Winter 2013
The Berlin Wall Falls at Franklin!
By Juliana Acevedo
Building
the wall...
Brick
by brick
This year, the third and fourth grade
German class celebrated the fall of the
Berlin Wall. In Berlin many years ago, the
government decided to divide the city
with a big, long wall. They built it because
of World War II and political reasons.
The German class did a reenactment
of the building and the fall of the wall.
Their teacher, Frau Sandy Avetic, told me
that she prepared for this project with
her class for three weeks. She knew it
would be a great historic lesson for her
students, and she wanted them to know
about the world-changing event. The
Berlin Wall was built from Checkpoint
Charlie, the crossing point between the
East and the West side of Berlin. Nicole
Peineke, mother of 4th grader Sophie
and kindergartner Evelyn, told me why
it is important to celebrate this event.
“It was a very big, historic event and it
is important to remember. It made a
big impact on the world and Berlin has
changed a lot since,” she said.
Janet Herold, Ian and Isaac’s
mother, saw the wall fall in Berlin. Janet
was living in London in 1989 when she
saw the news about the falling wall on
television. She took the quickest train
to Berlin to watch the event. Janet said
the experience was incredible, that
there were millions of people hugging
and crying. The performance the
German class did was exciting, detailed,
and interesting. Every student, two by
two, helped build up the wall, brick
by brick. The West side was painted
because those citizens had the right
to express themselves, but the East
was not painted because they did not
have the right to do so. Everyone dove
and crashed onto the wall and all of
the blocks fell down. There was a big
celebration with yelling, laughing, and
hugging. Frau Avetic said it was a great
success and she was very proud.
WHAT’S INSIDE
Put an Idea into Action!.... 2
Learn all about
Student Council.............. 3
Student Submissions:
Try the Crossword........ 4-7
Diary of a Test Taker........ 8
Message from the Principal
Ms. Atik ian
BE A BUCKET FILLER!
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
CHA SE LIPPMAN
Fourth Grader Puts
An Idea Into Action
By Bethany Sahagun
One of our goals this year is to focus
on being Bucket Fillers. Each person has an
invisible bucket with the purpose of holding
good thoughts and good feelings. A bucket
filler makes other people feel special and cared
for by words and actions. When you fill other
people’s buckets, you also fill your own bucket.
Every class received the book, Have You
Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud, at
the beginning of the school year. Staff and
students learned about being bucket fillers and
brainstormed ways to fill people’s buckets.
The following are some ways you can fill
someone’s bucket:
Chase Lippman is a fourth grader
in Mrs. Smith’s English class. According
to Mrs. Smith, Chase is a very energetic,
friendly and enthusiastic student.
He was inspired to run for class
president. As part of his campaign
speech, he said he would try to get
tablets for his class. He wrote a grant
to the Benjamin Franklin Elementary
Foundation, suggesting purchasing
Nooks, and having each tablet be
shared by two students. He hopes the
class will get the tablets soon. Chase is
earning attention from trying to make
his school a better place.
Note: The Foundation was so impressed
by Chase and Mrs. Smith’s class that they
are looking into expanding the idea to all
of the classes.
n Write someone a kind note
n Encourage someone to try something new
n Use words of appreciation (i.e. Thank you!)
n Help clean up
n Point out something that makes someone
feel special
n Think of ways that you can be a bucket filler
and put those ideas into actions!
Italian Songs to Celebrate the Holidays
2
By Tia Peterson
The Italian holiday program is a concert held by the Italian
Kindergarten, first, second and third grade classes. The event
takes place every year in the auditorium right before holiday
break. Many of the Italian teachers worked very hard to make
this concert as enjoyable as possible. The noisy, festive and fun
event started with all of the singers coming up on stage and
singing a beautiful first song. Then the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades
left the stage and the Italian kindergarten was left to perform
by themselves. They sang two songs in Italian and then were
followed by performances by each of the grades, including songs
and poems. After the finale, all the students came down from
the stage and hugged their parents. Several parents said that the
classes were singing more loudly as they grow more confident
in speaking Italian.
Franklin Communit y has a voice
What does the Franklin
Student Council really do?
By Ashley Cho
Why is the
student council so
important you ask?
The student council
is important because
representatives from
all the classes, fourth
through sixth grade,
are elected to decide
on our school’s fate.
“It important because
of its decisions,” says
council member Tia
Peterson. For example, the student council is currently trying
to start a recycling program. They are also in charge of
handing out awards at the award assemblies.
The student council and the PTA actually work together!
The student council tells the PTA their ideas and the PTA
makes them happen. The student council is like a translator
from the kids to the PTA, so kids can get the education they
want. Judy Brousseau, the head of the PTA, says that she is very
glad that the student council is here because they can hear
their ideas. She thinks that the student council understands
the students at Franklin and finds out what they really want
— better education, better food, etc. She wants kids to know
that in times of trouble, they can come to the student council
and say what the problem is. She also wants kids to know that
the student council is their “protector” in some ways.
Let’s Eat Greener
By Alex Diaz-Infante
If I were to change something about the school I
would start with the plates. We should change them
because they hurt the environment. I think we should
change the Styrofoam plates into compostable plates.
Styrofoam is bad because it does not break
down easily and it releases chemicals when it gets
wet. It contaminates water when it touches it, thus
contaminating the entire water supply. Compostable
plates are a good idea because they are made from
organic material. They break down and become
compost that we can use in our garden.
According to Principal Atikian, this is how you
can make change at Franklin:
• write down why you want the change
• find out who makes the decisions at the District
• send a note to the person who makes the decisions
If you want to make your school a better place,
try to do all of these things.
Franklin Gets New Trees By Adrian Diaz-Infante
One morning when I came to school, I
noticed new trees planted next to the lunch
shelter and I wanted to know why. Audrey
Klein, a parent at Franklin, supervised and
got permission for the planting of the trees.
She wanted to plant the trees for more
shade to help cool the blacktop where her
son lined up. They needed money from the
parents and permission from the district
to plant the trees. Since she had experience
planting trees in 2008, it was easier for her
to organize what needed to be done. She
got other parents together and they wrote
a proposal including a budget and a plan for
watering the trees. They asked Principal
Atikian and the staff from the Facility and
Support Operations (FASO) for permission.
Two of the trees are Gold Medallions and
the other two are Chinese Flames. These
varieties got chosen because the district
gave them very little options and they
like trees that grow fast. I learned that it’s
hard work to plant trees and that trees are
important to the school and us.
3
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS
Thank you to everyone who submitted...
We had more entries than space,
but encourage you to submit in May!
What I Love
About My School
By Victoria Anne Krol, 2nd grade Spanish
I love the teachers at my school because they are
great. I love the playyard, the new monkey bars
and the classrooms. I like how many minutes
I get to play at recess and lunch. I feel happy
when I come to school because I learn a lot and
my BFF, Stella, is in German and that’s why I like
all the languages at my school. Now I can tell
you about my friendship with Stella. It all started
in preschool, Stella and I were BFFs. When we
got out of preschool, we were very surprised
because we were going to the same school and
that’s how it happened.
The Explosion of the Sun
By Enzo Goebel , 2nd grade Italian
By Emma Roth, Italian Kindergarten
By Greer Roth, 2nd grade Italian
Hh h
The reason that I went to this school is because a long time
ago when I was three (I am eight now) I met three girls in
preschool whose names are: Nyalah, Eve and Ananda. They
started preschool one year before me. Three years later they
graduated and went to Franklin Elementary School. The next
year, I graduated and I said mommy can I go to Franklin and
my mom said I will check it out if I like it you will go there.
I said: hooray!!!!! After my mom had gone there, she said,
Greer you are going to Franklin. One year later it was the
first day of kinder I was nervous but I remembered that my
friends where there and then I was not scared anymore.
My heart stopped. I was jolted back to life. It was not the sun, but
a minor star that had exploded, but I had lost the D.N.A. samples.
I used my jet pack to get back to the ship. I repaired it with the
last bit of fuel, and arrived safely back on earth.
These days we don’t know when the sun is going to
explode, but scientists assume that we are safe to live on earth
for millions and millions of years into the future.
My First Day at Franklin
THE END
4
My name is Belo. I live in Italy, and I am interested in
science because my dad is a scientist. He discovered that the
sun is going to explode. The sun is a star. It has massive gases
that can cause a Supernova.
I work in a space station. On Friday, the boss asked me to
go on a special mission. By Tuesday, I figured out I was going
to the sun on a rocket ship. My job was to help the crew collect
solar D.N.A. If we can collect solar D.N.A., we can observe it,
and see when the sun is going to explode so we can be ready.
I arrived on the burning hot sun, and collected samples of fire.
As I was leaving… BOOOOOOM!...The sun exploded.
h h h
h h
Aaaaaa!
The End.
By Kellar Black, 2nd grade Spanish
Did you
know?
By William Lent, 3rd grade Spanish
n Colossal squid have the largest eyes
of the animal kingdom.
n Gamma rays are stronger than x-rays;
they have a lower wavelength and
therefore are more energetic.
n The false moral fungus has a chemical
compound used for rockets inside it
and is highly toxic.
n One of the ancestors of penguins had
an eight-inch beak and stood 5 foot
9 inches tall.
n Dogs can only see in black and white
because their sense of smell is so
strong.
n The stems and leaves of potato plans
are poisonous.
AJONES
ARENSDORFF
ATIKIAN
AVETIC
BENNETT
BOBADILLA
CARBAJAL
DERIVAS
DOMBROSKI
GARGIULO
GOMEZ
GUTIERREZ
HARTEL
HAYNES
HERNANDEZ
JJONES
OTERO
PETRIELLA
PINO
PRADO
ROBINSON
RODRIGUEZ
ROSALES
SABLAN
SAL
SANON
SCHULTZ
SMITH
SUN
TUPANJANIN
WADELL
ZAVALA
n The bristle-cone pine is the longest
living plant in the world; it can live
for 5,000 years.
n K-Y conus majorus is the largest star
ever found and is 1,000,000,000 times
bigger than the sun.
By Angeli Rozal,
Lucy Navasardyon,
4th grade English
ACROSS
1. Native American in Northern California
5. A navigational tool that tells you which way is North
9. 16th president of the United States
11. Angular distance North or South of the Equator
12. Process of filtering gold from sand
14. Angular distance East or West of a point on Earth’s surface
15. A precious metal
DOWN
2. Father of the USA
3. A person who immigrates to another country
4. A ship that carried pilgrims
5. Native Americans that resided in Los Angeles & Ventura
7. The first Native American tribe to become US citizens
8. Youngest president to be assassinated
10. First settlers in a region
13. A native or naturalized member of a nation
5
Answers: 1. Miwok; 2. Washington; 3. Immigrant; 4. Mayflower; 5. Compass; 6. Chumash; 7. Cherokee;
8. Kennedy; Lincoln; 10. Pilgrims; 11.Latitude; 12. Panning; 13. Citizen; 14. Longitude; 15. Gold
6
By Eve Klem, 3rd grade Italian
By Katie Petty, 3rd grade Italian
By Harry Stoltz, 4th grade German
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS
STUDENT SUBMISSIONS
By Rafee Rahman, 3rd grade English
By Sophia Checchi, 3rd grade Italian
By Kassidy Knight, 1st grade German
Meet the Newspaper Club
From Left to Right,
Alexi Drosu, Lilly Rausch, Ashley Cho,
Juliana Acevedo, Alex Diaz-Infante,
David Diaz-Infante, Sophie Peineke,
Angela Torres, Adrian Diaz-Infante,
Bethany Sahagun and Heather Ragsdale
Not pictured: Sasha Peterson, Tia Peterson,
Mrs. Smith, teacher liaison,
Jessica Zavala, teacher specialist
Congratulations to our new Editor-in-Chief!
6th grader David Diaz-Infante
7
Maestra Prado
By Sasha Peterson
Maestra Prado is a 4th grade teacher at Benjamin
Franklin Elementary School. She decided to become
a teacher because she believes in education and that
knowledge empowers people. She likes to read, bake but
more than anything she loves to hike. She has three sisters
named Eniara, Brasilia and Jurema, two live in Bolivia and
one lives in Costa Rica. She is the youngest of all four.
Maestra Prado grew up in Bolivia but she has lived in
Los Angeles for 19 years, she moved here in 1993. She has
a husband named Michael and a daughter named Mayla.
Her birthday is on July 28th. She loves to travel and
she has traveled to the ruins of Machu Picchu, which
deeply interested her, Mesa Verde and Costa Rica. She
wants to go to Tibet, which is now part of China.
Mlle. Sun
By Angela Torres
Valerie Sun teaches French kindergarten. She loves
French and she could speak it all day, that’s why she took
the job at Franklin. Ms. Sun was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Her
parents chose to come to the United States because they
wanted to offer her the American dream.
Ms. Sun went to college at U.C Irvine and she majored in
French and psychology. She practices yoga, runs and likes
to cook. Her favorite dish is vegetables and rice – her mother’s recipe. She also likes to read and her favorite books are
The Catcher in the Rye and Where the Red Fern Grows.
What she likes about her class at Franklin is that all the
kids are sweet and she tells her Kindergartners: “Always
do your best and if you get stuck always try hard.” Ms. Sun
is the first French teacher at this school and the only one.
Diary of a Test-Taker
Soaring to
ne w heights
BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN
ELEMENTARY
FOUNDATION
1610 Lake Street
Glendale, CA 91201
franklinmagnetschool.com
April 2012: I was really scared
when it was time to do my California
Standards Test. I was nervous because
I didn’t think I was ready. My mom’s
birthday was that week, and I wanted
to make her really proud.
I could barely get any sleep that
hot, Sunday night. In the morning I was
chewing my nails like crazy! When I got
to class my teacher said, “Third graders
please line up!” When I stood in line, my
hands were sweating all over my pencil.
I walked with my friends to the library
meeting Mrs. Zavala there. When I
sat down, two Smart candies and a
mini water bottle were sitting on my
table. Mrs. Zavala went through some
practice questions with us, but that
still didn’t make me overcome my fear.
When we were about to begin I thought,
“Here goes nothing”.
By Sophie Peineke
When I was done, I could’ve done
cartwheels there in the library (or at
least I would’ve learned to). I was so
happy.
September 2012: I picked up the
mail from the mailbox and saw a
letter addressed to my parents.
When I gave it to my mom she read
it aloud. I can’t remember what she
said but the letter said I was able to
participate in GATE, the Gifted and
Talented Education program. It lead
me to my dream, Newspaper Club
(which is why I am here now). Now,
I have to face the OLSAT (but that’s
another story).
January 30, 2013: CSTs are coming
again, but this time I am totally sure
that I can do it.