AES Newskies 2024

NEWSKIES

Volume 2 May, 2024

Created by 4th grade Literacy Ascent Students

An Initiative to Protect the Animals in Our Valley from Car Collisions

Kenyon Keleher

Have you ever seen a dead animal on the side of the road? Your first thoughts are probably, ew, disgusting! But what if I told you that there is this organization that is working to prevent that? This organization is called Roaring Fork Safe Passages.

Roaring Fork Safe Passages is an organization that is working with the Watershed Biodiversity Initiative in Aspen to prevent increased animal death by car collision, specifically elk, deer, and bighorn sheep. Safe Passages started this because members of the organization noticed that the elk, deer, and bighorn sheep populations were decreasing by 20% to 75% from the years 2019 to 2021.

The Aspen Elementry School third graders Kieran Keleher, Charlotte Pratolongo, Ruby Casper, AJ Glathar, Parker Sherman, Mason Fortier, Giada DelGrasso, Mika Jacobs, Colin Jordan and Hazel Daniels in Literacy Ascent are working with the Safe Passages representatives to help in our community and they have gone to a Pitkin County

Board of Commissioners meeting to present their ideas.

I attended this meeting to better understand the Safe Passages project. They are planning to add Safe Passage’s bridges on Highway 82 by Emma Road, the airport to Woody Creek, North Cattle Creek, Catherine’s Store, Snowmass, and Highway 133 near Crystal River North.

The next phase of this work will focus on developing and evaluating the benefits and costs of the strategies for improving safe passages for wildlife and reducing wildlife-vehicle conflict within these sections of roadway. Wildlife crossing structures combined with wildlife diversion fencing are known to be ineffective migration strategies resulting in 80% to 90% reductions of collisions with wildlife. This will allow deer, elk, and other species to move safely under or over a roadway. Where wildlife crossings are not feasible due to terrain constraints, cost, land use, and land management considerations other types of migration strategies may be warranted, alone, or in combination.

The development of migration stations to prioritize highway segments will include a complete evaluation of the full range of wildlife-highway migration methods.

If you want to learn more about this topic go to Virginia Leffler at the Aspen

The Possibility of No More Snow Days Due to Climate Change Roaring Fork Safe Passages

Since 1850 the temperature of the earth has increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit. While that may not seem like much, that means the whole globe (not just one place) is getting warmer and will continue to do so. You might be asking why it is getting warmer- it’s because of global warming.

Global warming is when greenhouse gasses, like fossil fuels and nitrous oxide, are emitted to the Ozone layer from vehicles of all kinds, and factories that produce electricity for us to use. Because there are so many of these gasses building up in the Ozone layer, it is creating a very thick cloud trapping all the heat from the sun inside the atmosphere. ACES is helping with global warming because the entire ACES building is run on solar power! Hooray!

Global warming is creating a lot of problems around the world but also in Aspen.. I asked Evelyn Van Arsdale, an AES 4th grader, how global warming affects her life. She said, ”It affects my life because if it gets too hot it will reduce our school’s snow days!” If the temperature

of the earth continues to rise, shortening our winters and decreasing the amount

global warming. Tullar says, “Global warming is one of the most prevalent

Elementary front desk. She knows a lot about this topic and is able to connect you with more people and information. If you found this article interesting and you want to learn more a good site to go to is roaringforksafepassages.org.

of snowfall, snow days will be no more.

I asked Elsa Tullar, a senior at Aspen High School, what she knows about

issues in our world and we as a community need to take action to mitigate this environmental disaster.”

Do you ski, snowboard, or do any snowy sports? Well if you do then you’ll know that Aspen is getting less and less snow each year and it’s getting harder to do our snowy activities. Protect Our Winters (POW) is an organization throughout Colorado to ensure that snowfall stays constant and heavy throughout the winter so we can do the snow sports that we love. One way AES students can reduce global warming is to use less gas. For example, if you live close enough, you should walk or bike to school. If you live a bit farther you could take a bus to reduce the amount of gas from cars. About 80 kids can fit on a fullsized school bus. If everyone’s parents drive them to school instead, it uses a LOT more gas.

Global warming is leading to a world with no snow days for students! And that’s only one of the problems global warming is causing. If you want to continue having snow days and snow to ski\ snowbourd on during our winters, we

Sabrina Sztykiel

Photo by Kenyon Keleher

3rd grade literacy ascent students visiting the board of county commissioners.

Photo by Sabrina Sztykiel

Buttermilk Mountain in the Spring as the snow starts to quickly melt.

Be Friends With Fashion to Save our Planet

Evi Vugteveen

In the time it takes you to finish reading this article, about 300 truckloads of fashion waste will be dumped, burned or buried in a landfill. This statistic, revealed by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, is horrifying! This foundation wants us to be a “circular community” which means that nothing goes to waste and everything gets reused forever. How many times have you worn the outfit you are wearing right now? Maybe only 7 to 10 times, since that is the average amount of times in the United States that an item gets worn before it is tossed. The average piece of clothing now is worn 36 percent fewer times than it was 15 years ago.

I spoke with Julianna Reese, a Fit Designer for the Obermeyer design team, who is also an instructor for the new Colorado Mountain College soft goods manufacturing program. Fashion sustainability matters to her because she cares about the earth, and she loves sewing. Because we live in Aspen, we go through a lot of jackets and snowpants for winter sports. One of the challenges to creating sustainable outerwear is that many of the fabrics that are waterproof or windproof are not sustainable. One way that her team tries to reduce textile waste is by being careful with the patterning of their

outerwear, to get the most “cookies” out of the fabric “dough”. Obermeyer also offers repairs on some of their gear to help it live longer.

I also talked to Tyler Carvell, the Assistant Solid Waste Director at the Pit-

in the Pitkin County Landfill is textile waste. Only about 32 tons of textile waste is recycled here each year. So 41 times more textiles are thrown out than are recycled. We need to decrease this amount and recycle our fashion waste!

kin County Landfill. Because we live in Pitkin County, this facility is usually where our jackets and snow pants would go at the end of their lives. In just five years, a gigantic reservoir-like hole at the landfill will be filled to the brim with waste. About 5% percent (1400 tons) of the total yearly household trash

Clothes put aside for recycling are judged by how good quality they are— 1, 2, or 3. A company in Denver called Use Again takes grades 1 and 2 from the landfill for reselling, while grade 3 (unwearable clothing) can be ground up into new products like insulation. But not many companies have a use for

recycled grade 3 textiles.

Pitkin County cannot have a big recycling facility because they do not have enough space, money, employees, and materials. It is very expensive to ship clothes from place to place.

“There are ethical questions to shipping waste that far as well. There is the carbon footprint of actually shipping it to Denver.” Tyler described. “We like recycling; it is a great program, but because we are located where we are, there is a huge greenhouse gas cost to getting it somewhere where it can be recycled.”

When you have outgrown your clothing, think about giving it a new life in Pitkin County, not sending it away. As Tyler says, “We’d rather give it a second chance, a second home” than ship wearable clothing off to Denver. We can all give our clothes new lives locally and reduce the amount of fashion waste that clogs up our landfill. Here are some ideas:

1. Value your clothes.

2. Learn to repair your clothes.

3. Be okay with patches in your clothes.

4. Give your outgrown clothes to friends or neighbors.

5. Support brands that repair products.

Unique Cultures of Aspen Elementry School: A Melting Pot!

Paulina Quintero

There are many different people that come from different cultures at AES. We all are Aspenites, but some people have family from Mexico, France, Argentina, or somewhere else. I interviewed many people who have roots in different cultures so that I could learn more about different places, holidays, foods, and traditions. After I talked to them, I felt really excited to share what I learned!

I interviewed a few students whose family is from Mexico. Two of these are Keyla Medina Samano

in fourth grade and Eddy Mercado in third grade. They told me about the different holidays they celebrate in Mexico, how they celebrate them, and what food they eat. They have a holiday called “Dia de los Muertos” or in English, “Day of the Dead”. They said that it was a way of celebrating the ones who have passed away and that they loved. They put a photo of the one who passed on a table and things that they loved like sweet treats. They celebrate it by painting their faces like a skeletons and they also celebrate by dancing. I also interviewed a student who is

4th Grade Student Reporters

Johnny Anchondo

Kaylee Ferguson

Colby Kalamaya

Kenyon Keleher

Vivi Kelley

Paulina Quintero

SebastianTunte

Scarlett Reveal

Sabrina Sztykiel

Evelyn Van Arsdale

Evi Vugteveen

from France named Ellie, who is in second grade at AES. Ellie travels to France once a year to see family and friends who still live there. He eats a lot of French food when he travels to see his family and friends. A dish that he told me about was one with tomatoes, tomato sauce, cucumber, and onion. Ellie travels to France to celebrate some holidays each year.

Next, I interviewed a person whose family is from Argentina. Fun fact! My family is also from Argentina. His name is Matias and he is also in second grade. Matias doesn’t visit Argentina a lot, but whether

he is home or in Argentina he eats a sweet treat called dulce de leche ice cream. “When I go to Argentina, I celebrate Christmas there and when we write the notes to Santa, instead of mailing them to him, we put them on the Christmas tree.” That is so cool!

There are so many other students who have roots from different countries in our school. There are so many that I haven’t mentioned in this article. You should visit all these places, maybe even some more. I hope you enjoyed reading this article.

Photo by Paulina Quintero

Students Matias and Ellie in front of the flags of Argentina and France.

Courtesy of Google Images

Contaminated water runoff from clothing factories.

Is Thirty Minute Recess at AES Too Short For Students? AES

Evelyn Van Arsdale

The sound of joyful kids yelling and smiling, soccer games, and time with friends, but does it feel too short? Do you feel like you just want a few more minutes of recess after the bell rings? In my opinion we need more time for not only enjoyment, but for benefits in, and out of the classroom.

According to CCEI (Child Care Education Institute) a longer recess is a longer attention span. Students gain more focus and stay on task longer when they play outside more. In Finland, one school has kids play outside for an hour no matter what the weather is like, and since they started this, all of the students started to get better grades and have more focus in the classroom. This means that longer recess helps students focus in the classroom.

I asked Ms. Ashley, the principal of Aspen Elementary School, about the length of our recess. She said “Lunch and recess together are 50 minutes, 20 minutes for lunch and 30 minutes for recess.”

Ms. Ashley further explained that these minutes are due to a state and national guideline.

“Kids should be getting 30 minutes of recess every day. In our school if you fin-

ish lunch early you can go out for 5 more minutes, so you get a little extra playing time.”

The good news is that our school is meeting the national guidelines, but the bad news is it isn’t as much recess as kids in Finland are getting which is what is helping improve their grades and focus! We SHOULD have 30 more minutes to gain more benefits for students at AES.

Even though some people may think shorter recess is better, this means that children would not get the benefits of a longer attention span in the classroom. This is important to help kids stay on task and learn more about the topics that the class is learning.

Mr. Wise, the fourth grade teacher, is from Australia and his previous school had 50 minutes after lunch of playing time as well as 30 additional minutes in the morning. The whole school did recess at the same time and they had more sports equipment. But they also had more required days of school to make sure kids were learning enough.

Longer Recess is essential to the growth and overall learning development of students in our school, and around the world. So, next time you’re wishing for longer recess, ask yourself how you can get one.

Kids Love Gaming But Do They Understand the Consequences?

Vivienne Kelly

Around the world, kids and adults alike are being exposed to devices such as televisions, phones, tablets and digital watches. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of American kids play video games and that most tweens - that’s ages 8 to 12 - spend roughly 5 ½ hours daily on devices. If you ask most children, they will say that they “love” their games. Similarly, many parents support their children using devices and playing electronic video games and appear to appreciate their benefits, but do they understand that the glowing screens and certain content can also have a negative impact on children’s brains and their behavior? Speaking with students, teachers, and counselors at Aspen Elementary School and in the Roaring Fork Valley highlighted the difference between student’s perceptions of gaming and the reality of its good and bad impacts. Gaming refers to playing an electronic video game, which is often done on a PC, smart phone or ipad. The most common games for elementary school-aged children are Animal Crossing, Among Us, Crossy Road, Mario Kart, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Rocket League. If you ask most kids, they will say that they enjoy playing video games. Aspen Elementary 4th grader Atticus Berg reported “gaming is most fun when playing with friends and some games can teach you how to navigate life. I think that the school should allow gaming because it provides a fun way to interact with friends”. 1st grader James Kelly said “I think gaming is good as long as you limit your time doing it”. When asked about gaming, 4th grade teacher Mr. Wise reported “I think video games used in moderation is okay. However I think some games children are playing are not

suitable for their age. I also think that children’s behavior, after being removed from games, can be less than desirable”. With regards to the brain, playing video games activates dopamine - the brain’s reward system. This motivates us to repeat the same behavior to receive the same feeling of pleasure.

Studies show that certain games can have a positive impact on a childs brain and behavior.

Some of the positive impacts of gaming include improved problem-solving skills, improved memory and spatial reasoning. Certain games can also support subjects in school such as math, reading, writing, and language. Some of these helpful games include Math Tango, Prodigy Math, Fabulinga, PBS Kids Games, Symphony Math and Epic. Certain types of video games can even enhance leadership skills and teach teamwork and communication. Also, gaming can Improve other positive cognitive changes such as problem solving, decision making, and creativity. And lastly, It can help children to make friends depending on the game. Shea Robinson, Aspen Elementary School’s counselor noted that “I think that schools should allow certain types of gaming websites that have been approved for reasonable interactions or with educational purposes like Symphony”.

Although gaming has some good impacts, it can also have bad consequences. For example, single-player gaming can promote social isolation and anti-social behavior. Some games such as Fortnite can even encourage violent behavior and aggression. Shea Robinson noted that “a lot of the video games that are popular tend to have violent and adult themes which is not healthy for kid’s Minds.”

Child tharepist Emily Supino noted further that “gaming can interfere with other things that we want children to be doing” such as homework, reading, playing with friends, getting exercise, and playing sports. There are studies that show that the more time children spend playing video games, the lower their performance is in school.

But the biggest risk of all, seems to be the risk of addiction and negative mental health consequences. According to the American Psychiatric Association “the unhealthy use of video games could lead to the loss of social relationships, lower levels of interest in other activities and withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety or sadness.”

Now that we have discussed the positive and negative effects of video games on children’s brains and behavior, it’s time to talk about how to regulate their use. The research suggests and teachers and counselors agree that moderation is the key! Parents can encourage children to participate in other activities such as playing with friends, sports, reading, board games and playing outside in nature. One of the easiest ways is to establish clear rules and boundaries (see Bright Futures image j nbelow for a link to an example of a Family Media Use plan). Also, it is best to make sure games are age-appropriate. Counselor Emily Supino notes that “Fortnite is known to have especially violent images and is not appropriate for elementary school-aged children”. Schools in the United States could also follow the path of Japan and China and inform parents and students of the risks of screen use and gaming addiction.

All around the world kids have increasing access to technology and an unlimited

amount of games to play on various devices. Most kids find no negative impacts in gaming but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. As we’ve explored, benefits of gaming can include progress in school, improved memory, problem solving skills and friendships. At the same time, families must keep in mind the negatives which can include social insolation, violence and aggression, decreased academic performance and risk of addiction.

As Emily Supino noted, “gaming can be both positive and negative”. To be clear, I don’t believe that we should be against gaming. Parents need to be proactive in their children’s gaming activities. Overall, it appears that the key is setting balanced limits around time and being aware of the kind of games that are appropriate given a childs age.

I recently went to my 9-10 year “well visit”. I was surprised at how many questions my doctor had for me and my mother regarding screen time and the use of devices. Here are a few of the suggestions from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Bright Futures experts that were included under the “staying healthy” and “how your family is doing” sections that related specifically to screens and screen time:

-Put the family computer in a central place

-Watch your child’s computer use (know who he/she is talking to online and install a safety filter)

-Limit screen time to 2 hours (not counting school work)

-Don’t put a TV or computer in your child’s bedroom

-Consider making a family media use plan (it helps you to make rules for media use and balance screen time with other activities, including exercise)

Photo by Evelyn Van Arsdale

Go Denver! The Best City For Sports Fans

Colby Kalamaya

Most of us have heard about at least one major/ pro sport in Denver, but if you haven’t, you’re reading the right article and even if you have, you can still get information out of this. There are five major sports teams in Denver: the Nuggets, the Broncos, the Rockies, the Avalanche, and the Rapids. Let’s start with the Nuggets, the pro basketball team. There are 18 players and the two most popular starters are Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Nikola Jokic is one of their best players and one of the best players in the NBA. He averages 24.5 points. That’s a lot of points! Jamal Murray averages 20.9 points per game. You can find Denver Nuggets tickets for as low as a $19 per ticket, with an average price of $236 per ticket. They play about 80 regular season games.

Why do you like the Avalanche?

River: They are REALLY exciting to watch!

I asked Ryan Kalamaya (my dad) some questions about the Nuggets. How do you feel about the Nuggets? Ryan: They play for each other and they win and are exciting to watch. Have you been to any games?

Ryan: Yes. I’ve been to about a dozen. Who’s your favorite player?

Ryan: The Joker ( Nikola Jokic)! Fun fact: the Nuggets won the NBA Finals in 2023. (NBA stands for the National Basketball Association). Oh, goody the game is over and the Nuggets won! Now we’re going on to the next sport: The Avalanche. The Avalanche is the professional hockey team in Denver. Hockey is a big sport in Colorado and lots of people do it. In fact, I know a person or two who plays hockey and they know the goals worth about the Avalanche team. Here are Fourth graders, Sam Vidamour and River Klug to answer some Avalanche questions.

Who’s your favorite avalanche player?

Sam and River: Cale Makar

Sam: It’s not a one man game, it’s a team game.

You can find tickets for as low as $25, with an average price of $222. Fun fact: the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. The Stanley cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the world’s professional ice hockey championship, an annual play-off that brings the season of the National Hockey League to an end.

TOUCHDOWN for the Broncos! I know what you’re thinking of the lame Broncos but I don’t think that Fourth grader Lucy Firman would argue that they are the best football team in the world .

Why do you love the Broncos?

Lucy: All of my family grew up in Colorado and we support the Broncos even though they can have ups and downs

Who is your favorite player?

Lucy: My personal favorite player is Jerry Joudy OR John Elway

Does your whole family love them?

Lucy: YES!

Fun fact: the Broncos have won three super bowls (the super bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), played by the winners of the league’s American Football Conference and National Football Conference each January or February).

Three strikes and you’re out! The Rockies are Colorado’s successful baseball team that was founded and had their first game in 1993. Charlie Blackmon is the Rockies designated hitter, he has played with the Rockies since 2011. Blackmon bats and throws with his left hand and is a native of Dallas, Texas. Blackmon attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, and played college baseball for the Yellow Jackets.

Here to get a home run for the Rockies is Taylor Adam.

What do you like about the Rockies?

Taylor: They get a lot of Home runs and when you’re in the 4th grade you get to go to the Rockies game.

Who is your favorite player?

Taylor: Tyler Kinley

Have you ever played baseball?

Taylor: YEP

Do you prefer to bat or to pitch?

Taylor: I like to bat

That’s a home run!

“GOAL!!!!” Yes, another goal for the Rapids. The Rapids are the shadow team that no one knows about. The Colorado Rapids Soccer Club was established on Oct. 17, 1995, as one of Major League Soccer’s 10 charter clubs. The Rapids reached the MLS Cup Final in the league’s second year and won MLS Cup for the first time in 2010. One of their players is Keegan Rosenberry and he says a very interesting thing “ We have won a lot of games but we still have a lot of work to do. Just Understand ourselves better and play for each other” I thought this was a very encouraging thing to say but there’s another person who said something great. Here is Oren Schragge, the Aspen High school soccer coach.

Why do you love the rapids?

Oren: Because I’m a big MLS fan. Who is your favorite player?

Oren: Zack Steffen and Sam Vines and Dorde Mihailovic

Have you been to any games?

Oren: I have been to a Philadelphia game, but not a Rapids game

Fun fact: the Rapids were last out of all the teams in 2023, but now they have a new coach, Chris Armas. Here’s to a new season!

Wow! Denver has some amazing pro sports teams. There is no wrong or right answer to which is your favorite team or player. If you do have a favorite team, feel free to have a friendly debate about which one is the best using all these facts and interviews to state your points. (In my opinion the Nuggets are the best team)!

Did Someone Say Three Day Weekends?

Sebastian Tunte

There can be good and bad factors in three day weekends compared to two day weekends. On the positive side, it could improve rest and people won’t have to be as tired. According to the ‘Times of India’, this gives people more rest and energy for work and school. In fact over 10 countries have experimented with 3 day weekends and they still get enough work hours in. According to ‘Coolpo’, places such as Japan and Spain still get enough work hours a week while using a 3-day weekend! People could use the extra day to participate in sports

and to hangout with friends, giving benefits such as exercise and face-toface relationships. 3-day weekends could be used at AES to go skiing which may improve rest and overall attention spans at school. According to the ‘BBC’, the UK experimented with a 3-day weekend from November through January 2022, and the results showed that productivity increased, as well as team culture and morale. In this position, fourth grader Johnny Anchondo said, “3-day weekends would be good because I could get more rest and not be as tired for school days”.

Though there are good factors, there are also bad things to consider about 3-day weekends. First, people could not get enough work hours and that can have an effect on the economy and also on businesses around the globe. Kids could also miss out on education and learning if the school week becomes shorter. In this position, high school sophomore Aurelia Tunte said, “2-day weekends are good because the school has to meet a certain amount of hours to reach the state requirement“. She continued with, “maybe summers would be shorter too”. But she thinks that the consequences from 2-day

weekends are that kids don’t get enough time to do homework and rest.

In conclusion the addition of three day weekends at Aspen school district would be beneficial but could cause problems such as less things getting done due to less work hours, and education for children could suffer. Garrett Seddon the Aviation Director and director of safety and security references dangerous jobs like police officers and the military have 3 day weekends because they put their life on the line. Do we deserve this privilege too?

Photo by Colby Kalamaya

The Battle of Different Foods and Drinks: Which One is Better? Skittles

vs. M&M’s

Scarlett Reveal

Have you ever wondered what the whole entire school thought about something? Well if you have about M&M’s and Skittles, you are in luck because I’ve been wondering about that too and I chose to write an article about it. That article is the one you are reading now. In this article you will learn many things about Skittles and M&M’s including what the differences between them are and much more.I hope you like it! If you ever were in a conversation with someone, and they

Johnny Anchondo

If you don’t know these names, Prime Hydration, and Gatorade are popular drinks in the US and the United Kingdom. They’re both sports drinks that energize people doing sports. Let’s compare the two so that you can know what to drink when you’re playing a sport! Gatorade has existed for a while now. It was made in October of 1965, and it’s almost 59 years old! While Prime Hydration is only two years old! It was made in January of 2022.

Photo by Scarlett Reveal

asked you, ”Do you know the difference between Skittles and M&M’s? They totally look the same!”(If they did, they probably would not have eaten Skittles or M&Ms before.) What would you say? Well, if you were wondering what the actual logistics of that was, I can tell you. M&Ms are chocolate and Skittles are fruit flavored. M&M’s come in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, almond, pretzels, Easter Sundae, White & Dark Chocolate, and Peanut Butter. Some flavors of M&M like peanut butter have a

creamy middle, and others have chocolate insides and the outside is flavored. Skittles have the flavors strawberry, lime, grape, lemon, Orange, and wild berry. Skittles are “chewy like gummies,” and M&Ms “melt in your mouth.” You can recognize them by the M imprinted on the front of the M&M and the S on the Skittles.

If you are one of those people whose parents don’t let you eat that much candy, I’m sorry for you but they are kind of right. I know that you might already know this but candy can be really unhealthy. It can give you a tummy ache and make you throw up. It can also rot your teeth if you don’t brush your teeth the following night. But only if you eat too much. There are many different opinions about Skittles and M&M’s at AES, but what are they? It turns out that out of the 48 responses I got, most people chose… drumroll!!! … M&M’s!! 41.7% chose the chocolate. That’s almost half.

Mr. Wise said “Peanut M&M’s

Gatorade vs. Prime Hydration

both drinks have more water than anything else. But in Prime Hydration, the second most used ingredient is coconut water.

sugar; Now that’s pretty crazy! This could be a world record-breaking sports drink!

Now let’s see what Gatorades

are the most superior chocolate snack ever produced. Candy, chocolate, and a healthy peanut recommended by 99 out of 100 doctors.” Is that the truth? WHO KNOWS! But it’s funny. Hazel commented, “I picked Skittles because they are chewy and sweet.” Hazel, most people don’t agree, but that just means more Skittles for you!

One survey taker said, “I picked M&Ms because Skittles have red dye and that is really unhealthy for you.” Sorry to tell you but M&M’s have red dye too. If you were worried about unhealthy additives in candy, try YumEarth, a “Delicious Allergy Friendly Candy” maker. They make all kinds of candies but don’t add the worst stuff. The candies in the picture below are some of the candies YumEarth makes.

In conclusion, most of the students at Aspen Elementary like M&M’s more than Skittles but they are both good candies! “Branch out and try YumEarth next time you want a treat for a healthier you!”

general public might be different from the facts.

Sebastian Tunte is an AES student. “I like Gatorade more because it’s not as sweet as Prime Hydration. That’s surprising because prime hydration only has 2 grams of sugar but is incredibly sweet” Tunte said. “It gives me headaches.” Most people don’t know a good time to drink Gatorade let’s ask Sebastian. “Just drink it when you’re doing sports.” Said Tunte.

Now let’s get into the facts. You may be wondering which is healthier, I can tell you the answer! Prime hydration is overall the healthier choice. Now let’s get into detail. If you look at the ingredients,

That’s something pretty unique, putting a drink in a drink that may be never seen ever before. Compared to other leading sports drinks, prime only has 2 grams of

have been up to. Unlike Prime, the second most used ingredient in Gatorade is sugar, and is up to 34 grams!

However, the opinions of the

In conclusion, Gatorade is better because more people like it, and it doesn’t give as many headaches as Prime. You can also get more benefits from it like hydration, and electrolyte traits that are lacking in prime.

Results from a recent survey about which candy is better.

Photo created by Johnny Anchondo

Exploring the Unknown Universe: Unique Facts About Space

Kaylee Ferguson

I am passionate about space because of how big it is and how little we know about it. This year, I sent out a survey to all 3rd and 4th-grade students to collect information about how much knowledge these students have about space. Becoming an astrophysicist might be hard for some people because you need to be very good at math and be intrigued about the wonders of space beyond our solar system. Do you think you might want to become an astrophysicist? I think that everyone should know about space because as we are learning more about it, it is good to know some of the basic facts that piece together our universe. When I received results from the survey, the majority of responses were from 3rd graders. I discovered that 95.6% of students did not know what spaghettifi-

cation was. Spaghettification is when a person gets sucked into a black hole and turns into a strand thinner than a piece of hair. A

6.7% did not know. Dark energy is energy that can not be seen or can not be tracked and it has a bend and pull on the universe. If

black hole is a bend in space and time and they are caused when a supermassive star dies.

Additionally, 93.3% of students answered that they didn’t know what dark energy is, whereas

dark energy and regular energy collide it causes a massive explosion that can blow up anything in its path.

There are many different things that we use in our everyday lives that do not work in space. For

example, did you know that pens do not work on the moon? 75.6% percent of students did not know about this crazy fact, however 24.4% did. Pens do not work on the moon because there is no gravity on the moon. Gravity pulls the ink down to make the pen work, so if there is no gravity then the pen will not work. The response that gets the most funny quote award is “Because the ink goes stuck.”

The universe is so undiscovered that it is important to know that you might be the next person to find something new. We need to work together as a community to learn more about our Earth and everything around it that makes up our universe. I hope you enjoyed and learned something new while reading.

Photo bt Kaylee Ferguson

Statistics from a space survery sent out to 3rd and 4th grade students.

Elementry School Authors Win the Fraser Writing Contest

First Place for 3rd Grade Contestants

Samuel Ward

Nyiro and Tank’s Journey

Crash. Bam

“Evacuate!”

“The whole Kalahari desert is burning,” Nyiro exclaims.

Twenty Days Earlier

The whole desert smelled like fresh leaves and summer rain. In one part of the desert, there was a leopard family. They live in a Burkea Africana tree next to a leaf shaped pond with more burkea africana trees surrounding it. Every morning a group of zebras comes south to take a drink. On the other side of the pond lives a lion family of 12 one of those lions Tank is best friends with Nyiro. Sadly, they can’t visit each other because a family of hyenas try to attach the young cubs. Sometimes they can sneak through the hyenas to hang out.

Nyiro and Tank met when they were both going on there first wander with there parents they were both wandering around each other smelling all the fresh summer smells like the fresh leaves. They were ten feet away when they finally noticed each other and jumped back. They didn’t know each other. The parents got distracted by a heard of Cape Buffalo and then the parents started chasing the buffalo and left the kids. The kids started conversating and exchanging names and favorite foods. Once the parents stopped chasing the buffalo they came back to the two kids without knowing Nyiro and Tank were friends.

Twelve Days Later

Nyiro and Tank snuck past the hyenas to meet at the far side of the pond with the zebras. They went on many adventures. They went out to watch a herd of cape buffalos. They went out to the big pond to watch the crocodiles. They went to the pond that was next to both of their homes to watch the zebras. Some-

times they went on hunts together. All of their time together made them very close friends.

Seven Days Later

Nyiro and Tank went to go hang out and on the way there Nyiro spotted something glimmering in the distance. So he wandered over to Tank and told him about what he saw. They were both too scared to go closer towards it. Nyiro and Tank both went back to their homes to sleep for the night. Crash. Bam.

“Evacuate!”

“The whole Kalahari desert is burning,” Nyiro exclaims. “The glimmering light must have been a fire.” They were trying to splash water on the fire from the pond. After two days of trying that, they gave up because no water was coming. They assumed they would just have to wait till rain. In the next two days, so many trees had fallen over and most were still burning. Finally, rain started falling and almost the whole desert started cheering. Three days later, the rain had finally put the fire out. Nyiro and Tank kept doing their daily routine by meeting each other across the pond. Even though most of the trees burned in the desert, Nyiro’s tree did not burn and he still had his home.

“My parents went out to find a new den by looking for thick grass, deep thickets, heavy riverside grass, and rock outcroppings. My den collapsed,” said Tank.

“Oh, sorry! I hope you find a new den like your old one,” exclaims Nyiro.

Six Years Later

Nyiro and Tank both went out their own ways to make a family for themselves and find new homes.

Three Months Later

Nyiro and Tank both had found mates and had cubs. They both lived happily ever after.

First Place for 4th Grade Contestants

(Kessler is the consecutive winner for the past two years)

The Quatro Amigos

Noah Kessler

In the Gulf of Papua in Australia, there was a spiny lobster named Caspian, he lived with his family in a beautiful coral reef. Caspian was a reddish-orange lobster with no claws, two big antennae, a floppy tail and six legs. Caspian used his free time to ride his submarine across the seas and other times he enjoyed reading some comic books. One unexpected afternoon while Caspian was enjoying the beautiful sea life, he saw strong winds and powerful rain coming towards the coral reef and ran towards home as fast as he was able. The strong rain and one thousand mile winds quickly formed into a hurricane and in less than two hours, the entire city of Papua was torn down and even the trees with the deepest roots were destroyed. The destruction blasted all of the memory Caspian had from the town where he grew up, forcing him, his family and their friends to migrate far away from their home. The reddish-orange lobster started the journey with his family in search of their new home, alongside friends that had also lost their home in Papua due to the hurricane. Along the way, they were faced with a strong current, the Eastern Australian current (EAC) that separated Caspian from his family and friends. After the current calmed down, Caspian was alone and he felt sad and afraid and was not sure what to do and started crying. Just as the current calmed down, Caspian did as well and had an idea. He decided he would continue his journey alone.

On his way to find his family and his new home, the lobster encountered a magnetic field. The force created by the magnetic field helped him find the coordinates to Slow Sand Beach, a place he had heard in a conversation between his family and friends considering it to be their new home, since that part of the sea was safe from hurricanes. Caspian felt tired and hungry, after having walked 856 yards, or at least he felt he had walked that much and thought he was about halfway there. Very soon, the day would turn into night and Caspian needed to find a place to rest, and in no time, he was drifting off into a dreamlike state. In the morning Caspian was well rested and ready to continue his journey. Off he went, headed towards a rocky mountain with a narrow bridge. Suddenly, two octopuses jumped in

front of him, their names were Ocho and Siete. Siete had lost a tentacle when he was younger during a fight with a shark. Ocho, the eight-legged octopus said, this is my bridge and I am not letting anybody across it without the secret code. The reddish-orange lobster was confused as he was not aware of any secret code and had no idea how to continue his journey if he was unable to cross to the other side. He asked Ocho, can you help me figure out the secret code by giving me a clue? Ocho replied, what is the most important thing about family? Caspian knew the exact answer to the question and quickly replied, love, support and security. “You nailed it”, replied Ocho. He also asked Caspian what he was doing around that area all by himself. The lobster told the octopuses all about the hurricane and the current that had separated him from his family and friends. They both gasped and felt sad emotions inside. Both Ocho and Siete asked Caspian if they could tag along, as they were all alone and had no other friends or family, Caspian immediately said yes. The three amigos continued the journey alongside each other. Along the way, they passed a quiet town and it looked like it had also been destroyed by a hurricane. Suddenly, Caspian saw something move in between two rocks. The octopuses saw it too, they all got afraid as they were unsure what it could be. The mysterious sea life kept getting closer and closer, and eventually, a Moray eel jumped off the shadows and said. “What are you doing here?” “We were just passing by, we are on our way to Slow Sand”, replied Siete. Caspian asked Moray, “why are you here all by yourself?” Moray replied that he used to live there with his family, but everything was destroyed due to the hurricane that had hit that area just a few days ago. Caspian invited Moray the eel to join the three amigos on their journey. The eel looked up and said “yes, my name is Flash”. From that day on, they were no longer only the three amigos, but four amigos searching for their new home while exploring the seas. After many days and many adventures together, the four amigos finally arrived at Slow Sand Beach, where the rest of Caspian’s family and friends were anxiously awaiting his arrival.

The End.

Created by Jackson Ables