Stone Mill GAZETTE - Montgomery County Public Schoolsmontgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools... · This year Stone Mill students participated in the Big World Recess Boosterthon

BOOSTERTHON FUN RUN RAISES $21,000 By Madelyn L. and Gabby W.

This year Stone Mill students participated in the Big World Recess

Boosterthon Fun Run. Students learned about fitness and how to play

with great character from Helpful Hurricane Hank and Terrific Tommy

Tsunami. Students received pledges and earned awesome prizes! Stone

Mill reached its goal and made $21,000! The PTA plans to build a cool

shade gazebo with the money raised from the Boosterthon. How amazing

is that? Students and teachers can enjoy the shade gazebo and maybe even

have class outside. Thank you to everyone who participated. Also a special

thank you to all the parent volunteers who worked hard to make it a big

success. We wrote a little rap for you about the Boosterthon. Enjoy!

OF ALL FUNDRAISERS, BOOSTERTHON’S THE TOP.

THE FUN IN BOOSTERTHON NEVER STOPS.

WE PLEDGED MONEY FOR THE FUN RUN BOOSTERBALL.

ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS MAKE A QUICK CALL!

WE HOPE TO HAVE IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR.

RAISE YOUR HANDS AND GIVE THE BOOSTERTHON A CHEER!

BIG WORLD RECESS!

December 2015 Vol. 21 Issue 1

Stone Mill Gazette December 2015 Page 1

Masthead By Kelly R.

New SGA Officers Elected By Elizabeth M.

Stone Mill Elementary School

14323 Stonebridge View Drive North Potomac, MD 20878

Stone Mill

GAZETTE

The Student Government Association (SGA) elections were

held on Wednesday, October 28, 2015. The election process was

different this year. SGA advisors, Mrs. Purdham and Mrs. Huang

came up with the idea of voting on computers and Chromebooks.

Each student who was running was videotaped in the computer

lab. The students wrote a speech and then they read it while being

video recorded. Mr. McKinly set up a website for Stone Mill stu-

dents to use to watch the recordings and then vote. This was a

new and very creative way for the students to vote. The students

voted for who they thought would be the best choices for student

government officers.

The newly elected officers are President, Christopher L.;

Vice President, Lydia K.; Secretary, Lily J.; and Treasurer,

Sophia S.. The runners-up were Gabby W., Avery P., Parker

Z., Elizabeth M., Rachel W., Taha G., Aamir G., Amy Q. and

Madelyn L.! Congratulations to the new SGA officers. We look

forward to your ideas!

Chorus Performs Spirited Winter Concert

By Saanvi V.

Did you get to watch the Stone Mill

winter chorus concert? The concert was held

on December 1, 2015. It was directed by our

music teacher Mrs. Bishop Bryant. Mrs.

Kmiecik played the piano.

Chorus is a large group of fourth and fifth graders that

learn and sing songs. The chorus started the concert with an up-

beat song called “In the Spirit,” by Teresa and Paul Jennings.

Other song selections included “Perfect Winter Day” by Teresa

and Paul Jennings, “I’ve Brought You a Present” by Joan C. Var-

ner, “May There Always Be Sunshine” by Ostrovsky and

Oshanin, and “Allundé Alluia” by Margaret Campbelle-Holman.

In the song, “A Perfect Winter Day,” the fifth graders and

fourth graders sang in a two part round. In “Allundé Alluia,” a

few fifth graders accompanied the song by playing instruments.

In the song, “May There Always Be Sunshine,” Esther O. played

a solo on the violin. The staff chorus also sang a song titled “The

Twelve Days Before Winter Break” by L. McDonald.

The chorus members performed at school for students at

2:30 p.m. and at night for parents at 7:00 p.m. In the evening,

choral students had a dress code to follow. They wore white on

top and black on the bottom. The chorus members did a brilliant

job at the winter choral concert. I hope those who watched the

performances enjoyed the music.

Top Left: Ella W., Made-

lyn L., Sophia F., and Gab-

by W. are all smiles before

the Fun Run.

Top Right: Madelyn L.

and Sophia S. wave their

class’ Boosterthon banner.

Bottom: Mrs. Paschall’s

class poses for a class pho-

to after the Fun Run.

The SGA teacher advisors and newly elected SGA officers are

shown from left to right: Mrs. Purdham, Christopher L. Sophia S.,

Lily J., Lydia K., and Mrs. Huang.

Photos courtesy of Brenda Lee

Photo

co

urt

esy o

f Joa

nn

e M

isovec


Do you know the librarian that sits behind the check-out

desk, Mrs. Blank? Well we are going to tell you some interesting

things you probably don’t know about her. First of all,

(surprisingly) she LOVES minions! Did you know that she has a

whole collection on her desk in her office! She also (again surpris-

ingly) has only ever finished reading ONE book series! That’s be-

cause she likes to read the first book then tell kids so they can

read it and tell her the rest. She also thinks that there are so

many series to choose from that it would hard to read all of the

books in every series. Instead she reads one of the books and then

goes on to the next series. The name of the series she finished is

titled, “Series of Unfortunate Events.” She does not have a favor-

ite series or book, she only has a favorite author, and that is Mar-

garet Peterson Haddix.

Mrs. Blank has a pet turtle named Sydney. Why would a

librarian have a pet turtle, you might ask? We have no idea. In

case you didn’t know, Mrs. Blank is a SHOP-O-HOLIC! If you

don’t know what that is, it is someone who loves to shop and buy

things even if they don’t really need them. They especially love to

buy items that are on sale. In fact, when we interviewed Mrs.

Blank the dress she was wearing she bought on sale. Another fact

you might not have known about Mrs. Blank is that she IS STILL

GOING TO COLLEGE! She has gone to college three times and

now she is on her fourth. First she first went to Clarion University

to get her Bachelor's degree, then she went to Notre Dame to get

teaching degree, then she went to McDaniel College to get her de-

gree in media. Now she is going to

college online to get her plus 60

hours. That’s equal to a Doctoral

degree.

Mrs. Blank has also taught

different subjects other then me-

dia. She taught 5th grade for

three years at Thurgood Marshal

and 6th grade for three years at a

private school. Sorry 5th graders

but, she liked teaching 6th grade

more. (She said it herself, we didn’t make it up.) But, you will be

sixth graders next year!

She also was a babysitter. She babysat for 17 years and in

those 17 years she babysat over 100 kids!

Mrs. Blank is the oldest sibling in her family, she has two

brothers and one sister, but none live nearby. One brother lives in

Ohio and the others live in Pennsylvania where she grew up. She

has two children, one girl and one boy. Her daughter’s name is

Natalie and her son’s name is Trevor. Natalie is a dance teacher.

She also teaches country cross fitness and works as an instruc-

tional data assistant. Trevor is called Dr. Blank and is a college

professor at SUNY (State University of New York) Potsdam.

We could tell you way more about Mrs. Blank because she

is such an interesting person, but we can’t make this article too

long. So that’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

Behind the Scenes with Mrs. Blank By Lily K. and Samantha M.

Do you know the lovely new third grade

teacher with the amazing smile and flowing

blonde hair? She is youthful, she's clever,

and her name is Ms. Quay!

Ms. Katie Quay was born on July 1st, and

grew up in Darnestown, Maryland with her

family: her mother, father, and brother. Her

father influenced her the most, as he always

worked hard to give his family a good life.

Ms. Quay has been teaching for over twelve years, which shows

how devoted she is to education. Ms. Quay has taught at Rachel

Carson ES, Jackson Road, and now at Stone Mill! She has taught

third, fourth, and fifth grades, as well as math. She was also a

long-term substitute. But overall, her favorite subject to teach is

social studies, because she enjoys teaching students about people

and places.

This fantastic teacher has a lot of other passions besides teach-

ing. Outside of school Ms. Quay loves to play beach volleyball, go

to the gym, kayak, and stay fit. The places she would like to visit

are Australia, Italy, and Greece. Ms. Quay has been to Jamaica so

she would like to explore new places one day.

Ms. Quay thinks that Stone Mill is a wonderful place to work,

and she is impressed that there are so many parent volunteers.

She would like to be remembered as a caring, friendly, and sympa-

thetic person. Hope you have gotten to know Ms. Quay better af-

ter reading this article.

An Interview with Ms. Quay By Rachel W. and Claire C.

Word Jumble

Favorite Christmas Songs By Catherine K.

1. inejgl lebls ____________________________

2. deo ot yjo ____________________________

3. nitsle gnthi ____________________________

4. kdce eth slahl ____________________________

5. lohyl lyojl samthircs ____________________________

6. iwthe thisamcrs ____________________________

7. elt ti nwos ____________________________

8. rinewt dnareonwdl ____________________________

9. yoj ot eht lrowd ____________________________

10. otms rodwneflu eimt fo eht eyra

_________________________________________________

Hanukkah Poem By Brielle R.

Happy Hanukkah

A miracle of lights

Never had one day of oil lasted for eight nights

Unbelievable story of triumph and dedication

Kids rejoicing in celebration

Kindle the menorah and children will grin

As latkes cook and dreidels spin

Happy Hanukkah

Solut

ion

on P

age

10


All About Mr. McKinley By Sophia S. and Sophia L.

Do you know the caring, hardworking, and trustworthy new staff member at Stone Mill Elementary? The

answer is Mr. McKinley. Born in Syracuse New York and raised in Columbia Maryland, Mr. McKinley is now the

staff development teacher here at Stone Mill. His favorite book is “All Living Things” by Cynthia Rylant. When he

was little his dad would read this book to him. His favorite movie is “A Minor Miracle” about a group of soccer

players who overcome a challenge by working together as a team. Mr. McKinley’s favorite animal is the owl be-

cause they look nice, and they are smart in mysterious ways. Mr. McKinley’s hobbies are snowboarding, playing

and watching soccer, playing with his three sons, and spending time with his beloved family. He plays the guitar,

and also learned to play the trumpet and the French horn when he was younger. His favorite instrument is the

saxophone which he couldn’t play when he was younger because he had braces. He likes to eat Maryland crabs

and loves all kinds of soup. “I could eat soup all day!” Mr. McKinley exclaimed. His favorite season is winter be-

cause he can go snowboarding and bundle up with his family to watch movies together. His favorite subjects are math and science. “If I

learned math the way we learn math now, I would’ve been better at it as a kid,” said Mr. McKinley.

Speaking on the topic of school, his favorite part about his job is helping teachers with projects and seeing how it impacts our students.

Did you know that Mr. McKinley taught for ten years total? He taught eight years as a teacher, one year as a parent educator, and one

year as a substitute teacher. He taught first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh grade. The four schools he taught at were Singer ES,

Daly ES, PS 3 (Public School #Three), and the Lincoln School. The people that have inspired Mr. McKinley the most are his mom, his fifth

grade teacher, and his kids. Mr. McKinley enjoys helping others. He donates clothing and toys for kids and babies. Another thing he does

is look out for kids and take care of kids when they need help.

Believe it or not, his biggest pet peeve is when the people at Starbucks spell his name Erin, which is the girl way of spelling Aaron. To

end off this interview piece, Mr. McKinley’s best advice is to just be yourself and make good choices.

Tiger Dance Fun Time for All By Sia B.

The Stone Mill Tiger Dance was a great experience for students and if you

did not go, it is ok, I will tell you all about it. The dance was held from 6:00 pm

to 9:00 pm on October 23, 2015. It was a drop-off event that was $10 per child.

Kindergarten through 2nd grade were there from 6:00 to 7:30 pm and 3rd grade

through 5th grade went from 7:30 to 9:00 pm.

There was a DJ named Jarod who played awesome songs, such as “Watch

Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” by Silento, “Cheerleader” by OMI and “Uptown Funk” by

Mark Ronson. Students could buy Potomac Pizza and Carmen’s Italian ice too.

There was also t-shirt airbrushing, dancing and games. “The airbrushing

was really cool,” said Lily King, a 4th grader at Stone Mill. At the airbrushing

station you could have a cool design printed on a white blank t-shirt. Most stu-

dents got their name on it with a drawing that represented their personality

such as a soccer ball or a heart. It was indeed a “tiger attraction.” Another fa-

vorite part of the evening was dancing. The DJ played many songs the students

and parents could dance to. Students could also give suggestions for the next

song. Another highlight of the dance was games. The DJ asked students to par-

ticipate in a game and then it would start. The games varied from limbo to a

hula hoop contests.

Everyone who went to the dance thought it was a blast. With the food, music

and awesome party games, who wouldn’t?

Santa’s Secret Surprise By Nwamaka A.

Things that you will need: coffee cup, Swiss Miss milk chocolate mix, hot milk or water, mini marsh-mallows, a candy cane, peppermints, and powdered-coconut shavings.

1. Pour the hot water or milk into the coffee cup.

2. Add the Swiss Miss milk chocolate mix to the water or milk.

3. Then add the mini marshmallows to the hot chocolate.

4. Use the candy cane to stir it. Leave the can-dy cane in the hot chocolate.

5. After that drop the peppermints in the hot chocolate.

6. Sprinkle in the powdered coconut shavings.

7. Enjoy!

Christmas

By Kelly R. and Rhianne A.

The snow is so white,

The lights are shining bright,

The old years leave and they’re never coming back,

Because a new year awaits, I can promise that.

Twinkled lights scattered across a tree,

The holidays are coming can’t you see?

All the memories from the past,

No matter what, they’ll always last.

WINTER WONDERLAND

WORD SEARCH By Gurnoor S. and Samantha L.

S T F I G F R I S N K R V K I Q R P N H W G E C J W S D M D U

W F Y O W C K W A D E U O M F E F Y I M O E W F U Q K F W B R

B C D V S W F M O E O U P B T S N I W D H L G I F S I G H Y D

Z C T S N O W F L A K E D N F W H J S W T W I B W C I K X V G

B W Z D F O F Y T I W V I W W C H D N K G F B D S P N R M P L

M J W G N D M N W I Y W K N G E T W O U Y R E W A R G W V W J

N F G S S T A O C D G N I D R A O B W O N S C H W Y S Q R T W

Z F O W W S V N U W W D W B A T O J F H B D S X V U W C H U W

Snowflake Snowman Snowboarding

Skiing Santa Snow

Gifts Holiday Winter

Coats Solution on Page 10


Celebrating the Diwali Festival

By Shruthi K.

Have you ever lit fire crackers and watched them burst in front of your house or neighborhood? If you haven’t, you should visit India

during the Diwali festival. Diwali or Deepavali is the festival of lights celebrated in India. This holiday welcomes Lakshmi, the goddess

of wealth. Not only do Hindus celebrate this holiday but Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs. This holiday is as important to the Hindus as

Christmas is important to Christians.

Diwali is celebrated in October or November each year. It is celebrated for five days. On each day, Diwali is celebrated by doing many

different things. People who celebrate this holiday do all these things to get the blessings from the goddess Lakshmi.

On the first day many housewives think that it is time to spring clean the house. So, they do so. After they do that, they either shop

for gold or kitchen utensils. Some housewives shop for both, if they wish.

On the second day many people decorate their houses with clay candles. These candles are called Diyas. They also decorate the front

of the house with beautiful patterns of colored powder or sand. This is called Rangoli.

The third day is the best out of all the days. On this day, many families gather together for a puja (or prayers) for Lakshmi. This is

called Lakshmi puja. After they do this, people attend mouth-watering feasts and firework festivities.

On the fourth day, it is the Indian New Year. People bring gifts and best wishes for the season and the whole year.

On the last day, the fifth day, many men visit their married sisters and the sisters welcome them with love and a lavish feast.

There are many interpretations of Diwali. Below are some of them.

In North India, they celebrate the story of King Rama's return to Ayodhya after he defeated Ravana by lighting rows of clay lamps.

South India celebrates it as the day that Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.

In western India, the festival marks the day that Lord Vishnu, the Preserver (one of the main gods of the Hindu trinity) sent the demon

King Bali to rule the nether world.

In Jainism, it marks the nirvana or spiritual awakening of Lord Mahavira in Oct. 15, 527 B.C.

In Sikhism, it marks the day that Guru Hargobind Ji, the Sixth Sikh Guru was freed from imprisonment.

The common interpretation of Diwali is that it is the festival that marks the victory of good over evil.

Hope you have learned something about Diwali! Even though some of you are not Hindu, you can still celebrate Diwali! You can expe-

rience the excitement. For example you can light up candles around the house, eat sweets and share the joy with your friends and family,

and give and receive gifts just as you would do for Christmas or Hanukkah!

Top TEN Holiday Toys of 2015 By Krishna M.

Are you ready for the holidays? Below are the top ten Christmas or

holiday presents that kids are putting on their wish list. Will any of

these be on your list?

3D Maker Kids can create designs that harden into flexible plastic

when kids trace stencils and molds with gel and insert

them into the into a special UV chamber.

3D Character Creator Kids can create their own unique character by a simple

heating mechanism which melts down wax sticks and fills

up the molding containers.

Air Hogs Shadow Launcher This remote control air and ground vehicle is rugged and can conquer indoor obstacles. Push a button and the doors open to reveal a stealth helicopter.

Anki Overdrive Starter Kit This kit allows players to quickly create customized battle-fields. Face off against friends using high-tech, intelligent

Avengers Vision In this virtual reality game, players put on the goggles and see images of the villain Ultron. Using the blaster, they shoot the enemy to score points.

Bellz Magnetic Game With a travel pouch that doubles as a game arena, players

must use the magnetic wand to pick up bells of one color.

Be the first to collect all 10 bells of one color to be

crowned master of the magnet.

Bluetooth Blu-bot Silverlit’s Bluetooth Blu-Bot is an intelligent and interac-

tive robot with multiple functions and features. It may be

operated with or without the free Blu-Bot App, and it can

be used with a Smartphone or Tablet as a remote control.

Bratz Snow Kissed Dolls The Bratz crew hits the slopes in this collection! Each doll

comes with their own favorite gear, stickers to decorate,

and two full outfits—one for the slopes and one for relax-

ing in the cabin.

Candy Craft Chocolate Pen This pen dispenses chocolate that hardens in minutes at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The kit includes pink, blue, brown and white chocolate.

Delta Wing Scooter This self-propelled three-wheeled scooter features a large

pneumatic front tire and low angle rear wheels, allowing

side-to-side movement.

Jolly Holiday Word Search By Jozel M.

H S F O M L D M U S F W C U S

E S C K Q M M K M S O H S A F

J E V G G E L P T E R Z N M L

S P O E S E E R T I U J O F E

A Q C T I V A U S A Q F W N I

W U A J E I S T M S F F M F A

S Y F W F L M D T Q Q U A U S

R N T U H A T N D X L B N V Z

E Y O Y S H E S N X H O B O Z

E B D W Q S V J I Z E H E F X

D A H T E T L K O M H I F V S

N T Q R S T O C K I N G Y Y T

I N P N J O O R N A M E N T S

E A F G A I C L L O D J Y M N

R S W J L D E L L M C Z F M O

CHRISTMAS STOCKING MISTLETOE

ORNAMENTS PRESENTS REINDEER

SANTA SNOW SNOWMAN

TREES Solution on Page 10

The Stone Mill Newspaper Club wishes everyone a fun, safe, and

relaxing winter break!

Bow Reindeer

Carols Santa

Chimney Sleigh

Cookies Snowman

Elves Star

Mistletoe Tinsel

Ornaments Tree

Present Turkey


Solution on Page 10

Have you seen the new fourth grade teacher Ms. Hetchkop? We want to tell you some things about this amazing new teacher. Her birthday is on November 18th. She went to college at the University of Rochester in New York. The first time she taught was in the District of Columbia for Teach for America. She wanted to become a teacher because she wanted to positively affect children's lives. Ms. Hetchkop loves teaching at Stone Mill and enjoys working with the other fourth grade teachers.

Outside of school, Ms. Hetchkop coaches a second grade soccer team. She plays soccer often and is very competi-tive. Soccer is her favorite sport but she is also good at other sports such as basketball and golf. She is an all-around athlete! Sports are not the only things she likes to do. In her free time Ms. Hetchkop enjoys going out with her friends and family, dancing, and working out at the gym. She has two younger sisters, Niki and Jessie. Ms. Hetchkop is very close with her fami-ly.

During our interview with Ms. Hetchkop we found out her favorite snack foods are chips and guacamole. Her favorite season is fall be-cause of the fashion she can wear such a fancy boots and hats. She also loves the color sky blue. Her favorite Disney movie is “Mulan,” but her favorite princess is Belle! She likes to drink coffee, ice tea and milkshakes! Her all-time favorite flowers are roses and orchids! Some stores she likes are South Moon Under, Lululemon and sports outlets. Her favorite candies are Reese’s, Snickers and Swedish fish! Her favorite sub-jects to teach are all of them, but she especially enjoys reading and writing! Her favorite television show is “The Voice!” If Ms. Hetchkop could have a pet she would want a puppy! Ms. Hetchkop would like to go to Argentina and Hawaii. We could go on about some more of Ms. Hetchkop’s favorite things, but we did not want the article to be too long. One more cool fact that we discovered is that Ms. Hetchkop received an award for being an awesome soccer coach at Richard Mont-gomery High School! We hope you learned a lot about this fabulous new Stone Mill teacher Ms. Hetchkop. Make sure to wave to her in the hallways when you see her.

Mrs. Sanders just came back from having her amazing and adorable baby, Major Issac. She has three children; one

girl and two boys. They are named Kaia, TJ, and Major Isaac. Her favorite thing about being a kindergarten teacher is

the fact that the kids are so cute and that they love to learn! “If I could give one piece of advice to kindergarteners it

would be to tell them to read, read, and read,” she told me.

Mrs. Sanders was born in Silver Spring on December 16th. She went to Virginia Intermont College where she earned

an education degree. “The person that I look up to the most is my mom because she took care of me and my sister and

she always has my back.” Mrs. Sanders’ favorite foods are spaghetti (or any other type of pasta), and chocolate. She

shared with me a number of her favorite things. Her favorite color is magenta, her favorite movie is “Harry Potter,” her favorite book is “A

Wrinkle in Time,” her favorite singer is Prince, and her favorite sports team is the Redskins.

“My favorite thing about Stone Mill is the families. They all work hard, and the children want to do their best.” Mrs. Sanders said.

“The main difference between 3rd graders and kindergarteners -is that the 3rd graders are more independent than kindergarteners be-

cause it’s not their first year at Stone Mill Elementary School.” She told me that her dream vacation is to go to Greece because of all of the

beautiful scenery there. “If I had one wish, I would wish for everyone to be happy, and healthy.” Mrs. Sanders said. It was a pleasure to

interview Mrs. Sanders because she is SUPER fun to be around.

H T F H S R I N E S C

H U T I T E S O L E A

G R I M N E T W V I R

I K N N E D L M E K O

E E S E M N E A S O L

L Y E Y A I T N I O S

S B L D N E O Z P C T

C E D K R R E B O W A

T R E E O A T N A S R

Holiday Word Search By Nitya S.

Christmas Acrostic

Poem By Catherine K.

Caroling in cold weather

Having hot chocolate near an open fire

Reindeers prancing

It starts snowing a winter wonderland

Sledding in the white snow

Then we set up our Christmas tree

Making cookies and wrapping presents

Another holiday season

Such a great time of the year!

woklfaens ____________________

wardgniosob ____________________

iikgns ____________________

tha ____________________

ovesgl ____________________

nvctaaoi ____________________

ddelisng ____________________

yrsFot ____________________

wnnmsoa ____________________

siettbrfo ____________________

wzKnaa ____________________

ooohncsl ____________________

ahkuaHhkn ____________________

ssmCahirt ____________________

zeeifrgn ____________________

ooocchhttela ____________________ Solut

ion

on P

age

10

WINTER Word Scramble By Lily K. and

Samantha M.

Get to Know Ms. Hetchkop By Rachel H., Elizabeth M. and Sloane S.

The Scoop on Mrs. Sanders

By Rhianne A.


Teachers, parents, and students, I have a question for you. Do you exercise every day and try to

figure out how much exercise you get? Well, now you can! The solution is Fitbit. This wonder

wristband tells you how much YOU are exercising! Isn’t it amazing? Just a small wristband that

you wear can tell you whether you’re fit or not!

Many people ask, “What is a Fitbit?” To answer your question, a Fitbit is a small wristband with computer technology that measures how

much you exercise and how much you sleep. The Fitbit can motivate you to exercise more and to keep your body moving.

The Fitbit also has a downloadable app that tracks how many steps you take, how long you sleep, how much you eat, how much water you

drink, and much more. This can help you figure out how much you exercise each day. The program will never delete so you can check any

other day in the past and keep track of your progress.

It is good to know about the pros and cons of the product before you buy it. This will help you make the right choice. The pros are you don’t

need to carry it. You just wear it around your wrist. The battery life lasts for 6 to 7 days. It measures how much you exercise all day long

and how many calories you burn. It even tells you your sleep pattern. It is waterproof. The price is also reasonable compared to other simi-

lar devices.

Some cons for the Fitbit are you need a smartphone or internet access to log onto Fitbit.com to check your progress. Another con is that it

measures exercise even if you move your arm while you cook or just sit and operate the TV remote control. That’s is a detriment since it

does not accurately measure your exercise. And when you lift weights it doesn’t measure accurately the calories you burn even though

weights can burn lots of calories.

Now you know what a Fitbit is all about! You know what a Fitbit is, you know the purpose of a Fitbit, and you know the pros and cons of

the Fitbit. We hope this information helps you make the right choice before you buy one!

The Great Mr. Jake By Rachel H., Elizabeth M. and

Sloane S.

Are you a fan of the Wizards that play basketball

for Washington, D.C.? Well our very own custodian

Mr. Jake roots for them! We recently sat down to in-

terview Mr. Jake and found out some interesting

facts about him.

He was born on March 9, 1966. He is married to

Tammy and has a daughter named Kimberly. He got

married on October 16 1987. Jake has seven siblings

mostly all a year apart. The names of all his sisters and brothers

starting with the oldest and ending with the youngest are Ricky,

Theresa, Pat, Brian, Marty, Cheryl, then Mr. Jake, and Scot. His fa-

vorite sibling is Pat though! Don’t tell anyone! Mr. Jake’s mom influ-

enced him the most and his dad is his hero.

Have you ever gone to Hawaii? Well if you have you can brag to

him because he wants to go on a trip there. Mr. Jake grew up in

Rockville, MD. His best vacation was in Mexico and he would love to

meet the Pope one day. Mr. Jake reads the Bible almost every day!

His favorite movie is “Jumanji.” He likes the TV show “Seinfeld” and

likes the hero Superman! His favorite foods are pizza and watermel-

on. His favorite after school snack is moon pie. Mr. Jake’s favorite

game is Monopoly. He likes the color blue which also matches his

uniform.

He said he was happiest when he was interviewed by us. His big-

gest achievement is getting his daughter through college.

Mr. Jake is a very nice man and wants you to know to BE KIND.

Make sure to wave to him in the hallway.

Favorite Things to do at Recess By David A., Saurav K. and Vishal J.

What is your favorite thing to do during your outdoor recess time? To find out what Stone Mill student’s favorite things to do at recess are, we sur-veyed 100 third and fifth graders. Here are the results along with some graphs of the results.

#1. 4 Square- 46 votes

#2. Soccer- 21 votes

#3. Basketball- 8 votes

#4. Playground Equipment- 11 votes

#5. Other Activities (Running around, talking with friends, playing hide and seek etc.)- 14 votes

As you can see, 4 square is the most popular activity so when you go out during the 3rd and 5th grade recess, you will know where to find most of the kids.

A Christmas Disaster By Lily J., Lydia K., Amy Q. and Gurnoor S.

Anti-Venom By Ryan K.

THE ONE AND ONLY FITBIT

By Shruthi K.


Let’s Go Caps! By Elli S.

Do you want to have a chance to affect who

the players will be in the NBA all-star game and

the NHL all-star game? Well, you can. This year’s

NBA all-star game will be held at the Air Canada

Centre in Toronto, Canada on February 14, 2016

and the NHL’s all-star game will be located in Nashville, Tennes-

see on January 30, 2016. If you want to see one of your favorite

players participate in Toronto and/or Nashville, then you're in luck

because there are two ways to vote. The first way to vote is by vis-

iting a NHL or NBA game where you can fill out a paper ballot and

turn it in at that game.

The second way to vote is by going online to www.nba.com

or www.nhl.com, and clicking on your favorite player. Some of the

candidates you can vote for in the NBA are Anthony

Davis, Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry, Lebron James

and Carmelo Anthony. Some of the NHL superstars

you can vote for are Jack Eichel, John Tavares, Ste-

ven Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin and Jonathan Kane.

Remember it’s an honor to be in an all-star game, so

take your voting seriously!

Do you know who the Washington Capitals

are? They are the professional ice hockey team that is

based in Washington D.C. and they compete in the

NHL. NHL stands for the National Hockey League.

Their head coach is Barry Trotz and the assistant

coaches are Blaine Forsythe, Lane Lambert, and Todd

Reirden.

The Washington Capitals are a really skilled hockey

team, but they haven't won any Stanley Cups yet. The Stanley

Cup is the championship trophy awarded to the winners of the

NHL playoffs.

Can you guess what their jersey colors are if they are

home to the capital of the United States? Their jersey colors are

red, white and blue!

The team's captain is Alexander Ovechkin,

one of the best players in NHL history. His jersey

number is 8, and his nickname is “Alex the Gr8.”

With over 900 points to his name (that’s combining

both goals and assists), Alex Ovechkin has the most

points in the Washington Capitals’ history.

Barry Trotz traded many players this year in order to

have a better team. I think the Caps have a good chance of win-

ning the Stanley Cup this season. You know what they say,

LET’S GO CAPS! BRING HOME THE CUP!

All-Star Voting

By Mason B. and Saurav K.

Start

End

Doggie, Doggie Where is Your Bone?

By Sloane S.

Would you like to meet a wonderful teacher

who is encouraging, kind, funny, and caring?

Well, if you would, I’d like to introduce you to Ms.

Winckler! She is an amazing P.E. teacher (that’s

short for physical education) at Stone Mill ES.

She has been teaching in this school for 25 years

and working for Montgomery County Public

Schools for more than 30 years! If you would like

to get to know Mrs. Winckler better, then read on!

I found out about Ms. Winckler’s interests, favorite things, and

much more! Her favorite movie is called “The Sound of Music.” Her

favorite hobbies are playing golf, going bird watching, and playing

her saxophone. She would really like to visit Switzerland, England,

and France. Ms. Winckler says that her best vacation was going to

Australia- she liked holding the koalas there. Her favorite food is la-

sagna topped with apple sauce. She loves cats and has some as her

pet. Ms. Winckler’s biggest pet peeve is when a student says they

can’t do something but yet have never tried it before.

Ms. Winckler grew up on a 1,188 acre farm in Illinois outside of

Chicago at Big Rock. She loved showing her livestock such as cattle

and hogs and enjoyed entering them in

county fairs. She says that the people who

inspired her the most were her parents. She

would really like to have met her great

grandparents because she would have en-

joyed getting to know them and learn more

about her family’s history. Ms. Winckler

also said that her hero as a child was Bobby

Hull, who played for the Chicago Black

Hawks.

Her ideal day would be going to a national park to do some bird

watching there. Lastly, Ms. Winckler would like to be remembered as

an encourager to help students do their very best at everything they

do. Now do you know more about our fabulous teacher Ms. Winckler?

Behind the Scenes with Ms. Winckler By Katherine S.

EMOJIS

By Samantha G.

Ms. Winckler shown with

one of her prized cattle. Photo courtesy of Carol Winckler.

Solution on Page 10

CHRISTMAS FUN

GIFTS HOLIDAY

PRESENTS SANTA

Tis the Season

By Krishna M.

Solution on Page 10

Merry Maze By Rohan G.

Start

End


Lindy, Delia, Jasmine, and Emma were all on Main Street running their

stores. Lindy had her own store while Delia, Jasmine, and Emma co-

owned their store. Although they were competing against each other to run

their businesses, they often helped each other out by working at one an-

other’s store. Today Delia, Jasmine and Emma were discussing a rumor

they heard.

“I can’t believe Lindy made this rule that if you work at her store

you can’t work at my store!” whispered Delia.

“Really, I work at both stores and I never heard that rule before.”

said Jasmine.

“Who did you hear that from? Angelina or Piper?” asked Emma.

“Actually none of those people. It was Ruby.” replied Delia.

“What!” shouted Jasmine and Emma at the same time.

“I know, right. I just figured that she works at Lindy’s store every

other week.” said Delia.

“Let’s get Lindy!” shouted Emma.

The three friends went to Lindy’s store to ask her why she made this weird

rule. Instead of asking Lindy, the trio asked her employee Ruby.

“Ruby, where did you hear the rule that if you work at Lindy’s

store, you can’t work at ours?” asked Emma.

Ruby said, “I heard this from my friend Flora on the bus.”

“Seriously?” asked Emma.

“Seriously,” answered Ruby.

“Do you know where Flora is today?” asked Jasmine.

“Yes. She is over there playing with Olivia.” said Ruby.

“Thanks Ruby.” said Delia.

“Hi Flora, where did you learn the rule for

Lindy’s store?” asked Emma.

“From Lindy, I overheard her.” replied back Flora.

The girls went to talk to Lindy.

“Why did you make the rule that if employees worked at your

store, they can’t work at our store?” asked Emma.

Lindy replied, “Because you were copying me.”

“You’re mean.” said Jasmine.

“I don’t want to be your friend anymore.” said Delia.

“Me neither.” agreed Lindy.

“So we agree we’re not friends anymore?” asked Delia.

“Agreed,” said Lindy.

“Then we’re not friends anymore, bye!” said Delia.

The very next day Delia, Jasmine and Emma went to Lindy.

"Lindy, we are sorry for all the mean things we said to you. We hope you

can forgive us." said Emma, Delia and Jasmine.

“I have an idea. Instead of having different stores, let's have one big

store,” announced Lindy.

"Yeah, that's a great idea! I was thinking of that too," said Delia.

The four friends ran their store perfectly without any more fighting. They

remained best friends for years.

“The Day They Weren’t Friends” By Labeeba R.

Uphill Snowman By Lily K. and Samantha M.

Solut

ion

on P

age

10

DON’T THROW AWAY THAT FOOD By Taha G.

Have you ever ended up at the end of lunch with a full plate of food that you are about to throw away? Think before you toss that plate of food into the trash. About 795 million people in the world are starving because they have little or no food. The plate of food that you throw away could feed a starving man for a day.

The amount of food waste in the world is tremendous. About 40% of the food produced by Americans is tossed into the trash. YOU can help prevent this.

If you look into your trash can at the end of the week, you might see moldy strawberries, Sunday night’s leftovers, a bunch of rotten toma-toes, and some unwanted potato peels. There are ways to remake something else out of SOME of these foods. If you look at the potato peels, you would see that they are kind of shaped like potato chips. It is possible to make potato chips out of the peelings by frying them. Also, for the leftovers you could possibly make a broth for soup.

Another way to reduce the amount of food waste you produce is by buying ONLY the amount of food you need in stores. Before you go to a grocery store think about how much food your family will actually finish. If you get more food than you need, it could result in more food waste.

However, food waste is not only caused by people. It is also caused by food companies. For example, a truck carrying food may crash, causing tons of food to become destroyed. Even though lots of food is wasted every day, many people are trying to reduce the amount of food waste. For example, many companies and organizations give unwanted food to the poor, reducing the amount of food waste. Some organizations that do this include the Manna Food Center, the Maryland Food Bank, and Large Scale Food Do-nations. You can donate food indirectly by collecting and dropping food off to these organizations who give to the poor. Even though the amount of food waste is immense even today, YOU can make a difference by reusing, and remaking things out of un-wanted food.

THE baGEL By Kristina C.

The History of Thanksgiving By Nakul P.

Have you ever had turkey for dinner? What’s a popular holiday day where you would you eat it? Just guess. You're right! It's Thanksgiving. That day is the fourth Thursday in November. But, what happened in the past? Let's find out.

In the 1600s, Pilgrims wanted religious freedom so they traveled from Britain to the new world. When they arrived they met the Native Americans who helped them plant vegetables, hunt deer and other animals, and learn to survive in the new world. In 1621, the Pilgrims and Native Americans shared a big feast and this was known as "The First Thanksgiving." For more than two hundred years, days of Thanksgiving were celebrated by colonies and states, but it wasn’t until 1863 that Thanksgiving became an official holiday. President Lincoln proclaimed that Thanksgiving be celebrated every year in November.

Just like that first Thanksgiving, today we celebrate this holiday by shar-ing a big feast with family and friends. People in the United States com-monly have turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner. What did you eat on Thanksgiving?

Monster Hurricane Patricia By Ellie R.

Surely you have heard of Hurricane Katrina in

2005 which occurred in New Orleans, or Hurricane

Andrew which occurred in Homestead, Florida in

1992, and Hurricane Sandy that occurred in 2012 in Northern New

Jersey. This year on October 23, 2015 a category five, 200 mile per-

hour (mph) Hurricane Patricia struck the Gulf of Mexico and the

Caribbean Sea.

It was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the

Western Hemisphere in terms of barometric pressure. It was also

the strongest hurricane globally in terms of maximum sustained

winds. Hurricane Patricia was enormous, but thankfully it started

to die out as soon as it hit one of Mexico’s biggest cities, Manzanillo.

Miraculously, there were no fatalities, but there was a huge flood

afterwards. It destroyed many things, but people were safe. It was

a very powerful and dangerous hurricane but it died out quickly

which was very fortunate for the people in Mexico.

Whimsical Winter By Brielle R.


Delightful Mrs. Donmoyer By Hailey T. and Irene T.

Do you by any chance know the fantastic substitute teacher who was filling in for Mrs. Schwartz? Well, her name is Mrs. Donmo-yer! Her story begins on July 3, in Buffalo New York when Mrs. Donmoyer was born. She likes to run and her favorite subject in school is math. Her favorite movie is “Pretty Woman” and her favorite book is “Friends Forever” by Danielle Steel . She also has a pet peeve. She does not like things to be unorganized, so keep your desk, and folders neat, nice, and clean!

Mrs. Donmoyer was the happiest when she was at her wedding and when her children were born. The person who influenced her most was her elementary school teacher, Mrs. Mallow, and her hero is her mom. If she were to go on a vacation, she would love to visit Ireland and her best vacation was at the beach at Ocean City. The two words Mrs. Donmoyer would use to describe herself are caring and dedicated. Mrs. Donmoyer likes to “pay it forward” to others. For example sometimes, she buys another person’s coffee even though she has never met or spoken to them! This shows that she wants to help everyone she can, even if it means helping people she doesn’t know. So when you see this caring teacher in the hallway, remember to say hi and smile!

The Marvelous Mrs. McCleary By Anusha I., Saanvi V. and Sia B.

Have you ever wondered who the wonderful kindergarten teacher whose name starts with an “M” is at Stone

Mill? Mrs. McCleary, of course! Mrs. McCleary teaches 22 terrific kindergartners in Room 4.

Mrs. McCleary’s birthday is on November 11 and she was brought up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She would de-

scribe herself as a positive, hard-working, and happy person. The person who has influenced Mrs. McCleary the most

was her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Dow. She made Mrs. McCleary love coming to school and was also her favorite

teacher. Mrs. Dow also influenced her to become a kindergarten teacher. Mrs. McCleary’s hero was her grandmother

because she loved being around her.

Mrs. McCleary has been teaching for eight years. The first school she taught was in France for the French Embassy as an English

teacher for one year. Then, she taught at John Ruhrah, a school in Baltimore, as a fifth grade teacher for three years. After that, she came

to Stone Mill, where she was an ESOL teacher for two years, and is now teaching kindergarten. This is her second year of teaching kin-

dergarten. She chose the career of teaching because she loves teaching kids, especially teaching them to read and write.

Her best vacation times are when she goes to Nagshead Beach every summer because she loves the ocean, the sand and warm

places. She would like to spend her ideal day by relaxing and going out to a nice dinner. She enjoys going on long walks because it’s relax-

ing and she can enjoy the scenery. Her favorite book is “Charlotte's Web” by E.B White because it’s a timeless classic. She also likes to

watch the T.V show “Modern Family” because it is funny. Also she loves the movie “Beauty and the Beast” for it’s beautiful songs. Her fa-

vorite subject in school is writing because it is creative and fun. Mrs. McCleary’s pet peeve is nails scraping a chalkboard because it

makes an annoying, screeching sound.

These are some facts about marvelous Mrs. McCleary! She is one of the great kindergarten teachers at Stone Mill Elementary

School!

STONE MILL

NEWSPAPER CLUB

Fifth Graders:

Heritage A. • Nikki A. • David A. • Chidubem A. • Sia B. • Mason B.

• Claire C. • Kristina C. • Jordana D. • Sophia F. • Aamir G. • Feben

G. • Samantha G. • Anusha I. • Vishal J. • Zaina K. • Saurav K. •

Ryan K. • Sharon L. • Sophia L. • Josefine L. • Samuel M. • Jozel M.

• Tyra N. • Nakul P. • Savannah R. • Ellie R. • Vanessa R. • Sara S.

• Sophia S. • Sophia S. • Katherine S. • Irene T. • Hailey T. • Saanvi

V. • Rachel W. • Ella W. • Jamie Z.

Fourth Graders:

Rhianne A. • Nwamaka A. • Shivani D. • Ines E. • Taha G. • Rohan

G. • Joy G. • Rachel H. • Alexander I. • Yinquan J. • Lily J. • Lydia

K. • Jireh K. • Sophia K. • Lily K. • Shruthi K. • Samantha L. • De-

vantae L. • Zara M. • Elizabeth M. • Samantha M. • Amy Q. • Labee-

ba R. • Megan R. • Kelly R. • Brielle R. • Elli S. • Nitya S. • Gurnoor

S. • Sloane S. • Miduo S. • Aryan T. • Brian T. • Sophia W. • Joanna

W. • Adam Y. • Sityana Y. • Allison Z.

Advisors:

Ciara Amaral • Banu Kishore • Joanne Misovec • Jill Needleman

ANSWER KEY


Winter Word Scramble (pg. 5) snowflake snow boarding skiing hat gloves vacation sledding Frosty snowman frostbite Kwanza no school Hanukkah Christmas freezing hot chocolate

Brumpkin Recipe By Lily J.

Have you ever wanted a warm treat after you came back inside from playing in the snow? Well now instead of having cookies and milk, you can have a Brumpkin and milk! What’s a Brumpkin you ask? It is the new thing! It is a brownie cupcake mixed with pumpkin. And now you can have one, or two, or as many as you would like because you’ll learn how to make some too!

Here are the ingredients you will need.

BROWNIE MIX 1 brownie mix (any kind) ¼ cup of water 1/3 cup of vegetable oil 1 large egg 1 Tbsp. chocolate syrup

PUMPKIN MIX 2 cups of flour ½ tsp salt ½ tsp. baking powder 1 tsp cloves 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 cups of sugar ¾ cup of unsalted butter 2 large eggs 1 can of pumpkin

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a cupcake pan. First start making the brownie mix. Put all of the following items into a medium bowl; water, vegetable oil, and one egg. Stir until fully mixed. Then add the brownie mix and chocolate syrup. Stir again until fully blended. Set aside.

Now make the pumpkin mix. First mix together the flour, salt, baking pow-der, baking soda, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter. Then add the eggs one at a time. After add the pumpkin. Finally, add the flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture. Mix well.

Then pour the brownie batter into the cupcake pan. Remember to only fill the cupcakes half way. Then put the pumpkin batter on top of the brownie mixture! Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy your warm and delicious treat!

Game Review: Mario Luigi Paper Jam Bros. By Yinquan J. and Alex I.

If you are the kind of kid that likes Mario, then

this game is for you and for anyone looking for a

fun new game to play. The Mario Luigi Paper Jam

Bros. is coming out on January 22, 2016 and the

levels are harder than all the levels on the old

Mario and Luigi games. The goal of the game is to

get a paper Mario to help you by your side. You can play with two

players, turn into a giant paper craft in the shape of a Mario and

travel around with it and not die, plus destroy all the enemies

that are in your way! When you are in battle, you can use battle

cards to help you. There are even rare cards that are so useful

that they can destroy all of the enemies. Sometimes you can even

get five to ten Marios to fight the enemies. The levels are hard,

but the game is way better and more fun than the old Mario

game. The bosses are the same size when you are a giant Mario.

The game can also can turn five to ten Mario into one big Mario

that’s super strong and useful. If you play or decide to buy the

game, it is for 3DS only for now and you will see what we mean

about the paper part. Mario and Luigi Paper Jam Bros. is an awe-

some game for Mario fans! We think you guys should check it out.

We give it a four and a half star rating. Look for another review in

the next issue.

Christmas Songs Word Jumble

(pg. 2)

1. Jingle Bells

2. Ode to Joy

3. Silent Night

4. Deck the halls

5. Holly Jolly Christmas

6. White Christmas

7. Let It Snow

8. Winter Wonderland

9. Joy to the World

10. Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ignore the Distractions By Sharon L.

(Seasonal changes that might distract you! )

Fall:

Summer vacation is over and it is time for school.

Do not daydream about the falling leaves outside.

Ignore the distractions!

Winter:

There is snow twinkling in the air like crystals coming down.

Eventually white covers the frozen ground outside.

Except do not be distracted by it.


Spring:

Outside plants are blooming and the sun is shining.

Kids run and play outside, enjoying the warmth of the season.

Except do not be distracted by it.


Summer:

It is near the end of the school year and you have

big plans for the summer, and you just can not wait!

Either enjoy the distractions or ignore the distractions.

You choose!

Doggie Maze

(pg. 7)

Jolly Holiday (pg.4)

Merry Maze

(pg. 8)

Winter Wonderland (pg. 3)

Holiday Word Search

(pg. 6)

Tis the Season

(pg. 7)

Documents

Stone Mill GAZETTE - Montgomery County Public Schoolsmontgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/schools... · This year Stone Mill students participated in the Big World Recess Boosterthon