This busy month of May, our Teacher of the Month is Mrs. Butz. She has been teaching for about 7 years now. Wow, that's a long time for sure. Mrs. Butz’s birthday is on August 4. Are you guys planning on what to do during the summer break? Well, Mrs. Butz is probably going to spend time at a cabin in Poconos, go to the beach, relax, and hang out with her family and friends. That sounds really fun. Mrs. Butz’s favorite color is navy blue. If Mrs. Butz could give one advice to the students then that would be to read everyday because reading will help them with all their subjects. Do you guys know what Mrs. Butz’s dream job is? Well, it’s teaching! If her class could describe her, they would say that she is silly, funny, and pretty. I have Mrs. Butz for Friday Friends and trust me, she’s really funny and silly but she’s also nice/kind. If Mrs. Butz could use one word to describe her class that would be compassionate. This month Mrs. Butz was our Teacher of the Month. Maybe next month it could be your teacher. I wish you good luck and hope it’s your teacher.

Mrs. Mazza is an amazing teacher who deserves being the Support Teacher of the Month substantially. She loves working at Oak Tree Road and is honored about being the Support Teacher of the month. Mrs. Mazza was inspired by her daughter’s third grade teacher, and decided she wanted to help shape kids’ future, as well. She won’t regret her decision because, even though it’s a little tough keeping up with things at times, Mrs. Mazza says it feels great to be a teacher. A few fun facts about Mrs. Mazza is that she started teaching at the age of 40, and her favorite color is purple. She is a great person because, in her 8 years of teaching, Mrs. Mazza picks our astounding school, Oak Tree Road Elementary School, over everything else.

Interviewer & Writer: Haala Masoor and Neeva Patel Photographer: Neeva Patel

Do you know who the Student of the Month is this month? Well, the student of the month is Sashwin Loganathan from Mrs. Younghans class! He is a 1st grader, when Sashwin found out he was Student of The Month, he was really surpised. Sashwin loves the new movie End Game and loves to eat pasta as his favorite food. He really likes orcas as his favorite animal and likes his new classroom. Sashwin doesn't know if he is going anywhere for summer break. He likes to read and loved the trip to Turtle Back Zoo. He loves the shiny color of silver and loves to watch Beyblades on T.V. I learned a lot about Sashwin Loganathan and I hope you did too. Congratulations to Sashwin and keep up the good work!

Support Student of the Month!

Writer: Ananya Akanambattu

Interviewer: Meenal Ranjan

Sashvinth is the support student of the month! He is in first grade and his teacher is Mrs. Barbato. Everyone has favorite stuff just like Sashvinth. Blue is his favorite color. Who doesn’t like pizza? Sashvinth loves pizza, and soccer is his favorite sport. His birthday is on October 23 and he is 6 years old. He is really happy about being the Support Student Month. In his opinion, Sashvinth likes this school better than Kennedy Park School #24, because this school is larger. He goes to Best Brains with his sister. Sashvinth thinks Mrs. Barbato is awesome and says, “Have fun, and work hard!”

Written and Illustrated by: Hriday Upadhyay

Written and Illustrated by: Sarvesh Kuppani

Written by: Hamza Shazad

Ramadan is the ninth month in Islam. This is the month when all Muslims who are mature, fast. But when Muslims are sick they don’t have to fast. When this happens the person then fasts after Ramadan to complete the fast they missed because they were sick. In Ramadan there are 30 or 29 months in all. Muslims fast by doing Sehri in the early morning before dawn. Then after that they pray their first prayer of the whole day, out of the five prayers, Fajr before sunrise. During the day they're not supposed to eat anything or drink anything until sunset. This is the time when Muslims do their regular work and give Zakat, or charity, and do their prayers. When sunset comes they open their fasts with dates or water and then eat dinner. This is called Iftar. Muslims fast because their god, called Allah, wanted people to feel how poor people feel without food. Muslims also get more rewards by reading the Holy-Quran which was the last Holy book sent to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) from Allah. Muslims also “fast” for their heart, ears, tongue, and eyes. Muslims do this by not saying bad words, not being jealous, not seeing bad things, and not hearing bad things. They should also ask forgiveness from their God. If a Muslim can’t fast, he should donate food to the poor and that person will get the same rewards as if he had fasted. This is what Ramadan is all about.

Writer: Alisha Khan

Star Wars Day, May 4, celebrates George Lucas' Star Wars. It is observed by fans of the media franchise. Observance of the commemorative day spread quickly through media and grassroots celebrations. The date was chosen for the pun on the catchphrase "May the Force be with you" as "May the Fourth be with you". It's believed that the phrase dates back to May 4, 1979, the day Thatcher took office as Prime Minister – and two years after the release of the first Star Wars film. The Los Angeles City Council declared May 25, 2007, as Star Wars Day, in honor of the 30th anniversary release date of Star Wars. A separate initiative for observing Geek Pride Day on May 25 is based on the Star Wars connection along with ties to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Discworld.

Some recognize the following day, May 5, as "Revenge of the Fifth", a play on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and celebrate the Sith Lords and other villainous characters from the Star Wars series rather than the Jedi.

Others celebrate this one day later, on May 6, citing "Revenge of the Sixth" as a better play on "Sith".

Did you know Star Wars Day is my birthday🎂🎈🎉

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Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo means the fifth of May. Many people think this holiday is the celebration of Mexico’s independence which isn’t true. It’s celebrated to commemorate Mexico’s victory over the French in the French-Mexican war. The victory took place in Puebla which is why this holiday is known as Battle of Puebla Day. The battle took place on the fifth of May 1862. 500 French lives had been lost but only 100 Mexican lives were lost. The Mexican army with only 4,000 soldiers somehow managed to defeat the French army which had 8,000 soldiers! A miracle took place at the battlefield that day which will continue to amaze us each and everyday.

Courage

Are you scared of something? I’m scared of many things but I always want to overcome them. If someone does overcome them they have courage. To me courage means h`aving the bravery to do something you are afraid of. Taking a risk. Everyone is afraid of something but they overcome it with courage, for example: you might be scared of mountain climbing. But then you might tryout an indoor mountain climbing.

Courage is a very important trait. It allows you to have lots of fun and freedom. If you are scared of zip-lining then it will prevent you from having fun with your friends who aren’t afraid. This may cause you to feel left out. When you are less afraid, people might think you are independant, you might get more freedom. You will also make more friends. If none of your friends want to talk to the new student, you should go out of your way and show them around the school. If you do, your truly the most courageous. Let’s say that your friends start talking about people behind their back because they want to be cool. You should tell your friends to stop, and if they dont they aren't real friends. If you do that you have courage because you stood up to your friends.

Courage can help you in many ways: with friends, having fun, and/or freedom.There are many people in this country who risk their lives protecting the US. Soldiers, police officers, firefighters, parents, and even children. Do you know Malala is? She is a Pakistani activist for female education. She stood up for her rights. Malala was the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. She was a very courageous person. You can achieve many great things in life with courage. You just have to believe in yourself.

End Game

Do you want to know the movie of the month? Well you came to the right place. The movie of this month is...End game! There are a variety of Avengers in the movie such as, Spider man, Captain Marvel, Iron man, etc. There are many types of movies like this one.The movie also shows and tells about mysteries of time travel. This movie has a lot of action,and can get pretty sad at some of the parts of the movie.I don’t want to say anything and spoil any part of the movie so if you want to know what happens in the movie your going to go have to watch it.It seems like a good movie to watch.This sounds like a pretty good movie to me.If you are all about the action and time travel this is the movie for you.

Memorial day is the last Monday in May and is celebrate in the U.S to remember those who died in service in the U.S army. In 2019, Memorial Day is on May 27th. It is a nationwide holiday. It started in 1971. Don’t get confused by Veteran’s Day Falls on November. First, Memorial Day was called Decoration Day. Then, it was changed to memorial day.That is the history of memorial day.

Yay! It’s Children’s Day. Finally, a holiday that celebrates us children. When you come to think about it, we are very important beings. For example: We give joy to people, especially our parents. Mother’s and Father’s Day wouldn’t be possible without children. But, honestly we all know we can be a pain in the butt once in a while. Anyway, back to the point. Children’s Day originated from India. It’s celebrated to honor the death of ‘Chacha Nehru’, and of course, our existence. You see, he was devoted to children, and believed that we are “the future of the country”. He always emphasised on the education of children and played a major role in establishment of colleges in the country. In India, Children’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of November. And, in the U.S it’s celebrated on the 9th of June. There are many ways to celebrate this amazing holiday. For example: (for parents) You can spend a marvelous time with your child(ren), and go to the beach. Or, you could stay at home and have a fun movie marathon with your kid(s). It doesn’t matter how you spend it, it matters that you enjoyed it.

Do you celebrate Children’s day too? If yes, then how?

Mental Health Awareness Month

“What even is ‘Mental Health Awareness Month’?” “Huh?” These are all the questions I’ve been asked ever since the first of May. So, let me explain and answer them. First off, let me tell you what Mental Health Awareness Month actually is. I’m sure the name gives it away, but here goes. Mental Health Awareness Month raises awareness about the importance of mental health and to stop the stigma associated with mental health disorders. It is affiliated with organisations such as: NAMI, Mental Health America and more. Approximately one in five adults in the United States (43.8 million, or 18.5%) experiences a mental illness, and approximately one in five youth, aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental health disorder at some point during their lifetime. A well balanced diet, a healthy sleep schedule, exercise, and hydration all affect our mental health and our physical health equally. Studies have shown that individuals who have chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or autoimmune disorders have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety. If someone suffers from depression or anxiety, they are most likely to try and commit suicide. Just keep in mind that if someone is mentally ill, it doesn’t mean that they are mentally weak.

Finally! We are done with NJSLA testing for the 4^th and 5^th graders! For those of you who don’t know what NJSLA testing is, it stands for New Jersey Student Learning Assessment. There are obviously two side to this “problem.” With NJSLA testing, there is a good side, and a bad side. The good thing is that we review what we have learned throughout the whole year. It also helps to know what skills we have to work on. Since we have a time limit, we understand and get ready for middle school, and what life is like when we get there. On the other hand, we get stressed out. When they remind us that there five minutes left and your realize that you still have five questions left, all with open responses, it is absolutely stressful. Also, since the test doesn’t affect our actual grade, the NJSLA is like a waste of time. It can get very annoying. That is why I think that there is a good side and a bad side to this test.

Track & Field Highlights and Winners

Writer: Tanish Bhojawala

Photo: Furqan Tariq

Track and Field

Go! Go! Go! These mighty track members are working their hearts off trying to get their school to victory. The Track Meet was held on May 11, at 8:30 am at JFK High School. The most athletic kids from each school compete to get their school in first place. In our Woodbridge Township School District, there are 16 school, which include 8 small schools, and 8 large schools. Oak Tree Road is considered a large school because of the amount of students we have. The Track Meet has several obstacles and events including the 100 meter dash, 50 meter dash, long jump, softball throw, and finally the most exciting relay race. Each school has two starters, and one alternate depending on which event you are performing on. The 100 meter and 50 usually have two starters and one alternate, while the throw and jump have one starter and one alternate. However, the relay has 4 starters and each run 100 meters.

In the track meet, 4th grade boys and girls, and 5th grade boys and girls compete from each school. When members of the track are alterates, they are just as important as starters. If the starters don’t show up, the alternates take place, but if the starters show up, then alternates still get a small treat. Every alternate get a ribbon of appreciation for attending the track meet. The track meet is an experience of life. Overall, if you are in third and fourth grade, you still have a chance to prove yourself. For the remaining of you, let’s have fun watching!!!!!!

Hi guys my name is Furqan and I will talk about Teacher appreciation week.National Teacher appreciation week is a day which is observed on the Tuesday of the first full week in May.National Teacher day will take place on the 7th May.

You guys should appreciate your teacher because they deserve it. Teacher appreciation is the best day for the teachers for their students to respect them or appreciate them. That’s all for Teacher appreciation week from Furqan Tariq.