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James Monroe Elementary School

~ Spring 2017 Edition ~ Table of Contents

Main Article 1

Articles 2-4

Poems 5

Recipes 6-8

Book & Movie Reviews 9-11

Puzzles 12-15

Comic 16

PARCC Practice 17

Breaking News 18

Teacher of the Year- Mrs. Fuentes

Written by Archana Maryada

I’d like to introduce you to our teacher of the year, Mrs.

Fuentes. Let’s zoom in on how she feels.

Mrs. Fuentes has been teaching for about 14 years. Her

greatest strengths are that she is patient, and likes to make learning

fun for her students, so they like learning. Her greatest weakness is

that she sometimes gets off topic, while teaching. In her class, she

handles classroom discipline by talking to her students to do the

right thing.

It is Mrs. Fuentes’s first time being teacher of the year. She

feels honored, she was surprised, and she feels recognized. She likes

to learn outside of school, and she tries to become a better teacher

for her students.

Certainly, Mrs. Fuentes is an amazing, smart, fun, and beautiful

teacher.

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JAMES MONROE’S SOUPER BOWL EVENT

By: Murchhona Dasgupta

James Monroe’s Super Bowl Event, I mean

Souper Bowl Event, was an awesome success. It was

donating soup to the needy people and celebrating the

Super Bowl as well. This year’s teams were New

England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons. Although

the experienced Patriots have won in the real Super

Bowl, the Falcons have won the likings of most of our

school. The Souper Bowl is a hair-raising event where

not only people grow super competitive, they end up

donating food to the needy.

Imagine if you were hungry and needed a

decent meal to fill your stomach and you end up having

an empty cupboard. If your friends participated in

this fun and helpful event, your troubles would simply

vanish into thin air. This was organized by our school’s

student council’s Executive Board and by all of our

representatives. The way this works is that, there are

2 tables with the name of the 2 teams. Whichever

team has the most cans of soup, will be the winning

team.

If we were to have this same event next year,

I highly support it.

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Did you go to the volleyball tournament? It was an amazing game. We raised over $500 to compete. Although we didn't win, it was for Buddy Ball of Edison, Kiddie Keep Well Camp, Edison Job Corp, Marisa Tufaro foundation. I thank all the people who participated. People such as Mr. Rich, Mrs. Ellen, Mr. Fernandez, Mrs. Reif, Mrs. Blair, Mrs. Hook, Mr. Barry, Mrs. McCann, Mrs. Cathy, Mrs. Altman, Mrs. Milton, Miss Horvath, and Miss Brianne. They said it was a jolly good game! They were a little mad they didn’t win, but they got to play and had fun and raised money for a good causes and that’s what matters. Props to Mrs. Ellen for creating this year’s shirt for the James Monroe team.

If you went to the volleyball game, you know the whole

event itself was awesome. There were so many cool games and

things to buy. People who went said, “Even though we did not

win, it was worth going because the things there were great.” I was

not able to attend this event myself, but by the things I was told, I

can tell it was fun. Things there were things such as lots of food trucks, Fun carnival rides and small little games like ring toss or

knocking down all the pins. We look forward to next year’s game

and hope to raise more money for good causes.

Volleyball for Survival

By Madisen Brooks

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Who’s Ready for the Wizard of OZ? By: Theresa Lie

Who’s ready for the Wizard of OZ? I know I am! The play will be happening very soon and each grade level is working hard on their dances each week!

The first graders will be dancing as munchkins! I know adorable, right? I personally can’t wait to see their costumes! The second graders will be crows! How fun! The third graders will be Winkie Guards! I have no clue what that is, but I can’t wait to find out! The fourth graders will be Jitterbugs! How scary and adorable! Lastly, the fifth graders will be the The Emerald City people! The leads, as well, are working very hard to make this year’s production breathtaking! Some leads, such as Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, etc. have been rehearsing lines with Mrs. Duhamel during their lunch period, remembering and going over lines, and letting their inner character out. All leads found out their parts in the middle of November, and have been having practices every Thursday after school. The play directors, Mrs. Romeo, and Miss. Bussiere, are working very hard to make this play one to remember, as well!

This year’s performance will be at Edison High School on April 7th! We hope to see you with us on the Yellow Brick Road!

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Math Night

By: Kirthi Sarangapany

Math Night was amazing! It took place on Tuesday,

March 28, 2017. It was filled with excitement and fun.

Each grade level had different activities and math games.

There was multiplication, addition, subtraction, division,

fractions and a few more. We should thank all of the

teachers that were there to help us and took time out of

their busy schedules to come.

There was also an activity to guess how much

chocolate and candy are in a jar. The candy guessing jar for

grades K, 1 and 2 was the Lollipop Guild (Lollipops). The

candy guessing jar for grades 3, 4 and 5 was the Tin Man’s

Hat (Hershey Kisses). The first jar had 186 lollipops in the

Lollipop Guild Jar. The closest winner (Ashwin) guessed

195. The second jar had 254 of the Tin Man’s Hats a.k.a.

Hershey Kisses. The closest winner for this jar (Reet)

guessed 250

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Read Across America was entertaining, exciting, and most of all, silly. Every day of the week we followed a theme which was in this order; The Cat In The Hat (Wear your favorite hat), If I Ran The Zoo (wear animal print), Wacky Wednesday (mix and match), Sleep Book(Pajama Day), and lastly, the Wizard Of Oz (wear emerald green). We were joined by guest readers from all over New Jersey! But our biggest guests of all were our very own … RUTGERS FOOTBALL PLAYERS! Of course this all was in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, so we should all wish him the best birthday. Our guest readers were escorted from the library to their classroom by two of the students chosen from each class. All the readers enjoyed refreshments in the library with a photo booth which they took a few pictures with their escorts. The books read to the students varied from fun and silly to informational with a little humor. I hope you were lucky enough to have a little taste of both kinds of books. After reading all of this could you relate to your experience?

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Read Across America Week

By: Emilia Innocenti

James Monroe Elementary Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

By: Avikalp Shrivastava Did you hear? Our school, James Monroe Elementary

School, was “officially” opened on Monday, February 27, 2017. It was an extraordinary night. So, let me tell you about it. The night started with our superintendent, Dr. Richard O’Malley, giving an opening speech and gave awards out to some pretty special people: Ken Karle, Mr. Tony Talluto, Patty Allegretto, Dr. Joann LaPerla-Morales, and Jonathan Bush. Then, Dr. Frank Heelan, the board of education council president, talked about our three year journey back to 7 Sharp Rd. He talked about our school’s cost, and what situation we were in after the fire. Later came Mrs. Zapoticzny, our school principal. She talked about our journey from March 22, 2014 to today. Then came me. That’s right, me, Avikalp Shrivastava. I was sharing my reflections of our journey from a student perspective. It was almost a very detailed timeline of our journey into a speech. After me, some leads of this year’s play, The Wizard of Oz, Daleelah Alaboura (Dorothy), Murchona Dasgupta (The Wicked Witch of the West), Mathieu DeOleo (Tinman), and Matthew Mekhanik (Scarecrow) gave a preview of our play by performing Scene 6 for all in attendance. Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, the 4th and 5th grade chorus sang the James Monroe School Medley. They sang very well and the audience was shocked to see the chorus on the risers when the curtains opened. After that, the ribbon was cut!! I believe it was the best part of the ceremony. If you want to see the ribbon cutting ceremony which took place on February 27, 2017, follow the link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBh4Log4gtg

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Spring

By: Larissa Laucius

Spring is coming soon, Grass is green and flowers

bloom. Birds returning to their nest, Bees are buzzing all around.

Leaves are coming back again,

Spring, Spring, Spring is finally here!

St. Patrick’s Day

By: Zashaan Shaik

A leprechaun passed a muddy puddle,

He was on a saddle,

He got a bit splashed.

The leprechaun went home while his

horse dashed,

He then came out with a raddle.

Saint Patrick's Day Poem

By Mia Cabrera

There once was a mid-March day,

when people gathered to say, “Happy Saint Patrick’s

Day!”

They would look for the rainbow then for the little

green man

that led them to the pot of gold.

And till this day we always say on that mid-March day, Happy Saint Patrick's Day.

Spring

By: Anish Modi

Spring is here and I’m so happy!

So now I can finally see,

A buzzing bee,

A flower blooming on a tree,

And a blue-bird singing so

joyfully.

Spring has come in New Jersey!

St. Patrick’s Day

By: Grace White

May your pockets be heavy & your heart be light.

May good luck pursue you day and night.

A leprechaun's delight! The smell of cookie fills your halls,

The might of St. Patrick's is too Heavy to bare alone.

So what are you waiting for, hurry up and grab the phone.

Spring

By: Sohang Sethi

The Spring is alive!

Birds are chirping

here and there,

Flowers now

abloom!

Spring Poem By: Gia Bhatia

Spring is here, Spring is here. Goodbye snow, Flowers grow. Birds and bees Live on trees. Let's cheer,

Spring is here!

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Leprechaun Hat Cookies

Recipe by Natesh Gurram

Ingredients: 1 pouch of Betty Crocker™ sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup of butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy

vanilla frosting

1/4 of a teaspoon Betty Crocker™ green gel food color

24 large marshmallows

24 small (1-inch) chewy chocolate candies

12 small green gumdrops

Adult supervision is required.

No Bake Cake

By: Ethan Agabao

Adult supervision is required.

Directions:

1 Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Roll dough in 24

(1-inch) balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place 2 inches apart.

2 Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately place marshmallow on each cookie.

Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

3 In microwavable bowl, microwave frosting on High for 30 seconds. Stir; frosting should be a thick spoonable

glaze. Stir food color into frosting, adding more if needed to achieve desired color. Spoon warm frosting over

each cookie, coating completely and allowing excess to drip off. Let stand 20 minutes to set.

4 Roll chocolate candies into ropes. Flatten with rolling pin into 1/8-inch-thick ribbons. Cut into strips with

scissors to resemble hat bands; arrange around base of marshmallow on each cookie. Cut gumdrops crosswise in

half (reshaping as needed). Press cut side onto hat band. Lift cookies onto serving platter with pancake turner,

leaving excess frosting behind. Store in airtight container.

Ingredients

2 boxes of Graham Crackers 3 cans of Table Cream (found in baking aisle at Wal-

Mart/Shoprite or Asian store) 1 can of Condensed Milk 1 large can of Peaches.

Directions: 1. Mix the 3 cans of Table Cream and a can of Condensed

Milk. 2. On a rectangle baking dish or a foil pan, spoon out the

cream mixture and spread it out thinly at the bottom of the pan.

3. Place a layer of Graham Crackers until all areas are covered.

4. Apply another layer of cream mixture, just enough to cover the entire first layer of Graham Crackers. Repeat this process until you have 4-5 layers of crackers.

5. On the last layer, pour a good amount of cream mixture to cover all the crackers.

6. Drain the Peaches and place them on top of the cream mixture.

7. Refrigerate overnight and then serve.

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Avocado Smoothie

Ingredients: 2 Cold and ripe avocados Milk-2 cups 14 ounces of Sweetened Condensed Milk One cup of ice cubes.

Directions:

1. Cut and scoop out the 2 avocados into a blender.

2. Add 2 cups of milk, sweetened condensed milk, and the cup of ice cubes into the blender.

3. Blend the entire contents until it’s smooth and creamy.

4. Once blended, pour it into a nice glass and enjoy!

Adult supervision is required.

Veggie Omelet

Ingredients 2 eggs tomato Onion Mushroom Green Pepper Coriander Olive Oil Bowls Pan

Directions: 1. First, chop the vegetables into fine pieces. Next,

fry the vegetables in some olive oil. Then, put the vegetables in a bowl. Break both eggs in a separate bowl and whisk it. Put the fried veggies with the eggs.

2. Mix-it and set it aside for now. Take a medium sized pan. Then, put a little oil and heat the pan. Slowly pour your mix into the pan. Lastly, wait for your mix to look like your omelet. Then, toss the omelet on the other side. Now you have your OMELET!

By: Divya Krishna Adult supervision is required.

By: Arnav Kommaraju

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Mango and Banana Smoothie Ingredients

1 Mango 1 Banana 1 cup of Orange Juice Ice Cubes (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel the mango’s skin off and cut it into chunks (get an adult’s help!)

2. Repeat the same process with the banana. 3. Place all the ingredients into a blender. 4. Blend it until the smoothie becomes a thick

liquid. 5. Keep it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 6. Drink and enjoy!

(This recipe takes about 5 minutes to make and is great

for cooling down on a hot day or even just as a special

treat.)

Kiwi Strawberry Smoothie By: Anika Prakash

Ingredients: 1 banana 6 strawberries 1 kiwi 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt 3/4 cup pineapple and orange

juice blend Directions:

1. Place the banana, strawberries, kiwi, vanilla frozen yogurt, pineapple and orange juice blend in a blender.

2. Blend the ingredients together until they’re smooth.

3. Pour it into a glass and enjoy your delicious refreshment!

Adult supervision is required.

By: Kiran Patel

Adult supervision is required.

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The Lion King Review by: Alakh Jagtap

The Lion King tells about Simba, the lion, who is

going to become king after his father, Mufasa. However, after

his uncle Scar murders his dad, Simba thinks he is

responsible for his death. He exiles himself and runs away

from the pride lands. Through his travels, Simba meets

Timon and Pumbaa, who become his sidekicks and forever

friends. He is then given a different perspective of his father’s

death by his friend, Nala, and an old baboon named Rafiki.

Simba goes back to the pride land and faces many challenges

with Scar to take his rightful place as king in the Circle of

Life. Read this book to find out if Simba is victorious against

Scar.

I genuinely like how the story’s animations and sound

fit into the movie’s storyline. The movie scored a 92% on

Rotten Tomatoes!!! This movie is full of drama and a little

action. The cast holds Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones,

Jeremy Irons, Moira Kelly, Madge Sinclair, Ernie Sabella,

Nathan Lane, Robert Guillaume, and Rowan Atkinson. These

are the huge stars that took part in the movie. In my opinion,

this will always be a treasured movie with excitement to me.

Beauty and the Beast

Review by Kyle Alviar

Belle (Emma Watson), a bright, beautiful and

independent young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast

(Dan Stevens) in its castle. Despite her fears, she

befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look

beyond the beast's hideous exterior, allowing her to

recognize the kind heart and soul of the true prince that

hides on the inside.

In my opinion I think this movie was better than

Moana! The actors were phenomenal and just like the

animated film. The singers were remarkable and it was

just beautiful. They had such good voices. This movie

was just like our own play “Beauty and The Beast Jr.”

They had all the same characters as ours but a few

changes. If you want to hear more go to your local

movie theater and watch this “beautiful” show.

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The Game Plan Review by Mia Manana

It all started with Joe Kingman, a professional

quarterback who has everything he wants. He lives in a clean kept, multimillion dollar penthouse that's has a huge trophy case filled with a lifetime of awards—and an Elvis Statue. There are two things that are most important in his life: He loves himself... And above all else, he loves football! But that’s not all! 8-year-old Peyton shows up on his doorstep claiming to be his daughter. So, the superb, annoyed athlete lets Peyton stay, telling his agent, Stella, to fix things for him. Will Joe realize how important Peyton is to him rather than himself and football? Watch The Game Plan to find out what happens.

In my opinion, The Game Plan is the best movie ever! It teaches you the lesson of never giving up the importance of believing in yourself. This is a movie I could replay over and over again because it was absolutely adorable. I love how Joe realizes that he’s not alone and he has his friend-his daughter! I hope you watch this movie!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Review by: Brandon Chung

The book, A Series of Unfortunate Events, is about

three young children who become orphans because of a

tragic fire that consumed their home and parents. Violet

Baudelaire, the eldest, Klaus Baudelaire, the middle child,

and Sunny Baudelaire, the youngest who were very smart

and now very unfortunate. Mr. Poe, as the law says and as

the Baudelaire mother and father’s wishes were, is a relative

who is adopting the children. The next day, they move in

with their wretched and poor actor of an “uncle” named

Count Olaf. Count Olaf agrees to adopting the children in

order to gain access to the Baudelaire’s fortune which

Violet will obtain when she comes of age. Will Count Olaf

succeed in getting his hands on the Baudelaire fortune?

Read this unfortunate and rather mysterious book to find

out.

I loved this book from the very beginning. My

favorite part is when the Baudelaire orphans find out Count

Olaf’s plan. I loved when everything got creep like when

the kids saw all these eyes watching their every move in

Count Olaf’s filthy and horrendous house. Count Olaf also

has these creepy eyes all around his house and you feel like

the house is watching you. I hope you read this fantastic

book to find out what happens to the Baudelaire orphans.

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The Puppy Place: Sugar, Gummi, and Lollipop,

Book by Ellen Miles

Reviewed by: Gabrielle Dharmawan

The Puppy: Place: Sugar, Gummi, and Lollipop, is about a

foster family for dogs. Charles and Lizzie Peterson take care of

puppies until they find the perfect home. In this book, Lizzie goes

with her best friend, Maria, to her cabin for some resting and

relaxation. When they get there, they see a box with three puggle

puppies. Even though Lizzie loves these pups, they take a lot of hard

work. Will Lizzie find the perfect place for the puppies?

I would give this book a ten out of ten. The descriptions in this

book are very vivid, and allow me to visualize every scene. The story

is amazing, because the author made the book in my interest. I think

the puppies are adorable! I recommend this book to 2nd - 4th graders.

This is one of my favorite books. My favorite part is when Lizzie and

Maria find a person who would want to keep the puggles. So, I hope

you read this book!

Fire Girl By: Camryn Chlebowski

Firegirl is about a boy, named Tom, who thinks that

he was going to enjoy an ordinary school year, but boy was

he wrong. A girl named Jessica came into his class, but she

was no ordinary girl. She had been… well, burned. All the

kids ignore her. They all are too afraid. Tom and Jessica

don’t talk at all. Until one day, she was absent from school

and the teacher asked him to bring Jessica her homework

since he lives closest to her. He brings it to her after school

on his way home. But he finds out something that he didn’t

know before… Read Firegirl to find out what happens!

In my opinion, this book is amazingly well written

and show’s how Tom feels about Jessica. This book isn’t

about a regular boy and girl, this is about a boy who wants

to be nice but also wants to fit in. It shows that you

shouldn’t judge a person by how they look. But as I said,

one day he goes to drop off her homework and finds out a

secret about Jessica... If you want to find out what happens

than you should get this book.

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Spring Mad Libs

By Aarya Patil

The _________ flowers of spring. The ________ kids rush

(adjective) (verb)

through the streets. Start planting _________ in your

(noun)

garden. Let’s have lot of fun in the Spring! Lots of buds

_________ on the trees. Animals and _________ come out

(verb) (noun)

together! Let’s have a lot of ____________ fun together!

(adjective)

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Sudoku Puzzle

By: Grace Shapiro

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Maze Puzzle

By: Abhi Tamboli

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Spring Word Search

By: Kaitlyn Roudi

Thanksgiving Word Search

By: Archana Maryada

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Spirit the Owl

By: Alyssa Osiadacz

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By: Sabrina Moral

K-2

Kindergarten

7-1= 6+6=

9-5= 7+2=

6+2= 11+2= -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Grade

What is the value of the coins shown above?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd grade

247+141=

467+900=

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3-5

3rd grade

I found ______hat.

A)you B) your C) you’re

There are 6 ________ in the room.

A) Boxs B) Boxies C) Boxes -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4th grade

5,616 x 4 = 2,100 x 6= 10,916 x 6= -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5th grade

2/5 x 1/5= 3 (8+16)=

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Hidden Heroes: Mr. Fernandez

By: Tamana Darji

Look! He’s flying. He’s flying high enough to be the Hidden Hero

of Edison. It’s Mr. Fernandez! Mr. Fernandez is the Hidden Hero Of

Edison.

Before he started teaching at James Monroe, he suffered

from a disease. A disease called Multiple Sclerosis He woke up one

day and saw his dog. Not 1, but 2 of him. He went to the doctor and

came home with bad news. He had a disease, one so bad that he

wouldn’t be able to walk. He would need to use crutches, then a

wheelchair, and then possibly be bedridden for the rest of his life.

On the night of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony when Mr.

Fernandez was awarded the Hidden Heroes Award, you could see

the brightness on his face. I could tell that he was very proud of

himself. GOOD JOB, MR.FERNANDEZ!

We all are very proud to have you in our school.