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THOMAS STUDENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
School Hosts Melodrama, Benefits Childhood Cancer Research, Community By Kalei Renner STAFF WRITER
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ith the high amount of kids diagnosed with childhood cancer, Thomas Elementary’s “Making a Difference Club” hosted a melodrama play called, “The Day Polly Esther Arrived.” They did this to raise money for childhood cancer research. “This was our club’s first time doing the melodramatic play,” said club sponsor Ms. Shannon Buttner. “It was a unique and fun opportunity for students in the club to be involved in something theatrically related as our school does not offer any theater or drama clubs.” This event was held on Nov. 15, in the auditorium of Thomas Elementary. For this event, the club wanted to get as many fourth and fifth graders into the play as they could. “Making A Difference Club” at Thomas is open to fourth and fifth graders whose purpose is to do kind things for others,” said club sponsor Mrs. Anita DeFreese. “We have 98 members this school year. Our effort in the month of November was to raise money for childhood cancer research.” As the opening night approached, 22 fifth graders were assigned to be a part of the cast. For the fourth graders, they were tasked to sell popcorn, set out chairs and seat guests as they walked through the door. “Only fifth-grade students were given the opportunity to try out for parts in the melodrama,” said Buttner. “This is because our club is so large this year with over 90 students.”
Once the play began and the audience members were seated, the fifth graders stunned the crowd with their performance. Melodramatic plays encourage audience participation, so the crowd was very interactive throughout the play. “Some of the melodramatic characters were a handsome hero, a kind and pretty heroine and a dreadful villain,” said Mrs. DeFreeze. “For about 20 minutes, the audience was encouraged to shout ‘Boos,’ ‘Yahs,’ and ‘Awws.’” Along with the interactive audience, nearly 300 people showed up for the performance. Since there was a large number of people, the fifth graders managed to run out of popcorn and programs. The auditorium was exceptionally full. “We didn’t know what to expect that night for attendance,” said Mrs. DeFreeze. “People just kept walking in through the door. We ran out of popcorn and programs. We had nearly 300 people present for the special night.” After the play came to an end, guest speaker Alexia Lewis spoke to the crowd about childhood cancer and how it affected her life. She lost her son Knox to childhood cancer. “Alexia’s journey has led her to share Knox’s story with others so that she can help others through emotionally tough times of childhood cancer,” said club sponsor Mrs. Karen Naylor. “Perhaps the most meaningful for me was when people kept bringing her money after her speech was over.” At the end of the night, the club raised $936 for childhood cancer. This was more money than what the club expected to receive.
“We raised $936 that night,” said DeFreeze. “We are thankful for our supportive community. It was a wonderful night!” With the success of the melodrama play, the club will continue to do things to support their community. This month, the club worked on making tied blankets for the Linus Project. The Linus Project is a project where handmade blankets are created for traumatized or extremely ill children. Next month, the club will be making cards for
Silver Ridge. On top of that, they will be doing work for Children’s Hospital. “Next month we are making cards for Silver Ridge,” said DeFreeze. “We will also be filling “to go” boxes with toys and socks for Children’s Hospital.” For many years, the club has been doing whatever they can to help their community. With their past projects, current projects and future projects, they will continue to do whatever can to help and support those in need.
Melodrama Cast This picture includes the 5th grade crew from the melodrama, “Polly Esther Arrives.” “Only 5th grade students were given to try out for parts in the melodrama since our club is so large this year with over 90 members,” said club sponsor Shannon Buttner. These kids will be expected to do more projects this school year. Submitted photo
PLAYING ONLINE GAME HELPS OTHERS
Nonprofit Rice Charity Website Fights Hunger Worldwide, in Gretna
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By Eliese Simon STAFF WRITER
reerice is a game that has been known for ten years by physics and calculus teacher Mr. Matt Johnson. He introduced it to his class to minimize random gaming. Freerice is a game that asks students questions over various subjects to help people out around the world; ten grains of rice will be donated to the hungry every time a student gets a question correct. “Freerice is an online activity, an online game, I have known about it for about ten years,” Mr. Johnson said. “It asks little questions; the first thing that came out was some vocabulary questions. It would give you this word, it said ‘this means,’ and it would give you four of the words and you chose the right (answer), and every one you get right, it donates ten grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Fund.” Mr. Johnson did not enjoy catching students playing games in class, so he came up with the idea of Freerice. He set a goal for the class, and if they get one ton of rice by the end of third quarter, they get an assignment
dropped. The goal was later changed to ten kilograms. “It was actually Mr. Johnson’s idea,” senior Ben Schaefer said. “People were playing this tile slide game with cupcakes in his class, and he thought that collecting rice would be a better idea. He also incentivized it by saying if we collect one ton of rice then we could skip an assignment, which obviously made it a lot more popular. I came across it (the game) through Mr. Johnson.” The grains of rice collected go to the World Food Programme, which will give it to countries in critical need. Senior Hannah Schmidt enjoys the game because it goes towards a good cause. In her free time, she will play the game to help reach their goal and to help feed others. “Yeah, it is really nice to know that it is not just rewarding to me, but to other people across the world,” Schmidt said. “I do it in my free time so it doesn’t take up my work time during school and all that.” Along with Schmidt, Mr. Johnson likes the game because it helps people, but also because it is not just a mindless game. He enjoys referring to it as a nutritious game. “The word I use is nutritious; it is asking good stuff, plus you are not
wasting your time,” Mr. Johnson said. “You are using your time for a good cause.” Unlike other games, Freerice can help save lives in places like Africa and the Middle East. It makes a difference in for communities less fortunate that Gretna. As of January 18, the group is sitting at 122,770 grains of rice and is working to reach their goal of one ton. “My favorite part about it is that it is something so easy to do that actually can help real people and solve a real problem,” Schaefer said. “The fundraising is going pretty well, but I do not know if we’re going to reach one ton of rice. We have donated over 117,000 grains of rice so far.” Senior Brooke Downing is another one who thinks of Freerice as more than just a game. She enjoys it because of the positive impact it has on other peoples lives. “My favorite thing about freerice is the feeling that I’m actually helping people,” Downing said. “To me, it’s just answering simple questions, but in reality, there’s a much larger impact behind these actions.” People around the world can use help from GHS. Join the group “Room 713” with the code UAJT5WAH to begin feeding the world. The group is open to all.
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Freerice in Action Ben Randall (19) sits at his computer to begin a game of Freerice. “My favorite part about free rice is how it’s bigger than a game. Sure, it’s a time waster, but I feel like I learn new things every day from it, and it goes towards a great cause.” Photo by Eliese Simon
Help others at:
beta.freerice.com CODE: UAJT5WAH