Northside News
March 2020
Superstar Lunch Honors Leaders
This Superstar Lunch was all about leadership. We heard many different ways people show leadership. One of the things we heard most was that a lot of our leaders are shy. There were about 80 kids in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade nominated this quarter! A quote Mr. Lyon found said very true things. The quote goes, “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He/she does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his/her actions and the integrity of his/her intent.” —Douglas MacArthur
Lindsey listens as Mr. Lyon reads her leadership nomination!
All the 6th grade Superstars!
Mrs. Henschler reads about how Collin is a Superstar.
The Scholastic Book Fair Encourages Reading
The Book Fair is where you can get books! The Book Fair took place during conferences and they had awesome books. If you didn’t know, it was located in the LGA (Large Group Area). The parents from the Northside Parent Group volunteered at the Book Fair. In my last article I interviewed Mrs. Battersby. She worked at the Book Fair too! Some books that were at the book fair were: Nat Enough by: Maria Scrivan and Lila and Hadley, which I’m currently reading. Also, the Book Fair is a great place to get your teacher a book! I know I saw lots of books in their boxes. When you are at the Scholastic Book Fair with your class you get a Wish List. A Wish List is where you can put books that you like on it.
Check out all the books!
The theme this time was a jungle!
The parent volunteers did a great job setting up!
World Read Aloud Day
On February 5, it was World Read Aloud Day. If you had library, Mrs, Zweifel read aloud to the students and many students got to read in their classrooms. 2010 was the first year that it was celebrated, and the goal was for people to share their stories and socialize with each other. February 5, was, and is a day where people can share their own stories with other people and make memories with each other.
5th Grade Lunch Chats
Video from Mrs. Henschler
Esports has been an after school activity at the high school for 4 years. In Esports, you play video games, edit videos or pictures, and make friends. A multiple player video game played competitively for spectators, typically by professional gamers. That is the definition of Esport. The 5th graders were shown a video of some Esport students playing Super Smash Bros, they all were very excited to watch what happened.
To get into Esports you must have good grades, lots of sleep, be open-minded, take inspiration but don’t copy from other gamers or people, do your best, and support others! So if you want to join Esports in high school, then you need to be healthy mentally and physically.
Esports is sadly only an after school activity for high school students. But for the school to continue the program, they must have money to buy electronics. Therefore, the Esports coach holds online fundraisers where people can donate money to help buy these electronics.
Below is a video of the Dance lunch chat! The leaders taught some 5th graders how to dance!
Fun facts about Esports! The team won 2nd place in a competition last year. Everyone loves the after school activity they share. Students have made multiple friends just from playing video games, and it is completely free! 5th graders enjoyed the Esports performance from high school students.
Scoopie Night
This month we had a Scoopie Night at the Culver's on Milton Avenue. One of the best parts about Scoopie night is that our school gets 10 percent of the money that Culver's earns that night!
Some Culver’s Fun Facts!
Their first store was established in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin.
Their mascot is a cone named “Scoopie”.
One of Culver’s missions is to thank and help out farmers.
Culver’s has over 500 restaurants across the nation.
Culver’s is a popular first job in Wisconsin.
Culver’s has a menu for customers with food allergies.
What Do You Think?
What do you think? What’s your favorite part of Scoopie Nights? Do you like the custard at Culvers? What is your favorite meal? We hope to see you at our next Scoopie Night!
Northside Hosts Movie Night
Northside movie night was on February 7. Movie night is an activity where families can come watch a school appropriate movie. But, you must attend with a parent or guardian. This time, it was "Toy Story 4." You can buy concessions or buy school store items. Movie night starts at 6:30pm, but doors open at 6:00pm. Movie night is a very fun time to spend time with people outside of your grade. For example, I saw my friend in 5th grade, Abby! After the movie, there is a giveaway for the movie that was shown that night and 15 additional winners who received posters. After the movie though, everyone got posters! I hope you come to the next movie night!
Shh... the movie's starting!
Great time to hang out with friends!
Here are all the concessions.
Student-Led Conferences
Hopefully you're having a good school year because parent-teacher conferences were on February 19th and 20th. This year though, our school decided to change it up a little bit. For our February conferences, we had the students lead their own conference. They would talk to their parents about how they felt they had done this school year. Then, at the end, the teacher would explain whether or not they agreed and shared any other thoughts. Some teachers organized this in different ways such as, making a keynote/google slide, writing a paper, just talking, or many other ways. I think that this is a great way for students to express what their feelings are to their parents and teachers.
Hawk Huddle
Students participate in Goose Chase
One challenge was to create a SOAR poster
Students worked in teams during the event.
Opera for the Young
Students and staff were treated to a performance by Opera for the Young on Friday, February 28th. The opera was "Pirates of Penzance". Some students even got to participate in the opera!! Student council hosted a dress like a pirate spirit day to go along with the opera!
Music News
By: Hayden
This month is music class, 6th grade is doing bucket drumming in Mrs. Schultz class, Mrs. Goffs class finished ukulele, and Mrs. Bennett’s class is doing instruments from around the world. Nancy Garrett from the Rock Prairie Dulcimer Group has been coming to teach 4th graders how to play dulcimer. 5th grade has started practicing for their concert on March 12, the theme is patriotic.
Opera for the young is happening on February 28, professionals are coming to NIS to help lead 4th, 5th, and 6th graders perform their version of Pirates Of Penzance.
Cup Stacking Unit in Gym
Even though we only did cup stacking for 2 classes, it is still a fun unit! In this article, I will be telling you about the history, games, and why it helps hand eye coordination.
History
Sport stacking originated in the early 1980's in southern California and received national attention in 1990 on a segment of the "Tonight Show", with Johnny Carson. That was where it first captured the imagination of Bob Fox, who was then an elementary classroom teacher in Colorado.
Games
Some games we played in class are February Frenzy and Leader of the stack. They were all fun, but here’s how we play them. February Frenzy is where all 8 of the squads start, and they either up or down stack, and they relay back to their squad. Then, the last two teams that didn’t get the next 6 sets of cups go back and cheer on other teams. This continues until there’s only 2 teams left. Those 2 teams use the honorary metal cups, and then they would relay back to see who will ring the bell. Leader of the stack is where you and your squad compete to be the leader of the stack- - by stacking their cups and being the first one to stand up.
Why it Helps
Sport stacking helps students develop bilateral proficiency equal performance on both sides of the body. By increasing bilateral proficiency, a student develops a greater percentage of the right side of the brain, which houses awareness, focus, creativity and rhythm. Stacking helps train the brain for sports and other activities where the use of both hands is important, such as playing a musical instrument or using the computer. Sequencing and patterning are also elements of sport stacking, which can help with reading and math skills. (speedstacks.com)
Milton's Art Show
Students Work with Felt in Art
Currently Miss Mahoney’s art class is working on needle felting. The process of the project is first you use a special needle to poke at the wool to create a felt like material. The project is very fun and takes a lot of skill and concentration. The kids are allowed to do one emoji face and one free shape. Some examples are zodiac signs, sport symbols, etc.
Ms. Mahoney loves doing art herself and her favorite artist is Edward Hopper. When she isn’t doing her favorite hobbies, volleyball, reading, and playing with her dog, she is making art herself. She loves to do calligraphy, needle felting, and drawing. Ms. Mahoney is an amazing art teacher, she will always have super fun ideas for your next project!
Box Tops
Getting to Know Mrs. Devine
What is your first name?: Chris
If you could change anything about your life what would it be? Nothing
What if you could change your job what would it be?: Longer lunch period
What your favorite food?: Egg Salad
What your favorite movie?: A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
Would you rather be a millionaire or an ordinary person?: Ordinary person
If you could have any superpower what would it be?: Instantly make people happy
Do you have anything else to add?: Always be kind to one another
Classroom Spotlights
Mrs. Matteson's Class
In Mrs Matteson’s class we did a Social Studies project, on Wisconsin Explorers and Fur Trading. We learned about when the Europeans came to Wisconsin. In our projects we wrote about Wisconsin Explorers, like Jean Nicolet, Jacques Marquette, and Jesuit Missionaries (etc). In the Fur Trade we wrote about what Europeans brought to Wisconsin, what they traded, and what was the most valuable fur.
When you walk up to present your project, you get butterflies in your tummy. But be confident and show them what you have read out loud, proud, and smart. Use self talk like “You’ve got this” and “I can do this”
When you step off of presenting you should feel amazing about yourself. You just did it! You just presented in front of tons of people, how do you feel? Do you feel AWESOME I hope so.
Mr.Kleist took his own time to make a Fur Trading presentation. Mr. Kleist’s dad was also in the presentation. In the presentation they talked about how it was back then, In the Native - American times. They brought in lots of primary resources such as artifacts for us to see like blankets, possible bags, traps, and tools. The coolest were all the real furs that were brought in. We learned how much it cost to trade items for furs!
Mrs. La Bansky's Class
By Selah, Jaz, and Emily
This winter we had student-led conferences. Students led their parents through what they learned this year and showed artifacts of what they finished and put hard work on it.
This semester some classes have student teachers joining us from UW-Whitewater. In Mrs. La Bansky’s class we have, Ms.Broome (pictured below) working with us. She is learning about becoming a teacher and practices lessons so they can become a real teacher some day. One day she had to tape us being taught a lesson for her school.
The fourth graders have been working hard to collect 100 Acts of Kindness for the month of February. Most classes are finishing up this week and meeting their goal!
Mrs. Weber's Class
Mrs. Vind's Class
Homeroom in Mrs. Vind’s class is really fun. Having fun with Mrs. Vind is a blast!! She has fun activities for many days of the week. We share our weekends with the class on Mondays, We have Would You Rather on Wednesdays, Thankful Thursdays, and Fun Fridays!! Here are what multiple students think about these activities
Monday mornings/weekend share:
Brooklyn: It is so much fun to share what we did over the weekend, it’s really cool to see what people do, and to share exciting news!! She will make it extra fun by adding something to catch and throw. We make it fair by going boy girl or girl boy order. Some people have really cool weekends, some people even have photos and videos to show what they did. Some things we hear a lot are about games they have played, family parties, friends parties, etc. I hope you continue to hear other people’s thoughts!!
Would You Rather Wednesday:
Lilly: Would You Rather Wednesday always gets a lot of people paying attention to our teacher. One of my favorite would you rathers is: would you rather have to say everything you think out loud or never be able to speak again.
Thankful Thursday:
Lilly: Everyone has something different they are thankful for. Lots of people are thankful for their pets, sports teams, friends, family, and other things as well. We scan a QR code a few times, and voila! You can put in as many responses as you like!
Haileigh: Thankful Thursday is my 2nd favorite it’s because when people write their responses to what you are thankful for.
Fun Friday:
Haileigh: Fun Friday is not my favorite it’s because if you don’t win you get mad and maybe a little sad but I don’t personally like fun Friday is because it’s the end of the week and you might like school and then you have fun Friday know you know it’s the end of the week.
Thank you for reading our Northside News!!
Mrs. Smith's Class Learns About Fantasy Writing
Kenzie and Riley
During February, Mrs.Smith’s 6th grade class spent a few weeks creating their own unique fantasy stories. There were titles from ‘The Raid’ by Payton to ‘Candyland’ by Kami. Everyone created a title and worked hard to make their stories come to life. Fantasy is a genre that involves an unrealistic aspect. In our case, we were asked to create a story that had a piece that could not happen in our world as we know it. Students created many different kinds of stories that were fun, colorful, dark, and sometimes even scary.
We had an interview with Mrs.Smith:
How do you think the stories were?
Mrs.Smith: They were fantastic!
What was the best part of the stories?
Mrs.Smith: Everyone got to share their creativity and there were some very original writings.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how much creativity was put forth in the stories?
Mrs.Smith: An 11 out of 10!
Overall Mrs.Smith’s class worked really hard to make their stories come together. From the interview with Mrs. Smith she says they turned out great and we all agree.
Upcoming Events
Northside News Crew
Email: nelsonca@milton.k12.wi.us
Website: www.milton.k12.wi.us
Location: 159 Northside Drive, Milton, WI, USA
Phone: 608-868-9280