December 2015 Northern Edition Serving Gratiot, Isabella & Clare Counties
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Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2015
/DUVRQ (OHPHQWDU\ 1HZV 6KDUH $ 6WRU\ Share A Story Abou $ERXW <RXU )DYRULWH Favorite Holiday Me +ROLGD\ 0HPRU\
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Pictured are Mrs. Chadwick’s 2nd graders in front of Larson elementary school. Henry’s Tree Service has once again volunteered to string the lights. We appreciate the community support for our school. Please enjoy the lights as you pass by Larson this Holiday Season.
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,W·V $ *UHDW 'D\ $W .LGV· :RUOG 1HZV Snowy weather, jingle bells, twinkling lights, and candy canes are all signs that December has arrived! It’s the last month of the year and there is certainly a feeling of anticipation in the air. People are busy making plans and preparing for the holidays, also known as the “hustle bustle” of the holiday season! Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are all holidays celebrated in December, where songs, decorations, candles and giving gifts are part of their beautiful traditions. Kids and teachers are especially excited to have time off from school this month. What are you going to do over your break?
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December 2015, Page 2
Let It Snow! Decorate With Snowflakes! How does a snowflake form? Snow crystals form in clouds when the temperature is below the freezing point. They are created when water droplets freeze on tiny ice particles. When an ice crystal drops through a cloud, it bumps and hits other crystals which causes each snowflake to form into a unique complex design. There are no two snowflakes that are exactly alike. Decorating with snowflakes is a fun way to make the winter season and holiday times special. Follow the step by step directions to create your very own snowflakes. Try making several to hang and a few to share with your family and friends. What you will need: Paper towel tube, ruler, scissors, glue, ribbon. To decorate: Glitter, paint, pipe cleaners, buttons or beads. Contributed by Rebecca Nechuta of KidzArt
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The Water Cycle If you get a clear glass of tap water and look closely at it, can you guess how old it is? The water in your glass may have fallen from the sky as rain just last week, but the water itself has been around almost as long as the earth has! Our earth has a limited amount of water and that water keeps cycling around and around. That’s what we call “the water cycle.” This water cycle is made up of four main parts.
1. Evaporation
Condensation: Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. This is called condensation. You can see the same sort of thing at home... pour a glass of cold water on a hot day and watch what happens. Water forms on the outside of the glass. That water didn’t somehow leak through the glass! It acutally came from the air. Water vapor in the warm air, turns back into liquid when it touches the cold glass!
Evaporation: Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers, lakes, and the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lakes and ocean and goes into the air. With evaporation, we also have transpiration. What is that? Plants transpire. Transpiration is the way by which plants lose water out of their leaves. Transpiration gives evaporation a bit of a hand in getting the water vapor back up into the air.
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3. Precipitation
2. Condensation Collection: When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back into the oceans, lakes and rivers, or it may end up on land. When it ends up on land, it will either soak into the earth and become part of the “ground water” that plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes and rivers where the cycle starts all over again.
Precipitation: Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow.
4. Collection
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December 2015, Page 4
6DFUHG +HDUW $FDGHP\ (OHPHQWDU\ 1HZV Holiday Traditions Around The World By Ella McGahey What are your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Holiday traditions? Do you watch movies, build a snowPDQ RU GR \RX KDYH D VQRZEDOO ÂżJKW" 6RPH RI P\ IDPLO\ÂśV WUDGLWLRQV LQFOXGH RSHQing one present on Christmas Eve. We also have a Holiday dinner, and we go for a hike with my dogs. However, other people around the world have different traditions. For example Jamaicans paint their houses, hang curtains, and prepare Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. In Argentina the weather is always warm around Christmas time, so they prepare in early December or late November; they decorate ZLWK ZUHDWKV JUHHQ JROG UHG RU ZKLWH Ă&#x20AC;RZHUV DQG WKH\ DOVR XVH &KULVWPDV WUHHV If you travel to Egypt during Christmas, you will see that only around 15% of people are Christians. 0RVW SHRSOH EHORQJ WR WKH &RSWLF 2UWKRGR[ &KXUFK 7KH\ FHOHEUDWH WKHLU KROLGD\ RQ -DQXDU\ LQVWHDG RI December 25. As you can see everyone celebrates in different ways. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter what you do as long DV LW UHĂ&#x20AC;HFWV ZKDW \RX EHOLHYH +DYH D IDQWDVWLF KROLGD\
Snow Hotels By Sabrina Rudoni Do you love winter? Do you love staying in hotels? If you said â&#x20AC;&#x153;yesâ&#x20AC;? to either one or both of these questions then you might want to stay in a snow KRWHO 2I FRXUVH D KRWHO PDGH RI LFH DQG VQRZ PD\ QRW VRXQG YHU\ FR]\ but it would be exciting to see such a unique place. Snow hotels have to be rebuilt every year because we all know that snow and ice eventually melt. There are several places all over the world where you can book at stay at a snow hotel. These hotels may include ice restaurants, chapels, saunas, and hot tubs. If you choose to stay in one, be prepared to sleep on beds made of ice and snow, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry you will stay warm with furs, blankets, and sleeping bags. The average temperature in a snow hotel is below zero Celsius, which is sometimes warmer than the outside temperature. As you can imagine, these hotels are really expensive to stay at; they range from $300 to $3,000 U.S. dollars per night. Would you ever consider visiting a hotel made of ice?
Where Has All the Chocolate Gone? By Lola Yun Do you love chocolate? Many people in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world love chocolate, but what they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know is that chocolate may be going extinct! The demand for chocolate is so high that companies canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t keep up. In 2013, the world ate about 70,000 tons of chocolate more than chocolate makers could produce. Two companies predict that by 2020, the world will eat about 1 million tons more chocolate than people can produce! Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of chocolate. In addition to the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s want, the countries producing the cocoa beans that are used to make chocolate are having problems with dry weather and plant diseases that lower the production of chocolate. Also, the rising demand for dark chocolate is a problem because dark chocolate uses more cocoa beans than regular chocolate. Before you panic, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multiple solutions for this problem. A solution has been realized and Latin America can help. Since Latin America is a good habitat for growing cocoa beans, countries have been helping out by starting to produce chocolate, too. Brazil is the leading producer of chocolate growing in Latin America, but Ecuador is slowing rising to the top. Also, chocolate producers have been adding in extra ingredients like berries, nuts, caramel, and cookies, which lowers the amount of chocolate in each product. So donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry too much about the precious treat going extinct. Keep enjoying your chocolate while it still lasts! Articles provided by Sacred Heart Academy Elementary Students
Getting Ready For Christmas By Brooklyn B. Christmas is right around the corner, so you better get ready for Santa. To begin preparations, every house needs some sort of Christmas tree. Make sure your Christmas tree has bright lights and lots of ornaments. Next your house needs to be seen through the night with some Christmas lights. Have your guardian hang up your Christmas lights on your house while you help in untangling the lights. After your lights are up you may put up more decorations if you would like. Next, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always nice if you make your family some homemade presents and wrap them up. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to put the name of the person you are giving the gift to on it. Place your presents under your Christmas tree. About two weeks before Christmas itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for you to send your letter to Santa. Your letter should include the gifts you would like to get from Santa this year and should be written in your neatest handwriting with your name at the end of your letter. Put your letter in an envelope and KDYH \RXU JXDUGLDQ ÂżOO RXW WKH RXWVLGH RI your envelope. Have your guardian also send your letter to Santa. Santa may send you a letter back, but he is a very busy man and has lots of work to do, so donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect a letter back from Santa. When it is Christmas Eve, you must make some Christmas cookies for Santa. When it is just before bedtime, put out your cookies on a plate with a glass of milk. Set them near your chimney, or if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a chimney set them near your Christmas tree. Then go to bed and enjoy your Christmas presents in the morning. Remember to always be good throughout the year and be helpful. Have a Merry Christmas!
Holiday Traditions By Samantha McConnon What do you do for the Holidays? Do you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or another holiday? Do you listen to music, open gifts, or decorate a tree? There are many ways to celebrate the Holidays; these are called traditions. All families have their own traditions. They can be as simple as drinking hot chocolate, or as complex as a delicious Holiday dinner. In Germany, families hide a pickle in their tree. This might sound silly, but I am sure some people in Germany might think your traditions are silly. Some people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t celebrate Christmas; instead, they celebrate Hanukkah, which is a Jewish holiday. There are eight days of Hanukkah, and each day they light a candle on a menorah. You also might celebrate Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is a week-long African holiday. As you can see, there are many different traditions! What are your traditions?
0RUH\ 0RQWHVVRUL 1HZV Hello! We have exciting news to cover at Morey Montessori! Many of our students have been participating in the 25 mile running club during recess. The students run the 1/4 mile track and check off their laps moving from a 5 PLOH FDUG WR D DQG ¿QDOO\ D PLOH FDUG :KHQ WKH\ ¿QLVK D FDUG WKH\ JHW D YHU\ FRRO ³WRH WRNHQ´ WR WLH WR their shoe laces. After 25 miles, our principal, Mr. Johnson ³JRHV WKH H[WUD PLOH´ ZLWK WKHP WR ¿QLVK D IXOO PDUDWKRQ $OO WKH PDUDWKRQ ¿QLVKHUV JHW JROGHQ VKRH ODFHV :H KDG RQH VWXGHQW ¿QLVK PLOHV LQ MXVW ZHHNV DQG HYHQ KDV D \HDU ROG 3UH. VWXGHQW ¿QLVK PLOHV 2Q November 25th at 2:30 we are inviting the community and families of our Running Club members out to run a celebration mile while the whole school cheers!
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December 2015, Page 5
&RORULQJ &RQWHVW :LQQHUV Harlee Lucas & Gracie Gurd
Maia Jane Myers
Maia Jane Myers
1st Grade - Larson Elementary
2nd Grade - Farwell Elementary
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Maia Jane Myers
Daelyn Gross & Olivia Good
Kayla J Omans & Miranda Strong
3rd Grade - Morey Montessori
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5th Grade - Nikkari Elementary
Not Pictured -
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- 3rd Grade - Morey Montessori
Great Job To All Who Entered The Contest This Year!
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December 2015, Page 6
Coloring Corner Happy Holidays To You! Write about one of the traditions that your family celebrates this holiday season. __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________
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Fun With Fractions! Color In The Correct Answer!
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December 2015, Page 8
What Is Whooping Cough? Kids of today get a series of shots to protect them from getting whooping cough, but some kids will still get it. Babies who have not had all their series of shots are at risk for whooping cough. This is a very serious illness for a baby, and also affects adults ages 60 and older. Whooping cough, which is also called pertussis (pur-tus-is) is a bacterial infection of the respiratory system. This includes your lungs and breathing tubes. Whooping cough got its name from kids coughing a lot and in between coughs, they make a “whoop” sound when they try to take a breath. In 1906, two French scientists discovered the pertussis bacteria and this became the first step to creating a vaccine to prevent this disease. Thousands of children used to get it because it spreads very quickly. Pertussis bacteria can live in the saliva in mouths and in the mucus in noses. It is spread by people coughing or sneezing and releasing tiny droplets in the air that other people breathe in. Colds are caught this way also. The symptoms of whooping cough are similar to a cold but, unlike the cold, whooping cough sticks around and the cough gets stronger and more severe. If the doctor thinks that a child might have whooping cough, they may take a sample of the mucus in the back of their nose. This can be tested in a lab to see if there’s any bacteria in it. They may also order a chest X-ray and blood tests. A child who has whooping cough will need to rest, drink plenty of fluids and eat healthy food. Also, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics to help fight the infection from the bacteria. This will guard from spreading the illness to others. Regular check-ups with the doctor will make sure that the breathing and coughing are improving. Whooping cough can be avoided by getting the pertussis vaccine called the DTaP. The shot prevents two other illnesses — diphtheria and tetanus in addition to pertussis. Today, kids are usually given five doses of it. The first three shots are given while a child is a baby. Another is given when a child is
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a toddler and the fifth one is given between ages 4 to 6. And now, doctors want to give another shot when children are around 11 or 12 to make sure he or she is still protected. Washing your hands often and staying away from people who have a bad cough may help you avoid getting the disease.
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Reindeer! The reindeer is a medium sized member of the Cervodae (deer) family. Reindeer came to North America in the early 1900s from Siberia and Norway. Recently, they have been raised on farms in Canada and the United States. Some of the benefits of raising reindeer include the following: They can be raised on the same farm as other deer and livestock. Reindeer are low maintenance, easy handling and relatively disease free animals. They do well in areas that have cold winters and marginal land. Costs for handling facilities and equipment are often lower. But a really unique part of raising reindeer is the demand for them in commercials, parades and other promotional events. They can be trained to pull sleighs and can be ridden. Reindeer can also generate products such as meat, milk, robes, hides and the antlers they shed. Reindeer are about 4 feet tall at the shoulder and 6 feet long. The adult females weigh about 162-187 pounds while the males are 200-220 pounds on the average. Unlike most other types of deer, both bulls (males) and cows (females) have antlers. Even the calves (babies) produce antlers. The antlers are shed each year and regrow. Sometimes the antlers are called “racks.” Reindeer have very wide hooves which helps them move through snow and tundra, a broad muzzle (nose), and thick brown fur. Their thick fur traps air which insulates the reindeer from the cold and help the reindeer float in water. They are strong swimmers and runners. Calves are born between May and June COLOR and grow quickly. They ME! are around 14 pounds when they are born.
They can stand and walk within minutes of their birth. They are also born with teeth so they can start eating right away. Calves do, however, drink milk from their mothers. The reindeer are herbivores (plant eaters) and they spend much of the day eating. Reindeer travel in herds in the wild. They generally roam on pasture grounds in a farm setting. Reindeer are also associated with Santa Claus! Santa’s sleigh is said to be pulled by flying reindeer! These were first named in the 1823 poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, where they are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem. Dunder was later changed to Donder and in other written works changed to Donner, and Blixem was later changed to Blitzen.
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December 2015, Page 10
Enjoy Skiing And Snowboarding This Winter! While the cold of a Michigan winter makes many of us want to stay cozy indoors, there are two great sports to enjoy outdoors this winter, skiing and snowboarding. These popular sports can be done at the many ski resorts all over Michigan and are a perfect way to exercise while having fun. Skiing is a winter sport that involves moving over the snow with the use of skis, which are long boards attached to the feet. In addition to skis, skiers use poles to keep their balance, ski boots to fasten the skis to their feet, and ski bindings to secure the ski boots to the skis. It’s important to stay warm, so ski pants, a coat and ski gloves help to resist wind and water. Some of the newer fabrics for cold weather give you the warmth without all the bulk. Ski helmets protect heads from injury, and ski goggles protect eyes from wind and the glare of sunlight on the snow covered trails and slopes. Snowboarding is a sport that evolved from skateboarding and surfing, only it’s done on the snow.
Snowboarders need a snowboard, boots, bindings and a helmet, plus all the warm weather gear like gloves, snowboard pants and a coat. Getting properly fit for this equipment is very important for keeping you comfortable and safe. Even if you don’t have your own set of ski or snowboarding equipment, you can rent everything from the ski resort you visit. This is a good way of trying out the sport before purchasing your own set, and deciding what works best for you. If you haven’t tried skiing or snowboarding before, sign up for a lesson and learn the basics from a certified instructor. It’s fun to take a lesson with a sibling or a friend. When you first begin, you start out on a beginner’s slope, or bunny slope, which is a short hill with a gentle incline. You’ll learn how to stop, turn and make correct choices such as which trail or hill COLOR is right for you, and how to watch ME! out for others and avoid collisions. In addition to being fun, both sports offer a great cardio vascular workout which is good for your heart, strengthens your muscles and improves flexibility. Michigan winters can sometimes seem long, but they can really be fun if you have an outdoor sport you can enjoy with your family and friends. So look for the ski resort nearest your home and give it a try.
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