T h e S p i r e C r i e r S t . T h o m a s E p i s c o p a l P a r i s h S c h o o l

Fifth graders visit Holy Comforter daycare By Anthony DeRosa

Recently, the fifth grade students went to a daycare school in Little Havana called Holy Comforter. The whole fifth grade class brought two huge bags of food for many families. There are about 95 kids in the school, and in an infant class there are about 11. In a regular class there are about 17 to 22 kids.

They do lots of activities at Christmas-time. The kids really enjoy dressing up in spe-cial Christmas costumes.

These kids also love to give and share. Another activity that they do is make Christ-mas cards for friends, family, and relatives. They also received gifts from us, the students of St. Thomas.

We have impacted this daycare in many ways. One of the ways we have impacted this daycare is by raising money for the church. We also have raised money for the whole school and helped with renovations. Mrs. Rosen was one of the chap-erones for the field trip and she said St. Thomas reached their goal.

“St. Thomas has reached its goal of helping others in our commu-nity and this was very special because it gave us a warm feeling to see the smiles on the their faces when they saw their new food,” Mrs. Rosen said.

The daycare started in 1978 and it is 35 years old. Most of the stu-dents in the school talk Spanish. Ninety percent of the kids and parents are immigrants from places out of the United States including: Columbia, Nica-ragua, Cuba, Uruguay, and Dominican Republic.

After this wonderful experience the fifth grade students learned a lot about giving and helping others.

Vo l u me 2 6 I s s ue 2

D e c e mbe r 2 0 1 3

I ns i de t h i s i s s ue :

Special dogs meet

in New York

2

Student Fiction 3

Travels With Tom

and Tia

4

Mystery Teachers 5

Sports Nation 6-7

Mystery Sports

Star

7

Christmas Maze 8

S p ec i a l po i nt s

o f in te res t :

George, the biggest

dog, is seven feet tall

standing up!

One of our Mystery

Teachers knows how

to fly a plane.

All-Star Basketball

Player Kevin Durant

is 6’9” tall.

Eoraptor dinosaurs

used to roam near

Buenos Aires, 230

million years ago.

By Yara Haddad The 2013-14 St. Thomas Carnival t-shirt winner is Sena Irvin. She said it felt really good to win. Sena said she got her idea from looking online. She saw all the cakes were plain and so she made one that was festive. It took her five art classes to finish her drawing because she said first you have to get your idea and then put it on paper. Sena said she felt important having

everyone wearing a shirt she designed.

Sena Irvin designs the 2013 Carnival t-shirt

The biggest and smallest dogs meet in New York

By Alessandra Leyva, Mary Logan Woolsey and Laura Orban Did you know that the biggest dog met the smallest dog in the world? Well, it’s true. George, the Great Dane, finally met Boo-Boo, the Chihuahua.

The 2011 smallest dog, Boo-Boo, met the biggest dog, George recently in New York’s Central Park.

Some facts about these two amazing dogs are that George eats 110 pounds of food a month, while Boo-Boo eats from a tiny spoon.

A regular food bowl for George could be Boo-Boo’s swimming pool. Also, George is seven feet tall when he stands up on his hind legs! When they met everyone was surprised to see that Boo-Boo was about

the size of George’s nose.

T h e S p i r e C r i e r P a g e 2

A regular water bowl

for George could be a

swimming pool for

Boo-Boo.

Adopt a cuddly pet and make a new friend By Mary Logan Woolsey and Allesandra Leyva

Animals need homes too and starting in the new year you can think about visiting the Humane Society to maybe take home an animal.

These kittens and puppies are cute and furry and loveable and cuddly. They want to be taken home and taken care of. If you can’t give them a home maybe you can tell someone else about it.

If you want to learn more you can go to the Humane Society of Greater

Miami Adopt-A-Pet at www.humanesocietymiami.org or you can visit Petco or

Petsmart stores to see the animals ready for adoption. Maybe you will find a

cute and cuddly new friend.

By Yara Haddad

This Mystery Teacher will be fun to guess. See if you can decide who it is.

She has one brother named Bruno.

Her favorite color is blue.

Her favorite sport is soccer.

She likes to do arts and crafts.

She likes to shop at Anthropologie.

She likes to shop for decorations for the house.

She was born in France.

She has taught for 7 years.

Who is she? The answer is on the back page of this issue.

See if you can guess this Mystery Teacher

George

Boo-Boo

Student Fiction: A Christmas story of why Santa loves cookies

By Dylan Perez and Anthony DeRosa

One day Nicholas woke up in Sesame Street. He wondered why he was there. He got up and started to walk around. He saw Big Bird run out of a building screaming “I AM A BIRD THAT IS BIG. I AM A BIRD THAT IS BIG. I AM A BIRD THAT IS BIG.”

“Wow,” Nicholas thought. “That must be how Big Bird behaves when he’s offstage…” Nicholas started to walk around Avenue Q and went into a store called Cookie Monster’s Christmas Empo-

rium. It was around Christmastime. He opened the door and saw Cookie Monster enjoying his chocolate chip cookies.

“Hello Cookie Monster!” Nicholas called. “Msgmsgmsgm,” Cookie Monster mumbled, while crumbs fell out of

his mouth. “What was that?” Nicholas replied. “I said, hello Nicholas. Got any cookies?” Cookie Monster asked. “Sorry, Cookie Monster, but I don’t have any cookies,” Nicholas said. “I have an idea,” Cookie Monster exclaimed. “Come with me.” Nicholas started to follow Cookie Monster to an elevator. He heard a

ding, and the elevator doors opened. Nicholas saw boxes and boxes of cook-ies. There were chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, winged cookies, and something called derpy cookies.

They both walked to the back of the basement and found a box that read: COOKIE MONSTERZ MAGIKAL CUKIEZ THAT MAAK U MAGIKAL.

“Try one, Nicholas! They’re very good,” said Cookie Monster. Nicholas hesitated for a moment. He didn’t understand why all of the words were misspelled except for

“cookie.” “I guess I’ll just have one,” Nicholas said. He opened the crate and pulled out a cookie. Nicholas took a bite

of the cookie and grinned from ear to ear. “THIS IS THE BEST THING I’VE EVER EATEN!” he said. Nicholas then grabbed ten more cookies and

shoved them into his mouth. He felt his body becoming bigger and bigger with every bite. His clothes started to rip. Nicholas groaned and fell to the floor.

“Too many cookies,” Nicholas moaned. He closed his eyes and fainted. When he woke up Nicholas was in the North Pole. He was wearing red and white clothes, had a hat and round glasses, and had a white beard on his face. He was lying beside ten reindeers, each wearing a shiny bell.

He picked up a calendar that was next to him and read the date. It was December 24th. “Oh no,” Nicholas thought. “It’s the day before Christmas and I haven’t put the gifts in the sleigh. Nicholas

ran to the back of the room and picked up a phone. On the fifth ring Cookie Monster answered. “Hello Santa!” Cookie Monster exclaimed. “Cookie Monster, I need you to open up Cookie Tracker XP and tell me if there are cookies in every coun-

try.” Cookie Monster responded with excitement. “Great news, Santa. There isn’t a single country that doesn’t have cookies!” “Great! Thanks, Cookie Monster. Merry early Christmas,” he said. Nicholas hung up the phone and started to load the sleigh with gifts. He finished by 8:30 p.m. so he went to

sleep and waited until early morning to deliver all of the gifts to the good boys and girls who were sleeping in their beds.

He ate cookies at all their houses.

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 2 6 I s s u e 2

Travels with Tom and Tia: A visit to Argentina

By Yara Haddad Argentina is the place where Tom and Tia traveled this month. Here are some facts about this big country in South America.

The 2012 population of Argentina was estimated at 42,192,494. Its capi-tal is Buenos Aires with 13,349,000 people.

The area of Argentina is 2,780,400 square kilometers or 1,073,518 square miles. There are many languages spoken including: Spanish, English, Italian, German, and French. The religion most people follow is Roman Catholic. There is a 97 percent literacy rate.

The currency is the Argentine peso. The natural resources are the fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, and uranium. The per capita income is averaged at $17,400. The average life expectancy for persons living in Argentina is 74 years.

Many different tribes of people originally settled Argentina. The first major empire arrived when Inca Empire invaded in 1480. Some of present-day Argentina became part of the Incan Empire and some resisted.

In 1516 the Spanish arrived with explorer and navigator Juan Diaz de Solias. Spain would later establish the first colony in 1580 in Buenos Aires. As Buenos Aires grew in importance, the Spanish continued to integrate it into their empire.

In 1776, they formed the Royalty of Rio de la Plata. It wasn't long, though, before Argentina wanted its independence. Led by Jose de San Martin, they declared their independence on July 9, 1816.

Although they defeated the Spanish, there was still civil war in Argen-tina for many years. They finally established a constitution in 1853 and a formal national government in 1861. In the early 1900s, Argentina became one of the world's wealthiest nations. Later, however, there would be more troubles as the lower class workers felt they were being unfairly treated and did not have a say in the government.

Juan Domingo Peron came into power creating a populist movement called Peronism. In 1946 Peron was elected president. His famous wife, Eva Peron, was very involved in his rise to power and also helped women to get the right to vote in the country.

T h e S p i r e C r i e r P a g e 4

Argentina is the second

largest country in

South America.

Argentina is about one third the size of the U.S. By Maddie Wagshul Argentina is located in the southern part of South America. It is the eighth largest country in the world, but the second largest country in South America. Argentina is about one-third the size of the United States. A popular tourist attraction in Argentina is Iguazu Falls. Something that many people don’t know is that the oldest known dino-saur species have been traced to Argentina. The Eoraptor is said to have walked there 230 million years ago. Tom and Tia learned more at the dinosaur museum in Buenos Aires. Iguazu Falls

This Mystery Teacher likes to collect pencils

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 2 6 I s s u e 2

By Yara Haddad Many of you should know this Mystery Teacher. Let’s see if you can guess who it is. She has one brother named Steve. Her favorite colors are blue, green, and purple. On the weekends she likes to play golf. She loves to shop at J.Crew. She likes to shop for shoes. She collects pencils. She has a cat. She likes to teach fun things. She taught for 11 years. She loves Italian food. She knows how to fly a plane. Do you know who it is?

Football is this Mystery Teacher’s favorite sport

By Yara Haddad Here’s another Mystery Teacher for you to figure out. The answer is on

the back page but no peeking! This teacher has a little sister named Jenny. This teacher’s favorite color is red. On weekends she likes to hang out with her family. Her favorite place to shop is Nordstrom. She likes to shop for shoes, purses, and sunglasses. She likes to teach Social Studies. This is her third year teaching at St. Thomas. She likes to eat at Tex Mex. Her favorite sport is football. Who is she?

Their favorite colors

are blue, green, purple

and red. They both like

to shop for shoes. See if

you can guess these

Mystery Teachers.

Sports Nation

By Jack Silva It’s that time again. The NFL teams are fighting to the finish. Here’s the latest news: Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers confirmed that he has a fractured left collarbone, which

is a "significant injury.” He has not been cleared to return to play. Meanwhile, New England Patriots safety Steve Gregory suffered a broken thumb in the big win over the

Pittsburgh Steelers. It was just announced that he has returned to practice. The Patriots at 9-3 are up next against the Cleveland Browns (4-8).

Richie Incognito remains suspended by the Miami Dolphins for his role in Jonathan Martin's absence. The Dolphins are still alive in the playoff race. The Dolphins at 6-6 are up next against the Steelers (5-7). Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones recently implied that Justin Durant has lost his starting job as strong-

side linebacker after being out the last two games with a hamstring injury. The Cowboys (7-5) next take on the

Chicago Bears (6-6).

T h e S p i r e C r i e r P a g e 6

New York Jets’ QB Geno Smith keeps trying to prove himself By Diego Canto

Though New York Jets Quarterback Geno Smith has been struggling lately he earned a big move up the rankings with his Monday Night Football win versus the Atlanta Falcons.

In that game the Jets quarterback and 2013 second-round pick had the best performance of his young career. He completed 16 of 20 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns, which included leading the Jets

down the field during an impressive two-minute drill that set up the game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired. But Smith turned the ball over four times and got pulled from the 37-14 loss to the Bills in the fourth quarter in favor of reserve quarterback Matt Simms. Smith lost again recently to the Dolphins but Coach Rex Ryan said he isn’t contemplating a move to Simms or David Garrard at this point. The New York Daily News reported that the Jets’ front office wants to keep working with Smith. “I’d say (the Jets) are going to learn a ton about the kid intangibly by keeping him in there,” one execu-tive said.

NFL teams in wild race for playoff spots, despite injuries

This Mystery Sports Star has played in NBA for seven years

P a g e 7 V o l u m e 2 6 I s s u e 2

By Charlie Silva This issue’s Mystery Sports Star plays for the NBA. See if you can guess who it is. He is 6 feet 8 inches tall and plays small forward. His jersey is red and black on his new team. His favorite color is green. He is #22 and weighs 230 pounds. He was born Aug. 17, 1968 in Baltimore. He is 27 years old. He was drafted in 2006. He was first round pick and eighth by Houston. He attended college in Connecticut. He has seven years of experience in the NBA.

The answer is on the back page. Here are your choices. Good luck!

By Jack Silva Kevin Durant was born on September 29, 1988 Suitland, Maryland. He went to college at the University of

Texas and after one basketball season, he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics. He is now a three time NBA All-Star and a three time NBA scoring champion.

All his hard work in school paid off. In college he played basketball. Durant is very tall at 6’9” and he re-ceived offers from the top division colleges. But he signed with the University of Texas.

Durant started in every game during his freshman year of college with an average of 25.8 points per game. He was named the big 12 tournament’s most valuable player after hitting a tournament record of 92 points. He led the Longhorns to the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball champion-ship where they lost to the University of Southern California. He also played on the 2012 U.S. Olympic basketball team. He and the American team won the gold medal in London at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Learn More: Some facts about NBA All-Star Kevin Durant

Mike Conley Jimmy Butler Shane Battier Rudy Gay

Views and News: Still cheering for Alabama’s Crimson Tide

By Charlie Silva For our news update on college football we have FSU so far undefeated at 12 and 0. They just destroyed

UM and Clemson twice, which was expected. The scores were 14-41 for UM and 7-25 for Clemson. FSU Quarterback Jameis Winston had some wild throws hitting many players in the end zone for like two

or three touchdowns. Hurricane Duke Johnson had two touchdowns against FSU, but in the middle of the game he broke his ankle.

Winston played like Superman with almost three interceptions. The next game for FSU is Dec. 7 against #20 Duke. And FIU ended the year with only one win. They were destroyed by Middle Tennessee 48-0.

I am not an FSU fan. With Auburn’s recent stunning win over Alabama, Auburn is now in second place. But I am still going for Alabama that is now at number 4. Alabama's only hope to play for its third straight title would be if both Ohio State and Florida State lose their games this week. Let’s go Alabama!!!!

The Spire Crier is published by the fourth and fifth

grade journalism class for the students of

St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School.

Fifth Grade Staff: Diego Canto, Anthony DeRosa,

Jack Garcia-Mendoza, Javier Hidalgo-Gato,

Dylan Perez, Alexandra Prio-Touzet, Charles Silva,

Justin Wong

Fourth Grade Staff: Yara Haddad, Sophia LaPointe,

Alessandra Leyva, Laura Orban, Jack Silva,

Madeleine Wagshul, Mary Logan Woolsey

Journalism Advisor: Ms. Christina Mayo

Technical Assistance: Mr. Ademola Peters

W E ’R E ON TH E WE B

A T S TEP SM I A . ORG

G O TO S CH OOL L I FE

AND CLI CK ON

P UBLI CATI ONS

5692 North Kendall Drive

Coral Gables, FL 33156

305-665-4851

T h e S p i r e C r i e r

S t . T h o m a s E p i s c o p a l

P a r i s h S c h o o l

Mystery Teacher Page 2

Miss Karam

Mystery Teachers Page 5 Miss Quinones and Mrs. Forbes

Mystery Sports Player Page 7 Rudy Gay

Merry

Christmas

and

Happy

New Year from The Spire

Crier !