West Central Express · Issue 12

BY CARSON, DEVON, AND JA’LEAH Holmes Elementary

While we were at the festival we saw a performance by Jenny Edgren called "Songs For All Ages." There really were people there of all ages from babies to grandparents. Ja’leah got there first of anybody, and saw Jenny Edgren getting her stuff ready. They were putting shaker eggs into cartons. Then people came to get into the room where she was about to sing. Then she told us that we could grab some eggs, and then we got to shake them when she told us to.

Jenny played the guitar and ukulele and she sang a song

about her dog having these “little almond eyes,” then a farm song with a dog in it, then an ocean song. Several of the songs were sing-alongs so we joined in. We got to keep the eggs!

After her performance we got to meet Jenny and talk to her more. She even played a few extra songs for us. We also got to meet the director of the festival Sylvia. She said the festival is like her baby because she cares about it so much. After visiting the festival we can see why she cares about it so much. It was a lot of fun!

From our staff: On November 12th a group of investigators from the West Central Express attended the Fall Folk Festival at Spokane Community College. Some were seeing live music for the first time. These investigators gathered their thoughts and observations on the festival together with help from our mentors.

The folk festival has been running for 27 years. At the festival there were musicians, singers, dancers, artists, crafters and tables of cool objects like pretty beaded ornaments for sale from all around the world. We really liked the copper jewelry and crowns by Mr. Weasel. Next time we would like to stay longer and make copper rings with him at his craft table.

West Central Express Journalists get the scoop from folk artist Jenny Edgren.

Photo credit: Spark Central Staff

BLUE ZOO RECOVERY

BY AVALON "ROSE" AND JUSTICE Holmes Elementary

This article is about how Blue Zoo exists and the sharks that broke out of the aquarium.

We decided to write this article because it gives us information about ocean life in an aquarium.

About Blue Zoo

According to the Blue Zoo website, the founder (Wes Haws) was hit in the head, went to the hospital, and fell in love with the aquarium.

Wes, the owner of the Blue Zoo, was in Ethiopia as part of a global project to build houses. Wes was walking along, and all of a sudden a villager came up behind him and hit him in the head with an ax! As he recovered, Wes was engaged by an aquarium in his room. He said it brought him comfort. Blue Zoo has lots of animals like: sharks, clownfish, seahorses, jellyfish, octopus, stingrays, starfish, birds, and lizards.

Favorite Ocean Animal Poll

There’s a lot of horseshoe crabs, stingrays, piranhas, axolotls, and sharks at the aquarium. A lot of people (Level Up students and mentors) like sea animals, and a lot of people at my school like dolphins. Not as many people at my school like sea turtles and sharks.

Blue Zoo Visit

On November 19, 2022, we visited the Blue Zoo Aquarium in the Northtown Mall.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VR?

BY DEVON Holmes Elementary

“VR” stands for “virtual reality.” The first VR headset was created in 1968 (according to the website “PCMag”). It was created by Ivan Sutherland. VR is used for play but today it is also used by doctors so that they can practice things like open heart surgery so that they can get better at their jobs. The difference between VR and video games is: VR has an “oculus” button, you have to move your arms (with or without controllers), and you wear a headset; video games also have buttons, but you need a hand-held controller only, not a headset.

Blue Zoo Staff John (MC/Pirate) gave us a lot of information about how the sharks broke out of the aquarium.

According to John, the MC of the shark feeding, “about one year ago, there was a build up of gas in one of [the] filtration systems, which caused the glass to shatter. We were able to save most of the sharks, but obviously since it happened in the middle of the night when no one was [at the aquarium] some of them perished.”

• • • FUN FACTS • • •

BLACKTIP REEF SHARKS

• The scales of sharks are strong and protect themselves. If they get bit, it won’t hurt.

• Blacktip Reef Sharks are from high coral reef areas.

• Sharks grow thousands of teeth in a lifetime.

HAVE A HOT TIP OR LETTER TO THE EDITOR? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Email our assistant editor, Snoz, at snoz@spark-central.org.

"Rose," turtle, Justice

Photo credit: Spark Central Staff

BOOK FAIR BOOK REVIEWS

For more on the book fair, see page 5!

NINJA KID

BY ANH DO

REVIEW BY CARSON

Holmes Elementary

I just finished a book called Ninja Kid. It had really fun details. There is a 10 year-old who turns into a ninja. I liked this book because of the action. It got me interested in seeing what was happening. A good book makes you want to keep reading.

Books that are like cartoons are exciting. I would give Ninja Kid a 4 out of 5 because the spiders were creepy and made me want to see what would happen next. This gave me a feeling of suspense and excitement. I didn’t think people would read it because it was on the bottom shelf, but I think people should read it.

SISTERS

BY RAINA TELGEMEIER

REVIEW BY ROSE

Holmes

Elementary

I was able to buy a book at the fair called Sisters

It is about a 14 year-old and a 9 year-old struggling to get along. I learned that you should never be mean to your sister from the book. I would give this book a 5 because it teaches you to relate to your own siblings. It was full of excitement and humor.

DOGMAN

BY DAV PILKEY REVIEW BY TUCKER

Holmes Elementary Dogman is a good book to me. Dogman books are my favorite books—I think I’ve read them all. It has pictures and words that I can understand and read. It is also funny. “Dogman, stop eating that garbage!” is one of my favorite lines from the book. It made me laugh silently to myself. I think my brother would like it because it has funny lines and pictures.

A LONG WALK TO WATER

TASTE THE RAINBOW

BY NOLAN Holmes Elementary

I wanted to do a Skittles taste test because I wanted to know if I could “taste the rainbow.” I wanted to see if Skittles’ colors matched their flavors. My top five favorite candies of all time would be Skittles, Toxic Waste, mint gum, Three Musketeers, and Nerds.

Out of 11 people here is the list of favorite Skittles flavors:

• The number 1 favorite flavor was Red with 4 people

• The number 2 favorite flavor was Purple with 3 people

• The number 3 favorite flavor was yellow with only 2 people

• Green and orange flavors came in last, tied with only 1 person each

At Level Up we did a Skittles taste test where everyone was blindfolded to see if they could tell the difference between the colors. 76% of our guesses were right so we were good at tasting the rainbow! After the taste test, most people’s favorite colors of Skittles were still red and purple.

BY

BY LINDA SUE PARK

Holmes Elementary

I have two favorite books. The first one is The City of Ember. This is about people that are stuck in a dark and lonely world. I would give The City of Ember 4 out of 5 stars because it is very interesting. It made me think of what I would do in that situation.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

Another good book that I have read is called A Long Walk to Water. This book is about people who live in Sudan. There is a war happening and there are families who are struggling to stay alive. That book was sad. I would give A Long Walk to Water a 4.5 out of 5 because it made me want to help the people that were struggling in war and who didn’t have enough water.

THURSDAYS · 4 - 6 PM

Grades 3-8 · Drop in to explore architecture, engineering and art through Minecraft! Each session, participants will be given a building prompt related to one or more of these fields. Then, they'll work together to plan their build and join a Minecraft world to create it. Staff and volunteers will monitor games to ensure the safety of youth as they play.

REVIEWS BY ARIANA

THE CITY OF EMBER

JEANNE DUPRAU

BY ABE Holmes Elementary

BY DEVON Holmes Elementary

ASH

BY DANICA Audubon Elementary

EXPLORING THE FALL BOOK FAIR

BY ROSE, TUCKER, CARSON, AND ARIANA Holmes Elementary

The Scholastic Book Fair took place at Holmes Elementary’s library October 3-7, 2022. We reflected on our experience after taking pictures of the book fair with mentors.

Q: What did you like about the book fair?

Rose:

Plenty of toys, books, and things that were cheap to buy.

Carson:

I liked the toys that came with books. Some books that caught my eye were the Minecraft building books, the ones that teach you how to build. I liked these because they can help you get better.

Ariana: My favorite part about being at the book fair was being able to take pictures. It was my first time using the camera.

Tucker:

I enjoyed asking people about their books. I heard about new books that I had never heard of called Wishing Tree and The Magic Tree House. Book fairs are good sometimes.

Tucker gives a tip: if you are reading a good book, make sure you don’t read through dinner time.

Q: Why are there book fairs at the school Library?

Rose: According to the school librarian, “so we can get books and STEM materials. We might not have book fairs anymore.”

Kids, volunteers and teachers work together to make this book fair a success Photo credit: Rose, Carson, and Ariana

FUN YOU CAN HAVE WITH LEGO

BY ASH Holmes Elementary

POLL

Did you know that you can basically make anything out of LEGO? LEGO can be big or small. Some LEGO pieces are as big as a subway sandwich! There is a lot of creativity with LEGO. You can use different LEGO bricks and build a gameboard and make up your own rules to go with it. Our lead writer, Ash, created a five-player board game using many LEGO pieces and a LEGO platform.

MCDONALD’S VS. BURGER KING

BY GRAYSEN Holmes Elementary

Facts You Should Know: LEGO Robotics

By Ethan

LEGO pieces are fun and everyone should play with them. LEGO Spike (Spike Essentials) is fun to play with, but first there are a few facts you should know before you build your own LEGO robot. One fact is that in order to make LEGO robotics move, you need a device to connect to the robot’s battery. The second fact is that you need the LEGO robotics application on the device. It’s like an RC car, but you’re making the RC car. The final fact you need to know is that you need to program the motor.

Have you ever had a really good burger? At Level Up, we took a taste test. We tried the Big King and the Big Mac. Before we ate the burgers, more people said they liked McDonald. We got blindfolded and then walked to the tables. We sat down and ate them.

Here are three facts about Burger King (according to the official Burger King website). Big King burgers have 464.1 calories. They have less calories than McDonald’s. Burger King also used to have tacos.

Here are 3 facts about McDonald’s (according to the official McDonald’s website). Big Macs have 550 calories. A Big Mac consists of a bun, patty, shredded lettuce, Big Mac sauce, American cheese, pickle slices, and onions. Big Mac sauce is sweet pickle relish, yellow mustard, fresh onion vinegar, and mayo and ketchup.

Burger King got more votes after we taste tested them. The taste test proved that they like Burger King more.

ROCK, MINERAL, OR FOSSIL

BY JONELL AND CARSON Holmes Elementary

I have a rock collection at home. I wanted to learn more about rocks, so at Level Up we sorted rocks that were brought in by students and staff to find out if they were a rock, mineral, or fossil. We sorted through 45 rocks and 3 fossils that students and mentors

brought to Level Up using the Rock Identifier phone app. The coolest fossil was petrified wood because it was gray like a rock but it had rings like a tree! I also learned that salt is a mineral. Overall, my favorites were the minerals and crystals because they look pretty.

Then, we did some research on rocks. According to The Complete Book of Rocks and Minerals, rocks are mixtures of minerals. Minerals are solid inorganic elements or elemental compounds. You can’t have rocks without minerals. The coolest fact was that lava fluids from volcanoes create crystallized minerals.

WORD SEARCH: $1,000

BY ABE Holmes Elementary

POLL BIG BUCKS!!

BY ABE Holmes Elementary

Do you want money? Because I do! I wanted to write this story because every time I get some money I just spend it. But if I had $1,000 I could buy whatever I wanted (like a bunch of nerf guns!) Kids want cool stuff like toys, trips, and pets - also elephants (at least I want an elephant.) My poll showed 4 people want pets, 4 people want trips, 1 guy wants toys, and 2 people want video game stuff. The most popular stuff was pets and trips.

ART CORNER

ART CHALLENGE

BY JA’LEAH Holmes Elementary

I like art because they want me to draw, and then I draw it and that’s how I get good at it. My favorite thing I have ever drawn is an owl in a green shirt sitting on a tree hovering.

I really like art, so I wanted to do an art challenge. We did the art challenge at our after-school program, Level Up. There were 4 participants. There were two teams. One team member came to the front of the room, and I told them to act out something. An example is they acted like birds, then their teammate drew what they thought the action was. My sister, Xzirah, won first place by getting the table drawing challenge correct.

MUSIC LIFTS ME

BY XZIRAH Holmes Elementary

UP

When I was seven my uncle passed away. I was very sad when he died. Someone wrote a song for my uncle and that got me into singing. The song is called “Eyez to the Sky.” I interviewed a girl named Jenny Edgeren and I asked her what her favorite song is when she is sad. She said her favorite song was the song that she wrote for her dog Lucy.

Jenny Edgeren sings to West Central Express journalists.

Photo credit: Spark Central Staff

BY

PANDAS AT RISK

BY ARIANA Holmes Elementary

According to the website “Sciencing,” pandas are endangered. Habitat loss, deforestation and loss of bamboo takes place in China and it is happening right now.

Pandas are a species of bear that live in China. They eat bamboo and bamboo leaves. They are black and white, and they are very cute.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature website, people can help pandas by donating to panda protection organizations. Additionally, people can be smarter about their tourism so that they are not hurting the environment. This is called “eco-tourism.”

BY ARIANA

Holmes Elementary

JA'LEAH Holmes Elementary