Northside News
December 2018
Gratitude Station
Through the month of November, Northside had a special event that takes its place in our school, every year. And this event that we know and love, is called, the Gratitude Station! It went on throughout November, sending joy and kindness to every student.
The Gratitude Station was designed to help everyone to share their kindness throughout the school. November 13th which is also known as: World Kindness Day, also February 17th is marked as National Random Act of Kindness Day. But we thought that it would be a lot more fun for to have a whole month, than a week of kindness. And on that special day, the whole world shares their kindness with those around them.
The Gratitude Station takes its place through the whole month of November because of Word Kindness Day. It it also a great way to start off the new school year. The Gratitude Station is hosted by the Alternate Student Council. They put everything together and helped sort it all out. And big thanks to Mrs. Henschler, she was the one who made this all happen.
The way the Gratitude Station works, is you go down to the office and go to the designated spot that is currently housing the Gratitude Station. Then you can grab a pen/pencil and write all the info that is needed to be able to send the card. But be aware that mean and inappropriate cards will not be sent. After you are finished filling the special card out, you must then put it in the container that will be organized through and sent to the student or adult of your choice. The box will most likely say, “Gratitude Station” on it. Then the process is complete.
So the Gratitude Station comes around every November, and it can uplift someone’s day. So don’t forget to fill out a card when November comes around. But remember, you can makes someone’s day, even without the Gratitude Station. And keep spreading the joy.
World Kindness Day
World Kindness Day was celebrated at Northside in a variety of ways!
In Mrs. Sperry-Fraizer's class, they got handed 4 different colors of paper which each represented kind, mean, sad, and excited. They stood in a circle and had to treat each other differently based on the different cards. The students loved being the kind card! They said they were treated very nice and it was a good feeling. Students who had the mean card, learned the importance of being kind to others. The students enjoyed the activity and would like to do it again soon.
In the library, Mrs. Z read students a few different books about being kind. Then, students were able to make bookmarks for other students. Fourth graders wrote one kind word that would change someone's entire day.
Fun fact: World Kindness Day is November 13th!
Hawk Hallway and Hawk Time Contest Winner
Photo by: Cora
Veteran's Day Program
This month we had a Veterans Day program hosted by Mrs. Graff on how important veterans
are and to educate students further on the meaning of Veterans Day.
Mrs. Graff opened up the informational meeting by playing military music. She started by saying
that she was in the military as a corporal and her job was to defend against chemical warfare.
She showed a video describing how being a veteran means being in the military in any branch
for any length of time. Another facts the video said was that Veterans Day used to be called
Armistice day. Veterans Day honors all people, living or decreased, who served in the military. She later explained that Veterans Day and Memorial Day are different because Memorial Day honors only deceased military persons.
Some interesting facts were that:
- There are about 20 million veterans in the U.S.
- 28,000 veterans are women in Wisconsin.
- She won the top Wisconsin women’s veteran award.
- She taught us that she and other soldiers trained in Fiji by carrying 75 pound backpacks for 7 days and making shelter out of bamboo and other materials they had.
- She also talked about life on a military ship.
Some interesting visuals that she showed us were:
- Her patch from her uniform and Iraqi money.
- A card that she used in a top secret base.
Two fourth graders from Miss Cerny’s class said what their favorite part of the presentation was; “seeing the pictures” (Devin) and “seeing the boat itself” (Rachel).
Once again we say thank you to Mrs. Graff and all veterans!
Hoo's Woods
Article by: Emily
Photos by: Madison
The fifth graders got to see four of the Hoo’s Woods Raptor Center’s birds. They rescue injured raptors and help them. The ones that are unable to be released stay in Hoo’s Woods. They do more than 100 presentations in a year. They tell you about all of the different raptors. The five groups of raptors are Eagles, Hawks, Owls, Vultures, and Falcons. Now let’s introduce them.
One of the owls names is Hush. Hush is a barn owl, also known as the “monkey faced owl” or “ghost owl”. They are one of the most widespread owls throughout the world, but they are endangered. They nest in barns, abandoned buildings, church steeples, and tree cavities. The last pair that were found in Wisconsin was in 1985. They disappeared because of loss of habitat. They have brown eyes, a high pitched shriek, and they are mainly nocturnal. They are about 9 oz.
Casper is a Krider’s Red Tailed Hawk. They are a more uncommon variation of species. Red tailed hawks are more commonly found in the U.S. There sizes are from 1.5 - 3.5 Lib. The females are the larger sizes, and the males the smaller. There habitat is open farm fields, grasslands, deserts, and high altitudes. They eat rodents, squirrels, and rabbits.
Wesley is a Snowy owl. Snowy owls live in the Arctic, and they are the largest bird in North America. The female bird is larger and darker compared to the male. An average female lays 3- 7 eggs, if they have a lot of food. They can lay 7- 13 eggs. They like open spaces without trees. They eat lemmings, fox, ducks, and fish, They hunt during the day. When there are less snowy owls, they lay more eggs. Sometimes they spend there winter in the Midwest and East Coast.
Wapaha is a golden eagle. Golden eagles are the largest raptor in North America. They can be rarely be found migrating through Wisconsin. They can grow to 3 feet with a wingspan of 6- 7 feet. They are full size at 2 and a half years old. They have dark brown feathers with flecks of gold around their head and neck. They have brown eyes and a gold beak. There talons can grow to 3 inches. There legs have feathers down to there talons. They live from 10- 15 years, but can live up to 30 years or more in captivity.
Some other facts about these raptors are: hawks can see a newspaper print from a mile away. Wyoming has the largest population of golden eagles in the U.S. If you find any injured raptors, don’t pick them up, but call professionals for help. If someone takes the raptors feathers off, they will most likely die in 3 weeks. Thanks to Hoo’s Woods, and there wonderful presenter Dianne Moller, we know more about these amazing raptors.
Hoo's Woods founder demonstrates various types of birds for 5h grade
5th grade watching presentation eagerly!
An eagled visited Northside!
4th Graders go to Madison Symphony
Photos by: Ms. Fanning
On November 13th, the fourth graders went to the Madison Symphony. The fourth graders went because they were learning about the string family in music, so they went to hear the strings and other orchestra instruments.
I talked to two students from Ms. Fanning’s class, Ethan and Brynn. Ethan said his favorite parts were the comfy seats and how his class could try answering the questions on the big screen. The questions they were trying to answer were about symphony composers and instruments. Brynn said her favorite part was the dancing scene at the end of the show. Ethan and Brynn both stated that their favorite song from the symphony was the one that was composed by Beethoven. They both said they had a very fun time at the symphony. Going to the Madison Symphony was a good experience for the fourth graders because instead of just learning, they got to hear it too.
Ms. Fanning's class before the symphony.
Decorations on the walls of the Overture Center.
Relaxing during the symphony!
Super Sleuth
Article and photos by: Jazeiah
What you do is you look for daily clues in the library on the wall by the computers. There are definitions and clues to help you discover what the word is.That’s when researching comes aboard! You look up the definition and you find the word, but that doesn’t mean you're done. Each day there will be a new clue on the board.
The winners are revealed on Monday's morning announcements. If you win, you go to the library and you will receive a certificate and prize from the library. That’s all about the super sleuth.
Who is Miss. Zweifel and Who is Mrs. Smith?
Article by: Jazeiah
I asked two of the library teachers for an interview for fun! I asked Mrs.Smith and Miss.Zweifel seven questions!
What is your favorite book:
Mrs.Smith said : “Out Of My Mind.”
Miss.Zweifel: “Anne Of Green Gables.”
Your favorite series:
Mrs.Smith said : “Junie B Jones”.
Miss.Zweifel said :”Harry Potter”.
How should we eat in the library room
Mrs.Smith said : “Respectively”
Miss Zweifel: “You should S.O.A.R (Safe, Organized, Accountable, Respectful)”.
What do you like about being a librarian?
Ms.Smith said: “Being able to see all the students at Northside”.
Miss.Zweifel said: “I love connecting students with books”.
What is your favorite quote?
Ms.Smith said: “When you can’t find the sunshine, be the sunshine”
Miss. Zweifel said: “Go out to the world and do well, but more importantly go into the world and do good”
Who’s your favorite classroom and why
Mrs.Smith said: “All classrooms are awesome in there own way”
Miss.Zweifel said: “Agreed!"
If you ruled all of the libraries what would you do with them how would you change them?
Mrs.Smith said: “I think the NIS library is pretty cool”
Miss.Zweifel said: “I would make sure they are places all people are welcome. Libraries should be a safe place, everyone can use and enjoy. And of course I’d buy more books”
Did you know facts:
Did you know 900 to 1,000 books get checked out every week at the Northside library, for an example.This week there was 960 books checked out and last week was 950 books.
Sometimes it even gets up to 1,000 books checked out.
Mrs. Smith and Miss Zweifel took a break from shelving books to take a picture with this month's editor, Cora!
Ms. Mahoney and Students Decorate a Stool for Auction
Article by: Morgan
Photos by: Brynn
In art, Ms. Mahoney and other 6th grade students have created a stool with a book theme. This project wasn’t only for fun, but also will raise money for the Milton Public Library. The theme of the stool is the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. To create the the look on the body of the stool, they took color tissue paper and Mod Podge for the design on the legs and for the top. Ms. Mahoney hand painted the top of the stool.
This stools is inspired by Eric Carle's "The Hungry Caterpillar" book!
The colors on the legs represent the butterfly! The green pegs are for the caterpillar!
Piano Unit in Music
Photo by: Zoe
This unit for music is keyboards. We use the book and learn how to play black keys first. After learning the black keys, we learn that you start with middle C and go a few notes up the scale at a time. Then you’ll continue to work on middle C, but transitioning your hand while playing. Here are some of Mr. Devine's students practicing.
All About Mrs. Biederwolf
Article by: Anna
Photo by: Landon
I’m sure by now you’ve all met Mrs. Biederwolf, the new gym teacher. She has lived in Milton for
a while now and she is married to Mr. Biederwolf, the principal of the Milton Middle School. She
has two kids who attend the School District of Milton. They also have a furry friend in their
household, a Pomeranian mix. Mrs. Biederwolf has previously taught at Powers Elementary in
the Beloit Turner School District. Mrs. Biederwolf moved schools for the convenience of working
closer to home. Her favorite units to teach are basketball and floor hockey. Some things you
should know about Mrs. Biederwolf are that she can juggle, her favorite food is pizza, and she enjoys hiking and running with her family.
Getting to Know Ms. Kraayvanger
Interview and picture by: Alicia
Favorite food: Fettuccine Alfredo
Favorite movie: A Walk To Remember
Pets: Chihuahua named Alvin
What do you like to do in your free time: Dance, read, and play with her kids
Favorite subject she teaches: Science
Favorite color: Yellow
Favorite sport: Baseball
Favorite season: Summer
Best part about being a teacher: working with children that are having trouble with something and then seeing them understand it
Favorite animal: Manatee
How long have you taught: this is her 11th year teachingS.T.E.M. Club
By: Mrs. LaBansky
During each of the club meetings, students are given the opportunity to learn and play with many items such as Bloxel boards, Merge cubes, Ozobots, Spheros, Drones, Osmos, Circuitry, and at times the tech department has brought in and shared AR/VR equipment. It’s a great way for students to have access to the equipment that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to be exposed to.