SURVEY SAYS by Jenifer Schwartz-Carr and Cameron Brown
I
f you won the lottery would you prefer to receive your winnings in payments over a period of time or would you rather receive it as a one-time lump sum? We surveyed Edgar Road students, staff and our family members and discovered students preferred to receive payments, while our teachers and parents said they would want it in a lump sum. “I would put it in the bank. It would make more money and would be accessible,” said ERS parent, Erin Bulfi n. Th is was a good thing to think about because most of the students we interviewed didn’t pay attention to this. Students we talked to agreed they would prefer payments. ERS 3rd grader, Corin Tucker, did not think she would want a lump sum because she would get more money with payments. However, fourth grade teacher, Mr. Hake found a way around this by putting it in the bank to gain interest. So it would actually depend on what you would want, because for the money to grow in the bank would take time. But, it would also take time to get all the payments. But, if the bank goes bankrupt, you won’t get your money. After weighing the pros and cons, it may be better to get the money all at once instead of payments.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
GUESS WHO?
GE T TO K NOW M R S. W R IGH T
D
by Laurel Stuber
Mrs. Wright makes a quick visit to the beach during her mission trip in San Diego.
by Kat Handal
o you think you know a teacher who was in a play in 4th grade and celebrates Christmas the whole month of December? Hint 1: Prior to teaching at Edgar Road – this teacher served as a substitute at several schools including Our Lady of Lourdes in University City and Assumption Catholic School in O’Fallon. Hint 2: Although shy as a child, this teacher had some early stage experience.
Guess Who answers on pg 3.
T
he only school librarian Mrs. Wright has worked at is Edgar Road Elementary and she has been here for 25 years! Mrs. Wright decided to be a librarian while teaching Kindergarten and the gifted programs. Mrs Wright might like reading now, but when she was younger she despised it. In college she started enjoying it and realized it wasn’t too bad. Mrs. Wright’s favorite book is “The Giver.” “It leads into questioning and wondering things which is very important,” said Mrs. Wright. Her favorite author is Brandon Mull. She loves “Fablehaven” by Mull. She enjoys all story types, but fantasy is her preferred genre. If she had to choose a spot to read a book she would choose a big comfy chair in her living room. Remember never stop reading and dreaming. Branch out in your stories and try something new. If you don’t like reading now, in a few years that might change!
JAGUAR JOURNAL STAFF Aden Abotsi Cameron Brown Jenifer Carr-Schwartz Natalie Felgenhauer Kathryn Handal Logan Leftridge
Ella Schilling Josie Sharp Laurel Stuber Aidan Willey Rich Schilling
SPORTS
IN THE NEWS
ER S 5T H GR A DER SH A R ES H IS PA SSION F OR CL I M BI NG
M
by Ella Schilling
iles Collier discovered his passion for rock climbing when he was seven at his birthday party at Upper Limits. Upper Limits is a rock gym where you can rock climb, attend camps, have birthday parties and a variety of other activities. Miles invited his friend Isaac Major to his party, not knowing he would soon be the inspiration behind Miles joining a climbing team. Isaac showed him most of the basics about climbing. Soon, Miles learned that Isaac was on a climbing team at Climb So Ill. Climb So Ill offers climbing for all ages and has many classes. Miles became interested and has been climbing ever since. Miles says the best part about climbing is the fun of it! He loves being so high up and being able to almost fly when he jumps down. (with his harness, of course.) “I think that people who have just started climbing need to know to never give up,” says Miles. Miles has been in three contests, two of which have been in Missouri and one in Chicago. They were for all ages ranging from 75-100 kids. In the contests, participants complete courses called problems. The more problems completed, the more points earned. Miles says he wants to win first place in a contest. Good luck Miles!
O
by Natalie Felgenhauer
n December 1st, 2017, all of the Edgar Road fifth-graders hurried on a bus to catch the new Wonder movie, based on the best-selling novel by R.J. Palacio that the whole elementary school was reading together. About 65 students and five staff members attended the movie at Ronnie’s Theatre. Principal Dr. Wuch chose the book as part of a new school-wide project. “I heard about ‘one book, one school’ and knew Wonder was great because of its content/ questions that it presents,”she said. Dr. Wuch thought the movie would be a good way to compare and contrast the book. She also thought the book had many benefits. “It benefits students and staff because it provided an opportunity to discuss things we might not always discuss, and it brings us closer as a community,” said Dr.Wuch. Dr. Wuch said her favorite character was Miranda. (Miranda is a friend of Auggie’s sister, Via.) “She always treated Auggie like a person, and saw who he was on the inside, not outside.” There are some big differences between the movie and the book. For example, in the movie, Summer is not Auggie’s first friend, and after Daisy the dog dies, Auggie’s family does not get a new puppy. When asked whether he liked the book or the movie better, fifth- grader, Elliot Gibbs said, “The book, because it has more information, and it doesn’t talk about the new dog.” But another fifth-grader, Elizabeth Ryan disagreed. “The movie has more action than the book and is emotional,” she said.
Miles shows off his Spider-man like skills.
Student Wonder poster
2
Winter 2018
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT L A DY GAGA ROCK S S T. L OU IS NOV E M BER 16, 2017 SCO T T R A DE CEN T ER By Logan Leftridge
Lady Gaga
S
he may have taken the stage an hour and a half after her scheduled start time, but the sold-out crowd at Scottrade Center did not seem to mind. Once the concert started, Lady Gaga performed two hours of her biggest hits, including most of the songs from her new album, Joanne. Starting on the main stage, the singer, wearing a giant blonde wig, opened with “Diamond Heart” while standing high in the air on a moving, hydraulic part of the stage. Throughout the night, lasers, fire, wild lights, and video screens filled the entire arena. Gaga used four stages throughout the show--one large main stage, two smaller stages out in the middle of the crowd, and another large stage at the opposite end of the floor where she played the piano. She also had 11 backup dancers who, like Gaga, changed into different costumes during the show. Giant structures that looked like white clouds came down from the ceiling and formed bridges that Gaga and her dancers would walk across to get to the different stages. Some of the best moments of the show were “The Edge of Glory,” which Gaga played on the piano by herself without her band, and “Angel Down,” another new song, which Gaga sang from high up in one of the cloud bridges. The performers weren’t the only ones wearing a lot of costumes: Lots of people in the crowd dressed up in crazy costumes, too, some of them designed to look like Gaga herself. At one point, some fans threw a jacket that they had made for Gaga on to the stage, and she put it on and then went into the crowd to take a selfie with the fans. Overall, it was an amazing concert from a really exciting entertainer.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
GUESS WHO IS MRS. MOKRIAKOW
GAV I N H AGA N
G Mrs. Cocos’ classroom piggy bank
PTO HAPPENINGS F U N DR A ISI NG
T
By Aidan Willey
he first round of this school year’s penny drive was held November 13th - 17th. It was a BIG success! Each class collected pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and paper money in their classroom piggy bank. The total amount collected was $1435.31. The money will be divided evenly between the PTO, art, music, and the library. Each one will get around $358.82. When the music teacher, Mrs. Mokriakow, was asked what she would do with the money, she said, “I will look into getting more music awards and mallets”. To try to make more money, there was a competition to see which class could raise the most money. The class that raised the most money won a celebration provided by the PTO. The winning class was Mrs. Cocos’ kindergarten class. They collected $218.74. The celebration they chose was a pj, pizza and movie party. When kindergartener Noah Schoemehl was asked about his class celebration, he said, “I got to watch Lion King, eat pizza and have Capri Suns. We also got to bring our stuffed animals. I brought my lion and tiger. We also got to wear our pajamas to school”. He said he feels “happy and proud” that his class won the prize. Hold onto your money if you want to win in the second round in April 2018!
By Aden Abotsi
avin Hagan is an undercover 4th grader. When he is not at school or playing video games, he is golfi ng. He got a hole in one before he was in third grade. Gavin competes in competitions that have the world’s best kid golfers. With 17th place in the World Championships (youth), he wipes out most of the competition around. Gavin has golfed every day since he was 3. His golfi ng gene comes from his dad. His favorite golfer is Jordan Spieth because he has almost got the Tiger Slam. The Tiger Slam is when someone wins all four major tournaments. He has won 3 out of 4. Gavin is inspired to play golf by Tiger Woods because the Tiger Slam is named after him and he was the best of the best. Golf has a positive effect on school because you strategize in golf. You have to measure the length between you and the hole. “When a kid plays golf, it’s like getting keys to the world,” says Gavin.
Mrs. Mokriakow
Edgar Road is Mrs. Mokrikow’s fi rst full-time teaching position. Christmas is her favorite time of the year, especially when there is snow. Her favorite holiday song is Sleigh Ride by LeRoy Anderson. “Although it doesn’t have words, the music paints a picture of different scenes you would see in winter and at Christmas-time.” She doesn’t have an Elf on the Shelf but she and her family bake sugar and chocolate chip cookies to leave for Santa. When she was in 4th grade she had a small role in a school Christmas play. “I didn’t have a main part because I didn’t speak in public much.” Although she has never gone door to door Christmas caroling – during the holiday season her family gathers with her husband’s extended family to sing songs. “My husband’s family loves music and many of them play an instrument. It is such a wonderful time of the year.”
Gavin on the fairway
Winter 2018
3