Phoenix Pr ess W e Br ing N ew s Fr om FCS Low er School I SSUE # 4
A P UBLICA TION OF TH E 5 TH GRA DE N EW SPA PER CLUB
F EBRUA RY 24, 2017
The Light of the Lab By Nora-Simone Thorne, Phoebe Davidson and Avery Lewis It's new, it's bold, it's? the Lig ht Lab, our new makerspace! It is a place for kids to build, learn and experience the world of creativity. It opened in October 2016 and all classes, grades N-5, can access it. Here are some projects the classes are doing. KB is studying the rainforest and each kid is studying their own individual animal. They made a rainforest mural with their animals on it. 5A helped their KB book buddies make a sound pad in a coding app. The sound pad goes behind each animal hanging on the mural. When somebody touches the animal, it plays a recording of the child talking about the animal! Fifth grade is making a hydroponic tower and are growing plants without soil. They are using three chemicals, (NPK): Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. The word hydroponic is a Latin word that means working water. The water from the bottom basin, comes up through a pump that's connected to a pipe which showers out water onto all the plants. The Light Lab building has four studios and you can do different things in each. There is a design studio, fabrication studio, media and computing studio, and natural science studio. There is a also a greenhouse. In the design studio you can design, create, invent and prototype projects. We interviewed the light lab director, Brie Daley. ?I think the spaces are beautiful and spacious. I like how bright the rooms are. I also think the builders did a good job by keeping certain architectural features,? said Mrs. Daley. ?The fabrication studio is my favorite because I feel so at home with all the tools. I like that I can grab almost anything I need in that room.? We asked why she chose to work in the light lab. ?I was interested in the job because it gives me the chance to work with all the grades in the lower school, and to teach projects that incorporate different subjects and allows children to use fun tools," she replied. If she could do one experiment in the light lab, it would be a design thinking project. "I would love to help students design an invention that would make the world better, ? she said. This Light Lab is an amazing place for kids to express their true inner makers. It is just one of the amazing spaces here at Friends' Central Lower School.
Making a Swish and a Splash By Jey Brown and An Huynh Saturday Morning Basketball, an FCS program that runs from January to February, 9:00 am-12:00 pm, is a chance for inexperienced and experienced athletes from 3rd - 5th grade to strengthen their skills in the game of basketball. It is run by Coach Latifah, Mr. Tozer, and the one, the only, Mr. Ovalle. The program has been going on for over 40 years and is filled with fun and excitement. It's a great chance to learn and to get some cardio while having fun. Coach Latifah is the fitness/ conditioning coach. She keeps you moving while motivating you at the same time. Coach Tozer is the skills coach. He'll train you on your personal skills while keeping you encouraged. Saturday Afternoon Swimming is directed by Mrs. Tedesco and Nolan McGrann for inexperienced and experienced swimmers. It runs from 12:30-3:00 January to February, for kids in 3rd - 5th grade. The program has been going on for 17 years. It is a way to practice and learn how to swim and to work on different strokes and technique. Saturday Afternoon Swimming is a really fun way to swim with your friends and to make new friends.
An Inside Look at 4B By Benedict Tessler and Michael Crut chlow Does your class have a government? 4B does! Our class has a class President, a Vice President, a class Representative, and a Treasurer. On November 8th, 2016, which was the day of the country?s election, Ms. Tedesco announced the results of our class election: Benedict is President, Michael is Vice President, Parker is Treasurer and Sarah is Class Rep. Here are some of the things our leaders have done: They brought in donuts to make everyone happy. They brought in paper and pencils to make sure there were enough supplies. Our treasurer, who handles our $5.00 budget that our teacher Ms. Tedesco gave us, bought us a new case of markers. So there you have it. That?s how 4B works. But we still have a teacher!
Photo Credit: Jey Brown