Seth Paine Chronicle Our community. Our interests. Our news. Students Walk, Raise Money for Burn Camp Volume 1, Issue 2 M ay 2013 By: Olivia Hodge On May 2nd, the first graders of Seth Paine held a Walk-a-thon to raise money to send a child to burn camp. This event was held outside by the playground. It began at 8:15 a.m. where the students were greeted by firefighters. The event ended at 8:30 a.m. when school started. All Seth Paine students were invited to walk. In total, Seth Paine students raised over $1,700 during the Walk-a-thon alone. They also raised money with a bake sale. After the fundraising, the first graders were $79.50 short of their $2,000 goal. Then first grader Grace Karstens and fourth grader Brian Karstens and their parents generously made a final donation to help Seth Paine meet the $2,000 goal. The camp that they raised money for is called Camp “I Am Me” It is a camp for children who have bad burns from something in their past. It costs $2,000 to send just one child to burn camp. This is a once in a lifetime experience for these kids and it only lasts for one week. grader Julia Zarow said, “I will be participating in this event for my third year now. I will be out there walking and supporting the first graders.” If students participated in the Walk-a-thon then they were allowed to wear a hat to school for the entire day. Science Fair 2 This event is a tradition at Seth Paine started by a now retired first grade teacher, Mrs. Galter. First graders worked very hard to raise money for this cause. Taft Trip 2 Young Authors Ceremony 3 Seth Paine students have been doing this Walk-a-thon for four years now and have sent many kids to burn camp. Fifth Dig-It 3 Open House 3 Dance Assembly 4 Students donate money and participate in the Walk-a-thon. Seth Paine PTO Recognized with Dinner By: Noah Short and Pryce Janke The PTO dinner was held on May 1st in the Seth Paine gym. The PTO Dinner was a time for Seth Paine staff to recognize how much the PTO has done to make sure all of the Seth Paine families have truckloads of fun. What does Mrs. Mathisen like about the PTO? She said, “Everything. Just everything. I appreciate their generosity, their kindness, and that they’re hard-working.” Mrs. Snyder responded to the same question and replied, “They are extremely generous and they help us by providing the extras that help our kids learn.” Inside this issue: When asked how much the PTO means to the school, Mr. Shapiro said, “We would not be able to provide a lot of great events for all of our students and families without the PTO.” This year the following people filled important PTO roles: President- Beth Slaughter; Vice President- Cindy Malin; Secretary- Debbie Theys-Dice; and Treasurer- Rita Washburn. This was Mrs. Slaughter’s last year on the Seth Paine PTO. The Seth Paine students decorated a glass pitcher with their thumbprints to thank her for her time on the PTO. The dinner was catered by Above: PTO President, Beth Slaughter, opens her gift. Portillo’s. Portillo’s serves pasta, Italian beef, gourmet salads and award winning BBQ ribs. Some of the PTO sponsored events this school year were: the Back to School Picnic, Bingo Night, Revolutionary War Days, Spooky Saturday, Teddy Bear Factory and Celebration, Flat Stanley, Marimbamania, Recipe Rhapsody, Fun Fair, and Dig-It. Page 2 SPLASH, BOOM, KAPOW, Students Showcase Science By: Rohan Rajagopalan and Spencer Steeves The Science Fair was held at Middle School South on April 13th . Many people came and over 50 projects were presented! Johnny Science conducts an experiment at the District Science Fair. “I loved the Science Fair!” said Andrew Wise, an Isaac Fox student. “I did an experiment with vinegar and balloons. I put them in different liquids for the same time.” The Lake Zurich rocket team came and showed their rockets to everyone. Some rockets were over six feet tall! One student did an ex- periment on maple syrup. “I made a remote control car,” said Middle School South student Adrian Ganoza. “It was very fun to build.” Adrian demonstrated how his car worked and drove it around. “I love minerals so I did an experiment on them,” said Seth Paine second grader Jacob Blomquist. “It was hard, but I managed to get two of every kind.” Guest scientist, Johnny Science, almost set the school on fire and made the smoke detectors go off! Then the fire department came and had to clean up with fire extinguishers and an air cleaner. Next, Mr. Science said he would make a fire tornado, but instead, he burned the table. Luckily the fire fighters had not left. Mr. Science agreed that it was enough using fire. “Lets go to ice,” he said. He then created an ice ball using vinegar, cornstarch, and ice. Fifth Graders Use Survival Skills at Taft By: Zach Richards and Bryan Slaughter Fifth graders went to the Lorado Taft Campus in Oregon, IL April 17-19. Seth Paine School has been going to Taft for at least 20 years. Taft was an educational (and very wet) experience that was all outdoors. Before students went to Taft, they learned how to use a compass and a map, memorized bird calls, and researched an animal to act as at Taft during an activity. The activities students participated in at Taft were birding, orienteering, initiatives, pioneering, survival skills, and instincts for survival. In birding, students learned about bird adaptations and got to analyze birds from outside. During orienteering, students used a map and compass to find posts throughout trails and fields. In initiatives, students learned about teamwork and friendship. They did multiple activities such as puzzles and the human knot to apply teamwork skills. During pioneering, students learned about how pioneers lived. The students even went to a pioneer cabin used by actual pioneers! At survival skills, students built a shelter from the things of nature in the woods. They also learned how to start a fire with flint and steel. Finally, during instincts for survival, students played a game where they tried to get enough “life chips” or “food/ water stamps” in order to survive. The staff members at Taft live there for nine months. Most of the staff teach kids about nature. The others are the magnificent cooks. Vicki Morrison, a staff member at Taft, said, “Taft is a really, really cool place and a very unique experience for fifth graders from Seth Paine.” Tom Sturtevant, another staff member, said, “Taft is something you should look forward to coming. It’s an experience of a lifetime!” Fifth grader Evan Sarsha said, “I really like going to a new place.” Fifth grade teacher Mrs. Lyons, said, “You learn a lot about other people.” Overall, Taft was an enjoyable experience for fifth graders at Seth Paine and other schools. Top: (From left to right) Nicholas Archibald, Makayla Burmeister, and Logan Boehm learn how to start a fire with flint and steel. Bottom: (From left to right) Johnny Woodruff, Mikolaj Wierzbicki, and Nolan Bertrand build a shelter during their survival skills class. (Photos provided by Diana Christ) Students ‘Dig’ Rocks Page 3 By: Ryan Murphy and Vince Petropoulos Dig-It was a science enrichment program that was on April 23. The company who hosted it was High Touch High Tech Science Made Fun. The enrichment was for all grades and was an after school program that lasted for one hour. The enrichment was all about rocks such as igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. “It was a good learning experience and was worth staying for,” said Bryce Cison, who is in fourth grade. Most of the people at Dig-It said their favorite activity was panning for the rocks. When students panned the rocks, they got to pick 15 and test them. Some of the tests were the toughness test, texture test, and color test. Also, they wanted to see if they were magnetic. After doing every single last test in Dig ROCK TYPES Metamorphic Igneous Left: Images of the three main types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. Sedimentary -It, the students got to take the rocks home. Open House The tests were fun and both easy at the same time. For the toughness test students took a penny and scratched their rocks. If it left a mark the rock was not classified as tough. In the magnetic test students held up a magnet to the rock. If it stuck to the magnet it was magnetic. By: Bennett Haidu and Nathan Wenzel Open House was on April 24 from 7-8 pm. Open House is an annual opportunity for parents to come to look at students’ work. This year’s Open House also featured the Book Fair, a bake sale, and a Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts sign-up. The color test involved scratching the rock on three colors of tile to find out what color the rock the was on the inside. Students also tested texture by matching their rocks to sample pads. Fourth grader Noah Short said, “Open House was fun.” It was not Noah’s first time at Open House. Noah said, “I did a good job with all of my work for Open House. I think my friends also did a good job with their work.” First grader Paige Grosenbacher said, “It was very fun panning for rocks and testing them.” Noah’s teacher, Ms. Pender, said, “My students worked very hard.” Miss Pender liked her students’ displays and she learned more about her students. She likes going to Open House and wishes she could go see other students’ work. She said, “I like my class a lot and I will be sad when all of the fourth graders go to fifth grade.” District Honors Young Authors By: McKenna Kalesz and Tyler Gregoire The Young Authors ceremony was held the evening of April 30th. One student from each first through eighth grade class in the district was chosen to be a Young Author. The judges of the stories entered for the competition were the librarians and other workers at the ELA Library. The kids at the ceremony felt nervous, but very excited about being drafted and announced in front of the attendees. Each nominee received a ribbon, a certificate, and their published story during the ceremony. There was also a special appearance by the author Andrea Beaty. She wrote a lot of great books, and she even read one of her stories aloud called Rosie Revere, Engineer. Some other books she has written include: Dorko the Magnificent, Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies, Hide and Sheep, and When Giants Come to Play. Ms. Beaty gave everyone there great advice. “There is no wrong answer when you are the one writing the story,” she said. Andrea Beaty started to write books because she loved to do it in her youth. She also loved to read. Parents, family members, friends, and teachers were all very proud of their Young Authors. Fourth grader Pryce Janke said, “Open House was fun. It was not my first time at Open House.” Pryce said, “I did a good job with my work at Open House.” Pryce also said, “My friends did a good job with their work, too.” Top: Andrea Beaty Bottom: Image of Rosie Revere, Engineer (Taken from www.andreabeaty.com) Pryce’s teacher, Mrs. Mathisen, said, “My students worked very hard.” She also said, “My students did an excellent job with their displays and work.” Mrs. Mathisen said, “I like to go to Open House and I like to see my students work. I like my class so much I want to keep my class until senior year!” Some teachers also encouraged their students and parents to learn together by completing scavenger hunt-like activities during Open House. Page 4 THODOS Dance Company Performs, Teaches, and Inspires Seth Paine Students By: Grace Lightfoot On April 11th the THODOS Dance Company of Chicago came to Seth Paine. During the assembly, the dancers taught the audience about many dance styles and moves. The definition of dance is to move with the rhythm. Each style of dance is unique in it’s own way. Jazz and hip-hop, for instance, are very energetic. Ballet is calm and soothing. Blues can be emotional. Each Right: THODOS Dance Company of Chicago performs a variety of dance styles for students. (Photos provided by Diana Christ) dancer who came showed us how fun and important dancing can be in your life. Some kids got to come up and learn a little routine and then show it to the crowd. Many kids watched with amazement in their eyes. Some kids were also inspired to dance. Fifth grader Julia Zarow said she loved the performance. She said that she loved the dances, too. She dances ballet, jazz, and in a musical theater class. Her favorite style of dance is hip hop. THODOS is supported by the Illinois Arts Council, and a state agency. They have been to 50 venues and 50 states. THODOS offers dance lessons and classes for students at all levels. Everyone enjoyed the great show that the THODOS Dance Company performed.