Issue 827 Thursday, March 14, 2013

Supported by readers of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News

More Favorite

Characters,Page 7.

A New Book On

Bullying, Page 3.

Irish Fiddling,

Page 4.

MARCH Gladness

MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM

March Madness is March gladness for the Yak!

Next week, spring officially arrives.

It’s also when the college men’s and women’s basketball tournaments begin.

This year, both University of Michigan and Michigan State University are expected to be challenging top teams in the tournaments. So Go Blue! And Go Green!

Speaking of green, it’s St. Patrick’s Day on March 17. Celebrate the Irish spirit on Pages 4 and 5 with a look at Irish fiddling and a cool craft you can make.

Another tournament in March just finished – a spelling contest, or bee. Meet a top speller who will go on to compete in Washington, D.C. Story at right.

And don’t forget to celebrate more great books with a look at more winners in the Yak’s Corner Favorite Book Character Contest, on the cover and on Page 7.

2

Printed by: The Detroit Media Partnership Sterling Heights, Michigan, Winter 2013.

• A writer speaks out on bullying, Page 3.• Yakking about the News, Page 6.• My Kid Scoop, Page 8.

On the cover:

Also Inside:

Yak Chat

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Sixth grader Erika Cantu of Waterford drew Molly Lou Melon from “Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon” by Patty Lovell.

James Sun, 13, of Canton, is excited about traveling to Washington, D.C. this May.

And it’s not just the trip; it’s the reason he’s going. He’s heading there because as the winner of the Detroit News Spelling Bee, he’ll compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

This was James’ third time to make it to the local bee, which was held at the Charles H. Wright Museum in early March. The Achieve Charter Academy eighth grader said he could hardly believe it when it came his turn. “I just had that feeling,” he said. The word to spell? Temblor! Temblor refers to a vibration caused by an earthquake. This sure would have stumped the Yak, who asked James, “Was it tremblor?” “Not that first ‘r’,” said James.

But James said even to him, at first, “it was unclear and I thought it was templar,” as in the Knights Templar of medieval times.

Then he told the Yak; he thought about it and made sure he asked for a definition and the root (origin) of the word. The root is Latin and then later origins were Spanish. James is taking Spanish at his Canton school, so that helped a bit.

“I knew pretty much all of the words,” said James. “I really studied the dictionary.” But don’t think it was easy being on stage. “It was nerve-wracking,” admitted James.

James has been studying up on spelling nearly every day, but he’ll take a bit of a break the rest of this month because he has some other competitions.

He not only plays piano and violin, but he’s also active in the math competition team called MathCounts. And that adds up to lots of activities.

James will be back practicing next month for the national bee, held near Washington, D.C. “I hope to see the White House,” said James.

His tip to other spellers? “Unless you’re really absolutely confident, (take time) and ask for the root of origin, or definition or how it’s used in a sentence.”

Congrats, James!

By Cathy Collison

Word Wise Speller On Way to D.C.

Detroit News Photo by Todd McInturfJames Sun, right, an eighth grader at Achieve Charter Academy in Canton, holds the winning trophy after it is presented to him by Jon Wolman, left, editor and publisher, The Detroit News.

KIDS MAKING NEWS

MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM Thursday, March 14, 2013 3

Have you ever wondered why some kids get bullied and others don’t? Maybe it’s even happened to you. Author Eric Kahn Gale did, and he explored the topic in his debut

novel for young readers, “The Bully Book.”Eric knows plenty about the topic because he was bullied as a

kid growing up in the Detroit suburbs. Eric says his family lived in Southfield until they moved to West Bloomfield when he was 11, just before starting middle school. That move was life-changing because in elementary school, Eric was singled out as the person to bully in his class, making school life pretty awful. Although things were bad at school, at the time, Eric didn’t believe telling his parents would help. “I was very embarrassed about what was going on in school and didn’t want to bring it home. I didn’t tell them about it until I reached high school,” says Eric.

Luckily, life at Eric’s new school was completely different and he was able to leave that bullied person in the past. (We’ll get to that story in a minute.)

But first, when did the bullying start and why? Eric says it seemed like at the end of third grade he became the target of a lot of insults. For example, his last name is Gale so a couple of the boys in his class thought it would be funny to call him Eric Gay instead. From there, it seemed to catch on with other students. At the start of fourth grade – from the very first day of school – the name-calling had gained momentum and suddenly most of the classmates were joining in with the insults. Eric said the change was very confusing. He realized that somehow these kids he had grown up with had turned on him and that there was “some kind of established pattern,” that he was now the person to pick on in his class. One new kid, named Jason, was Eric’s main tormentor throughout fourth and fifth grade. Eric says Jason saw that people were making fun of him, so in order to fit in himself, he teased and made fun of Eric to the extreme.

Eric decided to write a story about bullying using some of the incidents that happened to him – he even named the main characters after himself and his tormentor, Jason. And, through a clever mystery story, he shares what he has discovered about being the target of a bully.

In middle school – in a new community and new environment – life was normal again and people were no longer mean to him. Eric was relieved, but he also observed that there were students that were being treated the same way he had once been treated.

Although he didn’t know it at the time, those observations, all those years ago, were the beginning of his first novel.

Eric thrived in the Birmingham schools. “In middle school I started doing theater and kind of came into my own,” remembers Eric. By high school, he and one of his friends were writing their own plays and movies. (They now work together on Team StarKid, an Internet theater company.) At the University of Michigan, Eric studied writing, acting and film. Today he uses all of those skills as a writer and performer based in Chicago. Right now, he’s working on his second book for young readers and also writing a musical with his friend and writing partner.

Although Eric was reluctant to ask for help when he was being bullied, as a grown up, he has different advice: “I absolutely think kids should talk to an adult if they are being bullied, while adults may not be able to swoop in there and stop 100 percent of bullying, they can provide emotional support, and that’s what a kid needs. They need to have the inner strength to not let their bullies define them,” he says.

Eric certainly hasn’t let that terrible chapter in his school life define him or his success.

By Janis Campbell

Fast FactsGrowing Up Years: Eric grew up in Southfield and moved

to West Bloomfield in middle school. He graduated from Birmingham’s Groves High School and attended the University of Michigan for college.

Favorite Books & Classes: As a kid, Eric loved mysteries including the “Clue” series, “Encyclopedia Brown” and “Nancy Drew” mysteries. He favorite classes, of course, were drama and English classes.

Best Advice: Start from what you know – a place that’s real. Also, movies are very good examples of story structure. Study movies and books about screenwriting structure.

Learn More: Visit www.erickahngale.com to read more about the book and Eric.

READING MONTH

Michigan Writer Tackles Bullying

Photo courtesy of HarperCollins

Author Eric Kahn Gale, who grew up in Michigan, shares some of his own story in a mystery novel that tackles the subject of bullying.

The Yak loves sharing good news about kids we’ve written about who are now achieving their dreams. So

congratulations to Sean Gavin, who was 15 when we interviewed him in 2002. We met Sean at a home in Ann Arbor, where his Irish-born father, Mick, was teaching Irish traditional music to 10 kids, including his son.

Now 25, Sean lives in Chicago and is a professional musician! He travels the world playing Irish traditional music on the same instruments he was learning then: the flute, the uilleann (IL-yun, a small Irish bagpipe), and the fiddle. On Sunday, Irish eyes across Metro Detroit (and Yak eyes) will be smiling when Sean returns home to perform with the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra as part of its St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Orchestra Hall.

And there’s more good news: Mick, who lives in Redford Township, is still teaching kids to play some of the 1,000 Irish folk tunes in his head – by ear. His current students are so good they’ve already performed at several fundraisers and will appear Sunday at Mick’s annual St. Patrick’s Day party in Westland. (See note below.)

This year, we dropped in on Mick’s class at a home in Plymouth where he teaches Irish music to six of the nine siblings in the Dolowy family. The kids are half-Polish and half-Irish. Their last name is Polish, but they all have Irish first names: Maura, 1, Molly, 2, Margaret, 4, Seamus, 7, Liam, 8, Dermot, 9, Ella, 13, Bridget, 15, and Duggan, 16. Liam, Dermot, Ella, Bridget, and Duggan play fiddle, though Duggan prefers the Irish banjo these days. Seamus is starting on the penny whistle.

“Well, it used to cost a penny back in the day,” said Mick, laughing. “They can be $300 to $500 now.” (Seamus bought his online for $5.) Margaret likes to dance and bang on the piano.

Mick’s laugh is infectious. When Mick laughs, everyone laughs. The Yak listened as he and the kids played a rousing Irish polka. (We thought all polkas were Polish, but there are Irish polkas, too, as well as Scottish, German and French polkas.)

The older kids can “probably play 40-50” Irish jigs, reels, polkas and ballads, Mick said, adding: “It’s all in their heads.”

“It’s not written down,” explained Ella, who “usually” learns two new tunes a week. “We record Mick playing it and listen to that.”

Said Mick, “I hope to live long enough until Maura is playing the fiddle influenced by me. She always laughs at me. They all have a good laugh at me coming.”

By Patricia Chargot

Note: Mick’s party will be held from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Hellenic Cultural Center, 36375 Joy Road in Westland. Admission is $10 for adults; kids under 12 are free. Corned beef and cabbage dinners are $8.

Thursday, March 14, 20134 MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM

Fiddling With Fabulous Irish Folk

Bridget Dolowy, 15, and her brother, Liam, 8, share a happy fiddling moment.

Photos by Patricia ChargotStarting at left, Duggan Dolowy, 16, practices an Irish polka with siblings Ella, 13, Dermot, 9, Bridget, 15, Liam, 8, and their fiddle teacher, Mick Gavin.

Photo Courtesy of Gavin FamilySean Gavin will be playing at Orchestra Hall.

The Yak likes the idea of going green on Sunday – whether you’re Irish or not! You’ll see grocery stores stocked with green goodies and even little shamrock plants, the luck

3-leaf clover. Detroit celebrated last Sunday with a parade and even a St. Patrick’s Day run in Corktown, the neighborhood in southwest Detroit where Irish immigrants first settled. Looking for another way to celebrate today? Have an Irish walk on the Detroit Riverfront with the Detroit Riverfront Canine Club beginning at 10:30 a.m. Bring a dog – or just yourself – and join a walk for canines and companions. Or make this Irish treat at home. Here’s a green shamrock box you can keep out all year.

WHAT YOU NEED• three heart-shaped cardboard boxes

(available at craft stores)• green acrylic paint, dark and light• gold glitter glue• cardboard• pen or pencil• scissors• green felt• craft glue

WHAT TO DO1. Paint the outside of all three heart boxes and their lids dark

green. Let them dry.2. Paint the inside of all the boxes light green. Let them dry.3. Outline each lid as shown with gold glitter glue.

Let them dry.4. Place the boxes together on a piece of cardboard to form

a shamrock shape as shown. Trace around the boxes -- and make sure to draw in a stem. Remove the boxes and cut the cardboard about 1/4-inch outside your trace marks to make a big shamrock.

5. Place the cardboard shamrock on a piece of green felt and trace a shamrock. Cut out the felt shamrock and glue it to the top of the cardboard.

6. Glue the boxes onto the felt. Fill each box with candy or green goodies.

By Marty Westman

5MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM Thursday, March 14, 2013

St. Patrick’s Day art by Raekewon Austin, 13, Detroit

St. Patrick’s Day Craft

Cuts on National BudgetAt Yak’s Corner press time, political

leaders and President Barack Obama had failed to come to any agreement on national spending and budget cuts, so the sequester (se-qwest-er) took effect, a mandatory plan of various cuts in government spending.

It’s hard to picture what the $85 billion in cuts will mean. But some of the changes may include some national park shutdowns later this month, longer lines at airports if transportation workers are laid off, and a variety of cutbacks in jobs in defense work, research and other government services. “We will get through this,” the president said. “This is not going to be an apocalypse, I think, as some people have said. It’s just dumb. And it’s going to hurt.”

Penny Power of Lincoln

Americans love the Lincoln penny – so don’t worry that the presidential coin will disappear anytime soon.

Some people have been worrying, though, because Canadian coin-makers – the government – have decided

to drop making the penny as they believed it cost more to make to use. So in Canada, businesses are encouraged to adjust prices so they will be rounded up or down if people are using cash, not credit or checks. Something that may be $1.01, will be a dollar, or $1.04 will be rounded up to $1.05 so you could use a nickel.

That won’t be happening in the U.S. say the folks from the U. S. Mint. You’ll see

Lincoln’s face on the pennies you’ll use. President Barack Obama’s 2013 budget does offer a plan to let the U.S. Mint change the metals used in coins to make them less expensive. Already, pennies now are made almost entirely from zinc, not the expensive copper.

According to Fox News, it costs 2 cents to make a penny (including transportation costs). That is down from 2.4 cents per coin as a result of more efficient production efforts, officials told Fox.

There is a group, though, working hard to make sure the government here doesn’t change its mind: Americans for Common Cents. To learn more about the power of the penny, check out their web site at www.pennies.org.

Giant Goldfish!The Yak loves goldfish, but he’s never

seen as big a one as was found recently in Lake Tahoe. “During these surveys, we’ve found a nice corner where there’s about 15 other goldfish,” environmental scientist Sudeep Chandra of the University of Nevada, Reno, told NBC’s LiveScience. The scientist believes that the fish entered Lake Tahoe after it was dumped in the lake from a home aquarium. That’s not healthy for the lake.

Goldfish are considered an invasive species or a species that is not natural to the lakes. That is much like the fear of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes. Invasive species change the natural ecology.

Pluto Moons NamedHow do you like the name Vulcan? That’s

a “Star Trek” name of a fictional planet on the old television show. It’s one of the likely names for one of the two moons around Pluto, thanks to an online contest. The other moon may get the second-place name, which was Cerberus, a mythical three-headed dog. The official naming decision for the two moons still has to come from the International Astronomical Union, says Time magazine. More than 450,000 total votes were cast. The ballot was available in more than a dozen languages. “Almost every country on the planet has had at least a couple of votes come in,” astronomer and online election organizer Mark Showalter told the Los Angeles Times.

Compiled by Cathy Collison

Yakking about the newsA weekly wrap-up for young readers

Photo Courtesy of University of Nevada-RenoA researcher holds one of the “monster” goldfish found in Lake Tahoe.

AP PhotoPresident Barack Obama and Congressional lead-ers can’t agree on spending cuts, so automatic cuts in government spending have begun.

Thursday, March 7, 20136 MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM

Photo by Cathy CollisonIs it spring yet? Not quite, but these kangaroos found a warm spot in the sun in the Detroit Zoo’s Australian Outback exhibit.

The penny is here in the U.S., but Canada has dropped the penny.

MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM 7Thursday, March 14, 2013

Fifth grader Isabelle Bos of Holland drew Katniss Everdeen from “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins.

First grader Cameron Cole of Lake Orion drew Mittens from “Mittens” by Lola M. Schaefer.

Fourth grader Sarah Liederbach of Petoskey drew Harry Potter from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling.

Third grader Giuliana Piccinini of Utica drew Faolon from “Wolves of the Beyond: Lone Wolf’’ by Kathryn Lasky.

Second grader Abby Mayer of Bloomfield Hills drew Judy Moody from “Judy Moody Predicts the Future” by Megan McDonald.

Kindergartner Zoey Myers of Rockwood drew Rudolph from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Robert L. May.

Yak’s corner Favorite Book Character contest 2nd place winners

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This page for young Yakkers is brought to you this week by readers of The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press who donated their vacation newspapers.