Disney II 2nd quarter paper.pdf - Disney II Elementary Magnet School

ADVISOR: MRS. STONEDISNEY II MAGNET SCHOOLPRINCIPAL: MRS. CHKOUMBOVADISNEY II KIDS IN THE NEWSVOLUME 1, ISSUE 2FEBRUARY 8, 2013THE KILN BY: LILLIAN GRAGERTMs. Haddad, Disney II‟s artteacher, is starting a newpottery unit (as most of youknow). Students are makingbowls, vases, cups, statues,and their own special creations.But wait! In order tomake pottery, the schoolhas to have a kiln. Surprise,we do! A kiln is a round,gray oven used to bake potteryso students can painttheir art work. The kiln islocated near the art room, inthe storage room. The kilnis a new addition to DisneyII. It is one of the manykilns from Chicago KilnService. In order to installit, Chicago Kiln Serviceneeded to install outlets andventilation. In addition,they provided training forMs. Haddad on how to usethe kiln (even though it isreally easy with a touchscreen keypad). In additionto the kiln, Ms. Haddad gotall new tools like... clayrollers, design pressers, andtools like sharp carvingknives that are not for everyone.These tools will helpus make new and cool designson our pottery. Thereare so many exciting thingsto do in the pottery unit. Sobe ready to have fun (andget messy)!WINTER CONCERT BY: GRACE SILVERSTEINIntroduction to the Shows andTheir DirectorDuring the month of December,Disney II students embracedthe holiday spirit bydancing and singing to hollytunes. Mr. Barnhart, DisneyII‟s music teacher, was thedirector of three wonderful,winter musicals. To pick thewinter shows, Mr. Barnhartsaid he went through 18shows, either from the Internetor friends to finally pickthe productions he wanted todirect: Snow Biz and the Nutcracker.During the auditions,Mr. Barnhart looked for expression,pitch, melody, andclarity for all speaking orsinging parts. To prepare forthe shows, he listened to thesongs over and over again,thought about the formations,and worked on inspiringstudents to have fun!The Nutcracker. . . Kindergarten-SecondGradeThe lower grades recreatedThe Nutcracker, a cute balletby Pyotr IlyichTchaikovsky. Except, insteadof dancing they aresinging! All classes Pre-Kto second grade sang TheOverture and The Waltz ofthe Flowers. Pre-K andKindergarten sang theMarch. Kindergarten sangthe Dance of the SugarPlum Fairies. First Gradesang two songs: the RussianDance, or “Trepak,” and theArab Dance. Second Gradesang the Chinese Dance.Ms. Haddad and the kilnThey also sang the Danceof the Reed Flutes.Continued on page 3…….The saxophone section in the band play atthe winter concert.Isaiah Chavez, a fifth grader, performs asa postal worker in Snow Biz.SPECIAL POINTS OFINTEREST:Disney II gets a High School(page 2)Barn Dance (page 5)Good Bye 2012 (page 6)A letter from the StudentCouncil President (page 7)Battle of the Books (page 10)Highlights of 2012 (page13)Crossword (page 14)Teachers honored (page 15)INSIDE THIS ISSUE:NEWS 1-5SPECIAL INTEREST 6-9SPORTS 10-12BRAIN TEASERS13-14

PAGE 2NEWSDISNEY II KIDS IN THE NEWSTHE ARRIVAL OF THE BOOKFAIR BY: IZABELLA MIMS-HADDADIf you visited the winter book fair,you might have seen children running,writing down names of booksthey found interesting, or waitingin line to purchase their the treasuredbooks. The bookfair them wasAll Star books with basketball pictureshanging on the walls. Thebook fair this year sold almost$9,000 in books! This equals about1,760 books being sold to DisneyII students. The book fair was locatedin the hallway and curvedinto the gym's hall. The book fairlasted for five days.In addition to selling books, thebook fair helped raise money forour school with a little competition.The All for Books competitionthis year raised almost $1,000.All for Books provides an easyand effective way to unite theschool community and providemore books for kids and teachers.The classrooms that collected themost money this year were room307 Ms. Lee and room 210 Ms.Rollings. Disney II bought twohundred books because of the AllFor Books!The most popular items at the fairwere children‟s picture books, noveltyitems such as pencils and erasers,and non-fiction books. Themost popular books that studentsbought were princess books, diaries(for both girls and boys), andof course Ninjago Lego book. Non-book related items such as iPoderasers, ninja erasers, and of coursethe moustache erasers flew off theshelves. In addition to sellingbooks, the school participated inthe All for Books competition. Allfor Books provides an easy and effectiveway to unite the school communityand provide more books forkids and teachers. The winners wereroom 307 and 210! Next time DisneyII has a book fair, let‟s hopethat we can sell even more!DISNEY II HIGH SCHOOL HAS BEEN APPROVED! BY: GRACE OWEN AND GRACE SILVERSTIENA lot of questions werestirring in the minds ofparents and students whenMrs. Bogdana Chkoumbovasent out a proposalfor Disney II HighSchool. Wherewill the HighSchool be located?How can Iget my studentenrolled in theHigh School?Some of thesequestionswere answeredon December 18th, 2012,when the Disney II HighSchool was approved bythe Chicago Board ofEducation.The new Disney II HighSchool is planned to openin fall of 2013. CurrentDisney II 6th grade studentscan continue automaticallyinto 7th grade.There will also be somenew students admittedthrough the CPS enrollmentlottery. New studentswill be accepted in7th grade (50 new students)and 9th grade (250students). The classes willbe larger than Disney II.7th and 8th grade classeswill have 100 studentseach. Ninth-twelfth gradewill have 250 students ineach grade level. Theschool will be increasinggrades like the currentDisney II School, everyyear adding a grade until2017 when the school willhave 7th-12th grade. Thelocation is unknown atthis time, however Mrs.Chkoumbova will be Principalat both the elementaryschool and the highschool.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2NEWSPAGE 3WINTER CONCERT CONTINUEDIntermediate Musical Performance...ThirdGrade,Fourth Grade, Choir, Orff,Beginning BandThis performance was filledwith instrumental and vocalmusic. Orff Band performedMbira Jam. Choir performedBlitzen‟s Boogie and Song ofPeace. Orff and Choir performeda duet, Season ofBells. Third Grade performedFum Fum Fum and WorldChimes.Fourth Grade played OldeEnglish Carol and RenaissanceDance. Third andFourth Grade performed TheHoly and the Ivy. BeginningBand performed three songs:Good King Wenceslas, JollyOld St. Nicholas, and JingleBellsSnow Biz. . . Fifth Grade &Sixth GradeStudents expressed their lovefor winter fun through SnowBiz, Disney II‟s first evermusical! Fifth and SixthGrade sang It Comes OutSnow (Solo by: IslamSaadeh), Snow Angel (Soloby: Shayla Kelly), Catch MyDrift (Solo by: QuentinDelgado), What Are WeDoin‟ Here?, The PostalWorker March (Solo by:Grace J. Silverstein), andDon‟t Let the Snow Stop(Solo by: GabriellaRivera).Disney II cannot wait to seewhat Mr. Barnhart hasplanned for us next year!Three Third Grade boys perform Fum, Fum, Fumon the recorder.First Grade students singing and dancing “TheArab Dance.”HAT DAY IS HERE! BY: DOMINIC LIRAGuess what day it wason December 21st....Favorite/Crazy Hat Day!On this day, teachersand students wore theirfavorite hats to school,and I mean any hat! Hatday is the only day studentsare allowed towear a hat to school.That‟s probably why thestudents like it so much.You can wear any hatthat represents your favoritesports team, oryour favorite food, oryour favorite country, oreven your personality!You‟re probably thinking,“What hat am I goingto wear for hat day?”Some of the hats we sawwere: Santa hats, baseballhats, winter hats,jester hats, pointy hats,cowboy hats, and more!Favorite/crazy hat daywas awesome (just askyour classmates). Thereare a ton of hats in theworld. Which one willyou wear?ALOHA, HAWAIIAN DAY BY: MYA WILDERThe temperature on November30, 2012 was 40 F, butyou wouldn‟t know that bylooking at the students inDisney II. Disney II transformedinto a Hawaiian Paradise!Everybody came toschool dressed in their favoriteHawaiian Day outfits.Colors as bright as the sunwere in every classroom.Girls wore hula skirts andflower necklaces. Boys woreflower shirts with shorts.Some boys even wore hats. “Ilike flowers in your hair andon your necklace,” saidGrace Owen. “Hawaiian accessoriesor a hula skirt,” saidIzabella Mims-Haddad. Themost common Hawaiian outfitswere hula skirts! Aboutevery girl was wearing a hulaskirt or flower necklaces.Boys wore flower shirts andflower necklaces. It was agreat day. Everyone had abreezy day! At the end of theday, kids went home talkingabout their day. But what wasleft in the school was a bigmess of hula string fromskirts.210 looks tropical!Deagan and his mother show theirHawaiian spirit.

PAGE 4NEWSDISNEY II KIDS IN THE NEWSCOLLEGE DAY BY MYA WILDERJanuary 25, 2013 was“College Day” at DisneyII. On “CollegeDay,” kids showtheir spirit bywearing their favoritecollege oruniversity's colorsor the gear. Suchas pants, facepainting, jackets, sweaters,and even hats. Theawesome thing about“College Day” is thatpeople spray their hairwith the colors of thatcollege or university.Some kids wear whatcollege they want to goto. Some students worecolleges or universitiessuch as: Harvard,DePaul, Illinois University,Notre Dame,Princeton, and Georgetown.“I like how peopleget to wear crazy colors,”says Islam Saadeh.“We get to represent ourfavorite college,” saysGrace Owen. GraceSilverstein says“College Day representshow our future will beformatted.” College Dayshowed us what the futurecould be for the studentsand celebrated thepast for the teachers!PTA SUPPORTS DISNEY II BY: NICHOLAS BERGERWho is the PTA and what does it do? Iam sure all of you reading this arewondering; what is the PTA? PTAstands for Parent-Teacher Association.The PTA encourages the parents‟ideas and then they support thoseideas. The PTA hosts events for teachers,students, and parents. Theseevents are held during the day andafter school and are designed to uniteour school community. For example,the PTA sponsors: PTA Social Events,Back to School Carnival, Used BookSale, Diversity and Inclusion FocusGroups, Movie Nights, Dine and Donates,Di$ney Dollar$/Shop-n-Script,and the Parent Coffees. Not all ofthem are just for fundraising. Manyare designed to help promote and growour school community.One upcoming event is the PTA FamilySocial. This event is done with StudentCouncil and allows students to come afterschool and socialize with their friends.The theme is “Red Carpet: Disney IIStars” and a DJ will be playing your favoritesongs. The PTA also helps bring involunteers. Volunteers are used for helpin the classrooms, upcoming events (suchas carnivals), decorating for events, and tohelp monitor games and activities! Withoutparent volunteers, fun fair field day(and many other events) would not bepossible! Every two years, Disney IIholds the PTA officer elections. ThePresident of the PTA is Karen Steele.There are two Vice Presidents. Amy Kelloggis one of them, and she is in chargeWINTER FLOWERS BY: ALLYSON RODRIGUEZ-WRIGHTof the fundraising. Helen Lira is theother Vice President and she is incharge of communications. The Secretary,Bruce Yeager, is in charge of takingnotes during the PTA meetings.Melanie Zech, is the Treasurer. She isin charge of knowing all of the expensesand the income. There are sixappointed chair positions (teacher representative,technology chairperson,social chairperson, membershipchairperson, volunteer chairperson, andhospitality co-chairs). These appointedpositions help support teachers‟ andparents‟ ideas. Without the PTA at ourschool, many of the fun activities we dowould not even exist. Thank you PTAfor supporting our school.When you walk around the side by theThe “winter” flowers.main entrance, you might thinkit‟s odd that we have beautifulyellow flowers in the middle ofwinter. Well, those are flowersmade by the 5th and 6th grade 3-D Art Elective Class. The 3-Dclass calls it an “installation.”An installation is a piece of 3-Dart. It can be permanent or temporary.The installation is madeof plastic bottles. The flowersrepresent being consciousabout using materials thatmay harm the environment.Also, the flower pot says“This Is Our Future” because,if we don't take goodcare of the environment,we will have a trashedplanet. So don't litter, andwe will have a safe andhealthy environment.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2NEWSPAGE 5WINTER ENRICHMENTS BY: GRACE OWENAt 3:30 pm, the school bell rings,classes line up and many studentsgo their separate ways down thehall. Some are going home andsome are going into a fun and educationalexperience, winter enrichments!Enrichment classes startedon January 14, 2013 and will end onMarch 29, 2013. Ms. Clay is theDirector of Afterschool and EnrichmentPrograms. “I love it! It is agood way to connect with the kids!”states Ms. Clay.Parents line up very earlyin the morning for achance to get their childrenenrolled in theseprograms. For this session,parents started toline up around 6:00 am!Winter enrichments havemany options, allowing students tochoose what best fits their interests.There are 12 winter enrichmentclasses in all. There is anythingfrom Choir and Little Star Guitar toLego Club and Chess Scholars. Themajority of the time, programs runfrom 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm, with theexception of Choir and Orff thatstart at 7:50 am and end at 8:20 am.The class sizes range anywherefrom 10 students to 30 students.What are the benefits of enrichments?Students enrolled in theafterschool enrichments have anopportunity to learn and experiencenew and exciting activities.Students get to meet new peoplethey may have never met. Theycan learn new things about themselvesand that subject. Also studentscan spend time with theirfriends. Sessions are so convenientbecause students‟ parents don'thave to drive them anywhere, thechildren are already at school fortheir programs!So if you are interested in anotherchance enroll in after school enrichmentslook out forspring enrichments that begin theweek of April 9th!Chess Scholars is one of the Winter Enrichments.BARN DANCE PARENT ACADEMY BY: IZABELLA MIMS HADDADMr. Murphy gettingready to groove!“ I thought thatthe parent academywas a funway to enjoy theold west for thewhole family! Itlet parents andkids get awayfrom work andmove andgroove. Everyonegot to experiencehow the old west whilehaving fun,” said Islam Saadeh, 6thgrader. The Music/PE/CharacterEducation Parent Academy washeld January 17, 2013. It was on acold Thursday evening, but that didnot stop the hundred plus peoplethat came out. The parent academytheme was the Barn Dance. Therewere bales of hay and other barnitems to set the theme. Mostmemorable was the good „ol fashionedsquare dancing. Everyonehad to do-si-do with a partner. Ado-si-do is a movement in squaredancing in which two dancers approacheach other and circle backto back, then return to their originalpositions. Mr. Murphy wasresponsible for the call given tosignal such a movement.Mr. Barnhart and Mr. Murphy bothhelped make the Barn Dance possiblefor the Disney II community.Everyone who came had awonderful time. Mr. Barnhart's andMr. Murphy‟s favorite part of theParent Academy is seeing familiestogether, having fun, and watchingparents learn with their children.Mr. Barnhart believes the ParentAcademy is important and allowsinteractions between students andtheir parents.The Parent Academy helps theschool by bringing in many familiesand giving them a great example ofhow we as a community can worktogether. The school has been doingParent Academies since it opened inthe fall of 2008. Mark your calendar,because the next Parent Academywill be on Thursday, March 21st.Kids dancing at the Parent Academy.

PAGE 6SPECIAL INTERESTDISNEY II KIDS IN THE NEWSBACKSTAGE PASS: ALL ABOUT STUDENT COUNCIL BY: SHAYLA KELLYStudent Council has been anafter school activity at Disney IIfor three years. This year, StudentCouncil has been morepopular than ever! Kids fromthird-sixth grade are eligible torun for Student Council. Eachhomeroom is allowed to electone candidate and the competitionwas fierce! The number ofstudents running for classroomrepresentative was different foreach homeroom class. Somehomerooms had three peoplerunning and some had fourteen!Student Council is very importantbecause it is a great opportunityfor students to have theirvoices heard in their community.The students on the 2012-2013 Student Council are:Brooke Broderick (204), EvelynWilber- Treasurer (206), SophiaRivera- Secretary (304), JorgeOrtiz- Box Tops (306), AlisaVasquez (301), Rami Assaf(309), Daviana Soberanis-President (303), and Nolan Nemeroff-Vice President (307)! “Iwas honestly surprised..I wasin absolute shock..one of thebest experiences ever!” NolanNemeroff excitedly said.“Some of my goals are to raisemoney for the school and makingsure that everyone has theirideas shared equally.” JorgeOrtiz said. Student Council isnow working their hardest onthis great after school activity.If you have any ideas or questions,make sure you talk toyour school representatives!GOODBYE 2012, HELLO 2013! BY: OLIVIA GARDNERHave you ever wondered how peoplecelebrate the upcoming NewYear? People around the worldcelebrate it in many different ways.They have games, festivities, food,and rituals! Countries have interestingways of embracing the newyear!In Scotland, they celebrate Hogmanay.They set barrels on fire, thenroll them down the street. Thatsignifies the old year burningaway. In Columbia, Cuba, andPuerto Rico, they burn a life sizeddoll named Mr. Goodyear. Mr.Goodyear wears old clothes, pictures,and objects. His burningmeans that the grief and pain of theold year is disappearing.In Japan, they eat a bowl of specialnoodles that are called Year-Crossing noodles, while listeningto the bells of the Buddhist templethat rings 108 times, to drive awayevil spirits. In Spain, they eat 12grapes, one for each chime of theclock.The Jewish New Year is calledRosh Hashana. Rosh Hashanameans “Head of the Year.” DuringRosh Hashana, they throw breadcrumbs into a lake, as if throwingthe old year away. They also eatapples with honey, which symbolizesthe “sweet year.”An American tradition is “ TheBall Drop.” In Times Square, NewYork, New York, hundreds of thousandsof people gather. There is agiant ball on a pole made fromglass, lights, and mirrors. It‟s a lotlike a giant disco ball. During thecountdown to the new year, the ballslowly glides down the pole. By thetime the ball hits the bottom, 2013is already in action. Many peopleand cultures have different ways ofchanging the year! They eat food,have rituals, and even have giantobjects. It‟s all different. But in theend, they‟re all celebrating onething. The New Year!Goodbye, 2012. Hello, 2013!Word Search Answers:Yearbook sales beginMonday! On sale for alimited time only! Getyours today beforethey are gone! Only $20

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2SPECIAL INTERESTPAGE 7STUDENT COUNCIL CORNER BY: DAVIANA SOBERANIS (STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT)Hi There Disney II Students! I amDaviana Soberanis, the StudentCouncil President and 303 Representative.I am so excited that the 3rdquarter is here! The Student Councilis working on exciting projects tosupport the school. The StudentCouncil wants to hear your voice. Wehave set up a website. If you decideto join, there are forums where youcan give us your opinion on theschool and new ideas. The websiteprovides Student Council updatesunder “Updates” and any importantevents under “Calendar.” The websiteaddress iswww.disneyiistudentcouncil.webs.comWe hope you can join! You can alsotalk to any of the Student Council Representativesto share any of your ideasabout how to help the school and newprojects the Student Council can workon.So far, the Student Council has workedon bringing the “Box-Tops” back! TheBox-Tops competition is a big thing.Many of the classes have brought insoooo many! At the each quarter, thereis a winner for the class who brought inthe most Box-Tops and Campbell‟ssoup labels. Check out the poster bythe main office to see who won 2ndquarter! This quarter, Disney II studentsraised over $1,000! Every littlebit helps and everyone please supportthe school! The money will go towards ourTitan MASCOT costume!!!Our next event is coming the PTA/StudentCouncil Social Event!!!!!!!! This is achance to hang out with your friends, participatein fun dance contests, and listen tosome of your favorite songs. Tickets are $5each. Don‟t forget to buy your Glow in theDark bracelets for only $1.00 and visit theFREE Student Council Photo Booth! Keepan eye out for new and exciting StudentCouncil products! You will be sure to loveit......stay tuned!INTERVIEW WITH A CHEF BY: MORGAN PLOWMANDid you know DisneyII has a parentwho has been namedone of the top threechefs in Chicago? Heowns a restaurantnamed Yusho thatopened in 2011 andis the father of GretlMerges in 5th gradeand Tatum in 3rdgrade. His name is..... Mr. MathiasMerges! Mr. Merges‟s restaurant hasearned many awards for his great tastingfood. He served all kinds of foods fromQuail Eggs to Tofu Doughnuts. Mr.Merges likes to cook anything thatcomes from oceans, rivers, and evenlakes!More importantly, Mr. Merges is afounding member of Pilot Light. PilotLight is a group of local chefs with themission of integrating and weaving theirskills with students‟ curriculum to helpthem understand where food comes fromand the importance of eating well. Accordingto Mr. Merges, the goal of PilotLight is to show the culture and importanceof food. It all started at a big dinnerat the White House. A bunch ofchefs were able to meet MichelleObama. While there, some of the chefsdecided on creating a group to showchildren the amazing food of theworld! They have been pretty successful.Adeline Davern in 5th gradesaid, “It‟s really fun to taste newfoods and its a great experience.”This group is composed of chefs andother important people: Paul Kahn,Ryan Poli, Jason Hammel, JustinLarge, Bogdana Chkoumbova, ShariBerland, Brooke Brizzard, and manyother chefs from the Chicago. Let‟sgive a big hand to these wonderfulpeople who care about us and wantus to know about food and why it‟simportant. Also just a quick reminder,Pilot Light will be back toDisney II soon! Watch for the date!!!GIVE BASKETBALL A SHOT! BY: GABRIELLA RIVERAHey all you basketball lovers.Have you heard thelatest 2013 news on men'scollege basketball?The top 3 college basketballteams are the LouisvilleCardinals, the IndianaHoosiers, and the DukeBlue Devils, according tothe NCAA. The LouisvilleCardinals had a reallygood year in 2012-2013.The Cardinals were neverbig on offense, but theywere beasts on defense.The Cardinals have a littlerivalry with the KentuckyWildcats. Let‟s see if theycan end the fight out onthe court.If college basketball didthis good in 2012-2013,just imagine how good itwill go when it starts upagain in November.

PAGE 8SPECIAL INTERESTNEWSLETTER TITLEA BLAST IN THE PAST WITH DISNEY II BY: ISLAM SAADEHHow did Disney II come to be? Whathelped Disney II grow into a strongcommunity? How did Disney II allstart? What is the background of DisneyII? You might wonder all thesequestions, but never really knew theanswers. Disney II has been aroundsince 2008 and its still growing! Ourschool has been a success for teachersand students. Not only is DisneyII one of the city‟s top scoring elementaryschools, it is also a fun andcaring environment guiding studentsto become good citizens and to succeedin life. Before becoming DisneyII, the school used to be a middleschool and before that, it was an elementaryschool.Teachers are an important part ofDisney II and make learning fun.Teachers try to cooperate and learnfrom each other. Disney II beganwith only four grade levels Pre-Ksecondgrade and only eighteen staffmembers! The number of teachershas been increasing ever since, withover an astonishing thirty staff membersthis year! There are fourteenstaff members still at Disney II whowere on the “founding team:” Mrs.Chkoumbova, Mrs. Stone, Mr. C,Mr. Manesis, Mrs. Girard, Mrs. Callaghan,Mrs. Kami, Ms. Rollings,Mrs. Cherniak, Ms. Haddad, Mrs.Schnaufer, Ms. Clay, Mr. Barnhart,and Mrs. Santiago. Not only has thenumber of teachers been increasing,the student body has also been growing.In 2008, there were 210 students.Now, Disney II has a recordbreaking 414 students!All of the students at Disney II workhard in their studies and have builtlasting friendships with their peers.Whether a student is new or returning,the Disney II community is onebig growing family. Every studenttries to put their best effort into theirwork. Gabrielle Rivera, a 6th graderin Mr. Watkins‟s homeroom, exclaimed,“ I have definitely been successfulbeing here throughout DisneyII. I also have grown each year frombeginning to end.” Nolan Nemeroff,another 6th grade students who hasbeen here since the beginning stated,“I think I did a good job throughoutthe years. Disney II has definitelyimproved through the years also.”Fun Facts1. Disney II wasn't the first school inthis building. The building is over100 years old. Have you noticed theholes in the floor? In the past, thedesks used to be nailed to theground! Before Disney II, there wasIrving Park Elementary School, thenIrving Park Middle School.2. Disney II used to have chalkboardsand plain whiteboards. Theschool has spent a lot of money ontechnology. What we have now wasnot there before! Now we have interactivewhiteboards such as SMART-Boards and EPSON Interactive Projectors.It definitely has made ourschool better and easier to learn.3. Did you also know that Disney IIdidn‟t “have” a third floor? Eventhough the school had three levels,the top floor was not used for homeroomclasses until the 2009-2010school year. The first grade level tostart on the third floor was fourthgrade. Now, the third floor housesthe Junior Middle Team (fourth,fifth, and sixth graders), a resourceroom, and science room!4. When Disney II opened there wasno elevator. Everyone had to use thestairs. It was installed during thesummer before the 2009-2010 schoolyear.5. Do you remember when it was hotand warm and everyone wassweating? Well that changedduring the spring of 2012 whenthe cooling system was installedto keep us cool and not burninghot inside of Disney II.6. Remember when the oldergrades had to use “cubbies” tokeep all their stuff organized?That changed in the 2011-2012school year when Disney II hadlockers installed on the 3rd floor.Now, students in 4th, 5th, and6th grade use lockers to keep alltheir belongings.7. There were no competitivesports teams during the yearsuntil the 2011-2012 school year.Last year, 5th graders were ableto try out for basketball, volleyball,flag football, and track.Now, the students in 5th and 6thgrades get to try out for fall, winter,and spring sports and makeour school proud!8. When they remodeled theschool before it opened, oldwalls were knocked down fromeach classroom. They installedmoveable walls (the green wall)between grade levels so it wouldbe easier for classrooms to talkto each other, work together onbig projects, or transition betweenrooms.9. Remember the old wall in thecafeteria? Remember only fiftykids could eat at one time?The “original” Disney II staff at the firstever Back To School Carnival.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1This changed during the summer of2012. Disney II knocked down awall to make more space. In addition,new tables were also added somore grade levels can eat at once.There were six lunch periods, nowthere are only four lunch periods.Now over one hundred students caneat at one time!10. Did you know that the stairwellsused to have fences? Students backthen were cramped and could notmove around that much. The stairwellswere very claustrophobic!When they remodeled the school in2008, workers removed the fences.Now Disney II students can movearound and are not cramped in theSPECIAL INTERESTPAGE 9open staircases.11. Every year there is a back toschool carnival and each year itgrows. The back to school carnivalcelebrates going back to school. Itgives kids of all ages a head startto feel excited to go back toschool. This year we had performancesby the Jesse White Tumblers,Magician, Right at Schoolgames, and famous food trucks!12. The Halloween carnival is away to dress up into your favoritecharacters and costumes. Thesecarnivals are to let kids show offtheir costumes. Our first Halloweencarnival was created by theteachers in 2008 and it has improvedeach year. Now, the event issponsored by PTA.Disney II has overwhelmed us allabout how well it‟s cooperated withthe students and eventually get better.There is no other school like DisneyII!DAY IN THE LIFE OF A 6TH GRADER BY: LUIS ROJOA normal day in a the life of a sixthgrader is not what you‟d expect. Sixthgrade sounds pretty hard, and your parentsmight say it‟s a hard grade, but itcan be pretty easy and fun. All you haveto do is listen closely and learn.If you are a sixth grader here at Disney IIMagnet, you can expect to work hardand independently. But don‟t worry, theteachers make learning really fun andmake sure it is not a boring school day.Some of the classes in sixth grade are:science, language arts and social studies,math, art, music, technology, gym, Spanish,and don‟t forget 5th/6th grade electives!Get used to transitioning and movingaround a lot because in sixth gradeyou have three different teachers. Thiswill help prepare for your classes in seventh/eighthgrade and high school. Tohelp with switching classes, you need abig backpack and a zipper binder to storeall of your sixth grade necessities.Here is an average day of a sixth grader.When you wake up, you are instantlythinking about school and what you aregoing to do that day. Did I get enoughsleep? How long will recess be? What‟sfor school lunch? What is for homelunch? Did I finish my homework? Did Ido my reading? Did I finish my projects?After getting ready, you get yourbackpack on and get out the door. Whenwe finally get to school, there are a lotof kids going in and parents comingout. You may see a sixth grader walkinginto the building with their littlebrothers or sisters. You may also seesixth graders walking with their friends.Once you are in the school, sixth gradersneed to walk up three flights ofstairs and put their backpack and otherbelongings in their lockers. Don‟t forgetto take all of the stuff you need foryour classes. Sixth graders start withtheir homeroom class. This class is theclass where you start and end your day.For me, my homeroom class is science,which is my favorite! In science, studentsget to conduct experiments andobserve many different things in thescience lab. Mr. Watkins teaches it all,in a student friendly way. It is really funwith all the experiments. At 9:45 am itis time to switch! The next class ismath. Ms. Zapata teaches math to fifthand sixth grade. Math goes by quicklybecause we are working so hard! Duringmath, we work on multiplication,division, and graphing. Now it is 10:30,time to switch! At 10:30 am everyday,sixth grade goes to specials. At 11:30we go to recess then lunch. Sixth graderslove to use this time to socialize andrun around. At 12:45 pm, it is time toswitch again, off to reading/social studies.This class is fun because you get toread your favorite books, learn abouthistory and new things happening in theworld. During reading, we do things likemini-lessons, independent reading, andbook clubs. Book clubs are just like realclubs, where we read books and discussthem. 3:15 pm and it is time to switch!Now, sixth graders go to study hall,which is in our homeroom class. Atstudy hall, we write down our homework,finish unfinished work, and packup to go home. At 3:30 pm, we can officiallyleave the school! Everyone is excitedand happy that school is done!Very often, you can see sixth gradersrunning around, talking to each other,and hanging out after school. When thesun sets, it‟s time go home, do homework,go to sleep, and then repeat!

PAGE 10SPORTSDISNEY II KIDS IN THE NEWSThe boys teamworking hard duringa game.HE SHOOTS! HE SCORES! BY: GABRIELLA RIVERAReady, set, Titans! Basketballhas finally begun at Disney II!Congrats to all of the membersof the boys‟ basketballteam! The very supportiveCoach Murphy was very happywhen the team was finally readyfor their first game. Our wonderfulgym teacher has been coachingbasketball for three yearsand has helped the Disney IIteam so much during this time.Mr. Murphy‟s goal for this yearis to make it to the championships.He definitely believes inthe team and really enjoyswatching them make progress.When Mr. Murphy was , hisfavorite basketball player wasLarry Johnson and obviouslyhis favorite basketball teamnow is none other than the ChicagoBulls!The boys‟ basketball team enjoyschallenging themselves.Some members enjoy makingthree- pointers and others enjoyshooting free throws. The teamcaptains for this year are DanielMendez and Christian Reyes.The boys work hard duringpractice. They do layups andget each other‟s rebounds. Theypractice setting picks and shooting.The practices may be hardwork, but the members hatehaving to end practice. Theboys won their first gameversus Garvey 24 to 6 onWednesday, January 9,2013. Their current recordis 6-0….undefeated!Go Team! Go Titans!Members: Daniel Mendez,Christian Reyes, BerkanKurtulus, Ryan Beer, GiovanniCapifali, Corey Zech,Jose Troche, Cade Linnemeyer,Aidan Robertson,Vincenzo Aguirre, NathanielDobbins, Deven Colton,and Joseph Simz.WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DISNEY II BATTLE OF THE BOOKS TEAM BY: ADELINE DAVERNEvery morning, a group of sevenstudents come to school brightand early. These students arecoming to participate in the Battleof the Books! There are manydifferent team activities beforeand after school, but Battle of theBooks is special because thesestudents don‟t come for an activity,they come to read! Battle ofthe Books is an educational programled by fourth grade languagearts teacher Mrs.Schnaufer. Students read twentyone books over a short period oftime (five months). Once they'redone reading all the books, theyhave a competition with fifteenother schools. During this competition,the team answers triviaquestions about all of the booksthey read. Students need to knowthe title of the book and the authorfor each answer. The studentswho earned a spot on the 2013Battle of the Books team qualifiedby taking a test of one hundredquestions on three differentbooks! The students that made itto the finals are: SavannahGraziano, Gabriella Rivera, IsabelWallery, Olivia Marton, Ana Sofia Zuluaga,Vivienne Lubbat, and VictoriaKnox. These seven girls had the highestqualifying scores. Every year the teamhas a team captain. This year it is SavannahGraziano, who has qualified for theteam three years in a row! Ms. Grazianois currently the only student at Disney IIwho has been on the team for threeyears.The titles for the 2013 Battle of theBooks competition are: Because ofMr.Terupt; Born to Fly; Captain Nobody;Close, Chuck; The Elephant Scientist;Heart and Soul; The Story of Americaand African-Americans; How to SurviveMiddle School; Inside Out and BackAgain; Love, Aubrey; Maximilian and theMystery of the Guardian Angel: A BilingualLucha Libre Thriller; Ninth Ward;Raven’s Gate; Roots and Blues; Star inthe Forest; The Strange Case of OrigamiYoda; Turtle in Paradise; What Color IsMy World?:The Lost History of African-American Inventors; Wonder; and TheMighty Miss Malone.During their meetings, the Battle of theBooks team mainly discusses the books.Sometimes the team has “mini battles.”The team divides into two mini-teamsand Mrs. Schnaufer comes up withquestions for the books that they arereading. They have to answer themcorrectly to get a point for their team.The team with the most correct answersat the end wins the mini competition.This year the online competition willbe held on April 2nd. Only fifteenschools will qualify to make it to thecitywide finals. The finals will be heldat Disney II Magnet School on Saturday,April 27th. This will be the secondyear our school is hosting the finals.Now you know a full knowledge of theDisney II Battle of the Books team.Make sure to wish them luck before thecompetition.Here is our very own, one and only,Battle of the Books Team.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2SPORTSPAGE 11THE COACHES’ STORY BY: SIERA LEVINEThe girls running back and forth on thecourt, sweat is dripping from their foreheadsto their chins. Legs speeding up.“Swish,” the DII girls have made theshot. Two more minutes on the clock...“Come on girls, you got it!” Coach Murphyand Coach Mims motivate the girlsto keep going.Coach Mims is a DII parent. He is theparent of Izabella Mims-Haddad and isa new coach to the Disney II community.In college, he was coach for seventhand eight grade boys‟ basketball.Coach Mims use to play basketball as ayoung boy in Detroit. His motivationstems from having the urge to coachagain. It‟s good to have a coach that canplay basketball, so he can give advicefrom his experiences. He has gotten allor should I say most of his skills fromhis father. His father was in charge ofall the recreation activities in the cityCoach Mims was born, and his fatherwas a former college basketballplayer. Coach Mims puts all of his effortto try and motivate the girls' basketballteam and teach them the basic fundamentalsof basketball. He lets the girlsknow that it is ok if you lose as long asyou tried your hardest. He does so muchto try and teach them all of the techniquesand drills to build up the girls tolerancefor basketball. He also helps the team onpassing, shooting, defense, free throws,dribbling, rebounding, and positioning.He states that his goal for the girls thisyear is to have fun learning the game ofbasketball and enjoying a special bondwith their teammates. He is very excitedto show the girls that they can do things ifthey put their minds to it!Our very own gym teacher is the otherDisney II girls‟ basketball coach. He doesa very good job on helping the girls motivatethemselves during games, makingsure the team does not get upset if theylose a game, and making sure we put ourbest effort in games. The team‟s opinionon Coach Murphy is that he does a verygood job on teaching and coaching thegirls. Some people may not know this,but Coach Murphy playedbasketball from fourth gradethrough high school. He triesto make practice fun, becausehe finds that it can be motivatingat this age. When the girlshave fun, they are more focused,and when they focus,they execute in games, ofcourse with the help of thecoach/es. Coach Murphy ismost working on helping the girls withshooting and master defense.He stated “This has been agreat experience so far. I amreally excited to be teachingand coaching again at DII !”The 2013 girls basketballteam is Grace R., Siera L.,Grace S., Addie D., IsabelW., Sofia M., Eileen D.,Gabriella R., Juliette P., Gelsy G., NaomiS., Diana B., Esther H., Savannah G., JulieG. Right now, the girls‟ basketball team‟srecord is 3 wins and 3 losses.CHEERLEADING AT DISNEY II BY: BRIANNA ROBERTSDisney II‟s Cheerleadingteam has pride, spirit, andenthusiasm! Although theteam is not competing inreal competitions this year,they are busy preparing forthe boys‟ and girls‟ basketballseason. Siera Levinetold Disney II Kids in theNews INSIDE STORY “I feel HEADLINE great aboutpracticing and love what wedo.” The team stays motivatedbecause they enjoyexercising and practicingtheir routines. Coach Zapatagives the team constantfeedback, such as they aredoing a perfect job, keep upthe hard work, or keep improvinguntil they get itdown pat. Coach Zapataalso has some great thingsto say about her hard workingTitans. She stated “Thegirls have made tons of pro-gress in their movements,their jump, and technique.”She is looking forward toteaching the team more. “Iam proud and impressedby how far they have comeand look forward to advancingthem into nextyear.” Even though theteam works hard, the girlslove practice and CoachZapata loves showingthem how to do new thingsat practice. “I love teachingthem , I love cheerleadingand I think theycan tell that I have a lot offun during practice whichmakes it fun for them. Imake sure they know theirjob is to proudly representour school and our athletes.They believe in theirjob and they believe theirjob is important.” So farthe team has been workingon three cheers one is called„Here We Go‟, the next is„We Are the Titans‟, andlastly „Release Yourself.‟They are also working onthe straddle and pike jump.The straddle jump is a jumpthat is basically doing asplit in mid-air. A pikejump is basically doing asitting position with yourlegs straight out in front ofyou in mid-air. As you cansee the cheerleaders aregreat at what they do. Notonly making their coachproud, but makingtheir school proud.GO TITANS!!!Disney IIcheerleadersshow off theirschool spiritSiera Levine (6thgrade) and RenitaStates (5th grade)lead the team in anew cheer.

PAGE 12SPORTSDISNEY II KIDS IN THE NEWS2012 SPORTS IN REVIEW BY: DYLAN ROBERTSONSuper Bowl 2012February 5, 2012On February 5, 2012 the SuperBowl took place in Indianapolis.The two teams where the Giantsversus the Patriots. The brother ofthe Giants starquarterback, EliManning wasnamed PeytonManning. Peytonplayed in Indianapolis. Butleading up to the game, he neversaw his younger brother.The Giants were definitely the underdogs.The Patriots led by TomBrady a winner of three of four SuperBowl appearances. But the Giantswere winning 9-0 at the end ofthe first quarter. But the Patriotscame back with 19 unansweredpoints taking a 19 to 9 lead . Eventuallyit went down to the wire.With only a few seconds left, TomBrady went for it all which wouldhave been the end of the game. ButRon Gronkowski missed the ball ashe fell in the end zone. Giants win.NHL Stanley Cup2012The NHL StanleyCup was abrawl with LosAngeles Kings versus New JerseyDevils. The two teamswere probably one of the least expectedto make it to the Stanley Cup, the Kingswere ranked 8th of the teams in the Playoffsin the western, 6th in the easterndivision. But the two stepped it way upin the playoffs. The Kings beat the bestranked team Rangers. The Kings were asurprising team and surprised everybodyby winning the Stanley Cup. The Kingsare an inspiration to everybody even ifyou are way under-rated it does notmean they are right. You can do anythingif you try.NBA FinalsJune 12- June21, 2012The 2012 NBAFinals was a great matchup. It was theexpected Miami Heat including LebronJames, Dwayne Wade, and monster 6foot 11 center/ forward Chris Bosh versusa shining team Oklahoma Thunder ateam including small forward KevinDurant and Jake Westbrook.The Thunder were good, but they wereno match to the amazing Heat. Lead byLebron James, they won the NBA in fivegames easily. Lebron won MVP of thefinals and also won MVP of the regularseason. The Heat were the expectedteam and they lived up to the hype winning44 out of 66 games. The Thunderwon one more game then the Heat.London OlympicsJuly 25- August 12 2012In the 2012 summer Olympics,the U.S.A swimming teamwere amazing. Michael Phelpsbecame the most decoratedOlympian of all time winning 22 medals including17 gold medals. The girls also had an amazingOlympics. Missy Franklin, age 17, came to Londonand was amazing. Winning four medals, threegold. The Americans had a astonishing 104 medalsto be first by far.In athletics the Americans werealso the best ,winning 29 medals.But the story in athleticswas Jamaican Usain Bolt. Winningthree gold medals andbecoming one of the greatestrunners of all time .2012 World Series - October 24- October 28,2012In the 2012, offseason the Tigers were one of thetop stories. They locked up former Brewer PrinceFielder to an eight year deal. They lived up totheir hype by winning 88 games a clinching theA.L central and eventually went to the WorldSeries.But the story of the M.L.B was the San FranciscoGiants. The Giants were not expecting to winbecause of their lousy hitting in 2011. But theGiants did not give up, winning a total of 94games. They played the Tigers in the World Series.In Game 1 the story was Pablo Sandoval.Sandoval hit three homeruns, two against the runnerup 17 game winner Justin Verlander. Then itwas all Giants. They swept the Tigers in fourgames.A CREATIVEWRITING PIECEOH SNOWBALLS! BY: ISABEL PRADOThree friends were in a different cornerwith their fort protecting each and everyone of them. Bam! One hit Justin twotimes with snowballs so he fell rightaway. He was struggling to get back up.Then the face off came. Susan and Callyfaced each other straight forward. Theyboth grabbed a chunk of snow and circledit. Then Cally opened her mouth“Fire!” Snowballs were being thrownback and forth from the two. Bam! Onehit Cally in the face! Koosh! One hitSusan in the stomach. They both fell onthe floor and lay there helplessly. WithJustin and Alice still on the ground,Cally had to make her move. Shegrabbed a pile of snow, rounded it, thensquatting on the snow floor in the backyardof her house, she aimed towardAlice‟s fort. But then Alice got up!Cally got scared and she threw it inAlice's face and she fell on the floor.Cally started dancing. “Yeah I won thisyear woohoo!” Cally and Alice went toJustin‟s fort. They each picked up asnowball in their hands, ready to aim.Suddenly Alice opened her mouth“Fire!” The three friends started tothrow snowballs at one another. Bam!One hit Justin. Kaboom! One hit Cally!Koosh! One hit Alice! This was theannual snowball competition. The threefriends Alice, Justin , and Cally did thisevery year. But there was always fight-ing about who won, each personthinks they win. Each of them wearsprotective gear for the snowballcompetition, so when they get hitand fall, it is hard to get back up.Susan and Cally were working likea team (for once). After that, thefriends agreed they were all winnersand went to Cally‟s house to sit bythe fire and have their favorite hotchocolate. While sitting by the fire,Justin said “Oh snowballs!” Andthen the group of friends hugged.

1: C 2: D 3: B 4: B 5: A 6: DVOLUME 1, ISSUE 2PAGE 13BRAIN TEASERSWINTER QUIZ BY: GRACE KENDRICK AND SAMANTHA STOEBER1. How do you say winter inSpanish?A. mayoB. septiembreC. inviernoD. wintero2. Who is Lindsey VonnA. A snowboarderB. A magicianC. An ArtistD. A Skier3. How do you make HotChocolate?A. Put milk in a cupB. Put hot water and cocoa powderin cup then mix it togetherC. Melt a candy bar in a cupD. Take chocolate syrup andcocoa powder and mix it togetherin a cup.4. Can it snow from clear skies?A. YesB. No5. Is mogul skiing a winterevent?A. yesB. no6. What is snow made of?A. CandyB. windC. slushD. water and iceThe highest snowfall ever recordedin a one year period was31.1 meters (102 feet) at Mt.Rainer (Washington, US) betweenFebruary 19, 1971 andFebruary 18, 1972TOP 12 HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2012 BY: SAMUEL GRAGERT AND NOLAN NEMEROFFFeb.26 Academy Awards (Oscars) - The winner of the 2012 best film in the Oscars was "The Artist.” It also won for best actorand actress. In total, the movie won five Academy Awards.Mar.21 You can see Jupiter and Venus in the sky with the naked eye— If you took the time to look in the sky on March 21,2012, you could have witnessed Jupiter and Venus without the use of a telescope or any other tools. These planets looked enormouscompared to the moon.May.15 Facebook IPO (Initial Public Offer) - Facebook is a $104,000,000,000 company that far exceeds the standards of anysocial networking site. With its initial offering, stock was sold at $42 per share. As of today, the stock is worth $38 per share.Jul.15 Gangnam Style- July 15 was the day the music sensation known as "Gangnam Style" was officially uploaded onto You-Tube which was to be the most watched YouTube video of all time. Today “Gangnam Style” has over one billion views.Jul.27 London Olympics 2012 - The 2012 London Summer Olympics took place July 27th through August 12th. U.S.A.came in first for the most decorated country with a total of 104 bronze, silver, and gold medals. 46 of those were gold. The USwas followed by China with 88 medals, 38 of them being gold, and Great Britain came in third place with 65 medals, 29 of thembeing gold.Aug.11 Rover lands on Mars—On August 11, NASA sent a billion dollar piece of medal that landed on Mars taking a series ofpictures discovering more on the red planet.Aug.13 Disney II High School—On August 13, Disney II sent a Request for High Quality Schools (RFQ) to CPS to establish abrand new high school!Sep.21 iPhone 5 released - Apple's new iPhone 5 release was an instant hit, selling over 5 million devices on the first dayOct.14 Stratos jump - On this historic day, Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a space shuttle and broke the sound barrier beinghurled down towards Earth at 27,000 feet.Nov.6 Presidential election - On November 6, Barack Obama won the 2012 Presidential Election against Mitt Romney andgrabbed four more years in the presidential office.Nov.23 Hurricane Sandy begins - Unexpected hurricane Sandy (the super storm) blew through the entire north side of Americadoing a total of $33 billon in damage.Dec.20 Disney High School- On the 20th of December, the Board of Educationapproved the application for the Disney II High School! A new beacon for DisneyII education.

PAGE 14BRAIN TEASERS CONTINUED…...CROSSWORD PUZZLE BY: ISABEL PRADO$20Yearbook Sales will beginMonday, February 11th!Yearbooks will only be onsale for a limited time!RETURN ORDER FORMS AND $TO YOUR HOMEROOMTHE DISNEY II JOURNALISM ELECTIVECLASS WOULD LIKE TOCONGRATULATE THE DISNEY IICOMMUNITY ON EARNING THE 2012ILLINOIS ACADEMIC HONOR ROLLAWARD! GO TITANS!

BRAIN TEASERS CONTINUED…...PAGE 15WINTER SURVEY BY: GRACE KENDRICK AND SAMANTHA STOBER1.AFTER BEING IN THE COLD WEATHER WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNACK TO EAT?HOT COCOA 75%COOKIES AND MILK 10.2%POPCORN 4.5%BROWNIES 10.2%2.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO AFTER BEING IN THE COLD WEATHER?SIT BY THE FIREPLACE 23.7%HAVE A SNACK 3.8%BUNDLE IN BLANKETS 36.5%GO TO SLEEP 5.1%WATCH TV 30.%3.WHAT DO YOU CREATE IN THE SNOW?SNOWMAN 36.3%IGLOO 13.8%SNOWBALL 30.6%SNOW ANGEL 19.4%4.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITY DURING THE WINTER?INDOOR SWIMMING 7.5%SKIING 13.1%ICE SKATE 20.0%SLEDDING 40.6%SHOPPING 8.8SNOWSHOEING 0.0%OTHER 10.0%5.IF YOU WISH TO TAKE A TRIP DURING THE WINTER, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?ALASKA 6.3%HAWAII 45.5%FLORIDA 21.7%UTAH 3.5%CALIFORNIA 8.4%DISNEY II TEACHERS HONORED!Recently, two teachers at Disney IIwere recognized for their outstandingachievements in education.Mrs. Schnaufer, the fifthgrade Language Arts/Social Studiesteacher, won the “Heroes inthe Classroom” Award. Thisaward celebrates outstanding leadershipand instructional skills. Mrs.Schnaufer was surprised by herfamily and Bears players in a secret,school wide assembly. As partof her award, she also earned: twofifty-yard line tickets to the Bears/Green Bay Packers (parking included),$250 dollars from OfficeMax, $1,000 donated on her behalfto Disney II, and a personalizedBears Jersey.Ms. Lee, the sixth grade LanguageArts/Social Studies teacher, wonthe “Office Max: A Day MadeBetter.” This award recognizesher important contributions and unyieldingdedicationineducatingchildren.Aspart ofheraward, Ms. Lee attended a red carpetbreakfast celebration with CEOBarbara Byrd-Bennett, completewith a confetti celebration, $1,000in school supplies from OfficeMax, and a new leather chair!