1

QUEENS LUTHERAN SCHOOL

NEWSLETTER

December 5, 2008

MAY THE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS FILL YOUR HEART WITH JOY!

SCHOOL

CALENDARS: The December calendar has been distributed and the Januarycalendar will be distributed to the students before we break for theholidays. The calendar may also be found on the website.

NATIONAL

GEOGRAPHY

BEE: Wednesday, December 10.

SOCIAL

GATHERING: With Grace and Q.L.S. Parents and Guardians on Thursday,

December 11 anytime between 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Light refreshmentswill be served. It will be a time to get to know one another. We askall our parents to attend this social even if you can only stay for a littlewhile.

2

PROGRESS

REPORTS: Will be distributed to students in 3rd - 8th grade on Friday,

December 12

STAFF

CHRISTMAS

PARTY: Hosted by the P.T.A. President, Mrs. Janet Rosado Malinowski

and several of our parents. Grace Staff and Q.L.S. Staff willcelebrate the coming of Christmas at a little gathering here at theschool.

TOYS FOR

TOTS

DEADLINE: Is Monday, December 15. Please find it in your heart to buy a newtoy for a girl or boy of any age and make their Christmas morning ajoyous one. Drop the new unwrapped toy in our toy box found in thelobby of our school. We ask that every student bring in at least 1 toy.Thank you.

BREAKFAST &

PICTURE

WITH SANTA: Tuesday, December 16. Students in 1st-8th grade will have theirpicture taken with Santa and enjoy breakfast with him and all for just$5.00 per student.

FOOD FORMS: For January will soon be distributed. They are due back by

Friday, December 19, 2008

CHRISTMAS

PROGRAM: Will take place in the church on Thursday, December 18 at 7:00

p.m. Letters containing more information will be sent home shortly.

EARLY

DISMISSAL: On Wednesday, December 23 the students will be dismissed at

12:00 p.m. sharp. There will be Bus Service but no After School.

3

ART: Mr. Keith Hanson, our Art Teacher, worked with the 5th - 8th gradestudents on an A - Z animal wall and now on their A - Z animal book(their first one) which the students completed.

FORMER

STUDENTS: Nader Yamout, Principal’s List at Archbishop Molloy High School

Shelly Kumar, First Honors at St. Vincent Ferrer High School

Candice Ramoutar, 94.14 average at Martin Luther High School.Mr. & Mrs. Ramoutar thanked Mrs. Raspantini, our ComputerTeacher, for teaching their daughter excellent keyboarding skills,power point, excel, etc.

BOX TOPS FOR

EDUCATION: Please save the box tops for education found on all GeneralMills Products, Kleenex boxes and more. Please save Campbellsoup labels as well. Please bring them to school. For every 20 boxtops or labels brought in your child will receive a N.U.T. card. This isa great incentive and at the same time the school will earn $0.10 foreach coupon.

CHAPEL

OFFERING: For the month of December will go to Lutheran World Relief. Besure you give your child a chapel offering (any amount) and a cannedgood every Wednesday.

SCHOOL WILL

RESUME: Monday, January 5, 2009.

NEW STUDENTS: In the last two months we have accepted 4 new students. Youare always welcome here at Q.L.S. and it is never too late tostart. Please call, fax, e-mail us, come in for a tour, we arehere for you.

4

Queens Lutheran School would like to thank all the students, parents,

guardians, volunteers, friends and well wishers for their participation in

our events, activities, etc. Just to mention a few of them, all sponsored

by the P.T.A.

1. Halloween Party - October 2. Pajama Party - November 3. Dinner Basket - Raffle - October 4. Educational Basket - Raffle - October 5. Wine Basket - Raffle - November 6. Holiday Basket - Raffle - December 7. Jewelry Sale - On going 8. Yankee Candle Fundraiser - Sept/Oct. 9. Miss Chocolate - Fundraiser 10. Breakfast/Picture with Santa11. Christmas Party for QLS & 12. Wish List for the Teachers Grace Staff

Many, many thanks to all of you.

You are dedicated, committed and caring parents.

Please check the Queens Lutheran School Website for information, up-dates, pictures, fun stuff. It isupdated often especially the photo album section

www.queenslutheranschool.com

We wish our parents, guardians,

students and friends

the blessings of peace,

the beauty of hope

and the spirit of love

that is Christmas

5

NEWS FROM STUDENTS AND STAFF

1st & 2nd grade - Ms. Gigler

i November was a busy time for us. We welcomed a new friend, Sidney into ourclass.

i We all got a chance to vote for president on election day in our class votingbooth. Only registered voters got to go into the booth and cast their votes.Guess what - Barack Obama won the class vote too. We’re looking forwardto Inauguration Day in January.

i Our hallway was decorated with turkeys and Pilgrim and Indian children. Welearned fun songs about Thanksgiving which we sang for our elder guest atthe International Luncheon. On Monday, November 24, we baked cornbread.We followed the recipe and measured ingredients carefully. Mrs. Spellmanand Ms. Gigler will watch the ovens. It sure was yummy!

i We had a big surprise when we came to school on November 17. New shadeswere put up in our room over the week-end. The children helped Ms. Giglerreturn books and supplies to the shelves by our window. Helpers receive a“No Homework” coupon to be used when needed!

i Oh, yes! Our parents received our report cards. It is fair to say, they areproud of our good work and behavior!

6

5th & 6th Grade - Ms. Costanzo

From the desk of Ms. Costanzo,

! 5th through 8th grades visited the Central Park Zoo, on Monday, November 17th.We all had a terrific time. It was a bit chilly but, most of us were dressed warmly.The students learned some interesting things about some of the animals. I thinkthey really enjoyed themselves. It was a great experience for both the students andthe teachers.

Grades 5th & 6th would like to share their day at the Central Park Zoo.

“Our trip to the zoo”

My favorite part of the trip to the zoo was when the skillful sea lions were being fed andchecked by their amazing trainers, and the many funny and awesome tricks theypreformed for us.

Priscilla Trieu

My trip to the Central Park Zoo was chilly, fun, smelly and awesome. The rain

forest was surprinsingly very humid, everyone’s glasses fogged up the moment we

walked inside.Diamond Soto

When we went to the zoo, we saw different kinds of animals and we ate lunch

together.

Cristian Pena

When I went to the Central Park Zoo I thought the sea lions were fantastic. They

did stunts for their food.Marc Anthony Sirois

7

The Central Park Zoo was like an adventure although, it was very cold.Tattiana Peters

Alligators or bats? I saw a bat in the dark, and guess what else I saw in the bat’s

cave, a lazy alligator... how exciting.Daniel Oh

I loved the Central Park Zoo because of the cute penguins. I loved to watch them

swim and waddle around.Julian Colon

My amazing trip to the Central Park Zoo was a great experience and also an amusing onebecause of the people that came with me.

Gene Choi

At the zoo, we saw the penguins. They were being fed and had their flippers spreadapart. They jumped out of the water and onto the ice so easily. While they were inthe water they swam right up to the glass where we were standing.

Anthony Stefanidis

My favorite part of the Central Park Zoo was when the sea lions jumped off a rock facefront into the water at the same time.

Breonna Kingwood

My trip to the Central Park Zoo was very exciting for me. I got to feed the animals. Someof the animals I had never heard of.

Nina Rivenson

! 7th and 8th grades are currently studying Space and Space Exploration. On

December 1st, 5th through 8th grade visited the American Museum of Natural

History and the Planetarium. We had a great time and learned a great deal

about space and how our universe was created. Ask your child if they

enjoyed it as much as I did.

God Bless and have a Merry Christmas

and a

Happy New Year

8

! Student Council Christmas Sale.

Mark your calendar:

December 9th through December 11th, in my room (Ms.Costanzo.)

Open from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Prices ranging from .50¢ - $15.00

What a great time to buy Christmas gifts for your familyand friends.

9

7th & 8th Grade News - Ms. Darden

We went on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History onDecember 1.

All High School Applications have been sent out

We are all looking forward to the Christmas Program on December18 at 7:00 p.m. We will be practicing for the program next week.

The students are looking forward to the Christmas Holidays.

From the Junior High:

“Wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!”

10

5th & 6th Grade - Social Studies - Mrs. McLaughlin

� It’s almost time for the National Geography Bee preliminary rounds to

begin. I am going to start the process on December 10, 2008, and we

should have a school champ by December 19 th.

This contest is open to all children, grades 4-8. If you recall, our school

champion last year, Robert Engesser, went all the way to the State

Competition in Albany. We’re hoping for a repeat of a State winner from

Queens Lutheran School.

Good Luck to all participants - it’s going to be a tight race!

� 5th & 6th are beginning a unit on Revolution and Expansion. Right now

we are learning about the French Revolution and its effect on Europe

and the world.

� 7th & 8th are beginning a lesson (appropriately enough) on the Great

Depression.....and my quote from Georges Santayana: “He who does

not know history is doomed to repeat it.”

Halloween 11

COMPUTER CLASS - MRS. RASPANTINI

Last month, the 7th graders researched Halloween on the web. Theythen put their information onto a Microsoft Word document.

By: Austin Trieu 7th Grade

When it is Halloween people do many things for fun.Children dress up in costumes then go to people houses andsay trick or treat and then they get candy. Adults andchildren play this game called Apple bobbing where theytook a bucket of water and put apples in it and the personhas to bite one of the apples out. Halloween is October 31st

in America. Halloween was first started 2000 years ago.

Halloween is the most popular in Ireland and was originatedthere. Halloween was brought to American in the 19th

century. Years ago people make jack-o-lanterns to scareaway the evil spirits of Halloween. Halloween in Ireland iscelebrated just as it is in America. In the days of the Celtspeople lit bonfires.

Halloween is still mostly celebrated in the United States,Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Japan, Australia, and theUnited Kingdom. Halloween is short for All Hallows Daywhich is also known as All Saints Day. In many countries people do other traditions and stuff forHalloween.

Chris Kipridis

-12-

HALLOWEEN AND HOW WE CELEBRATE

On October 31st children and adults celebrate Halloween. The celebration of

Halloween came from Ireland. Children and adults dressed up with different

costumes such as ghosts, zombies, witches, princes and different creatures. The

costumes that people were wore supposed to confuse the spirit. Today children go

trick or treating knocking on their neighbors’ doors in order to gather different

candy bars, chocolates, and different candies.

PUMPKINS AND DECORATIONS

People decorate their houses with pumpkins carved with scary faces and they put a

candle inside them called jack o lantern. They also decorate with skeletons,

mummies, spiders, and black cats.

HALLOWEEN PARTIES

AND THE SPIRIT OF THE DEAD

Adults also got dressed and went to parties. They played different games like

bobbing for apples in which apples are floating in a basin of water and they put

coins is them or dollar bills and you tried to get the apple with your mouth. No

hands allowed. They would tell ghost stories and have fun. They ate different

treats that they made. Halloween is when the spirits of the dead are supposed to

have access to the living world.

Halloween is a nice day that kids and adults have fun.

HALLOWEEN AND HOW WE CELEBRATE

On October 31st children and adults celebrate Halloween. The celebration of

Halloween came from Ireland. Children and adults dressed up with different

-13-

costumes such as ghosts, zombies, witches, princes and different creatures. The

costumes that people were wore supposed to confuse the spirit. Today children go

trick or treating knocking on their neighbors’ doors in order to gather different

candy bars, chocolates, and different candies.

PUMPKINS AND DECORATIONS

People decorate their houses with pumpkins carved with scary faces and they put a

candle inside them called jack o lantern. They also decorate with skeletons,

mummies, spiders, and black cats.

HALLOWEEN PARTIES

AND THE SPIRIT OF THE DEAD

Adults also got dressed and went to parties. They played different games like

bobbing for apples in which apples are floating in a basin of water and they put

coins is them or dollar bills and you tried to get the apple with your mouth. No

hands allowed. They would tell ghost stories and have fun. They ate different

treats that they made. Halloween is when the spirits of the dead are supposed to

have access to the living world.

Halloween is a nice day that kids and adults have fun.

-14-

All About HalloweenBy: Jeanette N. Malinowski

How Halloween StartedHalloween started over 2,000 years ago in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern

France. There lived a group of people called Celts, who lives had revolved around

growing their food. The Celts considered the end of the year harvest season. This is

why they celebrated New Year’s Eve on October 31st. They called it “Samhain”,

named after their Lord of the Dead.

Since winter is cold and over 2,000 years ago we didn’t have what we have today

winter was the time of year that was associated with human death. Celts believed

when summer ended and winter started, the boundary between the worlds of the

living and the dead had blurred so the dead would return to earth. Celts thought that

the presence of the ghost made it easier for the Druids, their priest, to predict

their future.

Why Did the People Dress Up?This all started with the Celtics beliefs. People would dress up to so they could look

like the spirits. They wanted to look like the spirits so they could hide from them.

They wanted to hide from them because they believed the spirits could hurt them

and were afraid. The people thought the spirits or demons could cause droughts,

diseases, and natural disasters. So, the costumes were like a disguise. People would

roam the streets to fool the spirits into believing they weren’t living. Back then the

costumes were much scarier because people would wear rags and smear ashes and

blood on them. Most of the time it was animal blood.

How did Trick-or-Treat come to the United StatesTrick-or-Treat was brought by Irish immigrants in the 1840’s. In the middle ages in

Britain the Catholic accepted people begging or souling for special treats called

“soulcakes”. The homeowners gave the beggars soul cakes that were usually made

from oat or barely. In return homeowners thought they would get protection and

prosperity for being kind. The givers called “soulers” would also say a prayer for the

dead. Some stories say the custom of an Irish peasant collecting money and food in

preparation of St.Columbus Day started the trick-or-treat trend. If the beggars

didn’t receive a treat they would play a trick on the homeowner.

-15-

Kristina Rusin 7th grade

What is Halloween

Halloween is a time for children to dress up in costumes, go around to housesand collect their candy from each home they pass. But what is Halloween beforewe had the words Trick-or-Treat?

How it all began

About 2,000 years ago there were people called the Celts which is now the land ofIreland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France. On the night of October 31,which is our Halloween, the Celts celebrated the Samhain, and it was the day thatthey thought the ghosts of passed people came back to life on earth. The citizensof the towns would hide in there homes, while others would wait for the hauntingspirits. They said that the ghosts would damage their crops, and burn downhomes and farms. The smart people would wait in their homes not to be hurt bythe spirits, the other people would start bonfires to greet the evil ghosts.

The History Haunts of the Jack O Lantern

The Jack O’ Lantern is a pumpkin that is carved with a face and glowing lightinside. These mysterious pumpkins are used during the fall. People use theseJack O’ Lanterns as decorations for Halloween. It all started when Stingy Jacktricked the devil, and the devil sent Stingy Jack to stay on earth for ever walkingin the darkness with only a bitten turnip with a candle in it. They decided to callthis turnip a Jack O’ Lantern because he used it as a lantern.

-16-

THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEENBy: Octavio Balcazar

Octavio Balcazar 7th Grade

HALLOWEEN

Halloween’s name

Halloween’s name was made shortened from the term: “A hollows eve” and it was also

known as “All Saints Day”. Halloween’s day is a form of pagan celebration in Europe.

Why do we wear costumes

We wear costumes for Halloween because back then, 2000 years ago people disguisedthemselves to confuse and scare the spirits back into the grave.

How did Halloween start?

The Pope at the time of Halloween when it started was Pope Gregory the Third. Halloween,of course, as you know was a pagan ceremony that was made to worship ghosts and otherghastly ghouls, and the Pope thought that he should change that to instead of worshipingghosts and evil spirits to worshiping saints known and unknown around the world. Thatday was to be called “All Saints Day” changing the name “A hollows eve” from the paganceremony. Soon after the name was changed a great potato famine occurred in Irelandforcing the Irish to come to America where they brought the tradition here. After theycame they decided that they would keep the name “A hollows eve” because they shouldkeep their traditions right? So we changed the name here so we could make it shorter. Wecame up with the term Halloween.

What we do today

Here we do something called “trick-or-treating” where we go from door todoor asking for treats and other goodies!! Some kids take “trick-or-treating”to far though and the cops have made certain regulations about making surethat kids don’t do any bad things this Halloween. So help out the cops andkeep the streets safe!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

-17-

Shannel 7th. GradeHalloween

HOW DID HALLOWEEN BEGIN ?

Halloween started as “All Hollows Eve” which was the day before “All HollowsDay” a Catholic celebration for honoring the saints. They went to a graveyard andcalled on souls to speak to them and the souls chose which body they wanted tolive in. Celtics celebrated” All Hallows Eve”.

WHY DO WE TRICK-OR-TREAT?

It was believed that it was necessary to dress as a spirit or weird creature whengoing outdoors to blend in, and this is where dressing up for Halloween comesfrom. This gradually evolved into trick-or-treating because children would knockon their neighbors door in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for theHalloween festival. Salt used to be sprinkled in the hair of the children to protectagainst evil spirits. The official Orange and Black colors of Halloween came fromorange being associated with fall harvest and black symbolizing darkness anddeath.

WHY DO WE DRESS UP ON HALLOWEEN ?

The dressing up tradition was started so that when the spirits come they mayblend in. That way they do not kill or possess them beacause they would thinkthe were already dead. This was very scary for children so they let the children goaround the neighborhood collecting fruit from nieghbors. But what the childrendidn’t know was that these fruits were offered to the dead. Now in our moderntimes the neighbors give candy and we don’t sacrifice it to the dead. OnHalloween, Irish peasants would beg the rich for food. For those that refused,they would play a practical joke. So, in an effort to avoid being tricked, the richwould hand out cookies, candy, and fruit – a practice that morphed intotrick-or-treating today. Places that celebrate: Canada, Ireland, Australia, UnitedKingdom, Japan, Bahamas, United States, sometimes New Zealand, Sweden, inLatin America they call it Noche de Brujas. Different names for the holiday: AllHollow’s Eve, All Saints' Eve, Samhain, and Hollow’s Eve.

-18-

Sharon Dao 7th GradeHalloween

The History of Halloween

A long time ago there was an ancient civilization called the Celtics and they had a festivalcalled the festival of Samhain, which started Halloween. People say that the festivalstarted with the legend of Samhain, the Celtic God of Death. They lived 2,000 years agoin a place that is now Ireland, where it originated. They celebrate their New Year onNovember 1, All Saints Day, and on October 31, Halloween, they celebrate the festival ofSamhain. They believed that night ghosts of the dead would return to earth and causechaos. Celts also thought the presence of spirits would make it easier for Celtic priests totell the future. Making bon-fires and throwing sacrifices in like animals or crops is alsoanother tradition of theirs. Halloween was actually called All Hallows’ Eve, which meansthe night before All Saints Day. “Hallow” is the Old English word for “saint”. Later on,people shortened it to just Halloween.

During the celebration, the Celtics would dress up in costumes made of animal fur andheads and told each others fortune. They wore these costumes because they thought evilspirits would come and they’d disguised themselves as other spirits and confuse the onesthat came from the dead. That started the tradition of dressing up every year. The historyof trick or treating started in the festival of Samhain, when they thought the evil spiritswould come, so they left food on their doorstep for the ghosts to appease them. Later onpeople would come and beg for soul cakes and nowadays children would beg for candy.That began the beggars’ night. Pumpkin carving traditions didn’t come until the 1800s.They originally carved turnips. The legend of pumpkin carving started when Stingy Jacktricked the devil into a tree and carved a cross on it so he couldn’t go back down. Thedevil then cursed Stingy Jack and forced him to walk on earth in the dark with only aturnip lantern to light his way.

Black cats became a symbol of Halloween when during the festival the Celtics thoughttheir ancestors would came back but in bodies of animals, mostly black cats. Black catsare still a part of Halloween today. Ghosts have always been a symbol of Halloween andghosts actually started Halloween. Witches have been a symbol around the Middle Ages.The Catholic Church thought there were witches, when some people thought theirneighbors were practicing witchcraft or making potions and spells to poison others.They’d accuse others of being witches if they didn’t go to church or if they sensedsomething fishy.

There are more traditions and symbols of Halloween throughout all the years. And thereprobably will be more. The history of Halloween will carry on for a long time.