Newsletter



Aston Elementary’s

Rocket Rapper

Volume 5, Issue 1 October 2013

|Inside This Issue |

|1 |Reading Counts, Book Review |

|2 |Science Corner |

|3 |Goosebumps! Health Corner |

|4 |Student Council, Word of the Month, Poetry |

|5 |Classified Ads, Green Corner, Jokes |

|6 |Games and Contests |

|7 |Assemblies, Fascinating Passport Facts |

|8 |Art Contest for November |

| | |

5 Facts About A Passport

By Rebekah Nilles

#1. The first passport was issued in 1775, and measured 11 inches by 17 inches.

#2. A passport gets a person in and out of a foreign country.

#3. A passport tells a story about the person it is issued to. For example, where they have traveled, stages in their lives, and a small glimpse of their life.

#4. The history of passports dates back to the 18th century.

#5. Passports come in 4 different colors. Black is for Government Officials, Navy Blue is for U. S Citizens, Maroon is for the United States Military, and Green is for the recognition of the United States of America's 200th Anniversary.

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Reading Counts

By Joey Colasante & Felicia Christaldi

School is underway and so is Reading Counts! Every year we set Reading Counts goals. We set school goals and individual goals for ourselves. If we reach our school goal, Mr. Bender will do something wild.

Each year your goal should increase. Make a goal that is reasonable for yourself. Don't make it too hard or too easy. Read books that are on your level and take your quizzes as soon as you can. The school website provides a link to the site that will tell you if a book is Reading Counts or assist you in finding one that is. Happy Reading!

Draw a picture for the NOVEMBER Rocket Rapper.

Your entry must be in black ink, and must fit inside this box.

Make sure you have an adult supervise all your experiments!

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Who: Any student grades 4-5

What: Any art that can be digitally photographed

When: Deadline November 15, 2013

If you love art and have a favorite medium, try your hand at this contest. Visit for details (and a look at your competition), then bring your project to Room 203, or have your parent enter you online.

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Assemblies

On October 22, Nai- Ni Chen Chinese Dancers will visit Aston Elementary to teach us about Chinese culture.

The assembly will include Ribbon Dance

( Long Spear Dance

( Fan Dance

( Movement Demonstration

( Tai Ping Drum Dance

( Audience Participation (Ribbon Demo)

( Rock Paper Scissors

( Question & Answer Session

Halloween

By Evelyn Spayd

Halloween can scare you, surprise you, and even excite you. The exciting part is the CANDY! My favorite candy bar is 3 Musketeers. The scary part can be the costumes. This year I’m going as Sandy from Grease. The surpising part is when someone jumps out and scares you. My dad did that to me once. It didn’t scare me, but it made me jump. I hope you’re looking forward to Halloween like I am.

Science Corner

Flubber!

By Tyler Milnes

Do you like to get your hands messy? If so, I’m talking to you. Hi, I’m Tyler Milnes, the new science column writer. I will show you how to make Flubber - a gooey, gloopy, flabby, fun substance. Here are ingredients and instructions for making Flubber.

Ingredients

3 cups warm water

2 cups Elmer’s white glue

1-2 drops food coloring (neon colors)

2 tsp. Borax, available in the grocery store

laundry section

The Steps

In a large container combine and mix:

1 ½ cups very warm water

2 cups Elmer’s white glue

Mix well.

In another small container, combine and mix:

1 1/3 cups very warm water

2 tsp. Borax.

Mix until Borax is completely dissolved.

Next, combine the glue and borax mixtures.

Mix well with hands until all the liquid is absorbed. You may need to squish, mix, and break up the flubber to get it fully combined. The more you play with it, the gooier and thicker it gets. Store the flubber in a plastic, air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.

Using clear glue will give similar results, but I think using normal glue makes it better because you can’t see into it.

All you have to do is follow these simple instructions, use the appropriate ingredients and voilà! Have fun playing with Flubber.

Flubber is made up of polymers. To learn more about polymers, check out this kid-friendly website .

White vinegar can be used to clean up Flubber.

Fire Safety Week

Fire Safety Week is the second week in October this year. You should do two things with your family: make a plan to get out if there is a fire, and check the smoke detector batteries. Here are some other things you should know about fire.

It needs oxygen, fuel, and heat or it cannot burn. That’s why you close the door to your room at night.

If your clothes are on fire, STOP, DROP, and ROLL! You’ll cool the heat and suffocate the fire. NEVER RUN.

Once you leave your house, DO NOT go back for any reason. Let the fire fighters do their jobs.

Heat rises, so does smoke. Get out as fast as you can, as low to the ground as you can.

Don’t over load outlets in your house.

Don’t leave debris (like papers or trash) lying around.

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Fall

By Chiara Robinson

Fall,

The season of red, yellow,

and orange

Fluttering to the ground.

Crunching sounds of dead leaves

Beneath me

Fill my small ears.

Cold chills of air push me

Side to side.

I watch as winter gets

Closer and closer.

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October

By Emma Nophut

October winds fill the sky.

I sit outside under the old oak tree,

Watching leaves spin by.

The wind makes them dance above my head.

Orange, red, green, and yellow twirling and whirling above my head;

Brisk winds blow through the air,

The chill of October is upon me.

Crunchy leaves under my feet,

Bright blue sky above,

Pine trees bright green,

Crisp brown pine cones on the branches,

Spiky needles standing proud,

Mr. Squirrel, chasing his tail,

Gathering supplies for winter;

The last of the flower petals fall to the ground.

The sounds of geese heading south fill the air.

As I rise to go inside,

I inhale the sweet smell of fall in the air.

October

By Kendra Long

Multi Colored leaves

Orange, Yellow, Red

Rustling around

Swirling by my head

Dark and spooky nights

Faces painted green

Not really scary -

It's just Halloween

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Any Student

Aston Elementary

900 Tryens Road

Aston, PA 19014

By Justine Starr

3-5 Book Review

Reviewed by Maddy Oreski

Fiction

Whatever After, Fairest of All

By Sarah Malynowski

Here is a book I think you will love. It is called Whatever After, Fairest of All. It is about two kids named Abby and Jonah who have a magic mirror in their basement. One day the mirror takes them and transports them to Snow White’s fairy tale. They land in the middle of a forest, go up to Snow White’s cottage door, and they accidently mess up her story. Abby and Jonah have many interesting adventures with Snow White in this magical world. Will Snow White get the fairy tale ending she deserves? Read the book to find out!

Never perform any experiment without adult supervision

Make Your Own Lava Lamp!

By Ethan Saddler

Try this homemade lava lamp made with simple ingredients found in your kitchen

I was surfing the Internet for ideas for a science experiment and found the sciencekids.co.nz website. It is a really cool website with many interesting experiments. I decided to try the lava lamp experiment. You only need a few ingredients, and they should be easy to find in your home.

Here is what you need:

• Water bottle

• Food coloring

• Vegetable oil

• Alka-seltzer (I am sure your parents have some!)

Pour water into the empty bottle until it is about ¼ full. Then pour the oil into the bottle until is nearly full. You have to wait until the water and oil are separated, and then add several drops of food coloring to the mixture. The food coloring will fall slowly into the water. Next you break an Alka-seltzer into small pieces and drop one piece into the bottle at a time. Continue to add more of the pieces of Alka-seltzer and watch the groovy lava lamp go!

Lava lamps usually run on batteries or electricity, but not this lava lamp. So what’s the magic? Part of the magic is with the water and oil. When they are combined, they separate because of different densities. The oil is less dense and stays on top as the water settles on the bottom. When the food coloring is dropped in, it goes through the oil and into the water. The Alka-seltzer is the most important ingredient and here’s why: The Alka-seltzer creates little air bubbles that carry the food coloring up. When it gets to the top, the bubble pops allowing the food coloring to drop back down. The Alka-seltzer acts like a battery and in order for the lava lamp to keep running you need to add more Alka-seltzer. I hope you enjoyed this experiment!

By Carmen Morrone

Game Submission Form

We want to hear from you! If you have an idea for a fun game, one that includes everyone, uses the available space, and can easily be started and stopped at recess, then let us know! Peace Builders will review your suggestion, and if it’s adopted, we’ll train everyone to play your game!

Your name ____________________________________________

Name of game _________________________________________ number of players _______

Equipment needed __________________________________________________

Rules (submit rules on a separate page and staple them to this part)

Goosebumps Night

By Madison Fili

Save the date because Goosebumps Night is October 18, 2013!

 

What: Goosebumps Night

Where: Aston Elementary

When: October 18th, 2013 @6:30PM

Who: Bring your family.

Goosebumps Night is a fun way to celebrate Halloween. At Goosebumps Night we have a haunted house, food, and more! I think you should go to Goosebumps Night because you’ll see your teachers, go in the haunted house, and do fun activities like Mrs. Birtwell’s face painting. You will also get to dress up in your Halloween costume. You will totally love Goosebumps Night. See you there!

Aston Elementary’s Rocket Rapper

Miss Cameron, Editor

Staff Writers: Felicia Christaldi, Kendra Long, Tyler Milnes, Paige Bartholf, Emily Kauffeld, Maddy Oresky, Ethan Saddler

Staff Illustrators: Justine Starr, Nathan McCarty

Contributors: Joey Colasante,Emma Nophut, Chiara Robinson, Madison Fili, Rebekah Nilles, Evelyn Spayd

Contributions considered based on available space. Newspaper deadline: 15th of October for November submissions.

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Green Corner

By Emily Kauffeld

Hello Aston Rockets!

As you may know, we here at Aston Elementary have a recycling program. It is a 4th grade program and I am proud to be a part of it. The students who are part of the recycling program are given a partner and room. We are responsible for taking what doesn’t belong in the recycling bin and returning it to the teacher. We then take the bin and dump the recyclables in a yellow bin in the hallway. From there, Mr. Cooke takes it to the Abitibi dumpster, and they recycle it for us. This is Aston Elementary’s way of helping our environment.

Thank you, everyone, for doing your part.

Interview with

Mrs. King

By Felicia Christaldi

I interviewed Nurse King about

peanut allergies because

Goosebumps and Halloween are

coming up.

Here are some things you should keep in mind:

Peanut allergies are common and candy with peanuts in it should NOT be given out.

Symptoms of this allergy can range from a mild rash and hives to severe tongue and throat swelling. In severe cases, an Epi pen will be needed.

Some schools have a peanut free table in the cafeteria. Others need to be sensitive to this allergy by not eating peanut products around them.

Just remember to be careful!

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Halloween Fright

By Emily Kauffeld

It was Halloween night, and the sun was just setting behind the trees. Allison was sitting on her front porch waiting for her friend. They were going to have a wonderful time trick-or-treating. She saw her friend run around the corner, “Mom, Billy’s here!” she shouted to her mother inside.

“OK honey, have fun tonight; don’t talk to strangers,” her mother yelled back. As she walked down her steps a little boy dressed up as a ninja brushed passed her. “Trick-or-Treat!” she heard him yell, banging on her door. The sun was no longer visible past the trees, and finally the Halloween fun had begun.

“Let’s go to the old house at the top of the hill,” said Billy.

“But that’s where the witch lives,” said Allison.

“Come on, it will be fun,” said Billy. As they walked to the house Billy said, “I can’t believe we’re finally doing this.”

They walked into the house. It was very dusty, and the old wallpaper was chipped.

They started upstairs, “I don’t feel good,” said Allison. Billy didn’t say a word. The floor boards creaked, and the wind shrieked. Chills were running up their spines. They saw a door with a soft light under it, and they heard an old lady cackle from behind it. Allison jumped back and Billy cautiously opened the door. There they saw a little old lady baking cookies. She turned around and said, “Sit down and have a cookie honeys.” It was Allison’s grandmother!

Jokes

By Paige Bartholf

What do you get if you cross a teacher and a vampire?

– Lots of blood tests!

Why did Dracula’s mother give him cough medicine?

– He was having a coffin fit!

Who brings presents to werewolves?

-Santa CLAWS!

Who do monsters buy cookies from?

–The Ghoul Scouts!

Why do skeletons play the piano?

–They don’t have organs!

What does a witch play music on?

–Her BROOM BOX!

What do you call haunted bees?

–ZOM-BEES!

What does the headless horseman ride?

–A night-MARE!

Word of the Month

By Kendra Long

Communication is when you have a two-way conversation. Communication involves being polite. For example, in the lunch room when you buy lunch you say, "May I please have…” whatever you are getting, and then, when they give it to you say, "Thank you."

Another part of communication is having eye contact so the person knows you are listening. To be a good communicator you should listen and not interrupt the other person. During a conversation it is important to respond to the other person so that he or she knows that you are listening. We communicate every day!

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Want Goosebumps? See page 3

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Name _____________________________________________ Room ________

Halloween Dos and Don’ts

Halloween is coming on October 31st! Here are some things you should remember.

(DO wear a bright costume, or use reflective tape so cars can see you.

(DON’T go to houses that have the lights turned off.

(DO carry a flashlight so you can see where you are going. It makes you easier to be seen, too.

(DON’T go alone. Take a friend or family member with you.

(DO have a grown up check your candy when you get home to make sure there is nothing you’re allergic to.

Make sure your Halloween is happy, safe, and fun.

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Do you have your costume yet?

Poll your friends and graph the results!

Contest!

|Aston Elementary |

|900 Tryens Road |

|Aston, PA 19014 |

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|ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED |

1-2 Book Review

Reviewed by Madison Oreski

Fiction

Dolphins at Daybreak

By Mary Pope Osborne

Do you like Magic Tree House books? Then, here is a book for you! It is called Dolphins at Daybreak. Jack and Annie are given a tricky riddle by Morgan, the magical librarian. The tree house sends them to a beach where they find a submarine. From there, they go on an amazing under-the-sea adventure to solve the riddle!

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November is…

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