The Denver Post • 1

CK Reporter of the WeekClarise Reichley, Denver

June 7 , 2016

Parks fi lm lets you experience history, beauty

Turtle Formation! “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows” is an action-packed,humorous fi lm, fi lled

with stunts that will blow your mind, with new characters and with villains, teamwork, modern tech, and my personal favorite… Explosions!

You will get to see your favorite turtles talking up with all their teenage slang: Michaelangelo “Mikey” (voiced by Noel Fisher), wearing an orange mask, likes pizza and is very goofy; Leonardo “Leo” (Pete Ploszek) who wears a blue mask and is their fearless leader; in the purple mask, Donatello, “Donnie,” (Jeremy Howard) the brains of the group; and my personal favorite, Raphael “Raph” (Alan Ritchson), sporting a red mask, the tough guy, who everybody is afraid of.

And, of course, the wise master Splinter (Tony Shalhoub), a rat who raised and trained the turtles.

This team would not be complete without April O’Neil (Megan Fox), their brave human ally who helps keep their secret; who now has a new friend, Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) to help her with her missions.

Prepare to get your laughs out with these witty teenagers!

For those of you who enjoy the villains, you will be happy to see the old classic Shredder (Brian Tee) with his deadly plan as always, while one character who was new to me was Commander Krang (Brad Garrett), who helped with Shredder’s plan to eliminate the turtles.

This new adventure will take you through the

sewers of New York city, while the turtles try to stop Shredder from building the teleportation device and taking over the world.

The fi lm is bursting with special eff ects and worthwhile seeing in 3-D. It was hard to sit still because it felt like I was part of the action and there were times that I had to dodge some bullets.

Although the movie is long, the non-stop action will keep you entertained.

If you love action movies this fi lm is perfect for you. I would personally rate this movie for audiences 7 and up due to some language use.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2” teaches you the value of working together as a team. The turtles are silent heroes of New York, they don’t take credit for all of their good actions because they like to remain in the shadows.

In order to understand the storyline and get to know the characters I would recommend watching the fi rst movie and some of the cartoon episodes because some characters were not on the fi rst fi lm but appear in the cartoons.

Then join Mikey, Leo, Donnie, and Raph in this mesmerizing adventure!

YouthJournalism Day

for 4th-8th grade students

Thursday, July 21, 2016 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM

Metropolitan State University, Denver

Student Cost for the Day: $60 (includes breakfast & lunch). Spend the day with professionals learning about story writing, interviews, writing tips and photography.

Register today! Go to ColoradoNIE.com for a registration form. Call 303-954-3974 with questions.

TMNT2 thrills with non-stop action

By Natalia Zavaleta,11, a CK Reporter from Lakewood

“National Parks Adventure,” the newest IMAX 3D movie at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, takes you on a

journey like no other. The fi lm is narrated by Academy Award winning

actor Robert Redford and features Conrad Anker, a famous climber for The North Face, Max Lowe, a photographer, and Rachel Pohl, an artist and adventurer.

These three set out on a journey to visit several National Parks in North America that included climbing and camping at Devils Tower, hiking among the towering Redwood trees in Redwood National Park, mountain biking in Arches National Park and ice climbing in Glacier National Park.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the National Park System, which is why fi lmmaker Greg MacGillivray decided to make this

fi lm. He wanted to tell the story of the hard work that went into creating these parks.

I enjoyed watching this movie and hope that other people take the time to see it because of the history and the beauty of these places.

The movie itself is good and the IMAX screen makes you feel like you are there, though I think it would have been better if they didn’t have so many mentions of the movie’s sponsors.

It also had a serious tone and while they did show some funny parts, it might have been better to have lighter moments.

These National Parks are all around us waiting to be experienced.

They were created to protect special places for people to enjoy nature and the natural world. People from all over the world come to experience them.

This 40-minute movie will be featured through September 22 at various times throughout the day.

It is a documentary and not rated but all ages would enjoy it. Tickets prices vary depending on whether you come just to see the movie or are also visiting the museum.

For more details, catch the live link atColoradoNIE.com.

By Katherine Gagner,11, a CK Reporter from Boulder

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah, as seen in “National Parks Adventure” (Photo/ MacGillivray Freeman Films)

The Denver Post • 2

Centennial’s Girl Scout Troop 4103 donated 130 boxes of cookies and many,many bags full of stuffed animals to the Arapahoe

County Sheriff’s Office last month.Girl Scouts at the Junior level (4th and 5th grade)

work on a Bronze Award. This is a way of giving back to the community and can be donating something, participating in a food drive, or raising money for a hospital.

This process for Troop 4103 started when we voted on a Hometown Hero, a place where we would donate cookies. We decided on the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.

The officers invited us on a tour of their workplace and we learned about the history of police and the different jobs there.

On the way, we saw a small pile of stuffed animals. “What are those for?” one of our Scouts, Sarah, asked. “Well, when a kid is in a bad situation, we give them a stuffed animal to make

them feel better,” said the officer leading the tour. That got wheels turning.After the tour, our whole troop decided that starting a stuffed animal drive as

well as donating cookies bought with the funds from cookie sales to the Sheriff’s Office was going to be our Bronze Award.

But how and where were we going to do the drive? A troop leader suggested doing it through the schools, and so Peakview

Elementary ended up being the location of our drive.

We all made posters and Katelyn B., Katelin D., and I hung them up around the school, and we set up two bins for the ¨Stuffys¨ as Katelin D. likes to call them.

We also made an announcement on PNN, or Peakview News Network.

The drive was a booming success! Every Thursday Katelyn B.´s dad would check and collect the stuffys, and there would always be more!

The drive ended on the first Monday of May. The animals and cookies were dropped off that very day.

The officers were very grateful.“They don’t get many thank you’s,” said Kyra.

Diana commented, ¨Every effort counts!¨ ¨Donating was one of the best days ever, seeing the smiles on their faces!” said

Delany. In all, it was a great, rewarding experience.

Station tour sparks community project

King Tut’s iron dagger was really out of this worldYou’ve read of Tutenkhamun, the

famous “King Tut” whose tomb in Egypt was full of treasures.

You may have even seen some of them a few years ago, when an ex-hibit brought them to the Denver Art Museum.

But if you think only of gold, you may be missing one of King Tut’s most inter-esting treasures: An iron dagger.

It is a very fancy iron dagger, of course, with a handle of gold and rock crystal, but it is the iron blade itself that

has puzzled archaeologists since the tomb was discovered in 1925.

Tutenkhamun lived about 3,300 years ago, in the Bronze Age, several centuries before anyone in Egypt was able to turn iron ore into metal.

How did a Bronze Age king end up with an iron knife?

Researchers examined the knife using high-frequency x-rays to deter-mine its exact content, and found that, besides iron, it contains nickel and a small amount of cobalt.

That’s the same content as was found in an iron meteorite that fell in Egypt all those centuries ago.

Ancient Egyptian artisans must have made the dagger out of an iron mete-orite, archaeologists say, hammering it into shape because they could not heat it hot enough to melt and use in molds.

This is not the only example of items made from meteorite iron in ancient Egypt, but those objects were rare and probably considered more valuable than gold.

Nature is full of the mysterious, and can seem magical at times. However, not all people fully appreciate the wonders of the environment.

“Bayou Magic” by Jewell Parker Rhodes shares the story of Maddy, a ten year old girl who understands the importance of nature, even when her sisters do not.

This novel is an enchanting read, and is great for students ages nine to twelve.

Maddy and her sisters take turns visiting their grandmother over the summer. Until now, Maddy has never gotten to visit her grandmother, whom she calls Grandmėre.

Her sisters joke about Grandmėre being a witch, and Maddy becomes afraid of what will happen during her visit.

However, when she is introduced into the bayou that Grandmėre calls home, she realizes what her sisters never did: both the magic and importance held by the enchanting environment.

“Bayou Magic” teaches the reader about why nature

is beautiful and important to protect. Reading the story through Maddy’s perspective helps the reader connect with her and understand what makes her different from her sisters, who do not respect nature like she does.

The bayou is filled with new plants, animals, and people for both Maddy and the reader to connect with.

She learns about the history of her family while making new friends, and is given the chance of carrying on her family’s legacy when her sisters did not.

Using this new power, Maddy must find the courage to protect her new second home from a devastating oil spill.

Will Maddy be able to protect both the bayou and her family’s legacy?

Finding the magic of nature, and tradition

CK Readers had some good results from the past school year, or, at least, those who answered our question felt good about things.

Nearly three-quarters of you said you got good grades and about half the rest were satisfied with how it went, if not thrilled. Just fewer than a tenth felt they needed to re-think the way they go about things for next year.

Here’s what we asked you, and what you told us:

How did your school year turn out?

A. I’m pleased. Got good grades and feel I earned them. 71%B. Could have been better, but I’m okay with it. 14%C. I need to make some changes for next year. 9%D. I’m not on a traditional school calendar. 6%

Now here’s our next question:How is your summer shaping up?A. Lots of planned activities; I’ll be busyB. Some activities and travel, but some leisureC. Very few plans at allD. School doesn’t end for me in summer

To answer this question, go to http://nextgen.yourhub.com

Lakewood resident and CK Reporter Sylvie Lamontagne made a return trip to the National Spelling Bee on ESPN in May, after winning the Colorado Spelling Bee for a second consecutive year.

Lamontagne, an eighth grader at Creighton Middle School, improved her Top 10 national standing by finishing fourth. In 2015, she had wound up in ninth place among the nearly 300 spellers at the national finals.

After that attempt, she told the Denver Post she intended to spend more time learning the roots of words, an improvement she demonstrated in this year’s contest by knowing that, since “ptyalism,” a condition that causes excess saliva, comes from Greek, it most likely begins with a silent P and not a T.

She was joined in Washington, DC, by 10-year-old Boulderite Cameron Keith, another repeat contestant at the national finals, who had been the youngest speller there in 2015. Keith made it into the fifth round for a Top 50 finish.

We asked you, you told us:

2015-16 was a very good yearSylvie returns to National Bee

By Jasmine Douglas,12, a CK Reporter from Thornton

By Silvia Goodman,10, a CK Reporter from Centennial

photo/Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee

photo/Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

The Denver Post • 3

Although Charles Darwin was the fi rst to come up with a theory of evolution, one example of how a

species could change fairly quickly was noticed in 1848, a decade before his work came out.

The peppered moth had been a mostly white moth with fl ecks of gray and black coloring.

This allowed the moth to sleep on the trunk of a tree during the day without being seen by birds.

However, when the Industrial Revolution came along, cities in England became so polluted with soot from factories that the tree trunks were dark.

In those cities, peppered moths also became dark, even though ones who lived out in the country re-mained mostly white and light gray.

Researchers in Liverpool, England, have now found the gene that allowed the moths to change, and say the fi rst dark moths were hatched in 1819.

Over the years, moths that were born dark survived in the cities, while light-colored moths there were easily seen and eaten, so that, over time, moths in the cities were mostly dark, because those were the moths who survived and laid eggs.

The researchers also found that the same gene has a similar eff ect in tropical butterfl ies.

However, instead of making them change over time to become easier to hide, it gives them brighter colors so that they look more like toxic butterfl ies that birds avoid eating.

Moths did not wait for Darwin to evolve

NASA has been working on what to pack when we send the fi rst missions to Mars. One thing they will defi nitely

be packing is some version of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM.

This new technology, that has just started to be tested on the International Space Sta-tion, is an expandable room that will aff ord future astronauts a little extra leg room on long missions.

The complete packaged room only mea-sures 8 feet in diameter, but when expanded will provide more than 350 feet of habitable space. This will be very important because it will take up far less room on future space missions.

Right now, the plan is to send several rockets with supplies and gear to Mars so when our fi rst astronauts arrive, there will already be enough necessities to sustain life. But cargo space on those rockets is very precious so having a small bundle that can turn into a fairly large room is a big advantage.

But before it can go to Mars, NASA wanted to test it out on the ISS. And it is a good thing that they did.

This fi rst test didn’t quite go as well as they had hoped. The fi rst launch date in November of last year had to be scrubbed because of problems with the Space X rocket.

BEAM fi nally made it to the Space Station in April and was installed over one of the portals. NASA set the date for the big infl ation and invited the world to watch.

Last week school kids, media and the gen-eral public tuned in to NASAtv to get a fi rst glimpse of this new technology. Unfortu-nately, many were left disappointed.

After several hours attempting to infl ate the room, the astronauts were only able to get it to a fraction of its fi nished size. NASA decided to stop the expansion until they could fi gure out what was causing the problem.

It took scientists two days to decide that those extra 10 months that BEAM waited to be launched probably compressed the fabric and made it sticky. They felt that giving the module a two-day rest probably had already solved the problem.

Finally on May 28, BEAM reached its full potential and measured 13 feet long and more than 10 feet in diameter.

Now comes the fun part. Over the next two years astronauts aboard the ISS will perform many experiments inside BEAM. They will be checking monitors for po-tentially dangerous levels of radiation as well as testing the air quality inside. They will also be making sure the structure itself will be able to keep humans safe from space particles and orbital debris.

When it comes to equipment that our astronauts will use in space, testing is defi nitely a life or death issue.

BEAM off ers Mars astronauts some leg room

Wars have a bad effect on people, as Annabelle, in “Wolf Hollow,” by Lauren Wolk, experiences with an old army World War I veteran, Toby.

Annabelle lives a quiet life, considering that World War II is going on. It was 1943 and everything seemed quiet, living far from the two World Wars.

Too quiet. Betty Glengarry undid that quiet.As the author explains, Annabelle’s first encounter with

Betty was not as pleasant as she had hoped. Betty commands that Annabelle shall give her an item

from Annabelle’s rich home. When she refuses, Betty beats her with a stick.

Betty continues to do bad things that hurt people for life and it leads to self-destruction.

But whenever Betty harms Annabelle, Toby is there, scar-ing off Betty and helping Annabelle.

People think Toby is crazy. He walks all day, over the hills near Annabelle’s house, in

a long black oilcloth coat with three guns strapped across his back.

He likes to take pictures of Annabelle. People think he had gone crazy because of the war,

because of the brutal things he did to people then. After reading “Wolf Hollow,” I found myself thinking

about the story. You hang onto every word and you feel like the story is

from your own history because the author includes so many good details and you can imagine and visualize the story so well.

It’s like you’re telling it yourself; You feel so connected to the characters that you show emotion for them.

After I finished the book I felt sad knowing that I wasn’t go-ing to be able to sit down again and read the book without knowing what was going to happen.

I felt happy after reading the book, but I didn’t want it to be over.

I think kids eight and up would enjoy the book, but that adults would probably enjoy it just as much as kids.

A tale of troubled times far away from the war

Rules: Every row across, every column down and each of the six smaller boxes must contain numerals 1,2,3,4,5 and 6, one time and one time only.

The solution to this week’s puzzle is on Page 4.

On this date in 1893, attorney Mohandas Gandhi was thrown off a train in South Africa for refusing to obey racial discrimination rules, beginning his lifetime of fi ghting for justice, so our answers this week will begin with “J.”

1. Golden and Lakewood are in this county.

2. This small member of the dog family is similar to the coyote but lives in Africa and Asia.

3. He became president when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

4. This Caribbean island country, known for reggae music and jerk pork, is the third-most populous English-speaking nation in the Americas.

5. One of three NFL teams in New York State

6. He became president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

7. This one-time Pony Express stop in northeast Colorado is Sedgewick County’s seat.

8. Louisiana is home to this spicy stew, combining meat, shrimp, rice and vegetables.

9. A type of saw used to cut irregular curves. (Does it puzzle you?)

10. She’s the star of a series of popular kids’ books by Barbara Parks.

(answers on Page Four)

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Dana Plewka is Educational Services Manager for the Denver Post and Executive Editor of Colo-rado Kids (photo/ Bigelow Aerospace)

By Haley Deison,11, a CK Reporter from Arvada

top photo/Ben Sale, bottom photo/Janet Graham

The Denver Post • 4

is produced by Denver Post Educational Services

Executive Editor: Dana Plewkadplewka@denverpost.com

CK Editor: Mike Petersoncoloradokidseditor@gmail.com

We welcome your comments.

For tools to extend the learning in this feature, look under “Youth Content” at:

www.ColoradoNIE.com

eEditions of the Post arefree of charge for classroom use.Contact us for information on all

our programs.

Denver Post Educational Services101 W. Colfax Ave.Denver CO 80202

(303) 954-3974(800) 336-7678

Stories without bylines were written by the editor.

(see Page Three)

10 right - Wow!

7 right - Great!

5 right - Good

3 right - See you next time!

1. Jeff erson 2. jackal 3. (Andrew) Johnson 4. Jamaica 5. Jets 6. (Lyndon) Johnson 7. Julesburg 8. jambalaya 9. jigsaw

10. Junie B. Jones

Hot Links to Cool Sites!

NASA’s Space Placehttp://tinyurl.com/ckspace

NIE Special Reporthttp://tinyurl.com/ckniereport

Headline Geographyhttp://tinyurl.com/ckgeography

Pulse of the Planethttp://tinyurl.com/ckpulseplanet

How to become a NextGen Reporter!http://tinyurl.com/colokidsreporter

To read the sources for these storiesKing Tut’s dagger

Peppered moths

NASA’ s Expandable Module

go to http://www.tinyurl.com/ckstorylinks

Correction:Our May 31 review of “Alice Through the Looking Glass” cred-ited the wrong director. The � lm was directed by James Bobin.

Chapter Four -- On the TrailOur story so far: Angered by the beatings Caleb receives at home, the soldiers in Forsyth’s Rifles are allowing him to

come with them to their base at Sackets Harbor.

A thaw set in the morning the soldiers left for Sackets Harbor, and the wet, slushy snow built up on the sledge’s

runners, slowing the group and forcing the soldiers to help the horses, pushing and rocking to get it over the deep, muddy ruts of the road.

But what was bad luck for the soldiers helped Caleb; he could stay behind and stay out of sight of Sgt. Adams, who was at the front of the column, trudging through the gray fog.

As each new group of men came back to take the places of those who were tired, he simply kept low and remained the shortest person behind the loaded sledge.

They were five hours out of Fordsburgh before Sgt. Adams himself came back to see how the men were doing and spotted the boy among them.

“He’s going to help us with cooking and firewood and such,” Cpl. Daley said quickly. “He won’t carry a gun or get anywhere near any battles.”

Adams looked back up the road in the direction they had come. Despite the thaw, it was still plenty cold and a long walk back, and, too, there was a chance of meeting the British or their native allies. He couldn’t send the boy home alone.

“This isn’t a nursery school,” he said. “Detail two men to take him back.”“Once we get to Sackets Harbor, there will be plenty of other civilians,” Private Clark spoke

up. “There would be women to watch out for him, if he couldn’t stay with us.” Adams glared at him, and Clark dropped his eyes to the ground.

Adams looked back at the corporal, and then at the faces of the other soldiers and saw in their eyes that they all were on the boy’s side.

As he paused, Daley turned to Caleb. “Take your shirt off,” he said.Caleb stared at his feet, embarrassed to have the men arguing with Sgt. Adams over him,

and ashamed to show his back.“Either show him what you’ve got now, or go on back for more,” Daley said. As Caleb’s eyes met his, he gave the boy a nod of grim encouragement.Caleb dropped his knapsack and bedroll into the snow and peeled off his wool coat. Then

he grabbed his thick linsey-woolsey shirt with both hands, pulling it up over his head.He turned his back to the sergeant, still with the shirt over his arms, and felt the cold air

on the swollen welts and open cuts where the strokes of the hazel rod had slashed his back. He glanced over his shoulder and saw again the look of pity mixed with disgust that he’d

seen on the face of John Gabriel, and he felt again the shame.“Put your coat back on, MacKenzie,” Adams said.“MacCrimmons, sir,” Caleb said quietly. “That was my father’s name: MacCrimmons.”The sergeant nodded. “You’re in charge of the boy,” he said to Daley. “We’ll see what

happens when we get to Sackets Harbor.”He headed back towards the front of the column as one soldier handed Caleb his coat

and another picked up his knapsack.“Don’t ever be ashamed of what’s happened to you in the past, Caleb MacCrimmons,”

Daley said. “Just worry about what you let people do to you in the future.” Caleb slipped into his coat and put his arms through the straps of his knapsack. The rest

of the column had begun to move forward and he, Daley and the two privates helping him gather up his gear were left behind a short distance.

As he started to shift his bedroll into place over his knapsack, Daley suddenly put a hand on it to stop him from moving, and gestured for silence. Caleb looked back at the road behind them, where the others were facing.

The privates took their rifles from their shoulders and each dropped to one knee, peering through the gray mist. Honest travelers would make noise, but someone was trying to move quietly. They glanced at Daley and one of them uncorked his powder flask and primed his pan.

There was a flash of motion behind a tree, of someone starting to look out, then hiding again. Then there were the twin clicks of two hammers being pulled back, as the soldiers cocked their rifles and made ready to fire.

And motion again, and then Caleb stepped forward. “Wait,” he said to the soldiers. He walked a few feet back on the road, looking intently at

the tree. “Come out before you get your head blown off,” he said at last, and turned to walk back to

the men, as his stepbrother Alex came from behind the tree.“I’m coming with you,” Alex announced. Caleb looked at the tote sack he was carrying. “Where’s your bedroll?” he asked.“I didn’t have time,” Alex said. “I told Pa you’d run away to Ogdensburgh and he went up

there to fetch you back, and I figured I’d better get moving.”“We’re sleeping in the snow tonight, and probably tomorrow night as well,” Caleb said.

“What were you thinking of, coming without blankets?” Then he looked at Daley and the others, and at the column of soldiers disappearing

around a bend in the road ahead. “Oh, Alex, what were you thinking of at all?”“Come on,” Daley said. “But keep him out of the sergeant’s sight or I’ll send you both

home myself.”Text copyright 2012, Mike Peterson – Illustrations copyright 2012 Christopher Baldwin

For a teaching guide, go to http://tinyurl.com/ckserial

Freehand

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