Leading Edge Student Sports By: Emily and Samara

Here’s the scoop on how sports are going so far in the fall season at Leading Edge:

Mr. Shane’s Perspective

“I think the teams have been working really hard,” says Mr. Shane the P.E teacher and coach of the boys' soccer and cross country team. He says that he thinks the teams have responsibly dedicated their time to the sports and that their hard work has paid off. He thinks the Volleyball varsity players are “Champs” and that they are playing well.

Pep talk before winning the game
against Bradshaw.
Photo by Karisa Bibayoff

Boys’ Soccer

As most of the boys' soccer team would say “It’s really fun to play at the games.” As Jacob (an eighth-grade player that has been on the team for quite a while) “Everyone has good sportsmanship and the coaches are really experienced.” Another person said, “It's really fun to play other teams.” Another mentioned, “Most of the people we play have good sportsmanship.”

Girls Volleyball

JV Girls won their first set against Bradshaw.
Photo by Maggie Bufflebe

We were able to interview a couple people on the Volleyball team and one girl on Varsity named Ava says “Some teams we’ve played had good sportsmanship, (like Bradshaw) but others (like Mills) weren’t very nice.” We heard that “One of the best parts are doing warm-ups and sometimes I get really nervous but excited too.” Also, the team is so far on a losing streak but the practices have been better.

Cross Country Team

“It’s fun to progress and get better,” says Nick, one of the runners on the cross country team. Even says “The best part is meeting new people and the coaches.” While interviewing a few runners they all had a lot to say about the coaches. All of them agreed that the coaches were “experienced and really nice.” “The coaches let you work at your own pace and they push you, but not in a strict way,” says Maya Goodwin. We heard that it wasn't a very competitive sport and that it was mainly about what you can do, not what others can. We also heard people have really good attitudes even if they don’t run the fastest.

The season is just getting started! Everyone is welcome to cheer on the team at the games. Most are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Check the schedule with Mr. Shane or in Mrs. Bibayoff's room.

Sixth Grade Greek Olympics by Jennifer C.

Indian Cultural Day by Seneka

Of all the countries I’ve known India is one of the most culture bearing countries in the world, from three day weddings to symmetrical rangoli art. India not only created a unique culture, but it also created the best food in the world, potato samosas!!!

To wrap up our unit on ancient India we had an (amazing, unbelievable, fascinating, marvelous, incredible, shocking, prodigious, stunning, surprising, wonderful, and so much more) *in game show host voice* INDIAN CULTURAL DAY!!!!!! *applause*

I'm still to this day I’m amazed and shocked at how well it went. First we had a core, where we did a test on ancient India. Then we did symmetrical rangoli chalk art. We then went to the Multi-Purpose Room to show off our written skits and and our very own choreographed Jai ho dances. We then had a feast of naan and potato samosas (and some other stuff I didn’t try because I was busy eating naan and potato samosas. I mean what can I say they are delicious!!).

To wrap up this blog post I have a ‘Did You Know?’ fun facts we learned from our studies in ancient India.

• Did you know that the reason they respect cows so much is because it’s Lord krishna's favorite animal? 
• Did you know the most common religion in India, Hinduism, has 330 million gods? 
• (This is not part of our studies but I mean what can say I’m in love with these things!) Did you know that samosas claimed to originate in the middle east and were brought to India by Muslim merchants (thank you, thank you, middle east for creating the best food in the world)!!

What’s Going On in LE? [Week of November 4th] by:Nathan

Overall, life here in Leading Edge has been great! I’ve made some new friends, and we’ve learned so

many new things. My classes are Expressions, PE, Science/Tech, Math, and last Core.

In Core we have started our ancient Egypt unit (as mentioned above). Right now we’re learning about Egyptians and their way of life. Also we’re making posters about different gods and goddesses. My group chose the god Seth, the god of storms and chaos. We drew a big picture of him and will write his name in hieroglyphics and add a cartouche (an oval shape that has name of royal person or god written on it in hieroglyphics) to it too. We also recently did our Nile brochures. We had to include a map showing it’s route, why it was important to early Egyptians, section about the Nile today, section about uses of papyrus, facts, and a creative cover.

 In Expressions we just finished making our “Apple 4 Ways” where you had to draw 4 different apples and use different mediums for each one. Also one of them had to feature some sort of collage. For mine I used colored pencil, charcoal, oil pastel, and tissue paper collage.Using charcoal was super unique because it was cool fading it and doing other cool things. So now in Expressions, to connect to our new Ancient Egypt unit in Core we are signing up for parts in our play, Mummy’s Tomb.

Right now in PE we are doing create a game where you have to create a safe game that fits in with either flexibility, cardio, muscle strength, muscle endurance, or body composition. We get to chose the equipment we need an create a game based on one of the fitness components. Your game has to have group dynamics, movement patterns so you know how to play, and lastly self responsibility. Our group has created a game with two goals, two bowling pins, two paddles, and a ball. The goal is to try to get the ball into the goal and if you hit the bowling pin too you get an extra point.

In Science/Tech we’ve just finished our trimester 1 portfolios. We had to state our projects that we completed in the first trimester. You also had to write about how you're doing in LE and what your goals are. Now we are learning about weather and climate. In class we went on this website about heat and sunlight. We played with a model on the computer about how sunlight reflects off the ground and transfers into the Earth. You can also add clouds and gases or adjust the albedo and speed to see what changes it makes. Hope you enjoyed my Leading Edge update!

Chess by Noah Wells

Photo: Sixth graders learning chess in class
[Ms. Meindl's Twitter Page, twitter.com/expressivelea[

Leading Edge is an awesome school! I’ve learned so many new things and the year just started. But one thing was extremely fun to learn, it was chess! I had no idea how to play but Ms. Meindl taught me how to play in expressions and after that all I wanted to do was play chess.

I love the way chess is played. There are so many ways of winning and new strategies are being made. Chess is so relaxing to play and you use your brain the whole time. By playing chess my memory has been getting better, and I’m not forgetting anything. I’ve only been playing for about 2 weeks, and I’m never going to stop.

I have a really good friend Jensen. We have expressions together, and we have this rivalry. Every class that we can play chess, we always sit right next to each other and always try to win. Ms. Meindl thinks Jensen and I having a rivalry is funny, and it is. But for us, all it is bragging rights and the game is making us even better friends. The last game Jensen and I had, almost everyone in the class including Ms. Meindl were all around Jensen and I while we were playing chess. It was so cool that other people are as interested in chess as much as Jensen and I.

Flexible Seating by Ved Peesu

I think Leading Edge is a really astounding school. One reason I think this is true is because of the flexible seating. Flexible seating is really nice for students who don’t like to work sitting in one place all the time. They can choose from a variety of different places to sit. There are wobbly stools, high stools, beanbags, couches, and gamer chairs.


I believe that flexible seating helps students study and learn better because they are more comfortable and are more spaced out. Also, students can get tired of sitting in one place and not moving. For example, I can’t work in a regular chair as well as working in a spinning stool. Also, the body might get tired of staying in one position and students can easily lose concentration on their work. This makes Leading Edge a better place because it is student welcoming and make students be better learners.


There are many different places to sit, so if a student doesn’t like a spot they are in, they can move to another and try it. All the classrooms look better and amazing with all the new seating. I have sat and tried all the seats and they are significant to better learner. I am working well in these chairs and I am looking forward to seeing more. Flexible seating in Leading Edge makes it a better place to learn..