Leading Edge’s Last Rally by Nicole A. and Nicole C.

On Wednesday, we first started the day with showing off our spirit by wearing certain colors for each grade, red for eighth graders, black for seventh graders, and white for sixth graders. Great Job to all of the sixth graders that participated and really showed us their spirit. The last Leading Edge rally commenced with a lip syncing battle between the classes. This weeks is Spirit Week of course so leadership decided to have them all sing “I will survive”. Mrs. Meindl’s class won having Henry as their glamorous lip syncing champion. Every class was great and everyone had a great time watching the class lip syncers perform.

 
After the battle, Mr.Shane congratulated the people who made the championships for the school teams in sports. All of the people that were recognized put in a lot of effort and made this years achievements possible. We congratulate them for doing their best and working hard for the games. All of the sports teams this year won at the championships which is a very big accomplishment. After that, two amazing 8th graders gave their speeches about their personal journeys at Leading Edge. It was really great to hear their promotion speeches and how they both grew throughout their time here. In all, leadership put on a great and very enjoyable rally and it was an amazing way to start closing the school year.

We're growing brave Middle Schoolers @NCS_LE! pic.twitter.com/HyazM3wJQl

— Mrs. Bibayoff (@LEroomI3) May 27, 2015

Videos, Animations, Games: Choose Your Own Mystery Projects

Axel's Gamestar Mechanic Creation has tons of book tie-ins.

Some people enjoy making and starring in videos while others prefer to write a story. Some are up for a new tech challenge like designing their own animation or video game while others like timelines and charts.

Sixth grade had the chance to choose how they would honor the mystery book of their choice with our latest Language Arts Assignment: Mystery Choices Menu. Mrs. Bibayoff's Core class took a closer look at the projects (there were more than 40 digital submissions from her Core class alone) to rate which ones were the best of the best! Here are the top best nominations:

Student	Why It's Great	More Comments	Type/Link	5
Trevor	Gives me a good understanding of the book	use more words on the reason why you put that rating.	Blog Entry	5
Michael Norton	Very Informative about book and showed much effort	Why you chose the background of a road	Timeline	5
JohnPatrick S.	I really liked his ending better that the real one	I wanted to hear more about what happened after but I have nothing for an Idea for changes	New Ending	5
Ryan	I liked the trailer and all the suspense and it really make me want to read the book.	I would not change anything, but the grammar isn't on point, but it was really good.	Video	5
Shane H	the story was very interesting and i just wanted to keep reading and wanted more.	I wouldn't change anything.	mystery story	5
Shane H	I liked how he used effective dialogue and how you could tell that he put in a lot of time and effort on his animation. I liked the sound effects and it had a clear summary.	I thought it was really great and there wasn't really anything to change. The backgrounds and music really reflected the book.	Animation (Must be Logged into Powtoon to work)	5
Lauren Chang	I loved how she put in a picture of a scene and I enjoyed her blog.	If I could change 1 thing, I would put more adjectives in the blog.	Blog Entry
Axel M	Really fun!	Explain the keys for new players	Game Star Game (Must be Logged into Game Star Mechanic to work)	5
Trevor	Had dialog to know what was happening	Take about what happened in the original ending	New Ending	5

Students enjoyed testing out the board games in class (from those who'd chosen that option).

Aqueduct Challenge by Axel, Ryan, and Arib

In Expressions recently, there has been a well known challenge among the sixth graders: The Aqueduct Challenge! This was a scrumptious challenge that Ms. Meindl asked us to do in honor of our now current history unit, Ancient Rome! In Ancient Rome, the great Roman architects and artists created an artificial river to give and produce water to their city called an aqueduct! So in honor of

this unit of Rome, we did the Aqueduct Challenge!
What the Aqueduct Challenge was just four different large groups in each of the Expressions periods (4, 5, and 7). Groups were trying to see who could build the best aqueduct that could carry the most water the fastest through a mini aqueduct that we built by ourselves with only five materials: buckets, bricks, tape, water, and our own hands! Every finalist group in their period that won everyone else will be competing against each other from every period! It was a very fun, difficult, and hands on project that we all enjoyed very much and it took lots of cool creativeness!

“It was fun and challenging at the same time”, said Hudson. For period 4, Axel’s team won, only because Christian spilled a little water (but no excuses!). For period 5, we are not sure which group won. On period 7, Ainna's group won. “It was unfair because we beat them fair and square, but then Ms. Meindl picked the winner from last time,” said Sai. Even if you lost, it was still very fun and exciting to build a Roman structure and make water move all by itself!

We’ll see you in the finals!

SBAC Positive and Negative How did you feel? by Senara

Sixth and Seventh graders took SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) from May 8-13. The other programs in Natomas Charter also took SBAC recently. I decided to ask three students what they felt about SBAC. I made them promise that they had to tell the complete truth when they wrote down their answers. There was good and bad results in the interviews. Here are some negative examples:

SBAC was taken on Chromebooks. Note: Not real test shown.

Samantha (LE 6th): “I felt like SBAC was very long. My brain felt fried and it was overwhelming. I was very confident at first but then it got annoying. I know that some people did not even finish after Friday.”

Natasha(LE 6th): “ SBAC was extended and I felt like I was having a heart attack. During the test, I felt like punching my chromebook. After SBAC I felt dizzy because I could not handle all that pressure! In a way, I felt like SBAC was the longest thing I ever did in the 6th grade.”

Seneka (Star 4th) : “ SBAC was long because in language arts we had to write an essay. When I finished typing my fingers felt like they were about to fall off! In the end, I felt like my brain was about to POP!”

Even though this was long and stressful these same people said some positive things of SBAC as well. These are some positive examples of SBAC:

Samantha (LE 6th): “ I really love the use of technology. This was way better than writing it all down.”

Natasha (LE 6th): “ This had much less problems than Star Testing! I love that.”

Seneka (Star 4th): “The math was short and easier. You get to relax after it since all the pressure is off your shoulders.”

As you can now understand the positive and negative thoughts of different people who took SBAC. What were your thoughts on SBAC, and how did you feel about it? Why?

P.E. Dancing by Jaden M.

As you all know sixth and seventh graders have been doing dance in P.E, and a lot of students are nervous for how the dance will turn out or if you will do a wrong move. Well it's ok to be a little bit nervous. In fact, a lot of other people are feeling the same way. All you need to do before performing is to take a deep breath and just get it over with. You are all dancing in groups and are practicing really hard. Just calm down. The dance will just come to you, and it will be super easy.

For the dance performance in P.E, my group and I are doing an Italian Folk dance. To me, it is a little embarrassing but it is ok because I know that other people are feeling the exact same way. Everyone that works really hard does succeed at the things that they work on. So work on your dance with you group by practicing and have fun because that is all that it takes. Make sure to be proud at what you accomplish after you perform it, be happy with your grade, and your group.

Fun Greek and Roman Projects by Mari

Recently, the 6th Grade classes have been working on many projects for their Greek/Roman units in Core. One project was the marshmallow arches. We learned about the Romans making arches for their aqueducts and in other buildings. So we got into groups of four and tried to make our own arches out of marshmallows. The rules were that it had to stand for at least 15 seconds on its own. It was a fun if sticky activity and one arch stood for 2 minutes!!

Another project was our Greek/Roman myth books. From the beginning to almost the end of our unit, we collected famous myths read to us by our teachers and put them into a book with blank pages. We also had to make our own illustrations and book covers as well. This was also one of our biggest projects, but I am really proud how my book turned out.

Our latest project was our "Day in the life" story set in Pompeii. We each had to choose what we were in Ancient Roman society (slave, merchant, senator) during the time when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii in ash and debris. We could choose what we were doing, if we lived or died, and describe the people and events around us, the possibilities were endless. Then we built a volcano on the bulletin board and our stories were on display for Open House.

.

Teacher Appreciation Week! By: Manelle

As many of you know, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week! It comes annually, and lasts from May 4th to May 8th. It is an event where students and parents alike all over the nation can sincerely thank their teachers for being so dedicated. This event commenced in 1984, and the idea of Teacher Appreciation Week was created by National PTA, as a way to honor all teachers in America.

PTA, which stands for Parent Teacher Association, was founded in 1897 by women when women still didn’t have the right to vote. PTA works toward goals that directly help kids, such as healthy lunch meals, health service, and school safety.

At our school, to celebrate the event, we have made cards that one way or another support the L.E teachers. They have done so much for us and further our education, so I’m sure it wasn’t hard to come up with inspiring text for our teachers.

To further celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, places all over the country provided free or generously discounted items for teachers, as long as they had their I.D. Restaurants who participated in the event are, including but not limited to, Chick-Fil-A, McDonald’s, and Cici’s Pizza. Some shops who give discounts to teachers for a limited amount of time are Banana Republic and New York & Co.This further cements how important teachers are to America, and how thankful America is toward teachers.

National Teacher Day, another event set to support teachers, was set on March 7, but when Teacher Appreciation Week by National PTA was declared on the first week of May, teacher Appreciation Day was set on the first Tuesday of May. National Teacher Day and Teacher Appreciation Week are often celebrated together.

Overall, I think that Teacher Appreciation Week is a wonderful event that gives teachers the credit they deserve. It has been integrated into our culture, allowing teachers perks in restaurants and shops as well.


I also interviewed a fellow sixth grader, Lauren, to get her take on what she thought of Teacher Appreciation Week.

Manelle: What are your feelings towards Teacher Appreciation Week?

Lauren: I feel like Teacher Appreciation Week is really a great week. Teachers would feel appreciated and happy. Sometimes teachers are not treated in the best ways.

Manelle: If you were a teacher, how would you feel about this event?

Lauren: If I were a teacher, I would feel loved and happy. I would feel bad for getting SO many gifts but I would be really happy. :)

Manelle: How supportive do you think America would be about this event?

Lauren: I think America is pretty supportive. They made this week and they support teachers and they get gifts for the teachers. They make cards and stickers for this day.

Open House by Charlie

Thursday night’s open house was jam-packed with colorful art, fantastic projects,and beautiful classrooms. For 6th grade many things were on display such as the Greek and Roman myth books, the D.O.T. resolutions, Ulysses maps, and so much more. I’d also like to congratulate all the amazing students who managed to impress and intrigue their parents and peers, Great job everybody! Finally I would like to thank all the teachers and staff for making an impressive atmosphere and it all worth while.