November 2015

Mendon Center

Elementary School

Winter is the most spectacular season out of all four seasons!!! In winter, snow is fluffy and pretty and the whole world looks like it is covered with a white blanket.

Winter for some people is torturous, but for others, it is a time of joy! Overall, winter is a very positive experience for others in this area!!!

Winter is an awesome season! It is awesome because we can have

snow days often! They are fantastic. Due to snow hazards, you don't have to go to school. You can stay warm and cozy at

home and play all day long!

Another reason that winter is fabulous is that we can create things in the snow! Children get to build humongus snow forts and absurd looking snowmen! Best of all, there are huge, crazy, and fun snowball fights!!! You can also try walking in the snow! Propelling in the snow is like walking

What’s Up, MCE?! is

published by

Mendon Center

Elementary students in

grades 3-5, under the

guidance of Mrs. Carpin,

Mrs. Iserson, and won-

derful parent volunteers.

Student staff members

select topics, research and

write the content of the

paper. Many thanks to

everyone who contributed

to this issue!

Gary the Happy Pirate, by Zach Levitan

Does it make you happy when you help other people in need? I was lucky enough to meet a good man named Gary Smith. People also know him as “Gary the Toy Pirate.”

Gary used to be a music entertainer for kids like you and me. Gary was sad that a foundation to help kids at a hospital was slowly fading away and he wanted to help. So in 1995 Gary created the Pirate Toy Fund for kids

in need, for example kids who are sick or poor.

When you think about it, we are lucky. We have so many toys and other kids deserve some, too. Every time you ask your parents for a toy and you get it, and don’t need it, imagine kids with no toys.

My family visited Gary and gave him lots and lots of toys from my brother Max and me when we were little. It made me sad when I gave

them away, but I knew it would help other kids.

People

Cool

Places

Animals

Food

Comics

Puzzles

… plus news and fun throughout the paper!

Inside this issue:

Winter Rocks!!!, by Lucas Chang

Continued on Page 2

Issue 1

As you read, look for the .

It means you have reached

the end of the article!

Continued on Page 2

Page 2 What’s Up, MCE?!

Did you know that Mrs. Humphrey has a dog and her name was Ruby?

Ruby, Mrs. Humphreys’ dog, finished training when she was fourteen months old and started when she was eight weeks old. It did not take long to get Ruby to be housetrained and took eight month’s to train her to do regu-lar stuff like sit, stay down and more stuff.

Gary the Happy Pirate, continued from Page 1

We went with Gary to his ware-house and took a picture and saw more toys than Toys R Us! He gives out 24,000 toys a year to kids in need during the holidays and all year. He gives both new and used toys, but only new to hospitals.

Personally, his favorite toys are Mr. Potato Head and pirate toys. He

There was regular class once a week and one weekly outing like taking her to the movies. Mrs. Humphreys had to carry a doggy backpack in case she peed in a store. Ruby loved going to the outings She could go anywhere. She loves hiking. “Ruby loves it when she knows what she’s doing.’’

Mrs. Humphreys said. If kids petted her while her vest was on,

Ruby got scared and confused because she was so well trained. Mrs. Humphreys said it’s fun until when you give them away

Ruby did all the training for a service dog, but the harness made her cough so she could not do it and then became a pet for Mrs. Humphreys.

That is guide dogs in Mrs. Humphrey’s eyes .

through tons of soft cotton! After you play outside, you can have a relaxing cup of hot cocoa! The cocoa mug smiles warmly at you as you come in from the cold!

Some people's perspective of winter is torturous!!! They have difficulty walking and feel vulnerable because they slip often, but when they fall, they land on harmless soft snow!!! Some people feel uncomfortable outside, because it is cold and sometimes bitter. You can wear gloves, a

wooly jacket, hat, and snow pants and you will be just fine! Finally, some people may have driving difficulties. You avoid it by just staying home and enjoying the snowy day.

Winter is an exciting season in New York State so you should not frown at the arrival of winter! You can go to bed with nothing on the ground. The next morning you wake up, you open the curtain and the world is as white as vanilla ice-cream!!!

Guide Dogs in Mrs. Humphrey’s Eyes, by Lea Rashid

Winter Rocks!!, continued from Page 1

gives toys to kids age zero to fourteen.

Would it make you feel good to help somebody in need this season? I have good news for you because Gary said I can help him collect toys at MCE. Please help me and my brother and give your new or old toys to kids in need. Please

drop off gently used or there is a big box NEED TO FILL IN DATES AND LOCATION where you can put them.

Zach and Gary the Happy Pirate

His favorite book is The Giving Tree because he loves the messages of selfless giving for love. Mr. Yonkers favorite f ootball team is the Buffalo Bills. Mr. Yonkers has baseball cards by his table because he used to collect them. The cards are the New York Mets team. His favorite baseball team is the Mets.

If you had Mr. Yonkers I bet you would like him because he’s amazing!

Mr. Yonkers started at MCE in 2005.

He works for 2nd, 3rd and 4th but every year he changes grades. Mr. Yonkers loves being a resource teacher. He likes to work with so many amazing kids and different teachers every year. He only had one other job and it was being a lifeguard at the Adirondacks.

Mr. Yonkers favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. He likes giving thanks, he likes eating, he likes football and he likes napping.

I asked him what animal would you like to be? Well he would be an emu or a honey badger. He can’t decide. He has antlers in his room because “In the Room for Learning we have a profound respect for nature.”

I asked him if it’s hard to work with kids he said “No, every job has its challenges but working with kids is the best part of this job.”

All About Mr. Yonkers by Carys Johnson

Page 3

Mrs. Carpin has been teaching at MCE for twelve years and teaches third grade. She is also the advisor for Newspaper Club.

Mrs. Carpin loves to teach writing because she loves to write and she loves to see what her students write.

Mrs. Carpin also loves to teach math. Here are some math tips that she has: Do your best, do not be afraid to use a number line, and do not go fast.

Here are some books that she recommends for all grades:

Kindergarten: Dr. Seuss books First Grade: Dr. Seuss Second Grade: Magic Tree House

books, Too Many Monsters Third Grade: The World According

To Humphrey, Love that Dog Forth Grade: Wonder, Babe and Me Fifth Grade: Hatchet, Granny Torelli

Makes Soup

Mrs. Carpin is forty-five, and she was thirty-four when she started teaching at MCE. She has two helper teachers: Mr. Eckler and Mrs. Shaikh. She also has two kids! Her favorite food is vanilla ice cream and she loves Miss Sharon’s mac and cheese! She loves being at MCE!!!

Mrs. Carpin’s

Teaching Life, by Eliza Agate and Hailey Benzel

My Interview with a Real Writer, by Reva

I interviewed Urvashi Pande. I decided to do this interview

because I wanted to know what it feels like to be a real author/writer. Q- What genre do you usually

write? A- Opinion pieces and short

fiction. Q- Is there a specific thing you

love about writing? A- I can forget about myself and

let my pen take over. Q- Is writing more of a hobby or

a everyday routine thing? A- Both, because it has been a

hobby since child hood and because I’ve been writing a journal about the funny things my kids do.

Q- Were you always a really

Continued on Page 4

I interviewed some students from

my class and the school to see which

is the most favorite flavor of ice

cream. Some flavors that were from

“other” votes included mine chocolate

chip, cotton candy, and cookies and

cream.

The Favorite Ice Cream Flavors by Students, by Jackson Clark

Page 4 What’s Up, MCE?!

good writer? A- I think we all learn all the

time and my lessons started when I was about 8. That’s when I wrote for my local newspaper I finished writing the story and I realized that it was much longer than the word count needed. I was in a rush to play so I edited my story in a hurry and sent it off without double checking. When the paper came out it did not read like I had written it. It seemed to be missing parts that’s when I realized there is NO shortcut to good work.

Q- What inspires you to write? I think in everyone’s life there many stories, and I find my own and others stories very interesting. I also enjoy writing them and love it when

My Interview with a Real Writer, continued from Page 3

others enjoy them to. I feel really grateful to connect with people through my writing.

Q – who are your favorite authors/what are your favorite books?

A- One of my favorite authors is Ayn Rand. I really enjoyed her book, Atlas Shrugged. I also like Sherlock Holmes because he is so clever and perceptive.

Q – how many of your articles or stories have been published and where?

A- I have published a few articles in corporate world which help to train new employees. Recently Huffington post published another article of mine. I continue to publish on my blog too.

Q – Is there anything you want to

tell us about how we should go about writing ?

A- Write about something you believe in, are passionate about. It is important to edit but first let your heart take over. Make sure you are sensitive to other people’s feelings when you write. The idea is to spread joy.

When the interview was over,

she said, “Thank you for the interview Reva. It was a great experience for me to have such a bright and sweet interviewer. Wish you all the best for all your writing. I look forward to reading it.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavors

2 votes 4 votes 3 votes 4 votes 14 votes

Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry Twist Other

Page 5

Christmas: The Holiday of Happiness, by Tanish Garg

Have you ever wanted to learn

more about Christmas? Read this

story to find out what Christmas is

like.

People are very happy when they receive toys, books and electronics. Christmas was first

celebrated by the Christians but in modern times Christians didn’t

celebrate Christmas instead they tried to figure out when Jesus Christ was born. The Christians didn't agree with each other until someone announced December

25th and everyone agreed on it then people all around the world celebrated Christmas to honor

Jesus Christ in what he did. People decorate Christmas trees with different ornaments and sometimes leave presents under their fig tree. They hope to get presents under their tree the next day. Little kids

at everyone’s house.

Now Halloween has changed. During Halloween we give out candies and other things, and get to see our friends and neighbors. We go from our door to door and collect lots of cool candies and toys. We also have fun with hay rides.

Halloween, by Grace Biswas

Halloween also known as All-Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31st. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending Halloween costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing and divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted

attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films.

During Halloween in our neighborhood, there’s always a gathering with lots of people. This activity is popular in the U.S because Halloween started long ago. Part of its history was costumes and long ago, not everyone got candies

believe in Santa Claus. They think on Christmas day Santa would come down the chimney from the

rooftop and put the presents the little kids wanted under the tree. Families and friends would meet up with each other for Christmas dinner and share the happiness

and joy. Most people who celebrate Christmas love the holiday and give their used toys to the poor kids.

Page 6 What’s Up, MCE?!

Minecraft is a really popular game. It is also really fun. There is a creative mode which you cannot die in it. Also you can build whatever you want, like pirate ships, houses, castles, soccer fields and other stuff!

There is also a survival mode that you can fight mobs (people call them). Here are some of the mob names: Zombies, skeletons, witches, magmas, blazes, ghosts and a few more things. Also some animals are mobs too! You also you can mine for treasure such as diamond, emerald, lapis luzui, gold, iron, coal and leather (sometimes).

Leather doesn’t sound like treasure RIGHT? It just sounds silly that leather is treasure. But I call it treasure sometimes because you can make armor, swords, axes, pickaxes, hoes and shovels with it.

The coolest thing I think in Minecraft is that there are mods in it that you can get. The cool thing about mods is that sometimes you can make up your own mod like a nerf gun mod!

I also like that some people can make vides of Minecraft using the stuff they know. By the way, people call those who make videos of games (like Minecraft) video gamers. Here are some video gamers that I like to watch them play Minecraft: Popalarmmos, Dantdm, Vikkstar and a few more but I forgot their names! My

Minecraft, by Aidan Xu

favorite Minecraft video gamer is Dantdm!!! He makes awesome videos. He uses cool stuff in his videos like: mods, dragon eggs, science and other stuff. In his videos, there are also two more characters named Grim and Dr. Trayoros.

In Minecraft, there is also a way to cheat. To cheat for treasure, you first have to put down some wood, stone, iron, gold, coal, emerald, redstone, diamond and a crafting table in creative (You don’t have to put down a lot of treasure). Then you turn your world into survival mode. In survival mode you first break a wood block. Then you go to your crafting table and craft a wooden pickaxe. And then you break a stone block using the wooden pickaxe. Use the leftover sticks (from crafting the wooden pickaxe) and craft a stone pickaxe. You can keep on doing that and get higher leveled pickaxes. If you run

out of sticks perhaps you just need to mine a wood block, go to your crafting table and then craft some sticks from the wood block! Later on with your game you can craft all sorts of stuff! Such as: swords, hoes, axes, armor and more things.

There is also a kind of computer mode. (The computer mode I was talking about is PC. PC is mostly used on computers.) And there is also a PE mode which I was talking about for most of this article. In PC there is a boss at the end called the ender boss. He is called the ender boss because you fight him in the end. When you're fighting him make sure to fight him with an arrow not a sword because it actually does less damage. I hope you will have a good time fighting the ender boss.

I also hope that you have a basic idea of what Minecraft is after reading this article.

Answer Key:

Word Search on Page 8

The Best Selling Book, by Cameron Watt

Page 7

have 4 kids together and live in the Rocky Mountains.

The main plot of the book is about an organization that takes the smartest kids in the world and puts them in a small dirt village surrounded by a maze. This organization is called WCKD (pronounced “wicked”). WCKD wipes the kid’s memories so they don’t remember anything about themselves.

The main character of the story is a teenage boy named Thomas. Thomas is brave because he goes into the maze at night and saves his friends from Grievers. Grievers, are giant spider cyborgs. If you get stung by one, you die. If you get the cure called the Griever Serum, you will be saved. Would like to know if the kids escaped the maze and the Grievers? I would recommend reading this book.

I think people who are in 4th grade or higher should read this book. The story twists and turns so if

you like stories that keep you guessing, this series is for you.

The Maze Runner is so good that I have already begun reading

the second book in the series. I can’t wait to see what else happens

to Thomas and his friends.

Let me give you some clues about the book I am writing about. First, this book won many recent awards. Second, the characters are young and are trapped in the center of a maze. Third, there are four books in the series. Finally, the first and second books have been made into movies.

If you guessed The Maze Runner series, you are correct. The names of the other books in the series are The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and The Kill Order. This article covers the first book.

The Maze Runner won many awards such as New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, and Book Sense Bestseller. The Maze Runner is a great, exciting and interesting fictional story.

The name of the author is James Dashner. His parents are John and Linda. James was born in Austell, Georgia in 1972. He is married to Lynette Dashner. They

MCE Mart, by Manasa Karthik

The MCE mart is a place where

you can get jelly bears, jelly animals and school supplies like

spy pens and erasers. Mrs. Hosbach’s and Mrs. Egan’s fourth grade class run it. You can find it in the center hall. It is open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and

Friday. It is open 8:30 to 8:45 A.M. Last year, jelly bears with big heads were a big hit. I wonder what this

years hit is going to be. And what’s

new? Well there is a new series of

animal erasers and jelly bears on key chains. It is also helping students

start counting money, and give back change. There are about 4 students running the MCE mart at a time. Before they run out get what you need.

Page 8 What’s Up, MCE?!

BACKPACK

BIRTHDAY

CHALKBOARD

CLASSROOM

DOORKNOB

FRIENDSHIP

Compound Words in Mrs. Carpin’s Classroom, by Wu Ryu

HANDSOAP

KEYBOARD

LIGHTBULB

LUNCHBOX

NOTEBOOK

PAINTBRUSH

PENCILCASE

THUMBTACK

WHITEBOARD

Answers are on Page 6

Best Story, by Emma Pichette

Page 9

Sam the Fly, by Edward Wu

Page 10