a pie but what if you actually made a pie?

They named it The Pizzaria Shop. They're working on their logos. They have quite a few ideas. They will be voting on which one to use.

It will be going on all day for quite a few days. The smell will be irresistible.

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Recycled Bottle Caps Make Art?

By Avra Greenspan

Ms.Cuba, Ms.Keim, and Ms.Benapayo's classes have been making a mural of something exciting.

Drum roll please... bottle caps!!! They have so many caps. “We have 1,000 or 2,000… I think 2,000.” Lots of people donated caps, but not all. "I just never got the time to donate them. I always forgot!", said Clio, a fourth grader. Now, they need to organize them.

The first grade is making something out of the bottle caps... but what is it???

"We are making a lion," said Leo from 1C. But why a lion? Because we need more school spirit!

Have you noticed there are no posters, banners, or photos of the lion in our school?

The first grade will put the mural of the lion in the lobby behind Ms.Doko’s desk.

We didn't have a lot of pictures of the lion so Ms. Mastrocola couldn't find a good one to use. Ms. Mastrocola had to look for one. Finally she found it but it was a little blurry and pixelated so she hired someone to clean the picture up. The lion didn’t look that fierce but there was one way fix that. Crop it!

How is this going to work? Ms.Mastrocola and Ms.Fontaine painted a lion onto a white wooden panel. But not the way you'd expect. They took a drawing of a lion and projected it onto the wooden panel then they painted over the black lines that made up a lion. “It took around two hours to make,” Ms. Mastrocola said.

The first graders are going to put different color bottle caps on the black parts of the lion but they are debating which color bottle caps go where.

The first grade made recycled art but so did second grade. "I made it out of tape, paper, cardboard bottle caps, pipe cleaners", said Solomon from 2E. To learn more about second grade, check out Ani ​ Fiedelholtz’s​ article.

The mural’s almost done so keep your eyes peeled. What colors do you think the lion should be?

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Revelations Through 4th grade Dance at Berkeley Carroll!

By Ella Britton

Did you know that the 4th grade dance performance actually told a story about people trying to have ​ FREEDOM​ ? The dance was based on the incredible movements of Alvin Ailey and his dance piece called Revelations!

Revelation means to make something important known.

Ailey probably called his dance Revelations because he wanted people to know how hard it was when people didn't get the ​ FREEDOM ​ they deserved. The movements we saw were based on when African Americans didn't have as much FREEDOM because of slavery and unfair laws.

One of the dances had to do with Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.

Alvin Ailey believed that anybody who wanted to dance had a right to.

Some people might have pretended to be injured or struggling.

"I loved the part when all the classes got on stage at once and danced together," says Michael from 4A. That part probably represented FREEDOM or a BIG group of people feeling confident to work towards ​ FREEDOM​ . We learned that a lot of people had a hard time when this dance took place.

Alvin Ailey had a dream just like Martin Luther King Jr.. Ailey's dream was to start his own dance company that would tell stories of African Americans through movements and dance. He also had a dream that anybody could dance.

Ms. Paige says, "I loved watching the ideas coming to life through movements, like the idea of people helping each other and keeping hope alive." In 4Ah, we saw lots of friendly competition with two groups. In 4A and 4L, we saw lots of carrying and helping each other up.

We saw some people carrying each other on their backs in 4A. They were following each other to what seemed like the road to FREEDOM.

The audience seemed excited, joyful, and maybe some people felt a little sad. The audience sensed the struggle of the people in the dance. Therefore, the 4th grade dance represented things that were actually happening in history and even today.

Mock Newbery Chooses The Winning Book

By Georgia McNeill

The announcer cries "and the winner of Mock Newbery is…”

Just then a drum roll erupts through the crowd. "A Snicker of Magic" the announcer yells. So what's the deal with Mock Newbery?

Mock Newbery is an elective where fourth graders read a lot of books that were chosen for 6

the real Newbery Award and vote on their favorites. The Newbery Award goes to great children's literature. Our Newbery at BC is about reading and choosing books for fun and then we compare our winners to the real Newbery.

To participate in Mock Newbery you have to read, a lot.

First, they choose books that are nominated for the real Newberry Book Awards. But before you vote, you have to read all of the books. Then you choose your top favorites and then your favorite of those favorites. To vote, Ms. Sauro made a Google Form where you choose from the Top Five.

But this year we had to do two more votes in a run­off because there were two top favorites that were almost equal in popularity. Ms. Sauro said, "We have never had to vote two times for the winning book!" This was a really exciting time to participate because it was a special Mock Newbery moment. After the vote, there was an awesome pizza party.

The top two books were ​ Greenglass House​

by Kate Milford and ​ A Snicker of Magic​

By Natalie Lloyd.

And the winner was…​ A Snicker of Magic. ​ It won because it was magical, realistic, and fun. At times it was a bit boring but that's what makes it great. You have to suffer for it.

The experience was super fun. Mock Newbery judge Amalia Mesa said "It was really fun and there was a wide range of books to choose from".

Younger readers you can look forward to Mock Newbery in 4th grade and see how wonderful your experience will be!

Thanks for reading the ​ BC NEWS! Stay tuned for our final issue of the 2014­15 school year due out in June!

The ​ BC NEWS team hard at work!

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