Seth Paine Chronicle
Our community. Our interests. Our news.
Volume 1, Issue 3
Field Day at Seth Paine
June 2013
By: Zach Richards
Field Day was an extraordinary event held on May
29th on the Seth Paine field
and gymnasium. Field Day is
when students gather with
their grade and play many
active games. It is held once
per year. This year’s activities
were planned by Mrs. Elder
and a committee of a few other parents.
younger students played a game
where they would pull each other across the gym on scooters
attached to jump ropes. The 4th
and 5th graders did an obstacle
course. These activities are different because it rained in the
morning so the younger kids
were inside, but it cleared up for
the older kids and they were able
to go outdoors.
Students participated in
numerous activities. One activity was tug of war. Another
one was sack races. Students
also played limbo. Another
activity was relay races. The
All students enjoyed Field
Day. 5th grader Hayden Shaw
said that his favorite activity was
tug of war. Many other students
agreed with him. 5th graders
Kayla Kuklinski and Caroline
First Graders Jump into Action for
Firefighter Challenge
By: Noah Short and Pryce Janke
The Firefighter Challenge
was held on Friday, May 24th.
The Firefighter Challenge is an
event that is held every year for
the first graders to pretend they
are firefighters and complete
real challenges that firefighters
in real life have to face. Some
of the tasks for the Firefighter
Challenge were sliding down
the pole, squirting the hose,
putting out a pretend fire, dragging a dummy, and using a big
mallet as an axe.
At the Firefighter Challenge, the first graders presented the $2,000 check to the
Burn Camp representatives.
Some important people involved with the Firefighter
Challenge were: Firefighter
John Bzdusek, firefighter volunteers, Firefighter’s Local
#3191, and of course, the first
grade team.
Mrs. Tomczyk said that her
favorite part of the Firefighter
Challenge was when she got to
ride down the pole. She also
Continued on Page 5
Top:
First
graders present
check to support
Burn
Camp.
Left:
Andersen Hartley sprays a fire
hose.
Kalee Booher and other students from
Mrs. O’Brien’s class participate in the
sack races.
Clouse think that the purpose of
Field Day is to have fun and to
exercise. Mrs. Elder feels that this
is the purpose of field days too.
Continued on Page 5
Summer Vacation!
By: Spencer Steeves and Rohan Rajagopalan
The school is swimming in
excitement for the last few days
of school. But before we jump
into pools and pack up for destinations, some students would
like to tell the school where
they’re going.
Seth Paine student, Evan
Wenzel, told us that he is going
to Virginia Beach, Virginia. He
is going on August 3rd and he is
going for 1 week and 2 days.
Miss Neenan said that she is
not going anywhere, but she does
have a guest coming to town on
July 10th and staying there for 5
days. Ms. Mathisen is going to
Ohio to see family. She is going
for an entire week.
Fifth grader Parul Pari is
going to New Delhi, Agra, Punjab, and Madras in India on June
Continued on Page 4
Inside this issue:
Civil War Trip
2
Memorial Day
2
Chorus Concert
2
Art Club
3
Secretaries
3
Book Fair
3
April Student of the
Month
4
May Student of the
Month
4
Teacher Appreciation Week
5
Page 2
Fifth Graders Learn About the Civil War
By: Amaan Sameer and Josh Keller
On May 15 the fifth grade
team went on a Civil War field
trip. There were many schools
there including Seth Paine and
Sarah Adams. It was an outside field trip. Many cannons
and guns were shot. It was
very loud but at the same time
it was fun.
Our first stop was the medical center where they showed
all the students what people
used to do when someone
broke their leg or any other
bone. Many people got very
scared because all the surgery
and the blood looked very real.
Sometimes when you broke
your leg and you could not
afford surgery all your blood
would drain and you would
die.
Our next Civil War station
was artillery. This is where
they shot cannons, although
many people were annoyed
by it because of the noise.
They only shot one cannon
which had a load of 8 ounces
of gunpowder. But imagine
how loud it was in the Civil
War, when 100 cannons shot
at the same time and they
used one pound of gunpowder! It was not unusual for
someone to come back with
bloody ears because it was so
loud.
After this we went to
lunch. This is what everyone was waiting for. You
can't even imagine how
many students were whining
for food. Lunch was about a
half hour.
where they showed us how
to use a submarine. They
also talked about the North
having lots of technology
and the South barely having
any.
Later on, we went to the
Harriet Tubman station
where the actress who was
pretending to be Harriet
Tubman talked about her
life and how she helped
slaves escape.
Did you
know that she made 19 trips
back and forth risking her
life? She wasn't like the
other slaves who, once they
escaped, never came back to
help.
And last but not least , we
went to Women of the
Home Front. Here they
talked about. how people
worked and enjoyed their
lives. The women were
housewives and the men
did all the rest of the outside work. When they had
free time they would play
games. And this is how
people lived during the Civil War.
We also had technology
History of Memorial Day Revealed
Singing Through History
By: Tyler Gregoire and Bryan Slaughter
By: Julia Zarow
Have you ever wondered
what was the origin of Memorial Day, which was on the
27th of May? Well, every
year, on the final Monday of
May, people honor soldiers
that died in war. Many people
and countries claim they started this holiday, but why was it
started? This holiday was created to honor fallen soldiers
who had fought in the Civil
War. The South and the North
used to do this holiday separately, until the SpanishAmerican war, in which all
Americans fought together.
Originally
dubbed
“Decoration Day”, it was
shortly after Lincoln’s assassination that people started to
celebrate this holiday. In 1865,
an official, David W. Blight,
quoted “This was the first
Memorial Day.” However,
Blight had no evidence of this,
as he himself admitted. Afri-
can Americans invented
Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina. You
could see freed Blacks rejoicing, with flowers, dancing, and songs. They spread
joy effortlessly, dancing
and singing.
Today you could see freed
Blacks rejoicing, with flowers, dancing, and songs.
They spread joy effortlessly, dancing and singing.
Today, we still celebrate
this holiday. It is celebrated
a little differently, with
inside stuff like movies.
Also, we still enjoy parades, dances, and private
celebrations. However, it’s
still a very loved holiday, to
children because of no
school, and everyone else
because it is a time to honor
the fallen soldiers who died
bravely.
The chorus concert was
on May 13th at 7:00 in the
Seth Paine gym. Mrs.
Saflarski, the music and
chorus teacher, led the concert. The concert had 17
songs. “I’m really proud of
the hard work the kids in
chorus did. It was very hard
work they did,” said Mrs.
Saflarski.
Some of the songs included “Sing Sing Sing”, “My
Own Special Way”, and a
favorite song, “A Hole in
the Bucket.” There was
even a song where the stu-
Fourth Grade Chorus Members
with Mrs. Saflarski
(Photo Credit: Cindy Malin)
Chorus members “Twang That Thang.”
dents got to play the kazoos,
called
“The
(Formerly) Beautiful Blue
Danube.” There were also
speaking and acting parts
and even a few solos. The
chorus concert also included a 5th grade awards ceremony. The 5th graders leaving Seth Paine got flowers,
a pin, and a certificate.
The chorus concert was a
success. "They were mighty
singers,” Mr. Shapiro said.
The concert was a fun experience for everyone, including the audience. It was fun,
and the songs were great!
Don't forget to see the chorus concerts next year!
Students Exercise Creativity at Art Club
Page 3
By: McKenna Kalesz
Mrs. Simmons, the Seth Paine
art teacher, started a group after
school called Art Club. Lots of
students joined Art Club and they
have had a very fun time. In Art
Club they make many different
projects, such as painting, chalk
pastels, sewing, pottery, drawing,
and using oil pastels. The students
got to take their projects home on
the very last day of Art Club
which was Wednesday, May 29.
Fourth grade student Reagan
Petrow said her favorite activity in
Art Club that they have done so far
is making homemade stamps.
Fourth grader Sammie Kopp said
she was very excited that some of
her projects were on display. She
also said she loved all of the projects they did in art club. Claire
Tognetti, who is also in fourth
grade said that Art Club was one
of her favorite after school activities.
Mrs. Simmons is especially
proud of all of the wonderful artists in her club. She planned out
every project for every Wednesday and Monday the participating
students were there. She had
made sure that all of the projects
were unique and fun to make.
Teacher or student, everyone who
has participated Art Club had a
great time.
Clockwise from left:
Art Work by Kate Thompson;
Second
Graders
Roxanne Liang and Kacper
Kierat; Fourth Grader
Claire Tognetti; Fourth
Grader Reagan Petrow
(Photo credit: Jody Simmons)
Secretary Appreciation Week
Students, Families
Shop the Book Fair
By: Jimmy Kedge
Do you ever think about
Seth Paine’s secretaries? Did
you know Secretary Appreciation Week was April 24?
We usually don’t think too
much about what secretaries
do for us. Secretaries run the
front office and help guests,
students, parents, and teachers. Both secretaries work
with Mr. Shapiro and Nurse
Jill. It’s a good thing they
have a week to make everyone think about them and all
they do!
Mrs. Christ has been a
secretary at Seth Paine for
13 years. Mrs. Christ said
she likes the students, teachers, and adults that go to
Seth Paine. She also likes
working at the school that
her kids went to. Mrs.
Christ’s hobbies include
reading, cooking, taking
pictures, visiting her family, gardening, and planning
parties. Out of school Mrs.
Christ cares for her cat and
bird and walks with her
friends.
Mrs. Ullman enjoys
running, hiking, reading,
and gardening. “My favorite things about Seth Paine
are working with the wonderful staff and watching
the children learn and grow
so much each year,” Mrs.
Ullman said.
The secretaries’ job is
very busy to help the
school, but also fun. Both
secretaries like their jobs.
During Secretary Appreciation Week, the secretaries
definitely felt appreciated.
Some nice things people
gave to the secretaries
were a plant and a gift
card. Teachers did many
nice things for the secretaries as well such as watching the phone and watching the door.
Pictured from left to
right: Mrs. Ullman and
Mrs. Christ
By: Julia Zarow
On April 23rd the Scholastic Book Fair opened at Seth
Paine. When the Book Fair
opened, each class had a chance
to go down and make a wish list
or purchase books. The Book
Fair also offered creative pens,
erasers, bookmarks, posters, and
so much more!
“I love all the books,” 5th
grader Olivia Hodge said. “I
think we have a wonderful PTO
who put the Book Fair together.”
The Book fair had books for
all ages including Love? Maybe.
and Potter Wookie. For the
smaller children, there were
books such as Splat the Cat.
The books were all in brand-new
condition.
Continued on Page 4
Page 4
H o n o r in g Tw o S e t h P a i n e S t u d e n t s
April Student of the Month
May Student of the Month
By: Evan Sarsha
By: Olivia Hodge
Student of the Month has
been going on for 10 years.
The 2013 April Student of
the Month was Zoe Ortega.
Zoe achieved being Student
of the Month by meeting
these characteristics: being a
passionate, continuous learner and flourishing as responsible caring citizen in a global community.
Mrs. Braasch said she
chose Zoe Ortega as a Student of the Month because
“she was a leader in her class,
she shares a love of learning,
and she is always willing to
help others.” She said she has
seen Zoe always include shy
or timid kids to learn or play
with her. She said, “It was a
hard decision because of all
the nice friends in my class,
but it was an easy choice
because I saw Zoe being such
a great student all the time.”
Mrs. Olsen agrees with
Zoe Ortega being the Student
of the Month for April because “she is a good listener,
Summer
Continued from page 1
1st and she gets to skip last
few days of school and wished
everyone in Seth Paine a great
summer.
Mrs. Felix is not going
anywhere, but she is having
some family members over in
June because she is having a
baby. She hopes that she will
see students at the Civil War
Reenactment at the Lake
County Preserve. It is from
June 13th to June 15th and she
is really excited!
Another Seth Paine student,
Above: Zoe Ortega
Above: Connor O’Malley
(Photo credit: Mrs. Braasch)
(Photo credit: Mrs. Ullman)
follows directions, and always tries her best.” Mrs.
Olsen likes that every time
Zoe arrives at class she is
always in a bright happy
mood with a positive attitude. She is a great listener
and always encourages others.
Connor O’Malley was the
Student of the Month for the
month of May. Connor, who
is in the 5th grade, deserved
this award because of the
outstanding things that he
has done for the school. All
of his teachers agree that he
is a magnificent student.
Zoe Ortega is delighted
that she was chosen to be
Student of the Month. She
is proud of herself for being
Student of the Month. Zoe
said, “I look up to my
mom.” Zoe doesn’t have
siblings and her favorite
thing to do is games.
Connor deserved this
award for many different
reasons. One of Connor’s
teachers, Mrs. Spentzos,
said, “Connor is very friendly and motivated. He always
works hard and he has proven that he can do anything. I
am very happy for Connor.”
Justin Wang, is going into
middle school and he will
be going to Yellowstone
National Park. He is going
in August and said to enjoy
our summer vacation.
third grade, is going to Texas
to see the N.A.S.A station
with his mom’s friend and he
is staying there for a week.
Fifth grade student, Makayla Burmeister, is going
to Door County, Wisconsin
and says that she hopes that
everyone has a great summer.
Fourth grader Alex Gorny
is going to North Carolina
and is going to be there until
the end of summer. He
looks forward to be going to
the beach there.
Ryan Siegel, who is in
As Seth Paine students and
staff depart for a long break,
Mrs. Christ would like to wish
everyone a “Happy, safe and
fun-filled summer!”
Book Fair
Continued from Page 3
Before the Book Fair,
many people were excited to
go and buy books. “Getting
ready was hectic!” Mrs.
All of Connor’s other teachers agree with all that Mrs.
Spentzos said. They all feel
that Connor is an amazing
student.
Although Connor is involved in other activities
such as doing the Seth Paine
musical and playing the violin, he is also devoted to doing other things like helping
the school as well as helping
the other students. Connor
states, “I am thrilled that I
have received this award and
I am very grateful.” Connor
has worked very hard and
deserves this award greatly.
Connor was chosen to be
Student of the Month because
of the many amazing things
that he has done. He has respected the teachers, worked
hard, helped raise money by
walking in the Walk-a-thon,
and he has helped his reading
buddy to become a stronger
reader. Most everybody
agrees that Connor is the best
individual for the role of May
Student of the Month.
Christ said. “You have to
wait for the delivery man to
come, set up all the tables,
and unpack the books. But
in the end, it’s worth it.”
Mrs. Gwost, a kindergarten teacher said, “My
favorite part was seeing all
the kids so excited about
buying new books.” Fourth
grader Grace Lightfoot said,
“I loved all the fun new
books and just looking
through all the books.”
The Book Fair was funded
by the amazing Seth Paine
PTO. Overall, the Book Fair
was an amazing experience,
and lots of fun!
Firefighter Challenge
Continued from Page 1
said, “It makes the people that go to
Burn Camp feel good.”
Mrs. Johnson spoke about the
excitement level in her classroom and
said, “First graders are excited about
everything, especially things with firefighters since firefighters have been
coming to the first grade classrooms
all year.” Mrs. Johnson told a true
heart-warming story. “We have Grace
and Brian Karstens who donated extra
money to help send a child to Burn
Camp, but that was their idea, not their
parents’. That’s, to me, an example of
how heart-warming the Seth Paine
students are.”
After the Firefighter Challenge,
first grade students Taylor Miller, Cesar Morales Espinoza, Marco Rivera,
and Hannah Zoibi, all said that the
Firefighter Challenge was fun and that
their favorite parts were sliding down
the pole and spraying the hose.
In response to being asked what is
hard about the course, firefighter John
Bzdusek said, “What’s hard about it is
that it is cardiovascular, which is doing
more than one thing without a break in
between.” He also said about what the
kids like about the course is that “it’s
fun. It sounds like it’s hard but it isn’t
because these are things that firefighters have to do in a real emergency.”
The Firefighter Challenge was a great
event for first graders, firefighters, and
the Burn Camp representatives.
Field Day
Continued from Page 1
Mrs. Elder and the committee spent
a lot of their time planning Field Day.
Over the past month, they met to discuss the activities, set up, and time
schedule rotation.
About 70 parents volunteered to
help out.
Over all, Field Day was a great success. Everyone involved had a spectacular time. Students are looking forward
to Field Day for next year!
Students, Families Thank Seth
Paine Teachers
Page 5
By: Grace Lightfoot and Emily Buchta
This year Teacher Appreciation
Week was from May 6-10. It was a
week to thank all the teachers for
what they have done for the whole
year by bringing flowers, cards,
behaving well, and other things kids
do to give thanks to their teachers.
On the first day of Teacher
Appreciation Week, kids came to
school with school supplies such as
white board erasers, staplers, sticky
notes, and other types of school
supplies. On the second day of
Teacher Appreciation Week, kids
brought flowers to the room moms
to put in a vase to present to the
teacher for a gift. There was also a
lunch for some of the teachers
where they got sandwiches.
“Teacher Appreciation Week
shows all the thoughtful moms and
students who do all these things to
show their appreciation for us,” said
the librarian, Mrs. Troyer.
Ms. Brawley said, “It’s really
nice for the students and parents to
show their appreciation because it is
an option and that just makes us feel
good to know that we are appreciated.”
Teacher
appreciation
week
means a lot to the teachers of Seth
Paine because they know they are
really appreciated by what their students do for them. The teachers
would also like to thank students for
all the gifts, the P.T.O for the lunch,
and room moms for making the flowers look pretty in the vases. Most of
all of, the teachers would like to
thank Mr. Shapiro for giving all the
teachers special small gifts.
The Seth Paine Chronicle wishes all students,
staff, and families a fun, safe, and relaxing
summer vacation.
Congratulations to all fifth graders. Good
luck in middle school and don’t forget to
come back and visit!
Finally, Mrs. O’Brien and Mrs. Saflarski
would like to thank all of the Newspaper Club
members for all of their hard work this year.
Well done!