School Zone December 2017 by Siuslaw News

THE SIUSLAW NEWS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ❚ December 2017

SCHOOL ZONE A Monthly Newsletter for the Siuslaw and Mapleton School Districts and Community Groups

CNA: Pathway to a great career and a better life

Misty Morn in Mapleton

SUBMITTED BY RUSS PIERSON Dean of Lane Community College Florence Center

hat do you do if you feel like you’re stuck in a dead-end job that will never enable you to live your dreams? At the LCC Florence Center, we just might have an answer for you. After several years on hiatus, our Certified Nursing Assistant program is returning to Florence, in collaboration with PeaceHealth/ Peace Harbor Medical Center and Lane Workforce Partnership. Our initial class will launch in early April as a CNA2 cohort, and we expect out-of-pocket costs to be minimal for selected students. We will follow up later in spring term or in early summer term with our first CNA1 cohort. CNA1s are in demand from various healthrelated businesses in our community, and CNA2 is fast becoming the standard for entrylevel positions at the hospital. Once you’ve been credentialed, in many cases you can work with your employer to continue to expand your knowledge and skill while you’re making a reasonable wage. Lane Community College offers a clear pathway from CNA1 to CNA2, and from CNA2 to our prestigious LPN/RN nursing program. Our Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) program offers a one-year certificate (in addition to pre-requisite courses) that prepares students to be eligible to sit for LPN licensing exams, and our two-year Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing prepares students to become Registered Nurses (RNs). Lane also offers an LPN-to-RN Bridge option for current LPNs to transition directly into the second year of the RN program. While our CNA programs are offered entirely here in Florence, we also support our local LPN and RN students with two-video classes to minimize travel to Eugene, along with testing support and local clinical opportunities when possible. But wait … there’s more! If you want to continue to grow in your career, Lane’s program offers full articulation into a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN or RNBS) online program with Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and the BSN program at Northwest Christian University close to home in Eugene, among others. OHSU’s program also offers a seamless pathway to their Master of Nursing degree. Call the college today at 541-997-8444 and ask to be placed on our waiting list to receive all the details in January. It could be the first step to change your life — for good.

SUBMISSIONS WELCOME Deadline for submissions is the 15th of every month. Be a part of School Zone, a monthly newsletter for students in the Siuslaw and Mapleton school districts. Email Features Editor Chantelle Meyer at cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com

A foggy easterly view behind Mapleton High School by Mapleton student Quinn Lewis.

All the world’s a stage ... COURTESY PHOTOS

hen Children's Repertory of Oregon Workshops (CROW) Artistic Director Melanie Heard got word that a commercial being filmed locally needed actors, she leapt at the chance to provide camera experience to her students. CROW youth participated as background actors on Dec. 8. "It provided our local kids with an experience like no other," Heard said. "It's great to see our kids learning about different genres, and I was thrilled to say 'Yes!' when the production company asked us to participate. What a great experience for our kids to be on a set, and to learn about the logistics of shooting a real commercial!" CROW is open to all area youth. For more information, visit crowkids.com.

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Maxine Jones — Advanced Culinary

axine Jones was selected as this month’s artist of the month by Mr. Kyle Lewis. Maxine is a senior at Siuslaw High School. Her proud parents are Dean Jones and Heather Hevin. She enjoys Mr. Lewis’s movie quotes and butchering cows during 4th and 5th period Advanced Culinary. The atmosphere of Advanced Culinary is “very funny, family like,” says Maxine. Culinary has taught her “how to be a better cook and finance myself with food” along with how to butcher a cow. The Advanced Culinary’s cow butchering experience was “very successful with almost 500 pounds of meat.”

When asked if she was grossed out by anything that she saw, Maxine said, “No, I went into it thinking I was going to be [grossed out], but I wasn’t.” She is especially grateful that “Mr. Lewis is so helpful when I’m trying to figure out what food to eat (during college).” Outside of cooking, Maxine has always been “in love with math” and plans to one day become a “certified personal accountant, the highest branch of accounting.” She also enjoys bowling and has currently been to state twice with her team. They hope to go to state again, which is being held in Klamath Falls, this February.

BY AUDREY LOWDER Siuslaw High School Student

PHOTO BY CAROL JOLLEY

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” — Hippocrates

2 ❚ THE SIUSLAW NEWS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ❚ December 2017

MAPLETON Mapleton 4-H Plans Projects for 2018 Mapleton 4-H Community Club announces its 2017-2018 project club plans. By unanimous vote, members will be active in Arts, Baking, Swimming, Hiking/Camping and Canoeing/ Kayaking Project Clubs this year. Additionally, some members will be working individually or with a small group on Poultry, Horse Appreciation and possibly Creative Writing. New officers this year are President Isaiah Emerson, Treasurer Ariana Galvan-Mendez and Activities Chair Sarah Emerson. Additionally, Mapleton High School Junior Alyssa West will be our Junior Leader beginning January 2018. Club members began their Arts Project by learning how to make clay mugs at Alyssa Clark Clayworks studio in Florence on Dec. 11.

Swim Project Club will be every Monday from Jan. 8 through Feb. 26 at Coastal Fitness. Mapleton 4-H Community Club has room for more members, but is limited to a total of 15 junior members. Junior members are youth who were ages 9 to 18 in September. If an adult is willing and able to become the Cloverbud Leader, the club would also welcome youth who turned 6 by September 2017 through those not yet 9 years old by that date. To find out more about membership costs and registration, visit extension.oregonstate. edu/lane/4h. Call or email Lauren Hesse, 541-268-6943, stang-hesse@ msn.com for more information about the Mapleton 4-H Community Club.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Mapleton 4H students learn about pottery at Florence's Alyssa Clark Clayworks as the start of their Arts Project. 4H students will study many topics this year, including swimming at Coast Central and other extracurricular activities.

COASTAL COMMUNITY

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY A world of wellness options

Dear Children and Teens of Florence, It’s almost the New Year! This is a good time to think about your resolutions and goals for 2018. How about trying something new and making amazing new friends? How about learning to sing, dance, and perform on stage? How about challenging yourself physically and mentally? Well, look no further … you are invited into the CROW family! CROW stands for Children’s Repertory of Oregon Workshops. This is our local performing arts program. You may remember shows such as “The Addams Family,” “Shrek” and “Once Upon a Mattress.” These were all performed by CROW kids! You can be a CROW kid too. There are many ways you can get involved. The soonest opportunity is to audition for the next musical, which is “Tarzan.” To audition, you need to have a short song prepared to sing and be ready to learn some choreography. Bring a headshot (a close-up photo of you) and a résumé. It’s all right if you don’t have experience yet, you don’t need it. Auditions are Jan. 8 and 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the CROW Center for the Performing Arts, 3180 Highway 101 in Florence. The show is April 13, 14 and 15. Enter Tarzan yell here — AHHHHHH-AHHHHHH! There are also really fun summer camps. Last year there was an advanced acting camp for teens. I wasn’t a part of this, but I watched the showcase and let’s just say … it was hilarious! There were also two camps for kids of any age. There was a Song and Dance camp where kids learned around six songs and performed them

for a small audience. Finally, there was an acting and improvisation camp. Improv is acting without a script and it’s a good skill to have. This camp had some really fun theater games too. We don’t know what this summer’s camps will be, but they will be a blast and you will make new friends. Wait, isn’t that part of your New Year’s Resolution? Do you love Christmas songs? Do you want to sing them in front of a Christmas-loving audience? The Holly Jolly Follies might be for you. Just last year CROW took this show under its wing. You don’t have to audition for the Follies, everyone involved volunteers, including adults from our community. This show is the first weekend of December and rehearsals start in November. This is a chance to act as a fun character, such as an elf, a shopper, a dancer or a farting cowboy. CROW also has a Haunted Maze for Halloween. Have you checked out the haunted CROW building? You can volunteer to act in the maze, which looks like a fun and creepy thing to do. Finally, there are spring and fall dance classes for all ages. The CROW website (crowkids.com) gives you more information on the upcoming classes for kids and adults. There are a lot of fun opportunities for you to get involved this year. If I had never joined CROW I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I am now comfortable singing and dancing in front of a large audience. I’ve made friends of all ages and they are now my CROW family. Hope to see you involved soon! Grace Dotson, a 9-year-old CROW kid

Whether you are a newbie to exercise or a prima ballerina, Lane Community College Florence Center (LCC) is the place to be if you’re interested in dance, yoga or other group fitness classes. LCC has an ever-evolving menu of offerings each term as part of its Continuing Education/lifelong learning program, but this coming winter term, its dance classes literally span the globe, including Hawaiian Hula

Basics, Adult Ballet, Belly Dance and — brand new this term — Learn to Tap. The new tap class is tailor-made for beginners, so while it may start slow, people will be amazed at how much they grow as a dancer, and as a lover of life. Florence Center also has an “Exercise Like A Dancer” class that is sure to help get and keep you long, lean and limber. LCC has a full complement of yoga classes, including Chair

Yoga, Yoga Fitness and Beginning Yoga. And if you still want more, you can sign up for Qigong, Stretch and Strengthen and our Move It or Lose It class. If you are a fitness instructor or someone with a burning passion to see a particular class, give us a call at 541-997-8444 and let us know what you are thinking. Meanwhile, you can find more information about our current class offerings in our catalog, here: https://cl.ly/0j2y3N1r182A.

We are your community partner in financial education!

Apply to these scholarships now The following are the deadlines for some scholarships available to Mapleton and Siuslaw high school seniors and juniors. Students who apply for student aid and scholarships should also check their twoand four-year colleges, universities and technical schools for additional scholarships and funding resources. — Submitted by Bou Kilgore, ASPIRE Team Leader • April 22 – Pacific Coast Wind En• Oct. 1 to June 30 – FAFSA (Free munity Coalition semble Application for Federal Stu- • March 31 – Florence Rotary • April 25 – Siuslaw Valley Firedent Aid) at fafsa.ed.gov • April 1 – Ada Grange fighters • Nov. 1 to March 1 – Oregon Prom- • April 1 – Boys and Girls Club ise & Office of Student Access • April 1 – Kiwanis Club of Flor- • April 25 – Oregon Jaycee • April 30 – CROW (Children’s Repand Completion ence • Feb. 3 – Elks National Founda- • April 1 – Florence Elks Lodge ertory of Oregon Workshops) • May 4 – Delta Gamma, Tamtion Legacy Award 1858 Vocational my Nivens and Andrea Wright • Feb. 15 – OSAC Early Bird Dead- • April 1 – Florence Garden Club line • April 1 – SHS Alumni Associa- • May 1 – Daughters of the • American Revolution • March 1 – Oregon Promise and tion • April 6 – Oregon Pacific Bank • May 1 – Florence Community OSAC Final Deadline PTA • March 1 – Independent Order of • April 6 – Geraldine Bagley • April 14 – Siuslaw Athletic • May 4 – Florence STEP (Salmon the Odd Fellows Trout Enhancement Program) • March 1 – Community Chorus of Booster Club • April 15 – Western Lane Com- • May 15 – Central Coast of OrFlorence (begins in fall) • March 1 – Lane Community Col- munity Foundation egon Realtors lege Foundation (lanecc.edu/ • April 15 – Florence Masonic • May 15 – Ronnie Catalfamo Mefoundation/foundation-schol- Lodge morial Scholarship • April 15 – Oregon School Em- • May 15 – Tony’s Garage Scholararship-opportunities) ployees Association • March 3 – Ladies of Elks ship • April 15 – Soroptimist of Flor- • May 15 – Jose De La Mora • March 6 – Peace Scholarships • March 15 – “It’s About Heart…” ence (x3) • Memorial • April 20 – Florence Lions Club • Anytime – Coastal Celtic presented by Nathan Fuller • March 15 – Florence Area Com- • April 21 – Glen C. Butler Society

Aside from providing financial products and services, we are happy to offer educational support for all ages: Credit and Savings Best Practices First-time Home Buying Resources Cybersecurit y Business Tips Estate Pl anning Consultations In need of financial resources? Visit your local banker today!

KID SCOOP

Kid Scoop runs every Wednesday during the school year in the Siuslaw News and features educational stories and fun activities for families. The activity page is part of the Siuslaw News’ Newspapers In Education program, in which teachers from Siuslaw and Mapleton school districts may request copies of the local paper to use as curriculum in their classroom. Call 541-997-3441 for more info.

1355 Highway 101 • Florence • Oregon (541) 997-7121 • www.opbc.com

member

THE SIUSLAW NEWS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ❚ December 2017 ❚ 3

SIUSLAW Candy Gram Wishes for SES

Perfect light

No child was left out this holiday, thanks to local business owners, families and school staff who made sure, through generous donations, that every Siuslaw Elementary School student received a Candy Gram greeting before leaving for Winter Break. The following sponsors donated towards the effort to ensure that every student received a special greeting card: Coast Road Construction, Skyline Roofing, Western Lane Ambulance District medics, Scott Ryland Plumbing, Evergreen Concrete, Harrison Plumbing and the Huff Family. Other individuCOURTESY PHOTOS

Students in the Siuslaw Middle School Science Club are gearing up to start building Underwater ROVs. A grant from Ocean Guardians has allowed Siuslaw Middle School to continue to build the Underwater ROV program and give students the opportunity to engage in STEM activities. As a part of the design and build process, students must build a circuit board by soldering the circuit board components for the ROV controller. Before beginning to solder on the actual controller circuit board, it is good to get some practice in. So, in the spirit of the holidays, students began to practice their skills by soldering LED Christmas Trees. As a group, we learned where to put the resistors, the transistors, capacitors and the LED bulbs. The students soldered their trees and troubleshot any problems, such as soldering components to the wrong spaces. Overall, the students were successful and ended up with nice decorations to light up their holidays. They will be ready to begin building their ROVs when they return from Winter Break. — Submitted by Alexis Wells

Spreading Christmas cheer

On Dec. 8, 11 members of Siuslaw Middle School’s Social Justice Club visited Elderberry Square, an assisted living facility in Florence. Students, such as Elizabeth, Madison, Bailey and Natalisha, spread holiday cheer by giving gifts of homemade cookies and ornaments to the residents and sharing in their company. Seventh-grader Madison proposed the idea to give presents to the elders at a club meeting the week before, and students immediately pitched in to help. The Social Justice Club at SMS strives to promote kindness and equality throughout its school as well as the Florence community. — Submitted by Hilary Roach

COURTESY PHOTO

SUPPORTING

NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION

Thank you to the following supporters of this special monthly section

Ada Grange Dorothy Allen Tom and Sharon Armstrong Dollie Austin Diane Bailiff Bob and Sophie Baker Mr. and Mrs. Bill Bauer Virgile Bechtold Band Of Brothers Anne Caples Catling Virginia Carroll Barbara Cavarno Donald Chapin Don And Ginnie Chehak Dick Childs Evelyn Cloyd William and Kay Craig Mrs. Joanne Crippen Joan Daoust Sharon David Marjorie Dalby Denise Dee William and Phyllis Dickson Mike Dixon Joseph and Frieda Doyle Jim and Sharron Dwiggins Donna Edgeworth Juanita Edwards Ivan and Diane Ellington Denny and Barbara Ellis Jacqueline Evans Don And Rhea Forum L. Furby Paul Gargis Kent & Teresa Gibson Leo Goddard Becky Goehring Alan Golob Dave and Becky Gould Dave Gruesz Bruce Hadley GL Hale Jerry Hammond Jim and Dee Hartley Vicki Higgins Robert and Barbara Hix Sharon Hobart Sally Hodgdon Barbara Holler Paul Holman/Tracy Smith Aaron Holmes Archie Hornfelt Delores Hopkins Lillian Hunter Laena, Ethan Brandon Jagoe David and Benita Jefferis Hazel P. Jennings Fred Jensen Brian Johnston Carol Jolley Frankie and Harry Jorgensen Ginny Kelly Eric Kirsten Elton Knutson Leroy Krzycki S. Lacer, B. Mealer Barbara Lamb Floyd and Deborah Larson Andrew Latoma Teresa Lichti Lloyd Little Aaron Longo Clarence & Nancy Lysdale Judy Madsen

Don Mahardy Giles Maloof Doug and Deborah Manthe Raymond Manthe Jim and Carolyn Markle Nancy Mattice Peggy Mccullum Daniel McDivitt Bill McDougle Sharon McLeod Craig McMicken Ken Melnychak Sheldon and Mary Meyer R.g. Meyser Jim Moe Jack and Colleen Moore Sharon and Wallace Morey Harry Morgan and Scherrie Halfacre Leo Moyer Gerald Mulvey Mr and Mrs Wm Munzer Jim Murphy Teri and Mike Myers Natalie Nagrone (Key Realty) The Necklason’s Keith and Joanne Nelson Larry Newman Lanny and Roxy Nivens North County Lures Edward Ogle Don Olson Joan Owens Julie Peak Al Pearn Rachel and Paul Pearson Karen Peck Aubrey Pendergrass Karen Pendergrass John Pino Roger Poirier Linda Pugh David Rankin Martha Ransom Roger Ranta Patricia Reno Dusty Rhodes Dix Richards Gloria Richardson Fran and John Rickaby Larry Rosenbalm Lynn Ryan Diane Sábado Ronald Sherriffs David Smith MD Robert Spencer Leo and Shirley Stapleton John Stead Bill Stone Carol Thompson Ginger Timberlake Londi Tomaro Gary and Marian Trueblood Arils Ulman Clare Vanriper Lynda Verscheiden Susan Weathers Paul Webster Western Lane Ambulance Siuslaw Valley Fire And Rescue Heather Wiggins Rhode Willard George Williams Edward and Delores Wilson Veronica Zecchini and Tom Jackson

a positive school culture, celebrating successes while supporting staff and students. Through PBIS, everyone works together to create and maintain a productive, safe environment in which all school community members clearly unCOURTESY PHOTOS derstand the shared Coordinators helped make sure that ev- expectations for beery SES student received a candy gram. havior. als sponsored entire A variety of posiclassrooms of stu- tive reinforcements are used to dents. encourage expected behaviors at Crystal Osburn, Siuslaw Elementary School, and fundraiser extraor- the program is widely successful. dinaire and Classi- A net profit of $1,445 was raised fied Staff Hero of the Year, led the through this fundraiser, which campaign to raise funds for the will go towards providing trainschool’s Positive Behavior Interven- ing for teachers and funding intions & Supports (PBIS) program. centives and supplies for the proThe program is designed to create gram.

Students excel at math in contest

On Nov. 9, 23 students from Siuslaw Elementary School, led by Kassy Keppol, competed in the semiannual Noetic Learning Math Contest, a national mathematics contest for elementary and middle school students. The goal of the competition is to encourage students’ interest in math, to develop their problem solving skills and to inspire them to excel in math. More than 23,000 students representing 526 schools across the country took part. The following are team winners: • Wyatt Kafitz, Mrs. Cargill’s team, 3rd Grade • Danin Lacouture, Mrs. Stokes’ team, 4th Grade — perfect score • Kaden Wood and Dylan Jenson (tied), Mrs. Riggs’ team, 5th Grade The following students won the National Honor Roll title. This title is awarded to approximately the top 10 percent of participating mathletes. • Wyatt Kafitz, 3rd Grade • Camden Linton, 4th Grade (only missed one) • Danin Lacouture, 4th Grade • Kaden Wood, 5th Grade • Dylan Jenson, 5th Grade The following students received National Honorable Mention. This title is awarded to approximately the top 50 percent of participating mathletes.

A special thank you...

• Leo Whisler, 3rd Grade • Jonathin Soiseth, 3rd Grade • Arlo Lauderdale, 3rd Grade • Brogan Hadd, 3rd Grade • Lance Peterson, 4th Grade • Olivia Moore, 4th Grade • Vegas Fell, 4th Grade • Gregory McCabe, 4th Grade • Alison Hughes, 4th Grade • Reid Harklerode, 4th Grade • Jordan Pitcher, 4th Grade • Lara Bullin, 4th Grade • Micah Blankenship, 4th Grade • Megan Alberty, 5th Grade • Joey Greenwood, 5th Grade • Holly Chen, 5th Grade • Ashlyn Hart, 5th Grade •Macali Lade, 5th Grade Congratulations to all the winners! The contest results demonstrate our students’ great problem solving skills and math talents. They also show that our students can rise to the occasion and can meet the challenge. For more information, visit www.noetic-learn ing.com/mathcontest. — Submitted by Diane McCalmont

“Thanks to everyone who put Labels for Education in our collection jars,” said Coordinator Button Watkins. “We will receive $175 worth of Visa cards for the Florence Community PTA from our final order with the program. The Labels for Education program officially ends Dec. 31, 2017. “We appreciate all of you who took the time to save and bring in the labels for our PTA. Thank you,” Watkins said. For more information, visit www.florencepta.org.

Pianoforte: A jingle story

We have all listened to music and liked a certain song. Sometimes, we want to learn how to play that song on an instrument. Some want to learn it on a violin. Others want to try it on a saxophone, but for me, I wanted to try the piano. According to an article on listontrap.com, the piano is ranked number seven on the top 10 hardest instruments to play, which I didn’t know about when I first wanted to play the piano, but I was destined to learn how anyway. On Christmas Day 2010, my family opened our gifts together. When I looked at the long present, I assumed it was for someone else, but when I read the tag, it was for me. I decided to open it last, and when I did, it was an electric piano. At first it was very exciting. I now owned an instrument. I gave it a couple of whirls. However, I eventually became bored, and it ended up stored away under my bed. About a year later, while I was spending time on our family computer, I stumbled upon a video that showed the history of the Intel jingle. At the time, I was interested in Intel, as I really liked their iconic jingle you hear at the end of every Intel commercial. The video showed the music notes. I already knew how to read music so I quickly grabbed my piano, set it on the table and learned to play the song. Later at dinner, I told my parents I learned how to play the Intel Jingle, that’s when my mother asked me if I wanted to take piano lessons. I decided it would be a great experience to learn how to play the piano, so I accepted the offer, however there was one problem. Where can we find a piano instructor? We looked for a long time until August 2012,

when we found one. Jason Wood would be my first piano instructor. At the time, he was the musical director of CROW, and we already knew a lot about him at the time. I studied with him for four years. In the first year, I was introduced to Alfred’s piano lesson books, and that would be my learning base. Over our time together, I learned how to count notes, time signatures and different music symbols, such as dynamics, slurs, ties, sharps and flats. In 2013, I performed at my first piano recital, which would be during my vocal showcase. I was a quick learner and I then became the most advanced piano student. In 2016, I was finally reaching Jason’s level in piano. This caused lessons to be a little bit longer, and a bit more stressful. Eventually, I reached a point where we would need to find a new piano teacher. I then knew that a teacher that taught at the middle school could help me advance my piano learning abilities. Her name was Ms. Debra Young. She used to teach at both the middle and high school, but left this school year. However, she was able to help me and we made a great duo. There was one small change though. Instead of only learning with the Alfred system, I would be learning classical music too. This would then make piano more interesting, as I would now start learning more music. We learned great pieces, including the famous “Für Elise.” We had good times together. Sometimes, we would talk about funny piano parodies, such as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star — 1 Million Notes Edition” and “Ode to Insane Joy.” In June 2017, I once again had to find a new piano teacher. At

BY RAMIRO RAMIREZ Siuslaw High School Student

first I thought it would be the end of my music pursuing, as I already retired from taking vocal lessons. Then my mother said she knew someone who also taught piano. When she was looking for a piano teacher in 2009, she found Florence resident Kathy Parsons as an option. However, Kathy said she only taught intermediate students. My mother decided to try again if she would accept me as a student. This time, I was accepted. So now I would be taught by a very good teacher. For my first lessons, I brought over all the music that I had learned previously with Ms. Young and Jason Wood to give her a taste of what I was currently learning. After I had showcased all of the music I had learned, she decided that I should start learning new music and a little bit of classical. The first piece I learned was “Overcome” by David Nevue. It then became challenging, fun and convenient to learn new music. Then I learned other pieces like “Wonderland” by David Nevue, “Vesuvius” by David Lanz, and “Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” My favorite song that I learned was another song by David Lanz, “Behind the Waterfall/Desert Rain Medley.” Lately, I finished a piano recital and am now learning a new piece by David Lanz, called “Return to the Heart.” Overall, piano has taught me to be a critical thinker and keep on trying until it is perfected. Sure, piano may be the seventh hardest instrument to learn, but once you learn to handle it, it doesn’t even feel like it’s so hard at all. I encourage everyone to give piano a try. It is a beautiful instrument that if played in the right way, can attract a bigger audience than you expect.

4 ❚ THE SIUSLAW NEWS SCHOOL NEWSLETTER ❚ December 2017

Jeff Schinkel, Graphics

Vol. 34, No. 3

Nellie Fly is looking for news about kids helping the environment. She saw some kids cleaning up a playground in their neighborhood.

Some people call our planet “Mother Earth.” Like a mother, our planet provides us with the things that give us life – like food and water. Mother Earth gives us more than food and water – she gives us joy. beautiful flowers, places to walk and even majestic mountains to enjoy.

The amount of trash people dump on Mother Earth each year is enormous. This causes problems for people, animals and the environment. Each year people dump more than 2 billion tons of waste. That’s the weight of about 5,480 Empire State Buildings! If all this waste was put on trucks, a line of those trucks would go around the world 24 times! This holiday season you can give a gift to your planet by taking the “Love My Planet Pledge.” Sign the Pledge, cut it out and keep it somewhere you can see it everyday. It will help remind you of how you can care for Mother Earth everyday!

Read the notes in Nellie Fly’s reporter’s notebook. Then write a short news article about the playground clean-up project.

Love My Planet Pledge I will try to buy goods with little or no packaging. Less packaging, less trash! I will wipe up spills with a sponge or cloth instead of paper towels. I will use the Sunday comics to wrap presents. I will recycle as much trash as I can! I will not leave the refrigerator door open for long periods of time. I will use re-usable containers for my lunch. I will pick up litter!

Look through the newspaper for the names of people and groups who are caring for our planet. Select one and send a letter thanking them for what they do to care for our home.

Signed

Standards Link: Writing: Write sentences using descriptive details.

Write the news article on the lines below or on a separate piece of paper. HEADLINE

BY: YOUR NAME

One way to love the planet is by walking or riding your bike to get places. Race a friend to see who can get to the park fastest!

Planet Points of View

Find an article that shows a way in which people harm or care for our planet. Re-write the article from the point of view of a wild animal that would be affected by the news in this article. Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Read grade-level expository text.