Tiger Talk
February 2013
FPS Goes into Third Year By: Zander Gibney Since 2010, fifth and sixth graders at NBE have been given a chance to compete in Future Problem Solvers (or FPS). In FPS, teams compete to solve problems inside a future scene--a futuristic setting with situations teams must identify and solve. Every so often, the topic of the future scenes changes. Currently, the topic is Megacities, or cities with a population over ten million. Fifth graders in FPS don’t do exactly the same thing the sixth graders do. They are getting to know and getting used to the FPS six-step process. When they are sixth graders, they will have a choice to become competitive and have a chance to go to the FPS State Bowl in Kearney, like the current sixth graders. This year, there are two sixth grade competitive teams. I asked two of the competitive sixth grade FPS members what they enjoyed the most about FPS, and here’s what they said: Kyle Jedlicka- “It’s fun trying to make it to state and the challenging, futuristic problems.”
Mrs. Cody monitors the sixth grade FPS class as they use Voice Thread to incorporate images and voice comments to learn more about the “megacities” concepts and vocabulary.
Louis Johnson- “I enjoy the feeling of having a completed booklet and solved problem at the end of every two hour session.” I also asked FPS state director and reading teacher here at NBE, Melissa Cody, why she first decided to bring FPS to our school. Her response: “I was involved in FPS as a kid and I wanted to bring that opportunity to the students at NBE.”
Last year, both sixth grade competitive FPS teams made it to the State Bowl in Kearney. One of the teams even earned third place. On February 18, 2013, the current teams held a two-hour session to make it to state. We will get the final information on March 4, 2013. Good luck and I hope you make it to state teams!
Books On the Go...
E-library News Flash
By: Charles Madsen
From Mrs. Gross-Rhode
An e-library is where you can get books on your Kindle, iPod, iPad or Android tablet. You can get elementary books, middle school books and high school books. To get the books, you can bring your device to Mrs. GrossRhode to load Blio, the reading app we use to open the book on our e-reader. After school she shows you how to find and check out books. Then you can get books and read them like crazy. I read a book and I enjoyed it a lot.
After using the e-library for four months, librarians have decided to make some changes starting the last week in February. The middle school and high school e-libraries will be combined to make it easier for middle and high school students to find books on both levels. The good news is that over 350 new titles for grades 4-6 were added to the elementary e-library to give upper elementary students more variety in books to choose from. That may mean that 4-6 graders who were choosing books from the middle school e-library will definitely want to sign up for the elementary library because there is a much larger book selection for that age group. See Mrs. Gross-Rhode is you have any questions or have problems signing up for the new library.
Have Legos? It’s Time to Build
Are you one of those who like to spend time putting things together? Louis Johnson, Jacob Sousek and Owen Simanek put their building interests to work at the Block Kids competition held in Omaha on February 16. In the competition, student builders use Legos to create the construction project of their choice. Jacob designed a crane, while Owen and Louis built bridges. Louis’ bridge, complete with solar panels to heat the road and keep it clear during the winter, ended up being selected as the top design for the 5th-6th grade level. His design will be entered into district competition. The Block Kids contest is sponsored by the Omaha Chapter of the National Women in Construction.
Below: Jacob Sousek, Louis Johnson, and Owen Simanek competed in the Block Kids Contest in Omaha.
Book Review Harry Potter series
By: Zander Gibney
You’ve seen the movies. You know the stories, but have you ever read the books behind the movies? If you haven’t, the seven book Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling is a great read for any muggle who enjoys the adventure and suspense. The series starts with Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone in which Harry finds out that he is a wizard and his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort. He is also invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he meets this two best friends Ron and Hermione. Harry has many adventures during his seven years at Hogwarts, like fighting a giant snake, competing in the Tri-Wizard tournament, and searching for holcruxes to destroy Voldemort. All of this leads up to Harry and Voldemort’s final battle. Who will win? Read the books to find out! The Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowlings are great books. I highly recommend them to any witch, wizard, or muggle.
Pre-School The preschoolers have been busy learning about animals around us. We have had fun learning about pets and farm animals. We also had a fun during Dr Seuss week when we got to wear silly socks and slippers and read The Foot Book. W alsoe wore black and white and made hats for Cat in the Hat, and wore as many pockets as we could for There’s a Wocket in my Pocket.
Kindergarten Mrs. Johnson’s class took a trip to Texas to visit our Pen pals in Mrs. Jennifer Dickey’s class. Don’t worry, it wasn’t a long trip as we used skype to have a virtual trip. We shared about our state and learned about Texas. Mrs. Dorcey’s class has been working on adding different numbers to make 10, learning about the different seasons, weather and plants. We also learned some facts about the Presidents to celebrate Presidents day.
First Grade In first grade we have been learning about dental health. The dental hygienists visited in February and talked about brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist. We also conducted an experiment with eggs to see the effect of milk, pop, and vinegar on your teeth. In math, we just finished a unit on telling time, counting money, and picture and circle graphs.
Class Notes Second Grade Second grade worked hard on their dinosaur reports. You can download a copy of the Dinosaur book we made with all of our reports and pictures. Go to: http:// issuu.com/northbendelementary/ docs/dinosaurs2013 to download your copy. Third Grade In third grade math we have been working on multiplication and division facts. We only have a couple of facts left to learn! We have been doing presidential reports. Each student drew the name of a president. They are writing some fun facts and important facts about their particular president to share with the third grade classes. We are now using cursive to do all of our spelling sentences and tests. We enjoyed our Valentine’s party and the delicious treats the parents provided. Fourth Grade Fourth grade classes have been busy reviewing math and reading skills with check for learning to prepare for state assessments in April. Science classes are anticipating a bountiful potato harvest from the plants they started in November. The importance of hand washing and proper nutrition has been discussed with presentations from Lisa Poppe from the Dodge County Extension office.
Fifth Grade Fifth graders are learning about minerals and rocks in science. This is often the students’ favorite subject because they see and have picked up rocks and stones all of their lives. It is interesting to discover what these rocks are and how they are used. They also learned about descriptive writing and moved to compare and contrast essay writing. Throughout the compare and contrast writing students were able to start some mini research projects to prepare them for their big individual research writing project. Fifth grade just finished up a unit on multiplication and division with whole numbers and decimals.
Sixth Grade Six grade science students are finishing up a lesson in mixtures. Students took three different brands of black markers and separated the color pigments. They were surprised to find out that not all black markers are made of the same color pigments. From here they will investigate some everyday chemical changes. They also were able to pick their own topic to research. They completed notetaking, outline, first drafts, citations, and learned much along the way. Topics ranged from diseases, Loch Ness Monster all the way to The Holocaust and Pearl Harbor. Sixth grade is working on analyzing statistics. In art, sixth graders on making South American animals with paper mache.
Left: Alaina Stephenson and Kendra Mass are snuggled in their blankets.
PTA Night at the Movies What Do You Like Most About Valentine’s Day? By: Emily Brodd As Valentine’s Day was coming near, I asked Mrs. Yount and Ms. Bang’s second grade students what they liked most about Valentine’s Day. Of course, the most popular response was getting candy and valentine cards. Chocolate was the most favorite kind of candy. However, there are other reasons to like Valentine’s Day. Kaitlyn Emanuel likes the giving and sharing of valentines and Nate McDonald reminds us to always respond with a thank you. Conner Kitt and Dylan Doty enjoy spending time with family. Madison Widick says Valentine’s Day makes everyone nice and friendly. Finally, Josiah Brodd likes Valentine’s Day best because it is his birthday. Happy Birthday, Josiah! I hope all of the parents, students and staff at NBE had a wonderful Valentine’s Day this year!
Geography Bee Finalists: (Front) Louis Johnson, Chase Ruzicka, Harley Cave, Elsa Rasmussen, Emily Hall. (Back) Cody Pospisil, Emerson Peters, Zander Gibney, Tanner Wietfeld, and Kyle Jedlicka.
After four rounds of preliminary competition, ten NBE students competed in the final round of the 2013 Geography Bee. Harley Cave, Zander Gibney, Emily Hall, Kyle Jedlicka, Louis Johnson, Emerson Peters, Cody Pospisil, Elsa Rasmussen, Chase Ruzicka and Tanner Wietfeld competed in oral competition to narrow the field down to two finalists: Cody Pospisil and Chase Ruzicka. Chase correctly answered one of the final three questions and was declared the NBE Geography Bee champion.
By: Abby Post
Snow Day Fun
Swoosh, you can hear the wind blow as you wake up in the morning. You run and look out your window--it’s a blizzard. Your parents say it’s a snow day, and you can’t stop thinking about what exciting things you will do! If you’re the kind of person who loves to go out and play in the snow and cold, there are many things you can do. Building a snowman is one that everybody likes. You could even have a, “Who builds the best snowman contest.” If you like to throw things at your siblings then go outside and have a snowball fight. Snowballs can’t hurt you especially if you have a snow fort built that will really protect you. One thing that kids did a long time ago was sledded and we still do it today. You can do it on hills, behind four-wheelers, or have someone
pull you. If you live in the country you probably have hills and fourwheelers. In town people are stuck with pulling each other. If you have snow around you can always jump outside and get some fresh air while doing many of these fun things with snow. If you’re the kind of person who loves to stay inside and sit by a fire, you can also do many things. One idea that a lot of people do on snow days is sit by the fire and read a story. You could also write a story. You can play a board game with your family, or simply sit by the window and watch the snow. Many kids enjoy snow days. If you don’t, here are some fun ideas you could do so you love snow days. You shouldn’t get bored on snow days anymore, you have many things you can do!
Above: Natalee Mullally, Eran Mullally and Maddie McShane can’t wait for the movie to start. Above: Pajamas √ Popcorn √ Zoe, Maya and James Kirschenmann say “Bring on the movies!”
By: Adrianna Halladay On Friday night, February 1st, the NBE PTA held its 2nd annual Movie Night. Lots of students showed up to enjoy a movie, popcorn, and water in their pajamas. What movie did you go to on Movie Night? The movie choices were Brave, Madagascar 3-Europe's Most Wanted, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid-Dog Days. I watched Madagascar 3 and thought it was awesome. Kindergarteners, Avery Harrington and Gracie Comstock, went to different movies, but both seemed to enjoy the night and said both movies were "good". Avery watched Brave and Gracie went to Dog Days. First grader, Zoe Kirschenmann, went to Madagascar 3 and said the movie was "awesome". Fourth grader, Sami McDonald, also enjoyed her movie. She went to Dog Days and said that movie was also "awesome". Just like all movies, these each had a sad and happy part. Will you go to movie night next year? I know I plan on it. Thanks to the PTA for sponsoring this event for us kids.
Cierra Kluthe, Josie Spiker and Taylor Ortmeier and the rest of Mrs. Grueber’s class start their day testing their reflexes...and their math skills.
Reflex Math Makes Math Fun By: Bethany Wiebold Have you ever tried doing math to test your reflexes? You should! According to Mrs. Grueber’s class, it really works. “I like the game Swamper Chomper. You jum from lily pad to lily pad answering facts. You get power-ups for points, like a pink fly for 10 points and a dragon fly for 20. Red flies deduct points. If you’re too slow, you’ll sink,” student Jolie Stranik tells me. Breckin Peters dished what he knows. “There’s a game called Kirie. There are ways you can get to animals, grab colored keys, and get away from an evil poacher. When you’ve gotten all the keys in all of the levels, you move to where the animals are and try to save them.” “There’s a game called Quick Slither. You are answering facts while getting away from a laser.
You are also in a ship. The trick is to wait for the laser. You should get it,” states Luther Gutekunst. He also talked to me about a game called Fizz Heads, where you try to stack little monsters. Josie Spiker talked to me, too. She agrees that Swamper Chomper is a good game. We also talked about earning tokens and going to the store. She tells me about changing clothes and accessories. Mrs. Grueber and Mrs. Post are proud of the number of kids who are starting to master the games. Not all fourth and fifth graders have had a chance to work with Reflex Math because NBE received a grant that could only pay for a certain number of slots for students. So there you have it. Math is a lot more fun now thanks to a website named Reflex Math.
Good Job Titan Titan Comstock earned the Fas-Break Auto Glass Academic Achievement Award. He was nominated by teachers for his willingness to work hard in his studies.
‘Tiger Talk’ Can Be Read Online Email that special relative or friend and tell them that they can get Tiger Talk online. Tiger Talk can be read online or downloaded and printed so you can share it with others. Go to: http://issuu.com/northbendelementary
to view newspapers from last year and this year.
NBE was represented at the Dodge County Spelling Bee by (Front) Hailey Anderson, Hannah Murray and (Back) Elsa Rasmussen and Hannah Mullally.
Can You Spell Snow?
Hat Day judges Anna Dunker and Natalee Mullally discuss their votes.
Cara Obershaw can’t seem to get away from Sami McDonald’s hat.
Evan Marr is all smiles as he waits for judging.
Owen Ortmeier, Kaden Juhl, and Noah Post take a hat break while eating lunch.
Hailey Anderson, Hannah Murray, Hannah Mullally and Elsa Rasmussen had a few extra snow days to study for Dodge County Spelling Bee held on February 23 in Fremont. On Saturday, February 23, they joined Dannika Shanahan, Sam Wesely, Ella Endorf and Caitlyn Wiebold to compete against students from around the county. North Bend students took two of By: Joslyn Reker the top three spots. Ella Endorf All right, so let’s get this straight. Everyone loved Hat Day. On place first and Caitlyn placed third January 15, students at NBE had a chance to show off their fun hats to during competition. student judges who selected favorite hats. There were many kinds of hats. Some were warm for winter and others were made just for the Hat Day competition. Many liked the some of the other hats that were not selected. Alaina Halladay liked Jade Nunn’s hat while Ackyn Boureck thought Lindsey Emanuel’s hat might win. Second grader, Liberty Dake hoped Lexi Montoya’s hat would win. Last but not least, third grader Jenna Jennings thought that Aleya Bourek’s hat was a winner while Lexi liked Karlene Bourek’s hat. Tune in at the end of the school year to hear more about the school’s activities and events that are happening.
Who Wore The Best Hat on Hat Day?
Origami: Step-by-Step By: Chayce Colvin-Maher
Step 1: Fold it in half. Step 2: Fold it in half along dotted line. (Notice arrow to fold we already did.) Step 3: Fold the corner into the center. Step 4: Fold the other corner into the center.
Step 5: Fold the corner into the center. Step 6: Fold corner into the center. Step 7: Flip the paper over. Step 8: Do all of these folds again with smaller paper.
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
Step 5: Step 6:
Steps 7 and 8 :