Football Fiasco
Have you ever wondered why NFL coaches get mad about bad calls? We are the same. If we figure out why we get mad, we could stop our problems—maybe not the NFL’s, but definitely here at Coleytown Elementary School. Some friends don’t care that it’s right; they just want to be annoying towards other students by cheating, playing dirty, and pushing kids to the ground.
We could have an official referee watching the game to make it more fair. Fifth-grader Cole Odes in Mrs. Mallozzi’s class says, “We can make a rulebook so no one can make up rules to look better.” If we don’t argue, this football fiasco will turn into football fun.
By creating a rulebook and having an official referee, we can make sure that every game is played fairly and with respect. This will help reduce arguments and make the game more enjoyable for everyone. When everyone knows the rules and follows them, it’s easier to focus on having fun rather than getting frustrated. Encouraging good sportsmanship and teamwork can make a huge difference in how we play and enjoy the game together.
Rope-Swing Wrecklessness
Students are annoyed with all of the many problems at the rope swing. The rope swing is located at the grade 3–5 playground. The fifth grade gets two recesses every day, and within every day, the rope swing gets more and more complicated.
When 5th grade recess starts, all of the classes rush to try to beat the line for the rope swing. Students are complaining that there is too much shoving to even get in line. Fifth grade students also started to realize that the time fifth grade gets on the rope swing is really unfair. Some people get a minute and a half on the swing, some people get a minute, some people get forty-five seconds, and some people only get thirty seconds! Fifth grader Olivia Freeman quotes “The time people get to be on the rope swing for is just insane!” The old system was that the teachers had timers for how long kids get on the swing, but they stopped doing that. Now kids get to control how long people get on the rope swing, and way more fights break out. When the counter’s friends are on the swing, the person who is counting will count much slower than normally. This causes a lot of problems at the rope swing, and fights occur almost every day.
Students are also getting hurt on the rope swing from falling off or falling when trying to stop the swing. Students will have to go to the nurse, and even home, with blisters, bruises and band-aids. Also more students have even been standing on the swing, which makes it even more dangerous for students. A few ways we can fix all of these problems are going on for one minute, making less people go on at once, or having a teacher oversee the process. The rope swing is fun, but it is causing too many problems. We all need to do something about it.
Behind the Scenes: CES TV
Most students at Coleytown Elementary School do not know all the morning news jobs. There are multiple other students involved as well. At 8:50 am, students enter their classes, while the News Crew is busy at work. Many students help prepare, practice, and edit the news. When the deadline hits at 9:00 AM, the anchors go live in front of the whole school. The recording studio next to the biography section in the library. Most of the jobs are actually not the anchors. The other ones are the A/V, teleprompter and cameras. The A/V controls the background behind the anchors, plays the music and video and does a sound check. The teleprompter controls what the anchors read by scrolling. If they scroll too fast or slow it would lead to the anchors not knowing what to say. Finally the cameras can take the anchors on and off air and change the camera that is live if there is a guest anchor.
When asked what job was the most important, technology teacher Mrs. Syndercombe said, “Each individual job is important, they are all linked, they need to work together.” If one job is not working, it messes up everyone. Mrs. Syndercombe also thinks that no job is the easiest. “They’re all hard in different ways,” she said. She thinks that writing the script is very difficult. “You have to find a story that is interesting for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. Every day.” She thinks that all the kids should know how much hard work and effort goes into making the news. “Students should value all of the jobs.” She said. All of the other jobs work really hard but only the anchors get credit. She thinks that if students knew all the jobs they would appreciate them. She is also surprised that students do not know about the different roles.
Coleytown started the news in 2013, when a local news station called “Cable 9”, gave a grant to the school. A grant is very similar to a donation. The two technology teachers at the time, Mrs. Syndercombe and Mrs. Caroll used the money to buy news equipment such as cameras, microphones, and monitors. They both run the news today even though Mrs. Caroll is now a math teacher. The members of the news crews are chosen by their homeroom teacher. The teachers choose the members based on behavior. The studio is set up with a green screen behind the anchors. The A/V and cameras are next to the entrance while the teleprompter is right in front of them. Students are not aware that anchor is not the only job and it should change.
The Hunt For One Million Dollars
After the 2024 MLB season ended, Pirates Pitcher, Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates had a deal. The result? A 1/1, autographed, rookie Paul Skenes card. The current market valuation of the card is approximately one million dollars. To spice up the deal, if you find the card and turn it in to the Pirates organization you get season tickets behind the plate for thirty years. If you keep the card however you can sell it for one million dollars or maybe more if you put it up for auction.
In his first full season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skenes did well on everything, with an impressive 11–3 record across 23 games and finishing the year with an amazing 1.96 ERA. The right-hander, who allowed only 29 earned runs and had a 0.95 WHIP, showed his power at the strike zone by efficiently limiting baserunners. To top it off, Paul Skenes won NL rookie of the year. Rookie of the year is the prize given to the best player in the MLB who is a rookie, or a player who is in their first year.
Now, with this one-of-a-kind card reportedly slipped into random card packets, fans and collectors alike are tearing into packs in hopes of landing either a life-changing payday or a lifetime of prime seats at PNC Park.
Nutmeg Newbies
Most students at Coleytown Elementary School vote on Nutmegs. Though many or most students only read one or two books. In this column we will give a synopsis for each book, (with no spoilers) one day at a time. Today we will talk about Loki: A Bad Gods Guide to Being Good.
Loki is a trickster god from Norse mythology who loves causing all kinds of problems. He plays pranks, tells lies, and does whatever he can to make trouble among the other gods in Asgard. Eventually, Odin, the most powerful god and Loki’s boss, gets tired of all the chaos. To punish Loki, Odin sends him down to Earth and traps him inside the body of an 11 year old boy.
Loki has a big problem: he must prove he can be good, or he will have a terrible consequence. But being good is not easy for someone who’s used to tricking everyone and doing whatever he wants. On Earth, Loki has to go to school, make friends, and deal with teachers and homework. These things feel totally weird to him.
Because Odin wants proof that Loki is behaving, Loki is forced to keep a daily record of everything he does. He calls it a “punishment book,” and he writes down what happens each day, including all the times he manages NOT to start mischief (or tries really hard not to). But the book knows everything, so Loki can’t lie his way out, which is a problem when Loki's sneaky side takes over, leading to messy situations.
As Loki tries to figure out how to be “good,” he learns new things about humans and their emotions, which can be confusing. And while he tries to follow the rules, sometimes, he can’t help himself.
Full of funny moments, interesting drawings, and Loki’s own crazy thoughts, this story shows what happens when a bad god tries to live an ordinary life. Readers will discover if Loki can change, or if a troublemaker will always be a troublemaker, no matter what body he’s in.
Not So Zen: Students Revolt Against New Yoga Unit
Recently at Coleytown Elementary School, classes have started their Yoga/Gymnastics unit during their gym time. Many students are disappointed about this surprising event and have been quoted yelling, “Nooooo!” when they find out that this will be their activity for the next three weeks.
Gym teacher Mr. Smart is disappointed and annoyed about the negative reaction yoga provoked. He stated, “It hurts me, I like to think of yoga as a building block; it helps with every sport.” He says that there are also countless benefits from yoga. Mr. Smart is also a health teacher and he says that yoga helps you “to become more flexible, get better balance, and reduce the risk or injury.” He thinks that most students don’t like yoga because they're not very good at it. He says that yoga isn’t very high energy but if students have a good, positive attitude they will have fun.
Students continue to push back.. Fifth grader Jasper Leven says that he does not like yoga in the gym, “because that’s not the idea I would use to describe a P.E. class.” He thinks that P.E. should use more traditional games like soccer, basketball, and hockey. Though it is not student’s vs teachers. Some students like the unit, but usually only for gymnastics.
The games that are often played during gym class are dependent on grade. For example, grades K-2 usually play games like ship to ship or messy backyard. In grades 3-5 however they play games like two-ball soccer, two-ball handball, and floor hockey. Will we end the unit? Probably not, but one thing is clear. No one is giving up.
