The Edison Lightbulb

by Mr. Choi

Last Friday, the fifth grade class finally finished binding their paperback and hardcover books. It was an immense learning experience (the first time for me as well) to hand-publish our work in this way! A special thanks to Mrs. Strelecki, Mrs. Drinkwater, and Mrs. Smith for their help and collaboration.

Originally, we had planned to buy pre-made blank books to write our books in, or to send our texts to an external company for them to publish  (sites like lulu.com will publish text into paperback or hardcover books for a reasonable price – about six dollars per personalized book), but with pre-made blank books, we would have had to glue on typed text onto the pages when we wanted to make clean, scanned individual pages; and with the online site, it would have taken too long — about six weeks — for the books to be finished. So, in the end, we decided to make all of our covers from scratch.

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by Jasmine, Sixth Grade

Sixth grade was quite a difficult year. Fun, but definitely hard. From History Fair to Word Within a Word, its is’t an easy grade. Some high schools will start to look at your grades, so make sure you always do your best.

History Fair. It sounds scary, but if you plan it out well, you will survive. When you start to talk about it, you will probably think it sounds fun and not that bad. The first few weeks of research aren’t that bad, but as time goes on, the information gets scarce and it gets a little stressful. Make sure you pick a topic you can stay interested with, and spread out the work so that you don’t do it all on the last day. I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! Whether you are collecting research or putting your board together, if you wait until the last minute, trust me, you will regret it. Now, when you start to put your board together, be creative. Think outside the box, and make sure it is eye-catching. History Fair is a big part of your 3rd quarter grade, so make sure its good.

Word Within a Word. Basically, you get a bright yellow book with tons of “stems”. You have to learn 25 new ones each week, and take a test including previous weeks as well. You will get assignments corresponding to the unit as well. Lets just say that this was not my favorite part of sixth grade. At first, 25 stems, not so hard right? But as you go on in the book, you add on more and more. Soon, every test has 100 words. While the tests don’t include all of the words you studied, there is a chance of them being on the test, so make sure you know them all! (more…)

by Leah, Eighth Grade

I’m writing about the underrepresentation of a group of people who most people don’t consider to be “needy.” In fact, that’s the problem.

This issue is one I am very well acquainted with: the underfunding of gifted education.

Now, some might not agree that this is an issue. But really, it’s much more rampant than many people realize. One immediate example that affected me and many of my classmates was the removal of funding from the Chicago Academic Olympics. We are fortunate enough to be in a district where  the district officer was happy to help us have an Area One Academic Olympics, but other students across the city have missed out on this opportunity. If the sports competitions for schools with talented sports teams were cut, there would be an outcry. Many parents, teachers, and coaches are willing to fight to allow students talented at sports to compete, so why don’t academically talented students get the same kind of support for their competitions? (more…)

by Kiran, Fifth Grade

[written after finishing our Children's Book final drafts]

There are many components needed in making a good children’s book. Three of these are: an interesting, captivating plot; bright and emotion-filled illustrations; and good character development. You also need a good setting. If you make sure that you do these, you’ll have the base of a great story. Other things include spelling, grammar, margins, paragraphs, quotations, etc., but most of these are “of courses” for any essay, paper, or book.

First of all, for the children’s book to be okay at all, you need to create an interesting plot and a character development. The plot should obviously have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Some techniques used a lot are: beginning – problem, middle – try to solve but problem is still there, end – problem resolved; or, beginning – happy, sunshine, middle – problem, end – solved. As long as there are some “down-times” and some “up-times,” the story will probably take off. Also, you need character development, at least in the main character. If the main character is the same throughout the whole story, the plot can’t take off and your story will be boring. So, in your story, things cannot stagnate, or else the readers will fall asleep. (more…)

by Sam, Sixth Grade

Here are some helpful hints to get you through sixth grade.

Mr. Matsumoto LOVES it when you light things on fire in Science.

Just kidding.

First things first. You should start thinking about a topic for History Fair RIGHT NOW. Sixth grade, especially in Social Studies, is all about time management, which is essential in the years to come. Mr. Barber will ask for ten pages of research a week (in your own words!) from you–so your topic has to be something that you can write that much about. However, beware of generalizations such as “Chicago Architecture,” which is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get done in the time given to you.

Another thing you need to watch out for in Social Studies is the geography tests. They come throughout the year, when you least expect it. Trust me, by the end of sixth grade, your memorization skills will be impeccable (your Shakespeare plays, Word Within the Word stems, countries and capitals. Ugh. It sounds intimidating, but if you take the time to study, it won’t be a problem.) (more…)

by the Eighth Grade

[written in our school's back garden -- a la Thoreau]

by Stephen:

A black fence. I feel it on my back. It is sturdy and strong. It separates two completely different worlds, both born out of civilization. On one side lies an alley. It leads to residential abodes of those living in the neighborhood. Civilization personified. Homes. On the other we see the other spectrum of human culture. A garden.

The garden is the epitome of conservatism, but at the same time, it shows the human need to move forward. The garden is made to look like the natural world, utilizing grasses, trees, flowers, and even weeds in an attempt to re-assimilate the land into nature. There is one thing that gives away the illusion. The fence. The man-made object that reveals that the garden is nothing like nature. If you were to tap it, the hollow sound as the vibrations reverberates through the linked metal would show you the true meaning of the garden, cultivation. Nothing in nature would make that sound. As a car drives through the alley, engine roaring, you learn that while sitting in the garden, you would hear nothing of the sort. In nature you would never smell the fumes of the exhaust emanating from the vehicle.

by Marco:

This tree, this single, solitary tree, contains a story: life, surging throughout its every branch, its every leaf… Countless winters in this very garden this tree has lived through, with its only companion being the wind. Unable to move. Stuck, motionless in one spot. But he doesn’t mind, he just watches, in hope, that someday he will learn something. (more…)

by Samantha, Eighth Grade

For the longest time, ever since I was very little, I wanted to be a teacher.  I always thought it would be so much fun to get to draw on the chalkboard and make kids erase it.  If I could choose what grade I wanted to teach it would be second grade.   (more…)