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Turtle Times
Sponsored by
Summerville Elementary School • February 22, 2013
Project an excellent, amazing experience
orking with the Summerville Journal Scene on the student edition of “Turtle Times” was an absolutely amazing experience. This project is an excellent way to teach writing and editing skills using real world experiences. I was able to see ideas go from abstract thoughts to well written ads, biographies, and interviews. I saw students transform ideas into print. This experience allowed the students to incorporate many of the 7Habits. Students began with the end in mind (publishing the student edition of “Turtle Times”), synergized (planning and organizing ideas for interview, ads and biographies), putting first things first, (plan questions for interviews before going on interview - setting up interview times) thinking win-win (incorporate everyone’s ideas) and sharpening the saw (having fun taking pictures, drawing, talking with classmates). I would definitely do this project again. Rock on, Chris Zoeller and the Journal Scene Staff! 5D students will always remember creating their own student published newspaper in 2013.
Students take over the Journal Scene BY CHRIS ZOELLER, NEWSPAPER PROJECT COORDINATOR Welcome to the fourth edition of The Turtle Times, a Newspaper Project of the Summerville Journal Scene. As part of the Adopt-A-Teacher partnership at Summerville Elementary School, the Journal Scene partnered with Kathy Green’s 5th grade class. The goal of The Turtle Times is to educate and engage students by offering a unique, hands-on experience in publishing a newspaper. The editorial team, led by Executive Editor Judy Watts, kicks off the project by coaching students on writing biographies of each other, enterprising story ideas, developing interview techniques, and
composing their articles. Students fine-tune writing skills by preparing interview questions. They plan and organize their approach in telling the complete story and finish the articles through careful editing. Paul Zoeller, a photojournalist mentors the students to plan photo options to complement their articles. First they venture on a photo assignment around the school and take pictures of anything that catches their eye. Students learn to photograph moments that tell a story, take portraits that capture emotion and write captions to explain the photos. The final phase of the project is designing advertisements for local businesses. With the guidance of the advertising team, students design
THE TURTLE TIMES STAFF 2013 creative ads based on the customer’s needs. The Newspaper Project (The Turtle Times) is a win-win in so many ways. The students learn through real-world application while meeting
state writing standards. They also experience a variety of skills they can keep for life and develop a better appreciation of the newspaper business. The newspaper connects with the community
through the talents of young students. But mostly, the Newspaper Projects provides an unforgettable experience for our staff, the students, and our community.
PHOTO Fifth grade student, Hampton Summerhill, hangs from the playground while fellow classmates learn to take photographs using different angles. Students from Kathy Green’s fifth grade class make up the 2013 Turtle Times staff, a Newspaper Project of the Summerville Journal Scene.
ADVENTURES
A camellia blooms in the Dr. Sires Learning Garden at Summerville Elementary School.
Photos by Callie Johnson, Joseph Jones & Hampton Summerhill
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Cafeteria Chaos STORY & PHOTO BY GRANT ALLISON, NICHOLAS GRAZIANI, HANNA MCVICKER & LAILA PERRY he cafeteria has made changes to the menu to make the food healthier, but the changes make the prices higher for students. According to Ms. Sandy, the cafeteria manager, a bill in Washington was passed to make school lunches full of nutrients. The prices have skyrocketed. Some other changes were the white-to-wheat, the fries, and the “need three sides” rules. These changes have affected a lot of people such as Tiffany Jones
and Thomas Girsh who are both in Mrs. Wildman’s class. They each noticed the changes a little bit, but when it came to the prices it cost more for Tiffany than last year, but Thomas didn’t notice. Thomas gets more lunches than last year, which shows he likes the changes as well as Tiffany. These changes have everybody wondering about prices and what goes into their mouth. From the head of this nation to a school down in Summerville, these are all important things. All these changes had very different outcomes to very different people. The cafeteria workers are also working even harder, because the new foods take more hours to prepare. These are changes that affect everyone and they will likely notice in the future.
Annette Williams, cafeteria worker, adds potato wedges to the food line during lunch. One of the changes to the cafeteria menu is healthier milk.
February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project
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Sea Turtle Librarians PHOTO & STORY BY DYLAN GESLING, AARON STANDRIDGE & LOGAN WRIGHT Do you know the librarians at Summerville Elementary School? Tammy Bertram, Media Specialist, and Tracy Miller, Media Center Assistant, are the two loving and caring librarians who work together to keep track of the 50,000 books in the library, also known as the Media Center. The books are in two categories – 30,000 regular books and 20,000 leveled text books. The two librarians are hardworking and both say they love being librarians. Mrs. Bertram and Mrs. Miller have a lot of things in common, like, taking vacations, shopping and reading – their favorite things to do. Mrs. Bertram’s favorite author is Dr. Seuss and Mrs. Miller’s favorite author is
Debbie Macomber. Both librarians also both have sons who serve in the United States military.
MEDIA CENTER BY THE NUMBERS • 50,000: Books in the library • 1,414: Number of patrons this year • 282: Books checked out in day • 1,692: Books checked out this month • 29,556: Books checked out this school year • 40: Scheduled classes in the media center/week
Media Center Specialist, Tammy Bertram, reads to students in the library.
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Summerville Elementary all-girl classes perform a dance for the Leadership Day visitors on February 8.
Leadership Day: Spirit In The Schools STORY & PHOTO BY CALLIE JOHNSON, LEAH JONAS & LYDIA SCHULZ here was a lot of pride and pep during Leadership Day. Over 40 visitors came to Newington, Summerville Elementary, and Rollings Middle School.
“I came because I heard it has great ideas,” said visitor Mary Mashke. Newington Elementary had different clubs, songs, and dances. This is their second year of being a Leadership school. It was impressive to see all of the kids synergize together to put together the celebration. “The school has made a difference through the students’ leadership,” said Principal Lori Dibble.
At Summerville Elementary there were a lot of singing groups. Third time’s a charm, because it’s the third year of a Leader in Me School at SES! “Leadership is important in life,” said Dr. Kathy Sobolweski of Rollings Middle School of the Arts. She noted Rollings first year as a Leadershiop has been a hit! She added that there was action and excitement. Children’s talents were incorporated in
the day. “No wonder it’s an art school! Way to go Rollings!” she said. All the schools have similarities and differences. Newington, for example had their clubs exhibited in all different ways like trashcan bands, paintings, and Zumba Dancing. Rollings showed all their art talents like dancing, strings, and singing. Summerville Elementary students sang the 7 Habits. All these schools come together with leadership.
February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project
LEADERSHIP DAY
Newington Elementary students welcome Leadership Day visitors with a Lowcountry shag dance on February 8, 2013. More than 40 visitors attended Leadership Day at Newington Elementary, Summerville Elementary and Rollings Middle School of the Arts.
Rollings Ringers leads Leadership Day guests to Rolling Middle School of the Arts.
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Explosive News STORY & PHOTO BY JOE JONES, JONATHAN KALBACH, KENDALL MCCLARY, HAMPTON SUMMERHILL itchen chemistry is a fun way to reinforce science skills and standards that students learn in elementary school by turning simple science into complex experiments. “It is something different than anything I’ve seen. You can put vinegar and baking soda in a test tube and watch it blow up into a shower of bubbles, into complex science,” said student club
member Hunter Baily. “Our club is unique because we are the only club that blows stuff up in the name of science,” said Elizabeth Crotty, Kitchen Chemistry teacher. Some of the experiments that Mrs. Crotty’s chemistry kids have performed include: • Vinegar and baking soda bubble solutions • Lava lamps out of water bottles, and • Mentos and coke geysers. From this group of chemistry kids we learned more about what might make something explode in the kitchen like CO2 which can be used for soda reactions or putting slime in the microwave. But the most important the chemistry kids taught us is, “Always be safe in the kitchen.”
Students in the Kitchen Chemistry Club wait for their mixture of baking soda and vinegar to explode.
February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project
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Modern and Veteran Teachers STORY & PHOTO BY PARKER FULLAJTAR, PRICE LENOIR & ELLIOT MECHLING o d e r n and veteran, new and seasoned, or current and oldf a s h ioned -- either way, all teachers have made Summerville Elementary a great place to teach. Fifth grade teacher Kelley Wildman and second grade teacher Cate Martin have been teaching for only one year and have totally different perspectives than kindergarten teacher, Linda Lacey, who has been teaching here the longest at SES.
Mrs. Linda Lacey BY PRICE LENOIR Mrs. Linda Lacey has been
teaching for 35 years at Summerville Elementary. Mrs. Lacey teaches kindergarten and feels that kindergarten is very exciting and you learn something every day. Patience is one of her strategies for teaching her kids. She has learned to be prepared for anything and to be flexible in her schedule. Her mother inspired her to be a teacher and her favorite subject to teach is English Language Arts. Outside of teaching, she enjoys gardening. Mrs. Lacey received her degree from the College of Charleston. Her favorite habit is habit #1-Be proactive. She teaches her kids to use that habit by being a role model. Mrs. Lacey said that “Using time wisely and staying organized” are the hardest parts about teaching.
Mrs. Kelley Wildman BY ELLIOTT MECHLING Mrs. Wildman is a newcomer to teaching, and teaches at Summerville Elementary. She enjoys teaching fifth grade. One strategy she has is doing group work. She believes all kids can learn. Mrs. Wildman enjoys kids and watching them grow. Her favorite subject is Science and her hobbies are reading and watching basketball. Mrs. Williams went to Indiana University and the College of Charleston. Her favorite habit is to synergize. She says the hardest part of Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Lacey helps Megan McClary with reading. Mrs. Lacey has been teaching is waking up at teaching for 35 years. 5a.m. teaching second grade. One strategy for are tennis, kickboxing, and running. teaching is to know her students better. The Mrs. Martin went to University of St. Mrs. Cate Martin most important lesson she’s learned while Andrews College to get her degree. BY PARKER FULLAJTAR teaching is to be a little more strict. Her favorite strategy is to “Put First Things Mrs. Cate Martin is new to Mrs. Martin wanted to become a teacher First.” To her, the hardest part about teaching is that teaching at Summerville because she loves kids. Her favorite subject to Elementary. She is currently teach is math. Her hobbies outside of teaching something’s “wild in the air.”
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February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project
A Waste Of Water STORY & PHOTO BY ALLISON CALVERT, GRACE SIMPSON & AMANI JONES id you know 5,000 children die every day from dirty water? Well, that’s why there’s an organization called “Water Missions International.” According to WMI, about 8,000 people die a year from dirty water. Thanks to second grade teacher Kathy Jordan, Summerville Elementary third graders are trying to raise $1,500 to buy a filter for a country in need of fresh water. These filters can last from 50-90 years. WMI donates filters to Africa, South America, and Haiti, and now people in these countries can get 10,000 gal-
lons of fresh water out of these filters. Now there is a walk to help raise money for these special filters. “Thank you SES third graders!” said Mrs. Jordan. The reactions of other people at the school who have helped with Water Missions have learned a lot from their involvement. “Third grade did this last year and it really opens your eyes to see how much water is wasted,” said fourth grade teacher Linda Jacobson. “When my baby brother takes a bath, my mom asks me to fill the tub halfway, so we don’t waste water. Thanks to that, we save 5 gallons of water,” said Kimberly Olsen. “My brother leaves the water running, he doesn’t realize that 8,000 people die of drinking dirty water, and that gallon of fresh water he wasted could save many lives,” said Dakota Third grade students Dakota Taylor and Kimberly Olsen participate in the Water Missions service project for their grade. Taylor.
February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project
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Sea Turtles to the Rescue STORY & PHOTO BY KENYANNA ALSTON, REBECCA BAILEY & ADDISON PREZIMIRSKI The Summerville Elementary kindergarteners are helping and rescuing the sea turtles of the South Carolina Aquarium. “Our mascot is the sea turtles so the children wanted to relate to that,” said Kindergarten teacher Sheree Young. Helping these sea turtles is very important to them because if the animals aren’t taken care of, they can become extinct. They also needed money and supplies, so that’s what the Kindergarteners took to help.
The Field Trip The field trip to the S.C. Aquarium was a success because the children got to see the animals that they were helping. They love going there and have done it for the last three years, and plan on doing it again next year. While they were there, they got to pet some turtles and other animals. Hopefully we can go back to the aquarium someday. Kindergartener Tylasia Henderson reflected on the trip: “I liked the trip because I got to pet turtles.”
Kindergarten students, from left, Makayla Stamey, Jacob Sessoms, Robin Gnegy and Mackenzie Emerson are apart of the Sea Turtle Rescue Program that raises money for the Sea Turtle Rescue Program.
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February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project
Do You Really Know the Teacher of the Year? STORY & PHOTO BY EMILY COLLIER, KASSIDY CROMER & NINA SWIFT eacher of the Year is an important event at Summerville Elementary School. Three finalists are selected by nominations from fellow teachers. This year’s finalists include Juanita Waring, Debbie Malinoski, and last but not least, Mary Ellen Foster. The teacher of the year election just ended and the teacher of the year for 2012-2013 is Mrs. Malinoski. Instructional Technology Specialist, Mrs. Malinoski is a passionate teacher. In her free time she reads a lot, likes to work in her garden, and likes to play on a computer or iPad. The reason she wanted to start teaching is because she had a teacher who made an impression on her in the 7th grade,
and she wanted to be just like her 7th grade teacher. “I make sure that the students and teachers have all that they need,” said Mrs. Malinoski. Third grade teacher Mrs. Waring is a magnanimous person. In her free time she helps out at her church, reads and plays basketball. The reason she wanted to start teaching is because she likes learning and wanted to see others learn and grow. “I have a good relationship with kids and teachers help them get along,” said Mrs. Waring. Read 180 teacher, Mrs. Foster, is a dedicated teacher. In her free time she likes to take care of four great kids, and if there’s time, she likes to read, run, and rollerblade. The reason Mrs. Foster wanted to start teaching is because in 4th grade, her teacher Mrs. Sedal really cared a lot about her, and From left, Debbie Malinoski, Mary Ellen Foster and Juantia Waring were selected as finalshe wanted to be just like her. “I have a passion for my students,” she ists for Summerville Elementary School’s 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Malinowski was recently chosen as the Teacher of the Year. said.
February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project
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Turtle Times staff reporter, Leah Jonas, interviews Rollings Middle School of the Arts Principal Dr. Kathy Sobolewski during Leadership Day on February 8. Interviewing and story writing are one of the many hands on learning experiences of The Turtle Times, a Newspaper Project of the Summerville Journal Scene. Photo by Chris Zoeller
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February 22, 2013 • Newspaper Project