Welcome to the Williams' Point!

    This is a blog constructed by the 5th and 6th grade students of Mrs. Williams' class. This month's editors are Dillon, Rasheed , and Michael. Other journalists include Emma, Emily, Samantha, Nick, and Jordan . We will write about things that matter to us, whether they are student profiles, current events, or something that we feel needs to be published. This blog does not reflect the views of the school or district, but it definitely expresses the views of us kids. Welcome, and  enjoy this edition of the Williams' Point!!!

Compiled By//This month's editors

5 Questions With Carrie!

    Carrie is a new student in Mrs. Williams' class. She is a 5th grader and just moved here from Horn Elementary School. She agreed to do "5 questions," a new segment that we will try to post on every Williams Point. "5 questions" will focus on student/teacher profiles. Here is how this week's interview played out...

What is the biggest difference between Horn and Weber?

Horn has way more homework. Also, Weber is just a lot more fun.

What would be three words to describe you?

Athletic, artistic, and happy.

Four words to describe our class?

Hardworking, nice teacher, and nice. 

What is your favorite hobby?

Reading. My favorite book is probably the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. 

What is your favorite sport?

Basketball, my position is Point Guard and Post. 





Compiled by// Emily



New Faces at Weber!

      Compiled//Michael, Jordan, Nick, and Rasheed          

 
 In this Williams Point we interviewed the three new faces at Weber! The main three are Mrs. Podhasky, who takes your ticket at lunch, Mr. Boyce, our new janitor, and Mrs. Heffner, our new assistant principal! Here are the interviews....                        
                                                           

                                                          Mr.Boyce

What is one thing that most people would be surprised to know about you?

I spent a year on an island called Midway (In the Pacific Ocean) for military work. I lived there for two years!

What was your previous job?

I was a driver for Liquid Propane, and delivered LP as well. I actually still work there part time.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like going to the theater and going to the movies.

How do you like Weber?

[There are] nice people here. And [I like it] pretty well!

                                                  Mrs. Podhasky

What is the biggest stereotype about lunch ladies that is not true?

We don't always have to wear hairnets, and we are nice!

What was your previous job?

A domestic engineer (which is just a fancy word for stay at home mom).

What do you like to do in your free time?

Run errands, bake, blog, make jam, and spend time with my husband (Greg) and my kids (Rachel, Grant, Jacob, and Abbie).

How do you like your new job?
I love it so much.

                                                      Mrs. Heffner

Do you like your new job?

I love it.

What is your favorite book?
The Velveteen Rabbit

What is  your favorite food?
Steak and baked potatoes and candy.

Words of Wisdom?
"Choose to be a happy learner everyday."

What do you like to do in your free time?
Read and garden.

Track Preview!

Compiled by//Michael

      The track meet is some people’s favorite time of the year. “The track meet is awesome,” says sixth grader, Andrew.  But what is it that makes the track meet so special? Dean Conrad, the 5^th and 6^th grade P.E. teacher says,” [This is] the only time of year where the kids can compete, and Weber kids love to compete!”  Conrad also stated that this year the ICCSD track meet will be held at City High School. Since Weber is a fairly large school, we will compete with the other AAA (There is a day for large schools, AAA, medium schools, AA, and small schools, A) schools such as Wickham and Lucas. So whether it is the hurdles, relays, triple toss, three-legged-race, agility course, shot-put, or any other event, be prepared to have a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from last years track meet!

Hawkeye Buzz: Interview with Lisa Bluder

            We were very lucky to be able to interview the Iowa women’s basketball Head Coach, Lisa Bluder.  Lisa is one of the most respected coaches in the Big Ten.  She is a 3 time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2001, 2008, and 2010).  Out of her eleven seasons with Iowa, they have gone to the NCAA tournament six times. Here are the results of our interview.

Q. What has been your most memorable game?
A. Beating Rutgers in the NCAA tournament was one of the most memorable games for me.  Just winning in the NCAA tournament is so hard to do, but beating Rutgers – coached by Hall of Famer, Vivian Stringer, made it extra special.  We also had a very young team and no one really expected us to do it! It felt great!

Q. What has been the hardest moment for you as a coach?

A. Losing is always difficult, but the most difficult times are when you have personal problems – maybe a player is not living up to your team values, not trying as hard as they can on the court or in the classroom, or causing trouble within the team.  Dealing with them and their parents are the most difficult things that I have to do.  Luckily, that hasn’t happened much lately!

Q. What do you do to pump up the Bluder Bunch?

A. We do all kinds of things to motivate our players, things like playing music, making highlight videos of their great plays, giving them goals to accomplish, I also like to use short stories, quotes or poems and sometimes bible verses.  The best and most successful players are pretty self-motivated, but as a coach, I need to continue to work to bring it out in them.

Q. What made Kachine Alexander and Kelsey Cermak the players that they were?

A. They became great leaders that loved the University of Iowa and our team.  They wanted to do their best because they loved the people around them.  They worked hard on their game and bought into our team values and mission statements.

Q. How hard do you think it will be without Kachine and Kelsey?

A. I will miss them both, but luckily we have some great players returning for us and also some great players coming in as freshman.

Q. What do you think of the incoming recruiting class?

A. Our incoming recruiting class is ranked #11 best in the nation!  So, we are excited about these 5 young women.  They are also great students as 3 of them received presidential scholarships based on their academic success.  I think that several of them will contribute to our team right away!

Q. Who do you think will shine next year?

A. I think that Jaime Printy will be one of the best offensive players in the Big Ten conference.  Kamille Wahlin will have a great senior season along with Kelly Krei.  I am anxious to coach new comers Samantha Logic and Virginia Johnson too!

Q. What does your NCAA bracket look like?

A. It is against NCAA rules for us coaches to fill out the NCAA bracket!!  Isn’t that a crazy rule?

Q. Who do you think will win the Women’s NCAA tournament?

A. Unfortunately, I think that UConn will win it all again – I wish that someone new would be in the final four.

Q. What would your words of wisdom be to young players?

A. Work hard; find something that you are passionate about to pursue.  Study hard, you won’t go anywhere without a good education.  Listen to your parents – they really do know best!  Follow the golden rule of do unto others what you want done to you – in other words, be nice to other people!                                                   

We would like to add a HUGE thank you to Lisa Bluder for answering these questions. We know it took a lot of time to answer them, and she’s very busy. Another thank you to her and the people that took the time to read this! 

compiled by// Sam and Jordan

                                                           

Mrs. Williams' Class Adopts Po Po!

     Mrs. Williams' class has adopted a Giant Panda!! We came up with names for the panda, and had some crazy ideas, such as Po Po, Fatty, Carl, and Clam Chowder! We finally named the Giant Panda...Po Po!!!  We hope that we inspired you to adopt an animal from the WWF to help endangered animals. Here are some Panda facts.Thank you to Michael, Rasheed, and Nick  for coming up with the idea of adopting and animal using the World Wildlife Fund.  Thank you to Samantha
Anderson for donating her prize money to fund the project.

Physical Description: Giant pandas' ears, eye patches, muzzles, legs, and shoulders are black. The rest of the animals' coats are white. Giant pandas have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. Many people find these chunky, lumbering animals to be cute, but when threatened, giant pandas can be as dangerous as any other bear.

Size: Giant pandas stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder (on all four legs), and reach four to six feet long. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 250 pounds in the wild. Females rarely reach 220 pounds.

Geographic Distribution: Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central and western China, mainly in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces.

Status: The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Animals. There are about 1,000 left in the wild, and about 130 in zoos and breeding centers.

Habitat: Giant pandas live in bamboo forests at elevations between 3,600 and 10,500 feet. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming, forest clearing, and other development now restrict giant pandas to the mountains.

Natural Diet: Wild giant pandas feed almost entirely on bamboo. Sometimes, wild giant pandas also eat bulbs, grasses other than bamboo, and small animals.

*facts thanks to http://www.nationalzoo.com/*





 

Compiled By//Michael

Hope





compiled by//Samantha

 At 2:46 p.m. on March 11^th, 2011, the floor of the Pacific Ocean began to quake 80 miles from the coast of Japan. This was the beginning of a 9.0 rated earthquake. This earthquake was the fourth strongest earthquake in the world in the past 100 years. This was also the strongest ever on record in Japan. The earthquake also triggered a huge tsunami with waves as high as a 3 story building. The tsunami swept away ships, cars, houses, and even entire cities! It caused many fires to sweep across the land. There were also many aftershocks from the earthquake.                             

            Combined, these two disasters caused much damage. There are thousands of people missing in Japan, and an estimated 10,000 killed. Also, there are more than 440,000 people living in temporary shelters. There are also many food shortages, water shortages, and fuel shortages.

            The Fukushima Daiichi power plant has its own problems. Four of their nuclear reactors have overheating problems, so crews and helicopters have been dumping seawater into them. Explosions and fires are still causing some radiation to escape.

            The Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said, “In the 65 years after the end of World War II, this is the toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan.” This might actually be true. Many countries are trying to help Japan, including the U.S. and China, but there isn’t much they can do.

            After all of this there is still some hope left. Search and rescue crews have rescued about 1,500 people already, but it’s getting harder and harder to find survivors each day. That doesn’t mean that miracles still can’t happen. A four month old baby was rescued on March 14^th from some rubble and was reunited with her father. She has become somewhat a symbol of strength to her nation.




                  

              The four month year old baby in a pink bear costume






 







Cell Phone/Social Network Debate

Opposed to the Idea...


  compiled by//Dillon and Rasheed

We have siblings in high school, and college. We have seen how inappropriate text messages and posts on social networks can get. Why should 3^rd graders be allowed to access that? Of course you are going to be their friend on Facebook if you’re their sibling. Then, they can see all the inappropriate stuff you put on your wall. Of course it’s okay for the older kids to see it, because they are around inappropriate words and things like that all the time.

Another point is, if you release too much information, strangers can find out a lot about you. A common excuse to have a social networking account is that you have to reach a relative that lives far away. A much easier and safer way to reach them is by e-mail. Nobody else can see the message.
Now to cell phones. Cell phones can be very addicting. You could be texting 24/7, 365 days a year. It affects us because if we try to play with our sibling, and they stop the game to text. That is our pet peeve.

Texting can also ruin your spelling. Using slang like lol (laugh out loud), cuz (because), and jk (just kidding) isn’t proper grammar or spelling. It can also ruin capitalization. Nobody capitalizes the letter I when they are talking about themselves.

If you are constantly on your phone, you’re probably using it when you are driving too. It’s sad, because a few months ago a teenage girl died while texting when she was driving.

So No, you shouldn’t be able to use social networks or have a cell phone if you are in elementary school!

 Now For the Other Side.....

compiled by//Emma

      Social network and cell phones should be allowed at Elementary schools!  I don’t necessarily think that you should bring cell phones to school. If you do, good for you. However, what if you want to hang out after school and need to call home for permission? Would you want to use a phone full of germs? I wouldn’t. Picture this. You just forgot some homework on the way to school. The bell is about to ring, why wait until you get to school and call on a phone full of germs? Just call or text your parents before you get to school. That’s what I would do.

The most popular social networks are Facebook, Twitter, and My Space. Are they allowed at Elementary schools? No, but why not? Facebook is where you can socialize and meet new friends. That should be allowed, right? On MySpace, you upload videos. What’s wrong with that? That’s why I think cell phones and social networking should be allowed in school.          

So yes, cell phones and social networks SHOULD be allowed for elementary school kids!

                      

                           What do you think the conclusion should be???

Pool Boy

Our class just finished reading Pool Boy in Read Aloud by Michael Simmons. According to Barnes and Noble here are some recommended books that are like Pool Boy. Pool Boy is about a boy named Brett, a spoiled rich kid, whose life totally changes when his father gets arrested for illegal trading. Brett gets a job with  Alfie, the pool cleaner, and learns some valuable lessons along the way!

    If you liked Pool Boy check out...

Riley Park

Twister

Shooting Star

compiled by//Michael

Hard Work on our Research Projects!

The Road to Championships

Special Report brought to you by//Rasheed and Nick

      

 The Battle of the Champs,

the Title Game. 

Huskies against Bulldogs.

  It was a dog-eat-dog game,  but there was only one top dog...

      UConn was led by their superstar point guard, Kemba Walker. Kemba had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 steal. Jeremy Lamb had 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 12 points all coming in the 2nd half. Alex Oriakhi pitched in with 11 points. UConn shot 34.5% from the court and 9.1% from the three point line, as well as 87.5% from the free throw line.

       UConn on defense was stellar as well, with 10 combined blocks, led by Alex Oriakhi and Roscoe Smith with 4. UConn had 51 rebounds, as 15 of them were offensive. Although UConn had 11 turnovers, they had help from the Bulldogs as they shot only 18.8% from the court. 

        Butler was led by senior Shelvin Mack who had 13 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. Matt Howard had 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block as well. Butler as a team shot 18.8% from the court, 27.3% from the three-point line, and 57.1% from the free throw line. Butler as a team had 40 rebounds with 19 of them being offensive. Sadly, they were not able to get their revenge. Now they are the runner-up for two years in a row as they fall to the Huskies 53-41.

         CONGRATS TO THE HUSKIES ON A GREAT SEASON AND A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!