Embedded Files
The Week of March 11, 2019
The Week of March 11, 2019
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School News
School News
Mr. Johnson's Kiva Store
Mr. Johnson's Kiva Store
By: Sydney and Brielle
Mr. Johnson and his class are going to be putting their math skills to the test! They have been preparing to open the Kiva store by ordering what they are going to sell.
What is Kiva?
Kiva is an organization helping people in need of money around the world. They started the organization in 2012. They help by paying loans to people who need money. One example is a single mom who needed money to have eye surgery. She asked for money on the Kiva website, and she got enough money to pay for the surgery.
The Story Behind the Kiva Store at Hoffman
Mr Johnson has been doing this for 4 years. We asked him about, and he told us he loves it because, "I wanted to have my students use their skills to help people in real life. It's great to see them take something they've learned to help people."
Sales
Some of the things they are going to be selling are pencils, erasers, sticky hands, bouncy balls, fake mustaches and Mr.Johnson's favorite: custom buttons.
Teachers, talk to Mr. Johnson about finding time in your day to help out with the store!
Be on the lookout for additional information! If you have any additional questions feel free to ask us, Mr. Johnson, or check out their website: Kiva.
Spotlight on Staff: Mrs. Bosco
Spotlight on Staff: Mrs. Bosco
By: Sydney and Brielle
Welcome back to our continuing series: Spotlight of Staff. This week, we met with Mrs. Bosco, Ms. Smeltekop, and Ms. Mies. First, let's learn about Mrs. Bosco!
Q: When did you become a P.E teacher?
A: 7 years ago
Q: Why did you become a teacher?
A: I enjoyed being physically active and working with kids and I wanted to put these together.
Q: Have you taught at other schools?
A: Yes, Glen Grove, Pleasant Ridge, and Henking.
Q: What is your favorite P.E game?
A: Capture the pin.
Q: What sports do/did you play?
A: Softball, basketball, soccer and volleyball.
Q: What is your favorite sport?
A: Soccer.
Q: Do you have any hobbies besides P.E?
A: Working out (new workout classes), shopping for clothes and houses! ;)
Q: Do you have any pets ?
A: I don’t actually.
Q: What would you do with a billion dollars?
A: Buy a private jet and travel around the world!
::Mr. Russell in the background comments, “We don't have a private jet, but we do have a private BATHROOM! Wahoo!”::
Spotlight on Staff: Ms. Mies
Spotlight on Staff: Ms. Mies
By: Logan
When did you start working at Hoffman?
I started working at Hoffman 13 years ago.
Why did you want to teach fourth grade?
I started teaching Drama for four years. And I loved that, but I wanted smaller and a more personal group of students.
Have you ever taught any other grades before?
I have taught preschool before, and special education.
What was your favorite part of teaching Drama?
I loved working on the musicals with the kids.
Have you ever taught at other schools?
When I taught preschool, I taught it at a school called Lakeville in Minnesota.
What do you do outside of school?
I love to travel. My favorite part of traveling is learning about new cultures and eating different foods.
Do you have any hobbies?
I like to make photography books for when I travel. I also like to sing and play with my dog Flo.
Do you have a dream job?
Being a travel writer or writing about traveling for other people to use is my dream job.
Do you have a dream home?
I would love to live in a farmhouse with a porch and rocking chairs.
Do you have any personal classroom spirit days?
We do sports day Fridays during the football season. We also do green day for St. Patrick's Day.
Do you have any pets?
I have a Jack Russell terrier named Florence, Flo for short. She is crazy.
Do you have any classroom games?
We play sparkle and create a picture on white boards. We also have a Friday party every week if the kids earn it.
Thank you Ms. Mies!
Spotlight on Staff: Ms. Smeltekop
Spotlight on Staff: Ms. Smeltekop
By: Lucy, Sydney and Brielle
Q:When did you start working at Hoffman?
A: 2010, wow!
Q:Why did you want to teach fifth grade after having been a librarian?
A: Because I loved having all the kids in the school be in my room. I was ready for a challenge.
Q:Which did you like better being a librarian or a teacher?
A: They are very different. When you're a teacher, you're a jack of all trades!!
Q:Have you ever taught other grades or at other schools?
A: This is my 3rd school. I’ve taught K-4, and also middle school social studies!
Q:What do you do outside of school?
A: Play with my dogs, gardening, and especially playing with my horses
Q:What's your favorite book?
A: impossible to choose! But, I will say, picture books are the most underestimated books
Q:Do you wish to or currently play an instrument?
A: I am trying to learn ukulele. I used to play french horn and piano
Q: What would you do with $1,000,000,000?
A: I would start a school for kids that’s also a farm, and the kids would farm, and they would do everything like feed the animals and help out.
Q: What is your favorite Broadway musical?
A: it is either "Hello Dolly" or "Hamilton" because it's AWESOME!
Q: What is your favorite the song in Hamilton?
A: "I Wanna Be in The Room Where it Happens" ::starts singing song::
Q: What did you like most about this interview?
A: Who doesn't like to talk about themselves?!
5th Grade Art Sculpture Update
5th Grade Art Sculpture Update
Hey Hoffman Hornets!
As you may know, 5th grade has been working on a collaborative art sculpture in art. Today i'm interviewing a fifth grade student about the sculpture.
opinion: The Effects of Screen time
opinion: The Effects of Screen time
By: Sonam
Every day, we use our iPads to help us learn and teachers use their laptops to help them teach. Sometimes, we use phones for fun just because. Even if you aren’t addicted, you still get a lot of screen time every day.
To begin with, the first effect of screen time is a restorative lack of sleep. Sleeping is very important and without sleep you will be impulsive and moody during the day. Who wants to be moody when you can be fun? Additionally, your mindset will suffer and you won’t do very well throughout the day. This happens because your mind is very tired and since your brain is tired, that will lead to you not being focused. Furthermore, not being focused will not produce your best work. This is like a domino effect, one thing leads to the next and so on.
Next, using a device a lot can make you addicted. Being addicted is like being glued to the thing that you are addicted to. To add, you will leave your device for an hour, a few minutes or even a few hours but it’s like there is a string attached between the two. If you try cutting that imaginary string, it doesn’t work. You have to take time to cut that string.
You might be upset to know this, but it is the truth. Instead of watching YouTube, playing a game on your device or surfing the web, try going outside, playing games with family or reading a book. There are many things to do other than hang around your device for hours. So try and do a fun activity without your device.
opinion: Composting
opinion: Composting
By: Lulu
I’m sure you know that this world has a serious problem with litter. If you drive down almost any street, you will find pieces of litter on the curb or side of the road. We need a solution really bad! Luckily, we’ve already got one! It’s called composting.
Composting is a way to break down biodegradable garbage into dark, rich soil that is so amazing for your garden. Almost all your everyday trash can be put into a composter! Here are all the items you can put in a composter: fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds and filters, loose tea leaves, spoiled soy and rice, black and white newspaper, cardboard, paper, grass clippings, tree leaves, crumbs, shredded paper bags, cooked pasta, stale bread, stale chips, pasta sauce, tomato sauce, stale cereal, stale crackers, nut shells (except walnut shells), spoiled tofu, unpopped and/or burnt corn kernels, stale candy and sooo much more.
If you are interested in composting you can buy a composter or you can use a large storage container and put your trash in it. But, the hard part is every day after you are done putting trash in it you have to flip it over completely upside down. Do this daily and soon (four to six weeks to be exact) you’ll have amazing and rich soil for your garden!
Research Corner
Research Corner
The Philippines
The Philippines
By: Walden
The Philippines is a wonderful country. I should know because i’m Filipino! The Philippines is in Asia, which is considered the east side of the world.
The main produce is rice, coconuts, and sugarcane. The Philippines flag’s colors are blue, red, white, and yellow (see above).
The Philippines has many islands and is a big tourist attraction for their tropical climate and beautiful views. A couple years ago, a big volcano erupted and it destroyed many homes; so if you’re going to go to the Philippines, watch out for that volcano!
The Philippines has big cities, great people, and is amazing. So many stores and many juicy fruits to roam around and eat! I'll see you there!
The Shamrock Shake is Back!
The Shamrock Shake is Back!
By: Siya
Get ready for Shamrocks Shakes again this year! They're available only from February 21st to March 17th, so get them before they're gone!
As you may or may not know, in March, McDonalds has Shamrock Shakes as a seasonal drink to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Introduced in 1970, it returns February 21st and will be as rare as a four leaf clover.
Did you know that over 60 million shakes have been sold? Also, did you know that the shamrock shake hasn't always been minty? Initially, the shake was lemon lime flavored with vanilla ice cream. Hard to imagine right?
Shamrock Shakes are great way for kids to celebrate St.Patrick's Day. But, although these shakes are delicious, be careful: they have 82 grams of sugar! Yikes!
The Kiwi Bird
The Kiwi Bird
By: Alyssa
The kiwi is a small chicken-sized bird native to New Zealand. Many kiwis live in New Zealand’s forests. People don’t see these birds, however, because the creatures are shy and will run away when anyone comes near.
There are five species (kinds) of kiwis. The five species are Okarito kiwi, North Island brown kiwi, Southern brown kiwi, Great spotted kiwi, and the Little spotted kiwi. If every species were combined, there would be about 400 remaining individual kiwis. Once there was about 12 million kiwis, but predators ate so many chicks.
A kiwi has a stocky body covered with shaggy, dull brown feathers. The neck and legs of these birds are short, and its bill is long and flexible. A kiwi bird has no tail. Its wings are tiny and they consist of only several stiff feathers. Kiwis are the only bird to have nostrils at the end of their bills. They use their bills to smell food in the thick, wet forests where they live.
At night, kiwis feed on earthworms, insects, and berries. Kiwi birds are nocturnal so they try to find all of their food at night. During the day, they hide. A female kiwi lays one or two large white eggs in hole in a bank. The male sits on the eggs for 75 days, until they hatch.
Sports
Sports
Player of the Week: Toni Harris
Player of the Week: Toni Harris
By: Lulu
Toni Harris is a female college football star. She is one of the only female football players. She has recently had an ad during the Super Bowl, a football scholarship to Bethany College and she has overcome cancer. She wants to be the first women to play in the NFL. It seems like nothing can stop this amazing women.
But Toni’s life wasn’t always this successful. Her mother put her up for adoption at an early age. She has been in four foster families in all. Toni loved to watch football with her older cousin who was on a high school football team. Toni thought that it looked fun and that she wanted to try it. But, when tried out for the team, the coaches kept kicking her off because she was a girl.
In high school, she joined the Jr. Varsity team and went well, until she was ultimately kicked off once again. So her mother met with the school board and signed a waiver that agreed not to sue the school if she got hurt playing football. Her coach was always pushing her to play and helping her. When she got on the team she didn’t want to be a kicker, but a defensive back.
Since then she has been amazing at football and earned her scholarship, with eyes set on being successful in college.
Book of the Week
Book of the Week
The City of Ember
By: Jeanne DuPrau
"The City of Ember" is a great book f you love adventurous characters. It has a fantastic story and message to it, which made it one of my favorites! It is also a Bluestem book, which is an impressive accomplishment.
The story takes place in an underground city. People have been living there for almost 200 years, but the power is starting to run out. They deal with blackouts and fear. Will they may it out?
Thank you to Norah K. in Ms. Lacivita's class for writing this exciting review!
Class of the Week
Class of the Week
By: Vahan
Hello Hornets!
Today, the class of the week is going to be announced. His/her name starts with “V”, add an “i”, then put taco! Together it’s…
Fine, you know it. It’s Mr. Vitacco’s class! Congratulations Mr. Vitacco! That’s right! Mr. Vitacco! Let me hear a “woot woot”!
Be sure students and staff to say congrats to Mr. Vitacco’s class!
Mr. Vitacco likes dancing, exercising, sports, biking, swimming, and more! For more, see our interview with him above.
Weather
Weather
For Fun
For Fun
Would You Rather?
Would You Rather?
By: Vahan
Caution: This may be disgusting...or dangerous!
Would you rather...
Eat the greasiest pizza ever, or would you rather stuff your face into a nacho cheese pool that has been sitting there for a day in the sun?
Do five weeks of boring chores, or would you rather play an educational video game for eight weeks?
Meet your favorite celebrity for a week, or would you rather stay at a five star suite for two days?
Eat your favorite dessert over and over for five weeks, or would you rather eat broccoli over and over for three weeks? Note: health does NOT matter.
This has been Would You Rather!!!
Meme of the Week
Meme of the Week
By: The Hoffman News Team
In honor of Springman's awesome version of "The Fiddler on the Roof," the Hoffman News Team had a bit of a flashmob in the LRC.
Enjoy!
Staff
Staff
Thank you to the entire Hoffman News Team for their efforts.
Each member of the team dedicates his/her entire lunch and recess hour, as well as time outside of school, to contribute to the news. We are extremely lucky to have such dedicated 4th and 5th grade students in our school community.
Do you have a news story for us to cover?
Submit your ideas for a news story by sending an e-mail to our producer.
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